The Moon was nothing more than a cratered dead surface. Huge holes were everywhere in a once-smooth ground. Diamond's face was stone as she landed near a broken down marble sculpture of a young girl. "I think I know why the transmission cables are out." She said quietly. "They got hit hard." Angela said, peering around sadly. There was a low gasp from someplace close by. "Quickly!" Emerald called from behind a pile of rock. "Diamond, come quick!" Diamond practically flew over the rocks . The other Senshi and girls followed closely. Emerald was kneeling and holding a beautiful woman with lavender hair done up in the odango style. She wore a gold crown on her head, and was very pale. "It's the Queen." Amethyst murmured. "Queen Serenity!" Diamond cried, falling to her knees beside the woman. She took one hand in both of hers. "What's happened? What's going on?" Queen Serenity smiled slightly at Diamond. "Princess Diamond of Opal. I am so sorry to see you here and now like this. I'm sorry you had to see our planet." "What's happened?" Sailor Diamond asked fiercely. "Where's Serenity?! And Princess Mars! And Jupiter! And Pluto and Venus and-everyone!" "They are dead." Sailor Diamond said nothing. Queen Serenity winced slightly. "Believe me, I tried everything to save our planet. Nothing worked. Beryl was too powerful. And our atmosphere is now vanishing." "How did Serenity die?" Sailor Diamond asked, voice hoarse. "Prince Endymion was killed by Beryl when she was aiming for Serenity." The Queen's voice was sad. "In grief, Serenity killed herself." Sailor Diamond smiled thinly. "At least Metallia didn't get her in the end." "No," Queen Serenity said. "But she decimated our troops. And all of our Senshi were killed in the battle." "Oh, God, Queen Serenity, I'm so sorry we couldn't-" "Diamond, my dear, " the Moon Queen said, smiling. "You and all your sisters are like daughters to me. I'm sorry we couldn't help you in your struggle with Rubian." Tears were coursing down Diamond's face. "What happened to Beryl?" "I banished her, using the Silver Crystal. But-" Serenity sighed. "It took a bit out of me. And-for my Serenity-I-" She was interrupted by a bout of coughing. "What?" Diamond asked, patting her gently on the back. "I sent her soul to the future. I sent all of the Senshi's souls, and Endymion's. So that they may be happy together once again." "That effort is killing you." Sapphire said quietly, coming up behind Diamond. "I know." Again, Queen Serenity coughed. "Please-Diamond, do me a favor. All of you, please." "Anything." "Bury me next to where I always used to pray, all right? I believe I'd like to rest there." Diamond smiled through her tears. "Of course, your Majesty. Of course." The Queen smiled one last time, then her eyes clouded over and she went limp. The girls from Earth had not moved all this time. They stood, staring, at the dead body of the great Moon Queen. They did not move until the seven Senshi fashioned a coffin of leftover marble for the Queen and buried as she'd asked, near a small place where the remains of a cross and a fountain still stood. "I HATE Beryl and Rubian!" Angela finally burst out. "So do I!" came a quick chorus. "They're both evil bitches." Lacie said, scowling. "Terribly evil." Malorie growled. "I wish I could chop them up into tiny little pieces and feed them to squirrels!" Mary yelled. Obviously this was a terrible punishment for her, for she morosely licked her lips and frowned. The Seven Senshi joined hands again, not saying anything. "Our universe is dying." Garnet said, her eyes closing slightly. "And we're going to go with it." Sapphire said firmly. "We have to go back to Opal now-" "What's the point?" Topaz asked. "It's going to be destroyed, and even if it's not, we can't do anything. Like Garnet said: our universe is dying." "Melting into chaos." Obsidian said sadly. A single spark awoke and gleamed in Diamond eyes. "We can't survive but-" a smile started to form on her lips, "-maybe we can change things." Topaz's eyes caught Diamond's, and she gasped. "Oh, no, Diamond-not the power to separate the dimensions-" "It's strictly taboo!" Emerald said in shock. "If we use that, we pay with our lives!!" "SO WHAT?!?!" Diamond screamed unexpectedly. "Everyone I love is dead! Our universe is dying! This is our only choice! We separate the dimension, then the evil can't take over all the planets, like it just did!! Different