Hey ya'll! Thanx for reading thus far. Sorry about the short chapter last time, but I was having trouble uploading a large section so I had to break it apart. (As in this chapter and the last one, and the next, because I didn't really write in chapters, but in one large continuation. Oh, well.) Anyways, enough chatter and on to the next part. Tally ho!

Disclaimer: Do you really think I own this? You have absolutely got to be kidding me, but keep up the flattery. J Everything related to SM belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Pioneer, whereas all the SW related stuff belongs to Lucasfilm Ltd and Berkley Jam Books.

Now on with the show!!!!!!!!

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Jaina was extremely worried about her friend. She had not seen Usagi since that first class. Jacen, Lowie, and Tenel Ka shared her concern, and none knew what had become of their princess friend.

"Something was going on between her and Uncle Luke." Jaina said to her friends and twin brother. They nodded.

"This is a fact," agreed Tenel Ka. Lowie shrugged.

"Remember the day she first came? Remember how weird Uncle Luke, Dad, and Chewie acted around her?" Jacen pointed out. The others nodded.

"And what's this about Master Skywalker knowing something he wouldn't tell her?" Tenel Ka asked her friends. None seemed to know.

Jaina stood up. "I'm really worried. We should go check on her." The others agreed, and they followed Jaina as she made her way to the dormitory which she and Usagi shared.

The others stayed behind as Jaina crossed the threshold of the little room. She walked over to her roommate's bed, glanced at everything lying there, and gave a gasp of surprise. Lowie, Jacen, and Tenel Ka rushed to her, and were as stunned as she had been.

On the bed, neatly laid out, sat Usagi's royal tiara, white princess's gown, the brooch containing the Moon Prism, and a note:

Dear my friends,

In a few weeks my life will no longer be my own. I have known that this day would come, felt it deep within me. I am tired of having my life led for me, and I am taking my destiny in my own hands, living as I would choose. By the time you read this note I will be gone, too far gone for you to find me, and I pray that you shan't try. Simply know that I have, at long last, the chance to be happy. Happiness, that feeling that most take for granted. I have known it truly here, for one of the rare times in my life. I thank you all for that.

Jaina, Jacen. There is a secret, a secret which lies deep within your family ties. Know that it is not for the secret, which I shall impart to you, that I have left. I have planned this for weeks, months, years...

The above-mentioned secret is thus; a long time ago, after the Empire had been abolished by the Rebel Alliance and Luke Skywalker, and before the founding of the grand Jedi Academy, Luke wandered. And during this time of wandering, he met my mother, Selene.

Their romance was short-lived, but passionate enough.

Jaina gasped, beginning to understand the full scheme. She stared wordlessly at Tenel Ka as the warrior girl too began to guess the truth.

Yet they were not to be together. My grandfather, much like Apollo today, did not believe in the freedom of neither woman nor princess. She was to marry the before-mentioned Apollo, and after she had run away, a war was begun. A great, terrible war that resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, so horrible an act of devastation that my mother was forced out of hiding and made to marry.

So you see, to be quite frank, the King of the Moon Kingdom and High King of the Silver Millennium, Apollo, is not my father. However, Jaina, Jacen, your uncle, Luke Skywalker, is. This is what I remembered today during Tionne's class. I suppose I learned a bit more than I wanted. Ha ha.

Thank you for being the best friends I could have ever wished for. The first and only true friends I have ever known.

Usagi Tsukino

"She ran away..." Jaina said in disbelief. Lowie emitted a growl-woof which Em-Teedee translated.

"Master Lowbacca wishes to know how it is possible to run away from a moon in the middle of space with no ship."

Jacen was still recovering from the shock.

"That makes her our cousin, doesn't it, Jaina?"

Jaina nodded mutely. She couldn't think, couldn't speak. Wherever could Usagi have gone? Alone, in space, with no one and nowhere to go... Wandering aimlessly...

Lowie roared.

"Of course, Master Lowbacca! We must find Mistress Usagi!"

Tenel Ka still had not spoken. She appeared deep in thought as Jacen turned to her.

