The Past Returns

by Angelic Traveller

The fifth story of the Sailor Moon P saga. The arrival of new faces, and the return of old, mean new adventures for the Sailor Scouts.

21. Chapter Twenty: Walking into Darkness

Chapter 20: Walking into Darkness

Artemis hummed to himself cheerfully as he pushed his way through the cat flap in Mina's front door, thinking about what he was going to do that day. He was due to meet Luna and Estrella that afternoon to discuss the events of the previous day, however before that he had the morning to enjoy. First, he decided, I'll go to that nice old lady's house down the street for a bowl of milk and then I believe I'll head off to my favourite spot for a nap... he was about to jump onto the wall when he heard a door open and close nearby. He looked over to the garden next door and saw Alexia walking purposefully up the path.

"Good morning, Alexia," he greeted the girl, who stopped as she spotted the white cat.

"Good morning, Artemis! How are you?" she responded brightly.

"I'm fine, thank you very much, and yourself? You seem much happier today," Artemis remarked and she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Erin turned up on my doorstep last night and we resolved everything."

"Aah, I see. Well, I'm glad to hear that. So, where are you going now?" the cat inquired.

"I'm meeting Erin and Fargo, actually. They've come up with an idea on how to resolve the Manami problem...I'm not sure what the idea is but they told me to meet them outside her hotel."

"I see. Do you mind if I tag along?" Artemis suddenly didn't feel like a bowl of milk and a nap – this sounded much more interesting! Alexia shrugged.

"I don't see why not. C'mon, let's go!"

x x x x x

Meanwhile Fargo and Erin were stood at the bus stop near the hotel, trying their best to look inconspicuous. This had almost been blown by the fact that just a few moments before a bus had arrived. Erin had insisted to the driver that they were waiting for another bus, much to the confusion of the man, since this was the only bus that stopped there. Fargo had finally had to step in to explain that they were waiting for a friend, and that was why they couldn't leave the bus stop yet, and with that the bus had left. Fargo was reading a newspaper he'd found on a bench when Alexia and Artemis arrived.

"Hi guys!" She greeted the young men, who nodded back at the newcomers.

"Hey, Alexia. Hey, Estrella – when did you grow up?" Fargo remarked jovially.

"What a comedian," the white cat commented dryly. "Alexia said you had a plan concerning Manami's blackmail attempt – so, what is it?" The russet-haired youth pulled himself up to his full height and stuck his chest out proudly.

"I think this is the best plan I've had in ages!" he announced.

"I helped," Erin muttered.

"It's simple, but 100 effective!" Fargo continued, ignoring his friend's comment. "I shall enter the hotel, go to Manami's room and distract her. Whilst that's happening, Erin here will climb up to her room, sneak in through her window and switch the video!" Alexia gawped at the boy, her jaw almost on the floor in disbelief. "I know, I know – pure genius!" Fargo grinned, taking her expression as one of sheer amazement at his planning prowess. "You can thank me later."

"Pure idiocy, more like!" the girl exclaimed. "Manami's room is on the tenth floor!" It was Erin's jaw's turn to drop.

"Tenth floor?! No one said anything about that!" he protested.

"Ahh, you'll be fine! Don't be a wimp!" his friend replied, casually slapping him on the back.

"But why can't you do it? You can fly!"

"Simple – because I have a way with the ladies! You couldn't even charm a snake!"

"I can be charming! I can be charming, can't I, Alexia?" Erin pleaded with the Charonian, who sighed.

"Sorry, Erin – Fargo has it, I'm afraid," she responded honestly. Erin looked around desperately, until his eyes fell on Artemis, who was starting to sneak off.

"Oooh no you don't!" the boy exclaimed, grabbing the cat around the middle. "If I'm doing this you're coming with me!"

"Alexia – help!" Artemis yelped, but Alexia shook her head.

"You wanted to tag along. Anyway, someone responsible should go with him."

"Why me?!" He cried as Erin stuck the cat under his arm and ran off. As they left Alexia turned to Fargo.

"Thank you for doing this for me, I appreciate it so much," she said gratefully.

"No problem. Hey, I have a suggestion - just in case the mission does go wrong - how about I try to get an extension for ya?" the youth inquired.

"Thanks, Fargo, you're sweet. Anyway I'd better go - good luck! I'll see you at my place afterwards," she walked away. Fargo watched Alexia disappear round the corner before taking a deep breath and stepping up to the hotel. He nodded amiably at the doorman at the entrance as he walked into the large building.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the receptionist looked at him rather suspiciously as he stepped up to the desk in the foyer.

"Greetings! Please could you direct me to room 1285? I've come to visit my friend who is staying in that very room," he leant on the desk with one hand.

"Of course - room 1285 is on level 10," she informed him. "Unfortunately the elevators are out of order, so I'm afraid you'll have to take the stairs," the receptionist looked very apologetic.

"Okaaaay…" he laughed nervously at the idea of walking up so many stairs. "Wish me luck!" he walked to the staircase and looked up. "Level ten, here I come." He was just about invoke the levitatation spell when-

"Excuse me, my dear, would you give an old lady a hand?" A voice croaked.

He looked down.

An extremely tiny old lady was tugging on his sleeve.

"How may I be of assistance?" he leant down to her level.

"You look like a nice strong boy, how about you carry me up these stairs? It's not too far," she smiled hopefully at him.

"Why, of course! Which level are you on?"

"Twenty."

Fargo almost fell down.

Oh well, she can't be too heavy, he thought to himself.

"Hop on!" he turned around so she could clamber onto his back.

"Let's go!" she yelled in his ear, and he began to charge up the many flights of stairs…

x x x x x

Serena hummed merrily to herself as she tapped her pen on the table. In front of her lay her maths homework which it seemed she was perusing carefully.

"What's this? Serena enjoying doing her maths homework?" Luna exclaimed as she walked in. "Be still my beating heart!" Serena looked up and giggled.

"Oh no, it's too difficult! I'm so happy because I'm thinking about the phone call I just had from Darien," she giggled more, and fell backwards. "Oooh, Luna, he's so sweet and nice and…"

"And distracting you from your homework!" the black cat leapt onto her charge's stomach and looked down at her face sternly. "Serena, Amy told me that in your last test you only got a 12! That's your worst mark yet!"

"I know, but what am I going to need maths for, Luna? We all know that what I'm going to be in the future!" the blonde complained.

"It doesn't matter, Serena - even queens need to know how to add and subtract," the cat remarked pretentiously; Serena groaned.

"Alright, alright," she muttered, taking the top off her pen and sticking her tongue as she tried to work out what x equalled. "Why do they have to use letters anyway? Maths is about numbers!" Luna sighed and shook her head in defeat. Just as it seemed the study session was getting underway it was disrupted by the signal from the bubbly Scout's communicator.

"Argh, I don't know whether to be pleased to be interrupted from this stupid homework or not because it means fighting!" she complained.

"What am I going to do with her?" Luna mumbled to herself as Serena answered the call.

"Hello, Serena, there's trouble at the boating lake, please come meet me." It was Rei. There was a rather unusual tone in her voice, too calm to say there was trouble; however, Serena failed to notice it.

"Okay, on my way!" she leapt to her feet. "Come on, Luna, let's go!"

"So you're pleased that you've been disturbed?" Luna asked fastidiously. "I've got to go and meet Estrella - you go by yourself."

"Okay, see you later!" she called behind her as she sprinted out of the door.

A short spell of running later…

"So…tired…hard…to…run!" Serena gasped for breath as she reached the lake. "Hmmm, so where's this trouble? It seems really quiet. Rei? Rei, are you here?"

"Yes." Serena turned to face Rei, who smiled rather strangely at her.

"Ahh, good!" Serena exclaimed. "So you've managed to sort everything out by yourself? Good job. Anyway, I'll see you later-"

"Not so fast," the raven-haired Scout muttered. "We need to sort this out once and for all."

"Sort what out?" Serena asked in confusion, then her blue eyes widened with realisation. "Is this about those comics? I promised I'd give them back once I've finished reading them, remember?!"

"It's nothing to do with that, you idiot!" the girl snapped. "I hate you, Serena!"

The usually bright and cheerful Scout of the Moon's face fell.

"You…hate me?!" she exclaimed. "I know we've not always seen eye-to-eye but…"

"Shut up." Rei retorted. "You are the most annoying, clumsy, stupid girl I have ever met. I hate everything about you - especially the way you go on and on about being Sailor Moon and the Moon Princess - and I have more news for you - I'm not the only one!" she chuckled. "We're all fed up with your bragging!"

"What? I…I don't brag! Well, I haven't done for a long time!" she flustered. Tears started to sparkle in her beautiful eyes as Rei's words cut deeply into her soul.

"Stop lying to yourself, Serena, we all know that any of us could do a better job of being leader than you. Personally I think you should just give up and let someone else do the job!" the girl sneered. "Anyway, I've had enough of even looking at you and your stupid hair-style." She turned away, her hair fanning out behind her.

"Wait!" Serena sobbed. "Tell me you don't mean this? Tell me it's all a joke!"

"Heh, you'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" the Martian sneered again. "Well, it's the truth - deal with it," she started to walk away. "Have a nice life." Serena was frozen to the spot, tears running down her face as she started to shake violently.

