Chapter 24: At Moonlight Tonight

"What do we do now?" Mars asked.

"We have to go…we just can't leave them there." Sailor Moon pleads.

"Yea, but what about that charade with Charon? Do you think it's just a trap?" Uranus asked. "All of us against them has better odds…especially if we'll be on their turf…but its obvious, they have every intention of setting us up for a fight."

"And if it is a charade, why would they want Pluto to come with us so bad?" Neptune put her hand to her chin. "I mean the fact that they would put their own in danger…its either a trap, or they sincerely don't care about each other's fates…which seems strange considering how they call each other allies."

"Yea, but Charon is the only one who's shown real affection for one of us…apart from that flirtatious pain Ixion." Mars looked irked at the thought of him. Sailor Moon slumped at the thought of it.

"I think it's best we try to go to Trista face to face later." Jupiter suggests."

"Or, we could just leave a message on her phone." Tuxedo Mask suddenly pipes in.

"Huh? Are you saying we shouldn't tell her? What if she didn't get it?" Venus asked.

"No. But I think you girls have yet to realize that she's probably received all of the messages so far, but she's just not answering. I can't explain it exactly but if you were in her shoes, wouldn't you be a bit torn…I think its best we let her know, but we don't sway her decision. Although her decision will effect others, it is her decision to make."

"I think if Luna or Artemis was here, they'd agree with that. It seems logical to tell her, but I mean relationships are complicated…" Mercury pipes in.

"Okay, so we leave her a message…or two…but what about saving Luna and Artemis as well?" Venus asked.

"We'll meet here tonight. There's no questioning it. As long as we stick together, we can get them back." Sailor Moon shook her head.

"And maybe they'll reveal more about why they're here, and why they hate us so much…" Mercury suspected.

"Then lets meet back here by nine pm sharp – that way as soon as the moon is high we'll be ready." Venus added.

"Okay, sounds good." They nodded.

Sailor Moon watched as Tuxedo Mask went in the other direction.

"Darien, where are you going?"

"I have something I have to do before tonight. I'll meet you at your house soon Serena. I promise." He said.

She nodded and left with Venus.

Trista took a deep sigh, still behind the compost. She heard it all. She'd actually transformed…when she saw what had happened she'd fought with herself whether or not to emerge. Now as Sailor Pluto, she saw in herself what the dilemma was she had to face head on.

If she was going to do this, she needed to go alone. She'd already planned on that much. She'd go early. What Tuxedo Mask had said was right; she didn't need to be swayed by anyone at the moment. It had to be her decision…whatever that ended up being. Maybe she could find enough time to be alone with Charon, and figure things out.

She turned to leave when suddenly someone landed in front of her.

"Tuxedo Mask?"

"I saw you here earlier when I joined the fight."

"Why didn't you tell the others?"

"That's not my job to do. I figured there was a reason you were hiding. I've had plenty of moments where I've had to figure things out on my own to know when one chooses seclusion for a reason." He revealed.

She looked at him. Charon had thought at one point that she'd been infatuated with him. She admired him dearly, as Small Lady's father… he'd easily one the hearts of many, even Queen Beryl, and Rei at one point…but knowing Charon's brokenness, she questioned if her infatuation was ever really real? Maybe she had just been an admirer from a distance, long ago, but it couldn't have run that deep.

"I had to come. Now that Charon is captured too…trick or not…I need to go on my own tonight. I can't promise I could do my job as a Scout correctly if I was with the others. I care for them, Serena and the other scouts, but I also still care for Charon. It's a new and old feeling, and I can't help but hurt when I see the way her pushes me aside. Only small pieces of the puzzle are coming back to me, but theres some tearing apart in my chest between these two places, and I need to figure it out so I can put it all back together." She sighs deeply again. "Do you remember what it was like when your future self had you stay away from Serena?"

"I do. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. I broke her heart to a point that I almost caused her demise a few times. It was an obstacle we had to overcome but every move was like torture…I was stuck between my duties as protector as Tuxedo Mask, and my affection for her as both myself, and former self as Prince."

"I feel similarly for Charon. I haven't decided if it's really love…but I care for him deeply, and every moment away, him thinking that I can't understand his pain…and my duties as Scout to protect Serena and fight for what's right…it is becoming torture. My worst fear is … should it come down to saving Serena or Charon...I can't be certain what I would do…and both would absolutely kill me. We all need to go tonight to figure out why these people hate the Guardian Senshi so much…but my own quest requires me also to mend an old relationship. Maybe I need to know where I stand. I know all of the scouts put things on hold because of our roles, but to turn away from someone I care for…"

"I understand. From what I saw in our future, you care much for Rini, and to make sure Serena survives. You are a good scout Pluto, and loyal for what you do as the Keeper of the Time Portal. I don't think it is very selfish of you to spend some of your time on yourself."

"Thank you Darien." She bowed her head slighty. "Serena will have to understand I have to take a leave for a bit as a Guardian Scout, until I can figure things out. At least I mean as standing beside them for the moment in this fight. I won't let either side perish, and I plan to make sure of that…no matter what it takes. I know the Gates need a Guardian...and I will continue to keep them locked tight until I return. I don't plan to let my key out of my sight. I know this also puts us at risk but… I just need to know that Luna and Artemis are safe. And I figured out as much that them luring me with Charon is a trap."

