Identity Crisis
"Atena-chan?"
"Yeah?"
"Why is there a rotten avocado on your nightstand?"
Seresu held the stinking glob of mush that had once been a fruit at arm's length and dropped it into a garbage bag. Beside her, Usagi tried not to gag.
Atena shrugged, at a loss for an explanation. "I don't even remember bringing that in here…"
"Maybe she was going to make shampoo out of it," Usagi joked.
Seresu was not amused. With a deep breath that let everyone know she felt inconvenienced, she returned to her task of clearing the area around Atena's bed. Since the living room had been such a success, Seresu had elected to spend this afternoon on the Itokuri's bedroom. It was, coincidentally, her turn to escort Usagi, so the princess was along whether she liked it or not. So far, they had filled ten garbage bags, and they were far from finished.
She was quite a spectacle, sporting bright yellow rubber gloves, a plastic poncho to protect her designer blouse, a pair of pink safety goggles, and a tiny flower-shaped clip to hold her nose. But Usagi and Atena weren't about to incur her wrath by making fun of her. At least she was helping this time.
"How are your violin lessons going, Usagi-chan?" Seresu inquired as they worked.
"Better every day. Hotaru-chan's been helping me out. Still haven't summoned Pegasus yet, though." She forced a laugh.
Atena and Seresu exchanged glances. "Four," they said in unison.
"Four what?" Usagi asked with growing suspicion.
"Oh, nothing," Seresu twittered, in a tone that suggested otherwise.
Usagi crossed her arms and gave her friends a peeved look. "Are you guys counting how many times I mention Helios?"
Atena snorted back a laugh. "Five!"
"And that's only since we started keeping track!"
Usagi turned her head aside to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks and decided not to entertain this line of conversation any further. Atena had gotten enough amusement from teasing her and returned to cleaning, but Seresu continued to stare her down. A few tense seconds passed.
"Oh, that does it! I can't take it anymore!" Seresu cried. Shoving her goggles onto her forehead, she leaned forward to scrutinize Usagi and commenced an interrogation. "I must know. What was your relationship with Priest Helios?"
Usagi tried to scramble away from her, only to bump up against the wall. "Th-that's none of your business, Seresu-chan!"
With a disconcerting smile, Seresu leaned closer, until her nose was practically touching Usagi's. "The fact that you are reluctant to disclose the truth is most telling. How far did you get?"
Usagi's face progressed through various shades of red. "We—I mean, he and I—that is, it doesn't matter! Whatever happened to 'It's Usagi's heart, so Usagi knows best'?"
"I cannot help but notice that you've yet to actually deny it."
"You're as bad as Venus!" Usagi snapped.
Seresu's eyes grew round. With an elated squeal, she jumped up and twirled in a circle, clapping her hands. "To be compared to Venus-sama… Usagi-chan, you just made my day!"
Usagi mentally kicked herself. Great. I managed to encourage her.
"So, I hear we're supposed to have nice weather next week," Atena said loudly, in a blatant attempt to change the subject. In hindsight, perhaps she should not have attracted Seresu's attention right when she was trying to cram the umpteenth pair of old sneakers into an already overstuffed bedroom closet.
"Hold it right there!" Seresu commanded, in the same indignant voice Sailor Ceres might use to halt a youma attack in progress. "Atena-chan! Have you been putting things away properly, or just stuffing everything in there?"
Without waiting for an answer, Seresu marched over to the closet. Atena shielded her face and braced herself as Seresu flung the door open.
And was buried in an avalanche.
She flailed beneath the pile of junk, howling like a drenched cat. "Atena! Is this your idea of cleaning?"
Atena muttered apologies and helped to excavate her.
"This is atrocious," Seresu stated flatly when she was on her feet again.
"I know almost exactly where most of my stuff is," Atena insisted, adding under her breath, "and a lot of this is Mom's."
"Almost? I did not come here for almost! It is time to put an end to your disorganized ways!" Seresu declared.
Usagi rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to shut out the argument she knew was coming. She grumbled at Seresu for dragging her out here and forcing her to clean when she already had homework to do. She grumbled at Atena for creating another hour's work just when it seemed like the end was in sight. But mostly, she just grumbled. It wasn't fair. Princesses should not have to do housework, no matter what their bossy guardians said.
Seresu was still ranting. "We will not rest until every last object in this closet is alphabetized, color-coded, sorted, and stacked! I want it all in boxes or on hangers. Anything that doesn't have a place can be thrown out. And then we will dust. And vacuum. I will have order! I will have cleanliness!"
