The Second Mobius

by nashie-chan

The sequel to Reawakening. A year after the tragic events, the senshi are still coping with the loss. That is, until a new group of senshi arrive, bringing with them a legendary past and a secret that will make or break the universe.

15. Episode 233

THE SECOND MOBIUS

Book Two of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon CosmicStars

by Nashie (aka ShadowSamurai)

May 2000 – September 2000

Revised - Winter 2001

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The author takes no credit for any of the original storyline. However, all the new characters belong to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't take any without requesting permission.

Episode 233: The talisman is found. Final battles draw near

"Wait," Michiru said slowly. The senshi had all gathered at the Hikawa Jinja filling the outer senshi in on what had been going in the past couple of weeks with the zodiac senshi, the sacrifice, and the three senshi of the revelation. "Are you telling us that we were alive before now, fighting on the evil side?"

"Yup," Usagi said, swinging her legs over the side of the front porch. "We won't take any offense to what you guys did."

"Well, that about explains it all," Haruka groaned. "We die, but aren't reborn. We somehow get involved in this little conspiracy threat with the zodiac counterparts of our allies. They brainwash us and take away all of our memories while we go around looking for a talisman. Meanwhile, you guys meet up with two bad guys gone good and a sacrificial soldier and find out about our past lives. As in more than one. And when we finally do get our memories back, we don't remember a thing about all of this? Am I correct?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Mako said slowly. Haruka grinned at her and winked, showing that she had just been kidding. Mako was flustered by the action and blushed. Haruka laughed at her embarrassment. Michiru gave her the evil eye, but she was smiling as well.

"You know…" Chibiusa said slowly. She stopped for a second and blushed. "Never mind." Setsuna looked up.

"Go ahead, Small Lady," she urged. "Don't leave us waiting." Chibiusa grinned.

"I was about to say it's almost like old times," she said, resting her chin on the Luna Ball. "Just a year ago. All of us, the ten senshi of the solar system, were here at this shrine. No offense Hogoshi-chan. It seems so long ago, more than just a year. And we've all changed since then…"

"Yeah…" Minako said slowly and the group became very quiet. "Just like old times. You kind of feel a tinge of regret that you can't be in the old times in more. It was like we were more innocent and naïve back then. I wonder if that tinge will ever go away."

"Even now, it's only a dim memory of those days," Ami added, folding her hands in her lap. "It's like those people weren't us." Usagi frowned.

"But they were us," she insisted. "Don't try to make everything seem not real. This is our lives, minna. We are the senshi of the planets. Whether we like it or not, we're going to get reborn and repeat those old days. So don't be so depressed about it." Haruka stared at Usagi and laughed.

"Someone hasn't changed one bit," she said. Usagi blushed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think she means that you're still the happy-go-lucky-no-frowns-here type of girl," Michiru said, giggling.

Hotaru giggled as well. "Speaking of changing, Papa was very surprised to see me. I hope I didn't scare him too much." Setsuna smiled.

"Yeah, his twelve-year old daughter comes back after being gone for a year and is a sixteen-year old," she joked. Hotaru grinned. She didn't look as pale and sickly as she once did. Her cheeks were full of color and looked as fit as any of the other girls did.

"Explain that," Michiru said with a laugh. "Wow, this is almost too confusing."

"True," Setsuna said quietly. She shrugged her shoulders. "And with the others here…" She took a glance at her watch and frowned. "As it is, we're going to be late if we continue here." Hotaru groaned.

"Papa won't be mad if we're a few minutes late Setsuna-mama," Hotaru complained.

"I wonder if an hour is a few minutes, Hotaru-chan," she said. Hotaru got the point very quickly. Her large violet eyes got even larger. She turned to Chibiusa and waved.

"See ya, Chibiusa-chan," Hotaru said. "Maybe we can go shopping later this week." She then looked up at Haruka and Michiru. "You two will be home for dinner, right? Papa expects you two to make it." Haruka groaned.

"Probably wants to do more experiments on us," she muttered. "Tell him we'll be back shortly." Hotaru nodded and she left to catch up with Setsuna. Hogoshi turned to the couple with everyone else, questions in her eyes.

"You guys are staying with Hotaru-chan's father?" she asked. Michiru nodded.

"Actually, after Hotaru-chan came home and explained to him what had happened, he kindly offered us a place to stay," she explained. She sighed a bit. "Under the condition that he can do some sort of tests on us to make sure we're all right. Ugh, some of those tests are too much." She shivered a bit.

"Speaking of tests, Hogoshi-chan, did you ever get a notice about that academy over in America?" Mako asked. "I checked the mail lately and haven't found anything for you. So I was wondering if you might have picked it up."

"Academy?" Haruka asked, looking at Hogoshi who had suddenly turned a very interesting shade of pink. "Hogoshi-chan, you have some explaining to do."

"Well, it was two months before the fighting started," Hogoshi said slowly. "My sensei were encouraging me to apply to this university over in America. So I applied and, well…" Michiru and Haruka were leaning forward intently now.

"Well what?"

"Well, I don't know," Hogoshi mumbled. "They haven't sent me a rejection or an acceptance letter yet. I don't really care. I'd be happy to stay here in Tokyo with everybody else."

"Wow, Hogoshi-chan!" Rei exclaimed, hugging the girl. "You'd be able to study abroad." Hogoshi shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. Especially now since those four are back. But she kept the thought to herself and managed a shy grin as if she were just being modest about the entire thing.

Haruka sighed a bit, taking a glance at her watch. "We had better head back. Tomoe-san may be kind, but he is rather strict. C'mon, Michiru."

"Okay," she said as the couple walked toward the front gate. She waved back to the inner senshi. "Ja ne!"

"Ja ne, Michiru-san!" Usagi yelled back. She turned back to the inner senshi. "Oh man! It would have been weird if Haruka-san and Michiru-san had been the same ages they were when they died. Then, they'd be the same age as us. Weird!"

"Yeah, well, they're eighteen now and are going to attend third-year high school next year at the Katsura Academy downtown," Rei said matter-of-factly. She held the broom in her hands firmly as she put her weight against it. "We could attend that university too, y'know." All eyes turned to Rei.

"Are you for real?" Mako asked, looking at the raven-haired priestess in a new light. She grinned. "I heard that academy is one of the best here. That's the school Haruka-san had been talking about a year ago. A lot of geniuses go there. . Hey, Ami-chan, you'd fit right in." Ami laughed.

"Did any of you know that Tomoe-san is the vice-principal of that school?" she asked. "It would probably be easy to get Haruka-san and Michiru-san into that school since they're staying with the Tomoe-san." Usagi shrugged her shoulders.

"I'd like to go there," she said. "They have cute uniforms." Everyone stared at Usagi before facefaulting.

"Um, Usagi-chan…" Chibiusa groaned. But she immediately cheered up. "Hey everyone! Mommy says I can stay in the past awhile longer since Pu and the others are back."

"She's too kind."

"Probably just forgot what date to pick you up," Rei said smoothly. Usagi turned to her, her eyes blazing.

"What'dya mean by that?" she screamed. Rei stuck out her tongue.

"You always forget where to pick Chibiusa up," she retorted. Usagi promptly stuck out her tongue.

"You're so mean, Rei-chan!"

"I'm more mature…"

"Why I oughta…" The two high school girls immediately engaged in a tongue fight. The other five girls rolled their eyes.

"Well, it's still nice to have those four back," Artemis said slowly. He was sitting next to Minako. He looked up at his blonde owner. "So, have you told them about all the technical stuff?" Rei and Usagi instantly stopped fighting. They turned to Artemis, their eyes huge.

"Technical stuff?"

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't," Luna groaned. "The new powers, the complete story of the past, the whole deal with the three new senshi? And even more basic than that? If you don't remember clearly, both Haruka-san and Michiru-san were famous when they were alive a year ago. What would people think if they suddenly showed up from being missing?" The girls turned to look at each other as the information began to sink in.

"Um…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe the outer senshi are back!" Cancer growled, tapping the Oracle Mace with her fingers. "Now we're really outnumbered!"

"What are we going to do? The end of the revelation is only two weeks away," Pisces muttered. "If neither side finds the stupid talisman, then the time will end as we know it. We must have the scepter!"

"Look, let's face who we're up against here," Libra said logically, fingering with one of her blonde braids nervously. "It's the planet senshi: Moon, Chibi Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, Destiny, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury. And now, Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn. And the starlight senshi too, Star Fighter, Star Maker, and Star Healer. Then those traitors, Capricorn, Scorpio and their little Sailor Midnight friend. That's nineteen senshi. Against the princess and us eight. They have twice as many as we do!"

"Hmmm, well, not all is lost," Leo said slowly, folding her hands on her lap. "There's still a chance that the tables might turn our way."

"A chance, eh?" Aquarius asked. She looked a bit interested. "And this chance would be what?"

"Well, I still have my metamorphosis power," Leo responded. "If I could just get one of the planetary soldier's powers and kidnap at least some of them, the odds will wager on the luck of the draw."

"And which senshi did you have in mind?" Aries asked, she was sitting next to Sagittarius. Both senshi had been quiet during the entire meeting. Leo grinned a bit.

"Well, any of them will do," she said slowly. "But my mind was definitely either on the little baby soldier, Chibi Moon, any of the outers, or the Starlights."

"Why them?" Sagittarius asked, wrinkling her nose. Leo grinned some more.

"Well Chibi Moon is so easy to figure out," Leo began. "All she does is argue with Sailor Moon and when she's not arguing with her, she acts just like her. That would be entirely too easy. The outers would also be easy since the inner senshi haven't seen them in a year so their actions would be debatable. Same with the Starlights. The inners haven't seen them in a year either."

"Fair game with any of them, I guess," Cancer mumbled. She stretched. "Take your pick, Leo." Leo snapped her fingers and there was a flash of silver and gold light. Standing before them was Sailor Star Healer. The white-haired soldier grinned.

"How about that?" she asked, tossing her ponytail. "No one ever suspects the short ones." Sighing, she looked at her outfit. "It'll have to do. Oh, well. Cancer, Aquarius, Pisces, try to kidnap the real Sailor Star Healer. I'll go after little Chibi Moon and bring her back. That should set off everybody's nerves."

"Wait, Leo," Aries snapped. Healer spun around and tried to look innocent. Finally, she gave up and stuck out her tongue.

"What?"

"What do the rest of us do while you four carry out this plan, huh? Aries demanded. Healer shrugged.

"Try to finish the plan, I guess," she said, her snappish green eyes deep in thought. She laughed a bit. "Why don't the rest of you go after the sailor leaders? That should tear apart the group."

"The sailor leaders?"

"Sailor Moon is the entire group's princess. Venus is the leader of the inner senshi, Uranus is the leader of the outer senshi, and Star Fighter is the leader of the Starlights. Do the math." With that, she disappeared in a flash of silver light.

"Great," Virgo muttered for the first time. "Like any of those senshi are gonna let us get anywhere close to their beloved princess. Man, I wish Leo could give us the transformation power. We'd be running this world in no time flat."

"Whatever," Cancer groaned as she stood up. She looked around at her fellow zodiac senshi. "Well, we had better start. Maybe we should just go with the first part of the plan...maybe we can actually get a few bonus points for helping."

"Fine," Pisces grumbled. "Better than sitting around here all day doing nothing." Aries rolled her eyes.

