Silver Moon Step.004 Final Attempt

OMG!!! It's finally done!!! ;;; Yeah, so, like, school started, my scanlation business thing kept me busy, and then my computer died and I was like "Hey...I wanna write some more!!" so I did and here you go. :D I hope it's worth the wait Now I need to redo parts of chapter 5 so hopefully it'll be up soon too :D

Pluto rubbed her face in annoyance. She was wearing a simple black dress, which was all wrinkly now that she had been tossing and turning upon her bed trying to figure out how to approach this problem. Uranus and Neptune were not easy people to handle, she knew that for sure. By the way they had grown up, they had minds of their own that would not be easily influenced by many people and Pluto knew that she was no exception. Based on brief ideas that flew through her head while she was at the Gate, she knew that Uranus was not the problem. It was definitely Neptune. Now, Neptune had an aura about her like she had been put up on a shelf where no one could reach her without standing on their tiptoes. But was she really that strong inside? Or was she like a mountain waiting for an earthquake to crumble her to pieces?

Pluto wiped the back of her hand against her eyes, finally noticing how much her makeup had smudged from what she had been unconsciously doing while thinking. With a sigh she stood up and sat at her makeup stand, but as soon as she sat she forgot all about what she was doing and reapplied her makeup without even feeling her hand move. Slamming her fist upon the desk she stood up and marched out of the room, forgetting to turn off the light behind her.

She began to walk down the hall but stopped. Where in the world was she going to find Neptune? Was she a party girl? Without a second thought she walked down the grand staircase, her heels clacking against the marble. At once when she stepped off the final step she was surrounded by servants awaiting her every command. She said nothing to them, but sighed and continued into the grand hall, where she was greeted by beautiful ladies and their men dancing to a slow waltz. But what caught her eye the most was Princess Venus dancing with a handsome man. A small sweet smile was on her face. Upon her neck a topaz necklace while she wore a very vibrant orange-colored dress. Venus' eyes seemed to sparkle, and she deserved it.

Pluto could not help but smile for a second, although it faded away as thoughts of her and everyone else's future came to her mind.

"Enjoy it while you can," she murmured, "You won't be able to fall in love anymore for much longer."

Without a second thought Pluto walked near the wall around the room to stay out of the dancers' way. She came to a table with punch and other treats and grabbed a glass. Pluto reached for the serving but soon stopped when she saw a bottle of wine near it. Looking around quickly, she poured herself a glass of it and sipped it, making a sour face at a taste she was not used to.

Over in the corner she spotted Uranus with a drink in her own hands. She was wearing a tuxedo, much to her parents' disappointment, with an emotionless expression was on her face as her eyes wandered from the dancers to other people she scarcely knew, sometimes stealing a few glances at the Princess. Uranus sighed and hugged herself, turning her head to the side so she could get a full view of her brother and his friends.

Pluto followed her gaze, her eyes narrowing with anger at the sight of such a disgusting man. Yet the fact of his existence troubled her so, because it did not seem like it was meant to be. Pluto clenched her fists and began searching the room furiously, praying that Neptune was not there. Not finding her, with a sigh of relief she looked back over at where Uranus was. To her surprise, Uranus had disappeared. Her brother and his friends were also missing too. Scratching her head, she turned around and walked out of the room.

Uranus was walking briskly, hoping to beat her brother and his stupid little friends from finding where Neptune was. Unlike Pluto, she knew exactly where the princess Pluto was searching for us and wished to remain alone for the rest of the night. About an hour before she approached Neptune with uncertainty in her eyes but Neptune had brushed her off and told her that she wished to remain alone. Hoping not to damage their relationship any further, Uranus wanted that to be the way Neptune wanted it to be.

In about five minutes after leaving the ball, Uranus found Neptune in the same place she had left her. Uranus plopped herself down on a bench, rubbing her eyes with aggravation. When she looked up again she stared at Neptune's beautiful figure and form. Neptune's back was turned to her as she gracefully played a sad tune upon the violin. She stood in the middle of a pond, water flowing around her as shimming silver water fed it and emptied somewhere on the other side. Around her seemed a haze that protected her from the outside world, making sure that no one would be able to disturb her.

Uranus breathed lightly, taking in this scene of beauty with her eyes as much as possible. She had never seen anything like this on her own planet back home and wondered if such beauty existed on the planet Neptune. But if it does, she thought, Princess Neptune must be the crown jewel of all the beauty on Neptune.

She began to slouch and stared at Neptune unconsciously, taking in every note of Neptune's violin playing. She felt herself becoming mesmerized by Neptune's music, beginning to sink deep into the depressing thoughts she fought so hard against.

Although her parents had tried so desperately to understand her, they became so annoyed with her behavior very quickly. It seemed they acted this way even more so now, hoping that she would look good in front of the queen. But they did not understand her wishes and dreams. It did not help that she would be eternally bounded to the Princess, a chain that had always been suffocating, wrapping tighter and tighter around her throat her ever since she had enough of a mind to decide what she wanted to do for her own self. She wondered if Princess Serenity could understand, but immediately she knew that she could not. It seemed as if no one could understand her. Wait...understand us?

Uranus sat up and stared at the violin, now knowing exactly what Neptune was playing about. We're alike, she thought, I wonder if we could understand each other...?

