Old Friends and New Beginnings
Author's Ramblings:
Kate: This story is story 6. Christina: Wow. Kate: We're very happy to be here.
Christina: Speak for yourself. I want to be at home. Kate: You are at home.
Christina: Shut up! Kate: So, please enjoy this story. Christina: We hope you hate
it. Kate: Someone's in a cynical mood today. Christina: I'm not cynical. I'm never
cynical. I'm happy and cheerful. You want cynical? I'll give you cynical. Kate:
(softly) She's just jealous because I beat her on the math test.
Disclaimer:
Kate: Sailor Moon is not ours. Christina: Sure it is. They just don't know it yet.
Kate: Seriously. It's not ours. Christina: Yes, it is. I bought it this morning. Off
the stock exchange. Online. For only eight dollars a trade. Kate: It belongs to
Naoko. Christina: No, it doesn't! It belongs to me! Christina Gifford. Kate: (rolls
eyes and continues to work on story)
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Susan is pregnant. With Terrence's baby, and Terrence knows it. Hannah
introduced Brian-her boyfriend-to her family, and he was a big success. Amy and Greg
moved to Boston, leaving Phoebe and Orb alone in the household. Lyra went on a date
with Richard, but it was interrupted by both Reeny and Celeste's antics and by a
Raider attack. Greed died.
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Orb, where'd this come from?" Phoebe picked the cream-colored envelope
off the table and ran her fingers over the black script on it. In a flowery, cursive
scrawl, it read...
"Phoebe Solaria Urawa, the Galactic Guardian of the Sun," the orange cat,
jumping onto the kitchen counter. "I was impressed, too. I didn't think that
Serenity had the guts." He shrugged. "Oh, well..."
She flipped a braid behind her left shoulder. "What... what IS this?" she
asked curiously.
Orb rolled his golden eyes. "For being eighteenth at your school, Pheebs,
you're pretty dense." He shook his head as she made a grievous face. "Open it and
find out!"
"I don't see how it's fair," she observed while she ripped it open, "that you
know the contents of MY mail while I have not a clue."
He stuck out his pink tongue at her. "You'll be happy to know that I
recognized the stationary this time."
"THIS TIME?" Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the cat. "You've previously
committed mail fraud?"
Orb gulped. "Not fraud, per say..." he guiltily said to his charge. "It just
so happened that the letter your cousin Zelda sent you looked mighty interesting..."
She gasped, but not at the cat's words. At the card before her.
"Phoebe Solaria, you are cordially invited to the Royal Gala and Ball at
Crystal Palace," she read aloud, ice blue eyes filled with shock. "Also invited is
your date or companion of choice." Skimming the rest of it, Phoebe let a goofy grin
cross her face. "This is SO neat, Orb! I've never been so amazed in my entire life!"
The cat smiled sweetly. "Your date is taken care of, by the way," he told her
evilly.
"I have to buy a dress, get my hair done, call Mom and Dad..." Hearing the
cat's words, she froze. "What?"
Jumping from the green counter and onto the solid oak table, he looked into
her eyes and then proceeded to smirk. "Alice is in the same bind," he informed her.
"You have to take this adorable Moon Cat I know..."
Phoebe looked at him and groaned.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Crista's coming to Tokyo for a week!" Haley exclaimed in complete elation,
waving the bright stationery in the air.
Rolling her purple eyes through black-rimmed glasses, Hannah sighed. "Not that
snotty rich kid from Los Angeles again," she groaned, turning the page in her
chemistry book. "Last time she was here, Alex nearly strangled her, and Michelle
was only an inch away from kicking Crista out onto the street."
"That was years ago!" Haley defended, wrinkling her nose. "I'm sure Crista got
better..."
"Crista?" Alex walked into the room with a look of pure horror on her face.
"Not that blonde-haired, blue-eyed beach bunny again!" she protested, looking at her
daughter with fear in her green eyes. "Don't tell me she's boarding here..."
"What's so bad about Crista?" asked an amazed Haley. "You guys are so
judgmental..."
Coming down the stairs with a laundry basket, Michelle looked thoughtfully at
her younger daughter. "We are not being judgmental," she assured the teen. "We're
being...cautious..." She shrugged and proceeded down the other flight of stairs.
"Yeah," agreed Alex, sipping her coffee. "After all, we don't want to kill
your childhood best friend..."
Hannah couldn't control herself and burst out laughing.
Sticking her nose proudly into the air, Haley let out a dignified grunt.
"Well, I'm taking Crista to the Royal Gala and Ball," she announced. "And you can't
stop me."
Her sister's eyes grew wide, and she wiped the smirk from her face. "What did
you just say?" she asked in doubt.
"You heard me," Haley retorted.
Alex shook her head. "I don't believe you..." She gasped a bit, surprised.
"For goodness' sake, can you believe the disaster that would cause?"
"I get to take my companion of choice," she said simply. "Why should it matter
to you who exactly it is?"
"Because we'll kill her!" Hannah exclaimed. "That girl is the biggest..."
"Who?" Susan asked, coming up from the basement. She looked rather tired. "Who
are you all talking-loudly-about about?"
Alexandra sighed. "Haley's little pink beach bunny, Crista."
Susan nodded and sat down on the couch, next to Hannah. "You don't like her?"
"Not in the least," Hannah sighed, looking up at her aunt.
Alex sipped more coffee, shaking her head. "I'd rather go on a date with
Endymion..."
"Not completely," admitted Michelle, coming up the stairs with her laundry
basket.
Everyone stared at her-Susan in curiosity and the others all in disbelief.
"Crista's rude and stuck up," the musician clarified. "And I don't think that
she's a good influence on our daughter. But that's not Crista's fault, and I will
not blame her." She shrugged and looked at the wide-eyed group. "What?"
"I didn't know you felt that way," Alexandra told her. "Now I feel bad... I
probably hurt your-or someone else's- feelings by talking like that."
Michelle smiled and stifled a laugh. "Never stopped you before," she responded
casually before mounting the stairs.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyra rapped lightly on the door of Celeste's bedroom. "Sweetie, are you in
there?"
All she heard was a depressed sniffle and a lot of shuffling.
"Now, 'Leste," the older girl pressed, knocking again, "you can't stay in
there forever." She sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I give up."
A little voice called. "Come on in, Lyra."
Walking in, Lyra ran a nervous hand through her curls. On the bunk bed, there
was a rather upset Celeste who was fingering a purple rose.
A purple rose? The blonde teen jumped nearly a mile into the air upon seeing it.
Surely, the Starlit Prince... But, then...
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You look very
upset..."
She sniffled, but just shrugged. "Lyra, what if a really good friend of yours
gets awful hurt? What are you supposed to do about it?" Looking up with tears in her
bright green eyes, the little girl searched for her answer.
"Well..." Seeing the prince in her mind's eye, Lyra gulped and took a deep
breath. "All you have to do is hope, Celeste," she told her sister, smiling weakly.
"Just hope."
"Hope?" the girl asked in a full state of disbelief. "Works for you, doesn't
it, Lyra? To sit with your ditzy group of friends and hope, just hope, that
everything will turn out alright!" Celeste turned her back on her sister. "But what
if hoping doesn't work?" Tears rolled down pale cheeks and began to soak the purple
bed sheets. "What then?"
Lyra bit her lip and sighed deeply. Thinking of the Prince one last time, she
shrugged. "I don't know, Celeste. I just don't know." Letting out a deep breath, she
smiled slightly. "Would you like to go to the Royal Ball with me?"
"Take Richard," the littler girl spat, making a face.
She laughed. "Richard is taking his mother, which leaves me dateless. And,
since Ma and Daddy are already going..."
Whirling around, Celeste looked at her and grinned widely. "Really?"
"Really!" Lyra agreed, pulling the child onto her lap. "What do you say?"
Celeste nodded, still stroking the purple bud. "Promise me one thing, though,"
she softly said to her sister.
"What's that?" The older Mokoti girl inquired, knotting her brow.
Smiling impishly, Celeste giggled. "You have to do my hair," she told Lyra.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"A ball?" Raider Violence, a tall man whose clothing was bright red armor,
rolled his eyes. "We're expected to go to a ball?"
Doubt chortled and looked up from the briefings sheet. "Apparently so,
Violence."
From his seat next to the window, Death let out a long breath. "It sounds like
a nice change of pace," he softly commented, staring down at Earth.
"What?" asked Violence, looking at his colleague in a state of disgust. "A
change of pace?"
Death nodded, not saying anything. Staring down at Earth, he sighed
mournfully.
Shaking her head, the white-haired woman snorted in disapproval. "Ever since
Greed died," she explained to Violence, "he's been moping around here like a love-
sick puppy..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"This isn't easy for me, you know." Turning slowly in his chair, Death glanced
at her, staring into her ebony eyes dully. "How would you like it if the one you
loved died?"
"I don't love anyone," she spat, tossing her hair around and turning from him.
"How could I love any one of you?"
Death sighed. "I guess that's what makes you second in command," he told her
softly, smiling sadly. "That you've never loved, and are strong besides it."
"You have no idea," she replied coolly before stalking out of the room and
slamming the door behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Closing the door slowly behind her, Alice threw her backpack on the couch.
"Artemis!" she yelled, limping to the kitchen. "I'm home!"
"Good!" the cat called after her, coming out of the computer room. "There's
something we have to discuss."
Sitting down in a wooden chair with a box of pop-tarts in one hand and an
icepack in the other, she raised an auburn eyebrow. "What?" she inquired, putting
the icepack on her swelling ankle.
"It's about..." Looking at the girl's ankle, which was about three times its
proper size, the white cat grimaced. "How did you do that?" Artemis asked, cocking
his head to the side.
She shook her head and opened a pack of Pop-Tarts. "It's the same old battle
wound, I'm afraid," she informed the cat, giving him a piece of the pastry. "Now,
what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed after pausing to think. "You were invited to the
Royal Gala and Ball."
"Really?" Alice grinned and leaned back in her chair with a dreamy sigh.
"Maybe there'll be a really cute guy who will fall for me..." She smiled, imagining
her prince.
Artemis shook his head with a sigh. Some things just never changed... "Stay on
track," he told her with a bit of disdain in his voice. "This is important. Each and
every Scout was invited, and so were all the Planet Mistresses..."
"Mom? Cool!" Her chestnut eyes glimmered. "This will be so much fun..."
Artemis rolled his blue eyes. "You're normally a good listener, Al..."
"Sorry!" Alice blushed a little and closed her mouth.
"Anyway," Artemis sighed, starting again, "you have to take me as your date."
She glanced at the cat with wide eyes. "You're a cat, Art," she pointed out.
"How can I take a cat to a ball?"
"Easy," Artemis told her. "You dress up really nice, smile pretty, and I
wander around and attempt to reconcile with my wife."
Patting his head lightly, she smiled warmly at her pet. "Alright, I suppose...
Just promise me one thing," she requested of the white animal.
"And what's that?" he asked, a bit confused.
Smiling evilly, Alice chuckled. "No dancing."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
One of Tara's eyebrows shot into the air as she listened to her parents speak.
"A Royal Ball? With royalty?" she asked in brazen shock. "A...ROYAL...Ball?"
"No, a paper airplane ball," Chad retorted, rolling his brown eyes. After Tara
groaned, he continued. "Of course it's a Royal Ball, dear... And you're expected to
go."
"But Father!" Tara pleaded, looking at him with begging green eyes. "I really
don't feel comfortable around royalty..."
Raye snorted indignantly. "You spent four days with the Princess," she
reminded the teen.
Crinkling her nose, Tara tugged on a strand of hair, as she had a habit of
doing. "That was different. I've seen Reeny eat eighteen cookies in five minutes."
"It's different," the shaggy-haired man informed her, "because you don't see
Reeny as royalty. You see Reeny as a person."
"Besides," put in Raye. "You're a Galactic Sailor."
"Sailor or not," Tara shot at him, "I'm not going to a silly ball."
Raye groaned, rolling her purple eyes. "You will go to the ball, and that is
final!" she shouted at her daughter. "I don't care if you like royalty or not! This
is a big deal for the Mistresses and the Scouts!"
"It's silly!" the girl shot back, face growing red. "You're acting as stubborn
as a...a fat mule!"
This insult was too much for the tempered Priestess. "I've had enough of you!"
she yelled, fuming. "In one week, you will be at the Royal Ball, and that's that!"
Sticking her nose high into the air, thirteen-year-old Tara Yuuichirou stalked
out of the kitchen.
Chad looked at his eternally young wife. "Are you sure that you're doing the
right thing?"
"And if I'm not?" she shot back, flipping a silken stream of ebony-violet hair
behind her shoulder. Anyone could tell that she was still upset about the entire
incident with the ball, and her mannerisms showed it.
"Good point," he responded timidly, groaning inwardly. "Good point."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Opening the front door, Susan let Terrence inside. "Hello," she politely said,
one hand plastered to her forehead.
"Some greeting," he jokingly told her, walking in and closing his umbrella.
"There's one Hell of a storm raging out there, dear one."
From her seat next to the piano bench, Alex snorted. Her blonde hair was
dripping water onto the floor, and the front of her white T-shirt was soaked
through. "Tell me about it," she agreed, sipping a cup of tea. "I went out for five
minutes and got drenched. Not only that," she added causally, sighing, "but I
discovered that my raincoat is defective."
"She should really try zipping it," volunteered Haley from her seat at the
piano.
Rolling her green eyes, Alexandra turned away from the couple and towards the
teen. "Now, pick up in measure forty, and I expect you to actually use this
wonderful thing called dynamics..."
Susan walked into the kitchen as the strains of piano music began once again.
"I'm sorry if I seem cranky," she apologetically told the young man. "Haley's been
playing piano since noon, and I've got an awful headache on top of that..."
"That's nice," he commented, opening the fridge and shuffling around in it,
"but I have to ask you something."
Feeling her heart skip a beat, Susan clutched the dishrag she had been wiping
the table with. Since they had first talked about the baby, Terrence had been more
loving, considerate, gentle, and sincere around her. Could he be who she so hoped
for? Her prince?
"As you may or may not know," he nonchalantly pointed out, "the Royal Ball and
Gala is in three days."
She felt her heart plummet. "Really?" she softly inquired, hoping he didn't
see the tears of disappointment welling in her eyes. "I had forgotten..."
He sighed, shaking his head. "No, you didn't," he informed her, pulling his
head out of the fridge and running a hand through his brown hair. "You knew it and
just didn't want to bring it up..."
"Serenity doesn't know about..." Her voice was practically a whisper as she
softly laid a hand on her own stomach.
Strolling over to Susan, Terrence lifted up her chin and stared straight into
two large, sparkling garnet eyes. "Sets," he assured her softly, lips only a few
centimeters from hers, "you are the only one for me. Will you go to the Royal Gala
and Ball with me?"
"But...you're a Prince..." she stammered, gulping back tears. "And I'm
just..."
"The Queen of Pluto." He touched his forehead to hers. "I'm a lesser noble
than you are." Smiling impishly, he let their lips meet.
Nodding a bit, she smiled her mysterious half-smile. "You win, love," she told
him before allowing a kiss to draw her in once again.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I can't wait!" Reeny exclaimed, whirling around the long silver and white
gown she had purchased. "It's going to be so much fun! And I will look so absolutely
gorgeous!"
Diana groaned. "Or, you'll look like an idiot."
"Shut up, you stupid cat!" the Princess yelled at her pet, throwing one of her
slippers at the pet. "You're such a brat, sometimes!"
"Only when I want to be," she informed the teen with a wicked grin on her
furry pink face. "When I want to be, I'm quite loving and smart."
Reeny rolled her red eyes and shook her head. "Only in my wildest fantasies,
perhaps..." she muttered softly.
"Heard that" was the cat's casual response.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Haley Ten'ou walked in, another
girl right behind her.
The second girl, a tall, thin blonde, stared at the Princess of the Earth with
wide blue eyes. She was wearing a tight, short pink skirt with a white tank top and
looked ill-prepared for the harsh Tokyo fall weather that was going to hit in a
matter of days.
"Hello?" Reeny asked, looking at her friend and then at the beach-bunny who
had just wandered in.
The strange teen spoke. "I didn't believe Haley, but it's true... It's really,
really true..." Bowing, she cleared her throat. "My name is Crista Akubo, and I'm
Haley's childhood best friend."
Raising an eyebrow, Reeny gingerly placed her silver dress on the bed. "Never
heard of you," she told Crista.
"Well, duh," Crista responded, rising and smiling. "I'm from Los Angeles!" She
looked at the Princess, biting a lip. "You're not as pretty as Haley said you were."
Gritting her teeth, Reeny played with a pink pigtail. "At least Haley actually
talks about me."
"Down Reeny," muttered Diana in a tone that only the Princess could hear.
"Reen..." grumbled the brown-haired teen from her spot across the room.
"Temper, temper..."
Crista shook her head, golden tresses bouncing from side to side flirtatiously.
"And your hair is pink," she observed in a haughty tone, still grinning. "You must
be adopted."
This comment sent the usually tolerant girl's temper through the roof. "Why,
you little! I ought to use the Silver Imperium Crystal on you!" Her voice was cold
and angry. "In fact, if you weren't so close to Haley, I probably would!"
"You're just a stupid Princess!" Crista shot back, blue eyes gleaming evilly.
"I've probably dated more boys than you've ever looked at!"
"Crista!" scolded Haley, glaring scornfully at her friend. "Leave Reeny
alone!"
"She started it," claimed Crista, stalking out of the room and into the
hallway.
Reeny growled. "You come back here and say that to my face, you beach-bunny!"
The forgotten pink cat cleared her throat. "Do us all a favor and be quiet,"
she told the Princess. "You're going to get in a lot of trouble with your mother if
you're not careful."
"I'd rather be in a pit with Galaxia than around that little toad," she
muttered under her breath.
Haley looked at the ground apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Reen," she
said softly. "I thought that Crista would like to see you."
"That's just the thing," admitted Reeny. "I was expecting someone that you
hang out with to be a lot nicer. Maybe I was wrong..."
"Maybe my family was right," thought the brunette aloud.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing." Haley looked up, teal eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "I'm sorry."
"So am I," Reeny told her. "So am I."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"What," Alexandra commented in a dry tone, "is this?"
"A ball gown," replied Michelle, trying to get her aquamarine earrings on.
"Now, if you don't hurry, we'll be..."
"We've had this conversation before," the blond spat, looking at the gown with
much suspicion. "I don't like dresses."