"What are you thinking, Tenel Ka?"

"Well, friend Jacen," she said, her brow furrowed in concentration, "Perhaps it would be best if we left her alone and respected her wishes."

"We can't do that!" Jacen exclaimed, as Lowie and Jaina nodded vehemently.

"Listen. I can understand somewhat what our friend Usagi is feeling. I too am a princess. She doesn't want to be forced into a life of marriage that she has no power in, and I don't blame her."

"But still! Ordinarily I would say you're right, but we're talking about Usagi! She had never been away from the Moon Kingdom before she came here. She has no idea how to survive on her own." Jaina said forcefully. "She trusts people far too easily. You know as well as I do that as pure and innocent as she is what can happen!" In an outburst of fury Jaina slammed her fist against the wooden chest.

"I suppose there is only one thing left to do, then." Tenel Ka said. "Tell Master Skywalker."

"Tell me what, Tenel Ka?" Luke Skywalker stood framed in the doorway, watching his nephew and niece and their friends. A heavy tension settled between them.

"That Usagi is gone." Jaina said at last. Luke's eyes widened. He had never expected something this severe from the normally happy girl. "Woman," Luke corrected himself, "she is twenty years old now. Soon to be twenty-one."

"What do you mean, gone?" He inquired of his young Jedi students.

"She left. All she left behind was this note, and everything that had to do with being the Moon Princess." Jacen indicated the items on the bed.

"Why would she do that?" Luke asked of his students, though deep inside him, he already knew.

"The secret that you wouldn't tell her," Jaina said softly. "That and her twenty-first birthday."

Luke shivered slightly. "So you know then?" He asked. They all nodded. He sighed.

"We must find her. You know how she is."

Lowie growled an inquiry at Jaina. She nodded.

"Exactly, Lowie. What are we waiting for?"

They left the room, the Jedi Master and his four students, to the hangar bay, where the state-of-the-art ship Shadow Chaser was kept.

"Your mother might not like this," Luke warned his nephew and niece.

"She'll get over it," Jaina said firmly. "We're coming."

"Yes, but going where? Where could she have gone?" Luke asked, both to himself and his students.

At that moment, Tionne, Jedi instructor and assistant to Master Skywalker, strode into the hangar bay. Mother-of-pearl eyes shone from elven features as she quickly assessed the scene.

"Master Skywalker," she addressed the Jedi Master, "There is a ship outside. It is here to see both you and the girl Usagi."

Jaina glanced at Jacen, turning pale. How could Uncle Luke explain to these people that their crown princess was nowhere to be found? Her friends shared her doubts and concerns, but Luke was to handle the situation smoothly.

With a nod of thanks to Tionne, he bade the Jedi trainees to stay in the hangar bay as he attended to the Silver Millennial Alliance's messenger.

He stepped into the sunlight, its glow reflecting off of his golden hair. The small craft had just settled into the dust when he approached.

The hatch opened with a small whoosh of air, and what Luke Skywalker saw made his heart stop. Walking off the entrance ramp with all the grace and dignity of the felines, her silver hair shimmering around her like a strange, glistening halo, was Selene Tsukino. Queen Selenity.

She was mildly dressed, for a queen. A white linen shirt, khaki pants. Her long hair was done in a style almost exactly like Usagi's; the two odangos perched atop her shining head like meatballs in spaghetti.

"Hello, Luke." She said softly, watching the father of her child through guarded eyes; eyes that held sorrow and love, guilt and pain, and joy.

Still completely in a state of shock, Luke Skywalker stared at the woman he had loved, the woman who had left only to return twenty-one years later. Even now, she was as beautiful as ever she had been. That golden crescent moon still shone on her brow, exactly as it did on Usagi's. Usagi...

The thought of the girl who had run away awakened afresh within his dumbstruck brain. Usagi, his blood daughter, had run away from him...

"Selene." Luke nodded a greeting at the Queen of the Silver Millennium. "We must talk." He motioned toward the Great Temple, "Please, come with me." With a silent, partly guarded nod, Selene followed the Jedi Master into his academy.

