Different Time and Space

Different Time and Space

Part 4

I do not own any of the SM or RW characters…except their children!! Ha-ha-waitaminute---that didn't sound right….

"No one has taken the staff of Ancients," Crystal declared, "or the Prism Crystal Orb."

"We guessed that," Zircon mumbled.

"Well, we have to find it somehow!" Ivy snarled, giving Priscilla a death glare, "we have no time to waste!"

Priscilla did not notice Ivy's glare, "Don't worry, Zircon, we'll find the staff and the orb."

"It was stolen from a ninja, you say?" Conrad asked his sister.

She nodded, "yes and that's not the only enemy we're faced with. Hotaru had an encounter with an alien."

"Aliens?" he asked, "We've seen no aliens."

"What enemy have you fought lately?" Ivy demanded, "what kind of warlords are you if you don't even fight?"

"We'll, we've fought Toazite," Duncan said.

"Who's that?" Gwen asked.

"The son of Talpa and Queen Beryl," he replied.

"Son?" she mumbled, "we fought their daughter from our dimension!"

"Jade tried to get us to side with her," Chloe said.

"And she kidnapped me," Zircon added.

"The same happened to us," Conrad said. "He wanted us to help him destroy Prince Purity and the new warriors."

"That's strange," Crystal said, "he kidnapped me also."

"This is boring," Ivy groaned, "can't we do something?"

"Why are you so edgy?" Murdock asked.

"We're wasting time just standing here," she said. "Blame Priscilla, she doesn't just freeze time, but she also does a good job of rewriting and wasting it!"

"Hey!" Priscilla cried, "Don't make me throw you out into space, Ivy! You know I can!"

"Come with me," Murdock commanded his sister, taking her by the hand.

"Lemme go!" she hissed.

"There are some things I want to teach you," he said calmly, "it shouldn't take long. The rest of you should take this moment to get to know each other." He looked back at the others as he was dragging his arrogant sister behind him. "After all, we're all brothers and sisters."

"Good idea," Zircon said and turned to Crystal, "So, you also use the star light swords, huh? Can I try?"

"Sure," Crystal said with a smile.

"Why don't you like casting illusions?" Gwen questioned her brother Duncan. "What's wrong with you? As the son of the warlord of illusion, it's your job!"

He looked at her without any sign of emotion, "I don't think it's right," he began, "to play with people's minds and show them things that aren't even real."

Gwen lost her voice for a second. He's got a point there. What am I…Oh, I know! "You're absolutely right, Duncan!" she said, slapping her palm, "but it's better than slaughtering people, right? I mean, take Ivy for instance, she poisons people and all I do is confuse them!"

"I heard that, Gwen!" Ivy cried from the distance. She began running back to the group and Murdock grabbed her hand and led her away again.

"You'll thank me when this is over," Murdock said.

"Come on, Duncan," Gwen said, "confusing people is child's play next to killing them! Don't you think that's better?"

"Well," he said, "I suppose, but I think people would rather die than have someone play with their minds."

"And you can also give them peaceful illusions," she added, "there's nothing wrong with that, is it?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Duncan admitted, "until the vision is over and they become upset again. A silly vision of peace can't protect them."

"Oh," Gwen moaned, hanging her head, I'm just not getting through to him!

Duncan looked back at Crystal as she was talking to her brother. He closed his eyes and remembered something, the reason why he did not choose to cast any more illusions.

Flashback

"Don't worry, Crystal," Duncan told her, "I won't let Toazite hurt you."

"He's after me," she said, "and the new ronins. He tried to get you to join him."

"Just because my father and the others served Talpa doesn't mean I have to serve Toazite," Duncan said.

"I'm scared, Duncan," Crystal confessed, "I don't know what to do. He's just so powerful."

Duncan pulled Crystal in his arms, "you're shaking." They were in her room. Duncan had followed her there after she ran off when Conrad froze time to prevent Toazite from harming Crystal.

"He could have killed you," she whispered, "you and the others are all I've got!"

