Chibi-Star's Destiny

Author's Ramblings: So, what happened to little Celeste? Are you as
curious as we are? ::chuckle:: That's right! I had forgotten! WE know
and YOU don't!
Kate's retraction: In story 7, it was stated that the Concertmistress,
Irina, was Hispanic. Upon a logic check (and actually discovering that
I can't figure out nationalities any better than I can pass my ICA
Honors final), I would like to say the following thing.
-Irina is not Hispanic after all. Gomen nasi, Irina-sama.-
Whew. Okay then. Here we go!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The instant re-play!

Reeny found a two-year-old (Ambriel), the incarnation of a
heroine named Angel Moon. Phoebe met her long-lost aunt, Marie, and
her parents visited. Susan is going to have twins, and Alex and
Michelle are (::a-hem:: FINALLY) married. Celeste was kidnapped at the
very end by Raider Doubt.

And that, my friends, is where the story beings...
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Let go of me, you evil witch!" the little blonde girl yelped,
kicking and squirming as she was dragged down the long hallway by the
gray-garbbed Raider. "I'm going to whip your butt, you lousy..."
Wrinkling her nose, Doubt readjusted her lessening grip on the
girl before proceeding on her way. "You listen to me, Chibi-Star," she
shot angrily. "You will do what we say and you will not fight it. If
you don't..." Her voice was little more than a hiss as her lips neared
the child's right ear. "Then you will find the results not of your
liking."
The child's eyes went wide with fear, and tears began to
glisten. Where was Lyra? Where was Richard? And where were Reeny, Tara
and all the others?
Without warning, Celeste began to cry, allowing her body to go
limp in the confining arms that held her.
Nervously, Doubt licked her wine-colored lips. "Umm...There,
there," she softly told the girl, her voice still cruel and
unforgiving. "Don't cry, now."
"How could I not cry?" asked the girl, tears still streaming
down her cheeks as she looked down what seemed to be miles of dark
passageways. Every hundred feet or so, a small lamp would appear to
guide the way, but-other than those strange and glowing lights-it was
dark and terrifying. Perhaps that was how it should have been, but
Celeste... She didn't think so. "My friends have left!" she exclaimed
in a wavering tone. "And I'm afraid of the dark!"
With a slight smile, Doubt waved her hands and a glowing ball
appeared above them, shedding large amounts of light over the hallway.
She ruffled the child's hair, realizing that the girl was almost
walking voluntarily, having given up her attempts for escape.
"Better?"
Celeste nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "I suppose," she
managed, looking up at the Raider's dark eyes. They had turned
miraculously thoughtful for some odd reason, and she liked that; Doubt
could have an almost motherly face if she cared enough to smile.
"Th...Thank you, Raider Doubt," she stuttered.
Having never heard those words before, the woman jumped a bit
and felt her heart race in her chest. What a sweet little girl... She
smoothed her gray dress and smiled broadly.
"Well, Chibi-Star... You're welcome."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

There was a dark, dark pit, and Celeste was falling into it.
She reached out a hand, her fingers just brushing that of the
girl. It couldn't be too late... It just couldn't...
"LYRA!" screamed Celeste as the swirling darkness enveloped her.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Bolting straight up in bed, Lyra felt that her breath was ragged
and that sweat was dripping down her forehead. Kneeling at the side of
the bed was her younger sister, Becky--a sweet little brunette who
shared the room with the teen. "Lyra?" asked the ten-year-old, a
frighten expression on her face. "Are you okay?"
With a deep breath, she nodded a tiny bit, running a shaky hand
through her damp curls. "I just had a really awful dream," she managed,
shuddering a tiny bit. "That's all."
"You've been tossing and turning for hours," Becky informed her,
standing slowly. "What's wrong?"
Upon arrival back at the house, grief-stricken Andrew and Mina
had to inform the children--all six that had stayed home--of Celeste's
kidnapping. Lyra, of course, was the only one to know the truth. That
Celeste Ann Mokoti was really Sailor Chibi-Star. That the real reason
she was abducted was the fact that she was a Sailor Scout.
But Lyra also knew that, if the rest of the Galactic Sailors had
been properly prepared, it never would have happened.
And that was why the blonde shook her head before leaning back
in her pillows. "Becky," she sighed, nearly crying with tears that had
been held back since the wedding, "I could have stopped it. I could
have saved her. And..."
"Never say that!" shot the younger girl, her brown eyes wild
with both grief and adoration for her elder sister. "You always say
that you shouldn't life on 'could have' and 'should have'!"
"But it's true!" yelled Lyra, rising slowly and brushing off her
pajamas. Staring straight into the other child's eyes, she choked on
her own words for a brief moment before speaking. "Don't ever listen
to me! If I had been more careful, Celeste would still be here tonight,
sleeping in the next room!"
The words stung Becky and she turned quickly away. "You couldn't
have saved her," she breathed softly, voice almost inaudible. "None of
us could have."
Pulling her coat out of the bedroom closet, the teen cleared her
throat. "What you don't know, I do," she shot, placing her locket in
the parka's pocket. "And I know that I could have saved my sister."
And with that, Lyra slipped on her jacket and stalked out of the
room, leaving only the slamming of the front door to break the silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The creaking of a door was heard, and Alex sat bolt upright. Her
tank top did nothing for the cool air that filtered through the
doorway, and the blonde rubbed her tired eyes as the bright hall light
shined into her green eyes.
"Suse?" she asked in a slight bit of shock. "Are you alright?"
Stepping inside the room, the green-haired woman revealed that
she was wearing her long black pea coat and a pair of jeans instead of
pajama pants.
If her senses had previously been dulled, they were fully awake
as Alex leapt out of bed and grabbed her tuxedo jacket--which had been
thrown upon the desk chair without concern. "Hospital?" asked the
blonde, groping in the jewelry box for her car keys. "Let me just wake
Michelle and..."
"No," interrupted the Guardian of Time with a long sigh. A
slight smile crossed her face. Despite her sarcastic comments and
tomboyish ways, the heart beneath her icy exterior was very pure and
loving. "It's nothing like that..."
"What?" came the very dry comment from the younger woman,
placing her hands on her hips. "Listen, I've lost a lot of sleep in
the last few days, and tonight was..." She coughed nervously into a
fist. "No exception."
This was undoubtedly true. The wedding had stressed everyone's
emotions and patience until it was threadbare and then Celeste had
been kidnapped, stealing the newlywed couple from their trip to Cancun
and forcing them to stay in Japan for an emergency Meeting of
Mistresses, scheduled the next morning. No one had been happy about
that, and guilt washed over the pregnant woman as she folded her hands
on her bulging belly. "Umm..." she sighed with a shake of her head, "I
just had a craving for candied yams and Perrier water..."
Laughing, actually LAUGHING at the woman, Alex slipped off her
jacket and tossed the keys to her friend. "It's my wedding night," she
shot, shaking her head slowly, still chuckling. "And, believe it or
not, I want to sleep." She stretched and winked. "Get your own yams."
"Amy," argued Susan, "said that I shouldn't be driving."
"I," retorted the blonde with a wicked gleam in her eye, "have
driven wearing a full ball gown. You can drive in your state..."
Garnet eyes and green eyes latched onto one another in the
slight darkness, neither giving into the whims of the other. Any other
Planet Mistress in the near vicinity would have felt the energy
building up, and Michelle thusly did.
Rolling over and yawning, the teal-haired woman let out a sigh.
"Alex, get Susan her yams," she commanded sternly in a sleepy tone.
"But..."
"You don't want to spend your wedding night on the couch, do
you?" she asked rhetorically, pulling the comforter up to her chin.
"Get..."
Shaking her head, the sandy-haired woman slipped the jacket back
on and retrieved the keys from where they had fallen to the hardwood
floor. Growling at her friend, she tossed her head indignantly before
trudging out the door.
"Thanks," whispered the Guardian of Time.
The musician smiled in her sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

