*Four*

            Andre sat silently, watching the others talk amongst themselves. They seemed liked strangers to him, but yet they were still so familiar. He had known them all before, when they lived on the Silver Millennium. But now, they had changed. They weren't the same people, though they might still retain the same memories. They all had new lives, lives that they had been familiar with for the past decade and more. He knew that he would never be able to comprehend the tight and unspoken relationship that the five girls shared, it had existed on the Silver Millennium and it was still evident now. He sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. For a good part of eternity, he had been locked up. It felt so strange to finally be in contact with people again. Now, he felt so lost. Inside his prison, he had known what he wanted: to get out, but now that he had achieved that end; he no longer knew what the next step was. Somehow, he felt so hopeless, so alone. With every step accomplished, it felt as if Destiny just shot another obstacle at him.

            "Is something wrong, Andre?" the familiar voice of Princess Serenity penetrated his thoughts. He shook his head, letting his eyes focus on her face.

            "No, I'm just tired." He replied with a small smile, "It's rather overwhelming to finally be out of my prison."

            "Yeah…" Serena nodded slowly, "It must have been horrible."

            Andre shrugged, "I suppose I got used to it after a while." He sighed, "After the first few decades, you just stop counting the time and only concentrate on your goal."

            Serena watched him with concerned and sympathetic eyes, "I'm sorry, Andre." She finally said, "It must have been torture to be alone for so long."

            "It doesn't matter." Was his reply as he looked towards her, "I'm just glad that I finally got out." He watched her for a moment and then chuckled, "It's strange…" he finally said, "to meet you again in your resurrected form."

            Serena raised an eyebrow, "I know that I'm not the same Princess Serenity that you used to know, but I can't be all that different."

            Andre shrugged, "It's not so much your attitude, it just feels so weird seeing you in this world. Here, you're just a teenager, going to school, doing homework, enjoying shopping… on the Silver Millennium, you were a princess, dignified and confined by a dozen responsibilities. It's hard to say whether you were happier then, or now."

            Serena shrugged, "I don't think I can compare my life here to my life there." She finally said, "They are two very different worlds with two very different responsibilities. Neither of them are blissfully easy to lead, but both have their good times and their bad times."

            Andre chuckled, watching her with sparkling eyes, "That must be Princess Serenity talking right there." He sighed, looking her over, "It's hard for me to get used to the fact that you're so much younger now…"

            Serena quirked an eyebrow, "How old was I before?"

            "Eighteen." He replied, "You had just passed your coming of age birthday, I remember it well."

            Serena stared off at the carpet as she drew up forgotten memories. "Yeah…" She finally said, "I do too." She closed her eyes, stopping the tears from coming.

            Andre watched her for a few minutes before speaking; "I'd not thought that the memories of that birthday would be painful for you, Princess. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

            "No." She replied, forcing a smile, "It's all right. The memories that it brings are not painful, Andre, they might be the happiest memories that I've had of the Silver Millennium." She sighed, "I guess I almost long to have what I had back then."

            Before Andre could inquire more, they were interrupted by the others.

            "You guys, shouldn't we start formulating a plan of some sort?" Mina asked, looking towards them.

            "Yeah." Serena sighed, turning in her seat to face the others. "First, we have to figure out how to incorporate these new developments into our original plan." She looked towards Diamond, Sapphire and Nephlite. "Are you willing to help us?"

            "Of course!" Diamond spoke for all of them; his voice was filled with a determination that Serena had never heard before.

            "Then the question is, can you help us? Do you still have your powers?" Ami asked, now slightly concerned.

            The three looked to each other, a troubled look coming over their eyes, "We don't know." Sapphire finally said, "But if Azure resurrected the others with full abilities, then we should assume that we too have our powers."

            Serena nodded, "We can't be sure until you actually try." She finally said, "And right now, I'm not sure we should let Azure know that you're helping us. The more surprises we can pull on her, the better."

            Mina nodded, "Yeah." She agreed, "I have a bad feeling that we're in for a long ride."

            Rei sighed, curling her legs under her as she sat cross-legged on the floor, "Don't you think someone should tell Darien about all this…"

            There was a silence as everyone looked over at Serena, the five new visitors with a look of expectation, the four Sailor Scouts with looks of sympathy and question.

            "Yeah." Serena finally replied, "I'll tell him about it when I go to pick up Rini tonight."

            There was a continued silence as if the others were waiting for something more. Finally it was broken by a quiet cough. The others looked away then.

            "Anyway," Lita broke the silence as she tried to find a new topic for conversation, "Um." She turned towards Violet, "How do you fit into all this?"