She leaned over, her elbows on her knees as she grabbed at her hair. Without a thought she began to chuckle to herself. It was not a funny topic she knew, but before she could help it, she had burst into a loud laughter. She had begun to laugh so hard that she rolled onto the ground and onto her back, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Unfortunately though, she was laughing so much that she did not notice Neptune's violin had stopped playing.

Now Neptune stood, squeezing the cool water between her toes. She stared at Uranus, watching such a peculiar sight with curiosity in her eyes. What in the world was so funny? She felt a tinge of disappointment at missing out on something hysterical because she was playing. She really was in need of a good laugh.

Soon Uranus had begun to calm down, finally noticing that the only music that she could hear was the faint waltz coming from the ballroom. Cold sweat beginning to drip off her neck, she slowly turned her head towards Neptune and stopped, her eyes wide as she stared at Neptune in shock. Neptune watched her, wearing a face that could be interpreted differently by different people. Uranus could not help but glance at the lovely features of her face, feeling her heart sink as she noticed the small frown Neptune wore.

They remained like this for what could have seemed like eternity for some, but seemed like only a quick moment for them. They heard laughter, it sounded like a bunch of little teenage boys going through puberty who had just made a dirty joke. Immediately Uranus sat up, eyes wide.

"My older brother!" she exclaimed.

Without a moment to lose Neptune had begun to run off the water, her feet making the sound of a fish as she ran across. She reached the edge and took off. Uranus scrambled to her feet, rushing through the bushes and catching up to Neptune in a moment. The girl seemed pretty fast. Uranus knew that without the violin in her hands Neptune would be even faster.

In a moment's time they had made it to another part of the building and quickly ran up the stairs. Unfortunately for Neptune though, her feet were still wet so she slipped on the stairs, her quick reactions making her land on the side of her head. She gave a small shriek as she fell and groaned as she grabbed her head. Uranus stopped, shock in her eyes as she watched Neptune's beautiful sea-green hair become soaked with blood. She quickly ran back and took Neptune's hand. Neptune just simply pushed her away, harder then Uranus was expecting. Neptune stood up, beginning to feel a bit dizzy. Her butt hurting a bit, Uranus sat up and grabbed at Neptune's hands again. Neptune resisted once more until Uranus had finally grabbed them.

"We need to get that blood out of your lovely hair, princess," Uranus hissed, not meaning to sound as mean as she had.

Neptune stared at Uranus for a minute and then gave a small nod. Uranus led Neptune to her own room, seating her down on her bed. She went to the bathroom to grab a towel. Uranus went and sat beside Neptune, but slapped at her arm lightly when she tried to scoot away from her. Neptune gave in reluctantly and Uranus began to dab softly at the cut in Neptune's hair. Unlike her own, Neptune's hair felt as soft as silk and seemed to shine in the low light of her room. Uranus was glad she was wearing a tuxedo, because she felt herself beginning to have goose bumps all over her body considering where they were. Uranus could not help but feel a bit of disappointment inside of herself when Neptune did not even glance her way the whole time and just stared down at the ground.

"You know," Neptune said abruptly, "Just because you help me with small thing such as this, I won't forgive you for what you have done to me. And your brother too."

Uranus stopped dabbing at the cut in Neptune's hair for a moment, her body beginning to feel a bit heavy.

"But, you know-"

"I won't hear a word of your protests," Neptune interrupted, a cruel tone in her voice, "What I have said before shall stand true for I am like a lake in an eternal winter, always covered with ice."

Uranus sighed silently. The two said nothing more to each other, which made cleaning out the wound and getting rid of the blood in Neptune's hair seem like it took forever. When Uranus acknowledged by going into the bathroom to soak the towel full of blood that she was finished, without a word even of thanks Neptune left. When Uranus turned to look at Neptune again and saw her gone, Uranus turned off the water and flung herself on her bed, covering her head with her pillow.

Neptune huddled herself in a ball in the corner of her room, her head hidden in her arms. Her whole body was shaking as she tried not to cry. She had no clue what to do about her mixed up emotions, which swirled about in different ways. Towards Princess Uranus she felt anger and yet something else was there... She had no clue what, but then again she did not exactly care at that moment. She sighed and rubbed her face, rolling onto her side, her body sprawled out. The cold floor sent goose bumps along her body. Despite this feeling, she placed her right hand over her eyes, squinting at the faint light of the earth above.

"The earth...such a beautiful marble. Yet so ugly when you get closer."

Princess Serenity burst into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She had finally gotten away from that dreadfully boring party. She ran over to her bed and jumped on it, hiding her head under a pillow. So many people were eager to please her, but why? Was it just for her power? No one really knew her at all. Not even the Sailor Senshi could feel it. People only looked at her like an heir who would be pampered in the future by the brilliant light of the Ginzuishou. Her mother and her wore pieces of the jewel along with their necks; no one could tell what they were though. People could only guess brilliant silver heirlooms that were priceless. Indeed, these shards were priceless. They could never be made any other way anyway.

