Sorry, everyone. I thought I had already put this one out, and didn't notice that I hadn't. And, in case anyone noticed, the whole story was on FanFiction.net for about two days, but then I noticed that I hadn't edited it, so I'll be putting the chapters out a tinsy bit slowly. I'm puting out two now to make up for the long wait.
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Mina ran as fast as she could towards Serena's house. 'I got to get Artemis, but I don't have time.' She thought to herself. 'Raye! I'll beep Raye and tell her to pick up Artemis before she gets to Serena's.' Mina flipped open her communicator, pressed the buttons with the symbols of Mars, Uranus and Neptune. "Guys!" Mina shouted into the communicator when the all the faces except for Amara appeared. "Where's Amara?" she asked.
"Amara's driving." Michelle responded. "I'm scared enough with her at this speed; I think her concentrating on something else would be pushing it." Mina nodded. But before she could say anything, Raye interrupted.
"Umm, not to mean or anything, but could we hurry up. I have to get to class. Speaking of which, Mina, why aren't you in class."
"It's Rini." Mina said. She watched as the two faces became incredibly worried. "She's disappeared. Something happened to the timeline, and she doesn't exist. The students and teacher in her class said that she held up a key and disappeared in pink light before she completely faded away. So we're hoping that she made it to the Time Gate in time. Either way, we've got a serious problem; the school is panicking, the reporters are eating this up, and Serena's going to be beating herself up because she didn't send Rini home where it would have been safe. I'm on my way to Serena's now; I need to tell her mother, and everyone else is meeting there."
"Alright." Michelle said. "Amara and I will be there in a few minutes. We just need to pick up Hotaru." Michelle's face disappeared from view.
"I'm on my way too, I just need to tell the teacher that I won't be here." Before Raye could close her communicator, Mina called out.
"Wait Raye! I need you to stop by my house and pick up Artemis. The upstairs hall window will be open, although you'll probably have to transform to get to it. Good luck." Mina smiled and closed her communicator before Raye could complain. 'Perfect timing,' Mina thought. She had reached the Tsukino house, now she just had to go in. 'Come on Mina, you've faced worse. Although, given the choice, I think I would rather face Beryl again.'
Mina had started walking down the front path when Ikuko saw her. "Mina?" she said, watching the girl. "Mina! Why aren't you at school?" Ikuko got a look at the Mina's face and saw the pain she was trying to conceal. "Oh my God, Mina what happened? Is Serena okay? Rini?"
Ikuko started panicking, and that didn't help Mina. 'Great, I was hoping that she could be the calm one right now. Why couldn't Lita or Amy have down this?' "Serena's more or less fine Mrs. Tsukino. It's Rini."
Ikuko stopped panicking for a split second when she found out that Serena was fine, but paled when she heard that Rini wasn't.
"What happened?" Ikuko said, quieter, noticing that Mina was just as scared. Mina may be a soldier, but she was still a sixteen-year-old girl, and needed a calm adult, or leader, to be calm herself.
"Why don't we go inside." Mina suggested, walking towards the front door. "And have you seen Luna?"
Ikuko poured them both tea while Mina went to upstairs to get Luna. In Mina's opinion, telling Ikuko was awful, but telling Luna was worse. As Mina explained what had happened, Luna saw exactly what Mina was trying to cover up. Mina failed to mention that Rini's disappearance and the "problem in the time line" could only be caused by the death of either Serena or Darien, also that they didn't know if she had safely gotten to the Gate of Time. Although, had Ikuko not been as worried as she was, she would have realized it as well. Most likely, Ikuko would figure it out soon, but for now it was better that she not have to know. Luna made a mental note to praise Mina for her sense of good judgment.
Serena walked through the door almost ten minutes after Mina had finished explaining what had happened. She went straight to her mother and settled down beside her, gratefully accepting the arm her mother wrapped around her shoulders. Mina and the cats remained silent, just thinking of what to do next. Amy went to call Darien, and Lita went outside to calm down Amara and explain to the outers what was going on. Raye appeared a few minutes later with Artemis in tow, and ever so gracefully broke the silence.
"Mina!" Raye screeched when she spotted Mina in the living room. "The next time you need to get someone to sneak into your house, you do it! Or at least, at least, tell the person trying to get in that the only window open not only is on the second floor, but also happens to have plants sitting directly below it!"