parts will be trapped in different dimensions! We can set the universe to rights again!" "But-Diamond, we-" Sapphire began. "We're going to die anyway." Obsidian said with a shaky laugh. "Might as well break a sacred rule and waste all our power while we're at it." Sapphire sighed, then smiled. "What the heck! Let's go out with a bang!" "But-I'm kinda scared." Topaz admitted, looking down. "At least we had a good life." Garnet said reassuringly. "If not a long one." This comment was met with silence for a moment. "Well, then, let's do this!" Amethyst said toughly, grabbing Obsidian's and Garnet's hands. All seven Jewel Senshi linked hands. "We call upon the Ancient Power." Diamond started, voice strange and low. "The power granted only to the rulers of Opal." Topaz said. "The power that was granted to us by the Power Above." Obsidian said. "As heirs of this power, we call it now!" Sapphire said. "O powers of light," Amethyst said, "vanquish the darkness." "Let the light shine forth, and separate our world." Garnet said, voice very quiet. "Seven dimensions for seven planets, let reality be cut!" Emerald finished. "SO.MOTE.IT.BE!!" There was a splintering, and then to the six Earthling girls, the world seemed to come opens at the seams. The Moon and Earth, with a crash, rent apart a large part of space. Between Opal and the Moon, there was a patch of dark nothingness. More great rents pulled open the sky. Voices wailed and shrieked in tones that were pure darkness. A small asteroid exploded when a rent passed through it, and then the bits were sucked into the nothingness. And then, it was over. The rents vanished back into pure starry calm. But now Opal floated alone in space, save several other dead planets, none of which had been the ones Lune had pointed out before. "Dear God," Diamond whispered, "what have we done?" Then, with a sigh, her body faded into the blackness of the stars. One by one, the other Senshi did the same, until the six girls were alone in the universe. Chapter Three "They died?!" Lacie said angrily. "Now that just sucks!" "I can't believe it." Angela murmured. "They were so brave. They sacrificed everything just so everyone else can be safe." "That was the most sad, beautiful thing I've ever heard of." Malorie said with a sniff. "Okay, that was really sad, but I've got a more important question." Elisha said, a little too sweetly. "WHY THE HELL WERE WE SHOWN THAT?!?! WHO CARES?!?! IT HAPPENED A LONG TIME AGO!!!! I'M MORE INTERESTED IN OUR WOULD-BE MOLESTERS!!!" There was a pop, and the planets vanished to be replaced by pure space-and an angry looking Lune. All girls immediately stopped flying and fell. "Ow!" Mary muttered. "That was painful. And I don't just mean the drop." "It sort of felt like something was tearing in my chest." Rachelle said, trying to brush away a tear without the others noticing. "You don't UNDERSTAND!!!!!!" Lune shrieked, puffing up to twice her size. "I understand you are one pissed off kitty." Lacie said, backing away. "Were you really that pretty girl once??" Malorie asked interestedly. "What happened to Demetri??" "I only wish I knew!" Lune said angrily. "And stop changing the subject!! Don't you realize how serious this is, how much peril your planet is in?? Your destiny is calling!" "Destiny?" Rachelle asked blankly. "I don't have a destiny, believe me. I am destiny-free." "I agree." Mary said. "I am a normal, happy, non-destined person." "No, you're not!!" Lune snapped. "The Jewel Senshi gave their lives for the rest of the universe and in return their souls were flung many years in the future to start over, with no recollection of their terrible past! And since then, I have been watching and waiting for EONS for you to appear!! Good Lord!" "Wait-for US to appear?" Angela asked, somewhat shocked. "Oh, wake up." Lune snapped. "Think! How similar did those girls look to you?" "Not very much." Angela said. "Purple and blue and white hair? Kinda weird. I don't know anyone who." Her voice trailed away as she stared at Elisha and Lacie. "My God," She whispered. "You guys' hair! It's exactly like Amethyst and Sapphire!" "Nuh-uh!" Lacie objected. "My hair's not THAT purple!" "And I don't look anything like Sapphire!" Elisha said stubbornly, fingering her hair absently. "They're in denial." Lune said to Angela in a loud whisper. "Many Senshi go through this." "I CANNOT be a Sailor Scout!" Rachelle objected. "I really don't