Hi!

Here's chapter six for everyone!

I'm feeling really proud of myself. I've been reading all the reviews, and everyone likes the story so far! I'm glad you all do, and I hope I don't disappoint you in future chapters to come. I've been told it's a good story for my first fic! ^^ (skips off happy)

I would like to thank all my reviewers for taking the time to review and bring a smile to my face! And I hope this brings one to yours!

Oh, by the way, I'm not sure, but I think I read somewhere that Mako-chan was meant to have ESP! I don't know if she actually does, but I've noticed she's very observant at time when it comes to people... Plus she's very motherly over her friends, which is funny, seeing as she's the youngest of all of them! Except Hotaru, of course.

(This is a short rant for today...)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, or concepts or characters from either anime. I do own anything else... I think...

***

CHAPTER 6

"Well, Duo," Quatre pointed out. "You didn't die... Though it was close. I don't know what held her back."

"Winner's right. The onna obviously wanted to kill you." Wufei said. "She's one smart onna, though. We were going over that for at least an hour and she just waltzed in and figured it out!"

"She looked at the problem a different way. It's a useful skill." Trowa agreed.

"I don't understand though...I was being nice!" Duo exclaimed, upset yet somewhat relieved. Quatre just shook his head.

"You're going to have to sort this out, you know." He told him, stern for once. "You can't run this time. Goodness knows how much you've done this to other girls."

"But-"

"Quatre's right." Trowa said. "If we're going to have to live with her and protect her on a daily basis we can't have this hanging over us. Especially when she finds out you're one of her bodyguards."

~

"WHAT?!?!?!?!

~

"Yeah." Wufei said, shaking his head. "Because if you don't, I don't know who we'll be protecting; her, or you."

~

"So let me get this straight; you honestly, HONESTLY think me and him can not only live in the same house -"

"Mansion."

"Mansion, see each other everyday, and work together for prolonged periods of time without ME KILLING HIM???"

"Actually, yes," Setsuna replied, amused at her enraged charge. To her surprise, instead of trying to hunt down and murder Maxwell there and then, Leila simply slumped back in her chair.

"You really like the sadistic torture thing, don't you?" The younger girl questioned tiredly.

~

Leila rubbed her temples. Wednesday already. And she was already halfway through the day's lessons.

She was actually happy. The day before had given her too much to think about, with Milliardo cancelling her tour. He was involved with various political matters regarding that task force Leila had suggested.

She didn't really want to know. Politics gave her headaches most of the time.

A whole day with only herself and her imaginary friends to keep company.

And she hadn't liked the way her thoughts went. Doubts and questions had plagued her at every turn - her and Duo, her as a pilot, her and Jadeite, Rei and Jadeite, the enemy...

Which was why she had lodged herself in the library for lunch and her free period afterward, completing English and Maths homework for the next two weeks.

Frankly, she was amazed she was going so fast.

She was even more amazed that she found it easy. Setsuna must have been a very good tutor. If she kept up this pace, she'd have all her assigned homework for the next two weeks completed. Considering she used to be barely one up from Usagi at one point in time, it was quite impressive for her.

Setsuna knew what she was doing when she gave Leila the work ahead of time. Granted, she was no Mizuno Ami, but Leila had to admit she was doing pretty well. Which was what Setsuna had in mind, really. A smart gundam pilot was better than a stupid one. Which made her wonder how Maxwell got the job...

She'd been getting more irritable as the days wore on. Which made her more worried. What if her wings just decided to 'pop' out in the center of a shopping mall? Just how much would it hurt?

All that worrying made her even more grumpy. And she'd noticed an ache in her lower back even as she got up in the morning.

She was not in the best of moods.

Exhaling, she placed down her pen. The truth was, she was working to distract herself. And it wasn't her wings that were worrying her; it was Jadeite. Setsuna had assured her that Zoisite had died. Leila didn't know how Setsuna knew, but he'd died. Which meant just Jadeite.

But Jadeite wasn't 'just' anything. He had been Beryl's most favoured general at one point in time - and Leila didn't doubt that he had earned his favour.

True, she'd convinced herself that she'd grown stronger in the last two years, but who was to say Jadeite hadn't? And he was probably more powerful to begin with. But what worried her the most was that she had never fought or crossed paths with Jadeite in this lifetime. She had no idea of his strengths or weaknesses or strategies. More importantly, she knew nothing of the mind behind all that.

Nothing at all, except one thing that could possibly be of interest to him...

~

Pictures large and small lined the walls of the room. The room itself was quite simple - he'd had to use many in the past few years. But he never ran short of pictures. Ever.

Not all the pictures were photos. Or not the usual type at least. Some were memories frozen in time and framed. Detaching himself from the shadows, he moved into the dim light of his room, tracing some of them. He paused, hand hovering over one taken recently.

Five girls, walking together, laughing, talking. Two blondes walked eagerly ahead of the others, naturally animated even in the picture frame, exuding bright, bubbly, excited airs. One of them looked slightly over her shoulder, streamers of hair glimmering in the light as they fell from two buns as she engaged the girl behind her, drawing the other into her warmth.

The smaller, obviously quieter girl smiled shyly back, eyes warm, hands gesturing to indicate she was about to speak. Midnight blue brushed her shoulders, a cat perched on one of them, obviously dozing in the sun.

