Soldiers of Destiny

by David Knight

PRSM Crossover. [Chapter 3 Up] Nephrite makes his presence known, as he takes on Mars, Jupiter and all five Zeo Rangers. When all is said and done, nothing will be the same.

3. Enter the Shitenno

Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are the property of Disney. Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. I would like to thank JustJill and Wingzero for their help in this story. If you have any questions, contact me at ericpaladin@hotmail.com

The Coming of the Dark Kingdom
Part 2 – Enter the Shitenno
By: David Knight

Luna had seen much throughout her long life. As much as she had loved the Silver Millennium, her duties as advisor to Queen Serenity and the people she had known during that time, it had nearly broke her to watch it all crumble before her eyes.

Her majesty had asked of her and fellow advisor Artemis to watch for the return the Princess and her court. A thousand years went by; yet, when she did wake up it was if it had only been seconds since she had been put into suspended animation. Artemis was not with her when she awoken and the Earth had changed very much from what she knew.

She spent a full year wandering, learning about this new Earth and its history; never once feeling anything that was regarding her mission. She had nearly abandoned all hope.

And then four months ago Mars, or Raye as she now wished to be called, awakened and hope came back to her. Hope that the Moon Princess would be found along with her court.

Yet with hope came fear. As others awakened, there was the increased possibility of the Dark Kingdom's return. The Youma that Raye had fought in Switzerland was just a castoff from a millennia ago, not one that had been sent in this day.

She remembered how her heart filled with joy when she felt Jupiter awakening, giving her Star Bracelet and following her to the battlefield where Mars and the Zeo Rangers were. She watched their battle from a nearby building, keeping out of sight.

However seeing the Youma they fought, she knew 'it' was not the same as Raye had killed. This one was different. She prayed for her worst fears not to be realized.

She knew she had prayed in vain when she saw 'him' come from out of the shadows.

Nephrite.

A Shitenno.

* * *

The Zeo Rangers stared at this man that suddenly appeared one that had both of the Sailor Soldiers unnerved. It was when he introduced himself that they did tense up. Raye had mentioned the Shitenno but hadn't gone into any detail.

Even so, enough had been said to know that a Shitenno was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

"What's wrong, Princesses?" Nephrite said coolly, "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"You're the last person I ever wanted to see alive, Nephrite," Sailor Mars growled, "How did you manage to survive?"

Nephrite just had a smug look on his face, "Now that is a good story. One I don't feel like sharing."  He turned to face the Zeo Rangers, "I have no quarrel with you Rangers. You're free to leave now, as my problem is with the Soldiers. This will be your only warning."

A few moments went by before Red Zeo unholstered his blaster and fired a shot a few inches from Nephrite's feet.

"In case you don't understand," Red Zeo said in a cold tone, "That meant 'no.'"

Nephrite had an amused look on his face, looking at the Rangers, who were definitely looking ready to fight. "You really think you can harm me?"

"... animal..."

"Jupiter?" Mars blinked, caught off guard by her friend's voice, which was full of anger and rage. That rage was reflected in her face and in her fists, which were clenched.

"I remember... I remember how you killed me..." Sailor Jupiter hissed. "Though the heart with your sword."

Nephrite paid it no mind, looking at her, "So I did. What do you intend to do about it?"

Jupiter's eyes narrowed and a cruel smirk formed on her face, "I think that's pretty obvious..." Before anyone could say anything she launched herself at Nephrite. "Return the favor!"

"JUPITER NO!" Mars cried out.

"FLOWER HURRICANE!" Sailor Jupiter cried out, using a different attack than before. This time a whirlwind of rose petals came from her hands attacking Nephrite.

"You really think..." Nephrite trailed off as the first few connected and immediately went to blocking. _What the hell?! This attack wasn't this strong a thousand years ago! Back then I didn't even need to defend to avoid taking damage._ His eyes widened though when he saw Jupiter coming at him, driving a kick into his stomach, sending him backwards yet he remained on his feat.

"You're going to pay!" Jupiter roared, going at Nephrite with a punch, one that he caught and held.

"You've gotten stronger," Nephrite stated, "I don't know how, but that just means I can drop the pretext of just toying with you." He smiled at her as he drove a fist into her stomach and threw her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to be able to fight seriously with you."

"That's it!" Red Zeo declared. "I think we can say we aren't walking away."

"No," Mars agreed, "Everyone fight full out. Hold nothing back."

Nephrite smiled, holding his hand up, "All or nothing then? Well perhaps I should do the same, if only to show you Rangers just who you are dealing with." A silver white sphere appeared in his hand, one that he launched at them.

"SCATTER!" Red Zeo ordered.  They all almost got out of the way. Almost.

The shot had homed in on Yellow Zeo, striking her in the chest and sent her right through a building. She didn't get up.

