Episode numero four is next up. I hope you enjoy it.

Um, I don't own the Sailor Senshi and I do not wish to be sued. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, as does the rest of the Scouts. I, however, own the Caretakers and Prince Neptune because, as I said before, I am him, so don't even try to say that you own me.

Episode 4:

Never Forget You're Never Alone...

Usagi was walking to school by a scenic route that took her the longest time to get there. She really didn't want to go to school, today. She had a test in some subject or another, she really couldn't remember which, but she knew she really didn't want to take it. She looked up from her brooding long enough to see where she was in relation to the school. She estimated that she had about ten minutes to go until she got there. She also noticed that she was at the graveyard. A slight chill passed over her. She remembered this place well. She had confronted a minion of the Negaverse here, a long time ago. She remembered how Melvin had helped during that fight. He was so gallant and foolish, that he won the heart of a close friend of hers, Molly.

She felt a chill again, but this time it was just for the fact that she was standing in front of a graveyard, and that was just plain creepy. She was about to quicken her step and get to school when she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She wondered who could want to be in a graveyard, of all places, especially when it was a particularly creepy graveyard. She decided to go in and see who was there. She heard voices up ahead. She snuck behind tombstones and got closer to the noises. Eventually, she got to the only tree in the graveyard and she was able to make out the voices clearly. It was Jeff and Michiru. She peeked around the trunk of the tree and she saw that each was dressed in their school clothes and each held a bouquet of flowers and a musical instrument. They laid the flowers down gently and said a few words, seemingly to no one in particular and picked up their instruments, Michiru had a violin and Jeff had a guitar.

They started to play. The notes weren't fast or happy, as one would expect in such a place, but they did seem to mean something. They sounded so sad. As the notes soared and fell, she thought that nothing could sound so mournful, but then Jeff and Michiru started to sing. They didn't sing words. Their song became part of the music, just as grieving as the instruments, and Usagi closed her eyes, and let herself be lost in the music. Images flashed in her head of people she knew, long dead, and how she felt when they left. Her great-grandmother, an uncle, a cousin. Tears welled in her eyes and the music willed her to cry.

Abruptly, the music stopped. For a moment, she was very confused and she opened her eyes. Floating directly in front of her, not two inches from her face, was the Ruby that shared memories and thoughts with Jeff and it looked annoyed. She wasn't sure how, but the gem displayed emotion in a way that was more definitive than any human being she had even seen. A sudden thought occurred to her and she looked up to see if she was right. Sure enough, Michiru and Jeff were standing there and they looked pissed. Under their gaze, she felt as if she had done something terribly wrong and she wanted to go back to when she decided to follow them and change her own mind.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Michiru. Usagi didn't know it, but she had invaded a private, personal moment. That song was to be played only for a specific audience, not for any outsiders.

"I, uh, was just walking by and I saw you guys walking in here and I wondered why someone would be in a graveyard. Um, if you don't mind me asking..."

"And we probably will." interrupted Jeff. Usagi continued as if no one had spoken.

"...uh, where did you learn to play like that? It sounded so sad and beautiful that I wanted to cry."

Michiru smiled as if remembering something long past and gone, but no mirth reached her eyes.

"One of the things Mom and Dad taught us was a good appreciation for the arts."

Usagi was confused for a second, and then she realized who they were singing for.

"Oh, so you must have been singing for your parents! Oh, I'm, uh, very sorry. You must have loved them very much."

"We did, at that," said Jeff, "but I can guarantee that they loved us more." He looked as if he was going to cry. Besides when he was with Ami, this was the most emotion Usagi had seen him show since they had met him, on Earth, that is, not on the Moon. On the Moon, he was as outgoing and friendly as anyone else, but on Earth, he was cold and distant to everyone, except the Scouts, of course.

For a while, no one spoke. No one wanted to break the silence. Eventually, Usagi found the courage to speak.

"Well, we'd better get to class. We're going to be late."

Michiru and Jeff snapped out of their reverie and glanced at of their watches. They both gave a start and hurried to get to school.

