A Secret No More

by BenRG

The Senshi have kept their true identities secret for a long time, but no secret is forever. My first Sailor Moon story, R&R please

4. Raye Hino - Sailor Mars

Sailor Moon

A Secret No More by BenRG

Legal Disclaimer

Sailor Moon, and all the characters and events therein were created by Naoko Takeuchi. Several companies, none of whom have any connection to me, own the property. I don't own anything much. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the worldwide web. Any attempt to sue me will merely lead to a clear definition of the word 'penniless.'

Author's Notes

OK – This is going to get Kaz mad at me, but I know what I want.

I have read a lot of Sailor Moon fanfics and suddenly this idea jumped into my head. Work with me here, as I don't know much about the story's continuity or the various characters, I'm playing it by ear based on other authors' works. I'll also be adding some of my own concepts that will violate what I know is established continuity. Don't worry, I know the details are wrong, but I need to add my own 'feel' to the story.

Glen Farthinggale is the creation of 'Sailor Mac,' a fellow fanfiction author. I have tried to contact her to get her permission to use her creation but, unfortunately, the email address on her web page no longer exists. Sailor Mac, if you read this and object to me using your character, please email me and I'll try and work something out.

I am using the names 'Alex' for Haruka and 'Heather' for Hotaru because I like them better. Mark Berger originally used these names for these characters in his stories 'The Wedding' and 'Married Life.'

I'm using the dub names because I'm not sure of the 'real' names, and I don't know enough Japanese names to name all the secondary characters. Nonetheless, with the exception of Glen, Richard and Mina, all the main characters are ethnic Japanese living in Tokyo.

Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages, The Senshi: Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are all 16; Raye is 19; Heather is 16; Alex and Michelle are 22; Trista is at least 25,000 years old, but doesn't look a day over 25

Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in Italics are thoughts;

Chapter 4 – Raye Hino – Sailor Mars

Raye Hino awoke, as she had done for the six months of her life, with a comforting warm presence wrapped around her. She took a moment between the oblivion of sleep and the activity of wakening to simply relax and enjoy the presence of Chad Cullen, her fiancée. Her grandfather had insisted that the two start sharing a bedroom the moment that they announced their engagement. For all he was a traditionalist, he had a very liberal attitude towards such things. His exact words were: "Raye, at least this way you two will know whether you can stand each other's company before you get married."

The warmth and security she felt was something that was new and welcome in her life. Oh, Grandpa had always been a kind and loving guardian, but until she had met Chad, Raye had never, ever truly felt as if she… belonged, even amongst her sister Senshi. Then had come the moment when she had suddenly realised that Darien and Jadeite were just teenage infatuations and that the only man who had captured her heart was the one who had spent every day at her side for two years.

Raye leaned back against Chad's chest, luxuriating in his warm embrace. Then she felt his warm breath tickle her ear as he chuckled. "Are you enjoying yourself, love?" he asked quietly. Raye blushed, glad that he couldn't see his face. She hadn't realised that he was awake too.

"I always enjoy these moments," she said quietly, covering Chad's hands with her own. "You make me feel… easier, Chad." Chad chuckled again. Raye smiled and closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment. Then she heard familiar shuffling footsteps outside in the Shrine's residential wing. Her grandfather and guardian, Ookido Hino, was awake. This meant that she had better be up and around in five minutes or less if she wanted to avoid his knowing looks, his gentle, reproving smile and his gruff scolding.

With a deep sigh, Raye extracted herself from Chad's arms and tried to focus her mind on what awaited her this fine spring day in the Juubian district of Tokyo.

***

Since graduating high school last year (she was three years older than the other four Inner Senshi), Raye had been thinking carefully about what she wanted to be in the future. What she would be in the far future was already ordained, of course. She would be the Queen of Mars and one of the inner court of the rulers of the Crystal Kingdom. However, no one knew how long it would be until that time came (except probably Trista and she wasn't talking). So Raye had to think about what she would be in the immediate future.

In her youth, Raye had dreamed of being an actress and a singer. However, although she could sing fairly well, those early teen fantasies had slowly fallen by the wayside. What Raye liked in her life (except charbroiling NegaGoons) was helping people solve their problems as her grandfather's assistant at the shrine. So she had devoted herself to her studies and the necessary rituals required in order to attain to her own priesthood in the Shinto faith. She had also started in college, majoring in psychology with music as her minor subject. If she was going to be dishing out advice as a career, she might as well be good at it. As for music… well, that would always be a great love of hers, something that Grandpa insisted that she had inherited from her mother, his late daughter-in-law.

Raye's classes were, by pure chance, all on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday with some on Friday afternoon. Because of that, she could spend the rest of the time at the Shrine, pursuing her other goal and assisting her grandfather in his duties.

As it was a weekday, things were quiet at the Cherry Blossom Hill Shrine. There was the occasional person who wanted a specific service from the Shrine, perhaps a charm for luck in a certain endeavour or a blessing against a run of ill fortune. There was also the usual flock of older people, filling the empty autumn of their lives with supererogatory worship. Grandpa found Raye's services particularly useful with this latter group, as a number of the older women were interested in the still-sprightly septuagenarian widower. So Raye was a useful 'lady filter' sorting out genuine supplicants from those who just wanted to press their case for an alliance. Of course, they all thought that the raven-haired young woman was 'pretty,' and 'cute' and immediately metamorphosed into clucking hens when they saw Raye's engagement ring.

However, Raye managed to find plenty of time to think about her own concerns. Foremost were the events of the great battle at the Little League Stadium yesterday. Although any battle of the forces of the Negaverse was, by definition, dangerous, the presence of Serena's evil brother, Wolfspite turned it into a fierce struggle. Raye was convinced that she would have nightmares about the giant baseball spitting team mascot that Wolfspite conjured up for months, if not years. Once again, the creature had a margin of resistance against their powers, its' padded furry body absorbing the impact energy of attack after attack. Normally, Raye could have incinerated the monster. Unfortunately, the material the animated costume was made from was fire retardant. Finally, Amy had come up with a brainwave and froze it rigid with a wide-area freeze attack called 'Mercury Glaciation Beam.' It was then a simple task for Serena to shatter the nightmare with a well-aimed Moon Sceptre attack.