She thought of suffocating herself with the pillow there and then, but suicidal thoughts drifted away instantly at the sound of a beautiful violin playing. Lifting the pillow gently off her bed, she climbed over to the window, sitting on the windowsill. She looked down, a faint smile on her face as she watched Princess Neptune playing. Such a lovely sad melody. A feeling of envy struck her when she saw Neptune standing on water, so she averted her gaze to a different direction. Immediately her eyes wandered up, at the beautiful jewel of Earth. She was reminded of the man she had met the other night ago. The great oceans of the earth looked like they were the same color of his eyes. She sighed, hugging the pillow she unconsciously had brought with her.

"That man from Earth... I want to see him." She gasped and clenched the pillow with her fingers, not believing what she had just said. She squeezed her lips closed, wondering from what part of her mind did she have such a feeling.

The music stopped. Serenity turned just in time to see Uranus and Neptune sprint off like rabbits being hunted. Laughter floated into her room, Serenity immediately recognizing it as the sound of a group of boys. She stood up silently and back away from her window, staring into the starry sky as she waited for them to pass by. Unfortunately for her though, they would not stop.

"Here it is," one boy said, "This is Princess Serenity's room."

"Heeeh, you can't really tell." Another said.

"You sure this is the one? It looks like all the other rooms." A third voice chimed in.

"I saw the Princess go in here the other night! It is the one."

"Hmm..."

"Hah, so that stupid royal family has a brain! By making it look the same, their enemies won't know it's hers."

"You mean YOU actually have a brain?"

"Oh shut up!"

"Say, how easy do you think it'd be to win the Princess' heart?"

"You mean how easy she would be to screw?"

"No, I mean how we can get power!"

"Eh, it'd probably be simple enough if you just convinced her you loved her and just screwed around with the other girls while you were at it..."

Serenity froze. She felt her body go cold, her heart stop beating. Why? Why were they so cruel? Her own people...the people she was destined to rule! Did they all talk about her this way? Serenity's heart sank as she sunk to the floor in a daze. Her life was so horrible. She just could not bear it...

Looking to the side, she saw the comforting light of the Earth. "The Earth... it has such a warm glow... I want to go there... Even if I can't see that man..."

Day two of her final chance to correct a horrible mistake that could be made in time. Pluto sighed as she watched the seconds go by, grumbling about why it should be in her power to speed time up. She was laying on her back on her temporary bed. It was not as glamorous of the other rooms because she would not be staying there for much longer. Pluto wore a simple gown, as she was not up to dressing up at the moment. Perhaps when the Senshi were through with their training she would apply some lip stick and some mascara, although that never usually showed up on her dark body.

Unlike the rest of her people back on Pluto, her body color ran in her family. It was a symbol of royalty, as the rest of the people on Pluto were never able to sunbathe like people on other planets were able because there simply was no sunlight for them to bathe in. However, to make it so they were never in eternal darkness, they created an artificial light, which heated the planet as well, keeping everyone nice and warm. Lucky for Pluto though, she was one of the few Plutians able to feel the warmth of the real sun.

She rolled on her side and sighed to herself. Such a long and boring day this was, waiting for the other Senshi to be finished. She had so much to do and yet so little time to do it. Her hands crawled around the fluffy bed, searching for the pillow that she would need. Finally her fingers found what they had sought and wrapped tightly around the silk. As if on cue, the grandfather clock that was nearly twice her size struck the hour. Automatically she threw the pillow at the face of the clock and covered her ears to make it stop.

"I don't need anything else to remind me of the reason I was born!" she grimaced, clenching her teeth.

It stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Her wish had been granted. She relaxed and closed her eyes, beginning to drift into a light sleep. She began to dream of flowers and trees, as well the laughing voices of happy girls...happy girls? Pluto immediately sat up and looked outside the window.

Down below her, Princess Serenity and Venus were taking a walk to get their minds off of the hard fighting or whatever they were just doing. Trailing behind them, pretending to look interested in the scenery was Princess Neptune, just strolling along behind them. All three girls were wearing light dresses to fit the sunny day. Pluto smiled as she watched them, wishing she too could be as careless as they and happy.

"Good afternoon, Princesses!" her mouth moved without her realizing it, she wanted so much to be apart of that fantasy below her.

All three of them stopped at once and looked up. Venus started waving ecstatically.

"Good afternoon, Pluto!!" Venus called up to her, a huge mischievous grin upon her face.

Pluto could not help but smile and wave back, "And how are you three ladies doing today?"

Venus and Serenity looked at each other.

"Three?" They asked at once and looked behind themselves. Neptune became stiff with surprise as the two stared at her. What could possibly be going through those two girls' heads as they watched her?

Pluto tapped her lip, a sudden jolt that brought her back to reality. She needed—no, must—talk to Neptune. "Neptune?"

Neptune looked back up, her ocean-like eyes turning a dark color, "Yes?"

"May I talk to you for a while?" Pluto forced a smile.

Neptune looked down and nodded. She did not see anything wrong with talking to the woman who was going to leave, or that it would anger her.

Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury had left the training grounds together, not wanting to bother with the hyper blondes. They chatted quietly, knowing that Uranus and Saturn were walking behind them. Well, Mars and Jupiter did all of the chattering. Mercury just listened anxiously, trying to hear every word of it.

