Divinity: The Fates and the Afterlife

Chapter Ten

A/N: I want to shout out a super special thank you to Guardians314, maryyorke, "Guest", SerenityMorrison and kera69love for such lovely reviews. Thank you, thank you very much. I hope you like this chapter and so we can keep the good vibes flowing! Tomorrow is my birthday so it would be awesome to have some awesome reviews from you! :) Have a lovely weekend!

I have a quick question: Are Fridays okay for me to publish new chapters? Or would you prefer I did it during the weekend or mid week? I have been wondering, let me know if you would like me to change the days for posting. Thanks!

O.o.o.o.O

"Out of our control, Hotaru, what do you mean?" Michiru asked softly as she sat on a chair next to the dark haired girl. Setsuna watched the girl trying to verbalize the images playing in her head; deep in her heart she imagined what she was talking about and for a moment wished it didn't happen because it only meant be forced to take their post as Senshi again and leave their normal lives behind.

Flashback

With slow and steady steps, she walked down a long, vacant hall and reached for two golden, large doors where she knew her loving and patient father waited on his throne. With trembling hands, she pulled the handles and walked in. Her deep burgundy eyes looked around the empty room looking for him, in her pursuit of truth and salvation to prevent a tragedy that was clearly happening and she could see from her post at the Gates of Time and Space; she had seen Ares leaving with a mortified look on his usual serious, handsome face. She looked around but just as the God of War, she was finding no success in finding her father and deeply hope the rumors of him being gone were not true. "Father…" she whispered, as she walked closer to the man's throne and let her mind had an internal battle against her heart its sense of defeat and loss.

"My dearest Pluto."

Pluto's eyes widened and turned to find her father walking inside the large throne room, stopping several feet away from her she noticed there was something in his face that was trying to keep something secret to her "I have been looking for you—everyone has, where have you been?"

Chronos looked at his daughter with a calm, but very serious face "I have been closing doors and opening new ones so destiny can follow its fated course."

The lone Senshi of Time and Revolution walked closer the wise Lord of Time and looked at him in the eye, "God Ares was here just moments ago, he has been looking for you—he was in need of your advice, Father," she frowned, her eyes showed deep concern to the matter, "What is happening? Why this silence towards him?"

Chronos looked at his daughter and raised his hand, a red round orb appeared floating in his palm "This is what we call a Talisman," he looked at the garnet orb gleaming warm red in his hand and then looked back at her, keeping his serious face at keen "We Titans differ from Gods, my child—we are given other jurisdictions and granted more complex powers that every descendant of our dynasty must always protect with its life and carry on until our duty meets its end and must be given to its next chosen protector. Gods have never really understood the concept of this and sadly has brought many problems to our current time."

Pluto frowned and shook her head, "Titans?"

Chronos nodded, "Before Olympus was created as an Alliance, the divine realm was advised and protected by Titans—the same you learned have perished in war or being imprisoned in Tartarus. Only a few families have remained standing and with that their duty to protect their sacred legacy—you are part of those legacies, my child."

Pluto's eyes widened in marvel and shock, Chronos looked at the deep red stone in his hand and continued, "This is the real key to every time corridor in this universe—our sacred treasure. Through this, you can walk through the past, present or future… but as any sacred artifact, we carry the task under certain rules."

Pluto looked at the orb in her staff and shook her head confused, "Rules? Such as...?"

"We must never stop the course of time."

"But, you gave me this staff—you said this was the key." Pluto frowned at her father and shook her head, "How is that the key?"

"I needed to make sure you were ready to take my place at the Gates of Time as the Senshi of Revolution. When I gave you that staff I was considering my own future and taking in what was going to happen soon enough." he looked at his daughter again and smiled sadly, "This is one of the hardest duties to fulfill my child, Gods are still reluctant and some are ambitious, they have a difficult time understanding those descending from Titans. My duty has changed its course and I must entrust our sacred treasure to you. From now on, you will serve as its keeper—Pluto, take good care of our Talisman."

"Father… I do not understand," Pluto walked closer to her father until his face was just only inches away from hers, "Considering your future and taking in what is going to happen? What do you mean?"

"It means that I too have duties and I too have my time limited to accomplish them. I can be here forever my dear child but I decided not to. I am needed somewhere else—I need to aid my fellow kind."

"Papa…"

Chronos looked at her and handed her the orb that automatically was fused with the long rod pridefully held in her right hand, "There are taboos created in order to keep the time line clear and safe. It is important to always remember them," he arched his brow and pointed the orb in Pluto's rod, "Do not merge into timelines, do not change the past or meddle into the future, and last but most important… do not ever, stop time."

Pluto's garnet eyes began to shine with tears, her chest began feeling the desperation of not being able to save her loving father, "Papa do not leave me, please… I beg of you, I need you." her voice held the desperation every daughter would have for her father in a moment where she didn't even know what was going to happen. She never fully understood his ways of speaking since most of them were riddles and she never knew how he managed to handle all the secrets he kept and still be the man he was. But whatever that was, she was still a daughter looking up to her father.

Chronos looked at her and cupped her cheek with his hand and gave her a soft, comforting smile "My dear Pluto, you are my pride—my life is reflected in the gleam of your eyes," his eyes darkened "We all are destined to face difficult times… some of us have to face them now and others will face them later. You will face many opponents, you will fight many battles and you will succeed if you keep your mind set in your mission, do not let the enemy take away your faith—I promise you, you won't be alone."

"Papa…" Pluto whispered.

Chronos caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, "You will fight alongside great soldiers but—" he made a pause and smiled at her, "You will be witness of the awakening of a very strong warrior, one that has a duty similar to yours—there are still few of our kind my child and with that, you will witness and be part of a new era."

"Awakening?"

"Do not let the course of destiny be tainted by other's wishes… sometimes, to win a battle you need to fall first to transcend space and time and rise again, stronger than before." Chronos frowned, "There will be darkness, and it is going to be one you are not going to be able to fight alone; the warrior who can needs to fall now in order to prepare itself to fight it in the future—it is still not the time and it is still not fully ready. This war is not meant to end at this present time… be prepared my dear Pluto, and be of great help to that warrior. It is then when you will be granted the permission to break the taboos."

"Papa… what if I do not find this warrior? How will I know that I am doing things right?"

"You will know." Chronos nodded, "Follow your instinct."

"Do not leave me…"

"Never."

"Then why are you saying goodbye?"

"I made a promise a long time ago and I need to fulfill it, dear child. I need to fight this war in my own way and it is not here—this battle is not yours to fight but ours, and I am doing my part." Chronos cupped her face in his hands and looked at her in the eye, gray met Burgundy, "I will never leave you Pluto; there will always be a part of me in you."

"Always…"

"Always…"

In a flash of light, her father was gone and with deep pain in her heart, she let herself go and went down on her knees in tears "Do not leave me… papa…" she looked up with tears straining from her eyes, "Please Papa, come back…"

Setsuna pressed her lips together and tried to hold the tears in her eyes. After a second to regain her composure she turned to Michiru and frowned, "Your mirror…" she whispered when she saw it was shining with a strange kind of energy. Michiru looked at her, then at her mirror which now showed the reflection of a dark figure for a brief couple of seconds, "What in the world?" she stood up and looked at both, Setsuna and Haruka with consternation.

Hotaru looked up to see the three women standing in front of her and shook her head, "Something is going to happen and it is approaching—something very strong, somebody very angry."

Michiru tightened her grip on the mirror and frowned, "But... how? Who?" We must be sure first… this could be something else." she turned to Haruka "Should we?"

Haruka shook her head "No, I can't do that to her…" she closed her eyes and sighed, "We can't."

"Setsuna?" Michiru asked.

Setsuna watched her friend in silence and took a deep breath "Time will tell us what to do—in the meantime, we should wait and keep this for us."