"No…I won't believe it, it's all some kind of trick or weird dream!" she exclaimed to herself between sobs. "It's not true - it's not, it's not, it's not!" she fell to her knees, and wept bitterly.

x x x x x

What Serena didn't realise however, was that there was more to this unexpected confrontation than met the eye…for whilst she was by the boating lake being emotionally wounded by a girl she had always considered a friend, the real Rei was actually at home, writing an essay for an English assignment. She was just flicking through her dictionary when her grandfather poked his head around the door.

"Hey, you're supposed to knock!" the fiery-tempered girl snapped.

"Sorry, I forgot!" he apologised sheepishly. "Anyway, one of your pretty friends are here, the zany blonde one."

"Well, since I know two zany blondes, that's not a lot of help," she remarked as she wrote.

"Well, she's the one you call meatball head…" that was all Rei needed to hear. Sighing, she got to her feet, wondering why Serena would be coming round when she'd told her friends that she'd be busy with homework all day. Serena was stood near the altar, with her back to the priestess.

"Serena? What do you want?" she asked rather impatiently. The visitor looked over her shoulder, a smile on her face. Rei couldn't help but notice there was something very wrong with this…the girl in front of her was too - quiet?

"We need to talk," Serena said calmly. "About you."

"What about me?" Rei demanded, and Serena's eyes suddenly narrowed, freaking Rei out even more.

"What about you? What…about…you?" the blonde Scout leader sneered. "I'll tell you, shall I? Rei Hino you are a spiteful, arrogant, cruel person."

"S…sorry?!" Rei exclaimed, her eyes widened.

"You heard me - you are always saying bad things about me to the others, and bragging that you are better than me…" Serena spat. "And you know something? I hate you so much, I wish that there was a way to make someone else Sailor Mars - someone who truly deserves it - and that's certainly not some stuck-up prig like you!" the girl laughed cruelly as she walked away. "'Bye, Rei, I never want to see you again - we Scouts can cope without you. As of now you are out of the team." She swung her blonde hair over her shoulder and stalked off, leaving Rei feeling stunned and speechless.

"What was that?!" she exclaimed, feeling confused. "Would Serena really say something like that? No, she wouldn't." Suddenly her thoughts turned to a phone conversation she'd had with Amy that morning. The Mercurian had told her of Erin's return – and how he'd explained that someone using Alexia's face had told him she hated him, which was why the boy had been so hurtful towards the real Alexia. Could whoever this fraudster was now be trying to hurt her by acting as Serena? Homework forgotten, she attempted to reach Serena on her communicator – no response.

What could that mean?

There was only one thing to do.

"Yes, Rei?" Amy answered Rei's call immediately.

"I think we've got a problem," the raven-haired Scout announced. "We need to get the Scouts together immediately!"

x x x x x

Some time later…

"Why, oh why, oh why…" Fargo gasped as he floated down from level 20 to 10. "Why can't I resist a woman in distress?" he collapsed as he finally reached his destination. "Now, on with the mission." His composure regained, he walked down the corridor to room 1285. He knocked on the door, which was immediately opened. Manami blinked her dark eyes at the youth.

"You!" she exclaimed, immediately recognising him. "Fargo, isn't it?"

"The one and only!" he grinned at her. "May I come in?" Manami narrowed her eyes suspiciously – had Alexia told him?

"What do you want?" She demanded hotly; Fargo held up his hands defensively.

"Woah! Calm down there! Alexia was going to come see you herself but then something came up - she feels just terrible about not being able to spend much time with you, she's been so busy recently. So she asked me to come round to keep you company. She thought it'd be nice if you spent some time with her friends," he explained quickly. Her eyes widened with surprise – Alexia felt bad about not spending time with her? Guilt washed over her as she thought about the videotape, which in just over 24 hours she was going to deliver to a national newspaper. Maybe Alexia couldn't help being busy…she shook the thought out of her head and smiled, her eyes softening slightly.

"Oh, okay. Come in then," she stepped aside to allow him to enter. "It's nice of you to come," she told him. "I appreciate the company."

"Good! Wow, this is some room! How are you enjoying Tokyo? Is it your first time here?"

"Yup. I must say the one good thing about having so much spare time is that I've done tons of sight-seeing! It's a really cool city, I can see why Alexia likes it so much here..." Fargo nodded understandingly as she sat down on a chair near the window.

"Say, it's a little warm in here – d'ya mind if we have the window open a crack?" he suddenly asked, fanning himself with his hands.

"Oh! Of course!" Manami replied, and as she turned to push up the window a little Fargo looked around the room. His eyes fell on a small blue holdall which was partly open. His eyes widened as he noticed something poking out of it - a video!

That must be it! He exclaimed in his head. He suddenly wished he had a telepathic link with Erin like Alexia and Rei so he could tell the boy of his discovery. I wonder how Erin's getting on, anyway?

x x x x x

As Erin jumped off the drainpipe he'd just shimmied up onto the window ledge he made himself a very stern promise as he hugged the wall - that he would not, under any circumstances, look down. However, within a minute he'd completely broken it.

The concrete ground of the alleyway behind the hotel seemed very far off.

For a brief moment Erin was seized by an exhilarating madness. In his mind he heard a voice whispering enticingly to him: Go on, jump! It'll be amazing! And who knows, if you hit the dumpster you might even survive it! He turned his head back and leaned heavily against the wall, stiff as a rake. His heart was beating countless times its normal rate and he suddenly noticed that he'd stopped breathing.

Get a hold of yourself, Erin! he snapped at himself silently. This is for Alexia! For Alexia's sake I must not fail now! As Erin started to breath in a way close to his usual Artemis sprang through a nearby window and landed on the ledge with agility that drove Erin into a silent envy attack.

"This ledge is really narrow!" Artemis muttered. "I can hardly stay balanced!"

"Oh, my heart bleeds!" Erin hissed, indicating his own position clinging to the wall.

"Don't worry Erin! You'll be fine!" the cat decided he ought to encourage the boy, since he was the responsible 'adult'. "Now go on so I can get past you!" Inch by inch Erin took his courage (and the wall) in both hands and moved slowly along the narrow ledge towards the window of Manami's room. The seconds crawled by as Erin slowly moved six windows along.

Artemis watched impatiently.

"Keep your head down!" he hissed. Erin stopped just two windows away from Manami's and looked back at the white cat.

"Pardon?" he whispered.

"It doesn't matter!"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter!"

"Wait a sec', I'm coming back!" Erin inched his way back the way he'd come and several minutes later he stood back where he'd started.

"What did you say?"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Artemis screamed.

"No, I heard that! What was it you said before that?"

"I said 'keep your head down'!"

"Oh…I knew that already!"

"Just do it - I'm the leader," Artemis seethed.

"No, you're not," Erin objected. "I'm the leader!" The cat let out a grunt of frustration.

"Why don't you just do as I tell you, idiot?!"

"You're an idiot!" Erin retorted heatedly.

"Primate! Simpleton!" Artemis raised his voice above Erin's.

Erin and the cat argued like this for several minutes, their voices getting louder and louder. Suddenly a window a floor above them was flung open.

"Hey! What's going on out there?" a deep voice roared. "Shut it or I'll start shooting!" The window closed again.

Erin and Artemis had fallen silent and had flattened their bodies against the wall as they held their breath. Erin remembered that Fargo had told him to get into Manami's room and to get the tape before eleven and glancing at his watch he saw with chagrin that it read 10:49am. Quickly he ran along the window ledge, and once outside Manami's window he collapsed, trembling violently as he realised what he'd just done. As his watch reached 10:54 Erin got to his feet again and began to feel along the glass.

Inside the room Fargo almost yelped as he saw his partner-in-crime collapse outside the window.

"Is something wrong?" Manami inquired curiously as she noticed the red-head's shocked expression. She was about to turn to look out of the window when Fargo let out a cry:

"Hey, I know what!" he declared excitedly, jumping up and grabbing her hands. "I want a tour of the hotel! Come on!" He dragged her from the room, winking at Artemis as he shut the door behind them.

Erin stuck his hand through the gap between the window and frame and pushed the window fully open. Artemis leapt through neatly and Erin, wanting to prove he could be just as agile, did the same...only he fell into the chair, sending it to the wooden floor with an almighty crash!

x x x x x

"Hey, what was that?" Manami remarked suspiciously as she froze in the corridor, having heard the racket Erin had made on entering her room.

"Nothing!" Fargo said very quickly, sweatdropping. Erin, please be quieter! He pleaded silently. Manami didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to check it out," she muttered, pulling her keycard out of her pocket and heading back to her room.

"Wait!" Fargo exclaimed, grabbing her hand as she swiped the card in the reader on her door and reached for the handle. "Let me check! You can't be too careful these days!" He opened the door, making sure he was blocking Manami's view. He saw his friend on the outer ledge of the window. Erin looked up and gave Fargo the thumbs up – Artemis had the video in his mouth.

"What's happening?!" Manami demanded.

"Coast's clear! Looks like the window banged shut – that's what we heard!" He announced, stepping away so she could inspect her room.

"Oh, right," Manami remarked, sounding relieved. "Thank goodness!"

"Yeah, thank goodness indeed!" Fargo grinned, "Unfortunately I have to go now, but it was nice to spend some time with you."

"Oh! I agree!" Manami replied, smiling. "Maybe we can do it again tomorrow? It is my last day, after all..."

"Well, I think Alexia has something planned for you tomorrow – but don't tell her I told you!" Fargo winked, and Manami's smile broadened.

