Chapter 8
Earth and Fairy Unite!
"I just don't see how this could have happened! I mean, Melody was in the house and he just took her!" Ami paced worriedly back and forth in front of the broken glass door, typing furiously on her data computer. "Okay, we
all just remembered who Melody is and what part she played in the past. We're all pretty beat but still, how could we have missed that much evil
entering the house?!"
Rei gently put a hand on Ami's shoulder and softly said, "We weren't paying attention. We were all caught up in old memories and didn't listen to what Melody had been saying. Remember the first day we met Melody? In the café she said, "I'm happy with my life and I wouldn't change it for anything."
I know she'll be okay, we just have to stay together and think calmly." Smiling, Rei turned to the group and said, "Okay, first things first. Was
that DARIEN I just saw kidnapping Melody?"
"Yea, that did look like Darien. I didn't want to say anything in case it was just my eyes. What is Darien doing kidnapping people?" Mina looked over at Kevin and saw him looking sheepishly at Sam and said in a shocked
voice, "You guys knew he was evil? And you didn't tell us!"
"Mina it's not that simple.."
"What do you mean it's not that simple? Darien used to be a part of our
team. He's.almost family to us. Don't you think."
"And that's exactly why they didn't tell you, Mina. That's why none of us told you. You all have a personal relationship and feelings for Darien. He's our enemy and we didn't want to hurt you girls with the knowledge that
he'd gone to the other side." Chris looked at all the girl's faces and
sighed. Looking at Lita's eyes, Chris knew she felt betrayed and swore softly. Feeling a soft hand on his waist, Chris looked down into Jessie's
soft pleading eyes and sat down.
Turning to the whole group, Jessie softly said, "I know you all feel a little betrayed and hurt right now so your all going to listen to what I have to say. You all remember Small Lady and how she came from the future,
correct? Well what Sailor Pluto neglected to tell you was that because you'd seen your future that future had to change. You weren't making the
decisions you would have made had you not known the outcome of those decisions." Seeing Ami's confused yet eager look, and Mina's 'wha?' look, Jessie smiled and said, "Let me give you an example. Ami, if I told you
that your decision to stay with the sailor scouts instead of going to America to study medicine in two weeks would cause Mina to get interested
in medicine and become a nurse, would you leave or stay?"
Looking at Ami's shocked face, Mina said, "Ami your going to study medicine in America in two weeks? How can you do that? We're already down to four
scouts how can we manage with just three?"
"Chill Mina, I already wrote the school to say I couldn't come but how did you know about my trip Jessie?...and you know if I knew all that I would
stay to help Mina."
"Exactly! I knew because in the future where Small Lady is born, you did
leave and study medicine in America. Not only that, but five years ago
instead of kicking Serena out of the scouts because she was late to battles, all four of you and Darien helped her. You particularly helped her by leaving to study, because you left: Serena had to grow up and she became the Queen you'd all been trying for so long to make her be. All it
took was a little patience and a little time. Instead, you took it for granted that the future was set and tried to force Serena to grow up before she was ready. That caused her to be resentful and resulted in her leaving the scouts and the current problems facing you today. I'm not trying to sound harsh; I'm just saying that the future had to change because you had changed. You were no longer the carefree sailor scouts; you were sailor scouts with a future that you knew would come to pass. You became arrogant
and prideful, and thus here we are today."
Jessie looked at the tearful faces of the scouts and couldn't help her own
tears from falling. Softly she said, "Please don't feel like you've
failed. We, the solar senshi, also made this mistake." Lita looked up with anger in her eyes at Jessie and sneered at her. "Oh really. When did you kick out your leader and lose the most important person in you lives? When have you ever dealt with the guilt that we've lived with the past five years knowing that Serena had fought her own battle that day, been wounded, tried to explain but we wouldn't listen. I wouldn't listen to her.she'd been hurt and I didn't care. All I cared about was that she was late, and
I made her leave us."
Jessie looked on in shock as Lita blamed herself for Serena's disappearance. She hadn't been expecting this! She opened her mouth to
answer when Rei softly said, "Jessie, I don't think you understand what happened that day. Please don't say any more. I don't think I could bear it." Crying, Rei turned and left the living room slamming her door behind her. Mina stood up and choked out, "I think we'd better stop for tonight. We're all tired and we're all saying things we'll regret in the morning."
Looking at Lita, Mina held out her hand and pulled her friend to her, letting her cry on her shoulder. "Jessie, you and the guys are welcome to stay here if you'd like. Jessie you can have.Melody's room until she comes
back. We'll talk again in the morning."
"I think that's a good idea Mina." Chris stood up and smiled. "We all need a little time to get used to this situation and we will all feel tons
better once we've slept. Can I help do anything before we turn in?"
"No, thanks Chris I think we've got it." Ami smiled at Chris and said, "You've been a big help already." Moving to Mina's side, Ami helped the two girls down the hall and into their rooms before she softly closed her
own door. Sitting down on the couch, Chris saw that Jessie looked
stricken. Softly he said, "Jessie."
But before he could finish, Jessie had run to Melody's room and shut her own door. He could hear her soft sobs through the door. Sighing, Chris rubbed his head and said, "Okay men, what do we do now that we have five
upset girls to deal with instead of one?"
Chuckling softly, Will said, "Now Chris, don't you think you should answer
that one being our fearless leader." Ducking the throw pillow sent his
way, Will said, "Well I don't think you have to be rude about it.huh?!"
A hazy face had appeared in the middle of the living room and the five men
were startled to see it appear out of nowhere. Looking from one to the other, they all moved closer until they were kneeling a foot away from the
face. As they moved closer, the face grew less hazy until they were shocked to see Serena's face in all her beauty with silver tears running
from her eyes.
Softly she said, "Loyal knights of the Solar Senshi, please do not be afraid. I have a message for you." Smiling softly at them, she continued, "You have watched over the little star of light faithfully for many years. She is a happy and healthy girl and a powerful fighter. Do not worry about
her, she will be and is fine. I am with her now, do not fear for her
safety."
Serena's voice hardened, as she looked each of the knights in the eye. "You have done well thus far but please remember this. The Earth Sailors are not Solar Sailors. Their past has not been like yours and they do not trust easily. Their hearts are burdened now with guilt for letting two of their friends down. Myself and Melody. Unless you are too dense to see, they have come to care for her like she was their sister. I know why you
keep information from them but they do not. For your own sake and for theirs you must tell them everything. If you don't Melody will die.and so
will I." Then she faded from sight.
"Wait!" Sam couldn't believe what they'd just been told! Each of the men knelt for some time, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kevin got up and moved to a chair. "Well." Looking at the clock, Kevin said, "Since it's now midnight I suggest we all get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. How're we going to explain Melody's disappearance at school?"
"I don't know Kevin, but I think we should all go to sleep now. We have much to think on and little time to think on it." That said, all five men found comfortable perches and quickly fell into troubled dreams. Around
two, Jessie slipped from Melody's room and sighed at the site of four knights all sleeping on the floor. Smiling, Jessie moved towards the big chair and gently crawled in with its former occupant. Chris smiled in his
sleep but dreamt on uninterrupted as Jessie snuggled closer to his comforting presence and slept dreaming about Melody telling her something
important...
*********
Deep in the center of the Earth, down where no living thing dare enter stood an immense castle. Made out of the blackest coal, it stood in the darkness darker than the blackest night and the evil emitting from it was enough to cause Chaos to tremble in fear. There, in that place of evil and
darkness, in the deepest dungeon lay the sleeping Fairy Princess.
Looking at her prone form from the doorway, cold ice blue eyes glared their hatred and anger at the beautiful girl. 'She shouldn't be this beautiful. Her beauty is enough to rival my own love, and that of my most hated enemy.
