Author's Note: I can't leave you hanging too long, it's something I hate myself and can imagine you would prefer I avoided such things. ::lets out a sigh:: Now, I believe we left just when the 'Guardian' up and vanished…

            Washu took a step forward, then stopped. "She's gone…but…!" Washu held up her hand sand her laptop appeared. She typed away, and a portal of pink light appeared. Washu reached out and pulled a very surprised Odin out. The portal disappeared and Odin sat on his ass in the dirt, staring at the assembly.

            "Um…" he said.

            The pink-hared minx sent her computer away and bent over to grin in Odin's face. "Odin, can you tell me where Ayeka is?"

            Odin stared at the Senshi, swallowed and said in a low voice only Washu could hear, "I was going to ask you about that. You see, Ayeka is trapped in Terra's core and can't get out."

            Washu shook her head. "No, I mean—"

            The ground rumbled and heaved. Venus, Selenity, and Uranus fell over. Odin got to his feet and looked up into the air. Where there had been nothing, the Guardian reappeared. She marched up to Odin without pausing and picked him up by the throat. "What have you done to her, Odin!"

            He gripped her wrist and managed to free himself. Judging from the Guardian's expression, she was surprised at his strength. Odin messaged his neck and said, "Ayeka woke up this morning. She went back to sleep after making brief contact with me." He rolled his head around. "What happened?"

            To everyone's surprise, the Guardian's lip quivered and she collapsed on the ground, sobbing. "She's turned to stone!" she cried. Washu crept over and rested a supporting hand on the woman's shoulder.

            Odin knelt in front of her and said quietly, "Ryoko, for Terra to survive, Ayeka had to survive. The only thing that can exist in the core is Terran marble. When she needs to, she'll wake up." Ryoko sniffed and looked up at him through her tears.

            "How d-do you know?" she said.

            He smiled kindly. "I, too, am a Guardian. I'm in charge of the planet's geology just as Washu is in charge of the fauna and Tsunami is in charge of the flora. It is only natural, as the Queen who rules us all's bodyguard, that you should feel extremely protective of her."

            Ryoko nodded. "You're right." The three Guardians then used Washu's portal to depart, and the Senshi returned to their caravan somewhat stunned. Selenity could see her friends were having problems digesting all this knew knowledge, Pluto especially. She could see, without Pluto's power, that her friends would all come to her eventually in search of guidance. Selenity decided she had best come to terms with all this fast.

~2 weeks later~

            Relena looked at the garden below and smiled. Terra was beautiful, and the latest reports had just come in from the newest settlement. Everything was going swimmingly well. She only wished Odin would consider moving on. It became very obvious after Ayeka's death that the two had felt more deeply for each other than they had let show. Now that Ayeka had been gone ten years, Relena had hoped Odin would go back out and get his feet wet in society, but it was not so.

            Of course, for the past couple of weeks there had been rumors of a young woman living with him. Since he was an adult, Relena hadn't called to check, but she decided now was as good a time as any. She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello?" said a definitely feminine voice. Relena's stomach flip-flopped.

            "Yes, is Odin there?" Relena asked.

            The speaker said, "Just a sec." There was silence for a while, then the video screen came on and Relena saw her son.

            "Hi, Mom," he said. He didn't look nervous… "Why'd you call?"

            Relena smiled. "Odin, who was it that answered the phone?"

            Odin blinked. "Oh, you mean Ryoko. She just arrived on Terra and we're old friends. I asked her to stay with me until she's secured a job, my place is much too big for me alone."

            Relena and Heero had made sure Odin got a big house because when they had started their family, there'd only been an old apartment under Heero's name. Not wishing to have their son have to find somewhere else on short notice, they had made sure the place had room. Now Relena realized how illogical the whole thing had been.

            She nodded. "Your father and I did get a little carried away I guess. I don't believe I know Ryoko, is she from school?"

            Odin shook his head. "No, you could say we've known each other since I was born. Anyway, I have some good news." Relena waited. "Ayeka's alive."

            Forget girlfriends and houses, the floor had just disappeared. "Mom?" Odin said in a worried voice. Relena forced herself to focus on the screen again. Odin looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

            Relena swallowed and took deep breaths. "Yes, I believe so. Did you just say Ayeka is alive?"

            Odin nodded. "Yes, she's been—stored?—in the planet's core this whole time. I talked to her not long ago, but she's since returned to her dormant state. We're trying to find out how to resurrect her for good."