"At least the girls should know." Michiru frowned and turned to Haruka, "Not until we are sure what this is… or who this is." Haruka said bluntly and turned to look at the t.v. and saw the reporter still talking about the young archeologists and narrowed her blue eyes, "That discovery..." she breathed "Could that be related to what just happened?"

Setsuna looked at the t.v. while muttering her father's last words "There will be darkness, one you are not going to be able to fight alone; the warrior who can needs to fall now in order to fight it in the future. The warrior has fallen and is somewhere here, waiting to be awakened." she widened her eyes "Fight it in the future..."

Michiru turned to look at her with concern "What did you say Setsuna?" Setsuna turned, "Those were my father's last words. I didn't understand at the moment... now, it makes some sense."

"So then it's a fact that something is about to happen." Haruka said bluntly and crossed her arms, "Who is this person you are talking about?"

"Could it be Usagi-chan?" Michiru asked, "My mirror isn't answering. It could be Usagi-chan, it makes sense—she battled Galaxia in the end and brought peace to this time."

Setsuna pressed her lips together and thought about her father's words once again, a warrior—she thought, maybe that warrior was who Hotaru said it was coming but, why is it angry?. Maybe, her father's prediction was right and she was going to meet somebody that would lead them to something greater, but at what cost?

o.o.o.o.o.o

The sky was pitch black, like if it was covered by the most luscious velvet ever made from where the moon hung like a silver marble gleaming proudly alongside the thousands of stars across the visible milky way. A cool mist slowly fell over the petals of all the roses of many colors dancing with the soft cool wind; the sight was beautiful, a creek slowly made its way through a tranquil lake far away from the rose field.

Mamoru looked at the night sky and at the precious prairie in front of him and could not help to feel drawn to this place. There were an undeniable beauty and peace to it but also, deep down he felt the melancholy flowing along with the breezy air and the calming flowing water from the creek. It was strange to him, he had the feeling that he had been there before. He was sure he had seen that rose fields and that same creek, in the distance, close to the lake he spotted a big tree with pink flowers—a cherry tree. He looked up and cupped his hands to catch the small flowers floating towards him and frowned, "Cherry blossoms?" he breathed and widened his eyes when he saw a silhouette sitting on a rock, under the tree.

Mamoru couldn't help but wonder, who was that and why was this person in this place where he thought he was alone. He slowly felt drawn to walk towards the tree and feeling of heaviness started to invade his heart. It was something he could not explain, as he came closer and noticed the mysterious person was as a woman.

The dark silhouette made it impossible to see her face but he could tell she crying. Her long loose hair danced with the soft air as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. There was something that was unsettling for Mamoru, he couldn't tell who this woman was and yet felt drawn to help her. He stopped and frowned, "Usako?" he asked softly. The woman noticed his presence and stopped sobbing but didn't turn her head to look at him, "Find him…" she whispered "Please find him… please bring him back…"

Mamoru's frown deepened and tried to walk closer but soon realized his body was not responding to his command "Who?" he dared to ask and looked at the woman "Who are you?"

"You need to wake up…"

"What?" Mamoru growled in frustration by not being able to move, "Find who? What do you mean?"

"Come back…"

Mamoru looked behind and saw the beautiful field slowly began to fade away into nothingness "Who are you?" he asked again, with defiance in his deep voice. The woman stood up and turned but her face was covered by her long hair flowing fiercely with the wind, "You need to come back, Endymion."

Mamoru widened his eyes "How do you?" he tried to get closer to her but his body was still unresponsive, "How do you know that name?!"

The woman shook her head, "You have to wake up… wake up Endymion… and once you do, do not let go." she turned and extended her arms to each side. Mamoru saw the once peaceful prairie behind the woman turned into flames "Answer me!"

"Do not let go Endymion…" she whispered, the ghost of a smile caressed her lips "Find him…." she turned again and disappeared into the vivid flames "NO!" Mamoru yelled as he tried to move to stop her. His feet wouldn't move and he was starting to feel the blazing fire moving closer to him.

"Wake up..."

"What?" Mamoru looked up when he heard her demanding voice, soon the fire caught up with him "What do you want from me?!"

"Wake up..."

"Wake up!"

A pair of deep blue eyes snapped open at the sound of the female voice. Mamoru took a deep breath and turned his head to look at a very peaceful Usagi sound asleep under the plushy covers next to him. After a long day, she decided it was better to stay with him for the night instead of dealing with her brother's noisy friends at the party he was throwing at their house. He rubbed his face with his hands and turned to look for his phone and checked the time "4:00 a.m." he muttered still groggy from his sleep, he sat on the bed for a minute and walked towards the window once he felt more in touch with reality. He pushed the heavy curtains aside to look outside and took a deep breath, the sky was still dark giving the Tokio Tower the chance to gleam with its hundreds of tiny lights in the dawn. Mamoru frowned in thought when remembered the strange dream and the mysterious woman asking him to wake up. "Who was she?" he mumbled while running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Mamo-chan?"

Mamoru blinked surprised and turned his head to see a sleepy Usagi trying to sit on the bed, "Usa…" he whispered. Usagi rubbed her eyes and tilted her head, still feeling heavy from her sleep "What's wrong?"

Mamoru smiled, she was just too adorable to ignore "Nothing, I just…" he took a deep breath and exhaled "I woke up for no reason."

"Oh…" Usagi scratched her nose "What time is it?"

"It's still early, go back to sleep..."

"Oh, and you?"

Mamoru walked back to the bed and kissed her on the forehead, "I'll go out for a walk or something."

"No…" Usagi lay down on the bed again and grabbed Mamoru's hand "Stay…" she pouted her lips, "Come back to bed, it's still dark outside…"

"Usa…"

"You can go back to your annoyingly morning self when the sun comes out, in the meantime, you're a night bunny like me." Usagi pulled him back to bed and covered him with the fluffy comforter "Also, we don't go out for morning walks." she whispered as she turned and wrapped her leg around his to secure his stay "The bed was starting to feel too cold for me, for some reason you have the perfect warmth to keep it at a perfect temperature."

Mamoru blinked "So you are telling me you just woke up because you felt the bed turn cold?"

Usagi rolled her eyes and yawned, "Maaaaaaaaaybe."

Mamoru chuckled and pulled her closer to him "Huh,"

Usagi giggled, "See how the bed feels comfier now? Teamwork."

"You're unbelievable, go back to sleep or I'll leave you with your cold bed."

"No... no, not a cold bed, no." Usagi mumbled and quickly drifted back to sleep. Her soft snoring made Mamoru smile, he moved his arm so she could snuggle until she rested her head comfortably on the space between his head and shoulder. He looked down at her and then took another deep breath; there was something about that dream that made him feel uneasy and more protective over Usagi. The mysterious woman never showed her face but the way she was talking to him, he felt there was something in her voice that made him feel obliged to listen to her request. It was something he could not decipher but also could not ignore.

"Come back," she said

"Wake up," she begged,

"Bring him back." she pleaded.

Mamoru frowned Bring who back? —he thought and narrowed his eyes while he stared at the ceiling. He wondered if he ever met someone with those characteristics but then, another question occupied his mind: how did she know that name. It's been years since that name came to the surface again since nobody called him that. Since he never called himself that, not anymore.

O—o—o—o—O

"I'm so excited!" Usagi exclaimed in delight from the bedroom as she walked into the living room later that morning, her hair was slightly damp from her shower and sat on the couch while looking at her phone, "Mamo chan?" she called out, looking around for her fiancé.

"In the kitchen."

Usagi smiled at his quick answer. After all the time they have been together, she learned to decipher his ninja like movements. "Are you making breakfast?" she asked cheerfully while typing something on her smartphone.

