Chapter Eleven
"Well, how nice of Serenity to send out people to greet me." She motioned to her generals. "I believe you all know each other." Sneering in Rei's direction, she added venomously, "And Miss Mars, how nice for you to be able to see the man you love before you die." "I will not die today, Beryl, but you will." These words, though few, gave the senshi enough hope to continue on their quest to protect their princess. When Beryl said, "Brave words, Mars. Let's try it, shall we?" Mina glanced at everyone, giving the go-ahead.
The four senshi lined up opposite the four guards. Mars and Jedite were heartbroken, knowing that each one had to follow orders and kill the other. Neflyte decided that he'd had enough. He let loose a strand of evil black energy and directed it towards Venus. When Venus saw the evil heading toward her, she blocked the evil energy with a strong crescent beam. The two energies collided, and disappeared. Venus sighed. This might take a while.
Eventually, the battle began to split up as one senshi and one Nega- general moved to four different points in the courtyard. Neflyte and Venus were still going at it, and I was glad to see that Venus was ahead, though slightly. Seeing the two fight reminded me of the time when Neflyte was still good, and in training with the senshi.
I walked with the queen to the training grounds. Even from our distance, we could hear the two commanders heckling each other. "Is that all your Venus chain can do, Mina? I can get out of that so easily!" "Oh, yeah? Well, your energies aren't exactly worthy of respect!"
Jupiter was hammering Zoisite with everything she had, and was clearly winning. The battle was somewhat uneven, usually Mercury and Zoisite fought. I asked the queen about that. "You know, Setsuna, I hadn't even noticed that. It is odd, isn't it. I wonder why Beryl let them fight so unevenly staggered." As a result, Mercury and Kunzite had destroyed their portion of the courtyard, but the senshi of water was badly hurt. Rei and Jedite, separated from the rest, weren't fighting. Each was sending very miniscule powers, not enough to hurt, at the other. After a very weak celestial ring attack, Rei realized she could no longer sense Ami. Her friend was gone. Rei paused, and looked at Jedite. "My love," she said. "I know, Rei. If you can, you must." Rei nodded, choking down her tears. She wiped them away, then pointed her finger at Jedite, who simply stood there. "Mars Snake Fire Consume," she whispered. The streams of flame turned into pythons, and raced in Jedite's direction. The pythons hit and clamped on, drawing all of the energy out of Jedite. At last, he collapsed, and Rei ran over to him. "Someday," he whispered. "Someday," Rei answered, and watched, pained, as her lover succumbed to the raw power she had hit him with, and disintegrated. Jedite was gone.
By the time Rei had done this, Mercury was gone, as were Venus and Jupiter. It seemed that Neflyte had killed Venus. Jupiter had defeated Zoisite, but had been promptly killed by Neflyte's last energies. Her friends, dead. Through the haze that threatened to claim her, Rei saw the two generals who were left. Former friends. The memories.
Neflyte, the leader of the four, the most dedicated of all of Endy's guards. Kunzite, the comedian, who had for so long been the "Official Cheerer- Upper".
But not any more. Now, they were all under Beryl's spell, and threatened the very sanctity of the universe itself. With Beryl, the guards, and those of us in the control room watching on, Rei changed. Wind howled, the planet shook, storms began to develop as lightning crashed. Water poured from the heavens, and the air crackled with fire. The woman we all knew as Rei was gone, and in her place stood the Heiress. For the first time, the Heiress was seen in her full power and glory. Rei was now pure Weave power, a being of floating electricity and light. The air around her caught on fire, as two pure Weave orbs stared at Beryl. Beryl stared back, in amazement, at the sight before her eyes. She knew there was no way to win, not against the Weave's daughter. The generals, fighting the impulse to bend at the knee, prepared to fire their evil energy into the cloud. Serenity, Usagi, Endymion, and I watched, Usagi and Endy in amazement, Serenity and I in sorrow. You see, it was written long ago that the Heiress, even though immortal, would somehow die in the midst of chaos to bring peace back to the universe. In the midst of that death, all royalty would also leave the realm of the living. I knew what Serenity was thinking, that this was that time. Rei would die, and so would her daughter. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, and fell as we saw Rei fling pure Weave energy at the generals. The air around the traveling magic fizzled and flickered, caught between the invisible Weave and the visible universe. The pure 'right-ness' of the Weave hit the pure 'evil-ness' of the generals, and their atoms were split and absorbed into the air. Knowing the inevitability of her death, Beryl launched a poison-tipped arrow at the center of the ethereal being in front of her. Beryl, also, knew the prophecy. We all watched in silence as the arrow pierced Rei. She returned to her human form, unconscious and close to death. Beryl stepped over Rei's inert body and began walking towards the palace. We all felt it then. Rei, too, was gone.