"TANYA!" Green Zeo cried out. All of the Zeos turned to Nephrite, drawing out their weapons and under the helmets they wanted to take him down.

"You want to fight me children?" Nephrite sneered, "Go right ahead. Just know you'll have only yourselves to blame for your deaths."

* * *

In the Power Chamber, Jason, Zack, Alpha and Zordon could only watch in horror at what they saw.

"We have to get them out of there!" Zack exclaimed.

"I am trying to Zack!" Alpha exclaimed, "But something is preventing me from doing so."

"I'm afraid Nephrite is responsible for that," Zordon replied. "In addition to being a member of the Shitenno, Nephrite was a master of Astral Magic. I am certain he's placed a ward of some sort to prevent us from teleporting out the Rangers and Sailors."

"Zordon," Jason said, looking at his mentor. "Just what are their chances of winning." He saw his mentor not even look at him. "... Zordon?"

"... I am not concerning myself with them able to win this fight Jason," Zordon said solemnly, "I am concerning myself in making sure that they can survive this encounter."

Neither Jason nor Zack knew what to say after that.

* * *

Blue Zeo had gone right at Nephrite, striking out with his personal weapons, however Nephrite seemed to be able to avoid his attacks. He was waiting for the right moment to strike, seeing as how anger could cloud one's judgment.

He found his moment as he went into a blind rush, running right into a prepared magical blast that send him to the ground unconscious.

"Effortless," Nephrite muttered. Suddenly a sharp pain graced his back, as if something had cut through. Turning around he saw Pink Zeo catching her power disk. "... interesting. I didn't even hear you get behind me."

"I'm full of surprises." Pink Zeo returned, and was already on the move, knowing Nephrite was already intending to attack.

"SUPREME THUNDER!"

Nephrite barely had time to move out of the way, but couldn't avoid the attack entirely as his right arm got caught in the backwash of electricity. He saw Jupiter standing looking drained but still standing. "I was right. You did get better."

"Yeah and you need to pay more attention," Sailor Jupiter snapped.

Nephrite wondered what she meant by that but didn't have to wonder for long as Red and Green Zeo launched from behind, disorienting him so that they could double team him. They showed their finesse and teamwork by landing several blows on the Shitenno and making him stagger back. He moved out of the way, seeing the two Rangers move away from him and seeing Sailor Mars some distance away.

"Burn in hell! FIRE SOUL!" Mars screamed out as her attack engulfed Nephrite.

"Think we got him?" Pink Zeo asked.

Suddenly several silver spheres of power erupted from the inferno of fire, followed by a large explosion that hit everyone. When the dust cleared, Nephrite emerged, somewhat smoking but otherwise unharmed, at least by appearance.

"That was some impressive teamwork you put on," Nephrite said, "However this battle was over before it even started."

"Yeah, and I know about a hundred monsters and goons that have said the same thing in the last four years!"

Nephrite saw Red Zeo as the first to his feet, his Zeo Power Sword out. "I admire your tenacity." He was about to charge up another sphere of power when Red Zeo spoke to him, "Think you're man enough to fight with a weapon instead of just your magic."

Nephrite blinked, surprised by the comment, "... I don't think I heard right. Are you honestly challenging me to a duel?"

"Are you really dumb?" Red Zeo growled.

Nephrite had an amused look on his face as he held out his right hand and a silver black sword began to materialize in mid air. His hand gripped its red hilt. "Let's see just how good you are."

Red Zeo and Nephrite went at it, their swords clashing against each other for some time. As their duel went on, Nephrite had to admit in a purely sword to sword confrontation, this Red Ranger was no slouch. _Very, very intriguing._

"FLOWER..."

Nephrite heard the call and already was moving to avoid this attack. First by kicking Red Zeo back, charging up his sword and swung it in a downwards arc. It let loose a wave of energy which hit Sailor Jupiter, sending her crashing into a building. When she fell to the ground, she transformed out of Soldier form. "Should have stayed out of..."

"FIRE SOUL!"

"And you too," Nephrite growled, "What do you think you're..." he trailed off as he saw that he wasn't Mars's target, but rather Red Zeo was.

More specifically his sword.

"See you in hell Nephrite," Red Zeo grinned, "ZEO V POWER SWORD, NOW!" Normally, when Red Zeo used this attack, a wave of flaming red energy followed from his blade when he slashed out against his enemy.

With the charging given to him by Mars, that power was increased five fold. When his sword connected with Nephrite's chest, an inferno of flame came from it and giving Red Zeo something to really smile about.

Nephrite screamed in pain, as he was thrown backwards fifteen feet until he fell to the ground. By now though, Red Zeo and Sailor Mars could barely stand, their bodies exhausted. They looked at Nephrite on the ground, not even moving an inch.

