Chapter 11: Home Away From Home

A shudder went down my spine when I realized I that I was cradling thin air. "She was here," I pleaded with Sailor Moon. "Her name was Princess Serena, and I heard Queen Beryl's name mentioned!"

"You must be seeing something that happened a thousand years ago. But I don't remember ever coming here," Sailor Moon replied after a moment deep in thought.

"I hope it's just this place that's making you see things," Sailor Venus added. Another fear crept into me: what if I kept having these hallucinations?

"Maybe one of us should take Charon back to the Temple." Sailor suggested.

I shook my head. "No, you won't find what we're looking for without my help."

"Alright, try to give us a heads up if you start seeing things again," asked Sailor Moon.

As if someone was holding me by puppet strings, I walked towards a tree with a fading crescent moon carved into it.

"Don't check out on us, Charon. Keep talking to us," said Sailor Mars.

"This is the place," I told the others. As if by instinct, I summoned a ball of dark magic in my left hand while my right hand glowed with dark energy. I heard a barely audible clicking noise before the ground opened below me. Fortunately it was not a long fall.

"Good job, Charon," called out Sailor Mars as the others jumped down. "Let's not stay here any longer than we have to."

I expected a primitive cave with some trinkets and artifacts littered around. Instead, I saw a holographic map of Earth with an adjacent computer terminal in the largest part of the cave. There were other rooms carved out into the cave, blocked by dark purple force fields. "Either I'm seeing things again, or my ancient stronghold had a computer," I noted.

"It's OK Logan, I see it too. The Moon Kingdom was highly advanced for its time - it also had an advanced computer called the Eternity Main System," explained Sailor Mercury.

The computer terminal hummed as I approached it. A light blue holographic Shadow appeared in the terminal. His head was tilted so that his hood covered his face. "Online. Welcome back, Spymaster. Be advised, I am currently unable to connect to the Eternity Main System. But I see that you brought friends! Princess Serenity, you've grown into such a graceful and beautiful young woman!" The Shadow holocron bowed.

"Oh - thank you," answered Sailor Moon.

"Don't mention it - I wanted to see the Spymaster roll his eyes! Wait, you didn't roll your eyes...impostor! Activating defenses!" We all glanced around nervously. "Ha ha ha, just kidding! I was worried the Spymaster was becoming a hermit. He upgraded me just so he'd have someone to talk to."

"What a charming friend you made yourself, Charon," Sailor Mars noted sarcastically. At least it confirmed everything I'd seen had really happened in the past.

"Do you have any records from when Princess Serenity was here last?" I asked my computer assistant.

"You ordered me to purge all files before my last deactivation, Spymaster. My personality matrix is somewhat independent, but I won't recall very much until I reestablish my connection with the Eternity Main System. I did recover the last file you received: an encrypted message from Queen Serenity."

"Queen Serenity..." Luna sounded emotional at the thought of seeing Queen Serenity - and Serena's true mother - one more time.

"Let's see it," I ordered.

"Replaying transmission." The hologram Shadow changed instantly into the figure of Queen Serenity: a blonde woman in a white gown, older than Serena.

"Spymaster, first I wanted to thank you for your invaluable reports on Earth. I have never doubted your loyalty and compassion for the people of Silver Millennium, which is why I was shocked when you voiced your intention to resign. I plead with you to return to my palace so we may discuss this privately. I have instructed..." Queen Serenity's figure abruptly dissolved and reformed into the Shadow that greeted us.

"Apologies for the interruption, Spymaster. I am detecting an energy surge from an artifact unlike anything the humans are known to possess. It's..." A loud ringing noise burst my eardrums and I crumpled to my knees as I felt myself burning on the inside. My vision blurred just before I passed out...


"...Her prolonged exposure to the Silver Crystal may have amplified the lingering effects of the attack." My sight returned at the sound of my terminal's voice. I ran carrying Princess Serenity in my arms and rushed her onto a crude metal table. I realized that I had no control over my actions - I was just along for the ride. I rushed through one of the caves blocked by the dark purple force field and summoned a locket seemingly out of thin air. It was a black, heart-shaped diamond with the image of a silver palace in the middle. The chain and the back of the locket consisted of a gray, smooth rock-like substance like marble. I ran back into the room, placed the locket in my hand, and put both hands on Serenity's heart.

Serenity began to stir and open her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go,"she repeated.

"They didn't recognize me," I assured her. "I'm beginning to think this special friend you keep visiting is a boy. Who else would be worth the risk?"

"What difference does it make?"the girl asked defiantly.

"It's not safe for you to visit. Many people on Earth are...unhappy with some of your mother's policies. The men who captured you might have intended to keep you hostage." We both noticed Serenity losing interest with the politics involved. "But I have something that can protect you."Serenity's eyes sparkled when I showed her the locket.

