Chapter Three

            "Nothing, Raye?"

            The soldier of Mars sighed, "Nothing. The fire shows me nothing."

            The queen nodded and turned to Mirchiru next. The elder woman sighed and shook her head,

            "The ocean is restless, churning but that's all I know. As to why it is so restless, I don't know."

            "Greg, have you got an visions?"

            Mercury Knight, the only knight allowed into this meeting due to his psychic sense, shook his head,

            "No, none."

            The queen sighed deeply.

            "So all we know," Mina spoke out, 'Is that there's immense danger."

            "As bad, if not worse, than Galaxia," a wise voice said softly. The Senshi turned,

            "Setsuna-mama! You're away from your post!" Hotaru's surprise was quite clear. The eldest Senshi nodded and approached her surrogate daughter,

            "Hai, Hotaru." There was worry in her soft voice, "Something has happened to the time lines. Something that, if not corrected, will affect the Crystal Senshi."

            The Senshi felt a wave of fear for their future great-grandchildren. Pluto continued,

            "As far as I can tell, they will still exist but as for the world they live in…I don't know."

            The queen swallowed; the battle with Galaxia still stormed her nightmares at times. She had never fought a more terrifying battle. Her friends had been lost one by one. Her love destroyed. Her daughter ceased to exist. And while she had won the final battle, it terrified her to fight alone, a trait she had passed onto Cosmic Moon.

            The room spun around her and with a flop, the queen of Crystal Tokyo fell to the ground in a dead faint.

            "Serenity!"

            Neo-Queen Serenity sat up. But she wasn't a queen anymore. She wasn't a Senshi either, no, she was in her princess dress, a dress she had since passed onto her daughter. She looked around, she was on the moon. The ruins were of the prayer room.

            "Princess Serenity, iie, Neo-Queen Serenity."

            The blond haired woman looked up, some small blond strands falling into her deep blue eyes. Tears fell down her face.

            "Mother."

            Queen Serenity looked down at her daughter, her silver pigtails blowing. She knelt and pulled her daughter into her arms.

            "I fear for you, Serenity. This enemy…she's cruel, ruthless. Her…her…nature will make Galaxia look like an angel."

            The younger queen looked at her mother with frightened eyes,

            "But…my daughter…and the other generations."

            "this is not your battle to fight daughter. I came to warn you. You will not be able to stop this demon. Not even my Silver Crystal could destroy her, not even two could destroy her. This battle will be for Cosmic Moon and the Cosmic Senshi to fight."

            "But the Chibi Senshi aren't to become Senshi for a few years."

            The queen shook her head, "No, Serenity. A Senshi is not determined by age. When their soul and heart beats with the force of a true Senshi, their guardian deity does the rest."

            "But Mother, we have so much more experience than the Cosmic Senshi."

            The queen nodded, "But the Cosmic Senshi are still very much divided. They must unite and I'm afraid that this cruel and very deadly battle is the only way to do that."

            "Mother…why are you telling me this?" Tears fell down Neo-Queen Serenity's face. Her mother wrapped her arms around her and held her close to her chest.

            "Because, although I don't know exactly how the battle will turn out, know that I'll be with you."

            Tears came and Serenity nodded. The queen of Silver Millennium tilted her head down and planted a kiss on the crescent moon of the Queen of the Crystal Millennium. 

            "Keep your faith, daughter."

            "Serenity?"

            Neo-Queen Serenity blinked and found herself gazing up into deep violet eyes.

            "Raye?"

            The soldier of Mars let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, Odango Atama, don't do that!"

            She hugged the queen close and the queen gave her a hug back, to hopefully calm down her best friend. The other Senshi gave loud cries of relief. King Endymion pushed his way forward and embraced his wife. She leaned against his chest, drawing comfort from his warm hug.

            "Serenity!" he drew her closer. "What happened?"

            "Queen Serenity…I saw Queen Serenity."

            Everyone froze. Tears fell from their queen's eyes,

            "But I wish it was good news."

            Endymion squeezed his wife tighter. She took a breath,

            "But I have to tell you."

            She sat up and started to speak, despite the fear they could see in her usually bright eyes. Raye sat down her, on the floor of the council chamber, not caring how undignified she looked. She wrapped her arms around her best friend and patted her hand.

            "This battle isn't ours to fight. Not even the Silver Crystal can beat this villain."

            That left everyone gasping. Raye raised her hand and said, "Let her finish."

            Serenity was obviously distraught, "She said that this battle is the Chibi Senshi's battle."

            "Nani?" Lita leapt to her feet, as the Senshi of Protection, this was unacceptable to her. "What? They're just children!"

            Serenity nodded, "I know, Lita. But that's what Serenity said."

            Before another word could be said, the door was flung open and Ariel and the other Chibi Senshi came running in. Faith was carrying Annika on her back and nearly doubled over from the weight. Raye jumped up and removed her daughter from the girl's back. Faith stood upright and arched her back. Annika had worn herself out crying.

            "Girls," it was Mina. "What happened?"

            Faith looked behind her. Maggie, Daisy, and Hope were walking in, slowly.

            An unconscious and mangled Cosmic Moon was leaning on them. They were trying as best they could to keep her feet from dragging but it was hard.

            Endymion raced to them and lifted his baby girl from their backs and into his arms. Tears fell down his face, freely.

            The mangled and bloody remains of her pink wings clung to her back in thin strips. Her scepter, or rather the remains were held in Madelyn's hands. Serenity ran to her daughter. Greg grabbed his queen and said softly,

            "You can't do anything, my Queen."

            Serenity could only watch as her daughter, husband and Amy disappeared.

            Mina managed to tear herself from comforting her queen to find out what happened.

            Hope spoke, "We couldn't henshin."

            "Nani?"

            Faith nodded, "none of us could."
            Ariel trembled, "Just like my dream."

            Mina made a mental note to ask about that later. Then she took note,

            "Where's Gloria?"

            No answer.

            Mina forgot about being a commander. This was her daughter!

            "Where's my daughter?"

            "They took her Aunt Mina." A soft voice called. Turning, Mina saw Annika and Raye coming back in. Annika had red eyes and was clutching her mother,

            "They said that they…they wanted to drain our power…almost took me, Gloria offered herself for me."

            Mina's heart froze while Annika burst into tears again, "My fault! Why didn't they take me?!"

            Mina sat down hard. Faith walked over to her mentor and took her hand. Mina didn't say anything for a minute. Then all of a sudden, she let out a fierce cry and buried her face into her hands.

            "Gloria!"

            "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen!"

            Raye stopped and ducked into the prayer room.

            Annika sat in front of the fire and impatiently gave the chant again. She once again received no reply. She crinkled her forehead. She was in fault. She was gonna get her best friend back, even if it meant she had to…

            She pushed that thought form her mind and then decided on a new objective.

            "Tell me about Hiroshima."

            The image the fire showed her was of the universe at its birth. People were born and then as there became more, the first wars began. A black mist shimmered into existence and then took on her form, became Hiroshima.

            Annika screamed.

            "That's who she is," she thought with fear circulating through every inch of her soul. "she's the incarnation of evil itself."