"Aww, but Seresu…" Atena whined.
"No buts!"
"I'm going home," Usagi announced to no one in particular.
"Atena. Let go of the panda sweatshirt." Seresu tried to pry the garment from her friend's desperate fingers.
"No! It's Atena's favorite!" Atena wailed.
"It doesn't even fit you!"
"That doesn't matter! It has sentimental value!"
"We'll donate it to charity. It will make some five-year-old very happy."
"But it's my panda sweatshirt!"
"Bye," said Usagi.
Neither of her friends paid attention, preoccupied as they were with their epic struggle. In a bout of frustration, Seresu tried to wrench the sweatshirt away from Atena. There was a loud ripping sound, and each girl found herself holding one sleeve and half a smiling panda face.
"Oh dear."
Atena's eyes glazed over. "Gone…" she murmured.
Seresu sighed. Atena could be so dramatic at times. "I'm sorry about the shirt, Atena-chan. But you really do need to learn to let go of things."
"No," said Atena, pointing. "I mean Usagi-chan. She's gone."
Her companion froze, staring at the spot where Usagi had been.
Blink. Blink.
Seresu let out a piercing scream that made Atena's teeth vibrate. "Eek! Princess! Oh, this is terrible! I'm going to be in so much trouble if the queen finds out!" She paced the floor, clutching at her hair and repeating, "We lost her, we lost her…"
"Um—" Atena began.
"We have to do something!" Seresu hissed, seizing the shorter girl by the collar. She tapped her chin with a pink-polished fingernail as she formulated a plan. "I'm going after her. You stay here in case she comes back. And radio an alert to the Crystal Palace. Maybe they can use the surveillance network to track her down."
"Don't you think that's overkill?" Atena ventured.
"Nothing is overkill when it comes to the princess's safety!" Seresu exclaimed.
"But there's a GPS tracker on your communicator. Every sailor senshi's location should be marked on your map."
Seresu gawked at her for a second, then squinted at her communicator, then tried to pretend she had known that all along. "I suppose this will do," she said curtly. She dashed away in pursuit of Usagi, transforming as she ran.
When she was gone, Atena clutched the two halves of her ruined sweatshirt to her chest and whimpered. She allowed herself a few minutes of self-pity before she got up and started stuffing things haphazardly back into the closet.
Icy fog pooled around Saturn's ankles, sending a prickling chill rushing through her body with every step. The air, thick and silent, seemed a tangible weight on her. Her Saturn Crystal's purple glow provided the only illumination as she strode into the inky darkness. It had been over a century since she'd visited this place, and she had nearly forgotten how desolate it was.
"Halt!"
Abruptly, Saturn found a jeweled staff pointed at her throat. She didn't flinch. Such a welcome was to be expected when one entered Sailor Pluto's domain. There was no room to be polite or lenient when the security of space-time was at stake.
As Saturn was a fellow senshi, she was allowed to keep her head. The time guardian lowered her Garnet Rod and nodded a greeting to the girl she had once viewed as a daughter.
They did not embrace or smile or speak of the world of light. Pluto had learned long ago that a taste of companionship made the years of solitude that followed seem all the more empty. Absence did indeed make the heart grow fonder—and weaker. One in her position could not afford to be weak. When all was said and done, she must love her duty and forsake the world. No one understood that better than Saturn.
They got straight to business. "You're concerned about the time distortion I detected around the robot?"
"I… don't know what to make of it."
A long pause. Pluto turned her head to gaze into the abyss. "It was a small thing," she murmured. "If not for the circumstances, I would not even have taken note of it."
"Surely no one could have traveled through time without your knowledge." Saturn's voice was like that of a child seeking reassurance—full of fervent, unquestioning faith and a soft undercurrent of fear.
Pluto raised her staff to point at the ornately carved epistyle above the Time Gate, where a verse was inscribed: Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create se non etterne, e io etterno duro.
Saturn dredged up a rusty memory of the Italian lessons Michiru had once forced her to take. "Before me nothing but eternal things were made, and I endure eternally," she translated after a moment of hesitation.
Pluto nodded. "The Time Gate transcends time. All the myriad doors lead to this same void between dimensions, where the 'me of here' stands guard."
"In other words, there is always a version of you guarding the gate."
"In theory, yes."
That small equivocal phrase, "in theory," stirred Saturn's growing doubt. Pluto never lied, but neither was she very forthcoming with the truth. "Then, how…?"
