Chapter 1

Who Wants to Live Forever?

Setsuna, the Plutonian Princess and the current Sailor Pluto had been standing at her post at the Time Gates for a while. But such a post as guarding the Gates of Time made it hard to determine just how long she had been standing there. For it seemed the energies that surrounded her were different in that one moment she felt she'd been there but hours, the next, it felt like years. It was a post of loneliness, as she could not leave it, nor could others visit. The garnet rod in her hands glowed brightly for a moment and then with a flash, she'd find herself somewhere else.

"Idiot! Stop touching that!" came a voice from close by.

If Sailor Pluto looked around she'd find herself among gears and pendulums and other loudly ticking time pieces. The place almost seemed exactly like where she had just moments been standing with the same kind of energy. The voice had belonged to a purple wearing blue skinned apparition. He was yelling at a green skinned apparition wearing white robs and having a single eyeball for a head. The eyeball creature was handing back a large purple staff with a small clock on top of it.

"You weren't hear caring out your duties. I saw something on the screen and wanted to stop anything serious from going on." the creature spoke.

The purple clad apparition shook his head.

"That's why you are an observant. You do not interfere and you NEVER touch anything in my clock tower. Who knows what you may have done. Go back to the observatory if you have no news for me." he spoke.

"I was...I was told to let you know of the new Time Door Guardian." the observer said.

"Is that all? You think I didn't already know? Go back to where you come from. I have business to take care of and probably a mess to clean up because of your stupidity." the apparition said with a waved of a dark gloved hand.

The observant quickly made his way out as Sailor Pluto watched in awe and confusion. While the two apparitions spoke, she had remained quiet, curious as to the conversation especially when it turned to be about her, at least she assumed. But considering how the place had the same sort of energy as where she had been, she couldn't be completely sure. When the observant left, she looked to the cloaked one.

"Um...hello?" For some reason she was nervous which was unlike her.

"I usually don't lose my temper so and I'm sorry if I have made you feel uneasy. I'm not use to others touching my belongings." the purple clad apparition spoke before turning around to look at her. "It's nice to make you acquaintance, Princess."

His skin was a light blue like his wisp tail. His eyes were a deep glowing red. A clock case was embedded into his chest. Inside gears turned and a pendulum swing while a clock kept time. He wore several watches on each arm over dark blue gloves.

"I'm Clockwork. Welcome to my tower." he said with a slight bow.

His acknowledgement of his potentially being the cause of Sailor Pluto unease and his acceptance of her being there calmed her and she gave a soft smile.

"Nice to make your acquaintance as well. Please, call me Setsuna. Since I assume we both have duties in the same field."

"Indeed. I'm sorry that bumbling fool took you from where you were suppose to be." Clockwork said as he started towards some mirrors behind Setsuna.

In each one, a different time line would be going through motion. He pointed his staff at one and the Time Doors appeared.

"Your post is safe though. No one is there and no one can get through as long as I am watching. How long has it been since you started? A week? Couple of days?" she knew that he knew the answer, but for the sake of conversation, he was inquiring.

She sighed.

"I believe it's been no more than a week. But the energy around it...makes me feel different sometimes. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer...like the energy here I suppose."

"Yes. It can cause one to be confused if not use to it. I have no doubt that very soon, you will have a complete hold on your powers. Can I get you anything? Tea perhaps?" Clockwork asked hospitably.

"Tea would be nice."

Setsuna took a deep breath before speaking again. "You seem to know much if not all about me. Yet I never heard an anything about you until I showed up here. Why is that?"

"You're just starting out. You have plenty of time to learn of me, just as I had plenty of time to learn of you." He responded as he made the tea, then set a small cup of it in front of her.

"Being a spirit is also something they don't like to just blurt out either. My job is slightly different from yours. I watch time and protect it. Make sure it's going the way it's suppose to and fix it if not. You however are able to watch time and see how it goes, but you also guard the gates of time and space and are not to ever leave. I can stop time. In fact it's a main power of mine. You however must never stop time. Ever. It will use all your power and you will die." he warned.

"Thank you." Setsuna spoke in response to the tea before taking a sip as she listened. "Well, what good is it for me to have the power to stop time if it kills me? I might as well not even have the power."

"True. But there may come a day when sacrifice is needed. Sometimes we meet people who are more precious to us than our own life. It may not even be a lover. Could just be a very good friend." Clockwork smiled knowingly.

She sighed and took another long sip of her tea.

"It would be more likely to happen if I were not restricted to remaining at the gates or if I could actually have visitors."

"This job can be very lonely." he said sympathetically. "I know that better than anyone. You are allowed to come here when you like. I can make the gates appear on my screen over there so that it is being watched. If you ever need advice, or help, feel free to visit."

Setsuna nodded with a soft smile. "I'd like that. It's nice to know I'm not alone in such a job. If it's not too personal a question, might I ask how long you've been at it?"

"Since the beginning of time." Clockwork said.

