ALL THAT GLITTERS

Chapter 5: "Empty Nest"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Hotaru sat pensively on the sofa in her living quarters. Haruka and Michiru were still having their reunion with Sailor Pluto and were gone. She would be with them under normal circumstances. However the girl was too concerned over her friend Usa. It wasn't because the girl was traveling on her own to Elysian to be with her love Helios without telling anyone. Hotaru figured that a little time with Helios might be just what her friend needed to get over the sting of her parents' rebuke.

Not that she was unsympathetic to the royal family's side. Hotaru had spent enough time with her "Setsuna-Mama" to know that tampering with time was a dangerous thing. Usa had, for all her good intentions, been reckless and succeeded as much through luck as through the correctness of her planning. If Usa had asked her, she would have told her as much.

It's doubtful Usa would have listened, though. When she was determined to do something . . .

"A group of people desire entry," the computerized environmental control computer announced.

"Who are they?" Hotaru asked.

"Group identified as consisting of: Jun-Jun, Cere . . ."

"Let them in."

The door hissed open and the four Amazons entered the quarters. Each seemed subdued, even Palla-Palla, and walked as if on eggshells. Hotaru gestured them further inside.

"So, um," Jun-Jun ventured timidly. "How's the Princess?"

"She left," Hotaru admitted.

"She's gone?" Ves-Ves goggled. "She ran away again?"

"She's gone to Elysian."

"Oh," Ves-Ves suddenly understood.

"Guess it makes sense," Jun-Jun added. "If I had a boyfriend like Helios, I'd sure rather cry on his shoulder than mine."

"Palla-Palla likes the nice horsie-man," the diminutive senshi offered. "Can we go see him, too?"

"Um, not this time, Palla-Palla," Jun-Jun told her. Palla-Palla looked down, chastened.

"Is the Princess coming back?" the young girl asked.

"I guess. Why wouldn't she?"

"Why should she?" the depressed and dour Cere-Cere retorted. Jun-Jun looked at her askance. "Well, she tries to help someone and all she gets is reamed for it."

"She took a dangerous gamble that could have affected a lot of people besides us," her sister retorted. "And she didn't have to do it that way."

"Hey, you can't question yourself in this business," Ves-Ves argued. "Sure, you have to keep your head, but you've got to do what you think is right if you're a soldier. Otherwise you're just a uniform with nothing inside."

"Besides," Cere-Cere added hoarsely, "she's being with the man she loves. It's hard being separated from someone you love. You don't know, Jun. I don't know how she put up with it and kept going. Gallan's only been asleep for two weeks and it feels like ten years to me. How long has it been since she's seen Helios?"

"Look, you've all got good points," Hotaru said, trying to be peacemaker. "Maybe this is one of those 'no right answer' things that the inner senshi always tell us about."

Everyone except Palla-Palla nodded. The concept went over Palla-Palla's head.

"So," Jun-Jun ventured again, "should we go get her?"

"Let her be, Jun," Cere-Cere sighed.

"But we're her guardians. We're supposed to watch out for her."

"So what do you want to do, build a cage and lock her in? Let her have a few days of happiness."

Jun-Jun turned to Hotaru. "Then should we tell the King and Queen?"

"They'll find out soon enough," Hotaru murmured.

"I don't know. The last time we kept quiet, Usa ended up in trouble. Maybe this time we shouldn't."

"I'm not going to turn her in," Hotaru replied. "If they tell us we have to go after her, I guess we'll have to. But until then, I guess I'm with Cere. Give her a little time to cool down."

"Yeah, stop being Little Miss Goody-Goody," grumbled Ves-Ves.

"Isn't it about time for one of your 'sessions'?" Jun-Jun asked pointedly. Ves-Ves glared and Jun-Jun glared back.

Suddenly the door opened behind them. Hotaru looked up, expecting it to be either Haruka or Michiru. Instead it was King Endymion. Everyone in the room (except Palla-Palla) quickly realized Usa's father had already figured out his daughter was gone.

"Hotaru," Endymion said, his calm commanding exterior a mask for the churning concern he felt inside, "do you know where Usa went?"