"Once upon a time, there was a woman named Meiou Setsuna." A slight tightening of her lips was the only sign she was struggling to remain stoic amidst the rush of memories. "My own life is part of the time-stream I protect. If the flow of time changes, so too will I change."
Saturn's mind whirled, trying to sort it all out. "If an enemy could somehow alter history so that…" She faltered, cringing at her own words. "So that you were erased, they might be able to access the Time Gate from that point."
"Perhaps."
"But no one should be able to alter history if no one can cross through space-time."
"In theory."
Frustrated with all this uncertainty, Saturn pressed her for a straight answer. "What do you think caused the distortion?"
"It could be nothing," Pluto said. "A minor fluctuation in the time-stream, the residual ripple of a destiny that veered slightly off course. Such things are not unheard-of, especially after our Princess's foray into the past."
"Or?"
Pluto pursed her lips. "Or it could be that the change was so massive, so far-reaching, that I can no longer detect it because my own frame of reference is distorted."
Saturn shivered. "In that case, this could be even worse than the Black Moon incident. The future might be in danger."
"The future?" Pluto shook her head. "It is our present that is in jeopardy. If such a huge disturbance has occurred, space-time itself is unstable. Our universe is in the midst of an identity crisis."
Saturn shifted uneasily, studying the older woman for any hint that she might be withholding some secret. But those wine-colored eyes regarded her with stark honesty. Pluto had nothing left to hide, no more aces up her sleeve, and for the first time since the fight with the Moriae had begun, Saturn was truly afraid. The shadows around them seemed to swell with menacing portent, and the small bubble of light that surrounded the two soldiers no longer felt like enough to hold them at bay.
She managed a weak whisper. "I… need to get back to Usagi-chan."
Pluto agreed. "Stay as close to her as you can. She will need you in the coming days."
Master…
Ripidolite was in her room enjoying an aromatherapy bath when Jasper's salutation intruded on her mind. She sat up with a weary sigh and wrung out her long green hair. What is it, Jasper?
I found the Pallas soldier at her home, the golem's telepathic voice rasped. But Sailor Moon was not with her.
Continue to track Sailor Moon, Ripidolite directed. I'll send another golem to deal with that one.
Jasper murmured an acknowledgement and set off to follow Sailor Moon's energy trail.
With great reluctance, Ripidolite emerged from her bath. Wrapping a towel around herself, she knelt to draw a summoning circle on the damp floor. Maybe if she worked quickly, the water would still be warm when she finished.
Itokuro Mio was trying to decide whether olive polenta or pizza with olives would be better for dinner when a heavy knock on the door startled her. Puzzled, she went to greet the visitor, and was shocked to come face to face with a sailor soldier.
"Please, come in," Mio stammered, wondering what one of the queen's elite guardians could possibly want with her. Come to think of it, though, this soldier didn't look like any of the queen's. She was dressed in green, but she certainly wasn't Jupiter. She had sharp green eyes, foreign-looking features, and a very strange hairstyle. Mio had a vague memory of some tabloid rumor about a mysterious new soldier who wore a green uniform, Sailor… something else that started with "ju." There were a few others too. Some said they were special forces, doing the royal family's dirty work, and others said they were mercenaries or even invaders. But those were just rumors, or so she'd thought.
"How can I help you?" she asked.
The young woman fixed her with an unblinking stare. "Your daughter," she said without even bothering to introduce herself. "I need to speak with her."
Mio's brow knitted in worry. "Why? Is Atena-chan in some kind of trouble?"
"That's classified."
Mio found herself instinctively backing toward the bedroom door, blocking the stranger's path. "D-do you have a warrant for her arrest?" she asked.
The green-haired woman seemed taken aback. "I don't need a warrant," she sneered. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
Mio was sweating, but she stood her ground. Slowly, trying not to tremble, she shook her head. "No, I don't, and it doesn't matter. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
She knew she was insane. This woman probably had the power to vaporize her with a wave of her hand. And who did Itokuri Mio think she was, to stand in the way of the warriors of love and justice? Yet something in her gut told her this situation was wrong. Whoever this mysterious stranger was, she was a threat to Atena. If Mio knew nothing else, she knew that anyone who tried to threaten her daughter would have to get through her first.
Without warning, the soldier tackled her. They crashed through the bedroom door and landed with a thud on the carpet. Thrashing wildly, Mio somehow managed to kick the soldier off of her.