"Uh... no, just coffee." he came out of the kitchen and crossed his arms while leaning on the wall facing the couch, "Why are you so excited?"

Usagi turned with a big smile on her face "Because... my wedding dress has finally arrived! Yay!" she giggled and threw her arms up in the air, "I have to pick it up and then take it home."

Mamoru smiled, he knew how long it took for her to find the perfect dress. She visited countless of stores and when she finally fell deeply in love with the one, they didn't have it anymore. After so much stress and struggle and with Minako's wonderful help, they managed to convince the store to order it again, a thing he didn't know why it couldn't be done in the first place. The sound of the coffee machine interrupted their conversation, making Mamoru smile again "Coffee, yay!" he mimicked Usagi's cheerful expression and walked back to the kitchen.

"Wait, you didn't make anything for breakfast?" Usagi frowned and looked absently out the window. "No... just coffee." she heard his warm voice say softly from the other side of the apartment.

"For real?!" Usagi exclaimed with annoyance and wonder, "Why?!"

Mamoru came out with his cup of freshly brewed coffee and joined her on the couch "Because you said my only purpose in life was to keep the bed warm."

Usagi laughed, "What? I did?"

"Yup." Mamoru took a sip of his coffee and savored the intensity of his beverage, "Your true intentions come to show when you are half asleep, Tsukino Usagi."

Usagi blushed "I'm sorry, but you know it's not true." she leaned and kissed him on his cheek. Mamoru raised his arm up in the air, "Teamwork!" he said sarcastically, before taking another sip of his coffee. The blonde laughed again, knowing those would be her exact words and stood up "I'm sorry. You know I tend to babble weird things when I'm asleep, besides, what were you doing awake at that hour?"

Mamoru frowned, "I... don't know." his mind still pictured his dream very vividly. It had been a long time since he last had a dream like that and it was very strange that this random woman called him by that name and asked him for things he could not quite understand. The thought that it could mean anything worried him and not for him, but for her. Usagi arched a brow, "Are you okay?

"Yeah, why?" Mamoru looked at her, Usagi pouted her lips, "You're not acting like yourself."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know," Usagi looked at the white mug in his hand "It must be that disgusting thing you drink every morning."

Mamoru widened his eyes and looked at his mug "It's just coffee."

"Well, it tastes bad."

"Hmm," he leaned back on the couch and exhaled deeply, "Just because it doesn't have loads of cream and sugar means it's bad." Usagi leaned her head back with annoyance and growled softly, "Why are you depriving me of eating something ridiculously delicious?!" This was enough to make Mamoru burst into laughter, "Why do you want me to cook? You can do it yourself!" Usagi looked at him with a dead stare, "You know my cooking skills are not in the best of shapes. You do it better than I can."

"And what are you going to do once we get married?" Mamoru arched his brow and took another sip of his coffee. Usagi waved her hand, "Pff, easy—you will cook and I will clean."

"No kidding." Mamoru muttered and sweat dropped, "I have a better idea."

"No—no! I am not going to go to that kitchen and pretend to do something we both know it's not going to work out!"

"Wait!" Mamoru frowned, "Do you want to listen to my idea or not?"

Usagi narrowed her eyes at him, "Only if it's good."

"Oh, it's good... at least is better than yours," Mamoru arched his brow, Usagi sighed and slouched on the couch, "Let's hear your marvelous idea then, what?"

Mamoru put his cup on the coffee table and turned to look at her, "Why don't we go eat breakfast out and then I'll drive you to pick up the dress. Okay?" Usagi's eyes lit up like two birthday candles and then pressed her index finger on his nose "Oh my! You have the best ideas ever!"

Mamoru smiled and widened his eyes playfully "I know." Usagi bit her lower lip and put her phone down, "Do you know what we should do and haven't done yet?"

"What's that?"

"The gift registry."

Mamoru frowned and pursed his lips with slight annoyance, "Do we really need to do that?"

"Uh—yes?" Usagi turned to look at him, "Who doesn't like presents? Oh, wait—yeah, you."

Mamoru choked with his coffee and turned to look at her wide eyed, "What? I like presents..."

"Oh yeah? What do you want for your birthday this year?"

Mamoru widened his eyes, Usagi arched her perfectly shaped brow "Ah, see? You're like the most boring person ever..."

"And yet—you are marrying me." Mamoru mumbled and took another small sip of his coffee, "I don't know what I want—why don't you just surprise me?"

"Becauseeeeeee it's soooooo freaking haaaaaaaaaaard!" Usagi threw herself on the couch, "Aaaaaaaaaaah, I can't even plan a surprise party for you!"

Mamoru flashed her a dashing grin, "I get surprised!"

"A-ha, when?" Usagi frowned, Mamoru laughed, "The masquerade party you threw at the Crown for example—the masks were a nice touch by the way," Usagi narrowed her eyes, "You found out about it! You took the truth out of Motoki!"

"Now wait a minute," Mamoru turned and pointed his finger at her, "He did that himself!"

"Okay—the cake." Usagi waved her hand, Mamoru frowned "What cake?"

"The chocolate cake I baked for you last year, with all the sparklers and candy and stuff."

"Usa... you baked it here." Mamoru narrowed his eyes, "How on Earth I was not going to figure out you were baking a cake for my birthday?"

"I didn't know you were going to be home so early!" Mamoru sighed softly, "Wait, how are we talking about this?"

"The wedding registry." Usagi said lazily, "We need to do that."

"Ah that, Usa, I think we have everything we need—why do you want to make a list?" Mamoru lay his head on her lap, Usagi smiled "Because it's fun! And, well—we could ask for other things we don't have..."

"Such as?"

"Like a snow cone maker!"

Mamoru tilted his head back to look at her quizzingly and shook his head, "What?"

"A snow cone maker," Usagi looked at him with seriousness. Mamoru arched his brow, "Usa... in all this time we have been together I have not seen you eat a single snow cone."

"Okay, a waffle maker. You have seen me eat waffles and I like waffles..."

Mamoru closed his eyes and sighed, "You want all these kitchen gadgets so later I could use them to cook for you—I see what you're doing,"

"We can ask for a new coffee machine..." Usagi looked away with a mischievous smile on her face, knowing this would definitely catch his attention. Mamoru opened his blue eyes "I'm listening..."

Usagi bit her lip with triumph "We can also ask for a coffee grinder... where you put your coffee beans to..." she rolled her eyes at her lame negotiations skills but continued, "...Grind and then, put them in the little thing where you put the coffee on your brand-new coffee machine and voilá!"

"Interesting,"

"Right?"

"Hmm..." Mamoru bit his lip, "Fine,"

Usagi smiled and combed his hair back, "We can go after picking the dress and breakfast..."

"Hmm..." Mamoru hummed softly, slowly drifting himself to sleep; he loved when Usagi combed his hair with her fingers. Usagi widened her eyes, "Mamo-chan?"

"Hmm..."

"Wake up!"

Mamoru's eyes opened wide and looked around the room a little disoriented from his sudden nap, "W-What?"

Usagi giggled, "You fell asleep."

"Oh..." he cleared his throat and he stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen sink to leave his empty mug and walked back to his bedroom, "Let me get a pair of shoes so we can get going."

As he entered his bedroom, he went straight to his closet and grabbed his black converse, since it was a Saturday he didn't need to go to the hospital until later in the afternoon to give a few rounds which that gave him enough time to come back to take another shower and get ready for work.

The eerie feeling he felt from the dream still couldn't leave him alone, it was like a very loud echo that kept calling his name. He pressed his lips together deep in thought and raised his head, spotting a crystal case resting on top of his drawer and stood up. His hand touched the rim of the delicate box and looked at the stones resting inside, "If it were something wrong, you would have already warned me, right?" his voice was heavy with hope.

