Chapter 17

Several hours later . . .

Reenie yawned and opened her eyes.

What am I doing here? she asked herself seeing the familiar roof of her room in the Crystal Palace. Wasn't I trying to heal Rodney? Where is he, anyways?

Suddenly it all came flooding back to her. She remembered the battle inside of her. Remembered hearing Audiana and the others speak to her. Remembered hearing Jedaite and the other generals. Then her friends.
"Reenie?" a very familiar voice asked the minute she moved.

Reenie frowned. What was she doing here in the future? "Serena?" she mumbled sitting up in bed. Then, seeing her future mother sitting on the floor by her side she smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"Pluto brought us here," another familiar but this time, deep voice replied.

Reenie smiled and lifted her head to see Darien standing a few feet behind her future mother.
"Darien!" she exclaimed, clearly surprised. He smiled slightly and nodded.
"Hello, Reenie," he said.
"How are you feeling?" Serena asked, concerned.
"A lot better than before," she replied truthfully. Then, "Why did Pluto bring you here? Has she told you?"

Darien nodded. "She's told us."

Serena smiled. "We're here for your crowning, Reenie," she informed her.

Reenie frowned. "My crowning?"

Serena bit her lip and nodded. Was she supposed to have told Reenie about the crowning ceremony that was planned?
"Yes, your crowning," a voice said from the doorway.

Reenie smiled and turned to face the doorway. She knew that voice. "Pluto!"
"It is good to see you too, Reenie," the tall, green-haired Sailor Scout said.
"Where are Audiana and the others?" Reenie asked. "What happened to Jedaite, Malachite, Zoicite and Neflyte? Where are Lillian and the Scouts?"

At the mention of the four generals, Serena and Darien looked to the ground.

Reenie could tell by the way that they acted that something bad had happened to them. Even Pluto wasn't looking at her. Her head was faced down. "Pluto? Serena? Darien?" she asked. "Please, tell me what has happened to them?"

Pluto cleared her throat and responded, "An hour ago, they were pronounced dead, Your Majesty."

Reenie stared at the Sailor Scout of Space and Time, a look of disbelief on her face. "No," she said, unable to believe it.

Serena bit her lip and sadly, nodded her head. "It's true, Reenie," she said, her voice soft and barely audible, "We wouldn't lie to you. Especially not about something like this."

Reenie blinked away tears. She knew that Serena was telling her the truth. They had never lied to her before. They would not lie to her now. "How?" was all she could ask, still shocked.
"Reenie, you really do" Serena began but was cut off by Reenie placing her hand over her future mother's.

Reenie looked to Serena and shook her head. "I do, Serena," she said. "You'll understand when you get older."

How weird is this? Reenie thought as she spoke. Me giving my future mother advice?

Reenie continued, "Jedaite, Malachite, Zoicite, and Neflyte were more than just generals to me. They were my friends." Then, looking directly at Sailor Pluto, she demanded, "Tell me. How did they die?"

Pluto sighed. "You remember hearing everything that was going on while the Healers and Hotaru tried to save you, correct?"

Reenie nodded. "Yes, Pluto. I remember hearing everything."

Suddenly, Reenie froze as she remembered hearing Audiana warn the generals that they were giving too much energy and that they would not survive if they continued. She also remembered, clearly, what Malachite had responded when the four generals had learned that they did not have enough energy to save her.

"We are not going to let go until Queen Serena is saved," she could hear his voice speak clearly inside her mind. "She saved our lives in the past, now we are going to do the same for her."

Reenie closed her eyes and lifted her head so that she was looking at the ceiling. She sighed and fighting to hold back her tears, she looked to Sailor Pluto. "What about the others?" Reenie asked her voice wavering, fearing the worst.
"They are fine," Pluto replied. "Lillian and the others were brought to their rooms and are resting. While they gave a lot of energy, they are okay. Remember, they were in their Sailor forms when they gave their strength to the Healers. They, as we all are, are a lot stronger in their Sailor forms. The Healers are also okay. They are used to this. Hotaru is sleeping in a guest room. The effect will wear off soon. Hours have passed since they have healed you. They should be coming out of soon. So should the younger Scouts."

Reenie nodded. "Thank you, Pluto."

Pluto nodded and walked away from the queen's doorway, shutting the door behind her. She was shutting the door when she heard Reenie break into tears. Without even having to open the door to see the scene, she knew that Serena and Darien were sitting on either side of their future daughter, trying to console her.

Audiana shook her head and opened her eyes. She was staring up at a white crystal ceiling.

What is this place? Audiana wondered. Quickly, she closed her eyes to try and figure out where she was. Slowly, sounds began to flow into her mind and she knew. Satisfied now, Audiana Trinta opened her golden eyes and was surprised to see her lover standing in the doorway. "Miceff."

Miceff Loand smiled back at Audiana. He did not need to know how she was feeling because he already knew. The telepathic connection he had with her allowed him to feel what she was feeling when she was feeling it.

"How long have you been awake for?" she asked as he walked towards her bedside.

He sat down on the bed beside her and replied, "About twenty minutes. I take it you know where we are?"
Audiana smiled and nodded in reply. "The guest area in the Palace of Crystal Tokyo. Are the others awake yet?"