Chapter Twelve
As soon as we knew for sure that no one else was left, the queen ordered me to return to the Gates of Time, and stand guard there. I obeyed. Once I got back to the immense mystery that is time, I watched the end of the Silver Millennium, in silence.
Rei rose from the ground, wincing at the tenderness of the newly-healed tissue. Standing up gingerly, her eyes took in what she had felt before. She gasped at the brutal carnage, running over to Sailor Mercury, who was laying dead on the ground. "Ami, my friend," she murmured. Rei looked around, sadly, and saw Mako and Mina; the three were lying on the ground, mutilated, dead. The gouges went deep, the smell of fresh blood hung in the air. Rei ran to each senshi, leaving fresh tears by each one, and I knew that she was cursing the memories that ran through her mind, just as they had through mine.
Ami, looking up from a book, smiled at Rei. Putting the book down, Ami rose, and offered to help Rei clean the temple.
Mako, cooking in the kitchen, reached over Rei to grab a jar of orange peel. Mixing a teaspoon of it into the bowl, she lifted a spoonful of batter out, and shoved it into Rei's mouth.
Mina, the fearless leader, grimaced as another of Rei's attacks flew past her defenses. Pouring all of her energy into a love-me chain, she laughed as it wound around Rei.
As Rei glanced around the palace courtyard, the scene of death, she noticed that one senshi was missing: me. I stepped out from behind the curtains of time, and she stiffened. "Why did this have to happen, Setsuna?" she asked. I said nothing, but watched out of the corner of my eye, as the last tear hidden in that magical being named Rei slipped out. Hitting the ground, it exploded into three pieces. Each piece took on a color; one blue, one green, one orange. Each droplet of salt-water flew to a senshi and wrapped around them. The colors grew, and consumed. By the time they dissipated, each senshi was restored to her normal beauty. There was no sign of blood, no sign of death. Rei took no notice of this, but looked heavenward for a moment. Then her face turned to stone as she faced the palace. "Rei, no. Don't go in there. Please!" I cried. I knew what was inside, I had watched it happen. But no. Rei stalked up the long path, and opened the door. She disappeared inside.
Chapter Thirteen
I stood in shock for a minute, then ran to catch up with Rei. I followed the sound of her boots as they clicked on the tile floor. When I came up behind her, she looked as if death had overtaken her. In a way, it had. Before her, lying on the floor in each other's arms, were Usagi and Endymion. "They look so peaceful, lying in death," Rei said quietly, the sound echoing through the quiet palace. She was right. The princess and her love were.smiling. Rei sighed. She could not mourn her princess, her lover's prince. All of her tears had already been shed. She stepped over them, and walked towards the fallen queen.
Queen Serenity, thirteenth ruler of the Silver Millennium, was sitting on the ground. Hearing us approach, she looked up. Both Rei and I stifled gasps at the sight of her face. Tears-streaked skin was burnt, and still bleeding. In fact, half of the skin on her body was gone. "It took a lot to defeat Beryl," she managed to get out. "But I did it. Me and the crystal." The Silver Imperium Crystal was still in her hand, cradled by bone only. The crystal itself was dull, all of the power it had was used up. Rei ran over to the queen, and gently held her. "Your majesty, I-" Rei was cut off and the queen managed to speak some last words. "Heiress, please, as a favor. Send them to the future. All of them. That way.that way they can live again, as they were meant to. They can return the universe to peace. And you, you and Setsuna, will guard them, and prepare the way." She shuddered, knowing that only a few precious moments were left. "The crystal, Rei. Keep the crystal for my daughter." With that, Serenity was gone. Rei and I were the only ones alive.