Every time he looked at that case, he couldn't help feel frustrated for not being able to remember his time with them, despite having back his memories from childhood as Chiba Mamoru, he didn't get all of his memories from his life as Endymion. Unlike Usagi and the rest of the girls, he only remembered the basic things, his name, who he was and that the Shitennou were once his guardians and his passionate romance with the Moon Princess; aside from that, everything was blank. He could not remember his family, if he was also an orphan back then, if he had siblings or if he even was a good Prince to his people and Kingdom. He did know his guardians were like his family and despite not remembering much he missed them and knew they went through very tough times to help him survive and help him fight against Metallia with Usagi by his side and for that, he was grateful.

Mamoru smiled softly at the stones inside the case and turned to grab his keys. With one last glance, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

o.o.o.o.o.o

Later that afternoon, Setsuna was walking her way out to buy some lunch, she had been doing some work in the laboratory and after many of her coworkers insisted, she took a break. The olive skin beauty entered a small café around the corner of the building where she worked that was right across the hospital where Ami and Mamoru worked. When asked, she often explained the complexity of her job which consisted mostly of doing research for new medicines and treatments to be available on the market.

She walked inside and ordered her usual vegetable soup, salad, and iced jasmine tea, then took a seat close by a window that led to a good view of the park across the small place. While giving a quick look at one of the magazines, her garnet colored eyes soon caught something that called for her attention. She frowned and as she thanked the young girl for her quick delivered lunch, she grabbed the newspaper and started to read one of the headlines "Famous archaeologists to give a lecture about newfound treasure at the National History Museum of Tokyo."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes at the thought of what these people were trying to accomplish. Since the interview she watched last night with Michiru and Haruka, she had the feeling that there was something strange about the whole thing. The way the girl was talking about the discovery and how she even mentioned that it might be involved with something more ancient got her thinking. Could it be related to them? Could it be something they should be taking care of?

The more she thought about it, the more she wished there could be more to it. Hotaru even felt something, there was something happening and deep down inside she feared it had something to do with the premonition her father once told her it would happen—in the future, she thought.

Setsuna put the paper aside after she ripped the piece where it showed more information about the lecture and continued eating in silence while watching the people walk by the park and crossing the street when something caught hers and everyone's attention. An intense light, similar to one of a comet flew across the sky and looked like if it had landed or crashed into this planet. Surprised by the event all the people who were inside the café and walking on the streets stopped to watch the strange yet, beautiful light in the sky.

Setsuna stood up and left her meal unfinished as she walked quickly towards the park across the street to investigate what did just happen. As she tried to replay in her mind the quick scene, Setsuna began asking her questions to make sure what she saw was real, and if it really something crashed into this planet. Her doubts soon were cleared when she saw a big crowd both, panicked and surprised.

"What happened?!" she asked a couple standing next to her, "Didn't you see the sky a few moments ago?!" a young man asked surprised, his trembling hand mimicked the way the light looked like it 'scratched' the sky and apparently landed here, "Something crashed."

"Crashed?" Setsuna frowned and made her way through the crowd to get a better view of what everybody was watching and widened her eyes "What?"

"We felt the ground shaking, it was surreal." Setsuna heard another girl was speaking to someone over the phone and turned, "It was a very strong light."

Much to her surprise, a few meters away from the crowd, the concrete statues and the ground was cracked and smashed by whatever filtered from outer space, apparently. There was no sign of what caused this, there was no meteor, not a strange pebble or even a person; soon after a squad of policemen, firefighters and medical staff from the hospital showed up, mobilizing the mass of people that were still gathered at the scene waiting to find an explanation of the event.

Setsuna tried to have another look at where the mysterious light crashed when a police man ushered to walk away, it was then when something caught her eye. The ground didn't look as something heavy came and fell, it looked like something sharp was dragged across the concrete and sliced it like warm butter. It was a strong, very deep line that dragged for several feet ahead until it slowly faded, "A scratch…" she muttered and turned to walk away.

As she turned around the corner and waited for the street light to change to red and allowed her to cross the street away from the park, something caught her eye and turned. Narrowing her garnet colored eyes she noticed something in one of the bushes at the park. She tried to move and walk against the current of people going against her way but before she could take another step she was stopped by a policeman "Maam, you have to clear the area."

Setsuna turned her face with slight annoyance at the policeman, "I am not even near the accident."

"Still, you need to evacuate. We need this area clear so we can start investigating what happened here." The policeman ushered her to leave the place, against her will she had to comply. Setsuna looked closely at the bushes, then felt forced to leave. Her hand reached for her phone inside her purse and dialed a number she knew by heart and waited for an answer as she walked back to her work place "Hey, it's me… where are you? There is something I must talk to you about."

The sounds and commotion surprised Megumi who had suddenly fallen from the sky. She pushed some bushes out of her way to see what was happening and saw the piercing on the concrete. She licked her dry lips and looked down at the wrapped object in her hands and noticed it was still glowing and that it still felt warm from the reaction it had just seconds ago. Her body didn't respond the same as it did on her previous hideout and she was starting to feel heavy, like if she was being pushed against the ground, a minute after everything went black for her and fell unconscious on the floor.

A couple of hours later, a pair of big brown eyes snapped open in fright, looking around her breathing fastened when she realized she had fallen asleep at a place she did not even know where it was. She touched her face with her dirty hands and rubbed one eye while taking a good look at her surroundings; her skin was cold and had slight marks of the metal tunnel where she slept at the park's playground.

She looked down at her hands and then, her eyes widened again and turned to find for the precious object she carried with her and let a soft sigh. Megumi slowly made her way out of the small tunnel and raised her head and looked up at the night sky she saw the many hundreds of stars gleaming in the distance; it had been so many years since she saw a sky so clear and peaceful that she could not help to feel nostalgic. Her eyes began to tear unwillingly like a response to her longing and prayers and let the moisture rolling down her dirty cheek startle her as she reached for her face again and touched her cold cheek.

She tried to stand up and continue her journey but her body did not respond like she was used to. There was something that was keeping her on the ground, she felt heavy, tired, very tired. Her muscles were swollen, every move she made was a big effort due to the drastic change of environment.

Surprised, she looked at the ground and saw something she thought she might not ever see again. "Herba…" (Grass) she breathed, recognizing the texture and scent. She leaned forward and touched the small fine blades of grass beneath her "Per omnes caelos," (I fell from the sky,) her fingers played with the greenery and widened her big brown eyes when noticed the tall buildings surrounding her landing place. With an air of wonder, Megumi looked marveled at the many lights coming from the light poles and windows. Against her own body's wishes, she forced herself to take a few steps, slowly one by one until she could move with more ease.

There was something deep inside in her mind that she found familiar, maybe the grass beneath her tired feet or the cool breeze that crashed her skin. The girl moistened her chapped lips and closed her eyes for a moment taking in the familiarity of her surroundings. It came to her mind all these many images of her playing in the grass as a child or running through the fields to get errands, the image of a forest and beautiful gardens with marble fountains and the sweet scent of roses. She opened them and gasped for another gasp of oxygen, "Numquid me ad alia?" (where am I?) she whispered, surprised.

A loud sound caught her attention, something she could not recognize and turned her head to see there were lights coming her way and what it seemed to be "Poplus…" she breathed. (People...)

Scared of the reaction and to whom those living beings might be, she turned and grabbed her precious treasure before turning on her heel and run away. Used to be a target, to run and hide all the time she didn't take a moment to analyze where she could actually head off to so she just went to where her gut told her to run. Many couples sitting on a bench were surprised to see a girl running at this time of the night carrying a large object and gave notice to the keepers at the park to let them know there was a girl that looked like she had robbed someone because of her strange behavior and strange garments.