The musician rolled her eyes, smoothing the lavender material of her own gown.
"Spare me the 'man power' lecture if you would and slip on your gown, will you?" She
continued fiddling with her earrings.
"But, Michi," pleaded Alex, staring at the navy gown. "It's blue, and it's
all...puffy..."
"If you really want," responded the aqua haired musician, "I can go back to
the store right now and get you a skin-tight neon-pink gown."
Rolling her eyes, the taller woman removed the dress from the hanger. It was
beautiful and elegant, no doubt about that-the skirt section of it sparkled as the
light hit it, and just the tiniest bit of golden trim showed around the edges.
"I don't get it," she commented, staring at the dress with wide green eyes.
"How do you always know exactly what type of stuff will draw me in?"
"Because I love you," Michelle warmly remarked, throwing a pair of pantyhose
at her one and only.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"We're going to be late!" Hannah paced up and down the length of her living
room, staring at the wall clock.
From his seat on the couch, her boyfriend sighed and adjusted his bow tie.
"You worry to much," Brian assured her, letting his own copper eyes fall on the very
same clock. "Drinks don't start for an hour."
Haley, who was lounging around comfortably in her tuxedo skirt and white dress
shirt, sighed. "Crista has been in the bathroom for two hours," she muttered,
obviously worried. "I hope she's okay."
"And what if she's not?" asked Susan in a very sarcastic tone. In only a
week's time, the blonde visitor had managed to get on the Guardian of Time's bad
side... Not a good place to be, noted Haley with a half-smirk. "Will we miss her?"
"I'm starting to think I won't even miss her." The brunette girl sighed.
"She's not an easy person to get along with."
"And you're telling us this?" Hannah, whose hair was full off gentle curls for
the occasion, smoothed the skirt of her enormous purple gown. "No one likes the
kid!"
"She even managed to piss Reeny off," Terrence observed, clad in a white
tuxedo. "I've never seen someone manage that! Not even I can piss Reeny off!"
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," said a high voice. The click of high-
heels on tile was all too familiar as Crista entered the room, wearing a skin-tight
pink gown with matching shoes. "You guys are cruel, you know that?" Her eyes
sparkled as she glanced at Brian. Smiling shyly, she walked over to the couch and
sat next to the blonde. "But I forgive you."
Hannah bristled and her boyfriend, who had scooted to the opposite end of the
couch, groaned audibly.
"We're going to be late!" called Michelle, coming down the stairs in her
familiar lavender gown. "Now cut it out!"
"They'll laugh..." whined Alexandra's voice.
Michelle rolled her eyes, sighing. "You look really, really great, love," she
assured her girlfriend. "Now, will you please come down the stairs so that we can go
to the Ball?"
"You promise they won't laugh, Michi?" asked a nervous Alex.
"Cross my heart and hope to gag myself," she muttered, looking to Hannah and
Haley for support.
"Yeah, Mom," Hannah said in a reassuring tone, wondering what was wrong. "We
won't laugh at all, promise..."
"Whatever," sighed Haley, smiling evilly.
Slowly, deliberately, Alexandra walked down the stairs. Her gown was a
strapless, navy outfit that was tight until the waist and then suddenly flared out
into soft, cascading waves of fabric. Extremely form-flattering, the gown and its
golden the trimming that shimmered ever-so-slightly in the pale lamplight.
There was a gasp from each of the two men in the room as they focused on the
tall blonde in the ball gown. Neither knew quite what to say.
Susan and Hannah glanced at one another in blatant disbelief, not saying
anything. Crista was too busy staring at Brian to notice Alexandra's sudden
appearance--and change thereof.
The brunette girl with the chipper disposition stared at her mother with wide
teal eyes. Never before had she seen the Mistress of Uranus look so...gorgeous...so
feminine...
For that reason, Haley burst out laughing.
"Told you so," muttered Alex, blushing considerably.
Kicking her sister, Hannah rolled her purple eyes. "Ignore her, Mom... You
look great."
Rolling out of her chair and onto the hardwood floor, the teen kept giggling,
her laughter becoming more raucous and hysterical with every breath she took in.
"But...she looks so...funny!"
The Guardian of Time looked down at her own black and crimson gown of a
similar style with a slight grimace. "Well, you do," she admitted to her friend,
"but that's also because you look better than all the rest of us."
"Speak for yourself," huffed Crista as she haughtily fluffed her blonde hair.
"I'm the prettiest one here."
Terrence sighed, shaking his head. "As Sets said, you beat them all."
Michelle just nodded.
"Never again," muttered the blonde, grabbing her car keys. "Never again."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Alice was bustling about the kitchen, nervously double-checking her fancily
done hair in the mirror. Her gown was rather boring--just a pale blue, open-backed
gown with little beads sown into the top part. Nothing special.
As she walked toward the kitchen table, where her locket lay, discarded, she
saw it.
A note.
Picking the white sheet of paper on it, the teen stared at the blue block
letters that had quickly become so familiar in so little time.
She stared at the haphazard signature that ended the letter.
Tears came into chocolate eyes of a heartbroken girl as she read aloud the
words.
"'I cannot stay here, Lita. I cannot become a part of Alice's life so
suddenly...so surprisingly,'" she read, a tear running down her cheek. "'How can I
expect her to love me? I am her father, but you...you are her mother, savior, and
guiding star. I am an old friend, Lita... And she is our new beginning.'" Unable to
finish the letter, Alice balled the paper up and threw it to the floor. "Never
again," she cried, voice wavering as her entire body trembled in hurt, "do I so much
as look at Ken. Never again do I let that man into my life."
Standing as tall as the situation allowed, Alice walked out of the kitchen to
find Artemis...
And to go to the ball.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Happy? We're in." Violence made a face and smoothed the fabric of his blood-
red tuxedo. "Never mind the fact that I look like a royal idiot."
Sighing, Death flipped an ebony strand of hair from in front of his dark eyes.
No words described the power and pain he felt as he stared at a few of the graceful
dancers that had already taken the floor. "The Princess will be here."
"Which one?" asked Violence mockingly, sneering. "You seem to think there are
two..."
"I don't think it," came the calm response. "I just feel it."
Holding his head high, the red-clothed Raider stalked off to the refreshment
table.
Laughing silently, Death looked around the room. None of the people there
looked all too familiar...
Until his eyes came to rest on a tiny girl with two blonde braids cascading
down her back and a taller girl with curly hair. Something about them sent a shiver
up his spine.
"Greed..." he whispered to himself, staring as the blonde child danced with
the elder counter-part. "I will avenge you tonight."
And then, he went to find Violence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Plopping into a chair, Celeste took in a long breath. "This is so much fun,
Lyra!" she announced, playing with the big purple bow on her gown of the same color.
"Isn't this fun?"
The teen scanned the room, looking for either her own mother or for Richard.
None of the royalty and nobles there were people she recognized, with the possible
exception of on dark-haired man in a dark suit. Something about him nagged her, and
she had to consciously focus in order to shake the déjà vu off. "Yeah...fun..." she
half-heartedly said, playing with a curly hair. "Really fun."
"Lyra! Lyra!" called two familiar voices from behind her.
She smiled as two teens--one in a dark orange spaghetti-strap dress that could
best be described as weird and one in a tasteful, long sleeved, light green linen
dress that was rather dull--ran up to her, grinning wildly. Phoebe's blue hair was
intertwined with orange ribbons that matched her gown, and Tara's long tresses were
in some sort of neat, organized bun that was very fitting of her.
"So," smirked the blue-haired girl as she evaluated the silky, shimmering
golden orange gown her younger friend was wearing, "have you found Richard yet?"
Lyra pouted but didn't say anything. Her facial expression said it all.
Tara patted her friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Lyra," she told the
blonde with a sympathetic grin. "I'm sure he'll be here soon enough..."
"Yeah, in my wildest dreams," sarcastically snorted Lyra. "I'm beginning to
think that Richard asked me out as part of some pity plan..."
"Who?" inquired a nosy Haley, coming over to the group. "What'd I miss?"
"Just Lyra feeling sorry for herself," put in Phoebe with a slight sigh.
"Richard hasn't shown up yet."
Haley's jaw dropped. "Poor baby!" she commented with very little sarcasm.
Then, she smirked evilly. "Hey, guys, look over at Michelle and tell me what you
see."
The three other teens turned around, only to see a beautiful woman in an
incredible navy gown with gold trim.
"Oh, my God!" Phoebe stared, wide-eyed.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked a very surprised Lyra.
"Whoa," Tara managed. "That's Alexandra."
Haley smiled. "Yep." Shifting her positions, she glanced again at Lyra. "So,
kid," she prompted, "what's up with Richard?"
Light brown eyes turned oddly sad as Lyra looked at the ground. "When we were
at the movie, we...he was rather...uh...and I'm afraid that he doesn't like me!" she
finally exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists. She let her eyes dart to the
string quartet that was playing music, and she then glanced at the dance floor,
where already both Tara's and Lyra's parents were dancing together gracefully. "I
feel stupid," she muttered. "I figured he'd show up, sweep me off my feet, and treat
me like a..." she trailed off as Haley's solemnly understanding face turned into a
sly grin. The other two Scouts, who were also paying attention to their friend's
words, smiled expectantly, too. "What?" Lyra demanded, raising an eyebrow. "What's
so amusing?"
Suddenly, two warm hands covered her eyes, blinding her. "Guess who," a
familiarly deep male voice commanded gently, "and I'll give you the present I
brought you."
Lyra's frown grew quickly into smile as well. "How many guesses do I get?" she
inquired.
"Two," the voice permitted playfully.
"Hmm..." She forged ignorance. "Batman?"
She heard Tara, Phoebe, and Haley burst out into laughter and then all make
excuses to leave. As they shuffled out of eyeshot, the voice picked up again. "One
more try."
"Richard Umino!" Lyra ducked under his hands and looked up into his azure
eyes. "You'd better watch out," she warned in a flirty manner, batting her
eyelashes. "My mother is here tonight."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let her get worried," he teased playfully.
"Let her freak out."
She laughed sweetly, completely lost in the blue of his eyes and in the power
of his smile. "You watch yourself," she smiled, unable to take her gaze from his.
"My nosy friends are here, too."
Richard's eyes darted to the corner where the three other teens were standing
and, as though on some sort of demented cue, they all scattered to opposite ends of
the room and busied themselves.
"See what I mean?" Shaking her head, she sighed. "And my sister is here,
too..."
"Hi Richard!" Celeste popped up and attached herself to one of the young man's
tuxedo-covered legs. "How are you today? Are you having fun?" She grinned evilly,
winking at her eldest sister. "Are you going to kiss Lyra? Because, I heard her when
she talked to Tara on the phone, and she said that..."
"Okay, that's enough of that!" Alice, who looked very upset, suddenly appeared
in the scene. Grabbing the little girl by the wrist, she glared at the curly-headed
blonde. "I need to talk to you really soon," she whispered under her breath. "Okay?"
Lyra nodded, still a bit red from what her sister had been saying. "Thanks,
Al," she smiled.
"Any time" was her friend's quick response.
A bit confused, Richard held a hand out a purple rose to Lyra. As she tucked
it behind her ear, he smiled. "Care to dance?"
She timidly nodded and took his hand, wondering what Alice was so worried
about.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Terrence and Susan stood, hand-in-hand, before the enormous marble door that
led into Queen Serenity's parlor. No noise passed through the heavy air except the
soft hiss of two people breathing in apprehension.
"I here that Fiji is quite nice in the fall," murmured the young man softly,
glancing over at the hunter-green-haired woman. "We could go live there for a few
months..."
"Four," came Susan's steady, strong response as her hand reached for the
doorknob. "Four months."
Terrence's green eyes grew enormous as his girlfriend's fingers landed on the
golden metal of the handle. "Sets!" he yelped nervously.
She resisted the urge to groan. "What?" she shot in an annoyed tone.
"Whatever happens," he assured her, "I'll still love you."
Smiling, Setsuna "Susan" Meiou opened the door to Queen Serenity's parlor.
The young Queen sat in front of an enormous desk, her husband protectively
standing behind her. Across from the royalty sat a middle-aged woman with wavy red
hair and a huge blue ball gown on. Had Serenity's pigtails not been in curlers at
the current time, the couple would have assumed the meeting to be formal.
But the Queen's hair was in curlers.
And the other woman was laughing as the two burst in.
"Susan and Terrence, hello!" greeted Serenity, a smile crossing her delicate
face. "It's so nice to see you!"
Smoothing the folds in her crimson and black gown, Susan gulped nervously. "We
didn't mean to interrupt, my Queen. We'll just..."
It was Endymion who cut the Guardian of Time off. "Nonsense, Pluto--you're
here at a fine time."
The carrot-top woman nodded in agreement. "I was just on my way out, I assure
you." Smiling, she stood up and took a glance at the young blonde who sat across the
desk from her. "It was nice to see you again, Serena...Serenity," she faltered,
blushing.
"Susan Meiou, Terrence Chiba, meet Molly Umino." Standing, Serenity brushed a
stray hair from her eyes. "Molly has known me since the sixth grade, Susan is the
Guardian of Time, and Terrence is Endymion's younger brother."
Molly took Susan's hand in hers and smiled kindly. "Bravery and strength will
be needed in the future," she softly informed the woman, voice almost a whisper.
"Especially when the future needs to be raised." Blue eyes sparkling, she turned to
Terrence. "And you will have also to be brave, someday... For not only Susan's sake,
but for the sake of people important in your life." Bowing slightly, she bustled out
of the parlor, her words ominously hanging in the air.
Wringing her hands, Susan smiled nervously. "Can we talk to you two?" she
asked as soon as Molly had left.
Serenity shrugged and made her way over to an old, beaten-up couch that had
once been blue. "Of course, Susan," she said lovingly, eyes sparkling with love and
caring. "What's wrong?"
Susan bit her lip, and looked at Terrence apprehensively.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Go away, already."
Artemis chased quickly after the black moon-cat with a frown on his white
face. "Please, Luna, can we just talk?"
She stuck her nose in the air, but she did stop in her tracks. "Why do you
want to talk so bad?" she softly asked, drawing her nose down so that her eyes met
his. "I thought we went through this."
"We did..." he admitted with a bit of guilt in his voice. "And, I try, I
really do, but..." Sighing deeply, he looked up through one of the skylights and
focused on the large, silver colored sphere called the moon. "Luna, I love you..."
She shook his head. "You love Serenity, Endymion, Diana, Orb, and Reeny," the
black cat informed him. "You love Mina and her children, and you love that
girl...Alice, was it?" Luna looked at the same moon, a sad and mournful look passing
over her face. "You forget, Artemis. You forget all we've won."
He snorted. "Without you, I've won nothing, Luna."
"Touching, but... No." Orange eyes flared slight sadness; the cat looked at
her white counterpart. For years, he had been her constant thoughts, hopes, and
dreams. But things had changed. Starting with Diana, things had really, really
changed. Eventually, their fights had become destructive and began to border on
cruel...
"Everyone knew..." The white cat sighed and looked at his now-quiet female
counterpart. "They knew that you didn't like me and that I still cared," he told the
black cat. "But they thought we were Serenity and Endymion..."
Luna shook her head. "No. They thought it was all real." Unshed tears
glistened in her large eyes. "They thought that magic, and true love were real in
every case on Earth... They thought that was the solution."
"It is the solution, Luna!" he mewed, upset beyond belief. "And it most
definitely real!"
She shook her head. "There are old friends...us, for example." Screwing her
face into an exasperated expression, she shook her head quickly. "Well, not exactly
us, but the survivors of Silver Millennium in general." Choking back tears, she
stood. "And there are new beginnings, Artemis. Orb, Diana, Reeny, Tara, Lyra,
Phoebe, Alice, and Haley all make up the future. We, on the other hand, are part of
the past..."
"We're Moon Cats, Luna," he reminded her dryly. "We live for centuries upon
centuries and longer."
She smiled sadly. "No one and nothing lives forever, Artemis; this love was no
exception." Shrugging ambiguously yet still blinking back tears, Luna walked down
the marble hall, away from Artemis, away from the ballroom... In a symbolic way,
Luna walked away from the past.
And, for the first time since the Moon Kingdom ended, Artemis cried.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lyra? Are you okay?"
The blonde girl blinked twice and glanced up at the gorgeous young man who had
his arm wrapped around her waist. "Oh, nothing Richard..."
Shaking his head, Richard leaned closer to Lyra. "I heard what Alice said to
you," he whispered in a low tone so that no one else would hear. "And--though I'd
like to keep you all to myself--I think it's a good idea for you to go have a girl
talk before you trip over that gorgeous dress. All right?"
Her brown eyes lit up with amazement. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed,
hugging him around the neck and nuzzling close. "This means the world to me!"
Richard couldn't help but grin as she did. "And you are starting to mean that
much to me, Lyra..." he told her, a more wistful smile replacing his giddy grin.
She blushed a little and squeezed one of his hands before running off to the
group of four teens.
"That," commented a new voice, "is my bigger sister."
Focusing his blue eyes on little Celeste, Richard couldn't help but smile. Her
purple gown was too big, and her corn-colored hair was beginning to depart from the
neat, perfect braids that had once hung on either side of her head. Still, she was
an absolutely precious little girl. "She is."
"Richard?" The precious child looked up at him with wide green eyes. "Do you
love Lyra?"
He chuckled and shrugged. "What is love, Celeste? It's caring, and it's
concern, but it's really nothing that I don't already feel for all my friends."
"You don't have a clue if you do or not, do you?" Her smile remained. "But,
that's okay. I think you'll figure it out."
"What does that mean?" he asked, stooping over so he could look straight at
her, just as he had done at the pizza parlor that fateful day... The day a certain
curly haired girl had asked for help with a sister and had gained a friend. "Do you
know something I don't?"
Celeste's grin grew. "Or are you just afraid to admit what YOU know?" she
inquired innocently.
Shaking his head, Richard chuckled again, more in disbelief than amusement.
"May I have this dance, Celeste?"
As he scooped her into his arms to "dance", the little girl looked out across
the ballroom to where her older sister stood, talking with her friends and having
fun.
"You love her, Richard," Celeste whispered to herself so that he wouldn't
hear. "And she...she just loves everyone."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Wringing her hands nervously, Susan gulped for about the sixth time in a
minute. "Well you see, it's like this. Every Mistress has..." Shaking her head,
Susan started again. "Well, um, there are some new things developing, and well,
um..." Hearing Terrence's apprehensive sigh, Susan bit her lip and slowly closed her
garnet eyes. "Serenity, I...WE..." Her hand found Terrence's and squeezed it
tightly.
