This next story for The Chrysanthemum Chronicles begins the day after several Scouts and two cats finally return to the Moon of AD 987 from the Moon of 174 BC, and it will feature many of the younger people in it already. Several new characters will also make their first appearances for this story series in it, and several things will happen after they do.
This story will take place primarily on Earth for many characters, both old and new. While certain others will stay behind on the Moon, at least for most, if not all, of this story and the one that will follow on right after it. By the end of book seven, we will see a lot of things happen that will not bode well for many sentients on multiple worlds in the Solar System, and many may be captured, at least, if not even killed by the end of that story.
But there's still quite a good length of time remaining before the inevitable fall of the Moon Kingdom comes to pass, folks. So why don't we wait and see what happens next here in the applicable timeline for many people and/or things in it before then, okay?
With no further ado, let's get this show on the road again, so to speak, like a band of gypsies going down the highway, or something, as Willie Nelson sings and has sung in one of his classic songs from so very long ago, everyone. TUS out.
Main Dining Hall In The Crystal Palace
Moon City, Moon Kingdom, Moon
June 11, 987
Serena Moon and several other members of her current crowd met up with each other just a little while after local sunrise in the Moon City area of Earth's Moon. They all met in the main dining hall of the Moon City local area's Crystal Palace. And Serena met up with four other girls there, as a matter of fact. Serena was a native of the Moon, while the other four girls were each natives and Princesses of four planets that were elsewhere in the Terran solar system. Most specifically, those planets from which the other four girls besides Serena hailed from in the Terran solar system were Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, in fact.
Serena was a friend to all four of the other girls now with her in the Crystal Palace's main dining hall. She'd been a friend to each of them for almost ten Terran standard years of each of their lives, as well. She'd met all four of them on her very first birthday, and ever since, she'd become really close to each of them in her life. Serena was the Moon Princess of the Moon Kingdom, which was ruled by her mother Queen Serenity, and which consisted of the known inhabited worlds of the Terran solar system other than Earth, in fact.
The young girl from Mercury was Princess Amy Anderson. And she had short black hair that often looked like it was actually blue instead of being black. She quite often could be found in primarily blue outfits, as well. She was also the brains of Serena's current crowd, evidently. She was the most determined to learn as much as she possibly could in her life, of all the current members of Serena's own crowd, in fact. She was also Serena's very own best friend.
The Martian Princess had mostly waist-length black hair that she'd normally wear down whenever possible, in her own life. And her name was Raye Hino. Raye was quite fiery with her temper, and she'd often argue with Serena about many things in either of their lives, at least. But the two of them had often found themselves fighting alongside each other in the past against various enemies of theirs. Among any of the members of Serena's crowd who were female, Raye was most likely the one who'd most often call Serena "Meatball Head" whenever they thought Serena was acting quite crazy. She'd often call Serena this at least partly, if not entirely, because Serena would quite often wear her hair up in such a manner that might make many people actually think of meatballs. But among members of Serena's current crowd, there were very few, if any, people who would be more willing to fight at her side whenever the need arose for them both to fight others in their lives. Princess Raye, to Moon Princess Serena, was just like the older sister that Serena would never actually have. For Serena was the oldest child of her parents Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel, in her own life.
The Jupiterian Princess was Lita McKinley. She had auburn hair that she quite often would wear up in a ponytail. But whenever she didn't wear it up in a ponytail, she'd often let it fall down to about her shoulders or so, whenever possible. Among the five currently-present Princesses, she was the strongest, at least in a physical sense, if not in any other sense as well here. And she was one really good cook in her life, in fact. So much so that her food was often quite popular with Serena and other members of Serena's current crowd.
As for the Venusian Princess, her name was Mina Abernathy. She had long hair that she often wore down like Raye would often wear her own hair. But her hair was actually quite blonde instead of being quite black. Of all the aforementioned Princesses, she was usually the one who was the most interested in dancing or doing things of a suitably athletic nature, whenever possible. But when it came to things of a sufficiently technological nature, she was quite often getting herself in trouble whenever she tried to handle them enough in her life. She wasn't what many people might call adept at the use of such things, normally. And she'd often accidentally mix up things when it came to using certain idiomatic phrases or other similar enough sayings, as well, in her own life.