have time!! I've got stories to write, people to meet, tests to pass.my schedule's full." "Tough." Lune snapped. "The Sailor Senshi got through it, you will also." "But we can't be-" Mary began, then stopped. "If-if that were true," she asked in a small voice, "if we really were the Jewel Senshi, then-we would get to go fight evil and save the world?" Lune nodded. There was a long pause. "SWEET!" Mary yelled. "I'm in!" Angela agreed. "I always wanted to be a superhero!" "Hello?" Elisha said, staring at them. "People? Not possible?? Not ethical?? We can't be superheroes?? Remember? It's impossible." "So is this whole thing!" Malorie said, smiling a little. "This whole crazy thing is impossible, so why can't we be superheroes?" Elisha opened her mouth, then shut it in a tight smile. "Point taken." "So you accept your fate?" Lune asked. "Sure!" Angela and Mary said eagerly. "I guess." Rachelle muttered. "But-the Sailor Senshi DIED a few times, didn't they?" "Whoa! Heads up!" Elisha yelled in alarm. "They DIED?!?!?! Okay, no way, bye-bye, nice meeting you Lune!!" She started to walk quickly away. For a moment the whole world seemed to shift and flow together like watercolors running down glass. Angela's head swam and her vision seemed to be blurred by oil. Then the world righted itself, stars in the night sky reappearing, and Elisha back with the group, looking puzzled. But-not quite the same. Lune had vanished to be replaced by a tall, thin woman. Long yellow hair was swept back into a long ponytail tied with a gold clamp. Almond skin showed under a silky red tunic and gold leggings. Tawny eyes peered at the girls from under luxurious eyelashes. "Lune?" Malorie asked, voice strangled in amazement. "Is that you??" "Yes," said the woman in Lune's voice. "Of course it is, and stop gawping. You make me feel like I'm on display." Elisha's mouth abruptly closed. "You expect us NOT to gawp?? Hello?? You just turned into a human!" "So what?" Angela came forward and gingerly touched Lune's arm. "So you are real. And if what just happened is real-all this must be real also." Lune smiled in satisfaction, and then the curious oil effect took over again. When it was clear, Lune was her familiar furry self. "Why are you coming back to cat form?" Mary asked curiously. "I find it is easier to communicate and live as a cat." Lune said loftily. "No foolish human notions or stupidity like yours." All six girls glared at Lune angrily, before realizing there was a curious hum in the air. A buzzing thrum coming from deep in their bones, not unpleasant, but alien and strange. The hum seemed to envelop each of them and indeed the whole world before turning, for the briefest moment, into a beautiful chord of music. And, quicker than it had come, the hum was gone. "Well, it's about time you showed up!" A voice said from behind the girls. "I was beginning to think you would never come!" Angela turned, and stared. A girl about their age was standing a few feet away, one hand placed jauntily on her hip. Curly auburn hair was massed down just below her thin shoulders. She was slender, but not weak-looking, and carried herself with a great assurance. Her skin was pale, and if you looked carefully, you could see a blue filigree of veins just under the surface. Sea green eyes completed this ensemble, placed far apart on a pretty face. "Who the heck are you, and where did you come from?!" Angela demanded bluntly. The girl glowered at her slightly. "I am Marisa, and I come from the U.S.A. Who're you? Are you going to be my fellow warriors?" "I guess so." Angela said, stiffness melting into an inexplicable friendliness. "I'm Angie." "I'm Mary," Mary said, "And this is Malorie, Rachelle, Lacie, and El-" "I can talk for myself, thank you!" Elisha snorted. "I'm Elisha." Marisa covered her mouth with one hand before turning to the gold cat. "Have they chosen, Lune?" Lune sized the six other girls up. "Well?" Angela sighed impatiently. "Would you listen already?! I'm in!" "Ditto!" Malorie said cheerfully. "Yup." "Sure." "What the heck." Elisha said. "Always wanted something exciting in my life." Rachelle hesitated, and bit her lip. "You with us, Shellie?" Angela asked, gently giving her a nudge. Rachelle gave her a small smile. "You guys might think I'm a coward, but I'm really not, I'm just-I'm not a fighter. I don't like violence, and I'm not strong or anything. I'm smart, yes, but otherwise pretty