Title: The Great Freeze

Author: aaeris17

Author's Notes:

THE GREAT FREEZE takes place five years after the Defeat of Galaxia. All the scouts have settled into normal lives and with the eve of Bunny's wedding coming up, worries began to surface as to whither or not they have escape their true destinies.

I hope you enjoy reading this! If you happen to like it, check out my other story on Crescent Mirror. Please read and review!

CHAPTER ONE

You would think the fact I was merely six weeks away form marrying the love of my love, I would be driving everyone completely batty.

Well, it's true. My mom cannot sit still. My dad is constantly complaining about the cost and Sammy seems to be unnerved by the presence of all the girls in the house.

Not all, I should say, bitterly. I stare at a photo of all then scouts. I haven't seen Setsuna in almost three years. She came for my 18th birthday and…that's it. Rei is almost in a rage of frustration over not being able to contact her. For a moment, I wish I had a Luna P ball—just to talk to her, ask advice. My heart contracts, Rini! The words of King Endymion haunt me. I touch my belly. No, no sign of life, yet. I try to breathe to clear my head, still staring at that photo taken shortly after the defeat of Nehelenia. It has been five years since the rebirth of all us Scouts. Five years since we defeated Nehelenia. Five years since I last held my daughter. Five years since we were all together. I clench my fists.

I don't even know where to send the wedding invitations!

Haruka and Michiru have dropped off our radar, taking Hotaru with them. At first we got postcards, but slowly, overtime, those too dwindled away. I guess we're all grown up now. We don't need to fight together.

My Princess, You have grown into a strong, courageous, young woman. Your late Mother, my Dear Queen, would have been so proud to see you today. It has been our honor as the Outer Scouts to fight alongside you and your Guard. You have granted us the only wish we ever wanted. We have learned much from you. Now the time has come for us to let our love for you once again be observed from a distance as to protect you greater. You are always in our thoughts, dear one.

In the name of the Goddess who watches us all,

Michiru

That was the last post card, two years ago.

"Bunny! The girls are here!" Mom yelled up breaking my reverie. A thunderous clamor of footsteps were heard, wait, those were more than three sets of feet. I spring to the door, hoping that I am finally seeing who I think I hear.

A squeal of laughter, "BUNNY! The shriek was a tornado of blonde who knocked my backwards onto my bed. I couldn't stop laughing.

"OMG! I though you couldn't get away for weeks! I thought you were coming in the week before the wedding!" I cried, taking in Mina's flushed cheeks, glowing eyes, and oh so cutting edge wardrobe.

"Well," She twisted her glossed lips, "I kinda had to fib…"

"Fib?" A sarcastic male voice interrupted, "You are going to be in breech of contract if you're not careful,"

"Artemis!" I laughed pulling the overgrown ball of fluff into a big rubdown.

Purring, he let Mina continue, "So they'll have to rearrange the shooting schedule, who cares?" She flipped her hair, "I'm Mina Aino, idol at LAST!" She struck her old Sailor V pose, "Can you believe they're actually making a Sailor V movie? WITH ME!" She twirled and fell back onto the bed.

"Like you didn't beg and plead for them to do it!" Rei sarcastically laughed as she walked in behind Ami who smiled and gave me a small hug before moving to my desk chair. I took in Ami. Sans lab coat you could see how beautiful she had become. Knee length brown pencil skirt and flattering English cream blouse, Ami was more model than doctor. Rei sat at Ami's feet. Ami, thoughtfully putting her large rimmed glasses away commented,

"You know, she might have a point. It would not bode well for someone out there to put two and two together,"

"Oh, cmon guys!" A louder voice laughed, accompanying the sweet smell of cookies, "Who's going to place Mina as the real thing? It's been years since anyone's seen us in our uniforms. No one recognized us then!" Lita bounced in, holding a plate of cookies high, "Hi hun," she bent down to kiss my forehead and handed me my own pouch of cookies. Lita had finally learned.

"Bunny!" Luna scolded, coming in and swooping the package out of my hands, "You want to fit into your wedding dress? Here, one at a time, its not like you have a workout regime anymore,"

"Yeah, Odango, don't want you want to stay in shape?" Rei teased with a wink.

"Luna…" Artemis whispered. He stared in awe.