"That's what we've been doing anyway."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Papa! I'm home!" A dark-haired girl shot through the door and up some stairs. A man with prematurely white hair stood at the top of the stairs. He smiled as she wrapped him in a hug. "Hi, Papa!"

"Welcome home, Hotaru," the man said. He looked up and saw a tall, beautiful woman at the bottom of the stairs, smiling modestly. "And you too, Setsuna-san." Setsuna smiled a greeting.

"Um, where are the 'kids'?" Tomoe asked when he noticed Haruka and Michiru weren't there.

"On their way," Hotaru responded. "I think they're afraid of you doing more tests on them." Tomoe sighed and Setsuna giggled at the remark.

"I just want to make sure that this is no backfiring chance," he explained as his daughter rushed up past him to her bedroom. "If there are any side effects, I want to be ready for it."

"Side effects?" Setsuna asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Do you expect us to turn into some kind of monsters?" Tomoe blushed.

"Not exactly. I just-"

"Hello!" Haruka called from the front door. Michiru was right behind her. "Hey, Setsuna-chan! Did you know that Hogoshi-chan is going to a…" Haruka looked up at Tomoe and her eyes got wide in mock terror. "Oh, no."

"She's going to a what?" Setsuna asked, looking interested.

"Well, we don't know for sure," Michiru said with a sigh. "She might be going to an academy over in America."

"That's wonderful," Setsuna replied.

"Yeah, wonderful," Haruka muttered. "I am never going to die for a year again. You miss out on everything that's been going on in people's lives." Tomoe smiled.

"So does that mean you'd like to get tested on tonight?" he asked. Haruka gave him a look, but managed a sarcastic smile.

"I'll pass."

"Too bad, you're going anyway." Haruka groaned and went into the living room. Michiru smiled, shook her head and followed the taller girl. Setsuna sighed.

"Not tonight, Tomoe-san," she said, beginning to walk towards the living room. "We're all very tired." Tomoe sighed a bit, rubbing his hand through his white hair.

"Weeell, we'll let it slide this time." Setsuna flashed a grateful smile.

"Tell Hotaru-chan that we're in the living room," she said as she walked into the living room. Tomoe sighed. This was difficult. Living with four revived sailor senshi, one being his daughter, one cold and sarcastic, one quiet but sweet, and one like a mother to his daughter, but was the guardian of time. This was enough to send anybody to be early with a headache.

Sighing, he walked down the upstairs hall to his daughter's room. He gently knocked on the door. "Hotaru?"

"Yep?"

"The others would like you to meet them down in the living room."

"Are you sure? You're not going to do any tests tonight, are you?"

Another sigh. "No, Setsuna-san talked me out of it."

"Okay, I'm coming!" With that, the door swung open and Hotaru stepped out. She grinned at her father. "Tomorrow, we're going to have to go shopping. Nothing in my room fits me anymore." Tomoe smiled.

"We're going to have to go shopping for all of you," he said. Hotaru laughed and ran downstairs, yelling, "don't start without me!"

"Kids…" Tomoe murmured. "I had one and now I suddenly get three more." He walked down the rest of the hallway to his own room.

Hotaru skidded into the living room. "Gomen." The older girls were already sitting and waiting. Michiru was sitting comfortably in a chair near a large window, looking out at the dark sky. It was threatening to rain some time soon. Setsuna was seated on a couch near the middle of the room, her eyes in deep thought. The garnet orb was floating in her hands as she studied it intensely. Haruka was leaning against the wall behind Michiru, also looking outside. "So? What did you want me for?"

"Already awakened and I'm having odd premonitions," Setsuna said slowly, closing her eyes. The orb glowed, as if agreeing with her. "The fabric of time is really distorted. The entire scheme of things against the evil and pure universe can be judged on a single turn of the wheel of fate." Michiru looked up.

"You mean, the battle can still go either way?" she asked. There was a loud, booming noise outside. Hotaru looked out the large picture window, only to see rain pelting against the pavement outside.

"Yes," Setsuna said. She looked at the ring on her hand. Hogoshi had given all four of them the rings, vaguely explaining something about a secondary transformation. "I don't think that the side of goodness will have a great advantage this time around. The zodiac senshi have forever been a constant source of problems for us."

"Is there any way to prevent it?" Hotaru asked, her violet eyes growing icy, like the planet Saturn. "If evil does take over, you know that I'll have to do something to prevent it. Call on the Silence or my rebirth attack."

"We can only hope that it doesn't come," Haruka said quietly. "We have to hope that Sailor Moon has enough power to draw back the black energies."

"This battle is not wagering around Sailor Moon's power," Setsuna whispered. The other three girls turned to her.

"What?" Michiru asked. "What do you mean by that? Someone else is going to save us?" Setsuna nodded. Her cherry-colored eyes were dark in thought.

"We are going to play a very important role in this," she says as a crack of lightning lit up the sky outside. The sudden bolt of electricity made the room go dark. Only the light of the orb remained. "Something is going to happen. I feel it. We have to find a new light before the end of the world comes. We have to buy the others time. We have to protect them, no matter what."

"No matter what," Hotaru whispered and the entire group fell silent. Michiru finally looked up, the grayish light of the storm lighting up her pale face. There was a dark glint in her eyes that was only made worse when lighting lit up the sky outside.

"We can't do much about it now," she said. Haruka put her hands on Michiru's shoulders. Michiru looked up at her. "We just got our memories back and we can't rush into things. If anything, we should stay low. If everything backfired on us, and we died…I don't know if Usagi-chan and the others would be able to handle it, if what they said was true." Haruka nodded.

"You're right," she agreed. Her dark aqua eyes were full of steel. "There's not much we can do except hope that our Messiah of light, our moon princess, will be able to pull through. This might be our toughest fight ever." Michiru gently touched Haruka's hand.

"Yeah," Hotaru agreed, reaching into her pocket. She felt the hard, but cool surface of her henshin pen. She touched it slightly and closed her eyes. Her memories were so vivid of this lifetime, but the ones before were dim. It was like the Silence that had once threatened her world. Hotaru remembered Hogoshi clearly and even remembered the last battle she had been in. But, the Sailor Twins? The entire purpose of their mission was lost on her. She could have sworn that she remembered them, but all of her words spoken during that battle of stolen souls seemed to have been spoken by someone else. They had wanted revenge, but revenge for what? Her memories were too cluttered to even begin sorting out.

The four girls turned back to the large window to wait out the storm. Waiting. The storm could continue forever and the Silence afterwards, the calm, would be deafening.

Something would have to be done.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Wake up, baka!"

Seiya groaned and promptly threw a pillow into Yaten's face. Yaten grabbed the pillow off the floor and hit Seiya upside the head with it. Seiya opened one eye and gave the white-haired young man a deadly look. "I can't even sleep around here?"

"No." Seiya scowled at the remark and sat up. He looked outside at the pelting rain. He sighed a bit. Just what he needed, a gray, dismal day. Yaten smiled and decided to take the moment to tease the black-haired teenager.

"So, do you still have a crush on Usagi-chan?"

"What?" Seiya yelled, lunging at Yaten. Taiki poked his head in the room. Seiya was reaching over, trying to choke Yaten, who had fallen backwards off the bed. He shook his head.

"Do I have to be the mature one?" he asked. Yaten groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you trying to kill me, baka-Seiya?" he muttered, getting to his feet. Seiya rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me, but I'm not the one who came into this room and woke up a sleeping person and then asked if he still had a crush from a year ago!" he retorted. Taiki smiled modestly.

"Well, could you two keep it down? I'm on the phone." Seiya and Yaten both gave each other a look and turned back to Taiki.

"Is it Ami-san?" they asked in unison. Taiki blushed and shook his head.

"No, no," he said and quickly left the room. Seiya groaned as he got out of bed. His eyes were still on Yaten.

"I have to remember we're not famous anymore," he said. "It couldn't be a shrieking fan." Yaten shrugged a bit, tossing the pillow back on the bed. He immediately slumped down on the edge.

"Yeah, we're not the Three Lights anymore," he said slowly. Sighing, a smile found a way to his face. "That had to have been the most exciting time in our entire lives. Nothing has and will never be quite so interesting."

"Really?" Seiya asked. "What was so interesting about coming from another solar system into this one since our planet had been destroyed by Sailor Galaxia? What was interesting about taking on the form of guy idols in order to find our princess? And then meeting Usagi-chan and the others, who were the guardians of this planet? Plus that huge fight against Galaxia where all of Sailor Moon's beloved guardians had their star seeds taken and died? And the outcome was still good? Yeah, we lead one interesting lifestyle." Yaten rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean," he muttered. "Chaos was the father of all evil. If it was destroyed…"

"But it wasn't," Seiya interrupted. "That's just the problem. Didn't Usagi-chan say that Chaos went back into the hearts of everyone, where it belonged? Chaos is still out there. And until it's put away, we'll have to worry about more enemies emerging from out of nowhere."

"It seems to me that this battle revolves around the planetary senshi. The zodiac senshi are their counterparts. The only thing that confuses me is that they came to our planet looking for the taboo talisman. If it is always performed on Earth, then why come to our planet? I doubt that we were part of Serenity's court in the past. We're in different worlds. Literally."

"Good point. If what you say is true, then there are sailor senshi on each planet. Or at least some for a solar system. I mean, this planet has ten. More than ten by now, if you count Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Destiny, and those three senshi of the revelation."

"Or what if there isn't? What if the entire universe is only protected by those fifteen and us three? If that's so, the universe is doomed."

"Oh, cheer up," Seiya piped up. "That stuff is too confusing to even give a second thought to." Yaten was silent.

If that were true, then did we only meet the senshi in this lifetime? Are we three the incarnation of our past selves, if we ever had any? Does our timeline run along theirs? Sailor Pluto is the guardian of time, through and through. Is this just a one solar system thing or the entire universe…?

"Yaten-chan!" Seiya yelled. Yaten snapped his head up.

"What?"

"Telephone," Taiki said quietly. He was standing in the doorway, holding out the phone. Yaten shrugged and took it.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know," Taiki said with an identical shrug. "They just said it was an emergency. Sounds like your twin." Yaten looked a bit confused and held up the phone. He took a deep breath.

"Hello?" There was a pause. Yaten looked a bit surprised. "Um, wait! Slow down! You're talking too fast and too much like me!" Another pause. "No, I'm just visiting some friends. I live somewhere else." Pause. Yaten's green eyes got large. "No! Forget I said anything! Who are you anyway?" A pause and then a sigh from Yaten. "Very nice to talking to you, Iyea-san. Why'd you call?" A moment of silence. Yaten looked a bit bored. "Could you please slow down?" Hysterical yelling on the other end. Yaten pulled the phone away from his ear a bit. "Okay, okay. I'll meet you there." Another pause. "Fine, but I don't see why…great, she hung up."

"Interesting conversation, Yaten-chan," Taiki said with amusement in his voice. "What was that all about?" Yaten shrugged.

"Some sort of interview," he replied. "It's for a charity, I guess. She's suppose to gather some ideas about people who live in the area…at least, that's what I could make out what she was saying. I just don't understand why'd she want me to meet her in a park with a downpour like that going on?"