weak." "We'll protect you!" Lacie said eagerly, and there was a murmur of assent. Rachelle took a deep breath, then sighed grimly. "All right." Lune face brightened visibly; it seemed a great weight of responsibility had been taken off her shoulders. "Good! Excellent! You have taken the first step in becoming true Jewel Senshi." "And the other steps are.?" Malorie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your transformations, attacks, and lockets, of course." Lune said with a small contented feline smile. "ALL RIGHT!!!" Angela shouted, blasting everyone's ear drums. "Let's do it!! Give 'em now!! I want to be Sailor-Sailor-" Her voice trailed away in puzzlement. "Which one AM I?" She asked, confused. This simple sentence caused a mass confusion. "Well, your hair is blond like Topaz's." Mary said thoughtfully. "But so is mine!" Malorie put it. "None of them have auburn hair!" Marisa wailed in fear. "Does that mean I can't be one of you?!" "Both Garnet and Obsidian had black hair," Rachelle muttered to herself. "I could be Sapphire or Amethyst, you know?" Elisha said to Lacie, who nodded in agreement. "But my eyes aren't that color.!" "Whose are-?" "No one has green hair." "Or white!" "Maybe we all change." "SILENCE!!!!" Lune screamed. Everyone froze. It was as silent as a tomb. "Now," Lune said calmly, but still puffed up. "I will give each of you a pendant and let you figure it out from there. BUT if I hear that HORRIBLE noise again, I will take them away and find new Senshi!" Moans immediately escalated. "But you can't.!" "We'll be good!" "Give us another change, Lune!" "Try a little patience!" "No, you can't." A quiet hush fell again as everyone turned to stare at Lacie. She colored, but remained firm. "We're the chosen ones! You can't just drop out of the sky and pick new ones every time you want! We're special, we're linked to the past, to those brave girls-to ourselves, I guess. You can't replace us, just like you can't replace a person's soul or heart." "Ding-ding-ding-the national award for complete coolness goes to Lacie!" Angie cheered. "Go, girl!" Lacie bowed modestly. "Humph." Lune said, obviously displeased the threat hadn't worked. "Enough chitchat!" Elisha said impatiently. "We've made our choice, now give us the freaking charms or whatever." "Don't be so upset." Lune sniffed. There was another brilliant flash of white light, and Angela found herself floating alone in a bright, beautiful place full of light. Golden butterflies and birds danced everywhere and soared high to the sun. But, there, not too far away, the light disappeared into darkness and night, with the stars twinkling brightly. "Hello?" She called out. Her voice seemed to echo among the stars, "Hello, hello, hello." "Where is everyone?!" She called again. "Everyone, everyone, everyone." "I'm all alone." She whispered. "Lune? Mary? Lacie? Anybody?" Another brilliant flash came from behind her. She cried out, and covered her eyes. In a moment, the light had passed, leaving her with an overwhelming feeling of peace, of joy. "What did you see?" "I saw beauty." Angie murmured, vaguely realizing Lune was back. "And peace, and joy. Light and darkness, both at the same time, two sides of the coin, two parts of life. No part stronger or greater than the next." "It is part of what you could have, should you choose this life." "I saw," Marisa said, in awe, "a forest, a green glade, with a stream bubbling through it, and two deer, a fawn and its mother. It was beautiful, the very symbol of life, of beginning." "A great ocean." Elisha said, in wonder. "It went on forever, and on it was fog, and rain, and storms and rainbows. It was beautiful. That's what eternity is, really. The sea. It's depths are unimaginable, but yet you know they're there." "A meadow." Malorie murmured. "Filled with light and butterflies, and a breeze was blowing. It seemed to speak to me. It was peaceful, and warm, but there was a constant war. A hawk killing a mouse. Wolves hunting a deer. The deer eating plants. All of nature is constantly in a fight for survival." "Fire," Rachelle said, sounding both frightened and joyful. "It destroyed, and yet created. I was in the heart of a volcano, and when the lava bubbled up and took over the land I cried, but then in its wake, tiny trees and plants began to grow again. It's a cycle. Fire is both good and evil." "A graveyard." Lacie whispered. "It was sad and depressing, but