"Okay, it'll be our little secret!" She tapped the side of her nose conspiratorially as Fargo swaggered out of the room. "'Bye!" She called after him, but Fargo didn't hear - he was too busy sliding down the banisters.

"Mission accomplished!" he grinned to himself.

x x x x x

"Please Serena, you must open this door!" Mina pleaded through the bedroom door. Amy had called to tell her that Rei wanted to see everyone urgently and the blonde had explained that she had a study date with Serena, and so would inform the leader herself. However, upon arriving at the Tsukinos' Mina had been met by an extremely concerned Luna. Serena had returned from the boating lake looking miserable and had immediately locked herself in her bedroom. Luna had begged the girl to tell her what had happened however she'd simply blanked the cat.

"No," the girl mumbled. "I wanna be alone."

"Oh, but please, Serena, it's not good for you!" the blonde exclaimed. "How can we help you if you won't tell us what's happened?!"

"Leave me alone!" Serena suddenly yelled angrily. "I know what you think of me, Mina - I know what you all think!" Mina blinked her bright eyes in surprise.

"What?" she murmured.

"I know you hate me," she sobbed loudly. "I know!"

"Serena, I don't hate you! Don't be stupid!" Mina felt her cheeks burn. "Actually, it's completely the other way - I love you!" her voice became softer as she closed her eyes. "Before I met you I had no real friends, all I had was Artemis and being Sailor V. When I finally joined up with you and the others it was the best thing ever. You've always been there for me, Serena, and I'll never, ever forget that." She felt tears prick the back of her eyelids. She hated to think that Serena was upset, and was thinking such terrible things about her friends. Her eyes flicked open as she heard the lock click open and the door opened slightly; a pale-faced Serena peered out sadly.

"Do you mean that?" she murmured anxiously.

"You know I do!" Mina nodded, a sincere glow to her eyes and face. Serena gasped, and flung herself into her arms.

"Oh, Mina! You don't know what that means to me!" she started to cry again.

"Oh Serena! Please don't cry anymore!" she said comfortingly as the pair, followed closely by Luna, entered Serena's room. "Now, will you tell us what happened?" Tearfully Serena recounted her meeting with Rei at the park.

"That doesn't sound like Rei at all!" Mina exclaimed in shock. "She really said all of that to you?" Serena nodded miserably. "Well, there's only one thing for it, come on!" Mina grabbed her companion's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Rei has sent out a message that she wants to see us all! So let's go straight over to the temple and tell her to explain herself!"

"No, I don't want to," Serena said downheartedly. "I don't want to see her."

"Hmm..." Luna spoke up. "Don't you think this is rather odd?"

"What's odd?" Mina asked curiously.

"Well, yesterday Erin and Alexia fall out – and today this?" the cat pointed out. "I think we should definitely go to Rei's – I think something is afoot."

"Alright, if you think so, Luna," Serena replied uncertainly.

x x x x x

Fargo and Erin stood at Alexia's front door, quivering in anticipation. They'd felt like heroic knights returning from a noble quest as they'd walked to their destination – Fargo felt there should've been throngs of adoring people lining the streets and triumphant fanfares playing for them – or they should have at least had horses to carry them to the princess's dwelling. Alexia flung the door open expectantly, and the two youths fell into her hallway, almost knocking her over as they spread their arms wide in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs in ecstatic triumph. The girl let out a loud cry of joy and clapped her hands together.

"You did it!" She jumped around, thrilled by their ecstatic entrance.

"We certainly did!" Fargo laughed as they danced into the lounge.

"Yeah," Erin grinned breathlessly. "Now that is the power of surviving on the streets for most of your life!"

"Get stuffed, it was my conversational skills and charm that did it!"

"Yeah right! " Erin scoffed.

"Hey – it was teamwork that did it!" Alexia interrupted them. "Where'd Artemis go?"

"He said something about a bowl of milk," Fargo's grin lengthened.

"So, where's the tape?" Alexia pressed.

"Right here," Erin presented the video cassette to the girl as if it were a priceless, ancient artifact.

"Let's have a look then! I want to see what all the fuss is about!" Fargo dropped down onto the couch as Erin went over to the TV set and VCR. Intense satisfaction washed over Fargo as he lay back and sighed contentedly. Manami had had the power to expose the identity of one of the Sailor Scouts to the world, but now her power was destroyed by his hand and tossed to the wind.

Fargo felt proud of his achievement that day.

Yes, Fargo, he thought, you have done well…He would have quite liked the sun to have shone in his hair, making it blaze. However, since he was indoors there was nothing doing.

Hey, you know, maybe Amy'll be so grateful for the great thing that I've done for the Sailor Scouts that… a wild grin nearly split Fargo's face in half as he shivered at the fantasy…even though he knew perfectly well that there was absolutely no chance that it would happen in this millennium.

"What are you grinning at?" Erin interrupted his reverie. "We're ready to go. " He located the 'play' button on the front of the machine and pressed it. Nothing happened. Slightly perturbed by this turn of events Erin pushed it again. The screen remained blank. "Nothing's happening," he informed them hesitantly.

"You still have the tape in your hand, Erin. You have to put it in the machine before you press the 'play' button." Alexia explained. Erin followed these directions and then flung himself onto the couch beside Fargo.

"Ah! There she is!" Fargo exclaimed with pleasure as a figure appeared on the screen.

As he and Erin watched the events that were taking place on the screen a tiny frown crept onto his face. Something didn't seem quite right. Alexia, who was sat on the armrest beside them, was speechless.

"Man, does Alexia look different on TV!" Erin commented as he stared in bemusement at the scene playing out before him.

"Yeah…" Fargo was forced to agree as he carefully studied the figure. They stared and their eyes widened in amazement at what happened next.

"Now, that is very unusual behaviour, isn't it?" Fargo breathed wide-eyed.

"Mmm…"

"Why's she talking to a short, black-skinned man wearing a turban and merging her body with that of an ancient wizened slug-like man?" Fargo asked, completely perplexed by what he was seeing. Erin leant closer to the screen with reckless disregard for the fact that this was bad for the eyes. He studied the figure carefully for the next few minutes.

"Because that's not me...that's Piccolo from Dragonball Z," Alexia whimpered, finally finding her voice. Fargo's face filled with wonder.

"Well how the hell did he get to Tokyo the other night?!" he gasped.

A long silence followed.

Fargo and Erin's heads hit their laps.

"Oh nooooooooo…" all three gasped simultaneously as they sweatdropped.

x x x x x

On their way to the Hino Shrine, Mina, Serena and Luna were met by Darien, who Mina had called to inform him of the situation, for she could think of no one better to comfort the down-hearted Serena. As they arrived at the foot of the temple steps the Moon Princess gripped her boyfriend's hand even tighter.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea..." she whimpered. "I'm scared!" Darien looked down at her, letting go of her hand for a moment in order to lift her chin so their eyes met.

"Serena, I'll be right here beside you, and so will Mina and Luna – right, guys?" the pair nodded. "So you have no reason to be scared. I don't believe Rei hates you – it's not in her nature – and the sooner you go up those stairs and talk to her, the sooner you'll know the truth." Serena's nerves were soothed by his words – he was right, as usual.

"Okay," she murmured, taking his hand again.

"That's my girl," he smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. Slowly they climbed the steps, all uncertain of what would happen when they reached the top...

Rei, Amy and Lita were sat outside the temple with Artemis, awaiting the arrival of the others. Estrella had gone to Alexia's to find out why she wasn't responding to Rei's calls and so that just left Serena, Mina and Luna.

"Wonder what's taking them so long?" Lita pondered out loud.

"They're here – look," Amy remarked as the group reached the top of the long flight of steps. Serena hesitated as soon as she spotted Rei, however a firm squeeze of her hand by Darien and Mina's supportive hand on her should helped her continue to walk forward.

"Hey, Serena, what's wrong?" Lita inquired, straight away noticing how quiet she was.

"Yes, what's happened?" Amy added, also feeling concerned by this. Serena stood, her eyes transfixed on Rei. The hairs on the back of the Scout of Mars's neck started to prickle as she saw the expression in the blonde's eyes – a look of apprehension, yet somehow also so very sad and confused...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She managed to find her voice. "What is it?" Serena carried on silently gazing at her, and realisation dawned on Rei. "Oh, Serena! Is this about those comics?! I already told you it doesn't matter about giving them back straight away!" she sighed. "You don't have to be so melodramatic about it!" She, Lita, Amy and Artemis prepared themselves for Serena to defend herself by throwing the remark back, however it didn't happen. Instead Serena's lower lip began to tremble and she burst into tears. Not hysterical ones as were usual with the girl, but quiet, distraught tears – the kind she only cried when something was very wrong.

"Serena!" Amy cried out in shock.

"Rei," Mina stepped up to the dark-haired priestess, who was stunned by Serena's reaction to her words. "Did you go to the boating lake today?"

"What? No, I've been stuck in my room all morning doing homework! Why do you ask?" Lita, Amy and Artemis looked on in interest.

"Well, it's because Serena says she met you there earlier on your request – and you told her you hated her..." Mina explained carefully, and got the reaction she expected:

"Whaaat?!" Rei cried out in amazement. Phobos and Deimos, who were perched nearby, flews up from their positions, alarmed by the girl's loud exclamation.

"It's true – I heard your voice on her communicator," Luna spoke up. Rei was reeling – so she'd allegedly been at the boating lake with Serena, but in reality...