Serena barely heard any of it; she was still too caught up in what was happening. Mina, however, was forced to listen to Raye's screeching. When Darien finally burst into the room, Mina realized that she had never been happier to see him.
"Serena." Was the only word Darien said when her entered the room. He ran straight for Serena and wrapped his arms around her. Ikuko realized at that moment that she hadn't even called to tell Kenji and Sammy what was happening, and walked into the kitchen to call them. "I got here as fast as I could." He whispered to her, holding her tightly.
Serena nodded, slightly, and sat up. She looked around the room and noticed that all the scouts, except Pluto of course, were gathered around her, watching her to see what she was going to say. "First things first," Serena said, trying to collect her words. This was going to be one of the most difficult things she would ever have to say, and not everyone would be happy about it, but it was the right thing to say. "I'm not completely stupid. I know for a fact that I'm bound to lose my control and make reckless decisions, so, if it hits that point, I turn my position as leader over to Mina, and, as of now, Mina may overrule me at any time."
The room was quiet for a few seconds. Serena had never done this before; she just usually went ahead and made the decision. However, this was solid proof that Serena was starting to grow up. As many expected, the person who the words affected more then Mina was Amara, and she wasn't going to take it lightly.
"Mina!" Amara screamed, standing up. "You're picking Mina to lead all of us?! Are you nuts? Mina doesn't know how to lead! She isn't even the next strongest fighter! The leader should be the strongest! That would mean that Hotaru should be leading, but she's too young and too close to Rini! And since the outers are stronger then the inners, one of us should be leading!"
"In other words," Serena said speaking softly. Darien and many of the girls silently thought that Serena's quiet words were making more of an impact then Amara's quiet ones. "You want to be leader."
No one said anything, even though they all know it was true. Since the room was silent, Serena continued. "Amara, I understand why you think that you deserve to be second in command. You believe that since you, and the other outers hold more power then the rest of us, you deserve to lead the Scouts. Now, Saturn can't lead this one, she's too close to Rini and might make hasty decisions. Pluto isn't here. Neptune could lead, but she isn't quite as good at ordering us around, and can't always but together an effective battle plan." Michelle would have responded to that, but decided to let it be for now. Serena was trying to make a point, and Amara did need a good lecture. She still couldn't believe that Amara had actually acted like that. "And so that leaves you, Uranus. You're the strongest soldier with the least attachment to Rini. But, what you fail to realize, is that Venus used to be the leader of the Scouts, but because I became Sailor Moon, she never had to take over. That's why I'm telling her now that she can take over whenever it is necessary. I'm sorry if you aren't happy with this arrangement Amara, but, for once, I ask you to suck up your pride and deal with it. You will take orders from Mina when I am unable to give them, and you will follow those orders without arguing. Is that understood?"
Needless to say, everyone in the room was extremely shocked at how Serena had treated Amara. Usually, when giving orders like that, she would have just said straight out that Amara was to follow what she said. Instead, she had stated exactly what Amara thought, then explained why her choice was made, and that it would not be changed. She had even said the whole thing calmly, not once screaming, wailing, or sounding at all scared.
"Yes, Princess." Amara said, turning away to sit against a wall. She herself had never expected Serena to act like that, much less give an order like that without once raising her voice.
"Just out of curiosity," Michelle said, trying to break the tension. "What is the command order?"
"Well," Serena said, gathering her thoughts. "I believe it goes me, then Venus, then Mercury, the Mars, then Jupiter, then Uranus, then you Neptune. Actually, it cycles through the Inners, then the Outers can actually chose who gives the orders. Hotaru, you fit in there somewhere, but because of your attack, I think that they thought that putting you as leader could be dangerous. And as for Pluto, because she is Guardian of Time, she can override our orders at any time, and then we follow her without question. It's quite confusing really, especially when you take into consideration where Rini belongs. Naturally, because she is still in training, she holds little authority over us. However, when she becomes a full trained Sailor Scout, its hard to say how much authority she will have over this team."
Everyone was silent for a few moments, trying to sort out exactly what had been said. it was a huge shock to everyone when the room was suddenly filled with pink light and a small pink cloud appeared in the air.
