(Chapter Eleven)

It was a matter of moments when they all reappeared on solid ground in a bed of long grass. Pluto and Mars were both on guard the moment they set foot on the ground. The usage of the Time Key was dangerous in itself, but the effects were also very visible. Pink clouds and a red sky weren't part of everyday weather patterns, after all.

Thankfully, Pluto had transported them into a clear area, and no armies instantly swarmed them as they dropped lightly to the ground. It was a long march towards their 'base' and it was hard to keep the guymellefs hidden… they weren't like the ones from Zaibach… they had no stealth cloaks. Van had pulled it into a form of a dragon to make it less easy to see, but Alan's was so much more visible from a faraway distance so they moved quickly. Mars was admiring the chain of keys around Pluto's waist. "Nice… when did you get those?"

"Along the years, I found Time Keys that were potentially hazardous and confiscated them. They are only used as a last resort."

"Like with Chibi-Usa?"

"Like with Chibi-Usa." The guardian of time was not prone to talk much, and her future self even less. Mars lapsed into complete silence as all of them trudged along. Finally, when the sun neared the horizon, they made their way into the little 'camp' and found themselves faced with the oddest assortment of people they could possibly see.

As promised, all had been assembled… and when all was said and done, all that was missing were a few megaton air missiles, the FBI, a couple of SWAT teams… but who needs 'em anyway? Gohan alone could blow them all to smithereens. At last, when all were acquainted, they finally began a meeting (kinda sorta) on how to fight Queen Beryl. The queen had stolen the princess, and that came into consideration. It was possible to try and wake her from a distance… but that was even more riskier than being in contact with her body.

Also, they were all very well aware that Queen Beryl had worked out the kinks of inter-dimensional time travel, and had many warriors of many different time periods and worlds in her abundant army. Finally, it was decided that only the sailor senshi should confront her first, and see if there was any way to survive the onslaught. Not a very good plan, but it was all they could do at the moment.

Meanwhile, Beryl was pacing around her new throne. She was well aware of their oncoming attack and was anxious to start the battle. She held the Time Staff in what looked like a death grip, and she stared hard at the red gem on it. It had changed a little bit in color being transfigured by its new mistress and was now a blackish-red and glowed with dark energy. She breathed deeply, more relaxed with the sense of power. She looked over at the crystal in which the princess lay. "Let them come." She finally said to herself, "We'll win anyway."

"KAMEHAMEHA!" the ball of bright blue-white ki erupted from Goku's hands and into the target, disintegrating it as well as the tree behind it. A sign labeled 10 suddenly appeared in Venus' hands as they stared at the poor innocent, dead tree in amazement.

It was a training day, and it seemed rather pathetic to them as the small 'army' continued to 'train'. It was absolutely worthless and they knew it, but there was nothing else they could do. Millerna was assisting the injuries of the inner senshi, which were just about healed. Senshi had amazing healing abilities. Hitomi found herself able to do absolutely nothing until Rei asked her for help in trying to revive their princess. "You have psychic abilities. You could help us reach her." Hitomi hesitated at first. The last time she'd tried to help someone… but then the visage of a smiling face of the queen appeared in her mind's eye again, and she nodded.

After two days of 'heavy training' they were 'ready' to 'attack'. Or in other words, they were hoping that they could manage with all the monsters Beryl might have on hand. It would not be a very fair match. That woman didn't care what havoc she caused in the annals of time as long as she got what she wanted.

As they headed for the huge dome which was where Beryl was currently residing. "Damn, this is impossible," muttered Gohan under his breath as he stared at the growing wall of Beryl's minions. "Keep your spirits up honey, we'll get through to 'em, don't you worry!" he turned to see Sailor Jupiter in her full glory, with the bandages removed. "Probably… but we've got work to do."

She looked rather grim as she eyed the solid wall of youma. "Don't have to tell me twice," she muttered, "we've got quite a job cut out for us, huh?"

"Yeah."

