Nakoruru (grinning): Welcome back for chapter 3 of this lovely story! And
thanks for all the help! Since I'm alone today. . .my muse took a vacation
to do some stuff and my co-writer wasn't needed for this chapter. So let
me get to the reviews.
Anime Princess, thank you. My mind is always at work so I just went ahead and did it. Glad you like it! And since no school and only just work, the chapters will come out as quickly as possible. Isn't that great!
Eo, um, I'll desperately try to update as much as possible when I'm not working. But we see we got an addict already! LOL Please be patient.
Cair, welcome back after a long intense silence! ^ ^
Lethal Purple Crayon, I'm trying hardest to keep this one updated every other two days. Please be patient with me.
The Masked Mistress, thank you so much! Um, catfights might be better, always something fun about girls pulling hair and stuff. But Lita isn't one for catfights! She would wipe the floor with Keiko and then some! LOL
Sue, thanks a lot for guessing the correct scout! Have a plushie! *hands out a plushie* And you got her eye color! I was a bit hesitant for a description cause of it.
Rose, sorry but it's not Haruka, but she will appear soon enough. Please make sure Keiko doesn't die of fright, I can't have Yusuke on my case for it.
Mitsukai, you guessed correctly! Yeah! Have a plushie too! *hands out plushie* And you know, I don't need wings to fly. I'm part youkai like Jin. If you read my pro, you'll find out strange things about me. Maybe you shouldn't read it. . .don't wanna scare you or anything. ^ ^;;
Kayla, Emi is a cutie isn't she! Have an Emi plushie! *hands out an Emi plushie* Wouldn't it be fun to see what happens if Serena and Hiei had a little boy and Emi fell in love with him and they got married! But you guessed right too! Yeah! Have another plushie! *hands over another plushie* And yes, things shall be interesting with Botan there.
Shinia, to your question, no they didn't go into hiding. You'll find out what happened to the inner scouts and about the crystal place the Hakusho gang saw.
Lady Love, I know! Poor Yusuke! Blame my co-writer for it! But I have to say there is only one good thing that came out of it. And that's my cute little Emi! She is as cute as a button! And please, don't get Keiko on me. She's always fussing with me over something.
Bunnychu, thanks! I'm updating as I go along with life. I hope you really do like it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Senshi's Tenshi, wow, I lost my train with you because there was so much you addressed and all. I can't remember it all. But Emi is cute! Have an Emi plushie too! *hands over an Emi plushie* I think Darien's better in the manga too, but I still don't like him worth crap.
Lina Hino, I'm updating as I go! Be as patient as possible with me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Answer me. Who are you?" The four individuals saw a girl dressed in the same warrior outfit the other scouts had. Kurama could tell this was another girl. This one had a much younger smell than the other scouts did. He could tell she had short hair. In her hand she was a long staff with a curved blade on it.
"What happened here?" Kurama asked.
The girl looked down at them suspiciously, jumping down from the building. The four realized that this girl was no more than twelve or so. Her warrior's uniform was different from the others. She wore a purple uniform with a much longer bow in the back than the boys remembered. Only on one arm did she adorn a glove. The button on the uniform attached to the ribbon was heart shaped rather than round. "You have no idea what happened? Where did you come from, strangers? It's best you leave before you get hurt."
"Hey little girl, we can take care of ourselves," shouted Kuwabara. The girl narrowed her amethyst eyes at him.
"Such a big mouth for a big oaf." Another voice came out of nowhere, calling attention to an area not too far behind the group. Hiei and Kurama were both caught off guard, having not sensed the new girl. Hiei glanced to where the voice came from. He found a woman with short blond hair. Her dark blue eyes flickered over the group, then to the girl with the long weapon. Hiei noticed that she also wore a sailor uniform, which was blue. "Who are you?"
"Why don't you answer us first who you are?" Kuwabara said. "I don't remember seeing either one of you the last time."
"The last time? What are you talking about?" The shorthaired blonde gave him a suspicious look.
"Kuwabara, I don't think it's wise we get them riled up," Kurama said. "Let's calm down and talk this out." He looked to the older woman in the sailor uniform and smiled. "You must forgive my friend's rudeness. We mean no harm. What he meant was that the last time we were here, we met the others."
