Author's Note: Several things are working against me today. One is that because the faculty thought students would prefer coming in at lunch time to leaving at lunch time, school is delayed and I can't seem to find a ride to get there. ::sighs:: Then there's that damned AOL business, and explorer is slow as all get out, so if this ever gets posted it's purely by the grace of God, Allah, (insert deity of worship here) or me.

            Washu stepped out of her portal and looked around. A group of extremely surprised people were staring at her. She smiled and waved. "Hi!" Then she calmly walked down the line to Selenity's vehicle. Selenity was staring. Washu put her hands on her hips and said, "Is this the warm welcome you give all your friends?"

            Selenity seemed to break whatever spell had been holding her and got out of her seat to give the little genius a hug. "What are you doing here, Washu? I thought no one was out here."

            The pink-hared imp winked. "You know I have my methods, but what's more important is the message I have from your mother."

            Selenity blinked. "My mother? What is it?"

            Washu looked around and took Selenity off to the side where prying ears couldn't reach. "This might be hard to understand, but wait before you tell the other Senshi," Washu said in a low voice. "Ayeka is alive."

            Selenity thought her ears would never stop ringing. After Washu had revealed that Ayeka was alive, trapped underground for the past decade, she'd feinted. Now she just lay in her tent, staring blindly. What kind of friend was she that she didn't even try to find Ayeka? She'd just accepted it and let her best friend go. She loved Ayeka, they were sisters of the soul, how could she have listened when they said she was gone?

            Outside her tent, the other Senshi were holding a small meeting. "What's wrong with her? One minute Washu appears, the next she's gone and Selenity is—"

            Rei waved a hand at Makoto. "Shut-up! Washu doesn't flaunt her abilities shamelessly and without reason. Something must have happened back home, I can't think of anything else that would upset Selenity so much."

            Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru sat apart from the others. Hotaru looked at her elders. "What do you think? I felt something the moment I set foot on this planet, something other."

            Michiru nodded. "Yes, it was like the roots of every plant were trying to reach up and touch us, I'm surprised Makoto didn't say anything with her close relationship to flora."

            The red-eyed Setsuna tapped her lower lip with a finger nail. "I personally have some idea, but my powers of the future have not been very open with me upon our arrival here. It seems the very air and stone of this planet is saturated with planet power. That's why it matured into a habitable world so fast. The question is how?"

            Haruka watched the Inner Senshi bicker amongst themselves and said, "It probably has something to do with Ayeka and Sailor Terra. Do you think it's possible the planet didn't kill her? I mean, once enough of it had assembled, she'd regain her powers as a Senshi and maybe the planet…absorbed her."

            Hotaru shivered. That was a disturbing thought. She felt something, like a gently shock up her spine. Turning in the direction it had come from, she found she faced the wasteland. The other three continued talking as she stared. "I think something's out there," she said quietly. Setsuna looked at Hotaru as Haruka continued to argue in her ear.

            Setsuna held up a hand and Haruka went silent. Looking at Hotaru she asked, "What are you sensing, Saturn?"

            Sailor Saturn rose to her feet, still wearing the appearance of Hotaru Tomoe. "Evil, darkness, and strong protection. Something good is trapped out there." The Inners now were watching Saturn as well. Abruptly, Saturn transformed and her glaive appeared in an upraised hand. She pointed it straight ahead. "There."

            The others rose to their feet. Ami bit her lip then turned and said, "I'm going to get Selenity. We'll catch up." The rest nodded and transformed. Saturn led the way across the strangely cold landscape of blackened and shriveled plants. They weren't burned, more drained. The Senshi couldn't sense any life, and the air was unusually dry. The sun on their backs didn't feel warm, it had lost that power here.

            "This is creepy," Venus said.

            Neptune nodded. "Yes, especially when the rest of the planet is bursting with life." Queen Selenity and Sailor Mercury caught up with the group as they trudged along behind Saturn. The Senshi of death and rebirth then picked up the pace and rushed dead ahead. They all eyed the dead plant growth wearily, ready for an enemy to appear.

            Saturn abruptly stopped at a thick patch where one couldn't see through all the dead matter. She tapped it with her glaive and it crumbled like a curtain. It revealed a doorway, made entirely out of some kind of silvery metal and with only a few carvings on it. Mercury came forward with her computer and did a scan. "Hmm, there's no readings at all unusual except the existence of the structure itself."

            Selenity stepped forward and examined the door with interest. She reached out and touched it with a finger. The door slid back and then to the side, opening into a large chamber. Mars held up a hand and it turned into a torch as she cautiously entered. Then came Venus, Jupiter, Ami, Selenity, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto. The order was important, because the door slammed shut between Uranus and Saturn. As the Senshi turned at the sound, Venus stumbled and fell on top of Mars, whose flame went out.

            The room was completely dark for a moment, then a dull glow seemed to emanate from the walls. Venus and Mars got back on their feet. "Now what? The door's closed," Jupiter said.

            Selenity looked around and took note of their surroundings as the light grew stronger. She frowned and walked towards a rectangular box that glowed the most. It grew drastically brighter as she approached, and was about seven feet long. Serenity rested a hand on it and the light practically blinded her. She stepped back and shielded her eyes with her hands. As the glow died down, she heard someone gasp so she looked up.