A few feet behind her, lagging as they quietly but enthusiastically spoke together, were two more girls - a tall girl with brown curly hair tied into a ponytail situated closer to the camera. Her head was turned, hiding her face, as she spoke to the shorter, raven haired one, whose face was hidden by the other girl. His hand lingered over those two, before going to another picture, a painting.

It was no normal painting. It was a memory placed onto canvas by magic, even the most minute details accounted for. The artist had obviously been hidden from the subjects - night and surrounding trees and bushes had ensured that. The subjects themselves consisted of two females also - young, childish women this time.

The background was strange - the memory would have been a long time ago, when technology had not conquered nature. The trees in which the artist was hiding in circled what looked like a garden courtyard. There was no moon - instead, the Earth glowed, illuminating the sky with a soft light, adding a fantastical suggestion to the picture.

The subjects themselves were once more a dark haired woman, hair purple rather than black, but bearing a close resemblance to the other, last girl of the photo. But this time, her face was not hidden, a ray of light from the Earth falling upon her, highlighting her features, which were open and welcoming. Her dress was a soft red with a light corset type top, not as conservative as obviously required. Raven hair fell to her calves, with bangs framing her face. Amazingly deep purple eyes glimmered in the light. She was obviously pleased, head tilted down as she seemed to look into the trees at first, but was in reality gazing at a small figure hidden in the mild shadows below one of the tree branches.

That figure was obviously a completely different person from any one else viewed. Red-gold hair fell to just above her knees, and her dress could not quite be related to a typical medieval dress. It was a dark blue outfit, with a blue, almost black skirt and a lighter, blouse type long- sleeved garment. It was a light, form fitting garment - not conservative at all. A small knife hung off the thin coiled rope-belt hanging off her hips. Her clothing and stance suggested an air of freedom and wildness about her. Her most engaging feature, however, were her eyes of emerald flame, which were gazing back with warmth at the other woman.

They were obviously close friends, perhaps even like siblings. He noticed the aura of closeness between them, observing the same aura surrounding the last two girls in the other picture - a quiet understanding of each other.

He passed to another ancient picture. A portrait, this time. The two women were seated next to each other on a bench. They were younger this time, girls, and if they did not look so different the similarity in their eyes and expressions would have branded them sisters. The younger was in a soft green gown, both arms around the waist of the raven haired girl, who gave a one armed hug back, the other hand placed in her lap.

His hand hovered slightly over the older girl, hungrily taking in everything - the gentle air around her, the confident way she held herself. He then focused on the face, bangs falling past her cheeks to the slender curve of her neck. Pale skin contrasted the soft flush of her face.

Lastly, he was drawn to her deep empress purple eyes. If that colour was all, they would be branded as unusual and nothing more. But those eyes had a soul searching depth to them. Strong fires lit within them made them a burning purple, an indication of her inner spirit. Beautiful, engaging eyes.

His fingertips hovered at last over those eyes, taking in the happiness and inner glow revealed within them.

A small knife had appeared in his hand. Leaf like, with a thin, delicate blade.

Before one could blink, he struck, knife ripping diagonally into that face, vindictively destroying her expression. He slashed once more, into her lower torso. And continued, systematically destroying the portrait altogether, before he turned, striding from the room.

Unmarred and undamaged, purple eyes gazed after him. Hauntingly lovely, purple eyes.

~

"Focus, Leila. If you can work this simulator, you'll gain the ability to control the basic movements of your gundam." Setsuna's voice stated in Leila's speakers.

"Right." She muttered to herself. "Right. If I can freaking get myself off the ground to begin with..."

She hadn't thought simulators could be so realistic. Which was half the problem. The other half was her fear of heights.

It was a hard thing even to admit, but Leila was scared of heights. It was understandable; she'd been a sole survivor of the plane crash which had killed her parents, and nearly taken her as well, leaving her floating in an ocean until clean up crews had found her. Leila wasn't stupid. She knew she shouldn't have survived the initial crash, and certainly not under such impossible circumstances. She suspected Setsuna had gone to some lengthy measures to keep her alive.

Heights she could handle, as long as she knew there was something underneath her - a tree, the roof, a light pole (being a senshi meant posing a lot, even on street lamps), but actually flying was something that utterly terrified her. It had been easy enough for her to get into the simulator, but even a little hover a few feet of the ground, knowing full well it wasn't even real, had almost rendered her unable to move.

She couldn't believe how ashamed she was of herself. Jadeite was out there, with his own fleet and magic at his disposal. And she had been specifically selected to take him down, stop him from destroying her world as she knew it. And she couldn't do anything because of a stupid phobia.

Okay. Let's try this again. She thought to herself. It was true her new set of memories included piloting lessons, which meant she'd been able to work out and use the controls fairly easily. But her old memories made it hard for her new ones to be effective, with her fear and memories of the crash clouding her mind. Gritting her teeth, she jumped up and flicked on the thrusters.

And choked, panicking as her hands immediately turned them off, dropping to the ground. She couldn't do it.

She couldn't understand it! She'd been able to do almost anything, running, jumping, even basic unarmed combat and a little armed combat. She had mastered complicated moves that usually took months to smooth out, but she couldn't fly!

"Okay, Leila." Setsuna said, her face appearing on the screen above Leila's own screen showing her the 'outside' environment, simulated in this case. "It seems you have everything down pat except the intensely complicated stuff. That's okay. We were working on the basics anyway. But you seem to have a problem with flight."