What had stopped any of the nine Senshi and Tuxedo Mask from being seriously injured was the presence of Glen Farthinggale… no, Raye supposed that she should think of him as 'Venus Knight' now. Wolfspite clearly hadn't expected to face his specific powers, and the young Englishman was able to keep the giant mascot-youma busy with energy blasts from his magical sword until Amy had her big idea. Glen had his moment of glory, and this morning's papers (Chad had bought her one whilst out on his morning errands) were full of the exploits of the eleventh member of Tokyo's own super-team.

Mina had been absurdly proud of her fiancée (and that revelation caught everyone by surprise). Not that Raye had disapproved, you understand. You only had to look at the way Mina and Glen held onto each other whenever they were together and then at how Sailor Venus and Venus Knight fought side-by-side, to be sure that they were meant to be.

Here was the fact that had really caught Raye's attention and held it. Trista had confirmed that Glen was the inheritor of the Star Seed of the Venus Knight at the time of the fall of the Silver Millennium. According to the Champion of Time, Mina and Glen were 'eternal lovers' much like Serena and Darien in most respects. Amy had already confided in Raye that she suspected that Greg was her special eternal partner because of his growing list of psychic abilities and the way the two of them simply felt right together. Now Raye wondered if she, too, had someone out there waiting for her. Her very own 'Mars Knight,' perhaps…? Two years ago, a lonely Raye Hino would have been off to find him right away. Now, however, she had Chad, and even thinking about the possibility made Raye feel incredibly guilty and unfaithful.

"Hey, beautiful," said a familiar voice as an arm curled around Raye's waist. Only the intense mental and emotional disciplines of Senshi training prevented Raye from converting her surprise at being interrupted in her introspection into a karate throw.

"Oh! Chad!" Raye turned around and smiled at him, quickly shoving her thoughts off into a small box at the back of her mind. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, just being there is fine by me," Chad said with his usual gentle grin, tightening his hug a little.

"Chad!" Raye added, going slightly red in embarrassment. She patted his linked hands in an attempt to make him release her. "Come on, love, I'm 'on duty.'"

Chad laughed and stepped back, bowing slightly in acknowledgement that this wasn't the time or place to play at being lovers. "I thought you'd like to know that I've swept away the dust and leaves out of the courtyard, checked all the electrical equipment for faults, cleaned out the pond and fed the Koi," he told Raye. Chad turned and waved over his shoulder as he walked off. "So, I think I've got an afternoon off."

Raye lunged forward and caught Chad's arm, trying to hold onto her temper. "Oh no you don't," Raye snapped, waving her forefinger under her fiancée's nose in reproof. "I'm on duty until three o'clock, so you can stand around and take the heat with me. Try sorting our stockpiled charms into alphabetical order or something."

Chad shook his head. "It never pays to be a fast worker," he said mournfully.

Raye shrugged and grinned gamely. "Hey, if I didn't find you work to do, you know that Grandpa would!" Raye turned back to her consideration of the shrine for a moment before she realised that Chad hadn't departed on his errand yet. "Seriously, is there anything that you want, Chad?" she asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Chad looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess I was thinking about that new guy who helped you and the others out yesterday," he said gently. "Venus Knight, they're all calling him." Chad paused for a long moment. Raye nodded, encouraging him to continue. "He's Mina's boyfriend Glen, isn't he?"

Raye thought long and hard before replying. As Serena had said to her mother in similar circumstances, that wasn't her secret to reveal. On the other hand, Chad knew the secret identities of all the Inner Senshi. He had also made a fair stab at guessing the identities of the Outer Senshi. He had proven his trustworthiness, in everyone's eyes, again and again. "Yes, Chad," she said. "He's Glen. And he's Mina's fiancée, as of Saturday night."

Chad grinned. "I'm glad," he said. "Mina is usually so lonely. She deserves a break in her personal life." The dark-haired young man sobered again and thought deeply. "So that's two pairings where the man is as special as the girl," he said. "Serena and Darien, and now Mina and Glen. It's strange that out of all the people in the world, they found other people have gifts like their own."

Raye smirked. "I don't think it is a coincidence, Chad. The gods have a tendency to guide matters like this."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," Chad replied. Raye looked at him in surprise. "I… I'm not special like Glen or Darien, Raye," he said, sounding upset and nervous. "I'm just an ordinary guy. Do you still want to go through with this? I mean… you might have someone waiting out there for you who is as special as you are. They would make a much better husband for you than I could ever…"

"Hey!" Raye snapped, cutting Chad off mid-flow. "I don't know what you think about me, mister, but I agreed to marry you because I love you." Raye walked over to Chad and started poking him in the belly to emphasise her words. "I don't love some hypothetical 'Mars Knight,' if there is such a person, but you. Chad Cullen, who helped a very lonely and wounded little girl learn to love and care again."

Chad raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I believe you!" he said urgently. Suddenly he felt the need to hug Raye again. She gladly melted into his arms, wanting to reassure him and be reassured herself. "Just… don't give up any chances for me, Raye," he whispered into her long, black hair. "If Mister Right comes along, don't pause, don't think, just run me over on your way to the door."

"I've already met Mister Right," Raye said angrily. "I'm holding onto him right now!"

***

Much reassured by his fiancée's fierce insistence that he was her only love, Chad went about his business. Raye, however, suddenly found herself worrying. This wasn't an unusual state of mind for her, and she considered it a survival skill. If it weren't for her worrying, Serena, Lita and Mina would go charging blindly into the attack against every bit of NegaTrash that the Enemy threw at them without considering the consequences. Suddenly she had to grin slightly. Of course, sometimes it was they, and Amy, who had to hold her back. The ol' Hino temper was a legend.

Raye's moment of humour passed. She was genuinely concerned that Chad might be right. When you consider the probability against Serena meeting Darien and Mina meeting Glen, then it became obvious that some force, call it destiny, karma, fate or Sailor Pluto, was deliberately drawing the pairings of the Silver Millennium together again for the Crystal Millennium.