Uranus rolled her eyes behind them, catching pieces of their gossip. Such a waste of breath that was. Beside her, Saturn was looking around, taking in the sights and the beauty of the Moon. So ironic that such an innocent little girl shall receive the ultimate power of death. Uranus smiled as she watched her, as it was a lovely day, and Saturn was much younger then the other future Senshi were.

Unfortunately for them though, the peace was not going to stay. As they walked through the gardens of the palace together, Uranus and Saturn heard a very familiar voice. Uranus stamped her foot and groaned when she heard it, just as the same voice started to beckon her. Uranus clenched her fists and shut her eyes, "Shut up and go away!"

"But big sissie! I dun wanna leave you!" Uranus' brother came and walked over them, with a few more boys behind him.

Uranus crossed her arms over her chest, "What do you want?"

Her brother and his friends grinned, "We want you to hook us up with one of those princess babes!"

Uranus snorted, "Are you kidding me? As if I'd ever help you get together with one of those arrogant snobs."

"Well if you hate them that much, why don't you introduce us! Not like you care about them!"

"Because you're obviously not their type."

"Hey, what about that girl right there? Bet she'd be—"

"Don't you dare even say it!" Uranus stepped in front of Saturn, anger flaring in her eyes.

Saturn was very frightened by it all. She held her clenched fists close to her chest, watching in horror as the arguments continued until they became an uneven full-out fight between one woman and three men...of course, the one woman was the victor, only to end up getting in trouble.

"Neptune...may I ask you something?"

Neptune looked in Pluto's empty eyes, eyes that were as equally absorbing as her own. The expression on Pluto's face was very serious, unlike the one that she had worn a few moments ago while she was still up in her room. "Yes..."

"What happened in those missing moments of time on that day you first met Uranus and her brother?"

Neptune's eyes widened as memories flooded back through her mind. As if in fast forward mode, the events replayed back to her. Dancing with Uranus' brother, him holding her like she had never wanted to be held, him telling her something that she should have never been told... Neptune began shaking her head, pressing her palms against her cheeks.

"I see..." Pluto said, as if she had seen and heard every little detail of that night, "And what did Princess Uranus herself have to do with it?"

Neptune glanced up at her, and shook her head, "I refuse to tell you or remember it. I hate that family of Uranus. I do not care what my mother says. In fact, I swear I'll destroy them. Starting with the Princess herself."

Neptune stood up straight, and brushed her hands across her dress, smoothing out invisible wrinkles.

"What? Neptune! Don't say something like that—"

"What do you care about us for? I'm never going to see you again after you leave!"

Pluto's eyes narrowed as Neptune turned around. Automatically she grabbed Neptune's wrist and held it firmly. "Take back every word of what you just said."

Neptune glared at her, the ocean in her eyes freezing over, "I refuse." She grabbed the wrist clutching her and began to dig her nails into the flesh.

"Neptune, if you do not do that, you shall destroy your own destiny."

"I know my destiny, it's already been chosen. But she does not need to be apart of."

"Oh but you just do not know how much she effects it."

"You're wrong!" Neptune began to press harder into Pluto's wrist, digging her fingers in as blood began to seep about them.

"Stop being in denial Neptune." Pluto sighed and looked at her hand, a small trail of blood flowing down the side of her hand until it started gathering into a small drop, preparing to gain enough weight to drop. "Please let go of my wrist." Pluto grip lessened.

Staring straight in Pluto's eyes for an instant, she immediately let go, turned around, and walked away, her heels clicking angrily against the ground, echoing off the walls.

Pluto stared after her, rubbing her wrist. She sighed and looked down. She was probably too late...she only had one more chance. The next day would decide everything.

"This is so utterly unacceptable, Uranus!" Serenity shouted, staring angrily at the princess before her who could not make it anymore painfully obvious that she was not listening, "Uranus, listen to me. If you get into another fight with that brother of yours, and blame it because he was provoking you and trying to rape Princess Saturn and whatnot, I shall have you punished!"

Uranus rolled her eyes and rubbed her bleeding lip. Here it comes. The old lady's gonna tell her to act more like a lady.

"I wish you would act more like a lady, Uranus. In fact, even your mother wishes it! Everyone does!! It would just plain be better for the rest of the universe if you would change these horrible habits of yours and started acting like a woman."

Uranus sighed in annoyance, wishing this would be over already. Of course she was barely paying attention, until Serenity had stopped talking. Uranus raised her eyes and found glaring ones blaring right at her.

"You are dismissed for the rest of the night. Do not come out of that room...in fact, I'll make sure of it." Serenity grabbed Uranus' arm and dragged her to her room, pulling out a key to lock the door shut behind her.

The door slammed in her face and Uranus just blinked in surprise. "Riiiiiiiiight, psycho bitch. Whatever, at least I don't have to deal with those girls for the ret of the night..."

Uranus grinned as she sat on her bed, although she knew that boredom would soon be on its way to get her.

Neptune sat in front of her mirror angrily, paying no heed to her reflection, which would have looked ugly in her opinion. She opened the middle drawer, dug under some of her drawing tools, until she finally pulled out a book that said "Hit List" in her language. Neptune had made many an enemy in her life, all people who were jealous of her or just plain needed to die. Flipping a few of the pages, she picked out a black permanent marker and took the cap off with her teeth. Without a second thought, she hastily scribbled "Prince Uranus" on one line and "Princess Uranus" on the line underneath.