at the same time peaceful, like death." "The stars." Mary completed. "The blackness of space. It was incredible. Awe-inspiring. And I knew to a star, I was nothing more than the tiniest of specks, and yet I got the feeling all the stars could feel me and love me as at the same time they danced for me." "These are the lives you must protect." Lune said solemnly. "You must understand your choice will either save or kill all things. All depend on you, from the mightiest of stars to the smallest of plants. All life, everywhere." "Hard deal." Elisha muttered. "We still agree." Angela said firmly. "Fine." A warm light started to glow behind the girls. All turned, and shrieked as a blinding flare shot out. As the light faded (and the spots stopped dancing in front of Angela's eyes) she looked around-and gasped in wonder. Seven glittering objects were floating in the air in front of them. As she peered closer she could make them out to be bracelets, shining bracelets, luminescent, and all silver. In each one a jewel sparkled like a star. Each one was a different color-white, blue, red, yellow, green, purple, and one as black as night-but each had the same intense glow. "Beautiful." Angela said, reaching out to touch the one in front of her, with the white jewel. "Don't touch it!!" Surprised, she turned back to look at Lune. "Why not?" The cat's eyes were taking on a mirror-like quality, reflecting the light back from the bracelets back at them. None of the girls could read her expression. "I must warn you now," she went on, quietly, "that you are making a choice here. If you grab those transformer charms, you cannot go back. Your lives will be changed forever, partially for better, partially for worse. You'll have pain, and joy; sorrows and peace and love. You take on an enormous responsibility. The position as a Jewel Senshi is laden with troubles." "So I ask you yet again, and please forgive me my doubt: are you strong of heart and firm in your choice?" All girls paused, and glanced at each other uncertainly. Responsibility. The weight of the world on them. "What the heck?" Marisa said with a shrug. She turned and grabbed the bracelet in front of her. There was a flash of green light. Marisa, with a surprised look on her face, began to gracefully dance. Her clothes melted away into a silvery white leotard. She twirled around, arms and hands being covered by light that evaporated into white gloves with green lining. High heeled turquoise shoes formed on her feet, a green skirt whirled on her hips, and a tiara with a glittering green gem shimmered on her forehead. The remaining green light swirled down to Marisa's right hand. There, a large emerald formed on her glove, cast in silver. She let her hands fly up close to her face so the jewel was visible, and the dance stopped. "YOW!" Marisa shrieked, pulling at the sailor fuku. "What on earth just happened to me?!" "You just completed your first transformation to Sailor Emerald." Lune said calmly. "I'm Sailor Emerald?!" Marisa-who-was-really-Sailor-Emerald said, staring at Lune in astonishment. Then, "Neat! She was one of my favorites!" "As Sailor Emerald, you are the Senshi of Nature and the Seasons." Lune announced dramatically. "Your power links you naturally to plants, and if you're not careful, the weather too." "This is SO cool," Emerald said, turning around in an attempt to see the back of the fuku. Without watching where she was going, she tripped and stumbled into Lacie, who fell forward. The only thing to grab was the charm with the purple stone in front of her. There was a flash of purple light. Emerald and the others gaped in astonishment as Lacie's eyes closed and a veil of purple mists surrounded her. Through the mists, the outline of the girl could be seen dancing. As if a sudden wind had blown, the mists cleared, and a girl in a bright purple sailor fuku with a lighter purple jewel on her hand stood with one hand behind her head and the other on her hip. ""Oh.my.GOD!!!" Lacie shrieked, fingering the jewel embedded into her glove. "Oh, my God!" "Behold!" Lune proclaimed, sounding more pleased than ever. "Sailor Amethyst! Senshi of Death and Destruction!" Amethyst blinked at Lune. "Death and Destruction?! Well, THAT stinks. Might as well just call me the Depressing Senshi." "Now, hold on!" Lune began in alarm, but Angie quickly cut her off. "Don't be silly, Lacie! Death and destruction are natural parts of