It was hot, unbearably so inside that steel drum. Oh, how she longed to be free of the confinement, but Usagi was not yet sure that Peckhum's freighter was far enough away for her to safely escape its concealment.

It had been a tight fit, but her tiny frame was just small enough to squeeze inside the container. None of the other trainees could have accomplished it. Jacen couldn't comment on her lack of height when it came to this, could he?

"Jacen can't comment on anything I do," Serena thought with a pang of sadness. "Nor Jaina, nor Lowie, nor Tenel Ka. I am alone in space."

The interior of the steel drum was cramped, and Usagi could barely move. Just as she felt she might be about ready to leave her confinement, she felt the beginnings of a sneeze.

"Oh, no!" she thought frantically. "I can't sneeze now!"

But the itching within her nose continued to intensify, until- "Achoo!" Usagi sneezed. The noise reverberated inside the drum, pounding inside Usagi's skull. Luckily, for her anyway, Peckhum took no notice at the helm above the cargo bay, for a chime had just sounded to signify his dinner.

Using her opportunity, Usagi tuned all her senses with the Force to Peckhum, so that he shan't notice any noise she might create in exiting her confines. Quietly, she slid the top of the container off, allowing herself enough room to exit. She then carefully replaced it, and hid in the shadows, far from where Peckhum could see if he decided to enter the cargo hold, and away from the steel drums he would use.

She had timed her exit perfectly, for no sooner was she hidden in the shadows then she felt the landing gear of the Lightening Rod engage and prepare for descent.

Not more than ten minutes later, Usagi heard the distinct sound of voices and shuffling feet. With a slight whoosh of air, the hatch of the cargo hold opened and old Peckhum strode inside, an alien trader at his side.

"So you want the materials in these, then?" The trader said to Peckhum in a bored tone. The old pilot nodded. Yes, this was what Master Skywalker had ordered.

"Very well then. I shall have my men do it," the alien gestured outside the vessel, "Now what do you say to a drink?"

After Peckhum and the trader had left, Usagi snuck silently out of the cargo hold. She had no idea where she was, but she felt a feeling of sublime elation as she reveled in her cleverness. She had left the Jedi academy right under Luke's nose! No early marriage, no more secrets, simply freedom! That feeling of serenity that she had longed for was hers to claim, and once she could claim a ship, she could be off to Earth, to Endymion!

She was so blissfully happy, so full of innocent joy, she broke into song. The one thing she had ever really been good at. It didn't matter the other things she had failed at, she could sing! She could revel in the ecstasy of music and harmony, could feel the melody pulsing through her as surely as she felt the power and strength of the Force.

Watching her was a man, dark-skinned with a face so gnarled and windswept it appeared as if he had lived through a thousand battles. A small smile broke across his features as he heard her beautiful melody as it issued from her delicately painted pink lips. He wanted this woman, this woman with the voice of liquid silver, rhythmic and gentle and powerful at the same time, with a voice that he felt burn inside of him like a flame. Here, on Rhilek Prime, there were many restaurants and taverns clambering for beautiful creatures with beautiful voices. If he could claim this one, he knew his tavern would be the most frequently visited on the tiny planet. He decided to approach her.

"Excuse me, miss." He said, as the girl turned blue eyes to him, deep, gorgeous eyes that were as blue as the oceans. The fullest, deepest, most beautiful and expressive eyes he had ever seen, and he had seen many.

"Yes?" Who was this man, wondered Usagi. What did he want?

"My name is Shralei. You happen to have a very beautiful voice. I was wondering if perhaps you would like to join my tavern, singing like that."

Usagi felt delight at his words, wondering if it was possible that someone found her singing wonderful. She needed money, and someone was willing to allow her to sing for it! Singing, her love, her passion, and she could get paid!

"Of course. I would love to."

Shralei smiled. This was excellent.

"Can you start tonight?"

Usagi's heart beat wildly inside her chest. "Definitely."

"Great. Please follow me." Shralei led her off to an upper-class tavern on the other side of the city. The streets were cleaner here: much less garbage strewn around and graffiti on the walls. He led her to a fine-looking place and took her around to the back entrance.

