Serene scuffed the ground with her toe as her, Ryo, and Mia sat around a small table in front of a small café.

"Come on, Serena, cheer up," Mia said, "I'm sure everything will work out ok."

"I know everything will work out ok, but I still worry, you know? Like, if something goes wrong and they never get the misunderstandings cleared up. Then everything will be ruined."

"I agree with Mia. This whole thing is just going to have to happen naturally and by itself, Serena," Ryo said comfortingly, yet sternly. Serena gave a small smile.

"I guess you two are right," Serena said, thinking about the Ronin Warriors' history with the Sailor Scouts during the Silver Millennium.

"There you go, think positively," Mia said reassuringly and cheerfully.

"Thanks Mia," Serena said, her tone of voice sincere. Mia smiled back and was about to respond when the screams of the people around them caught their attention.

As people fled, Axinite smiled satisfactorily; she still had it in her and it pleased her to no end. Her smugness wore off as she remembered her reason for even visiting the pitiful mortal dimension. Axinite's eyes narrowed as she scanned the area for her target and she smiled again, though this time her smile was smaller, as she spotted Serena.

"Well, there you are," Axinite hissed, "I've been looking for you." Serena's eyes narrowed as well and she assumed a defensive fighting stance.

"What are you doing back here? I mean, after what we did to you, why would you come back?" Serena threatened, trying to scare Axinite. It didn't work; Axinite was still staring at Serena with the same maleficent smile.

"Oh, I'm much stronger than I was before." Axinite spotted Mia and Ryo behind Serena and she laughed slightly.

"Let's get rid of any bystanders, shall we?" Axinite said before pointing her finger at Mia and letting loose a small blast of energy. It hit Mia, causing her to scream and fall to the ground before passing out from the pain.

Ryo stared in shock at what Axinite had just done. He rushed over to Mia to assess the damage and found that other than a head wound, Mia was alive and breathing, but her breathing was shallow. Ryo was enraged. Who was this woman, thinking that she could walk right into his life and hurt, almost mortally wound, his girlfriend and the love of his life? If she thinks that she can get away with what she did, then she is seriously mistaken, Ryo thought viciously before moving to stand in front of Serena.

"You're going to pay for what you did, lady. I don't know who you are, but you're going to get it," Ryo spat out. Axinite laughed.

"And who do you think you are challenging me? You don't stand a chance against me," Axinite said, "But, I think I'll humor you. Give me all you've got, little man." Axinite was taunting Ryo; he knew it and it enraged him even more. Pulling out his kanji ball, Ryo transformed into his sub-armor. When Serena saw the red and white sub-armor, she knew what he was trying to do.

"No, Ryo, don't do it," Serena cried out, "You don't know what you're going up against. She'll beat you."

"Serena," Ryo said, "You don't know what you're talking about. Just stay out of it." Ryo obviously has no clue as to who I am, does he? Serena thought to herself as Ryo transformed into his armor.

"Armor of Wildfire! DAO GI!" Seconds later, Ryo stood there in his Wildfire armor, ready to fight Axinite. Axinite looked mildly amused.

"Is that all you've got for me? God, this isn't going to be much of a fight."

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Ryo growled as he lunged for Axinite, both swords ready to strike. Axinite surrounded herself with an energy shield just in time for Ryo's swords to hit it. She giggled slightly at Ryo's annoyed look.

"Oh, don't give me that look. It's not my fault I'm stronger than you," Axinite said with feinted sweetness before pushing her power outward, causing Ryo to fly through the air, landing several feet away in a pile of armor and weapons. Axinite laughed triumphantly.

"Oh, that was too easy. Is anybody going to fight me for real?" she called out. Serena stepped forward.

"Yeah, I am!" Serena declared as she pulled out her locket. Ryo stared at Serena in confusion. What is she doing? Ryo thought. He could only stare as Serena lifted her locket into the air.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" Serena shouted out, immediately becoming surrounded by light, ribbons, and feathers.

When everything faded, she stood there not as Serena, but as Sailor Moon, champion of justice. And she was ready to kick some butt.

"Ooh," Axinite said, "Finally a challenge." She smirked, then growled, "I've been waiting for this."

"And I've been waiting to kill you," Serena challenged back. The two looked at each other, trying to stare each other down, like a game of chicken...except this game of chicken was much more serious.

Without warning, Axinite let out a furious attack, giving Serena almost no way of blocking. But Serena managed to come up with an attack of her own, using the power of the crystal to deflect Axinite's attack. The two battled furiously, each of them pushing up their power levels until it was almost too much to handle.

Ryo, in the meantime, was astounded. Why hadn't he seen the connection between Serena and Sailor Moon earlier? Ryo felt like hitting his head against a brick wall for being so stupid. But, the surprises still weren't finished.