"This is impossible! I was visited by Serena today! Ask grandpa! And she said that she hated me!" She declared. Upon hearing this Serena looked over from where she was being held against Darien's chest.

"I was here?" she said quietly. "But-"

"That's why I wanted to see everyone," Rei continued. "I knew Serena would never say the things that she did this morning – as much as we argue I know she'd never tell me I wasn't fit to be Sailor Mars, or throw me off the team..."

"I did that?!" Serena squeaked, her tears suddenly a distant memory. "I'd never...!"

"That's what I just said, isn't it? Anyway, it made me think of what happened with Erin and Alexia."

"You mean you think someone's trying to cause a rift in the team by making you think you hate each other?" Darien remarked; Serena had told him all about the events of the previous night in their phonecall that morning.

"Exactly. Serena, when did you meet 'me'?" Rei asked. Serena's eyes narrowed slightly as she thought.

"Umm, I think it was almost eleven..."

"Rei! Didn't you call me at just after eleven to tell me you wanted to gather the Scouts together?!" Amy remarked.

"So that concludes it – you never met! Not here nor at the boating lake," Luna remarked. "Just as I suspected."

"Do you think it's some kind of shape-shifting demon?" Mina asked.

"It could be," Artemis answered. "I think that one thing's for certain – we all need to be extremely vigilant." The group all nodded in agreement. Serena stepped over to Rei and suddenly threw her arms around the unsuspecting girl.

"Oooh, I'm so happy you don't hate me!" She wept, this time tears of joy. Rei let out an exasperated sigh, despite the fact that there was definitely a hint of a smile on her face.

"Serenaaa, you're soaking me! I might not hate you but that doesn't mean you can cry all over me!"

"Heeey!" Serena exclaimed, pulling away with an offended look on her face. "I'm expressing my happiness here!" The others couldn't help but laugh.

"It's so nice to see Serena back to her usual self," Mina commented, grinning.

"Definitely," chuckled Darien.

"Woah, what's this? The start of World War Three?" Erin remarked as he, Alexia and Estrella joined the gang and regarded the squabbling duo.

"Nah, it'll be over in a second," Lita replied, just as the two girls stuck their tongues out at each other over their shoulders as they stood with their backs to one another. "There ya go!" She noticed Alexia's troubled expression and let out an exclamation: "Oh no! Not you now!" Everyone looked over to where Alexia was stood, looked down at Estrella, who was in her arms looking sympathetic.

"Erin and Fargo's plan to retrieve the video of Alexia transforming was unsuccessful," the orange kitten told them all.

"Oh no!" Amy groaned. "What happened?"

"They got the wrong tape," Alexia sighed as she sat down. "So now I have less than twenty-four hours to think of something else!"

"Alexia, you're not seriously thinking of…" Rei suddenly exclaimed.

"I don't know, honestly, I don't," she sighed. "But at this moment giving in seems like the best option."

"I'll tell you what I'd do - ambush her when she's not expecting it and give her what for!" Lita suddenly snapped.

"Lita! That's awful!" Amy exclaimed. "She may have done us a wrong but two wrongs don't make a right!"

"That's correct, there's gotta be some simple solution to this…" Mina said thoughtfully. They all stood around for a moment, wondering what the best plan of action would be, when Amy realised someone was still absent.

"Where's Fargo?" she wondered aloud. "We really need to tell you about what's happened today, and he should hear it too."

"Oh, he was coming with us when he suddenly remembered he had something to do..." Alexia shrugged. "Have no idea where he went though!"

"How strange, he never mentioned anything to me this morning," Amy remarked. "Oh well, I'm sure he'll turn up in his own time!"

x x x x x

- Look at them all, so blissfully unaware of what is soon to come to pass...-

The throngs of people who walked through the shopping precinct shivered visibly as the bitterly cold air cut through them. All but one failed to realise that the breeze that blew past them had absolutely nothing to do with the weather; yet even that one person who knew this couldn't really explain what it actually was.

Fargo's eyes narrowed as he followed the trail he'd picked up earlier. He'd first felt the icy chill of the invisible force as he, Erin and Alexia had been on their way to Rei's with Estrella, after they'd recovered from the grim discovery that their mission had failed. Sensing the darkness this force carried with it, he had made his excuses to leave his friends in order to investigate.

Just as it had planned...

The red-haired youth suddenly felt the force change its course and head away from the crowds and down a narrow alley between two shops. Pushing his way through the shoppers to keep up, Fargo slipped down the passageway behind it.

"Hello, Fargo."

The voice that greeted him was soft and smooth, but he knew that the one using it was doing nothing but a rather good impersonation.

"That's quite a skill you have there – I hear you do a good impression of Alexia, too," he remarked coolly as he gazed at a perfect replica of Amy. The doppelgänger smiled in a way that the real Amy would never have – with darkly narrowed eyes. "So, am I right in thinking you wanted me to follow you?"

"But of course," 'Amy' replied. " I have been waiting a very long time to meet you..."

"Why did you do what you did to Erin? What had he done to deserve your cruelty? Fargo demanded, cutting off his companion, who laughed spitefully.

"He felt – and the destruction of those feelings made me stronger," she told him straightforwardly. "And now you shall come with me, Fargo," his eyes flashed as she said this.

"And how do you know that?" he inquired, his voice full of suspicion.

"I know because you would not want to see those people you call 'friends' suffer anymore, would you?" the shape-shifter smiled at him, raising an eyebrow as she spoke; Fargo sighed in defeat. " Very good." 'Amy' bared her teeth in a triumphant grin.

Merula almost caused a pile-up as she stopped dead in her tracks, immediately drawn to the flash of blue she saw out of the corner of her eye. Amy was walking out of a nearby alley, where she joined the crowds, followed closely by Fargo.

What the...?

The purple-haired girl knew instinctively that there was no way that was really Amy – the confident swagger in her bearing gave it away instantly; not to mention the dark, brooding expression on Fargo's face as he walked beside her.

Looks like trouble, she thought, unable to keep a smile from her lips...

...A foulness stirred deep within the vast catacombs beneath the ground level of the Temple of Dark Moon. It was as cold as the bitter ice which had reigned before the arrival of all creation and darker than the night.

It sensed that the small part of itself that it had been able to send out to feed and find him was finally returning.

And so the real darkness that dwelled in the temple readied itself for the moment it had waited so long to come to be.

The time was almost nigh for the exile to finally come to an end…

x x x x x

As she stood at the front door of Alexia's house, Manami's face was deeply troubled. Whilst she considered her options – either to knock or simply turn and leave again – she looked down at the videotape she had clutched tightly against her chest. The guilt she had been feeling since Fargo had been kind enough to spend some time with her whilst Alexia was busy running errands for her parents caused her cheeks to burn with shame. When she had first watched the recording of Alexia transforming all Manami could think about was the vow they'd made to each other and how Alexia had broken it and also how the girl seemed to be more concerned about her new friends. Jealousy had ruled Manami's thoughts and so she had felt spitefully thrilled at the prospect of having control over Alexia.

Manami's face glowed even more as she realised just how atrocious her behaviour had been. Fargo had said that Alexia had felt bad about not being able to spend much time with her, and Manami thought that perhaps ot was partly her own fault. After all, she had just arrived out of the blue! So Alexia probably had lots of things planned that she couldn't just drop, and being a Sailor Scout was probably a pretty time-consuming job...

Without another thought, she raised her hand to knock on the door, her mind resolved on what she would do. She'd give the tape to Alexia and make a clean breast of everything; she'd tell her friend about how she felt and promise her that she would never betray her.

The red-haired girl felt a lot more light-hearted for it and she was even smiling as she knocked twice on the front door and waited patiently for Alexia to answer.

There wasn't any hurry - she had all the time in the world.

Sure enough, she soon heard the sound of footsteps approaching from inside and the door handle now turned. The door swung open and Miaka looked out, smiling when she saw Manami standing there.

"Oh, Manami! So nice to see you!" She exclaimed warmly.

Manami smiled back but she was surprised that it had been Alexia's mother who had answered the door, since it was usually Alexia who rushed to see who was calling by.

"Oh, hi, Miaka. Is Alexia at home?"

Manami couldn't wait to see her friend and tell her everything that had been on her mind…

"Oh, I'm afraid not, Manami – she left the house quite early this morning. I think she might be at Rei's."

Manami flinched as Miaka mentioned the dark-haired girl's name and instantly the newfound feeling of goodwill evaporated.

"Rei?" she repeated as she gazed at Alexia's mother in consternation.

"Yes, she lives at the temple. I think you've been there before, right? I should think she's there either helping out or doing homework. Or she could be with her whole gang of friends! She spends every spare moment she has with them, you know?"

Every spare moment?

Manami felt like she'd been stabbed through the heart as she heard those words. "Anyway, why don't you call by? I'm sure that they'll be happy to see you!" Miaka continued, blissfully unaware of Manami's increasingly hurt feelings and then added. "Actually, Alexia said something about sleeping over, now I recall..."

Alexia's going to a sleepover and she didn't ask me to come? Manami felt sick.

"Actually I think that I'll just head back to the hotel," she replied, forcing herself to speak in a casual voice that was in reality the complete opposite of what she was really feeling. Miaka looked a little taken-aback by this.

"Oh…I see," she replied in surprise. "Well, just as you like, dear. Would you like me to tell Alexia that you called by if I see her?" she added helpfully; Manami shook her head flatly.