Megumi ran through the grass and trees of the park, feeling like if she was back to those days where she could feel the moisture beneath her feet. "Hey, you!" she heard a man calling to her; she turned to look at him slowly walking down her way and panicked. The policeman stopped a few good feet from her and frowned, "You are just a girl." he narrowed his eyes in thought "What are you doing here this late at night? Where is your family?"

Megumi shook her head and held her treasure as close to her chest as possible. Looking down, she tried to avoid any visual contact with the man and shook her head in response, "I asked you a question." the police man asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here at this time of the night?"

She looked at him and bit her lower lip "Mortuus…" (Dead...) she whispered. The police man frowned again and noticed she was carrying something in her arms, "What do you have there?"

The girl took a step back and shook her head "No." The man flashed her with his light and tried to take a look at the object she was carrying once he stood closer to her, "What is that you have there? Did you steal it?"

"No!" she said, panicked. Her voice held horror and anger at the same time. The girl pushed the man's hand away from her and ran away as fast as she could, she could feel being followed, nothing new in her life. Her eyes slowly burned with tears that slowly rolled down her muddy cheeks. She soon saw an exit and turned around the corner leaving the police man behind. When she turned around she was taken aback to see a completely different landscape before her, far from anything she could expect. Her feet no longer felt the softness of the grass, instead, it was dry and gritty. She squinted her eyes at the many lights from the streets, the reflectors from the signs and crowded streets. Her life had become one of pure solitude and suddenly, she was now in a world full of people. People that looked like her but at the same time, were anything like her. She looked around and noticed their clothes and manners, the way they walked and talked, it was all foreign, so alien to what she used to know.

Where am I—she asked, what is this?

It was no surprise to receive all the strange glances due to her appearance and what she was holding in her arms. The poor girl felt disoriented, tired and mortified. How was she going to be able to find a safe place to hide in a world like this, so full of noise, strange objects, and people? She felt her heart heavy and almost defeated, she was beginning to feel like she was living a never-ending battle with her past. The sounds and light coming from the many advertising commercials, videos, music, cars and people talking crashed her senses left her feeling horrified at what she was going to do and the only thing that could come up in her mind was to keep on walking.

O—o—o—o—O

At the station, Minako blew her bangs as she waited for her boss to finish the meeting he had in the conference room so she could go home. Home she thought. Her home was the place where she felt safe and away from all the crappy vibe her boss sent her way, every day. She visualized getting there; taking her heels off and going straight to the fridge to grab some of her delicious chocolate chip ice cream and read her usual stack of newly released magazines. Yes, that was what she wanted right now.

"Still here Minako-san?" Aiko asked surprised, "I thought you went home."

"Yeah, I thought that too…" Minako sighed tiredly, "My spirit is back home enjoying that fabulous cup of ice cream while reading the new magazines while my actual body is still stuck here, sending all these documents to their respective destinations." she growled in desperation and looked at her wrist watch "How much longer is he going to stay in there?"

Aiko blinked and tilted her head "Who are you waiting?" Minako pursed her lips while pointing Saruto's office with her pen, "He's been in a meeting for more than two hours in the conference room," the blonde was surprised to see her co-worker chuckled lightly, "What?" she asked, it didn't matter how much she tried to regain her composure and act as friendly as always, it had been almost three hours past her check out time and she was too tired and annoyed to be still here waiting for the jerk she had for boss. Aiko sighed softly and went to grab her bag, "Saruto left hours ago."

The news broke like hell in her little, ancient mind. Minako widened her eyes and stood up "What did you just say?" Aiko looked at her and nodded "I know, I know."

"When?"

"He didn't stay here for too long after those people from Broadway came in."

"I can't believe it, why didn't he tell me anything! I have been waiting for him here like a slave!"

"Hun, really? Saruto-san?"

Minako sighed heavily and leaned her head back, "I can't believe it. I had so many things to do…"

"Like—"

"Like eating ice cream and reading magazines—yes." Minako interrupted the girl with annoyance and rubbed her temples, "Calm down Minako… calm down… he always does this…" with a soft growl she turned her monitor off and grabbed her vintage cream-colored bag "I'm out of here."

"Hey, is there something I can do for you?" Aiko looked at her with a worried expression, "A drink, maybe?"

"That doesn't sound that bad." Minako half smiled with gratitude at the girl's attentions. Aiko smiled, "Come on, my treat."

Both girls walked out of the building and went straight to the nearest bar around. Minako was beyond tired and she wanted nothing more than to toss her unbelievably high heels across her apartment's living room but considering the amount of stress she has had over the week, a good drink was a better solution to calm her anger and nerves. On days like these, she was very glad to have supportive coworkers that really understood how it was to be around an ass like her boss.

As they entered the small but still very crowded bar, the hostess immediately gave them a seat at the bar "I am so sorry, but this is the only place I have to offer you at the moment." the young hip girl with red hair said in an apologetic tone. Minako smiled and waved her hand "It's perfect, I can get my drink faster."

Both hostess and Aiko cracked a chuckle, Aiko turned to the bartender who soon went to take their order "Hello ladies, what can I get you?" Aiko put her bag aside and pursed her lips "I'll have a mojito."

The bartender nodded and turned to Minako, his lips curved into a smile and leaned closer to the blonde, "And, what can I get you?" Minako took a deep breath and looked at the drink menu that was written in neon ink on a blackboard "I don't know… what do you recommend?"

The bartender looked at her in the eyes, his smile widened "Bad day?" Minako waved her hand "You have no idea."

"How about a martini? A filthy one." Minako leaned her head back and chuckled, "That sounds nasty."

The bartender never stopped smiling "I make good martinis." Minako leaned her head on her hand, "Alright then, surprise me."

"Martini then?"

"A filthy one."

The guy moved away from her and winked his eye at the blonde, "Coming right up."

Aiko watched the whole scene wide eyes and gaping, catching Minako's attention. The blonde turned to look at her and frowned "What?"

"Oh my god."

"What?" Minako chuckled.

"What was that?" Aiko said still with wide eyes, "What was what?" Minako frowned, confused.

"You flirt!"

"What!?" Minako widened her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"You two were totally flirting with each other!"

Minako arched her brow "Of course not."

"Well, he was totally flirting with you."

Minako smiled and shook her head "You are overreacting." she turned to the bartender who had their drinks ready; first he gave the Mojito to Aiko and then leaned closer to the bar and gave Minako the Martini with two extra olives "Enjoy." he said in a sultry, playful tone making Minako smile as she held her glass and took a sip. She shut her eyes for a moment and shook her head "Wow, this is strong."

The bartender smiled and shrugged his shoulders "Too filthy for you?"

"I can handle it." Minako took another sip, this time more familiar with the strong flavor. Aiko smiled and kept silent while staring at the blonde and the hot bartender exchange a few more words that seemed to be on fire. The young man looked like he was in his mid-twenties, maybe twenty-five, shoulder length chestnut hair, hazel colored eyes for what she could see, thin lips but looked like they knew how to make a girls heart skip a beat and a well-toned body. After all, he is a bartender—Aiko thought.

"What's your name?" he asked softly, Minako took another sip of her martini and put it down "Aino Minako."

"Minako eh? Nice name." the young man leaned on the bar in a casual manner and smiled at the blonde "So, what makes you two ladies come here today this late at night?"

"We just got out of work." Aiko stepped into the conversation. The young man widened his eyes and nodded "Ah, I see." he turned to Minako, "What do you say if we go somewhere else after you finish your drink, I'm out in an hour."

Aiko widened her eyes and glanced at her friend. Minako smiled and looked at her drink, after a second she shook her head and looked at him "I have a boyfriend waiting for me at home—sorry."

Aiko frowned; this was something she was not expecting at all. Minako has a boyfriend? Of all the time they have been working together, she never mentioned that she started dating or that she had a new boyfriend. The bartender looked at Minako and immediately shut down his flirting vibe, giving the blonde her space and waved his hand, "I see. I had to ask, you are too pretty to be ignored." he smiled, "Let me know if you want another drink."