So where did that leave her? She loved Chad, of that she had no doubt. However, she was also a being of honour and she was defined by her oath as a Senshi to live and die in Serena's service. What if that meant that she had to leave Chad to accept the love of another man… a 'Mars Knight' for the future good of the entire Crystal Kingdom?

Raye shook her head. No, she told herself firmly. I would never do that to Chad. Never! And Serena would never ask it of me anyway… Then, unbidden, memories of 'Jed' came to her mind: The blond-haired, quiet-spoken assistant at the shrine when she first learnt that she was Sailor Mars. In reality, he was Jadeite, general of the Negaverse and a creature of utter evil. Unfortunately, as Raye later found out, during the Silver Millennium he was also Colonel Jadeite of the Royal Guard of Earth, and someone that Princess Rei of Mars had loved deeply before Beryl's dark power had turned him into a servant of evil. And that love had reached through the millennia and had blinded Raye to his evil until it was almost too late.

Raye shuddered. If she were to meet her destined partner, should he exist, what reason did she have to believe that the same powerful bond that made Serena and Darien two halves of one soul would not kick in, making her fall utterly in love with him? Who knows what those imperatives could make her do? Leave Chad? Maybe abandon a young family?

"No!" she hissed aloud, fury boiling up in her as she desperately sought out anything to vent her anger on. Raye drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on special meditation forms that would allow her to attain to peace and emotional tranquillity. Ease down, Raye, she counselled herself. You're working yourself into a knot over wild speculation. You don't know anything. When her thoughts were more assured, Raye considered the problem. The situation was made doubly frustrating by the fact that she did not know if this hypothetical 'Mars Knight' even existed. She had to find out before she could consider the issue clearly.

There was always one source of guidance that never, ever failed Raye. Before she learnt that she was a Senshi and before she learnt of her power over the element of fire and her many psychic powers, she had always been able to read the Fire. All the members of the Hino family who had entered the priesthood had possessed the gift, and Raye's own special powers had only enhanced that gift to a razor's edge of accuracy.

With sudden determination, she left her place on the steps of the shrine and headed for the small outbuilding where, day and night, the Sacred Fire burnt. She had some heavy questions to ask, so she hoped that the gods had time on their hands.

***

Raye carefully controlled the rate of her breathing and tried her calming meditation form again. She was kneeling before the Sacred Fire and was in the final stages of the necessary ceremonies and prayers to invoke a Fire Reading, but it was difficult to get the necessary focus. She was wrapped up in a paradoxical mix of hope, fear and anticipation. She didn't know what frightened her more, the possibility that the Reading might not work or the possibility that she got the information that she wanted, and that the news was bad.

Raye drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and cleared her thoughts using the Zen Buddhist method that Lita had taught her, part of the mental disciplines that were required for some of the martial arts that the tall brunette practised. It simply required that she allow each thought to proceed to its' natural conclusion until it could proceed no further. After a few minutes, each rolling, contradictory thought concluded itself and Raye found herself entering the first stage of a Zen meditation trance, her conscious mind free of any thoughts at all. She immediately focused on the fire and began to chant the invocation prayer. "Sacred fire, hear my plea," she concluded in a quiet voice. "Open the veils of time and place and allow me to see the truth."

Raye opened her psionically-enhanced perceptions as wide as she could and stared into the flames. As she did so, she felt her self ebb away and the flames seemed to expand to consumer her consciousness. In the fire was a shape, a clear shape of a man wearing strangely familiar armour. It was blood red, like that the armour she wore as Sailor Mars, but it was cut in a similar form to the armour Glen wore as Venus Knight, including a black loincloth with the astrological symbol for Mars picked out in red thread upon it. So there is a Mars Knight, Raye said, not sure if she were relieved or horrified at this revelation.

Frustratingly, the figure's face remained in shadow. Raye felt that she knew the Guardian of Honour and Fire, but she could get no clear sense of his identity. Then the scene shifted to what Raye recognised as a true vision of what was yet to come. She saw something that utterly terrified her. A youma fell before the combined assaults of a Fire Sniper and streams of fire that blasted from the palms of the anonymous man's hands. As she watched, a helpless spectator, another Raye, this one in the armour of Sailor Mars, ran over to Mars Knight and embraced him in joy at their victory, as giddy and ecstatic as Serena always was with Darien at such a time. The two kissed, the other Raye's face suddenly shining with joy and completion as her lips met those of the Mars Knight.

No! Raye's mind rebelled at the sight, yet the Fire did not lie. There was a Mars Knight, and he was her soul mate, her eternal lover, her destined partner and husband for who knows how many millennia that their powers would allow them to live. Raye felt tears streaming down her cheeks. Chad, I am so sorry, she whispered in her mind. Then she focussed on her reading again, desperate for more details of this… creature that was to turn her world upside-down. Who is he? Raye mentally screamed at the frustratingly anonymous image of Mars Knight. Who is he? His face! A name! Anything! In her frustration, Raye lost control of the Fire Reading and the vision broke up into random flames.

No! Raye focussed all her mind and her formidable will on the Sacred Flame. I will not be denied! I will know the truth. I am Raye Hino, Princess Rei of Mars, Priestess of Ares, Champion of Honour and Fire! Sailor Mars, mistress of the flame! I will know! I command you to show me the face of Mars Knight! SHOW ME!

"Show me!" Raye shouted aloud. The Sacred Fire burped out a fireball that spat up the flue, the sudden energy release throwing Raye onto her back.

Raye lay on her back for a long moment, stunned by her vision and by her failure to answer the critical question of the identity of this unknown warrior. Suddenly she heard someone making a 'tut-tut' sound. She blinked in confusion and turned to see her grandfather watching her. On the surface, he seemed a disapproving teacher, but long experience allowed Raye to see the concern and worry in his eyes. "Granddaughter, haven't you listened to anything that I've ever said?" he asked gently. "You cannot command the Sacred Fire or force it to reveal anything. You merely allow it to tell you what it will. The most you can hope for is that the gods will throw you a little of the truths that you seek."

"I… I know, Grandpa," Raye said, pulling herself to her feet and averting her eyes in shame at his seeing her lose her control. "I let my feelings control me because the matter that I was attempting to read was… of great importance to me."