"The others? What others?" demanded the blonde woman.
"The others with uniforms like yours. Where are they?" Hiei sensed the two scouts tense up at the mention of the others. Hiei didn't like that feeling. What had happened while he was gone? What had happened to Serena? Was he too late to help her? "Where are they?"
"How do you know about the inner senshi? Tell me everything you know about them?" demanded the blonde. "Are you also with them? Who are you working for? Hotaru, go back to Crystal Palace, I'll be along soon."
"But Haruka," said the girl named Hotaru. "I don't think they are our enemies. I don't sense anything evil about them. Though they carry strange auras. It's not like ours, but it's not like our enemies. Maybe we need to take them to see Neo Queen Serenity."
"They may be masking their true powers from you. They are strong, can't you tell. I want to know how they know about the others before I put Serenity in danger," the woman named Haruka said.
"We don't want to fight you," Botan said. "We came to help. We were sent from another dimension to help you because of the existence of a powerful evil force that is slowly trying to expand outwards. We don't mean any harm, please just listen to us."
"Tell us who you are, please," Hotaru said. She had a strong feeling that they were telling the truth about coming from another dimension. Never before had she seen auras like theirs before. Like more than two of them weren't quite human. "My name is Sailor Saturn. My companion is Sailor Uranus. We are two of the scouts that make up the outer defenses for Crystal Tokyo. You mentioned before that you knew the inner scouts, the ones that protected this city for many years."
"Yes. We know them. A while ago, my companions and I were sent to your dimension doing a battle. The inner scouts as you call them, helped us to get back to our dimension. My name is Kurama. My companions are Kuwabara, Botan, and Hiei. Last time, another by the name of Yusuke was with us. Now can you tell us what happened here," Kurama asked.
Sailor Saturn looked at Sailor Uranus who had her arms crossed over her chest. Saturn knew that Uranus still did not trust them. But if they were truly who they said they were, Neo Queen Serenity would be able to tell. Saturn looked back at the strangers and nodded. "We shall take you to Neo Queen Serenity. She will know if you tell the truth or not."
"If you are not who you say you are, we will make sure that you will never be able to deceive another person ever again," Sailor Uranus said in a deathly tone. She turned from them with a slight humph. "Sailor Saturn we should get going before we have anymore attacks."
"I understand," Sailor Saturn nodded. "You four, follow me and stay close. It's dangerous here." The four nodded, not knowing what they would find when they got to the place the two scouts called Crystal Palace. Hopefully, this Neo Queen Serenity person would be able to answer all their questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neo Queen Serenity or rather Serena, leader of the Sailor Senshi sighed once again. Her eyes once again fell on the transparent jewel that was before her on the table. Serena laid her head on her arms, once again feeling the tears creep into her eyes. This always happened after another attack by the enemy. Things were always peaceful for a while but then there was an attack somewhere in the city and despite everyone's protests, she would go off to stop them. Battles dragged on sometimes, while other times ended abruptly, still leaving her drained of everything.
Now and days she hardly had anytime to herself. She wanted things to be normal again. She couldn't go anywhere with Crystal Tokyo without someone treating her like a goddess of some sort. Even her parents treated her differently now that they knew she was not only Sailor Moon, but also the future queen of all of Tokyo. She stayed at her palace now more than anywhere else. She knew she should go see her family with the little peace she still had, but it was so difficult for things to be like they use to be. Lifting her head up, she looked out the window to the near distant lights of Crystal Tokyo.
With the power of the Silver Crystal, she had been able to save a lot of people by constructing this barrier around the city. People still lived almost normal lives, but they were also aware of the dangers. They knew that if she were to lose, they have to face the destruction of their civilization. Serena tried her hardest not to let that happen. If she couldn't be, she would let others be happy.
Serena closed her eyes, feeling deeply sick by the tons of responsibilities that now weighed her down. It was hard to be happy anymore. Especially. . . Serena felt the tears fall, breaking from the dam she had erected to hold them. She was so tired of everything. Being alone, despite everyone that surrounded her, tired of fighting constant battles that only seemed to get worse all the time, tired of being treated like she was different, when in fact she wasn't. She was tired of having to look like she was stronger than everyone else. She wasn't. . .she never had been. The only reason she seemed so was because she had her friends to help her.
Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina were gone now. That day they had shielded her and used the Sailor Transport was the last time she had seen them alive. All she had now of them were their star crystals. The only ones she had now where the outer scouts. Even though they were good friends, they still treated her like she was different than them. Serena buried her face in her arms, crying once again in silence. *I don't know how long I can go on, guys. I'm at the end of my rope. You have to help me somehow. I can't continue to do this by myself.*
A knock on the door broke Serena from her tears. With a weary sigh, Serena wiped away her tears and got up from her chair. Opening the door, she found a brown skinned woman in a dark green sailor uniform. In her hand was a staff with the top shaped like a heart. Inside the heart was a red jewel. The woman looked down at Serena with surprise to find the younger woman wearing regular civilian clothing rather than her formal queen attire or the Sailor uniform. (A/N: If anyone notices, I'm using the manga versions more than the anime versions of the characters. But isn't Setsuna dark in the anime version too?)
"Neo Queen Serenity, the other senshi have returned from the search," said the woman. "Do you plan on going out somewhere, Neo Queen Serenity?" Serena wanted to scream her head off at the title. Why couldn't they call her by her normal name? (A/N: You're probably wondering why the outer scouts are being more formal towards Serena. Well for starters, they aren't that close to Serena as the inner scouts were. And two they all with exception of Hotaru, are sort of future scouts so it's only natural they be more formal to her.)
"No, Sailor Pluto, I just thought it was a change from being so formal. I. . ." Serena shook her head, not wanting to worry the older woman. She forced a smile on her face. "Was there something else to report? Did they find any survivors?" Serena's eyes were hopeful that more people had been saved.
"Uranus and Saturn said they found four individuals. Would you like to meet with them, Neo Queen Serenity?" inquired Sailor Pluto.
"Yes, I would." Serena said. "Give me a minute and I'll be down to talk with them." The Sailor Senshi of Pluto bowed slightly, and left Serena to collect herself. Serena knew that she would have to change outfits. Oh well, so much for a quiet moment as a normal young woman. Closing her eyes, Serena used the power of the Silver Crystal to change into her formal attire. A pair of wings magically settles on her back. (A/N: Kind of like Van's from Escaflowne.)
Sailor Pluto walked back down to where Sailor Uranus, the newly arrived Neptune, and Saturn stood with the four strange individuals that Uranus and Saturn said claimed to have known the inner senshi. Pluto carefully looked at the four individuals with concealed eyes. There were three males, the tallest of them all having orange hair. The second tallest had red hair and emerald color eyes. The last male had chaotic black hair and seemed to be in a bad mood. She would keep her eyes on him especially. Accompanying them was a woman with long bright blue hair with pink eyes. Each of these people had strange auras, as Saturn had mentioned.
"Excuse me," Sailor Pluto said, drawing the four attention. "Neo Queen Serenity will be with you in a minute. I am Sailor Pluto, her advisor."
"Where are we?" questioned the red head.
"This is the Crystal Palace, where Neo Queen Serenity lives. The crystal you passed through was the gate that leads to the city. Crystal Tokyo," Sailor Pluto said. The male nodded, satisfied for now with the answer.
"Sailor Pluto, where are the people that Uranus and Saturn-" A young woman dressed in a long white dressed came down the stairs of the palace, stopping halfway down when she saw the four that stood with Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune.
Hiei's eyes widened, that woman was the same woman that had appeared to him at his apartment. Everything was exactly the same, the silver-blond hair, the vivid blue eyes, though now they were dark with tears, the wings on her back, the dress she wore, and her hairstyle. Hiei found that he couldn't take his eyes off her as he watched her break from her stupor and run down the stairs. On instinct, he opened his arms to her as she clung to him.