"We won't go down that easily," he promised. "Sit down."

She sat on her bed and he sat down next to her as he pulled her head onto his shoulder. "What do we do? I'm so frightened."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," he said soothingly, "now close your eyes and take a deep breath."

"Are you going to try one of your illusions on me?" she asked with a grin, relaxing.

"Perhaps." Soon the room they were sitting in began to change. The four walls vanished; her dresser became a palm tree and the bed they sat on changed to a rock.

"Can I open them now?" she asked, "what's that divine smell?"

"Not yet," he said.

The illusion was complete with the scene of an open, summery meadow.

"I can't wait anymore, Duncan," she said.

"Okay, open."

She opened her eyes and gasped, "Oh, it's beautiful. It seems so real." She turned to Duncan and smiled, "Oh, thank you, Duncan."

"You're welcome," he said and rubbed her cheek, "the next time you feel scared, just come to me and I'll make it all better."

"If only it were real," she sighed. "But close enough."

Duncan kissed her forehead, pulled her in his arms and whispered softly to her until she fell asleep. It helped a little--until Toazite entered her mind in the middle night and led her outside to kidnap her.

In the morning, Crystal was nowhere to be found. "She's gone?" Duncan asked, "how? Where would she go?"

"I hope wherever she is," Murdock said, "that she's safe."

"What if she was hypnotized or something?" Rufus suggested.

"By Toazite, you mean," Conrad said.

Rufus nodded, "it's possible."

"You must go and find her," Kayura urged, "there's no telling what he would do to her!"

"How?" Murdock questioned, "He could have taken her anywhere."

"I can find her," Conrad said, "there's no time or place Toazite could hide."

'Its all my fault,' Duncan thought, 'I should have done more than just give her a peaceful vision.'

"You all right, Duncan?" Amara asked her son, noticing the far away look on his face.

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "I'm just worried about her."

"We are too," Murdock said. "She's like a sister to us."

To himself, Duncan whispered, "but she's more than a sister to me."

Both Dais and Amara noticed something bothering their son, but they couldn't figure out exactly what it was. So before the four new warlords left, Amara asked Dais to talk to Duncan before we left.

"Duncan, are you all right?" Dais asked.

When Duncan didn't reply, Dais knew the answer.

"I understand," Dais said, "when I get upset, I just keep a positive vision in my head and…"

"What good are your damn visions and illusions when they're not even real?" Duncan snapped.

"Duncan!" Dais gasped. "Watch your tongue!"

"You can use your illusions to confuse people," Duncan muttered, "and you can give a peaceful vision to someone with a troubled mind, but can it really save them? When the illusion is over, do they still feel happy?"

"If they want to," Dais said, "Duncan, why are you acting this way?"

"Why would it matter?" Duncan demanded, "I think it's wrong to confuse people."

"Better than killing them, don't you think?"

Duncan frowned, "I think they'd rather die."

Dais sighed, "does this have anything to do with Crystal's disappearance?"

"Maybe."

Dais waited for him to continue. "You're not leaving here until you tell me everything."

"You really want to know?" Duncan demanded.

"Of course I do!" Dais yelled, "You're my son! I love you and your mother and I are worried sick about you!"

"I'm in love with Crystal!" Duncan erupted, "There now, are you happy? She was sad yesterday so I let her see a peaceful vision. It made her relax, but it didn't keep Toazite from abducting her, did it?"

"That's what has you upset?" Dais asked, a small smile appearing on his lips, "Duncan, Crystal won't be mad at you for that."

"I think things would have been better if you just stayed a warlord for Talpa," Duncan said. "For all of us. I guess that eye patch doesn't just cover the eye you don't have anymore, but it covers your heart too."

"Duncan!" Dais growled. "You know that's not true!"

"Let's go, Duncan," Rufus said, shaking his shoulder, "Conrad has found Crystal but first we have to meet the ronins."

"Yeah," Duncan said, still looking at Dais, "let's get going." Dais watched his son walked away.

