ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS

As Setsuna expected, the apartment was completely empty. There was a lone white curtain covering the wide window in the master bedroom, but otherwise nothing else. The tiny Gold Key in her hand was pulsating with power, as if in anticipation of fulfilling its final task. She had chosen this key off of the collection of small Gold Keys that Sailor Pluto wore on her belt. Each Key on her belt had the ability to access the Powers of Time, but in a limited way, which is why Small Lady's Key was not a foolproof way to travel back and forth in time. Unlike Pluto's large, silver Time Key, the little Gold Keys had no offensive capabilities, nor could they open the Space-Time Door.

Setsuna raised the Gold Key in her hand, and closed her eyes. The key began pulsating harder, radiating out a dark maroon rippling glow that filled the apartment.

The best part is, I can create whatever I want.

Couches, chairs, tables, lamps and a television materialized in the living room. Framed prints of artwork decorated the walls. Towels and bath mats appeared in the bathroom. A desk materialized near the bedroom window, which was then filled with textbooks and a computer. Finally, a large, soft bed appeared in the corner of the bedroom, which was covered with pillows and blankets.

Setsuna smiled with satisfaction. Before entering the 20th Century, she had arranged for the superintendent of the building to be paid for a full year of rent. She lacked money right now, but there were certain advantages to knowing what will happen tomorrow. She had the option of generating herself infinite food and toiletries, but decided that she'd rather earn the money to pay for those herself. She was born to be independent, so independent she will be.

Instead, she planned to use the last of the Gold Key's power to generate herself a wardrobe. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she would often sift through the mists of Time just so she could view the changes in fashion over history. Sailor Pluto was supposed to be the enigmatic, solitary soldier. Not a fashionista.

She prepared to raise the Key once more, but it suddenly became white-hot in her hand. She shouted in pain and dropped the Key. It landed with a tinkle on the hardwood floor. It then made a fizzling sound and vanished into nothingness, leaving a tiny trail of rising smoke in its place. Setsuna dropped down to her knees in shock.

"Oh no no no, you've got to be joking, no."

She glanced at her empty closet with chagrin. She realized with dawning horror that until she started bringing in a great deal of money from her future job, she was stuck wearing the mauve outfit. She didn't even have any slippers to wear around the apartment. She wondered why the Gold Key ran out of power so quickly. Maybe her using it to generate herself a life and a history took more of its limited power than she'd expected.

The trail of white smoke fizzled one more time and dropped a white computerized key card. Setsuna laughed bitterly.

Well, at least I can get back into my own apartment again.

She stood up and surveyed her surroundings.

I suppose it could be worse.

She walked over to where she'd temporarily deposited the satchel to examine the documents that were inside. She should at least know what had cost the key so much. She kicked off the stilettos and sat down on her bed.

The first one on the pile of documents was her birth certificate.

Hmm. Setsuna Meiou, born October 29th, 1974. Blood type A, 6 pounds 7 oz. Knew most of that already.

She scanned the rest of the document.

FATHER: Jikan Meiou

MOTHER: Nadja Meiou

Nadja? That doesn't sound like a Japanese name.

She flipped through more of the documents. A sharp pang of pain struck her heart; at the bottom of the pile of documents was a pair of death certificates. Her Earth mother's death, in 1990, had preceded her father's cancer death by two years. Nadja had an undiagnosed heart condition, and, judging by Setsuna's birth certificate, Jikan was already in late middle age when he fathered Setsuna. So, in Setsuna's past, she was orphaned as a teenager. She studied the two documents carefully, although every word pained her. She had no memories of them.

And I never will.

Stapled to her mother's death certificate was an autopsy report. The coroner confirmed the death certificate's noting of Nadja's heart condition, and listed heart failure as the cause of death. He also noted that Nadja was not ethnically Japanese, but Romani, hypothesizing that her condition was genetic.

Romani.

She glanced at her olive skin.

So that's why.

She glanced at the documents that gave her clues to the life her Earth parents had. She wondered what they were like. Maybe they shared Setsuna's love for science, or maybe Nadja loved wearing beautiful clothing. Was Jikan as cold as Chronos was? She wondered when her mother came to Japan, and how. She wondered how they met. How they fell in love.

What did they even look like?

As if waiting for her to ask this, one last ripple of maroon energy radiated on her desk. A small framed photograph materialized. Torn between sorrow and curiosity, she walked over cautiously to the photograph, and then picked it up to examine it.

Setsuna resembled her mother greatly, although Nadja's hair was dark brown instead of dark green. Jikan's short hair and moustache were white, and the lenses on his glasses were very thick. He held his arms proudly around both his wife and teenaged daughter, who, like Sailor Pluto as a teenager, had legs that were slightly too long compared to her other proportions.

So that is the Meiou family.

They were her real parents, and the life she'd shared with them actually happened. But because this Setsuna came from an alternate reality, she would never know them. The only "parent" Sailor Pluto ever knew was Chronos, and he allowed Queen Serenity to take her away and station her at the Space-Time Door.

No matter what, Sailor Pluto must always be alone.

She sat back down on the bed again, and sighed. She carefully put the documents away, making sure to set the ones related to K.O. University aside. She then slowly reclined to lie down on her bed. Sailor Pluto had already been denied a chance to grow up with a normal family. To be raised by people who loved her. It seemed too cruel that this was to be Setsuna's fate as well, even though she was partially expecting this.

The sun was only just setting, but Setsuna felt extremely drained and tired. She curled up on her pillows, and, for the first time in 1000 years, she slept.

The Mists of Time were merciful to her. They filled her dreams with visions of Setsuna Meiou's past. She never knew if the visions were real memories or not. But she didn't care.