Three Amazons exchanged guilty glances while Palla-Palla looked on innocently. Hotaru grimaced.

"She went to Elysian, Your Majesty," Hotaru squeaked.

"No, she didn't," Endymion retorted.

The anxiety in the room ratcheted up five hundred percent.

"But Your Majesty," Hotaru began.

"I've already talked to Helios. She's not there and he would never lie to me."

"But that's where she was going! I know it! I sensed it!"

And everyone could see Endymion's own fatherly anxiety begin to show through the cracks in his mask of command.

"Then she didn't make it," he whispered.


In the throne room, the four Asteroid Senshi looked on anxiously. In one part of the room, Ami, Endymion and Sailor Pluto were trading theories with Artemis about where she might be and what might have happened. In another part of the room, alone, Rei has slipped off into a trance, eschewing her normal time-consuming fire readings in favor of trying to divine through the intimate link she had with her "daughter in everything but blood". Nearer to them, Hotaru was surrounded by Haruka, Michiru, Minako and Makoto. The four women were listening as Hotaru repeated her story to them, questioning her as she went. As this happened, Jun-Jun glanced over at Queen Serenity, who sat to the rear of Hotaru and her questioners, out of the way. Jun-Jun noticed the trepidation and sorrow in the Queen's still lovely, youthful face.

The old saying was true: Seeing Queen Serenity sad made you want to cry yourself.

"OK, what happened then?" prompted Minako.

"I came up to the door and signaled to the E.C.C. unit that I wanted to come in," Hotaru recalled. "Usa's always saying she's going to fix the lock so it passes me through, but she must not have gotten to it yet. The computer said that the room was empty."

"Uh huh," Haruka nodded encouragingly. She and Michiru were there at Minako's behest, to apply a little "parental" pressure on Hotaru, just in case she was trying to protect Usa.

"Well, I guess I wondered where she was," Hotaru shrugged, "and if she was all right. She was pretty upset. And then I felt her."

"Felt her?" Minako asked. "Like she was in the hall?"

"No. It was like we were in contact like we were sharing the same thought."

"You were communicating with her?" Michiru asked.

"Well," Hotaru grimaced. "It was like she heard me ask if she was OK and she said yes. And I asked her where she was. And she said she was going to be with Helios." Hotaru's eyes sought the floor. "But she wasn't really there - and I didn't really say anything."

Michiru exchanged a surprised look with Haruka.

"Have you ever had telepathic contact with Usa before?" Michiru asked.

"No, never! I've never had it with anyone - not since Queen Neherenia teamed up with Sailor Galaxia."

"OK, what made you go after her again?" Minako posed.

"We've been through that!" Hotaru cried. "I'm not covering for her! I'm as worried about Usa as you are!"

"Nobody thinks you're lying," Makoto said gently, kneeling down next to the teary young waif. "It's just - maybe you're overlooking something that could be important."

As the weary teen began again, Serenity rose from her seat. Under the watchful eye of Luna, the Queen listlessly glided over to her husband. He was still engaged with Ami and Artemis.

"Perhaps we could boost the tracking reception?" ventured Ami. Artemis shook his head.

"It would have to be an astronomical boost to catch a signal that small," Artemis argued. "Those communicators weren't designed for interplanetary or inter-dimensional transmission. We could be searching that way for years and still not hit anything." Ami sighed in frustration.

Endymion, sensing the distress of his mate as she neared, turned and extended a hand to her. She clasped it gratefully, as much so she could give comfort to his suffering form as so she could draw from him. The King looked back at Ami and Artemis, trying to keep his concentration on what they said.

"What are you feeling, Endymion?" Serenity asked. He looked back at her, puzzled. "Concerning Usagi - what are you feeling?"

"I don't understand," Endymion replied.

"You've always had a sixth sense about her, just like you always had about me whenever I was in danger. Is she in danger, Endymion? Please tell me if she is. Don't hide it."

Endymion shook his head. "I haven't felt anything. If she was in danger, my head would be pounding it out to me. That's why I was so surprised when Helios said she wasn't in Elysian. If something had attacked her I would have known."

A pregnant pause filled the general area. Finally Ami gave voice to what she was thinking.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that she's," Ami began, then stopped timidly. "I mean, there's no indication . . ."