life! There's a great circle, no life without death, no death without life." "I guess that makes some sense." Amethyst grumbled, but the relief was evident on her face. "Two up, five left!" Lune chirped, turning to the group of girls who looked scrawny and scraggly compared to the pretty young warriors the other two had become. "Me next! Me next!" Elisha practically screamed, falling all over herself trying to grab one to the side of her. There was a flash of yellow light, then Elisha was flung backwards. "Hey!" She yelped, skidding a few feet away. "Wh-what happened?" "That's not your charm." Lune said, matter-of-factly. "You have to choose the right charm to transform. Other charms will just reject you-sometimes rather violently." "Thanks for the warning," Elisha muttered, glaring at the yellow-jeweled transformer. "Well?" Lune sniffed impatiently. "Choose another!" "And go through that again? No way!" Elisha said indignantly, turning away and walking back to the group. The charm with the blue jewel in it twitched a little, suddenly. Then it started to float after her. Mary gave a shout of laughter. Elisha glared at her. "You think that was funny? That hurt!" "No-no, not that!" Mary chortled, wiping her eyes. "Look behind you!" Elisha turned to find the blue transformer right at her eye level. "Yipe!" She screeched, falling backwards. "I guess your charm's chosen you!" Malorie said with a grin. Elisha scuttled away from the charm on the floor, bumping into people's feet. The charm kept up its persistent chase. "Oh, for crying out loud, just grab it already!" Angie said with a laugh. "Do it, Elisha." Emerald urged, (the two Senshi had been watching this performance with some amusement.) "It doesn't hurt or anything, it's actually kinda-pleasant." Elisha cringed, and kept edging away, "Uh-uh. This one's freaking me out! Make it stop following me!" "Oh for-" Lune said angrily. She leapt suddenly behind Elisha and then jumped forward onto her back, gave it one strong shove, and pushed off again. Elisha shot forward, straight into the transformer. Blue light swirled like a river. A large wave of light formed behind Elisha as her clothes began to melt away, and as it swept down, covering her, the first step of the dance could be seen. The water-light rolled away, and Elisha stood in a fuku with many colors of blue spread over it. "LUNE!" She immediately screeched. "YOU EVIL LITTLE CAT!!!" "You were being too slow!" Lune said, a quirky smile on her lips. "God!" Elisha took a deep breath, and ran a hand through her hair. Then she looked down and seemed to notice the change for the first time. "I-I changed?!" She asked in a shocked whisper. "I'm a Sailor Scout?" "You are." Lune said proudly. "To be precise, you are Sailor Sapphire, Senshi of Water and also of the Storms." "Majorly cool." Sapphire whispered, gingerly touching her blue boots. "I mean, MAJORLY cool." She stopped, and looked up at the others for a moment. "I didn't think I could do it, you know? I mean, I'm so normal. I thought all the charms would reject me or something." "The blood of the old ones flows in your veins." Lune said, gently. "You are not normal, not by any means." "Old ones." Angie muttered, the phrase reminding her of something, of some call. "Now," Lune said, business-like again. "Hurry, please! I can't keep you here forever!" "Well." Malorie said, glancing uneasily at the yellow-jeweled one. "I guess we should try." Her hand came up as she stepped forward and then carefully grasped the transformer. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, across the dimension of stars, a wind blew. A gentle, warm wind, with golden sparkles twinkling in it. The wind whirled around Malorie, and the sparks grew brighter and the amount grew, until she was enfolded in the wind, invisible to the others. The wind circled her for a few moments, then blew away as quickly as it had come. Malorie's long hair, which had been hanging loosely down behind her, had been pulled up into a high ponytail. A yellow and orange fuku adorned her, and orange high heels were slipped on her feet. "Did I do it?" Malorie whispered, eyes closed in fear. "Of course!" Angie said excitedly. "Take a look at yourself, Mal, you look great!" Malorie looked down, and shrieked in joy. "Look at me! Hah! I did it! I'm Sailor-" She looked at Lune. "Topaz." Lune supplied. "-Topaz!" She cried, dancing about and grabbing Emerald's hands