But no matter, she won't be alive for much longer.' Stepping into that pit of gloom and despair, shoes clicking on the stone, the eyes widened as
the girl moaned softly and started to awaken. 'She's tough. I hit her
hard enough to knock out any man for at least six hours and she's up in two? This needs some thought.' Stepping into the light, the eyes watched
the Fairy Princess as she slowly came around.
Melody moaned softly at the pounding in her skull and turned on her side. Feeling cold stone instead of her warm sheets, Melody slowly blinked a few
times and opened her eyes to see stone walls surrounding her. Gasping
softly, Melody remembered being hit in the back of the head and then blackness. Turning at the sound of soft laughter, Melody's eyes widened in
horror at the face she beheld.
"What? Not expecting to see me, Princess? And here I came just to welcome
you to my humble home. Shame on you."
Shrinking back to the back wall, Melody stared up and said, "But Darien.how
could you?"
"Simple really. The scouts threw out the one I thought I loved. I agreed with them until I saw she'd been hurt then I tried to go after her but it was too late. She was already gone. For days I wept and cursed my hasty decision and I left the scouts as well to search for Serena. It took me four weeks to find this place, and when I did I met someone who changed my
life for the better. She showed me what I'd been missing and what true love was. Here she comes. Darling, come and see the puny Fairy Princess
shivering in terror."
Darien stepped aside to let a very pretty woman in. She wore a long black
cloak over her blood-red dress. She had long black hair and black lipstick, with hard gray eyes. Her voice was cold as ice when she softly said, "This is the famous Fairy Princess, keeper of the chancellor of hope?
I thought she would be...I don't know. More powerful. She was pretty easy to snatch and is helpless in our dark castle isn't she." Laughing,
the woman left the room, saying, "How long do we have to keep her alive
again? HAHAHA!"
Melody shivered at the evil she felt from that woman. "How can you love
that...thing?! What about Serena? Don't you care about her anymore?"
"That sniveling baby? I never really loved her in the first place. Now, be a good girl and stay quiet until I need you." With that said, Darien
left Melody in the darkness of her prison.
Crying softly, Melody prayed that Chris, Jessie, and the scouts were okay. Softly she prayed, "Please, let Chris be okay...and let him find me soon." Feeling a warm brush of love from Jessie, Melody smiled and opened her eyes to find that her tears were giving off a soft purple light. "Okay," she said softly, "I can handle this. All I have to do is stay calm." Still,
Melody prayed that Chris would find her soon...
*******
Jessie woke up at seven, with the odd feeling that Melody was nearby. The
fear and despair she felt from her sister broke her heart. Closing her eyes, Jessie sent a wave of love at her sister and thought, 'Wherever you are Melody, I am with you!' Resting her head on Chris' shoulder, Jessie silently wept for her sister and for herself, until she fell asleep with
tears on her angelic face.
Chris woke up at eight feeling well rested. Opening his eyes, he looked
down to discover the weight he felt on him was Jessie! She looked like
she'd been crying all night; tears were still on her cheeks. Knowing Jessie had meant well last night, Chris hugged her gently. 'Poor Jessie, she's worried about Melody, and now she feels guilty about what she said to the scouts last night. She may be very smart and a sailor scout but they
have to remember she's only six years old. I promise I'll protect her
Melody, until you get back. And I'll bring you back too!' Getting up
slowly, Chris put Jessie back down in the chair and covered her with a blanket. Smiling softly, he kissed her cheek and then proceeded to wake up
the solar knights, not so gently.
Grumbling and hissed threats came out of the four knights until Chris
pointed at the sleeping Jessie and then everything was still once more.
Moving out onto the balcony, Chris and the knights silently arranged
themselves in a circle.
"Okay men, we all know what Serena said last night. Now I want your
thoughts on what she meant by it all. Sam, you first."
"Well, I think she meant exactly what she said. We all just watched last night as Jessie tried to explain why things are changing in their lives. I
know we all felt she went a little too far to prove her point, but we
didn't say anything. I think we all forgot how young Jessie is. She doesn't understand about guilt or betrayal, because she's never felt them. Serena was trying to tell us that we had to tell the scouts about Darien,
what we know about him and what we know about Melody. We have to share
with them our past, our mission, and our goal. Otherwise we'll fail."
"But what if they don't need to know it all? I mean, yea Jessie went a little overboard on the explanation and put a guilt trip on the scouts but
that's no big deal. I think they earned it for being the royal witches they were. Yes it was a mistake and they've dealt with their guilt, but they were never brought to the full realization of why they acted that way. Jessie brought to their attention their pride, and I think she did a good
job."
"I agree with Kevin. I think they need to know about Darien and some about the chancellor, but not everything. Jessie did a good thing bringing to light their errors, but I also think she went a little to far. The scouts deserved the reminder but not from a little girl they met a month ago. And I think Serena was right to say that the scouts think of Melody as their sister. She's family to them, and in a sense I think they've all put her
in Serena's place. But that's not the point. The point is Darien has Melody and we have the heart crystal. The question is how do we go about
getting Melody back and finding the place the chancellor will appear?"
"Good question Will. But I think Melody is the chancellor of hope. How
else would I have gotten this crystal after connecting with her?"
"What if she somehow knew this would happen and wanted to put it in trustworthy hands. She alone knows the power that crystal holds, and only she can call on its powers to awaken the chancellor. Come to think of it,
how did the chancellor awaken so many years ago?"
"I think I can answer that question." The five men jumped at the soft
feminine voice behind them. Turning, Chris saw a sight he'd hoped he'd never see again. Standing before him, with Jessie in her arms, was Sailor
Saturn. Her glaive beside her glinting in the soft sunlight, she moved with grace and poise to stand before the men with Jessie stirring in her
arms.
Looking down at the little princess, Saturn smiled softly and said, "Come child, wake for you must hear this too. For your own safety as well as for
the safety of Melody and Serena." Holding a hand up as Sam opened his mouth to ask something, Sailor Saturn said, "I will answer questions only after I have had my say. There you are little one. It's good to see you wide awake again. Why don't you go sit with Chris over there and I'll tell
you all a true story about the chancellor of hope."
"Once, long ago, there lived a girl who wanted to protect everyone in the galaxy. Not from evil, or physical harm, but from devastation and demise. It was this lone girl's wish that brought the chancellor into existence. The identity of the chancellor was only known to the girl protector. As the years passed and the girl lay dying, she told her daughter the identity of the Chancellor and told her to tell only her first born heir the secret.
Over time, the chancellor was forgotten and turned into a myth. Until that dark day three thousand years ago when the negaverse attacked the Moon
Kingdom, the chancellor lay dormant in the mind of a young girl.
The day of Serena's annual ball, a woman by the name of Jasmine attacked
little Princess Jessie, to try and gain control over the keeper of the Chancellor. Princess Melody didn't know that Jessie was in danger until
later that day when she snuck off to talk to Serena in the rose garden.
There she met Jasmine and found out what evil looked like. Refusing to tell the evil witch who the Chancellor was, Jasmine threw Jessie off the
cliff towards the sea in front of Melody.
Because of her love for her sister, Melody did an unforgivable act. She called on the Chancellor to save her sister, giving the identity away.or so Jasmine thought. She took Jessie and Melody to her palace and went after Serena thinking she was the Chancellor. When Melody awoke on her ship, she
became so angry that she used powers no one suspected she had and teleported herself and Jessie out of the ship seconds before it exploded in the sky. This angered Queen Beryl, for Jasmine had used Beryl's ship for this mission, and when Melody tried to protect Serena and Darien from her Shadow Monster, Beryl killed all three of them. So now you know why the
chancellor was awakened so many years ago.