He sat straight up, the buzzing of the apartment's doorbell
ringing in his ears. Groggily, he swung his legs so that he was
sitting on the edge of the bed. Shivering a bit, he rubbed his blurry
blue eyes and slipped on a pair of purple house slippers. Stretching,
he adjusted his too-long plaid pajama pants and considered grabbing
his robe.
But the frantic ringing turned into an urgent pounding and he
gave up, trudging warily through the darkened hall and into the main
room. Nearly tripping over the coffee table, he pulled open the door.
Realizing then that he didn't have his glasses, he squinted at
the unexpected visitor, trying to look menacing and angered, but
failing miserably.
All he saw was a mass of puffy hair and a short, lithe body
attached to it. "Mom?" he questioned, confusion in his voice as his
eyes attempted to focus on the stranger. "I thought you were out of
town on business, and..."
"Richard?" came a soft and familiar voice, a bit shaky and
uncertain. "Can I come in for a minute?"
His heart leapt into his throat as he ran a hand through his
messy dark red hair. "Um... Hi Lyra," he managed sheepishly, a slight
blush crossing his face. "Why don't you do that? Come...come in, I
mean," he stammered, holding open the door.
She nodded at that, and entered the apartment timidly. Running
quickly into the bathroom, Richard grabbed his glasses and reappeared
before her. Now he could clearly see, even in the darkened living
room, that she had been crying.
Tears stained her cheeks, and a scowl replaced what would
usually have been a happy-go-lucky grin. Her blonde ponytail was
disheveled, and her hands were thrust into the pockets of her huge,
fleecy yellow parka.
He gulped and bit his lower lip. "You alright, Star?" he asked
softly, looking to the ground in embarrassment. "You look upset."
Nodding a bit, she sat down on the edge of the tan couch. "I..."
She paused, bloodshot brown eyes staring up at him. "It's all my
fault, Richard!" Lyra announced, her voice wavering as tears flowed
freely down her already stained cheeks. "I wasn't strong enough, or
fast enough, and now..."
The air seemed heavy as the teen sobbed into her hands, and
Richard sat down next to her and rubbed her back sympathetically.
"It's not your fault," he cooed sweetly, drawing her close to his
chest. "Whatever this evil is," he assured her, "it will stop at
nothing to overcome you and the other Sailor Scouts. It's not your
fault... The same think could have happened in the middle of a battle,
or when you were at school, or while Celeste was walking down the
street." Cradling her in his arms, he let out a sigh. "You can't blame
yourself."
Looking down at her, Richard smoothed her ponytail and then
gasped in the realization that he was not wearing a shirt. Blue eyes
trailed to her arms, which were wrapped partially around his waist as
she cried, her head leaning against his bare chest. Squirming just a
bit and feeling himself redden due to the predicament, he patted her
head. "Feeling better?" he asked, looking for an escape route so that
he could find appropriate attire before rejoining her on the couch.
"Not really," she sniffled, tightening her death grip on the
young man. Her sobs were slowly lessening, and he waited with bated
breath for her to stop. After all, if Mrs. Mokoti knew that he was
half-naked AND sharing a tight embrace with her daughter... He
shuddered and tried once again to subtly weasel out of her arms to go
find his shirt.
Murmuring, she tightened her grip and Richard groaned inwardly.
She'd fallen asleep.
Sighing, he patted her head lovingly and planted a butterfly
kiss on her ponytail. Yawning, he glanced at the clock. Three a.m.
Perfect.
"Well," came the witty remark as he pulled off his glasses, "if
you can't beat them, join them."
And closing his eyes, Richard wrapped his arms around Lyra and
let sleep once again claim him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Happy?" Alex sipped her coffee for a long moment, watching the
green-haired Guardian of Time dive into her third can of candied yams.
Looking up, she thrust a forkful of vegetable toward the blonde.
"Very!" she announced, waving the fork tantalizingly in front of her
friend. "Want some?"
The coffee-drinker shook her head and glared at the yams. "I
want," she retorted sleepily, "to shove that fork up your..."
"Up a little early today, aren't we?" inquired Haley, skipping
merrily into the kitchen from the dining room. "What brings you to my
world of insomnia?"
"You're still UP?" gasped Alexandra, her maternal instincts
taking over. "You get your butt into bed. It may be Christmas vacation,
but..."
Clicking her tongue against her teeth, the brunette teen plopped
down in a chair next to Susan at the table. "Cool your jets," she
grinned calmly, seeing the concerned and motherly spark in the
blonde's eyes. "I had to check my email! It was IMPORTANT!" Seeing the
doubtful looks from the two adults, she smiled sheepishly. "Hey, come
on! It's only..." She glanced at the microwave's clock. "Three a.m."
"You say it so casually," mumbled Alex, standing and pouring a
second cup of coffee. "Want some?"
The girl took the mug and a large smile crossed her face as she
blew on the coffee. "So, what's the Planet Mistress policy on
kidnapped Scouts?"
Soft footfalls sounded as Hannah and Michelle entered the
kitchen, stern expressions on their faces. "Out, Haley."
"Mom..." whined the teen, pouting noticeably. Seeing an angry--
and slightly mournful--spark in her aquatic mother's eyes, she blushed
a bit and took the mug into her hands carefully. "You know what?" she
frantically managed. "I think it's a really good time to go over what
Music Theory class I have next semester..."
"Harmonics AP," replied Michelle, taking up the newly vacated
seat. "But it's a good idea to go study anyway."
As the teen bustled out of the room, Susan took a long swig of
her Perrier water and yawned a bit. "Well, I think we should turn
in..."
"No way," interrupted the ebony-headed woman from her spot next
to the coffeepot. "You've been acting very odd lately, Susan, and you
know something that we don't."
The Guardian of Time paled and massaged the bridge of her nose
slowly, her garnet eyes fluttering shut. "I'd rather not talk about
it," she breathed, voice almost inaudible as she sighed deeply.
Looking at one another, the rest of the Outer Planet Mistresses
sensed the deep distress that raged within their friend and they knew
what was wrong instantly. The room's silence became heavy, and
Michelle broke it hesitantly, letting a quiet question escape pursed
lips.
"The pregnancy prevents you from going to the Time Gate?"
A tear trickled down Susan's face, and they all knew the truth
immediately thereafter. "I didn't think it would," she admitted softly,
hands clutching the half-filled can of yams almost reflexively. "But I
tried to transport there tonight, and it failed..."
With a sigh, Alexandra brushed her sandy bangs from her eyes and
stirred her coffee slowly. Her upper lip was held tightly between her
teeth as she sat, and her brow was furrowed in both fear and thought.
"I think," she finally said after a long pause, "that we have to tell
Serenity and the rest at the meeting tomorrow."
"We're not even supposed to GO tomorrow!" shot Hannah, crossing
her arms indignantly over her chest. "We're not involved in the
kidnapping!"
"Yes, we are," corrected Michelle, staring at her cup of tea,
watching the liquid swirl in slow circles. "The sea is stormy, and I
fear what the Raiders will do to the child."
Another heavy silence filled the room, and the four then once
again took up conversation, this time in a more hushed tone.
Rising from her seat on the steps to her bedroom, Haley let out
a long sigh. She'd heard right, which could mean only one thing. With
shaky legs, she went her room in silence, contemplating what she had
just learned.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Where would she have gone?"
"Do you think I know, dear? Maybe it's better that she's not
here..."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that comment, Andrew."
The two blondes sat at the kitchen table, a half-asleep Becky
sitting between them, an apprehensive look upon her pale, tired face.
She'd awoken the couple shortly after her sister had left, but it had
been too late--Lyra Star Mokoti had vanished into the Tokyo night
without so much as a trace.
Smiling sheepishly, the brunette girl pulled her knees to her
chest. "I'm sorry, Mama," she softly told the woman with a slight sigh.
"I didn't mean to make her mad, Poppa."
"We know," replied Mina in a very understanding tone, twirling a
piece of her blonde hair between two fingers. "I've just never been so
worried in my life."
Andrew nodded and sipped the water in his glass slowly. "First
Celeste, now Lyra..." he commented, in a slight daze from the
disappearance of two of his eight children. "And I don't believe for a
moment that Lyra would blame herself for this..."
The girl got up and stretched, scratching her lower back
sleepily. "I'm gonna go back to bed," she told her parents, making a
beeline for the staircase.
"Good idea," her mother called after her.
Silence filled the kitchen as the couple sat together, thoughts
heavy and painful. Their six-year-old child had been maliciously
kidnapped by a group of evil villains, and they had no way of tracking
her down. The only hope lied in their eldest daughter, who had
mysteriously ran out of the house at two in the morning...
Leaning back in her seat, Mina suppressed tears. "Each time I
think about it," she sighed, "it makes less and less sense." She bowed
her head and allowed herself to cry softly. "For the first time in my
life, I feel so completely helpless..."
Her husband scooted into the chair beside her and wrapped an arm
around her shaking shoulders. "Mina, they've never let you down
before," he pointed out in a soft, soothing voice. "Why would they
choose now?" She picked up her head, and he let an idle index finger
wipe away her tears. "I know that, right now, you feel completely
hopeless," he pointed out, "but they will be alright. Lyra has dusted
larger monsters than the skeletons in her closet..."
"And Celeste?" asked Mina, her light blue eyes filling with
doubt. "What will she do without our help?"
Pulling her closer, Andrew let out a long sigh. "I don't know
Mina," he admitted softly, smoothing her silken tresses. "But it will
all be okay."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The room was swirling around her, flying around her head in
terrifyingly fast circles. When had her head began pounding so
fiercely? She closed her green eyes. Wasn't that what Ma had always
said? Closing your eyes made a headache go away? She didn't know, but
it was the best she could do to keep from being physically sick.
It was also cool. The hard metal cot was neither comfortable nor
comforting, and she couldn't do much else but lay back down on it and
pull her purple dress closer.
She was in little more than a bleak, dark cell, and she heard
voices speak as she clutched the satiny fabric of her gown.
"She's sick, Violence! You can't do this!"
"When did you become so soft?"
There was the sickening sound of a slap, and one of the two
people--the second speaker, who was male--yelped in pain. "What the
Hell did you do that for?" he shot in annoyance.
"She's sick," came the short reply. "I don't want her in that
cell."
The man began to protest again, receiving another quick slap.
"Eeouch!" he exclaimed.
Returning, the woman's voice was stubborn. "What good will a
dead Sailor Scout do us?" she asked sternly. An exasperated sigh from
the man was heard. "That's what I thought," declared the woman smugly.
"Now, put the girl in my room."
"But..." The man trailed off, probably getting a hand raised in
the general direction of his cheek once again. "Yes, Doubt. Right
away."
Strong arms picked her up, and she felt her body become warmer
as the man carried her through what were probably the darkened
hallways of the Raider Starship.
And the last thing that Celeste remembered before falling asleep
was being placed in a warm, soft bed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Sunlight filtered slowly through the window as Richard stirred
and his blue eyes fluttered open. Blinking a little, he attempted to l
ean toward the coffee table and grab his glasses.
But he was restrained by a pair of thin arms wrapped around his
waist and a blonde-topped head leaning against his chest. His still
BARE chest. Groaning inwardly, he remembered the events of the night
previous and squinted to read the clock.
Eight-thirty a.m. "Oh, just..." He re-read the clock. Eight-
thirty? He'd not meant to sleep so late! He had an astronomy class at
the conservatory in less than an hour, and Lyra was undoubtedly
missed...
Stirring, the blonde teen released him and stretched, sitting
straight up on the Umino couch, brown eyes still tightly shut. "Oh,
Becky," she commented warily, with a yawn, "you wouldn't believe..."
Her eyes flew open, and witnessed first-hand her surrounding.
"Aack!" she yelped, diving away from the young man as though he were
on fire. "It wasn't a dream!"
Casually, Richard slid his glasses on and stood. "Good morning,
I'll make breakfast, and no--nothing happened, if you even so much as
think that." Walking into the kitchen, he once again adjusted his too-
big pants before continuing. "You showed up at my door last night,
sobbing and blaming yourself for Celeste's disappearance." With
another yawn, he opened one of the cabinets with a shrug. "I tried to
console you, but you've got a great death grip and trapped me on the
couch WITH you."
She accepted a cup of sweet-smelling coffee and then looked at
his attire with doubt. He wasn't bad looking, and she felt a slight
blush creep across her face. His chest was strong, muscles taunt, and
skin well-tanned. And Lyra, being the innocent ninth-grader that she
was, had never seen a man without a shirt on... Well, that was a lie,
but she'd never seen a man who she LIKED without a shirt on, and she'd
never--though she wouldn't admit it--really enjoyed seeing a man like
that. Feeling herself blush more red, she plopped down into one of the
kitchen chairs and studied her mug with interest.
"Don't blush," he told her, placing a skillet on the stove. "I
didn't know what I was wearing until AFTER I was bound to the couch by
a pair of thin--but unduly strong--arms." Pulling a carton of eggs
from the refrigerator, he winked. "But I'm sort of glad that you
showed up, Star."
Nearly choking on the coffee, the blonde combed a hand through
her curly hair. "Well, I'm glad, then," she managed, a bit nervously.
"I didn't know who else to turn to, so..." Seeing the clock for the
first time, she gasped loudly and jumped up. "Oh, God! I have to go!"
Following her out of the kitchen, he watched mournfully as she
slipped on her tennis shoes and zipped her coat. "I'm sorry," she
apologized, a bit red. "I have a Scout Meeting today, and I'm going to
be late!" Standing on her tiptoes, she smiled and brushed her lips
against his softly. "Thank you."
Richard pulled her into a quick, tight hug before opening the
door and showing her out. As he shut it, a slight smile crossed his
face.
"God," he whispered to himself, still excited from the daring
peck and arms still warm from holding her, "I adore that girl."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"This isn't like Lyra," observed the ebony-haired Priestess,
staring out across the city through one of Reeny's bedroom windows.
"She's so rarely late."
The other girls all looked to their friend, concerned
expressions on their pale faces. The pink-haired girl adjusted the
child in her arms and let out a long sigh. "Is that so?" she inquired
softly, placing Ambriel on the bed and searching for a clean diaper.
"I wonder why she's not here, then."
Alice stuck out her tongue. "You are NOT going to change that