"Is he..." Red Zeo asked.

"I wish... but some how I doubt we are that lucky," Sailor Mars muttered, clutching her side as she felt like some of her ribs were broken. Looking over to the side, she caught onto the injured. Blue and Yellow Zeos were out cold but still morphed. Pink Zeo had tears in her uniform yet was trying to stand, using rubble to help get herself up. Green Zeo had gotten up but had gone to tend over to Jupiter, who Mars suspected had taken the worst damage, seeing as she was out of Soldier form, yet hadn't collapsed into her reincarnated body. _Assuming she was reborn as I was._

"Mars..." Red Zeo's shocked voice brought her back to the front where she saw what she knew was true yet had hoped wasn't.

Nephrite was still alive. The Shitenno was now on one knee, yet what he did next surprised Mars.

"Heh," Nephrite laughed slightly as he got up to his feet. Then they could see a slash across his chest, Red Zeo's sword strike, which had actually managed to cut into his skin. Yet even now the wound was starting to heal. He raised his hand to his lips, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Pain... a sensation I haven't felt in such a long time," an amused smile formed on his lips, as he looked over his enemies, clenching his fist, "I had forgotten what it had felt like to fight worthy opponents. You aren't as weak as I originally thought." Mars and Red Zeo tensed up, yet Nephrite waved his hand, "Don't worry. Today won't be your time to die. You rangers have made your choice; I hope you can live with it. Even so, it would be such a pity to wipe out worthy opponents such as yourselves this early in the game."

"Game? What game!" Red Zeo demanded to know.

"What are you getting at Nephrite!" Sailor Mars demanded.

Nephrite just smiled, "You cannot stop us Princess. Neither you nor whatever allies you may obtain. The Dark Kingdom will return and we will have our revenge. We will be watching you from the shadows," he turned around, his cape swirling in the wind, "Until then." he then vanished into the shadows, his laughter echoing through out the barren streets.

Red Zeo watched him fade, and slowly shook his head.  "Okay, everyone who can move take someone who can't, and let's get back."

Pink situated herself between Yellow and Blue Zeos and teleported them back even as Green did the same to Jupiter.  Neither of them said a word.  Red Zeo turned to Mars.  "Care for a ride?" he asked, extending a hand to her.

"By all means," Mars replied.

* * *

Jason and Zack were already busy with the unconscious ones when Tommy arrived and demorphed.  Mars did the same.  _Was it called demorphing for her?_ he wondered idly, then shook his head at the inanity and went to help Adam with the girl Raye had called Jupiter.  Tanya and Rocky were beginning to stir, but Kat had sunk down on a chair Alpha had brought from somewhere and was staring at the rips in her shirt.

Raye sat by her and gave her a weary smile.  "You fought him already once?" Kat asked after a moment.  Luna appeared from nowhere, jumping lightly into Kat's lap.  Unconsciously, Kat began to pet her, almost hesitantly.  When the cat didn't protest, she continued, and the tension slowly drained from her body.

"More than once," Raye said somberly, looking over Jupiter's unconscious form, "And not just Nephrite. We've faced all four of the Shitenno. They are the worst the Dark Kingdom has to offer."

"I guess this means we can stop wondering if the Dark Kingdom has been unsealed now." Jason replied.

"Four?! You mean there are more of them!" Kat said aghast.

"Yes," Luna replied, "Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Kunzite, the Four Shitenno. They are absolute worse that the Dark Kingdom has to throw at us."

"And Nephrite is only the third strongest of them," Raye added.

Kat stared at her in utter dismay.  "He's practically the weakest of them, and... he took out Rocky and Tanya like they weren't even there!"

"Jadeite's weaker than Nephrite, but your point isn't missed, Katherine," Luna shook her head, "Fortunately, I think we can assume that the Dark Kingdom hasn't been unsealed yet."

"Why?" Tommy asked.

"Nephrite used the remains of your enemy's monster to make that Youma," Luna explained, "To me, it means he's either working alone or is in a very bad shortage of youma."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Zack asked.  "I mean, if he's working alone, does that mean the others aren't wake yet? "

"I am afraid there is the possibility of one other being awakened." Everyone turned to face Zordon who looked solemn. "I have friends still on the Galactic Council, and some still remember the times of the Silver Millennium. One of them had told me a few years ago that Dark Specter had obtained the services of the servant of the Dark Kingdom. He could not tell me any more than that, as nothing further came."

"But you think it could be another of the Shitenno," Raye asked, "Don't you?"

"Yes. I do."

"Great," Tanya muttered, rubbing her head.  "There is at least one other of those... things out there.  We have got to come up with something better than what we threw at him, or we will be toast."

"And we're not?" Rocky groaned, sitting up.