After Mercury had left Mars and Jupiter, she had gone to the palace library to read. The library was much bigger then the one she had back home on Mercury, so she spent many hours a day there, absorbing all of the information she could. She found when she was younger that because she was not an outspoken girl like Mars or a hyper girl who demanded attention like Venus, the only way to get the attention she needed was to be smarter then the rest. A decision that soon brought her to loneliness, but of course she denied it.

During her daily trip there that day, she ran into Princess Serenity. The Princess had seemed very interested in what she knew about Earth, because she was not very good at looking information up herself in books. What she seemed most interested about, however, was their royal family. Although she had hesitated in telling the Princess name of Earth's Prince, she told her anyway. Serenity went into a daze and quickly became distant; Mercury could tell something was up. She refused to tell her, although now that they were at the evening party and enjoying themselves, Mercury hoped that her Princess would come out and tell her.

But alas, the night went on and Serenity had not spoken up. In fact, Serenity seemed even more distant to her from the others. This naturally hurt her. Here she was to be bonded with this girl for eternity, but she would not even tell her the secret that she had made obvious. Of course, Serenity had not meant to make this so obvious, with her intent being to find out the information she wanted without anyone knowing.

Mercury sighed as she watched Serenity refuse requests to dance and make her way out to the door to leave. Mercury bit her lip and quickly ran after her, pushing people out of her way as she walked as fast as she could after her.

"Serenity!" Her voice echoed in the empty hallway.

Serenity stopped and turned around, a small smile on her face, "Yes?"

"Didn't you..." Mercury took a few breaths, as she felt that she had been running, "Didn't you forget to ask me something?"

Serenity blinked and she shook her head.

"But you did!" Mercury protested, walking towards her. She touched Princess Serenity's arm and wet her lips. "The way...the way to get to Earth..." She felt Serenity tense up. "You must have Venus' permission...that is, Sailorvenus controls the gate. If you have her permission, you may pass through to Earth. The same applies to those who wish to come to the Moon from Earth. You want to see him...that man...don't you? I know how to make her sick...for three days...giving you a chance to see him."

Serenity looked into Mercury's eyes, trying to read her face to find out if there was some hidden intention within them. She found none and took Mercury's hand, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "It's...driving me crazy. Could you really...do that? Would you?"

Mercury nodded, closing her other hand upon Serenity's, "Anything for my Princess."

Serenity began to cry, giving her thanks between her tears and sniffles. Mercury took her and allowed her Princess to cry softly into her arms.

The final day had come, and just as predicted by Chronos at that time, Sailorvenus was mysteriously sick and unable to protect the gate. To hide this though, Queen Serenity sent a message to the Earth saying that they would be able to have a grand ball that night, although it was on such short notice. The gate had opened and many Earthians had flooded into the palace and were walking everywhere.

Queen Serenity was in a worse mood then usual when she unlocked the door to Uranus' room, who to anger her some more acted all cheery and happy. Of course she was dressed in her usual attire, so the first thing on her agenda was to pick up some hot Earth chicks, of course.

Princess Serenity was secretly grateful inside, she sighed with happiness as she descended the stairs to the great hall, adorning a beautiful dress that especially the girls from Earth very jealous. She was hoping with all her heart to catch the eye of that special someone.

Likewise, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus were all ready for action. The boys were waiting for them and they did not have to do any training that day. It was like a random holiday! Time to celebrate by partying.

Mercury joined Serenity for the day, glad that now she felt much better about the relationship between Serenity and herself. They also allowed Saturn to join them because she could not find Uranus anywhere and Pluto had gone to look for Uranus.

Although everyone seemed bright and cheery about the occasion, there were three people who were not happy about this at all. Neptune just wanted to be left alone because she had just counted her calendar and it turned out that she was PMSing. No wonder she has been so uptight about everything. Luna and Artemis did not think well of this situation at all. It was very peculiar to them that Sailorvenus had suddenly fallen sick. In fact, they suspected it was someone's plan to make her sick...but who? An enemy? An Earthian? A traitor among their own people...? The guardians crept in the shadows, sleek cats that no one paid attention to. Watching very closely all of the humans around them for suspicious behavior.

Although her plan with Neptune had failed, she still had Uranus to talk to. Uranus was her last and only hope, yet Pluto could not help but feel the sinking feeling of failure. True to her personality, Uranus did not stay in one spot very long, as there was too much fun to be had with all of these girls from Earth who did not know her secret. Such a pain it was to Pluto in finding this girl that she gave up. Uranus was bound to come back, even if it took her all day.

Not daring to go near Neptune again after what she had done, Pluto made herself content in the rose garden where couples drifted through occasionally but nevertheless she was alone most of the time. Pluto sighed enviously as she watched them go by, it was every girls dream to fall in love one day and she was no exception. It was not fair that she was bound to this cruel and unusual fate. Not at all. Even though she knew that eight others were to suffer a similar fate to the one she had, it was not comforting at all.

"Why is it so peaceful here?" The deep voice of a man near her age surprised Pluto, making her tense up. She knew exactly who it was without even looking at him; there was no mistake in the confidence in his voice, unlike any other. Every girl dreamt of being with this man, even if he was a hated Earthian. But, he was not just any Earthian. He was the Prince of Earth, Prince Endymion.