baby on your bed, are you?" Seeing the look of disgusting
determination on the Princess' face, the younger girl paled. "Are
you?"
Shrugging, Reeny seized a diaper and began pulling down the
child's pants. "Where else are we going to change her?"
"WE?" Haley's eyes nearly bugged out. "WE are not changing
anything!"
Nodding, Alice played with the two strands of loose auburn hair
on either side of her face. "I'm with Haley on this one," she
responded.
The blue-haired Scout looked up from her fierce game of
solitaire. "Wimp," she chortled, flipping over three more cards and
staring blankly at the cards and making a face. "Darn! Lost again!"
Tara stomped her foot and turned on the other four girls. "This
is serious!" she shot in annoyance, green eyes flaring dangerously. "I
don't believe you! Lyra has basically disappeared!" Crossing her arms
across her chest, she made a face. "You are unbelievable!"
"We are?" inquired Alice, glaring at the youngest of the six
Scouts. "Look who's talking! You're so preoccupied with yourself and
your own little world, and then you come out and basically accuse US
of being heartless!"
"Al..." warned Phoebe, icy eyes darting to her friend's face.
"Temper..."
The teen ignored her. "You can't fire read," she continued in
anger, voice morphing quickly into a dangerously low growl, "and
you're a nuisance besides." Sticking her nose into the air, she
crossed her arms and waited for the tempered Priestess to fire her own
comments back.
But the raven-haired girl did no such thing. With an audible
sniffle, she spun back to the window and cleared her throat softly.
"I'm sorry you think that," came the quiet, reserved reply.
Tension, obviously unwanted, filled the room as everyone stared
at Tara in a bit of shock. It wasn't like her to let such a contest go
unchallenged.
"Well, this is a day for surprises," Reeny broke in, cutting the
silence with her cherry comment. Fastening the clean diaper onto the
squirming, giggling Ambriel, she held out what appeared to be a white
ball. "Someone toss this dirty thing, will you?"
The others all voiced their regrets and quickly busied
themselves with other, more 'important' things--Tara stated that she
had to watch for Lyra, Phoebe focused onto her card game, and Alice
and Haley had a sudden urgency to go over the notes they'd taken on
the Raiders.
"Fine," snarled the Princess, annoyed. "I guess I'll do it..."
"Here," came a new, happy voice, "let me." Lyra took the diaper
in her hands and lobed it into a wastebasket with ease. "Now that
that's done with, can we talk?"
"Where have you been?" inquired Tara in a concerned tone,
knotting her black eyebrows. "It's not like you to be so late..."
Snorting, Alice rubbed her fingernails smugly across her chest.
"A whole half hour," she muttered just loud enough for the group to
hear. "Wow."
Blushing, the blonde girl shrugged a little bit. "No where
special," she assured them quickly. Perhaps too quickly. Ambriel had a
knowing grin on her face, which was a bit frightening. They'd all seen
that gleam in her gray eyes once before, and her transformation pen
had appeared at that point. That girl knew something. "Well, anyway,"
Lyra nervously put in after a heavy silence had descended, "we'd
better get this meeting underway."
The little redheaded child winked. "Love," she put in, sitting
down on the floor near Reeny's feet.
"Huh?" asked the others in unison, staring at the child. The
little girl had a disgustingly innocent smile across her tiny face as
she pulled on part of Reeny's princess gown.
The pink-haired teen bent over to look in Ambriel's eyes. "What
did you say?" she asked as though the child could understand the
question being asked of her.
Eyelashes fluttered as the toddler cooed and held the dress' hem
above her head. "Mommy!" she announced gleefully.
Laughing, Alice rolled her eyes and turned back to the notes on
the desk. "Some meeting!" she quipped. "Some meeting indeed!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Slamming her fist onto the table's smooth surface, Lita raised
her voice for the first time at the Meeting of Mistresses. "This isn't
just some godforsaken battle, Uranus!" she shot at the levelheaded
blonde who sat across the table from her. "This is the kidnapping of
an innocent child!"
Crossing her arms, Alexandra cleared her throat, voice eerily
calm. "Who is to say that she is really all that innocent?" she
inquired softly.
The Meeting had not been going well. The Outer Planet Mistresses,
much as they had been in the past, were positively cynical and dry;
their emotions did not interfere with their logic, as it had always
been. However, by the time Alexandra had suggested just allowing the
enemy to appear with the child, the group had lost its civil ways.
"Alex..." growled the aquamarine haired Mistress from her seat
between Amy and Susan. "You really could try to feel instead of
think."
Neo-Queen Serenity cleared her throat, folding her hands on the
tabletop in a calm and considerate gesture. "I really think that we
should hear from Sailor Pluto," she softly interrupted the feud
between the Outer and Inner Mistresses. Her azure eyes flew to Susan
thoughtfully.
The Guardian of Time took a deep breath. Time to come clean for
the sake of the Mistresses. "Due to my pregnancy of late," she said
after a brief pause, "I am not able to travel to the Gate of Time."
Hearing a few assorted gasps from the Inners, she paled a bit. "My
research shows that prolonged exposure to the Gate can speed up aging
in children and babies, and my powers have somehow refused to expose
my unborn children to that." Sighing, she looked at her belly with a
shake of her head. "I am truly sorry."
"Well, THIS is just great!" announced Raye in a low voice. "The
Guardian of Time can't even guard her stupid Gate, two children are
missing, and we haven't a plan on what to do!"
Mina sneered. "You haven't been much help, you know!" the blonde
Mistress put in, blood-shot eyes growing vicious. "Maybe you should
get your head on straight!"
"Maybe," shot the brunette from her seat, "you should stop
rushing us!"
"Now, guys," put in Amy, running a nervous hand through her blue
hair, "this isn't the time..."
"Shove it!" yelped Mina.
And thus, the fighting broke out. The Inners screamed at each
other, the Inners screamed at Susan, Alex and Michelle tried to defend
their best friend, and the Guardian of Time burst out in tears.
Both the Queen of the Earth and Hannah, the Mistress of Life and
Death, watched with calm expressions on their faces. Much worse, after
all, had gone on between the nine warriors, and it was almost good to
see the majority of them bicker like children.
But Hannah could feel the acid build up in the back of her
throat. Why couldn't they try to get along? Taking a deep breath, she
slowly kicked away her chair and rose, her usually frail voice cutting
through the argument like a hot knife through butter.
"SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"
Everyone froze, staring at the thin, pale young woman as she
clenched her fists to her sides and stared them each down separately,
her chest rising and falling angrily as she bristled beneath her own
anger. "You," she spat, in a very cold voice, "are all acting like a
bunch of spoiled children--it's as though each of you matters only
when you're alone." Her purple eyes narrowed to slits. "Well, guess
the Hell what! You're not alone anymore!"
"Hannah..." Michelle's tone was urgent as she looked at her
elder daughter.
"No, Mom," she responded, her teeth pulling at her upper lip,
"I'm not going to sit down until you hear me out." She relaxed the
slightest bit. "And if I have to yell at you all to shut you up and to
get you to act like adults, then guess what--I'll do just that."
With a slight--almost proud--smile, Serenity nodded to the
youngest of the Mistresses. "Perhaps," her warm voice put in, "it is
time to listen to Mistress Saturn."
"Perhaps," agreed Mina softly, pulling up her chair, which had
been kicked away during the argument, "it is."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"I haven't the foggiest what to make of it," she commented
softly, staring at the computer screen with wide eyes. "Never before
have I seen such readings."
He bristled, tail puffing up a bit. "Are you sure that you got
this reading from space?" he cautiously inquired, voice soft and
intrigued. "There's a good chance that..."
Their mother cleared her throat. "I complied that reading
myself," she assured them in her English accent. "And never in my
years have I seen something like that."
"And she's had a lot of years," their father cut in with a
strong chuckle.
Four Moon Cats stared blankly at the main screen of the security
computer at Crystal Palace. All eyes focused, unblinking, at the
readings that had been pulled from the outskirts of the Earth's
atmosphere early that afternoon. High amounts of used fuel-like
materials and what appeared to be bits of broken aircraft parts had
been floating extremely near to the planet, and none of the four could
understand why.
"This doesn't make sense!" shot Orb, bristling as he wrenched
his gaze away. "It's as though there's some sort of craft circling the
Earth... Dangerously close to us...but...never..." He gritted his
teeth as the other cats stared at him with amazed expressions.
Scratching himself behind the ears with a back paw, he furrowed his
brow. "What?"
Luna's frown turned into a delighted smile as she rushed over to
a keyboard of controls on the panel. "You're a genius!" she exclaimed,
furiously typing as she spoke. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Eighth degree of focus?" asked Diana, working at the other
keyboard as her mother worked at the other. "Where do you want me to
point it?"
Artemis looked at the screen with thoughtful blue eyes,
wrinkling his nose. "No, better go to the twelfth, dear."
"What are you doing?" inquired the orange-and-white guardian,
confusion in his voice. "Eighth degree? Twelfth? HUH?"
Shaking her head, his mother continued typing. "The Palace," she
explained calmly, "owns a satellite camera. We're just getting a
picture of what you suggested could be a starship."
He paled. "I was joking!" he protested loudly. "Why do you
listen to me only when I'm cynical?"
Flickering, the screen produced a rather large picture of a
black ship, cyclical in design, with tiny crimson lights attached to
it. It moved slowly, and seemed to withstand all the gravity that
SHOULD have been pulling it toward the Earth.
"It looks like something out of Star Wars," sighed Diana, red
eyes wide with terror and surprise.
"We should warn the others," Luna finally said after a short,
heavy pause. Her gaze fixed on the aircraft and she shuddered
noticeably. "Very, very soon," she sighed before jumping off the panel
and starting for the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Lyra?"
The blonde snapped from her thoughts quickly, shaking her head
before focusing on the blue-haired speaker. "Oh, sorry Phoebe," she
smiled, resting her chin on her fist. "What did you say?"
Alice made a face, still riffling through the notes that sat on
the marble floor. "You've been all spacey for the last hour," she
observed, cocking her head to the side. "Every other suggestion that
we throw to you has to be repeated..."
Nodding in agreement, Haley sat up on her elbows, kicking her
legs idly as she laid on the bed. "Come on," she whined, acting very
unlike her normal, relatively adult self, "tell us now!"
With a sigh, Lyra leaned forward in her chair and cleared her
throat. "Well, it's like this," she told them solemnly. "I blamed
myself on Celeste's kidnapping, and..."
She talked for a good ten minutes, telling them all about her
early-morning sojourn to Richard's, waking to find herself in his
embrace, and the part that had most bothered her... His attitude.
"He was very short with me," she sighed, shaking her head slowly
and combing a nervous hand through her messy hair. "He just explained
to me what had happened, assured me that we hadn't..." Lyra blushed
noticeably and paused for a brief moment. "Well, anyway, he just
didn't seem too happy..."
Nodding sympathetically, Tara looked at her friend with a slight
smile. "I think," she observed, "that he may be afraid of your
mother." After receiving confused looks from her friends, she smiled a
bit more and continued. "She's been riling him since the first time
you went out, hasn't she?"
"Yeah!" Reeny chimed in, pausing from her game of 'peek-a-boo'
with Ambriel long enough to glance up at her blonde companion. "She's
been a real pain!"
Lyra paled. "That's just how Ma is..."
"And perhaps," Phoebe suggested, "that's why he was acting that
way. Knowing that you had spent the night at his apartment...WITH
HIM...would fry your mother's brain cells!"
"But, now," the Princess winked, handing a rattle to her little
charge, "we want DETAILS!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Now, I want you to transform!" Doubt placed her hands on her
shapely hips, a dark grimace on her face.
The little blonde girl sniffled, still wearing her flower-girl
outfit. Sitting up a little taller in the Raider's bed, she sniffled a
little and put on her cutest, most innocent smile, hoping that she
could stall the woman. "I'm hungry..." she cooed softly, stretching
and managing a feeble but realistic yawn. "Can't I have just a little,
tiny bit to eat?" Tears gathered at the corners of her bright green
eyes. "Pretty please with sugar, Ms. Doubt?"
Resisting her urge to beam the child in the face, the Raider
waved her hands in a quick circle and produced a full meal, including
shrimp-flavored Ramen, macaroni and cheese, nihon soba, and a large
array of vegetables. "Happy?" she spat, wrinkling her nose as the
smell of the food filled her nostrils.
"You want some?" asked the child, clambering out of the bed and
jumping into one of the black wrought-iron chairs at the small table
under a window. "I don't like broccoli, so you can have mine."
Doubt seated herself across from the child, picking a piece of
the green vegetable from the plate and fingering it thoughtfully.
"I've never eaten human food," she admitted softly, popping the food
in her mouth. After a long moment, she chewed and swallowed it with
care. "Not too bad," she commented. Seeing the child's delighted
smile, the Raider cocked her head. Chibi-Star was thoroughly enjoying
her breakfast. She didn't understand why, though. "Sailor Chibi-Star?"
"Celeste," winked the little girl sweetly. "I'm not a Sailor
right now, so..."
"Well, then... Celeste..." Doubt furrowed her brow. "Why are you
so pleasant to me?"
The child seemed to consider this and leaned back in the chair,
swinging her legs in contemplation. "That I really don't know," she
admitted. "But Ma--my mother, I mean--always said to look on the
bright side and to see the good in everyone." Picking her chopsticks
back up, she poked at the Ramen before shoving a clump of noodles into
her mouth. "You made the hallway not-so-dark."
"True," responded the Raider, picking at a second sprig of
broccoli. "Very true."
"And, besides," continued the girl, "I knew that you were the
one who told the man in red to put me in the big bed." She smiled
gently and stuck her hair into the air. "It made me very happy. Can we
be friends?"
Nearly taking the girl's hand, Doubt felt herself gulp and shook
her head slowly. "No, we can't," she plainly stated, watching as the
girl's smile faded away and she withdrew her hand. "We are forced to
be enemies. Horrible enemies," she sighed, a bit of remorse in her
voice. "The catch is that I am evil, and you soon will be put through
the wringer..."
Gasping, Celeste pulled her knees up to her chest and held back
a sob. "I thought..." she trailed off, wiping a tear from her eye. "Ma
always said that there are no such things as evil people."
"Your mother is a Planet Mistress, no?" inquired the Raider, not
waiting for her charge to respond. "Therein lies the problem."