Amara shook her head and walked up to him.

"Did you see?" Dais asked.

She nodded, "he's only just upset, Dais. He didn't mean all that. I'm sure he'll forgive you when he comes home."

"You think my illusions do more harm than good?" Dais questioned with a frown.

"Of course not!" she smiled and wrapped his arms around him, "it was your illusions that made me fall in love with you!"

But Duncan never did forgive himself or his father. He still carried that guilt everywhere he went.

End Flashback

"Hey, Duncan," Gwen pushed his shoulder gently, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said.

"You look like you were remembering something," she noted.

"I was."

"Want to tell me about it?" she asked.

He shook his head, "not yet."

"Okay."

Duncan forced a smile, "tell me what you do."

"All I do is hang out," she said. "Cast illusions."

"That's all?"

"Yeah…oh, but I do fight the bad guys too," she said.

"Gwen, you need to get yourself a hobby," Duncan suggested.

"A hobby?" she asked.

"You know what a hobby is, don't you?"

"Of course, my hobbies consist of me hanging upside down from a web, making webs, practicing my illusions and just, well, hanging out!"

"Gwen, you need to get yourself a new hobby." He repeated.

"But I do have a hobby!"

"A new hobby," he rephrased, "lots of new hobbies!"

"What are we doing at this lake?" Ivy demanded her brother as he went down to his sub armor.

"My dear sister," he said, "I'm going to teach you to be a fisher of men."

"Fishing!" she cried, "someone has stolen the ancient staff and Prism Crystal Orb, there's aliens wandering around to devour us, and you bring me out here for fishing?"

Murdock folded his arms, "you are so irreverent. Do you even know what piety means?"

"I certainly do, it means…it means…" she rubbed her chin and looked down. When she raised her eyes to see her brother looking at her as if he was ashamed of her for not even knowing the meaning of their father's attribute, "I know what it means, so don't you give me that look!" She dropped her arms to her sides.

"Piety means reverence for God," he said simply. "And goodness and holiness and things of that nature. I can't believe you don't know it! Father is going to be so mad at you!"

"Well, he didn't know it either," she defended.

"Do you know what religion means?" he challenged. "And do you believe in God and--"

"Yes, I know," she groaned, "I know what religion means, I believe in God and all that good stuff."

"But you didn't know the meaning of piety, did you?" he demanded.

She huffed and folded her arms.

"Now come to the water with me. You may want to remove your full armor incase you fall in the water."

"Fine," she groaned as she closes her eyes and her full armor disappeared, leaving her in her sub armor. "Let's just get this over with." She followed him into the water, "how are you supposed to fish without a net or fishing pole or---"

Murdock dipped his hand into the water and reached out, holding a shiny trout.

"How did you do that?" she cried in amazement, "that was awesome!" She began to feel a little hungry.

"You can do anything if you just believe," he said, releasing the fish.

"You let the fish go!" she shouted, walking deeper into the water. "And I was hungry!"

"Then you can get your own fish," Murdock said, "Go on, Ivy."

"Did Father teach you this?" she asked.

He nodded, "mostly and I also taught myself."

"He didn't teach me," she sighed, "but I guess it's natural for fathers to take their sons out on fishing trips anyway."

"Give it a try," he urged.

"Okay," she ducked under water to see where all the fish were hiding. She saw one swimming away and she began to chase it, "come back here you, slimy, scaly, stinky…"

"You can't chase them, Ivy," Murdock said, "You have to let them come to you."

"And how do you do that?" she demanded, "Oh, great Fishing One?"

"Just stand still," he replied. Another fish swam past his knees and he reached in and grabbed it, "see? Simple."

She waited for a fish to swim by and she made too much noise to get it, "it swam away!"

"You have to do it quickly," Murdock stated, "You're scaring all of the fish!"

"I'm tired of this," she growled, "I'll just poison the lake until they float to the top!"

"No, Ivy!" he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her out of the water. "That's cheating! You'll kill all of the fish!"

"Murdock!" she cried.