After placing the royals in somewhat of a more dignified state, Rei and I sat down to work out how to best accomplish the queen's last request. "That might work," I mused. "The shadows are already in crystal form, they would just be reborn into humans." "And I could put the rest of the souls into crystals, and send them all to be reborn as well." Rei said. "It wouldn't be that hard. The senshi have their heart crystals, so does Usagi. Endymion has a smaller one, so even he wouldn't be that hard to send to the future."
We agreed that this would work, and got down to business. Rei walked to each person, and concentrated briefly, putting each soul and heart crystal into a bubble. She had done the three senshi, and Usagi and Endymion. We walked outside, and paused at the memory of the generals and Beryl. "Setsuna, we have to send them as well." "Why?" I asked. "Usagi and the senshi will have to defeat Beryl and the Negaverse. To know that they can. Otherwise." She let her sentence run out, and watched as I realized the import of her words. "No one can be sent through time without their death's hand being sent. To do so would destabilize the fabric of time." Rei nodded. "Can you do it? They're all.um.disintegrated. Dust." Rei closed her eyes tightly, as the sir around us started to crackle. The air shimmered, and after a few seconds, five more crystals appeared. All were black. I was more than shocked at this display of power.
@}-------
"And as you probably guess, Rei sent the crystals to earth, to be reborn into humans." Setsuna finished, as her audience awoke from it's shock and enrapturement. "What happened to you and Rei?" Haru asked. "I returned to guard the Gates of Time. Out of Time, I never aged. I watched everything as it happened. Rei, though, decided to go to Earth, with the crystals. She watched, for centuries, waiting for the reincarnations of her friends. She guarded the crystal until you came, Usagi. She guarded the universe until the senshi were ready." Looking at Haru, Setsuna smiled, and said, "So no, Rei is not the spirit of Merei or Toreima. There were no such people. Rei assumed the identities of Merei and Toreima, as well as many others." "What happened to the people and senshi in the Asteroid Belt?" Ami asked, always the scholar. "Somehow, once Serenity died, everyone in the universe did. It took a little time, but it seemed as if the universe couldn't live without the purity of a Lunar Queen. After Rei had sent the souls of the five people on the Moon to Earth, we took a trip out to the Asteroid Belt.
@}-------
Rei teleported us to the capitol of the Belt, a pleasant city called Junera. As we entered the city, people stopped what they were doing, to watch. It was unnerving, having to walk through hundreds of people to get to the capitol building. I remember that you, Haru, were standing on the steps, also watching us approach. When Rei and I got close enough, you ran out to meet us. Both Rei and I could see the question in your eyes. "It's over, Haru. Beryl's dead, and so are her generals," Rei said. "And everyone else? Serenity, Usagi?" Rei paused, as her eyes showed the depth of pain that she was feeling. "All gone, Haru," she whispered. Haru stood in shock, as Michiru, Hotaru, and the ruler of the Belt came out, summoned by the report of two Lunar strangers. The Belt's ruler, a generous person named Catin, saw Haru, and the look Rei was giving her. "I see," were all the words that came out of her mouth. She turned back to the capitol building, and motioned for the five of us to follow.
Catin was not an ignorant ruler. She had also heard the prophecy regarding the Heiress, and somehow saw that in Rei. She took us to a room, and allowed us to discuss our course of action.
@}-------
We, of course, decided to send the three Outers to the future. Rei recognized the superiority of the talismans in battle, and knew that the princess could not hope to survive future threats without the help of the Outer senshi. When the time came to send the Outer senshi's souls to the future, Catin knew that no one in the universe could live without the help of the senshi. She realized that her people would all die. Catin asked Rei to keep the people alive, in some way. As a result of Catin's words, Rei sent portions, pieces of souls, so that no identity was lost forever. Everyone in the universe, in one way or another, lived on."