"We're pregnant," he softly told the King and Queen of the Earth, staring at
the carpeted floor.
"WHAT?" Endymion's blue eyes grew to an unnatural size as he stared first at
his brother and then at the Mistress of Pluto. "How could you do something so
irresponsible and bull headed, Terrence? And...SUSAN..." He lowered his eyes sternly
in her direction. "You can't take a child to the Gate of Time! Do either of you
realize what bearing this has on the future?"
"I'm the Guardian of Time," she reminded Endymion softly with a slight sob,
cutting into the monologue of personal attacks. "Of course I know what this does..."
Terrence looked at his brother through glaring green eyes. "We didn't plan
this, Endymion," he snapped at him with resentment. "This was unexpected..."
"No shit," shot back the suddenly standoffish King.
Serenity bristled and stood. "Stop it, you two!" she yelled, annoyed. "Look
what you're doing to Susan!"
Indeed, the young woman had begun to cry and now sat with her knees to her
chest, wailing helplessly. Her green hair hung limply off the couch and her glasses
had fallen to the floor in a haphazard manner. "I...I didn't plan this..." she
sniffled, looked up at both her boyfriend and then her King. "I didn't even sense
this in the time/space continuum..." Standing on slightly shaky legs, the woman
chuckled to herself. "But, then, what should it matter?" she questioned Endymion
with tears running down her cheeks. "What should it matter? I obviously got pregnant
on a malicious purpose just to spite you," she spat. "Some King you are! After all,
I don't believe YOUR daughter was entirely planned!" Tossing her green hair, she
stormed out of the parlor in anger, slamming the door behind her.
Endymion gritted his teeth. "What was I saying?" he asked himself, wide-eyed.
"What is wrong with me?"
"It's called rage, dear," Serenity cooed, resting a hand on his upper arm. "It
effects all of us. It effected you because of how much you worry about Terry."
"I am a big boy, Endy," the younger man observed with a sad grin. "I can take
care of myself." He shook his head a bit, chewing his lip.
The dark-headed brother nodded. "You have been taking good care of yourself."
"And you will for Susan, right?" Serenity urged.
He nodded. "Can I go find her?"
"Of course."
As his only sibling exited the room, Endymion looked down at his wife, whose
curlers were staring to fall out. "I feel like a total asshole."
"As well you should," she responded casually, leaning against him. "You were
acting like one. Now, we have half an hour until my appearance, and I have to finish
my hair." She plucked a roller off the carpet. "Why don't you go find our daughter
and make sure she's ready?"
He nodded, and they exited the room together, each going down the hall in
different directions.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Crista coyly played with a blonde strand of hair. "Brian, would you like to
dance?"
Rolling a pair of copper eyes, the young man shrugged her off and strode over
to the refreshment table, the pink-clothed teen following him.
"I'm worried," sighed Michelle audibly when the teen left, looking up at her
sandy-haired girlfriend. "I haven't seen Susan for over an hour."
Alexandra grimaced and shrugged a little. "Well...uh... Susan made me
promise..." She played with an amber earring. "And I can't break a promise..."
Growling exasperatedly, the musician rolled her eyes. "The first time in your
life you choose to be noble," she muttered, "is THIS time."
The blonde stuck out her tongue but didn't say anything.
Suddenly, a blur of white tuxedo passed the couple, and Michelle jumped
involuntarily. "Was that who I think it was?" she asked in a confused tone. "Or have
I lost my mind?"
"Both," retorted Alexandra, watching as Terrence stopped to search the room.
"What's wrong with him, anyway?"
"Who knows?" Hannah, with a large cup of red liquid in one hand, stumbled
over. "Did you know that this tastes good?" she asked, slurring a few of her words.
"Very good..."
"What on Earth are you drinking?" Michelle stole the cup from Hannah after a
brief struggle, jumping to avoid adding a red blotch to her light dress. Sniffing
it, she wrinkled her nose. "What is this?"
"Punch..." mumbled Hannah, swaying a bit. "Good punch..."
The taller woman smelled the drink and stuck out her tongue. "This smells like
pure alcohol!" Alex yelped, sipping it. "And it tastes like that stuff you got drunk
on, Michi." Chortling, she deposited the drink in the soil of a nearby potted plant.
"Remember that? It was at the Christmas party, and you got drunk..."
Hitting her lover in the upper arm but laughing all the same, Michelle bit her
lip. "This is not the time, Alexandra!" she informed the blonde. "Our older daughter
is drunk!"
"I'm not druck...drunked...dranked...Uhh..." Tripping over her own two feet,
the black haired woman started to fall, only to be caught by her mother's strong
arms.
"You're right," admitted Alex, supporting Hannah and shaking her head. "We've
got to get her home."
Michelle agreed, taking her daughter by the wrist and running off to find
Brian, obviously distressed over the young woman's 'condition'.
As Alexandra looked across the ballroom at where the younger girl was
standing, a smile passed across her face. At least someone in the family was having
fun at the ball...
"Hey Alex!" Terrence ran up to the blonde woman and wrapped an arm around her
waist. "Want to dance?"
The woman shook her head. "No!" she yelped, trying to pull away from his
grasp.
Too strong for her, Terrence pulled Alexandra onto the dance floor and started
to waltz clumsily across the floor.
"Have you seen Sets?" he nervously asked, whirling her quickly in a circle.
Still attempting to wrestle from his grip, Alex groaned. "What part of 'no'
don't you understand?" she snapped, also trying to lead the dance. "And do you
realize how stupid you look?"
Dipping her, Terrence stared into the pair of green eyes. "Have you seen my
girlfriend or not?"
As he pulled her back onto her feet, the Mistress of Uranus shook her head.
"No, not for hours," she told him, seeing the concern on his face for the first
time. "Why do you want to know?" Groaning as her attempt to toss the offending man
into Raye Yuuichirou failed miserably, Alexandra dipped him.
"Because Endymion was an ass to her," he responded, struggling to his feet and
gritting his teeth. "Sets was upset..."
"Nothing new!" Twirling him under an arm, she sighed. "Now, can I go?"
He smiled evilly and shook his head. "This is too much fun, Alex! I'm not
letting you get away!" He twirled her around.
Rolling a pair of eyes, Alexandra Ten'ou dipped him, let go, and left a
confused Terrence on the floor as she walked away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And he left..." cried Alice, looking at the floor. "Put a note on the kitchen
table and ditched me and Mom!" Letting her chestnut-eyed gaze fly to her mother, the
teenage girl shook her head. "I couldn't even tell her..."
Patting the auburn-haired girl on the back, Lyra let out a sympathetic sigh.
"Everybody gets their heart broken once or twice in a lifetime..."
"Yeah," Phoebe agreed with a nod, smiling sadly. "After all, I'm by myself
now!"
Haley and Tara murmured soft condolences, neither one sure what to say.
Alice shook her head. "It's just not fair," she cried, wiping the tears away.
"I had just gotten to know my father, and then he went back to the states..."
"Did the note say why?" asked a curious Haley.
She nodded solemnly. "He said he was just a part of the past..."
"The future is coming quickly, Sailor Scouts." Artemis walked out of a corner
slowly and sat at their feet. "And the past is fading away." He shook his head.
"Including my own love..."
"Oh, Artemis!" The crying teen fell to her knees and pulled the cat close to
her chest. "I feel so bad for you!"
Tara raised an eyebrow and stared down at Alice. "What about feeling sorry for
yourself?" she sarcastically asked as the Sailor Scout of the Aurora Borealis
cuddled the cat.
Hitting her best friend, Lyra smiled thoughtfully. "I think," she observed,
"that our friend here will be just fine."
"I hope so," sighed Phoebe. "I really hope so."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Death took one sip of the red punch and spit it across the refreshment table.
"What IS this stuff you're making?" he asked Violence, who was pouring various
fluids into the punch bowl.
The other man shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, glancing at the multiple
bottles. "Vodka... Whisky... Brandy... Wine... Tequila... Scotch... and a bit of rum
for flavor." Sipping the oddly colored red drink, he grinned. "Good, isn't it?"
Closing his black eyes, Death shook his head slowly. "Do you realize that this
punch could kill someone after a few cups?"
"So?" The red-clothed Raider shrugged in boredom. "It'll take care of our
quota faster..."
"Quota?" spat the other man. "No meaningless killing, remember?"
Violence sighed but didn't respond to the words.
"We don't want to kill off people," Death continued, scanning the floor. "See
that woman?" A finger pointed to a red-haired woman dancing with a much younger man.
"She's someone's wife, mother, love, and best friend. How could you kill that woman?
Or...him..." Death picked a young, blonde man out of the crowd and gestured to him.
"He's probably got a girlfriend and family out there..."
Violence snorted, cutting into his companion's speech. "Just because Greed's
death hurt you," he informed the black garbed man, "doesn't mean that you have to be
so uptight."
As Death prepared a response, trumpets blared an entry fanfare. Filing in, the
King, Queen, and Princess of Earth took their separate places on the small, raised
platform and Serenity started her address.
"I'm glad you could all come tonight," said the eternally young Queen, "and I
promise to be brief."
Death and Violence glanced at one another wordlessly, and slipped out of sight
behind a curtain.
And, from her spot on the edge of the crowd, a young black haired girl
shuddered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She shivered suddenly.
"The Earth is a wonderful place," Serenity continued, her voice carrying over
the vast expanse of guests. "And I am happy that we, as Crystal Tokyo, can share
this marvelous world without regrets..."
"Evil..." breathed Tara, nervously glancing about. "There's evil nearby..."
Running across the ballroom, the young Shinto searched endlessly for her
friends, pushing people haphazardly to one side or another as she searched for the
other Galactic Sailors.
With the exception of Reeny, who was standing with her parents on the
platform, the Scouts were all gathered near the center of the ballroom, with Richard
and Celeste nearby. Tara sighed a slight breath of relief as she saw her friends;
they would help.
"Tara?" Haley was the first to notice the upset girl. "What's wrong, Tara?"
Upon hearing the name of the youngest Scout, Lyra, Alice, and Phoebe all
whirled around and looked doubtfully at her. "Tara?" asked Lyra in a bit of doubt.
Seeing the grieved expression on her friend's face, the blonde teen suddenly gulped.
"Oh dear..."
"Evil..." hissed Tara so that neither the little girl nor the young man would
hear. "There's evil nearby!"
"What?" Phoebe's ice-colored eyes grew huge as she listened to the raven-
haired girl. "Are you sure, Tara?"
Tara cleared her throat nervously. "Have I been wrong before?" she
rhetorically asked, green eyes flying from one Scout to another.
Snorting, Alice stroked the white cat in her arms. "Yes, you have," she
reminded Tara. "With all the fire readings, for example. Or when you stole my
locket. Or..."
"Enough!" the blonde interjected, glaring at Alice. "This could be serious!"
"It could," retorted the auburn-haired girl, "be another false..."
She was interrupted by a scream.
All five teens gasped as they looked to where Reeny was standing.
Because Death was standing behind her, pulling her arms behind her back as the
entire crowd watched in a state of surprised horror.
"Let's go!" yelped Alice, racing out of the ballroom, the others following
close behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let go of me!" hollered Reeny, kicking as the man in black took her arms.
"Leave me alone!"
Serenity heard the holler and turned to where Reeny stood, lowering her
sparkling blue eyes. Fear churned in the pit of her stomach, but she would not let
it show in her face. "Who do you think she are?" she inquired of the assailant,
furrowing her eyebrows.
He cleared his throat, black eyes sparkling. "I am Death, a Raider of the
Andromeda Galaxy," he informed the Queen solemnly, still trying to pull the
struggling Princess off the platform. "And I here for the Princess." With a single
gesture, a dome-like force field appeared around both Serenity and her husband,
blocking their attempts to save the Princess.
"As part of the Raiders," said a man in red armor, appearing out of nowhere,
"we fight to take over your Earth."
"But Earth is a peaceful place!" protested Endymion, trying to run his sword
through the black dome without must resolve. "Why would you want to take it over?"
Death snorted. "There is no such thing as peace, pretty boy." Tugging on Reeny
again, he started down the platform steps.
"HELP!" the pink-haired Princess declared. "Anyone! Diana! Orb! Silver
Crystal!"
"Shut up," the red Raider commanded, lowering his eyes. "You'll disturb our
plan!"
Reeny rolled her cinnamon eyes. "Yeah, like I'd further your plan, you stupid
enemy." Wriggling one arm free as Death lead her into the hallway, she turned to
face him and stared straight into his black eyes. "I don't think you want to do
this," she told him matter-of-factly. "All six Galactic Sailors are here."
He considered this and turned to the other Raider. "Violence, keep watch for
the Sailors in the ballroom, would you?"
Violence nodded and drew an enormous red sword from his scabbard. "Of course,"
he assured Reeny's captor.
Snorting, she shook her head. "Well, he'll take care of five of the Sailor
Scouts," she volunteered casually as Death continued to drag her down the hall. "But
you're still not completely safe."
Stopping in his tracks, the Raider stared at the teen. "You seem a bit full of
yourself."
"I am," admitted Reeny, buffing the nails of her free arm on her silver gown.
"Now," she softly told him, "if you let me go, I won't bolt."
He glanced doubtfully at her. "Really?" he asked in disbelief.
"I'll even show you why I'm so cocky," she smiled, winking.
Reluctantly, Death released her other arm slowly. "You pull anything, though,"
he warned, "and you're lunchmeat."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she mocked, reaching into a hidden pocket of her dress.
"Now, if I could just request one thing..."
"What now?" Death rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly in annoyance. "What
am I supposed to do?"
Pulling a small disc from behind her back, Reeny touched the Locket of the
Moon to his nose. "Prepare for your doom, Death," she grinned, raising the locket
above her head.
And the Raider watched in shock as Reeny said the five words that evil feared
more than anything.
"Moon Galactic Power... Make UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Who's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, stopping suddenly.
In front of the five teens, who were now transformed into their Sailor forms,
was a man in red armor. He was wielding an enormous red sword and appeared to be
very angry. "Stupid Death," he muttered to himself, not noticing the girls before
him. "I'm third in command, I'm more powerful, but he's the one who gets to take the
Princess!" Kicking a marble wall, his red eyes flared in anger. "Oh, when I get my
hands on those Scouts, I'll run them through and bring their heads to the King!"
"Oh shit..." gulped Sailor Comet. "He's going to kill us, Scouts."
Aurora Borealis nodded in agreement. "Guys like that eat human liver for
lunch," she mused, staring at him. "And like it!"
"Well, we can't just stand here." Taking a cautious step forward, Polaris
gulped. "I mean, right past that stupid Raider is Reeny!" She cleared her throat.
"We can't let them take our Princess!"
The girls watched in horror as the Raider turned slowly in their direction,
eyes lowered. "Who are you?" he asked in an annoyed tone, staring at the blonde
Scout.
"Maybe you should ask yourself the same question!" yelled Sailor Earth,
standing a bit taller from the back of the crowd. "I am Sailor Earth, and you're
nothing better than dirt!"
"And I am Sailor Polaris!" The Sailor took a battle-ready position. "Get ready
to eat stardust, creep!"
The blue-haired Scout grinned. "Phoenix is here! Get fired up!"
Everyone groaned at the pun while the girl just kept smiling.
"Aurora Borealis!" called the chestnut-eyed Scout from her spot on the floor.
One of her knee-length lavender boots was off, and she held an Ace bandage in one
hand. "As soon as I'm done wrapping this ankle, you're toast!"
Sailor Comet groaned and shook her head slowly. "I'm Comet, and I don't have
any stupid puns or cute things to say!" She looked him in the eyes. "But you will
die, regardless."
The Raider sighed. "I'm Raider Violence," he mocked in a high-pitched voice.
"I fight for evil and injustice! On behalf of the Andromeda Galaxy..." He cleared
his throat and dropped back down into his normal voice, "you're in deep shit, Sailor
Scouts."
"Are not!" retorted Polaris, stepping forward, Earth hovering slightly behind
her. "We have to save our Princess."
"Touching, but I think not," the Raider shot. "You can't beat us."
Phoenix bristled. "Want to bet, you stupid Raider?" she asked, sneering at
him. "Phoenix Heat... Flashing!"
Fiery liquid and steam erupted from the hands of the Scout.
Violence dove out of the way and jumped towards the group of Sailor Scouts,
sword drawn, making his weapon appear to be an extension of his arm. The five
scattered, each isolated and practically detached from one another.
"Someone run and find Reeny!" called Comet from her spot nearest the Raider.
"He can't hold us all off!"
Aurora Borealis and Earth, who were furthest from the enemy, obeyed, sprinting
down the hall at incredible speeds.
"Why, you little..." Violence raised his sword, the blood colored blade
glistened as it hung above the brown-haired head of Sailor Comet. "Prepare to die!"
He was distracted by a small ball of stardust hitting him squarely between the
shoulders. From her nearby position, Sailor Polaris smiled in mock innocence.
"Oops?"
"I don't know which one is more annoying," the Raider muttered to himself,
whirling the sword around to point at the gold-and-light-orange-suited Scout. "So,
now you want to die?"
"I," responded the girl bravely, "would do anything to save my Princess."
As the sword started to near her chest, Polaris heard a young voice call out.
"NO! NOT LYRA!"
"Celeste!" With Violence's confusion, she had time to whirl around and find
the little girl in the purple gown. "Get away from here, 'Leste!" Suddenly, shock
registered on the edge of her mind. How did the little girl know who she was?
Unless...
"Leave her alone, you big bully!" hollered the blonde child, stepping toward
Violence. "She's never done a thing to you, and here you are, yelling and holding a
sword to her chest!" Celeste rested her hands on her hips. "Didn't your mommy ever
teach you not to play with sharp objects?"
Violence chuckled and withdrew his sword. "Of course not, kid," he told her,
walking a few paces towards the child. "Now, who are you?"
"Celeste..." growled Sailor Polaris.
"Brave kid," Phoenix observed, obviously impressed. "If I ever have a sister,
I want one like her!"
The girl held out one of her hands, a tiny purple and yellow pen clutched in
her fist. On top of the pen was a tiny star insignia, with another, smaller star
lying inside of it. "My name," she informed him, "is Sailor Chibi-Star."
"WHAT?" The three remaining Scouts stared nervously at the child.