Other planets and moons in their own solar system had Princesses of their own who were actually in Serena's current crowd. But none of those other Princesses were currently present in the Crystal Palace's main dining hall. The other known planets currently in the Moon Kingdom were Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Each of which had at least one moon of their own as well, in actual reality, which also fell currently under Moon Kingdom control.
There were at least a few other known planets at the current time elsewhere in the Terran solar system. But none of them were under Moon Kingdom control. This was mainly because they'd appeared only a few months or years before out of some sort of rather strange spatial phenomenon or phenomena, outside Pluto's orbit around the Sun. This certain phenomenon had been earlier described by at least one other Moon Kingdom Princess, if not more than one, as possibly being some sort of dimensional rift. And the Moon Kingdom hadn't yet been able to find out well enough if any or all of those planets were actually inhabited by sufficiently sentient beings, if they'd ever be able to do that somehow.
The reason why Serena was now meeting up with four of her friends in the main dining hall, besides the obvious reason, of course, was because she was hoping to do something special for her younger twin sisters' shared birthday on the current day. She had five sisters and two brothers now in her life. Two of her sisters had been born eight years before the current date. About six weeks before, she'd gotten five more siblings of her own. Those five siblings had been the rest of her five sisters and both of her new brothers, in fact. Her own eleventh birthday would occur in the next three weeks. She'd be eleven years of age on June 30, 987, as a matter of simple enough fact.
She was already in the main dining hall getting herself some food and drink when her friends entered it as well. She saw them about a minute after they entered the main dining hall. And she soon said, "Good morning, all. I hope you all slept well enough after we got back here last night."
"That was some adventure that we just had in our lives, wasn't it, Serena?" asked Raye, in very short order, as she and the others besides Serena also began getting themselves some food and drink to eat here.
The assembled Princesses had found themselves all thrown back in time with so many other people into the year 174 BC. They'd had quite an adventure for themselves and those other people. All the Princesses who were now here had been thrown back in time by some sort of vortex that'd also done the same to quite a few other sentient beings in the Universe's own history.
Serena said, "You can be absolutely sure of that. It was actually rather nice to finally meet Mother's own mother as a young girl or woman, Raye."
"But she was from a different time than our own, Serena."
"Yes, I realize that, Raye. But it was still rather nice to finally meet her, to put it very mildly. I wonder how Mother will handle being away from her once again, after she'd originally lost her in her own life."
"I hope that she'll handle it with her customary calmness, Serena. Your mother always seems to handle the loss of those close enough to her quite well, from what I know of her."
"That's her public face talking, at least, Raye. She can't generally reveal her personal feelings about certain things she might have to periodically deal with in her life, Raye. You really don't know how much she misses my Dad's mother Princess Ruth. And how much she still wishes that my paternal grandmother were still alive, in fact."
"Princess Ruth left her mortal body behind around the time that you were born, Serena, if I remember correctly," said Mina.
"True enough, Mina. But that still doesn't mean that she doesn't still really miss her in her life. She does, in fact, miss her quite a lot, Mina. She actually helped bring both of my parents together, if they weren't already together, when Mother's parents King Francis XII and Queen Margaret IV were killed aboard one of our ships. She served Mother to the best of her own ability to do so, after Mother had needed to succeed her parents on our Moon Kingdom's throne, for the obvious reasons. Mainly as Prime Minister, I think, before she retired from her service to the Moon Kingdom for the rest of her life."
Amy then asked, "Was Princess Ruth actually hoping to live at least long enough to see you around in actual physical reality?"
"I believe that Mother's actually told Destiny, Bethany, and me, at least, if nobody else besides Dad as well, that at least once, Amy. Though I could be wrong about such things here, quite naturally enough. As far as I know, anyway, I believe that was true for Princess Ruth. At least as it might then pertain to me, if not also Destiny and Bethany, Amy."
"Do you think that if you'd known each other in your lives while you were both alive, you'd have gotten along quite well with each other in them?" asked Lita, after all the Princesses had finally gotten themselves enough food and drink to last them for at least a little while.