"What in theā¦" Serena said, when suddenly the light disappeared, leaving only a small envelope on Serena's lap. "Rini?" Serena whispered, quiet enough that only Darien could hear her. "It's from Rini!" she said loudly, causing everyone in the room, and Ikuko, to move closer to her.
"What's it say Serena?" Hotaru said eagerly.
"Serena," Serena read, 'Well, at least her writing is neater then mine.' Serena thought. "I made it to the Time Gate, so don't worry about that. Pluto is with me. The reason I disappeared is because of a battle that you will all be involved in tomorrow. A new enemy has come from the future into the past. She wants to destroy you before you can create Crystal Tokyo (don't worry, that's still a few years away). In the battle, because she is incredibly strong, you are going to use the full power of the Silver Crystal, and that's going to kill you. That's why I disappeared. You cannot do that. Whatever happens, you must not use the Crystal to that extent. I've seen the future without you, and not only will I not exist, but the world won't either. In just a few years, because the Earth will no longer be protected, it will be completely destroyed. We can't let that happen. The battle will take place tomorrow morning at dawn. Please be ready. Lots of Love, Rini." Serena stopped reading and looked up at the faces of everyone in the room. It was a mixture of concern, fear, worry, and surprise. Darien's face was filled with all that, as was Serena's herself. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if that future took place, but he realized one thing that Rini had left out. If Serena was killed in battle, most likely, himself and the scouts would be dead soon after that. They could work without her.
"Alright." Luna said, breaking the silence. "Training session at the temple right now. We don't have much time."
They all knew that it was useless, less then a day of training wouldn't do much for the Scout's powers. But at least it would keep their mind off the current outcome of the battle.
Ikuko, Kenji, and Sammy stayed up waiting for Serena to come home. Luna had decided that they should all go home and spend a few hours with their families. Lita had gone straight to Ken's, since she didn't have anyone at home, and Darien had gone to see Andrew. All of them wanted more then anything to not have to think that this may be the last time they see their families or friends, but at least this time they were given a warning about the possible outcome, so at least this time they could say goodbye.
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I know, kinda short, and I use letters *way* too much. But that would be the best way to communicate in this case. Anyway, the battle is next, and I did my best on it. And PLEASE review! Pretty please^.^
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Mina ran as fast as she could towards Serena's house. 'I got to get Artemis, but I don't have time.' She thought to herself. 'Raye! I'll beep Raye and tell her to pick up Artemis before she gets to Serena's.' Mina flipped open her communicator, pressed the buttons with the symbols of Mars, Uranus and Neptune. "Guys!" Mina shouted into the communicator when the all the faces except for Amara appeared. "Where's Amara?" she asked.
"Amara's driving." Michelle responded. "I'm scared enough with her at this speed; I think her concentrating on something else would be pushing it." Mina nodded. But before she could say anything, Raye interrupted.
"Umm, not to mean or anything, but could we hurry up. I have to get to class. Speaking of which, Mina, why aren't you in class."
"It's Rini." Mina said. She watched as the two faces became incredibly worried. "She's disappeared. Something happened to the timeline, and she doesn't exist. The students and teacher in her class said that she held up a key and disappeared in pink light before she completely faded away. So we're hoping that she made it to the Time Gate in time. Either way, we've got a serious problem; the school is panicking, the reporters are eating this up, and Serena's going to be beating herself up because she didn't send Rini home where it would have been safe. I'm on my way to Serena's now; I need to tell her mother, and everyone else is meeting there."
"Alright." Michelle said. "Amara and I will be there in a few minutes. We just need to pick up Hotaru." Michelle's face disappeared from view.
"I'm on my way too, I just need to tell the teacher that I won't be here." Before Raye could close her communicator, Mina called out.
"Wait Raye! I need you to stop by my house and pick up Artemis. The upstairs hall window will be open, although you'll probably have to transform to get to it. Good luck." Mina smiled and closed her communicator before Raye could complain. 'Perfect timing,' Mina thought. She had reached the Tsukino house, now she just had to go in. 'Come on Mina, you've faced worse. Although, given the choice, I think I would rather face Beryl again.'