            Relena frowned. "Who is 'we?'"

            "Well, there's Ryoko, Selenity, Washu, Sasami, I'm sure you've heard of the Sailor Senshi, and Setsuna is in on it too."

            "Tell me when you figure out something."

~~They didn't figure out anything. For all of Washu's science and all the Senshi's powers and Ryoko's abilities and Odin's love didn't seem to make any difference. Ayeka did not wake up again to make contact with Odin, she never batted an eyelash when Ryoko teleported to the core and tried to phase her queen and friend out of the clinging rock. Washu's instruments picked up a core of power inside the stone that was Ayeka, but otherwise she was just like the rock that held her. The Senshi matured, married, passed on their powers and responsibilities to the next generation. Selenity and Damien married, uniting the Earth and Moon Kingdoms. People then turned to Terra to see if a union was possible between the two remaining families, only to remember that the only daughter of that particular family had died years before. 'Small Lady' Serenity II took up her mother's place and power. Hilde outlived Duo and all of her friends, and still looked like she was in her early forties when Queen Selenity passed her power on to her daughter. Through it all, two things seemed amazingly constant. One was Ayeka, who remained a highly classified secret, and the other was the four Guardians(Lana was not. That was un petite mistake). Odin, Tsunami, Washu and Ryoko took on different identities as the times saw fit, and continued to search for a was to restore their queen. It has been some sixty years since we saw our heroes last, and a new generation has inherited the torch.~~

            "It's over—eek!" Sailor Venus leapt to the side as a dark blob of negative energy flew at her. She was actually almost forty, but looked and acted about fifteen. The second generation of Senshi had grown to puberty quickly and then…stalled. It had caused their parents, and just about everyone else, headaches whenever they thought about it. There had been no scientific explanation, so everyone had been forced to adjust.

            Now the new Sailors were fighting a strange enemy. The forces of evil and chaos and hate had appeared in their purest forms, dark shadows that could only be trapped or destroyed by light. Sailor Moon jumped in front of Venus and pointed her finger at the blob. It squealed as she screamed, "Moonbeam!" A beam of light likes the cannons of old enveloped the tiny blob and it vanished. Moon turned to her friend and asked, "Can you stand?"

            Venus nodded and mumbled something as she got to her feet. Her appearance was strongly similar to her mother, Minako, except her eyes were a soft brown and her hair wasn't quite as blond. Moon looked like her mother, but with startling red eyes and pink hair. Mars approached the two Senshi and looked at the scorched outline of the blob on the street. She too looked like her mother, except her hair was bright purple. Mercury looked enough like her mother to pass, but the major change was that like the rest of her friends, she had extremely long hair. Jupiter was tall like her mother, and had strange green highlights in her brown hair, which was also extremely long.

            The outer Senshi had gone off to find their own cure for Ayeka and not been seen again. Serenity faced a darker enemy with fewer allies than her mother, and only their extensive training and experience kept them from being annihilated. Sailor Moon looked at her Senshi and said, "They only ever seem to follow us, so let's go on vacation."

            Mars looked ready to gag. "You've got to be kidding! We'd be leaving the Earth defenseless!"

            Sailor Moon nodded. "I understand your concerns, but you can't deny that the shadows only attack us." Mars was silent. Sailor Jupiter was jumping up and down with excitement.

            "We're going on a trip! We're going on a trip! We're going— where?" Venus rolled her eyes at her unusually perky friend.

            Sailor Moon smiled and said, "How about Terra? Queen Hilde has been asking me to visit since I was twenty." Then she sobered and said, "Of everyone else, she can probably understand us best. She's just like us." The Senshi were solemn for a moment before Jupiter smiled and started to dance.

            "We're going to Ter-ra! We're going to Ter-ra!" she sang. ::sweatdrop::

            "Wow!" Mei (Mars) said. "It's huge!" The royal palace of Terra was a giant tree, a living tree, that seemed to still be in the process of creating additions. A gate of vines let them through and the car stopped at the front door. A middle-aged woman stood there, her hair so dark a blue it was almost black. She wore a simple light blue dress, and her eyes shimmered as she welcomed her guests.

            "It's nice to meet you, Cousin," Hilde said formally. Serenity nodded and smiled.

            "It is also nice to have an opportunity to come visit you, Cousin." It was strange, but the title 'cousin' was used for fellow royalty. Serenity had never had the opportunity to use it before.