Raising an eyebrow, Violence chuckled, a bit of nervousness showing on his
face. "Cute pen," he commented, looking at the little object.
"You don't believe me?" she asked sweetly. "You should."
"And why is that?" asked the Raider.
Polaris stepped toward her sister. "Celeste?"
She raised the pen above her head, green eyes sparkling with resolve. As the
child cleared her throat, Sailor Polaris felt a shiver run down her spine.
It was true. It was all true.
And Celeste Mokoti then said the words that separated the destined ones from
every other person on Earth.
"Small Star Power... MAKE UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Mina rapped on the black doom with a fist. "Nothing," she sighed, stepping
back. "It's like Tupperware, Serenity."
"A lot of good that does us!" yelped the Queen from inside the barrier. "What
can I do, stuck in here?"
Studying the shell, Lita let out a long sigh. "If Amy were here, she would
know what to do..."
"And if Susan were here," Alexandra put in, "she'd probably bitch and
complain."
Raye furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Do you have a point?"
The blonde nodded. "Instead of 'ifs', let's focus on the problem here."
Leaning against the force field, she sighed. "Our King and Queen are trapped in a
force field, our daughters are off fighting evil, and none of us know what to do
about it."
Kicking the shell, Lita groaned. "Well, this is just dandy!" she exclaimed,
adjusting the straps of her green gown. "We might as well just give up!"
"Now, not so fast," put in Michelle hopefully. "Maybe, if someone attacked
it..."
Everyone looked expectantly at Hannah, who stood between her mothers.
"Wha?" she grunted, bloodshot eyes flying nervously around the room. "I'd get
my Glaive and kill da bad guys... Okay, Alex?" she slurred, looking at her aqua-
haired parent.
The Mistress of Venus' eyes grew wide. "Stone drunk," she commented. "I
haven't seen anybody like that since Michelle at..."
"WOULD EVERYONE STOP BRINGING THAT UP?" In an uncharacteristic outburst of
anger, the musician glared at all the other Mistresses. Seeing their surprised
looks, she blushed and gritted her teeth in an awkward grin. "This is a bad time, I
mean..."
Chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, Mina sighed. "We've never had to do
this without Amy..."
"Yeah," agreed Raye softly. "I never would have guessed that doing this would
be so hard..."
"None of us can attack," noted Lita. "It would be so much easier if we could."
Alex nodded. "And, with Hannah in her current state, the Silence Glaive would
be a bad plan."
The Mistress of Neptune agreed. "So, we're stuck..."
"We've got to be forgetting someone..." King Endymion stared thoughtfully at
the ceiling of the dome.
A flash of crimson light appeared out of nowhere, and nearly blinded the group
of women. The Mistress/Sailor of Pluto, with her Key of Time and full Sailor fuku,
stood before the gathering. "You did forget someone," she informed them, a slight
smile on her face. "And, I suppose you need my help."
"Where'd you go?" asked Michelle, slightly confused.
She shrugged. "Home. I was dying to watch some TV, and I'd had enough of
Endymion's rudeness, besides."
Hannah stared at Pluto and burst out laughing. "Your belly's getting bigger,
Susie..." she giggled, nearly falling backwards.
Blushing, the Guardian of Time covered her slight baby-girth with one arm.
"What's wrong with her?" asked the Mistress.
"Dead drunk," responded the red-gowned woman casually.
"Hello?" Serenity knocked on the wall of the shell and looked out at her
friends with wide blue eyes. The curls she had added to her pigtails had long since
gone limp, and one of her buns had all been all but pulled out. "We're stuck,
remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Susan held the Time Key above her head and then hit the dome with
it. "Pluto Eternal Attack!" she called out as red light was released from the garnet
orb atop the staff. "Release our Queen!"
The force field disintegrated into nothingness as the Key Staff touched it,
freeing the King and Queen from their bondage.
"Thank you, Mistress Pluto," sighed Endymion, running a nervous hand through
his raven hair. "And, though this is late in coming, I'm very sorry for my...less
than kind words earlier." Flushing a bit, he shook his head and took a deep,
shuddering breath. "I was a jerk."
"No, really," she mockingly retorted. Holding her staff high, she allowed
another flash of red light to envelop her body.
When the light was gone, so was Sailor Pluto.
Mina smiled, relieved. "Thank goodness that's over." Looking around the nearly
deserted room, she gasped. "Where's Celeste?"
"Who?" inquired the Shinto priestess.
"My younger daughter." Frantically, the blonde searched the room. "She was
here just thirty seconds ago."
"Probably got scared," put in Lita, casually sipping some punch. "Hmm...this
stuff is good."
Michelle and Alexandra glanced wordlessly at one another.
Shuddering, Mina looked to the group. "You don't understand... Celeste is not
just your average little girl."
"What do you mean?" Serenity raised an eyebrow. "She is not one of the
destined..."
"Yes, she IS," Mistress Venus shot back. "She's Sailor Chibi-Star!"
"Sailor CHIBI-STAR?" asked the women in unison.
Mina rolled her blue eyes. "Is there an echo in here?" Shaking her head, she
continued. "We don't know how it happened, but one day, there it was--a purple and
yellow transformation pen with two stars on it. And, since Lyra was Sailor Polaris,
Andrew assumed that..."
"It's like the study that Amy attempted a few decades ago," observed Michelle
thoughtfully. "Maybe there are more Silver Millennium survivors..."
"Can we talk about this later?" asked an exceedingly nervous Mina. "I would
like to find me daughter and possibly save her life."
The Mistresses all looked at one another and took off running, leaving an
extremely confused Hannah standing alone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Damn it!" Sailor Moon managed a quick somersault, avoiding a stream of flying
nails. "Can't we just talk about this?" She swung the Galactic Rod.
Death avoided the blow and shook his head. "Die!" he yelled, a long pike
appearing in one of his hands. "How could I let you win, Sailor Moon?" Smirking, he
thrust with the weapon. "Or, should I say 'Princess Serenity'?"
"Reeny's much shorter, thank you!" She jumped out of his range and prepared
the Rod. "Galactic Shower!"
Moon and star dusts fell from the ceiling and onto the Raider, causing him to
scream out in pain. "Counter!" he managed after a pause, allowing a large ball of
black energy to scatter the dust around the room. Another pike appeared in his grip,
and before the Scout could react, its point way being held to the pink flesh of
Sailor Moon's neck. "Do you give up, Princess?" he softly asked, gently depressing
the sharp tip of the weapon into her skin.
The teen hardly moved as she felt the cold metal against her throat. "If you
kill me," she coolly managed, "you will be hunted down.
"And, if you live," the Raider softly told her, "then my cause will fail." He
drew the tip across her soft neck, deliberately putting minimal pressure, so not to
break the skin. "We are two very different people, Neo-Sailor Moon."
Tears began to fill her red eyes. "Don't kill me!" she cried. "You can have
the world, if you want...just let me live!"
He shook his head and drew the pike back a few inches. "Goodbye, Sailor
Moon..."
Taking her chances with the four-inch maneuverability, Moon kicked Death in
the groin and launched herself high into the air as he swung the weapon in defense,
smiling as he knocked himself off balance and ended up on the ground.
"I am Sailor Moon!" she grinned, stepping on his hand and pulling the pike out
of his reach. "Don't mess with me."
"Moon!" called Sailor Aurora Borealis, coming into view. "Are you alright?"
The pink haired teen nodded happily, still standing on Death's hand with all
her weight. "Yeah. What about you two?"
Sailor Earth nodded. "We're fine, but I don't know about the others. We left
them with Violence." She stared down at Death, how was confused but conscious and
seemed to thinking of a plan. "Uh...Sailor Moon..."
"What?" she asked innocently, looking at her friends with concern.
Just then, Death wrapped his free hand around the girl's ankle and shoved her
completely off balance.
Sailor Aurora Borealis responded impulsively to his move, not thinking.
"Aurora Borealis...Shining!"
"ARGH!" he screamed, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. "You stupid
Scouts! I'll be back!"
As he disappeared, Sailor Moon clambered slowly to her feet, a bit
embarrassed. "Thanks, guys," she blushed. "I would have gotten my butt kicked
without you."
"Learn to think," Earth sighed, pushing her tiara higher on her brow. "Or
you'll regret it."
Moon smiled. "Let's help the others before that," she winked, starting off
down the hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Chibi-Star," Violence thought aloud. "I'm impressed. The youngest Scout is
only five."
The little girl stuck out her tongue. "Six and a half!" she protested,
bristling. "So there!"
"Whatever." The Raider raised his sword. "Now, are you ready to meet your
maker?"
Sailors Phoenix and Comet glanced at one another. "Not without a fight, she
won't!"
"Not you again..." He rolled his blood-colored eyes. "Go save Sailor Moon or
something, because this isn't your battle."
Leaning against the wall in shock, Sailor Polaris let out a deep sigh. "He's
right. It isn't."
An amazed look crossed Phoenix's face. "You can't give up, Polaris!"
"Too late..." the teen commented with a shake of her head.
"What about your sister?" persisted Comet, lowering her eyes. "What about
her?"
"Lyra?" asked the child in doubt.
Without words, Sailor Polaris pulled the locket from her bow and untranformed.
"I can't... I'll just put 'Leste in more danger..." Looking down at her dress, she
sighed. "And I can't do that, Comet...Phoenix..."
Chibi-Star sniffled, shaking her head slowly from one side to the other.
Staring in doubt at her older sister, she tossed a blonde pigtail over her shoulder
in a gesture of determination. "Do what you want, Lyra," she spat in anger, "but I'm
going to fight." She turned away from her sister. "I know one thing though...
Richard would be disappointed."
"You leave him out of this!" Lyra yelled in defense, crossing her arms. "This
is a Scout thing!"
Violence tossed his sword from hand to hand in boredom. "Are you two done
yet?" he asked in annoyance. "I'm getting really sick of this 'noble villain' deal."
Shining the sword with a handkerchief, he sighed. "Here's the game plan. You have
until the count of 'ten' to quit whining and start fighting, or I kill you point
blank. One..."
Sailor Comet gulped. "Lyra? Are you going to fight?"
"Two..."
"No," she told the brunette. "I'm not."
"Three..."
"Come on," whined Phoenix. "You can't just let us die!"
"Four..."
Lyra sighed. "You won't die. You can do it."
"Five..."
Sailors Moon, Earth, and Aurora Borealis then came running down the hall,
slipping to a stop as they saw the other Scouts.
"Six..."
"Lyra?" asked Earth, stepping carefully forward. "What's going on?"
"Seven..."
Chibi-Star shook her head. "We have to fight without her. She's throwing a
hissy-fit."
"Eight..."
Sailor Moon, playing with a pigtail, raised her eyebrows. "What are you
talking about? How'd you get here?"
"Nine..."
"He's going to attack at the count of ten!" yelled Phoenix nervously.
"Ten!" Violence swung the sword above his head and leapt for Sailor Chibi-
Star.
"Small Star..." gulped the littlest Scout nervously.
This was too much for Lyra. Celeste was going to die if she didn't hurry, but
what could she do? Suddenly, realization hit the blonde.
She could still fight.
Getting a running start, Lyra did the only thing she could. "Sailor Polaris
kick!" she screamed, smiling as her high-heeled foot made contact with the wrist of
his sword hand.
"Argh!" Violence dropped the sword with a clatter, clutching his injured
wrist. "Why...you..."
Grabbing the hilt of the Raider's sword, Lyra backed a bit away from him,
holding the tip of the blade near his heart. "Would you like to try that again?" she
asked softly, brown eyes glistening with hate. "Or would you like to run?"
Chibi-Star attached herself to one of her sister's legs. "You saved me!" she
cried happily, hugging Lyra.
He glared at the girl in the dress. "How did you do that?" Violence asked in
anger.
"A bit of luck," she smiled, "and a bit of love."
The clatter of high heels on marble sounded as five Planet Mistresses and one
Queen arrived in the hallway.
Sailor Phoenix cleared her throat and glared at Serenity. "Your Highness," she
hissed, "get out of here."
"Go," agreed Sailor Moon, her red eyes flying to her mother. "This is too
dangerous."
Mars and Jupiter took their Queen by the arms and led her out of the hall,
leaving Venus, Uranus, and Neptune behind to aid the Scouts.
Violence looked around, realizing for the first time that he was cornered.
Smiling nervously, he snapped and the sword faded out of existence. "You may have
won this time, Sailors," he spat. "But you will not live through such an attack next
time."
With that, he was gone.
Falling to her knees, Lyra wrapped her arms around Sailor Chibi-Star
protectively. "Don't you ever do something like that again!" she commanded, staring
into the pair of innocent green eyes before her. "You could have gotten killed!"
"And you could've too, Lyra," the girl informed her sister with a sly wink.
"But I'm glad you didn't."
The Mistress of Venus ran towards her two daughters, near tears. "Are you
alright?" she gasped, dropping onto her knees in the orange and yellow Mistress
dress she wore. "I was so worried!"
Sailor Earth stepped forward and smiled a bit. "I think they're fine," she
softly said.
The other Scouts all smiled and started back to the ballroom.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ugh... I don't believe I got so drunk..." groaned Hannah, idly playing with
her soba noodles. "I feel awful."
Crista shook her head and tried not to giggle. "You did look funny, Hannah."
"Shut up," snapped the black haired woman. "Thank God you're going home
tomorrow."
The blonde tossed her hair and sneered. "You're just jealous."
Throwing down her fork, Hannah glared across the kitchen table and lowered her
eyes. "And why would I be jealous?"
"Because," grinned Crista, "Brian likes me better."
"He does not like YOU better, Crista!" the young woman yelled, springing to
her feet. "You have a lot of nerve! You insult our Princess, you annoy my boyfriend,
you offend my family, yet you think you're friends with Haley!" ranted Hannah
angrily. "Crista, I do not believe that you'd understand true friendship if it bit
you in the butt! Friendship is love and caring! All you are is a good for nothing
brat who leeches off others!"
The tall teen stood. "I don't care what you think about me, Hannah," she shot
back in a cold tone. "I came to stay with an old friend! If I had known that Haley
had changed, I would have stayed in Los Angeles!" She lowered her blue eyes slowly.
"Haley is this loving, caring person, and I'm selfish. I know that." Shrugging,
Crista smiled a bit. "She used to be my only friend when I lived here, and then I
left. And she managed to make new friends. Like a beautiful Princess, several strong
young women, and an older sister." Wiping a falling tear from her eye, the teenager
picked her purse up off the floor. "And I have learned that, after all this time, I
was the jealous one."
"Don't say things like that," said Haley, coming down the stairs in her
pajamas. "You shouldn't have been jealous, Crista."
The blonde turned and shook her head. "But I was. Hell, I still am." Taking
one of her friend's hands, Crista smiled. "Don't forget me, Haley... And write every
couple of months and tell me how you're doing."
The brunette wrapped her arms around the other teen's neck. "I could never
forget you, Crista!"
"Of course not," smiled the blonde, pulling away and starting to the front
door. "I'm hard to forget." Winking, she opened the door and stood on the porch,
taking a second of her time to find her car keys. "One more thing..." she smiled.
"What?"
"Don't get into too much trouble, Galactic Sailor of the Comets." Crista
opened the door to her pink rental car and got in, waving as she dove out of the
driveway and into the street.
As she closed the door, Haley gulped and shook her head. "I'll never
understand that girl," she muttered, going into the kitchen to make breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Galactic Sailors Say!
Celeste: (entering) Today's important lesson is to never give up.
Raider Violence's voice: Exactly. If those Sailor Brats had given up, I would have
won. And we all know that all the Sailor Scouts are going to live through all of
first season.
Celeste: Yeah! If we die, then what are we going to do about second season?
Kate: (entering) Well, according to our... Christina? Where are you?
Christina: (entering while struggling with her Sailor Venus costume) Why'd I have to
wear this goofy outfit, Kate?
Kate: Shush. Now, as I was saying, we're planning all sorts of new surprises.
Christina: (still struggling) Well, first, we have to finish this season. Kate's got
a lot of work to do, so don't get your hopes too high.
Kate: (annoyed) Christina?
Christina: (STILL struggling) Yeah?
Kate: Shut up.
Celeste: (sweetly) Now, if these two would just hope, nothing would go wrong.
Kate: (bending down and glaring at Celeste) Now, you were the one who, earlier,
didn't want to hope...
Christina: (finally getting costume right) Should I try some sort of Sailor Venus
attack on the rug-rat?
Celeste: (backing up nervously) Now... I don't think this is a good idea, writers.
I mean, if you kill me, then all of the next season will be screwed up...
Kate: (smiling) We won't kill you.
Christina: (winking) We'll just hurt you.
(Celeste runs, screaming, off screen)
Kate: SuperKate says...
Christina: SEE YA!
-I Know-
Look around...
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)
So many things aren't clear...
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)
Don't worry, though...
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)
You know that I'll be there...
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)
A lot of things are so uncertain...
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)
The future's on its way...
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)
Look at my crying eyes...
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)
Don't take your love away!
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
Times will change...
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)
People will change, too...
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)
But deep inside...
(Lyra hugs Celeste)
I always will love you...
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)
I suppose there are questions now...
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)
The answers are so far...
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)
But look at me and smile now...
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)
I am your guiding star!
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
I know...
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)
I know...
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)
All you need is love...
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes closed)
All you need...is...love...
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We would like to thank Andrea Readwolf, Kate's close friend and a fellow writer, for
helping us with the part where Susan and Terrence break their "news" to Endymion and
Serenity.
We would like to thank every Galactic Sailors fan for enjoying this story... We
previously were under the impression that no one read this mess!
Until next time!
-Kate and Christina
Author's Ramblings:
Kate: This story is story 6. Christina: Wow. Kate: We're very happy to be here.
Christina: Speak for yourself. I want to be at home. Kate: You are at home.
Christina: Shut up! Kate: So, please enjoy this story. Christina: We hope you hate
it. Kate: Someone's in a cynical mood today. Christina: I'm not cynical. I'm never
cynical. I'm happy and cheerful. You want cynical? I'll give you cynical. Kate:
(softly) She's just jealous because I beat her on the math test.
Disclaimer:
Kate: Sailor Moon is not ours. Christina: Sure it is. They just don't know it yet.