Minako smiled and nodded "Thanks." then returned to her drink and a very surprised and confused Aiko who now leaned closer, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

Minako shrugged her shoulders and smiled "I don't."

"What?" Aiko asked, shocked "Are you dating then?"

Minako shook her head and ate one of the olives in her drink "No."

"Then what did just happen?" Aiko shook her head confused, "Why did you say no? He was super cute!"

The blonde sighed softly and shook her head "I am not interested."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I don't know… I thought you were the kind of girl who always had a boyfriend, a crush or a date on her agenda."

Minako laughed, "Me? No, of course not."

"But you're so pretty, I would totally take advantage of the situation."

Minako took another sip and squinted her eyes "I think I am done trying to date guys like that."

"Like what?"

"Well, those who only think for themselves without really caring for a girl's heart and feelings."

Aiko noticed the conversation was having a more serious turn and couldn't help asking more about her, now that she had the chance and they were not tied to the stress and hectic hours of work at the station, "Did you ever have that kind of love you can hardly forget?"

Minako took another sip and nodded "Of course, I did." her confession splurged out like nothing from her mouth; Minako started to acknowledge the power of a very dirty martini. This conversation was something she kept really for herself, not even the girls, not even Rei or Usagi knew anything Aiko was about to know, "I think," she hesitated before taking another sip of her martini, "I think we all have a love like that in our lives, the one we cannot ever forget. The one that defines our life and sets the bar for future lovers in case it doesn't work out." she smiled sadly, "The one person that makes us tear a little every time we think about it."

Aiko noticed the drastic change in Minako. She was used to seeing her cheerful and active. Aiko considered that it was one of the best qualities Minako had, she always looked for the brighter side to an ugly and dark situation and to see her like this, pensive and somewhat sad made her feel guilty for even daring to ask something so deep and personal like that to the girl of the million-dollar smile. "I'm sorry," Aiko said softly.

Minako turned and blinked "Why?"

"Well, I don't want to make you feel sad or anything."

"It's okay." Minako waved her hand "It happened a long time ago."

"Can I ask what happened? Why it didn't work out?"

Minako looked at her friend and coworker and sighed, "Well…" she hesitated, again. The wound was already open but, did she really want to dig in deeper into it? She wasn't sure, but as Rei constantly said to her 'If you don't talk about it, it will never heal.' So, she took a chance and went for it. "He was stubborn." she started, "And complicated—although we shared the same interests in the end it just didn't work out for us." Minako shrugged her shoulders dismissively. Aiko widened her eyes "Wow… and here I thought I had it worse."

"Why?"

"Well…" Aiko took a sip of her mojito "He cheated on me."

Minako pursed her lips "Well, that is as bad as my situation."

"Yeah well… the thing is that, even when we started being too close and connected, something got lost in the way. I loved him very much and maybe I still do but… things weren't the same."

Minako nodded "I know exactly what you mean." with a smile, she turned to look at her friend "But I refuse to give up on love, you know?"

"Even after something so ugly like that breakup of yours?"

"Yup." Minako put her glass aside and smiled, "I know the perfect couple to prove me that love can be the strongest feeling that ever has existed and how it doesn't matter how long it takes, it will find you. Transcendental love."

"Aww, really?"

Minako nodded "Yeah," she smiled softly, "Somehow, looking at them gives me hope that it will happen to me one day too. Maybe not their story but… something like that."

"That is so sweet." Aiko said softly, "I wish I can find something like that as well."

Minako smiled "I have the feeling that it will be soon." she winked her eye at her and looked down at her watch, "Oh my, look at the hour—I better go home." she looked at her friend and smiled softly, "Tomorrow is going to be another long day." looking through her purse to reach her wallet, she gave Aiko a bill she immediately rejected "No, it was my treat. I invited you."

Minako smiled and put her wallet back inside her purse "Thank you so much, I really needed it."

Aiko winked her eye at her "I will see you Monday."

Minako waved her hand and made her way to the exit and walked back home. She looked at her watch again and noticed it was still not that late to go and buy what she has been craving all day. She crossed the street after waiting for the green light to come and walked into the nearest convenient store, after buying some groceries and her not so guilty pleasures of magazines and ice cream, she walked her way home where Artemis was probably there waiting for her with Luna.

Peeking through her bags to count the magazines she bought as she waited for a light to turn green for her, she noticed there was someone sitting near an ally. Her blue eyes narrowed when she noticed it was "A girl." Who was probably lost and hungry she thought, there was something that caught her attention about her, she was sure she didn't know her but she felt the need to help. Moving past the gathered crowd to get to her and offer her some help she found her gone and leaving her with a feeling of worry. "Poor girl, she must be starving," she said to herself and turned just in time to run while the green light was still twinkling.

O—o—o—o—o—O

The lights of a car turned off and the sound of four doors closing echoed in the middle of the now silent and solitary park. Four women stood in front of the fountain and stayed silent for a few minutes before one of them stood under one light pole "It was here."

Haruka narrowed her eyes and sighed while she stared at the deep marks on the ground "You are right, it looks like a landing… and a bad one to be honest."

"I couldn't see much from the café but once I got here I saw something strange…"

"You said you saw someone." Michiru frowned and turned to Setsuna who was standing next to Hotaru. "Yes, what it looked to be a girl. I tried to look for her but there were too many people crowded here plus, the policeman that urged me to leave."

Haruka went down to one knee and touched the marks on the concrete and pressed her lips together in thought, she turned to Michiru who was standing a few feet away from her, with her arms crossed and a stern face "What are you thinking?"

Michiru parted her lips and looked for her the mirror in her purse; with a hand she softly caressed the glossy glass and took a deep breath, "If it was something important, there should be people still studying this place—so it is probably nothing or at least I wish it could be nothing."

"But?" Haruka stood up and walked towards her. Michiru looked up and then at Haruka "But this mirror is trying to tell me otherwise." Setsuna closed her eyes for a moment "It might happen after all."

Haruka and Michiru and a silent Hotaru turned to look at her "We can't be sure about that." The blonde said dryly, really hoping this was just a piece of rock from outer space and shook her head, "What if we are trying to find the explanation to something that has nothing to explain."

"But," Michiru trailed off and frowned "The archeologists."

"What?"

"The interview we watched the other day, the secret civilization they claimed have found."

"I'm confused, why could that be related to this?" Haruka shook her head and looked down at the marks on the ground as if trying to find a valid explanation to all that has been sporadically happening "First those treasure hunters, now this… what's next?"

"What about Hotaru's premonition?" Michiru asked with worry and turned to Hotaru who was looking at the crack in the concrete, "It could be related—but what I felt was stronger than this." she looked up, "It's the anger what worries me,"

Haruka sighed heavily while rubbing the back of her neck, "I know we said to keep it to ourselves but we should wait a little longer." Haruka said softly and turned to Setsuna and Hotaru, "We can't take this as a matter that should be concerning us—that happened years ago, everybody has moved on."

Setsuna sighed, "I think that option will be always open for us…" she looked at the blonde "Just because we live a different life now doesn't mean we are no longer who we were. That is still us, we were brought here for a reason."

"A reason only you seem to know," Haruka said in a dry tone. After the battle with Galaxia ended and they returned from the cauldron was Usagi fought with her, everything seemed to finally go back to normal except for Setsuna. Deep inside, she always waited for the premonition she learned from her father and her time at the Gates of Time and Space.

As the only owner of the keys of the Time Space Corridor and the only one who could travel through time, she was always aware that something would eventually catch up with them. She felt guilty for knowing something she was not allowed to tell anyone, not even her closest comrades and for years after they battled their enemies she thought things probably would change and that destiny decided to take another course as a result of everyone's actions, specially Usagi's but these serial of events, brought back the possibility of something coming their way, something that would change their lives forever. Setsuna pressed her lips together and shook her head, "You know my position."