Chapter Fourteen
At that time, the kitchen door clanged open. Mako entered, and stopped at the sight of the four sitting around the table. "What have you been discussing? You're all so serious." Usagi smiled sadly at Mako, and rose slowly. "It's a long story, Mako. A very long story." She walked out of the kitchen, followed by Ami, Haru, and Setsuna. "What did I say?" Mako wondered, now alone.
The four walked to the door, ignoring the conversation that was still going on in the living room. Opening the coat closet, Usagi and Ami grabbed their jackets. "Thank you for your hospitality, Haru. And thank you for the story, Setsuna," Usagi said quietly. Ami added her thanks, and the two bowed, as Haru and Setsuna did also. Usagi and Ami walked outside, and began to head for home.
The two walked in silence for some time, until Ami began to speak. "She's still Rei, Usagi. Nothing can change that," Ami said, in efforts to comfort her leader. Understanding that nothing she could say would help, Ami stopped talking. Within minutes, the two reached the entrance to Ami's home. "Good night, Usagi." "Thank you, Ami. Good night," Usagi replied. She watched as Ami got safely into her home, then continued towards her own. After some time, Usagi sensed a familiar presence in front of her. It was Rei. "Setsuna told you, didn't she." Rei said, more of a statement than a question. Usagi nodded, as Jedite came into view. He grabbed Rei's hand, and stood next to her, enduring the gaze of Usagi. "It's okay," Rei assured. "Once Beryl died, the spell placed on Jedite's loyalty disappeared. He's wholly himself again." "Why didn't you tell me, Rei?" Usagi whispered. "I couldn't. No one could know that I was the Heiress." Usagi started. "What do you mean you were the Heiress. You aren't any more?" "No, I'm still the Heiress." Rei placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder. As Rei touched her friend's shoulder, a coursing energy went through Usagi. With it came a cold realization. Rei was the Heiress. The second most powerful person in the universe. Usagi bowed her head, then her knees. "Heiress, I am your servant." Rei turned to Jedite, who merely lifted an eyebrow. She turned back around, and surveyed the teenager in front of her. "Usagi, Princess of the Silver Millennium, who will in the future be Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo. Rise." Usagi looked up, and saw Rei's face, the face of one of her best friends, not the face of distant stranger. She leapt up, hugged Rei, and started to cry. "Why? How will this change? What are going to do?" Her words ended in sobs. Rei tried to comfort Usagi, but she was soon interrupted.
Chapter Fifteen
Unbeknownst to Usagi, Ami had not stayed at her apartment. She had been following her leader, at first to make sure that Usagi would get home safely. Once Ami had seen Rei appear with Jedite, she had ran back to Haru's apartment.
"Haru? Haru!" Ami yelled, out of breath. Haru and Setsuna came running. "What is it Ami?" Setsuna asked. "Usagi.walking home.Rei and Jedite." Ami tried to say between gasps of breath. Haru and Setsuna looked at each other, then Haru went to find Michiru. "Mich, Setsuna and I are going to walk Ami home. We'll be back soon." Michiru nodded, and kissed her lover. Haru and Setsuna set off, following Ami to the point where she had left Usagi.
The three crept up, hearing Usagi's sobs. Setsuna, seeing Rei, stopped and bowed her head. "Heiress." "Setsuna, Keeper of Time and Space," Rei said while disentangling herself from Usagi. Ami went to Usagi, and held her while she continued to sniffle. Setsuna stepped to Usagi's side, while Jedite stepped to Rei's. "I know that Setsuna told you what happened, back in the Silver Millennium," Rei said, addressing Usagi, Ami, and Haru. "But she forgot one thing." "What?" Haru asked. "She didn't give you the history of the universe, the galaxy. She didn't tell you about the planet Muse, the other elements of the universe. She didn't tell you about everyone else." "Everyone else?" Usagi asked, now calm. "We're not the only senshi, the only people from the Silver Millennium. There are others." Usagi, Ami, Haru, Setsuna, and Jedite looked at each other in amazement, as Rei elaborated. "There are six other senshi, on this planet. Six senshi, and one trainer." "Are you in contact with them?" Ami asked, stunned. "Yes."