Kate: Seriously. It's not ours. Christina: Yes, it is. I bought it this morning. Off
the stock exchange. Online. For only eight dollars a trade. Kate: It belongs to
Naoko. Christina: No, it doesn't! It belongs to me! Christina Gifford. Kate: (rolls
eyes and continues to work on story)
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE STORY SO FAR:
Susan is pregnant. With Terrence's baby, and Terrence knows it. Hannah
introduced Brian-her boyfriend-to her family, and he was a big success. Amy and Greg
moved to Boston, leaving Phoebe and Orb alone in the household. Lyra went on a date
with Richard, but it was interrupted by both Reeny and Celeste's antics and by a
Raider attack. Greed died.
And that, my friends, is where the story begins...
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, Orb, where'd this come from?" Phoebe picked the cream-colored envelope
off the table and ran her fingers over the black script on it. In a flowery, cursive
scrawl, it read...
"Phoebe Solaria Urawa, the Galactic Guardian of the Sun," the orange cat,
jumping onto the kitchen counter. "I was impressed, too. I didn't think that
Serenity had the guts." He shrugged. "Oh, well..."
She flipped a braid behind her left shoulder. "What... what IS this?" she
asked curiously.
Orb rolled his golden eyes. "For being eighteenth at your school, Pheebs,
you're pretty dense." He shook his head as she made a grievous face. "Open it and
find out!"
"I don't see how it's fair," she observed while she ripped it open, "that you
know the contents of MY mail while I have not a clue."
He stuck out his pink tongue at her. "You'll be happy to know that I
recognized the stationary this time."
"THIS TIME?" Her eyes grew wide as she looked at the cat. "You've previously
committed mail fraud?"
Orb gulped. "Not fraud, per say..." he guiltily said to his charge. "It just
so happened that the letter your cousin Zelda sent you looked mighty interesting..."
She gasped, but not at the cat's words. At the card before her.
"Phoebe Solaria, you are cordially invited to the Royal Gala and Ball at
Crystal Palace," she read aloud, ice blue eyes filled with shock. "Also invited is
your date or companion of choice." Skimming the rest of it, Phoebe let a goofy grin
cross her face. "This is SO neat, Orb! I've never been so amazed in my entire life!"
The cat smiled sweetly. "Your date is taken care of, by the way," he told her
evilly.
"I have to buy a dress, get my hair done, call Mom and Dad..." Hearing the
cat's words, she froze. "What?"
Jumping from the green counter and onto the solid oak table, he looked into
her eyes and then proceeded to smirk. "Alice is in the same bind," he informed her.
"You have to take this adorable Moon Cat I know..."
Phoebe looked at him and groaned.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Crista's coming to Tokyo for a week!" Haley exclaimed in complete elation,
waving the bright stationery in the air.
Rolling her purple eyes through black-rimmed glasses, Hannah sighed. "Not that
snotty rich kid from Los Angeles again," she groaned, turning the page in her
chemistry book. "Last time she was here, Alex nearly strangled her, and Michelle
was only an inch away from kicking Crista out onto the street."
"That was years ago!" Haley defended, wrinkling her nose. "I'm sure Crista got
better..."
"Crista?" Alex walked into the room with a look of pure horror on her face.
"Not that blonde-haired, blue-eyed beach bunny again!" she protested, looking at her
daughter with fear in her green eyes. "Don't tell me she's boarding here..."
"What's so bad about Crista?" asked an amazed Haley. "You guys are so
judgmental..."
Coming down the stairs with a laundry basket, Michelle looked thoughtfully at
her younger daughter. "We are not being judgmental," she assured the teen. "We're
being...cautious..." She shrugged and proceeded down the other flight of stairs.
"Yeah," agreed Alex, sipping her coffee. "After all, we don't want to kill
your childhood best friend..."
Hannah couldn't control herself and burst out laughing.
Sticking her nose proudly into the air, Haley let out a dignified grunt.
"Well, I'm taking Crista to the Royal Gala and Ball," she announced. "And you can't
stop me."
Her sister's eyes grew wide, and she wiped the smirk from her face. "What did
you just say?" she asked in doubt.
"You heard me," Haley retorted.
Alex shook her head. "I don't believe you..." She gasped a bit, surprised.
"For goodness' sake, can you believe the disaster that would cause?"
"I get to take my companion of choice," she said simply. "Why should it matter
to you who exactly it is?"
"Because we'll kill her!" Hannah exclaimed. "That girl is the biggest..."
"Who?" Susan asked, coming up from the basement. She looked rather tired. "Who
are you all talking-loudly-about about?"
Alexandra sighed. "Haley's little pink beach bunny, Crista."
Susan nodded and sat down on the couch, next to Hannah. "You don't like her?"
"Not in the least," Hannah sighed, looking up at her aunt.
Alex sipped more coffee, shaking her head. "I'd rather go on a date with
Endymion..."
"Not completely," admitted Michelle, coming up the stairs with her laundry
basket.
Everyone stared at her-Susan in curiosity and the others all in disbelief.
"Crista's rude and stuck up," the musician clarified. "And I don't think that
she's a good influence on our daughter. But that's not Crista's fault, and I will
not blame her." She shrugged and looked at the wide-eyed group. "What?"
"I didn't know you felt that way," Alexandra told her. "Now I feel bad... I
probably hurt your-or someone else's- feelings by talking like that."
Michelle smiled and stifled a laugh. "Never stopped you before," she responded
casually before mounting the stairs.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lyra rapped lightly on the door of Celeste's bedroom. "Sweetie, are you in
there?"
All she heard was a depressed sniffle and a lot of shuffling.
"Now, 'Leste," the older girl pressed, knocking again, "you can't stay in
there forever." She sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I give up."
A little voice called. "Come on in, Lyra."
Walking in, Lyra ran a nervous hand through her curls. On the bunk bed, there
was a rather upset Celeste who was fingering a purple rose.
A purple rose? The blonde teen jumped nearly a mile into the air upon seeing it.
Surely, the Starlit Prince... But, then...
"What's wrong?" Lyra asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You look very
upset..."
She sniffled, but just shrugged. "Lyra, what if a really good friend of yours
gets awful hurt? What are you supposed to do about it?" Looking up with tears in her
bright green eyes, the little girl searched for her answer.
"Well..." Seeing the prince in her mind's eye, Lyra gulped and took a deep
breath. "All you have to do is hope, Celeste," she told her sister, smiling weakly.
"Just hope."
"Hope?" the girl asked in a full state of disbelief. "Works for you, doesn't
it, Lyra? To sit with your ditzy group of friends and hope, just hope, that
everything will turn out alright!" Celeste turned her back on her sister. "But what
if hoping doesn't work?" Tears rolled down pale cheeks and began to soak the purple
bed sheets. "What then?"
Lyra bit her lip and sighed deeply. Thinking of the Prince one last time, she
shrugged. "I don't know, Celeste. I just don't know." Letting out a deep breath, she
smiled slightly. "Would you like to go to the Royal Ball with me?"
"Take Richard," the littler girl spat, making a face.
She laughed. "Richard is taking his mother, which leaves me dateless. And,
since Ma and Daddy are already going..."
Whirling around, Celeste looked at her and grinned widely. "Really?"
"Really!" Lyra agreed, pulling the child onto her lap. "What do you say?"
Celeste nodded, still stroking the purple bud. "Promise me one thing, though,"
she softly said to her sister.
"What's that?" The older Mokoti girl inquired, knotting her brow.
Smiling impishly, Celeste giggled. "You have to do my hair," she told Lyra.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"A ball?" Raider Violence, a tall man whose clothing was bright red armor,
rolled his eyes. "We're expected to go to a ball?"
Doubt chortled and looked up from the briefings sheet. "Apparently so,
Violence."
From his seat next to the window, Death let out a long breath. "It sounds like
a nice change of pace," he softly commented, staring down at Earth.
"What?" asked Violence, looking at his colleague in a state of disgust. "A
change of pace?"
Death nodded, not saying anything. Staring down at Earth, he sighed
mournfully.
Shaking her head, the white-haired woman snorted in disapproval. "Ever since
Greed died," she explained to Violence, "he's been moping around here like a love-
sick puppy..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"This isn't easy for me, you know." Turning slowly in his chair, Death glanced
at her, staring into her ebony eyes dully. "How would you like it if the one you
loved died?"
"I don't love anyone," she spat, tossing her hair around and turning from him.
"How could I love any one of you?"
Death sighed. "I guess that's what makes you second in command," he told her
softly, smiling sadly. "That you've never loved, and are strong besides it."
"You have no idea," she replied coolly before stalking out of the room and
slamming the door behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Closing the door slowly behind her, Alice threw her backpack on the couch.
"Artemis!" she yelled, limping to the kitchen. "I'm home!"
"Good!" the cat called after her, coming out of the computer room. "There's
something we have to discuss."
Sitting down in a wooden chair with a box of pop-tarts in one hand and an
icepack in the other, she raised an auburn eyebrow. "What?" she inquired, putting
the icepack on her swelling ankle.
"It's about..." Looking at the girl's ankle, which was about three times its
proper size, the white cat grimaced. "How did you do that?" Artemis asked, cocking
his head to the side.
She shook her head and opened a pack of Pop-Tarts. "It's the same old battle
wound, I'm afraid," she informed the cat, giving him a piece of the pastry. "Now,
what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed after pausing to think. "You were invited to the
Royal Gala and Ball."
"Really?" Alice grinned and leaned back in her chair with a dreamy sigh.
"Maybe there'll be a really cute guy who will fall for me..." She smiled, imagining
her prince.
Artemis shook his head with a sigh. Some things just never changed... "Stay on
track," he told her with a bit of disdain in his voice. "This is important. Each and
every Scout was invited, and so were all the Planet Mistresses..."
"Mom? Cool!" Her chestnut eyes glimmered. "This will be so much fun..."
Artemis rolled his blue eyes. "You're normally a good listener, Al..."
"Sorry!" Alice blushed a little and closed her mouth.
"Anyway," Artemis sighed, starting again, "you have to take me as your date."
She glanced at the cat with wide eyes. "You're a cat, Art," she pointed out.
"How can I take a cat to a ball?"
"Easy," Artemis told her. "You dress up really nice, smile pretty, and I
wander around and attempt to reconcile with my wife."
Patting his head lightly, she smiled warmly at her pet. "Alright, I suppose...
Just promise me one thing," she requested of the white animal.
"And what's that?" he asked, a bit confused.
Smiling evilly, Alice chuckled. "No dancing."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
One of Tara's eyebrows shot into the air as she listened to her parents speak.
"A Royal Ball? With royalty?" she asked in brazen shock. "A...ROYAL...Ball?"
"No, a paper airplane ball," Chad retorted, rolling his brown eyes. After Tara
groaned, he continued. "Of course it's a Royal Ball, dear... And you're expected to
go."
"But Father!" Tara pleaded, looking at him with begging green eyes. "I really
don't feel comfortable around royalty..."
Raye snorted indignantly. "You spent four days with the Princess," she
reminded the teen.
Crinkling her nose, Tara tugged on a strand of hair, as she had a habit of
doing. "That was different. I've seen Reeny eat eighteen cookies in five minutes."
"It's different," the shaggy-haired man informed her, "because you don't see
Reeny as royalty. You see Reeny as a person."
"Besides," put in Raye. "You're a Galactic Sailor."
"Sailor or not," Tara shot at him, "I'm not going to a silly ball."
Raye groaned, rolling her purple eyes. "You will go to the ball, and that is
final!" she shouted at her daughter. "I don't care if you like royalty or not! This
is a big deal for the Mistresses and the Scouts!"
"It's silly!" the girl shot back, face growing red. "You're acting as stubborn
as a...a fat mule!"
This insult was too much for the tempered Priestess. "I've had enough of you!"
she yelled, fuming. "In one week, you will be at the Royal Ball, and that's that!"
Sticking her nose high into the air, thirteen-year-old Tara Yuuichirou stalked
out of the kitchen.
Chad looked at his eternally young wife. "Are you sure that you're doing the
right thing?"
"And if I'm not?" she shot back, flipping a silken stream of ebony-violet hair
behind her shoulder. Anyone could tell that she was still upset about the entire
incident with the ball, and her mannerisms showed it.
"Good point," he responded timidly, groaning inwardly. "Good point."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Opening the front door, Susan let Terrence inside. "Hello," she politely said,
one hand plastered to her forehead.
"Some greeting," he jokingly told her, walking in and closing his umbrella.
"There's one Hell of a storm raging out there, dear one."
From her seat next to the piano bench, Alex snorted. Her blonde hair was
dripping water onto the floor, and the front of her white T-shirt was soaked
through. "Tell me about it," she agreed, sipping a cup of tea. "I went out for five
minutes and got drenched. Not only that," she added causally, sighing, "but I
discovered that my raincoat is defective."
"She should really try zipping it," volunteered Haley from her seat at the
piano.
Rolling her green eyes, Alexandra turned away from the couple and towards the
teen. "Now, pick up in measure forty, and I expect you to actually use this
wonderful thing called dynamics..."
Susan walked into the kitchen as the strains of piano music began once again.
"I'm sorry if I seem cranky," she apologetically told the young man. "Haley's been
playing piano since noon, and I've got an awful headache on top of that..."
"That's nice," he commented, opening the fridge and shuffling around in it,
"but I have to ask you something."
Feeling her heart skip a beat, Susan clutched the dishrag she had been wiping
the table with. Since they had first talked about the baby, Terrence had been more
loving, considerate, gentle, and sincere around her. Could he be who she so hoped
for? Her prince?
"As you may or may not know," he nonchalantly pointed out, "the Royal Ball and
Gala is in three days."
She felt her heart plummet. "Really?" she softly inquired, hoping he didn't
see the tears of disappointment welling in her eyes. "I had forgotten..."
He sighed, shaking his head. "No, you didn't," he informed her, pulling his
head out of the fridge and running a hand through his brown hair. "You knew it and
just didn't want to bring it up..."
"Serenity doesn't know about..." Her voice was practically a whisper as she
softly laid a hand on her own stomach.
Strolling over to Susan, Terrence lifted up her chin and stared straight into
two large, sparkling garnet eyes. "Sets," he assured her softly, lips only a few
centimeters from hers, "you are the only one for me. Will you go to the Royal Gala
and Ball with me?"
"But...you're a Prince..." she stammered, gulping back tears. "And I'm
just..."
"The Queen of Pluto." He touched his forehead to hers. "I'm a lesser noble
than you are." Smiling impishly, he let their lips meet.
Nodding a bit, she smiled her mysterious half-smile. "You win, love," she told
him before allowing a kiss to draw her in once again.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I can't wait!" Reeny exclaimed, whirling around the long silver and white
gown she had purchased. "It's going to be so much fun! And I will look so absolutely
gorgeous!"
Diana groaned. "Or, you'll look like an idiot."
"Shut up, you stupid cat!" the Princess yelled at her pet, throwing one of her
slippers at the pet. "You're such a brat, sometimes!"
"Only when I want to be," she informed the teen with a wicked grin on her
furry pink face. "When I want to be, I'm quite loving and smart."
Reeny rolled her red eyes and shook her head. "Only in my wildest fantasies,
perhaps..." she muttered softly.
"Heard that" was the cat's casual response.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Haley Ten'ou walked in, another
girl right behind her.
The second girl, a tall, thin blonde, stared at the Princess of the Earth with
wide blue eyes. She was wearing a tight, short pink skirt with a white tank top and
looked ill-prepared for the harsh Tokyo fall weather that was going to hit in a
matter of days.
"Hello?" Reeny asked, looking at her friend and then at the beach-bunny who
had just wandered in.
The strange teen spoke. "I didn't believe Haley, but it's true... It's really,
really true..." Bowing, she cleared her throat. "My name is Crista Akubo, and I'm
Haley's childhood best friend."
Raising an eyebrow, Reeny gingerly placed her silver dress on the bed. "Never
heard of you," she told Crista.
"Well, duh," Crista responded, rising and smiling. "I'm from Los Angeles!" She
looked at the Princess, biting a lip. "You're not as pretty as Haley said you were."
Gritting her teeth, Reeny played with a pink pigtail. "At least Haley actually
talks about me."
"Down Reeny," muttered Diana in a tone that only the Princess could hear.
"Reen..." grumbled the brown-haired teen from her spot across the room.
"Temper, temper..."
Crista shook her head, golden tresses bouncing from side to side flirtatiously.
"And your hair is pink," she observed in a haughty tone, still grinning. "You must
be adopted."
This comment sent the usually tolerant girl's temper through the roof. "Why,
you little! I ought to use the Silver Imperium Crystal on you!" Her voice was cold
and angry. "In fact, if you weren't so close to Haley, I probably would!"
"You're just a stupid Princess!" Crista shot back, blue eyes gleaming evilly.
"I've probably dated more boys than you've ever looked at!"
"Crista!" scolded Haley, glaring scornfully at her friend. "Leave Reeny
alone!"
"She started it," claimed Crista, stalking out of the room and into the
hallway.
Reeny growled. "You come back here and say that to my face, you beach-bunny!"
The forgotten pink cat cleared her throat. "Do us all a favor and be quiet,"
she told the Princess. "You're going to get in a lot of trouble with your mother if
you're not careful."
"I'd rather be in a pit with Galaxia than around that little toad," she
muttered under her breath.
Haley looked at the ground apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Reen," she
said softly. "I thought that Crista would like to see you."
"That's just the thing," admitted Reeny. "I was expecting someone that you
hang out with to be a lot nicer. Maybe I was wrong..."
"Maybe my family was right," thought the brunette aloud.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing." Haley looked up, teal eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "I'm sorry."
"So am I," Reeny told her. "So am I."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"What," Alexandra commented in a dry tone, "is this?"
"A ball gown," replied Michelle, trying to get her aquamarine earrings on.
"Now, if you don't hurry, we'll be..."
"We've had this conversation before," the blond spat, looking at the gown with
much suspicion. "I don't like dresses."
The musician rolled her eyes, smoothing the lavender material of her own gown.
"Spare me the 'man power' lecture if you would and slip on your gown, will you?" She
continued fiddling with her earrings.
"But, Michi," pleaded Alex, staring at the navy gown. "It's blue, and it's
all...puffy..."
"If you really want," responded the aqua haired musician, "I can go back to
the store right now and get you a skin-tight neon-pink gown."
Rolling her eyes, the taller woman removed the dress from the hanger. It was
beautiful and elegant, no doubt about that-the skirt section of it sparkled as the
light hit it, and just the tiniest bit of golden trim showed around the edges.
"I don't get it," she commented, staring at the dress with wide green eyes.