            Hilde waved a hand. "Please, this way." The Senshi followed their host into the immense palace and were impressed. Their home in Crystal Tokyo was the Crystal Palace. The castle on Terra was the Tree Palace for a reason. Small trees were everywhere, and fountains were plentiful, and the whole place exuded a relaxing and comforting atmosphere.

            An hour later, the Senshi had had a grand tour and were settling in their rooms. "This place is awesome," Mimi (Mercury) said as she sat on Serenity's bed. Serenity nodded. Mimi quieted and said, "You don't look so happy."

            Serenity shrugged. "It's beautiful, but I got this weird feeling when we arrived. Do you think it's possible the shadows are from here?"

            Mimi tapped her chin. "Hmm, maybe. I'll run a scan and see what I come up with." She left to go do her thing and Serenity lay down to take a nap.

            She was rudely awakened by someone shaking her. Serenity opened blurred eyes on a shape she recognized. "What is it, Kikyo?"

            Jupiter pulled on her queen's arm and said, "There's a shadow outside bigger than anything we've ever seen before! It started attacked the vine gates and has almost gotten through." Serenity's muddled mind became alert and she ran from the room, transforming as she went into Sailor Moon. The shadow was as tall as a second story building, and as wide as it was tall. The vine gates looked withered and dead where it touched, and new vines weren't growing fast enough to keep it out.

            Mars, Venus, and Mercury were already there. "Mercury Blaster!" the Senshi shouted. The beam created a hole in the thing, but nothing more. Stunned Sailors watched the shadow heal itself and continue pressing against its barrier. "No!" Mercury cried.

            Sailor Moon planted her feet securely on the ground and faced the shadow. She brought her hands up and yelled, "Moonshine!" A ball of intense white light formed and she threw it. The shadow paused as the attack tore through it, leaving a wide gash. The rough edges smoothed and it continued on.

            Venus ran over to Sailor Moon and said, "It didn't heal completely! Maybe if we keep up a steady round of our most powerful attacks it won't have time to recover?" Moon smiled and nodded. She shouted the order to Mars and Mercury and the Senshi lined up before the gate.

            One by one, they threw their best and brightest. This worked for two rounds, then half the shadow was gone, but they had no energy left. "I c-can't move," Mercury said from the ground. They had each collapsed after their second blast. It was too much power for them to try to use all at once, their bodies weren't ready.

            Sailor Moon sat on the ground, trembling. She brought a hand up to her bow and removed the jewel that shined there. It was the ginzuishou. "Please, someone, help us," she prayed. Nothing happened, and a loud crash announced the end of the gate's resistance.

            Down below, a single hair moved in a gentle breeze generated by the hot air seeking to intrude on it through the shield. It had remained trapped in the stone by its master, who had left it to keep her tomb warm for her.

            The Senshi were struggling to their feet to summon the last of their strength to get rid of this mother of all shadows when the ground's furious shaking knocked them back down. The ground directly in front of the approaching shadow split open and a streak came out. It was a bright, silver light that paused above the scene before coming back down and resting its feet on the ground before the defeated Senshi.

            Moon stared up at the back of a strange woman wearing a glowing fuku and carrying silver knives with gold blades. She stared at the shadow, as if daring it to come closer. The shadow hesitated, then rushed forward. The strange Senshi leapt up and pointed her daggers at the being. "Terra's Wrath!" she shouted, and the shadow was engulfed in a perfect sphere of light. The woman then flew down and stabbed the light sphere with her daggers and it exploded. When the Sailor Senshi could see again, the shadow was gone.

            The strange young woman was standing in front of the ruined gate and knelt beside the last vine as it struggled to grow. She rested a hand on it and it stopped thrashing and sprouting in every which way. "This is a job for Tsunami, but since she's not here…" she said, and a green light traveled from her hand to the vines. They dissolved into dust and fresh growth erupted from the ground to become a new gate. When that was done, the stranger turned around and the Senshi got their first good look at their savior.

            Red eyes, purple hair, older than them for sure—or at least more mature. A choker that seemed to be nothing but diamonds encircled her neck. Her fuku was white and metallic silver, which shimmered in different colors as she moved. Her daggers had disappeared, but there were miniature ones crossed under a circle on her crown—which she had instead of a tiara. Sailor Moon had the strangest urge to kneel and kiss this woman's boots. "Thank-you," she said instead.

            The woman blinked, and at first Moon thought she was crying, but then she noticed the silvery teardrop was a mark of some kind and not a real tear. "Who are all of you?" the stranger asked.