And with that, she blinked out of existence, leaving a little
girl no longer hungry, but very much alone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Will it work?" Mina's voice was extremely urgent as she wrung
her hands nervously. "Do you really think that we can con the Raiders
into bringing her back?"
With a new authority, Hannah nodded and placed her hands
gingerly on the tabletop. "Haley has done a lot of research on the
Raiders," she explained, "and they want both the Imperium Silver
Crystal and Galactic Rod much more than they do the child." She pushed
her glasses higher up on her nose. "They know something we don't, and
they're not planning on telling us."
Letting out a long sigh, Lita sipped her water slowly. "If what
you say is true," she thought aloud, "then we've got to be careful
with what measures we take."
"They're probably keeping surveillance on us all the time," put
in Amy calmly. "Not closely, but definitely through some means."
The sandy-haired woman clutched onto her wife's hand. "Both the
seas and skies have been uneasy of late," she stated softly, mostly to
herself.
Michelle nearly reared back. "You didn't tell me about the
skies!" she shot, glaring at her companion. "Would you care to
explain?"
Alex coughed into her free fist and turned pink. "When I first
felt it," she hissed under her breath, "we were slightly busy, as I
recall..."
The other paled and then turned bright red, squeezing the hand
in hers but not saying anything.
Rolling her eyes, Raye cut in before things got 'interesting',
as things most often did when the Outers were around. "I think that we
should get our 'offer' placed in front of their long noses as soon as
possible..." She trailed off, violet eyes on Mina.
But it was the Guardian of Time who spoke. "Before they hurt
Celeste," she finished, receive a few glares. "And please, don't look
at me like that," she requested softly. "I've become very close to the
girl in the past week, what with the wedding and all..."
"She has a point," Amy commented, smoothing her blue sweater.
"And it shouldn't matter where our private loyalties lie... We are all
Planet Mistresses and we are all loyal to one another first." She
stood slowly, a sad smile on her face. "The time, however, has come to
tell the Galactic Sailors of our plan."
"How will they take it?" asked Hannah softly. "I couldn't even
begin to predict that."
"Who knows?" Serenity rose, smoothing her silvery dress as she
stood. "The important thing is just to tell the girls. Nothing bad can
come of knowledge." She smiled slightly. "Nothing."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Giggling, Phoebe cupped a hand over her wide-opened mouth and
smiled vastly. "So you KISSED him?" she repeated in a shocked tone.
"On the LIPS?"
Lyra smiled widely, blushing deeply as her friend nosed into her
personally life. "Yes, I did," she softly sighed, hardly audible over
the delighted laughs of her friends. "How do you guys get off being so
nosy?"
"Oh, come on!" yelped Haley loudly, covering the subtle sound of
the door opening. "You ENJOYED it!"
Tara's green eyes went large and she gritted her teeth.
"Guys..." she hissed under her breath, trying to grab her friends'
attentions.
They continued with their discussion. "Lyra," Reeny chuckled,
holding out her hairbrush as a microphone. "In a half-asleep stupor,
you ended up with your arms around the waist of a shirtless hot guy.
What are you going to do now?"
"Guys..."
"Kiss him again!" mocked Haley in a timbre similar to the
blonde's. "His lips are soooooo silky smooth..." She sighed wistfully,
stars in her eyes. "For I am Sailor Polaris!"
"Guys..."
"Come on!" protested Lyra, her face turning bright red as her
friend continued with their ranting. "This isn't fair! Why do I have
to be the first one to have a boyfriend in the group?" She crossed her
arms over her chest. "I'll say it one more time--despite the obviously
scandalous fact that I did spend the night on the Unimo's couch, I did
it in good behavior!" Pouting, her voice became a bit dreamier.
"Though I must say... He's got a great body."
By this point in time, the face of the Shinto teen had gone
pasty white as she stood at the doorway, green eyes wide and rather
apologetic. Gulping, she put on her most commanding expression and
turned to the group. "I HATE to interrupt," she shot in a loud voice,
"but I think that we have company!"
Everyone turned slowly to the door, faces all warped into
various grimaces. They were in for it. Lyra could feel her heart dive
into her stomach as she adjusted the way she sat in the chair to face
the door.
"Mistress Venus," Reeny attempted, bowing a bit and tossing her
hairbrush across the room. "I'm sure you're wondering what we were
just talking about..."
Rubbing the back of her neck, Haley grimaced noticeably. "We
assure you; it's not like it all sounds."
Her face was as white as a sheet and her blue eyes doubtful as
the young Mistress stared at her daughter in disdain. No one dared to
breathe while waiting for the woman to respond, and a thick, almost
tangible silence overcame them as she froze in place.
"Ma..." choked the blonde girl, drawing her knees up to her
chest and biting her lower lip. "I can explain."
"Out," she whispered, light eyes darting to the other five
Scouts. "I appreciate you trying to cover up for my daughter, but get
out." Her tone was icy as she folded her hands and let them drop to
the waist of her orange dress. "And leave us be."
Scooping up Ambriel, Tara bowed reverently, trying not to say
anything to further upset the situation. "Yes Ma'am," she responded,
pushing the pink-haired teen out in front of her.
The brunette Scouts both blushed while walking past the Mistress.
"We're sorry," breathed Alice, involuntarily clutching one of her
friend's hands. "We egged her on..."
"And my comments," Haley sighed, "were not very appropriate."
A glare focused upon her from the azure eyes, and the teen
dragged her companion out as quickly as she could.
With a bow, Phoebe winked at the woman. "You know, Mrs. Mokoti,"
she put in, "we all love your daughter and take real good care for her
around here." Not getting anything beyond a stoic glance from the
blonde adult, she continued. "We make sure that she's safe, and we
feel it when she's not." She bowed, lower this time, and took one of
Mina's warm hands. "I just hope you know that," she stated, squeezing
it. "Okay?"
And with that, Lyra and her mother were alone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"NO!"
Celeste pulled away from the cold grip around her wrist, green
eyes lowered dangerously toward the man. "I will not let you hurt me,
Raider Violence."
Growling, the man pulled out his sword and looked at her with
anger in his red eyes. "You, Chibi-Star," he pointed out, "are a fool.
A godforsaken fool." Waving the sword dangerously close to her neck,
Violence sneered. "Now, transform."
Why did they want her to transform? She didn't know, that was
for sure. Still, the little blonde girl wrapped her fingers around the
cool metal shaft of the pen and held it above her head, the power
already beginning to flow freely through her. Clearing her throat, she
took a deep breath. "Small Star Power... Make UP!" she screamed.
Ribbons of yellow and purple light swirled around her, first
creating a locket and then creating a white body suit. Stars flew
about, creating a purple skirt and two yellow bows--one held in place
by the locket, and another on her behind. A tiara appeared on her
brow, purple sandals on her feet, and two bright purple bows replaced
the tattered lavender ones holding her pigtails. She struck a pose and
froze, a scowl on her face.
"That felt funny," she shot at the Raider, placing her hands on
her hips. "I don't know why, but it felt like someone was controlling
my energy."
A young man, with dark crimson hair and coal-black eyes appeared
out of nowhere and stared down at the abducted child with a slight,
evil smile crossing his lips. "That is because," he told her with a
piercing edge to his voice, "I was controlling your energy with my
powers."
Gasping, Sailor Chibi-Star backed away from the man, a rather
frightened pout on her face. "Who... Who are you?" she asked, voice
shaking. "How can you control my powers?"
With a laugh, the man reached forth and a hand a touched it to
her shoulder. She clenched shut her eyes but found her body unwilling
to move away from his grasp. "I am the Raider King," he announced
evilly. "And you are about to face death."
She bristled quickly and crossed her arms. "Now, you listen to
me," she spat, feeling the sudden empowerment that came from both the
adrenaline rush of danger and the Sailor Scout abilities coursing
through her veins. "You can't win. You never had the chance." Her
green eyes flared with anger. "I have a destiny, and I embrace it. You
and the Raiders... You hold no fear for me," she informed him
casually. "You hold no fear for me!" Giggling, Chibi-Star pointed at
him and grinned. "There are more of us, Mr. 'Raider King'. So you can
leave your 'holier-than-thou', high-handed attitude at the door," she
continued smugly. "Because I am going to win..." She winked. "We will
all win..."
He took his hand from her shoulder and proceeded to backhand her
across the face, knocking her to the ground due to the force of the
slap. "You little brat!" he roared, staring down at her with hate in
his bright black eyes. "You will NOT win, you will NOT triumph, and
you are little more than a pitiful excuse for a Sailor Scout!"
Smoothing his pants, he turned to Violence and lowered his eyes at the
man. "Find Doubt and take the child to the Chamber of Spirits," he
commanded softly. "She will de-transform and re-transform there."
"Yes sir," responded the man with a bow.
As the King left, Chibi-Star wiped the trickle of blood from her
lip away and looked at the red splotch on her index finger. Smoothing
the liquid away with the edge of her fuku, she gulped and, for the
first time that day, gave into the grief of being alone.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"You disappeared," she coolly said, the ice in her voice hanging
ominously in the air. "Never before have I seen Becky so worried or
your father so afraid..."
Lyra grimaced and stood, rising to her full height of five feet.
Staring into her mother's blue eyes, she let out a deep breath. "I was
upset," she explained, "so I went to a friend's house for the night."
Crossing her arms, Mina lowered her eyes and brought her hoarse
voice down to a whisper. "You went," she corrected, "to Richard
Umino's house. No 'friend' about it."
"He is a friend!" shot the teen, bristling noticeably under the
harsh words of her mother. "And I don't see what you have against him
in the first place!"
Her mother ignored her and turned her gaze into an icy glare.
"You slept on his couch with him," she spat angrily. "You left our
house and then proceeded to do God-knows-what with a SENIOR!" She
paused, wiping a tear away from her eyes. "This is not just me against
him any more, Lyra," she continued, voice losing a bit of its hate and
frustration. "This is YOU and HIM and it shouldn't be!"
"We didn't DO anything!" the girl protested, turning her back
quickly on her mother. "I was upset, and I knew that the other Scouts
wouldn't understand if I tried to explain!" She sighed. "And I still
deserve an answer to why you don't like him!"
"Lyra, he's much older than you!" Mina replied quickly, still
not listening to her daughter. "He's using you and taking advantage of
you and..."
Whirling back around, Lyra's brown eyes filled with anger and
hate. "If he did want to take advantage of me, I'd probably go
willingly!"
A heavy silence covered the room as she said this. Neither
mother nor child dared to move as Lyra's words echoed through the
high-ceilinged marble chamber and died out into nothing more than
quiet. Both pair of eyes were sad, depressed, and angry, and Lyra's
breath came and went in ragged-sounding wheezes.
Mina finally spoke after a long moment. "You don't mean that,
dear," she stated softly, her tone more wistful than before. "You're
just saying that."
"Am I?" retorted the teen, brushing a few wispy bangs from her
eyes. "Or has it ever occurred to you that you just might be wrong?"
Her question received a nervous gasp. "That you--Mina-the-warden,
everybody's FAVORITE super mother--just might have screwed this one
up."
"You're blinded by him," Mina responded after a brief moment to
consider the accusation. "He's taken advantage of you once already."
Lyra's face was masked in disbelief. "Do you listen to
yourself?" she asked in amazement. "I mean, really LISTEN to yourself?
You're so damn self-righteous that you can't see three feet in front
of your face!" Placing her hands on her hips, she sighed. "It's not
that I'm not sorry, Ma," she told the woman before her, "it's that
you're making it very HARD to be sorry!"
"You slept on his couch with him," the woman slowly continued.
"And he didn't have a shirt on, from what I hear." Her tone was like
ice as she spoke. "You kissed him... And then you told the Scouts
about it without telling your own mother..." She glanced at the floor
as a tear trailed down her cheek.
"Is that what this is really all about?" inquired the blonde
teen, taking a slight step toward her mother. "The fact that I don't
always turn to you anymore?"
Mina turned her back and started out the door. "I... I have to
go...and think..." she mumbled half-heartedly. "Go to the meeting with
the Scouts and Mistresses."
Stomping her foot, Lyra lowered her eyes. "You are not leaving
this unresolved, Ma!" she screamed after the blonde adult. "Stand up
against someone for once! Make a statement and stand behind it!"
Ducking out the door in front of her mother, the teen choked on her
own tears. "You're just running away from your problems!"
The adult glanced up, face wet with tears. Her tone was icy and
voice cool as she spoke.
"Why shouldn't I? It's exactly what YOU do."
And Mina walked quickly down the hall and away from her elder
daughter, not once looking back.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Transform!"
Collapsing onto the cool marble floor, Celeste whimpered, not
daring to look up at the Raider before her. "Please, no more..." she
breathed, clutching her stomach with one hand and holding another to
her bruised cheek. "I'm in pain..."
Violence pulled out his sword and polished it idly on a
handkerchief. "Do as I say, Chibi-Star," he shot menacingly, glaring
down at her with fiery eyes. "We still have not collected all the
appropriate readings on your energy."
"Maybe we should give her a moment," came Doubt's cool voice
from across the room. She sat in front of a large computer, a small
pair of black spectacles perched low on her nose. "Each time she
transforms, her energy wavers."
The Raider man sneered. "We don't have time!" he shot back,
kicking the discarded transformation stick toward the girl. "She must
transform so we can compile all the readings!"
Doubt's tone was stern. "We could kill her if we're not
careful," she shot back, feeling herself bristle. "Imagine what the
King would do to us in THAT turn of events."
He did imagine and shuddered after a brief moment. "You're
right, of course," he sighed, shaking his head slowly. "It wouldn't be
pleasant..."
The girl looked up, the deep fear still in her usually bright
eyes. "Do I get a break?" she whispered.
Picking that time to exit, Violence faded into a puff of smoke,
leaving only the gray-dressed Raider woman and the child behind. "Of
course," Doubt responded, typing on the machine and otherwise ignoring
the girl. "We wouldn't want you to die, now would we?"
"No," smiled Celeste, a bit of relief in her high voice. "I'm
sure you wouldn't..."
"Because we're not done with our mission," the woman finished
quickly, feeling herself shiver. Was that really her reason?
Celeste hoped otherwise.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