"You came back to me! I thought I would never see you again!" Serena cried into his shoulder. For the first time in such a long time, Serena was completely happy. She inhaled his scent; it was still the same scent that she remembered. He hadn't changed much, except the fact that he was taller now. (A/N: Someone corrected me about Hiei's height in One Strange Day. Apparently he grew and was about as tall as Yusuke when the show ended. Hah! Isn't that interesting! ^_^)
"I sensed your need for help. I came as fast as I could," Hiei murmured into her hair. God he had missed her more than he thought he did. Holding her in his arms made him feel complete in every way.
"Neo Queen Serenity?" The voice of Sailor Pluto broke through the moment. Serena removed herself from Hiei's arms despite she wanted to stay there forever. She turned to the older woman who like the other scouts had a curious look on her face. She had never been compelled to tell them about that one strange moment in time that had brought her this dark haired angel. "I suppose you know them?"
"Yes, they are our friends. They came to assist in the fighting. I want you all to make them as welcomed as possible," Serena said, wiping the tears away. She then turned to the other three individuals that had accompanied Hiei on his trip. Serena noticed that Yusuke wasn't with them, but the girl that had to be Botan. "Kuwabara, Kurama, it's good to see you again. This must be Botan."
"Hello, how are you doing?" Botan said in a chipper tone. "Yes, I'm Botan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Hiei doesn't say much about you, but you are a very beautiful person. I just don't see how you and-ouch!" Botan turned to Hiei who had came up and hit her in the back of the head. He glared at Botan with death lances, causing the girl to shut up.
"What did I tell you," Hiei growled, despite the slight blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, shortie's blushing! You still got that impact on him," Kuwabara grinned. He dodged the sword that was aimed at his head and begins running for his life as he uttered several curses at the orange haired Neanderthal. Serena couldn't help smiling, remembering the past and the good time they had.
"Serena," Kurama said with slight worry in his tone.
"Yes, Kurama," Serena responded.
"Where are the others?" Serena fell silent, causing both Hiei and Kuwabara to stop in their actions. Kurama looked worriedly at her. "Something's happened to them hasn't it. I haven't been able to pick up their scents since we arrived."
"Yes. Something has. It's been five years since you left here. Almost two years ago an evil force arose and attacked. We were able to hold them off for a while, but they became more powerful each time we fought. A year and a half ago. . .we. . .we were caught in a battle. Our enemy had us at a disadvantage. There was nothing we could do. The others sacrificed their life to save me. The only thing that's left of them is these." Serena held out her hands. Four different colored crystals appeared before her.
"What are they?" Botan asked.
"These are their star crystals. If I'm able to defeat this new threat, I know that they will be restored to their normal bodies. Their powers are still strong, but not strong enough to be reborn into their bodies. I just know that if we can defeat our enemy, we can return them to their normal selves. Then you can see Raye again, Kurama," Serena said.
"I will help any way I can to help," Kurama said, feeling powerless because he hadn't been here to stop this from happening. Serena saw the pain in his eyes and walked over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting smile. The kitsune gave her a small smile of assurance that he was fine. "We will get them back. I'm not worried."
"Do you have any idea who this enemy is that's attacking you?" Botan wondered.
"No. Besides the fact that there's a girl and a young man who seems to be interested in capturing Neo Queen Serenity," Sailor Pluto answered this time. "Several times he has attempted to, but the power of the Silver Crystal and the other inner senshi star crystals have stopped that. We don't know how much longer it will work."
"You don't have to worry anymore. We're here, and we will protect you no matter what." Hiei walked up to her, looking her in the eyes. *I won't let anyone have you. I will protect you with my very life.*
"Thank you all. I appreciate your help," Serena said. *Please protect me, Hiei. Protect me from what I fear may come.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nakoruru: Yeah! Another chapter finished! And another part of the story completed. And I do apologize if Hiei sounded all soft in the story. I think it's cute!
Emi (popping in): Like me!
Nakoruru: Yeah! Like you, Emi! You are such a cutie! Here have a plush toy. (hands the girl a plush doll of Hiei)
Emi (beaming up at me cutely): Uncle Hiei! (cuddles the plushie) I love my new plushie! Thank you writer lady!
Nakoruru: You welcome cutie. How about you do the closing up for me?
Emi (nodding cutely): Okay! Thank you for weading the chapter! And we hope you come back and see me! Revou the chapter!