You think you know that Melody is the chancellor. Let me tell you this, she is not. The keeper of the chancellor could never be the chancellor for
if they know who they are then they would sleep until called upon to protect the galaxy from destruction. Melody can be saved and I am here to help you towards that end. The outer senshi have been called and so has Rini since this also concerns her mother. They'll be here later today."
Chris nodded his head to show that he'd heard her while his thoughts ran through his head like lightning. 'The outer senshi are coming? This is bad...worse than I thought. They only leave their posts when danger has moved past them and is here on earth.wait a minute.' "Sailor Saturn, who's
watching your posts while you're on Earth?"
"Not that it's any of your business but the Sailor Starlights are guarding them for the time being. Now, why don't you all finish your conversation while I go wake up the girls?" Smiling, Sailor Saturn de-henshined and a
small fragile looking girl with coal black hair walked into the house,
leaving six very confused people behind her.
Chris shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Jessie to see what she thought of all this. Getting a little worried when she avoided looking at
him, Chris opened his mouth to speak when she interrupted him.
"Guys, I'm sorry for the way I acted last night. It wasn't my place to say any of the things I said to the scouts last night and I know it reflects
badly on you. I just wanted to help but I made things worse. Can you
forgive me?"
"Sure we can, Jessie. I mean, you're our friend and friends make mistakes
sometimes. Next time, just try and remember that some things are too painful to talk about even when trying to make a point, -k-?" Chris smiled
at Jessie and hugged her tight.
Getting up, Chris said, "Well, I guess we'd better go face the music right? I guess I'll take over for Melody's class.wait a minute! Isn't today the
day they go to the park to practice their art?"
"Yes it is, Chris. We're all supposed to meet Melody at the park at 8 by
the heart fountain. Why don't you go and say that our job is to find Melody and paint where she's at in disguise? You can tell the class that we'll be doing art exercises all week and the student who finds Melody the
most gets no homework next week?"
Grinning at Ami, Chris nodded his head and softly said, "That's a great
idea Ami, thanks! But why would you help me out like that? I'm really sorry we kept stuff from you. We won't do it again, we're a team right?"
"Right, we're a team which means we work together. Even when we're still a little mad at each other." Lita and the other girl's stood with Hotaru in
the window frame and smiled at the guys. "I hate to say this but if we
don't hurry up, we're going to be late!"
The next ten minutes were pure chaos as the group quickly got dressed and raced to the park. Arriving right at eight, Chris and the guys were amazed that all the students were already there! Clearing his throat, Chris said, "Excuse me, hello my name is Chris and this week I'll be your instructor in the park. Your assignment today is to find Melody. She's hiding somewhere
in this area in disguise and your job when you find her is to paint the area she's in and where she is. All week we'll be doing art projects and at the end of the week, Melody will decide who found her the most. That student won't have homework next week. So what are you waiting for...go
find Melody! Be back here at three and I'll collect your paintings."
Laughing at the sight of twenty-five students running about the area with
paints, brushes, and canvases Chris and the boys sat in the sun and
wondered how to find Melody...
Jessie smiled to herself as she thought about missing school that day. Seeing Chris eyeing her, Jessie softly said, "If you make me go to school today, I'll tell everyone that Melody was kidnapped. If you get a week off
from school then I at least should get a day!" With that said, Jessie marched off until she and everyone else in the park froze as the sky went
black!
Chris, the knights and Hotaru were the only one's unaffected by this bizarre change of events. Quickly nodding their heads in agreement, they all transformed and stood waiting for the enemy's next move. An icy laugh filled the air and Chris' eyes bugged as he remembered that horrible laugh from Melody's memory. Looking up at the sky, Chris turned white as a ghost as he saw Jasmine, sister to Queen Beryl, floating in the air on Darien's
arm.
"What's the matter boys, scared of the dark? Tidal Black Storm!" The knights tried to move but found themselves unable to as a ball of blackness surged towards them. They all cringed as the blackness was two feet from
them when they heard, "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" and "Pluto Deadly
scream!"
Finally able to move, the knights covered their heads as a ball of pink and purple light decimated the darkness before them. Glancing behind them, the knights saw four new women dressed in sailor uniforms and smiled. Nodding his head to the Outer Sailor Scouts, Chris turned and said to Darien, "Well
that was fun. Want to try again Jasmine? Or are you going to fight us
Darien?"
"Fight you, no that would be to easy. Why don't I fight the stupid girl I
have trapped in my tower? What was her name again...oh yeah, Melody. She's such a pretty thing, I can see why you want her Chris but I thought
you were against cradle robbing?"
"Why you..."
"Now now Chris, don't lose your temper." Clicking his long fingers, Darien
pointed to the left and Chris was shocked to see Melody dressed all in
black with tears running down her face.
"CHRIS!" she cried out in a loud voice and then, with another snap of Darien's fingers she was gone. Gasping, Ami softly said, "Darien so help
me, you bring her back or else!"
Looking down at the quiet senshi of water, Darien was shocked to see anger and hatred blazing in her eyes. Looking at the other inner senshi, Darien noticed they all had that look in their eyes. "Well girls, its nice to see you again. Why all the dramatics Ami? It's not like its Serena I'm
playing with, just an insignificant girl who you just met three months
ago."
"We may have just met Melody, Darien but she's our friend. She's looked out for us and protected us from evil and she's been kind to us. We love her as much as we loved Serena, and we want her back." Lita spit the words
out at Darien and glared her ire at him.
Mina and Rei didn't say a word, but stood right behind Ami and Lita with
their new fairy crystals in hand ready to transform if needed. Darien sneered down at the girls and said, "What are you going to do about it? I
could beat you even before I turned evil, and now I'm twice as strong. What makes you think your better than you were when Serena left? You don't
even have the silver crystal's power anymore.what's this?!"
Mina grinned at Darien and slowly held her fairy crystal in the air. Rei,
Ami, Lita, and Jessie also held their crystals in the air and smiled as they began to glow with their own light! Sailor Mini Moon gasped in awe as she felt the power rising around the five girls. Softly she heard Sailor
Neptune and Sailor Uranus say, "Such Power.where did it come from?" "I don't know, Neptune but their crystals are different and they have a new
runt with them.what is going on down here?"
Softly each girl smiled and said, "Ice Fairy Power!" "Earth Fairy Power!
"Light Fairy Power!" "Flame Fairy Power!" " Fairy Star Power!"
Red eyes wide with awe, surprise, wonder, and a little envy Sailor Mini Moon watched as the Inner Scouts transformed into Nova Senshi in flashes,
eruptions, smoke, and flames! Everyone stopped to watch Jessie's
transformation.