"You sinning cheater!" he accused, sounding like a preacher, "repent!" he submerged her under the water.

Ivy's hands were moving frantically out of the water. Murdock kept her under the water for a few seconds and then pulled her out.

"Murdock you crazy, self--," she sputtered and then Murdock pushed her in the water again.

"Calling your brother names," he muttered, "We just can't have that. You'll feel much better after being cleansed by water, Ivy."

Ivy tried to push up out of the water but Murdock kept a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Baptism is nothing to be ashamed of," he said, "it is like a new beginning for everyone. Even the best of us have sinned but the important thing is that we all repent. The world is a dangerous place filled with darkness and sin. Demons are waiting in the shadows to fill our minds with filth! But we must hold on to our faith and be not afraid! They may take our lives, but they'll never take our---" he noticed the bubbles coming from his sister's mouth, "Ivy? Oh no, I've killed my own sister!" He quickly pulled her up. "Ivy, speak to me!"

She coughed and choked. Because her mother was the soldier of the sea, she was able to hold her breath long enough. She didn't say off-color words or try to badmouth her brother for she knew he would just hold her in the water again.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she gasped.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should have been talking before I put you under the water," Murdock said, "Oh, I feel awful! I must repent!" he held his breath and sank down under water.

"Murdock?" Ivy asked.

He stood back up, "feel free to sermonize as I baptize myself," he went back down for a minute.

"Well, I don't know what to say," she said to herself, "What do I say?" she thought for a moment, "Hey, now there's an idea!" she laughed and began her speech, "Temptation lies not just in the shadows, but all around us, even in the light! The red shiny apple from the tree looks good enough to eat but do we have to bite it to know that it's sweet? Do we have to corner the snake to know if it can bite? Do we have to drink from the bitter cup to know that it is bitter to the taste?" she tightened one fist and threw her other arm in the air, "NO! Lead us not into temptation. Keep us far from evil and---"

Murdock pulled himself out of the water as his sister was still giving her speech. "Oh, I feel much better."

Ivy blinked, giggled and blushed as she pulled down her arm. "I'm finished now."

"Are you going to try again?" he asked, "the right way?"

She nodded.

"Don't try to poison the lake again," he ordered.

"I won't," she sighed. "But it's just easier that way. Can I just poison one?"

"No!" he cried.

"Dang," she mumbled.

Murdock watched Ivy for the next half hour as she tried to catch a fish with her hands. Because the gauntlets of her armor were sleeker than her brothers, it was hard to get a fish. She sunk her hand into the water for maybe the fiftieth time and caught a fish.

"I caught one!" she shouted, bringing out the fish. "Murdock, look! I did it!" she held the fish in both of her hands.

"See, you can do anything with just a little faith!" Murdock cried. "Great job, Ivy! And you did it without having to poison one fish!"

"Yeah," she began laughing, "I can't believe I caught a fish with my hands! If only Father could see me--" the fish wriggled out of her hands and dove back into the water. She watched it swim away in disbelief.

"Oh, too bad, Ivy," Murdock sympathized. "Let's practice the violin together instead."

"No!" she gasped and began to sob, "I was so close!" she closed her eyes and shook her arms. "I had it! I had it! It was in my hands!" she bawled as she stood hip-deep in the water.

"At least you hade it for a little while," Murdock said.

"Whaaaaa!"

"There, there," he patted her back, "you'll catch another one."

"But I'm still hungry!" she whined. "It's not fair!"

"Ivy, Murdock!" Rufus shouted, running with his sister right by his side and the others behind him.

"Do you have a fish?" Ivy asked.

"The alien that Hotaru encountered has ventured through the portal from our dimension to yours," Priscilla announced, "I think they were following us."

"It attacked the ronins," Conrad said, "and their sisters."

"Prince Vincent was badly injured!" Zircon shouted.

"Who's Prince Vincent?" Murdock asked.

"He's the half brother of Princess Purity from our dimension," Chloe said, "We have to go now."

"They're only west from here," Conrad said.