Pluto's dark cheeks flushed over as she forced a nod and looked him over. Adorning a stylish tuxedo, made from the richest brand of clothing available in the galaxy, he looked very handsome. Yes, Pluto was lucky and she knew she was lucky to have this one and only chance in this lifetime to be alone with him.

Endymion smiled at her, a tactic that made many a woman melt inside. "Not so many people here...I guess they just do not appreciate the beauty of Earth's gift to the Moon."

Pluto nodded and broke the gaze, trying to get control over herself once again, "Couples will occasionally walk through here...but they won't stay long to admire the roses...they were from Earth?"

"Yes," Pluto heard Endymion's movement as he sat down next to her, "It was a gift in an attempt to keep peace between Earth and it's Moon...but I guess it didn't work very well."

Pluto's hands began to shake in nervousness, although she hid them behind her back in one quick motion. She took a breath to calm herself and looked up at him with a small smile, "Guess not...is Earth covered with beautiful flowers like these?"

Endymion shook his head, "Not only flowers...dozens of wonderful plants...it's what makes my planet unique from all the rest."

"On my planet we have nothing...not even sun. We have artificial light."

"I would never be able to live like that...after living all of this time in the sun." Endymion stood up and broke a rose off of its stem. He walked over to Pluto and placed it in her hair, "I think these would look lovely in your emerald hair..."

Pluto wished she could continue living in this fantasy but silently told herself that no matter how wonderful he was, Endymion was meant for another. Her hands rose until they gentle touched where his hands and the rose met. She shook her head and calmly said, "I'm sorry Endymion but I believe that this rose is meant to be given to by you to another Princess..."

Endymion stopped, puzzled. He studied her expression and decided that Princess Pluto was being was sincere and loyal to another woman. He smiled gently at her and nodded, tucking the rose in his jacket pocket. He would save this same exact rose for later. Endymion sat back down and the two were quiet, thinking deeply about what the future held. Pluto felt awkward because she knew she said say something to him...something about what his love would bring? Or should she encourage him to love her?

"Endymion!!" The silence was broken at last but a lighthearted woman. She ran down the path, waving her arms wildly, trying to receive Endymion's attention. Huffing and puffing, just as a delicate flower would after so much running, she waited a few moments to catch her breath as she stood in front of Endymion. Taking one last sip of the air, she stood up straight, her face molding itself to that of a pouting and scolding one, "I've been looking all over for you! Why did you run off? Or could you smell the roses all the way from the gates of the palace?"

Endymion smiled to himself and looked to the side, slipping a finger in his pocket to stroke the petals of the flower. What he failed to see by looking in the opposite direction however, was how Pluto sat frozen, staring into the woman's face. Her wild green hair and sparkling ruby eyes seemed all too familiar.

"W-Who..." Pluto could not find her voice as her mind raced back through her memories, stopping at the card from her test. This was the same exact woman that she had seen with the Prince and Princess, yet she was not. This happy woman had not a trace of evil about her...unless time would change her completely. Yes, it must be time, but how would she change it? Or could she? Was what she was doing useless? Chronos' will was supreme...so why did he wish she remained here longer?

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners," Endymion leaned forward and pointed to the woman, "This is Princess Beryl."

"P-Princess B-Beryl...?" Pluto choked on the words. It all made sense now. This woman was so happy because the man sitting beside her was promised to belong to this woman. This woman was the key to everything, but there was no way to stop what the current state of this galaxy was to become. It was too late and it was all due to Queen Serenity's foolishness. Pluto shook her head lightly and stood up. She forced and smiled and looked at Beryl, "It's nice to meet you, but I must be going now...I'm looking for another Princess right now."

Beryl nodded and looked at Endymion, glad that she was all alone with him once again. Beryl blocked his view of where Princess Pluto was going, but he did not need to see the magic of her stepping into the shadows and mysteriously disappearing.

"Endymion," Beryl sang happily, "Tonight there is to be a ball! I want to dance with you all night."

Endymion smiled and stood up, placing a hand around Beryl's waist as he led her back to the palace, "Perhaps we shall...but won't you let me dance with a few other ladies?"

Beryl pouted, making Endymion laugh at her face.

Finally wanting peace and taking a break from all of the socializing, Serenity, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn all lazed about on large fluffy pillows, hiding in Serenity's room.

"It's not fair!" Venus whined, "How come you have such a huge and wonderful room?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mars asked sticking her tongue out at Venus. Venus' immediate reaction was to stick her tongue out right back at Mars. Everyone started to laugh at them.

"Hey, Saturn, how old are you?" Jupiter asked as soon as everyone had quieted down, "You seem a lot younger then us..."

"Well, I'm six years in my planet's time... So..." Saturn thought for a moment, calculating the years in her head as she looked up at the ceiling. After half a minute or so, here eyes seemed to float back down and she smiled at Jupiter, "About 180 years or so, I believe."

"Wow, you're young!" Venus exclaimed, leaning over towards her, "I'm only 190!"

"I'm 189..." Serenity shrugged and blushed.

Venus laughed and crawled over to Serenity, starting to tickle her, "Serenity's a little girl!"