"Are you going?" Yaten turned to Seiya in surprise.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I? If we're not famous, I don't have to worry about getting jumped by fans." Seiya and Taiki exchanged grins and looked back at their shorter friend.

"In case the zodiac senshi show up," Yaten muttered. "I'm taking my henshin locket."

"Call back up if you need any help," Seiya added for his own amusement. "Take a coat and don't talk to strangers!" Yaten rolled his eyes.

"Yes, mother," he replied and walked out of the room. Taiki smiled.

"You two must have a very close friendship," he commented. Seiya shrugged.

"Not my fault he's annoying."

"I heard that!" Yaten shouted from down the hall. Taiki and Seiya gave each other stern looks before bursting out in laughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Michiru collapsed on her bed, totally exhausted. "This is pathetic," she mumbled to herself as she looked out at the rain. It had turned ominously dark. She hoped there wouldn't be a natural disaster such as a flood or mudslide. "I haven't been anywhere all day and I'm tired." She folded her arms beneath her head, cold from the lack of heat in her room.

She had agreed that the meeting had been rather depressing, but her life was already as screwed as one could be. Being a soldier of the outer solar system, a little more depression wouldn't kill her.

Sighing, Michiru's eyes fluttered shut. She could still hear the roaring tides of Neptune in her mind. They had never left her, even if previous memories had. All she needed in life was her music, Haruka, and those ever swelling aqua tides that washed away the white shores…something to be her light and show her the way…

Suddenly, Michiru saw the Silence, cutting its way through the Earth, driving everything into a bleak, dark oblivion. She tried screaming, but harsh, cold winds that slapped her drove the words back down her throat, choking her. As Michiru tried desperately to gather her breath, the darkness tore up the ocean, drying it. Michiru looked around helplessly. No one was there with her. The most confusing feeling of loss, failure, and horror swept through her, ripping at her already broken heart. And there was a person, smiling through the entire scene as the world was overtaken by a complete and utter darkness. The Silence clawed at her, burning her, taunting her…

"NOOOOO!" Michiru screamed, snapping her eyes open. She wasn't even aware she had been sleeping until she gazed around at the clock near the window in her room. 11:58. When did it get so late?

"Are you all right?" a deep voice asked from beside her. Michiru turned around and saw Haruka standing over her. The blonde's eyes were filled with worry and apprehension.

"Haruka!" Michiru cried, wrapping her arms around her waist. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she began to recall the horrid dream. Haruka gently stroked her hair before sitting down on her bed. "It was awful."

"You dreamt about the Silence too?" Haruka asked, her low tones full of sorrow and remorse. Michiru looked up in surprise.

"You had the same dream?" she asked. Haruka nodded.

"Yeah," she replied. "It's weird. The Silence has been over and done with for two years now. Why start dreaming about it now?" Michiru sighed back more tears and looked into her lover's eyes.

"I don't think that was the Silence," she said resting her head on Haruka's shoulder. It was Haruka's turn to look surprise.

"If not, then what was it?" she asked, touching Michiru's hand softly. Michiru shrugged and leaned against Haruka. It was the total, utter silence of the entire event that scared her the most. But it wasn't the Silence she knew. This was different and more complete. She could feel the dark energies in her bones, vibrating off of the Silence and into her own heart.

"It was utter silence," Michiru whispered, seeing the image replay in her mind repeatedly. "Something about it was more violent and more…more…"

"Destructive?" Haruka interjected. Michiru nodded.

"Yes. And then, there was that person. She looked as if she were glad that everything was happening. Haruka…I think that's the alternative future. If the other universe wins, I think…I think that's what the future will be like."

"That can't happen," Haruka growled, curling her hand into a fist. "We have to protect the princess. Crystal Tokyo must exist or the entire future of this planet is in peril." Michiru sighed a bit, looking down at her hands. Both she and Haruka were fully dressed, having gone straight to bed without a second thought of changing.

"What are we going to do?" Michiru whispered. "We may be sailor soldiers and the princess' protectors, but we can't prevent total disaster by ourselves." Haruka ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair.

"We should go on ahead," she whispered. "It's our duty as the outer soldiers to protect the princess and the inner soldiers."

"What about Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan?"

"They'll have to stay behind and watch the princess. We can't all go. Just you and me. We've done things like this before. We can put a dent into the zodiac's forces and then Sailor Moon can come and try to make her best of the situation."

"But, what about the talisman? It would be useless if we went there without any backup plan, Haruka."

"Remember what Setsuna-chan said. We'll buy the others time. If we can get the zodiac senshi off their mission for awhile, they'll have more time to search…the talisman. I wonder…" Michiru looked up.

"You wonder what?"

"The talisman is hidden in someone's spirit chalice. The three talisman were hidden in the pure heart crystals. I just have a theory that if our three talisman were inside our bodies, wouldn't it make sense that the person who uses the talisman would hold it?"

"Good point. We can only hope that Sailor Moon will have enough power to put the zodiac senshi in their place once and for all. Even if we beat the zodiac senshi and don't find the talisman, that's one less problem we'll have to worry about. And if we accomplish both, we're safe for another thousand years."

"So, the same rules are back in place?" Haruka asked, her eyes hardening. "One of us will survive to complete the mission. Risk anything and everything to accomplish the goal." Michiru nodded and touched Haruka's cheek gently.

"I won't lose you again," she whispered. "If we die, we die together." Haruka smiled gently and touched Michiru's hand. She leaned forward and gently kissed the aqua-haired beauty on the cheek. Michiru turned her head at the last minute so that they kissed sweetly and passionately on the lips. Michiru put her arms around Haruka's neck and wrapped her in an embrace. Everything they wanted to say, but found no words to say them with was put into that one simple kiss.

Slowly yet surely, the two backed away from each other. Haruka took a deep breath. "I love you, Michiru."

"I love you too, Haruka," Michiru responded. Then, the moment was broken. Their smiles disappeared as their hands simultaneously reached into their jacket pockets and two henshin pens were produced. Both girls stood up and held their henshin pens in the air.

"Uranus crystal power…"

"Neptune crystal power…"

"…make UP!" The dark room was suddenly ablaze with gold and aqua lights. Two sailor senshi appeared in the midst of the room. Uranus sighed.

"We have to leave Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan a note," she breathed. Neptune nodded and walked over to a desk near the back of the room. There was a pad of paper lying on the desk, but no pen. She opened one of the drawers, where a pen rolled to the front. Uncapping it, she put the paper in the gray night so that she could see what she was writing. She began to write in her script-like Japanese.

To Setsuna-chan and Hotaru-chan:

This is Michiru. Haruka and I have gone out to try to put a dent into the zodiac's forces. Don't worry about us. Stay behind and protect the princess. Tell her only if you must. We're going to try to make it easier for her to fight the zodiac senshi. Until we meet again, arigatou, Setsuna, Hotaru.

"Does that tell them too much?" Neptune asked, showing the letter to Uranus. The blonde soldier shook her head after reading the letter.

"No, not at all," she said. "Leave it in Setsuna-chan's room. She'll know how to handle it. We used to do things like this all the time." Neptune nodded and walked out the room. Uranus sighed as she sat down on the bed, facing the door. Something was telling her not to go on the mission.

But I have to, she argued with her dim conscious. My duty is to protect the inner soldiers and the princess. I'm not giving up my destiny because I was just resurrected. Whatever it will take, I'll protect her.

"Ready, Uranus?" Neptune asked, waiting in the doorway. Uranus smiled with amusement.

"That was quick."

"I ran. Come on. There's no time to waste." Neptune paused for a second. "Did it stop raining?" Uranus looked outside. It was still gray out and the window was covered with raindrops. But no new drops were appearing and Uranus shook her head.

"Yeah. I think the storm has been over for awhile now."

"Okay, let's go then."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm so happy the outer senshi are back," Yomicha whispered softly, looking out the window. Kei nodded. Dark gray clouds covered the night sky, but storm had long since stopped. The two were sitting on the couch in the living room. Megumi had gone to bed early after returning to her real age.

"Yeah," Kei agreed. "I mean, I don't really know them. But, do they still hate you?" Yomicha shrugged.

"Probably," she said. "The minute Lady Pluto gets back her memories, she'll be trying to kill me. Lady Uranus and Lady Neptune will soon follow." Kei hugged the taller girl softly. Yomicha stroked her hair and smiled. Kei grinned.

"I'm so sorry about your past," she said. "I hope that one day they'll be able to forgive you."

"Think about it Kei," Yomicha said with a sigh. "They've hated me for lifetimes, over a million years. There's no need for them to change now." Kei's face dropped.

"And Pluto?"

"She'll do the sacrifice since it's her job to open the time gate." Kei gently squeezed Yomicha's hand.

"I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"You said yourself that this lifetime is different from all the others. Could it be possible that this may be the lifetime where the other universe might win?" Yomicha looked a little taken aback by the question. She finally decided to shrug.

"I don't know," she said honestly.

"Will the scepter be found?"

"I…" Yomicha stopped suddenly. Her eyes got huge as she looked at Kei. "Did you just feel that?" Kei frowned and looked as if she were concentrating.

"You mean that feeling of darkness just a sec ago?" Kei asked, twirling a strand of purple hair. She looked around the living room. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room, but Yomicha stood up suddenly. Her slate-blue eyes were ablaze in some sort of worry.

"I think…I think…" she whispered, closing her eyes. She clasped her hands together as if she were praying. Her brow furrowed as she began concentrating. A cerulean sign appeared on her forehead as she unclasped her hands. Her eyes got even wider. "Uranus…Neptune…" she murmured. She turned to Kei. "I think they're heading into trouble." Kei looked surprised.

"How would you know?"

"I've known all the senshi long enough to make anyone's head spin," Yomicha replied, pulling out her henshin pen. "If I spent the first half of a lifetime destroying them and breaking their spirits, then I can at least protect them each time they're reborn."

"Someone's calling my name…"

"I hold a light…hidden within the darkness of my soul…my heart…"

"…and I can't respond. The darkness is overwhelming…"

"…I can't break free of my own destiny, my prison…"

"…if I could just be free…like the wind…"

"…like the ocean…"

Yomicha took a deep breath. She knew who had said that so many millennia ago. It was so final when they had whispered that. If they knew what their future would be like…

Taking another deep breath, she looked towards Kei. "Wake Megumi-chan and tell her that we're going to do a little exploring." Kei smiled as she stood up. Before going into the door that led to Megumi's room, she smiled towards Yomicha.

"I hope we find the talisman soon," she whispered. Yomicha looked a little surprised. Finding the talisman would mean her death. Why would she be so eager to find it? She still flashed a grateful smile to Kei before she disappeared into the room.

Yomicha looked around the living room. She felt in her heart, rather than her mind, that Uranus and Neptune were going into a dangerous venture that might even mean their lives. But, that same feeling of hope that she had felt the night before when the outer senshi were awakened was arousing within her.

"I feel it," she whispered. She looked outside and felt more trouble. "And it's not just Uranus and Neptune. Sailor Star Healer is also in trouble. What are the zodiac senshi up to?" A door opened a creak and Megumi, Kei, and Selene stepped out. The little red-haired girl was wearing cute lavender pajamas with clouds all over them. She looked up at Yomicha sleepily.

"What's wrong, MichiMichi-chan?" she whispered, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Kei said we're going somewhere." Yomicha smiled.