"Atena!" she cried. "Run!"
But Atena wasn't there. At the opposite end of the bedroom, a window hung open.
Mio was cornered. The soldier closed on her in two long strides. She threw a punch, but missed, smashing into Atena's dresser instead. Jagged pieces of plastic flew everywhere as the furniture splintered.
Thinking fast, Mio lunged for the closet. "Itokuri Special Home Defense System!" she cried, flinging the door open. The mountain of knickknacks within toppled onto her attacker's head, and then all was still.
She tiptoed over to the junk pile with a growing lump in her throat. Was the girl dead? Had she actually killed someone? With shaking hands, she reached out and lifted a sneaker off the mound. A furious green eye stared back at her from underneath.
Before Mio had a chance to scream, a hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. The soldier stood, shaking off garbage, and held the struggling woman high in the air. It flung her headfirst into the wall. She dropped to the ground, unconscious. Her assailant stood over her limp body, preparing to deliver the final blow.
"Gossamer Veil!"
A glob of clear fluid pinned the false soldier's hand to the wall and bubbled out to encase her in a sticky, transparent net. Shrieking angrily, she turned to face the interloper.
Sailor Pallas struck a pose. "Monster who is impersonating our friend! The Soldier of Cleverness, Sailor Pallas, won't forgive you for this!"
With a gurgling hiss, the golem wrenched its own arm out of its socket. Green tendrils sprouted from the wound. The Sailor Juno skin peeled off like a spent seed husk, and a hideous green monster with eight vine-like arms emerged. It shredded the magical barrier as easily as a wet paper lantern. One of its arms whipped toward Pallas, who ducked out of the way just in time.
"Ceres!" Pallas shouted into her comlink. "A fake Juno is in my house!"
"All right. Keep your distance and wait for me to get there. I repeat, do not engage."
"Um, too late."
Ceres muttered several very unladylike words. "I have to find the princess, Pallas!"
"It's okay! I think I can handle this—ow!" Pallas squeaked, staggering back from an attack she had not quite managed to avoid. The wrist strap on her comlink broke, and it went sailing across the room.
"Pallas? Pallas!" Ceres called urgently, but there was no reply. She wavered. If she went back to help Pallas, she would be putting Usagi at risk. This attack might be a distraction intended to separate the princess from her guardians. But she would never forgive herself if Pallas got hurt because she had abandoned her.
Then I'll live with the guilt, she decided. The princess comes first.
Usagi strolled down the road, humming a few lines from the contemporary classical piece she was playing for her next violin recital, and found her mind filled with thoughts of Helios. Certain notes reminded her of him, and once she realized it there was no undoing the association. A light, playful passage brought to mind the fluttering of Pegasus's wings, or a warm, swelling chord reminded her of his smile. She mimed her hand position in the air, trying to focus on technique, but it was no use. She blamed Seresu.
About halfway to the train station, she was contacted by none other than Seresu—or rather, Sailor Ceres.
"Usagi-chan! Atena-chan is in trouble!"
All thoughts of music and boys vanished. Usagi transformed and doubled back toward Atena's house. "On my way! I'll meet you there."
"Wait. I'm coming to you first," said Ceres, switching her communicator to GPS mode.
"No you aren't," said Sailor Moon, and shut down hers. The pink dot that indicated her position vanished from Ceres's map as her signal was lost.
Ceres muttered several more very unladylike words.
Ripidolite let out a contented sigh as she settled back into her still-warm bath water. She gradually relaxed all her muscles, inhaled the calming scent of chamomile and lilies, and waited for her servants to report the death of Pallas and the capture of Sailor Moon.
Master.
Ripidolite growled and sat up. What is it, Jasper?
I have found her.
Oh? Already?
Ripidolite assumed a meditation pose. A soft green glow surrounded her body as she called on her power, reaching out to connect Jasper's mind to her own. As their senses merged, the view of a quiet Hachioji subdivision came into focus. She could smell Sailor Moon, could almost taste her energy.
Moments later, the girl rounded the corner at breakneck speed. Her long pink pigtails fluttered behind her as she ran. Crimson eyes remained fixed on her destination. She didn't notice Jasper until the golem was upon her.
Jasper's arms struck like twin snakes. It seized Sailor Moon by the waist and pulled her in. Its hair sprang to life, a writhing mass of briars. They knit themselves around the helpless soldier. Sailor Moon tore at them until her hands were a bloody mess, but there were too many. Soon she was held fast in a thorny cocoon.
