Chapter 6

Dimension GW

The looks on the faces of the three bodyguards were priceless. Their eyes bulged and they stared at her. Heero held her tighter, his face remaining expressionless as he led her from the room, opening the door of the apartment only to step back when he saw at what was waiting there for them…

"Princess! You're here!" Heero was shoved aside as three girls hurried to hug Serenity. Even though they were all familiar, he couldn't stop himself from glaring at them. Serenity just laughed and wrapped her arms around them.

"What do you mean, I'M here? Why are YOU here?" Serenity asked as they swarmed around her. "Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, I never thought I'd see you here! Let alone so soon!"

"Serenity, we live in the apartment next door." Michiru began. "We just got our memories"

"And were on our way to start searching for you. It was merely dumb luck that we found you right away." Haruka concluded.

"I'm so glad we did!" Hotaru exclaimed, hugging Serenity again. Serenity joyfully returned the hug, a bright smile painting her face. Now she knew where all of her senshi were, for as surely as she was Princess of the Moon, Setsuna was guarding the time gate. Even at crucial break points in time, although she called and gave a heads up, the Princess of Pluto was never permitted to stay long.

"Princes! I'm so glad to see you're all alive and well." Michiru remarked. Hotaru looked away from her princess momentarily, and her eyes locked with those of another person. Trowa. He was there. For so long she'd felt something was missing, and now it was in front of her again, the other half of her soul. Trowa walked towards her, and Hotaru responded in kind. They met halfway and embraced while the others looked on in happiness.

"Our little girl has finally grown up, ne Haruka?" Michiru remarked, taking her lover's hand. Haruka placed her arm around Michiru's shoulders.

"Yes, she certainly has." Haruka replied simply. Heero took advantage of the temporary distraction to grab Serenity's hand. She looked
at him in surprise, and he gestured towards the door. A grin on her face, she followed him and the two slipped unnoticed out the door.

Dimension SM

A flash of white light had filled the small room at Cherry Hill Temple. The eyes of four girls, one man, and two cats went wide with shock as memories flooded their minds. They all simultaneously breathed out the name that had been so important to them for so long…

"Serenity…" The name hung in the air for a moment, and all was quiet for that second. It lasted but a second as Rei crumpled to the ground in tears. Minako, Makoto, and Ami quickly followed suit. Mamoru merely stood there, a shocked expression on his face. Artemis and Luna sprang back into action.

"What happened? Where is Usagi?" Luna demanded of them. Minako and Ami had wrapped their arms around each other and were sobbing into their shoulders. Luna could feel herself growing more and more afraid by the moment. This wasn't a good sign. The urgency in her voice increased as she asked again, "What happened?"

"Usagi… She… She…" Minako could manage no more than that. Luna all but stopped breathing. The senshi had temporarily forgotten their leader, and now they were hysterical. There was only one reason she could think of for such a phenomenon.

"She used the Crystal, didn't she?" Artemis asked. His face was filled with worry, and it was obvious that he dreaded the answer. Rei managed a slight nod of her head, and the cats exchanged glances. "Is she all right? Think now! You must have seen something after Usagi used it!"

The room remained silent. Luna trembled all over, and Artemis walked closer to her, using his shoulder to keep her standing.

"Tell me this is just a joke! You can stop now!" Luna exclaimed. When there was still no response, she realized the truth. As it smashed into her, waves of grief covered her body and she found her legs could no longer hold her.

"That fool-hardy, silly, clumsy, brave, wonderful girl!" Luna exclaimed. "It's all my fault. I should have trained her better, prepared her for
desperate situations. If only she'd learned how to control the Crystal properly this wouldn't have happened! I shouldn't have waited so long to teach her."

"Luna, it's not your fault…" Artemis began, tears in his eyes.

"What do you mean it's not my fault Artemis? It's entirely my fault! If only I had trusted her to listen to me and learn all about her powers, she would have been fine! None of this should have happened, Artemis. For heavens sakes, she's a GODDESS! An immortal!" Luna yelled to whoever cared to hear.

"But I thought goddesses couldn't die…" Makoto sniffled, allowing her voice to trail off. The first person to ever accept the fight in her nature was gone now. Dearly though she loved the other senshi, not one of them knew her as deeply as Usagi did.

"Usually they can't." Ami said through her tears. Her excuse to go out and have fun was gone, all that remained for her now was books, for that was all the other senshi knew she liked. Usagi had always looked past that to her real self, the self that yearned for friends, fun, and love. "She chose to give her life in exchange for the power to save ours. All immortals have that choice. I just don't understand why she gave up! Surely if we had all fought together we could have defeated it!"

"There's nothing we can do!" Rei screamed suddenly. "Don't you see? I know I teased her more than anyone else, but I always, always cared about her! She was my best friend! Now, our best friend is gone and all the wishing, and regret, and blame placing won't do us
anything! She's gone and this time she won't be able to come back!"

"Rei…" Makoto sobbed, dragging herself over to hug her fiery friend. Rei cried into her shoulder, tears falling everywhere. Minako, meanwhile, could still remember the first person to not think she was pretentious, wearing a red bow like Sailor V. Now who would she drool over Motoki with? That was when it hit her.