"She's not dead," Endymion proclaimed, to both Serenity's relief and Ami's. "I would have felt that."

"But according to you, she's not in distress, either," Artemis observed. "Do you suppose she got side-tracked by something?"

"Knowing that girl, it's extremely possible," Endymion grinned ruefully. "She's so impulsive and she thinks her youth and enthusiasm makes her invulnerable. She could be off anywhere, doing anything."

Endymion turned and stared at a computer screen with a galaxy star chart on it.

"But where? It's such a big universe. Where are you?"

Serenity glanced at Sailor Pluto. The look she received wasn't what the Queen expected.

"Do you know where she is, Sailor Pluto?" Queen Serenity asked.

Sailor Pluto glanced to the floor.

"You do know," Serenity said, "don't you?"

She didn't respond, though she could feel the eyes of the room upon her and hear the hush that enveloped them all.

"But you can't tell me, can you?" Serenity asked, the trace of pain in her voice like a thousand daggers in Sailor Pluto's heart. "Saying something would affect the future, wouldn't it?"

"I am truly sorry, My Queen," Sailor Pluto choked out, her misting eyes a match for the Queen she faced. Serenity moved over to her and took the taller woman in her arms.

"I know you are," Serenity whispered. "I know you love her as much as we do."

"And I owe her my life as well," Sailor Pluto continued. "It is just that my duties often preclude considerations of sentiment and friendship."

It was one of the few unguarded moments anyone could ever remember witnessing from the mysterious Sailor Pluto. Michiru broke away from her group and joined Serenity in consoling the Senshi of Time. Rei looked up from her trance, on the verge of tears herself from the combined sorrow of Serenity and Sailor Pluto. Minako, Makoto and Haruka converged as well. There was nothing more to be learned by questions. A plan of action was needed.

Hotaru glanced at the Asteroids, transformed since news of the Princess being missing first broke. She noticed Sailor Pallas, whose sensitivity to the emotions thick in the room was adding to her own anxiety and threatening to overwhelm the girl. Hotaru, agitated herself by the vibes in the room, went over to her.

"Miss Hotaru Ma'am?" Pallas sniffled, on the verge of crying. "Isn't the Princess ever coming back?"

"We have to believe that, Pallas," Hotaru said, bending into her and grasping the girl's shoulders. The other three looked on, sympathetic to the pain both girls felt. "Our belief has to shine like a beacon across the night so Usa can see it and find her way home."

"Pallas wishes the Princess would come home," the girl whimpered. Vesta leaned down and gathered the girl in. Pallas clung to Vesta.

"I don't think there's anything more we can do here," Hotaru suggested.

"Yeah, and I think the emotions are overwhelming Pallas," Juno added. "Maybe we ought to go back to our quarters." Everyone nodded solemnly.

"Is it OK if I come, too?" Hotaru asked meekly.

"Love to have you," Juno said.

Five teenage girls solemnly walked back to their quarters through the palace corridors. It wasn't an easy journey. The first person they came across stopped them.

"Is there news of the Princess?" the man desperately asked. He was one of the attendants from the Royal Receiving Room, who kept the crowds in an orderly line on days when Queen Serenity would receive visits from the people of Crystal Tokyo and beyond.

"Not yet," Jun-Jun responded when she saw that Hotaru couldn't bring herself to.

The attendant's gaze fell to the floor, his hopes crushed by the news. As an afterthought he nodded gratefully to the girls and went on. And it was like that over and over again: one or more of the palace staff would stop and inquire about the Princess Usagi and each person would be so terribly disappointed by the news. Some took it harder than others. One woman burst into embarrassed tears. Another couldn't conceal the accusatory look she shot at Hotaru and particularly the Asteroids, as it was their job to protect the Princess. But the consensus was clear: Usa was universally loved in the palace and news of her disappearance was affecting them almost as badly as if the Queen herself was gone.

As such, they gratefully entered the Amazons' quarters. Palla-Palla immediately crossed over to the security of her corner play area and sat silently amid her collection of dolls. Jun-Jun and Cere-Cere exchanged worried glances with each other, then looked in unison to Hotaru.