Since my eighteenth birthday, when Pluto told us we were really out of danger for the most part unless something like Nemesis happened again, it would be safe for Luna to finally return to her half humanoid half cat form. Luna blushed. Her hair was down in long curly black tendrils. Her bangs mimicked mine and she wore a dainty pink sundress. She looked more like an older sister than an old guardian.

"Why…did no one tell me?" Artemis wondered out loud. Mina smiled secretively. Clearly she was doing it to him on purpose. He wiggled out of my clutches and went towards her.

Luna stood still watching as slowly a pale orange light enveloped Artemis. He grew larger and we were blinded as a tall well built man unfurled and rose bright blue eyes towards Luna. She held back a sob and opened her arms.

We had all forgotten how handsome Artemis was in his humanoid form. We were even more unprepared when Artemis kissed Luna. Ami politely coughed.

"Excuse us," Artemis bluntly replied and swept Luna out of the room.

"Um…how they plan on hiding from your parents?" Mina asked watching them giggling out of the door into the hallway.

"My parents are pretending to be more blind than usual to the giggles," I answered laughing, "Oh…"I smiled, "I am so happy that we are all finally together," My lips quivered.

"Oh no! Bunny!" Rei laughed and was the first to create a group hug.

After we laughed and had helped ourselves to tea and cookies we relaxed and chatted nonsensely: teasing Mina about being a super star, Lita's lack of love life since she founded the bakery, Ami being promoted so her Mom can retire, and Rei's decision to take on more help at the temple.

Rei flipped her hair and smoothly uncrossed her legs, seeing her out of her kimono these days was rare, "I never realized how much work Grandpa did and it feels…too lonely now," Her lashes fluttered down.

I put my hand on her knee, "We all still miss him," He had died nearly a year and a half ago. Grief only made Rei's beauty more painful to look at. Relations with her father were still terse.

Rei smiled sadly.

"I wish you guys had told me sooner. I would have flown back," Mina protested brushing her eyes quickly.

"It happened so fast. There was little time to do anything than give his soul a peaceful departure and let the cleansing process began," Rei murmured, "But enough of that, Bunny! Your twenty first birthday!"

I rolled my eyes, "Can you believe it? Ah! Twenty one! And then…" I stopped myself and everyone stared at me.

"Twenty two, Buns, even I know that," Lita laughed trying to end the silence. Mina's eyes got round and met mine. Ami raised her eyebrows and looked away from checking her Blackberry.

"What's wrong with twenty two?" Ami asked.

Mina laughed too hard. Award winning actress and she can't even fool her friends? I grimaced. Rei stiffened.

"Twenty two is usually considered an auspicious number," She said slowly staring at me with those intensely violet eyes and I knew that her psychic mind was probing all my barriers.

"Nothing, like Mina said, Nothing," I stood up, "Who needs another cup of tea?" I asked reaching for cups. All three girls held theirs firmly and only Mina bleakly handed me her still full cup.

"Sit," Lita ordered and she stood, "What are you not telling us?" She looked to Mina as did the other three girls. Mina threw back her shoulders. She wasn't leader of the old Senshi for nothing.

"If you must know," Mina began like it was nothing of importance at all and she stood and went to the window to watch the setting sun, "It's been five years since we defeated Galaxia,"

"This is no time for stories, Mina, cut to it!" Rei snapped peevishly. Mina did not budge. The tension in the room was thickening.

"Ami?" Mina started fiddling with the lace on the curtains, "Setsuna left you a great deal of programs right? More than enough information to keep you busy and help you when she could not be there?"

Ami's eyes narrowed intelligently, "Yes, she left me in charge of many physical documents,"

Mina did not stop playing with the lace, "Including a way of monitoring all the solar systems in the universe as to watch for other invaders like Galaxia? Right?"

"Yes…" Ami was slower to respond this time. For once Mina was taking Ami off guard.

"Including one to monitor the Space Time Continuum for any disruptions or alleviations from the steady course we were treading up to, oh say, now?" Mina turned to see Ami's face blanch and Ami swallow.

"Yes, she did leave me a program to see watch the continuation of our Time Stream. But like I've said before, it is no fortune teller and it does not guarantee anything," Ami tried to smile but failed when she looked at the sternness on Mina's face.