"How do you always know exactly what type of stuff will draw me in?"
"Because I love you," Michelle warmly remarked, throwing a pair of pantyhose
at her one and only.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"We're going to be late!" Hannah paced up and down the length of her living
room, staring at the wall clock.
From his seat on the couch, her boyfriend sighed and adjusted his bow tie.
"You worry to much," Brian assured her, letting his own copper eyes fall on the very
same clock. "Drinks don't start for an hour."
Haley, who was lounging around comfortably in her tuxedo skirt and white dress
shirt, sighed. "Crista has been in the bathroom for two hours," she muttered,
obviously worried. "I hope she's okay."
"And what if she's not?" asked Susan in a very sarcastic tone. In only a
week's time, the blonde visitor had managed to get on the Guardian of Time's bad
side... Not a good place to be, noted Haley with a half-smirk. "Will we miss her?"
"I'm starting to think I won't even miss her." The brunette girl sighed.
"She's not an easy person to get along with."
"And you're telling us this?" Hannah, whose hair was full off gentle curls for
the occasion, smoothed the skirt of her enormous purple gown. "No one likes the
kid!"
"She even managed to piss Reeny off," Terrence observed, clad in a white
tuxedo. "I've never seen someone manage that! Not even I can piss Reeny off!"
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," said a high voice. The click of high-
heels on tile was all too familiar as Crista entered the room, wearing a skin-tight
pink gown with matching shoes. "You guys are cruel, you know that?" Her eyes
sparkled as she glanced at Brian. Smiling shyly, she walked over to the couch and
sat next to the blonde. "But I forgive you."
Hannah bristled and her boyfriend, who had scooted to the opposite end of the
couch, groaned audibly.
"We're going to be late!" called Michelle, coming down the stairs in her
familiar lavender gown. "Now cut it out!"
"They'll laugh..." whined Alexandra's voice.
Michelle rolled her eyes, sighing. "You look really, really great, love," she
assured her girlfriend. "Now, will you please come down the stairs so that we can go
to the Ball?"
"You promise they won't laugh, Michi?" asked a nervous Alex.
"Cross my heart and hope to gag myself," she muttered, looking to Hannah and
Haley for support.
"Yeah, Mom," Hannah said in a reassuring tone, wondering what was wrong. "We
won't laugh at all, promise..."
"Whatever," sighed Haley, smiling evilly.
Slowly, deliberately, Alexandra walked down the stairs. Her gown was a
strapless, navy outfit that was tight until the waist and then suddenly flared out
into soft, cascading waves of fabric. Extremely form-flattering, the gown and its
golden the trimming that shimmered ever-so-slightly in the pale lamplight.
There was a gasp from each of the two men in the room as they focused on the
tall blonde in the ball gown. Neither knew quite what to say.
Susan and Hannah glanced at one another in blatant disbelief, not saying
anything. Crista was too busy staring at Brian to notice Alexandra's sudden
appearance--and change thereof.
The brunette girl with the chipper disposition stared at her mother with wide
teal eyes. Never before had she seen the Mistress of Uranus look so...gorgeous...so
feminine...
For that reason, Haley burst out laughing.
"Told you so," muttered Alex, blushing considerably.
Kicking her sister, Hannah rolled her purple eyes. "Ignore her, Mom... You
look great."
Rolling out of her chair and onto the hardwood floor, the teen kept giggling,
her laughter becoming more raucous and hysterical with every breath she took in.
"But...she looks so...funny!"
The Guardian of Time looked down at her own black and crimson gown of a
similar style with a slight grimace. "Well, you do," she admitted to her friend,
"but that's also because you look better than all the rest of us."
"Speak for yourself," huffed Crista as she haughtily fluffed her blonde hair.
"I'm the prettiest one here."
Terrence sighed, shaking his head. "As Sets said, you beat them all."
Michelle just nodded.
"Never again," muttered the blonde, grabbing her car keys. "Never again."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Alice was bustling about the kitchen, nervously double-checking her fancily
done hair in the mirror. Her gown was rather boring--just a pale blue, open-backed
gown with little beads sown into the top part. Nothing special.
As she walked toward the kitchen table, where her locket lay, discarded, she
saw it.
A note.
Picking the white sheet of paper on it, the teen stared at the blue block
letters that had quickly become so familiar in so little time.
She stared at the haphazard signature that ended the letter.
Tears came into chocolate eyes of a heartbroken girl as she read aloud the
words.
"'I cannot stay here, Lita. I cannot become a part of Alice's life so
suddenly...so surprisingly,'" she read, a tear running down her cheek. "'How can I
expect her to love me? I am her father, but you...you are her mother, savior, and
guiding star. I am an old friend, Lita... And she is our new beginning.'" Unable to
finish the letter, Alice balled the paper up and threw it to the floor. "Never
again," she cried, voice wavering as her entire body trembled in hurt, "do I so much
as look at Ken. Never again do I let that man into my life."
Standing as tall as the situation allowed, Alice walked out of the kitchen to
find Artemis...
And to go to the ball.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Happy? We're in." Violence made a face and smoothed the fabric of his blood-
red tuxedo. "Never mind the fact that I look like a royal idiot."
Sighing, Death flipped an ebony strand of hair from in front of his dark eyes.
No words described the power and pain he felt as he stared at a few of the graceful
dancers that had already taken the floor. "The Princess will be here."
"Which one?" asked Violence mockingly, sneering. "You seem to think there are
two..."
"I don't think it," came the calm response. "I just feel it."
Holding his head high, the red-clothed Raider stalked off to the refreshment
table.
Laughing silently, Death looked around the room. None of the people there
looked all too familiar...
Until his eyes came to rest on a tiny girl with two blonde braids cascading
down her back and a taller girl with curly hair. Something about them sent a shiver
up his spine.
"Greed..." he whispered to himself, staring as the blonde child danced with
the elder counter-part. "I will avenge you tonight."
And then, he went to find Violence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Plopping into a chair, Celeste took in a long breath. "This is so much fun,
Lyra!" she announced, playing with the big purple bow on her gown of the same color.
"Isn't this fun?"
The teen scanned the room, looking for either her own mother or for Richard.
None of the royalty and nobles there were people she recognized, with the possible
exception of on dark-haired man in a dark suit. Something about him nagged her, and
she had to consciously focus in order to shake the déjà vu off. "Yeah...fun..." she
half-heartedly said, playing with a curly hair. "Really fun."
"Lyra! Lyra!" called two familiar voices from behind her.
She smiled as two teens--one in a dark orange spaghetti-strap dress that could
best be described as weird and one in a tasteful, long sleeved, light green linen
dress that was rather dull--ran up to her, grinning wildly. Phoebe's blue hair was
intertwined with orange ribbons that matched her gown, and Tara's long tresses were
in some sort of neat, organized bun that was very fitting of her.
"So," smirked the blue-haired girl as she evaluated the silky, shimmering
golden orange gown her younger friend was wearing, "have you found Richard yet?"
Lyra pouted but didn't say anything. Her facial expression said it all.
Tara patted her friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Lyra," she told the
blonde with a sympathetic grin. "I'm sure he'll be here soon enough..."
"Yeah, in my wildest dreams," sarcastically snorted Lyra. "I'm beginning to
think that Richard asked me out as part of some pity plan..."
"Who?" inquired a nosy Haley, coming over to the group. "What'd I miss?"
"Just Lyra feeling sorry for herself," put in Phoebe with a slight sigh.
"Richard hasn't shown up yet."
Haley's jaw dropped. "Poor baby!" she commented with very little sarcasm.
Then, she smirked evilly. "Hey, guys, look over at Michelle and tell me what you
see."
The three other teens turned around, only to see a beautiful woman in an
incredible navy gown with gold trim.
"Oh, my God!" Phoebe stared, wide-eyed.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked a very surprised Lyra.
"Whoa," Tara managed. "That's Alexandra."
Haley smiled. "Yep." Shifting her positions, she glanced again at Lyra. "So,
kid," she prompted, "what's up with Richard?"
Light brown eyes turned oddly sad as Lyra looked at the ground. "When we were
at the movie, we...he was rather...uh...and I'm afraid that he doesn't like me!" she
finally exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists. She let her eyes dart to the
string quartet that was playing music, and she then glanced at the dance floor,
where already both Tara's and Lyra's parents were dancing together gracefully. "I
feel stupid," she muttered. "I figured he'd show up, sweep me off my feet, and treat
me like a..." she trailed off as Haley's solemnly understanding face turned into a
sly grin. The other two Scouts, who were also paying attention to their friend's
words, smiled expectantly, too. "What?" Lyra demanded, raising an eyebrow. "What's
so amusing?"
Suddenly, two warm hands covered her eyes, blinding her. "Guess who," a
familiarly deep male voice commanded gently, "and I'll give you the present I
brought you."
Lyra's frown grew quickly into smile as well. "How many guesses do I get?" she
inquired.
"Two," the voice permitted playfully.
"Hmm..." She forged ignorance. "Batman?"
She heard Tara, Phoebe, and Haley burst out into laughter and then all make
excuses to leave. As they shuffled out of eyeshot, the voice picked up again. "One
more try."
"Richard Umino!" Lyra ducked under his hands and looked up into his azure
eyes. "You'd better watch out," she warned in a flirty manner, batting her
eyelashes. "My mother is here tonight."
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let her get worried," he teased playfully.
"Let her freak out."
She laughed sweetly, completely lost in the blue of his eyes and in the power
of his smile. "You watch yourself," she smiled, unable to take her gaze from his.
"My nosy friends are here, too."
Richard's eyes darted to the corner where the three other teens were standing
and, as though on some sort of demented cue, they all scattered to opposite ends of
the room and busied themselves.
"See what I mean?" Shaking her head, she sighed. "And my sister is here,
too..."
"Hi Richard!" Celeste popped up and attached herself to one of the young man's
tuxedo-covered legs. "How are you today? Are you having fun?" She grinned evilly,
winking at her eldest sister. "Are you going to kiss Lyra? Because, I heard her when
she talked to Tara on the phone, and she said that..."
"Okay, that's enough of that!" Alice, who looked very upset, suddenly appeared
in the scene. Grabbing the little girl by the wrist, she glared at the curly-headed
blonde. "I need to talk to you really soon," she whispered under her breath. "Okay?"
Lyra nodded, still a bit red from what her sister had been saying. "Thanks,
Al," she smiled.
"Any time" was her friend's quick response.
A bit confused, Richard held a hand out a purple rose to Lyra. As she tucked
it behind her ear, he smiled. "Care to dance?"
She timidly nodded and took his hand, wondering what Alice was so worried
about.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Terrence and Susan stood, hand-in-hand, before the enormous marble door that
led into Queen Serenity's parlor. No noise passed through the heavy air except the
soft hiss of two people breathing in apprehension.
"I here that Fiji is quite nice in the fall," murmured the young man softly,
glancing over at the hunter-green-haired woman. "We could go live there for a few
months..."
"Four," came Susan's steady, strong response as her hand reached for the
doorknob. "Four months."
Terrence's green eyes grew enormous as his girlfriend's fingers landed on the
golden metal of the handle. "Sets!" he yelped nervously.
She resisted the urge to groan. "What?" she shot in an annoyed tone.
"Whatever happens," he assured her, "I'll still love you."
Smiling, Setsuna "Susan" Meiou opened the door to Queen Serenity's parlor.
The young Queen sat in front of an enormous desk, her husband protectively
standing behind her. Across from the royalty sat a middle-aged woman with wavy red
hair and a huge blue ball gown on. Had Serenity's pigtails not been in curlers at
the current time, the couple would have assumed the meeting to be formal.
But the Queen's hair was in curlers.
And the other woman was laughing as the two burst in.
"Susan and Terrence, hello!" greeted Serenity, a smile crossing her delicate
face. "It's so nice to see you!"
Smoothing the folds in her crimson and black gown, Susan gulped nervously. "We
didn't mean to interrupt, my Queen. We'll just..."
It was Endymion who cut the Guardian of Time off. "Nonsense, Pluto--you're
here at a fine time."
The carrot-top woman nodded in agreement. "I was just on my way out, I assure
you." Smiling, she stood up and took a glance at the young blonde who sat across the
desk from her. "It was nice to see you again, Serena...Serenity," she faltered,
blushing.
"Susan Meiou, Terrence Chiba, meet Molly Umino." Standing, Serenity brushed a
stray hair from her eyes. "Molly has known me since the sixth grade, Susan is the
Guardian of Time, and Terrence is Endymion's younger brother."
Molly took Susan's hand in hers and smiled kindly. "Bravery and strength will
be needed in the future," she softly informed the woman, voice almost a whisper.
"Especially when the future needs to be raised." Blue eyes sparkling, she turned to
Terrence. "And you will have also to be brave, someday... For not only Susan's sake,
but for the sake of people important in your life." Bowing slightly, she bustled out
of the parlor, her words ominously hanging in the air.
Wringing her hands, Susan smiled nervously. "Can we talk to you two?" she
asked as soon as Molly had left.
Serenity shrugged and made her way over to an old, beaten-up couch that had
once been blue. "Of course, Susan," she said lovingly, eyes sparkling with love and
caring. "What's wrong?"
Susan bit her lip, and looked at Terrence apprehensively.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Go away, already."
Artemis chased quickly after the black moon-cat with a frown on his white
face. "Please, Luna, can we just talk?"
She stuck her nose in the air, but she did stop in her tracks. "Why do you
want to talk so bad?" she softly asked, drawing her nose down so that her eyes met
his. "I thought we went through this."
"We did..." he admitted with a bit of guilt in his voice. "And, I try, I
really do, but..." Sighing deeply, he looked up through one of the skylights and
focused on the large, silver colored sphere called the moon. "Luna, I love you..."
She shook his head. "You love Serenity, Endymion, Diana, Orb, and Reeny," the
black cat informed him. "You love Mina and her children, and you love that
girl...Alice, was it?" Luna looked at the same moon, a sad and mournful look passing
over her face. "You forget, Artemis. You forget all we've won."
He snorted. "Without you, I've won nothing, Luna."
"Touching, but... No." Orange eyes flared slight sadness; the cat looked at
her white counterpart. For years, he had been her constant thoughts, hopes, and
dreams. But things had changed. Starting with Diana, things had really, really
changed. Eventually, their fights had become destructive and began to border on
cruel...
"Everyone knew..." The white cat sighed and looked at his now-quiet female
counterpart. "They knew that you didn't like me and that I still cared," he told the
black cat. "But they thought we were Serenity and Endymion..."
Luna shook her head. "No. They thought it was all real." Unshed tears
glistened in her large eyes. "They thought that magic, and true love were real in
every case on Earth... They thought that was the solution."
"It is the solution, Luna!" he mewed, upset beyond belief. "And it most
definitely real!"
She shook her head. "There are old friends...us, for example." Screwing her
face into an exasperated expression, she shook her head quickly. "Well, not exactly
us, but the survivors of Silver Millennium in general." Choking back tears, she
stood. "And there are new beginnings, Artemis. Orb, Diana, Reeny, Tara, Lyra,
Phoebe, Alice, and Haley all make up the future. We, on the other hand, are part of
the past..."
"We're Moon Cats, Luna," he reminded her dryly. "We live for centuries upon
centuries and longer."
She smiled sadly. "No one and nothing lives forever, Artemis; this love was no
exception." Shrugging ambiguously yet still blinking back tears, Luna walked down
the marble hall, away from Artemis, away from the ballroom... In a symbolic way,
Luna walked away from the past.
And, for the first time since the Moon Kingdom ended, Artemis cried.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lyra? Are you okay?"
The blonde girl blinked twice and glanced up at the gorgeous young man who had
his arm wrapped around her waist. "Oh, nothing Richard..."
Shaking his head, Richard leaned closer to Lyra. "I heard what Alice said to
you," he whispered in a low tone so that no one else would hear. "And--though I'd
like to keep you all to myself--I think it's a good idea for you to go have a girl
talk before you trip over that gorgeous dress. All right?"
Her brown eyes lit up with amazement. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed,
hugging him around the neck and nuzzling close. "This means the world to me!"
Richard couldn't help but grin as she did. "And you are starting to mean that
much to me, Lyra..." he told her, a more wistful smile replacing his giddy grin.
She blushed a little and squeezed one of his hands before running off to the
group of four teens.
"That," commented a new voice, "is my bigger sister."
Focusing his blue eyes on little Celeste, Richard couldn't help but smile. Her
purple gown was too big, and her corn-colored hair was beginning to depart from the
neat, perfect braids that had once hung on either side of her head. Still, she was
an absolutely precious little girl. "She is."
"Richard?" The precious child looked up at him with wide green eyes. "Do you
love Lyra?"
He chuckled and shrugged. "What is love, Celeste? It's caring, and it's
concern, but it's really nothing that I don't already feel for all my friends."
"You don't have a clue if you do or not, do you?" Her smile remained. "But,
that's okay. I think you'll figure it out."
"What does that mean?" he asked, stooping over so he could look straight at
her, just as he had done at the pizza parlor that fateful day... The day a certain
curly haired girl had asked for help with a sister and had gained a friend. "Do you
know something I don't?"
Celeste's grin grew. "Or are you just afraid to admit what YOU know?" she
inquired innocently.
Shaking his head, Richard chuckled again, more in disbelief than amusement.
"May I have this dance, Celeste?"
As he scooped her into his arms to "dance", the little girl looked out across
the ballroom to where her older sister stood, talking with her friends and having
fun.
"You love her, Richard," Celeste whispered to herself so that he wouldn't
hear. "And she...she just loves everyone."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Wringing her hands nervously, Susan gulped for about the sixth time in a
minute. "Well you see, it's like this. Every Mistress has..." Shaking her head,
Susan started again. "Well, um, there are some new things developing, and well,
um..." Hearing Terrence's apprehensive sigh, Susan bit her lip and slowly closed her
garnet eyes. "Serenity, I...WE..." Her hand found Terrence's and squeezed it
tightly.
"We're pregnant," he softly told the King and Queen of the Earth, staring at
the carpeted floor.
"WHAT?" Endymion's blue eyes grew to an unnatural size as he stared first at
his brother and then at the Mistress of Pluto. "How could you do something so
irresponsible and bull headed, Terrence? And...SUSAN..." He lowered his eyes sternly
in her direction. "You can't take a child to the Gate of Time! Do either of you
realize what bearing this has on the future?"