"We should talk to the girls." Michiru said, "Who better than them to understand how we are feeling right now?" while looking at her mirror she frowned "Rei could even help us by reading the fire."

"I cannot do this to Usagi-chan," Haruka said dryly.

"If strange things like these keep happening, we will have to eventually talk to them." Michiru suggested and Haruka exhaled, "I think it would be better to talk to the one person who is closer to her."

"Mamoru." Setsuna said softly making Haruka nod "Nothing has been really been threatening to us, nothing has really happened but in case something really does happen and that it might put Usagi-chan in danger, he is the first person we should go straight to, then the girls."

"I will keep an eye on this matter." Michiru looked down at her mirror "The other night when that interview was on the television something vaguely appeared in the mirror right before Hotaru said something."

"There will be a lecture at the National Museum about this; the two archeologists are going to show in more detail what they found and even will show evidence of what they took from there."

"We should go and see what it is about," Haruka said.

Michiru and Setsuna nodded, "Until we know what they really found down there, we will know what to do and who to speak to." The tall blonde turned to look at the marks and narrowed her eyes "You said you saw a girl…"

Setsuna nodded "When I was leaving back to the hospital, I saw a girl hiding in those bushes over there but my first reaction was to think that maybe she was a homeless girl because of the expression on her face but now that I think more about the situation, she could be related." Haruka narrowed her deep gaze and frowned in deep thought "We'll wait."

O—o—o—o—o—O

Minako entered the T.V. station building when heard her cell phone ringing. While she managed to get a hold of it to see who it was calling her, her lips curved into a smile when she saw the name printed on the screen "So, how was it?" she said in a playful tone. She cracked a laugh when heard the great amount of excitement at the other end of her call "You have to tell me all about it! Did you get it?"

Usagi giggled and turned on her chair to check some of the emails from the publishing department "I did! It's at my house... safe and sound."

Minako laughed again "Finally." it was so good to hear from her after a long week that to her it felt like months. Usagi was to Minako the sister she never had, the one she could talk about anything and still make a good conversation out of it that could go on for days. As she entered her office, she waved at Aiko and took a seat after making sure her horrible boss wasn't there to yell at her for being on the phone, "You could have called me you know? I would have loved to go with you."

"I know, I know—I'm sorry." Usagi bit the soft rubber point of her pencil "I stayed Friday night at Mamo-chan's apartment and he drove me to the shop on Saturday morning." Minako smiled "You do realize it's not just Mamoru's apartment anymore, right?" she could hear Usagi's laugh at the other end "I mean, the moment you are engaged his things become your things."

Usagi chuckled "I know, I know." Minako smiled and turned on her seat to turn on her computer monitor, "Have you spoken to the girls?"

"No, you're the first one I call this week."

"Good girl." Minako chuckled and heard the other blonde same response at the other end "Have you? How are they? Any novelties while I was absent?"

"Hmm, well… Mako-chan's been having quite the adventure at her job, Ami-chan is always busy at the hospital and Rei-chan… well, you know the deal with Rei-chan."

"He's still there huh?"

"Of course," Minako rolled her eyes with annoyance, "He's not given any sign that he is going to leave anytime soon." Minako's voice lowered. Usagi sighed and shook her head, "It is so unlike her, to let him stay there. In another time she had put all of his belonging out on the streets without thinking it twice."

"We both know why she is doing all of this."

"Well, that is true."

"So," Minako arched her brow "When can we meet for lunch? I mean, as your maid of honor I have some privileges." Usagi giggled "Whenever you are free, you have the most hectic schedule it is really hard to keep up with you."

Minako smiled "Never for you my dear, I'll talk to the girls and I'll call you back, okay? I believe there are still things to discuss."

"Perfect."

Minako widened her eyes when she spotted her boss and turned to hide her phone "Usa-chan, I gotta go… he's coming over here. I'll talk to you later today okay?"

"Okay, okay!" Usagi said quickly and ended the call. She sighed and turned to look at the hour, she found it really strange that Mika or Yumi wasn't on their desks since it was past their check-in. After a few more minutes of going through her messages, her phone rang "Art Department" she simply answered; her blue eyes widened when recognizing the voice at the other end "Y-Yes?" she hesitated "Yes, I am on my way." she hung up, stood up and took one quick glance at her deep green pencil skirt and pearl colored shirt before walking out of the office. Minutes later, she knocked on the door "Come in."

"Ah, Tsukino-san… there you are, come in."

Usagi nodded and closed the door behind her. She finally realized it wasn't her that she got there early since Yumi and Mika were seating across Maya's desk. Maya, a woman in her mid 40's, shoulder length dark red hair, tied in an elegant French twist. Brown eyes, thin lips and always with impeccable yet, trendy makeup and clothes.

Her life was not much of a secret for those who worked for her. Izuki Irazumi had married more than once and divorced more than twice. After her first attempt of marriage and divorce she went on a trip to America that would eventually influence her that much to ditch her given name and to adopt this new personality that went under the name of 'Maya' and started her new company that now put her on the spot as one of the best fashion magazines in Tokyo and now, Usagi stood there in silence and waited for the woman behind that fancy desk continue, "I thought you were going to take today as well, since you called in sick this past Friday."

"I tried my best to feel better, I wanted to come since there are so many things to be taken care of," Usagi said softly. Maya nodded "I see," she stared at the blonde, her eyes moving up and down taking a good sight of her outfit and arched her brow in a silent approval, "I heard you are getting married."

"Yes," Usagi said softly, thinking that it might have been Yuki who informed her that since she began asking a little too much about her ring. Usagi looked at Maya sit behind her glass desk in front of her, she knew the woman didn't care much about what she did with her life but still, here she was "Congratulations." her voice was sounded somewhat bitter as she looked down at the many cover options for the next issue Usagi worked on and designed.

"Mika was just telling me of your work was done, I know you spent a quite considerable amount of time doing these covers but I am not pleased with the result—" she threw carelessly the cover samples with disinterest over her desk and sighed, "The final drafts should be done by now as the magazine needs to be on newsstands by the end of the week." she frowned and looked at Usagi, "It's perfectly clear that these were done in a rush and it is not what I specifically asked for." Her brown gaze pierced the blonde and arched a brow "Look Tsukino-san, I hired you because from all the silly little girls that got their way through the internship you were the most promising one, but this…" she grabbed one of the previews and showed it to her "This does not reflect what my magazine is all about. It's childish and a waste of my time and money because I could be elsewhere doing my job instead of coming here to supervise the work you are supposed to know how to do by now." she pointed at Yuki and shook her head, "That is why I gave Yuki the task to supervise you, but she comes with… these… and I am not pleased."

Usagi didn't know exactly how to feel, she tried her best not to break in front of the woman. She didn't care much if all the things she was telling her were in private but she was minimizing her and her work in front of her coworkers and that was humiliating enough. She pressed her lips, keeping her thoughts very locked away from her mouth as she continued listening to Maya's complaints.

"What can you say about this mess? Because this is what it is… a complete mess!" Usagi looked at Maya and took a deep breath "I did what I was told to do."

"I did not tell you to do this rubbish," she grabbed another preview and showed it to the blonde, "This is supposed to be the girl of the moment, the it girl," Usagi recognized the face as the girl that took Minako's spot at the audition. "You turned this girl a nobody with this bad design you did."

"I will work on it, right away—I know I can fix it."

Maya leaned on her desk and looked at her in silence, then at Yuki and Mika "Leave me alone with her."