Ookido Hino looked up at Raye for a moment, then reached out to touch her chin and tilt her head back so he could look into her violet eyes. He saw the familiar storms there that he often saw in his dear, departed daughter-in-law's eyes. "You know that the gods do not respond well to selfish requests," he said.

Raye nodded in a jerky fashion. "I know," she repeated. "But Grandpa, I felt that I could justify just one request after all that I have done…" She suddenly closed her mouth, suddenly realising how close that she had come to blurting out that she was Sailor Mars.

Grandpa laughed, misinterpreting her response entirely. "Raye, the gods have assigned you a ministry that they require you perform well," he said. "You can't demand wages for that, only accept whatever blessings that they offer you." Raye blushed deeply in embarrassment, feeling like a first-year novice, caught out in an elementary error. "Was it about Chad?" Her grandfather asked kindly, cupping his beloved granddaughter's cheek in his hand. "Did you wish to see if you would have a long and happy life together?"

"H… Hai…" Raye murmured, trying to escape those wise, grey eyes. She told herself that she wasn't lying. After all, if Mars Knight did exist, it would drastically effect her relationship with Chad, maybe even destroy it.

"That is not such a selfish desire," Grandpa said. "Don't fear that you have overstepped your bounds with this request, Raye. Simply remember that you must be patient. All things will be revealed in time, and you cannot rush what the gods will and will not reveal."

Raye nodded again, feeling thoroughly humiliated. What made it worse was it was a humiliation of her own making, a depressingly familiar experience. Suddenly a powerful presence screamed in her head. Evil! her danger-sense roared. Suddenly she knew that a youma walked the streets of Tokyo again and she knew where it was. "Raye… Raye, are you all right?" Grandpa asked, looking concerned. Raye suddenly realised that she had phased out for a few seconds as the vision consumed her.

"I'm fine, Grandpa," she said, trying to summon up a reassuring smile. "I guess that messing up that Reading took more out of me than I thought. Uh…" she desperately fumbled for some excuse. "Grandpa, I just remembered that I have to see… er… Trista Bachelor today about the replacement shrine robes that she has ordered for us. I have to go!"

With a single fluid motion, Raye fled from the Sacred Fire room, ran down the stairs and out of the shrine without slowing down once. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her robes!

Ookido Hino watched her go, his eyes narrowed in thought. She was lying to him, of course. He knew that immediately. She had lied to him many times about why she suddenly deserted the shrine at all hours of the day and night. She had lied about where she got a multitude of cuts, bruises, sprains and even, in one case, a broken arm. She had lied about where she had disappeared to for several months last year. The question was why? What was her secret that made her do this?

Suddenly, without any conscious intent on his part, he knelt before the Sacred Fire and began the ritual of Fire Reading. What he saw in the flames wasn't as great a surprise as you might expect…

***

As Raye ran down the streets towards the distant site of the attack, she fumbled her communicator from her robes, desperately trying to think who might be able to assist her in the coming battle. Serena, Mina, Lita and Amy were all at school. Darien was at a class in medical school. Alex and Michelle were up in the north of the country, allegedly at a race meeting of the All-Nippon Touring Car Championship, but also checking out rumours of supernatural activity in that area as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Trista was a last resort as her duties rarely allowed her to leave the Gate of Time, besides which Raye didn't really trust Sailor Pluto. The woman had her own agenda, and Raye wasn't convinced that it was compatible with her oath of fealty to Serena. Glen was somewhere in Tokyo, but Raye had no way to contact him. That only left one person, whose school was closed today for teacher training, and was second only to Trista on Raye's list of people to mistrust. Nonetheless…

Raye depressed a control marked with a symbol that looked like a letter 'h' with a cross-bar through the top and the front leg both extended into a curve to the left, the astrological symbol for Saturn. There was a tone that persisted for a few seconds before Heather Thatcher's face appeared on the screen. "What is it, Raye?" the black-haired young woman asked, surprised that one of the Inners should contact her.

"Youma in the Northern Gateway commercial district," Raye snapped.

Heather was instantly all business. "I'm already on the way," she replied.

Raye nodded and closed her communicator. For all she mistrusted… no feared her powers, the Champion of Destruction and Rebirth, the Priestess of Chronos, Sailor Saturn, was a woman of her word. Raye pulled out her disguise pen and paused in her headlong rush only to utter one brief phrase: "Mars power! Make up!" Flames boiled around her, melting away the robes of the priestess Raye Hino and replacing it with the blood-red armour and black chiffon sash of Sailor Mars. There was a blur of motion as the red-garbed meta-human launched herself into the sky, racing at supersonic speed towards the battle.

***

Sailor Mars dropped onto the roof of a small fast food take-away and looked at the creature that the Negaverse had sent to terrorise the people of Tokyo. It was a standard 'Gore' Youma, a twelve-foot tall bipedal mass of tusks, bloodstained white fur and razor-sharp claws. It basically looked like a giant bipedal sloth. The Gore was as tough as a small mountain and almost as intelligent. However, when you are strong enough to rip a battle-tank apart with your bare talons (and Raye had seen a Gore do that once), you didn't need to be intelligent.

Right now, the Youma was standing in the middle of a street, which had emptied of civilians, thanks to the effects of panic, and was roaring loudly. Lying crumpled at its feet were two girls, no more than twelve years old, who were screaming hysterically in panic.

Mars scowled. She had to act now, or the Youma would drain those two poor innocents of their life energy. Where the hell is Heather? she thought angrily. Suddenly there was a blur of motion to Mars' right. The black-haired woman turned to see a teenage girl with lank black hair and silver-grey eyes, wearing grey armour with a purple sash drop to the roof beside her. "It is about time you got here, Sailor Saturn," Mars snapped.

Saturn raised one of her eyebrows. "It is always nice to be welcome," she replied sarcastically. She pulled what looked like a metal rod off of her left hip and, almost instantly, it trebled in length and generated a scythe-like purple energy blade from one end. The Glave of Silence, arguably the most fearsome weapon carried by any of the Sailor Senshi. She used the planet-killing weapon to gesture at the posturing Youma. "Shall we?" she asked.