"By the way… why on Earth are you helping us? This has nothing to do with you directly… don't think that was meant in a rude way." She added hastily, in case he was insulted.

"'Cause Usagi's a friend. And I don't like losing any of my friends to slime like that queen."

"Great answer. We love ya for it!" he blinked at her for a second before the wave of youma was upon them and he had his hands full just keeping away from jaws, and drooling mouths.

"SHABON SPRAY!"

"FIRE SOUL!"

"THUNDER CRASH!"

"CRESCENT BEAM!"

"WORLD SHAKING!"

"DEEP SUBMERGING!"

"DEAD SCREAM."

"SILENCE GLAIVE APPLY!"

The multi-colored blasts erupted everywhere, as entrails of every color flew in every direction possible. The pretty sailor suited senshi were not amused to find slimy blue streaks in blonde hair. Or brown hair, or green hair, or aqua hair… In the corner of their eyes, they could see the blue ki blasts everywhere. When a saiyan begged everyone came, apparently. Bulma's creations were putting up a fabulous fight, and the rest of them… well, let's just say Beryl's staff had a good workout zapping more monsters up to keep them at bay.

Deep inside the fortress the body of Usagi shuddered and her crystal in her hand began to regain a little of its luminosity. Not enough to show to the guards that were staring at her through their great black armor that it was regaining strength from the determination of its mistress's friends… My friends… come find me…

Beryl herself was standing on a platform inside the fortress and she was staring at the glowing black-red orb. Though she had mastered inter-dimensional travel and transportation, she still did not know how to harness its full power and it was alarmed her slightly. She was not a master but even she could know how much power was held within the small black-red orb. A splintering crash sounded at her left and she knew it was time. They'd broken through.

"Go! All of you, I have taken you from worlds unimaginable. Fight for the Dark world that you all belong to. GO!" the monsters surged towards the small band of warriors that were bravely gaining ground towards her, enough to blast a hole in her wall.

"What are they?!" gasped Mercury as she turned into ice several more small, weak but bothersome monsters. They were all becoming rather tired, but they persisted in continuing their rush towards Beryl's fortress.

The saiyans however were still going strong. They were super inhuman killing machines after all. After all, better physique and better training made them superb. But then, Sailor senshi cannot learn very well from a pair of cats. The guymellefs, they realized hadn't been a waste of effort after all. Every step killed a few more, even though they had to be careful not to squash any of their own people.

The smaller monsters soon enough disappeared from the battlefield completely, and they were standing alone amongst the corpses littering the battlefield. And the new ones that had joined in after the first wave were even worse. They stared at the incredible fighting machines that Beryl had encountered and enslaved throughout her 'visits' into other worlds. There, they could see enemies that they had fought in the past. Beryl had apparently visited Hell as well.

The battle immediately surged in Beryl's favor as their previous encounters with enemies came across them again in a grisly state of déjà vu. Mars decapitated a monster with a sword she'd swiped from one of them and absorbed the shock when metal hit bone and splintered beneath her hand. She had a firm grip on Hitomi, and Prince Endymion wasn't that far behind.

Utilizing Prince Endymion's unique way of sneaking into places, they were able to get in without detection from inside. It took a while because his ability to sneak in did not carry to finding his way. It took the combined efforts of Hitomi and Rei's psychic power and a little help from Mamoru's link to Usagi, they found there way into the guard room. Keeping the guards silent was a little more difficult, but with combined efforts, they got through them quickly and efficiently.

There she was, trapped in a crystal like the Neo-Queen had been in the future… would the same happen in the past? Rei walked up to the crystal, laying a hand on the hard, clear surface. "Usagi-chan… oh, you're such a baka… what did you have to go and get yourself killed for?" she whispered softly, the normal insulting sting she slipped in the words not present. "Usagi-chan…" Hitomi watched as the prince collapsed to his knees in front of the crystal, his hand reaching for the face, eyes closed behind the hardness of the clear crystal. "Chiba-san. Rei-san. Get up, we have work to do."

