Atia leaned against the punch table, smiled as she saw Trista come towards her. "Don't tell me you're tired already!" her friend shouted over the music.

The girl laughed. "Hardly! I just didn't want to die of thirst!"

Trista was no fool and saw right through Atia's charade.

"Something's wrong, isn't there?" Trista leaned nonchalantly against the table as well, watching the throng of people dancing.

Atia said nothing for a moment, watching the inner senshi dance. They were having so much fun, even Darien. She didn't want that to end, but she was not in charge of the enemy's attacks. Her observing eyes picked out other familiar faces in the crowd; some from the college, some from her dance class. "Come with me." She grabbed Trista's arm and pulled her outside into the cool night air. She led the other sailor back behind the building. "Transform." She didn't dare to disobey the curt command.

Pluto regarded her quietly. "What is he after, Atia?"

"He's not after anything. He's just-" A bloody-murder scream raced through the walls, and it was immediately echoed as a stampede of people tried to escape the building. A sorry few escaped before the doors swung shut and bolted.

Electrified tension and anger cackled through the air in forms of heat lightening. Thunder took up the call. Pluto could feel her heart race and looked at Atia uncertainly. The other girl was biting her lip and looking at the sky as though the lightening flashes were really words in disguise. "Go, Pluto."

"Atia...?"

"I'm going to parley with him. But you have to go destroy the attacker."

Pluto shook her head, then ran back around front. She stopped when she saw the bolted doors. "Right," she said flatly. Suddenly the doors turned transparent, and Pluto ran through them. She heard two pairs of running feet behind her, signaling Uranus's and Neptune's arrivals.

Atia, watching her dearest friend over her shoulder, didn't see the form materialize in front of her. "Parley, my dear?" The girl's eyes squeezed shut as she turned her black gaze to him. When they opened again, her eyes glistened with tears.

*

Somehow, during the chaos, the senshi had found time to transform. The enemy paralyzed all the rest of the students, leaving them alone to the battle. The senshi realized uneasily that he seemed to be after nothing in particular, only to attack them.

Suddenly Pluto raced through the doors, Uranus and Neptune in tow. The enemy looked up and smirked. "Come to join my party?" he asked sweetly.

"Actually, we were thinking about crashing it," Uranus replied sarcastically.

The boy, who looked younger than Darien, smiled. "I'm quite afraid I cannot allow you to do that. You see, I'm under strict command to make sure at least one of you doesn't leave here alive."

"And we're under strict command to not let you do that," Neptune retorted. "Neptune Deep Submerge!!"

The boy giggled and jumped out of the way. "Nice try. I think your mother could've trained you a bit better, though."

Pluto's eyes widened. Fearful anger creased her expression, and her grip tightened on her staff.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Neptune flared, confused.

"You know what it means!"

"No, I do not!"

"Enough!" Pluto said sharply, walking closer to the boy. "What do you remember, Irvine? Tell me now!" She abruptly seized his collar and held him tightly in front of her.

The black, up side down heart symbol on the boy's forehead suddenly disappeared. "Queen? I..." His voice trailed off, and the heart reappeared. He wriggled out of her grasp. "I only know what you know!"

"Quit talking in riddles!" Pluto slammed the Time Key against his head, sending him to the ground.

"Pluto!" Sailor Moon ran up to her, astonished. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"These people aren't enemies, Sailor Moon. They're generals and loyal aides from the Silver Millennium. They need to be healed and not destroyed. I never thought he'd strike this close to home," Pluto replied darkly, stepping back from the boy.

"Owww!" Irvine whined, sitting up and rubbing his head. "That hurt!"

"That is the general idea," Pluto snapped. "I thought it would knock some sense into you."

"Ow," Irvine said again, standing up and brushing invisible dust off of his tunic. "Now I'm going to have to hurt you, Sailor Pluto."

"Oh, grow up!" Pluto spat, grabbing Sailor Moon and forcing the girl behind her without taking her eyes off of the boy.

"Nnnnhhhh!" Irvine stuck out his tongue, then fired a blast of dark power at Pluto. The woman ducked it, glaring. "Fine!" He clapped his hands once, and Pluto found herself unable to move - just like the other students in the building. "How's that for growing up?" He sent another blast at her, but someone knocked him aside just as the power left his hands, throwing the power off-course. "Hey!" he yelped. Pluto jerked as she realized that she could move.

Sailor Solar suddenly materialized where Irvine had stood seconds before, staring at him sadly. "I know now. Go back to sleep, Irvine." She snapped her fingers. The youth slumped to the ground in apparent slumber and suddenly vanished. She looked crestfallen and distracted.

"Solar!" Jupiter frowned. "What the hell is going on?!"

"These are not enemies you're facing. They're old friends from the past, reincarnated to bring you about to weakness."

"But we don't remem-"

"Hush! Don't say that aloud, Venus, please! Leave the remembering to me and Pluto, I beg you," Solar pleaded, looking as though she'd just seen a ghost. "If you remember the past now, it'll destroy you. You won't be able to handle it." Her fists clenched, and she stared at the ground in dismay.