"I'm terribly sorry Megumi-chan," she said softly, "but I have a feeling Uranus, Neptune, and Star Healer are in some sort of danger." Megumi's eyes lit up.

"You felt it too?" she asked. "I thought I was just dreaming!" Yomicha shook her head and raised her henshin pen in the air. The dark energy swelled up inside of her and she felt the evil being released into the star part of the henshin pen. The circles on the star shone black, not blue as they once did. Yomicha sighed. It was going to be another one of those transformations where the dark energies would overwhelm the pure ones. She sighed as she allowed the darkness to overcome her.

"Capricorn zodiac power, make UP!" Her latest transformations were getting more violent then they used to. Even the words seemed to be harsh and bitter and the intense rhythm of her transformation was nearly blood curling. Perhaps...perhaps this would be the lifetime when destiny would take a turn for the worse.

The light dimmed away, revealing Sailor Capricorn. Her lips curved into a murderous and sly smile, completely unlike her real self. "Let's go after those two before they go and get killed." Megumi looked at Capricorn worriedly.

"MichiMichi-chan," she said, grabbing the taller girl's hand. Capricorn looked a bit annoyed at the touch, but stared at the girl respectively. The green eyes were harsh. "Your transformations have been getting more violent! Ever since you showed the senshi that past events, you've slowly been sinking back into that evil that our old teammates accustomed themselves too. We both have! We can't do that, for the sake of the real princess."

The blank darkness in Capricorn's eyes didn't change. Her emotionless face didn't even budge. She just looked up from Megumi and over to Kei. Another smile found its way to her face. Kei glared back at her.

"Why are you doing this, Yomicha?" she asked spitefully. "You know I love you, but these transformations are changing you into some sort of monster. Where is the Yomicha I know?" Capricorn glowered at her.

"Kano Yomicha and Sailor Capricorn and Senshi Death," the silver-haired girl hissed in a silvery, chiming voice, "are three different people."

"I refuse to believe that!" Kei retorted. "Power down now. When you can get in control with your positive energies, then you can re-transform." Capricorn gave Kei an icy stare.

"Are you threatening me?" she seethed, balling her hand into a fist. "How would you like me to rearrange your face for you?" Tears sprang into Kei's eyes in horror. The evil in Yomicha was practically talking now.

"Yomicha!" she screamed. Capricorn crossed her arms and smirked.

"If you don't want Uranus and Neptune to die, you better shut your trap and transform," she replied. Kei stared at her in horror, but pulled out her locket. Sadly, she held it up in the air.

"Midnight zodiac power, make UP!" Megumi knew if she didn't have control, she might end up like Yomicha. You're still good inside, MichiMichi-chan. I won't let the evil take you away from me!

Sailor Midnight appeared, glowing from her sudden transformation. She glared at Capricorn. "Yomicha, don't turn on us…" Capricorn rolled her eyes and turned to Megumi.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked impatiently. "Transform!" Megumi flinched at the harshness of the words.

"Okay, okay," she said, pulling out her henshin pen. The moment she touched, she felt the darkness coursing through her violently. Inside, she let out a groan. This was going to be one of those lifetimes…

Shaking her head and raising the pen high above her head, she shouted, "Scorpio zodiac power, make UP!" Black light enveloped her, covering her in its evil grasp. Megumi didn't even struggle to cry out. Somehow, she felt like the evil was her only friend. She lit the darkness run through her bloodstream like a terrible disease. She was getting sick off of the darkness and felt herself growing taller.

"The original Scorpio is back," Scorpio whispered as she examined her body. Taller, as always. A seductive smile appeared on her face. "Let's go." Midnight's eyes got wide in horror.

"No, not you too," she gasped, lowering her head. "I give up." Capricorn looked at Kei for a moment. She felt words pushing to get out of her mouth, but the evil swallowed them up. But before the words were loss on her completely, they suddenly bubbled up and out her mouth.

"Don't ever give up, Kei," she whispered. Midnight looked up in surprise. Her red eyes met Capricorn's nearly blank slate-gray ones. There was only a touch of emotion in those dark eyes. Midnight was about to say something, but Capricorn turned away.

"Let's go," she mumbled before walking out the door. Scorpio tossed her hair snidely and followed. Midnight looked down at Selene who had a worried look on her face.

"Oh, Selene-chan!" she sobbed. The small cat looked up at her and felt sudden sadness. "Why are they suddenly so evil? Is it me?" Selene shook her head.

"Just let them be for awhile," she said. Midnight sobbed a bit more.

"I'm not strong enough to handle this," she whispered. Her red eyes looked completely lost. "What am I going to do?"

"Save them." Selene gently touched Midnight's hands with her cold, wet nose. Her purple eyes looked deep in thought. "I know this probably isn't the best time, Kei, but would you like to see my human form?" Midnight's eyes lit up in surprise as she looked at the tiny calico in front of her.

"You can turn into a human, Selene?" The cat sighed.

"Yes. I can," she replied, sitting on her haunches cutely. She looked up at Midnight. "All guardian cats can. I just haven't done my transformation in awhile. If I transform, then I might be able to help you with Capricorn and Scorpio." Midnight's eyes immediately filled with tears when her two allies' names were mentioned.

"Don't cry," Selene whispered. "Just watch." Midnight raised her head in time to see the glowing symbol on Selene's forehead glow gold before dimming to purple. The cat's body was immediately aglow in a white light. Slowly, yet surely, the cat began to grow taller. Her body straightened to a more graceful look and her legs got longer. Her arms stretched out, ending in long slender fingers. The tail disappeared as it was sucked back into her body. The cat ears diminished and Selene's hair on her head suddenly shot out like snakes, ending just below her knees. The rest of her features turned into a human. There was a flash of bright light.

Sailor Midnight looked up, astounded. Standing in front of her was a sleek, beautiful young woman. Her curly brown hair with golden highlights had two star-shaped odangos on the top of her head. The purple eyes on the beautiful face were still regarding Kei carefully. Her black minidress, that had the skirt the lengths of any of the sailor fukus, had chiffon silver and gold fabric peeking from beneath it. It also had a low neckline and a black sailor collar lined with gold piping. A gold ribbon was wrapped around her neck. Her black shoes were knee-length with silver lining and a gold midnight symbol on the tips. Her white gloves, lined in silver and gold, reached her elbows. A huge silver bow peaked from behind her skirt. The golden sign of midnight glowed on her forehead.

"Wow," Midnight breathed, bringing her hand to her heart. "You're beautiful, Selene…" Selene blushed, making her already pretty features astounding.

"We're going to solve this once and for all," Selene said softly, gently holding Midnight in her arms. "We won't let them become like their teammates." Midnight smiled.

"Thank you, Selene," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yaten looked up at the dismal sky. The rain had stopped, but the way the sky looked… Yaten shook his head. This had better be one heck of an interview.

Shivering, Yaten leaned against a tree, hands in his pockets. He gazed around the park. It was muddy looking, thanks to the recent downpour. The green on the trees contrasted sharply against the dark gray sky and was briefly turned silver from a flash of lightning. Yaten felt a tad bit of annoyance for Iyea. Why would she have an interview in a park during a thunderstorm?

"Excuse me, sir," a voice said from behind him. Yaten spun around, only to see a small girl around his height staring back at him. The sharp green eyes looked all too familiar. The girl was wearing a heavy black overcoat. The hood was pulled over her head, casting most of her face in shadows. "Are you Kou Yaten?"

"Yeah," Yaten replied. Something about this girl…

The girl smiled. "I wasn't finished with my part. Are you Kou Yaten…Sailor Star Healer?" Yaten's eyes widened in shock.

"How'd you know?" he gasped. The girl pulled off her hood, revealing…Sailor Star Healer? Yaten's eyes grew even larger.

"You're…me?" he stammered, looking like he had seen a ghost. Healer smiled and for an instant the façade was dropped. Sailor Leo smiled at him, cocking her head to the side. Yaten glared at her. "Sailor Leo…what an unpleasant surprise." Leo laughed, her blue eyes shining.

"Of course," she said. She seemed to be looking past him as she tossed her hair. "Didn't you know that I could transform into anybody, including you? Isn't that wonderful?"

"A curse is more like it," Yaten muttered, reaching for his henshin locket. "I don't think you've met the real Sailor Star Healer in person. I'll be glad to show you to her." Leo smiled.

"You know, it's kind of cute," she said. "A cute young man transforming into a pretty sailor-suited fighter. And all sailor senshi are female." Yaten rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we've been past that already," he said, pulling out his transformation device. "Healer star cosmos power, make UP!" Leo smiled gently as Yaten transformed. Sailor Star Healer appeared in her midst.

"I told you she'd like to meet you," Healer said, a smile crossing her face. "Star Sensitive In-" Before anything else could happen, Healer felt a sharp prick in her neck. She didn't even have time to cry out surprise as she fell to the ground, her vision distorted. Leo smirked.

"You definitely should've looked behind you, my dear," Leo whispered. Healer slowly turned around. Sailor Cancer and Sailor Aquarius were standing behind her. Cancer held a needle-like object in her hands. A smile crossed her pretty face.

"Hello, Sailor Star Healer!" she crowed. She touched the now empty needle glass. "Did that hurt?" Healer tried to concentrate on her words, but the ground was practically spinning from her own dizziness.

"Don't worry," Aquarius whispered in her ear. "It wasn't enough to kill you. Just enough to make you momentarily lose your balance." Healer glared at her and struggled to her feet. Her green eyes were blazing.

"I…don't know…how…many tricks…you can….pull," Healer struggled to say. "But…in the end…the princess of love…and justice…will… win…" Leo rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered. Healer felt the entire world start to dim and fought for consciousness. Her knees suddenly buckled and the entire world went dark.

Aquarius caught the faltering soldier in her arms. She looked up at Leo. "How long will this keep her out?" Leo shrugged, looking at the unconscious soldier.

"How strong was the poison?"

"Not that strong," Cancer said. "It won't kill her and won't leave behind any dizzy spells or weaknesses." Leo nodded as her form shimmered. She shrunk a couple of inches and her golden hair paled. Her deep blue eyes turned to an intense green color and her sailor suit changed. Leo had transformed back into Sailor Star Healer. Aquarius gently picked up the real one and smiled.

"Not heavy at all," she said before disappearing in a fade of pale blue bubbles. Cancer grinned and also disappeared.

"Let the games begin," Healer whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Get your butt out of my face!" Rei muttered, trying to smack Usagi with her free hand. Usagi groaned.

"I caaaaan't," she whined. "Besides, I have nowhere else to put it." Chibiusa laughed and Minako began whining as well.

"I have to go to bathroom!" she cried out, but all her hands and feet wouldn't let her move.

"You should have thought about that before we started," Mako muttered. "Now look at you! What kind of position is that?" Ami giggled.

"Let's try this again! Left hand on green!" she called out. Mako smacked her hand on the topmost green on the Twister mat. Hogoshi suddenly screeched and began slipping. She desperately tried to twist herself to get her left hand on green. But, the problem was, Rei was hanging over her and Chibiusa was directly beneath her. Usagi had smacked her hand down on her foot and the pain was surging through. Finally, she decided it would be better to fall then to suffer all that pain. She slipped.