Both girls nodded and turned on their heel; Mika turned and gave the blonde an encouraging smile before leaving the office. "Look." Maya walked around her desk and stood in front of the blonde, "I know you are all excited about your wedding and that you have many things in mind like what are you going to serve to your guests or how are you going to make your dress fit you well in that tight and petite body of yours but this is a place where you come to work, not to daydream. I am the one who is paying for those centerpieces, I am the one who in the end, pays your bills and the least you could do is to do your job well because this is what will really last in the end." she frowned and waved her hand, "All this marriage nonsense will crumble in about two years when you finally realize that it is not what you wanted to do with your life in the first place."

Usagi widened her eyes in shock; the woman was mocking her decisions, insulting her work, her plans, and future husband. She felt her blood boiling inside and her eyes burning with tears that threatened to roll down her flushed cheeks but she also had dignity and pride, and despite her being kind hearted she was not going to give her the benefit of seeing her crumble. "I will give you the design you want by the end of the day."

Maya arched her brow and half smiled, "Very well." she turned on her heel and went to sit behind her desk "If by the end of the day I do not get the cover I want for this month's issue consider looking for another job at another place or being a full-time housewife because you won't be coming back. Maybe washing the dishes is a more appropriate task for you." The woman sighed and rubbed her temples, "I feel bad Tsukino-san because I invested too much time in you… I had faith in you and now you are wasting it all for a man."

Usagi looked at Maya with a hurt look, "What do you mean?"

"When you came here you were just a girl with pigtails. I gave you a sense of style, an image that would be suitable for this magazine and that you clearly learned to perfection, but your work… it still shows me you haven't grown into the woman I was hoping you to become."

"I…" Usagi trailed off, Mayas' words hurt her deeply; this was something nobody ever said to her before and she fought the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes with all of her might but still, she had to speak for herself "I do not think my appearance affects my talents. I have been doing my job properly and in time and have been very professional about it."

Maya looked at the blonde and put her glasses on without saying anything in response to Usagi's words, "If I do not get the cover for this month's issue by the end of the day, do not bother to come back tomorrow." Usagi nodded and turned on her heel, just before her hand reached for the handle she heard Maya address to her again "Oh, and Tsukino-san?"

Usagi turned over her shoulder "Yes?"

Maya looked up and took her glasses off for a minute, "All men swear loyalty at the altar but it is a long road from what they say to what it really is—I hope yours can last more than 2 hours." Usagi looked at her for a second and closed the door behind her "Usagi?" the blonde was startled to see Mika waiting for her outside Maya's office with a worried look "Hey," Usagi said softly "What are you doing here?"

"I was worried. I spoke in your defense and explained Yuki never gave you real direction to what she wanted."

Usagi smiled softly "I know, don't worry." she shrugged her shoulders, "I'll just have to come up with a cover by the end of the day and this will be a thing of the past."

"What!?" Mika widened her eyes "What did she tell you?"

Usagi sighed heavily and shook her head and began walking back to their office "Nothing really, she just asked me to do my job." she lied, of all things she really wanted at that precise moment, making a big deal with what happened with Maya and her comments was not part of her plans. They all knew she had a difficult personality and that she was hardly impressed by anything that wasn't from a high status or high fashion. Of course, it hurt her feelings what Maya told her but she had to listen more to Mamoru's advice of not taking the woman seriously when it came to her absurd comments. What did she know anyways? The man she was going to marry had stayed strong for two thousand years. With a wide stare, she turned to Mika and stopped in her tracks, making the other girl turned with a puzzled look "What's wrong?"

Usagi frowned "Why didn't you tell me she got engaged?"

Mika widened her eyes in surprise "What?"

"I heard it in the restroom. She got engaged or moved in with her boyfriend or something like that," Usagi shook her head "Why didn't you say something before!? Is this why she is being so bitchy?"

Mika chuckled softly "I was going to tell you but then we had all this work and pressure that I completely forgot."

"So, I guess this is why she is being all competitive..." Usagi mumbled as she continued walking towards their office, Mika sighed, "If Yuki is telling everybody she is engaged is because you are engaged, not because she truly is. That is how desperate for attention she is." they both entered the office; Usagi immediately went to take her seat and began working on the cover. Yuki looked at the blonde and pursed her lips "I tried to talk to Maya but you know how she is Usagi-san."

Usagi turned and faked a smile. She no longer felt any kind of sympathy or sincerity coming from her and that was something hard to achieve for Usagi "I will have the cover by today. I hope nobody changes anything." her subtle hint hit Yuki's ego "Well, you let me know when it's done so I can give it a quick glance before you send it to her."

"I will send it directly to her, without your supervision. That is something I negotiated with her."

Yuki widened her eyes; she was surprised to get that kind of response from her since she was always so polite and sweet. This time she caught her off guard and did not really know how to divert the conversation. Mika realized she was cornered in her own lies and could not deny the small satisfaction it gave her, with a soft smile she turned to Usagi and tilted her head "By the way Usagi, with all due respect... you could have done better."

Usagi looked at Yuki and smiled widely "Thank you—I so needed your advice."

"You should not say things like that Yuki," Mika said and noticed Usagi's swiped the code in her phone, showing the picture of her and Mamoru. "Usagi, is that your boyfriend?" Usagi turned to Mika and smiled softly "Yes."

"Oh wow." she stood up and grabbed the phone to look at the picture more closely making Usagi chuckled, "What?"

"What do you mean what?! He's gorgeous!" Mika widened her eyes, "You lucky girl!"

The expression could not hold Yuki back for much longer and stand next to Mika, who was still looking at the picture on the phone "Oh my god." she turned to Usagi "Is he a model?"

"No." Usagi answered dryly and turned to her monitor, "Has he ever modeled?" She heard Yuki ask again, "No." Usagi answered. Yuki tapped her chin with her pencil in thought, Mika looked at her and shook her head; she knew where this was going. "I think he should consider that as a career." Mika sighed and closed her eyes while shaking her head. Usagi frowned and turned to look at the red-haired girl with annoyance, "What?" He should really take advantage of his looks, it would totally make him very popular and famous." Yuki smiled widely, thinking about this as a major career opportunity "I could schedule a photo shoot and then send the pictures to Maya, I am sure she would love to have him on the magazine."

"Thank you, Yuki, for your concern and—help or whatever, but I don't think he will be interested. He already has a career." Usagi frowned and shook her head. Yuki pursed her lips and turned to Mika who was shaking her head in disapproval "What?"

"I was just suggesting something since Maya is not too happy with Usagi's work… I thought that will give her some advantage."

Usagi stopped typing and stayed silent for a couple of minutes. I was impossible for her to assimilate the drastic change of vibe from last week to this day and even began considering just not giving anything to her boss and get the hell out of that place but that would be giving just one girl the importance she doesn't really need or deserved. With a heavy feeling on her chest, she stood up and walked out of the office towards the closest restroom available and closed the door behind her.

Why didn't Yuki like her? –she didn't know. It went beyond her comprehension and it hurt her since she had tried to be friendly for the longest time to be treated this way. She knew she had Mika's support but still, it was draining her energy being efficient while being patient and cool about it.

The blonde walked over the large mirror and looked at her reflection; her blue eyes showed confusion and hurt. She was a girl that had managed to survive all kinds of experiences, she had fought evil countless of times as a soldier and a princess and now, she was trying to live her life –the normal life, she always wanted and it would be perfect if there weren't too many mean-spirited people trying to block her way. She felt her eyes burning with tears but she also had enough pride to not give up to comments like the ones she got from Maya and Yuki. Her anger went beyond that, it was just the inexplicable fact of why Yuki always tried to block her way to success.

As she slowly regained her calm, she opened the faucet and put her hands under the cold, running water for a moment and sigh heavily, thinking about if she should tell Mamoru what happened or not, "I hope you are having a better day than I am Mamo-chan." she smiled sadly "Because I don't think things can get any more complicated than this…"

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters-thank you.