Serena was reaching her power limit for her Sailor Moon form. She couldn't maintain that form much longer. Soon enough, her power level reached high enough that it was too much for her Sailor Moon form to handle. With a flash, Serena's Sailor Moon outfit disappeared, turning into her Neo-Queen Serenity dress, the dress of the girl he saw on the night of the Winter Ball. Ryo didn't think he could be shocked anymore. Serena's third identity had been revealed and it was like she was some kind of otherworldly being.

Serena, while Ryo was staring at her in shock, continued to raise her power level, trying to match Axinite in the amount of power until it felt like she couldn't give anymore. Ryo looked at Serena and noticed the fatigue that was evident on her face. She's wearing herself out. She can't give much more. I have to help her, Ryo thought determinedly as he pushed himself off the ground and hurried to help Serena defeat Axinite.

Ryo stood by Serena's side, powered himself up, and called out, "FLARE UP NOW!" Bright red flames combined with Ryo's pure power mixed with Serena's attack and hurled towards Axinite. Axinite's face contorted into a look of annoyance, one similar to the one Ryo wore only minutes before.

Ryo, seeing the look on Axinite's face, said, "Oh, don't give us that look. It's not our fault that we might be stronger than you." Ryo was gloating inside at Axinite's furious look.

"Ooh, how dare you!" she screamed as she upped the power level of her attack, causing Ryo to do the same. Serena was giving all she had; it was up to Ryo to beat whatever Axinite threw at them.

Ryo could feel himself pushing himself to the limits. He felt like he was going to explode at the amount of power that was raging through him. But, he knew that he had to give more if he wanted to survive. With a fierce yell, Ryo gave more power, feeling himself breaking.
Serena looked over right at the moment that a bright red light surrounded Ryo, obscuring him from view. She shielded her eyes from the light, making sure that she could still keep up the attack at the same time. Serena knew what was happening and when the light faded, she was not surprised at what she saw.

Instead of the bright red armor that Ryo wore as a Ronin Warrior, he wore the regal crimson armor that he wore as a prince. The armor was exactly like Darien's except for the crimson color and the lining of his cape was a darker red than Darien's. The total effect was intimidating because of the ferociousness of the crimson color that made up Ryo's armor.

Serena looked at Ryo's face to see the faraway, dazed look in his eyes. She knew that he was regaining memories of his life during the Silver Millennium and she was happy. There was so much that she wanted to tell him. Within moments, the dazed look was gone and Ryo was back, fully focused and more determined than every to kill Axinite.

"Come on cousin," Ryo said, "Let's get her." Serena gave a half smile.

"My words exactly, Ryo." Together, Ryo and Serena gave one last push with their power, which broke through Axinite's attack.

Axinite hurried to bring up her defenses, but it was too late for that; Serena and Ryo's combined power was just too strong for her to handle. The attack engulfed her and, with a scream, Axinite dissolved along with it, the last of the Quartz sisters dying a horrible death.

Once Ryo and Serena felt no resistance from the other end of the battlefield, they dropped their attacks and immediately threw their arms around each other in a joyous hug.

"I'm so glad to have you back," Serena said after they pulled away from each other. Ryo looked at her questioningly.

"How long have you known that I was your cousin and that I was a Ronin Warrior?" Serena looked deep in thought as she thought about the answer to that question.

"Oh," Serena said slowly, "For about two years. I never expected to find you guys so soon, either. It was all rather shocking, if you ask me." Ryo nodded before suddenly remembering Mia.

"Oh God, Mia!" he exclaimed as he rushed towards his girlfriend and, as he just found out, soulmate. He knelt down on the ground beside her unconscious form and Serena followed, kneeling gently on the other side of Mia.

"Is there any way you can help her, Serena?" Ryo asked desperately. Serena looked down at Mia for a second before looking up at Ryo and nodding.

"Yes, I can help her by using the Silver Crystal. I can even allow her to regain her memories back of the Silver Millennium. Would you like me to do that, Ryo?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," Ryo said after thinking about it for a moment, "I would like her to know what our relationship was like 1000 years ago." Serena nodded.

"Well, stand back and give me some room to work," Serena said as she pulled out the Silver Crystal, asking it to give her just a little more power. The crystal complied and Serena focused the energy on Mia, healing her wounds and unraveling her mind to allow the memories to come to the surface.

A few seconds later, it was over; Mia was healed and she had her memories back and all she had to do was wake up. Serena slumped her shoulders in exhaustion as she stopped the flow of power from the Silver Crystal and detransformed back into her normal self, Ryo following her lead.

"Well, all we have to do is wait for her to wake up," Serena said.

As if on cue, Mia opened her eyes, now filled with a new understanding, and looked up to see Serena and Ryo looking down at her with concern and joy in her eyes. She smiled up at them; two cousins who had finally found each other. Slowly, with help from Ryo, Mia sat up and the moment she did, she launched herself into Ryo's arms and kissed him passionately. Serena smiled as she watched; they were just too cute together. Once Mia pulled away, leaving Ryo in a daze, Ryo spoke.

"What was that for?" Ryo asked. Mia simply smiled.

"I was only making up for lost time."