Gee. State the obvious.

"Firstly, you're jumpy with the controls, secondly, you keep forgetting the basic process needed to both push off and then control your flight."

Actually, she remembered the process perfectly. She just couldn't stay calm enough to pull it off.

"So I want you to just sit back and watch the controls."

Huh? But she could feel the sim 'moving', so to speak...

"I'm accessing your sim controls from here. I'm going to put you in flight, since you have trouble pushing off, and then I'm going to see how you do controlling the sim in flight."

Oh. Shit. NO! Don'tdothatplease...

But before she could offer protest, Setsuna had switched off, and her sim performed a perfectly controlled push off from the ground.

Leila was anything but controlled, fingers clenching her seat arms so hard her fingernails hurt. In response, she only dug in deeper, as the gundam hovered twenty meters from the ground, before flying both forward and higher.

You're not going to die. It's only a simulator. You're really only a meter off the ground, in what looks like a freaking basketball with controls on the inside.

Setsuna laughed over the speaker. "It's quite exhilarating, isn't it?" She asked. "And I'm on a smaller screen than you. It's okay, Mako," She added, trying to be soothing (but the condescending undertones didn't help). "See, it isn't that bad."

The gundam had stopped, hovering slightly on the spot. "I'm going to fly it around a little, so you get used to it."

Leila knew Setsuna was trying to allay her fear about flying. The least she herself could do was try on her own part. She pulled her hands off the armrests, slowly pulling each nail out before resting them again, only lightly clutching. She tried to un-tense herself, while observing the screen. Flying felt slightly weird, come to think of it. She could feel the slight tug of gravity below her, but beyond everything she could feel the winds pressing in around her, buffering her as she hovered...

~

"Makoto, are you crazy!" A purple haired girl yelled from the roof of the palace. "Do you know how strong the winds are?! If you don't fall you'll get thrown into a wall or-"

Mako herself laughed, exultation coursing through her body. She loved flying as much as she loved moving through the treetops, the winds almost completely dominating her movement, weaving through her hair like ribbons. "Rei, I've done this heaps of times. Aren't you going to join me?" She asked, teasing slightly.

"You know full well I can't fly with my wings!" Rei retorted. It was true; her light pink-red angel-like wings had magical uses, but the frame was too weak to support her weight in flight. Mako's on the other hand, were made of an extremely strong material, strong enough to fly against maybe even a tornado. Or so Ami had said after scanning them.

"The delegation from Earth is making their way up here!" Rei said desperately. Makoto's light but useful clothing would scandalise them. She wasn't too worried about the clothing; Mako was jovian after all. But the wings would cause a stir, because only Jovian royals had those wings. And they weren't to be presented to the court until the ball...

Makoto sighed, following Rei's line of thought. "Okay, I'm coming," she called, angling her self down at the roof and dropping into a perfect dive. Reaching the roof she smoothly flipped forward, wings disappearing as she landed...

~

"OH MY GOD!" She shrieked, jerking out of her vision as her gundam pulled tightly into a loop-the-loop, fully panicking. "Setsuna stop it! Putitdownputitdownputitdown!" She gasped out, looking down at the ground and feeling amazingly nauseated.

Calm down! It's not even fucking real! She swore at herself, but to her relief Setsuna was bringing down the gundam, landing it on the ground. Flicking the operations off, she tumbled out of the simulator, taking deep, gasping breaths as she tried to will away the sick feeling.

"Makoto? Daijobu?" A voice asked as a cool hand placed itself on her cheek.

"Leila." She corrected her mother. "I'm fine, I think."

She wasn't. She was feeling terrible, and very, very disgusted with herself. "I'm sorry."

"We'll work on it another time." Setsuna told her. "We'll finish up for the day."

The session was supposed to have lasted for another hour. Leila nodded meekly.

"How's school?"

"Okay." It had basically run by clockwork. She got introduced, sat by the teacher specifically near at least one of the pilots, did her work, and got the hell out before she had to talk to anyone. It was an effective routine, handling things such as boys, chatty posh girls, gundam pilots... "I have my first history lesson tomorrow, but that's about it. I'm a little ahead with my homework."

"That's nice." Setsuna said, while closing off the power to the simulator.

"Yeah. I think I might be able to get ahead by about a week."

"That's very good. Being a gundam pilot tends to affect one's schoolwork. This way if you're off on a mission you know you'll probably have your work done and won't need to stay up completing it." Her mother commented, obviously pleased. "Not quite following Ami's footsteps, but we'll get there."

There was an awkward pose. "You have to learn to get over this." Setsuna said, abrupt and business like. "You will be needed as a gundam pilot. And a pilot who is afraid of flying is ineffective."

Like she hadn't already figured that out! Leila was suddenly furious. "Oh. I didn't know that." She commented mildly. Couldn't Setsuna see she was trying? It wasn't easy getting over a life long phobia!

Setsuna frowned slightly. "It seems so doesn't it?" She asked, also mild.

Leila didn't bother retorting. She simply turned around and left.

She walked blindly through the halls, not seeing, or even minding her paths. She'd always known she had a fear of flying, but she hadn't realised how bad it was. Of course, it had been a long time since she'd been on a plane. Or any flying craft.

But she did need to get over it, and as soon as possible.