"Owww!" Chibiusa hollered as the sudden weight on her back. Her right leg slipped and accidentally kicked Minako. Minako cried out from the loss of balance and landed on her side. Rei saw Minako falling over and tried to go up, but the blonde knocked into her causing her to fall over as well. Usagi felt the sudden commotion behind her and turned her head to see what was going on. Rei collided into her, sending Usagi tumbling off the mat. Mako tried to hold her balance, but decided it wasn't worth it and collapsed on top of Minako. The heap of girls started giggling as they tried to untangle their arms and legs.

"Who started it?" Usagi screeched, rubbing her nose. She had promptly fallen face first into the dresser. Everyone pointed at each other. Chibiusa even pointed at Ami until Ami hastily bopped the little girl upside the head with the Twister board.

"Hey, odango-atama!" Shingo suddenly called out. Usagi's fourteen-year-old brother stuck his head in the room and saw the heap of giggling girls lying on the floor. He got an odd look on his face as he held out the telephone. "Telephone, Usagi-chan. Someone named Meioh Setsuna-san." Chibiusa's eyes lit up.

"Pu!" she happily yelled, snatching the phone away from Shingo. The brunette boy growled and stomped out of the room. "Hello, Pu!"

"Small Lady," Setsuna whispered. Her voice sounded full of remorse and fear. "May I please speak to Usagi-chan?"

"Sure," Chibiusa said slowly. She handed the phone to Usagi, her red eyes large. "Something's wrong, Usagi-chan. I can tell it in her voice." Usagi frowned and held the phone up to her.

"Hello, Setsuna-san?"

"Usagi-chan, we need your help." Usagi's frown never left as she looked over at her friends. They were watching her intently.

"Our help? What do you mean? Is something wrong over there?" she asked. Setsuna sighed.

"I suppose you could say that. Uranus and Neptune went off to face the zodiac senshi by themselves."

"They did WHAT? Usagi screeched. Her friends looked up in alarm, staring at the near hysterical Usagi. Her cheeks were blushing and the others began to get a misguided idea of what was going on… "What on earth were they thinking? Setsuna-san, we're on our way over right now!" Setsuna was a little surprised. She knew the girls were having a sleepover at Usagi's house and wondered how the blonde teenager was going to slip by her parents in the middle of the night.

"I can see what their purpose was, but it's too dangerous. We have to go after them."

"I'm calling a senshi meeting, right here, right now!" Usagi muttered. "Good-bye, Setsuna-san."

"Good-bye, Usagi-chan." Setsuna hung up the phone and Usagi stared at the others angrily.

"Of all the dangerous things they could do…" Usagi mumbled, plopping down on her bed. She crossed her arms and began thinking hard. The other girls looked at each other, frowns on their faces. What was so dangerous about…well, what was so dangerous about it? Usagi looked up at her friends and stared at them with disbelief in her eyes. "You guys won't believe this."

"Um, well, it's not like it's anything new," Mako mumbled, fiddling with her thumbs nervously. Minako joined in, though her face was bright red.

"Yeah. Knowing those two…" she mumbled. Usagi's eyebrows shot up.

"You knew they would do this?" she gasped. Rei and Chibiusa looked at each other guiltily.

"No," Rei said slowly. Her face was beginning to match the color of her planet perfectly. "But, it was kind of obvious that they'd do it sometime after they got back…" Usagi groaned.

"Why didn't anybody tell me?" Chibiusa looked surprise.

"We thought you'd be smart enough to know. I mean, those two are… well…never mind. But, it was kind of obvious, Usagi-chan." Usagi got to her feet.

"How as I suppose to know that Uranus and Neptune go off to face the zodiac senshi by themselves?" she erupted. "I thought they enjoyed living!" Usagi noticed the sudden visible blushing in the room. "What?"

"Nothing," Minako muttered. "Just a bunch of crazy thinking teenagers who thought too little on the morals of their beloved Uranus and Neptune." Usagi looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What were you guys thinking about? I was talking about them going off to face the zodiac senshi after just got them back. Any other choice would've been too…oh." The realization of what the girls were actually thinking hit Usagi. She suddenly turned bright pink and looked like she wanted to hide under her blankets. "Never mind."

"So, how are we going to get over to Tomoe-san's place?" Hogoshi asked after the uncomfortable atmosphere dimmed away. "Usagi-chan, you're parents have us under lock and key."

"Well, maybe we can teleport out of here…" Usagi said slowly, but then caught the look in Ami's eyes. "Oh, come on, Ami-chan! We have to get out of here some way!" Ami glared at her and finally sighed.

"Fine," she muttered. "But how do we know that our Sailor Teleport still works?" Rei shrugged.

"Let's just do the best we can now and hope that it does work," she said, pulling out her transformation pen. Usagi hurried over and locked the door to her bedroom so that neither her parents nor her brother walked in to find seven girls transforming into sailor senshi.

"Okay!" she yelled. "Coast is clear!"

"Mars crystal cosmos power…"

"Jupiter crystal cosmos power…"

"Venus crystal cosmos power…"

"Mercury crystal cosmos power…"

"…make UP!" The first four senshi transformed in flashes of fire, electricity, light, and water. Four pretty soldiers stood in the middle of the room, in their respective poses. Chibiusa grinned.

"It's time for the moon soldiers to shine!" she yelped as the three soldiers of the moon pulled out their henshin lockets.

"Moon crisis cosmos power…"

"Eternal moon cosmos power…"

"Destiny crystal cosmos power…"

"…make UP!" White, pink, and silver energies caressed the three bodies of the moon senshi. The three pulled themselves into their respective poses as their henshin completed.

Luna and Artemis, who had been sleeping by the window, looked up. Luna's eyes sharpened. "And where do you think you're going at this hour, Usagi-chan? It's midnight!" Sailor Moon struck out her tongue.

"Uranus and Neptune went to go fight the zodiac senshi and now we have to go after them so they won't get killed," she explained as the girls set up their transportation circle. Artemis looked up quickly and scrambled off the windowsill.

"Hey, let me come with you!" he said, running into the midst of the circle. Luna followed also. "You always leave us out on a mission. Plus, if Uranus and Neptune really did run off, someone is going to need to scold them." The soldier of love laughed.

"That's Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto's job to do that," she said. "They won't listen to you." Artemis sighed.

"Well, it was worth a try," he said. Luna glared at him and sat in the middle of the circle as the senshi began to power up.

"Oh, Artemis. You are such a lit-" Luna was cut off as the lights swirling around her took off, shook shooting through the roof of the room and out of the house. The beam of light shown many different colors as it shot across town to the Tomoe household.

The beam suddenly shot down on the large house, sitting staunchly in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. The lights dimmed down and the senshi reappeared, floating directly above one of the house's extra conveniences.

SPLASH!

"Oh, crap!" Destiny choked, swimming over to the edge of the pool. "That transportation thing is such a hazard."

"It's harder transporting by yourself," Mars muttered, swimming alongside her. Her long black hair stuck to her submerged body. She wiped some strands of hair from her face as she pulled herself up over the edge. "Ugh, well, it's not like that nightmare I had, but close to it."

"What nightmare?" Jupiter asked, trying desperately not to get her tiara wet. Water does conduct electricity, after all. Mars shrugged and began ringing out her now soaked sailor fuku.

"I had a rather strange dream that I kissed Sailor Neptune and drowned," she muttered. Jupiter and Destiny stared at Mars with a look of absolute horror on their faces. Mars saw the looks and glared at them. "Hey, it was only a dream!"

"Don't tell Haruka-chan that," a voice said from a pool chair. Gleaming garnet-colored eyes stared back at the seven wet senshi. "She'll make you eat your words."

"Setsuna-san!" Venus exclaimed, spinning around in surprise. But the surface was slippery and she fell with a shriek back into the pool. Sailor Moon groaned and reached out to help her back out. Venus glared at Sailor Moon, but took her hand anyway.

The figure stood up. Setsuna had transformed into Sailor Pluto and her time key shone in the passing moonlight. The storm clouds from earlier were disappearing.

"Pluto!" Sailor Moon gasped, letting go of Venus' hand. The blonde fell back into the pool for a third time that night. The guardian of time nodded.

"Mercury, use your power to dry them off," Pluto commanded gently, looking over at the blue-clad senshi. Mercury looked a little surprised and frowned a bit.

"How?" Pluto sighed.

"Never mind. I keep confusing your powers with Neptune. She's have been able to pull the water off you with some of her own power." Mercury frowned.

"Are you telling me that we have powers over the elements outside of our attacks?" she asked. Pluto nodded and looked a little surprised.

"Why, didn't you know that?" she asked. "You are princesses of our own planets. Didn't it ever occur to you that you're all heir to some great power?" The others were silent. Pluto just shook her head and sighed as she led them back to the house.

"Come inside. We have a lot to tell you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sailor Uranus looked up at the overwhelming expanse of the Starlight Tower. It was larger than the Tokyo Tower, larger than anyone's imagination could even dream of. Sailor Neptune looked at her partner, worry sketched all over her face.

"This tower doesn't really exist," she whispered, reaching for Uranus' hand. She looked up in absolute horror. "I have this feeling we're in way over our heads on this one." Uranus didn't answer. Her aqua eyes were harsh as she looked up at the immense tower. She had had a dark feeling in her ever since she had transformed. Something was bothering her and she didn't know what.

"Uranus, are you okay?" Neptune asked gently. Uranus still didn't respond. Something terrible was coming and it was dark…it was going to destroy to get what it wanted. What did it want, anyway? And why bother her, of all people?

Neptune began to get worried. Not that she already wasn't worried. But now her partner seemed to have blanked out on her and wasn't even responding to anything she said. She gently squeezed Uranus' hand again. "Uranus?" Then, even more softly, "Haruka?" The tall blonde soldier turned to her partner in surprise.

"Michiru…" she breathed. Total horror was etched across her face. She shook it off and glared back at the tower. "This place is giving off some nasty vibes."

"Oh, don't worry," Neptune whispered quietly. She wrapped one arm around her partner's waist. "Don't worry, Haruka. I won't let you get hurt." Uranus smiled.

"Shouldn't I be the one looking after you?" she asked teasingly. Neptune gazed at her.

"Oh, so just because you're taller and two months older, I have to be the weak one?" she retorted with a smile. Uranus nodded.

"Yeah." Neptune glared at her and punched her arm playfully. Uranus smiled and the two looked back towards the tower,

"Well, no turning back now, I'm afraid," Neptune whispered. The two soldiers walked to the front entrance of the building and carefully pushed open the door open.

Devastating darkness met them.

The total and complete dark energy made both soldiers go a little pale and faint for a second. But the bad thing was, the blackness was expanding out towards them. It wasn't staying inside the building. Neptune gasped in horror as the darkness swirled like a whirlpool around her legs.

"Deep Submerge!" she called out, but no attack came. The blue eyes got wide in horror. She tried again, but still nothing happened. She turned to Uranus. "My attacks don't work!"

"Mine don't either," Uranus replied. The darkness was somehow getting darker. Uranus murmured a curse beneath her breath and brought out her talisman. No sooner did she have it in her hands then did the ground seemed to slip out from under her. She gasped as she hit the ground. Just the short fall had nearly emptied her lungs of all air.