"From what Mother's told me, at least, to date about Princess Ruth, I think that we'd have gotten along at least a little bit better with each other than Raye and I often are able to do. She might not have called me 'Meatball Head,' as several of you from my crowd are often known to do. But we might not have always gotten along with each other in our lives, Lita. I think we'd have often enough been at loggerheads with each other, just like I often am with Raye. You girls, especially Raye, really don't like it whenever I bawl quite loudly like I do. And from what I know of Grandma Ruth, she probably wouldn't have liked it either. At least most, if not all, of the time, Lita."
Lita and the other four Princesses brought all their food and drinks to one of the main dining hall's tables in very short order. Then they set all their meals on that table, before they soon sat behind each of them as needed. Lita said, "I don't remember ever hearing that before, Serena. And I've known you for almost ten years now."
"Well, it's been discussed at least once before, I can tell you that for sure, Lita. Whether or not any or all of you have ever heard it before now, it's still been discussed, just the same."
Serena then took a sip of apple juice from her cup, just before she took a bite of some jelly-covered toast she'd made for herself moments before. As she did so, each of the other Princesses then began consuming their breakfasts as well. She also had a few slices of pizza that Lita had made a little while earlier, before their most recent adventure as Princesses in their lives.
Amy had made herself a bowl of oatmeal flavored with some maple syrup and diced apple pieces, cut herself a cinnamon roll from a pan of rolls, and taken some green grapes from a bowl elsewhere in the main dining hall, at least. As for her beverages, she'd chosen to get herself some white milk and some carrot juice. Both of her beverages were in separate cups, in fact.
Raye had for herself a bowl of chicken noodle soup, a banana, a few pieces of butter-covered toast, and some hot dogs. For her drinks, she had one tall glass of lemonade and one tall glass of prune juice, as well.
Lita was herself eating some pizza and several different types of fruits for her breakfast. And her current choice of drink was some cinnamon-flavored green tea. That tea was in a considerably-sized pitcher. And this pitcher was large enough to hold at least a dozen cups' worth of whatever beverage would be inside it at any time in actual reality, if not even more than that, here.
Mina had in front of her as she now sat at the required table some oatmeal and a few dinner rolls, as well as at least one orange, if not more than one. Her own cup was currently at least partly, if not entirely, filled with some green tea from the very same pitcher that Lita's tea had earlier come from. And it might later be refilled with more tea, if Mina wanted more tea then, of course.
"What were you suggesting that we do for Destiny and Bethany today, just because of the fact that it's their birthday today, Serena?" asked Raye soon afterward.
"I was thinking that maybe we could ask Mother if it'd be all right for us to bring them and their special friends Solomon and Renaldo on a trip to Japan today, if at all possible, Raye."
"How might that be possible, Serena?"
"I dreamed of it as I slept last night, in fact, Raye."
"And why only Solomon and Renaldo, if I may ask you this as well?" asked Lita.
"Because Solomon and Renaldo are special friends of my twin sisters, Lita. I suppose that you think that we should also include Ken, at least, for all the obvious reasons, if not also Andrew."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I think it'd be quite nice to bring at least one of those two with us, if we were to do as you might be thinking here. That's so that we could all then see just where Darien lives as well. You can't tell us that you don't really want to see Darien again in the very near future, can you, Serena?"
"No, I suppose not. You girls all know me quite well, I believe, by now in each of our lives, Lita."
"Well, if you want to bring them and their special friends to Japan with us, I think that you should also see if any of our special friends want to go there with us as well." This was from Amy.
"Are you sure that Greg would want to accompany us, if we'd go to Japan together, Amy?"
"He'd probably feel quite left out if we chose not to include him and we included any of our other special friends, Serena. I don't think that we could fairly bring at least Solomon and/or Renaldo with us if we didn't include the rest of our special friends at the same time, as well."
"Chad would want to go as well, if any of our boys were able to go, most likely, I think," commented Raye.
"I don't have a steady yet, I think. Unless, of course, you might consider Steven to be my steady, for any reason at all, girls. I don't know if I'd consider him to be my steady yet. But others might. For I quite often seem to find myself dancing with him whenever we're able to attend balls together somehow."