Rei looked up at her friend in surprise. Never had she heard Hitomi's quiet voice ring with such determination. It sounded almost steely. "You know what we have to do. We have to hurry." She was right. Every second was a second time for Usagi's soul to be wrenched further away from her body.

"How do we do it?" asked Rei suddenly. She had never been experienced in her psychic power, and she didn't have a clue how limited it was. What if she didn't have enough? The crystal in Usagi's hand sparked and flashed deep within itself, the image of Queen Serenity appearing in it.

*Show her the way, Hitomi… show my daughter the way back…* Rei looked at the crystal in amazement. "Serenity-sama?!" she gasped, quite forgetting they were in the middle of an enemy fortress, and anyone might hear her. She didn't even know who the woman was, she'd never seen her before in her life. But the shocking similarity between her and the woman that the blonde inside the crystal would become, was uncanny. This was her mother.

*Save her, Child of Fate. Save my daughter*

"How?" whispered Hitomi, staring at the crystal in the girl's hand where the image was. *Call to her. Walk through the paths of the Ghost Roads, find her before she reaches the river. She cannot see Charon, she must not touch the black water of the river!*

"You mean… we have to walk through the roads of Death." Hitomi felt oddly calm, even though she knew well enough that it was an impossible idea, an impossible hope. "What?!" exclaimed Rei as she stared at Hitomi. The girl was the only one they could hear, they couldn't hear Queen Serenity's voice at all.

"We're going on the Ghost Roads. We need to find her before she reaches the river Styx. IF she does…" They knew the ending that would take place… she would be past help.

"Then we have to find her!" Rei grasped Hitomi's hand and Prince Endymion's. In her other hand, Hitomi wrapped her hand around her pendant, feeling a sort of… beating rhythm in it, like the heart of a dragon.

This time, the flight through space was frightening. They could hardly control their destination, and only the power of a queen desperate for her daughter to live kept them from hurling themselves directly into the depths of Hell itself.

The threesome found themselves flung onto a long, pebbly road, the small stones cutting into them at their sudden landing. Standing, Rei looked up and around them, almost shuddering in horror. These were the Ghost Roads all right… and on each side, there were the tortured souls of the dead that simply refused to accept that they were dead and move on. Hands reached out for them, most of them with flesh half rotten off their bones, skin gray and blackened, and the feel of all those hands begging them to bring them back, made Rei hang close to panicking.

"Ignore them." ordered Hitomi, standing up and continuing to walk, or wade, which would be better put, through the crowds of the dead. None of them dared do much more than lean across the edges of the pathway, none dared to actually set foot on them. "Keep an eye out for your princess. Prince, now is the time to use that bond of yours."

"Bond?" the prince looked rather sick as the dead and rotting corpses and tortured souls continued to cry and wail plaintively at them, making him shudder violently.

"You yourself have admitted you've always had a special tie to the Princess. Now is the time to find her before the River does." He closed his eyes, his face scrunched up in the effort to ignore the souls around them, to imagine away the darkness and the smell of decay. His eyes snapped open. "She's not far from here… I think we need to hurry."

"And hurry we will." Hitomi's voice was not her own as she held up the red pendent she was holding. It shone in a steady crimson glow that surrounded them. The corpses cowered away from the light, shrinking back towards the darkness. "Let's go." She went off in a sprint, a slow one for her, in order to still be able to keep a high-heeled Rei and Prince in the range of the red glow.

"There!"

"Where?"

"There!" this time Tuxedo Kamen pointed with one gloved finger, which the other two quickly followed towards a figure in the distance. Rei's breath caught in her throat, "No… that's not her. It can't be her."

It certainly did not look like Usagi. Never had her face been so pale or thin. Her bare feet seemed not to touch the floor, and she was clothed in a white shift that fell to her ankles. Her long hair was undone and fell messily to her feet. But all of her was stained with so much blood it was ghastly.

"Usako…" whispered Tuxedo Kamen, beginning to run, never noticing the rotted hands, arms, and skulls he was crushing in his rush to get to her. "USAKO!" he yelled, increasing his speed running for the darkness.