"Oh no, that's okay, really," she turned down the offer in the same forced tone. "I'll just call by tomorrow before I leave. I have to go now."

Miaka was watching her curiously since she could tell that something was going on here.
"Manami…are you feeling alright?" she asked gently with concern on her face. "You're looking a little pale and your voice sounds strange."

"Oh really, Mrs Risolto, I'm fine," Manami reassured her flatly, forgetting herself as she called the woman by her second name instead of her first, as was usual custom with all of Alexia's friends, as she turned away to leave. "It was nice seeing you, goodbye."

Miaka's eyes were filled with concern as she watched Manami walk down the garden path very stiffly and unlatch the gate.

What was wrong with the red-haired girl?

There's something on that one's mind… she thought as she was about shut the door.

"Who was that?" Trista, who had been sat in the lounge the whole time, joined her aunt in the hallway.

"It was Alexia's friend, Manami," Miaka explained. "I told her that I think Alexia's at Rei's and she reacted rather oddly. I think she might be a little jealous of Alexia's new friends..."

"I see," Trista remarked. "Perhaps someone ought to talk to her," Trista remarked. "I shall go after her."

"Oh, okay, Trista! Well, it was nice to catch up," Miaka smiled gratefully. "I really wish you had more free time from your job."

"So do I, Miaka, so do I." Trista smiled back at her, then went to catch up with Manami. The girl was slinking down the street, her head down and collar up. It was cold, and the bitter wind whipped against her cheeks, causing them to ache as if she had been struck across the face. In fact, this was exactly how Manami felt. What Fargo had told her earlier that day had been a complete lie! Alexia had never been 'running errands'! So, why had he been there? Out of pity because Alexia couldn't be bothered?

Had she become nothing more than a back number to Alexia?

Obviously, now the girl had her new life here in Tokyo, her old one in Kyoto meant nothing to her!

"Manami," a voice called after her, but she chose to ignore it. Footsteps got louder, but she chose to ignore them, too. "Manami." The voice repeated and a firm hand on her shoulder brought her to a stand-still. She looked up at Trista, who at first she didn't recognise; however, after a moment, it clicked into place.

"You're Alexia's cousin, aren't you?" She said in a sullen tone and the young woman in question nodded. "What do you want?"

"I just happen to be heading in the same direction as you," she told her. "So I thought I would accompany you back to your hotel."

"I'm fine by myself, thanks all the same," the red-head muttered, and Trista shook her head.

"I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to walk by yourself while you are so clearly upset," she said firmly, and the girl let out a loud and annoyed sigh.

"Fine!"

They started to walk again, in silence, until Trista spoke up:

"I know that you're upset about Alexia," she said gently. "And that you feel betrayed now that she has new friends."

"Oh, it's not so much the new friends that bother me, it's the fact that she's keeping a secret from me." Manami found herself confessing.

"Oh?" Trista remarked with interest.

"Yeah, but it's not a secret anymore because I know!" The Plutonian couldn't help but smile to herself; she, of course, already knew what was happening.

"And is that what the videotape is?" She inquired mildly., indicating the item that Manami continued to hold tightly

"Yes," Manami responded. "I managed to record her revealing her secret, and now I'm going to make her sorry that she ever ignored me!"

"I see..." Trista looked at her. "But today you had a change of heart, didn't you? That's why you came to visit." Manami looked up at her in shock for a moment, then turned away quickly as she felt her cheeks start to burn. She didn't say anything, not that she really needed to. After a moment of awkward, embarrassed silence, Trista continued. "Look, Manami, how do you know that revealing this secret will stop Alexia from ignoring you? If I were her it would just make me want to stop talking to you altogether. And if this secret is as big as you are making it out to be, how do you think it will make Alexia feel? It might ruin the rest of her life - would someone, who wanted to be a true friend, want to do that? And one final thing - what about when you have to go back to Kyoto? Poor Alexia will be here, miserable and perhaps alone." Manami still didn't speak - a lot of this was making sense to her.

"I wanted Alexia's friendship back," she finally spoke. "And the only way I saw of doing this was by threatening to reveal her secret. I thought that she would rather give it up than have me tell people about it, and then she would have to rely on me as her only friend because she wouldn't be able to hang with her friends here anymore. I never, for the life of me, thought that perhaps she'd rather have the secret revealed..." she fell silent once more. "I hadn't thought about what will happen when I go home, either..." her voice became harder. "But then again, maybe I want her to be miserable and alone - then she'll know how I feel!" Trista said nothing, and so the pair walked the rest of the way to the hotel in tense quietness. When they reached the entrance Manami muttered "Thanks for walking me back, goodbye," and was about to go into the building when Trista took hold of her shoulder and whispered:

"Perhaps, if you hadn't chosen to shut yourself off from everyone after Alexia moved, the girls would still talk to you and you wouldn't feel so lonely." With that and a final, comforting smile, she walked away.

Manami simply stood, frozen to the spot, and stared at the departing Trista.

How had she known that? And how had she got her to talk about everything like that?

x x x x x

Merula knew from experience that the Scouts were likely to be at Rei's temple, and as usual her intuition didn't fail her. She regarded them for a moment – laughing at something Serena had said – whilst she pondered how she should make her entrance.

Might as well just gatecrash their little gathering, no point in giving them any warning! She decided as she began to walk over.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!" she greeted them gaily.

"You!" Lita growled as the group all leapt to their feet as she came into view.

"What are you doing here?" Rei demanded to know. Merula raised her hands as a sign that she meant no harm.

"Now, please, there's no need to get up and greet me!" she joked. "I'm not here to cause trouble before any of you open your mouths - I'm sure you guys are about as enthusiastic about the end of the world as I am - I'm not in any mood to die just yet," she laughed lightly. "I've almost done that once before, remember? And it's not fun, I can tell you that!"

"End of the world? What are you talking about?" Estrella exclaimed.

"Yes – tell us what you mean!" Luna pressed her.

"To cut a long story short – I just followed Fargo, who was accompanied by something doing an impersonation of an evil Amy to the Temple of Dark Moon!" the purple-haired Scout explained. "So, I might be over-exaggerating when I say the end of the world's coming, but-"

"Fargo's with someone who is pretending to be me?!" Amy cut her off. "It has to be the shape-shifter!"

"But why have they gone to the Temple of Dark Moon?" Mina wondered out loud.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Darien pointed out.

"Is that by waiting here for Fargo to arrive so he can tell us?" Serena asked hopefully, not liking the idea of going back to the Temple of Dark Moon yet again. "Oh, please say it is!" Darien shook his head, and Serena let out a fearful whimper.

"Great! Field trip time it is!" Merula said enthusiatically.

"Not for you it isn't!" Lita snapped at her.

"Come on, Lita – she did come and tell us," Mina pointed out regretfully.

"Yeah, and I say she can come with us!" Serena suddenly announced.

"What?! How do you know that she's not just leading us into a trap again?!" Rei exclaimed.

"Well, surely if we go to the temple we'll get stuck in her trap anyway," Alexia spoke up. "At least if she's with us we can keep an eye on her."

"That's a valid point," Artemis agreed.

"We don't have time to debate this!" all of a sudden Amy cried out frantically. "Fargo could be in terrible danger! Let's just go!" Hearing the fear in their friend's voice, the group immediately started to walk towards the stairs. Merula leading the procession with Lita's green eyes firmly fixed on her.

"One false move and it will be the end of the world – for you," she muttered under her breath.

x x x x x

So, here I am again... Fargo couldn't help but think as he walked along a dank corridor deep within the Temple of Dark Moon. He was aware of the shape-shifter's presence just a few steps behind him, observing his every move carefully in case he tried to make an escape. As they walked further through the passageway Fargo noticed that the air was becoming more and more chilly, despite the blazing torches that were fastened to the walls. At first he assumed that he was just starting to feel the damp atmosphere of the underground system of catacombs, but with every step he took Fargo realised that the air was indeed growing increasingly colder. Furrowing his eyebrows, he hugged his shoulders and tried to ignore the icy atmosphere but he couldn't help but wonder what the cause of the sudden cold could be, considering the fact that this temple was located not a long way above a lake of molten lava. It was as he was considering this that his eyes glimpsed something near the ground that stopped him in his tracks. Surprise registered on Fargo's face - across the ground there rolled a low sheet of grey mist, which he could barely see through. It went up to his ankles and was slowly but surely spreading and covering the stone floor of the passageway.

What IS it…? Fargo gazed, entranced by the phenomenon that he was witnessing before his eyes and for a moment he was too enthralled by the mist to look away. When he did tilt his head up however he realised with a start that the mist was in fact beginning to rise higher. A steadily expanding wall of mist was already forming in front of him, covering the area that he was only a few steps away from.

"What the...?" he couldn't help but utter aloud. He waited for the shape-shifter to tell him to be quiet and move on, however the remark never came; and it was then that Fargo suddenly realised he was alone. Wondering where his 'guide' could be the youth turned around...

SSSSS!

Fargo was blinded by a brilliant flash of green light the very instant that he tried to take a single step back down the tunnel. As he closed his eyes in stunned shock and rubbed his now aching head Fargo wondered dazedly what on Earth had just happened. As his eyes readjusted to the gloom he tentatively guided a finger towards where the flash of light had taken place.

Sss…

Just as he'd expected his finger met with some kind of invisible wall, which stopped it from going any further. As it touched the unseen force a faint radiance rippled around it as if his hand were touching the surface of water. The invisible barrier glowed green and hissed softly in response to his careful prod - a grim warning of what would happen if he attempted to pass through using greater force.