"I'm the Guardian of Time," she reminded Endymion softly with a slight sob,
cutting into the monologue of personal attacks. "Of course I know what this does..."
Terrence looked at his brother through glaring green eyes. "We didn't plan
this, Endymion," he snapped at him with resentment. "This was unexpected..."
"No shit," shot back the suddenly standoffish King.
Serenity bristled and stood. "Stop it, you two!" she yelled, annoyed. "Look
what you're doing to Susan!"
Indeed, the young woman had begun to cry and now sat with her knees to her
chest, wailing helplessly. Her green hair hung limply off the couch and her glasses
had fallen to the floor in a haphazard manner. "I...I didn't plan this..." she
sniffled, looked up at both her boyfriend and then her King. "I didn't even sense
this in the time/space continuum..." Standing on slightly shaky legs, the woman
chuckled to herself. "But, then, what should it matter?" she questioned Endymion
with tears running down her cheeks. "What should it matter? I obviously got pregnant
on a malicious purpose just to spite you," she spat. "Some King you are! After all,
I don't believe YOUR daughter was entirely planned!" Tossing her green hair, she
stormed out of the parlor in anger, slamming the door behind her.
Endymion gritted his teeth. "What was I saying?" he asked himself, wide-eyed.
"What is wrong with me?"
"It's called rage, dear," Serenity cooed, resting a hand on his upper arm. "It
effects all of us. It effected you because of how much you worry about Terry."
"I am a big boy, Endy," the younger man observed with a sad grin. "I can take
care of myself." He shook his head a bit, chewing his lip.
The dark-headed brother nodded. "You have been taking good care of yourself."
"And you will for Susan, right?" Serenity urged.
He nodded. "Can I go find her?"
"Of course."
As his only sibling exited the room, Endymion looked down at his wife, whose
curlers were staring to fall out. "I feel like a total asshole."
"As well you should," she responded casually, leaning against him. "You were
acting like one. Now, we have half an hour until my appearance, and I have to finish
my hair." She plucked a roller off the carpet. "Why don't you go find our daughter
and make sure she's ready?"
He nodded, and they exited the room together, each going down the hall in
different directions.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Crista coyly played with a blonde strand of hair. "Brian, would you like to
dance?"
Rolling a pair of copper eyes, the young man shrugged her off and strode over
to the refreshment table, the pink-clothed teen following him.
"I'm worried," sighed Michelle audibly when the teen left, looking up at her
sandy-haired girlfriend. "I haven't seen Susan for over an hour."
Alexandra grimaced and shrugged a little. "Well...uh... Susan made me
promise..." She played with an amber earring. "And I can't break a promise..."
Growling exasperatedly, the musician rolled her eyes. "The first time in your
life you choose to be noble," she muttered, "is THIS time."
The blonde stuck out her tongue but didn't say anything.
Suddenly, a blur of white tuxedo passed the couple, and Michelle jumped
involuntarily. "Was that who I think it was?" she asked in a confused tone. "Or have
I lost my mind?"
"Both," retorted Alexandra, watching as Terrence stopped to search the room.
"What's wrong with him, anyway?"
"Who knows?" Hannah, with a large cup of red liquid in one hand, stumbled
over. "Did you know that this tastes good?" she asked, slurring a few of her words.
"Very good..."
"What on Earth are you drinking?" Michelle stole the cup from Hannah after a
brief struggle, jumping to avoid adding a red blotch to her light dress. Sniffing
it, she wrinkled her nose. "What is this?"
"Punch..." mumbled Hannah, swaying a bit. "Good punch..."
The taller woman smelled the drink and stuck out her tongue. "This smells like
pure alcohol!" Alex yelped, sipping it. "And it tastes like that stuff you got drunk
on, Michi." Chortling, she deposited the drink in the soil of a nearby potted plant.
"Remember that? It was at the Christmas party, and you got drunk..."
Hitting her lover in the upper arm but laughing all the same, Michelle bit her
lip. "This is not the time, Alexandra!" she informed the blonde. "Our older daughter
is drunk!"
"I'm not druck...drunked...dranked...Uhh..." Tripping over her own two feet,
the black haired woman started to fall, only to be caught by her mother's strong
arms.
"You're right," admitted Alex, supporting Hannah and shaking her head. "We've
got to get her home."
Michelle agreed, taking her daughter by the wrist and running off to find
Brian, obviously distressed over the young woman's 'condition'.
As Alexandra looked across the ballroom at where the younger girl was
standing, a smile passed across her face. At least someone in the family was having
fun at the ball...
"Hey Alex!" Terrence ran up to the blonde woman and wrapped an arm around her
waist. "Want to dance?"
The woman shook her head. "No!" she yelped, trying to pull away from his
grasp.
Too strong for her, Terrence pulled Alexandra onto the dance floor and started
to waltz clumsily across the floor.
"Have you seen Sets?" he nervously asked, whirling her quickly in a circle.
Still attempting to wrestle from his grip, Alex groaned. "What part of 'no'
don't you understand?" she snapped, also trying to lead the dance. "And do you
realize how stupid you look?"
Dipping her, Terrence stared into the pair of green eyes. "Have you seen my
girlfriend or not?"
As he pulled her back onto her feet, the Mistress of Uranus shook her head.
"No, not for hours," she told him, seeing the concern on his face for the first
time. "Why do you want to know?" Groaning as her attempt to toss the offending man
into Raye Yuuichirou failed miserably, Alexandra dipped him.
"Because Endymion was an ass to her," he responded, struggling to his feet and
gritting his teeth. "Sets was upset..."
"Nothing new!" Twirling him under an arm, she sighed. "Now, can I go?"
He smiled evilly and shook his head. "This is too much fun, Alex! I'm not
letting you get away!" He twirled her around.
Rolling a pair of eyes, Alexandra Ten'ou dipped him, let go, and left a
confused Terrence on the floor as she walked away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"And he left..." cried Alice, looking at the floor. "Put a note on the kitchen
table and ditched me and Mom!" Letting her chestnut-eyed gaze fly to her mother, the
teenage girl shook her head. "I couldn't even tell her..."
Patting the auburn-haired girl on the back, Lyra let out a sympathetic sigh.
"Everybody gets their heart broken once or twice in a lifetime..."
"Yeah," Phoebe agreed with a nod, smiling sadly. "After all, I'm by myself
now!"
Haley and Tara murmured soft condolences, neither one sure what to say.
Alice shook her head. "It's just not fair," she cried, wiping the tears away.
"I had just gotten to know my father, and then he went back to the states..."
"Did the note say why?" asked a curious Haley.
She nodded solemnly. "He said he was just a part of the past..."
"The future is coming quickly, Sailor Scouts." Artemis walked out of a corner
slowly and sat at their feet. "And the past is fading away." He shook his head.
"Including my own love..."
"Oh, Artemis!" The crying teen fell to her knees and pulled the cat close to
her chest. "I feel so bad for you!"
Tara raised an eyebrow and stared down at Alice. "What about feeling sorry for
yourself?" she sarcastically asked as the Sailor Scout of the Aurora Borealis
cuddled the cat.
Hitting her best friend, Lyra smiled thoughtfully. "I think," she observed,
"that our friend here will be just fine."
"I hope so," sighed Phoebe. "I really hope so."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Death took one sip of the red punch and spit it across the refreshment table.
"What IS this stuff you're making?" he asked Violence, who was pouring various
fluids into the punch bowl.
The other man shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, glancing at the multiple
bottles. "Vodka... Whisky... Brandy... Wine... Tequila... Scotch... and a bit of rum
for flavor." Sipping the oddly colored red drink, he grinned. "Good, isn't it?"
Closing his black eyes, Death shook his head slowly. "Do you realize that this
punch could kill someone after a few cups?"
"So?" The red-clothed Raider shrugged in boredom. "It'll take care of our
quota faster..."
"Quota?" spat the other man. "No meaningless killing, remember?"
Violence sighed but didn't respond to the words.
"We don't want to kill off people," Death continued, scanning the floor. "See
that woman?" A finger pointed to a red-haired woman dancing with a much younger man.
"She's someone's wife, mother, love, and best friend. How could you kill that woman?
Or...him..." Death picked a young, blonde man out of the crowd and gestured to him.
"He's probably got a girlfriend and family out there..."
Violence snorted, cutting into his companion's speech. "Just because Greed's
death hurt you," he informed the black garbed man, "doesn't mean that you have to be
so uptight."
As Death prepared a response, trumpets blared an entry fanfare. Filing in, the
King, Queen, and Princess of Earth took their separate places on the small, raised
platform and Serenity started her address.
"I'm glad you could all come tonight," said the eternally young Queen, "and I
promise to be brief."
Death and Violence glanced at one another wordlessly, and slipped out of sight
behind a curtain.
And, from her spot on the edge of the crowd, a young black haired girl
shuddered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She shivered suddenly.
"The Earth is a wonderful place," Serenity continued, her voice carrying over
the vast expanse of guests. "And I am happy that we, as Crystal Tokyo, can share
this marvelous world without regrets..."
"Evil..." breathed Tara, nervously glancing about. "There's evil nearby..."
Running across the ballroom, the young Shinto searched endlessly for her
friends, pushing people haphazardly to one side or another as she searched for the
other Galactic Sailors.
With the exception of Reeny, who was standing with her parents on the
platform, the Scouts were all gathered near the center of the ballroom, with Richard
and Celeste nearby. Tara sighed a slight breath of relief as she saw her friends;
they would help.
"Tara?" Haley was the first to notice the upset girl. "What's wrong, Tara?"
Upon hearing the name of the youngest Scout, Lyra, Alice, and Phoebe all
whirled around and looked doubtfully at her. "Tara?" asked Lyra in a bit of doubt.
Seeing the grieved expression on her friend's face, the blonde teen suddenly gulped.
"Oh dear..."
"Evil..." hissed Tara so that neither the little girl nor the young man would
hear. "There's evil nearby!"
"What?" Phoebe's ice-colored eyes grew huge as she listened to the raven-
haired girl. "Are you sure, Tara?"
Tara cleared her throat nervously. "Have I been wrong before?" she
rhetorically asked, green eyes flying from one Scout to another.
Snorting, Alice stroked the white cat in her arms. "Yes, you have," she
reminded Tara. "With all the fire readings, for example. Or when you stole my
locket. Or..."
"Enough!" the blonde interjected, glaring at Alice. "This could be serious!"
"It could," retorted the auburn-haired girl, "be another false..."
She was interrupted by a scream.
All five teens gasped as they looked to where Reeny was standing.
Because Death was standing behind her, pulling her arms behind her back as the
entire crowd watched in a state of surprised horror.
"Let's go!" yelped Alice, racing out of the ballroom, the others following
close behind her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let go of me!" hollered Reeny, kicking as the man in black took her arms.
"Leave me alone!"
Serenity heard the holler and turned to where Reeny stood, lowering her
sparkling blue eyes. Fear churned in the pit of her stomach, but she would not let
it show in her face. "Who do you think she are?" she inquired of the assailant,
furrowing her eyebrows.
He cleared his throat, black eyes sparkling. "I am Death, a Raider of the
Andromeda Galaxy," he informed the Queen solemnly, still trying to pull the
struggling Princess off the platform. "And I here for the Princess." With a single
gesture, a dome-like force field appeared around both Serenity and her husband,
blocking their attempts to save the Princess.
"As part of the Raiders," said a man in red armor, appearing out of nowhere,
"we fight to take over your Earth."
"But Earth is a peaceful place!" protested Endymion, trying to run his sword
through the black dome without must resolve. "Why would you want to take it over?"
Death snorted. "There is no such thing as peace, pretty boy." Tugging on Reeny
again, he started down the platform steps.
"HELP!" the pink-haired Princess declared. "Anyone! Diana! Orb! Silver
Crystal!"
"Shut up," the red Raider commanded, lowering his eyes. "You'll disturb our
plan!"
Reeny rolled her cinnamon eyes. "Yeah, like I'd further your plan, you stupid
enemy." Wriggling one arm free as Death lead her into the hallway, she turned to
face him and stared straight into his black eyes. "I don't think you want to do
this," she told him matter-of-factly. "All six Galactic Sailors are here."
He considered this and turned to the other Raider. "Violence, keep watch for
the Sailors in the ballroom, would you?"
Violence nodded and drew an enormous red sword from his scabbard. "Of course,"
he assured Reeny's captor.
Snorting, she shook her head. "Well, he'll take care of five of the Sailor
Scouts," she volunteered casually as Death continued to drag her down the hall. "But
you're still not completely safe."
Stopping in his tracks, the Raider stared at the teen. "You seem a bit full of
yourself."
"I am," admitted Reeny, buffing the nails of her free arm on her silver gown.
"Now," she softly told him, "if you let me go, I won't bolt."
He glanced doubtfully at her. "Really?" he asked in disbelief.
"I'll even show you why I'm so cocky," she smiled, winking.
Reluctantly, Death released her other arm slowly. "You pull anything, though,"
he warned, "and you're lunchmeat."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she mocked, reaching into a hidden pocket of her dress.
"Now, if I could just request one thing..."
"What now?" Death rolled his eyes, shaking his head slowly in annoyance. "What
am I supposed to do?"
Pulling a small disc from behind her back, Reeny touched the Locket of the
Moon to his nose. "Prepare for your doom, Death," she grinned, raising the locket
above her head.
And the Raider watched in shock as Reeny said the five words that evil feared
more than anything.
"Moon Galactic Power... Make UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Who's that?" asked Sailor Phoenix, stopping suddenly.
In front of the five teens, who were now transformed into their Sailor forms,
was a man in red armor. He was wielding an enormous red sword and appeared to be
very angry. "Stupid Death," he muttered to himself, not noticing the girls before
him. "I'm third in command, I'm more powerful, but he's the one who gets to take the
Princess!" Kicking a marble wall, his red eyes flared in anger. "Oh, when I get my
hands on those Scouts, I'll run them through and bring their heads to the King!"
"Oh shit..." gulped Sailor Comet. "He's going to kill us, Scouts."
Aurora Borealis nodded in agreement. "Guys like that eat human liver for
lunch," she mused, staring at him. "And like it!"
"Well, we can't just stand here." Taking a cautious step forward, Polaris
gulped. "I mean, right past that stupid Raider is Reeny!" She cleared her throat.
"We can't let them take our Princess!"
The girls watched in horror as the Raider turned slowly in their direction,
eyes lowered. "Who are you?" he asked in an annoyed tone, staring at the blonde
Scout.
"Maybe you should ask yourself the same question!" yelled Sailor Earth,
standing a bit taller from the back of the crowd. "I am Sailor Earth, and you're
nothing better than dirt!"
"And I am Sailor Polaris!" The Sailor took a battle-ready position. "Get ready
to eat stardust, creep!"
The blue-haired Scout grinned. "Phoenix is here! Get fired up!"
Everyone groaned at the pun while the girl just kept smiling.
"Aurora Borealis!" called the chestnut-eyed Scout from her spot on the floor.
One of her knee-length lavender boots was off, and she held an Ace bandage in one
hand. "As soon as I'm done wrapping this ankle, you're toast!"
Sailor Comet groaned and shook her head slowly. "I'm Comet, and I don't have
any stupid puns or cute things to say!" She looked him in the eyes. "But you will
die, regardless."
The Raider sighed. "I'm Raider Violence," he mocked in a high-pitched voice.
"I fight for evil and injustice! On behalf of the Andromeda Galaxy..." He cleared
his throat and dropped back down into his normal voice, "you're in deep shit, Sailor
Scouts."
"Are not!" retorted Polaris, stepping forward, Earth hovering slightly behind
her. "We have to save our Princess."
"Touching, but I think not," the Raider shot. "You can't beat us."
Phoenix bristled. "Want to bet, you stupid Raider?" she asked, sneering at
him. "Phoenix Heat... Flashing!"
Fiery liquid and steam erupted from the hands of the Scout.
Violence dove out of the way and jumped towards the group of Sailor Scouts,
sword drawn, making his weapon appear to be an extension of his arm. The five
scattered, each isolated and practically detached from one another.
"Someone run and find Reeny!" called Comet from her spot nearest the Raider.
"He can't hold us all off!"
Aurora Borealis and Earth, who were furthest from the enemy, obeyed, sprinting
down the hall at incredible speeds.
"Why, you little..." Violence raised his sword, the blood colored blade
glistened as it hung above the brown-haired head of Sailor Comet. "Prepare to die!"
He was distracted by a small ball of stardust hitting him squarely between the
shoulders. From her nearby position, Sailor Polaris smiled in mock innocence.
"Oops?"
"I don't know which one is more annoying," the Raider muttered to himself,
whirling the sword around to point at the gold-and-light-orange-suited Scout. "So,
now you want to die?"
"I," responded the girl bravely, "would do anything to save my Princess."
As the sword started to near her chest, Polaris heard a young voice call out.
"NO! NOT LYRA!"
"Celeste!" With Violence's confusion, she had time to whirl around and find
the little girl in the purple gown. "Get away from here, 'Leste!" Suddenly, shock
registered on the edge of her mind. How did the little girl know who she was?
Unless...
"Leave her alone, you big bully!" hollered the blonde child, stepping toward
Violence. "She's never done a thing to you, and here you are, yelling and holding a
sword to her chest!" Celeste rested her hands on her hips. "Didn't your mommy ever
teach you not to play with sharp objects?"
Violence chuckled and withdrew his sword. "Of course not, kid," he told her,
walking a few paces towards the child. "Now, who are you?"
"Celeste..." growled Sailor Polaris.
"Brave kid," Phoenix observed, obviously impressed. "If I ever have a sister,
I want one like her!"
The girl held out one of her hands, a tiny purple and yellow pen clutched in
her fist. On top of the pen was a tiny star insignia, with another, smaller star
lying inside of it. "My name," she informed him, "is Sailor Chibi-Star."
"WHAT?" The three remaining Scouts stared nervously at the child.
Raising an eyebrow, Violence chuckled, a bit of nervousness showing on his
face. "Cute pen," he commented, looking at the little object.
"You don't believe me?" she asked sweetly. "You should."
"And why is that?" asked the Raider.
Polaris stepped toward her sister. "Celeste?"
She raised the pen above her head, green eyes sparkling with resolve. As the
child cleared her throat, Sailor Polaris felt a shiver run down her spine.
It was true. It was all true.
And Celeste Mokoti then said the words that separated the destined ones from
every other person on Earth.
"Small Star Power... MAKE UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Mina rapped on the black doom with a fist. "Nothing," she sighed, stepping
back. "It's like Tupperware, Serenity."