"If there's one thing Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted us to do, it would be being late for school!" Michiru joked, but she was no less quick in getting her things and leaving.

"Hey wait for me!" Usagi hurried, but she still wasn't as fast as the twins ahead of her. The thought occurred to her that they seemed as if they were running from something, but that thought was quickly replaced by ones of her mother yelling at her for getting detention for being late, and she rushed to catch up.

* * * * * * * * * * *

After a few loud sniffling noises, the second Caretaker was able to say something.

"That song was so sad!" A few more sniffles, "That one must be our next target; she's so full of emotion."

"Yes, true. She will be a good specimen." The third Caretaker had a little trouble speaking due to the lump in his throat. The song had moved him as well, but he didn't show it. The first Caretaker seemed to have absolutely no trouble with the song at all.

"Get your collector ready and proceed with the mission."

The second took a moment to collect herself, and started pushing buttons to signal the collector to prepare itself.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As it turns out, Usagi was just barely on time for class, which surprised her classmates, her teacher, and herself and the rest of the day went smoothly, as if one thing going right had set the tone for the rest of the day. After school, she was on her way home she ended up have an interesting conversation.

"This 'on-time' thing really works. I should try it more often."

Around the corner, coming from her elementary school, was ChibiUsa. They greeted each other and proceeded to walk the rest of the way home with each other.

"How was your day, ChibiUsa?"

"It was O.K., I guess." Something was wrong. ChibiUsa was almost never this melancholy. Usagi was about to pry and find out the reason when they ran into another friend of theirs, Jeff, who was on his way home.

"Oh, Usagi, ChibiUsa, hello. It's good that I found the both of you together."

"Huh? Why is that?" asked Usagi.

"I have a job to fulfill as Royal Protector," he said, without changing his expression or the tone of his voice. He said it as a mere statement of fact.

"Job?" asked Usagi.

"Yeah, job!" said ChibiUsa, "Just like at home!" She was referring to Crystal Tokyo, obviously, which Usagi understood, but Jeff missed completely. Usagi noticed this and explained it to him.

"She means the future. Crystal Tokyo. We've told you about that, right?" Jeff shook his head 'no'. "Well, a thousand years in the future, I am Neo-Queen Serenity and Mamoru is King Endymion of the Earth." She smiled. "We finally get married and we have ChibiUsa, of course. Everyone else is there, too, Ami, and Makoto, and Minako, and...hey, wait a minute," Usagi realized something, "That means you would be there, too!"

"Huh?" Jeff was at a loss for words, "How the hell did all of this happen?"

"We went through time. I'll tell you about it, later. So, ChibiUsa," Usagi turned her attention on her future daughter, "What is it that you know about Jeff, here?"

"Well," she was hesitant, "He becomes the Head of Security for the Palace. He also told me not to tell you very much, or else the timeline might be upset."

"My future self is a very smart man," remarked Jeff, "And, I don't want to know any more. Anything else might be too much." He turned back to Usagi, "But, I would like to know about what the Senshi have accomplished without me. For example, whatever happened to the Dark Kingdom?"

Usagi happily went into the story of how the Scouts defeated the Dark Kingdom and the various other enemies up until now as the three of them walked home.

* * * * * * * * * * *

In the observation lounge of the Caretaker's ship, the second Caretaker was sipping qaf, a dark brown drink with quite a kick and a strong smell, and she was thinking quietly. 'These humans have such strong emotions. Especially the few that we're studying.' She saw everything as an experiment. She tried to gain knowledge from everything in life. She was wondering about how this next experiment would turn out when she heard over the intercom that she was being paged. Slowly, she went up to the bridge, not really wanting to be there, and assumed her place at the science station.

"Well, have you determined how we will proceed with this one?" The first caretaker went straight to the point.

"Yes, I think that the target emotion in this one will be sorrow." The third one snorted.

"Sorrow?! What a useless emotion. It only seems to be in the way." The second Caretaker wished that her companions could see the use of all emotions, but she thought that thought must be a woman's thing. The other two are hopeless when it comes to this kind of thing.

"Nevertheless," the first said firmly, "we must proceed with the mission. Prepare a collector."