It was now clear that the shape-shifter had gone to the trouble of setting up the energy barrier to force him down the corridor and into the heart of the mist. Fargo swivelled around warily and stared again at the cloud, which was a thick grey and so dense that he could no longer discern the passageway which lay beyond it. Narrowing his eyes with determination Fargo made a resolve - when you couldn't go back then there was only one way to go - forward. Although his ever-present instinct screamed out against it he took one long step into the dense haze and emerged through to the other side. What he found on the other side surprised him even more than when he'd first seen the mist. A large area ahead of him was completely clear and then there was another wall of the grey fog, exactly like the one he'd just passed through. As he glanced around the area that he was standing in he realised that he was actually surrounded by the mist, which was swirling around continuously without a break in its surface, as if it were acting under its own will. As he looked around at the surrounding fog a new suspicion suddenly gripped him and he stooped to the ground to retrieve a tiny piece of granite which had come loose from the stonework. He threw the tiny fragment at the mist in front of him, and just as he'd expected the dense grey haze was disrupted by an intensely blinding flash of green light the moment that the stone disappeared through it. After a split-second the fiery glare faded away and as Fargo rubbed his eyes he realised that he'd been wrong earlier when he'd guessed that the barrier behind him had been set up to keep him heading onward and into greater danger. The real reason, as he now realised, was that the wards had been erected on either side of him to trap him. There was a sinking feeling in his gut that would have normally sent him running to the bath-room as Fargo realised that he'd let himself be led into this narrow area. But the question that preyed on his mind as he stood still was…why? Where had the shape-shifter gone?

Unless...

Fargo suddenly gasped and wildly threw himself on his back, hurling his hands up in front of his face defensively…multi-toothed death however failed to descend from above.

Weak with relief but still edgy about his trapped status Fargo lowered his hands back to his sides as he rose to his feet and again glanced around the area in which he stood, but found that the mist all around him was so thick that anything that might have been crouching beyond it was perfectly concealed. While he considered what he was going to do now Fargo also thought about the way in which the energy barriers seemed to work - when he'd prodded one the faint buzzing that had gone through his finger had made him tingly inside and the glow that had shone had been gentle and vague but the tiny piece of stone that he'd thrown at the other barrier had resulted in an intense, blinding flash. After thinking carefully about it Fargo realised that the walls must be designed to react not to the size of anything that tried to pass them but rather to the amount of force that was exerted against them. Folding his arms he tapped his foot impatiently on the floor and sighed in resignation.

"Okay…your move," he said to whoever lurked in the bounds of the mist. The following silence unnerved him a lot more than a reply would have done.

However…

As if something had been awakened by the sound of Fargo's voice a sudden movement became clear behind the thick wall of cloud - there was no sound of movement but the disturbance in the up to now empty air leapt to the red-head's attention at once. With stilled breath Fargo watched as two points of golden light broke the grey veil, cutting through like a pair of piercing, glowing knives. The thin slits gleamed with malevolence, burning the trapped youth to the very soul.

There was such a familiar feeling about this…

He soon realised that the points of light were eyes, and that these eyes that stared at him with such concentrated evil were as well-known as yesterday, as an old friend.

Familiar as death.

It was now apparent to Fargo that the shape-shifter had led him here to meet whoever was on the other side of the mist. Finally he couldn't bear the tense suspense and Fargo called out to the owner of the hate-filled eyes that burned relentlessly at him. "Come out and face me, whoever you are. Are you so scared of one person that you need to use smoke tricks and energy barriers to feel secure enough to peek around the corner at him?" he remarked scornfully to the unknown horror lurking just behind the mist. "If you're not too yellow to come out from the mist why don't you show yourself? Stop cowering over there!" In response to his bold challenge a faint, patronizing chuckle filtered through the curtain of grey and as he heard it Fargo's every instinct screamed at him in warning.

"I come out from the confines of this fog - with a glad heart," responded the mocking drawl and the suspicion that filled Fargo's mind and chilled his blood as he realised who it belonged to made him feel numb.

He's…here?

The narrow golden eyes emerged from the veil of coldness that had up until now shielded the owner from sight and Fargo momentarily leaned heavily against the wall of the passageway as he was finally revealed. The repellent eyes blazed with an imposing light, which dominated the area inside the mist and caused its rippling surface to glow as he stood tall and daunting before Fargo with his arms folded across his chest. Emperor Mu's mouth still bore the same arrogant grin that had always been the source of great hatred for Fargo as his handsome face was illuminated by the hellish fire of his own eyes. "Surprised to see me here, commoner?" Mu sneered as Fargo stared at him in blind disbelief. "Well, I guess that in the circumstances of the last time we met the word 'surprise' doesn't really come close to describing how shocked you must be to see me again. What's the matter, Fargo? You seem tense!" Fargo's eyes had been filled with chaos and confusion as he stared at this man, who had died by his hand several months ago. Of course he'd also thought the same about Keiju, but this was different - he'd actually seen Mu evaporate into a crackling cloud of energy right in front of him. But how it was that the former ruler of Earth could be here didn't matter as he stared at him with grim determination in his cold eyes and felt the power rising inside him already.

"I have no idea how you found your way back, Mu," Fargo declared in sheer contempt. "But I'm ready and eager to send you straight back to Hell."

"Oh no, please not again!" Mu laughed mockingly as he raised his head and his shoulders bobbed with scornful amusement. "You can't drink the water there!" There was something about Mu…something out of place which he couldn't quite pinpoint. Fargo frowned slightly as he felt certain that something here wasn't right at all.

This wasn't quite the Mu that he remembered - the ancient Emperor had always been far too busy acting superior to everyone and making threats to have the time to make jokes. In fact, as he looked more closely at him, Fargo saw that Mu didn't look exactly the way that he had the last time they'd met - the night that Fargo had killed him with a single Light of Death filled with virtue and the power of his spirit. Now Mu seemed to be…well, more evil-looking and demonic than he'd been back then.

Not that he actually cared about any of this - Mu had somehow come back to life and that meant that he was going to die again…To Fargo's mind that was the whole game-plan.

"Things have changed since the last time you were in the flesh, Mu," the red-head remarked as he decided not to let himself be distracted by the strange creeping feeling of uncertainty that he felt. "If you weren't going to die again then you'd have a lot of stuff to catch up on."

"I already know everything that's happened since that night, Fargo," Mu replied, smirking as his eyes dimmed slightly so that they glinted at the red-haired boy menacingly. "Interesting time you've had, I must say! But tell me…how is Mercury these days?" The taunt had the effect on Fargo that was obviously the one he'd wanted it to achieve. Anger seethed in the youth's heart at the mere implication of Mu going after Amy all over again but knowing that this was just what the Emperor wanted he shoved the rage down out of the need to stay in control.

"What - you mean since you were chasing her skirt the last time?" he laughed mockingly as his eyes taunted the blonde villain. "Amy got over nearly being forced to marry you pretty quickly." Mu responded to this attempt to goad him into rage with a derisive laugh.

"The Princess Mercury is just like all other women - fickle to the core," he retorted scornfully. Fargo's eyes narrowed as he again felt that this just wasn't right at all. The Mu that he'd known would never have had the restraint to laugh off his taunt. The Mu that Fargo had known so well as his natural nemesis would have bellowed with rage and gone straight for his throat! But this guy was acting like he had…dignity?

That was something which Emperor Mu had never possessed…

Suddenly realising what was happening but deciding to play along for the moment, Fargo nodded in a mock-agreeable way.

"It just strikes me as a little strange that she'd be air-headed enough to let a big and important man like you slip through her fingers," he replied with a suggestive twinkle in his mocking eyes. Mu merely snorted emphatically.

"She'll come round, Fargo - you'll see."

"Get real, Mu!" Fargo's laughter was derisive as he realised that no matter how different Mu seemed to have become he was still as deluded in his belief that Amy would ever feel anything other than fear and scorn for him as he'd ever been.

"Why don't you go and knock up some hell hound that you actually stand any chance with…like Cerberus, perhaps?" Mu sneered back at him and then Fargo suddenly laughed as he decided to stop this whole charade.

"I think I'll have to give you four out of ten for this act – the real Mu would never have had the self-restraint to take everything that I just said," he remarked to the shape-shifter. "So, are you going to stop pretending to be other people and tell me who you actually are?" The thing that was now masquerading as Emperor Mu stared at him in silence for a few moments and then, unexpectedly, it grinned. As a cold chill spread through him Fargo suddenly realised that whatever this thing was it wasn't only responsible for the unnatural cold…it was the cold!

"If you truly wish to know the answer to that question…then why don't you come and see for yourself?" Fargo remained wary of whatever trick the impostor might have planned for him next.

"Why don't you just explain it here and now shape-shifter?" he responded calmly.

"There is your first mistake," it told him, smiling coldly. "I am no shape-shifter, boy. I am something far beyond anything that you can possibly imagine."

"Who are you?" Fargo asked simply, growing tired of all the hinting and mystery. The golden eyes gleamed strangely.

"I'll tell you everything…if you come to me," it replied quietly. Fargo stared, baffled by its strange words.

"But…you're right here!" he pointed out slowly. The black gloved hand gestured towards the wall of mist that its owner had emerged from with a sweeping gesture.