"A lot of good that does us!" yelped the Queen from inside the barrier. "What
can I do, stuck in here?"
Studying the shell, Lita let out a long sigh. "If Amy were here, she would
know what to do..."
"And if Susan were here," Alexandra put in, "she'd probably bitch and
complain."
Raye furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Do you have a point?"
The blonde nodded. "Instead of 'ifs', let's focus on the problem here."
Leaning against the force field, she sighed. "Our King and Queen are trapped in a
force field, our daughters are off fighting evil, and none of us know what to do
about it."
Kicking the shell, Lita groaned. "Well, this is just dandy!" she exclaimed,
adjusting the straps of her green gown. "We might as well just give up!"
"Now, not so fast," put in Michelle hopefully. "Maybe, if someone attacked
it..."
Everyone looked expectantly at Hannah, who stood between her mothers.
"Wha?" she grunted, bloodshot eyes flying nervously around the room. "I'd get
my Glaive and kill da bad guys... Okay, Alex?" she slurred, looking at her aqua-
haired parent.
The Mistress of Venus' eyes grew wide. "Stone drunk," she commented. "I
haven't seen anybody like that since Michelle at..."
"WOULD EVERYONE STOP BRINGING THAT UP?" In an uncharacteristic outburst of
anger, the musician glared at all the other Mistresses. Seeing their surprised
looks, she blushed and gritted her teeth in an awkward grin. "This is a bad time, I
mean..."
Chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, Mina sighed. "We've never had to do
this without Amy..."
"Yeah," agreed Raye softly. "I never would have guessed that doing this would
be so hard..."
"None of us can attack," noted Lita. "It would be so much easier if we could."
Alex nodded. "And, with Hannah in her current state, the Silence Glaive would
be a bad plan."
The Mistress of Neptune agreed. "So, we're stuck..."
"We've got to be forgetting someone..." King Endymion stared thoughtfully at
the ceiling of the dome.
A flash of crimson light appeared out of nowhere, and nearly blinded the group
of women. The Mistress/Sailor of Pluto, with her Key of Time and full Sailor fuku,
stood before the gathering. "You did forget someone," she informed them, a slight
smile on her face. "And, I suppose you need my help."
"Where'd you go?" asked Michelle, slightly confused.
She shrugged. "Home. I was dying to watch some TV, and I'd had enough of
Endymion's rudeness, besides."
Hannah stared at Pluto and burst out laughing. "Your belly's getting bigger,
Susie..." she giggled, nearly falling backwards.
Blushing, the Guardian of Time covered her slight baby-girth with one arm.
"What's wrong with her?" asked the Mistress.
"Dead drunk," responded the red-gowned woman casually.
"Hello?" Serenity knocked on the wall of the shell and looked out at her
friends with wide blue eyes. The curls she had added to her pigtails had long since
gone limp, and one of her buns had all been all but pulled out. "We're stuck,
remember?"
"Oh, yeah." Susan held the Time Key above her head and then hit the dome with
it. "Pluto Eternal Attack!" she called out as red light was released from the garnet
orb atop the staff. "Release our Queen!"
The force field disintegrated into nothingness as the Key Staff touched it,
freeing the King and Queen from their bondage.
"Thank you, Mistress Pluto," sighed Endymion, running a nervous hand through
his raven hair. "And, though this is late in coming, I'm very sorry for my...less
than kind words earlier." Flushing a bit, he shook his head and took a deep,
shuddering breath. "I was a jerk."
"No, really," she mockingly retorted. Holding her staff high, she allowed
another flash of red light to envelop her body.
When the light was gone, so was Sailor Pluto.
Mina smiled, relieved. "Thank goodness that's over." Looking around the nearly
deserted room, she gasped. "Where's Celeste?"
"Who?" inquired the Shinto priestess.
"My younger daughter." Frantically, the blonde searched the room. "She was
here just thirty seconds ago."
"Probably got scared," put in Lita, casually sipping some punch. "Hmm...this
stuff is good."
Michelle and Alexandra glanced wordlessly at one another.
Shuddering, Mina looked to the group. "You don't understand... Celeste is not
just your average little girl."
"What do you mean?" Serenity raised an eyebrow. "She is not one of the
destined..."
"Yes, she IS," Mistress Venus shot back. "She's Sailor Chibi-Star!"
"Sailor CHIBI-STAR?" asked the women in unison.
Mina rolled her blue eyes. "Is there an echo in here?" Shaking her head, she
continued. "We don't know how it happened, but one day, there it was--a purple and
yellow transformation pen with two stars on it. And, since Lyra was Sailor Polaris,
Andrew assumed that..."
"It's like the study that Amy attempted a few decades ago," observed Michelle
thoughtfully. "Maybe there are more Silver Millennium survivors..."
"Can we talk about this later?" asked an exceedingly nervous Mina. "I would
like to find me daughter and possibly save her life."
The Mistresses all looked at one another and took off running, leaving an
extremely confused Hannah standing alone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Damn it!" Sailor Moon managed a quick somersault, avoiding a stream of flying
nails. "Can't we just talk about this?" She swung the Galactic Rod.
Death avoided the blow and shook his head. "Die!" he yelled, a long pike
appearing in one of his hands. "How could I let you win, Sailor Moon?" Smirking, he
thrust with the weapon. "Or, should I say 'Princess Serenity'?"
"Reeny's much shorter, thank you!" She jumped out of his range and prepared
the Rod. "Galactic Shower!"
Moon and star dusts fell from the ceiling and onto the Raider, causing him to
scream out in pain. "Counter!" he managed after a pause, allowing a large ball of
black energy to scatter the dust around the room. Another pike appeared in his grip,
and before the Scout could react, its point way being held to the pink flesh of
Sailor Moon's neck. "Do you give up, Princess?" he softly asked, gently depressing
the sharp tip of the weapon into her skin.
The teen hardly moved as she felt the cold metal against her throat. "If you
kill me," she coolly managed, "you will be hunted down.
"And, if you live," the Raider softly told her, "then my cause will fail." He
drew the tip across her soft neck, deliberately putting minimal pressure, so not to
break the skin. "We are two very different people, Neo-Sailor Moon."
Tears began to fill her red eyes. "Don't kill me!" she cried. "You can have
the world, if you want...just let me live!"
He shook his head and drew the pike back a few inches. "Goodbye, Sailor
Moon..."
Taking her chances with the four-inch maneuverability, Moon kicked Death in
the groin and launched herself high into the air as he swung the weapon in defense,
smiling as he knocked himself off balance and ended up on the ground.
"I am Sailor Moon!" she grinned, stepping on his hand and pulling the pike out
of his reach. "Don't mess with me."
"Moon!" called Sailor Aurora Borealis, coming into view. "Are you alright?"
The pink haired teen nodded happily, still standing on Death's hand with all
her weight. "Yeah. What about you two?"
Sailor Earth nodded. "We're fine, but I don't know about the others. We left
them with Violence." She stared down at Death, how was confused but conscious and
seemed to thinking of a plan. "Uh...Sailor Moon..."
"What?" she asked innocently, looking at her friends with concern.
Just then, Death wrapped his free hand around the girl's ankle and shoved her
completely off balance.
Sailor Aurora Borealis responded impulsively to his move, not thinking.
"Aurora Borealis...Shining!"
"ARGH!" he screamed, shielding his eyes from the blinding light. "You stupid
Scouts! I'll be back!"
As he disappeared, Sailor Moon clambered slowly to her feet, a bit
embarrassed. "Thanks, guys," she blushed. "I would have gotten my butt kicked
without you."
"Learn to think," Earth sighed, pushing her tiara higher on her brow. "Or
you'll regret it."
Moon smiled. "Let's help the others before that," she winked, starting off
down the hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Chibi-Star," Violence thought aloud. "I'm impressed. The youngest Scout is
only five."
The little girl stuck out her tongue. "Six and a half!" she protested,
bristling. "So there!"
"Whatever." The Raider raised his sword. "Now, are you ready to meet your
maker?"
Sailors Phoenix and Comet glanced at one another. "Not without a fight, she
won't!"
"Not you again..." He rolled his blood-colored eyes. "Go save Sailor Moon or
something, because this isn't your battle."
Leaning against the wall in shock, Sailor Polaris let out a deep sigh. "He's
right. It isn't."
An amazed look crossed Phoenix's face. "You can't give up, Polaris!"
"Too late..." the teen commented with a shake of her head.
"What about your sister?" persisted Comet, lowering her eyes. "What about
her?"
"Lyra?" asked the child in doubt.
Without words, Sailor Polaris pulled the locket from her bow and untranformed.
"I can't... I'll just put 'Leste in more danger..." Looking down at her dress, she
sighed. "And I can't do that, Comet...Phoenix..."
Chibi-Star sniffled, shaking her head slowly from one side to the other.
Staring in doubt at her older sister, she tossed a blonde pigtail over her shoulder
in a gesture of determination. "Do what you want, Lyra," she spat in anger, "but I'm
going to fight." She turned away from her sister. "I know one thing though...
Richard would be disappointed."
"You leave him out of this!" Lyra yelled in defense, crossing her arms. "This
is a Scout thing!"
Violence tossed his sword from hand to hand in boredom. "Are you two done
yet?" he asked in annoyance. "I'm getting really sick of this 'noble villain' deal."
Shining the sword with a handkerchief, he sighed. "Here's the game plan. You have
until the count of 'ten' to quit whining and start fighting, or I kill you point
blank. One..."
Sailor Comet gulped. "Lyra? Are you going to fight?"
"Two..."
"No," she told the brunette. "I'm not."
"Three..."
"Come on," whined Phoenix. "You can't just let us die!"
"Four..."
Lyra sighed. "You won't die. You can do it."
"Five..."
Sailors Moon, Earth, and Aurora Borealis then came running down the hall,
slipping to a stop as they saw the other Scouts.
"Six..."
"Lyra?" asked Earth, stepping carefully forward. "What's going on?"
"Seven..."
Chibi-Star shook her head. "We have to fight without her. She's throwing a
hissy-fit."
"Eight..."
Sailor Moon, playing with a pigtail, raised her eyebrows. "What are you
talking about? How'd you get here?"
"Nine..."
"He's going to attack at the count of ten!" yelled Phoenix nervously.
"Ten!" Violence swung the sword above his head and leapt for Sailor Chibi-
Star.
"Small Star..." gulped the littlest Scout nervously.
This was too much for Lyra. Celeste was going to die if she didn't hurry, but
what could she do? Suddenly, realization hit the blonde.
She could still fight.
Getting a running start, Lyra did the only thing she could. "Sailor Polaris
kick!" she screamed, smiling as her high-heeled foot made contact with the wrist of
his sword hand.
"Argh!" Violence dropped the sword with a clatter, clutching his injured
wrist. "Why...you..."
Grabbing the hilt of the Raider's sword, Lyra backed a bit away from him,
holding the tip of the blade near his heart. "Would you like to try that again?" she
asked softly, brown eyes glistening with hate. "Or would you like to run?"
Chibi-Star attached herself to one of her sister's legs. "You saved me!" she
cried happily, hugging Lyra.
He glared at the girl in the dress. "How did you do that?" Violence asked in
anger.
"A bit of luck," she smiled, "and a bit of love."
The clatter of high heels on marble sounded as five Planet Mistresses and one
Queen arrived in the hallway.
Sailor Phoenix cleared her throat and glared at Serenity. "Your Highness," she
hissed, "get out of here."
"Go," agreed Sailor Moon, her red eyes flying to her mother. "This is too
dangerous."
Mars and Jupiter took their Queen by the arms and led her out of the hall,
leaving Venus, Uranus, and Neptune behind to aid the Scouts.
Violence looked around, realizing for the first time that he was cornered.
Smiling nervously, he snapped and the sword faded out of existence. "You may have
won this time, Sailors," he spat. "But you will not live through such an attack next
time."
With that, he was gone.
Falling to her knees, Lyra wrapped her arms around Sailor Chibi-Star
protectively. "Don't you ever do something like that again!" she commanded, staring
into the pair of innocent green eyes before her. "You could have gotten killed!"
"And you could've too, Lyra," the girl informed her sister with a sly wink.
"But I'm glad you didn't."
The Mistress of Venus ran towards her two daughters, near tears. "Are you
alright?" she gasped, dropping onto her knees in the orange and yellow Mistress
dress she wore. "I was so worried!"
Sailor Earth stepped forward and smiled a bit. "I think they're fine," she
softly said.
The other Scouts all smiled and started back to the ballroom.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ugh... I don't believe I got so drunk..." groaned Hannah, idly playing with
her soba noodles. "I feel awful."
Crista shook her head and tried not to giggle. "You did look funny, Hannah."
"Shut up," snapped the black haired woman. "Thank God you're going home
tomorrow."
The blonde tossed her hair and sneered. "You're just jealous."
Throwing down her fork, Hannah glared across the kitchen table and lowered her
eyes. "And why would I be jealous?"
"Because," grinned Crista, "Brian likes me better."
"He does not like YOU better, Crista!" the young woman yelled, springing to
her feet. "You have a lot of nerve! You insult our Princess, you annoy my boyfriend,
you offend my family, yet you think you're friends with Haley!" ranted Hannah
angrily. "Crista, I do not believe that you'd understand true friendship if it bit
you in the butt! Friendship is love and caring! All you are is a good for nothing
brat who leeches off others!"
The tall teen stood. "I don't care what you think about me, Hannah," she shot
back in a cold tone. "I came to stay with an old friend! If I had known that Haley
had changed, I would have stayed in Los Angeles!" She lowered her blue eyes slowly.
"Haley is this loving, caring person, and I'm selfish. I know that." Shrugging,
Crista smiled a bit. "She used to be my only friend when I lived here, and then I
left. And she managed to make new friends. Like a beautiful Princess, several strong
young women, and an older sister." Wiping a falling tear from her eye, the teenager
picked her purse up off the floor. "And I have learned that, after all this time, I
was the jealous one."
"Don't say things like that," said Haley, coming down the stairs in her
pajamas. "You shouldn't have been jealous, Crista."
The blonde turned and shook her head. "But I was. Hell, I still am." Taking
one of her friend's hands, Crista smiled. "Don't forget me, Haley... And write every
couple of months and tell me how you're doing."
The brunette wrapped her arms around the other teen's neck. "I could never
forget you, Crista!"
"Of course not," smiled the blonde, pulling away and starting to the front
door. "I'm hard to forget." Winking, she opened the door and stood on the porch,
taking a second of her time to find her car keys. "One more thing..." she smiled.
"What?"
"Don't get into too much trouble, Galactic Sailor of the Comets." Crista
opened the door to her pink rental car and got in, waving as she dove out of the
driveway and into the street.
As she closed the door, Haley gulped and shook her head. "I'll never
understand that girl," she muttered, going into the kitchen to make breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Galactic Sailors Say!
Celeste: (entering) Today's important lesson is to never give up.
Raider Violence's voice: Exactly. If those Sailor Brats had given up, I would have
won. And we all know that all the Sailor Scouts are going to live through all of
first season.
Celeste: Yeah! If we die, then what are we going to do about second season?
Kate: (entering) Well, according to our... Christina? Where are you?
Christina: (entering while struggling with her Sailor Venus costume) Why'd I have to
wear this goofy outfit, Kate?
Kate: Shush. Now, as I was saying, we're planning all sorts of new surprises.
Christina: (still struggling) Well, first, we have to finish this season. Kate's got
a lot of work to do, so don't get your hopes too high.
Kate: (annoyed) Christina?
Christina: (STILL struggling) Yeah?
Kate: Shut up.
Celeste: (sweetly) Now, if these two would just hope, nothing would go wrong.
Kate: (bending down and glaring at Celeste) Now, you were the one who, earlier,
didn't want to hope...
Christina: (finally getting costume right) Should I try some sort of Sailor Venus
attack on the rug-rat?
Celeste: (backing up nervously) Now... I don't think this is a good idea, writers.
I mean, if you kill me, then all of the next season will be screwed up...
Kate: (smiling) We won't kill you.
Christina: (winking) We'll just hurt you.
(Celeste runs, screaming, off screen)
Kate: SuperKate says...
Christina: SEE YA!
-I Know-
Look around...
(Tara, sitting next to Queen Serenity, stares up at the night sky)
So many things aren't clear...
(Phoebe looks blankly at a math book)
Don't worry, though...
(Lyra smiles while picking up her tuba)
You know that I'll be there...
(Sailor Pluto and Haley smile knowingly at each other)
A lot of things are so uncertain...
(Alice looks sadly at a clock while the sun sets over Crystal Tokyo)
The future's on its way...
(Reeny holds the Locket of the Moon, smiling)
Look at my crying eyes...
(Luna and Artemis console an upset Diana)
Don't take your love away!
(Hannah sighs, looking at a sleeping Haley)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
Times will change...
(Amy looks out of a window and at Crystal Palace)
People will change, too...
(Endymion looks at Serenity, who is pouring over a book)
But deep inside...
(Lyra hugs Celeste)
I always will love you...
(Diana falls asleep on Reeny's lap)
I suppose there are questions now...
(Alice and Phoebe stare blankly at one another)
The answers are so far...
(Michelle stands in front of the orchestra, talking)
But look at me and smile now...
(Tara lovingly hugs her father)
I am your guiding star!
(Haley smiles at a studying Hannah)
Sometimes, the road looks long...
(Mina looks at her children with Andrew behind her)
And sometimes, the world seems wrong...
(Alex and Michelle smile at one another and then blush deeply)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six girls, untransformed, hold their lockets high)
Sometimes, you feel weak...
(Lita smoothes the hair of a crying Alice)
And sometimes, the future looks bleak...
(Raye and Chad stand behind Tara, who is staring at her locket)
But I know, I know, all you need is love.
(The six Galactic Sailors stand in a half circle)
I know...
(The Planet Mistresses stand in a circle)
I know...
(The Galactic Sailors stand in a circle)
All you need is love...
(The Mistresses and Sailors all stand together, holding hands, with their eyes closed)
All you need...is...love...
(A single purple rose sits in a vase)
* * * * * * * * * * * *
We would like to thank Andrea Readwolf, Kate's close friend and a fellow writer, for
helping us with the part where Susan and Terrence break their "news" to Endymion and
Serenity.
We would like to thank every Galactic Sailors fan for enjoying this story... We
previously were under the impression that no one read this mess!
Until next time!
-Kate and Christina
