A/N: Hey everyone, it's me again! I just want to thank everyone for all the good reviews! Keep the good comments flowin' and I'll keep the ficcy goin! LOL! Well, enough of my boring yammering, on with the fic!

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I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

--Evanescence, My Immortal

Chapter 3: Enlightenment-Part 2

Serenity-Zane stood staring at the woman in shock and confusion. "I-I don't understand . . ." What was this? Some strange hallucination? Perhaps in her grief and anguish, in the last onerous milliseconds of misery and woe before she'd resorted to ending her own life, her subconcious had pulled from her mind some sort of comforting apparition, something that would divert her attention away from her pain. Or perhaps it was a trick. Maybe Queen Beryl's words really did ring the cacophonous bell of truth, and this was some sort of evil ploy devised by the wicked Queen. Well, Serenity-Zane would not fall for it.

"BACK!!! Away, evil creature!" she yelled, aiming her deadly staff at the witch. Power gathered at the crystal tip, power enough to put a stop to Beryl and her machinations once and for all. "You are only a conjurer of cheap parlor tricks! You cannot fool me."

She was satisfied to see a glint of fear, hastily hidden, in the woman's eyes. But the woman did not move. "I understand your wariness, but you must not give in to fear. Understand that I am here to help you. You must trust me." There was a note of pleading, of desparation in her voice. "Our future depends on your trust. Your mother should have been the one to tell you of such things, but I'm afraid she left us all too soon."

The young girl's shadowy eyes widened just a bit, and she dropped her staff slightly. "What do you know of my mother?"

Galadriel's cerulean eyes grew misty with sorrow, and her musical voice took on a sad, wistful note. "I know much about the Lady Andromeda. More than anyone, save her mother and father. She was the fairest of us all, deep and lovely as twilight, and even the stars sang her glory. She was my opposite in many ways. Here hair was straight and dark as a raven's wing against a midnight sky, and her eyes were pools of onyx. Yet in her manner and her love of life she was every bit as bright and warm as the gold upon the leaves of the great Mallorn tree." She sighed, a sound as forlorn as the spring-loving winds blowing over hills locked in winter's chill. "Yes, Sailor Starcatcher, I know all there was to know about your mother, for she was my twin sister."

Serenity-Zane felt her heart skip a beat. "No . . . what you speak cannot be truth. My mother was an only child, we had no other family. How can this be possible? Do you seek to decieve me?"

"Look into your heart, child, you know it to be true. And look into mine. You have that ability, deep inside you."

Serenity-Zane listened to Galadriel's words, and something insider her being stirred. It was as if something had awakened inside her, and she was drawn to it, her will on a silver thread leading into some warm core buried within her spirit. She reached for that warm essence, and like a crystal flower it opened at her touch, bathing her soul in light and warmth. It was then that she knew. She knew Galadriel spoke the truth.

As if reading her mind, Galadriel spoke up. "Yes, child, you have found it. The calanthias, the true heart of your power. It resides in soul of all elves, and is the source of our powere. Our people are blessed with abilities which transcend those of mortal men. Such is the power of the Elves."

" . . . OUr people . . . elves . . . I'm -- an elf?"

"Yes, we are Elvenkind, you and I, as was your mother, and we come from a land which is far removed from this one, though they be sister worlds. Your true home is a place called Middle Earth, and your home, your people, wait anxiously for you. We are living in a time of great peril. You are the only one with the power to fend off the evil forces afflicting our world. You are the only one pure enough to cleanse the filth of our enemies. After much debate, it was decided that the time had come to bring the Lost One home. That is who I was sent to find. That Lost One is you, Serenity-Zane Starcatcher. You must take your righful place, and help us in this war."

Serenity-Zane's voice shook. "This -- this is so much. So much for me to take in." Her dark eyes began to fill with tears. "It is as if my life is running away from me, out of control! Why did I not end my life, that I might avoid such a burden as the one you place before me?!" She covered her face with her slender hands, and began to weep bitter tears.

