Slowly the princess of Saturn began to open her eyes. Why was she so weak. As she struggled to stand up, Sakura rubbed her eyes and remembered. They were attacked by some woman dressed in black. Sailor Vesta had stopped breathing and she had used her healing power to save her. But as Sakura looked around, she saw that Vesta had vanished, and instead of being at her side, Kaiya and Hoshi stood obediently next to the same woman who had attacked them. Sakura looked in horror over at her friends. Their eyes... they weren't normal.
"Kaiya-san?" she asked fearfully. "Hoshi-san?"
"They don't hear you," the woman replied. "They have given themselves into my power. Haven't you, children?" In response, Hoshi bent down on one knee and took the sorceress' hand in his own, kissing her wrist.
"We are at your service, Mistress Hecate," Kaiya said.
"Kaiya-san, why would you do something like this?" Sakura demanded.
"Don't you see?" Kaiya asked. "This is the only way we can find happiness. It's not back there in Crystal Palace, where they didn't give us any answers. It's here, beside Mistress Hecate and Master Oni."
"Master Oni?" Sakura asked. "Who's that?"
"If you come with us, you can find out," said Hoshi, laying his hand on Sakura's shoulder. It felt just as warm and welcoming as it always had. "You won't have to deal with not knowing the answers anymore..." As Hoshi spoke, Sakura glanced over at Kaiya. The young princess saw her gaze and smiled back at her. It was strange, Sakura observed, but Kaiya for once, actually looked happy. But there was something about this happiness. It wasn't real. It was only being fed to her by her new mistress, who was all but completely controlling her mind. Surely that could be solution to their problems, could it?
"Sakura! Kaiya! Hoshi!" The prince of Pluto lifted his head, interrupting Sakura's train of thought.. A chorus of voices could be heard coming towards them from the outside. But they would never find their way into the fog, not with the spell that kept it sealed off. Unless, of course...
"Sounds like we've got company," said Hecate. "Children, show them in, will you?"
"Of course, mistress," said Kaiya. She raised her hand and immediately a section of the fog lifted like a curtain, allowing the children of the inner and outer planets to run into the space where Hecate and the others stood. Somehow or another, the groups had found each other.
"Everyone!" Sakura cried, running over to her friends. Kasami caught the small girl in her arms.
"What's wrong?" Kasami asked. She noticed the girl was shaking violently. "Did someone hurt you?" she demanded. Sakura only shook her head and buried her face in Kasami's arms. How could she possibly tell them that her own friends turned on her? It was have been something she did wrong, she reasoned. Unfortunately, the cover-up was worth nothing. Kaiya and Hoshi were only to proud to step forward and show their new allegiance.
"If you're looking for Sailor Juno, she's already gone to Master Oni," Kaiya informed them. "The revolution will soon be starting."
"Revolution?" Kasami questioned. Meanwhile, Marie stood typing frantically at her computer.
"Kaiya and Hoshi's powers have changed," she announced. "I'm not sure how, but they're stronger than before."
Ryou's eyes narrowed. "They've been possessed by the enemy," he observed. Then, raising his voice he demanded, "Were you going to try and possess Sakura too?" For a moment, Kaiya seemed shocked.
"I'm not possessed," she replied. "You're my friends, and I don't want to fight. As far as Sakura goes, I was just trying to tell her the truth."
"And what truth would that be?" Akio asked.
"Think about it... why have our fathers never shown themselves to us?" A hush fell over the group of children. The unspoken answer, no one knew where their fathers were. They had traveled out here and looked long and hard and come up with nothing. An uneasy doubt fell in the hearts of all the senshi, but only Hoshi voiced it out loud.
"The knights are gone," he announced. "And we all know it's only a matter of time before the Sailor senshi are too. We can't hold onto the past. We have to look towards the future."
"But we are looking towards the future!" Reika yelled, stepping forward. "Every time we train with Pallas or the others, every time we use our powers, we're looking towards the future! We're looking at the Sailor Senshi we will become one day!"
"And where will that lead us?" Kaiya asked. "Throwing our lives away? Living out our faint existence in some cold stone shrine like our mothers? I'm sorry, but that's not the future I choose."
"So you choose this?" the daughter of Venus demanded. "Working for this witch, that's better than being the planetary guardian you were destined to be? Oh yes, your mother would have loved that."
"My mother left me!" Kaiya yelled. "She had her chance to go to that Cauldron or stay with me and she went!" As Kaiya spoke, a ball of dark energy began to form in her hands. She didn't want to attack, but she couldn't stand listening to everyone's twisted logic anymore. She had given in to forget the pain, to live a new life. And if they didn't understand that, then they would have to be punished.
"Enough!" A voice suddenly rang through the darkness. Hecate gasped as she looked up. There in front of her stood Maigo.
"Only you would figure out how to teleport in here," she muttered.
"And only you would stoop to taking on the young senshi as your servants," he retorted. With that, he raised his hand and suddenly the strange mist surrounding everyone began to fade, and with it, the glazed look in the eyes of the children of Pluto. Within moments, the forest appeared as exactly as it did before. Kasami and Akio immediately ran to the sides of their allies. Kaiya was rubbing her head and Hoshi looked as if he had just woken up from a hard nap.
"It's was the mist that was keeping them that way," he explained. Then glaring at Hecate he added on, "A new trick from Master Oni."
"Kaiya and Hoshi mentioned him when they were under Hecate's control," Sakura said. "Who is Master Oni?"
To this, Maigo simply turned his head and did not respond, which only got Kasami more frustrated. "You do care about us!" she yelled. "You came here to rescue us! So why don't you tell us who you're working for? We can help you be free, just like you helped us."
"Shut up!" Maiga yelled. At the sound of his voice, he saw Anzino and Sakura pulled backwards and sighed, lowering his voice. "Unfortunately, unlike your friends, there's no spell holding me to Master Oni," he explained calmly this time. "I want to know who I am, and where I come from. Only Master Oni has the answers to those questions. Therefore, I have no choice but to follow him."
"But he can't be the only one who had those answers," Marie objected. "We're out looking for our fathers. We want to know our past as well. But we're going to do it without giving into the darkness. Right, guys?" She turned her attention towards Kaiya and Hoshi, now more coming to their senses. Kaiya smiled and took hold of the Garnet Rod, just as she had left it.
"Right," she said. Then, turning to the rest of her comrades she said, "Please forgive my brother and I."
"Aw, don't get like that," said Ai cheerfully. "We knew you weren't turn against us that long."
"Please," Anzino begged, looking into Maiga's deep green eyes. She could see it, as everyone could. He wasn't an enemy. He was just confused. If only there was some way to bring him back...
"Even if I wanted to join you," Maigo said softly. "It's too late now."