"Well, how nice of Serenity to send out people to greet me." She motioned to her generals. "I believe you all know each other." Sneering in Rei's direction, she added venomously, "And Miss Mars, how nice for you to be able to see the man you love before you die." "I will not die today, Beryl, but you will." These words, though few, gave the senshi enough hope to continue on their quest to protect their princess. When Beryl said, "Brave words, Mars. Let's try it, shall we?" Mina glanced at everyone, giving the go-ahead.
The four senshi lined up opposite the four guards. Mars and Jedite were heartbroken, knowing that each one had to follow orders and kill the other. Neflyte decided that he'd had enough. He let loose a strand of evil black energy and directed it towards Venus. When Venus saw the evil heading toward her, she blocked the evil energy with a strong crescent beam. The two energies collided, and disappeared. Venus sighed. This might take a while.
Eventually, the battle began to split up as one senshi and one Nega- general moved to four different points in the courtyard. Neflyte and Venus were still going at it, and I was glad to see that Venus was ahead, though slightly. Seeing the two fight reminded me of the time when Neflyte was still good, and in training with the senshi.
I walked with the queen to the training grounds. Even from our distance, we could hear the two commanders heckling each other. "Is that all your Venus chain can do, Mina? I can get out of that so easily!" "Oh, yeah? Well, your energies aren't exactly worthy of respect!"
Jupiter was hammering Zoisite with everything she had, and was clearly winning. The battle was somewhat uneven, usually Mercury and Zoisite fought. I asked the queen about that. "You know, Setsuna, I hadn't even noticed that. It is odd, isn't it. I wonder why Beryl let them fight so unevenly staggered." As a result, Mercury and Kunzite had destroyed their portion of the courtyard, but the senshi of water was badly hurt. Rei and Jedite, separated from the rest, weren't fighting. Each was sending very miniscule powers, not enough to hurt, at the other. After a very weak celestial ring attack, Rei realized she could no longer sense Ami. Her friend was gone. Rei paused, and looked at Jedite. "My love," she said. "I know, Rei. If you can, you must." Rei nodded, choking down her tears. She wiped them away, then pointed her finger at Jedite, who simply stood there. "Mars Snake Fire Consume," she whispered. The streams of flame turned into pythons, and raced in Jedite's direction. The pythons hit and clamped on, drawing all of the energy out of Jedite. At last, he collapsed, and Rei ran over to him. "Someday," he whispered. "Someday," Rei answered, and watched, pained, as her lover succumbed to the raw power she had hit him with, and disintegrated. Jedite was gone.
By the time Rei had done this, Mercury was gone, as were Venus and Jupiter. It seemed that Neflyte had killed Venus. Jupiter had defeated Zoisite, but had been promptly killed by Neflyte's last energies. Her friends, dead. Through the haze that threatened to claim her, Rei saw the two generals who were left. Former friends. The memories.
Neflyte, the leader of the four, the most dedicated of all of Endy's guards. Kunzite, the comedian, who had for so long been the "Official Cheerer- Upper".
But not any more. Now, they were all under Beryl's spell, and threatened the very sanctity of the universe itself. With Beryl, the guards, and those of us in the control room watching on, Rei changed. Wind howled, the planet shook, storms began to develop as lightning crashed. Water poured from the heavens, and the air crackled with fire. The woman we all knew as Rei was gone, and in her place stood the Heiress. For the first time, the Heiress was seen in her full power and glory. Rei was now pure Weave power, a being of floating electricity and light. The air around her caught on fire, as two pure Weave orbs stared at Beryl. Beryl stared back, in amazement, at the sight before her eyes. She knew there was no way to win, not against the Weave's daughter. The generals, fighting the impulse to bend at the knee, prepared to fire their evil energy into the cloud. Serenity, Usagi, Endymion, and I watched, Usagi and Endy in amazement, Serenity and I in sorrow. You see, it was written long ago that the Heiress, even though immortal, would somehow die in the midst of chaos to bring peace back to the universe. In the midst of that death, all royalty would also leave the realm of the living. I knew what Serenity was thinking, that this was that time. Rei would die, and so would her daughter. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, and fell as we saw Rei fling pure Weave energy at the generals. The air around the traveling magic fizzled and flickered, caught between the invisible Weave and the visible universe. The pure 'right-ness' of the Weave hit the pure 'evil-ness' of the generals, and their atoms were split and absorbed into the air. Knowing the inevitability of her death, Beryl launched a poison-tipped arrow at the center of the ethereal being in front of her. Beryl, also, knew the prophecy. We all watched in silence as the arrow pierced Rei. She returned to her human form, unconscious and close to death. Beryl stepped over Rei's inert body and began walking towards the palace. We all felt it then. Rei, too, was gone.