            Violet let a small grin cross her face. She was leaning silently against the wall. Since their arrival, Violet had not spoken once. "I'm not sure that I do fit into this."

            Mina cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Why were you in that prison?"

            Violet shrugged, "I was thrown in there about a century and a half ago… I don't really care to remember how or why."

            Something about her tone told the others not to ask any further. Though Violet appeared to be a gentle, kind young girl, her voice held a dangerous and pained tone. It was as if she had seen horrors and dangers that had given her wisdom and spite far beyond her years.

            "Everyone here is here for a reason," Andre finally said, rising from his seat, "Fate has brought us together, though She has not explained why. Each of our destinies will unfold before us, but only time can tell what they will be. Let's just leave it at that."

            The others nodded in agreement, each with a sinking determination already lodged into their hearts.

*          *          *

            Darien watched absently as Rini played at the toys spread all over his apartment floor. He walked out onto the balcony, leaving the little girl to play. The weather was beginning to cool down a little, but the air was still crisply warm. It was a great day for taking a walk, he decided. His thoughts wandered inevitably to Emmy. He sighed, happily. Why hadn't he seen before just how perfect she was? He shook his head in annoyance as he heard someone knocking at his door. He walked back into the apartment. When he opened the door, Serena was standing there.

            "I'm here to pick Rini up." She said quietly, watching him.

            "Oh, right." Darien replied, not even giving her a glance, "Come on Rini, Serena's here to pick you up."

            "Serena!" Rini ran towards the woman. Serena watched the girl with surprise, Rini had never been this enthusiastic about leaving Darien.

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "So how was it?"

"Hmm?" He asked, obviously not listening, "Oh, the afternoon was fun." He replied shortly.

Serena watched him with worried eyes; it wasn't like him to be this absentminded. Finally she shrugged, sighing inwardly, somehow, she felt as if she really didn't know him anymore. "There have been some… developments, Darien." She finally said, her voice soft. "Azure might be planning to make a move soon, do you think you could find some time and come to one of the meetings, we need to talk over what our plan is."

"I guess." He replied with a shrug, "just give me a call about what day it's going to on."

            "All right." She said, relieved that he had agreed, "I'll see you then."

            "Right, see ya." He said closing the door as she and Rini turned to leave. He discarded his sports jacket on the couch and walked back to the balcony, having already forgotten the conversation he just had. His thoughts were still, and would always remain, on Emmy.

*          *          *

            Rini skipped alongside Serena as they headed home. Every so often she would bend down to collect some leaves, humming all the while. Serena watched her, keeping attention to make sure the girl didn't wander too closely to the road.

            "Did you have fun at Darien's today?" She asked, stopping to pick up a particularly beautiful red leaf.

            "Yeah, I guess." Rini replied, "It was really fun in the morning. Me and Darien went to the river and played a bit and he pushed me on the swings, I went so high!" She squealed with delight as she remembered, "But then…" Her voice turned disappointed, "We ran into Emmy. After that, he acted like I didn't even exist. It was really boring, I couldn't understand what they were talking about…"

            "I'm sorry, Rini." Serena said, puzzled as she listened to the story. It wasn't like Darien to forget about Rini. The two seemed to be linked by an unbreakable bond. But then again… Serena had thought that she and Darien were also linked by an unbreakable bond, and that had been proved wrong quite quickly. She sighed, shaking her head. Why was she thinking about him so much? She missed him, and every day, she thought about him at least once. It was as if he had lodged himself into her memory, and he wouldn't go away. She sighed, shaking her head, wishing that things weren't so complicated.

*          *          *

            "Hematite," Her voice was soft and gentle, "It won't be long, just be patient for a little longer."

            "I know, love." Came his quiet reply. He reached out a hand and gently brushed her cheek, "But I don't want to wait anymore."

            She sighed, leaning into the caress. Placing her small hand over his, she met his eyes with her own silvery gray ones. Gently, he planted a kiss on her forehead. "Celestite." He breathed her name.

            "I need to go back, Hematite." She replied, reluctantly, "If Serpentite finds me here…"

            "Let him find us, I don't fear him." His reply was bold.

            "Fear is not the issue, love." She replied, "We are the ShadowCrystals, we have a duty, a charge."

            He sighed repeating the mission with a dull drab voice, "The Chosen must not bend, they must not stray, they must not feel emotions, for that is for the weak. The Chosen are bound together by Fate and Destiny, they must defend their charge with their life, or lose it in disobedience."

            "Only a little longer, Hematite, only a little longer." She kissed him gently on the cheek before turning to leave. She melted into the darkness, disappearing like a true ShadowCrystal.