Even though she'd already said her transformation phrase, she was still standing exactly as she'd been. Feeling a cold shift in the air, all the scouts gasped as Jessie was hit by a ball of white light in the shape of a shooting star! All her clothes disappeared and Jessie closed her eyes as she felt the comforting presence of the stars surrounding her in their soft lilac light. Looking down in a prayerful stance, she smiled as her silver
fuku appeared and her silver skirt flashed into existence. Singing a soft note of prayer, Jessie did a twirl and her silver sandals
appeared and tied about an inch above her ankles. Sighing softly, the stars blew away from Jessie as a star symbol appeared on her forehead and a
thin gold tiara appeared on her head with a tiny teardrop opal rested
between her heart shaped bangs. Kneeling on one knee, Jessie's bows appeared-solid black and like her sisters very short and in the center of
her front bow was a star pendent with her lilac fairy crystal. In an
explosion of power, that knocked Darien and Jasmine back ten feet Nova
Fairy Star was ready for action.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Darien wondered where the scouts had
attained their newfound power, especially the little runt! Hearing Jasmine's heated curse, Darien summoned one of his more powerful servants and said, "Destroy them and return to the castle...or don't return at all! I will see you again soon Nova Knight. Until then, know I have your Fairy Princess and your love!" With an evil laugh, Darien and Jasmine left in a
flash of acid black smoke! Sailor Mini Moon was also wondering how the inner scouts had attained such power. 'They're even more powerful than the outer scouts now.they're more powerful than me! How did that happen?!' "Hey guys, what's up with the
new gear?" Grinning at Sailor Mini Moon and the Outer scouts obvious shock, Nova Mars
said, "We'll explain everything later. Right now we have to beat this
thing before someone gets hurt!" Nodding their heads in agreement, the outer scouts joined the nova scouts and knights in facing the clown-like yoma before them. Nova Star smirked at the yoma and gasped when he vanished in thin air! Standing her ground, Nova Star felt a slight shift in air to her left and jumped aside only to get hit hard from the right! Cursing under her breath, Nova Star the other
scouts get hit just as hard, if not harder, than she had.
"What is up with this yoma? We can't fight what we can't see!" "Yes we can Mercury. Trust me." Before Mars could say how though, she was hit with a blast of yellow smoke and she couldn't speak! Laughing at the shocked faces of the scouts, the clown yoma reappeared and said, "What's
the matter, sissy scouts.can't find me?" Nova Star had had enough of this! Powering up, she didn't feel Mini Moon
and Sailor Saturn also powering up. Glaring at the clown yoma, who was ignoring the younger senshi, the three little scouts formed a triangle of
power. Oblivious to the fact that they were even working together, the
three got very close to each other and all three said, "Tri Dream Unit
Strike!" The three little senshi gasped at the power and light given off by their combined attack, until its force blew them apart! The clown yoma didn't stand a chance and evaporated with a silent scream! Chris was floored by the power those three had just shown and wasn't surprised that everyone was looking at the three like they'd all grown two heads. Hearing Mini Moon's groan broke the spell and Chris rushed to her side and said, "Are you okay
little one?"
Sailor Pluto was shocked and a little wary of the power those three had shown. 'I know that Rini has the power of her mother, but she's never been
able to tap into it because of her fear of returning to the dark side. Hotaru has the power to destroy an entire planet but it kills her to do so.
I've never seen the little one before.wait a minute.' Getting a
thoughtful look on her face, Pluto remembered a legend from long ago.
'Surely it can't be true. She can't be a Princess from a planet that doesn't exist.either way, how did those three create more power than all the older senshi could pull using all the energy they have. And they all
lived from it!' Watching one of the new knights rushing to Rini's side, Pluto walked over to Nova Star and knelt down beside her. Looking down, Pluto was awed to see that this girl was younger than Rini had been when she'd first fought the Doom Phantom. She was also floored by the fact that she could still feel this scouts energy and it was almost as strong as hers was! The only
reason Pluto didn't run for cover was the fact that while Mini Moon and
Saturn had helped with the attack they had stayed awake while this
youngster had been knocked out cold. Smiling, Pluto gently picked up the tiny scout and walked over to the group forming around Sailor Saturn. Pluto gasped as she saw tears in Hotaru's eyes and saw Rini kneeling down beside her friend also in tears. Wondering
what was wrong, Pluto waited for the girls to explain their tears.
Hotaru didn't know what to think! She'd never felt so much power flow through her and she'd never felt the thoughts of another scout as clearly as she had the little silver scout. It frightened her, because when she'd
felt Nova Star's thoughts, she remembered a time when there were Fairy Scouts and knew her power was tiny compared to theirs. Feeling a soft hand
grasp hers, Hotaru looked up into Rini's also haunted eyes and knew she
wasn't alone in her shock. Rini knew that what they'd just done wasn't because of her or Hotaru. They had experience yes, but the majority of their power had come from the tiny sailor held in Pluto's arms. Nodding her head to Hotaru's silent question,
Rini gave her friend a hug and de-transformed. Making sure everyone followed her, Rini smiled at the little girl in Setsuna's arms and softly said, "We're fine guys really, but what just happened.well it was an eye
opener." "I can't exactly explain what happened, because I really don't know. It just seemed right at the time to link up with Hotaru to combine our powers to beat the clown. I thought we might be able to slow him down enough for you guys to beat him. Then, very faintly, in the back of my mind I heard a soft voice ask to join with us. Knowing in my gut that this was okay, I opened my mind and let her in. At that moment when our minds were one, I
felt.almost as if I'd touched the sun. There was so much power running through me that I could speak. But the voice was there, telling Hotaru and me that it was all right, she knew what she was doing. Then she told us to say what she did and then the power exploded! I remember.hearing a legend about Fairy Senshi from my mom in the future. I don't know her name, but the little one is a Fairy Senshi for sure. And if I'm not mistaken, these
are the Fairy Knights, and the girl in the sky was the little one's
sister." "I may be way out of line, but I think we should all join forces. Outers, Inners, and Fairy. Together, we can beat anything that comes our way. And for Pluto to be here instead of at the time gates means were going to need
all the help and power we can get. You guys in?" "I'm in, little one. What you say is true, there is evil brewing that even I cannot name." Smiling at the little girl in her arms, Setsuna looked up as a soft voice said, "Thanks for taking care of Jessie for me. Her sister
would never forgive me if anything happened to her while she was away."
Grinning, Chris took Jessie from the shocked Pluto and said, "Me and my
boys are in, and once Jessie wakes up she'll be in too. We'll be hard
pressed to keep her from bouncing around the room in her happiness. My
thanks to you..." "That's Rini, Princess Serena's future daughter. Next to her is Setsuna, Sailor Pluto and guardian to the gates of time. Then there's Amara, Sailor
Uranus, and Michelle, Sailor Neptune. I'm Hotaru and I say the outer scouts are in. This is why we came to Earth in the first place, to help the Earth scouts. If we join with them, and they've already joined with
the Fairy Senshi, then we've no choice but to do the same."
Amara and Michelle nodded their heads in agreement and smiled as they looked upon little Jessie. Holding out their hands, the two grasped hands with Ami and Lita who were on either side of them. Getting the idea, they in turn grabbed the hands on their sides, until Chris placed Jessie in the
middle and joined hands with Hotaru and Rini completing the circle. They all tensed as they felt a tremendous power envelop them, and gasped as
they saw Jessie begin to glow a soft silver color. With her eyes still closed, Jessie stood up and placed her hands in a prayerful way and when she opened her mouth a soft airy mournful note pierced the air. Unable to let go of the hands to his left and right, Chris wondered what was going on. He wanted to run to Jessie and see what was causing her pain, but he
also knew that she was safe and fine. When Jessie opened her eyes, they had a faraway look in them and she held out her hands as if taking something from someone. Watching closely, all the scouts jumped when the outline of Princess Serena became visible in the middle of their circle. Smiling gently down at the little girl before her, they all heard her say, "Little one, you have been brave beyond measure. You have learned much from your past failures and are still fighting for the dream. I thank you for your faithfulness and know you will complete the task I gave you so long ago. I have a gift for your sister. I trust
you will keep it safe until you see her again and will give her this message when you give this to her. Tell her 'Love is not what she thinks and only when she truly trusts will she find her knight.' Farewell little
star, I know you will always be true." Placing in Jessie's hands a thin crystal chain of hearts, Serena smiled at the scouts and vanished! Jessie blinked twice before anyone could move.
She looked down at the crystal chain in her hands and softly said, "I
promise, Serena. I will get this to my sister if it's the last thing I
do!"