Mina quite often found herself dancing with a boy from the same place on Venus that she came from, which happened to be Venus City there. Venus City was the Venusian capital city. And it was also the Venusian city with the most people in its local area. The exact center of Venus City was located roughly where the planet's Equator and Prime Meridian intersected with each other, if not exactly in that very location.
"I wonder if Steven might want to join us all if we'd actually be able to get to Japan just as Serena is evidently hoping that we'd be able to do somehow, Mina," said Lita.
Mina said, "Steven was thinking about visiting his family back on Venus in the very near future, Lita. Supposing, of course, that he could get back to Venus City there again soon enough to do so easily enough."
Mina had been born in the main courtyard of Venus City's largest castle just after her parents had both returned from one of their required trips to another part of Venus. Some length of time earlier, they'd actually needed to travel by some sort of space-capable craft to that part of Venus. And until they'd been able to actually return to Venus City in time, they'd not yet known whether or not they'd be able to have her born in Venus City, in fact.
"I think that we all know that Steven is from Venus City by now. Though I don't know if he was actually born in the Chesterfield Castle there," said Raye.
Mina was born within ten minutes of her parents returning to the grounds of the Chesterfield Castle. The Chesterfield Castle had four exterior walls of almost 800 feet each in their lengths. And the walls were an average of about 400 feet high above the surrounding ground terrain, as well, if not more than that. The surrounding ground terrain was a quite large hill, in fact. This hill towered over the area outside its actual dimensions by an average of at least two hundred more feet, as well. Because of that, it was often quite easy for defenders of the castle to defend it and its occupants from any harm at all, under normal enough circumstances. At least when they only had to deal with any number of enemies that couldn't get sufficiently close to them in any direction at all. However, the Negaversers might not be so easy for them to defend the castle and its occupants against, if they attacked from the air, instead of from land.
"As far as I actually do know right now, he was born there. Though I don't know exactly when, if that's the case here for him, Raye."
Mina had been born on October 22, 976, in that castle's main courtyard. And not too long afterward, she'd been given the name of Mina Joyce Abernathy by her parents. She'd been born a Venusian Princess. And her parents were Prince Jason and Princess Penelope. Her sister Aurora had been born sometime later on in her life, and Mina had been on the Moon when she'd gained a new sister.
"Well, if I get a chance to go back easily enough for a long enough time, I think I'd like to be on Mars again for a while, Mina. And if you all could be with me, I think that'd be quite nice, as well," said Raye.
"What do you recommend we visit, if we ever do get to come to your world, then, Raye?" asked Amy.
"At least Olympus Mons, of course. As far as I know here, it's the highest mountain in the whole solar system. Though I could be quite wrong about that here, of course," answered Raye.
"Higher than Mount Everest on Earth?"
"Yes, Serena. Even higher than Mount Everest is, in fact."
The girls talked for a while longer with each other about various things and people that were of each of their worlds or moons, if nothing else as well in their lives. By the time that Destiny and Bethany finally appeared in the Crystal Palace's main dining hall as well, they'd all agreed to ask Queen Serenity if they could go to Japan with each other for a time. But only if they could all do so without tipping off Serena's twin sisters that they were going to do that too soon. As soon as they heard or saw Destiny and Bethany enter the main dining hall, if not even sooner than that, they all shut up about such things.
They spent a little more time in conversation with the twins as they ate as well, or as they cleaned up their dirty dishes or drink containers, quite naturally enough. But they didn't say anything at all about what they were planning to do to surprise the twins later on that day.
After Destiny and Bethany finally left the main dining hall again, Serena and the rest of her currently-present companions then went in search of Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel, in very short order. It took them all until about midday local time for them all to find Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel in the Crystal Palace's Sailor Scout Garden. Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel were sitting on one of the benches in that very garden. They were quietly talking to each other, when Serena, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina eventually found them there.
Queen Serenity either heard or saw them approaching from about fifteen yards away, after they'd all entered that garden on the Crystal Palace's grounds. When they were then close enough to her and Daniel, she then asked, "What's on your mind, Serena?"
