It had been a day short of a month since her mistress had disappeared, and the golden wolf was still having trouble sleeping. Hearing a sound, SunChaser lifted her head and stood, a frown ceasing her canine face. She trotted into the kitchen, then froze as her sky blue eyes saw through the darkness. Trista!! She flew across the room and grabbed the woman's wrist in her powerful jaws, not biting, only holding, and stared at her incredulously. What are you doing?!

Trista looked away. The knife rolled out of her fingers and hit the ground.

*

"And your decision is?" Sebradon watched her intently.

I can't do this, Atia thought in alarm. I can't leave him! Suddenly a strong feeling of warmth worked its way into the rapid beating of her heart. Ocean. She swallowed, then looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm going back to Earth." As she heard the words come from her mouth, she inwardly panicked. She almost hadn't meant to say that. She watched his oncoming rage without emotion, keeping it bottled away. "I'm going back to my friends."

"You are aware that I'll return in two fortnights? The attacks will resume. I will kill you."

Atia chuckled, hiding her fear, dismay, and confusion. "Don't count your eggs before they hatch, love."

His eyes narrowed. "So be it." He snapped his fingers. As Atia faded before him, he shouted, "Two fortnights!"

*

Atia found herself hovering above Tokyo. It was just before sunrise, and the sky bled red and pink light. An old phrase rang through her head - "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky by morning, sailor's warning." Everything in the city seemed to be intact. Something inside of her tingled and roared back to life.

"I haven't lost my powers!" She could've screamed in delight. The power was intensified here, so much so it made her want to blow something up. She'd had power this great once before, before the Silver Millennium, so long ago.

Yet this wasn't it. She had more to gain, more to earn. However, she had only four weeks. With the power she had now, she could hurt Sebradon badly. Atia frowned. She couldn't hurt him. She had to kill him. The thought made her joy die.

The woman glanced below her and thought. What should she do first? See Trista, that's what, she thought bitterly. I can't believe him. And Autumn. I need to make sure Autumn's okay.

But before all of that, she remembered she had school.

*

Darien sat down and buried his face in his hands with a sigh. He was worried sick about Atia. There was no way in knowing whether or not she was safe. A hand clapped him on the back, and he jumped in surprise.

"Hey, man, don't worry. I'm sure the chick can take care of herself," Andrew said with a wink.

Darien smiled. Andrew didn't know the half of it - but it was reassuring none the less. "Thanks, Andrew."

"No sweat." Andrew walked on to his seat, and Darien put his hands back over his face.

He was like that for about a minute when he heard the chair beside him move and the soft sound of books being set on the table. Hardly daring to hope, he kept his face in his hands. "Ah, come on, Darien. You're not that upset to be here, are you? I thought you liked school."

The boy looked up slowly. Atia was standing beside him, arms crossed and one leg cocked. Staring up at her, he had a feeling of deja vu so strong he saw white. He stood up uncertainly, then reached out and touched her shoulder. "You're back."

Atia smiled. "You know how they say, 'If you love something, let it go? If it comes back it shows it's for keeps'?" He nodded. She hugged him. "Me and you guys. That's how it's supposed to be. Not me and him."

He hugged her tightly. "Oh, God, Atia, we thought you were gone for good!"

She leaned her cheek on his shoulder. "It'll take more than him to keep me away."

Darien gently pulled her from him and looked her in the eye. "Something's wrong."

"Nothing you need to worry about," she replied, grinning a little.

"Tell me."

The grin faded, and she sat down. "What would you do if, in four weeks, the one you thought you knew and loved would try to destroy everything you sought to protect?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Darien, what would you do if you knew you only had four weeks to live?"

*

"Atia?!"

"Amara!" Atia whirled around and caught the girl in a hug.

"Where were you?! What took so long??" Michelle was right behind her cousin and looking just as happy to see her.

"He wouldn't let me go." Her voice choked a little.

Amara let her go and stared at her quietly. "Did he treat you alright?"

Atia closed her eyes for a moment. "Better than I could've hoped." She stared at the ground. "Is Trista okay? Autumn?"

"They're fine." Darien put a hand on her shoulder. "But they miss you."

*

There was a knock on the door, and Trista excused herself to answer it. Barely had she opened it when a familiar figure launched herself on her in a bear hug, and both stumbled back. "Atia!" Trista yelped, wrapping her arms around her. "You're back!"

Amara, Michelle, and Darien followed her in. Luna and Artemis looked uncertainly at them.