Earth and Fairy Unite!
"I just don't see how this could have happened! I mean, Melody was in the house and he just took her!" Ami paced worriedly back and forth in front of the broken glass door, typing furiously on her data computer. "Okay, we
all just remembered who Melody is and what part she played in the past. We're all pretty beat but still, how could we have missed that much evil
entering the house?!"
Rei gently put a hand on Ami's shoulder and softly said, "We weren't paying attention. We were all caught up in old memories and didn't listen to what Melody had been saying. Remember the first day we met Melody? In the café she said, "I'm happy with my life and I wouldn't change it for anything."
I know she'll be okay, we just have to stay together and think calmly." Smiling, Rei turned to the group and said, "Okay, first things first. Was
that DARIEN I just saw kidnapping Melody?"
"Yea, that did look like Darien. I didn't want to say anything in case it was just my eyes. What is Darien doing kidnapping people?" Mina looked over at Kevin and saw him looking sheepishly at Sam and said in a shocked
voice, "You guys knew he was evil? And you didn't tell us!"
"Mina it's not that simple.."
"What do you mean it's not that simple? Darien used to be a part of our
team. He's.almost family to us. Don't you think."
"And that's exactly why they didn't tell you, Mina. That's why none of us told you. You all have a personal relationship and feelings for Darien. He's our enemy and we didn't want to hurt you girls with the knowledge that
he'd gone to the other side." Chris looked at all the girl's faces and
sighed. Looking at Lita's eyes, Chris knew she felt betrayed and swore softly. Feeling a soft hand on his waist, Chris looked down into Jessie's
soft pleading eyes and sat down.
Turning to the whole group, Jessie softly said, "I know you all feel a little betrayed and hurt right now so your all going to listen to what I have to say. You all remember Small Lady and how she came from the future,
correct? Well what Sailor Pluto neglected to tell you was that because you'd seen your future that future had to change. You weren't making the
decisions you would have made had you not known the outcome of those decisions." Seeing Ami's confused yet eager look, and Mina's 'wha?' look, Jessie smiled and said, "Let me give you an example. Ami, if I told you
that your decision to stay with the sailor scouts instead of going to America to study medicine in two weeks would cause Mina to get interested
in medicine and become a nurse, would you leave or stay?"
Looking at Ami's shocked face, Mina said, "Ami your going to study medicine in America in two weeks? How can you do that? We're already down to four
scouts how can we manage with just three?"
"Chill Mina, I already wrote the school to say I couldn't come but how did you know about my trip Jessie?...and you know if I knew all that I would
stay to help Mina."
"Exactly! I knew because in the future where Small Lady is born, you did
leave and study medicine in America. Not only that, but five years ago
instead of kicking Serena out of the scouts because she was late to battles, all four of you and Darien helped her. You particularly helped her by leaving to study, because you left: Serena had to grow up and she became the Queen you'd all been trying for so long to make her be. All it
took was a little patience and a little time. Instead, you took it for granted that the future was set and tried to force Serena to grow up before she was ready. That caused her to be resentful and resulted in her leaving the scouts and the current problems facing you today. I'm not trying to sound harsh; I'm just saying that the future had to change because you had changed. You were no longer the carefree sailor scouts; you were sailor scouts with a future that you knew would come to pass. You became arrogant
and prideful, and thus here we are today."
Jessie looked at the tearful faces of the scouts and couldn't help her own
tears from falling. Softly she said, "Please don't feel like you've
failed. We, the solar senshi, also made this mistake." Lita looked up with anger in her eyes at Jessie and sneered at her. "Oh really. When did you kick out your leader and lose the most important person in you lives? When have you ever dealt with the guilt that we've lived with the past five years knowing that Serena had fought her own battle that day, been wounded, tried to explain but we wouldn't listen. I wouldn't listen to her.she'd been hurt and I didn't care. All I cared about was that she was late, and
I made her leave us."
Jessie looked on in shock as Lita blamed herself for Serena's disappearance. She hadn't been expecting this! She opened her mouth to
answer when Rei softly said, "Jessie, I don't think you understand what happened that day. Please don't say any more. I don't think I could bear it." Crying, Rei turned and left the living room slamming her door behind her. Mina stood up and choked out, "I think we'd better stop for tonight. We're all tired and we're all saying things we'll regret in the morning."
Looking at Lita, Mina held out her hand and pulled her friend to her, letting her cry on her shoulder. "Jessie, you and the guys are welcome to stay here if you'd like. Jessie you can have.Melody's room until she comes
back. We'll talk again in the morning."
"I think that's a good idea Mina." Chris stood up and smiled. "We all need a little time to get used to this situation and we will all feel tons
better once we've slept. Can I help do anything before we turn in?"
"No, thanks Chris I think we've got it." Ami smiled at Chris and said, "You've been a big help already." Moving to Mina's side, Ami helped the two girls down the hall and into their rooms before she softly closed her
own door. Sitting down on the couch, Chris saw that Jessie looked
stricken. Softly he said, "Jessie."
But before he could finish, Jessie had run to Melody's room and shut her own door. He could hear her soft sobs through the door. Sighing, Chris rubbed his head and said, "Okay men, what do we do now that we have five
upset girls to deal with instead of one?"
Chuckling softly, Will said, "Now Chris, don't you think you should answer
that one being our fearless leader." Ducking the throw pillow sent his
way, Will said, "Well I don't think you have to be rude about it.huh?!"
A hazy face had appeared in the middle of the living room and the five men
were startled to see it appear out of nowhere. Looking from one to the other, they all moved closer until they were kneeling a foot away from the
face. As they moved closer, the face grew less hazy until they were shocked to see Serena's face in all her beauty with silver tears running
from her eyes.
Softly she said, "Loyal knights of the Solar Senshi, please do not be afraid. I have a message for you." Smiling softly at them, she continued, "You have watched over the little star of light faithfully for many years. She is a happy and healthy girl and a powerful fighter. Do not worry about
her, she will be and is fine. I am with her now, do not fear for her
safety."
Serena's voice hardened, as she looked each of the knights in the eye. "You have done well thus far but please remember this. The Earth Sailors are not Solar Sailors. Their past has not been like yours and they do not trust easily. Their hearts are burdened now with guilt for letting two of their friends down. Myself and Melody. Unless you are too dense to see, they have come to care for her like she was their sister. I know why you
keep information from them but they do not. For your own sake and for theirs you must tell them everything. If you don't Melody will die.and so
will I." Then she faded from sight.
"Wait!" Sam couldn't believe what they'd just been told! Each of the men knelt for some time, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kevin got up and moved to a chair. "Well." Looking at the clock, Kevin said, "Since it's now midnight I suggest we all get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. How're we going to explain Melody's disappearance at school?"
"I don't know Kevin, but I think we should all go to sleep now. We have much to think on and little time to think on it." That said, all five men found comfortable perches and quickly fell into troubled dreams. Around
two, Jessie slipped from Melody's room and sighed at the site of four knights all sleeping on the floor. Smiling, Jessie moved towards the big chair and gently crawled in with its former occupant. Chris smiled in his
sleep but dreamt on uninterrupted as Jessie snuggled closer to his comforting presence and slept dreaming about Melody telling her something
important...
*********
Deep in the center of the Earth, down where no living thing dare enter stood an immense castle. Made out of the blackest coal, it stood in the darkness darker than the blackest night and the evil emitting from it was enough to cause Chaos to tremble in fear. There, in that place of evil and
darkness, in the deepest dungeon lay the sleeping Fairy Princess.
Looking at her prone form from the doorway, cold ice blue eyes glared their hatred and anger at the beautiful girl. 'She shouldn't be this beautiful. Her beauty is enough to rival my own love, and that of my most hated enemy.
