Disclaimer: My sincere gratitude to Takeuchi-sensei who created this wonderful world for us to dream in. respectful bow in the general direction of Japan As we all know, all rights belong to her. I hope you enjoy my portrayal of her creations.
I do not write for reviews, but I sure enjoy compliments, constructive criticism, and grammatical corrections. So if you feel like it, please press that little review button, and let me know what you think. - Raya
The Sleeper
Chapter 13 – Tense Interlude
Crystal Palace, Crystal Tokyo
Super Sailor Mercury ground her teeth as she watched the enemy disappear into the palace. 'There HAS to be a way to stop them!' she thought anxiously. 'Or to slow them down at least. Think Mercury! Uranus and Neptune can't move... Serenity-san won't leave them here unprotected.... But we have to protect Small Lady and the girls! How... How...'
A sparkle of light from the Silver Crystal caught her eye. Intuition leapt to idea which blossomed into plan. "Serenity-san!" she called out urgently. "Concentrate on the Crystal! Don't let them find Small Lady!"
The senshi around her stared at her blankly. "What? What do you mean, Mercury?" Super Sailor Mars called from the other side of the queen.
Neo-Queen Serenity also stared at her blankly, but only for a split second. Before Super Sailor Mars even began to speak, she closed her eyes again and concentrated fully on the Silver Crystal. Centuries of trust made her follow Super Sailor Mercury's orders without questioning. And she was rewarded as deep within her soul, the answer floated up. 'The Crystal follows my heart. Of course. Please, Silver Crystal. Please protect Small Lady and Saturn and the girls. Small Lady... Be careful. Oh, be careful and be safe, my darling daughter.'
Throughout the palace, space began to distort. Empress Night and her Court found themselves walking in circles and into dead ends. After walking into a few hidden crystal walls, Queen Yeti and King Arashi swept their arms in front of them like blind people as they led the way. The crystal vial of dark and sparkling dust which had guided them unerringly up to this point, began to flux and spin, acting like a compass caught in a magnetic storm. Taunting laughter, elusive voices, and the sound of footsteps frustrated them even further. The Illusionary Silver Crystal began to truly live up to its description as it wrapped the enemy and the palace in illusion after illusion
For hours the invaders wandered through the palace vainly searching for their prize. By sheer accident, they stumbled across the Doors of Time. On the palace roof, Super Sailor Pluto felt their presence, but arrived too late to prevent them from crossing out into the mists of time. Her one comfort was that the mists were as churned up as the interior of the palace. She looked at her Garnet Orb and concentrated a moment, sending a warning to all her other selves along the various time lines.
As the enemy left the palace, the Silver Crystal returned the space back to normal. Super Sailor Mercury and Super Sailor Jupiter moved Super Sailor Uranus and Super Sailor Neptune down to the infirmary with the help of King Endymion. Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Venus left for the maze to tell the younger girls it was safe to come out of hiding for the moment. With a thoughtful look, Neo-Queen Serenity went to find Super Sailor Pluto at the Doors of Time.
A short while later, she met her friends in the infirmary. "They're not there!" Super Sailor Venus was saying agitatedly as she walked in. "Saturn's gone, and the girls are nowhere to be found! Where could they have gone?!"
"Back," Neo-Queen Serenity said quietly. Her friends looked at her in puzzlement from their various locations. Super Sailor Venus stopped pacing long enough for King Endymion to begin tending her wounds. Super Sailor Mercury looked up from bandaging Super Sailor Neptune's hand, while Super Sailor Neptune and Super Sailor Uranus turned their heads upon their pillows to look at their queen. Super Sailor Jupiter just flashed her a glance, then went back to swabbing Super Sailor Mars' abrasions with antiseptic.
"What do you mean, back?" Super Sailor Venus demanded with ragged patience. Neo-Queen Serenity gave her a reassuring smile, then walked to Super Sailor Uranus' bed and began to doctor her.
"Small Lady took them and went back. Back to the only other place she would feel safe."
"Oh no," Super Sailor Mercury whispered in horror. "What can we do? If they did this to us, how can those girls survive?"
"We have to warn them," Super Sailor Uranus said weakly, trying to rise. "They don't stand a chance. We have to help them!"
Neo-Queen Serenity gently pushed Super Sailor Uranus back down onto the bed, and smiled a soft smile. "They're not completely helpless," she said reassuringly. "Pluto says that Small Lady did as good a job on the time stream as I did with the palace. It will take the enemy time to find them."
"Whereas, we have a pretty good idea of when they are," Super Sailor Jupiter said hopefully.
"Mmm," the queen answered. She paused in her ministrations and looked down at Super Sailor Uranus, who was still fretting on the bed. "We have time to plan," she said absently. "Uranus. Neptune. Everyone," she said looking around the room. "Thank you. Thank you for warning us and buying us time. Thank you for buying the girls the time to escape."
"It is our duty," Super Sailor Neptune said, as Super Sailor Uranus looked away from the queen. The queen turned to look at her, and the aqua-haired Senshi of Affinity blushed a little. "And our pleasure," she added softly meeting the queen's eyes. "You know we would do anything to protect you. All of you."
Neo-Queen Serenity nodded with a smile, as the other senshi nodded in agreement. "Just as we would do for you," she replied. Once more, she looked down at Super Sailor Uranus, then nodded her head as she reached a decision. She lifted her hands to the Silver Crystal once more, and before anyone could stop her sent a powerful wave of healing throughout the room. King Endymion was waiting to catch her as she collapsed.
"What?" the women cried in surprise. "Usagi, you idiot!" Super Sailor Mars exclaimed hotly. "What do you think you're doing! You should be saving your strength, not wasting it on us!"
Neo-Queen Serenity grinned, then gave Super Sailor Mars a sad look with dancing, unrepentant eyes. "But you were all hurting. I couldn't take it anymore. I hate it when you guys are hurt," she added seriously.
"Yeah, well, you'll need that strength to help defeat this enemy," Super Sailor Mars exclaimed, only slightly mollified.
"And I'll have it." Neo-Queen Serenity's grateful smile took them by surprise even after centuries of friendship. "You'll give it to me, and I'll use it to defend us all. And our past selves, Saturn, Small Lady and her friends, too."
"Right," Super Sailor Venus said, after a moment of silence. "Then we'd better start planning."
Doors of Time, 20th Century
Super Sailor Pluto tensed in surprise as the Garnet Orb flashed. Slowly, she raised her left hand and touched it to the jewel. The message it transmitted made her turn her watchful eyes back out into the mist. "So. They're coming," she said softly. She studied the mist a moment more, then passed through the Doors and back into the 20th century. There, she took up her secondary post, and continued to wait and watch.