"Aye."

* * * * * * * * * * *

The apartment seemed lonely. It always did when she was thinking of her parents. Sure, she had Jeff and Haruka there to keep her company, and there was a whole aquarium full of fish to talk to in a pinch, but she felt the absence of her parents, as palpable and tangible as the couch she was sitting on. She was torn from her thoughts with a start when the doorbell rang. She looked over to Jeff in the living room. He was practicing with the Trident, going through forms, something he had never done before, obviously. She noticed so many changes in him. Little things, really, like the way he looked at everything. It was a little warmer and friendlier, everyday. Now, she noticed that he was too engrossed in what he was doing to answer the doorbell, so with a sigh, she got up to answer it.

At the door, there was a mailman. He asked her to sign for a package.

"Sure, just let me get a pen."

"I have one. Here you go."

As she took the pen from him, she got the oddest sensation that there was something wrong, but as soon as it came, it was gone again. She signed, thanked him, and shut the door. She turned around to find Jeff standing near by with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, so now you decide to answer it," she said mockingly. He seemed not to notice.

"Um, who was that?"

"No one, just the mailman. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. For a moment there, the Ruby and I thought we felt something odd, and then," he held up his hands in a vague gesture, "Poof. It was gone."

"I think you're cracking up."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he grinned broadly, "I think I'll go back to practicing...I do not need it that badly!! I just work on my form, that's all."

Michiru was startled for a moment before she realized that he was yelling at the Knowledge Ruby. She thought those two fought like brothers. Another change she was going to have to get used to, she realized. Another sigh and she went back to the couch, package forgotten. Idly, she wondered when Haruka was going to be home. She hoped it was soon.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Outside the apartment, the collector shed the uniform he obtained from the mail carrier, currently unconscious under the bushes. He tapped his communicator twice to signal that he had completed the first part of his mission. Now, all he had to do was wait.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"You know, we don't have to go to Rei's. I know this little place..."

It was early afternoon and John was doing his best to convince Makoto that going off to be alone was much better than taking him to get to know her friends.

"Oh, don't be silly. So far, you've met a few of them once and they only know what I tell them about you. I want them to get the stories from you this time."

He didn't want to, but he acquiesced. He still thought that there was nothing worse than getting to know a new girlfriend's friends. You never know when or how you'll run into them later on and the always have ways of making sure that you were treating their friend exactly as they thought that you should. Not that he wasn't going to treat her well, just that having a group of girls pestering you all day was not his idea of good time.

As they entered temple grounds, they heard noises that told tem who was there. They heard Usagi's shriek, Ami's distinct accent, Rei telling Usagi to calm down, as usual, and other noises that indicated everyone else, as well. As they came into view, they all greeted each other and, almost immediately, John was the center of attention of Minako, Rei, Ami, Usagi, and ChibiUsa. Mamoru and Jeff were there, too. Obviously, they had been dragged there in a similar fashion to the way John had been. The two of them were giving him looks like they knew how he was feeling.

John felt as if he were being interrogated. He tried his best to answer most of the questions that he was being bombarded with. Yes, he enjoyed playing in a band. No, he hasn't been in it long. Yes, he thinks Makoto's the best thing in the world. He knew that one was coming. He had been waiting for it. He even practiced his response so that it would satisfy even the most curious of questioners. As he predicted, the questions stopped coming at such a rapid pace after he answered that one and the tone of conversation became more casual.

"...As I was saying," Minako was going on and on about something or other that happened at school the other day. John didn't really care, but he listened just enough to know when to nod and when to smile. Mostly, he only cared about how he was going to get to be alone with Makoto. He detected a pause and he was about to nod when he noticed that the pause was more than just a pause. Minako was swaying slightly and holding her head. He looked around to see the other's reactions. Rei cried out and doubled over in her chair. He saw Jeff holding his head like he had a migraine. Mamoru put a hand to his forehead and groaned. He looked back to Minako just as she collapsed and he was only mildly embarrassed at the thought of how this will complicate his plans with Makoto. He took a closer look at Minako, who had been turned over on her back and he noticed that she looked to be asleep, outwardly peaceful and serene, but upon closer inspection, underneath that peaceful facade she seemed to be having the nightmare of a lifetime.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As she waded through the blackness, she felt no fear or anxiousness. Indeed, she felt no emotions whatsoever, just peaceful and calm. She recognized this place as she approached the only objects in this dark and foreboding place.