*          *          *

            Serpentite sipped slowly at the crimson red wine in his goblet. He shifted his position slightly, leaning back comfortably in his chair. His flowing back cape trailed to the floor, he rested his chin thoughtfully on one hand as he held the goblet in the other. Swallowing slowly, his fiery golden eyes flickered about his palace. An unseen servant dropped something silently on the table next to him. He didn't say anything, and didn't even bother to look at the object. His eyes stayed intent on the wine in his cup. Absently, he fingered the object with his free hand, twirling it this way and that with expertise. It was a small, round, marble-like stone. It was completely smooth, having been worn from eons of existence. Rolling it expertly between his two fingers, Serpentite closed his eyes, letting the power begin to flow. The stone began to grow, turning a translucent filmy blue color. When it had reached the size of his open palm, it stopped growing and just sat on his hand. His golden-red eyes seemed to penetrate the cool, misty, blue of the stone, as if he could see something in it. Like this, he stayed for a few minutes, staring into the depths of the stone. Finally he looked away, blinking a few times. The stone began to shrink, returning to its original size. Slipping it into his pocket, he sat back, a content smile on his face.

*          *          *

            The afternoon breeze was cool as it flitted through the air, brushing the autumn leaves, making them flutter and float to the ground. At the Cherry Hill Temple, a small group of young people were all gathered together. There were the five Sailor Scouts, all sitting, some sprawled, over the steps of the temple. Andre stood, leaning against one of the large pillars that upheld the structure. The three former Negaverse workers stood off at the other pillar, leaning casually or sitting in front of the temple entrance. Violet was present as well, she seemed to always be there, no matter what happened. Though she seemed not to be directly linked to the others gathered there, she was still connected to a larger picture, one that they couldn't quite figure out yet. Rei looked impatiently at her watch, rolling her eyes.

            "Where is he?" She muttered under her breath, but just loud enough for everyone else to hear.

            "He'll be here." Serena replied, "He said he'd be here."

            "Are you sure?" Ami asked, "Did you call him?"

            "Yes." Serena replied, annoyed, "I told Darien that we'd be having a meeting here, he said that he'd come."

            "It's been almost a half an hour! I don't think he's going to show." Lita said, "It's not like him to be tardy like this."

            "Maybe he's stuck in traffic or something…"

            "On a weekday? In the middle of the afternoon? There is no traffic during this time, Serena." Mina replied, "We'll just have to start the meeting without him."

            Serena sighed in resignation, finally nodding her head. "I guess you're right…"

*          *          *

            A perfect day for a picnic… Emmy nibbled slowly on her tuna fish sandwich, watching as Darien sat across from her on the blanket. She smiled, stopping for a moment to take a sip from her drink.

            "Thank you for agreeing to come out here with me on such short notice. I hope that I didn't make you cancel any prior plans." She said, her voice warm.

            "It was no problem, Emmy." He replied, popping a grape into his mouth, "Nothing can be more important than being with you…"

*          *          *

            Azure watched contently at the scene in the park. So… the potion was beginning to work… She snickered, wiping the crystal ball clear. She set the ball on the table next throne, seating herself elegantly. First, Darien would start missing small things, meetings and whatnot, but soon the potion would take over completely, and he would be under her control. She was surprised at how easily she had been able to turn him. Even before she started to use the potion, Darien had strayed from Serena. From that first day that he bumped into Emmy, he had had doubts. Azure frowned; she had not started using her own manipulations until after the incidents in the mountains, yet even before then, Darien had dumped Serena for a new woman… But then again, love never did last, with interference, or without. She laughed; speaking aloud, though no one was there to listen to her.

            "Now, my dearest cousin, the fun shall begin."

*          *          *

            In the depths of the Azure's palace, a dark shadow flitted first to one side of the chamber, then to the other. It seemed to melt into the walls and the floors, never coming close enough to the light to reveal itself. Like this, the shadow stayed, it's glowing eyes intent on the unknowing Queen of the Negaverse. Azure was ignorant of the shadow. She didn't know on how many conversations it had eavesdropped, nor did she know what it was planning for her. The eyes were unwavering as they continued their watchful silence, never straying from the Queen's figure. With every breath, the shadow seemed to melt further back, practically part of the wall. It never stirred, nor did it ever make any sound. Only when the Queen finally spoke, did the shadow respond.

            "Now, my dearest cousin, the fun shall begin." She was saying. She was so confident of herself.

            The shadow grinned to itself. The voice that came from it was no more than a small whisper, but it carried a tone of threat. "Yes, my Queen, it certainly shall…"