Attention! I'm thinking I should probably get a Beta reader, and soon, if I'm planning to go all out with this story (and I do). So anyone out there interested in being a doll and helping me out let me know. As an extra incentive I'll be so appreciative that I'll most likely end up loving you forever. Sound juicy? -

CrystalMaker: Roses are red, violets are blue. Me no own, you no sue.

I don't own that poem (if you can call it a poem --) either. In fact, I'm pretty sure I read it elsewhere and now it's just popped into my head. I hope whoever I learned it from doesn't mind… On with the story, though I warn you now: It's slow-going (a snail's pace) but it is moving. Stick with it and things should get interesting. Enjoy!


Day 1

Makoto never did manage to sleep the night after Mercury's disappearance. Instead she spent the late hours of dark on her balcony, staring up at the moon, seeking the guidance it had always seemed to give in times of need. By the early hours of morning it had yet to give her insight to her jumbled mind.

Common sense told her that if she tried to physically work out her frustration she'd most likely end up taking out the entire Northern point of the palace; which wouldn't help the situation.

She'd tried calming her mind. Sorting out her thoughts as Rei had taught her. That didn't work either. She was far too restless.

So for the last two hours before the sun began to rise Makoto paced at the foot of her king-sized bed and bit at her nails, just to keep her hands busy.

By the first light of dawn the Storm Princess was dressed and making her way to Venus' rooms at a rapid pace. Servants of the palace scrambled to get out of her way.

Though she took her Senshi duties to the Throne with the utmost seriousness Minako still wasn't one to get up earlier than 8:00 am, unless said duties required it.

After waiting five minutes outside her door, Makoto figured this was one of those days. Thus, she headed for the palace's South-Eastern quadrant, the quadrant under Venus' command.

It was entirely a matter of chance that she found Minako, literally running into her whilst making her way down the hall. Minako, suited as her planetary alter-ego, was making her way out of Ami's rooms.

Venus and her underlings were systematically going through each room in Ami's palace suite, tearing the entire place apart in the process.

When asked, 'Just what the hell was going on?' Venus coldly explained the reason for the intrusion. It was for clues that could possibly point the way to wherever it was that Mercury and her lover were hiding.

After the fruitless search for the Ice warrior last evening a troop, led by Venus herself, stormed Greg's house and those of his relatives.

He came up missing as well. His kin had been taken into custody for questioning.

With the blonde "First Leader" continually making references to Mercury as a traitor, the ongoing discussion that Makoto held with her became increasingly heated.

Eventually, she was forced to walk away before she lost what was left of her cool and did something she figured she'd regret. Like punching the frigid Love Goddess right where she stood.


The rest of the day passed by in a blur.

All leads in regards to the whereabouts of Mercury and Greg came to dead-ends. The questioning of Greg's relatives gave no new information regarding the pair that investigators hadn't already found out.

Not even Neptune's mirror, powered by ALL of the Scouts, including the King and Queen, could pinpoint Mercury's power signature or Greg's life force.

It soon became clear, even to the extremely stubborn Uranus and Mars, that the Soldier of Wisdom would only be found when she wished to be found.

The search was officially called off that same afternoon, but a round-the-clock look-out was posted.

Seated in front of a simple computer screen, the lucky guards assigned to this position were to watch and report any appearance of a life or power signature belonging to the runaway couple.

It was simple, it was easy, and it was incredibly boring.


Late Afternoon

Royal Gardens

When Makoto wanted a place to be alone she came here, to the Royal Gardens of Crystal Tokyo. Much of this outdoor wonder had been grown and raised by her and she adored every inch of it.

In the beginning, when Crystal Tokyo had been in the midst of construction, Makoto had taken it upon herself to create and design what were now the Royal Gardens.

For years she had devoted her attention to this place, and the plant life within had flourished under her loving (and magical) touch.

It wasn't until the Court had been formed and the palace and city had truly been ready for rule that Makoto's attentions were turned elsewhere.

Professional gardeners were now the ones responsible for the area's upkeep, but they never turned down her help when she asked.

They were also respectful enough to leave her be when she traveled the path to the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden was her favourite spot. It held a secret glade that only she knew about. Even the gardeners had yet to find it.

This was where Makoto came when she wished to truly be alone. She came to this place to rest, train, read, meditate, and especially, to think.

And she had a lot to think about.

So far, Makoto had figured out that when it all came down to it this entire mess, in regards to herself, was about trust.

Venus and whoever else behind the investigation into Mercury's relationship with Greg hadn't trusted her enough to tell her about it.

This had been both for the fear that she might've gone and told Mercury about it, seeing as how they were so close, thus ruining the whole investigation; and for the suspicion that she'd been aware of Ami's affair and kept the secret for her, perhaps even aided the couple in meeting secretly.

Apparently, all suspicions against her were put to rest.

Her genuine reactions of shock and surprise during the trial yesterday were the best indications of her innocence, as far as the other Scouts were concerned.

Yet this did nothing to relieve the guilt she'd been carrying, ever since Mercury had been brought into the Throne room the day before. In fact, it just made Makoto feel worse.

She was the Scout of Protection for Heaven's sake! Yet she couldn't even protect one of her closest friends.

And why, why hadn't she noticed the difference in Ami's behaviour? She was her best friend, wasn't she? She should have seen something, she should have been there for her; but she didn't, and she wasn't, and it left her feeling sick.