"You guys!" Minako said through her tears. "Where's Motoki? He was there too, remember? I don't recall seeing him after Usagi saved us! Do you?"

The jaws of the other senshi hit the floor at this suggestion. It couldn't be, could it? No, they couldn't have lost two of their closest friends in one day. It just didn't seem possible, didn't seem fair. They cried harder as they realized what must have happened.

Most of the rest of the day was spent this way, the senshi and cats alternately weeping and reminiscing about the wonderful girl who had been their princess. Mamoru had somehow slipped away without being seen. When they finally realized he was gone, Rei and Makoto
volunteered to go find and protect him. They would not lose anyone else they cared about that day. Minako and Ami stayed at the temple and after hours of waiting finally dropped off into an uneasy sleep…

Dimension GW

The apartment of the Gundam boys was definitely becoming more crowded by the minute. First those two "strangers" who turned out to be their prince and princess, and now three old friends, one of whom was Trowa's girlfriend. Hotaru and Trowa now sat on the couch, not saying a word. They remained content to be merely sitting side by side, their hands entwined.

"Hey, aren't we missing something?" Duo asked suddenly, a triumphant smile blazing as he figured out what it was. The others merely looked at him in confusion. What could possibly be missing? "You know, those two people. Pretty girl with silver hair, annoyingly silent guy with dark brown hair? Looks like Heero may finally get some action."

Quatre looked mildly appalled and a blush came over his cheeks. Regardless of how long he spent in Duo's company, the language he used would always seem a touch… colorful.

"Serenity!" Haruka and Michiru yelled simultaneously. "Where are you?"

They began to comb over the apartment, the others joining in the hunt. As continued searching (and apartment wrecking) turned up nothing, expression became worried.

"Where the hell could they have gone?" Motoki wondered aloud. "This just isn't like her!"

"Actually it is, but you'd think that after what happened last time they would have stopped doing this kind of thing!" Quatre remarked sadly.

"What happened last time?" Hotaru asked innocently. Serenity and Heero had always been able to take care of themselves. Odds are they were fine, why was everyone panicking?

"The last time the Prince and Princess decided to go off unprotected" Wufei replied, "the Silver Millennium's end began where they were. They died unprotected in each other's arms mere minutes away from help."

The senshi of silence showed her name proudly as not a word came from her. Something about this felt wrong.

"The winds are worried." Haruka remarked.

"And the seas are foaming." Michiru stated. This was bad. Very bad.

A Park Nearby

Serenity laughed and spun in a circle, her hair flowing out around her as she released her distinctive hairstyle. Heero merely stared at his princess, enjoying her delightful dance. After a few moments she came and sat beside him.

"This was a great idea Heero!" Serenity exclaimed. "I almost forgot how little time we used to have alone. I suppose this is our last chance for a day of freedom."

Heero smiled slightly, but didn't say anything. A slight frown came over Serenity's the face.

"What happened to you, Heero? Earlier, Duo seemed to indicate you'd been this quiet throughout this life as well. I can still remember the happy, friendly boy you were the first time I met you. What happened here?" Serenity's voice was quiet and kind, softly begging her love to tell her the truth. He sighed.

"You wouldn't understand." Heero told her simply. Serenity gave him a glare that rivaled his own. She was only a goddess after all, naturally she would be unable to comprehend the workings of his life. Heero's eyes rolled softly and he pulled her close. "Promise me you'll love me forever?"

"I promise Heero." Serenity replied honestly. No matter what Heero had done, surely it could not be anything so terrible that she wouldn't love him still. "Always and forever, my heart belongs to you. You know that."

"Very well then." Heero took a deep breath, then kissed her. Images flooded her mind, and she could hear Heero narrating what had happened by thought. "I wasn't always so quiet in this life. I actually did become that happy boy you remember from so long ago, at least for a little while. Then I met Diana. She was pretty, she was sweet, and most of all she loved me. Now that I think back on it, she reminds me of you. I was forced to stand there helplessly as she and her closest friends were destroyed to save my life. They were in a horrible sword battle, and I was doing the best I could to help. All of the friends traded their lives for victory, but Diana survived hers
without dying. I wasn't so lucky. My opponent was stronger than I, and he was about to deliver a death blow when Diana jumped in front of me and stabbed him, getting wounded herself in the process. I promised her I would protect the peace she had just created, and a few moments later she died in my arms. After that, it just hurt to much to let people into my heart again."

Serenity stared at him for a moment before shrugging off his embrace. Her eyes pierced his, and he tried to make her see how his love was still only hers. He would always care about her most of all, but Diana had also been special to him.

"You loved her." Serenity said softly, pain in her voice. Heero winced slightly and after a moment's thought nodded his head. Serenity stared at him for a moment. "You promised me you'd always love me, and only me, then you fell in love with the first person who seemed to understand you even a little. It took magical lies to turn me from you, but all it took to turn you from me was another pretty face. I don't know you any more."

"Serenity, it isn't like that." Heero said softly, but Serenity wasn't paying attention to him anymore.

"I trusted you." She said. "I loved you. Now I don't know what to think anymore."

Heero watched, the mask again on his face, as Serenity's eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. He knew where she was headed, the land of dreams. Where else would the Astral Princess go? He started to follow, and gasped when he realized that he couldn't fall asleep.