The five Scouts and Ambriel filed into the Queen's chamber,
quietly awaiting the unveiling of the plan to rescue Celeste. Everyone
was deathly silent as the teens plopped into various chairs and
couches without much regard for proper behavior.
It was Reeny who first spoke, breaking the restless silence that
surrounded them. "So, what's the plan?" she inquired with a slight
yawn, pulling Ambriel onto her lap as she spoke. "We don't have all
day."
From their spots on the bed, both Luna and Diana rolled their
eyes at the Princess. The pink cat was about to verbalize her
complaint when Serenity spoke up.
"Now, Reeny," she softly scolded, not trying to sound angry as
much as trying to sound regal, "you know that patience is a virtue."
"Besides," cut in Lita quietly, "you're missing a member, you
know."
Grimacing, Tara folded her hands nervously and stared at the
ground. "I don't think she will be coming any time soon," came her
soft response. "Mistress Venus went to...talk...with her."
The women all looked at one another before responding to the
girl. "Well..." sighed Hannah, wringing her hands a little. "That's
how Venus is sometimes." Chewing on her lower lip, she took a breath.
"We have," Amy said solemnly, "formulated a plan. And the time
has come..."
"...the walrus said, to talk of many things," finished Phoebe
with a giggle. Receiving a stern glare from her mother, she shrugged.
"What? It's a really great story."
Rolling her purple eyes, Raye folded her hands on her lap and
cleared her throat. "Our plan is to offer forth to the Raiders what
they most desire."
Four of the Galactic Sailors grimaced at this statement, but
Reeny knew what they were talking about and paled greatly. "No way,"
she urgently spat out, jumping up and cradling Ambriel close to her
chest. "I am NOT letting you get away with this..."
Serenity lowered her cerulean eyes quickly, her face turning
determined. "Please, Reeny," she requested, "let us finish."
"The plan," the Mistress of Saturn assured them in a rather
quick tone, "is simple and foolproof." She smiled slightly. "We offer
to the Raiders both the Imperium Silver Crystal and the Galactic Rod
for the save return of Chibi-Star. The rest of the Scouts will hide
somewhere near the pre-described meeting point and..." Feeling Haley's
eyes stare at her, she nervously turned to her younger sister. "What?"
Flickering across Hannah's face, the two teal orbs smiled as the
girl did. "I think," the brunette admitted with a grin, "that this
will work very well."
The youngest Mistress beamed brightly before continuing. "If
Neo-Sailor Moon is careful to delay the Raiders for the time it takes
both the Galactic Sailors and two or three chosen Mistresses to
transform, then..." She trailed off for a minute, still smiling. "Then
I'm sure that the seven Sailor Scouts will be able to defeat the
Raiders and save the child."
"And what," came Lyra's voice from the doorway, "happens if my
sister can't transform?" Walking shakily into the room, the blonde
teen chewed on her lower lip before sitting beside Tara on one of the
two small couches. "What will we do then?"
The aqua-haired Mistress was crestfallen. "We hadn't thought of
that," admitted the musician with a long sigh. "I suppose, then..."
Alice snorted. "We're doomed..."
"Alice," scolded Lita sternly.
Rolling her eyes, Alexandra leaned back against the wall. "Here
we go again," she muttered to herself with a long sigh.
"Don't start!" shot Susan, still upset from the Inners' rude
words earlier in the day. "We don't need another battle." Noticing
that no one heard her, the green-haired woman cleared her throat and
stood slowly. "Shut up!" she yelped. "I'm sick of us all acting like
babies!" Everyone stopped their bickering and stared at her with wide
eyes. She made a face. "We are not very good examples for the Galactic
Sailors," she shot angrily. "Fighting all the time and never getting
so much as ONE thing accomplished. We're not Planet Mistresses, we're
school-age children!" With a sigh, the pregnant woman sat down and
rubbed her temples slowly, her face pale. "A child is missing. Do you
all actually care about that?"
Silence fell over the room, and it was apologetic and mournful.
Finally, a clear voice cut through the weight of the quiet.
"I--for one--think that we've got to do something as soon as
possible," announced Tara in an authoritative tone very unlike her
normal soft voice. "We're the Sailor Scouts, and we protect the
innocent and the oppressed. The kidnapped, too." Standing, she smiled
broadly. "And if it were one of us instead of Celeste, I'm sure that
she'd say the exact same thing."
"She's six," chortled Alice, a thoughtful expression crossing
her face nonetheless. "But you ARE right. Let's get this whole thing
started out on the right foot, though."
The Planet Mistresses all nodded separately, smiling slightly.
"Let's do it!" exclaimed an enthusiastic Lita with a grin.
And the 'right foot' was off and running.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Mina, what a pleasant surprise," smiled the red-haired woman,
opening the door widely. "Come on in... I know it's a mess, but it's
home..."
The blonde walked slowly into the roomy apartment, slipping off
her shoes and chewing nervously on the inside of her cheek. What was
she going to say?
Molly hadn't changed a bit, she noted with the slightest smile.
Her red hair was still wavy and had a mind of its own, the light blue
bow still holding it up; her blue eyes still smiled, even if they now
did so behind a pair of thick-lensed glasses.
"Would you like some tea?"
Jumping a bit, Mina wrenched herself from her thoughts long enough to
shake her head and shrug. "Actually," she admitted, "I'm here to talk
to you about Lyra."
The other woman smiled and gestured toward the couch. "She's
such a sweet girl!" Molly assured her happily, a large smile on her
face. "You really have no idea what a delight she is!"
"Yes, well, that's not EXACTLY what I need to tell you about."
Mina felt her anger start to rise up. What a naïve woman! She acted
innocent. Unduly innocent. "I would like to inform you of your son's
extremely inappropriate behavior with my daughter," she informed the
redhead. "And I would like to tell you just what I think of their
relationship."
She folded her hands. "Mina," Molly began calmly, "Richard told
me what happened last night. I myself was out of town and didn't know
a thing about it." She sighed and shook her head. "And I understand
where your coming from...somewhat, at least. But if they say nothing
happened..."
"My daughter is fourteen!" shot the blonde angrily, sparks of
hate flying into her lightly azure eyes. "You can't tell me for so
much as thirty seconds that those two should be dating!"
With a smile, the other woman shrugged. "I don't see your
problem, Mina," she disagreed. "We all remember that Endymion and
Serenity were just as far apart in age, and..."
Mina snarled. "They are nothing like Endymion and Serenity!"
"We shall later be the judge of that," Molly responded
mysteriously, her face still placid. "And I believe my son."
"He's taking advantage of my daughter!" The Mistress of Venus
was now completely outraged and she sneered at her companion. "I don't
believe that you're thinking this is appropriate! My daughter comes
over looking for comfort and got..."
The redhead closed her eyes lightly. "Comfort." She sighed a
bit. "She got comfort from my son. Nothing more." Her voice was still
level. "I know that you're afraid to think of Lyra and Richard as a
couple, but I know that nothing bad will come of this pairing, and..."
"You don't know WHAT you're talking about, Molly!" shot the
blonde woman in her ranting. "Listen to yourself! Here I have this
sweet little blonde girl who is in love with this debonair-acting
senior, and he's after her! Do you ever realize the irony of the
situation?" Her voice was in a high-pitched scream. "I am the Senshi
of Love and I never agreed to this!"
"Now, wait," Molly insisted. "Calm down. You're nearly
delirious..."
Mina took a deep breath. "I am NOT delirious, Molly," she
informed the woman sitting beside her. "You're a crummy parent!"
"No, she isn't!" came another voice. In the doorway stood
Richard, wearing sweats and holding a water bottle in his hand. "How
could you say that, Mrs. Mokoti?"
His mother shook her head. "Richard, why don't you go and get
yourself a slice of pizza or something..."
He looked at her in doubt. "I want her to defend that
statement," he shot back, disbelief in his eyes as he pushed up his
glasses. "I want to know what this is all about."
Standing, the blonde woman glared at him. "This is about YOU
taking advantage of MY daughter!"
"Really?" he questioned rhetorically, a sharp glare crossing his
face. "We didn't DO anything, if that's what you meant. What kind of
person do you think I am?" His tone was cool as he sighed. "She fell
asleep with her arms wrapped around my waist. I, in turn, fell asleep.
But we didn't do so much as ANYTHING."
"And I believe my son." The woman still on the couch looked up
at her companion with disdain. "Do you now believe me?"
Shaking her head, Mina glared at the young man. "You are nothing
but a deceitful, unruly, contemptible, corrupting monster who has
nothing better to do than take advantage of young, innocent girls such
as my daughter." She stuck her nose in the air. "And I do not like it
one bit!"
With that, Molly jumped to her feet, glaring menacingly at the
woman next to her. Drawing the back of her hand across the blonde's
cheek in one fluid movement, she ignored the outraged gasp and cleared
her throat. "That is far enough!" she spat, blue eyes lowered
dangerously. "It is one thing," came the continuation, "to insult me
and my ways of parenting. But it is ANOTHER to call my son such
horrible names!" She pointed toward the door. "Get out! Get out of my
house!"
The blonde tossed her hair and strolled out of the apartment,
allowing the redheaded teen to slam the door behind her.
"What the Hell what that?" inquired Richard angrily, tossing
down his water bottle in frustration. "Who the Hell does she think she
is?"
With a shake of her head, his mother sighed and fiddled with the
throw pillows. "She's just upset, dear," came her calm response.
Wiping a tear away from her blue eye, she shrugged. "Don't worry."
Drawing her into a close hug, the young man smile weakly. "Why
does my relationship mean so much to you?" he asked softly, rubbing
her back lightly.
"Just trust me when I say that the entire world is dependent on
both your destiny and that girl, alright?" She looked up and pushed a
few bangs from his eyes. "You'll understand soon enough..."
"I promise, Mom," he vowed, "that I will not let Mrs. Mokoti
speak to you like she did ever again."
Chuckling, the woman pulled away and started for the kitchen. "I
really don't think that's what you should worry most about right now,"
she smiled, winking at him knowingly. "I doubt that Lyra will let her
pull that off again."
Richard furrowed his brow and let out a long sigh. When was he
going to understand that woman?
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Trudging toward her house, Lyra let out a long sigh. She'd had a
long day and, though the plot would most likely succeed and her sister
would soon be safe, she couldn't manage to smile. Her mother had said
some things that just... The blonde teen shook her head, refusing to
even think of the stinging words she'd heard.
'Knowing that you had spent the night at his apartment...WITH
HIM...would fry your mother's brain cells!'
Phoebe's words hung in her head as she put a hand to the
doorknob. The blue-haired Scout had, as usual, been right on target.
"I wonder what's wrong with you," came a male voice from the
side of the house. Looking over her shoulder, the girl saw her father
taking Christmas lights out of the bushes. "You've never been so
glum."
Lyra stepped toward him, sighing as her shoes made crunching
sounds on the lightly snow-capped grass. "Ma said some awful things to
me today, that's all," she responded softly, untangling one of the
skeins. "Why on Earth are you taking these down? It's only the day
after Christmas..."
He sighed and continued with the lights. "Sometimes, whether you
like it or not, one loose bulb can throw the whole string off," he
explained, breath leaving foggy trials through the icy air. "It's not
the whole string that did it, it's one bulb. And you have to find and
fix that one light." Indeed, Andrew twisted a single light bulb and
the entire string was once again illuminated. "See?"
"So, what you're saying..." Her brown eyes grew wide in