Even as she made that resolution though, memories started flashing through her mind. The pain in her head with the drastic change in altitude, the cold fear as she looked toward her parents with wide eyes, the panicking of the other passengers, the loud screams and sobs from older children who truly understood what was going on...

That terrible look in both her parents eyes as they stared back at their only child...

And was gently jolted away from her thoughts as she turned a corner and walked into something solid.

Blinking, she looked again. That something looked suspiciously like someone's chest...

Being a midget tended to suck right about then. Leila blinked again and looked...

Down a gun barrel.

How did that get there?!

She looked up very, very slowly...

It was then the boys noticed the tears silently coursing down her cheeks. "Miss Leila, are you alright?" Quatre asked immediately. She looked at him confused for a moment, as Heero lowered his gun. Even he could be nice at times.

"Of course!" She stated, genuinely confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

They looked at her, non-plussed. She blinked, and brought a hand to her face. It came away wet. She looked at it, startled. "Oh. I guess that explains it..."

"Do you want to talk?" Quatre asked. "There's a cafeteria around here somewhere-"

"I'm fine," She cut him off, offering a hesitant smile. "Just..." Leila looked around. "Lost. Do you know...?" Wufei silently pointed behind him. "Oh. Thanks." With that she gently pushed by Trowa and headed down the hall, turning the corner before they heard a muffled sob and sprinting.

"Okay Maxwell. What did you do this time?" Wufei asked, pissed.

"Huh? Me? I didn't do anything! She has issues!" Duo exclaimed, desperately trying to diffuse Wufei's glare. "She didn't even look at me!"

Quatre just shook his head, frowning slightly.

~

"Okay, class!" The teacher, Miss Madison said brightly. "You've probably already met her, but this is our new student Leila, and we all hope she enjoys her new school. Now take out your books." They did so. "Now. Leila, you can sit next to..." she frowned, looking for a spare seat. Near one of the pilots, that was. "Heero for this lesson. Do you know Heero?"

Leila nodded. "Right. Right now we're on chapter seven and going through the exercises there. Have you already done this unit?"

She nodded once more. She had actually done it last night. "Okay. After that, we do chapter eleven and then we head back to nine. This is all generally about the first wars which started at the beginning of the colonies."

"Thank you," she told Miss Madison with a smile before she headed to her seat...next to Heero. And in front of Wufei. And diagonal to Trowa. Who was sitting next to Quatre. Who was sitting behind Duo.

If any of them even looked at her funny she'd kill them.

The teacher waited until she sat next to Heero. "Right. Basically we have normal lessons and 'work' lessons, where the first half is just that; work. Today's a work lesson, so everyone get started."

They did just that. Leila found (to her pleasure, though she would never, ever admit it), that she seemed to be ahead of most by a whole chapter and a half. They continued that way for about fifteen minutes before the teacher announced she was going out. Surprisingly enough, when she left there was hardly any conversation. People talked to each other in quiet voices, which Leila's idea of a perfect class. Not too quiet, not too loud.

Leila put her head down and continued with her work. Before all went silent, indicating the teacher's return.

"Ahem."

That sounded like a definite plea to gain attention. But it was so not the teacher's voice. For one, Miss Madison's voice was pleasant to listen to. This one seemed to annoy her.

"Excuse me."

She shrugged, turning over the page.

"New girl." The voice was very pissed off, from the sound of it.

Leila was aware of an uncomfortable shuffling around her. She looked up, seeing before her a girl. It seemed to Leila that there was nothing that distinctly marked the girl; she could have been anyone in a crowd. A little taller than her - there weren't many people that were shorter, come to think of it. Not these days. Dirty blonde hair, trimmed short at her shoulders. Slim, noticeable in her own right, with an air of demureness - or was that grace? - around her.

"Um...hi?"

Well, what was she supposed to say?

"Can I help you?" Leila added, wondering what the hell the girl wanted.

"Yes, actually." She replied in a cool clipped voice.

"Oh." Leila was sort of hoping she couldn't help.

"Yes." The girl said icily. "Very much."

"Oh shit." She heard Wufei mutter behind her.

Okay. How in hell had Leila managed to piss her off? As far as she knew, she'd never met this girl.

"I believe you're sitting in my seat."

To which Leila blinked. And blinked again. This girl was being totally bitchy about a seat? "Oh. Are they permanent or something?" If they were, she was screwed, considering her seating arrangement with the pilots.

"Well, my one always is. And so is his." The girl gestured to her left. Leila really couldn't be bothered to look.

"Oh. So you always sit here?" She inquired politely. "I'm sorry, but Miss Madison placed me here for the lesson. I hope you don't mind?"

The calm yet chilly girl before her simply blew up. "Mind? MIND? OF COURSE I MIND BECAUSE everyone, and I mean EVERYONE KNOWS THAT NO GIRL BUT ME SITS NEXT TO MY HE-CHAN so what the HELL do you think you're DOING?????"

She then proceeded to go off on a very loud, grating, yet unintelligible rant, saying something along the lines of her, He-chan, destined, and in love. Over it, she could hear the repeated thumps of someone bashing their head on their table. Looking past the boy to her right, she saw it was Duo. Quatre seemed to be resigned, and Trowa was...Trowa.

"HEY YOU?!?! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"

Damn. Caught. "Um..."

"You weren't listening to me!" The girl exclaimed, shocked beyond her imagination.

"Um..." For some reason, she felt sheepish. Like Ami had caught her copying homework or something.