But no matter, she won't be alive for much longer.' Stepping into that pit of gloom and despair, shoes clicking on the stone, the eyes widened as
the girl moaned softly and started to awaken. 'She's tough. I hit her
hard enough to knock out any man for at least six hours and she's up in two? This needs some thought.' Stepping into the light, the eyes watched
the Fairy Princess as she slowly came around.
Melody moaned softly at the pounding in her skull and turned on her side. Feeling cold stone instead of her warm sheets, Melody slowly blinked a few
times and opened her eyes to see stone walls surrounding her. Gasping
softly, Melody remembered being hit in the back of the head and then blackness. Turning at the sound of soft laughter, Melody's eyes widened in
horror at the face she beheld.
"What? Not expecting to see me, Princess? And here I came just to welcome
you to my humble home. Shame on you."
Shrinking back to the back wall, Melody stared up and said, "But Darien.how
could you?"
"Simple really. The scouts threw out the one I thought I loved. I agreed with them until I saw she'd been hurt then I tried to go after her but it was too late. She was already gone. For days I wept and cursed my hasty decision and I left the scouts as well to search for Serena. It took me four weeks to find this place, and when I did I met someone who changed my
life for the better. She showed me what I'd been missing and what true love was. Here she comes. Darling, come and see the puny Fairy Princess
shivering in terror."
Darien stepped aside to let a very pretty woman in. She wore a long black
cloak over her blood-red dress. She had long black hair and black lipstick, with hard gray eyes. Her voice was cold as ice when she softly said, "This is the famous Fairy Princess, keeper of the chancellor of hope?
I thought she would be...I don't know. More powerful. She was pretty easy to snatch and is helpless in our dark castle isn't she." Laughing,
the woman left the room, saying, "How long do we have to keep her alive
again? HAHAHA!"
Melody shivered at the evil she felt from that woman. "How can you love
that...thing?! What about Serena? Don't you care about her anymore?"
"That sniveling baby? I never really loved her in the first place. Now, be a good girl and stay quiet until I need you." With that said, Darien
left Melody in the darkness of her prison.
Crying softly, Melody prayed that Chris, Jessie, and the scouts were okay. Softly she prayed, "Please, let Chris be okay...and let him find me soon." Feeling a warm brush of love from Jessie, Melody smiled and opened her eyes to find that her tears were giving off a soft purple light. "Okay," she said softly, "I can handle this. All I have to do is stay calm." Still,
Melody prayed that Chris would find her soon...
*******
Jessie woke up at seven, with the odd feeling that Melody was nearby. The
fear and despair she felt from her sister broke her heart. Closing her eyes, Jessie sent a wave of love at her sister and thought, 'Wherever you are Melody, I am with you!' Resting her head on Chris' shoulder, Jessie silently wept for her sister and for herself, until she fell asleep with
tears on her angelic face.
Chris woke up at eight feeling well rested. Opening his eyes, he looked
down to discover the weight he felt on him was Jessie! She looked like
she'd been crying all night; tears were still on her cheeks. Knowing Jessie had meant well last night, Chris hugged her gently. 'Poor Jessie, she's worried about Melody, and now she feels guilty about what she said to the scouts last night. She may be very smart and a sailor scout but they
have to remember she's only six years old. I promise I'll protect her
Melody, until you get back. And I'll bring you back too!' Getting up
slowly, Chris put Jessie back down in the chair and covered her with a blanket. Smiling softly, he kissed her cheek and then proceeded to wake up
the solar knights, not so gently.
Grumbling and hissed threats came out of the four knights until Chris
pointed at the sleeping Jessie and then everything was still once more.
Moving out onto the balcony, Chris and the knights silently arranged
themselves in a circle.
"Okay men, we all know what Serena said last night. Now I want your
thoughts on what she meant by it all. Sam, you first."
"Well, I think she meant exactly what she said. We all just watched last night as Jessie tried to explain why things are changing in their lives. I
know we all felt she went a little too far to prove her point, but we
didn't say anything. I think we all forgot how young Jessie is. She doesn't understand about guilt or betrayal, because she's never felt them. Serena was trying to tell us that we had to tell the scouts about Darien,
what we know about him and what we know about Melody. We have to share
with them our past, our mission, and our goal. Otherwise we'll fail."
"But what if they don't need to know it all? I mean, yea Jessie went a little overboard on the explanation and put a guilt trip on the scouts but
that's no big deal. I think they earned it for being the royal witches they were. Yes it was a mistake and they've dealt with their guilt, but they were never brought to the full realization of why they acted that way. Jessie brought to their attention their pride, and I think she did a good
job."
"I agree with Kevin. I think they need to know about Darien and some about the chancellor, but not everything. Jessie did a good thing bringing to light their errors, but I also think she went a little to far. The scouts deserved the reminder but not from a little girl they met a month ago. And I think Serena was right to say that the scouts think of Melody as their sister. She's family to them, and in a sense I think they've all put her
in Serena's place. But that's not the point. The point is Darien has Melody and we have the heart crystal. The question is how do we go about
getting Melody back and finding the place the chancellor will appear?"
"Good question Will. But I think Melody is the chancellor of hope. How
else would I have gotten this crystal after connecting with her?"
"What if she somehow knew this would happen and wanted to put it in trustworthy hands. She alone knows the power that crystal holds, and only she can call on its powers to awaken the chancellor. Come to think of it,
how did the chancellor awaken so many years ago?"
"I think I can answer that question." The five men jumped at the soft
feminine voice behind them. Turning, Chris saw a sight he'd hoped he'd never see again. Standing before him, with Jessie in her arms, was Sailor
Saturn. Her glaive beside her glinting in the soft sunlight, she moved with grace and poise to stand before the men with Jessie stirring in her
arms.
Looking down at the little princess, Saturn smiled softly and said, "Come child, wake for you must hear this too. For your own safety as well as for
the safety of Melody and Serena." Holding a hand up as Sam opened his mouth to ask something, Sailor Saturn said, "I will answer questions only after I have had my say. There you are little one. It's good to see you wide awake again. Why don't you go sit with Chris over there and I'll tell
you all a true story about the chancellor of hope."
"Once, long ago, there lived a girl who wanted to protect everyone in the galaxy. Not from evil, or physical harm, but from devastation and demise. It was this lone girl's wish that brought the chancellor into existence. The identity of the chancellor was only known to the girl protector. As the years passed and the girl lay dying, she told her daughter the identity of the Chancellor and told her to tell only her first born heir the secret.
Over time, the chancellor was forgotten and turned into a myth. Until that dark day three thousand years ago when the negaverse attacked the Moon
Kingdom, the chancellor lay dormant in the mind of a young girl.
The day of Serena's annual ball, a woman by the name of Jasmine attacked
little Princess Jessie, to try and gain control over the keeper of the Chancellor. Princess Melody didn't know that Jessie was in danger until
later that day when she snuck off to talk to Serena in the rose garden.
There she met Jasmine and found out what evil looked like. Refusing to tell the evil witch who the Chancellor was, Jasmine threw Jessie off the
cliff towards the sea in front of Melody.
Because of her love for her sister, Melody did an unforgivable act. She called on the Chancellor to save her sister, giving the identity away.or so Jasmine thought. She took Jessie and Melody to her palace and went after Serena thinking she was the Chancellor. When Melody awoke on her ship, she
became so angry that she used powers no one suspected she had and teleported herself and Jessie out of the ship seconds before it exploded in the sky. This angered Queen Beryl, for Jasmine had used Beryl's ship for this mission, and when Melody tried to protect Serena and Darien from her Shadow Monster, Beryl killed all three of them. So now you know why the
chancellor was awakened so many years ago.