"Then let's squash those bugs!" Ivy growled.

"How do you know they're bugs?" Murdock asked, "Have you seen one?"

"No, but Hotaru said they were very ugly!" she said. She stepped out of the water and her armor appeared.

"Wait, Ivy!" Murdock said, "Before we leave for battle there's something we must do!"

"What?"

"Pray." He knelt down.

"Pray!"

"Murdock always prays before he goes to battle," Duncan explained. "We sometimes pray with him."

"We don't have time to pray," Ivy grunted, "let's just--" she looked at her brother and he gave her that 'repent' look again. She sighed and knelt down by him.

Murdock grasped her hand and held it up as he began to pray. The others took a knee and closed their eyes.

"Oh, lord," Murdock began, "please give us the strength for the battle we are about to fight. Forgive us that we do have to fight, because fighting is away of the devil."

"Oh, please," Ivy mumbled underneath her breath.

"But we must fight to protect those we love. And when we fight our enemies, please do not send them directly to hell. Amen."

"Amen," everyone said in unison.

"Let's send them straight to--," Ivy began and looked at her brother, "to wherever they came from!"

************************************************************

"I think Whiteblaze is getting better now," Yuli said to Ryo as he petted the white tiger. "I'm sure he's getting his sight back."

"Really?" Ryo asked, kneeling at his tiger.

"Yeah," Yuli said, "I mean, look at his eyes. He still has them so he should be able to see still."

"Well, he does look like he can see me," Ryo said. "Can you see me, Whiteblaze?"

As Yuli was treating the wounded tiger, Queen Purity needed some treatment of her own. She was in their bedroom brushing her hair, remembering how she and her sister always brushed each other's hair when they were younger. But the moment her brother, Vincent, linked to her by their father, was injured in another demission, she felt his pain. Even though he was all the way in the other dimension, she could still feel it and knew what was going on through his head. Queen Purity gasped and fell to her knees, holding her side. Blood trickled down her mouth and she felt something burning her skin.

"Vincent," she whispered, knowing exactly that it was her brother who was hurt. "My brother. Oh, no," she groaned. She could picture what was happening to her brother. He was being slashed and gouged by some creature. First she had felt her sister's pain and agony and now her brother's. She could not bear to lose either. Tears filled up in her eyes as she felt not just Vincent's pain, but also the emotional pain of her half sister. She could feel that Rowena was devastated.

She wasn't sure what to do. Remembering that her brother and her husband were best friends, she pulled herself up and began to go to the door. Then she stopped before opening it. She couldn't let Yuli see her like this and ask him to go find her brother. Vincent was her brother. Even though she probably wouldn't be married to Yuli right now had not Vincent and Yuli become great friends, she realized that she had to go after Vincent.

"He's my brother," she whispered, "I have to go get him."

Gritting her teeth and gathering her strength, Queen Purity turned around and staggered to the dresser. She looked at her reflection.

"As the new queen," she said to her self, "you must protect the ones you love. You can't let others do it for you." She reached her hand to the jewel of life and pulled it over her head. She placed it down next to her broach, which she picked up and held over her heart. She knew she couldn't go out of her door without being noticed so she went through a passage. The whole castle was filled with secret passageways that led to every room. Pulling a candlestick, she looked back at the door, whispered her husband's name and left.

"Hey, I have an idea," Yuli said, "the jewel of life can make Whiteblaze see better."

"It's worth a try," Rowen agreed.

"I'll try anything," Ryo whispered, "anything that will help Whiteblaze."

"Let me go get it," Yuli said, "I'll be right back." He walked to his room, "Darling, can I use the jewel of life for a second?" when he saw that Rini wasn't in the room, he felt his heart sink. "Rini?"

"What's the matter?" Darien asked as he walked by the room.

"Have you seen Rini?" Yuli asked without answering her question, "I need the jewel of life from her."

"Last time I saw her she had it with her," Mia said.

"Do you know where she is?" Yuli questioned, "I think the jewel of life might heal Whiteblaze."