Mina had started walking down the front path when Ikuko saw her. "Mina?" she said, watching the girl. "Mina! Why aren't you at school?" Ikuko got a look at the Mina's face and saw the pain she was trying to conceal. "Oh my God, Mina what happened? Is Serena okay? Rini?"
Ikuko started panicking, and that didn't help Mina. 'Great, I was hoping that she could be the calm one right now. Why couldn't Lita or Amy have down this?' "Serena's more or less fine Mrs. Tsukino. It's Rini."
Ikuko stopped panicking for a split second when she found out that Serena was fine, but paled when she heard that Rini wasn't.
"What happened?" Ikuko said, quieter, noticing that Mina was just as scared. Mina may be a soldier, but she was still a sixteen-year-old girl, and needed a calm adult, or leader, to be calm herself.
"Why don't we go inside." Mina suggested, walking towards the front door. "And have you seen Luna?"
Ikuko poured them both tea while Mina went to upstairs to get Luna. In Mina's opinion, telling Ikuko was awful, but telling Luna was worse. As Mina explained what had happened, Luna saw exactly what Mina was trying to cover up. Mina failed to mention that Rini's disappearance and the "problem in the time line" could only be caused by the death of either Serena or Darien, also that they didn't know if she had safely gotten to the Gate of Time. Although, had Ikuko not been as worried as she was, she would have realized it as well. Most likely, Ikuko would figure it out soon, but for now it was better that she not have to know. Luna made a mental note to praise Mina for her sense of good judgment.
Serena walked through the door almost ten minutes after Mina had finished explaining what had happened. She went straight to her mother and settled down beside her, gratefully accepting the arm her mother wrapped around her shoulders. Mina and the cats remained silent, just thinking of what to do next. Amy went to call Darien, and Lita went outside to calm down Amara and explain to the outers what was going on. Raye appeared a few minutes later with Artemis in tow, and ever so gracefully broke the silence.
"Mina!" Raye screeched when she spotted Mina in the living room. "The next time you need to get someone to sneak into your house, you do it! Or at least, at least, tell the person trying to get in that the only window open not only is on the second floor, but also happens to have plants sitting directly below it!"
Serena barely heard any of it; she was still too caught up in what was happening. Mina, however, was forced to listen to Raye's screeching. When Darien finally burst into the room, Mina realized that she had never been happier to see him.
"Serena." Was the only word Darien said when her entered the room. He ran straight for Serena and wrapped his arms around her. Ikuko realized at that moment that she hadn't even called to tell Kenji and Sammy what was happening, and walked into the kitchen to call them. "I got here as fast as I could." He whispered to her, holding her tightly.
Serena nodded, slightly, and sat up. She looked around the room and noticed that all the scouts, except Pluto of course, were gathered around her, watching her to see what she was going to say. "First things first," Serena said, trying to collect her words. This was going to be one of the most difficult things she would ever have to say, and not everyone would be happy about it, but it was the right thing to say. "I'm not completely stupid. I know for a fact that I'm bound to lose my control and make reckless decisions, so, if it hits that point, I turn my position as leader over to Mina, and, as of now, Mina may overrule me at any time."
The room was quiet for a few seconds. Serena had never done this before; she just usually went ahead and made the decision. However, this was solid proof that Serena was starting to grow up. As many expected, the person who the words affected more then Mina was Amara, and she wasn't going to take it lightly.
"Mina!" Amara screamed, standing up. "You're picking Mina to lead all of us?! Are you nuts? Mina doesn't know how to lead! She isn't even the next strongest fighter! The leader should be the strongest! That would mean that Hotaru should be leading, but she's too young and too close to Rini! And since the outers are stronger then the inners, one of us should be leading!"
"In other words," Serena said speaking softly. Darien and many of the girls silently thought that Serena's quiet words were making more of an impact then Amara's quiet ones. "You want to be leader."