"I wont tell the others unless it warrants me to. But the enemy, they're interested in you Pluto." He looked conflicted.

"I do want to be there for small lady when she comes into our world during our time… but…" She pauses and turned to the sky. "A long time ago, Charon was my loyal guardian, and he misinterpreted me. He thought I cared deeply for someone else; a man who…I think… once showed me brief kindness in the past and again in the future. I owe that man, at least to stay true to what my future self set out to do, and protect what is dear to the future. But I also owe Charon a chance for us to patch whatever bitterness had once happened." She put her head down for a moment. "Thank you."

Tuxedo Mask watched as she suddenly broke away from their conversation before he could respond, leaving a faint glisten of a trail of tears through the air, as she leapt away in shadows. She had always seemed so stoic and strong from the few times she'd fought with them, but it was only now he understood the pain of being the Guardian of Time, and what that meant. He questioned whether that riddled man she'd told him about was his future self. He, did however, understand her pain in the need to find herself; he'd had to do that for years before he'd found a place in this world, and it wasn't beside the person he'd first expected it to be by. Maybe Pluto had to uncover her past as well, to find out where she belonged. At least he was aware of her plan…so if something did go wrong, he could make sure the other scouts understood what had happened today.

But now he'd have to go meet Serena. It was long overdue, and he'd make sure, at Ixion's warning, to never leave her side during this next battle.

Pluto got there at seven sharp. The sun was setting and she would be here the moment Ixion arrived. Hopefully he came before the scouts did.

She didn't like going alone…although she'd spent much of her time alone. Existing in this time and place, with her memories in tact made her feel like her two identities were very dual.

She hadn't realized she'd actually died in the war against Queen Beryl… it seemed, like Saturn, a part of her had always remained as Pluto protecting the gates, while her human self had existed here, albeit after finding Michelle and Amara, the two parts of her had become one.

Now she felt divided again.

"To be quite honest I'm surprised you showed up. I thought after you didn't come earlier today that Charon was as good as gone."

"You would do that to him?" She looked up to see Ixion.

"Who knows. Either way, dead or alive, he would have haunted me to my grave, the broken hearted fool."

"And you say this after going after Sailor Moon on occasion." She held her staff protectively just ahead of her.

"Obsessively infatuated sure…heartbroken? Not yet. But I'm sure he'll be happy to see your face when you release him."

"I expect this is a trap of somekind." She said bluntly. "But I am well prepared to do everything in my power to make sure nobody gets hurt, no matter what the cost."

Ixion was taken back by her strong willed behavior. More so he knew well that they worst price she would pay was to use her Time powers, against the laws of Senshidom, and likely resulting in death. They may ruin everything, but the look in her eyes of desperation and bravery also meant she may end up seeing things their way after it was all revealed. "Were you always this foreward? I guess Charon likes them dominant…"

"Enough with the snide jokes. I'm here to get him back and Luna and Artemis."

Ixion raised a brow. "In fact I was informed to lead you straight to him. Whatever you two love birds decide, we'll blame that outcome on our Lady Eris who arranged the meeting."

"And Luna and Artemis?"

"That's for your friends to find, and you to see." He said. He moved his hand leaving a trail of a flame behind, which seemed to open a space to open to portal. "Coming?"

She nodded, bracing herself, and followed him in.

"So she didn't answer the phone either huh?" Mars asked as they arrived on scene.

"No, she didn't. But at the least she might get the messages before it's too late." Neptune shook her head.

"I'm sure it'll be fine in the end. We must worry about getting everyone back, even if it's without Pluto." Tuxedo Mask said.

"Even our enemy?" Mercury asked.

"We'll leave that one to a on the spot judgment call." Jupiter said, looking rather fierce.

"I just want Luna and Artemis, home, in my arms, safe." Sailor Moon said, nervously.

"Well here, we are. He better keep his end of the deal." Uranus said crossed arms.

"I wouldn't worry about my end of any bargain. I am quite an honest man. Whatever I set out to do will happen." Ixion's voice came from behind them.

They turned suddenly to see him just behind Sailor Moon moving away backwards in the air in a leap, his hands trailing, the strand of her odango.

Tuxedo Mask stood in front of her protectively, as she gasped and they all leapt back in retaliation.

"Oh relax I don't bite." He said with his playful smirk. "I was surprised, this is all going so well."

"What went well prior to this that's got you so chipper?" Mars asked.

"Ah the feisty rival female flame is out causing a spark again? And clearly if you don't know I'm not going to tell. But a deal is a deal. You want the kitty cats back, you can follow me through here…" He opened a blackened portal. It seemed to swirl with a strange energy – it wasn't like the dark crystals, no. It was a mix of familiarity – of senshi power, with a strange darkness that fueled it; the same feeling, and energy of the seeds.

"You'd better not dupe us." Jupiter warned.

"No duping. Straight path here to the kittens." He said entering slightly. "Now or never."