"Only I can sit next to He-chan and the only girl He-chan sits next to is ME! And how dare you not listen to me, you stupid bitch!"

Okay. Now that was going a bit far. "But I was listening!" Leila protested innocently, noticing the whole room was completely silent as they watched the spectacle. "You were saying something about you and He-chan and destiny and marriage and lots of cute little kiddies and happily ever after and how you'd lost your nice little white straight jacket while you were escaping from the insane asylum."

There! Leila was quite proud of herself, actually. A straight comeback without one dirty word! Then she paused.

"Who's He-chan, by the way?"

Big mistake.

"MY BOYFRIEND, you stupid little, little girl!" the other gir- oh, young lady - yelled., stressing the girl bit. For some reason, she thought it was offensive. Leila hadn't quite figured out how yet. "And how dare you insult me! Me! Don't you know who I am?"

Actually...

"Geez, there's no need to have a hissy fit!" Leila said, starting to get the slightest bit annoyed. Then she added, with some concern, "Are you alright miss? You don't look too good..."

She was uncomfortably aware of snickers around her as the girl started to go red, then purple. If Leila had known they were laughing at the other girl and not her she probably would have felt more uncomfortable. She didn't want to make enemies here. Or bring attention to herself.

She focused on the girl once more, who was now...choking? "Um... You don't look too good..." She started. The girl might be a bitch, but if she was having an asthma attack or something..."Maybe you should see the nur-"

"I'M PERFECTLY FINE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!" The girl suddenly bellowed, leaning forward so they were almost nose to nose.

"Miss..." What was that girls name? "Do you think you can...sort of...move back a little?" Leila was starting to go cross-eyed, before she heard feet shuffling to her left. She looked over, watching Heero sink very slowly below his desk...

"OH MY GOD!" She yelled out. The girl jerked back. "You're -" She couldn't help it, she started to smile. "You're - You're talking about Heero!"

"Of course I'm talking about Heero! Who else was I talking about!"

This was plain ridiculous. She turned to him. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend! That's so cute!"

Duo burst into laughter, even as Wufei started audibly choking behind her.

"She's not my girlfriend." The muffled voice stated in monotone. It would have sounded like a simple statement if it hadn't seemed so ridiculous coming from underneath a school desk.

"Of course I am Heero!" The girl cried out passionately. "We're meant to be together! You know it!"

"Go away." Heero stated. Leila could no longer see his head.

"OH!" The girl cried out, crestfallen. She must have been really desperate. "My Heero-kun would never have said that to me!"

Leila started to relax, as it seemed like the girl would go bug Heero. Instead,, blonde hair flying, she whirled once more on Leila. "You've done this! You've turned him against me!" She suddenly shot forward, even as Leila yelped and jerked back, balancing precariously on the two back legs of her chair. Her arms grabbed Wufei's desk to keep herself up. "HOW DARE YOU JUST WALTZ IN AND - I'LL SHOW YOU, YOU, YOU -"

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Came a bellow from the door, even as Miss Madison strode in angrily. "Relena! I though better of you! Harassing a new girl in MY first history class with her when we're trying so hard to make her feel welcome and - for God's sake GET OFF HER DESK!"

Relena jerked off immediately, scattering books and writing materials. "But - Miss Madison-"

"BUT NOTHING!" The teacher shrieked furiously. "YOU sit right down and act like the young lady you're SUPPOSED TO BE!"

"Of course." Relena said, turning to Leila expectantly. Madison raised her eyebrows.

"Is there a reason why you're just standing there? There IS a seat at the back, Miss Peacecraft."

Peacecraft???

Relena cast one last dirty look her way before walking past to her desk.

Peacecraft.

Relena Peacecraft. Queen of Earth.

"Onna? You can get off my table."

"Oh. Sorry." She settled back on all fours before sliding out of her chair to pick up her scattered belongings.

This was not good. Not good at all. She'd just managed to piss off the Queen of Earth.

Crap.

Oh. And she got humiliated in front of her history class. But that didn't count. She'd just managed to piss off the Queen of Earth. She was as good as dead.

Leila sighed as she dumped her open and empty pencil case on her desk, gathering up various pens and pencils and shoving them in. She could neaten it up later. Right now, she just wanted to get back in her seat as soon as possible and avoid the eyes of the rest of the class.

"Well? What are you staring at, class?" Miss Madison looked over at her. "Just leave the poor girl alone and get THE HELL BACK TO YOUR WORK BEFORE I -"

Suddenly, everyone seemed to be busy.

She sighed slightly, crawling under her desk to pick the various pens that had somehow rolled under there. And where was her work book? Leila was not happy about her backside poking out from underneath the desk. She was not happy about having to crawl under the desk in the first place. If that stupid girl wasn't a big shot politician and Milliardo's sister she would have seriously given her a new makeover. Consisting of purple and reds. Now where was that stupid work book?!

She heard a tap over her head and peeked out.

To see her work book being held out to her. "Oh. Thanks." She said to Heero, flustered. He shrugged and went back to his work, a little red. Huh? He was probably embarrassed. She slid back out from underneath the table and got back in her seat, aware the back of her head was uncomfortably warm from the heated glare being sent her way...

~

"Setsuna?" Ami asked, as the woman stepped from the shadows into Ami's bedroom.

"Did you tell anyone about Jadeite?" The woman immediately asked.