Mars scowled for a moment, but looking at the monster and seeing the two terrified girls at its' feet made her forget her doubts about the youngest of the Outer Senshi. Innocents were threatened, and in such circumstances, any who wore the armour of the Royal Guard of the Moon Princess were allies, no matter how reluctantly. "Let's do it," she said, and soared forwards. Saturn took to the air less than a second behind her reluctant partner.

Sailors Mars and Saturn stood before the youma, which boggled at the two brightly-dressed women with its small blood-shot eyes, straining its' minuscule mind to try and understand what it was seeing. A human that didn't run away but instead faced it with calm confidence was something utterly outside of its' instinctive ability to handle. "Stop right there, demon," Sailor Mars proclaimed. "I am Sailor Mars, Champion of Honour and Fire!"

"And I am Sailor Saturn, Champion of Destruction and Rebirth!" Heather added, twirling the Glave of Silence around so that its' humming energy blade was pointed at the youma.

"Your rampage has gone on long enough," Mars continued. "Your villainy will end here! In the name of Mars…"

"And Saturn…"

"We will punish you!" Despite herself, Sailor Mars smiled. She might shout at Serena for her tendency to sometimes make speeches before battles, but she secretly thought it was fun.

"Gore!" the youma bellowed at the top of its' car-sized lungs. It opened its' mouth and spat out a rain of what looked like silvery needles. Instantly, the two Senshi jumped in opposite directions, avoiding the venom-laced darts.

Saturn dropped back to the blacktop and slammed the blade of the Glave of Silence into the ground. "Silence Glave Surprise!" she shouted. A massive focussed shock wave rolled from the impact towards the youma, making the ground ripple like disturbed water. When the shock wave reached the youma, the two-tonne monster staggered, suddenly off balance.

"Fire Soul! IGNITION!" Mars shouted, lobbing a fireball at the monster. The magical flame slammed into the creature's face and stuck there like napalm. The youma bellowed in agony and fell backwards. Sensing a possible victory, Mars drew her Soul Blade and prepared to use a decapitating attack to finish the matter.

Suddenly, the youma jumped to its feet and tore a chunk of tarmac out of the road surface before throwing it at Sailor Mars, who barely dodged the flying lump of rock. Then the monster jumped forwards, standing astride the two terrified girls, clearing intending to use them as shields. "Saturn!" Sailor Mars yelled. The younger Senshi looked over in surprise. "I'll distract it! Get those kids out of here!" Raye barely registered Heather's nod of agreement before she launched herself towards the youma. The creature lashed out with its' horribly clawed forepaws, barely missing the oncoming Senshi. At the last minute, Raye pulled up into a zooming climb and slashed her Soul Blade upward across the creature's chest, making it roar in pain again.

The youma was so focussed on the red-armoured Senshi that it didn't notice Sailor Saturn fly behind it. In a single blur of motion, the grey-armoured Senshi dived through the creature's legs, seized one girl in each arm and flew them several dozen metres down the street. One of them stared up at Sailor Saturn in awe. "You… saved us?" she asked.

Heather grimaced. Sometimes, the 'whatever it takes' attitude that Alex and Michelle used to have made people surprised when an Outer Senshi actually helped someone rather than left them to die. "Uh… yeah. That's right," she replied. Remembering how Mina handled situations like this, she managed to offer the girl an encouraging wink. "Stay here until we've beaten that monster," she advised and leapt back into the battle.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars was dodging through the air, trying to hit the Gore without being cut in half by its' claws in the process. Suddenly, the creature lunged forwards, leading with its' tusked bullet-shaped head rather than its' long claws. The head-butt slammed her backwards through the plate-glass window of a shop front. Only the semi-permanent protective energy shield that covered her body stopped her from being cut to ribbons by the glass.

"Mars!" she heard Sailor Saturn scream. As Mars staggered to her feet, she saw the younger Senshi shoot towards their adversary, leading with the Glave of Silence. The Youma was preparing to launch a more powerful ranged attack to finish off Sailor Mars when Sailor Saturn drove the blunt end of the Glave of Silence into the small of its' back, completely distracting it from her sister Senshi. The monster jumped around to face her and lashed out with its' claws.

Still airborne, Saturn dodged back from one wild sweep of the creature's left arm and slashed the Glave down the entire length of the outside of the arm. Dark blood jetted out from the injury and the youma moaned in agony. Saturn dodged under a sweep of the creature's right arm and prepared to use an Entropy Wave attack to finish the youma off. However, she missed the back-sweep from its' left arm. The impact sent her tumbling through the air and she struck the side of one of the tall buildings lining the street. The grey-clad Senshi dropped to the ground and hauled herself to her knees, shaking her head in a stunned way.

She wasn't badly hurt, that Mars could tell immediately, but she was stunned and unprepared as the youma drew itself up to its' full and breathed in, preparing to use Venom Dart again. "Saturn!" Mars cried out. "Leave her alone you filth!" Acting on instinct, Mars used her recently discovered 'eternal' attack. "Martian Firestorm… Incineration!" A column of flames wider than the youma boiled down from the sky and slammed into the creature, completely encasing it in flame. The creature wailed in agony, but Mars wasn't about to let up. She called her Soul Blade back to her hand and launched herself forwards. With one sweep of her blood-red sword, she cut off the monster's ugly bullet-like head. There was a flash of red light and the youma was suddenly reduced to a double-handful of dust, which blew away on the breeze. "Moon-dusted," Mars said with a satisfied grin.

Mars dropped back to the street, breathing hard. Saturn dropped to her side. "Are you okay, Mars?" she asked quietly in her serious tone of voice.

Raye sucked in a deep breath and looked up at the smaller woman thoughtfully. She rescued those civilians and deliberately risked herself to protect me, she thought. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. "Yeah, I'm okay, Saturn," she replied. With clumsy camaraderie, she patted the other woman on the shoulder. "Come on, lets' check on those two girls."

Neither girl was badly hurt, only shaken from their experience. Saturn confirmed that neither had been tainted by Dark Side energy. The two Senshi were about to leave when one of the girls tugged on the end of Sailor Mars' black sash where it hung from her Mars Brooch. "Uh… Sailor Mars?" the girl asked quietly, fear and anticipation in her eyes.