"It's beautiful!" Princess Serenity snatched it from my fingers but her eyes quickly turned away in guilt over her rudeness. "Are you sure you want me to have this?"

"Your mother gave it to me to protect myself from the magic those men use, but I...I don't need it,"I explained. I knew the reason: because I had embraced that same dark magic myself instead.

Serenity's expression fell as her fingers rubbed over the trinket. "Oh...she might recognize it. She'd know I went to Earth without her permission."She sadly returned the locket to me.

"I think I have something more discrete." I returned to the room and pulled out lotus-shaped black pins with silver outlines. The back was coated in the same rock-like substance. "Pin this inside your gown. It may not protect you as well, but it can also absorb the magic those men use. I kept a few of these, in case I made any friends."

"You would have friends if you came home more often,"she stated as she pinned the trinket to the inside of her gown. "But you're not a researcher are you?"

"I am a researcher. I study the people of Earth and report back to the Moon Kingdom regularly."As I answered her question, I could feel my presence in the dream growing dimmer, as if I was reawakening...

"But that's not the whole truth, is it? Friends help each other keep secrets, you know." Serenity's voice became a whisper.

"Maybe I'll tell you when you're Queen. For now, the less you know about me, the better..." My sight faded away entirely...


"Logan! You're awake! We were so worried when you collapsed!" Sailor Mercury's voice welcomed me back to consciousness. I felt myself lying on the same cold, hard table. Artemis was perched on the counter at the side of the room.

"First I hallucinate, now I just pass out. Great," I groaned.

"At least we know the cause this time. Your computer tracked the energy pulse; the other Sailor Scouts left to follow up after we brought you here. That computer really is a marvelous piece of technology. It makes me wonder what I can do with my own. I would love to come back to study it."

"Don't think you can dissect me, Sailor Mercury!" my computer's voice bellowed throughout the room. "I wasn't kidding about having defense systems!"

"Remember Sailor Venus wanted to be the one who stayed with Logan? That would have been disastrous for both of you," noted Sailor Mercury. I should have guessed.

I abruptly tried to stand up, only to lean against the table when I felt my knees about to buckle. "Slow down, Logan, you're also dehydrated," warned Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury raised a glass of water and raised it to my lips.

"I had a locket...and pins in my room..." I whispered to Artemis.

"Warning, another energy pulse detected!" interrupted my computer's voice. Sailor Mercury tried to shield me. My insides were burning again but this time, I hadn't lost consciousness. "The good news is that pulse was considerably weaker than the last," briefed my computer. "The bad news..."

"Your bracer." Sailor Mercury held my arm up: the bracer was cracked around the area that held the dark shard.

"Yeah, that's the bad news. Not easy to get a replacement for one of those. Should still be functional," my computer continued.

"You think this is Uranus and Neptune's artifact?" I asked.

Mercury's eyes widened. "Come in, Sailor Moon!" she shouted into her communicator.

"I hear you, Mercury," replied Sailor Moon. "Is Logan OK?"

"He's fine, but there was another energy pulse! His bracer's cracked - we think Uranus and Neptune's artifact is behind this!" yelled Amy.

"Those two..." Sailor Moon sighed. "We'll stop them Amy, don't worry. Find what you're looking for and get back to us as soon as possible!"

I led Artemis and Mercury into my room - which looked like an empty cave to the naked eye - and found the locket and four pins where I found them last time. Mercury also looked enamored by the sight of the trinkets.

"It contains anorthosite," explained Artemis. "It's rare to find in its purest form, but anorthosite easily absorbs most forms of magic, while the cortosis weave draws magical energies towards it. Charon's bracer is woven from the same minerals."

"Far more practical than a black dinner jacket and cheap white mask, eh Spymaster? Unless your plan is to stand on top of a rooftop and throw flowers around while the Sailor Scouts do all the actual fighting," quipped the computer. "Sailor Mercury updated me on some of the things that have happened the last thousand Earth years. You'll always be my Spymaster, even if all the other Shadows are trying to kill you sir."

"We need to get these to the others," noted Sailor Mercury as she put on one of the pins. "Charon...I know you want to help but considering your condition, I'm not sure it's a good idea..."

"The Shadows won't just sit around while Uranus and Neptune try to destroy them," I protested. "The pins and locket will help but you still need me to stop them for good."

Mercury nodded. "All right. Stay close to me and let me know if your symptoms return," she requested...

She walked out of the room, towards the computer terminal and muttered, "it might be handy to know when the next energy pulse is coming. If you could communicate with the Eternity Main System, maybe we can share limited data via my super computer," she suggested.

"Are you sure you can trust it?" I warned her.

"Oh woe is me, my own master doesn't trust me!" The holographic Shadow began fake sobbing.

"He'll be on a very tight leash, Logan," Sailor Mercury winked and began typing on her keyboard. " Now, let's get back to the others..."

To Be Continued