"No. Only Luna." At the mention of her name, the cat also removed herself from the shadows.

"Good. He's no one's concern but mine."

"You know that's not true, Setsuna." Luna objected. "Jadeite is an enemy of the senshi. It's our responsibility to handle him."

"No, Luna." Setsuna said with a soft sigh. "It's the duty of the senshi to protect and support their princess from any threat. And you have your own enemy to face. Jadeite is no longer your concern."

"Perhaps you're right." Ami said. "But if he isn't ours, then whose is he?"

"Mine. Now listen, Ami. The future has changed. There may be no Crystal Tokyo. But I will not allow you to further damage the timeline."

Ami jerked, eyes narrowing. "What do you-" She paused.

What was she going to say to -

To who -

Say what -

She slumped to the floor.

"You needn't have been so drastic." Luna commented. "She wouldn't have talked."

"But she would have taken action." Setsuna told her gravely. "I could not allow her to remember."

"That won't work on Rei." Luna commented. "Her psychic abilities and her spiritual potential will see to that."

Setsuna stiffened. "You know." She said finally, resigned.

"What did you do with Sailor Jupiter, Setsuna?" Luna inquired softly. "The others don't remember, but I do. One could never truly forget her. She made her mark in the Silver Millennium."

"It was decreed that Jupiter was not needed as a senshi." She stated, serene and regal. No longer Setsuna but Pluto. "I did what was needed. If I had simply removed her from the senshi, she would have been reborn, correct, but she would also have died. This way, Kino Makoto has been literally reborn. Her soul was sent back through time and reborn into a different future. The senshi of this time have no knowledge of Makoto, because they simply have never met her. It is not a simple case of memory wipe. Time was altered. But she has a chance this time."

"Does Makoto know that?" Luna asked.

A soft sigh escaped the other's lips. "No." Setsuna explained calmly. "She has retained non-existent memories, but apart from that, she slips more into her true identity every day. But she remembers, Luna."

"Ah." Luna said thoughtfully. "Rei will remember also, I fear. The Sacred Fire shows her what is, what might be, and what could have been. But I doubt she'll speak of it to anyone."

"That is correct." Setsuna nodded. "I need a favour of you, Luna."

"For Makoto?"

"For Makoto."

"Then I will grant it. And send her my love, Pluto."

~

"I can't believe you dragged me into this." Makoto all but snarled at Serin, tugging at her puffy white marshmallow ball gown. "This is disgusting!"

"It is not! I'll have you know this is one of my favourite gowns, Mako- chan!" The Moon Princess pouted.

"If you put me in front of a herd of stampeding horses they'd probably bounce off me!" She countered. "And you know I hate anything I can't move in!"

"You're wearing it." Serin ordered, knowing full well Makoto couldn't disobey. She sighed.

"Only for the moment." Luna whispered behind her, a mere breath of air as she passed by on errand for the Queen, passing through Mako's room to use the short cut through the gardens. Something dropped into Makoto's bow as she left the room. Mako frowned, even as she whooped inside.

"Fine then!" She snapped.

"I'm sorry Mako, but this is Endymion! Prince of Earth! Not only one of the most honourable men known but one of the handsomest and well known! I just want my court to impress him."

Mako nodded understandingly. Serin felt the need to feel equal to Endymion, not inferior. And she needed her entire court to do that. After all, Endymion would be bringing his own. The Silver Alliance would prove it was just as good as, if not better than, Earth. Mako knew they were, considering Earth was still in the witch - hunting stage, but there was no harm in letting them know that. Everyone needed an ego booster once in a while. Especially Serin, who had practically no faith in herself.

"I promise you when I'm presented to them they'll never believe me to be the savage lady of Jupiter." She assured Serin. "Now shoo. I have to get ready. And I'm am NOT wearing this."

As Serin and the others left the room, Rei hung behind. "Luna gave something to you." She stated with finality, eyes narrowed.

Mako grinned. "Maybe..." She fished in her bow to bring out a green pen with gold lining and engravement. "I wonder what this does..."

~

There was a swirl of colours as Leila found herself catapulted into another memory...

~

"Come on, Mako, come out. I'm sure you look fine." Rei smiled. They hadn't seen the others yet, but they would find out as each was presented.

Rei herself was clad in what looked like the most gorgeous dress that could ever be designed. Her dress was a swirling mass of faint rainbow colours that shimmered with her movement. Or the skirt was. Faint tendrils from the skirt wove their way in gentle swirls into the top, which was a very light violet, though the lace-up at the front was a gentle white. The sleeves were wide, and turned from lavender to a dark purple-black colour gradually from the shoulder joints to the cuffs. Her hair was elaborately tied up into a twist with many hair ornaments hanging from the front in a tiara style. Her wings had been let out, and effectively framed her figure. The whole dress swirled and sparkled without being too loud, but loud enough to make people look twice. Or thrice. Or more.

Lady Mars was definitely ready to show herself to the Court of Earth.

Lady Jupiter was NOT.

"I can't! Not after seeing you! I don't know what I'm going to wear and I promised Serenity I'd look as feminine as possible and-"

"Just use Luna's pen. You know that's why she gave it to you!" Rei said, sounding annoyed but in reality grinning evilly.

"Oh, okay..."

She finally came out. Rei gasped. "Yours is so good," She said admiringly.