"Please, do not despair so, sister-daughter. There is purpose to your life, and you must see it through. But you will not be alone. All will be revealed to you in due time. But now, it is time we left this place. Your work in this world is done, and the inhabitants of this place will sing your praises throughout time. But there is much in Middle Earth that needs sorting out. The shadow that grew here has stretched like a storm cloud over the skies of our land, and you are the key to defeating that darkness. Without you, we will fail. Will you come?"

Serenity-Zane let the words of the Elven woman sink in. Here she had nothing. No friends, no family. Yet Galadriel -- Aunt Galadriel -- had practically handed her a new life. A life perhaps fraught with danger and peril, but also one brimming with possibilities. A new world, a family, and clues to her past, a past she'd never even known, just waiting to be uncovered. She hesitated only a little, her deep, galactic eyes lightening as determination locked within her. "Yes. I will come."

Galadriel smiled. Good, my child. Very good. You have your mother's strength. Lady Andromeda would be so proud."

Serenity-Zane turned her head toward the battlefield around them, her milky hair billowing about her face, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "Yes," she whispered, as if speaking to any spirits that lingered in that haunted place. "Yes, she would." She returned her attention to Galadriel. "But how do we get to where we're going?"

"You have the key. You just need to know how to use it." Galadriel pointed to the locket over the young teen's chest.

"The Galaxystar? It will take me to Middle Earth?"

"You need only speak the words, and it will be so."

"But I don't know the right words. My mother only taught me a few incantations before she died. Just enough to allow me tap into it's power and allow me to transform. It is hopeless!" She felt despair begin to wrap it's fetid claws about her foundering heart.

"There is alway hope, my love. Never forget that. Look at the script on your locket. It is written in the liquid form of a metal called mithril, which exists only in Middle Earth and is endowed with powers that few know of. The writing is in the language of the of the Azuka Elves, and only that language is able to unlock the secret magic in mithril. The Azuka were the most ancient and skilled of the elven race. They were masters of magic, and their craftsmen were unequalled in the creation of fine weapons and jewelry." She pointed to the girl's staff and elaborate necklace. "You and I are of that blood, and though there are few of us, the collective knowlege of the Azuka is stored within our memories. Those memories only need to be set free." And with that the flaxen-haired elf placed her hand on Serenity-Zane's head. The young girl felt her mind open, and into it flowed a silken voice, a whisper of a touch, and instantly she knew the correct words to speak. Galadriel removed her hand and stood back, gazing at the girl with such love and hope and joy as would melt away even the deepest haunts of ice in the arctic vastness around them. "It is in your hands now. Take us on our way."

Serenity-Zane closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and spread her arms wide, invoking the power corruscating within her. In a breathy whisper she called out the incantation: "Melit i'adora dama t'met." The silver writing on the edges of the Galaxystar began to glow, and a low droning hum filled the air. Soon the glow surrounded her, blowing back her flowing garments, lifting her white hair like a wavy crest of moonlight on the shallow sea. The Galaxystar then focused the light into a narrow beam of silver which piearced the darkness before them, creating a doorway that seemed to be drawn in threads of pure icy starlight on the surface of the blackness before them. From the middle of the doorway flowed light and warmth and the fresh, sweet, invigorating smell of an Eden mortals could only have dreamt about.

Galadriel smiled her felicitous smile once more, and bowed, taking the girls hand in her own. "Neo-Queen Serenity-Zane Starcatcher, Senshi of the Milky Way, Wielder of the Galaxystar which is the Crystal Flame of Cosmos, Weaver-of- Stars, Bearer of the Staff of Polaris and Holder of the Silver Thread of Heaven, you are indeed worthy of the titles you hold. Come and reclaim your place in the order of the Cosmos."

And with that, the two elves stepped through the portal and into another world.

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That does it for chapter 3! I'll try to get chapter 4 up as soon as possible. (Or maybe I'll keep you all hanging for a week or two, holding out for more reviews! ::evil cackle::) Anyway, in the next chapter Serenity-Zane enters Middle Earth for the first time, and some startling revelations are in store. You better stay tuned to find out what! Buh-bye for now!!!