"YOU FOOL!" yelled Hitomi as she sprinted to catch up, her legs a blur as she seemed to fly over everything in her way. "Keep to the light!" Rei had a hard enough time catching up. It was with a flying tackle that she was actually able to catch him. "Stay close! We're in the Ghost Roads you idiot, you don't know what might be here."

"We get your princess out of here. Quickly. We don't have much time."

She was heading for the River. They all realized this at the exact same moment and flew to their feet, running as fast as they could. Hitomi's light guiding them as they ran with all they had. Finally reaching her, Tuxedo Kamen made to grab her wrist. "Usako!" she seemed not to hear him as she made her way steadily. The man found to his horror that he'd slipped through the ghostly image, and all that was left on his glove was a bright stain of dripping blood.

The River! She had already seen it! Rei keened like a banshee [1] for her princess as she literally fell to her knees. "Get up!" yelled Hitomi, wrenching her to her feet. "Now is not the time to cry over it. We have to follow her. Move it!" she shoved Tuxedo Kamen forward. Mars looked at her in shock. This was not Hitomi, she had always been more shy of this, and less forceful. A lot less forceful. Who was she? "MOVE IT!"

She ordered herself to move as they ran for the River, seeing in horror all the souls who were begging to be let on the boat. "YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BURIED YET!" Charon, the grisly figure that rowed the boat back and forth between the sides of the river, bellowed over and over as they tore at the sides of the boat, making it rock horrifyingly. They darted forward as Usagi stepped in. Charon looked dubious, but apparently the crystal was enough of a 'burial place' for him and he dipped her oar in the River…

"WAIT!" Rei made a flying leap towards it, but as if some invisible wall was on it, she was thrown backwards a few feet. "Fool! You're still alive! Get out of here quickly and do not return until you are fit to go to Hades or Elysium!"

"PRINCESS!" Hitomi's voice came through. Usagi barely started, but her eyes shifted. "Princess, you are not supposed to die so soon. The Fates have not decreed it! I, the Child of Fate demand that you return to the Upper World! It is not your time!"

Charon looked at the girl in track pants in amazement. "You? Child of Fate?"

"Yes. I demand that we see King Hades and Queen Persephone."

"What is your proof?" he asked, still suspicious.

Hitomi's eyes flashed dangerously. "Proof?" she asked in a low voice. She held up the glowing red pendant from the thin chain on her neck. "Is this not enough proof for you, Charon? Let us on!"

What had been an invisible wall between them seemed to separate. "Hurry!" he ordered, the other souls clamoring to pass through and swamp the boat. It was only with the help of a blaze of fire that did not kill them, but stunned them partially, that the three were able to pass through.

"I can only let you across. You will have to face Cerberus on your own."

"I trust we are more than a match for a puppy like him." commented Hitomi offhandedly. Usagi, still blank-faced seemed unable to see anything. She didn't notice at all Tuxedo Kamen trying repeatedly to reach her from wherever her mind was.

It was only until when they reached the other side of the river and Usagi was drifting again, did they find out what Hitomi meant by a 'puppy'. A grisly, growling, snarling, drooling THREE-HEADED dog with huge teeth. Three pairs of huge teeth in fact. [2]

"Hitomi, what do you plan on doing?!" yelled Mars, jumping away when one wayward head snapped at her ankles. "We pass him." Hitomi threw something at the ground in front of it. Within seconds, the three heads were fighting over what she'd dropped, tearing it to shreds and devouring it. In moments, it lay still. "Did you just poison that thing?" asked Rei amazed. And a little nervous as well.

For once since they'd entered Queen Beryl's 'fortress' did she act more like her old self, "Who me? Nah, that thing was drugged." She continued on. At this point, Rei couldn't resist whispering to Tuxedo Kamen, "And where she gets these things from is beyond me."