Miceff shook his head. "I can't sense their presence, can you?" he asked.

Audiana closed her eyes for a minute then replied, "No, I can't."
"Then they are probably still resting," Miceff responded. "That was quite a battle we fought."

Audiana shuddered at the thought. She had been a Healer for about 9 Iounda years or for about forty Earth years, but the battle that they had fought earlier for Queen Serena was one of the longest and worst battles she had ever fought as a Healer. "The evil was so strong, Miceff," Audiana replied. "I have been a Healer for only a few years, but it still scares me to think that evil that strong exists in the universe."

Miceff nodded. He, too, had felt how strong the evil had been inside of Queen Serena but he had been a Healer for 12 Iounda years, 3 years longer than Audiana. He had seen evil like this before and he knew, that before his time as a Healer was over, he would see evil this strong again. But there was still one thing that both surprised and scared Miceff Loand. "I can't believe that the evil came from someone who was supposed to have loved Her Majesty," he said.

Audiana sighed. "I know. But you must remember Miceff that there was the brainwashing that Nemesis had done to Rodney. According to Queen Serena's memory, Rodney was not evil before that. In fact, from what I could tell, before that, they had both loved each other dearly."

Miceff looked at his golden-haired lover, a question in his silver eyes. "You understood all that from the battle?" he asked.

Audiana smiled. "Partially," she replied, a softness in her golden-eyes. "My grasp and sense of others' hopes and memories are stronger then yours, Miceff. When we went into Queen Serena's mind, I automatically saw into her past and what she hoped for the future. The memories I could see most clearly were those of the battle that she had had trying to save Rodney when he was still under the brainwashing that Nemesis had done to him. Now, the love she felt for him is only something I am assuming. I am assuming that because of how hard she fought to save him from the evil that was placed unwillingly inside of him, even though she knew it might be the cause of her demise. Now why would she feel that way for him, if he did not return those feelings for her?"

Miceff shook his head in disblief, making his silver hair sway from side-to-side and kissed her lovingly on her forehead. "Amazing," he said, the love he felt for her showing in his voice.

Audiana smiled at him. "I know," she said, jokingly. Then, suddenly serious, "But we do have a problem on our hands, Miceff."

Miceff sighed. He knew what problem Audiana was talking about. He had wanted to avoid it but he knew that sooner or later, they would have to discuss it. As the two leaders of the Healers, it was their responsibility to deal with any problems that arose. "Josiah and Hotaru," Miceff said, voicing what they both knew was the problem.

Audiana nodded and looked to the crystal white wall. "They care about each other, Miceff. I know they do. I don't think that they want us to know about it, so they try to hide it when they are around us and the others, but I know how the two of them are feeling. I can sense it. I've seen the hidden looks they give each other when they think that we're not around. But now. . ."
"Now Hotaru must stay here, on Earth," Miceff finished for his lover.

Audiana nodded. "It's not that I do not want her with us. She's a great asset to us and has been very helpful in helping us to heal others."

Miceff nodded. "She does lend us more strength then we have were it just the five of us," he agreed.
"It is just that her place is here, with the other Sailor Scouts," Audiana said. "It is not with us, traveling to other worlds. She is a Sailor Scout, not an actual Healer."

Miceff sighed and looked at the golden-haired beauty sitting beside him. "And Josiah is a Healer," Miceff finished for her, "Not a Sailor Scout. His place is with us, not here, with the Sailor Scouts and Hotaru."
"But do we really have the right to keep them from each other, Miceff? You know that we wouldn't like that. If we wouldn't allow that for us, how can we allow it for others? We can't, Miceff."
"And there is our problem," Audiana's silver-haired lover said.

"There is our problem," she agreed.
"We have only one choice," Miceff decided after a few minutes of silence.

Audiana looked at him. "And what choice would that be?" she asked him, curious as to what solution her lover had found to this at least to her impossible situation.
"Confront them with what we know, then let them decide on their own what they want to do. Either way, we must leave and Hotaru must stay with the other Sailors. However, we can give Josiah the choice of staying here with her and help heal on Earth, while we go back to Iounda and search for another who has been born with the magical gift of Healing, or coming back with us and being miserable forever without the only person in the universe whom he was meant to love."

Audiana sighed and nodded. She was a little bit wary of leaving Josiah behind on a planet that they have been to only a few times but she knew that if Hotaru was with him then it would definitely ease her uneasiness. Over the years, she had gotten to know the young Sailor Scout and trusted her like she would a best friend. "I have to agree with you, Miceff," Audiana said. "That would be the best idea. But we shouldn't only give Josiah the choice. We should let Hotaru choose, too."

Miceff looked to her, a little puzzled. "Why? I know, as well as you, that Hotaru must stay here as a Sailor Scout to fight with the other Sailors should anything ever happen to Crystal Tokyo and put Crystal Tokyo or Queen Serena's life in danger."