"The girls and I would like to surprise the twins with a trip to Japan for their birthday. They've never been to Japan before, as you should know by now, Mother."
"Nor have the rest of you, Serena. Besides Prince Darien, of course, is there another logical enough reason why you'd like to go there with several members of your Court for at least a little while, Serena?"
"I think it might be a good idea for us all to check on the progress of things there with our joint project, Mother. I know that you don't really like the idea of me and my siblings going off the Moon without you being with us. But I have a strange feeling that you're going to be tied up here for a while. I know that we all are also still quite young in our lives, Mother. But my birthday's coming up, as you very well know by now. And I'd like to spend at least part of it in Kyoto, if at all possible. True, that may not be where our future home might be in the process of being built. But I still really do want to spend at least part of my next birthday in Kyoto, if at all possible, just the same, Mother."
"What of your current grounding punishment that you and Raye are still serving, Serena?"
"Considering what we just went through in our last adventure, Mother, would you be willing to suspend it for at least as long as we'd be visiting Earth as I've just suggested that we do?"
"Someone will have to monitor you both, if I can't be with you while you're on Earth, then, Serena."
"Darien?"
"I don't know if he knows of it well enough by now, Serena."
"Already thought about, Mother. You can write him a message, and give it to either Amy, Lita, or Mina, to have them pass it along to him, as needed. Most likely Amy, I think."
"And what of the rest of your royal Court?"
"If they want to come along, then I don't see why they can't do so."
"Who'd help me cover the worlds of our Moon Kingdom, if you're away from any of them, then, Serena?"
"Well, if I remember correctly enough, several other Sailor Scouts might be available to help you protect them all. Take, for instance, Junior Sailors Spyglass and Tranquility. They've both always wanted to have at least one chance to prove that they can actually be counted on to a sufficient enough degree in their lives, Mother."
"I know of them both, Serena. But they're both younger than you and the twins are now."
"True enough, Mother. But from what I can currently tell of them, they could prove to be quite helpful indeed in delaying our Negaverse enemies' final movements against Moon City, at the very least, if not even more areas of our Moon."
"I don't like having to use such young Scouts for protection details relating to each of our worlds, if I don't absolutely have to, Serena."
"Weren't Destiny and Bethany both actually about seven or so years old when we made them both at least temporary, if not permanent, members of my Court and Sailor Scouts, Mother?" Destiny and Bethany were not only Serena's twin sisters, they were also Sailor Scouts. Just like Serena, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina all were, in each of their lives. And there were many other women and girls in the Moon Kingdom who were also Sailor Scouts of any currently-known variety, in fact.
"Yes, they were. But still, Junior Sailors Spyglass and Tranquility are quite young in their respective lives. If I'm not too mistaken, both of them are still younger than the twins were when we did what you've just mentioned here, Serena, about a year ago."
"But they were meant to be Sailor Scouts at such a young age, Mother, according to their parents. Even though their parents both realized that the usual life of a Sailor Scout might not often be quite as pleasant as an average person's life might actually be, under normal enough circumstances in them, their parents both realized that those daughters of theirs were actually meant to be Sailor Scouts in their own lives. It hurt them both very much to realize that, of course. But they knew that their daughters were still meant to be Sailor Scouts for as long as possible in their lives. No matter what might actually happen to either or both of them."
"And what if the Negaverse finds out that you're all there, and decides to launch attacks against our worlds while you're still on Earth, Serena?" asked Prince Daniel.
"Then so be it, Dad. But they won't do it, I believe, for at least a while yet. Granted, they may now control at least part of Earth. But we all know that they don't control all of it, in actual reality. They currently have their longed-for foothold on Earth. And I'm certain that they'll use it to attack us eventually here on the Moon. When exactly, I'm not sure yet. But I just have this feeling that they'll do so, someday, of course, Dad. Whether you're still with us all or not, at that time."