Chapter Twelve
As soon as we knew for sure that no one else was left, the queen ordered me to return to the Gates of Time, and stand guard there. I obeyed. Once I got back to the immense mystery that is time, I watched the end of the Silver Millennium, in silence.
Rei rose from the ground, wincing at the tenderness of the newly-healed tissue. Standing up gingerly, her eyes took in what she had felt before. She gasped at the brutal carnage, running over to Sailor Mercury, who was laying dead on the ground. "Ami, my friend," she murmured. Rei looked around, sadly, and saw Mako and Mina; the three were lying on the ground, mutilated, dead. The gouges went deep, the smell of fresh blood hung in the air. Rei ran to each senshi, leaving fresh tears by each one, and I knew that she was cursing the memories that ran through her mind, just as they had through mine.
Ami, looking up from a book, smiled at Rei. Putting the book down, Ami rose, and offered to help Rei clean the temple.
Mako, cooking in the kitchen, reached over Rei to grab a jar of orange peel. Mixing a teaspoon of it into the bowl, she lifted a spoonful of batter out, and shoved it into Rei's mouth.
Mina, the fearless leader, grimaced as another of Rei's attacks flew past her defenses. Pouring all of her energy into a love-me chain, she laughed as it wound around Rei.
As Rei glanced around the palace courtyard, the scene of death, she noticed that one senshi was missing: me. I stepped out from behind the curtains of time, and she stiffened. "Why did this have to happen, Setsuna?" she asked. I said nothing, but watched out of the corner of my eye, as the last tear hidden in that magical being named Rei slipped out. Hitting the ground, it exploded into three pieces. Each piece took on a color; one blue, one green, one orange. Each droplet of salt-water flew to a senshi and wrapped around them. The colors grew, and consumed. By the time they dissipated, each senshi was restored to her normal beauty. There was no sign of blood, no sign of death. Rei took no notice of this, but looked heavenward for a moment. Then her face turned to stone as she faced the palace. "Rei, no. Don't go in there. Please!" I cried. I knew what was inside, I had watched it happen. But no. Rei stalked up the long path, and opened the door. She disappeared inside.
Chapter Thirteen
I stood in shock for a minute, then ran to catch up with Rei. I followed the sound of her boots as they clicked on the tile floor. When I came up behind her, she looked as if death had overtaken her. In a way, it had. Before her, lying on the floor in each other's arms, were Usagi and Endymion. "They look so peaceful, lying in death," Rei said quietly, the sound echoing through the quiet palace. She was right. The princess and her love were.smiling. Rei sighed. She could not mourn her princess, her lover's prince. All of her tears had already been shed. She stepped over them, and walked towards the fallen queen.
Queen Serenity, thirteenth ruler of the Silver Millennium, was sitting on the ground. Hearing us approach, she looked up. Both Rei and I stifled gasps at the sight of her face. Tears-streaked skin was burnt, and still bleeding. In fact, half of the skin on her body was gone. "It took a lot to defeat Beryl," she managed to get out. "But I did it. Me and the crystal." The Silver Imperium Crystal was still in her hand, cradled by bone only. The crystal itself was dull, all of the power it had was used up. Rei ran over to the queen, and gently held her. "Your majesty, I-" Rei was cut off and the queen managed to speak some last words. "Heiress, please, as a favor. Send them to the future. All of them. That way.that way they can live again, as they were meant to. They can return the universe to peace. And you, you and Setsuna, will guard them, and prepare the way." She shuddered, knowing that only a few precious moments were left. "The crystal, Rei. Keep the crystal for my daughter." With that, Serenity was gone. Rei and I were the only ones alive.