understanding. "Celeste's kidnapping upset Ma and made her all
whacked-out, but once we find her, everything will be okay?" She
grinned and dove into his arms. "Thanks Dad! You're the greatest!"
As his eldest daughter skipped toward the front door, Andrew ran
a hand through his thick hair and then rubbed the back of his neck
apprehensively. "Actually," he sighed to himself, "I was just
explaining about the light bulbs..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Transform!"
For what seemed to be the twentieth time in an hour, she raised
the pen into the air. "Small Star Power... Make Up!" she cried,
falling to her knees in fatigue.
Nothing happened.
Doubt and Violence both sprung from their seats at the computer
as the girl fell to the ground and an odd energy--almost like a clap
of thunder without any sound--was released, throwing both the Raiders
into the chamber's far wall.
"What was that?" groaned Doubt once far mind had cleared and she
was able to stand. "I've never before felt something that strong..."
Rising, the man glared at the little girl, who had fainted, and
knotted his brow. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I don't think it
was supposed to happen." Violence closed his eyes and shuddered
briefly. "Something, though, is amiss."
As her companion faded into a cloud of smoke, Doubt rose and
walked slowly over to the girl. "You are quite full of mystery, Sailor
Chibi-Star," she breathed softly, kneeling before the girl and
producing a wet compress in one hand. Pressing it to the child's
sweaty, feverish brow, she smiled slightly. "And I am sorry that I
have to hurt you..."
The girl stirred and opened her green eyes slowly. "Hey...Miss
Doubt...it's okay," she whispered. "I know that you don't want to hurt
me..."
She nodded and smoothed the girl's wispy blonde bangs. "You can
sleep for a while, Celeste," she responded kindly, a bit of remorse in
her voice. "I'm sure that you will not be missed for a bit."
Murmuring her weak thanks, the little one curled up in fetal
position and drifted off to sleep.
From a corner of the room, two colorless, shapeless eyes watched
the entire conversation in shock. "Well," came a soft, ageless voice
that was marred with an amount of evil that defied even description,
"it seems that Doubt has a motherly side that even I have not yet
seen." A wicked idea came to his mind, and the Spirit of Silver
laughed. "Why, if the girl DIES..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Neo-Sailor Moon appeared over the city of Crystal Tokyo, her
brow furrowed and usually bright red eyes lowered. All over, people
looked up at the night sky to stare, gasp, or run for cover.
And it was then that the heroine spoke.
"Raiders!" she announced loudly, voice clear as it echoed across
the night sky. "We have a bargain for you! Give us back Sailor Chibi-
Star, and we will hand over both the Imperium Silver Crystal and the
Galactic Rod to you."
Shocked, he looked up. He'd come to the park to relax and sort
out the mystery of Chibi-Star's power, not to listen to the leader of
the Galactic Sailors call out across the city.
But he was intrigued by her offer. So Raider Violence listened.
"Nothing means more to us than that child," the Sailor Scout
continued, sincerity in her voice. "If you are willing to listen to
this plea and agree to our deal, meet me at the docks tomorrow at six
a.m. Bring only the girl and yourselves, Violence and Doubt. We shall
exchange a child for two artifacts."
The vision faded, leaving almost all the residents of Tokyo
perplexed.
Smiling, Violence stood and brushed off his pants with a gleam
of triumph in his red eyes. "I shall give you your child," he
responded, though she could not hear. "And then, you shall parish!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Her compliments fell on deaf ears.
"Come on, Diana, you did a really great job with that!" Reeny
protested as the last few ribbons of her fuku gave way and became a
Princess gown. "You're way too hard on yourself when it comes to t
echnology."
The cat snorted and continued typing on the control panel.
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me," she retorted. "I didn't angle
it right."
"Good!" announced Ambriel, who was standing at Reeny's feet.
"Good! Angel up?"
Picking the toddler up and smiling, the short Princess sighed.
"Well, I thought that you did very well, and so did Ambriel here!"
With a long sigh, the Guardian jumped from the controls and onto
her charge's open shoulder. "When will you give up on being everyone's
sunshine, Reen?" she asked with an irrepressible warm smile.
The Princess grinned back. "Once I teach Ambry here to be just
as sunny as I am, I can be a cranky hag like you," she mused, ruffling
the girl's fuzzy red hair. "Right, kiddo?"
"Angel sunny!" agreed the little one as they all walked down to
hall together.
Moonlight filtered through the skylights as they walked, and
Reeny felt herself tense as she looked to the sky. "I feel something
uneasy," she announced suddenly, her heart leaping into her throat. "I
think that someone might be in big trouble..."
"Worse than normal?" asked Diana urgently. When her charge
nodded slightly, the cat dove onto the ground and stared straight up.
"Then that says it. Go and find out."
As the pink-haired teen was about to respond, the locket around
her neck warmed suddenly up and she knew what was coming. "A battle."
She placed Ambriel carefully onto the floor and winked gingerly. "Take
good care of my little angel, okay?"
The Guardian nodded and stepped back, pulling the child by the
skirt with her. "Good luck."
Nodding, she lifted the locket above her head. "Moon Galactic
Power... Make Up!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Sailor Aurora Borealis dove away as the ice shards flew toward
her. "A monster?" she breathed, staring at the creature before her.
"How unlike the Raiders!"
Indeed, it was a large, pale-blue monster, and it appeared to be
made of some mixture of ice and snow. Roaring, it threw a few dozen
more ice spears at its Sailor-suited opponent, nearly hitting her. She
rolled quickly out of harm's way and cleared her throat.
"I am the Sailor of Light!" she announced, hopping atop a park
bench. "Invited by a new age, I fight for justice and love in a pretty
sailor-suit..." She grimaced. "Damn it, why can't I ever get the
speech right?" she swore, scratching the side of her head idly. "Oh
well." Aurora Borealis glared at the monster, chestnut eyes filled
with hate. "You're toast, you hear me? Absolute toast!"
"In the name of Phoenix..."
"And in the name of the Comets..."
Two Sailors jumped down from the nearest tree and glared at the
monster. "Please don't force us to finish," muttered the blue-haired
Scout, receiving an elbow in her stomach from the brunette.
"ICE!" screamed the creature, tossing more ice shards at the
group.
Sailor Phoenix sent out a stream of her hot fire and steam,
melting the crystals with little trouble. "Is that the best you've
got?"
Closing her eyes, Sailor Comet took in a deep breath. "Comet
Crater..."
"Aurora Borealis..." added in the last girl.
"CLOSE!"
"SHINING!"
The two attacks flew quickly toward the ice monster, who somehow
managed to evade the attacks expertly. The three Scouts went bug-eyed
at this maneuver, but the creature didn't seem to notice and continued
his icy assault.
After only about five minutes of battle, both Phoenix and Aurora
Borealis were pinned to the ground, razor-sharp icicles cutting
through their skirts and attaching to the slightly dampened grass.
Both struggled with all their strength, but the ice shards were
obviously very deep into the ground and wouldn't budge.
Aurora Borealis grunted as her fifth attempt to free herself
failed miserably. "Comet, you're on your own this time around!" she
called to the shorthaired Scout as she lay on the cold snow-covered
grass. "We're stuck..."
"She's right," put in Phoenix, wiggling as she spoke. "Good
luck!"
Sailor Comet, who was crouched in a nearby tree as the ice
monster loomed over her two friends, sighed and dropped her head. What
a way to go...eaten for lunch by a giant ice cube.
Suddenly, a silhouette appeared on the top of a garbage can.
"You give popsicles a bad name!" called the figure loudly, hopping
into a tiny patch of moonlight. "And on behalf of the Moon, you're
punished!"
Sailor Moon drew her Galactic Rod from null-space and lowered
her red eyes at the creature. "Any last words?" she inquired.
"ICE!" screamed the monster, throwing a handful of ice shards at
the heroine. "ICE!"
"EEEK!" Sailor Moon yelped, diving out of the way and landing
face-first in a pile of rather dirty snow. "What the Hell was that?"
Comet jumped down from her perch and rolled a pair of teal eyes.
"His attack," she responded coolly, offering forth a hand to help her
leader up. "Now, could you PLEASE dust him?"
"GALACTIC SHOWER!" announced Moon, waving her Rod around in the
air as she screamed.
The ice monster, as had so many monsters long before him,
shrieked and shriveled to moon dust.
As the ice disappeared, Phoenix and Aurora Borealis both
clambered to their feet, relieved looks on their faces. "Thanks,
Sailor Moon," breathed the blue-haired Scout with a shudder. "We were
almost toast."
"I don't get it," thought Comet aloud, chewing on her lower lip
as the pile of dust began to fade into nothingness. "That's not like
the Raiders at all."
"Yeah," agreed Aurora Borealis, knitting her eyebrows together.
"I wonder why they did that..."
Shivering, Phoenix glanced up at the sky and sighed. "I think it
may have been a distraction of sorts," she commented softly, staring
at the moon with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I have a
strange feeling about all this..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Celeste!"
The only response to the urgent cry was a blood-curdling scream
that echoed through the Starship. Doubt froze in her tracks, trying
desperately to ignore the suddenly urge to fall to her knees in grief.
Something was happening to that little girl.
As she ran blindly down the long halls of the Starship, the
white-haired Raider allowed many foreign emotions to course through
her veins. Such as fear. Never before had she been so afraid in her
entire life.
Turning the sharp corner toward the Chamber of Spirits, she felt
her senses go wild. She could feel fear, someone else's fear, and
another shriek sounded, closer. Her feet had taken on a mind of their
own as she ran, hoping and also fearing what she was about to find.
Doubt threw open the doors to the large, black chamber to find
the Spirit of Silver looming over the little blonde girl. There was
blood matted on in the girl's hair, and the Raider felt her knees
tremble as she stared at where the girl lay. What had he done?
"You... You monster..." she breathed, feeling tears come into
her dark eyes. "We could have obtained the Imperium Silver Crystal
with that child..." Her voice wavered, and she felt a lump come into
her throat as she stared hatefully at the shimmering form. "Why did
you do such a thing?"
The Spirit looked at her, a vacant glance that did nothing to
convince her of his motives. "I did it because you are weak," he shot,
deadpan. With that, he faded into the dark.
A soft moan escaped the child's lips, and Doubt sunk to her
knees without thinking. "Celeste?" she breathed, feeling herself shake
as she wiped some of the sticky blood off the girl's forehead. "Are
you alright?"
"What...what...happened..." attempted the girl, her voice barely
above a whisper. Her Sailor fuku was slight tattered and blood spotted
some of the bodysuit. "All...I...remember... I remember...pain..." she
stammered, green eyes gazing upward. They were full of unshed tears
and also dull with fear and hurt. "Did...he...hurt...me?"
Nodding, the woman lightly ran her index finger over a
relatively deep gash on the girl's brow. She needed stitches at the
very least... "I don't know how," she responded, her tone soothing,
"but he did. You have a very bad cut on your..."
"...forehead..." finished the Sailor Scout, closing her eyes
slowly. "I want to...go...home..." she whispered, barely audible.
Violence and the Raider King both then appeared in the room,
eyes wide with disbelief as they viewed the scene. "What in the
Andromeda..." The King trailed off, a deep glare in his dark eyes.
Pretending not to hear, Doubt cupped the little girl's cheek in
one of her hands. "Soon enough," she whispered back before standing up
and facing the others.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"My, my," commented Alice dryly, sipping a large thermos of
coffee as she sat on a large crate, "aren't we feminine today, Mrs.