"Uranus!" Neptune suddenly screamed. The darkness had literally bound her, grabbing her around her neck and pulling her back to the door. Uranus looked on in horror and struggled to her feet. The space sword began glowing.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but if you don't let her go…" Uranus whispered. The darkness seemed to laugh at the blonde soldier and shot up from beneath her. Uranus gasped as the black energy pulled her to the ground. The space sword fell from her hands and clattered to the ground. It took most of Uranus' concentration to draw the sword back into her body.

"Uranus! Help!" Neptune screamed again. Uranus looked up and saw the obscurity pulling the aqua-clad soldier back to the doorway.

"No!" Uranus yelled, trying to get up off the ground again. But the darkness seemed to be like manacles holding her to the ground. Then, slowly, she felt something began to put pressure around her neck. Uranus struggled again, but the pressure around her neck became stronger, suffocating her.

Neptune looked on in horror as some of the blackness circled around her partner's neck. It was trying to strangle her! Neptune fought against the darkness that had bound itself around her, but it was useless. She was still getting drawn closer to that door. "Uranus!" she screamed.

Uranus could feel her head swimming from lack of oxygen. She tried to take some air in, but found it physically impossible. The darkness around her swirled and even that began to dim. Her lungs burned as if they were on fire, in desperate need of air. She felt her tense muscles began to relax, although, in her mind, she was trying to keep them fighting. The world began to swirl as well as the darkness and nauseating wave of dizziness spilled over her. No, no, no! Do not let me pass out here! But, it was clear that she was losing. Everything began to dim…

Neptune tried fighting some more, to get free, but suddenly froze when she saw Uranus slump to the ground. Her turquoise eyes widened. "No! Haruka!" she cried out, trying to fight against the black energies. But, the darkness had bound around her arms and legs, proving them useless. She screamed out more than once, more in fear than frustration. The darkness was growing and Neptune felt herself being pulled through the other side of the door. The darkness was too much.

Deciding that this was too much even for the strongest of fighters, Sailor Neptune passed out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, they left you this letter?" Mercury asked. She was reading over it. "I don't get it. It gives no clue whatsoever to where they're going." The inner senshi had gathered into Tomoe's house and had dried off. They had come into the living room to discuss the situation. Pluto, Saturn, and Venus were sitting on the couch, trying to look calm. Sailor Moon was seated on a chair, head in her hands. Mercury was also seated in a chair, across from Destiny who was casually leaning against a wall, Chibi Moon sitting at her feet. Mars was leaning on the wall next to Sailor Moon's chair. And Jupiter…

"They could be killed!" the green-clad senshi exploded. She was pacing back and forth, her arms behind her back and eyes full of worry and anger. Saturn looked up at her.

"Jupiter-chan, would you please stop pacing?" she asked, fingering with the Silence Glaive nervously.

"You're starting to make me nervous." Jupiter sat down next to Mars, but a second later, was up on her feet, pacing again.

"What were they thinking?" she muttered. Tomoe looked at the upset girls, wondering what they were going to do. It was very interesting, having all the senshi meet like this. But, this was no joking matter.

"Oh, man," Mars grumbled, rolling her eyes up at the ceiling. "What are we going to do? We have no idea whatsoever where they're at. They could be anywhere in Tokyo." Sailor Moon was quiet, though her eyes were a bit red from crying. The zodiac senshi were a formidable enemy. One of them had killed once already and didn't seem to be afraid to do it again.

"I tried tracking them down on my computer," Mercury said softly. "No luck. If anything, the zodiac senshi already found them." Seeing the distraught look on Sailor Moon's face, she quickly changed her sentence. Sailor Pluto got a weird look in her eyes and left the room, leaving behind her time key. "Or they already found the zodiac senshi."

"Sorry I'm late! Seiya-kun and the others are right behind me!" Mamoru said as he bustled into the room. Sailor Pluto followed him and took her place back on the couch next to Saturn and Venus. He saw the depressed faces in the room and frowned. "No change in the situation?"

Sailor Moon suddenly burst out into tears, burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably. "Haruka-san, Michiru-san, why did you do this?" she sobbed. Mamoru hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's all right," he whispered, hugging her softly. "They'll be okay. They have to be okay." Sailor Moon didn't respond. She just rested her head on Mamoru's chest and let out a few more good sobs.

"Hey!" Fighter called, trotting into the room. She was flushed and it was clear she had been running. "Learn how to lock the door next time." Maker and Healer followed the dark-haired soldier in to the room. Maker sighed a little and crossed her arms.

"No improvement?" he asked. Sailor Jupiter shook her head and went back to pacing. Pluto frowned as she looked at Sailor Star Healer. The white-haired soldier was glancing at all the senshi in the room, giving them evil glances. Pluto stood up and walked over to the much shorter senshi.

"Are you alright?" Pluto asked. Healer looked surprised and then crossed her arms defiantly.

"Why? Do I look sick to you?" she snapped. Then her tone softened. "Sorry, Pluto. Just a little irritated."

"Yeah, the little reporter didn't show up and now she's in a bad mood," Fighter said with a chuckle. Healer scowled at her and promptly smacked her in the back of the head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Teasing me."

"You could take it before."

"Well, I can't take it now, Star Fighter!" Healer suddenly snapped and stormed from the room. Fighter just shook her head and Maker sighed.

"She's been acting all weird ever since she got back home," Maker explained. She looked worried. "I don't know what happened to her."

"Hmmm, I don't think that's it," Pluto said slowly, looking over towards the door. She looked at Tomoe a little and flashed him a smile. "Would you terribly mind to get Sailor Star Healer, Souichi-kun?" Tomoe nodded remotely and walked out of the room. Saturn got a mischievous look on her face.

"Oooh, Pluto-chan as a crush on Papa!" she exclaimed. Pluto gave the youngest planetary senshi a confused look. Venus immediately looked up and her eyes became sparkle.

"Pluto's in love?" she gasped, standing up. "Hey, Pluto has a crush. All hope is not lost!" The time senshi was beginning to look very uncomfortable with where this conversation was headed.

"But-" Pluto began to protest, but even Sailor Moon decided to take her mind off the current situation to tease Pluto.

"Oooh, that's so sweet, Pluto!" she said. "Venus has finally shot you with Cupid's arrows." Destiny smiled at Pluto's embarrassment.

"Hey, Pu!" Chibi Moon cheered, pumping her fist into their air. "When's the wedding?"

"Found her," Tomoe said, returning to the room. He held Healer by the arm. "And right before she was about to storm out the…what's going on here?" The scene must have been strange. All the senshi were crowding around Pluto, who was looking as annoyed as Pluto ever looked. They all looked a little too interested in her business. Healer snatched her arm away from Tomoe and plopped down on the couch.

"How stupid can you be?" she hissed. "If I had known every one in this room was so dense, I'd never would've come!" Sailor Moon frowned.

"It was just a joke, Healer." The white-haired soldier rolled her eyes and glared at the group.

"I'll just come out and say it because you people are driving me crazy," Healer exclaimed. She crossed her arms. "I know where Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are." The sudden serious mode switched on. Sailor Moon looked confused, then angry, then sad.

"How come you didn't tell us before, Yaten-chan?" she asked, looking at her straight in the eye. "We're worried about them."

"You won't have to worry too long," Healer whispered, her voice abnormally hollow. "The zodiac senshi will kill them before long." Pluto smiled a bit as she walked toward the black-clad soldier. Her smile was almost too scary.

"How would you know that?" she asked. Healer looked back at Pluto and cursed beneath her breath. Pluto smiled and looked at Healer seductively. "You don't trust those two?" Healer just glared at her. Why do you do this to me, Pluto-chan? You know I still love you…

"I…" Healer began, but then clamped her mouth shut. What was she doing? Giving away the mission? Pluto just smiled and touched Healer's hair softly.

"How come you won't tell me?" she asked, her voice as smooth as silk. Healer just looked away, getting pretty frustrated with the soldier of revolution now. "You can't tell me?" The senshi began looking at each other nervously. Was Sailor Pluto…flirting with Sailor Star Healer?

"Leave. Me. Alone," Healer hissed, tearing her glance away from the melancholy eyes. Pluto just smiled and cupped the shorter girl's chin in her hand, making her look her right in the eye.

"Never did stick with her mission," Pluto said. Her eyes suddenly became harsh. "Where are they? Don't pretend because I know who you really are," her voice became deathly quiet, "Sailor Leo." Healer was almost fed up with Sailor Pluto now. Any more of that seductive stuff, she might've blown her cover.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pluto," Healer remarked. Pluto smiled and brought Healer's face closer to hers.

"I thought you might say that, Leo," she said and quickly leaned over and kissed the white-haired girl right on the lips. The other soldiers' jaws dropped to the ground.

"T-that's…um…" Jupiter began, but found no words to describe that. Instinctively, Tomoe lunged for Saturn and clapped his hands over her eyes.

"Hey!" she yelped. At the same moment, Sailor Moon and Mamoru clapped their hands over Chibi Moon's eyes. The pink-haired girl struggled, but Destiny put her hands over the girl's mouth. The rest of the senshi just boggled in total bewilderment.

Healer looked very surprised, but it also looked like she was enjoying the kiss. Cautiously, she wrapped her arms around Pluto's neck, pressing her body against the taller girl's. Fighter and Maker looked like they were about to say something, and then decided not to.

A few moments later, Pluto broke way. She smiled sweetly. "Now tell them." Healer groaned a little and glared at Pluto with all her might.

"The only reason I'm doing this is because I could never say no to you," Healer muttered. She looked back at the rest of the senshi. The hands came off the eyes. Saturn groaned a bit, having missed out practically the entire scene. Healer stared back at Pluto. "I'm going to hate you forever."

"You said that before," Pluto said nonchalantly, seeming unruffled by the kiss. "And by the looks of things, you still love me." Healer blushed and then turned back to the group, who were now even more confused than before.

"Fine," she muttered. "I'm not Sailor Star Healer." The group let out a sigh of relief. Healer smirked. "But I am Sailor Leo." And with a flash of gold light, the pretty blonde soldier stood next to Pluto.

"Yikes!" Sailor Moon yelped, running behind Mamoru. She peered out from behind him. "She's a zodiac senshi? How come you can turn into me and Star Healer, huh?" Leo smiled casually.

"My own secret," she said. More angrily, she turned back to Sailor Pluto. "Happy, Pluto-chan?" Pluto nodded.

"Yes. Quite." Venus scratched her head and looked confused.

"Um, Sailor Pluto…" she began. Pluto didn't even flinch. She just smiled at the rest of the senshi.

"Long story, don't ask," she said. She turned back to Sailor Leo. "Where are Uranus and Neptune?" Leo murmured something beneath her breath.

"The Starlight Tower," she finally said. "Pluto-chan, please stop doing this to me." Pluto just shrugged.

"It's not my problem that you could never say no to me," she said. She turned back to the other senshi. "Strong enough for a teleportation?" Chibi Moon was too busy smacking Sailor Moon to reply. The others simply nodded. Pluto glanced back at Sailor Leo and tapped Mercury on the shoulder.

"You guys go on ahead," she whispered. "I'm going to talk to Leo-chan here and drill some sense into her head." Mercury simply nodded. Tomoe shrugged and walked out of the room, going to his lab downstairs.

Leo glared at all of them. She decided it was time to make a hasty retreat. But to her own surprise, the other senshi left, leaving Pluto alone here with her. Oh great. That's just perfect. Leave us here by ourselves.