"I'm afraid it isn't just power that must be overcome Tanya," Zordon explained, "Though Nephrite does have great power, he also has another advantage over you."

"What?" Adam asked.

The answer came from Tommy, "Battle Experience."

"But... but we are experienced Tommy," Rocky said, "I mean we have trained in martial arts. We've been rangers for years...well you me and Adam anyway..."

"And Nephrite has had millennia of battle experience," Raye cut in.

"Battle experience is not what we've been doing," Adam said quietly.  "We've been cleaning up, sort of.  We're on the fringes."

"Yes, but you're going to need to step it up a level," Raye replied, "You're going to have to if you want to stop them."

"Define step it up," Tommy said slowly.

Before she could reply, the Soldier of Mars got a talk from her other half, /Raye, don't start on this./

//Why not?//

/Because they do the best they can with what they have got./ Trini told her, /Besides, you think weeks or months of what you have in mind would make any difference?/

Raye hung her head for a bit, looking over at Tommy, "... sorry. I didn't mean to sound arrogant. I'm just..."

"High strung?" Adam supplied. "I think we all are."

"That, and finding Jupiter," Raye sighed, looking over her still unconscious friend. "I'm too drained to think straight. Trini, care to take over?" Her body switching back into Trini's answered that question. "Yeah. Get some rest."

"Does any one else think that's just really weird?" Rocky asked softly, and shrugged when Trini looked at him.  "It is.  Of all the weird things I've seen, that's one of the weirdest."

"Trust me, I thought the exact same thing for four months," Zack assured him, "But then I got used to it and accepted it."

"Oh, I accept it," Rocky said, and shook his head a little.

"So how are we going to deal with Nephrite?" Katherine asked, not eager in the slightest to go up against the Shitenno any time soon.

"He's obviously got the experience advantage over us," Jason replied, "He's also the first really serious villain to get down and dirty with us."

"What you mean by that?" Tanya asked.

"Tanya right?" Jason asked and she nodded, "I know you haven't been a ranger long but I am sure Tommy could tell you how like Rita or Zedd never came down to attack us directly, always sending their flunkies to attack us instead of doing the job them selves."

"And Nephrite at the very least has to be on par with their combined power," Trini added, "Which means fighting him head on is absolutely out of the question. We shouldn't even try to out power him, we need to out think him if we're going to beat him."

"Easier said than done," Rocky muttered, "There has to be someone we can get to help us."

"Actually, there is." Luna said, looking up over to Zordon, "I do believe he would help us."

Zordon nodded, "As do I. Alpha, prepare the subspace communication array to make a communication to Triforia, but do it in secret, so that it is not picked up by anyone.

"I will Zordon just as soon as..." Alpha started to say but then the alarms went off.

"Oh, what now?" Kat asked in some frustration.

"As if things weren't bad enough," Tommy muttered, wondering what was about to happen next.

"A ship is now entering the earth's atmosphere and is now about land right next to us," Alpha said, his voice surprised, "But how can that..."

A teleportation beam interrupted his words; when it cleared, Zack was the first to move.  "Billy, man!  Good to see you!"

Billy Cranston looked across the power chamber and saw his friends, the ones he knew would be here and three that he didn't expect. "Zack? Trini? Jason?" He then caught sight of a strange cat on the consoles and an unfamiliar girl on a medical bed. "... I take I missed something didn't I?"

Everyone else in the room couldn't help it, despite the situation they found themselves in. Slowly but surely, they all laughed.

"... what?" Billy asked, not getting their joke, though when looking at the cat, he saw it was laughing as well and started to have a sinking feeling.

"Billy," Tommy said between laughs, "You have no idea how much of an understatement that is!"

"Well can someone explain to me just what is going on?" Billy asked.

"Don't worry Billy," Tommy said, "There's no way we could leave you out of the loop on this."

* * *

When Nephrite returned to his home in the woods, the first thing he did was dispose of the remains of the Cogs that had been stupid enough to actually find their way here. Surprisingly, it was amusing to dispose of them with a snap of his fingers.

_So many resources wasted to make an endless supply of worthless drones._ Nephrite shook his head in disgust, _As if they'd make the Soldiers have a real work out._ A sly smirk came up onto his lips. His enemies were back, two of them anyway. It was nice to know he wouldn't be unopposed in his plans.

"To think I invite challenge these days," Nephrite chuckled as he walked into his mansion. Speaking of challenge, he was rather impressed with that Red Ranger. He didn't think a Ranger would be that good in a fight at all. They hadn't in his time. _All save for one._ 

He was about to enter one of the rooms to do something he had prepared to do before his little escapade, when suddenly he heard music sounding through the hallways.

"What is this?" Nephrite asked, furious that someone had actually made it within his home. Yet as he moved closer and closer to the source, his anger faded and was being replaced with surprise and disbelief as he started to recognize the tune.