to make her dance also. "Senshi of the Wind and of Weather." Lune said firmly. "Hey!" Emerald said indignantly, trying to look at Lune while Topaz jerked her around. "I'm the Senshi of Nature!" "All your powers overlap others." Lune explained. "If you combine them, they will be more powerful." Emerald still looked somewhat confused and upset. "What?" "Never mind." Angie glanced at Mary and Rachelle. Then she did an elaborate bow. "To whoever wishes." Mary glanced uncertainly at the black jeweled one. Deep in her heart, she felt a strange sort of panic. She knew she was drawn to that one, but at the same time she felt the darkness radiating from it. What would she be the Senshi of? If purple was death and destruction, what could black possibly be? Her mind strayed from thought to thought in fear and a slight nausea. Angie saw the flash of uncertainty in her friend's eyes. Very carefully, she slipped her hand into Mary's and gave a light squeeze. Mary looked up and smiled before squeezing back. Angie's calming gaze strengthened her. She smiled in both thanks and acceptance, then reached forward and grabbed the black-jeweled transformer. Darkness flooded the space. The fear in Mary's eyes started to come back, but then all awareness darkened into an eerie blankness. Angie shuddered, looking into those eyes. As dark clouds swirled around Mary, and lightning flashed, Angie saw the dance of transformation beginning. When the clouds lifted and vanished, a girl in a black fuku stood there. Mary's eyes were darkened, but still had the warmth of before in them. Angela was relieved to see the blank look gone. The black jewel on her hand glittered, not a friendly shimmer, but neither evil or sinister. "Sailor Obsidian." Lune said, happiness flooding her voice. "You are the Senshi of Fear and Disease-and of Darkness." "I'm the Senshi of Darkness?!" Mary gasped in alarm. "But-does that mean I'm evil?" "Not darkness as you would think it!" Lune gasped. "Lord, no! Darkness like the night, like the clouds before the storm, like the waves during a hurricane. THAT darkness." Obsidian relaxed, and eyed her outfit with enthusiasm. "I look kind of like Sailor Pluto!" She said happily. "Not just kind of." Angie said, gazing in shock. Mary's long black hair had become even longer, and had been partially pulled up into a knot at the top of her head. Her skin was not the cinnamon-y tan Pluto's was, but the paleness seemed to suit her. "Princess Pluto and Princess Obsidian were very close friends in the days before the war." Lune remarked offhandedly. "Me?!" Obsidian gasped, sounding more like Mary. "I was friends with PLUTO?!?! But she's so cool!" "Believe it or not." Lune said dryly. "Next." Rachelle had been very quiet all this time. Now she had edged forward, and was eyeing the transformer with both suspicion and wonder. "Angie," She whispered. "I'm afraid. I mean, I'm really happy with my life now, actually. This will change everything, maybe for the worse." "Hey!" Angie said, giving Rachelle a light hug. "It's okay! I'll go first, if you want." "Well." Rachelle glanced around uneasily. "I don't know-I don't think if I'm going to do this-I don't want to be last." The firmness of the last part made Angie step back slightly. "Well!" She said brightly. "OK, then! Go ahead!" Realizing she had backed herself into a corner, Rachelle nervously edged towards the red jeweled transformer. As she reached out to touch it, the charm, as if sensing her edginess, shot forward into her hand before she could pull it back. Rachelle shrieked as a blazing ring of fire swirled up from the floor. The fire twisted into a large column. Angie and the Senshi yelled and jumped back, but the fire only generated a pleasant warmth and light. The flickering flames, though, completely hid Rachelle from sight, though Angela was sure enough what she would be doing. The flames flickered and were suddenly doused. Rachelle, in a brilliant red and orange fuku, looked rather shell-shocked. "There was fire!" She muttered, rubbing her arms. "It didn't burn, but it was there, everywhere." She looked down at her fuku, admiring it. "So, I guess I'm a Sailor Senshi now, huh?" She asked absently, eyeing her high heeled shoes. "Sailor Garnet." Lune said, practically jumping up and down. "Senshi of Fire and Psychic Powers!" Rachelle-Garnet-stood very still at that. "Psychic.powers?" She inquired softly. "Yes!" Lune said