Apparently it was beyond the masked man to hear her either. His eyes were fixed completely on Usagi's distant, transparent form. She somehow still had the courage, now that no grisly hands were grasping at her, to wonder how this guy could keep away from her for so long if he loved her this badly! How come I can't find a guy like that? He was perfect when he was going out with me, and then he had to find out his wonderful new/old love with my best friend and leave me out in the dirt. Then Yuiichiru… she stopped there, when she realized just how badly she was acting. The ex-band member was extremely wonderful to her and cared way more than Mamoru ever had. She fixed her mind back on what they were doing.

It was only a few minutes later of walking that they could see a dark throne room, lit dimly by small flaming torches. Usagi stopped directly in front, simply floating and staring distantly, not seeing anything.

There he was, sitting on his throne, a dark figure crowned by a black steel circle around his head. Hades, lord of the Underworld, God of Death. And beside him sat the cold queen Persephone. Mars had heard what had happened to her from her mother. The older queen had played with this woman in her childhood. It seemed impossible to believe that this silently beautiful queen had actually been a sweet girl-child loving of flowers, sunshine, and beauty.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Hades first off. "We want to bring the Princess back." replied Hitomi, her tone equally cool. She hasn't yet fulfilled her destiny. She needs to return and rule a time of peace in the distant future."

"She was killed. That is enough said. The Fates cut her string."

"SIRE! SIRE!" the horrible shrieks of the three old hags that were the fates came running. "Sire! Someone has tampered with the threads! Many were cut suddenly from nowhere. There was only a black staff and a red gem in front of us!"

Hitomi gestured to them, "Do you believe them?"

"How did this happen?" roared Hades, infuriated by what was happening. Who DARED to tamper with destiny? Persephone's marble white arm grasped her husband's. "Listen to his story." she advised, pointing to Tuxedo Kamen. "He has much to tell I think."

Hades started, before sighing and sitting back down on his throne. "Very well then. Speak young man."

"Where can I start?" wondered the masked boy out loud, "I met a princess on the moon three thousand years ago. A demigoddess, daughter of Selene herself. I fell in love. When a queen bent on taking over the universe escaped from her Dark Kingdom and into our universe, she killed us all.

"Only the power of Selene herself, for the sake of her daughter's happiness revived us all, and sent us into her future, our present to live a new life. The Queen was not supposed to escape the power of the Crystal. When she was killed, she was not supposed to come back. My brother was foolish in thinking he could control her and brought her back. She killed my beloved. And I've come with the help of these two to bring her back. I made enough mistakes to know I can't ever live without her, in our past, present or in the future."

He looked up to see Hades nodding gravely, and tears running down the face of the smooth face of his queen. Persephone… crying?

"My Lord, my Lady. We need our princess back. We were not there to guard her. She should never have used any power beyond her… please. Let us have her back."

For a moment, Hades hesitated. He was remembering a similar scene with a young man in the distant past named Orpheus and his wonderful lyre who'd sung for a young woman he'd loved as well. He'd never gotten her back. He'd died instead. And as during that time, for the first time since, the weeping Persephone begged him to let the young man have his love back. To give them a chance. Hitomi's words clinched it. "Too much rests on her, lord. She is the decision whether our worlds live or fail."

Even the Fates clamored for it, "Give her back! We didn't cut her thread! Bring her back, bring her back!"

Finally, with a great upheaval of breath. Hades nodded. Persephone, unlike before immediately embraced her husband, shocking all present, including her husband. In all the years he'd known her, she had never done anything outright to prove anything. "Go. Go back to your world. We will wait longer for us to meet again."

With one last smile, Hitomi nodded. "Thank you, lord." And with a rush of black wind, they were sent spinning through chaos again. They appeared back in Beryl's fortress, their army already ripping through the third line of defense. The saiyans were a godsend. Rei immediately turned her attention to the crystal. Usagi lay as still as she had before. Her heart dropped. Had it all been for nothing? Slowly, slowly, the paleness turned pinker as the blood in her veins began to flow, her chest rose and fell with soft breaths. And suddenly…

Her eyes opened. And with that, the shattering of the huge crystal that surrounded her was heard even in the middle of the battlefield. The ginzoushou flared into life as she sat up, eyes only on her prince. And it was with a half-crazed, frenzied embrace that he held her in, holding her as if never letting her go again.