"That's a good idea," Mia said with a smile. "It's right there on the dresser."

"Oh," Yuli mumbled as he walked up to the dresser to pick it up, "Thanks Mia, I just didn't notice it." He smiled back and then looked back at the dresser, "oh no." he groaned.

"What?" Darien demanded.

"Rini's broach," Yuli mumbled, "she keeps it right here," he placed his hand where her broach used to lay. "Rini's gone!"

"Don't panic," Darien ordered, "she may have just put it somewhere else or maybe she went to train for a while. You know how she loves being a sailor scout."

"What's going on?" Serena questioned. "Where's Rini?"

Yuli lowered his eyes to the ground. He saw blood and Rini's hairbrush. "Dear God, no," he mumbled, kneeling down to pick it up. "I think Rini's in trouble."

Serena bolted to get the others, "Has anyone seen Rini lately?" she cried.

"No," they replied.

"Diana?"

The cat shook her head.

"She's disappeared," Serena said.

"There's blood on the floor," Yuli noted, "It can't be anyone else's but Rini's."

"Blood?" Serena shrieked.

"Let me have a look," Ami said and stood over the red blotch of blood. She touched her earring and her visor went over her eyes. "You're right, Yuli. It is Rini's blood."

Serena bit her lip. "No."

"Just half of it is."

"What?" Darien asked. "What do you mean by half?"

"Who does the other half belong to?" Mia questioned softly.

"It could be Vincent's," Rowen mumbled and choked as he said the next word, "or Rowena's."

"It's Vincent's," Ami stated.

"Vincent!" Mia gasped. Darien wrapped his arm around her.

"You can tell that?" Sai asked in amazement.

Ami searched the floor, "I don't only see blood here," she aid, "I see some kind of poison and I see a salty watery substance. They're tears. My readings tell me that the DNA is from Rowena and Rini." Ami looked up, "I guess Rini cannot only feel their physical pain, but also their emotional pain. It's like she knows exactly what they are both going through."

"You think she knows who's hurt?" Lita asked.

"Without a doubt," Ami replied, "She knows that Vincent is injured and she knows that Rowena is upset. That must be why she's gone."

"Could she know where they are?" Rowen asked, "Could we know?"

Ami shook her head, "no, I'm sorry. But it's safe for me to assume that she's only feeling half their pain. When Rowena was attacked by the golems, Rini felt it, but only half. I checked both of them and Rowena had twice as many bruises and cuts than Rini did. I can't tell by this blood how much Vincent was hurt. I'll have to see Rini or Vincent."

Serena looked down and closed her eyes. She looked as if she was about to have a nervous break down. As she raised her head, revealing her tears, she shook her fists and screamed, "What is wrong with us? How can we send all our children out like that? They're not experienced fighters! We could lose them all!"

"Serena, calm down," Rowen urged, "I'm sure they'll be all right."

"Rowen, how could you say that?" She demanded, "Two months ago we could have lost our daughter!" she looked at Darien, "the same could have happened to us! It could happen again!"

"There's something you don't realize, Serena," Luna said, "you weren't very experienced when you first became Sailor Moon, but you did become stronger. The next generation is stronger than you know."

"What do you mean?" Rowen asked.

"Because both of their parents were soldiers," she replied, "it is in their blood. They are stronger than you were when you were their age."

"You're right, Luna," Ami said, "but now I'm starting to feel a bit frightened. I wasn't the strongest fighter you know and--"

"Hey, Joy's a lot tougher than we gave her credit for," Sai said.

"Maybe we should follow the trail of blood," Lita suggested, "even if they are all right. Rowena and the others are in a group. Rini's alone and she may be caught by a wild animal or something."

"Lita's right," Yuli said.

"It shouldn't take long for us to catch up to her," Ami said, looking back at the blood, "this blood is only minutes old."

"Looks like she went through this passage," Yuli said as he reached his hand to the candlestick. He saw her blood on it and pulled it. There were a few more spots of blood through the passageway, "let's hurry."