Serenity then thought quite deeply for at least a few moments, before saying, "There actually is a way for any of us to get to Earth, without any of us having to teleport there, Serena. And to the part of it that you think you girls should go to, come to think of it. I've only rarely been able to use it since your own birth, if I remember correctly. You'd all have to use certain portals on either end of your trip between Kyoto and Moon City, I think, in order for you all to somehow do so reasonably well, and somehow do so safely enough. I've generally visited Kyoto in secret ever since that time, whenever I've been able to do so. If I've actually ever gone there in such a manner with any companions at all, only Luna and Artemis have ever generally been able to go with me, Serena."
"We were thinking that our special male friends could also accompany us to Japan if and when we were able to bring the twins with us, Queen Serenity," said Raye.
"What would be the point of them coming along, Raye?"
"They could help us check things out well enough, quite possibly, Queen Serenity. Solomon and Renaldo, for instance, could help Destiny and Bethany get around Japan, if needed. And they could also keep their eyes and ears open for us all."
"How could Chad help us out here, if I may ask you this, Raye?"
"He and I could draw people out with our musical talents, for instance. And we could possibly make some profit on the side, at least, in terms of money and information. We might actually be able to find certain things out that we might not learn otherwise, Queen Serenity."
"What about Amy and Greg?" asked Prince Daniel.
"They could both organize and collect the information in usable enough form for us all, I think, Prince Daniel," answered Raye.
"And Mina and Steven, Raye?"
"They could both periodically attend at least a few dances and gain at least a little information that way, I believe, Queen Serenity," answered Raye.
"That leaves Lita and whatever boys from Jupiter come with you to do what, not to mention Serena and Darien, of course?"
"Lita can use her excellent culinary abilities to draw out people, and get them talking as well. Ken and/or Andrew could bring those people that food, and listen in on their conversations at the same time that they do so. In between their servings of those people, they could pass along whatever they've learned to Lita. And Lita could share whatever she's found out with the rest of us, as needed. Serena and Darien could spend time with each other. And they could use the information that we can gather for them to handle things in the necessary enough manners. Granted, I don't necessarily like the idea of Serena hanging around Darien as much as she might need to do here, if we all go to Japan like Serena is now thinking we should do here. But you'll need some people on the ground there to check on things there, if you can't be there yourself. Who better than at least ourselves, then, Queen Serenity?"
"Are you sure enough that your sister and at least a few other Martian Sailor Scouts can help me protect Mars and its own mini-system well enough, if you aren't anywhere at all in our Moon Kingdom, Raye?"
"I trust my sister very much, Queen Serenity. And I suspect that if you'd do the same, as well, we might just find out that she can do so rather well, in fact. She might even be able to find the Blossom Star Crystal that was supposedly brought here to the Moon at about the same time that Mars joined our Moon Kingdom, quite a long time ago. If so, then I don't think we'll have to refer to her anymore as 'Mars Beta.' And we'd be able to call her 'Blossom,' if we'd want to call her that in the future."
"Serena, what's your honest opinion of B.B. Hino?"
"I think she's quite nice, Mother. I think I'd trust her at least as much as Raye evidently does, in fact."
"You'd honestly do that, Serena?" asked Raye.
"Yes, I would. For I know what it's like to be an older sister, as you very well know by now, Raye. I don't yet know if she'll be at least as powerful as you are in your life, of course, Raye. But if you're any reasonable enough indication, in actual reality, I happen to think that she might very well be a reasonably capable protector of Mars and anywhere else in your own mini-system, in fact. Maybe not as capable as you evidently are. But I'd still trust her very much here, if I absolutely had to, I believe."
"I'm so glad you think so, Serena."
"It's my pleasure, Raye. I know we may not always get along with each other, you and I. But I still consider you the older sister I'll never actually have with my parents."
Serenity conversed for a good while longer with her husband Daniel, her daughter Serena, and Serena's friends, before she finally said, "All right, Serena. I'll let you actually go to Japan with whatever other members of your Court you wish to go there with, as well as with any of your special male friends that also want to accompany you all there. But while you're all actually away from here, you and Raye must still be monitored periodically. Just as you earlier suggested both to me and to your father here. I'm willing to suspend completion of your grounding punishments for at least as long as you're all on Earth, because of what we all have just happened to go through of late. But whatever time is still left on your grounding punishments for both you and Raye will eventually have to be finished, if I don't cancel the rest of it, once you get back here for a long enough period of time, Serena."