Mako snorted. "It is not. Not compared to yours."

"Well, it suits you. You're the nature senshi, and the dress fits your theme. When they look at you they'll KNOW you're the Enchantress. Mine's good, but you wouldn't know I was the Fire Maiden." Rei said admiringly.

Mako herself was wearing a dress that was low-necked - but not too low - and was almost, but not quite, off the shoulder. It was a fascinating shade of blue, and the blouse left off just above mid-waist, where her skirt continued. The blouse had soft crystalline white roses at each shoulder, with silver thread lining intricate patterns along the neckline. At the lowest part was a beautiful white - also crystal - flower, one of the many from Jupiter's elaborate and varied gardens. There was a soft gauzy fabric hovering around the blouse, with silver sparkles, not counting the sleeves.

The skirt was the same blue colour, brushing just below her ankles, with silver flower patterning lining the hems. The sleeves hugged her arms, with white and pale blue flowers entwining around until a rose bloomed on the back of each wrist - one white one, and a blue one of Mako's own creation. The skirt was embedded in a dust that sparkled and swirled quietly as opposed to Rei's skirt, which swirled brightly.

Makoto's hair was left down, with the front woven through a simple silver headdress designed to look like lilies and stems entwined together, so the front of her hair hung in bangs, just brushing her neck. The headress itself was almost like a simple headband, not designed to attract attention. A silver veil hung over her face with blue sparkles woven in, concealing her eyes - well known for casting enchantry with a mere glance if she wished. The most elaborate touch were her butterfly wings, which were gently wound in the rose vines of before - white on the left side to contrast with her left hand, which bore the blue rose and vice versa for the other wing.

Her whole figure suggested a nature spirit or handmaiden, surrounded in mystery. She wore simple, low blue glass heels, and wore no jewellery but a mood pendant in the center of her forehead, and another at her throat.

"Though you really emphasised the sparkly bit." Rei added after a pause.

Mako laughed. "Come on, let's show Endymion and his court what savages the ladies of Mars and Jupiter truly are." She smiled.

~

What were these dreams? She felt so strange...

~

"Look out for Mars and Jupiter, my lord," Zoisite commented with a smirk. "It is said they are the most savage and radical of the princesses of the Silver Court."

"Truly?" Jadeite asked with a smirk. "I wonder what they'll wear - breeches and swords?"

"You two feel the need to ridicule everything, don't you?" Nephrite demanded, exasperated.

"Oh hush." Endymion told them with a frown, as the escort from the Moon led them into the ballroom.

"The Court of Earth!" The herald announced, even as the ballroom went silent. They stood before Queen Serenity, and nine other, smaller thrones.

Queen Serenity rose, regarding them regally as silver hair fell forward. "We, of the Silver Alliance, greet the court of Earth." She intoned formally. Then, a bit more warmly. "I hope you will enjoy your sojourn here, High Prince Endymion of Earth."

"We thank thee for your hospitality." Endymion responded formally. "And we are honoured of the ball you throw for us." He stepped forward. "I present to you the Princes of Earth." Kunzite stepped forward. "The leader of my guard, lord Kunzite of the North." Kunzite stepped forward, bowing, "Lord Nephrite of the West." Nephrite also stepped forward in his armour. "Lord Zoisite of the South. And Lord Jadeite of the East."

Serenity nodded. Now she would have to present her own court. "I present to thee, Heir to the White Moon and Princess of the Silver Alliance, Lady Serenity."

The young girl moved forward, rising from the throne to her mother's right. She glided in front of Endymion, and bowed her head demurely in the proper fashion. She was indeed beautiful, and Jadeite knew, with only one glance at his Lord, that Endymion had been ensnared. He frowned. Endymion already had a fiancee. He'd better not dally around... She turned and glided back, this time standing beside her mother's pearl throne.

"Lady Uranus of the Heavens, Leader of the Outer Court and Princess of the Silver Alliance." Uranus rose from her sky blue throne and stepped forward in her simple pearl white gown, standing before Endymion and bowing before returning to stand on the left side of the Queen's throne.

"Lady Saturn of the Shadows and Princess of the Silver Alliance." The small girl stepped forward, her dark purple gown whispering as she stood before Endymion and bowed as with her fellow senshi. Her eyes were enigmatic as they regarded the Court of Earth, and Jadeite had the uncomfortable feeling they saw into his soul.

"Lady Neptune of the Oceans and Princess of the Silver Alliance." Neptune also stepped forward from her seaweed clad throne in a sea-green gown, hair bound in sea-shells, and jewelled sea-horses adorning her gown.

"Lady Pluto of Time and Queen of the Silver Alliance." A rustle went through the audience as Pluto rose from her black throne in a simple black gown, with no adornments or attempt of arranging her hair. She had not attempted to dress up, yet her entire demeanor was regal, and she seemed to wear respect like a cloak. She inclined her head to Endymion before standing to the far left of the Outer Princesses.

"I now present to you Lady Venus of Light and Hope, second princess of the Moon, Leader of the Inner Court, Leader of the Senshi and Princess of the Silver Alliance." Venus stepped forward, clad in gold, an almost exact like of her elder sister. Kunzite inhaled slightly sharper than usual. Venus inclined her head, warily sizing Endymion up before returning to stand beside her sister. Zoisite smiled.

"Look's like Kunzite's got a -" His soft whisper was cut off.