Jasper's abdomen peeled open, and four hairy brown roots emerged. They slowly wrapped around Sailor Moon's arms and legs. She screamed in pain as rootlets burrowed into her skin, and then she felt her power leaving her body in a sickening rush. Her limbs twitched in a wild, mindless attempt to escape, but the vines may as well have been iron bars. And because she had shut off her comlink, there was no one coming to save her.
Don't kill her just yet, Jasper, Ripidolite ordered. Drain all her power, until she can't hold that form anymore. I need to see the truth with my own eyes.
It didn't take long. With a final shuddering gasp, Sailor Moon fell unconscious. Her sailor fuku exploded into light and ribbons. Jasper retracted its vines, lowering her still form to the pavement so Ripidolite could see that she was, without question, Princess Lady Serenity.
Ripidolite's whole body went rigid. Her throat was dry, and a low buzzing seemed to fill her ears. Her whole mind was consumed by one unbearable truth. Sailor Moon was the princess. Part of her had known it was true from the moment she heard it. Now there was no more room for denial.
But that means…
Ripidolite bit her lip, ruining her fresh coat of lipstick. Her knotted fists trembled; one of her nails broke, but she didn't notice. Jasper waited patiently for orders. No matter what she did now, there was no turning back.
She made her decision. Kill her.
"Hyaaah!"
A blur of green and white dropped from above onto Jasper's head. Startled, Ripidolite jerked back and lost her mental connection with the golem.
Sailor Juno was amazed she still had the strength to move, let alone fight. She was running on two hours of sleep and four cans of Green Cow energy drink. But the need to protect her princess overcame everything.
She used her momentum to drive the monster's head into the concrete. It rolled and tried to pin her down, but she punched it in the chest and escaped. She dropped into a low crouch, placing herself between her enemy and the unconscious Usagi.
With a low ripping sound, rows upon rows of cruel thorns emerged from Jasper's skin. The surface of its body oozed with putrid purple sap. It flexed its arms eagerly, inviting Juno to try her luck.
Juno aimed a kick at Jasper's knee, but her strength was useless against its armored shell. It answered with a fierce left hook. Juno blocked the blow, but the poison ate through her gloves and burned her hands. Grunting in pain, she shoved the monster away from her and retreated. It found its balance and charged at her again.
Muttering an apology to the taxpaying citizens of Crystal Tokyo, Juno grabbed hold of a fire hydrant. She wrenched the cap off and released a stream of pressurized water into Jasper's face. It staggered back, clawed hands thrashing in a useless effort to shield itself. Juno clocked it in the head with the cap for good measure.
Jasper rolled to the side and got back on its feet. It kicked the hydrant over, and a fountain of water sprayed into the air. Big drops rained down on the street as the two combatants squared off once more. Juno dodged a flurry of kicks and punches from Jasper and tried to counter with her own, but between its thorns and its poisonous skin, every blow she landed injured her. Meanwhile, her enemy showed no sign of weakening. She looked for vulnerable spots while doing her best to lead it away from the princess.
Eager to finish her off, Jasper threw a downward punch, trying to knock her to the ground. She sidestepped, caught the monster off balance, and brought her stiletto heel down on the back of its neck. It sank in with a dull cracking sound, and Jasper crumpled into a heap.
Finally, Juno thought.
But Jasper was far from defeated. The side of its limp body started to bulge. Something was stirring under the skin, swelling like a gigantic blister. Alarmed, Juno backed away.
The lump burst open, flinging a spray of noxious slime in every direction. The creature that emerged was about four meters tall and looked like a cross between a hooded cobra and a Venus flytrap. Its segmented body sported a vibrant pattern of black, green, and purple stripes. It had no eyes, and its face was all mouth. Parting its slimy, fanged jaws, it belched a cloud of sickly-sweet gas at Juno.
She immediately felt light-headed. The world spun; her vision twisted and doubled. Her limbs started to twitch in uncontrollable spasms. She pitched forward, dropping to her knees. All she could see was the monster's glistening teeth…
"Not now," she gasped. "Not after I've come all this way."
A tiny arc of electricity formed on her fingertip. She poured all her willpower into that single dancing point of light. Vesta had believed in her. Usagi's life and the future of their world were counting on her now. The spark glowed, intensified, multiplied.
After everything we went through, I won't let it end like this!