Rowena couldn't move. All she could do was just stare at the creature mauling her only love in the world. He'd sacrificed himself, for me. What's the matter with me? Why have I kept him so far away?

"I have a bad feeling," Robyn muttered.

"What is it?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not sure exactly, but something's wrong."

The alien picked Vincent up and tossed him aside. "Phyllis!" Rowena cried, "see if you can help him!" She began to feel her legs, the anger. Hot, angry blood began to flow in her veins with the adrenaline. She could not recall when she had been so angry. "I'm gonna send this giant bug back to space!"

"Okay," Phyllis ran to Vincent and knelt down beside him. "Oh, God," she mumbled mournfully, "He looks awful!"

Joy and Stone came up on the scene along with Rochelle and Lee.

"Vincent!" Joy shouted and immediately went to him, though her ankle still felt a bit sore. "He looks bad. I don't even know what to do first!"

"Let me try something," Phyllis said and leaned over to see if Vincent was breathing.

Monica gasped and fell to her knees.

"Monica, what's wrong?" Roland asked.

"I don't know, she replied weakly.

"You can feel Vincent's pain!" Robyn cried, "Just like Queen Purity can."

"Be careful, Rowena," Simon warned, about to attack the alien.

"Hold your fire, Simon!" Rowena ordered, "all of you! This is between me and this, this, mucus, acid-dripping, big, ugly thing from Mars!"

"Hey!" Robyn yelled.

The alien was about ten feet from Rowena, just standing there, looking at her, waiting to attack. It was huge; everything about it was huge. It's claws, it's teeth, both sharp and long.

Rowena called upon her armor and readied an arrow on her bow, "this is for Vincent!" she hissed.

But before she could unleash her attack, the alien spitted an acidic poison to her bow. It melted the bow in her hand and singed her gauntlet.

"Yuck!" she gasped, tossing her bow to the ground. "My bow!"

"Here, Rowena!" Simon called, "take my bow!"

"No!" she shouted, "you can keep your own bow."

"But Rowena," he began. "You can't attack it without a bow!"

"Who says I can't?" she demanded.

"Well, I do!" Simon said.

"Yeah, you heard what Simon said!" Rochelle shouted, "let us help you, Rowena!"

"I don't need a bow," she said, a grin coming upon her face, "all I really need is an arrow!" she reached her hand to her helmet and tossed it to the ground.

"Is she crazy?" Simon asked.

"Very," Robyn replied.

Keeping her eyes on the alien, who still stood there, Rowena reached for another arrow from her quiver. She took the arrowhead of it and drew blood from the same spot the last time she used it, where she had a faint scar. She held the arrow up, "smell this?" she asked.

The alien could smell it, all right.

"You want me?" she went on, "well, fine, you big maggot. Come and get me! You want a piece of me! Well here, I have enough hot blood full of life and plenty of arrows! Come on, you want a piece of me?" she shouted, taunting the alien, "I'm not afraid of you, I'll send you right back where you came from!"

"What is she doing?" Phyllis asked.

"You're dead meat!" she growled. "Come on, let's see what you've got! Make my day!"

"I don't think it can hear you, Rowena!" Robyn shouted.

"What are you, chicken?" she teased the alien. It made a growel and headed for Rowena.

"Well that got its attention, all right." Joy commented.

"Run, Rowena!" Simon cried.

But Rowena was not going anywhere. She stood without fear, waiting for the alien to get close enough. Just as it about to run her through, she jumped and stabbed her arrow in the eye of the creature. She landed on its back and took five arrows and stabbed it into the alien's tough skin. It bucked her off in pain.

"Let's barbeque that thing!" Roland shouted. "SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION!" he took his swords and sent a great energy blast and it exploded like a bomb.

"FLAMES OF WAR!"

Simon quickly retrieved Rowena before the creature ate her. "Let me go, Simon!" she hissed. "I'm not finished with it yet!"

"You've done enough," he said.