Nakoruru (grinning): That was so cute! Okay people, you know the deal. See you all next chapter!
Anime Princess, thank you. My mind is always at work so I just went ahead and did it. Glad you like it! And since no school and only just work, the chapters will come out as quickly as possible. Isn't that great!
Eo, um, I'll desperately try to update as much as possible when I'm not working. But we see we got an addict already! LOL Please be patient.
Cair, welcome back after a long intense silence! ^ ^
Lethal Purple Crayon, I'm trying hardest to keep this one updated every other two days. Please be patient with me.
The Masked Mistress, thank you so much! Um, catfights might be better, always something fun about girls pulling hair and stuff. But Lita isn't one for catfights! She would wipe the floor with Keiko and then some! LOL
Sue, thanks a lot for guessing the correct scout! Have a plushie! *hands out a plushie* And you got her eye color! I was a bit hesitant for a description cause of it.
Rose, sorry but it's not Haruka, but she will appear soon enough. Please make sure Keiko doesn't die of fright, I can't have Yusuke on my case for it.
Mitsukai, you guessed correctly! Yeah! Have a plushie too! *hands out plushie* And you know, I don't need wings to fly. I'm part youkai like Jin. If you read my pro, you'll find out strange things about me. Maybe you shouldn't read it. . .don't wanna scare you or anything. ^ ^;;
Kayla, Emi is a cutie isn't she! Have an Emi plushie! *hands out an Emi plushie* Wouldn't it be fun to see what happens if Serena and Hiei had a little boy and Emi fell in love with him and they got married! But you guessed right too! Yeah! Have another plushie! *hands over another plushie* And yes, things shall be interesting with Botan there.
Shinia, to your question, no they didn't go into hiding. You'll find out what happened to the inner scouts and about the crystal place the Hakusho gang saw.
Lady Love, I know! Poor Yusuke! Blame my co-writer for it! But I have to say there is only one good thing that came out of it. And that's my cute little Emi! She is as cute as a button! And please, don't get Keiko on me. She's always fussing with me over something.
Bunnychu, thanks! I'm updating as I go along with life. I hope you really do like it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Senshi's Tenshi, wow, I lost my train with you because there was so much you addressed and all. I can't remember it all. But Emi is cute! Have an Emi plushie too! *hands over an Emi plushie* I think Darien's better in the manga too, but I still don't like him worth crap.
Lina Hino, I'm updating as I go! Be as patient as possible with me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Answer me. Who are you?" The four individuals saw a girl dressed in the same warrior outfit the other scouts had. Kurama could tell this was another girl. This one had a much younger smell than the other scouts did. He could tell she had short hair. In her hand she was a long staff with a curved blade on it.
"What happened here?" Kurama asked.
The girl looked down at them suspiciously, jumping down from the building. The four realized that this girl was no more than twelve or so. Her warrior's uniform was different from the others. She wore a purple uniform with a much longer bow in the back than the boys remembered. Only on one arm did she adorn a glove. The button on the uniform attached to the ribbon was heart shaped rather than round. "You have no idea what happened? Where did you come from, strangers? It's best you leave before you get hurt."
"Hey little girl, we can take care of ourselves," shouted Kuwabara. The girl narrowed her amethyst eyes at him.
"Such a big mouth for a big oaf." Another voice came out of nowhere, calling attention to an area not too far behind the group. Hiei and Kurama were both caught off guard, having not sensed the new girl. Hiei glanced to where the voice came from. He found a woman with short blond hair. Her dark blue eyes flickered over the group, then to the girl with the long weapon. Hiei noticed that she also wore a sailor uniform, which was blue. "Who are you?"
"Why don't you answer us first who you are?" Kuwabara said. "I don't remember seeing either one of you the last time."
"The last time? What are you talking about?" The shorthaired blonde gave him a suspicious look.
"Kuwabara, I don't think it's wise we get them riled up," Kurama said. "Let's calm down and talk this out." He looked to the older woman in the sailor uniform and smiled. "You must forgive my friend's rudeness. We mean no harm. What he meant was that the last time we were here, we met the others."
"The others? What others?" demanded the blonde woman.