"Trista, it's terrible!" Atia was crying and near the point of sobs. "He's going to come back, and this time it'll be for real!" She sank to the ground, and her best friend knelt with her. "He's gonna kill me!"

The Guardian grabbed her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. "Don't say that!" Trista said, but they all heard the panic in her voice. "Atia, don't say that! You'll beat him in this fight! Then we'll be together again, we can stay together! We can find Ocean and Sky and break this stupid curse! Then we'll find a way to bring Lia back and the five us can be together again, like back in the Silver Millennium! We can live in Crystal Tokyo!"

Atia was trembling. "Stop it! Don't say that! You know it'll never be the same!"

"It might not, but at least we'd be together! Atia, don't think that you'll loose because you won't! You're the strongest person I know, and you can beat him. You have all the power you need. Now all you need is a resolution. Tell yourself that he won't win and he won't." Trista visibly calmed down as Atia got more upset.

"But...I...love- him!"

Trista held her close as she started sobbing. "Ssshhh. It's alright, baby, it's alright," she crooned quietly.

"Trista, don't leave me!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She kissed Atia on the head, murmuring non-sense words to her, trying to calm her down.

There was a gentle chiming of bells. Luna jumped up, tail enlarging in size. The bells got louder, and then a woman that looked like Michelle stood behind Trista. She saw without seeing, was there without being there. She crouched down and murmured something nobody could hear. Atia glanced up at her, eyes brimming with tears.

With some difficulty, the woman spoke. "We're...right...here...with...you."

Trista didn't even look surprised, even though there was no way she could've seen the woman come.

"Ocean." Atia choked out the word and reached out as to touch the woman, but her hand went right through the hologram.

The woman smiled. The hologram's clarity sharpened then, and they could all see real intelligence in her eyes. "Sky says hello." She glanced beside her at Trista, and they smiled at each other, knowing now that it had worked.

Atia stared into her cousin's eyes. "You're hiding something from me." Her voice rose again in panic and conviction. "You all are."

"Not now." Ocean looked surprised. "Not now, Atia."

Trista used her free hand to reach around her back and nudge Ocean in the side. "She'll figure it out sooner or later." Ocean shook her head, then sighed in defeat. "Here." A small bag appeared in Trista's hand, and she offered it to Atia.

Atia sat up and stared at it as though it would bite her. She looked at her two friends and then the bag, then reached out. The moment her fingertips grazed it, she screamed and backed away. "NO!! No, no, no!! Lia!!!"

Trista and Ocean made no effort to move as Atia jumped to her feet and stood with wide eyes, much like a kitten watching a huge mastiff about to tear it apart. They didn't even try to reason with her or offer an explanation. Atia's wild gaze fixed on the bag. She groaned as though someone had punched her. A strange clouding covered her eyes, blinding her from the world, then took off at a dead-run towards a wall.

And it was then that the three senshi saw why Trista had given Atia a sedative last month.

The whole house shuddered under the impact, and there was a sickening crunch as she ran into it at the wrong angle for one of her shoulders. But she didn't stop. Trista put her hands on the floor, and there was no shaking as Atia hit the wall again and again. Ocean sighed and said something in a language no one understood to someone no one could see.

When the girl had sufficiently spent herself, she dropped to her knees, bruised and bleeding. She got up after a moment, staggered. The injuries suddenly vanished, and she tottered back to Trista and Ocean. She stared at them for a moment - then completely passed out and fell to the ground.

"Just like in the Silver Millennium. She's forgotten everything she's learned about controlling herself," Ocean murmured.

"Can you blame her?" Trista asked dryly.

Ocean sighed. "No. I have to go. If the army catches us, we're dead."

Trista laughed a little. "Are you two getting into trouble again?"

"Who, us? We're just having a little fun," Ocean said innocently.

"Uh-huh." Trista rolled her eyes, then turned and hugged the hologram. "Just stay safe, k?"

Ocean smiled and hugged her back. "Haven't we so far?" Then she vanished.

Artemis's eyes narrowed. "How did she get here if Sebradon severed their links?"

"I don't like this, Artemis. Ocean and Sky are too close to Earth. They're going to find a way around this, I know they are," Luna muttered. The white cat nodded in agreement. "Why couldn't Serenity have brainwashed them when she had the chance?"

"What if they find a way to reconnect their links?" Artemis frowned in distaste.

"Then we're all doomed."

Little did they know...