Inside, many different aliens of many different species, including humans, watched her with interest. She shivered as one man, obviously drunk, surveyed her body with a look of perverse pleasure. Noting her discomfiture, Shralei called for security and had the glutton removed.

Smiling in apology, he opened a door to one of the back rooms. It was decorated in shades of cream and blue, sheer metallic curtains draped over a window which shown to the outside. A large mahogany closet stood at one end of the room, a pale blue couch in the center, and a glass and black cast-iron vanity against the wall.

"This will be your dressing room, Miss..." Shralei said.

"Kathryn. Kathryn Coatlicue." Usagi said, thinking quickly. She didn't want anyone to know her true name, at least not yet.

"Well, Kathryn, our last entertainer was a few sizes bigger than you, but her wardrobe is still inside the closet. There might be a few things in there which could fit you, until we have everything resized. You will go on in an hour, so I suggest you make yourself sharp." He pointed at a reptilian-looking alien at the door with shimmering, iridescent violet scales and a snout of sharp fangs.

"Maylar will show you the way to the stage, once you are through preparing. Good day, Miss Coatlicue." Without another word, Shralei turned and left, closing the door behind him.

When he was gone, Usagi let out a breath of sheer excitement. With a few leap-like bounds, she had crossed the breadth of the dressing room to the closet. With dismay, she noticed that most of the gorgeous gowns were twice her size. But in the back, barely touched, hung a lone dress of sunset gold, shining spaghetti-strapped silk, which fitted her perfectly and reached just above her knee.

A glance in the vanity's mirror told her that her hair was a mess. Dirt was smudged along her barely tanned cheeks, and a cut ran down her lip. And yet, all kinds of cosmetics were assorted on top of the clear glass, foundations and shadows and lipsticks.

With the gold of the dress, Usagi picked a deep, garnet-red, metallic rouge for her lips, and cleaned her face. Her extremely long hair, which she knew she would cut as soon as dawn rose the next day, she brought up to its' usual odangos. The only remnant of her life as a princess, the glimmering moonstone necklace given her by her mother on her sixteenth birthday, hung peacefully within the hollow of her throat. She had just finished straightening an errant strand of her blonde hair when a knock resounded on her door. Taking a deep, calming breath, Usagi laced the ankle straps of her sandals and followed the reptilian Maylar out into the main room of the tavern, full of the restlessness and noise of any club.

Before long, she stood alone on the stage, the microphone to her ruby-stained lips and the music playing softly in the background. She breathed deeply, taking in the skeptical looks of the spectators, and opened her mouth.

She had written the song herself, felt the words deep within her as she had sat, lonely on one of those long nights at the academy, thinking of Endymion. Before long, she would have the money to raise a ship and venture to Earth, but for now...

"Deep in my soul, love so strong, it takes control.

Now, we both know... The secret's bared, the feelings show."

The music came to an intensity, resounding in the ears of the listeners, rapt with attention at the wondrous voice of the tiny, beautiful woman before them as she sang the words with a passion that was rarely seen.

"Driven far apart... I'll make a wish, on a shooting star.

And there will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay... My only love."

Every face in the tavern was fixed to hers, including the waiters' and waitresses', the bartender's, whose mug he was supposedly filling was pouring into the floor unnoticed, and even Shralei's himself.

"Even though you're gone, love will still live on...

The feeling is so strong, My only love.

"There will come a day, somewhere far away, in your arms I'll stay, my only love.

"You've reached the deepest part, of the secret in my heart... I've known it from the start, my only love."

Usagi's voice reverberated melodiously throughout the halls. "My only love."

The people watching stood so quickly it astounded the young princess, bursting into applause so loud it rattled the dishes and shook the tables. Usagi smiled with pleasure.

"They like me!" she thought happily. "They really like me!"

"Yes, my dear, they really like you." Shralei said with a small amount of amusement. He had been right about the audience's reactions to Kathryn's voice. She was as good as he had believed.