Sailor Venus walked past the now familiar row of mirrors standing just as she had left them. Well, almost as she had left them. The plain blue mirror that had shown dueling Sailor Mercurys, was now shattered as black, as if it had been under a great deal of pressure and heat, but only the glass was damaged. Makoto's mirror of vines and leaves was in the same condition. All of the rest of the mirrors held the same scenes as they had before, just a different stages of the battles. One of the combatants in Sailor Mars' mirror was bleeding badly and the other was panting as if she had run ten miles. The mirror showing Tuxedo Kamen vs. Tuxedo Kamen showed them almost exactly as she had left it, neither opponent seemed to be tiring. She had absolutely no desire to check her mirror. There was one other thing about one of the mirrors. Sailor Neptune's mirror had a huge crack straight down the middle and the waves it was made of seemed less violent. Also, there was only one Sailor Neptune in it. She seemed to be crying. She expected, that if she put her ear to it, she would hear her sobbing, but as she tested her theory, she heard something completely different.

A low, maniacal laugh drifted to her ear and it took her a moment to realize that it was coming, not from the mirror, but from the other side of it. She poked her head around the side to see who was back there and she saw a mysterious trio of silhouettes. They were short and had huge heads in comparison to their bodies. They seemed to be studying something they held in their hands. Whatever it was, it had a number of cords coming out from it and as she followed the cords along their paths with her eyes, she saw that there was one cord for each mirror, connecting each mirror to the device in the silhouettes' hands. The laughter cut short and they looked up at her. Even though she couldn't see their eyes, she could feel them upon her and for the first time since the dream began, she felt fear and she was sure that they were going to kill her.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As Minako came to, she saw three feline faces hovering unpleasantly close to hers. She tried to shoo them away, but they didn't move very far. Luna barely gave her room to sit up and she was immediately asking Minako questions about what had just happened.

"Are you alright? How do you feel? More importantly, what did you see?"

"See? Why should have I seen anything?" Minako didn't want anyone to find out that she had been having dreams, but why would Luna ask such a question?

"Don't try to avoid the question," said Jeff, "We know you saw something."

Minako was only able to goggle at him, which everyone else took as confusion, not as horror, as it was meant to be.

"We saw it, too, Minako." said Rei. 'They're not going to think I'm crazy!' thought Minako, 'Ooo, but they're going to hate me for not telling them.' And then another thought occurred to her.

"Wait a minute, you saw it, too? Who did?"

"Jeff, Mamoru, and myself." Rei answered.

"How? I thought they were only dreams."

"I guess they're something more," said Mamoru, "But all I got was a vague impression, like a feeling of something evil."

"Yeah, I got that too, but I think I saw something reflective, like a mirror." said Jeff.

"It was a mirror. There were a whole row of them," said Minako.

"And there was something else." Rei's tone implied that Minako knew exactly what she meant.

"There were three...things...standing behind the mirrors. They were connected to them somehow. I think they mean us harm." There was no other way to put it. It was like trying to describe dread without using any other emotions to compare it to.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Artemis looked worried. He thought that his dear friend might be losing it.

"I thought that you would think I was a big baby for being scared at a nightmare; that you'd think I was insane, or something."

Fortunately, she wasn't looking in John or Jeff's direction because they both started nodding vigorously and they were both silenced by looks from their respective significant others. Makoto went so far as to punch John in the short ribs.

"No, Minako, we'd never think you were insane," Usagi was barely able to keep herself from having a reaction similar to John and Jeff's, "Next time," not that there would likely be a next time for this kind of thing, "Tell us if you think it's important."

"Or tell us anyway, even if it seems insignificant," added Luna, "It might be important." Minako looked up and smiled. She had such good friends. Her smile momentarily turned into a concerned frown when she noticed that Michiru was oddly silent.