You think you know that Melody is the chancellor. Let me tell you this, she is not. The keeper of the chancellor could never be the chancellor for
if they know who they are then they would sleep until called upon to protect the galaxy from destruction. Melody can be saved and I am here to help you towards that end. The outer senshi have been called and so has Rini since this also concerns her mother. They'll be here later today."
Chris nodded his head to show that he'd heard her while his thoughts ran through his head like lightning. 'The outer senshi are coming? This is bad...worse than I thought. They only leave their posts when danger has moved past them and is here on earth.wait a minute.' "Sailor Saturn, who's
watching your posts while you're on Earth?"
"Not that it's any of your business but the Sailor Starlights are guarding them for the time being. Now, why don't you all finish your conversation while I go wake up the girls?" Smiling, Sailor Saturn de-henshined and a
small fragile looking girl with coal black hair walked into the house,
leaving six very confused people behind her.
Chris shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Jessie to see what she thought of all this. Getting a little worried when she avoided looking at
him, Chris opened his mouth to speak when she interrupted him.
"Guys, I'm sorry for the way I acted last night. It wasn't my place to say any of the things I said to the scouts last night and I know it reflects
badly on you. I just wanted to help but I made things worse. Can you
forgive me?"
"Sure we can, Jessie. I mean, you're our friend and friends make mistakes
sometimes. Next time, just try and remember that some things are too painful to talk about even when trying to make a point, -k-?" Chris smiled
at Jessie and hugged her tight.
Getting up, Chris said, "Well, I guess we'd better go face the music right? I guess I'll take over for Melody's class.wait a minute! Isn't today the
day they go to the park to practice their art?"
"Yes it is, Chris. We're all supposed to meet Melody at the park at 8 by
the heart fountain. Why don't you go and say that our job is to find Melody and paint where she's at in disguise? You can tell the class that we'll be doing art exercises all week and the student who finds Melody the
most gets no homework next week?"
Grinning at Ami, Chris nodded his head and softly said, "That's a great
idea Ami, thanks! But why would you help me out like that? I'm really sorry we kept stuff from you. We won't do it again, we're a team right?"
"Right, we're a team which means we work together. Even when we're still a little mad at each other." Lita and the other girl's stood with Hotaru in
the window frame and smiled at the guys. "I hate to say this but if we
don't hurry up, we're going to be late!"
The next ten minutes were pure chaos as the group quickly got dressed and raced to the park. Arriving right at eight, Chris and the guys were amazed that all the students were already there! Clearing his throat, Chris said, "Excuse me, hello my name is Chris and this week I'll be your instructor in the park. Your assignment today is to find Melody. She's hiding somewhere
in this area in disguise and your job when you find her is to paint the area she's in and where she is. All week we'll be doing art projects and at the end of the week, Melody will decide who found her the most. That student won't have homework next week. So what are you waiting for...go
find Melody! Be back here at three and I'll collect your paintings."
Laughing at the sight of twenty-five students running about the area with
paints, brushes, and canvases Chris and the boys sat in the sun and
wondered how to find Melody...
Jessie smiled to herself as she thought about missing school that day. Seeing Chris eyeing her, Jessie softly said, "If you make me go to school today, I'll tell everyone that Melody was kidnapped. If you get a week off
from school then I at least should get a day!" With that said, Jessie marched off until she and everyone else in the park froze as the sky went
black!
Chris, the knights and Hotaru were the only one's unaffected by this bizarre change of events. Quickly nodding their heads in agreement, they all transformed and stood waiting for the enemy's next move. An icy laugh filled the air and Chris' eyes bugged as he remembered that horrible laugh from Melody's memory. Looking up at the sky, Chris turned white as a ghost as he saw Jasmine, sister to Queen Beryl, floating in the air on Darien's
arm.
"What's the matter boys, scared of the dark? Tidal Black Storm!" The knights tried to move but found themselves unable to as a ball of blackness surged towards them. They all cringed as the blackness was two feet from
them when they heard, "Pink Sugar Heart Attack!" and "Pluto Deadly
scream!"
Finally able to move, the knights covered their heads as a ball of pink and purple light decimated the darkness before them. Glancing behind them, the knights saw four new women dressed in sailor uniforms and smiled. Nodding his head to the Outer Sailor Scouts, Chris turned and said to Darien, "Well
that was fun. Want to try again Jasmine? Or are you going to fight us
Darien?"
"Fight you, no that would be to easy. Why don't I fight the stupid girl I
have trapped in my tower? What was her name again...oh yeah, Melody. She's such a pretty thing, I can see why you want her Chris but I thought
you were against cradle robbing?"
"Why you..."
"Now now Chris, don't lose your temper." Clicking his long fingers, Darien
pointed to the left and Chris was shocked to see Melody dressed all in
black with tears running down her face.
"CHRIS!" she cried out in a loud voice and then, with another snap of Darien's fingers she was gone. Gasping, Ami softly said, "Darien so help
me, you bring her back or else!"
Looking down at the quiet senshi of water, Darien was shocked to see anger and hatred blazing in her eyes. Looking at the other inner senshi, Darien noticed they all had that look in their eyes. "Well girls, its nice to see you again. Why all the dramatics Ami? It's not like its Serena I'm
playing with, just an insignificant girl who you just met three months
ago."
"We may have just met Melody, Darien but she's our friend. She's looked out for us and protected us from evil and she's been kind to us. We love her as much as we loved Serena, and we want her back." Lita spit the words
out at Darien and glared her ire at him.
Mina and Rei didn't say a word, but stood right behind Ami and Lita with
their new fairy crystals in hand ready to transform if needed. Darien sneered down at the girls and said, "What are you going to do about it? I
could beat you even before I turned evil, and now I'm twice as strong. What makes you think your better than you were when Serena left? You don't
even have the silver crystal's power anymore.what's this?!"
Mina grinned at Darien and slowly held her fairy crystal in the air. Rei,
Ami, Lita, and Jessie also held their crystals in the air and smiled as they began to glow with their own light! Sailor Mini Moon gasped in awe as she felt the power rising around the five girls. Softly she heard Sailor
Neptune and Sailor Uranus say, "Such Power.where did it come from?" "I don't know, Neptune but their crystals are different and they have a new
runt with them.what is going on down here?"
Softly each girl smiled and said, "Ice Fairy Power!" "Earth Fairy Power!
"Light Fairy Power!" "Flame Fairy Power!" " Fairy Star Power!"
Red eyes wide with awe, surprise, wonder, and a little envy Sailor Mini Moon watched as the Inner Scouts transformed into Nova Senshi in flashes,
eruptions, smoke, and flames! Everyone stopped to watch Jessie's
transformation.