Luke was still astonished at the woman who stood resurrected before him. Selene... His one great love... Their child, alone in the vast expanse of space...

Selene smiled softly at the man who had been her lover. The man who was the father of her child. The only man she had ever given her heart to.

"Where is Usagi, Luke?" Her voice was as soft as Luke remembered it, as even and every word as carefully thought out as ever they had been. He smiled ruefully. Usagi had none of that carefully planned organization: she was as wild, impulsive, and carefree as a young lioness.

Selene knew instinctively something was wrong. Perhaps it was in the way Luke's ice-blue eyes carefully avoided her darker ones, or the feeling of foreboding that seeped into the chamber of the temple.

"Something's wrong Luke. What is it?" Her voice now held a tone of urgency. Luke sighed. This would be difficult.

Still avoiding her gaze, Luke said, "Today, during class, Usagi learned of the truth, of you and me, and Apollo."

Selene clasped a hand to her mouth, the color receding quickly from her ivory skin. Luke reached out, clasped her hand in his, and said quietly, "but that's not the worst of it. I let her go to her dorm, figuring she needed some time, and some rest. However, it appears as if she takes after her mother in more ways than one." He smiled bitterly, "She has run away. I only just found out, and I have no idea where to look."

A horrified expression crept across Selene's face.

"Usagi... Oh, my little Usako..." Luke bit his lip until it bled, watching the pain running through Selene. Oh, it hurt. It hurt to watch her hurt, to watch her feel pain he couldn't protect her from.

"We have to find her." Selene's voice turned distant and steely, with all the control and calm of a trained queen. Luke nodded.

"Yes. I was about to leave on a search with a few of my best students, and Usagi's closest friends, when you arrived."

"I'm coming." Selene said rigidly.

"Of course." He gestured to the door. "The Shadow Chaser is waiting."

Selene stood and walked swiftly past the Jedi Master, in the direction he had indicated. With a sigh, he grabbed a jacket from the back of a chair and followed the keeper of the Ginzuishou.

The chill of the Negaverse was piercing. It infiltrated the very core of Zekk's being and seeped inside his soul. A soul that should have been blackened by the training of the Dark Jedi, but a soul that was instead troubled and disturbed. He knew that one day he would have to face his old friends Jaina and Jacen once and for all, but at the same time he prayed that that time was far in the future.

Jedite watched the young Jedi scornfully. This little human kid was to be a great part in the Queen's plans of conquest, but not him. No, not he, not one of her grand generals who had spent his entire lifetime in service to her every whim, but this streetwise brat who happened to possess the abilities of the Jedi.

"Jedite!" The roar resounded throughout Beryl's Dark palace. Even well-trained soldiers trembled slightly at the sound of Her Dark power. It was a terrifying power, a power that only the Moon Kingdom's Ginzuishou could defeat. A power that was captured at the moment by a weak queen. Selenity would fall to Beryl, Jedite knew, and the Dark forces of the Negaforce would consume the world of love and light in the Universe. This, Jedite knew.


"Yes, my Queen." Said Jedite, bowing low to the violet-clad woman with the fiery red hair. She smiled coldly at him over the top of her crystal ball, the crystal that could see all the workings of her minions, and sometimes the world above.

"Did you bring him as I ordered, Jedite?" Beryl's voice was silky smooth, dripping with evil menace.

"Yes, my Queen." He indicated Zekk, who bowed before Beryl, his scarlet-lined cape swirling behind him.

"Ahh, Zekk." She said, eyeing the young Jedi with a faint smile. "I sent for you because you will be important to me. There is a girl, a girl you should know, a good friend of your old friend Jaina. Usagi."

Zekk stiffened at the mention of Jaina. He hadn't seen her in a long, long time. And they used to be so close...

"Usagi is the daughter of Queen Selenity, the only one who binds my wonderful Dark power within this Negaverse with her damn Moon Crystal, that blasted Ginzuishou.

"Recently, Usagi learned of a secret to her past and has run away. She is vulnerable, and weak. I am trusting you to use your wit and charm to succumb her to you. Seduce her, play with her if you like. But bring her to me." Beryl's voice was as cold and harsh as ever.