Pluto grabbed her hand, sending a tingling feeling up her arm. Leo scowled at her. "What now?" Pluto gently touched her hair.

"You're coming with me," the green-haired beauty whispered in her ear. "If anything bad happens to either Uranus or Neptune and you have something to do about it, then you'll be very sorry." Leo's eyes snapped open. She glared down at Pluto. It was better having her full height back, making her a few inches taller than the guardian of time was.

"Pluto-chan…" she began, but Pluto just kissed her intimately to shut her up. Leo fumed. One day, she was going to say no to Pluto. But, that day would not be today as Leo slowly succumbed into the desire and passion of the deepening kiss.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The Starlight Tower…" Sailor Moon breathed. She had only been here once before and that was when her spirit chalice had been taken. Cold shivers ran down her back, despise the fact that it was a rather humid night.

Venus stared up at the immense tower, frowning. She was still thinking about Sailor Leo and Sailor Pluto. Were they really an item? And how hot of an item? She'd have to bombard those questions on her friend later.

"Looks like there was a fight here," Destiny said softly. It was true. Some of the glass on the front entrance door had been shattered, lying in pieces around the door. She frowned. "That's weird."

"What's weird?" Mars asked, looking at the rather foreboding glass. The sight of it was giving her weird chills, if that's what Destiny meant.

"If something shatters, then it usually breaks up into shards, right?" Mars nodded. "This glass didn't break up into shards. It broke up into dust." The senshi looked at each other as Destiny gently picked up a handful of glass. The minute her hand touched it, the glass dissolved away into dust. Mercury immediately put on her visor.

"She's right," she said after awhile. "This entire tower is fake. No one can see it except us soldiers. It's what's behind this that isn't fake. It seems like this tower leads to the zodiac hiding place, or something." Sailor Moon looked up in horror.

"Uranus and Neptune are inside that thing?" she whispered, her voice suddenly weak. Mercury nodded.

"Most likely."

"No!" Sailor Moon whispered. "We have to go in. They might be killed."

"Don't worry, Sailor Moon," Mamoru said. He transformed into Tuxedo Kamen and held her shoulders firmly. "They'll fight back in any means possible." Destiny suddenly looked up, her green eyes growing wide in fear. She looked at her costume, her face suddenly paling.

"No, they can't," she whispered. Sailor Moon looked at her in alarm.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they can't fight back in any means possible," Destiny replied. "We never did tell them about the secondary transformation. They've already put those rings on, Sailor Moon. Their attacks won't work." Saturn frowned.

"Secondary transformation?" she asked. "What's that?"

"Your attacks don't work because you put on those rings," Chibi Moon answered. "The only way they will work is if you transform with your ring and henshin pen." Saturn looked surprised.

"And say what?"

"The words of your destiny."

Saturn rolled her eyes and held her henshin pen up in their air. The words of her destiny… "Saturn planet crystal power, make UP!" In a flash of violet light, Sailor Saturn stood before them. She looked at her outfit and smiled.

"Cool," she said. "Very…cute?" Jupiter frowned at her a second and then looked back towards the tower.

"The only way to get those two out of there is to go through," she said, cracking her knuckles. "Sparkling Wide…" Mars walked over to the door and turned the handle. It simply swung open. Jupiter blushed. "Well, then there's the easy way."

The senshi walked slowly into the front door. The darkness was rather dim. Mars groaned as Fighter walked right into her. "Would you watch where you're going?" Fighter sighed.

"I wish I could," she mumbled. "It's pitch black in here." Mars rolled her eyes.

"Let me try," Saturn piped up from her right. "Silence Glaive, please light up this dark and dismal place before we walk right over a cliff." The glaive began glowing, casting an eerie purple light on everyone's face. Saturn grinned. "Hey, it worked."

"Yeah," Destiny muttered. "But purple isn't the very best light to see in." Saturn stuck out her tongue and the light on the glaive turned white.

"Happy?" she asked grumpily. They seemed to be in some sort of large hall. The floor and walls were made out of black marble and four columns, one in each corner of the room, rose up further than the eye could see. In the middle of the room, there was a deep pit. It was rising three feet from the ground, and seemed about eight feet wide. It looked to be made out of black stone and could've easily been mistaken for a fountain, except for the fact that misty fog was rising from the seemingly bottomless trap. There were no doors in the entire room.

"It so horrible," Sailor Moon finally said, grasping Tuxedo Kamen. "It's so beautiful, it's horrible."

"How are we supposed to find our way in here?" Maker muttered, looking around the room. "Guessing that they have Star Healer somewhere in here too, we had better keep an eye out."

"I hope Pluto keeps Leo where she belongs," Saturn mumbled. Venus grinned.

"I doubt that's all she's going to do," she said. Saturn promptly bashed Venus on the head with her glaive. Venus glared at her as Saturn slapped Destiny a high five.

"I hope you guys are having a nice time," a voice echoed through the darkness. "It took you long enough to get here." With that, Sailor Star Healer stepped from out of a dark corner. She glared at all of them. "What were you doing, checking every place that seemed to look threatening?" Fighter cocked an eyebrow.

"How do we know that you're the real Star Healer?" Venus grinned again.

"Because Sailor Pluto is at home with the fake, keeping her busy," she said. Saturn bashed Venus on top of the head with the glaive again. Venus groaned and rubbed the top of her head.

"Oooooouch," she cried. Healer shrugged.

"Not my fault," she said. She looked at the huge room. "Geez, does this room look threatening or what?" Jupiter looked surprised.

"Haven't you been in this room long enough to know what it looks like?" she asked. Healer turned to her.

"One, I haven't seen anything because it's been pitch black in here and two, I just regained consciousness a few minutes ago," she snapped. "And I can't say my headache is over."

"Oh, so the sailor senshi are all here?" another voice joined in. A petite young girl with black hair and emerald eyes appeared above the pit in the middle of the room. She easily stepped down from hit. "I'm Princess Zodiac. I supposed you've come looking for your little friends."

"Where are Uranus and Neptune?" Chibi Moon shouted, taking a step towards her. "Did you do anything to them?" The princess stared at them.

"You're very cute," she said. She glared at Saturn. "Turn off the annoying light." With a snap of her fingers, the light of the glaive went out. A moment afterwards, another light came into the room. The columns seemed to be made of glass and a large torch burned brightly inside each of them. Somehow, this darkened the mood in the room.

"Pretty," Sailor Star Fighter snapped. "Where are Uranus and Neptune?"

"Have you looked around?" the princess asked. "And to answer the little baby's question, I haven't done anything to them. Yet." Sailor Moon's eyes widened.

"You give them back!" she screamed. The princess just smiled and snapped her fingers again. The senshi looked up and saw what looked to be a closed circle on the ceiling, directly above the fountain. Slowly the circle opened.

The princess grinned. "I wanted all of you to see what would happen to your friends." There was a creaking noise and slowly, something came through the hole. Two bodies, hanging by their wrists and waists on a thick black rope, descended from the opening. Their ankles were bound and their wrists were also tied. They had been constrained together around the waists. They descended lower on the rope, until they were only twenty feet above the pit. Sailor Moon's eyes widened.

"Uranus! Neptune!" she gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears. "Wake up! Come on, wake up!" Neither soldier responded. They were both out cold.

"I don't think they can talk to you, princess," Zodiac sneered. She clapped her hands and before she could say another word, Sailor Moon found herself strapped against the wall. The next thing her friends knew, they were also strapped to the wall.

"I hope you enjoy yourselves," Zodiac said. From the opposite side of the room, the zodiac senshi suddenly appeared. "This is one fight I'll never forget."

"Let them go," Sailor Moon screamed. "Please! Don't hurt them!" There was a silence afterwards, followed by a laugh. Cancer stepped forward.

"Now what makes you think that we'll give two of the pure universe's most valuable warriors?" she asked. "Not as smart as I would give you credit."

"Please!"

"Quiet!" Libra snapped. There was more creaking and the two unconscious soldiers were lowered two more feet towards the pit. "Say anything else and they go straight down." Sailor Moon stared, dumbfounded. The princess smiled and disappeared for a second. She reappeared suddenly, floating in front of Neptune. She looked at the unconscious girl.

"Always struggling to the last hope," Zodiac whispered. And with that, she slapped Neptune heavily on the cheek. The girl didn't even respond. Her teal curls bounced from the force. The senshi looked at the dark-clad princess angrily.

"Why are you doing this?" Mars asked, struggling against her restraints. "We've never done a thing to you! You started this battle! It isn't fair!"

Libra suddenly grinned. "Didn't I say not another word?" she asked and suddenly the rope took a sudden dive and jerked abruptly, only five feet above the pit.

Uranus groaned a little and with great effort, her eyes fluttered open. "What the…" Suddenly aware of where she was, Uranus jerked her head up. She looked around, her eyes growing wider. "Oh, no." Then she looked straight below her and her face went even paler.

"Uranus!" Jupiter yelled. "Wake up Sailor Neptune. She's behind you." Uranus glared at Jupiter.

"How do you propose me doing that?" she yelled. "Anything I could hit her with is bound with a rope." Jupiter shrugged. Neptune uttered a stifled groan.

"Uranus…" she whispered and opened her eyes. She immediately closed her eyes again. "Oh god. Don't tell me we're swinging over a pit that looks like it leads to hell."

"Fine," Uranus replied. "We're swaying over a pit that looks like it leads to someplace worse than hell." Neptune bit her bottom lip and tried not to pass out again. This could be bad, she thought.

Pisces grinned. "See you later, my beloved counterpart." Aquarius waved good-bye also. The rope jerked again. Uranus scowled.

"Who the hell is controlling that thing up there?" she shouted, looking above her. "If you're going to drop us, leave out the suspense!" Neptune stared up too.

"Or better yet: don't drop us at all!" Zodiac looked up and snapped her fingers twice. The rope lowered right into the pit, faster than it had been going before. Sailor Moon, Sailor Destiny, and Sailor Chibi Moon screamed in horror. Uranus uttered a groan as the mist completely enveloped her, covering her body in less than a second. Neptune screamed as the mist ripped at her body, but even her scream seemed hollow.

"Neptune! Uranus!" Mercury called out. She could Neptune screaming in agony. It was one of the worse and most blood curling she had ever heard.

Mars snapped her head towards Zodiac. "What are you doing to them?" she screamed. Sailor Moon was crying uncontrollably, struggling against the restraints. Zodiac simply smiled, crossing her arms.

"Oh, it does sound painful, doesn't it?" she asked with black humor. "And it is. But if I described it to you, then you would probably vomit in absolute horror." Sailor Moon wondered if she wanted to know that badly. She could still her two friends screaming in bitter pain.

"Stop it!" she screamed. "Let them go…" her voice was lost is numerous sobs. The other senshi wish desperately that they could cover their ears. The screams didn't even seem human.

Suddenly, the pit exploded in light. But there was something evil about this light. The negativity was practically living inside of it. The zodiac senshi looked surprised and stepped away in horror. Even the princess seemed shocked. The minute the light dimmed down, Tuxedo Kamen looked back towards the pit. Someone was pulling herself out of the darkness. He stared at the girl in surprise.