Mina turned to face everyone and I sat back down, curling up like I was a teenager again, "When we visited the Future, the Future we saw was going to happen if we continued on this path, the future King Endymion told us that Neo Queen Serenity ascended the throne of Crystal Tokyo at age 22 and gave birth to the Princess Small Lady Serenity shortly thereafter," Mina paused as the other three girls choked on their own breath. Had we ever discussed this? We knew our destines but never knew when they would happen.

"That means…"Ami began.

"There will be no wedding, "Rei whispered as Lita nodded with tears in her eyes. I looked sharply at Rei. THIS I had not thought of.

"If there is going to be a thousand year freeze than either the wedding is directly before we enter the Great Freeze or immediately thereafter," Lita thought out loud.

Ami shook her head, "It would be after the Great Freeze. A wedding and a coronation to celebrate the New World and stop mourning for, our loss," Ami struggled to keep her voice steady, "Our loss of the old world,"

With those worlds my eyes clouded over in tears. No wedding? Our loss? What loss?

A cheerful rap was heard at the door, "Oh girls! Dinner will be…now, why these glum faces? Cheer up girls, we shall all be celebrating our little Bunny growing up!" Mom came in and waved at us all. Still smiling she winked at me as she walked out of the room.

Mommy! Were my parents not going to be there for my wedding? I heard no mention of them in the future. Could it possibly be? Could it be that I would truly be all alone when I walked down the aisle and my poor Rini, would have no grandparents? I turned wide eyes back to Mina who was still fidgeting with the lace curtain.

"There is something else you must know," Mina added in a soft voice once my mom's heels were done clicking down the stairs.

"What more have you hidden from us?" Rei added as a snide comment. Mina's eyes flashed.

"You may have not been there when we spoke with King Endymion but you knew the dates as well as we did," Mina calmly reminded.

Rei settled down, slightly unruffled.

"Mina, what else are you saying?" Ami asked politely.

Mina turned her eyes outward again. The moon was rising, "I have heard from the Outer Scouts. They came and visited in LA,"

I snapped my head towards her, "You've heard from them? Are they okay? How's Hotaru? Why…"I couldn't finish the thought. Why Mina and not me?

Lita stood up and grabbed the curtain away from Mina, "Focus," she ordered and sat Mina down in the chair she had been sitting in. Lita joined me on the bed.

"The Outer Scouts were not trying to be rude," Artemis had entered again without us knowing. He was still in human form and his bright blue eyes matched Mina's in an uncanny way, "They merely came to pay deference to the Leader of the Guard. They have spent much time in the Outer Regions of the Solar System perfecting barriers against any outward intruders that might see this as a perfect time to attack…"

"It thought Galaxia was the last possibility! She was Chaos itself!" Rei interrupted.

Mina shook her head, "We know the Dark Moon attacks in the future and we know that Sailor Cosmos came from an even more distant future that is an actual war with Chaos. I digress,"

Eyes raised. Mina had used a big word.

"Ami, when was the last time that you checked the Time Space Continuum?" Mina looked at Ami with the sternness of the leader she had once been. And will be again soon!

"Why, just the other day to see if," Ami blushed, "To see if the date set for Bunny's marriage would be auspicious,"

Rei smiled at her.

Mina nodded, "And it said what?"

Ami saw what Mina was pushing at, "Yes, we were absolutely fine,"

"But what happened when you checked the date for Bunny's wedding?"

"It said there were two possibilities, this and one that seemed so remotely…" Ami stopped.

"Far off that you laughed at the thought of them getting married in one thousand years?" Mina finished. Ami flushed a little angered.

"Yes, I thought it was a computer glitch and blew it off. But then again, Mina chan, all event have more than one possible outcome," Ami had a point.

Lita's eyebrows were furrowed and Rei seemed ready to snap. I let it all sink in.

"That would have been one massive computer glitch. What do you think your computer was telling you?"

"That while it may seem at the moment we are heading towards a wedding in six weeks we are in fact on the verge of a climatic event that will shove us into our final destinies," I whispered from my hollow between my knees.

All heads turned sharply towards me. Luna sat besides me and put an arm around my shoulders, trying to offer some comfort to my world that was already completely falling apart.