"Don't make fun of little girls!" Saturn protested, leaping at Venus and tackling her to the ground on top of Serenity.

The three girls were a pile of giggles as they tumbled to get free from one another. The other remaining girls could not help themselves but join in. This was the beginning of their new lives, together with their Princess, protecting and loving her for the rest of their lives. They could not help but think that perhaps they would enjoy this new lifestyle, if they could always be so happy like this. No matter how many times each of them had thought about suicide, this is one of the rare moments that they were still living for. Happiness was part of the meaning of being alive.

Uranus had been having her fun for most of the day, but when she ran into some overly obsessive hyper girls she decided to call it a day. She had made it back to the palace pretty easily, although she had to avoid a few wanderings ladies whom she had encountered earlier that day but grew bored of quickly. She sidestepped into the shadows of the palace to escape, not watching where she was stepping. Before she had realized it, she had run into a person—obviously a woman—and was tumbling backwards. Luckily for her though, the woman grabbed her arm before she had embarrassingly fallen right on her butt.

Back on her feet, she looked down, only to find some obvious cleavage. That wasn't right. What woman was nearly her height, or even taller? She looked up slowly, tracing the slim dark neck with her eyes until she finally reached dark and serious red eyes staring right back at her.

"P-Princess Pluto!" Uranus nearly jumped back. Pluto was the last person she had expected to see ever again.

Pluto smiled wryly, "Aren't you just so happy to see me? Help me Obi-Wan Uranus, you're my only hope."

Uranus went quiet for a moment, "...huh?"

Pluto laughed to herself, "Never mind. Anyway, I need to ask you about something that happened on the first night that you and the rest of the princesses came to the Moon."

Uranus raised an eyebrow, "And what might that be?"

Pluto took a deep breath. She did not want to mess up like she had done with Neptune. "What did that horribly awful brother of yours do to her? She seems to hate you and your family so much, but it's so important that you two not hate each other!"

Uranus looked to the side, refusing to make any more eye contact. She shrugged, "Beats me. It must've been bad though, although there's something missing from my memory...like two minor seconds of when I went over to her to free her from my brother's clutches..."

"Hmmm," Pluto tapped her chin and thought for a moment, "I've noticed that too. It seems that someone messed with time... This isn't good. I'll check it out when I'm finally assigned to my post... But anyway, in the meantime, please try to talk to her?"

Uranus nodded, "I'll see if she's in a better mood tonight then she was last time I talked to her..."

Pluto touched Uranus' shoulder, "Thank the gods that at least one of you is going to be sensible in this conflict!"

Uranus smiled awkwardly and excused herself, off to go prepare herself for tonight. Not that she had too much to do besides put on a tuxedo.

After being antisocial all-day and sleeping through her misery of emotions, Neptune finally decided to make herself presentable. After a nice hot shower, and a dab of makeup here and there to hide the stress line and pimples that randomly popped up all of a sudden on her smooth face, Neptune felt that she would be prepared to show her face to the world. Now what about the rest of her body? To suit her mood, Neptune wore black. Steeping elegantly down the stairs, everyone stopped to watch her, but she paid no attention, being used to the stares and all. However, not liking to always be in the center of this kind of attention, Princess Neptune quickly made sure that she became one with the shadows among the people so she did not stand out too much.

The Senshi of the "inner planets" and their Princess Serenity were already there, gossiping, chatting, flirting with nearby guys. They were living the life of the party. They had left Saturn behind who had gotten extremely tired after the roughhousing, oddly. Uranus and her brother were already among the crowd, unfortunately for Uranus. She was going to have a little talk with her brother. Pluto had been there for a while, carefully watching the activities that were taking place. Queen Serenity frowned as she overlooked the people below her, easily picking out who was from Earth and who was under her rule. Luna and Artemis stood by her side, cautiously chatting in their native tongue, focusing their energy on keeping their eyes keen as a cat's. No movement would escape their eyes.

Fighting people to get through and brushing off people who said conversational starters in her direction, Uranus slowly wound her way to through the crowd, looking anxiously for her brother. She found him doing exactly what she was expecting. Flirting with every girl in sight seemed to be his favorite pastime and in fact he was far worse than she was.

Taking a deep breath, she calmly approached her brother, hoping for the best out of this conversation, "Hey, gago, I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Don't call me stupid!" He snapped, crossing his arms over his chest, "Girls, I must have a talk with my unruly older sister. Please go get us some drinks."

The girls walked off in disgust, not sure what to think of Uranus. Uranus just rolled her eyes at their murmurings, stepping closer to her brother.

"What did you do?" she hissed in a low voice so he was the only one who could hear.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" His voice was louder then hers, but people were enjoying themselves so much they did not pay attention to him.

"You know," she paused for a moment to choose the right words, particularly the ones Pluto used, "Remember the night we came to the Moon and you started your eternal party with the royal ladies?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, so?"

"What did you do to her?"

"Princess...Neptune...?"

"Yes."

"Uhhh...I don't really remember. I use different tactics with every girl...plus I think I got really stoned on some guy I found dealing outside..."

"Oh my God!" Uranus' voice rose very loud, causing the people around them to jump, "You're a pot head too?"

Her brother scratched his head, "Not really...but hey, I decided what the heck? It's the beginning of the rest of my life, in paradise!"