Raye turned around with a sigh and looked back at the girl. "Yeah, kid?" she asked. To her shock, there was naked adoration in the girl's whole facial expression and body posture.

"You have always been my favourite Senshi," the girl revealed. "Could… could I have your autograph?"

Raye boggled at the girl as she offered the Champion of Honour and Fire a mint copy of the Sailor Moon Adventures manga and a black felt-tip pen. She noted that it was the first issue of the manga that focussed on her rather than Serena's alter ego. Raye didn't know how to react. Much to her annoyance, she could hear Heather giggling. She glared at Sailor Saturn and saw the younger woman try, and fail, to present a sober façade. Raye looked back at the girl and considered her request. Everyone needs heroes, she realised. We're a better example than some drug-taking pop idol or a primadonna sports star. Suddenly, she felt a lot better and suddenly she realised why Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus both insisted on being such public figures. Finally she smiled at the hopeful girl. "Okay, why not?" she asked.

Taking the black felt-tip pen from the girl, she drew out the Japanese iconographs for 'Pretty Girl Soldier Sailor Mars' on the cover of the manga. Copying Serena's habit in similar situations, she put a little valentine heart in between the iconograph for 'Sailor' and the one for 'Mars.' She turned slightly and decided that revenge, while sweet, was never fattening. "Saturn? Do you want to put your mark on this too?" she asked.

Heather gulped, but after a moment looking into the girls' pleading eyes she finally relented and signed the manga's front cover too. Then, with a final wave of farewell, the two Senshi took to the skies and flew away.

As they soared into the air, Raye turned to Heather. "Heather?"

"Yeah Raye?" the younger teenager replied in a slightly nervous tone of voice.

"You did good today," Raye said. "You're showing promise, and you are beginning to figure out what a Senshi's priorities should be. We'll make an Inner of you yet."

Heather laughed. "And you showed the proper aggressive attitude, Raye," she replied. "Maybe we'll make an Outer of you first."

Both young women laughed before waving to each other and splitting up, Raye heading for the Shrine and Heather for Alex and Michelle's mansion.

***

That evening, the three inhabitants of the Hino Shrine were in their living quarters watching the evening news. Raye and Heather's battle didn't even manage to reach the top three stories, which indicated how inured to youma attacks the populace of Tokyo had become over the last two years. However, there was footage of the battle, and Raye felt Chad's arms tighten around her waist when the youma head-butted Sailor Mars through the front of a building. The tape freeze-framed when Sailor Saturn launched her distraction attack and the reporter speculated on whether the Inner Senshi had 'poached' Sailor Saturn from the Outer team. That comment is going to seriously piss off Alex, Raye thought.

The video showed the end of the battle and even showed the two Senshi giving the two girls their autographs before flying off. Through her back, Raye felt Chad chuckle and blushed slightly. She was glad that Grandpa wasn't looking in her direction. His sharp, wise eyes would have noticed her discomfort immediately and possibly drawn conclusions. Serena, Amy and Mina might be happy with their cover blown to certain members of their close family, but that didn't meant that Raye liked the idea.

Suddenly, much to everyone's surprise, they heard the distinct sound of wind chimes over the sounds from the TV set, which meant that someone had opened the doors of the main shrine. Although the Shrine was technically open at all times, they were most surprised to have someone visit so late. "I'll check it out," Raye said, rising from her oh-so-comfortable seat with Chad's arms wrapped around her.

As she walked down to the main shine, Raye sighed. With the adrenaline surge of the battle and then the distraction of spending time with the other Inners when they got out of school, Raye had almost forgotten her vision in the Sacred Fire. Almost. She still hadn't figured out what to do, and she was glad that no one had been around to see her burst into tears every time she focussed too closely on the thought of some stranger arriving and taking her away from Chad in the name of destiny.

To her surprise, the person in the shrine was Serena. The blond girl, complete with distinctive ondangos was kneeling before the shrine. From her place by the side door, Raye could see her friend and liege-lady's lips moving in prayer, but she couldn't tell what petition the girl was putting to the gods or to her ancestors. Well, that was as it should be. It was her business and no one else's.

Still, seeing Serena here was unusual, as the girl was hardly the most religious of souls. Still, ever since that nightmarish battle with Sailor Galaxia, three months ago, she had suddenly got a lot more responsible and thoughtful. Losing all your friends and your lover to death twice in two years tended to do that for you. After a moment, Serena stood, bowed respectfully to the shrine and then rang the bell, indicating that she had finished her prayer.

"What brings you to the gods at this hour, Ondango Atama?" Raye asked in a teasing tone of voice.

Serena turned, her blue eyes wide with surprise, and then smiled mysteriously. "Well… let's say that I have a lot to be thankful for tonight," she replied.

Raye puzzled over that for a moment before she spotted the glint of a diamond ring in the dim night lighting of the shrine. The ring was on Serena's left ring finger. With a deep sense of unreality, Raye walked over, took Serena's hand and looked at the ring. The diamond was set in the heart of a silver crescent moon with a golden rose in between the horns of the crescent. "Is… is this what I think it is?" she asked in a shaky tone.

Serena smiled brightly, and it was as if the sun had suddenly come out from behind a cloud. "Darien had been fretting over me being 'too young' ever since the Silver Crystal brought him back to life after the Galaxia incident," she explained. "Then Glen proposed to Mina and he realised that he was worrying about nothing. He… just proposed to me five minutes ago Raye-chan, on a rooftop no less, in his full Tuxedo Mask regalia."

Raye gasped and suddenly was hugging her best friend as tightly as she could. "Oh Sere-chan! This is so wonderful!" she cried out. "Do the others know?"

"I was just about to call them," Serena replied in an uncharacteristically shy tone of voice. "I… I just wanted to thank Mother and everyone else first." Raye knew that Serena was referring to her first mother, Queen Serenity of the Moon, dust for 250 centuries now.

"Well, I'm glad that I was the first to know this time," Raye said, grinning. On a whim she suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "Highness, may I be the first to congratulate you on this occasion?" she asked respectfully. "I beg of you the honour of conducting the ceremony."