His form shifted from a young man to an old one with a long beard. His forms seemed to switch a lot. It ranged from child, young man, and then old man. Each for representing past, present, and future respectively. His true form being the present which was the young man.

She frowned sympathetically. "That's...quite a long time to be alone."

"It is, but one gets use to it." he said as his form settled on his young man form and stuck for a while.

"Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Setsuna finished her tea, her gaze pointed down. "I know you said I'm welcome to visit here...but I was wondering if there was a chance of you visiting me at the time gates sometimes...I'll understand if you can't."

"I'd be honored." Clockwork said smiling. "Thank you for inviting me."

It was the first time he had been invited to visit another Time Keeper.

She smiled softly. "It's a pleasure. As well as only fair, even if I don't have a place such as this."

"Your right. You have a nice peaceful area to be in." Clockwork said smiling. "Which you should probably get back to. All you have to for is walk through the screen that shows the Time Gates."

He gestured to the screen. "Once again, it has been very nice to make your acquaintance, Setsuna."

Setsuna nodded with a sigh as she finished her tea. "You're right. I should get back."

She grabbed her staff and started for the screen.

"Until we meet again, Clockwork." She smiled before walking through the screen back to the Time Gates.

"Until then." he said watching her go.

Meanwhile as the Time Keepers got acquainted, the young observant who had messed with Clockwork's staff was floating away slowly. If he had had a mouth, he would have smirked. The plans were going just as he wanted them to. As the Time Master himself had said so many times, everything was as it was suppose to be. Now he would go talk with his associate and let them know what was going on. He continued on.

The two would visit each other many many times over the years sharing knowledge and information. Setsuna had met Queen Serenity and she had watched the other planetary princesses born and grow, the majority taking up posts as sailor senshi, though unlike her, they were freely moving. She had even bonded with the moon princess enough for the princess to call her a nickname. She would watch the child grow up, fall in love, and then the terrible tragic day. The fall of the Moon Kingdom hit the time keeper had taken a lot of restraint not to use her ability to stop time to protect the princess from harm that day, no matter how much her heart screamed to. She had told herself that while doing so could've saved the moon princess, it would've still left her unprotected in the long run due to the other senshi being killed in battle before that. With a heavy heart, she watched Queen Serenity give up her remaining energy to send the moon princess and her court to be reborn in the future. The time keeper didn't hold back as she shed tears for the fallen queen and princess of the moon.

"I'm sorry." Clockwork's voice come from behind her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. "I know it was hard to watch, but there is still hope. The queen sent them forward in time to a much brighter future. Your princess will have a great existence and grow very strong."

Setsuna wiped her eyes with a sniffle and a nod. "It was hard. So hard to watch knowing there was nothing I could do to help."

"I know. Can I get you anything? Anything at all?" he asked.

She sighed and turned to face him.

"I...don't really know what to ask for in something like this. I'm no stranger to seeing death, even in such a horrible fashion. But it hurts more when it's someone I'm close to. How do you deal with such?"

"I've never had the pleasure of getting as close as you have to other people. I have heard when one losses a loved one that they take time off of work to mourn. Would...would you like time to mourn?" Clockwork asked the last part in almost a whisper, looking around to make sure no one was listening.

They weren't the only Time Keepers and there were always the obnoxious Observants to worry about.

"Kinda...weird wouldn't it be? A time keeper taking time off." She half-laughed. "No. Maybe it's a lesson. Not to allow myself to get that close again. Then it won't hurt as much when they die."

"Very well." he said nodding. "Only if you are sure though. I have ways of taking time to catch my own breath so to speak...not that I have breath to catch, but you know." he said shrugging. "If you need anything, just please let me know."

He had a soft spot for the young Time Guardian and didn't want her to be depressed. Emotions could lead to making mistakes and their job wasn't something that they could afford to make mistakes with.

"I...am sure...If I were to take time off, I would never return. And because of that, I can't take time off. This job came as part of my duties as a sailor senshi. It's something I have to accept."

Setsuna smiled softly. "But...if ever I feel as if this is too much...rest assured I will show up at the tower right away. You have my word."

He smiled and nodded before disappearing in a swirl of clock hands. The two remained good friends. Visiting one another through the centuries. It wasn't until the goings ons with the Black Moon family that anything really worrisome began. Small Lady Serenity had stolen a key from Setsuna and gone to the past to try and help her mother. The girl only ended up getting turned into Black Lady, stealing the Ginzuishou from the past and getting it and the one from her time taken by Prince Dimando and almost having the world destroyed. Setsuna used that time to stop time. Although the problem was resolved by Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and Small Lady, Setsuna had died in the process. Clockwork watched all these events from his clock tower with wide eyes. He briefly interfered. He went back in time and asked Queen Serenity to grant the same rebirth for Sailor Pluto she had allowed the other senshi and her daughter. She had agreed and Clockwork went back to his tower of the present to find some very angry observers waiting. He was in some serious trouble. They were pretty lenient on him by their standards. They only confined him to the tower for two decades and some of his more powerful abilities were blocked. It was fine by him. He'd done what he had set out to do and things were back on track for now...