eagerly. Garnet nodded slowly, eyeing her skirt thoughtfully. "I might have known." She muttered, bleakly. "You look pretty good, Shellie!" Angie said encouragingly. Garnet patted her dark hair, looking pleased. "Really?" "Really." Obsidian reassured her, patting her head. Garnet grinned, abashed. "Your turn, Ange!" Topaz said excitedly. "Go on! One left!" Angie turned and saw the white jeweled transformer calmly floating in the air, waiting for her. She bit her lip. All the eagerness she had felt had now vanished into a nervousness. What if it rejected her? She wasn't that special..maybe someone else was a better chosen one and the charm would know that. "Go on, Angie!" Obsidian cried happily. "I did it!" Garnet added. "Come on!" "Go for it!" Angie gave her friends a smile, then, before she could change her mind, she reached out and grasped the transformer. Silvery light shot up and completely blinded her. She wanted to yell, to scream and cover her eyes. But she couldn't. She was no more than a puppet now to some greater force that moved her, closing her eyes and letting her arms and legs flow gracefully. Through her shock and fear, Angie felt a rather pleasant sensation go through her that ebbed away some of the fright. It was like warm sunshine was shining on her skin, and a cool breeze ruffled her hair. Dimly she was aware of the leotard forming. As the softness of the gloves wrapped around her fingers, the warm sensation grew stronger. She felt hot now, sizzling almost, but it was a good feeling. As her boots formed, Angie realized that the heat was coming from inside her skin, not on it. She was tingling all over, full of life and energy. Then her hands came up and placed themselves on her hips, and the light cleared. "That was really beautiful." She whispered dreamily. A low whistle came from a few feet away. "Wow." Lacie said. "Look at yourself, Angie!" Angie looked down, then yelped. A fuku with a golden skirt and top rested lightly on her body. The jewel on her hand shone with an evanescent shimmer, clear and cool. Her hair was down from its ponytail, and curled softly down past her shoulders in a far prettier way than she could have ever gotten it. Long gold boots circled up to the middle of her thighs. "Wow!" She exclaimed. "Can you say makeover?" "Okay," Sapphire said, looking at Lune, "we're all changed, now what?" Lune was fairly bursting with pride. "I'm so proud of you girls!" She cried, joyously. "You've accepted your past, your future, your curse, your responsibilities-" "Wait!! Hold on a sec!!!" Emerald yelled, grabbing Lune. "What curse?!" Lune looked blank. "The curse that I told you about. About the Jewel Senshi and love." "You never told us about any curse." Obsidian said, with a dangerous tone in her voice. "I didn't?" Lune asked, innocently puzzled. "Well, my mistake. I suppose I was due to make one, nearly a hundred years and not one slipup-" "What curse?!?!" Diamond asked angrily. Lune looked at her coolly and with still a great amount of pride, "Funny you should ask, Sailor Diamond, Senshi of Love and Light and Peace and-" "WHAT BLOODY CURSE?!?!?!?!" "When she tried to kill the seven Jewel Princesses," Lune said, speaking very fast under Diamond's glower. "Rubian's attempt was not completely deflected. Instead it was transformed into a curse." "So what's the curse?" Topaz asked, trying to calm Diamond down. "The first person that you all fall in love with, whoever it is, will be the last one. You will only fall in love with one man." "Are you SERIOUS?!?!" Sapphire shrieked. "We can only fall in love with one guy! If I had known that, I would have never done this!!" "Yeah!" Amethyst chimed in. "I mean, you could find out later the guy's a player or a jerk or a geek or an immature Pokemon lover or worse!" "And even if he IS great, what if he doesn't love you back?!" Obsidian cried. "All sorts of things can go wrong! Stupid curse!" "Lu-UNE!!" Diamond shrieked, diving after the cat. Lune began to sprint away. "Uh, well!" She called back from a safe distance away. "I think that it's about time you all went back to fight evil! So-bye!" The starlight dimension began to whirl as the colors blended together. "ARRRRGGGGGHHH!!" Diamond yelled, holding her head and clenching her eyes shut. "LUNE!!! Take it back! I don't want to be a Scoou-" A massive hole appeared in the floor, and like a drain, everything was sucked through, including the seven girls.