By the time he reached what had been the grand ballroom, the look of shock was clear to see on his face as he saw the translucent specter of a figure he thought he'd never see again.

" 'An Ode to the Forgotten Ones'. One of my favorites," the white haired woman said with a slight smile, "So tell me, how have you been Nephrite?"

All he could do was breath out her name, "... Zoicite."

* * *

In the Power Chamber, Billy blew out his breath in astonishment after hearing the condensed version of what had been going on.  "No kidding, I've missed something," he said.  "And you're okay with this?" he asked Trini.

"Yes," she said.  "It's nice to have someone there to talk to.  To always talk to."

Billy nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see that.  But what do we do now?"

Zack grinned.  "That's my man," he said.  "Always getting right to the point."

"How giving me some support?" spoke an unfamiliar voice.

"Jupiter!" Luna cried out, seeing the young girl trying to get up from where she lay.

"I'm really sick of laying down now. I'd rather be sitting," Jupiter muttered as she tried to get off the med bed yet messed up in the attempt. However, an old friend caught her fall. "Mars?"

"I'm here Jupiter, and its Raye Hino now," her fellow soldier said. When Raye heard Jupiter's voice, she decided to switch back with Trini, taking on her form. She thought her friend would need support.

She was right as she had her arms around her, "You're alive. We're both alive." Jupiter let out a breath, tears threatening to come. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't..."

Raye just shook her head, "The past is the past. We can't change it. We just have to work on the present."

"... yeah," Jupiter nodded.

"So, can you do the switch back and forth thing, too?" Kat asked wearily.  "Because if you're going to be one of us, we need to know both of your... faces."

Tanya stepped closer to Kat.  "I think we need to get some rest," she said.

The girl just had a look on her face for a bit before shifting into a smaller blonde haired girl. "I'm Astrea. Astrea Walker."

"It's good to meet you, Astrea," Tommy said.  "And thanks for your help."

"Your... welcome." Astrea said hesitantly. She wasn't all that good with people at all. Not at all.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked.

"I'm fine," Astrea said, "I just... live on my own is all. Don't have much in the way of social niceties."

"So what should we do now Zordon?" Tommy asked.

"For now I would suggest that you all return to your homes and try to rest," Zordon said.

"If its all the same, drop me off in Stone Canyon," Astrea spoke up. "I'd like to go... home now."

Raye caught the sound in the girl's voice and knew there was more going on than she let on. "I'll go with you." She got a glare from Astrea but returned it, "No arguments." She turned to look over to Luna.

"I'll stay here a bit longer. There's something things that I need to discuss with Zordon," Luna replied.

Raye nodded and after telling Jason and Zack that she'd be back later this evening, all of the teens vanished in teleport streams.

When they were gone, Luna let out a sigh, "Please tell me we've gotten through to them."

"I'm afraid not," Zordon said downcast, "Due to stellar phenomena within our solar system at the moment, we are unable to make contact with Triforia. It should clear within a day or two."

"Let's hope we have even that long," Luna muttered, "Nephrite is alive, we have no idea what his plans are, but worst of all, I fear that this is only the beginning."

* * *

Zoicite looked at her fellow Shitenno critically, examining his appearance. She and Nephrite weren't exactly friends, though they did manage to act civilly with each other. That was more than she could say in regards to Jadeite and much less in relation to Kunzite.

She could feel his power had grown since the last time they had met, then again so had her own. Regardless of all that, they were Shitenno. The only ones that truly remembered the past, the way it was, the way it ought to have been.

Finally she spoke again, "Are you going to speak or are you going to look like the human child that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar?"

Nephrite regained his composure, looking back at his 'superior'. "I see you haven't lost your warped sense of humor."

Zoicite merely kept her smile on, "Humor is needed to liven up the emptiness one feels in the void." She turned away from him, her eyes down cast, "This universe is not the way it should be. Nor does it have what my heart wishes."

Nephrite knew what she meant by that. "So I'm to assume then I'm the only Shitenno you've seen."

"In the last five years since I've been awakened," Zoicite answered. "I was beginning to think that I was the only one."

"So what have you done to serve the Dark Kingdom's revival since then?" Nephrite asked.

Zoicite blinked, confused about the question. "Revive what Nephrite? We lost remember. There is nothing left."

It was Nephrite's turn to be surprised by her answer, "What are you talking about?"

"The Dark Kingdom is dead. Our armies dead, our remaining Shitenno missing, our Queens gone and most of all, the dimension that housed the Dark Castle is nothing but a void of space," Zoicite said flat out, "Explain to me, what is left to revive when there is nothing left at all?"