Two sparks became four, and four became eight. Soon they were innumerable, a brilliant cloud that burned away the poisonous fog. She felt her friends' hope adding to her own, along with their anguish, their fears and frustration and unfinished dreams. Their hearts cried out in unison with power that focused in her outstretched hands. It all came down to this moment.
Jasper lunged forward to swallow her.
"Diamond Storm!" Juno screamed, flinging the compressed ball of lightning straight into the monster's gaping throat. A ball of pale green light enveloped the whole street, accompanied by a booming thunderclap and the scent of scorched grass.
When the dust cleared, Juno stood victorious.
She knelt down to check on the princess and found a steady pulse. Other than a few minor injuries, she could have been asleep. Though Juno's first-aid knowledge was rudimentary at best, she was pretty sure Usagi was going to be okay. Relief swept over her. At last, she had found her. At last, her and Vesta's long odyssey was at an end.
Moments later, she heard the cold click of heels on the pavement behind her. A figure in a pink sailor suit was approaching with a menacing gleam in her eyes. She looked like Sailor Ceres, but Juno knew better than to trust appearances by now.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she grumbled under her breath. She forced her aching body to assume a fighting stance once more.
Even as Pallas mourned the destruction of her almost-clean room, the irony of her mother's salvation was not lost on her. If she had listened to Seresu and organized her closet, there would have been no junk-avalanche to delay the golem and she might not have arrived in time.
Now, squaring off with her enemy in dangerous close-quarters combat, the clutter came to her aid once more. After a moment of frantic digging, she found a golf club. Standing atop the mound with her makeshift weapon, she fancied herself a modern-day William Wallace, swinging a great sword and beating back the invading vines with a mighty war-cry. She succeeded in chopping off a couple before the fantasy dissolved—the golem wrenched the club from her hands and snapped it like a twig. Another of its arms grabbed her by the ankle and jerked her off the ground.
Thrashing and kicking in terror, Pallas called on her power without thinking. Ice crystals surged down her leg and froze the vine that held her. One more kick and it shattered easily. Breaking free, she plunged into the junk pile again, and came up with… a jump rope.
It would have to do.
She squinted in concentration, channeling her planet's power into the old toy. A glowing blue aura wrapped around the frayed nylon. A miniature snow flurry kicked up as she formed it into a loop and twirled it above her head.
"Pallas Sub-zero Frost Lasso!" she shouted, inventing an attack name on the fly.
Imbued with her magic, the jump rope elongated and wrapped itself around the monster, pinning down its menacing arms. Ice crystals sprouted from every surface it touched. The golem's struggles gradually ceased as numbness took over. Soon it was encased in a solid block of ice. Pallas snapped the rope like a whip, and her enemy's body shattered into snowflakes.
Ceres arrived on the scene to find her worst fears realized. Horrible-smelling fog clouded the area, and the stench of smoke and ozone made her cough. A broken fire hydrant spewed water into the street. In the center of the destruction, Usagi was lying unconscious on the ground. Ceres could barely make out the silhouette of a woman bending over her. Narrowing her eyes, she marched forward, making her footsteps as loud as possible in hopes of scaring whoever it was away from her princess.
The stranger stiffened and sprang to her feet. The fog thinned, revealing her face. It looked like Sailor Juno, but Ceres knew better than to trust appearances by now. Pallas had reported a fake Juno attacking her house, just before her comlink went offline… Dread gripped Ceres' heart.
The Juno lookalike was glaring at her. It dropped into a fighting stance, challenging her. That was all the invitation she needed. She rushed her opponent, her body igniting with a pink aura as she ran. Hundreds of golden flower petals spiraled around her and gathered in her hands. The other girl braced herself to block, expecting a head-on assault, but at the last second Ceres sprang into an aerial somersault and came down on her from above.
"Amazones Bouquet Twister!" she screamed, releasing her power at point-blank range.
Caught off guard, her opponent was completely defenseless. The attack connected with a brilliant burst of pink light. As the green-clad soldier went down, she let out a low, painful grunt that was surprisingly human.
Ceres twirled in midair and made a graceful landing. She looked down at her defeated foe with contempt. Was this one a robot, or one of those plant creatures? Whichever it was, it was surprisingly weak compared to the ones they'd faced before. It hadn't even shown its true form.
Her communicator chimed.
"Hi Ceres!" Pallas chirruped. "Don't worry about the fake Juno! I took care of it."