"I want that thing to pay for what it did to Vincent!" she cried.

"Is he breathing?" Joy asked.

"No," Phyllis replied with a frown, "I have an idea, stand back."

She did as she said.

"What are you going to do?" Rowena demanded, breaking out of Simon's grasp, "Phyllis, don't let him die! Please!"

"I won't," Phyllis promised and she began rubbing her palms together. A few sparks danced around her palms as she closed her eyes in meditation. She placed her palms down on Vincent's chest, carefully rubbing it. "CLEAR!" she shouted and pressed on his chest, sending amazing amounts of electricity into Vincent, hoping to jump-start his heart.

Vincent's body wobbled after the shock, but it did not get his heart going again. The voltage she was giving Vincent was taking a lot of her energy, but she forced herself to get going. "Come on, Vincent….CLEAR!"

BZZZZTT

Neo Moon was riding her horse so she wouldn't have to travel on foot. "I hope nothing worse happens," she whispered to herself. Then she felt a surge of electricity travel through her body. It shocked her horse and it bucked her off and ran away.

"Too late," she groaned as she hit the ground. She shook as she felt another surge of electricity. "What's going on?" She felt her innards become hot and the ground looked charred. She began to think she was going to die this way and her brother would not make it and her sister would be lonely. Her ronin scouts would feel like they've failed. Then she remembered how weak she used to be as a child. 'Oh, what's the use? My mother was a clumsy person who loved snacks and my father couldn't remember anything about her until Luna made him remember.'

When she thought all was lost, a great brilliant light appeared above her. She shielded her eyes and sat up. The glowing light took the image of a person.

"Who are you?" Neo Moon questioned.

"You can't tell?" the image asked. "Look harder, young one."

Neo Moon cocked her head and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Wait a minute," she said; noticing the woman's long, silvery white hair and same royal symbol, "You're the late Queen Serenity! My grandmother!"

Queen Serenity nodded, "Yes, that I am. I've come from the other side to speak to you my dear grandchild. I'm sorry that I haven't seen you when you were younger."

"It would have been nice to see you then," Neo Moon admitted, "but I forgive you."

"You're all grown up now," Queen Serenity said, "I've watched you grow from heaven, from the moment you were born. What a lovely young woman you've become. You're the new queen now. I'm very proud of you!"

"I don't think I'll be as good as you though," Neo Moon sighed, "or Mother."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Because," she said, "I wasn't a very good sailor scout. I couldn't even get my Sugar Heart wand to work!"

"Of course you were," Queen Serenity said, "Becoming a sailor scout wasn't the easiest thing to do, but because you started training as one at a young age, you've grown wiser and stronger."

"I suppose," Neo Moon whispered, "but Sailor Moon always was the one to finish the job. She got all the credit and now my sister is the new 'Sailor Moon'."

"Why are you comparing yourself to your sister?" Her grandmother asked.

"Maybe because she's stronger," she admitted, "Her father is a ronin warrior, after all. My father was Tuxedo Mask; all he did was throw roses."

"Your father did much more than that," Serenity confirmed, "didn't you know your father was a warrior too?"

"He was?"

"Of course. One thousand years ago he was the defender of Earth. And he still is."

"But I had no idea," she said, "well, I did know that my parents met back then but I did not know that my father was also a warrior. When I think about it, I guess it makes sense. I just never saw my father fight very much."

"But he did always tend to show up at the right time, didn't he?" Serenity asked with a smile.

Neo Moon nodded.

"You are much stronger than you realize," Serenity said, "why do you think so many enemies were after you?"

She shrugged, "because I was so cute?"

Serenity smiled at her comment, "and you still are. But you have an amazing powerful energy. Your mother is Sailor Moon, defender of the moon and your father is King Edymion, defender of Earth. And you, Neo Moon, my beloved grandchild, the next heir to the royal family, are the night defender of Earth."

Rini could not believe what her grandmother had just said and there was no way would be prepared for what she had in store for her.

Ooops, I made this chapter a bit too long. There will be more soon!