"Prince. Princess. We have a fight to finish." Usagi nodded, eyes shifting into something different. She was no teenager. She was a queen.

"We do indeed." Pushing Endymion away, she stood up on her feet. "This ends today."

It was with swift, sure footsteps that she entered the 'throne room' that Beryl had created from her own power alone, staring at the black crystal ball before her, watching the battle. "We meet again, Princess." She said, not showing her anger, her shock at seeing her nemesis living and breathing again.

"Not princess. A queen." replied the golden-haired woman. And it was, even though she was trapped in her former teenager's body, she was the queen of Crystal Tokyo, ruler of the Golden Age.

"Forget your foolish plan. You were once consumed by the power of Metallia, she was destroyed. Why are you still doing this?"

"To kill you, you little bitch." fired Queen Beryl, sitting up, black Time Staff in hand. And just at that moment, everyone else that had been in their little 'army' charged in. With Queen Beryl's sudden shift of concentration, for those few crucial minutes, hers had been destroyed. They now watched in mixed horror as the Neo-Queen Serenity faced off against the ex-Queen of the Dark Kingdom, bent on retrieving her kingdom. The cornered lioness is always the most dangerous.

The red blast of light that erupted from Beryl's staff was uncalled for, but not entirely unexpected. What was unexpected was that it was aimed not for the Neo-queen, but her 'cheerleaders'. It was only with a swift movement, almost impossibly fast for human eyes to follow that she was able to block them with her slight form, catching the huge blast in her hands, and flinging it back at the queen. The woman dodged it, letting the blast and her throne explode into millions of flying rock pieces as she did so. Usagi didn't come off scot-free however. The blast had burned her hands brutally and she had to steel herself against the tears that sprung into her eyes at the pain.

"So the little princess still believes she can win against me? I am more powerful than Metallia has ever been… I've died and come back with full power, along with the power of the Garnet Orb that even 'Lady Pluto' never could control!"

Usagi narrowed her eyes as she pulled out her wand, the moon wand. "COSMIC… MOON… POWER!!" the blast of pink light that had twice decimated Queen Beryl and sent her to where she'd come from flew towards the auburn-haired queen. Alongside her, everyone else let loose with whatever projectile weapon or power blast they could throw at her.

With a scream, Queen Beryl disappeared in nothingness. Neo-Queen Serenity's hands fell, and she stared, rather confused… it had been a little too easy… what was wrong? Pluto cautiously reached for the Time Staff, but a blast of red energy made her wrench it back. The staff floated in the air for a few moments, and mocking laughter sounded all around them, echoing and re-echoing around the walls of the room. A voice which they knew and hated.

"DID YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU COULD KILL ME THAT EASILY, MOON BRAT?! WITH THIS TIME STAFF, I AM INVINCIBLE!"

A swirling of dust and air began to build up, a small hurricane that stayed exactly where it was without moving, and which had the focused attention of everyone present. As soon as it all disappeared, there stood Beryl, any wounds she might have received were invisible, if there even were. She smiled, rather evilly it must be said. "WELL, WELL… AREN'T YOU HAPPY TO SEE ME?" she asked rather sarcastically, whipping her hand out and grabbed the Time Staff which glowed at the touch of its mistress. Pluto stared at it. What is the matter with it? It shouldn't be able to work for someone with such an evil heart devoid of any purity!

The Neo-Queen's glare was terrifying indeed. "You can never win against me Beryl. You never could, and I swear by my kingdom, you sure as hell never will!" the senshi of the present were shocked. This was not their ditzy Usagi, this was the Royal Queen, leader of the Senshi of the Royal Palace. This was what she would become.

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN AGAINST ME!" yelled the queen. Serenity ignored her, she didn't care for idle threats. What was said was enough, there was no need to waste any more breath. Holding the wand, she faced the older woman again. "COSMIC… MOON… POWER!"