Serena rolled her eyes and gestured impatiently for Raye to stand. She hated overt references to her royal status. When Raye stood up, Serena smiled at her again. "Of course you'll conduct the ceremony," she said. "I was trying to figure out how to ask. Don't fret though, there's no rush. Darien and I have agreed that we have to wait until after he graduates. Neither of us wants to try and make a family when one or both of us are still in college." Raye nodded her agreement, a little startled at how mature Serena suddenly sounded. Then Serena nudged her and was Ondango Atama again. "Hey! It gives you a chance to qualify to the full priesthood before the big day, doesn't it?" The two young women both giggled at that comment. "Still," Serena continued, looking at her ring and grinning mischievously. "At least now everyone knows that he is mine."

"Including your parents?" Raye asked mischievously.

"I'm… er… working on that," Serena said as a large sweatdrop appeared at the side of her face.

Raye laughed. "Well, at least you get your man, Ondango," she said.

Serena was many things. She was still something of a klutz when she was distracted or in a hurry. She ate a lot, primarily because she had a very high metabolism and burnt calories like there was no tomorrow, and she would never be the finest student ever to grace Juubian Junior High. However, she was also a born leader and she knew what was in every one of her Senshi's hearts, even Pluto's. There was a hidden meaning in that last statement and she would find out exactly what that was. "What is it, Raye?" she asked quietly.

"It's nothing," Raye replied, too quickly.

"Raye…" Serena said warningly. Raye stiffened instinctively at the slight hint of reproof in her princess' voice. "Something is bothering you. Don't bother denying it. Come on, let me help you."

Suddenly, Raye broke down. "You can't," she sobbed as her knees gave way. "No one can!"

Serena embraced the weeping novice priestess and held her tightly. "Raye, what has happened? There is nothing wrong with your grandfather or Chad is there?" Serena felt Raye stiffen when she mentioned her friend's fiancée. "What is it? He hasn't… hurt you or anything has he?"

"No! No, never," Raye sobbed. "It's just that I don't think I can be faithful to him!"

Serena frowned and pulled back to look Raye in the eye. "Raye-chan, what are you talking about? You love him don't you?"

"I do!" Raye admitted. "I love him so much that it hurts when I'm not around him, but…" she bowed her head and let the tears run freely. "But what if there is someone else, Sere? What if there is someone that I am meant to love? Someone like Darien with you or Glen with Mina? I might break Chad's heart and leave him for this new guy! How could I do that to him?" Raye fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

Serena's brain went into overdrive as she considered Raye's heartbreak. "Raye-chan, you are afraid that there is a 'Mars Knight,' who is your destined partner, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "You are afraid that the bond between you would tear you away from the man you have chosen, Chad." Raye looked up with tear-reddened eyes and nodded. Serena sucked in a deep breath and dropped to her knees beside Raye. She put an arm around her shoulder and continued in a gentle, reassuring tone of voice. "I don't think you should worry, Raye-chan," she said at last. "You really do love Chad don't you? With all your heart and soul?"

"Yes! Yes of course I do!" Raye replied. "What kind of question is that to ask?"

"Well then, I don't think that this 'Mars Knight,' if he exists, will be a problem," Serena concluded airily. "We've all had crushes, of course: Me with Andrew, you with Jadeite and Darien. However, when we have fallen in love, then Destiny has always gone our way. If you really are in love, Raye, then Chad will be the one for you and nothing will take him away from you."

Raye wished that she had Serena's calm, optimistic view of fate and destiny. "But… but… Sere-chan," she stuttered. She sucked in a breath before continuing. "There is a Mars Knight, Serena, I saw him in the fire."

Serena nodded thoughtfully, looking inwards for a moment. "Yes, that makes sense," she said. "Mother seems to have seen to it that all the Senshi and Planetary Knights would be reborn at more-or-less the same time to fight the Negaverse and bring about the Crystal Millennium." She focused on Raye again. "But Raye, Mother would never be so cruel as to allow you to fall in love with someone when you are destined for another." Raye opened her mouth to say something, but Serena interrupted her. "Trust in your heart, Raye-chan," she commanded. "If you truly love Chad, then you are destined for each other, and nothing can break you apart. I truly believe that with all my heart."

Raye sucked in another deep breath and wiped away the last of her tears. "I understand," she said at last. "Thank you, Sere-chan." Raye managed a slight grin. "Hey, isn't it usually me who dishes out the advice?"

Serena smiled. "We're all human, Raye-chan," she said. "We have to bend or we will break. Don't ever feel ashamed to be weak around your friends. It is why we are here, to give you strength when yours fails you." Raye nodded and grasped Serena's hand for a moment, trying to draw in as much of her friend's moral certainty and loving strength as she could.

Finally, Raye sniffled and stood up, pulling on her façade of irritability and sarcasm again. "So, are you going to sit there all night, Ondango? Or are you going to start spreading around the good news?"

Serena smiled and pulled out her Sailor Communicator. She flipped the device open and pressed the 'All-Call' button.

***

In the early hours, Raye lay on her futon with Chad (now the first outsider to know the true identities of all the Sailor Senshi) as sleep slowly crept up on her. She was thinking back to the activities of the last hours.

The partying in the Senshi meeting hall had gone on into the early hours. Darien had been the butt of several jokes, and Alex had threatened him with an agonisingly slow death if he ever, ever did anything to hurt Serena. Raye remained convinced that the tall blonde woman had a more-than-sisterly affection for her princess. Oh, Serena was totally straight and Alex would rather cut off her own head than betray Michelle's love for her, but Serena was so very easy to love, and Alex had a very, very soft heart underneath all that gruff and soldierly armour plating.

Everyone had congratulated the newly affianced couple, and Mina, noting a compatible timeline, had suggested a double wedding, which made everyone thoughtful. Raye didn't think that was practical. Glen and Mina were both Christians while Serena followed her own Shinto faith and Darien was a very lapsed Buddhist.

That got everyone onto the subject of ceremonies and a very vocal confrontation between the Senshi as to who would be whose maid of honour (or matron, if Mina had her way). Trista had announced, in her strange certain way, that no one currently in the room would have that honour at Serena's wedding, and had smugly refused to respond to any requests for clarification. Raye was secretly putting her money on Rini, Serena and Darien's yet-to-be-born time-travelling daughter from the 30th Century, while she suspected that Serena was planning to ask Molly, if only to stop the squabbling in between the Senshi.