"Hey, Michiru, are you all right?"

The aqua haired Sailor turned around to reveal reddened eyes and streaks down her face.

"I was so worried that you had some sort of injury or illness. I even thought that you might have died! I'm so glad you're all right." After this, she promptly burst into tears and everyone exchanges worried looks.

"Uh, sis? Are you O.K.? I mean, you don't seem to be...uh..." Jeff trailed off. He wasn't quite sure about how to sugar coat the fact that Michiru seemed completely out of her mind.

"Michiru, honey, perhaps we should go home and let you lie down." Haruka tried to get Michiru to calm down and when she was quiet enough, Haruka and Jeff guided her down the steps to the car. As Minako watched them go, she was sure that Michiru's odd behavior was somehow linked to her dreams. She wasn't exactly sure how they were linked, but she was going to find out.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Going home, Jeff had to drive. Haruka was doing her best to calm Michiru, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Michiru kept going on about things changing too much and no one staying the way that they should and...

They seemed like the kind of things that a madwoman would say. Haruka and Jeff didn't know what to make of it. Michiru usually seemed a little depressed about something, but she was never this bad. She usually felt a little melancholy about something she had heard that day, or had seen on the news about famine in some country in Europe, or the rise in Global Warming. She was sensitive to that kind of thing, which was weird, but her moodiness usually passed quickly enough to not be of any concern.

During the ride home, she never talked about anything else except how things she knew were slipping away and disappearing.

"First it was Mom and Dad, and now even Jeff is starting to change! I just don't think I can take this any longer."

That one caught both Haruka and Jeff off guard. Yes, Jeff knew he was changing, but that was due to his Moon-self resurfacing after a thousand years of dormancy. He thought that she might even welcome it because she knew him from Neptune, as well. He thought she would like to have someone to talk to about a home that was long gone.

Jeff felt a tug at his waist and he looked down to see the Knowledge Ruby emerging from his pocket. He chided himself for forgetting it was there. It floated up to about eye level and began flashing wildly. To anyone else, it would look like light bouncing off a precious gem, but to Jeff, it was an indication that the Ruby was trying to say something. The Ruby said that it felt...something...odd. It was the same as when the mailman came to the door earlier that morning.

"What's it say?" asked Haruka.

"He says something isn't right, though he can't tell me what it is, exactly."

"Tell it to find out what it is and then we can do something about it."

The Ruby HATED it when it was talked about like it didn't exist, but it had to deal with it because it couldn't exactly tell Haruka just what it thought of her due to lack of psionic ability on her part. It just floated away, sulking.

"You hurt his feelings."

"I'll apologize later. Right now, we have Michiru to worry about."

They turned to their loved one, intending to soothe her, but at that moment, she screamed loud enough to make Haruka and Jeff cover their ears and cringe in pain. And then, without warning, they were thrown against the wall and the breath was forced from their lungs. Groggily, Haruka moved her head around to see what had happened. To her left, she saw Jeff slumped against the wall, unconscious. The Ruby was whizzing around his head, obviously worried, but powerless to help. She looked towards where whatever it was that had thrown them should have been and she saw something she didn't expect to see. She thought it was double vision, or maybe the result of consciousness slipping away, but she thought she saw two of her beloved lying on the floor in front of her. And then, there was darkness.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Wow," commented the Second Caretaker, "I've never seen it go so fast before."

"Yes, I know," said the Third, "These humans and their odd emotion make for quite a headache."

"Be still, my friend," warned the First, "This is quite fortunate. We might just be ready for the L'Tari when they arrive."

The mention of their enemy, the ones who drove them to this blue-green rock in space, made the Caretakers' eyes glow with a dangerous light.

The First continued, "Soon, we will have our revenge."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Walking down the hallway of the apartment building, Usagi tried to figure out why Minako was acting so odd. Even if Luna and Artemis ended up deciding that her dreams meant something, she shouldn't be acting this odd.

"So, um, Minako, what exactly are we going to see Michiru for?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I'll know it when I see it."