"Yes, my Queen." Zekk bowed as low as Jedite had done, before turning and leaving through the portal. He was to find this Usagi and bring her to Beryl to be part of the Queen's plans of conquest. And he knew it was of his utmost duty to free Beryl from her confines. It was why he had been chosen. Chosen to serve the Darkest power known. To serve the Negaforce.

Endymion was as restless as ever. Lately he had had this feeling of dread, of unspeakable evil. He had felt it in the very air, scenting it on the wind, feeling it deep inside himself. His gaze lingered on a picture standing on a table across the room. It was a picture of him and Usagi, during the long-ago month when they had been together. He smiled. Usagi... He sorely missed his Usa-chan. She would be twenty now, he reasoned, almost twenty-one. Old enough for marriage...

But would she? Would her parents let her, if she so chose? Is it what he wanted?

"Yes," he thought, "It is what I want. It is what I have wanted all this time, since that first day in the garden. It is what is meant to be."

And yet that feeling of dread persisted. That feeling of dark evil, swarming over Elysian. Coming ever closer, smothering the populace. And with his thoughts of Usagi, part of the mysterious foreboding was revealed.

"Kami-sama! Usako is in danger! I must find her!" Endymion said loudly. Helios, who was nearby, heard his prince's shout and ran over.

"What is it, Prince?" His pale blue eyes were shadowed in anxiety as he studied Endymion.

"Usagi is in danger, and so is the rest of the Universe."

Helios looked at him disbelievingly.

"Don't ask me how I know, Helios, but I do. I can feel it. We must find some way to call the Inner Senshi and search for Usagi."

Helios nodded understanding. "Yes, Prince. I too have felt the Dark power creeping over our lands, coming ever closer to the Princess. We must protect her."

"Exactly my thoughts, Helios. Where are the Senshi?"

Helios indicated a subspace arch, which, when activated, allowed instant access to any planet in the Silver Millennium, to any other subspace arch. It appeared to be only a white wicker garden arch, but had an eerie blue light emanating from it. The device itself had been a wondrous invention of Pluto's, who was tired of the Senshi's constant need for teleport and the mass use of shuttles for visiting other cities in the realm.

"They should be at Queen Selenity's palace."

"Well then, Helios, what are we waiting for?"

Endymion strode confidently through the subspace arch, formed the telepathic link, and was transported instantly to the subspace arch in Usagi's own private lily garden, Helios following behind.

No sooner had he stepped out of the arch, than was Endymion surrounded by four very angry-looking women in very short skirts. The Senshi.

"Who are you to enter Princess Serenity's private grounds?" The one nearest to him said in a voice of bossy authority. Her hair was raven-black, hanging loosely to the top of her thighs. She wore a red and violet fuku, and glared at him through violet eyes.

"I am Endymion, Prince of Earth. Your princess is in grave danger."

"What? Usagi's in trouble?" Another Senshi said with concern. She had blonde hair as long as the first's, with pale blue eyes, and wore an orange, blue, and yellow fuku.

"He could be a spy." The third Senshi said harshly. She glared suspiciously at him with bright green eyes. Her shining brown hair was pulled high into a ponytail, and her fuku was in shades of pink and green.

"I assure you, Senshi, I am no spy. I am who I say I am, and I am here to help Usagi." Endymion was beginning to grow annoyed with the young women before him.

"I believe him." The last of the Senshi watched him with kind, deep blue eyes. Her hair was, unlike the others, cut short and held a bluish tint. Her fuku, too, was in shades of blue.

"How do you know, Mercury?" The raven-haired Senshi said in a frustrated manner to her blue-clad teammate.

"Look at his eyes. He sincerely wants to help Usa-chan. Besides, why would a spy use a subspace arch to get into Usako's private gardens? The telepathic link will not work if you do not know where you are going. Usa-chan must have brought him here before. Did she?" Mercury asked, turning to Endymion. He nodded.

"Once, a long time ago."