Trista had then distracted everyone from that question by pulling Serena to her feet and thoughtfully outlining her idea for Serena's wedding gown. "This is the first Planetary Royal Wedding in 25 millennia," she reminded a fuming Serena. "The dress must be appropriate for the nuptials of the heir to the Human Empire."

Serena told the Champion of Time, in no uncertain terms, to back off. It was Serena Elaine Thompson getting married, not Princess Serenity of the Moon. She wanted to have some hint of a normal existence before the coming of the Crystal Millennium. Trista had simply smiled in a way that left Serena fretting whether she would have any normal existence at all. Seeing her distress, everyone was quick to reassure her, even Trista. "You shouldn't make the error of differentiating between 'Serena,' 'Sailor Moon' and 'Serenity,'" she explained. "My dear child, those three people are one and the same person: You. Don't worry about your royal background affecting your having a 'normal' life. Besides, how much of a 'normal' life does a superheroine have anyway?" That made everyone laugh.

"It is wonderful, isn't it?" Chad suddenly whispered. "I've never seen Serena and Darien look so happy." The black-haired man hugged Raye a bit tighter and she luxuriated in his touch. "I know that they are going to light up the whole world together."

Raye thought about the time she saw the Crystal Palace of the 30th Century and smiled. "Of that I am certain," she said.

"And I think it was cool that Serena still wanted our wedding to go ahead as soon as possible," Chad continued. "I mean, I understood what Trista said about protocol and it being wrong to get married before your princess." The revelation that Serena was royalty had startled Chad, but much to Raye's pride he had handled it well. "Serena must really love you a lot to let that slide."

Raye felt anguish again. She secretly wondered if Serena was so insistent because she didn't know how long Raye and Chad would have together. "Chad," she said suddenly in a quiet tone. "I want you to promise something for me." She could feel her fiancée's sudden attention. "I want you to remember that you are my first and only true love. No matter what happens, no matter what the future might hold, no matter what I may ever say, I love you and you alone."

Chad was startled and didn't hide it. "What is going on, Raye?" he asked. "You aren't… you aren't going to die on me again are you?"

"No," Raye replied. She turned around and hugged Chad. "Listen to me," she said. "I learnt something today… Well, sometimes Destiny can be a perverse thing. I don't know how long we may have together. I hope that it will be the rest of our lives, but…"

Chad hugged Raye tightly. "Hey," he said. "I trust you and I love you. I know that you would never deliberately hurt someone that you love."

Raye hugged him closer, needing his strength and certainty. That is what Serena meant, she suddenly decided. Don't be afraid to be weak, or to need someone. Trust in destiny and in the power of love. Raye looked up into Chad's eyes and suddenly needed him more than she ever had before. "Chad… make love to me," she asked quietly. Chad smiled warmly and they kissed.

After a period of the most frenetic and joyful activity, the two lovers drifted off into a peaceful slumber, all questions of destiny and the future temporarily forgotten. And in the case of Chad Cullen, his dreams were filled with uncounted adventures with a red-armoured woman, and dreams of a short-handled axe whose head blazed with the fires of Mars.

***

Next morning, Raye was sweeping the steps of the Hino Shrine before heading off to college when her grandfather materialised at her shoulder. "Oh! Grandpa, what is it?"

Ookido Hino looked at his granddaughter levelly for a moment. "Why didn't you feel you could tell me?" he asked. "Do you distrust this silly old man so much?"

Raye shook her head. She couldn't get a handle on this conversation. "I'm sorry, Grandpa? What do you mean?"

"Well played," Grandpa replied with a kind smile. "You do not admit to any secrets, nor do you reveal any fear of discovery. Your princess can justly be proud of you, Sailor Mars."

"NANI?" Raye dropped her broom and stared at her grandfather in disbelief. "Wh… what are you…?"

The old man laughed. "You forget who you are talking to, granddaughter. There are few secrets that the Sacred Fire hides from me. I saw your battle yesterday before it even took place. You know, I suspected that you had a cosmic destiny since the day I tried to see your future in the fire on the day of your birth. Today, however, the gods and our ancestors chose to tell me everything." Ookido smiled in his quirky way. "I suppose after all I've gone through, they thought that I deserved it." He drew in a deep breath again before continuing. "So, the question remains: Why didn't you tell me before?"

Raye looked down, her mind racing, and tried to figure out what to do. Tell the truth, she decided, especially as he seems to know it already. "How can you even ask that question, Grandpa?" she asked. "You must know the nature of the darkness that we face. Every person that knows is another person put to risk by the simple fact of our existence!" Raye sighed and continued. "It isn't a matter of trust, Grandpa, it is a matter of safety, yours and ours." Raye looked her guardian in the eyes. "Besides, I would not choose to force anyone to bear such a burden."

"You truly have a pure heart," Grandpa replied. "Everything you have done is based on a desire to help. Just remember this, however: By lying to me, you have denied me the chance to accept this risk, should I choose to do so. You forget that I was a warrior of the Empire in the last Great War. I know the meaning of danger and how to live with it."

"I love you too much to ask you to do so," Raye replied honestly. "Grandpa, I was so afraid that I would loose you."

The old man's serene smile jacked up several degrees and became warm and loving. "Raye, you are my blood, the last of our line," he said. "I would never hate you for following the way of the warrior or for accepting your destiny." Ookido took a moment to think before continuing. "Please trust me from now on, granddaughter. At least let me pray for your victory when you fight."

Raye smiled happily and bowed in gratitude. "I promise that I will," she said at last. "Th… thank you for loving me, Grandpa. I love you too."

The old man smiled. "Get moving," he said. "You'll be late for classes. That slug of a fiancée of yours can finish clearing up."

Raye nodded and turned to leave. Ookido Hino watched her go and raised a hand in benediction and blessing. "May the gods watch over you, beloved child," he whispered as she walked under the arch and into the ever-so-dangerous world.

The end of Chapter 4

Next time: Chapter 5 – Lita Harrod – Sailor Jupiter