Usagi sighed. She just had to wait and see, she guessed. She was about to start another, more interesting conversation to help lighten the mood when an explosion rocked the building. Usagi realized that it came from the end of the hallway where Michiru, Jeff and Haruka's apartment was. She was off and running before she knew it and Minako wasn't more than a step behind.

They got to the door and Minako tried to open it. She jerked her hand away from the doorknob as soon as she touched it. It was red hot. Using the sleeve of her shirt to cover her hand, she opened the door carefully. As she opened the door, Usagi and Minako saw why the doorknob was so hot. The entire entryway was blackened with soot, as if a huge fire flashed here for an instant, but none of the walls or furniture was damaged, just dirty. They ran into the room to see if anyone was hurt. As they got to the parlor, they stopped dead in their tracks. Michiru and Michiru were standing up and looking at each other like stray cats. 'Oh no,' thought Usagi, 'It's happened again!'

From behind them, they heard a sinister voice, "What are you two doing here?"

They spun around and saw a perfectly ordinary man standing there as if nothing odd was happening at all.

"You'd better get out of here," warned Usagi, "This is not a safe place to be."

The sneer that bloomed on his face made her recoil in fear.

'He's one of them,' she realized, 'Oh, no! Mamoru, where are you?'

"It's time for the harvest." he pointed to the still figures of the two Michirus. Usagi tried to think, but her mind was too clouded with fear. She looked over to Minako and saw that she, too, was having trouble acting. A groan from the far wall, Haruka or Jeff, she couldn't be sure, jogged her mind and part of her screamed out 'Transform!'

As she lifted the brooch containing the Silver Crystal, the stranger suddenly lashed out and knocked it from her hand. Another quick motion, and he did the same to Minako, who had tried to use her pen to transform herself. The stranger quickly grabbed the front of their shirts and lifted them up until their feet no longer touched the ground. The man's features began to change. They seemed to melt off of his face as he became something else. In a few minutes, he had shed the disguise that the Caretakers had given him. If his breath didn't make Usagi and Minako want to throw up, his face did. It was hideous. It smiled as it pulled them closer, towards its mouth, as if it were hungry. Just as it was about to use those huge, green teeth, a very welcome sound came from behind them.

"Uranus World Shaking!"

"Neptune Trident Attack!"

The creature was thrown back and Usagi and Minako were unceremoniously dumped on the ground. Scrambling for the Crystal, Usagi quickly transformed. Minako got her pen and did the same. They were a little late. They turned around quick enough to see Prince Neptune yank the business end of his Trident from the chest of the monster's limp form. They heard him mutter something that sounded like 'That's what you get for harming my sister,' but they couldn't be sure.

"Hey!" yelled Usagi, "I'm supposed to kill the monster!" Neptune looked surprised.

"Forgive me, Princess, but why is that so important?"

"That's just the way it's always been done, that's all," Usagi pouted.

"Oh, um, sorry."

"I hate to interrupt," interrupted Sailor Uranus, "But I think we have a bigger problem on our hands." She motioned to where Michiru and Michiru sat across from each other. Strangely, they weren't doing anything. All the other time this has happened, the doppelgangers immediately attacked each other. 'Makes sense, though,' thought Usagi, "Michiru is just not a violent person.'

"What am I going to do with you?" One of the Michirus decided to break the silence and address her duplicate.

"Me? What about you?" replied the other, "You wouldn't shut up about changes and your little problems," she invested the words with a good amount of scorn, "You make me sick."

"What was that, you poor excuse for human being?" the first Michiru got to her feet.

"You heard me!" shouted the other Michiru.

'I take it back,' thought Usagi, 'Maybe she is a violent person.'

The twin Michirus transformed themselves into dual Sailor Neptunes and launched themselves at each other. The others in the room became completely absorbed in the 'cat fight', as Jeff put it, in the middle of the room. They were so engrossed, in fact, that they did not notice the monster get up and draw it's energy weapon, given to it by the Caretakers. Apparently, Prince Neptune hadn't hit it in a vital area. It's anatomy was obviously nothing like human anatomy. Bleeding badly, it dragged itself over to where it had a good shot at all six of them, including the dueling Sailor Neptunes.