"Pallas! Thank goodness you're all right!" Ceres stopped short and frowned. If that was the fake Juno…
It couldn't be. This one had to be another fake. She had seen the girl trying to kill Usagi, right? No, actually she hadn't. But she would have explained herself if she was the real thing, right? Then again, Ceres hadn't given her much of a chance. Then why did she seem threatened by the approach of a sailor senshi, as if she'd been caught in a crime? Well, come to think of it, with all the fakes running around, Ceres probably would have been wary too.
She felt the color drain from her face. Confirming her worst fears, the unconscious soldier in front of her reverted to a bruised and battered human girl.
"What have I done?" Ceres wailed.
The door to Petalite's office swung open with a soft creak. She looked up from the heavy, leather-bound volume she'd been poring over to see Ripidolite standing before her desk. The green-haired woman stood stiff-backed, arms frozen at her sides. Petalite arched an eyebrow at her and turned back to her book.
"It seems your golem was a failure," she observed.
"No more golems," Ripidolite declared with such intensity that it made her glance up again. "I'm going to face them myself."
Petalite's eyes challenged her, but she didn't budge. "You've always given me free rein to plan my operations…"
"A policy which I have come to regret as of late."
"Not this time," hissed Ripidolite. "I will come back with the Silver Crystal, or not at all."
Petalite's eyes narrowed. "It's not like you to be so rash."
"Who are you to decide what is or is not like me?" Ripidolite snapped.
Petalite's chair toppled over with a crash. She lurched to her feet and backhanded her daughter.
"I am your superior, and I am your mother," she growled, her voice quivering in anger. "You will show me the respect that is due me."
Ripidolite's face was a petrified mask. "It was my sixteenth birthday," she whispered. "We were in our kitchen lighting the candles. Then there was a loud noise outside. The windows shattered. Something hit me on the head, and then… then I was here at HQ." Her voice rose in frustration. "What happened? Why don't I remember?"
She looked Petalite in the eye and asked a question that made the older woman's jaw drop. "Am I really your daughter?"
Petalite struck again, slapping her so hard it left a welt on her cheek. The sound seemed to reverberate through the room, and in the aftermath, there was a long silence. The older woman's face was red with rage. Her breath came out in heavy gasps. Ripidolite regarded her with a hollow, sulking stare.
Drawing herself up regally, Petalite attempted to regain control of the situation. "You have forty-eight hours to plan your assault on the Crystal Palace," she declared. "At the end of that time you will present your plan to me, and if I approve you will carry it out at what I determine is the opportune moment. Pyrolusite and Hypnos will provide you with any tactical information you need."
To her disbelief, Ripidolite defied her again. "Not Pyrolusite." Petalite looked ready to slap her again until she added, "I don't want him or Calomel to know about this."
Petalite softened. "You're trying to protect them, aren't you?"
"Hardly," Ripidolite snorted. "I don't want them in my way."
Petalite gave her a long, hard glance. Then she righted her chair and sat down.
"Very well. Dismissed."
With a perfunctory bow, Ripidolite stalked out.
"Forty-eight hours," Petalite reminded her as she slammed the door.
When Mrs. Itokuri opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was another sailor soldier. She suppressed a scream.
But this girl was different from the stern, menacing figure who had confronted her earlier. Wide, ice-blue eyes stared down at her with concern. There was something soothing and altogether natural about her presence, like being with an old friend. Indeed, the longer Mio looked at her, the more she got the feeling she knew her from somewhere…
"Are you okay?" the girl asked.
Unable to find her voice, Mio nodded.
"Great! Gotta run," the girl said with a cheerful singsong voice that was, once again, strangely familiar. She bounded to the door, then paused to glance back. "By the way, I was thinking… wouldn't it be nice if you helped your daughter clean up your bedroom?"
Mio pouted. "Most of this is her stuff!"
The girl looked peeved for some reason. "Mm, if you say so. Anyway, bye!"
In a twinkling, she was gone. And it was not until several hours later that Mio would wonder just exactly how the stranger had known that she had a daughter.
"She's heavy," Usagi complained as she and Seresu dragged the unconscious Juno (or rather, Juno's civilian form) toward the Crystal Palace. Though the princess had regained consciousness and was feeling all right, she had lost far too much energy to use her healing power. Seresu wouldn't even let her try to transform. Teleporting was right out. Instead, they were stuck carrying their companion back to the palace for conventional medical treatment. Luckily, her injuries weren't grave enough to be life-threatening. They had gotten some awfully strange looks on the train, though.
"None of this would have happened if you had listened to me," Seresu chided.