The blonde turned warm eyes and a gentle smile to him then.

"So then Usa-chan must have trusted you. And therefore we shall trust you."

"I'm not so sure that's wise, Venus." The Senshi with the red and violet fuku snapped.

"Mind your mouth, Mars! With both the Queen and Princess gone, I am in command." The blonde glared at the raven-haired Senshi, who Endymion and Helios now knew as Mars.

"My question is what type of danger the Princess might be in. Can you tell me that, Endymion-san?" The brunette asked. Endymion shook his head.

"The specific danger surrounding Usagi I do not know. All I have is a feeling, a feeling which is telling me that she is in serious trouble."

"You mean like a psychic sense? Mars has a psychic sense. Have you felt anything, Mars?"

"Actually, Jupiter, I have. Nothing specific, but a feeling of dread. Of foreboding and Darkness. Of intense evil."

"That's exactly it. And it is centered around Usagi. I'm sure of it!" There was a slight flush coming to Endymion's face as he was overwhelmed by worry for Usagi. All the Senshi looked at him, the same feelings of concern and anxiety mirrored on their faces.

"We have to find the Princess." Venus said, as pale as a sheet.

"But she left to that academy... And Queen Selenity went to her! The Queen must be in danger as well..." Mars added.

"Let's get Uranus and Neptune. If we're to save the Queen and Princess, we can't do it alone. Saturn can manage the Outer Realm, and Pluto the Inner Realm. Apollo will be quite capable of handling the Moon Kingdom alone." Jupiter almost spat the name of her King. Apparently she didn't hold him in high regard.

"Of course. I can contact them using my communicator." Mercury pulled out a compact, flipped open the lid, punched a few buttons, and began speaking.

"Uranus? Neptune? Can you teleport here right away? The Queen and the Princess are in danger... We must help them!" Endymion was astonished to see the faces of two other Senshi in the compact where a mirror would normally be.

A few moments later, two new Senshi had arrived through the subspace arch. They were both tall, but one towered. She had light blonde hair cut very short and fierce eyes. Her navy and yellow fuku looked menacing.

Her partner was gentler-looking. Smaller, with shoulder-length wavy bluish hair, and deep, understanding blue eyes, her fuku was in shades of dark blue and aqua.

"Uranus! Neptune! This is Endymion, Prince of Earth," Venus said, indicating him, "Endymion, this is Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune of the Outer Realm."

Endymion bowed his head slightly in respect.

"Pleasure to meet you. However, there are more pressing matters at hand..." he trailed.

"Of course," Uranus said sharply. She was almost as tall as he, and towered over Helios' slight frame.

"We must protect our Queen and our Princess." Neptune said softly, in a voice a smooth and melodious as flowing water.

"Then you have a difficult task ahead of you." The Senshi, Endymion, and Helios turned to look at two other newcomers. One was tall, with green-tinted hair that hung to her knees, and mysterious-looking blue eyes. Her fuku was in shades of green and black, and she carried an intimidating staff with a ruby-red jewel at it's top, cradled by a heart. The other was tiny, with ebony hair that came straight to her chin and dark violet eyes that appeared as if they saw and knew everything at once. She wore a violet and black fuku, and carried an ominous-looking scythe.

"Pluto..." Mars said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Saturn..." said Neptune in a voice of reverence and awe.

"Yes. The princess and the Queen are both in great danger. The wicked Queen of the Negaverse, Beryl, has broken free of her seal. Even now her knights of the Dark Side have infiltrated our peaceful Universe, spreading havoc, death, and destruction." Pluto said.

Saturn spoke, in a voice quiet but full of knowledge, authority, and power. "It is the power of the Queen's Ginzuishou which has locked her Darkness within the Negaverse for centuries. During this time, she has meditated on little else but revenge. She is intensely powerful, and will try to bring the Queen, the Princess, and our Alliance to ruin. We must stop her and protect our future."

"Is it that bad, then, Saturn?"

"Most certainly, Uranus. Now go, all of you, find our Princess and our Queen. Save our future. The fate of the Universe rests within you."