Nephrite looked at Zoicite for a full three minutes before he started to laugh, getting Zoicite's glare at him. Yet he couldn't help himself. What she just told him, it all made sense to him.

"What is so funny?" Zoicite scowled.

"Follow me and you will see what is," Nephrite said to her.

Her ethereal form followed Nephrite through the corridors of the mansion, "You didn't build create it from magic."

"I had decided to find a remote house like this through a realtor instead of wasting magic to create one, hid it, and then cast a whole bunch of spells to punish intruders," Nephrite replied.  "I spent most of the first day casting several magical spells around the area to make sure no one even remembered it anymore. There is a large evasion spell cast on the house, even the neighbors, a few hundred feet away, don't recall much of it. And even if they did, it takes magic just to even enter my home."

"You always did like old fashioned design," Zoicite commented as they walked into a rather large room. The floor was painted black to give it a bigger appearance; the black went up the wall and around the windows to let the light in into the room.  The ceiling was a typical gothic design. "So what are we doing now?"

"Ever wonder what the result of our actions would have done to this planet?" Nephrite asked her candidly. Seeing her confused face brought a smile to his face as he continued on, "We knew that all of the planets in this solar system were powerful. Power based upon their own populous."

Nephrite walked into the black circle on the floor as he continued, "But what happens when one throws chaos into the mix; destroying the order that exists, wiping life off an entire planet."

"Which we did," Zoicite said, sounding annoyed, "Get to the point Nephrite."

"My point is that energy can't be destroyed," Nephrite smirked. "It can only be sent some place else. Everything is ruled by the stars, from the lowly animal to the greatest of hunters; the stars rule them all."  He looked up at the ceiling, channeling a large amount of magic. The room shimmered around him as it took effect and seemed to transport him into space as the stars start to sparkle in the air around him. "Noble Pegasus, show my comrade the truth that others fail to grasp. First, the truth of this world."

Zoicite was about to dismiss this when suddenly images of the earth revolved around her and Nephrite. She could recognize it: the flow of the planet's life stream, the source of what kept it living. Her eyes went wide when she felt it, "This... this impossible! Earth's life stream was strong, true. But it was never this strong! Not even a thousand years would be enough to account for..."

"It being nine times as powerful as it was then," Nephrite smirked, "When we eliminated the lives on the other planets, we unwittingly cause it to all filter right into the earth. All of that life force had to go somewhere and when Queen Serenity used the Ginzuishou, it was like a lightning rod for that energy. Bringing it all together."

"Even if what you say is true," Zoicite stated, "The universe is not the same as we remember. Dark Specter happens to be the governing evil."

"Him?" Nephrite raised an eyebrow at that. "I would have assumed he would have been killed off by now."

"He's cleverer than he let even 'us' realize." Zoicite muttered.

"Still, power is what drives the universe," Nephrite replied, motioning with his arms, "And when we have enough power..."

Slowly but surely the look on Zoicite's face became one of utter shock as she saw a place she had thought had long since been turned to anti-matter, "... by the Queens!!!"

In the image she saw, it was the Dark Castle, the home of the Dark Kingdom.

"How?" was all Zoicite could ask.

"When Serenity unleashed her death act, she may have wiped out our armies, but she couldn't wipe out the kingdom," Nephrite smirked. "What she did was seal it within a dimensional hell, a hell that nothing can escape or enter... yet."

Zoicite didn't even need to ask what the need would be for even trying to unseal the Dark Kingdom.

The power that could be gained by those who served it was enough give them what they wanted.

She regarded Nephrite in a different light, a look of respect crossing her face, "I must say I'm impressed. And you've been keeping this shielded from even Zordon with these wards."

"So you noticed," Nephrite chuckled, "I've been working on this for the better part of four years."

"Then there is more to tell is there?" Zoicite mused.

Nephrite only smirked. "Indeed there is."

* * *

A large apartment complex stood in front of the two girls. The small yard seemed to be well kept. The building itself wasn't exactly in pristine condition, but it wasn't run down either. Overall, the color seemed to be faded rather than ruined. That was to be expected from different types of weather. The place appeared to be nice to live in; however, the inside was a different matter.

Raye looked around.  "This is your home?" she asked neutrally.  She'd never seen something so run down.

The small apartment was Spartan, although Raye was sure there were other words for it.  At least it wasn't filthy.  There was a small, broken-down table leaning against one wall of the kitchen - really leaning, because she was sure if it didn't have the wall, it would fall over.  The single chair in front of it was as broken down and looked uncomfortable.

There was no divider between the kitchen and the living room. The carpet in the living room was a dull grey, although it might have been another color once.  The couch slouched on the edge of the carpet, an attempt to keep the two rooms from being one.  The one redeeming part of this apartment, as far as Raye could see, was that from the couch she could look out the one large window onto a small, grassy lot.  It faced south, so most of the day there was sunlight.