"There," it replied, regardless of Fargo's remark. "Just beyond this mist lies the answer to all the questions. The barrier is now dispersed - will you walk through and discover all that you want to know and much more that you don't?" Fargo stared silently at the impostor and wondered what in the world was happening. Then without a word he started off into the direction which the unknown being had directed him. But Fargo had no intention of walking into whatever this thing had in store for him and he revealed this when he was just walking past. Aiming at the fraud's head Fargo suddenly jumped up and swung his foot at it. A deadly coldness shot through his leg and drained it of all feeling as it slid right through! As Fargo landed and stumbled against the wall, clutching his leg which now felt so numb that it was almost like it wasn't part of his body anymore, the intangible being that had impersonated Mu and so many other people laughed.

Its voice was cold and changed beyond all imagination and as it laughed Fargo felt the freezing coldness flow through his whole body. As the red-head tried to rise to his feet again despite his deadened leg events began to pick up. The 'shape-shifter' suddenly returned to its genuine form - mist. Fargo coughed and hacked helplessly as the thick cloud enveloped him, closing in on him and forcing him to breathe it in. Every sense in him screamed out in alarm as it was invaded by the cold alien mist. Fargo's body was completely devoid of sense or feeling in the aftermath of its invasion and stumbling blindly forward he tried desperately to escape. Such were the after-effects that he did not notice the large circle that he staggered into as he fell through the fog.

Engraved on the floor beneath his feet was the unholy symbol of the Temple of Dark Moon - the moon of conflicting halves - pure white and dark as night. And as soon as he fell into it he was ensnared at last in the trap that he had been drawn into with so much subtlety and cunning. The sound of moving stone beneath his feet made Fargo's convulsing body stiffen but it was already too late. The two halves of the moon slid apart and the black void yawning below swallowed him in the oblivion that it contained. And as Fargo fell into the void, the entity which had impersonated Alexia, Serena, Rei, Amy and Emperor Mu felt gleeful ecstasy as it contemplated just how near the day of its release now was. Now that the most important piece of its game was within its reach the end of all that existed would soon come to pass, just as it had always hungered for…

x x x x x

"So, you nervous to be here again?" Sailor Universe asked. Sailor Mercury pretended that she had not heard. Upon their arrival at the temple the group had split into teams to search for Fargo – and somehow Mercury had found herself alone with Universe, despite the fact that Jupiter was supposed to also be with them. As they hunted the catacombs for the missing youth, Mercury felt indignant to be paired up with the person she disliked most in the world. Mercury always tried her hardest not to hate anyone but her patience was close to being exhausted. "Hard as it may be for you to believe - I actually am! But then again, there isn't anything better that I like than the prospect of an upcoming fight." Universe laughed, regardless of her companion's silence.

"Is that so?" Sailor Mercury asked quietly.

"Most definitely, sugar," Universe replied with a toss of her braid. "There is nothing I like more than the rush of adrenaline during a fight and I say that very, very sincerely." Mercury was quiet again. Universe looked at the other Scout, who was walking a short way in front of her, and sighed. "What's the matter? Little tense about what might happen here?"

"No," Mercury replied. "That's not why I'm tense."

"No?"

"No."

"You're quieter than usual, sweetie. What's on your mind?" Universe inquired. Mercury did not readily reply. Then she spoke quietly.

"You know - you never did answer my question."

"Question?" Sailor Universe repeated.

"Yes. My question," Mercury turned and looked Universe right in the eye. "Why do you hate me so much?" she asked clearly. The question was hauntingly familiar.

"Like I said last time, it wasn't personal. I was just following Mu's orders, that was all."

"Then why did you insist on being placed in a group with me?" Mercury pointed out. "And why did you insist Jupiter go off by herself?" Universe shuffled uncomfortably.

"Your moves are the most defensive in the team. We're compatible. You can watch my back while I go in for the kill," she said in the end. "And Jupiter likes to be independent!"

"And they are the only reasons?" Mercury asked disbelievingly.

"What other reason could I have?" Universe snapped.

"You tell me." She said simply. Sailor Universe's eyes wavered. From a dark corner of her mind a tide of memories had begun to flood back that she could not ignore…

…"You aren't very talkative tonight - what's on your mind?" Princess Universe's voice was faintly teasing as she spoke to her best friend. Princess Mercury blushed slightly.

"Nothing," she said quietly.

"Oh, come on. You and I both know that that isn't true." Universe insisted.

"No, really, it is nothing," Mercury protested.

"Come on! Tell me…!" The princesses were sitting together on a balcony of the royal palace under the star-filled heavens. The two often came here to this spot when they wanted to spend time alone together. They had always done so since they had first become friends. She, the vibrant princess of the wandering band of brigands known throughout the galaxy as the Star Raiders, and she, the sweet and shy princess of Mercury.

"Nothing is the matter. Really," Princess Mercury insisted. Universe didn't give up.

"Come on! Tell me! I thought we were friends…" Princess Universe added a twinge of sadness to her voice for good effect. Mercury's blush was now deep and her eyes were fixed on her lap. A thought entered Universe's mind and she grinned. "Ohhh! I see!" she laughed and winked at Mercury. "You've seen a boy you like!"

"What?" Mercury's eyes jerked up and her face was flaming now. "No! That is not it!"

"Really?" Universe raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"No! Honestly!" Universe laughed warmly - how she loved this girl.

"Alright! I believe you!" then her face became serious. "But honestly, Mercury, if you ever need any help with boys then all you need to do is come to me. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course." Princess Mercury assured her best friend.

"Good," Universe laughed again. "Anyway, I should know. I have all the men fawning over me whenever we go to events!"…

…"Universe…"

Universe snapped out of her reverie as she realised that Mercury had spoken to her. The other Scout's voice was not as defensive anymore as she actually felt a tiny bit concerned as she stared at her companion. The Mercurian Scout had been watching Universe as she had been lost in her fond memories and wondered if there had been anything wrong with her. Universe felt so embarrassed as she realised that she'd been caught daydreaming about happier times by Sailor Mercury that her cheeks actually became red with mortification as she clenched her teeth and breathed heavily.

"What is it?" she almost snarled as she felt furious with herself for allowing herself to be weak, even though it had only been for a moment or two. A wonderful dreamy moment as she'd thought about the time she had been happy and had had family and friends who she'd loved with all her heart. Sailor Mercury had felt surprised as she had watched Universe seemingly falling into a dream in the middle of their conversation. It must have been truly wonderful because the purple-haired girl had smiled fondly while she had been lost in it.

Not a cruel or mocking smile but one of pure happiness…of love.

Mercury had found herself almost lost for breath as she had taken in what she had seen, hardly believing it. Universe had looked beautiful in this place of evil - her smile had been pure and uncomplicated. Mercury had found herself smiling too, the loveliness of the purple-haired Scout's face had made her feel warm inside. Everything that the rogue Sailor Scout had done to her and her friends had faded from her memory as she had watched the contented peacefulness in Universe's face. The wish to see her eyes had been so great that the blue-haired girl had walked closer to her…but now the moment was over and everything changed again. The fierce anger that burned along with the shame in Universe's face made Mercury gasp and draw back from her in shock.

"I was just…" she stammered in distress as Universe glared at her in sheer anger.

"WHAT?" Universe barked. Mercury composed herself and shook her head.

"Nothing," she replied softly. Seeing the nervousness in her companion's eyes Universe made an effort to control herself and smirked bitterly as her anger began to ease away again. It didn't matter - she'd have enough time to agonise about how things had once been when this was over. It was the past…it was gone forever. Universe knew that she had to tell herself that over and over again until she got it. It didn't have anything to do with the way things were now…and things were certainly different these days.

"You know, are you sure that you wanna hang around with those other Sailor Scouts?" Universe smirked as her eyes glittered with the bitterness of her resolve. "I've just had a nice idea - why don't you hook up with me?" she taunted, although there was a wistful look in her eyes as she gazed at Mercury's back. "Together we could take out the rest of the Sailor Scouts no problem. Yeah, no doubt about it, babes - you and I would make a team that would rock the heavens!" Sailor Mercury met her bitter eyes with a lingering trace of sadness in her own.

"Let's just be on our way, shall we?" She murmured softly as she turned away from the other Scout again. The confusion that Mercury felt was a lot stronger than the nervousness that she'd been stricken with for a brief moment. The blue-haired Scout couldn't understand Sailor Universe at all. A short while ago she had seemed to be at peace and her face had almost glowed with joy as she had thought about whatever had made her so happy. Now her eyes were cold once again and the bitter sneer had returned to her lips. Mercury couldn't understand how somebody could feel so wonderful for such a short time and then return to despising the world again at a moment's notice. But with a slight start of surprise she remembered that she'd noticed such a change in Universe's personality before in the hotel in which she had been held prisoner by Emperor Mu when they'd first met. For a fleeting moment a gentle, almost sweet, nature had broken through her malevolence and then vanished again just as briefly as it had appeared…

"Well, aren't you a cool customer?" Universe replied, snickering, although that wasn't the way she was feeling at all as she watched the silent Mercury staring off into the darkness and wondered what was going on in her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mercury…did I scare you just now? You're not as naïve as I once figured, I guess…at least you know enough these days to realise that I hate all of your guts!" The blue-haired girl turned back to face her serenely.

"If that is the way it must be," she replied gently, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place for her to be contemplating Sailor Universe's true nature. "But for now just help me find Fargo before it's too late."

x x x x x

…The air was vile and stagnant as Fargo breathed in and out heavily.