The Senshi joined hands, and Mercury motioned for Endymion and Helios to do the same. Endymion held the hand of Uranus, and Helios of Mercury. Then the Senshi began to chant:

"Sailor Power- Teleport!" They said as one. A glowing light erupted from each woman, and in seconds they had all vanished.

Usagi had been working for Shralei's tavern for a few weeks now. It seemed as if her singing was extremely popular; or at least that was what Shralei said.

She examined herself in the mirror, running her slender fingers through her now short golden blonde hair, which had been cut to her chin in a Cleopatra-type bob. Usagi loved it. It made her look older, more mature, less innocent and kittenish. That and her now garnet-toned lips. She had never been much of one for cosmetics on the moon, and had had no need of them at her father's academy, but now she adored them. There wasn't a day gone by that she didn't have garnet-red lips. Dark, glittery, a deep and luscious jewel-toned red...

She puckered to the mirror. Yes, her lips looked great. Deep and mysterious, like a golden temptress...

What would her father say if he saw her now?

"Oh, yes," she laughed, "How un-ladylike. How disappointing for a princess. But then, I'm not truly a princess now, am I?

"That and Apollo isn't my father. Master Skywalker is." She sighed. "I suppose it wasn't fair to him to get so angry and leave. None of them have any idea where I've gone, how I'm doing, or what. How extremely selfish of me."

She checked her chronometer. "I've another show in about a half hour. Perhaps after then I can arrange a small amount of leave and Shralei could let me visit them, one last time, to properly say goodbye."

Her heart weighed heavily with guilt, Usagi, or Kathryn as she was now called, walked across her dressing room to her wardrobe. All the clothes had been refitted to cling perfectly to her petite features, and she loved them all.

Tonight, she knew she would wear one of her favorites. It was a deep, glittering garnet-red that matched her best lipstick. It hung from a halter at her neck, following the curves of her body until it flared slightly at her ankles. The back was deep-cut to contrast the high neckline of the halter, and she slipped her delicate-looking feet into strapped heels.

Maylar was waiting outside for her, and together the two of them walked to the back entrance of the stage. Usagi had become good friends with the kind-hearted reptilian woman, and it had become a tradition of sorts to walk together before she was to perform. As she stepped behind the stage, she paused, listening to the crowd outside.

"It's a loud one tonight." She said quietly. Maylar nodded.

"Yes, it is. But you should have no trouble wooing them over, my dear. You look positively breathtaking in that dress."

"Thanks, Maylar. If you wouldn't mind, can you please find Shralei? I would really like to speak with him after the performance." Usagi said.

"Of course, my dear. Now go knock 'em dead!"

"That's the plan, Maylar," Usagi laughed, "That's the plan."

Shralei was tending the bar when the newcomers strode in. Classy, they were. The type to buy the expensive drinks. He would serve them personally.

Three women, two men, and a Wookiee. You didn't often get Wookiees on Rhilek Prime. This must be a traveling party, eager to stop for a drink and a rest before continuing on some intergalactic journey. Oh, well. It wasn't any of his business, so long as they paid well.

"How may I help you?" he said to the first man, who appeared to be their leader. The man appraised him coolly with light blue eyes.

"A table, please. A few drinks, as well. We've had a long journey."

Shralei almost snickered. He had been right, after all.

"This way." Once they were all seated, he took drink and meal orders. He was right again. They were the classy type.

Luke watched the bartender convey some secret amusement, then smile proudly as a young woman ascended the stage. A woman with piercingly familiar ocean-blue eyes...

"Blaster bolts! Uncle Luke, it's Usagi!" Jacen gasped.

* * * *

Am I mean or what? Classic cliffhanger... Anyway, the song "My Only Love," came from one of the early DIC episodes, and I liked it, so I included it. Well, as always, let me know what you think and definitely review, review, REVIEW! Or I just might be mean and not let you know how it ends... * sticks out tongue in spite* Feel free (and very much encouraged) to e-mail me at silver_usako316@hotmail.com with questions, comments, suggestions, or just to say hey. I love mail!

Lady Pluto