All the soldiers' eyes were on the pit. The figure painstakingly pulled herself out of the pit, shaking a little. Her entire being suggested something was not right about her. "Ouch," she muttered, slumping to the ground. She coughed a little and then hit her chest hard. "That's better." Standing up, she looked around in surprise and then slumped back down. "I'm going to have some explaining to do. Hi?"

The girl gently brushed some orange locks from her face. She sighed, causing her to cough some more. "Hey…ack…everyone! How're you…ugh…doing?"

"Who are you?" Zodiac asked sharply. The girl looked up simply and tried drying out her sailor fuku. Seeing it was futile, she just grinned.

"You know, this stupid transformation power does have its advantages," the girl said, giggling. Another mistake: she erupted in some more coughs and looked down the pit. "What is that, poison? Anyway, I'm Sailor Leo, geniuses."

"Leo?" Venus gasped. The girl nodded.

"Exactly, how long have you been in here?"

"Um, half an hour?" Sailor Mercury estimated. "Maybe less." Leo coughed a little and then glared back down the pit.

"The combo of these powers is really tiring!" she exclaimed. She then glared at her outfit. "This is getting uncomfortable. Power down." The outfit glistened and reappeared in Leo's original colors. Her short orange hair lengthened and turned to a sunlit blonde. Sighing, she looked back down the pit. "Just a bit more!"

Uranus groaned as she pulled herself over the pit. She looked very ticked off and collapsed next to the pool, too tired to even move. Leo reached her hand into the pit and pulled Neptune over. Neptune was barely conscious. She looked at the planetary senshi briefly before collapsing on top of Uranus. Both soldiers were soaking wet. Neptune, with great effort, raised her hand above her head. Slowly, like raindrops, the water pulled from the four drenched soldiers and into a large water ball. She threw the ball back into the pool and collapsed once again on top of her partner.

"Uranus! Neptune!" Sailor Moon shouted. "Are you guys okay?" There was no response. The two soldiers had passed out the minute they were dry. Leo gently leaned over them and checked their pulses.

"They're okay," she said softly. "Just a little bit of an overload." She stood up and looked back towards the zodiac senshi. She tsked her tongue, shaking her head. "What is this? Using two senshi as hostages? That's really mean of you."

"Oh, be quiet Sailor Leo," Virgo pouted. "No one asked you your opinion."

"Well, I'm giving it anyway," Leo said sweetly. "Okay? First of all, I don't appreciate you using two of my senshi as bait. Second, you should've known not to drop those two in there. And third, if you're even thinking about challenging Sailor Moon, you are dead wrong if you think you're going to win."

"Oh, yeah?" Aries snarled. "Burning Mandala!" Leo gave the attack a bored glance before flicking her wrist towards the loops of fire. They vanished quickly as if they had never even existed. Aries' face twisted into a scowl.

"Oh, no," the princess breathed. She turned to Cancer, "Where's the Oracle Mace?"

"Right here!" Cancer said, the black scepter glowing in her hands. The princess laughed.

"Get rid of them all. Sailor Leo, too bad you turned traitor. You would've experienced the best victory in the history of the universe." Leo shrugged.

"Not my problem," she replied. She was about to say more when she felt a ripple in reality at her side. She tilted her head slightly to meet Pluto's eyes, who had stepped from her own rip portal to stand next to the blonde senshi. Leo gave a bit of a smile. "Now what?" Before anyone could answer, Leo felt stirring at her feet. Uranus and Neptune were beginning to come to! She kneeled next to them and gently shook Sailor Neptune.

"Sailor Neptune?" she asked. The teal-haired girl moaned and began to stir again. Leo took a deep breath. It was going to be one of those days. If only she could say no to Pluto. If she could…but, the "Princess" had disowned her. The strange thing was: she didn't care. Leo shrugged off her own problems and tapped Neptune again. "Sailor Neptune…wake up!"

The turquoise eyes opened and stared up at Leo, uncomprehending. Slowly, realization dawned on her. "Leo…Tuxedo Kamen's zodiac counterpart. You saved…us? Why?" Leo shrugged for the umpteenth time that day. Her blue eyes shone brightly.

"Questions later," she said. "You have to use your powers." Neptune didn't seem to understand.

"Our powers…don't work," she whispered, struggling to speak. Her voice was already incredibly hoarse and her skin was practically as pale as snow, no color whatsoever in her cheeks. Leo looked at her.

"You know how destiny works," she said. "Call out the words of your destiny. You hear them." Neptune pulled out her henshin pen and Uranus, who had been rather quiet, also produced hers. Both girls closed their eyes and concentrated.

"Neptune planet crystal power…"

"Uranus planet crystal power…"

"…make UP!" The room was suddenly ablaze in gold and teal light. A few seconds later, two revived senshi were standing in the midst of the room. The zodiac senshi began to feel a bit threatened.

"We have to find that stupid talisman!" Uranus said. She turned to Pluto and Neptune. "I have an idea." After carefully listening, Neptune looked a bit thoughtful.

"That could work," she said. She closed her eyes and a mirror materialized in her hands. Uranus also closed her eyes and a few seconds later, the sacred dagger appeared in her hands.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Saturn asked. With a quick swipe of Uranus' sword, the stone strapping Saturn to the wall feel to the ground. In a hushed whisper, Uranus quickly explained her idea.

"Even if it does work," Saturn said after awhile, "the sacrificial soldier isn't here."

"We'll have to get as far as we can without her," Pluto replied. The garnet orb on her time key unattached itself and flew into the palm of her hand. Uranus held up the space sword and Neptune held up the aqua mirror. The three original talisman formed a triangle. Saturn smiled.

"My turn!" she said and held up her glaive. All four weapons suddenly exploded in a flash of white light. The planetary and starlight senshi turned their heads away at the intensity of the light. The zodiac senshi turned away from the absolute pureness of it.

And in the middle of the brilliant light, the Holy Grail began to shine. At first, the sacred cup kept its original form, but then it began to lengthen. It became as long as the moon tier, glowing silver. Then slowly, the light began to dim away.

The four outer senshi collapsed to the ground. Sailor Moon looked surprised. "Minna!" she called out. Uranus groaned.

"I didn't plan on passing out for a third time," she mumbled, getting to her feet. She turned to her right and helped Neptune up. Then, she noticed the glowing scepter in front of them. She smiled. "I guess my plan worked." Neptune hugged her.

"You were right!" she said and congratulated her with a kiss on the cheek. Uranus blushed a little, but excepted the kiss anyway. Sailor Destiny looked confused.

"Right about what?" she asked. Pluto picked herself up off the ground and reached out towards the new scepter. It glowed garnet when it touched her hand. Saturn also got up and stretched a bit.

"Well, Uranus suggested that maybe the scepter wasn't hidden in a spirit chalice, but a different chalice like the Holy Grail," Pluto explained. "Since the Holy Grail, made up of the three outer talismans, conducted either good or evil, depending on the owner of it, Uranus said that if you add one more weapon…"

"…the Silence Glaive, which conducts, if you get right down to it, death," Saturn interrupted.

"…then, you could get a whole new weapon, that could conduct good or evil and cause death," she said. "If we had it, then the good would prevail if a life would be given. If they had it, evil would prevail and death would be instant. So, the taboo talisman is, more or less, the Holy Grail in the revelation of sacrifice."

"Impressive," Mercury gasped. "Uranus, you figured all that out by yourself?" Uranus blushed and shook her head.

"I had some help from Sailor Scorpio, and…" her voice became as cold as ice, "…Sailor Capricorn."

"When'd you talk to them?"

"Just a second ago," a voice explained from the darkness. A tall figure, surrounded by shadows, stepped from the darkness. She bowed deeply, her silver hair cascading down her shoulders. "First, let me extend my apologies to the princess from the last battle. I am sorry about that. And second, I need to thank the outer soldiers for finding the talisman for us." Neptune rolled her eyes.

"If you want it, Capricorn, take it," she muttered, trying desperately to control a hidden wrath beneath her voice. Where the anger suddenly came from, she didn't know. It was just there and there in an instant. "Or do I have to kill you and wait until the next lifetime?" Pluto simply turned away.

Capricorn stared at the three outer senshi. "Fine then. Take it, Sailor Scorpio." A red flash shot past Pluto, grabbing the scepter. Pluto looked surprised.

"Sorry Pluto," Scorpio said. "But no time is better than now to get this revelation over with."

"Here!" Sailor Moon gasped.

"Now!" Destiny added.

"No!" Zodiac suddenly screamed. "If you think you're going to win, you are dead wrong!"

"You aren't even the true princess of the zodiac!" a new voice shouted. Sailor Midnight quietly stepped from the shadows. "I am the true princess, Sailor Midnight." She turned to the evil zodiac senshi. "I am the princess you've been searching for." Libra raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, looking at the girl up and down.

"Our princess? On the same side as Serenity?" she asked, her tone unbelieving. "What kind of fools do you take us for?" Midnight met Libra's golden eyes steadily. Libra bit her bottom lip. As much as she could argue, the golden clad senshi felt an urge to bow before the purple-haired soldier.

"I am the true princess of the zodiac," Midnight repeated. "You've been corrupted by darkness. I did not awaken in time to keep you in line." Aries sneered.

"You're a liar!" she shouted. "You just want us to be confused!" Her violet eyes narrowed. "You're not going to do it! We will make sure the world is destroyed! The revelation will be over with!" Princess Zodiac looked shaken with all of this as she met Leo's eyes. Leo smirked. She already knew.

"You...!" Zodiac screamed at Midnight. The red-eyed girl smiled softly as she turned to the zodiac senshi.

"Perhaps this is not the lifetime..." she said softly, her eyes meeting Capricorn's. "Perhaps the senshi can live in peace and innocence one more time." Capricorn smiled as Midnight disappeared into thin air. She heard the girl whispering in her mind. I won't let them be corrupted with darkness anymore...I'll try not to make this lifetime the lifetime where destiny travels into destruction...do what you must, love...

The false princess of the zodiac felt anger arise within her. The true princess wanted her title back? Never! She would never give it back! With that, she unleashed a huge blast of dark energy at the two soldiers of the revelation. They nimbly dodged out of the way. But the blast had shaken the floor, causing all standing soldiers to fall to the ground.

"Space Sword Blaster!" Uranus shouted, sending the golden globe hurtling at the zodiac senshi. They stared at it for a second and decided to move. The positive energy attack hit the opposite wall. Aquarius glared at her.

"World Shaking!" she yelled, slamming the black version of Uranus' attack in the ground. Uranus was almost too stunned to move. She has my attack?

"Deep Submerge!" Neptune yelled, the wave of water sending the negative attack off course. She looked over at Uranus. "She has your attack? What's going on here?"

"She's your counterpart!" Venus yelled. Uranus spun around to face her.

"Why didn't you tell us that earlier?" she shouted back. Venus winced. They had left out a lot of important things in that conversation they had. Uranus sighed and glared back at Aquarius. "Great. So we're equally matched, am I right?"

"Yes," Aquarius responded. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light on the other side of the room. Apparently, Sailor Moon had used the silver crystal to break free of the stone and had just used one of her attacks and fired it at the zodiac. The zodiac senshi had scattered and Uranus and Saturn were using their weapons to break the planetary senshi out of the stone manacles.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Random author's note: The writer of this story has died from poor writing overload and gone to heaven. But the fan fiction paramedics are trying to revive her. Please call again.