It tasted like death itself.

His back was aching all over since he had landed hard upon a crumbling rock structure after his fall. Fargo's eyes were screwed up tight against the pain that throbbed in his head as he tried to rise unsteadily to his feet.

It was as if they were working under their own power that his feet found the ledge just below where he lay. Fargo stood up, steadying himself by keeping one hand on the crumbling rock. For several minutes he stood, still clinging to the rock face as he waited until he could get his head together. Gradually he became aware of the great howling all around him as if this place, wherever it was, was filled with an intense, ferocious wind.

Fargo counted to three and then forced himself to open his eyes.

Almost instantly a brilliant glaring light forced him to close them again quickly.

As his eyes stung as he held them closed Fargo took several more long gulps of the foul air.

Where the hell am I? Fargo wondered as he continued to hold onto the rock and breathe slowly, and as he did so he thought of what he had been looking at while his eyes had been open, and a frown crept over his face. The more he turned it over in his head the more it boggled his mind. No longer caring about the pain Fargo opened his eyes again.

He stared at the spectacle he had been thinking of a moment ago, and this is what he saw.

Before him there stretched a yawning black abyss which seemed to have depth without ending. Rising up out of the impenetrable darkness was a pillar of jagged rock about half a mile wide. Ten feet in the air above him the pillar ended in several tall pinnacles of sharp rock which curled in the manner of the cruel talons of some bird of prey. And it was in the grip of these claws that the blinding light had its source.

Now that Fargo's eyes had got so used to the brilliance he found that he was able to gaze up directly at the source of the light. As he did his mouth fell open in awe as he tried to take in what he saw - a huge sphere of intense white energy, which pulsated within the clutches of the claws of dark stone.

Whatever this thing was - it was so powerful that it gave off an incredible aura.

Fargo felt his mind go blank as he stared, fixated, at the amazing phenomenon that was just a short way above him.

It was while his mind was so devoid of thoughts that he heard a voice speak to him.

-So, we meet again at last-

The words slithered their way into Fargo's mind through the back of his skull; and the youth knew the voice immediately.

He felt vaguely surprised that he did not feel terror gripping his very soul as he remembered when he had heard that terrible voice before.

But strange as it seemed, he felt nothing at all.

-I have been expecting you. I have awaited your coming for so long-

Yes, oh yes. Fargo definitely knew that it was the same voice for sure.

The words washed over him like a great tide of oblivion. Whenever that voice spoke it was the only thing that existed in a universe of nothingness and he had no choice but to heed its words.

"What are you?" Fargo's voice was flat as he spoke; drained of all feeling and the words only came with a real effort.

My mind is different around this thing…he realised. Whenever it speaks to me my will is not my own. Its very presence overwhelms me and leaves no room for me to think or feel…

-Much more than a limited creature such as you could ever begin to comprehend. You cannot hope to grasp my very being. I am the very antithesis of existence itself, which came into being a countless measure of time before creation itself-

No doubt about it. It was the voice from his dream. The dream he had had the night before the day his troubles had begun once again.

"Where did you come from? The Negaverse?" Fargo droned lifelessly.

-The Negaverse is little more than a child. I am omnipotent. Forever. I had existed for time incomprehensible before the children of the Moon Kingdom and the rest of the planets were even contemplated-

"What are you? Where did you come from?"

-Before the dawn of time and the birth of the universe I was spawned in the freezing cold darkness of non-existence. I was created before life was even a trifling thought. As such I exist outside of existence itself. Now I desire for more than that. The hour will soon arrive when I shall finally be able to enter the material world. The end of my exile for countless time is nigh-

"I won't let that happen," Fargo's voice faltered as he said the words. But there was now emotion behind them as he resisted the formidable will of the voice.

-Who are you to permit me anything? You are nothing. An invisible microbe in the whole infinity of creation-

Fargo's felt his eyes close as he felt the limitless power of the voice close in on him, threatening to drown his soul.

-You are nothing. You have nothing. All that you once had was your name and now that too is gone…-

"You're wrong, you know," Fargo spoke quietly as he opened his eyes again. "I have a name."

-You have no name that is truly yours…-

"I've chosen a name for myself. It's Fargo!" He was speaking with growing strength now.

-Your life is meaningless. What worth can possibly be attached to any thought or choice made by a lowly thing such as you?-

"It doesn't matter. I've finally realised what is truly important. I have found a home here on Earth. I have found friends. A family." As the aura rose up around him threatening to overwhelm him Fargo once more was forced to strain in order to speak. "My sisters…the Sailor Scouts…Serena…Rei…Lita…Mina…and Alexia," for a moment the grip the voice had on him wavered. "I have found a brother…Erin. An aunt…Luna. An uncle…Artemis. A little cousin…Estrella." Fargo closed his eyes once more, but not because of the power of the voice this time. In fact the power it had held over him a few moments before was now dwindling away.

When he opened his eyes again they shone true. The knot in his guts that he had carried around with him for so long was finally gone, banished by his thoughts of the friends he had found here on Earth.

That…and something else too.

"I have found someone to love…Amy." Fargo breathed, finally admitting to himself just how much Amy was to him. The voice could no longer reach him and Fargo stood, no longer under its thrall.

-So do you mean to say that you wish to be destroyed completely? I can make your wish come true-

"No, you can't. You said it yourself. Your only power lies in what you can make people think they heard and see just like Erin."

-It will not be so for much longer. Tonight I will be released from my exile from the material world. For it is tonight that I will awaken in a living body…-

Fargo's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the sound of that.

"A body?" he repeated.

-I have waited for countless aeons for a body that will survive until the end of time and forever more. I knew that the time would come that such a being would come to the place where I have lain imprisoned since my spawning. And that being is… you-

The sphere of light pulsated. The claws of rock began to move slowly out as for the first time since its inception long before the dawn of time the nameless entity tried to move from where it had lain in captivity since the moment of its birth.

Fargo watched captivated as the claws of stone splintered easily and the light began to spread throughout the chamber.

-You are the vessel which will bear me into the physical world. I will enter your body and will awaken into your world in one day. Then you will know what oblivion truly means…-

"Only my body," Fargo responded. "Not my soul."

Then he was lost as the white glow surrounded him.

He felt nothing. He heard nothing. He knew nothing.

Fargo's mind went blank.

x x x x x

After an hour of searching, the Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, Erin and the cats met once again in the main hall of the temple, all feeling like they had failed.

"As far as I could see the place was completely deserted," Venus remarked. "No sign of anyone."

"Are you sure he was coming here?" Luna asked Universe, her voice and eyes full of distrust.

"Yeah! I practically followed him right into here!" the purple-haired Scout responded sharply, then began to walk off.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Jupiter commanded. Universe looked over her shoulder and shrugged.

"Home? Fargo obviously must've left already – so I'm outta here!" she winked and gave the peace sign. "Later." she stalked off. Mercury looked around at the others, then suddenly realised something.

Yet again Universe had managed to get out of answering her question.

"If Fargo isn't here, where can he be?" she exclaimed, brushing aside the realisation.

"I'm right here." Fargo's voice piped up. Mercury gave a gasp of shock as he limped into the hall, looking worse for wear.

"Fargo!" they all exclaimed.

"Where have you been?!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

"What happened?" Charon added.

"Don't ask…" he murmured weakly, then promptly passed out.

Mercury was over by Fargo's side within a moment after he had fallen to the ground. As the boy who she had come to care for more than any other lay outcold on the hard and unforgiving stone of the temple floor she fell to her knees, ignoring the ache this caused and curled her arms around his helpless figure in a protective embrace.

"What's wrong with him?" she cried as she frantically tried to rouse him from the deep swoon that he had fallen into in vain. Not liking to see her friend so distressed Sailor Moon put her hand on Mercury's shoulder to calm her.

"Relax, Mercury - I'm sure that Fargo's just weak after fighting a monster or something," she told her distraught companion in a soothing voice. "Maybe he had to battle the shape-shifter."

"The sooner we get him back to your place the better," Erin put in with a nod of his dusky head. Mercury looked up at them tearfully and their pensive faces reminded her that as long as they remained in this place they always remained in extreme danger.

"Well, let's not outstay our welcome," she said decisively as she pulled herself together for the time being - there would be time enough to feel frantic about Fargo's unconscious state when she had brought him to safety. "This place is not safe - let's get out now and never return." Sailor Charon could feel the emotion in Mercury's voice.

"That's the way to go," she said in a supportive voice. Mercury reluctantly laid Fargo's head tenderly down on the floor and rose to her feet as Tuxedo Mask walked up to where he lay and stooped down to slip his sturdy arms beneath the limp body and lifted him up in order to carry him out of the temple.

"Be careful!" Mercury pleaded anxiously, unable to take her eyes from Fargo who had always been so vibrant and seemingly indestructible and now seemed so weak and vulnerable to danger.

"Of course," Tuxedo Mask reassured the worried Mercurian. Sailor Moon turned and stood facing the wide archway which would lead them into the world of the living and with her back firmly facing the nightmare realm - she never intended to gaze upon this foul place ever again.

"Okay, we've done all that we came here to do," she told her team as they all turned to face the way out along with their leader. "Let's go home now - all of us." As one the Sailor Scouts, Luna, Artemis, Estrella, Tuxedo Mask and Erin nodded their heads gravely and began to make their way through the portal; not one of them aware of the turmoil that the unconscious Fargo was trapped in…