Even though she'd already said her transformation phrase, she was still standing exactly as she'd been. Feeling a cold shift in the air, all the scouts gasped as Jessie was hit by a ball of white light in the shape of a shooting star! All her clothes disappeared and Jessie closed her eyes as she felt the comforting presence of the stars surrounding her in their soft lilac light. Looking down in a prayerful stance, she smiled as her silver
fuku appeared and her silver skirt flashed into existence. Singing a soft note of prayer, Jessie did a twirl and her silver sandals
appeared and tied about an inch above her ankles. Sighing softly, the stars blew away from Jessie as a star symbol appeared on her forehead and a
thin gold tiara appeared on her head with a tiny teardrop opal rested
between her heart shaped bangs. Kneeling on one knee, Jessie's bows appeared-solid black and like her sisters very short and in the center of
her front bow was a star pendent with her lilac fairy crystal. In an
explosion of power, that knocked Darien and Jasmine back ten feet Nova
Fairy Star was ready for action.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Darien wondered where the scouts had
attained their newfound power, especially the little runt! Hearing Jasmine's heated curse, Darien summoned one of his more powerful servants and said, "Destroy them and return to the castle...or don't return at all! I will see you again soon Nova Knight. Until then, know I have your Fairy Princess and your love!" With an evil laugh, Darien and Jasmine left in a
flash of acid black smoke! Sailor Mini Moon was also wondering how the inner scouts had attained such power. 'They're even more powerful than the outer scouts now.they're more powerful than me! How did that happen?!' "Hey guys, what's up with the
new gear?" Grinning at Sailor Mini Moon and the Outer scouts obvious shock, Nova Mars
said, "We'll explain everything later. Right now we have to beat this
thing before someone gets hurt!" Nodding their heads in agreement, the outer scouts joined the nova scouts and knights in facing the clown-like yoma before them. Nova Star smirked at the yoma and gasped when he vanished in thin air! Standing her ground, Nova Star felt a slight shift in air to her left and jumped aside only to get hit hard from the right! Cursing under her breath, Nova Star the other
scouts get hit just as hard, if not harder, than she had.
"What is up with this yoma? We can't fight what we can't see!" "Yes we can Mercury. Trust me." Before Mars could say how though, she was hit with a blast of yellow smoke and she couldn't speak! Laughing at the shocked faces of the scouts, the clown yoma reappeared and said, "What's
the matter, sissy scouts.can't find me?" Nova Star had had enough of this! Powering up, she didn't feel Mini Moon
and Sailor Saturn also powering up. Glaring at the clown yoma, who was ignoring the younger senshi, the three little scouts formed a triangle of
power. Oblivious to the fact that they were even working together, the
three got very close to each other and all three said, "Tri Dream Unit
Strike!" The three little senshi gasped at the power and light given off by their combined attack, until its force blew them apart! The clown yoma didn't stand a chance and evaporated with a silent scream! Chris was floored by the power those three had just shown and wasn't surprised that everyone was looking at the three like they'd all grown two heads. Hearing Mini Moon's groan broke the spell and Chris rushed to her side and said, "Are you okay
little one?"
Sailor Pluto was shocked and a little wary of the power those three had shown. 'I know that Rini has the power of her mother, but she's never been
able to tap into it because of her fear of returning to the dark side. Hotaru has the power to destroy an entire planet but it kills her to do so.
I've never seen the little one before.wait a minute.' Getting a
thoughtful look on her face, Pluto remembered a legend from long ago.
'Surely it can't be true. She can't be a Princess from a planet that doesn't exist.either way, how did those three create more power than all the older senshi could pull using all the energy they have. And they all
lived from it!' Watching one of the new knights rushing to Rini's side, Pluto walked over to Nova Star and knelt down beside her. Looking down, Pluto was awed to see that this girl was younger than Rini had been when she'd first fought the Doom Phantom. She was also floored by the fact that she could still feel this scouts energy and it was almost as strong as hers was! The only
reason Pluto didn't run for cover was the fact that while Mini Moon and
Saturn had helped with the attack they had stayed awake while this
youngster had been knocked out cold. Smiling, Pluto gently picked up the tiny scout and walked over to the group forming around Sailor Saturn. Pluto gasped as she saw tears in Hotaru's eyes and saw Rini kneeling down beside her friend also in tears. Wondering
what was wrong, Pluto waited for the girls to explain their tears.
Hotaru didn't know what to think! She'd never felt so much power flow through her and she'd never felt the thoughts of another scout as clearly as she had the little silver scout. It frightened her, because when she'd
felt Nova Star's thoughts, she remembered a time when there were Fairy Scouts and knew her power was tiny compared to theirs. Feeling a soft hand
grasp hers, Hotaru looked up into Rini's also haunted eyes and knew she
wasn't alone in her shock. Rini knew that what they'd just done wasn't because of her or Hotaru. They had experience yes, but the majority of their power had come from the tiny sailor held in Pluto's arms. Nodding her head to Hotaru's silent question,
Rini gave her friend a hug and de-transformed. Making sure everyone followed her, Rini smiled at the little girl in Setsuna's arms and softly said, "We're fine guys really, but what just happened.well it was an eye
opener." "I can't exactly explain what happened, because I really don't know. It just seemed right at the time to link up with Hotaru to combine our powers to beat the clown. I thought we might be able to slow him down enough for you guys to beat him. Then, very faintly, in the back of my mind I heard a soft voice ask to join with us. Knowing in my gut that this was okay, I opened my mind and let her in. At that moment when our minds were one, I
felt.almost as if I'd touched the sun. There was so much power running through me that I could speak. But the voice was there, telling Hotaru and me that it was all right, she knew what she was doing. Then she told us to say what she did and then the power exploded! I remember.hearing a legend about Fairy Senshi from my mom in the future. I don't know her name, but the little one is a Fairy Senshi for sure. And if I'm not mistaken, these
are the Fairy Knights, and the girl in the sky was the little one's
sister." "I may be way out of line, but I think we should all join forces. Outers, Inners, and Fairy. Together, we can beat anything that comes our way. And for Pluto to be here instead of at the time gates means were going to need
all the help and power we can get. You guys in?" "I'm in, little one. What you say is true, there is evil brewing that even I cannot name." Smiling at the little girl in her arms, Setsuna looked up as a soft voice said, "Thanks for taking care of Jessie for me. Her sister
would never forgive me if anything happened to her while she was away."
Grinning, Chris took Jessie from the shocked Pluto and said, "Me and my
boys are in, and once Jessie wakes up she'll be in too. We'll be hard
pressed to keep her from bouncing around the room in her happiness. My
thanks to you..." "That's Rini, Princess Serena's future daughter. Next to her is Setsuna, Sailor Pluto and guardian to the gates of time. Then there's Amara, Sailor
Uranus, and Michelle, Sailor Neptune. I'm Hotaru and I say the outer scouts are in. This is why we came to Earth in the first place, to help the Earth scouts. If we join with them, and they've already joined with
the Fairy Senshi, then we've no choice but to do the same."
Amara and Michelle nodded their heads in agreement and smiled as they looked upon little Jessie. Holding out their hands, the two grasped hands with Ami and Lita who were on either side of them. Getting the idea, they in turn grabbed the hands on their sides, until Chris placed Jessie in the
middle and joined hands with Hotaru and Rini completing the circle. They all tensed as they felt a tremendous power envelop them, and gasped as
they saw Jessie begin to glow a soft silver color. With her eyes still closed, Jessie stood up and placed her hands in a prayerful way and when she opened her mouth a soft airy mournful note pierced the air. Unable to let go of the hands to his left and right, Chris wondered what was going on. He wanted to run to Jessie and see what was causing her pain, but he
also knew that she was safe and fine. When Jessie opened her eyes, they had a faraway look in them and she held out her hands as if taking something from someone. Watching closely, all the scouts jumped when the outline of Princess Serena became visible in the middle of their circle. Smiling gently down at the little girl before her, they all heard her say, "Little one, you have been brave beyond measure. You have learned much from your past failures and are still fighting for the dream. I thank you for your faithfulness and know you will complete the task I gave you so long ago. I have a gift for your sister. I trust
you will keep it safe until you see her again and will give her this message when you give this to her. Tell her 'Love is not what she thinks and only when she truly trusts will she find her knight.' Farewell little
star, I know you will always be true." Placing in Jessie's hands a thin crystal chain of hearts, Serena smiled at the scouts and vanished! Jessie blinked twice before anyone could move.
She looked down at the crystal chain in her hands and softly said, "I
promise, Serena. I will get this to my sister if it's the last thing I
do!"