The bedroom held a mattress - no bed - and crates stacked on their sides for dresser.  The desk was bare except for a small book that might have been a diary.  The bathroom was tiny, with a shower, toilet and sink; all painted an avocado green and stained pink in places.  Turning back to Astrea, Raye opened her mouth to say something, and sneezed.  It wasn't dust, but the place was just musty.  It smelled, though, as if Astrea tried to keep it clean.

"Here, let me open the window," Astrea said in some embarrassment, and went to do so, avoiding Raye's eyes. "I just don't have much to offer really."

"What about your parents?" Raye asked. "Where are they?"

Astrea just became very quiet, not even facing Raye. "... they're dead. They've been dead for years now."

Raye went just as quiet.  "I'm sorry," she said softly.  "Who is your guardian?"  She paused, making a face as Trini spoke to her.  "Don't you have foster parents?"

"I live on my own," Astrea said softly, "I have a guardian but she just sends me what money I need to pay the bills for this place... I'm fine."

//There's a lie if I ever heard one.//

Astrea frowned when hearing Jupiter, "I thought you said you weren't going to pry."

//In your memories, no. I don't need to do that to feel your emotions.//

"Am I prying?" Raye asked, confused, but then her expression cleared.  "No, never mind.  That comment wasn't aimed at me." She paused a moment.  "Fine is one thing," she said softly.  "Are you happy?"

Astrea jerked at that question, "Happy?"

"Yes. Are you happy with how you live now?"

Astrea didn't answer, her head low, "... I wonder if I have ever been happy even once in my life..."

"Astrea," Raye started to say though Astrea spoke up again, "You're just being nice to me only because your friend is a part of me. That because of some fluke I'm now a part of your life and you have to deal with me. That sums it up doesn't it?"

A silence passed through the room, making Astrea wonder if she had gotten Raye to leave.

No such luck as Trini came in front of her. She tried to turn around to avoid her but Trini held her in place. "Let go." She growled.

"Why are you running away?" Trini asked in a calm voice.

"Let go," Astrea repeated.

"I can see you've had a hard life, but why do you have to act so distant," Trini asked, "Astrea I want to help you."

"Help me? Help me?!" Astrea snapped, angered that she just wouldn't be left alone, "You want me to share my feelings? Fine! My family died, I was brought to a place that scared me, that was cruel and harsh. I was burned more times that I care to remember by 'friends'. I grew up to trust no one because you can't! There are no friends, just people ready to stab you in the back and you have to always watch yourself or you wind up dead!"

Trini just stood her ground, looking at Astrea in her eyes. Fighting back would only hurt her further. As she looked into this girl's eyes, she could only see pain and rejection. It was no wonder she acted as she did.

Instead she simply let go of her hand, "You are right. I shouldn't have grabbed you. But you're wrong about several things. There are such things as friends, and even though you may not believe it yourself, you know it's true even if it's through your other half."

Astrea just stood there looking at the Asian girl, expecting to have slapped her across the face for being a brat or tightening her grip on her. Instead what she received were calm words spoke to her and an argument that made sense.

There were such things as friends, only she had never experienced them and yet through the memories that had been poured through her by Jupiter, she knew she had them. Most of all, Astrea could feel- knew that those friends would rather die than betray Jupiter.

And then here was Trini, who by all rights she wouldn't have faulted for having already walked out the door with how she had treated her and instead she didn't.

"... I'm sorry..." Astrea whimpered, a single tear coming down her face, "It's just... I've been alone for so long... so alone." Trini just brought Astrea into a hug, and though part of her wanted to shove her away, there was another that welcomed this.

"It's okay. You can cry if you want," Trini said comfortingly, knowing the young girl needed comfort more than anything. "I'm here for you. Not because we are in the same situation, because I want to help you."

"I believe you," Astrea cried, "...I believe you." And for the first time in how many years, Astrea let herself cry, knowing that her life was changing.

However this time, she knew it could only be for the better.

* * *

Meanwhile...

"I think we do have a chance at success," Zoicite announced, "My only regret is that you came up with it instead of me."

"I do have experience behind me," Nephrite said.

Zoicite just smirked, "Don't you mean the dumb luck of being in the right place?"

"Call it what ever you wish, but even you can't deny the opportunity that lies before us Zoicite," Nephrite returned.

Zoicite simply nodded. The chance to restore the Dark Kingdom and from there their desires would be made flesh. "We must tread carefully and cautiously. Even if Dark Specter learns of your existence, he must never realize what we intend to do.

"Agreed. We must achieve all of our goals, without that snake interfering into our affairs." Nephrite replied.

"That snake could kill either of us," Zoicite reminded her associate, "The only one that could match him was Queen Beryl. There is only one thing that would give us what we would need in order to face him head on and eliminate him."