Ten'ou?"
Looking down at her clothing choice, which was a nondescript
white business shirt with a long navy skirt, the blonde Mistress
sneered at the teen and in turn sipped her own drink. "Not a morning
person, I take it?" she inquired in annoyance.
Michelle snorted and snatched the cup from her mate. "And
neither are you, dear," she responded casually, taking her own sip,
letting her blue-green eyes wander over to where Sailor Moon was
pacing up and down the dock.
The five other Sailor Scouts and three of the Mistresses sat in
a small covered area near their pink-haired friend, all nervously
awaiting the arrival of the Raiders. It was five minutes until six,
and already the sky was beginning to light up with the pinks and
purples of dawn.
They were waiting, in a way, for destiny.
"I miss Celeste..." sighed Lyra wistfully, looking over at her
mother. "I'll be glad to get her back and be able to return to a
normal life."
Mina smiled sadly and stared at the dawn in silence.
Chewing on her lower lip, Phoebe furrowed her brows. "I wonder
if they'll even come," she thought aloud, looking at the others as she
spoke. "I mean, they are the Raiders and all..."
Haley smacked the blue-haired Scout upside the head and lowered
her teal eyes to a fierce glare. "Don't say stuff like that!" she
shot, annoyed. "You'll curse us!"
"You can't curse people just by saying silly things like that,"
chortled Alexandra, seizing back her mug of coffee from her wife.
"You're just mad because you have the same exact feelings in your own
stomach."
A wave of nausea hit Tara as she listened to the conversation,
and her knees buckled, causing her to grab onto the nearest crate.
"Evil energy..." she breathed, eyes falling shut.
No one heard her.
"Mom, I don't think that!" shot back Haley, a disgusted look on
her face. "I'm just as big a part of this Scout team as they are! I'd
never think a thing like that!"
The aqua-haired woman smiled, shaking her head a bit. "Being a
good Scout," she informed her daughter, "doesn't mean being doubt-
free. It means understanding your weaknesses and using them." She once
again took Alex's mug.
With a slight laugh, Alice threw her hair haughtily behind her.
"Unless, of course, you don't have any faults. Like me."
Turning on the smug girl, the blonde Mistress lowered her green
eyes. "Throw your hair around and talk like that again," she growled
in a throaty tone, "and you will no longer have hair to toss about."
Snatching her mug back from the musician, she made a face. "Get your
own damn coffee."
Tara stomped one of her feet, her wooden sandal making a loud
clapping sound as she did so. "I sense evil energy!" she announced a
bit loudly. "The Raiders are here, but they're not coming out of
hiding..." She shivered. "I don't understand it..."
Alice muttered something about "bogus Shinto powers" under her
breath, warranting a glare from the young priestess.
In the distance, Sailor Moon continued to pace until, after long
minutes, the two Raiders appeared, Celeste cradled in Doubt's arms.
Bristling, Mina whirled around and looked to the group. "The
deal was that we transform as soon as they get here," she reminded
everyone, drawing out her string of beads. "You ready?"
"When you are," put in Lyra, speaking for the entire group.
Five lockets flashed in the growing sunlight as they were raised into
the air. Three sets of glass beads sparkled as they found their ways
off wrists and into the space above their owner's heads. A dead
silence filled the air, followed closely by words that meant more than
life to the speakers.
"Earth Galactic Power..."
"Polaris Galactic Power..."
"Phoenix Galactic Power..."
"Aurora Borealis Galactic Power..."
"Comet Galactic Power..."
"Venus Eternal Power..."
"Uranus Eternal Power..."
"Neptune Eternal Power..."
"MAKE UP!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Doubt looked down at the girl. She was conscious, but hardly,
and her chest hardly rose and fell noticeably. The child was in awful
shape and the Raider didn't know what she could do about it.
"Sailor Moon, please," she attempted softly, still staring down
at her little blonde-haired charge. "Let's get this over with. Chibi-
Star is not in good condition..."
The Sailor Scout's red eyes went wide with fear and distrust as
she glanced at the young girl. "What have you done, you monster?" she
shot, rushing forward to claim the child. "Give her here!"
She was halted by a strong arm. "Give us the crystal and the Rod
now, Sailor girl," demanded the other Raider.
Glaring at Violence, Moon haughtily crossed her arms and stuck
her nose in the air. "You're not getting anything until you give me
the girl."
"You're stalling!" he accused her angrily.
The Scout shrugged. "So what if I am?" she inquired. "I have
something that you want and can have--if you play your cards right.
You have something that I want and that I can TAKE if I feel like it."
She winked. "It's all relative."
Doubt restrained the man from throttling Sailor Moon right then
and there. "We don't have time to play games, Moon girl," she spat,
annoyed. "Your little friend doesn't have time." There was an odd
amount of sincerity in her voice, making Sailor Moon shiver a bit. Was
all she said true? It seemed as so.
"Fine." The teen closed her eyes and the Imperium Silver Crystal
materialized between her outstretched palms. Slowly, the crystal
became a small pedant and a sparkling gold chain attached itself to
the glittering orb. Opening the twin red eyes, Sailor Moon willed the
necklace to float. "In necklace form, it will be portable and safe
from all harm."
Violence crossed his arms and glared at the Scout. "And the
Rod," he prompted, anger in his voice.
Glancing quickly around, Sailor Moon took a deep breath. "The
Galactic Rod." Taking a deep breath, she drew the long Rod out of
null-space and looked at it. Decorated with hearts, moons, and stars,
it was beautiful in the dawn's pale light. The sun accentuated the
gold of the moon, the silver of the stars, the pink of the hearts, and
the white marble of the Rod itself. Letting her breath out slowly, she
held it out to the man. "Artifacts for a life," she breathed, heart
beating faster than humanly possible.
As Violence reached forward to claim his prize, Doubt placed the
barely conscious child Sailor Moon's arms. "You won't regret this,"
came the soft comment from the female Raider. "I know that all seems
lost right now, but everything will work out perfectly fine in the
end."
"That it will," responded Sailor Moon.
"Phoenix Heat...Flashing!"
A stream of steam and liquid fire flew forth and fixed itself
around Violence's fist, forcing him to drop the Rod. It dropped to the
ground and cracked into two pieces, multi-colored stardust flying into
the air.
Nearly dropping Celeste, Sailor Moon dropped to her knees before
the Rod. Mistress Venus and Sailor Polaris jumped down from the roof
of a nearby warehouse, landing on either side of the Scout. "The
Galactic Rod..." whispered the pink-haired heroine, her words catching
in the back of her throat.
Taking her daughter from the girl, Venus lowered her blue eyes
toward the Raiders. "What kind of monsters are you?" she asked,
fingers tracing the gash along Celeste's forehead. "She's just a
little girl..."
Doubt bowed a little toward the woman. "I tried to keep him from
hurting her," she breathed softly, a tear tracing down her cheek. "But,
if you hurry, she can live."
Mistress Venus nodded and jumped high into the air, leaving
Polaris and Moon alone with the two Raiders.
Nursing his wound, the male Raider wrinkled his nose. "You will
not live to see tomorrow, you Sailor Brats."
"You're the ones who shouldn't live," shot Sailor Moon, still
stooped over the broken Rod. "You are a beast. Not human." With a wave
of her hand, the Imperium Silver Crystal and the chain fell around her
neck and hung limply to her chest. "And you will die."
Promptly blinking out of existence, Doubt left Violence alone to
fight.
Four more Sailor Scouts and two Mistresses--one in gold and one
in aqua--jumped down from the rooftop, their eyes lowered toward the
man. "You're toast," put in Uranus, breaking the silence.
"Ahh, so it's finally time for a showdown?" inquired the Raider,
drawing his sword. Slowly, he brought it to rest near Sailor Moon's
neck. "You move, and she dies."
Picking up her head, the young woman took one part of the Rod in
each of her hands and stared directly into the man's red eyes. "You've
done quite a few low things, Violence," she told him in a shaky tone.
"And I am no longer prepared to deal with it."
She rose slowly, the sword falling to point at her chest and
staying there as she continued to speak. "Agent for love and justice,
I am a pretty Sailor-suited heroine, Sailor Moon. On behalf of the
Moon, I will punish you."
A pure white light burst from the crystal around her neck and
somehow wrapped itself around the Galactic Rod. Slowly, Sailor Moon
drew the two halves of the Rod toward one another until they touched.
Suddenly, and without mortal means, the light flared up and encased
everyone in it.
When the light died down, Sailor Moon was no longer her Scout
stuff but she was Princess Serenity. A perfectly golden crescent moon
was upon her forehead as she stood, clad in her gold-trimmed silver
Princess gown. Slowly opening her red eyes, she looked down at the
weapon in her hands.
The Rod was once again one.
"DIE!" screamed Violence suddenly, his sword suddenly glowing.
"DIE!"
A beam of red light erupted from the sword and flew toward the
Princess' chest.
"Neptune POWER!"
"Uranus POWER!"
The beam disappeared, and all eyes turned to the two adult women
who stood proudly on either side of the line of Scouts. "You have done
things," said Neptune, "that defy description." She smiled a bit. "And
no longer will you be able to do such a thing."
"Have a fun time in Hell," winked Uranus. "Princess, I believe
that it's your turn."
Raising the Rod above her head, the young woman closed her eyes.
"Everyone, lend me your powers," she begged, voice hardly above a
whisper. "Please..."
"Earth Power..." A beam of light green light flew toward the
Princess.
"Polaris Power..." Golden light fused with green.
"Phoenix Power..." Crimson light joined the mix.
"Aurora Borealis Power..." Added was lavender light.
"Comet Power..." The last beam, silver in color, united with the
other four and flew into the Galactic Rod.
Red eyes flew open. "Galactic Shower!"
And, when the colorful motley of dust faded away, Violence was
no more.
* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Ugh..." Making a face, Celeste spooned more macaroni and cheese
into her mouth. "I don't know what happened, but I'm really glad that
it's over."
Five of the six Galactic Sailors sat around the little girl's
hospital bed, Mina overseeing the entire goings on. Her prognosis had
been rather simple--a mild concussion, twenty-eight stitches for her
cut, and bed rest for severe fatigue and dehydration--but the visitors
to the girl had never before been so relieved and happy.
Phoebe winked. "Well, I'm sure that my mother took great care of
you, kiddo." Standing slowly, she grabbed Haley by the wrist. "But we
have a really big Music Theory project due the day we get back to
school and haven't yet started it."
"So?" inquired Haley, sarcasm in her voice. "I don't want to
study Brahams any more that I want a hole in my head!" She made a
gagging gesture.
The blue haired teen proceeded to drag her friend out of the
room. "And if you flunk the class," she reminded the other music
student, "Michelle will be sure to give you one!"
As they left, Tara rose. "Much in the same manner, I have to
return to the temple." She cast a cold glare at Alice. "I'm going to
practice fire reading."
The auburn haired girl shrugged and hopped to her feet. "Got to
go put in my time at the restaurant," she sighed, hanging her head. "I
hate waitressing."
Once the room was empty, Celeste looked nervously at her mother
and eldest sister. They were being oddly silent, staring at one
another but not saying anything.
"Come on!" she whined, pouting. "What's crawled into your
respective pants and died?" Leaning back in her bed, the little girl
sighed. "Mom, say what you need to say to Lyra. Lyra, do the same."
She winked a lively green eye. "Don't think that I'm clueless."
Clearing her throat, Mina smiled sadly and glanced out the
window. "I'm sorry, Lyra," she breathed, hardly audible.
"As am I," responded the teen, a delighted smile crossing her
face. "Does that mean you're not mad?"
"I'm not mad," replied her mother solemnly. "But I still don't
like that boy very much."
* * * * * * * * * * * *