No one said anything, even though they all know it was true. Since the room was silent, Serena continued. "Amara, I understand why you think that you deserve to be second in command. You believe that since you, and the other outers hold more power then the rest of us, you deserve to lead the Scouts. Now, Saturn can't lead this one, she's too close to Rini and might make hasty decisions. Pluto isn't here. Neptune could lead, but she isn't quite as good at ordering us around, and can't always but together an effective battle plan." Michelle would have responded to that, but decided to let it be for now. Serena was trying to make a point, and Amara did need a good lecture. She still couldn't believe that Amara had actually acted like that. "And so that leaves you, Uranus. You're the strongest soldier with the least attachment to Rini. But, what you fail to realize, is that Venus used to be the leader of the Scouts, but because I became Sailor Moon, she never had to take over. That's why I'm telling her now that she can take over whenever it is necessary. I'm sorry if you aren't happy with this arrangement Amara, but, for once, I ask you to suck up your pride and deal with it. You will take orders from Mina when I am unable to give them, and you will follow those orders without arguing. Is that understood?"
Needless to say, everyone in the room was extremely shocked at how Serena had treated Amara. Usually, when giving orders like that, she would have just said straight out that Amara was to follow what she said. Instead, she had stated exactly what Amara thought, then explained why her choice was made, and that it would not be changed. She had even said the whole thing calmly, not once screaming, wailing, or sounding at all scared.
"Yes, Princess." Amara said, turning away to sit against a wall. She herself had never expected Serena to act like that, much less give an order like that without once raising her voice.
"Just out of curiosity," Michelle said, trying to break the tension. "What is the command order?"
"Well," Serena said, gathering her thoughts. "I believe it goes me, then Venus, then Mercury, the Mars, then Jupiter, then Uranus, then you Neptune. Actually, it cycles through the Inners, then the Outers can actually chose who gives the orders. Hotaru, you fit in there somewhere, but because of your attack, I think that they thought that putting you as leader could be dangerous. And as for Pluto, because she is Guardian of Time, she can override our orders at any time, and then we follow her without question. It's quite confusing really, especially when you take into consideration where Rini belongs. Naturally, because she is still in training, she holds little authority over us. However, when she becomes a full trained Sailor Scout, its hard to say how much authority she will have over this team."
Everyone was silent for a few moments, trying to sort out exactly what had been said. it was a huge shock to everyone when the room was suddenly filled with pink light and a small pink cloud appeared in the air.
"What in theā¦" Serena said, when suddenly the light disappeared, leaving only a small envelope on Serena's lap. "Rini?" Serena whispered, quiet enough that only Darien could hear her. "It's from Rini!" she said loudly, causing everyone in the room, and Ikuko, to move closer to her.
"What's it say Serena?" Hotaru said eagerly.
"Serena," Serena read, 'Well, at least her writing is neater then mine.' Serena thought. "I made it to the Time Gate, so don't worry about that. Pluto is with me. The reason I disappeared is because of a battle that you will all be involved in tomorrow. A new enemy has come from the future into the past. She wants to destroy you before you can create Crystal Tokyo (don't worry, that's still a few years away). In the battle, because she is incredibly strong, you are going to use the full power of the Silver Crystal, and that's going to kill you. That's why I disappeared. You cannot do that. Whatever happens, you must not use the Crystal to that extent. I've seen the future without you, and not only will I not exist, but the world won't either. In just a few years, because the Earth will no longer be protected, it will be completely destroyed. We can't let that happen. The battle will take place tomorrow morning at dawn. Please be ready. Lots of Love, Rini." Serena stopped reading and looked up at the faces of everyone in the room. It was a mixture of concern, fear, worry, and surprise. Darien's face was filled with all that, as was Serena's herself. He couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if that future took place, but he realized one thing that Rini had left out. If Serena was killed in battle, most likely, himself and the scouts would be dead soon after that. They could work without her.
"Alright." Luna said, breaking the silence. "Training session at the temple right now. We don't have much time."
They all knew that it was useless, less then a day of training wouldn't do much for the Scout's powers. But at least it would keep their mind off the current outcome of the battle.
Ikuko, Kenji, and Sammy stayed up waiting for Serena to come home. Luna had decided that they should all go home and spend a few hours with their families. Lita had gone straight to Ken's, since she didn't have anyone at home, and Darien had gone to see Andrew. All of them wanted more then anything to not have to think that this may be the last time they see their families or friends, but at least this time they were given a warning about the possible outcome, so at least this time they could say goodbye.
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I know, kinda short, and I use letters *way* too much. But that would be the best way to communicate in this case. Anyway, the battle is next, and I did my best on it. And PLEASE review! Pretty please^.^