"That's fair enough, I suppose. Thank you, Mother."
"Remember, Serena, this trip of yours isn't just for pleasure. You'll all still need to do certain things on it for the Moon Kingdom, at least, if nobody else as well, Serena. I'm willing to allow you all to try to have at least a little fun while you're in Japan. But you'll also have to do what you can for the Moon Kingdom while you're there as well. You'll have to periodically check on the progress of our joint project, whenever possible, while you're all in Japan, of course. I'm sure that you can all understand why that'll be necessary here, Serena."
"Of course we can, Mother. For we really don't want to die forever, if you can't save both us and the Moon Kingdom at the same time."
"Good, Serena. Now before Destiny and Bethany are able to find us all here, I suggest that you all, at least, leave this particular garden again right now. For I have this strange feeling that they're on the way here, for some reason I can't quite place at the current time. I'll actually want to see you before local nightfall, if you're all going to do as Serena has just thought that you should be able to do here. Come to my chambers by then, if at all possible."
"Understood, Mother." The five Princesses then wasted no unnecessary time in saying their good-byes to Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel again, before leaving the Sailor Scout Garden as ordered. All five of them soon parted for at least a little while, so that they could all prepare for their upcoming Japanese trip.
They left the Sailor Scout Garden just moments before Destiny and Bethany entered it themselves, while searching for Serena and other members of her current crowd. After they each left it, they went to each of their respective Crystal Palace chambers.
Queen Serenity and Prince Daniel stayed in the garden just long enough to spend a little bit of time with their twin daughters, often conversing with them as then needed, before Serenity said that she needed to check on her five newest children. Destiny was normally blind, while Bethany was normally deaf, when they weren't actually in their own respective Sailor Scout states of being as either Junior Sailor Corona or Junior Sailor Eclipse.
Serenity and Daniel's other five children were three girls and two boys, as already stated some time before. Their last three daughters were Laura, Shari, and Rocío Moon. While their only two sons were Samuel and Robert Moon. And it wasn't likely that they'd have any more biological children besides the eight they already had. That was at least partly, if not entirely, due to the fact that Serenity was now at least 42 years of age in her life, if not even older than that.
Serenity soon enough afterward then left her husband alone in the Sailor Scout Garden. She then went to attend to their roughly six-week-old quintuplets in all the necessary manners. Daniel stayed there for a little while longer all by himself, before he eventually went in search of his brother-in-law Prince Raphael, who was also his wife's only surviving brother of three, and only surviving sibling of five.
Prince Raphael had earlier invited Prince Daniel to go riding for a while with him elsewhere in Moon City's local area. Daniel had accepted Raphael's invitation to do so that very afternoon and/or evening, at least. Which was now, as a matter of fact. For it was now about halfway through the current afternoon.
Princes Daniel and Raphael soon found each other. Then they both went to the necessary stable or stables elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds in order to prepare whatever horses they'd be riding from it not too much later. It took them very little time to get their horses ready for their riding excursion. And they were soon enough off the Crystal Palace's grounds once again.
Several Scouts are about to leave the Moon again, and go to Earth at least partly on Moon Kingdom-related business, led by Moon Princess Serena. But they won't necessarily be able to enjoy themselves on Earth all the time while on it, for sure. Even though Serena, among others, might really wish otherwise, one of the conditions that Queen Serenity had placed on the trip to Earth for those accompanying her there would be that she'd have to attend to certain other matters while on the planet for the Moon Kingdom. Serena accepted all the conditions that her mother set for the trip, and so Queen Serenity would therefore allow the trip for Serena and a number of others, even if she'd rather have Serena and others safely back on the Moon at that time.
There's still quite a lot of this story to post, for we're only just getting started here, everyone. I'd strongly advise you all to buckle up again, for the next two stories here may be rather wild and all, at the very least. Not only that, I'd again like to strongly recommend that you read all other currently-existing posted chapters for all five volumes now posted in this series, so that you won't be as likely to miss any potentially important details as you continue reading stories in this series. If not any other related series as well, for that matter, folks.
Until the next chapter, then, I'll close this here. TUS out.