"Lady Mercury of Wisdom and Water, Lady of the Lakes, and Princess of the Silver Alliance." The petite girl clad in a pale blue gown stood from her throne of ice, stepping forward. Her eyes met Zoisite's before she bowed her head, moving to stand beside Venus. Jadeite gently nudged him.

"Lady Mars, Visioness, Maiden of Fire, Second Princess of Saturn, Second in Command of the Senshi and Princess of the Silver Alliance." Mars slowly rose from her scarlet, gold engraved throne. She slowly glided in front of Endymion, eyes regarding him in challenge and defiance before she inclined her head and returned to stand beside Mercury, dress swirling in colours of the rainbow. Jadeite found himself watching her.

"And last of all, Lady Jupiter of Nature, Senshi of Protection, Enchantress and Princess of the Silver Alliance." Nephrite blinked. The throne of Jupiter seemed to be a gigantic flower; of what type he didn't know. The girl rising from it however, was amazingly small. Hair the colour of fire embers swayed around her, but that was all that could be seen of her features. Her famous eyes were hidden behind a veil, and she sparkled as she moved. She slowly inclined her head to Endymion, and glided back, to position herself beside Lady Mars. Nephrite hadn't known what he'd expected from the amazonian princess, but it wasn't grace...

"I've got dibs on Mars." Jadeite murmured to him.

~

"So you truly intend to carry through with this." Her voice was flat, no emotion at all.

"Makoto..." Nephrite began. "They're - I can't abandon them. Maybe, I don't know, but - Beryl pleads a just cause." He said in finality.

"And what of Endymion?" She inquired mildly, viciously. He winced.

"Makoto, you know what he risks every time he comes for your princess. And yet you would applaud his choice. We cannot, we will not, risk Earth in a war with the Silver Alliance."

"So you will go with Beryl into the Other Realms and gather an army of shadows."

"It's only to ensure the safety of Earth. You know that."

"And will you say the same when Beryl sends you to destroy us?"

Nephrite was silent. "She would do no such thing, Makoto."

Dread seemed to settle in her stomach. "You would. You'll kill us all, just because your Prince betrayed you."

"I'd never hurt you."

"You would, Nephrite. Don't lie. But even if you kill me, it's not me I'm worried about. Your bitterness will destroy you. When those you love lie dead at your feet you will lose yourself. You will no longer be Nephrite, Prince of the West, glorious general, kind and gentle man. You will be a pitiful creature at the beck and call of the one you will call Queen."

"Endymion is my Prince. There is no other who would take his place." And yet, Nephrite faltered as her eyes took hold of his own, drawing him in, pleading...

"You know that is not true. If you cannot bring Zoisite and Kunzite from this madness, or stop Jadeite from being drawn into it, don't willingly walk into her arms."

"Beryl is not my Queen. And I would walk into no woman's arms but yours."

"She will be." Bitterness creeped into her voice. "Just because she looks to Endymion doesn't mean she won't look to others. You will call her queen, Nephrite. You will do anything and everything she asks of you. She will be the most glorious woman alive to you. You will walk into her arms."

"No,"

"Yes. You will see no other. You will obsess over every glance, every word. You will not think of me. You will never think of me. You will do all you can to please her, attend to her every whim. You will sacrifice your friends for her attention. You will - "

It was then he noticed the tears coursing down her cheeks, and knew - she was not crying for herself, but for him. "That won't happen." He told her softly, taking her small, delicate hands in his own. "Beryl may have my service, yes. But 'tis only for the moment. I swore myself to Endymion, and- "

"But you go with Beryl, deliberately betraying him, for revenge. No human is perfect, Nephrite. Forgive him. He may not deserve it, but you don't deserve to suffer from your thirst for vengeance. He's not worth your pain. Please, Nephrite. You can't go. Beryl only has power over Earth if the Lords of all four realms give her their fealty. She can't win if you don't go to her."

"This isn't about winning. This is about justice."

"So you will give Beryl such power over the world you desire to protect." She said. "Don't you see the foolishness? She's already blinding you Nephrite. You can't leave. Stand by your Prince. Don't let Beryl unleash hell upon your Earth. Don't let her kill Serenity out of vengeance."

"She would never -"

"The saddest part is you truly believe that." She shook her head. The tears still fell. "Don't you understand? She's drawing you. You feel as if she's a magnet and you must go to her, do anything for her, give her anything you have to just be near her. Can't you see? Nephrite, you can't go. Please, please." She bit her lip. "Don't leave me alone, Nephrite. I don't want to be alone anymore. Aren't I worth staying for?"

Nephrite jerked, even as he sensed the truth in her words. But he refused to believe it. "Of course you're worth staying for." He said gently, looking at her. She was surely the most beautiful woman in the universe. And yet... he was drawn to Beryl. He could not stay. "Makoto..." She'd jerked away before he caught her again, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I promise to return for you."

"You mean for my blood." She replied dully. He shook his head. "I promise, Makoto. I'll go to no woman but you."

"So you say, Nephrite. You have already proven I cannot compete against her."

"Beryl has my service, yes, but Endymion has my life. And you have my heart."

He leaned forward once more, and she felt the light touch of his lips, gently brushing against her own...

~

And with a jerk, she woke up, gasping. Leila lay there for the next few minutes, totally silent.

She was still crying when she dozed off again, curled into a ball and hugging herself tightly.

***