Mina nodded, "That's right, Bunny, that's why the Outer Scouts have been working so hard for the past five years trying to secure the perimeter so that they can handle it when the world goes into a thousand year stasis in time,"

Two big words in less than ten minutes. Was I going crazy or was Mina turning into a real leader before my eyes?

"Do..they not also enter the Freeze with us?" Rei slowly asked. Mina frowned slightly.

"There are many questions that we do not know the answers to. Including who is awake during the thousand year freeze," Mina said slowly.

"We cannot possibly sleep like everyone else for a thousand years!" Lita exclaimed, "My God, even with the security precautions the Outer Scouts have taken, we are just leaving ourselves wide open. We might as well put a bull eye's on the Earth and announce to all universes at the Sailor Senshi are going to take a little vacation for the next thousand years, and hell, let's make it a party!" She sarcastically finished.

"You are right Lita, the Senshi cannot possibly sleep while the Earth recuperates," Ami agreed and had already taken out her computer and her goggle visors were on. Neon numbers and words swam in front of her eyes, "If the Crystal is what heals the Earth, than is it also the same vehicle for putting people into a cryogenic sleep?" She murmured out loud, "We do not have a successful technology for placing people into a deep stasis," Ami said louder and with a hint of worry in her voice, "Even if we did…to do it on such a massive level? A little bit over six billion people? How can we possibly achieve this?"

"Even if we do use the power of the Crystal we cannot risk Bunny's life to do so," Rei added, "No offense, Bunny, but it's beyond your power to freeze the Earth, heal the Earth, and then place six billion people into a state of suspended animation for a thousand years. Let's not even try to figure out how we're going to explain to people who and what we are and how in the world Crystal Tokyo will ever be built," Rei said exasperated as she ticked these things off on her hands.

"I may not be able to do such things…But Darien is the Keeper of the Golden Crystal that has the power to do it. With the power of both of our crystals…I'm sure we can see some way…" I trailed off not even too sure of what I was saying.

Mina shook her head, "Such power has never been used by you two on such a scale…Actually, it is not your power that will put the people to sleep or awaken them," Mina turned to Ami who was still pounding away at numbers, "It is Ami's ability to control water as well as Michiru's,"

We all stared. Ami was so startled that she almost dropped her computer, "Me? Well, I, I have never tried to freeze anything temporarily. It was more of an offensive maneuver. Michiru? I…how do you know this Mina?" Ami stopped stumbling over her words and asked straightforwardly. Mina smiled.

"Ami, what memories do you have of your life in the Silver Millennium?" Mina asked, still smiling, looking forward to her answer.

Ami went into a little state of shock, "We…we never have discussed this…"She said little more.

The entire group went silent. Even Mina's smile faded a little. When the first thing one learns about a past life was the enormous sacrifice she made and the horror that destroyed her life, there is little more than sorrow when one slowly remembers bits and pieces of a life that is no longer important.

I remember growing up with the girls. But, I never trained with them. The Sailor Senshi were my protectors. I was being reared to be diplomatic, to rule ten planets and help them live in peace and harmony. The girls did not move to the Moon until they were in the eleventh year. Till that point, it had been lots of visits and escapades. The girls from the past are the same and yet not the same as I remember them. But, it doesn't matter now. I spent years fighting as a trinity, Tskuino Bunny, Princess Serenity, and Sailor Moon. She and I were always one. Yet, why did the rest of us never discuss what we were and what we are meant to be? Perhaps by pretending to ignore these facts helped us achieve a normal existence…as normal as the five of us could get.

"I remember being sent to Neptune to train under Sailor Neptune," Ami began vaguely, "She wanted me to cultivate my healing abilities along with my water power. Since her planet was more water than mine was I was better accustomed to handling problems that arose with a society that was mainly aquatic. Mercury, of course, was more ice than water, but we learned how to get to the water underneath the ice," Ami blushed, "I digress,"

Mina grinned, "But somewhere in you is the ability to reawaken those in suspended animation," She pointed out.

Ami glanced at her computer, "Somewhere," she repeated.

"GIRLS! DINNER!" Mom called from downstairs and I heard a distinct GONG that reverberated throughout the entire house.

All of us jumped a little. We weren't expecting the evening to have passed so quickly.

I cleared my throat, "Coming, Mom!" I called back though I was trying so hard to get all these facts straight in my mind and not cry due to the sheer weight of knowledge that was coming at me all too fast.