"We've got to go after her," Ves-Ves proclaimed.

"I'm all for that," Jun-Jun replied. "Where do we start looking?"

Ves-Ves pressed her lips together until they thinned into a line. She wanted to respond, but couldn't argue her sister's point.

"Well," Cere-Cere began, "Palla-Palla can sense thoughts. Maybe we could get lucky."

"And how do we get there?"

"Could you think of something besides how to punch holes in everybody else's ideas!" Ves-Ves barked.

"Somebody's got to think of these things!" Jun-Jun snapped back.

"At least we're trying!"

A tense silence filled the room.

"Maybe we could use Sailor Teleport?" Hotaru ventured meekly.

"Don't we need Sailor Moon to do that?" Cere-Cere asked.

"Maybe not," Hotaru replied, thought she didn't seem very convincing.

And optimism seemed to die a slow death.

"You all think she's gone forever!" Palla-Palla wailed. "You all think there's no hope! Well Palla-Palla doesn't want the Princess to be gone!" With that, the girl with the balls dangling from her blue hair began weeping. Ves-Ves crossed over and began consoling her. As she hugged Palla-Palla, Ves-Ves looked back at the others.

"We have to try," Ves-Ves said hoarsely. "What's the point in being senshi if we don't? Maybe we'll never find her. Maybe we'll fall on our faces or even screw things up worse. But we can't just sit here and do nothing! Otherwise, what good are we?"

"I thought you didn't like her," Cere-Cere observed quietly.

Ves-Ves burned. "Well," she began, "I don't hate her. She's just - there's lots of things in this world that are worse than putting up with a spoiled, bossy rich girl. Besides, it's our duty, isn't it?"

"I'm willing to try," Hotaru told them. "I mean - I don't know how to explain it but it just seems like the longer it takes to find her, the worse it's going to be. Don't ask me what that means. I get feelings like that sometimes."

"I'm in," Cere-Cere said, purpose lifting some of the melancholy she'd been mired in. "I couldn't stand to see the look in Helios' eyes if something happened to Usa."

"Palla-Palla will do whatever she can," Palla-Palla said urgently. "She promises she'll listen really, really hard - as hard as she's ever listened!" Ves-Ves patted her on the shoulder.

"Jun?" Cere-Cere prodded.

"I guess finding Usa is worth taking a risk," she mused. Then she grew more agitated. "But we have to be careful! If we end up getting ourselves lost, that'll just make the King and Queen's job more difficult."

"Point taken," nodded Hotaru. "Let's head for the Aero-pad."

The others headed for the door, but stopped when they noticed they were one short.

"Jun, what are you doing?" Ves-Ves growled.

"I'm leaving the Inner Senshi a cyber-note," Jun-Jun responded. "It's so they know what we're doing and they won't worry."

Ves-Ves was about to respond sarcastically, but Hotaru's gentle shake of her head stopped her. Minutes later the five teens emerged onto the Aero-pad atop the palace. They gathered in a circle as perplexed attendants watched.

"Transform," Jun-Jun told them. "Juno Star Power Make-Up!"

"Pallas Star Power Make-Up!"

"Vesta Star Power Make-Up!"

"Ceres Star Power Make-Up!"

"Saturn Crystal Power Make-Up!"

Moments later, the transformed senshi joined hands in the circle. Their eyes closed as one. Instantly winds began to swirl around them as four jewels in four tiaras began to glow in unison with Saturn's tiara. Immediately powerful energy charged the circle. Sailor Saturn assumed it was the group's combined energy, though the others instantly recognized the real source of the surge. The five senshi took on a brilliance that steadily grew as the winds swirled to a feverish pitch.

"SAILOR TELEPORT!" they all called out, each one hoping against hope that despite missing Sailor Moon their energies would be enough.

For a moment their efforts seemed to flag. Then Sailor Saturn's tiara pulsed. Light enveloped them all. A ball of intense white light burst from the Aero-pad and rocketed into the heavens, leaving nothing behind but settling dust dropped from a dying whirlwind.

And from the concealment of a doorway, Sailor Pluto watched them. Her expression was anxious, but colored with hope.

Continued in Chapter 6