After placing the royals in somewhat of a more dignified state, Rei and I sat down to work out how to best accomplish the queen's last request. "That might work," I mused. "The shadows are already in crystal form, they would just be reborn into humans." "And I could put the rest of the souls into crystals, and send them all to be reborn as well." Rei said. "It wouldn't be that hard. The senshi have their heart crystals, so does Usagi. Endymion has a smaller one, so even he wouldn't be that hard to send to the future."
We agreed that this would work, and got down to business. Rei walked to each person, and concentrated briefly, putting each soul and heart crystal into a bubble. She had done the three senshi, and Usagi and Endymion. We walked outside, and paused at the memory of the generals and Beryl. "Setsuna, we have to send them as well." "Why?" I asked. "Usagi and the senshi will have to defeat Beryl and the Negaverse. To know that they can. Otherwise." She let her sentence run out, and watched as I realized the import of her words. "No one can be sent through time without their death's hand being sent. To do so would destabilize the fabric of time." Rei nodded. "Can you do it? They're all.um.disintegrated. Dust." Rei closed her eyes tightly, as the sir around us started to crackle. The air shimmered, and after a few seconds, five more crystals appeared. All were black. I was more than shocked at this display of power.
@}-------
"And as you probably guess, Rei sent the crystals to earth, to be reborn into humans." Setsuna finished, as her audience awoke from it's shock and enrapturement. "What happened to you and Rei?" Haru asked. "I returned to guard the Gates of Time. Out of Time, I never aged. I watched everything as it happened. Rei, though, decided to go to Earth, with the crystals. She watched, for centuries, waiting for the reincarnations of her friends. She guarded the crystal until you came, Usagi. She guarded the universe until the senshi were ready." Looking at Haru, Setsuna smiled, and said, "So no, Rei is not the spirit of Merei or Toreima. There were no such people. Rei assumed the identities of Merei and Toreima, as well as many others." "What happened to the people and senshi in the Asteroid Belt?" Ami asked, always the scholar. "Somehow, once Serenity died, everyone in the universe did. It took a little time, but it seemed as if the universe couldn't live without the purity of a Lunar Queen. After Rei had sent the souls of the five people on the Moon to Earth, we took a trip out to the Asteroid Belt.
@}-------
Rei teleported us to the capitol of the Belt, a pleasant city called Junera. As we entered the city, people stopped what they were doing, to watch. It was unnerving, having to walk through hundreds of people to get to the capitol building. I remember that you, Haru, were standing on the steps, also watching us approach. When Rei and I got close enough, you ran out to meet us. Both Rei and I could see the question in your eyes. "It's over, Haru. Beryl's dead, and so are her generals," Rei said. "And everyone else? Serenity, Usagi?" Rei paused, as her eyes showed the depth of pain that she was feeling. "All gone, Haru," she whispered. Haru stood in shock, as Michiru, Hotaru, and the ruler of the Belt came out, summoned by the report of two Lunar strangers. The Belt's ruler, a generous person named Catin, saw Haru, and the look Rei was giving her. "I see," were all the words that came out of her mouth. She turned back to the capitol building, and motioned for the five of us to follow.
Catin was not an ignorant ruler. She had also heard the prophecy regarding the Heiress, and somehow saw that in Rei. She took us to a room, and allowed us to discuss our course of action.
@}-------
We, of course, decided to send the three Outers to the future. Rei recognized the superiority of the talismans in battle, and knew that the princess could not hope to survive future threats without the help of the Outer senshi. When the time came to send the Outer senshi's souls to the future, Catin knew that no one in the universe could live without the help of the senshi. She realized that her people would all die. Catin asked Rei to keep the people alive, in some way. As a result of Catin's words, Rei sent portions, pieces of souls, so that no identity was lost forever. Everyone in the universe, in one way or another, lived on."