Mercury and a few attendants rushed out to meet them on the lawn. They eased Juno onto a hover-gurney and whisked her off to the infirmary.
A few minutes later, Pallas joined, them, and they entered the palace together. Inside, a solemn Venus beckoned them to the throne room. The king and queen were waiting, flanked by Mars, Jupiter, and the Four Heavenly Kings. Disapproval radiated from their features. Usagi steeled herself for a lecture from her mother. But this time, the queen sat in icy silence, and it was Endymion who spoke.
"Princess Lady Serenity," he said, and Usagi gulped. He only used that name when she was in big trouble. "Your actions today put you in great danger, as I'm sure you are aware. You should not have broken contact with your guardians."
"But Pallas was—" Usagi tried to interrupt.
"I know what your intentions were. But your life is not just your own," the king admonished. "You are the one and only heir to the Silver Millennium, and the emblem of hope for Crystal Tokyo."
"Why should my life, solely by virtue of my position, be worth more than Atena's?" Usagi protested.
At that moment, Sailor Saturn emerged from a shadowy corridor behind the thrones. "For the same reason," she said, "that Sailor Pluto, solely by virtue of her position, must spend eternity in solitude."
The sign of her planet glowed on her brow. For a brief instant, she let down her guard and allowed Usagi to glimpse the darkness behind her violet eyes, to remind her of the weight of their birthright. For a brief instant, she banished Hotaru and was only Saturn, fate incarnate, cold and unforgiving. Her friend shuddered under her empty stare.
"Life is not fair, Princess."
Usagi fixed her eyes on the floor. "Sorry," she mumbled at length.
The king let out a heavy sigh and reached out to Usagi. "I'm just glad you're safe."
For the first time, Usagi noticed the gray flecks at her father's temples, the tired lines gathering at the corners of his eyes. His movements, while still elegant, were slower and more labored. The loss of the Golden Crystal was taking its toll on his body. But that wasn't the only reason.
She stepped into his embrace. "I'm sorry, Papa," she whispered, and meant it this time.
Sailor Mars fastened a vice-like grip on Seresu and Atena's shoulders. "Did you know," she said in a deadly sweet voice, "that the royal family keeps forty-eight purebred Arabian stallions in their stables? Tonight you two will clean every stall. A gentle reminder to never, ever let the princess out of your sight again."
Even Seresu knew better than to complain as the furious senshi marched them off to face their punishment.
Atena staggered home late that evening, feeling more pain than she ever had after a fight with a monster. The work alone would have made her sore, and being kicked repeatedly by nervous horses certainly didn't help. Her ear was bruised and bloody where Mars had pinched her every time she made a mistake. She must have a lot of pent-up frustration, Atena thought grumpily.
The moment she stepped inside, her mother pounced on her with a crushing hug. "Oh, Atena-chan! Where have you been? I was so worried!"
Atena pretended to sniffle. "I was worried too! I heard voices in the other room, and you said something about a search warrant, and I got really freaked out and so I climbed out the window and hid in the tree in the neighbor's yard. And then there was this really loud crash and shouting and it was scary… I thought you were dead!"
Her mother patted her back as she faked sobs. "It's okay now."
In an attempt to maintain some sense of normalcy, she sat Atena down at the table and opened a can of olives to share. Atena picked at the fruit with a blank expression that her mother mistook for a state of shock. They tried not to look at the smashed-in bedroom door.
"I don't want to scare you," Mio said gently. "But you need to know what happened today. I was attacked… by a sailor soldier."
Atena's head snapped up. "No way!" she exclaimed. "It couldn't have been a real sailor soldier! They wouldn't do something like that!"
Mio held up her hands in a calming gesture. "I need you to believe me. She wasn't one of the queen's guardians. She was one of those strange new soldiers people have been talking about. No one knows who they are or where they come from."
"There has to be some misunderstanding!"
"I know what I saw," Mio insisted. "After this, I think it's pretty clear that they're dangerous. At least, some of them are. There was another one who appeared later. I was unconscious… I think she saved me. But Atena, for your sake and mine, please listen to me. You can't just trust anybody who wears that uniform."
Atena's head drooped. "Sailor soldiers who carry the protection of the stars are the chosen defenders of the galaxy," she murmured, as if reciting a mantra. "They're not supposed to make mistakes."
"Most of them are very good people. But even though they have those wondrous powers… underneath it all, they're still human."
"Yeah," Atena sighed. "I know."