And why hadn't Ami told her? Why hadn't she let her know, in some way, that something was going on? Was it because she didn't trust her? Did Ami think that she would have turned her in?

Most importantly though, was what would have happened if she had noticed a difference in Ami's behaviour. Or suppose that Ami had told her about her relationship with Greg.

Then what?

Makoto didn't have answer for that. Truthfully she couldn't say if she would have mentioned it to the others or not.

Thinking about her torn loyalties between her best friend, and the Neo Millennium Court, just made her queasiness worse; but her mind refused to dwell on anything else.

She stretched out on the grass of her secret glade, watching as the clouds gathered in the sky above, and let out a broken sigh.

Never since the untimely death of her parents, had Makoto felt so lost.


Meanwhile…

At the Gates of Time

An eternity of single-minded guard duty could drive even the strongest of human minds to madness.

Luckily for Setsuna she wasn't a Human, she was Plutonian; the Soldier and Heir to the planet Pluto; Warrior of Time and Space; Eternal Guardian of the Time Gates.

She had been trained for her position since her birth, thousands of years ago.

She had been taught how to pass the infinite amount of time guarding her station without succumbing to insanity. The trick was keeping the mind distracted. As long as her mind was busy with other matters it would not dwell on the fog enshrouded prison it lived in.

For thousands of years Pluto practiced this technique, mastering it quickly.

She trained, honing her skills as a warrior; she inspected the timelines of her dimension, looking for any irregularities that could bring about possible disaster; she attempted contact with the future timelines regularly, for any useful insight they may grant her; and every other century, when she was absolutely positive the Time Gates would be safe from intrusion, Setsuna would travel to Earth.

She only ever chanced to be gone from her post for a few hours at a time, but she relished these mini vacations of hers, short as they may be. And she always brought back souvenirs, to remind her of the fun she had.

When she was particularly bored Setsuna would look into the past, studying and watching ancient battles to see how they truly played out, never mind what the history books said. Her favourite was the infamous Trojan War.

Yet there was another battle of ancient times that the garnet-eyed warrior repeatedly found herself watching. It was the fall of the Silver Millennium.

The first time she dared to replay its events, she'd felt that there was something missing from it. Looking further back, she could find nothing to give her reason to pause. There were no suspicious breaks within the replay to suggest a tampering of the timeline, nor were the events any different than how she had remembered them.

Never the less, despite these assurances to herself there was a small voice niggling at the back of her mind that said differently. This voice had seemed to grow bigger and more urgent when the rise of Crystal Tokyo began. Because of it, Setsuna found herself delving into her oldest memories more and more often.

Each time she returned from one of her mental journeys she became more and more certain that a piece, an integral piece, was missing from the time of the Silver Millennium.

She found that when she tried to grasp onto certain memories that appeared hazy and unclear, they would slip through her fingers like water. It caused her no end of frustration.

Nor did it help that the ever present voice, which had kept quiet for some time now, proceeded to do nothing but holler at her. Its persistent shouts, now impossible to ignore, began anew not long after Mercury's trial.

Something was wrong, or would become wrong very soon. At least, that's what Setsuna felt in her gut. The future timelines refused to give her any answers or clues.

She'd thought through every possible scenario and outcome that she could come up with and though many of them were logical, none of them felt correct or rather, they didn't feel right.

With every unending minute that passed the unease and anxiety she felt continued to build. Even fighting the most fearsome creatures of the universe had never caused her to be so stressed.

Pluto wasn't sure which she would end up doing first, pulling all her hair out, or breaking down into tears.

She sat before the doors of the Time Gates; shoulders slumped in defeat, attempting to relax by taking deep, soothing breaths. With her eyes closed and her head down Setsuna was unaware of the intruder until she heard him speak.

"Calm yourself, child. You are of little use to anyone as an emotional wreck."

In a flash, the Warrior of Pluto was on her feet, her Garnet Scepter in hand. Yet one look at the black robes and the imposing figure that wore them and any thought of a battle quickly left her mind.

The somber aura of intense power radiating off the figure had her legs turning to jelly. It took all her strength to stand straight and tall.

Though Setsuna had only met this man once before in her long life, the impression he'd left upon her ensured that she would never in a billion years forget his face.

Before her stood Chronos, the mighty God of Time himself. He was also her grandfather.

"It is time for you to remember, time for you to know the truth."

His voice was so deep that she felt it more than she heard it. The misty fog that forever swept the halls of the Time Gates seemed to sway with every word the great god said.

For the brief moment that she saw his large hand moving towards her she was terrified. She barely registered the light touch upon her forehead before her world went black.

Hours later, Setsuna drifted back to awareness. She had a headache the size of the sun, but she remembered. She remembered everything.

She also knew what was coming, what had been long in the process of coming. She knew how it all had to play out, and she couldn't help but feel saddened by it. What they were looking at was the ultimate end of an era.

She needed to get the others ready for when the time came, and by the looks of it, it would be soon.


CrystalMaker: Um, yeah. I've always had this horrible habit when writing to mash everything of relevance together. Spacing it out and taking my time getting to all of it has always been a challenge for me.

Just keep in mind I'm trying to do my best to space it out. If it seems I put too much together at once, let me know. Or if I seem to be doing the opposite and taking my sweet-ass time getting from one point to another, again, let me know. Feedback is good people, it's very good.

P.S.: I realize I promised, like, background information as far as the radical character development (why everyone's acting so OCC) is concerned and, please note, it will be present in the next chapter. So don't wig, just chill. Peace. v--v