Chapter Fourteen
At that time, the kitchen door clanged open. Mako entered, and stopped at the sight of the four sitting around the table. "What have you been discussing? You're all so serious." Usagi smiled sadly at Mako, and rose slowly. "It's a long story, Mako. A very long story." She walked out of the kitchen, followed by Ami, Haru, and Setsuna. "What did I say?" Mako wondered, now alone.
The four walked to the door, ignoring the conversation that was still going on in the living room. Opening the coat closet, Usagi and Ami grabbed their jackets. "Thank you for your hospitality, Haru. And thank you for the story, Setsuna," Usagi said quietly. Ami added her thanks, and the two bowed, as Haru and Setsuna did also. Usagi and Ami walked outside, and began to head for home.
The two walked in silence for some time, until Ami began to speak. "She's still Rei, Usagi. Nothing can change that," Ami said, in efforts to comfort her leader. Understanding that nothing she could say would help, Ami stopped talking. Within minutes, the two reached the entrance to Ami's home. "Good night, Usagi." "Thank you, Ami. Good night," Usagi replied. She watched as Ami got safely into her home, then continued towards her own. After some time, Usagi sensed a familiar presence in front of her. It was Rei. "Setsuna told you, didn't she." Rei said, more of a statement than a question. Usagi nodded, as Jedite came into view. He grabbed Rei's hand, and stood next to her, enduring the gaze of Usagi. "It's okay," Rei assured. "Once Beryl died, the spell placed on Jedite's loyalty disappeared. He's wholly himself again." "Why didn't you tell me, Rei?" Usagi whispered. "I couldn't. No one could know that I was the Heiress." Usagi started. "What do you mean you were the Heiress. You aren't any more?" "No, I'm still the Heiress." Rei placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder. As Rei touched her friend's shoulder, a coursing energy went through Usagi. With it came a cold realization. Rei was the Heiress. The second most powerful person in the universe. Usagi bowed her head, then her knees. "Heiress, I am your servant." Rei turned to Jedite, who merely lifted an eyebrow. She turned back around, and surveyed the teenager in front of her. "Usagi, Princess of the Silver Millennium, who will in the future be Neo-Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo. Rise." Usagi looked up, and saw Rei's face, the face of one of her best friends, not the face of distant stranger. She leapt up, hugged Rei, and started to cry. "Why? How will this change? What are going to do?" Her words ended in sobs. Rei tried to comfort Usagi, but she was soon interrupted.
Chapter Fifteen
Unbeknownst to Usagi, Ami had not stayed at her apartment. She had been following her leader, at first to make sure that Usagi would get home safely. Once Ami had seen Rei appear with Jedite, she had ran back to Haru's apartment.
"Haru? Haru!" Ami yelled, out of breath. Haru and Setsuna came running. "What is it Ami?" Setsuna asked. "Usagi.walking home.Rei and Jedite." Ami tried to say between gasps of breath. Haru and Setsuna looked at each other, then Haru went to find Michiru. "Mich, Setsuna and I are going to walk Ami home. We'll be back soon." Michiru nodded, and kissed her lover. Haru and Setsuna set off, following Ami to the point where she had left Usagi.
The three crept up, hearing Usagi's sobs. Setsuna, seeing Rei, stopped and bowed her head. "Heiress." "Setsuna, Keeper of Time and Space," Rei said while disentangling herself from Usagi. Ami went to Usagi, and held her while she continued to sniffle. Setsuna stepped to Usagi's side, while Jedite stepped to Rei's. "I know that Setsuna told you what happened, back in the Silver Millennium," Rei said, addressing Usagi, Ami, and Haru. "But she forgot one thing." "What?" Haru asked. "She didn't give you the history of the universe, the galaxy. She didn't tell you about the planet Muse, the other elements of the universe. She didn't tell you about everyone else." "Everyone else?" Usagi asked, now calm. "We're not the only senshi, the only people from the Silver Millennium. There are others." Usagi, Ami, Haru, Setsuna, and Jedite looked at each other in amazement, as Rei elaborated. "There are six other senshi, on this planet. Six senshi, and one trainer." "Are you in contact with them?" Ami asked, stunned. "Yes."