It would never work. If Beryl was blasted away, she would continue coming back. It seemed a hopeless battle already.

Chibi-Usa couldn't stand it any more. She knew what her mother wanted to do. She'd died once already… would she die again just to save all of them?! "MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A tear escaped from the corner of her eye, sliding down her face, before falling from her chin. As it fell, it seemed to pause in the air, solidifying and growing all in the same split-second. Magically, another ginzoushou appeared in her hands, glowing golden as she looked awed at the many-faceted gemstone.

She held it up, letting it catch the light of a wayward sunbeam that had somehow found its way through the dark clouds and through a window. As she stepped up, her senshi uniform shredded itself, reforming into a white dress, similar to what Princess Usagi had worn the day she had died in the Silver Millennium. Together, mother and daughter held the two precious gems outwards, away from them, one in a wand, the other in a child's hands. The symbols of present and future. "COSMIC… MOON… POWER!" This time, everyone else joined in, throwing whatever else they had at the queen, watching relentlessly as she screamed. "NO! I WILL NOT DIE! I WON'T GO BACK! I WON'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" her last wail disappeared along with her as the Time Staff was wrenched from her grasp, flying into Pluto's, becoming the light lavender it had been originally.

It was with stunned amazement, that all exited that building, and watched as the sun came out, melting the dead corpses on their 'battlefield' into nothingness. Soon enough, there was nothing more but the seemingly endless beauty of a field of wildflowers and long blades of grass.

~*~*~*~

"We have to go back now, Your Highness." Pluto said, bowing to her Queen. "Yes… I know…" then, as suddenly as she had become the Queen of Crystal Tokyo, she just as suddenly became normal Usagi again. She ran towards her friends, hugging them. "Thanks all of you… I would never have survived in this dimension if it weren't for you…"

Gohan turned red and Usagi laughed at him, but not unkindly. "Hey, despite what you think, I'm not the girl for you. A certain black-haired femme is waiting for you to practice your comforting techniques down at the U… you have some explaining to do."

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Usagi smiled, hugging them all again, another time. Luna, slipping between legs was picked up and patted and stroked by (most of) the family and friends of the Sons.

Rei was having a similar discussion with her friends from Gaia. Especially Alan and Millerna. Alan was still trying his damndest not to be attracted to the princess and the princess was feeling melancholy about both Dryden, and Alan's cold shoulder. It took the priestess's shoving of her friend Minako, the reputed Love Goddess the smack some sense in the two. She had done pretty well herself with Van and Hitomi and Minako credited her with that. Rei then basked in the glow of her own accomplishment.

With a smile, both Pluto's raised their staffs high above their heads. "MAY TIME FLOW AS IT ONCE WAS! SEND US ALL BACK TO WHERE WE ARE MEANT TO BE!"

And so, this is how the adventure that melded three worlds together for a little while came around.

The youma that was still standing there when the senshi returned was easily destroyed, and Usagi and Mamoru continued loving each other for as long as forever. This sickness would come to pass… King Endymion had said so. It was sometimes great to have the fringe benefits of being superheroes/heroines.

~*~*~*~

[1] A banshee is a protective being of one family, and when one of their members is about to die, they visit to keen over the dead body, in mourning.

[2] I neither made Cerberus up, nor did I copy it from Harry Potter. This is the original name for the only three-headed dog that guarded Hades, god of the Dead.

So was that okay? Should I be banned from ever using a keyboard? Tell me! Love it? Hate it? I left it open-ended without tying anything down. I mean, truly, they're all young, they probably won't all have just one huge lovefest and vow eternal love for all time to each other. They're still kids! (like me!) And if my boyfriend (when I get one) suddenly gets down on his knees and says he loves me and he'll marry me someday, I'll be struck dumb for a few seconds, then I'll laugh. Then when he starts to storm out embarrassed, I'll probably repeat, just what I've said here! Good plan, ne?

REVIEW ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!