Audiana smiled and shook her head. "Apparently I know more then you do because I know that if the queen in charge of the Sailor Scouts gives the Scout permission, they're allowed to leave. Only if the Sailor Scouts are in real trouble, would she have to return to help out. They would give her a communciator for her to keep in contact with them so that they'd be able to call her."
"So we're going to give both, Hotaru and Josiah, the choice as to what they want to do?" Miceff asked Audiana to make sure that he understood.

Audiana nodded. "Correct." Then, "Now I suggest we go see Statel. Most likely, she does not know where she is and is probably wondering how the others are doing."

Miceff nodded and stood up, giving Audiana room to get out of the bed. She got up and out of bed.

Together, Miceff and Audiana left the room to go see how Statel Gound was doing.

Reenie had been silent for about a minute or so. She had stopped crying after half an hour of straight sobbing. She had been crying for everything that she had not been to cry for earlier. Her mother's death. Her father's death. Her uncle's death. Her uncle's guardian's death. She had also been crying for those of whom she had just learned about. Neflyte's death. Malachite's death. Zoicite's death. Jedaite's death. The four of them had given up their lives to save hers. She would never forget that.
"Reenie, are you okay?" she heard Serena ask suddenly.

Reenie nodded. "I'm okay, Serena," she said. Then, "But there's something that I have to do."

Serena frowned and not being able to think of anything that Reenie had to do, asked, "What?"
"I have to see Rodney," Reenie replied.

Darien looked at his future daughter like she was nuts or something. "What?" he said, the disbelief he felt showing in his voice. "Do you really think that after what he did, we're going to let you anywhere near him?"
"Yes," Serena replied for their daughter.

Shocked at her reply, Darien turned to Serena, his feelings showing clearly on his handsome face. "What!" he exclaimed. "You've got to be joking, Serena! There's no way she's going to see him! Especially after what he did!"
"Do you really think that that's fair, Darien?" Serena asked him accusingly.
"Fair!" Darien exclaimed, standing to his feet and looking at Serena and Reenie. "You're asking me if I think that's fair! Serena, don't you understand what he did? He killed us! Well, not us, but our future selves! He killed Terence's future self and Jordan's! Now you're asking me if I think it's fair to not allow our daughter to see him!"
"Darien," Serena began calmly, "If I remember correctly, you tried to kill me, too. Or don't you remember?"

She said the last part rather harshly and it had made Darien wince. He remembered, alright. He remembered that all too clearly. Beryl had brainwashed him into thinking that Serena or rather, Sailor Moon, was the enemy and that he had to kill. "I remember, Serena," Darien replied. "But what does that have to do with this?"

Reenie shook her head, understanding what Serena had tried to get Darien to see but apparently hadn't succeeded. "Everything!" she said. "It's exactly the same thing. The only difference is that Rodney succeeded where you didn't. If Serena's parents knew what had happened, would they let you anywhere near her? It's exactly the same thing, Darien. I know what Rodney did. They were my parents, for godsake! My family! So I do understand what he did. But I also understand that he didn't do it of his freewill and had he had the choice, he never would have done it. But he didn't have the choice. Just like you didn't."

Damn it, Darien thought to himself. He hated to admit it, but together, they made a good case.
When Beryl had brainwashed him he had tried to kill Serena, and had almost done so, but thankheavens, she had used the locket to return him to his normal self before he had succeeded. Darien sighed and nodded. "Fine," he said. "Reenie, go see Rodney."

Reenie smiled. "Thanks, Darien," she said. Then, to Serena, "And thanks, Serena."

Serena smiled at her future daughter and nodded. Leaning towards Reenie, she whispered into her future daughter's ear, "I know exactly how you feel, Reenie. Go to him. Go see Rodney."
Reenie grinned and hugged her future mother. Quickly, Reenie threw back the covers and got out of the large bed in which she had lain in for the past night and the hours that had passed of the day. She walked past Darien towards the door. Opening it, she walked out of the room.

Once she had left, Serena spoke. "I know that you don't agree with my decision, Darien."

Darien sighed and looking at Serena he responded, "You're right, Serena. I don't. Personally, I didn't want her to go see Rodney."
"Then why did you?" Serena questioned softly.
"Because I realized that you and Reenie were right," he replied. "What Nemesis did to Rodney was exactly the same thing that Beryl did to me. I guess as a father you never want to see your little girl grow up, and knowing that Reenie's going to be our little girl, well..."
Serena nodded, understanding what he meant. Both of them knew that Reenie was going to be their little girl in the future and because of that, they felt like parents to her. She felt the same way, too. She told him so. "I know, Darien. I feel the same way, too. And right now, we're the closest things to parents that she has. And just like her parents would've let her, we also have to let her go and make decisions on her own. How else is she going to gain the knowledge to rule over Crystal Tokyo on her own?"

Darien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're right, Serena. But the question is will she make the right ones?"
"That's where you have to learn to trust her. She was right about Neflyte and the others, wasn't she?"

Darien nodded in reply. "Yes."
"She'll be right about this, too."
"But how can you know?"
"You can't?"
"Well, then how do you know?"
"Because," Serena said, simply, "She's our daughter. I know her and I trust her. The question is, do you?"

Darien sighed and stayed silent. He couldn't answer that question. Not when he didn't know the answer and he didn't. Not yet.