"The others with uniforms like yours. Where are they?" Hiei sensed the two scouts tense up at the mention of the others. Hiei didn't like that feeling. What had happened while he was gone? What had happened to Serena? Was he too late to help her? "Where are they?"
"How do you know about the inner senshi? Tell me everything you know about them?" demanded the blonde. "Are you also with them? Who are you working for? Hotaru, go back to Crystal Palace, I'll be along soon."
"But Haruka," said the girl named Hotaru. "I don't think they are our enemies. I don't sense anything evil about them. Though they carry strange auras. It's not like ours, but it's not like our enemies. Maybe we need to take them to see Neo Queen Serenity."
"They may be masking their true powers from you. They are strong, can't you tell. I want to know how they know about the others before I put Serenity in danger," the woman named Haruka said.
"We don't want to fight you," Botan said. "We came to help. We were sent from another dimension to help you because of the existence of a powerful evil force that is slowly trying to expand outwards. We don't mean any harm, please just listen to us."
"Tell us who you are, please," Hotaru said. She had a strong feeling that they were telling the truth about coming from another dimension. Never before had she seen auras like theirs before. Like more than two of them weren't quite human. "My name is Sailor Saturn. My companion is Sailor Uranus. We are two of the scouts that make up the outer defenses for Crystal Tokyo. You mentioned before that you knew the inner scouts, the ones that protected this city for many years."
"Yes. We know them. A while ago, my companions and I were sent to your dimension doing a battle. The inner scouts as you call them, helped us to get back to our dimension. My name is Kurama. My companions are Kuwabara, Botan, and Hiei. Last time, another by the name of Yusuke was with us. Now can you tell us what happened here," Kurama asked.
Sailor Saturn looked at Sailor Uranus who had her arms crossed over her chest. Saturn knew that Uranus still did not trust them. But if they were truly who they said they were, Neo Queen Serenity would be able to tell. Saturn looked back at the strangers and nodded. "We shall take you to Neo Queen Serenity. She will know if you tell the truth or not."
"If you are not who you say you are, we will make sure that you will never be able to deceive another person ever again," Sailor Uranus said in a deathly tone. She turned from them with a slight humph. "Sailor Saturn we should get going before we have anymore attacks."
"I understand," Sailor Saturn nodded. "You four, follow me and stay close. It's dangerous here." The four nodded, not knowing what they would find when they got to the place the two scouts called Crystal Palace. Hopefully, this Neo Queen Serenity person would be able to answer all their questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neo Queen Serenity or rather Serena, leader of the Sailor Senshi sighed once again. Her eyes once again fell on the transparent jewel that was before her on the table. Serena laid her head on her arms, once again feeling the tears creep into her eyes. This always happened after another attack by the enemy. Things were always peaceful for a while but then there was an attack somewhere in the city and despite everyone's protests, she would go off to stop them. Battles dragged on sometimes, while other times ended abruptly, still leaving her drained of everything.
Now and days she hardly had anytime to herself. She wanted things to be normal again. She couldn't go anywhere with Crystal Tokyo without someone treating her like a goddess of some sort. Even her parents treated her differently now that they knew she was not only Sailor Moon, but also the future queen of all of Tokyo. She stayed at her palace now more than anywhere else. She knew she should go see her family with the little peace she still had, but it was so difficult for things to be like they use to be. Lifting her head up, she looked out the window to the near distant lights of Crystal Tokyo.
With the power of the Silver Crystal, she had been able to save a lot of people by constructing this barrier around the city. People still lived almost normal lives, but they were also aware of the dangers. They knew that if she were to lose, they have to face the destruction of their civilization. Serena tried her hardest not to let that happen. If she couldn't be, she would let others be happy.
Serena closed her eyes, feeling deeply sick by the tons of responsibilities that now weighed her down. It was hard to be happy anymore. Especially. . . Serena felt the tears fall, breaking from the dam she had erected to hold them. She was so tired of everything. Being alone, despite everyone that surrounded her, tired of fighting constant battles that only seemed to get worse all the time, tired of being treated like she was different, when in fact she wasn't. She was tired of having to look like she was stronger than everyone else. She wasn't. . .she never had been. The only reason she seemed so was because she had her friends to help her.
Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina were gone now. That day they had shielded her and used the Sailor Transport was the last time she had seen them alive. All she had now of them were their star crystals. The only ones she had now where the outer scouts. Even though they were good friends, they still treated her like she was different than them. Serena buried her face in her arms, crying once again in silence. *I don't know how long I can go on, guys. I'm at the end of my rope. You have to help me somehow. I can't continue to do this by myself.*
A knock on the door broke Serena from her tears. With a weary sigh, Serena wiped away her tears and got up from her chair. Opening the door, she found a brown skinned woman in a dark green sailor uniform. In her hand was a staff with the top shaped like a heart. Inside the heart was a red jewel. The woman looked down at Serena with surprise to find the younger woman wearing regular civilian clothing rather than her formal queen attire or the Sailor uniform. (A/N: If anyone notices, I'm using the manga versions more than the anime versions of the characters. But isn't Setsuna dark in the anime version too?)
"Neo Queen Serenity, the other senshi have returned from the search," said the woman. "Do you plan on going out somewhere, Neo Queen Serenity?" Serena wanted to scream her head off at the title. Why couldn't they call her by her normal name? (A/N: You're probably wondering why the outer scouts are being more formal towards Serena. Well for starters, they aren't that close to Serena as the inner scouts were. And two they all with exception of Hotaru, are sort of future scouts so it's only natural they be more formal to her.)
"No, Sailor Pluto, I just thought it was a change from being so formal. I. . ." Serena shook her head, not wanting to worry the older woman. She forced a smile on her face. "Was there something else to report? Did they find any survivors?" Serena's eyes were hopeful that more people had been saved.
"Uranus and Saturn said they found four individuals. Would you like to meet with them, Neo Queen Serenity?" inquired Sailor Pluto.
"Yes, I would." Serena said. "Give me a minute and I'll be down to talk with them." The Sailor Senshi of Pluto bowed slightly, and left Serena to collect herself. Serena knew that she would have to change outfits. Oh well, so much for a quiet moment as a normal young woman. Closing her eyes, Serena used the power of the Silver Crystal to change into her formal attire. A pair of wings magically settles on her back. (A/N: Kind of like Van's from Escaflowne.)
Sailor Pluto walked back down to where Sailor Uranus, the newly arrived Neptune, and Saturn stood with the four strange individuals that Uranus and Saturn said claimed to have known the inner senshi. Pluto carefully looked at the four individuals with concealed eyes. There were three males, the tallest of them all having orange hair. The second tallest had red hair and emerald color eyes. The last male had chaotic black hair and seemed to be in a bad mood. She would keep her eyes on him especially. Accompanying them was a woman with long bright blue hair with pink eyes. Each of these people had strange auras, as Saturn had mentioned.
"Excuse me," Sailor Pluto said, drawing the four attention. "Neo Queen Serenity will be with you in a minute. I am Sailor Pluto, her advisor."
"Where are we?" questioned the red head.
"This is the Crystal Palace, where Neo Queen Serenity lives. The crystal you passed through was the gate that leads to the city. Crystal Tokyo," Sailor Pluto said. The male nodded, satisfied for now with the answer.
"Sailor Pluto, where are the people that Uranus and Saturn-" A young woman dressed in a long white dressed came down the stairs of the palace, stopping halfway down when she saw the four that stood with Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune.
Hiei's eyes widened, that woman was the same woman that had appeared to him at his apartment. Everything was exactly the same, the silver-blond hair, the vivid blue eyes, though now they were dark with tears, the wings on her back, the dress she wore, and her hairstyle. Hiei found that he couldn't take his eyes off her as he watched her break from her stupor and run down the stairs. On instinct, he opened his arms to her as she clung to him.
"You came back to me! I thought I would never see you again!" Serena cried into his shoulder. For the first time in such a long time, Serena was completely happy. She inhaled his scent; it was still the same scent that she remembered. He hadn't changed much, except the fact that he was taller now. (A/N: Someone corrected me about Hiei's height in One Strange Day. Apparently he grew and was about as tall as Yusuke when the show ended. Hah! Isn't that interesting! ^_^)
"I sensed your need for help. I came as fast as I could," Hiei murmured into her hair. God he had missed her more than he thought he did. Holding her in his arms made him feel complete in every way.