Galactic Sailor... error 552 The RAIDERS Say!

Doubt: (appearing) Evil is a fun pastime.

(Clips of the Raiders doing evil things, take your pick which)

Greed: (appearing) But being evil doesn't always pay off.

(Clip of Doubt cradling the injured Celeste.)

Doubt: (confused) Hey, you're dead!

Greed: (defensively) This is a Sailor Says, Doubt. Anything you want
can happen in a Sailor Says.

(Sixty-five monkeys appear and form a kick-line across the stage that
the Raiders are standing on)

Greed: (loudly, so not to be drowned out by the Can Can) SEE?

(Doubt snaps her fingers and the monkeys fade into nothingness)

Doubt: (rolling her eyes) You haven't changed a bit after four stories
of being dead.

Greed: (winking) It's a gift!

Illness: (appearing) Evil is fun.

(Clip of him blowing up a large building)

Illness: It can make you money.

(Clip of him bathing in a bathtub full of money)

Illness: And it can make you happy!

(Clip of him surrounded by scantly-clothed women while sipping a large
glass of champagne.)

Greed: (curiously) Isn't Sailor Says supposed to be moralistic and
stuff like that?

(The other two glare daggers at her, and she blinks out of existence,
a frame of a super-deformed Greed sticking out her tongue directly
following her departure.)

Doubt + Illness: So, the Raiders say...

Illness: Evil is cool...

(A super-deformed Greed runs on stage, carrying a big 'Go Sailor
Scouts' sign above her head. The brown-robed Raider takes one look at
her and chases her off-stage.)

Doubt: (faking a smile) Well, see ya!

--The End--

-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)

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

If you're actually reading this, then I'm adding the following plug:

Read "Tis the Season"! It's under the name Andrea Readwolf and was
written by me (Kate) and Andrea! We want you to read it! We will hunt
you down!

::clears throat:: Story 10 will be next. I think you'll like it.

Till then, we remain:

Kate and Christina, heroines, writers, and shop-a-holics!