Uranus groaned, not believing his stupidity, "I can't believe you...and now you've caused all of these horrible things to happen!"

He shrugged, "So? Oh well, she'll get over it. Now if you excuse me, my girls are back..."

Her brother was gone, leaving Uranus by herself, much to her annoyance. Sorry Pluto, couldn't figure out what was wrong through him. Uranus sighed and looked up at the Queen. She seemed distant and trapped in her own thoughts; perhaps something dangerous was in the making. No one knew though, except the highest people. It was only her job to make sure that everyone is protected from whatever danger they faced.

She caught sight of a familiar green haired tall woman walk into the grand room, and instantly the two made eye contact. Uranus shook her head, Pluto immediately understanding what she meant. She watched Pluto sigh and look around the crowd. She found who she was looking for and flicked her eyes in that direction. Uranus immediately looked, her eyes stopping on the beautiful Princess Neptune. She seemed to glow among the other unknown people; the people whom she had never met and would never care for. Uranus fell into a daze, not realizing what she was doing as Neptune appeared to come closer and closer to her. Neptune had stopped moving and slowly turned her head to the side, her healthy aqua hair bouncing as she did it. Immediately though, her content faced changed to that of a scowl, "What do you want?"

The tone in her voice made Uranus freeze in place, her whole body turning cold. She could feel her heart stopped and a green power was moving towards her. She had no idea how she knew it was green, but she knew that it must be Pluto. Pluto did not come too near though, as she had to assess the situation. Nearby lights as well as her own hidden one helped her recover though.

"Neptune," she began slowly, "Please hear me out..."

Neptune stared at her hard, studying her face, "Fine."

Uranus took a deep breath; she was not good with apologies.

Beryl grinned as she entered the dance floor, holding Endymion's hand within her own, dancing in step with the person she belonged to. She had been raised to be this man's wife, so she was trained perfectly in how to look perfectly compatible with him. However, Beryl was not the only woman on Prince Endymion's mind.

He caught sight of the princess he had met the last time he was visiting the Moon. She was Serenity, had to be. Immediately when he saw her, he thought back to what the dark skinned woman had told him. This girl must be whom she had meant. He wanted to walk over to her and speak with her once more to hear that beautifully innocent voice, but alas, he could not. Princess Beryl stood in his way.

While indulging in his thoughts, the music had come to an end. Beryl smiled up at him, "I'm going to go get something to eat." Beryl walked away daintily, not aware of his distraction.

Endymion immediately looked for Serenity, and when he looked at her she was staring at him. When Serenity was aware that she had made eye contact, she flicked her eyes in the area of the balcony, far from everyone's sight. She walked over to it and closed the curtain behind her.

To make sure not to be caught by her mother, whom he did not want to be on the bad side of, he slowly wove through the crowd of people and took his time. Once he felt that it had been long enough so he would not look suspicious going outside, he slipped past the curtain and reached into his coat pocket, touching the rose with his gloved hand.

"Princess," he wrapped his hand around the petals, taking care not to crush them.

"P-Prince E-Endymion..." he watched Serenity take a nervous breath of air. He smiled as he took out the rose.

"Please turn around."

Serenity did as she was told and her eyes lit up with a delighted surprise. The rose was still just as beautiful as it was when he had picked it in full-bloom.

"Such a beautiful rose belongs in the silky hair of a beautiful woman," Endymion stepped forward and carefully placed the rose by one of the buns in her hair. Serenity's heart was beating wildly now and she held her hands together above her chest while she looked down out of being nervous. Endymion wrapped his hands around hers. Serenity looked up slowly into his blue eyes and their heads started moving closer and closer to each other, their eyes closing. Was it destiny?

The curtain made a small noise. Serenity's eyes opened back up and she jerked away, trying to get away from Endymion, "Oh no."

Endymion still held her left hand, Serenity's right clenched above her chest, "What's wrong, Serenity?"

Serenity looked at him, her eyes looked scared, "Someone..."

Luna, in her cat form, leapt up to the balcony where Queen Serenity stood, a serious look on her face. Artemis stood by her side and looked at Luna at her arrival.

"My Queen..." Luna hesitated, "I fear to say this to you...But may I ask a question?"

Serenity looked at her and nodded.

"You... You said that Pluto is here to fix that problem, correct?"

Serenity nodded again.

"Then...why are they alone together while Pluto is in the middle of the crowd, paying no attention to them at all?"

Serenity's expression changed for a second, but she kept it to an unreadable one. Her eyes sought Pluto, whom she found with Uranus and Neptune. "What business could she possibly have with them? Why isn't she paying attention to my daughter?"

Luna and Artemis looked at each other and Serenity left her spot and ascended to the dance floor.

"So that's why it isn't my fault..." Uranus finished her explanation, having a sinking feeling that Neptune barely heard a word she said.

Pluto stepped forward, "Please Neptune, forgive and forget..."

Neptune shook her head, "No. I will never forget this nor will I forget—"

"Princess Pluto," Queen Serenity's powerful voice stopped all side conversations and music. She basically froze everyone in place. Serenity's pale arm rose and she motioned for her to come to her, "Please come to me. I must talk to you."

Pluto was silent for a moment. She was too slow and now she was too late. Forgive me, Chronos...