"... Do you honestly believe we will find it?" Nephrite asked seriously, "If no one has found it after all this time..."

"The two princesses' return tells me it will return with THE Princess," Zoicite smiled evilly, "Rest assured Nephrite, the Ginzuishou still exists and I believe it to be on this world. I leave you to the task."

"Feel like you can order me around now do you?" Nephrite asked.

"I am your superior," Zoicite said matter-of-factly, "I'll be leaving now to return to my body. I've been gone long enough. I have to return before Dark Specter realizes it. My position within his group gives us an edge to be used for when the time comes. And when you find the Ginzuishou, Nephrite, that time will be now."

After saying that Zoicite started to fade away, Nephrite knowing she was returning to her body. A smile crept onto his face as he could only imagine what the future held in store.

What ever it was, he believed it would be glorious for the Dark Kingdom and damning for the Sailor Soldiers.

* * *

Once she had been able to compose herself, Astrea had been able to talk with Trini. Actually it was Trini was the one doing most of the talking but was able to get Astrea to talk back with her. _I think I know now what I looked like when Kim would go on gabbing a lot and I wouldn't say much._ Trini mused to herself, finding some sort of irony in that.

For Astrea, this had been the longest conversation that she had ever. She didn't speak with anyone much. With Trini, she thought there could be a friend, and yet...

"Astrea?" Trini asked.

"... you have been nice to me. I am glad for that," Astrea said softly, "But... I don't know how to change."

"I don't follow." Trini questioned.

"I just... don't know..." Astrea sighed.

//Could I offer up a suggestion?//

/Jupiter?/ Astrea asked. When Trini saw the look on her face, she decided to let her and Jupiter talk it out.

//We need to leave this place. Start over in another place. The town that Trini and her friends in live in.// Jupiter explained, //And maybe it would help if you wore another face at least to get used seeing things in another light.//

/You'd offer up using your body to me?/

//To share, but by no means do I want you to just use me as a crutch. You need to be able to eventually repair your own identity.// Jupiter said.

Astrea just nodded. She couldn't spend her entire life as someone she wasn't but for now, in order to unlearn what she had brought up to believe, she needed to start over in more ways then one. /Alright. For now though, I feel tired so would you.../

//Of course.// Jupiter replied. Astrea's body changed into Jupiter's who looked at the surprised Trini.

"What just happened?"

"Astrea and I are going to be sharing this form for a while. She's not giving up using her real body," Jupiter explained, "But for her, she feels this is the best way to move forward with her new life." It wasn't long until she saw Trini turn into Raye, who had a serious look on her face.

"Jupiter, are you certain about this?"

"Never been more sure of anything than I am now."

Raye nodded, accepting their decision. "We'll need to ask Zordon to craft an identity for you to use on earth." She blinked upon realizing something, "Come to think of it, I need to have him do that for me as well."

Jupiter had a laugh at that, "And I thought Venus was the forgetful one. Anyway care to help me out?"

"With what?" Raye asked.

"Packing," Jupiter said with a smirk, "Step two of our plan for a new life is moving out of this place and moving someplace closer to your new friends, Mars--Raye."

"Oh?" Raye raised an eyebrow, "And what's step one?"

"A new name for this life," the former Princess of Jupiter said, "One we have already decided upon, Lita Kino."

"Sincerity of Light," Raye translated, "Nice. Did you come up with it or Astrea?"

"We both did," Lita said with a smile, "Now let's get packing."

"Yeah... Lita?"

"Yes Raye?"

Softness showed in Raye's features as she said, "I'm glad you're here."

Lita just smiled, "Same here Raye. Same here."

* * *

On the planet of Triforia, a young Prince was leaving the Royal Court, never more grateful for his friend and advisor Sygnus coming then to get him out of that horrible place.

_I am no politician nor do I have time for the schemers in my own home, much less the Council._ the Prince mused to himself as he followed his friend to his personal chambers. The fact that he had activated the personal listening jammers meant this was something important.

"He is here." Sygnus spoke aloud, allowing for the viewing screen to appear.

On its screen was someone Prince Trey had thought he had seen the last of, "...Luna?"

"Your highness." The moon cat said kindly.

He looked over towards Sygnus, "... leave me."

"My prince," Sygnus bowed to the heir to the Triforian throne, yet after leaving he made a call to those technicians he trusted and told them to prepare Pyramidas for long term travel.

Once the conversation was over, Sygnus had no doubt in his mind that Trey would be coming to Earth.

And woe to anyone that dared cross the Gold Ranger.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: And so the third chapter of this saga comes to a close and things are only just beginning. The next chapter will indeed herald the arrival of the Gold Ranger but nothing ever happens as planned. Until next time.