"Well, I suppose we have to let them figure it out. I'll go get a soda." said Minako. The other wondered how she could think of such a thing at a time like this. They continued to watch as the doppelgangers continued to pummel each other mercilessly. They didn't turn around immediately when she shrieked, but they did shortly thereafter when the creature's shot went wide, it's aim thrown off by Minako's howling.

On the other side of the room, the shot went unnoticed by the twin combatants. They were locked together, rolling around on the carpet, neither one wanting to let go of the other for fear of losing an advantage. At one point, they rolled in such a way that it was the perfect position for one of them to get her feet up under the other and push. One of the Michirus was thrown clear of the other, into the ugly, bleeding mess that was the cause of all this. The monster felt all the air knocked out of it by the force of the blow and it faltered. Usagi saw her chance. She had no idea which Michiru was in the way, but she had to trust that whichever-one-that-was knew what to do when she activated the Silver Crystal.

Sailor Moon held the Crystal high and invoked the words to call on it's power. Nothing happened. Frantically, she tried again and it worked, this time. The other Michiru had thrown herself clear and the monster was consumed by pure, white light.

The Sailor Neptune that had almost been the victim of the Silver Crystal had landed awkwardly on her ankle and fell to the floor. She felt the sorrow she was made to influence as she looked up into a watery halo surrounding her opponent. The halo surged forth, surrounded her, and she was no more.

Usagi and the others went to the remaining Sailor Neptune, but stopped a few feet short.

"Are you wondering if it's really me?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, we are," said Prince Neptune.

"Well, then, test me."

"How?" said Sailor Uranus, "The doppelganger we saw have had the same memories and feelings and the originals." She found it odd that the doppelgangers would display other emotions, but she supposed that it wouldn't be a good disguise if they couldn't.

"Use the Silver Crystal on me. If I'm not who I say I am, the I'll vanish."

Usagi stepped forward hesitantly, "All right, I guess."

"Is everything all right, Princess?" said Prince Neptune.

"Yes, I'm fine. And stop calling me that!"

"Yes, Prin...uh...Sailor Moon."

Usagi held out the Crystal, it's facets glittering pink in the sunlight and activated it. The pure light washed out over Sailor Neptune and nothing happened. Nothing at all.

"You see? I'm the right one." she smiled from ear to ear. Haruka rushed in to wrap her arms around her.

"I'm so glad you're all right," she said.

While Michiru and Haruka were otherwise occupied, Jeff had time to ask Usagi what he thought was an important question.

"Uh, Usagi, why is the Crystal pink? I mean, it wasn't this way when I saw it last, which was a thousand years ago, but it still should look the same."

"I dunno. During a fight with one of the Heartsnatchers, you remember us telling you about them right?" he nodded impatiently, "Well, during the fight, it just changed. Simple as that."

"It changed?"

"Yeah. It just changed. Well, then it was heart-shaped-" Jeff cut her off.

"It was heart-shaped?!"

"Well, it obviously changed again, back to spherical, when we met Pegasus. Then, when we encountered the Mirror Parodies of Queen Nehelenia..."

This line of questioning went on for another few minutes until Michiru cleared her throat to get their attention. When she had it, she made a gesture to the soot covering the entryway, the blast mark on the wall from the creature's weapon, and the greasy stain left by the monster's destruction.

"What are going to do about those?" Everyone just looked at each other as if someone else would volunteer the information. Finally, Michiru let out a huge sigh.

"I guess we've got a lot of cleaning to do."

* * * * * * * * * * *

High above the Earth, the Caretaker observed what had become of their latest attempt.

"At least we wrecked their apartment." The Third tried to see the best of the situation. It wasn't doing any good. He was boiling inside from the defeat, but he was trying to calm down, after all, too much anger isn't good for your blood pressure.

"I suggest a change in tactics for next time. A two pronged attack." Forever the scientist, the Second tried to learn from her mistakes.

"Indeed." The First was stoic. He didn't say much, anyway, but this must have really gotten to him. He must find a way to deal with those Senshi once and for all.