"Neo Queen Serenity?" The voice of Sailor Pluto broke through the moment. Serena removed herself from Hiei's arms despite she wanted to stay there forever. She turned to the older woman who like the other scouts had a curious look on her face. She had never been compelled to tell them about that one strange moment in time that had brought her this dark haired angel. "I suppose you know them?"
"Yes, they are our friends. They came to assist in the fighting. I want you all to make them as welcomed as possible," Serena said, wiping the tears away. She then turned to the other three individuals that had accompanied Hiei on his trip. Serena noticed that Yusuke wasn't with them, but the girl that had to be Botan. "Kuwabara, Kurama, it's good to see you again. This must be Botan."
"Hello, how are you doing?" Botan said in a chipper tone. "Yes, I'm Botan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Hiei doesn't say much about you, but you are a very beautiful person. I just don't see how you and-ouch!" Botan turned to Hiei who had came up and hit her in the back of the head. He glared at Botan with death lances, causing the girl to shut up.
"What did I tell you," Hiei growled, despite the slight blush on his cheeks.
"Hey, shortie's blushing! You still got that impact on him," Kuwabara grinned. He dodged the sword that was aimed at his head and begins running for his life as he uttered several curses at the orange haired Neanderthal. Serena couldn't help smiling, remembering the past and the good time they had.
"Serena," Kurama said with slight worry in his tone.
"Yes, Kurama," Serena responded.
"Where are the others?" Serena fell silent, causing both Hiei and Kuwabara to stop in their actions. Kurama looked worriedly at her. "Something's happened to them hasn't it. I haven't been able to pick up their scents since we arrived."
"Yes. Something has. It's been five years since you left here. Almost two years ago an evil force arose and attacked. We were able to hold them off for a while, but they became more powerful each time we fought. A year and a half ago. . .we. . .we were caught in a battle. Our enemy had us at a disadvantage. There was nothing we could do. The others sacrificed their life to save me. The only thing that's left of them is these." Serena held out her hands. Four different colored crystals appeared before her.
"What are they?" Botan asked.
"These are their star crystals. If I'm able to defeat this new threat, I know that they will be restored to their normal bodies. Their powers are still strong, but not strong enough to be reborn into their bodies. I just know that if we can defeat our enemy, we can return them to their normal selves. Then you can see Raye again, Kurama," Serena said.
"I will help any way I can to help," Kurama said, feeling powerless because he hadn't been here to stop this from happening. Serena saw the pain in his eyes and walked over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting smile. The kitsune gave her a small smile of assurance that he was fine. "We will get them back. I'm not worried."
"Do you have any idea who this enemy is that's attacking you?" Botan wondered.
"No. Besides the fact that there's a girl and a young man who seems to be interested in capturing Neo Queen Serenity," Sailor Pluto answered this time. "Several times he has attempted to, but the power of the Silver Crystal and the other inner senshi star crystals have stopped that. We don't know how much longer it will work."
"You don't have to worry anymore. We're here, and we will protect you no matter what." Hiei walked up to her, looking her in the eyes. *I won't let anyone have you. I will protect you with my very life.*
"Thank you all. I appreciate your help," Serena said. *Please protect me, Hiei. Protect me from what I fear may come.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nakoruru: Yeah! Another chapter finished! And another part of the story completed. And I do apologize if Hiei sounded all soft in the story. I think it's cute!
Emi (popping in): Like me!
Nakoruru: Yeah! Like you, Emi! You are such a cutie! Here have a plush toy. (hands the girl a plush doll of Hiei)
Emi (beaming up at me cutely): Uncle Hiei! (cuddles the plushie) I love my new plushie! Thank you writer lady!
Nakoruru: You welcome cutie. How about you do the closing up for me?
Emi (nodding cutely): Okay! Thank you for weading the chapter! And we hope you come back and see me! Revou the chapter!
Nakoruru (grinning): That was so cute! Okay people, you know the deal. See you all next chapter!