            A ghost-like figure hovered over the cover of the white, stone box. It was a young woman with pale hair and wearing a red and black body suit. Selenity frowned and inched closer. "OOH! This is so exciting!" said a whiny voice. The Senshi turned to look at the voice's source and saw Washu standing in the corner. Her eyes were shining and she looked ecstatic. She danced over next to Selenity. "Do you know what this is? It's one of the Guardians of Terra! I wish I knew which, Hilde should know."

            Ami took out her super computer again and frowned. "I can't find anything on 'Guardians of Terra.'"

            Washu waggled a finger in her face. "And neither will you. Terra fell before the Moon Kingdom was founded, it's survivors were few and they faded into the underdeveloped cultures of the moon and Earth. It's a fascinating story, Setsuna may or may not know it all. Hilde is the best one to go to for this, her grandmother was the last Queen of Terra."

            The Senshi shared looks. "Once again, Setsuna knows more than she's telling," Mars said.

            Selenity nodded, then said quietly, "When Pandora opened her box, the one evil she successfully kept inside was Foreboding. Pluto knows what will happen, good and bad, would you really want to know?" Mars and the others looked rather grim. The atmosphere was broken by, who else, Washu

            "Jeez! They sure knew how to pick 'em. Look at her, she could model for Playboy!" Washu was still inspecting the hologram. "Aha!" she did something to the seemingly smooth stone surface and the hologram disappeared. The glow of the sarcophagus died and a grinding noise could be heard. The dark of the room was cut by the intense light from the inside of the coffin as it opened. Light beams danced as a figure that blocked some of the rays sat up and rose from its resting place into the air. It hovered and the glow died.

            A light, seemingly normal enough, went on in the ceiling and the figure became clear. It was the Guardian from before. She looked younger than the hologram had led them to believe. Washu walked around the floating form tapping her chin. Suddenly the Guardian's eyes snapped open. They were feline gold, and alert. She descended to the floor and her feet hit with a light tap.

            She looked around and demanded, "Who are you?"

            Washu was about to speak, but Selenity clapped a hand over her mouth and said, "I am Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom, a member of the triumvirate that rules the Solar System." She gestured behind herself at the Senshi. "These are my companions, the Sailor Senshi."

            The Guardian narrowed her eyes at the Senshi. "More than one, but where is my Queen? Where is Sailor Terra?" She closed her eyes and the two red jewels on her wrists began to glow. The light dimmed almost immediately and the Guardian looked at Washu. "You are a Guardian?"

            The Senshi stared at Washu, who grinned. "Of course! Sailor Terra is my cousin in this life! Oh, you must meet her mother, the current Queen."

            The Guardian shook her head and seemed to look through the wall. "HE is alive."

            Ami frowned. "He?"

            "No, HE; Dekim, Kain, Wiseman, HE goes by all these names. Sailor Terra will know what his name is now so we may vanquish him once more." She walked past the Senshi to the closed door. As she approached, it slid open and the chamber filled with light. The Guardian stepped out and the other occupants of the room followed.

            Saturn and Pluto were waiting impatiently outside. The Guardian was glaring at Pluto. "You!." Pluto hung her head and Saturn stood between them.

            "No fighting, not here. Let's return to the progress and get stories straight," Saturn said. The Guardian still looked ready for a fight.

            Washu settled it by placing a restraining hand on the Guardian's arm. Shaking her head, she said, "Sailor Pluto is our Senshi of Time. I think you can understand who they are if you remember our Queen's last meeting." The Guardian's muscles relaxed. Washu stepped back and switched modes, smiling. "Besides, Guardian Tsunami is almost fully grown and Guardians Odin and Lana have yet to inherit their responsibilities from their parents." She winked and said, "Odin and Sailor Terra had a thing going a while back if I'm not mistaken."

            The Guardian smiled, and it transformed her appearance into a softer and more approachable one than before. "Yes, Odin always had a thing for our young Sailor Terra. It's funny how dedicated they were, even at the end…" She looked depressed and swallowed. "How is…Ayeka?"

            Mars crossed her arms and said, "Hold on! What is going on? Sailor Terra?"

            Selenity looked at Pluto, but it was obvious that Senshi wasn't in any mood to talk. "Ayeka and her mother are direct descendents of a pre-Moon civilization that lived on Terra. Hilde's grandmother was Queen of Terra until it and its moons were destroyed and became the asteroid belt. Since then, the planet's protector and sovereign, Sailor Terra, has relied on the meager power she can draw on from each generation. Ayeka has been the strongest yet, and in a joint effort with Pluto, her mother, and Relena Yuy, she used a special Gundam to travel to the asteroid belt and reassemble Terra."

            The Senshi who had been unaware, all but Pluto and Saturn (who'd known even if Hotaru didn't) looked as if they'd been socked in the head with a wrench. Then Sailor Mercury said, "But it killed her, she didn't come back."

            The Guardian stiffened. "WHAT?! Sailor Terra destroyed by her own planet? Never!" She jumped into the air and disappeared.

Author's Note: Haha, cliffhanger. I really wanted to get the next chapter out before my parents kicked me off and try to post it. If you're reading this, then count your lucky stars because something in this pile of circuits worked. ;)