"And you will?" Neptune asked coldly.

"More than you would be able to. God, he was a sweet boy," Solar muttered, staring at where Irvine had been moments before.

"Solar. What is it? What did he say?" Pluto asked in a quiet but urgent tone.

"He won't stop." A roar of thunder shook the building. "He's going to destroy us." The thunder shook again, so hard now the senshi were thrown to the ground. "Go now! You've said enough!" Solar shouted. There was a vicious snap of thunder, like a gunshot - a threat. Then it stopped.

"So, they're not after anything? No heart crystals, no nothing?" Sailor Moon asked, unnerved.

"Exactly. He's just testing us to the breaking point of our sanity. Luckily, it won't be any of you that snap," Solar said wearily. "The danger's over. It's time to go."

"What are you hiding from us, Solar?!" Uranus barked, staring at her through narrowed eyes. "Besides our memories, that is?" she added sarcastically.

"She knows who the enemy is."

The cold voice from behind Solar made her involuntarily freeze. She sent one pleading gaze at Pluto, who stared back helplessly and walked up to her.

"You know perfectly well why he's here, don't you?" a second voice said darkly.

"Please, go away. I don't need this," Solar whispered.

"And you think we do?" Luna replied evenly. "This hurts us as much as it hurts you, Solar. Serenity didn't steal our memories, either. We know."

"I didn't-"

"Didn't keep your word? Where were you when the prince was killed by Metallia? Where were you when the princess killed herself from grief?? Did you even try to save the queen?!" Artemis's voice rose with burning hatred.

"I tried-"

"But it wasn't enough, was it?" Luna hissed.

"You don't understand-"

"I understand this - because of you, the whole Silver Millennium is gone! They were all killed!" Artemis shouted.

"Leave her alone!" Pluto cried.

"Stay out of this, Pluto!" Artemis snarled.

The other senshi could only stare, dumbfounded and shocked. They had never seen the guardian cats so angry or behave so brutally. It was a side none of them really cared to see.

Solar finally whirled around to face them, tears stinging her eyes. "Luna, Artemis, you don't understand! I lost as much in that fight as you did!"

"You got a just payment for your irresponsibility, didn't you?" Luna sneered. "The loss of your sister..."

"Luna, stop!"

"Your cousins..."

"Please!"

"Your parents...your home...your friends..." She watched with a smirk as Solar finally snapped and sank to the ground, stunned out of words. "You lost it all, Solar. And you only have yourself to blame."

Solar stared at her, shaking, willing herself not to burst out sobbing. She wished she were as emotionally strong as Ocean. Pluto put a hand on her shoulder, just as hurt as her friend. "I never denied the fact that I'm the reason the end of the Silver Millennium occurred." She swallowed and managed a stern gaze at the two cats. "I've accepted my error, my fate, and the result. I am mature enough to do so, which is more than I can apparently say for the two of you! I know I lost Lia, Ocean, and Sky, and I miss them like hell, but crying over them won't bring them back! I'm only trying to correct what I can...while I can."

That lecture was one the cats hadn't expected. They stared at her with so much hate that Solar kept shaking. "How do we know you're not making all this up? How do we know Lia is dead, Solar? How do we know you're not making a sob story?"

Solar looked like she had been slapped. "Why would I lie about that, Artemis?! Why would I lie about my sister?! You know I love her with all my heart! I would never sink that low! If Lia were alive, she'd be here, beside me, like she always was - like she should be!"

"You-"

"Both of you, stop!" Sailor Moon cried. "She's hurting enough as it is! She doesn't need any crap from you two! You both need to grow up! She's accepted it and it's her fault! Why can't you?" Her eyes glistened with shamed tears.

"Her powers."

"What about them?"

"She is a master of illusion and deceit. She's a sorceress, a priestess of high power. Her own parents feared her powers. Even Queen Serenity was shocked at their extent," Artemis growled quietly.

Solar stared at Luna and Artemis with a look disbelief that melded into pain. Still quivering, she stood. "You both know that if you weren't such of value to the princess, I'd kill you both in the blink of an eye? Your lives will be spared as long as I remain loyal to the princess and the queen. If something happens...if I'm turned...you two will be the first to go." She grabbed Pluto's wrist. There was a roar of fire. When the flames died, glitter fell to the ground.

They were both gone.

*

Rini and Autumn were dozing in front of the TV when Trista and Atia appeared. By their quiet manner they could tell something was wrong but neither said anything. Trista went into her room and almost closed the door completely. Atia walked around restlessly, almost as though she expected someone to jump out of the shadows and strangle her. It took her all of forty-five minutes to calm down to the point of walking into the bedroom after Trista.

Rini, by that time, had fallen asleep against Autumn, who was almost to the point of slumber. She could hear her aunt's and Trista's voices. One of them began to cry, and the other said something in a choked voice. Alarmed but exhausted, the brunette fell asleep without knowing the details.