Disclaimer: Sailor Moon does not belong to me. I'm just borrowing the characters for my story. I promise to return them.

Prologue

"Where am I?" wondered Neo-Queen Serenity as the blackness faded away. One minute she and her family were sitting down to dinner and the next there was utter chaos outside. She pushed herself into a sitting position, and looked around. Her husband lay completely still only a foot away.

"Endymion," she cried, rushing to his side. "Wake up, my love. Please wake up!" Serenity felt for a pulse, and was relieved to find his was still strong.

"Serenity," the king murmured sleepily as he slowly came back to consciousness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "What about you?"

"I feel like I was hit by a truck but other than that I feel peachy," Endymion told her as he sat up.

"Your Highnesses," Sailor Mars came running in to the room. "Are you both okay?"

"We're fine, Mars. What is going on out there?" Endymion demanded.

Serenity interrupted before Mars could answer. "My baby! Where is my baby?" she cried frantically. Serenity got up and started to run from the room, but was stopped by Sailor Jupiter, who had just shown up and was blocking the exit.

"She's fine," Mars answered. "Venus has her safely hidden. Now we just need you two to come with us..."

"Not until you tell us what is going on," Endymion said firmly.

"The enemy is attempting to overthrow and usurp the thrown. They are after you two. They figure that once they kill both of you, they can rule. Now please come," Jupiter said, motioning for the royal couple to follow.

"We can't just run," Serenity said firmly. "What will happen to our people? What use are we to anybody if we can't protect them?"

"And what happens if they get their way?" Jupiter cried. "The other Senshi are holding the enemy off right now, but they can only keep this up for so long."

"I agree with Serenity," Endymion said. "We stay and fight."

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Mars demanded, sounding worried. She and the queen had been close friends for a while, and she had a decent idea what the plan was.

"I can release the power of the Silver Crystal," Serenity said.

"It would be nice to be wrong once," Mars thought to herself. "My Queen, the power of the crystal is not limitless. The enemy is too powerful to be destroyed by it. Besides if you use the crystal, you'll die."

"I may not be able to destroy the enemy, but I can temporarily vanquish them and put up a protective barrier," Serenity said, refusing to let go of this idea. "And if I have to die to bring peace, then so be it. At least it will buy everyone time to figure out how to beat them for good when the barrier collapses."

"Serenity, you are very powerful, but so are they. Your barrier won't hold long. The kingdom needs you alive," Jupiter told her, desperately trying to talk off this suicidal path.

"It would be strong enough to hold for a while if Serenity and I combined our power and channeled it through the crystal," Endymion said.

"That may be so, but then you'd both be dead. What would the kingdom do then?" Mars cried.

"Small Lady is still alive and well," Serenity said. "Make sure she stays safe and when the time comes she will return to the thrown. In the meantime, the senshi can act as regent for her."

"Please your Highnesses, don't do this," begged Jupiter.

"Do we have another choice? We can run and hide, but then everyone will suffer because of us. What kind of leaders would we be?" Endymion said. "Unless you guys have another plan that will get rid of our enemy..."

The two senshi fell silent. They didn't have a better idea.

Serenity smiled. "Goodbye my friends. Thank you for everything."

The royal couple did what needed to be done. The power forced out the enemy and put up a protective barrier around the kingdom. The people rejoiced, but they had yet to find out that their beloved king and queen had died to protect them. A great period of mourning covered the city when the news was spread.

Despite their sadness, the senshi knew they still had work to do so they pulled themselves together. Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter went out to make sure the enemy had been eliminated. Mars remained behind to care for the infant princess.

"The castle feels so empty without Serenity and Endymion," Mars thought sadly, looking at a picture of her two friends. She and Serenity had fought like cats and dogs, but they really had been best friends. It was unbelievable to think that she was gone.

A loud cry interrupted her thoughts and Mars hurried to the princess's room. "Hush, Small Lady." She picked up the infant. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Let's see, you're still dry. Maybe you're hungry. We'll go get you some food."

Mars paused suddenly and held her breath. It had only been for a second, but she was sure she heard footsteps. She pulled the princess close to her. "Whose there? Identify yourself!" Mars growled.

Silence greeted her demand. Mars backed up to the door and called to one of the palace workers. A young woman responded first. "What is it ma'am?"

"Hold her," Mars said, handing the princess to the woman. "Stay there and don't move."

Now that the princess was in safe hands, Mars felt she could force a confrontation with whoever was hiding out. She closed her eyes, and allowed her intuition to guide her. "Got you," she hissed, kicking down the door to a closet in the room. Inside stood one of the palace guards. Confused, Mars dropped her fighting stance, but stayed alert. "What are you doing in that closet?"

"I was investigating..." the man started.

"Investigating what," she demanded, forcing him against the back wall.

"Just investigating," the man gasped. "With everything so weird and everything..."

Mars frowned. The excuse was flimsy and her intuition was working over time. "You'll stay under guard until I can look into this further."

Suddenly the man's eyes started to glow red and he lunged at Mars. She kicked him hard in the stomach and then punched him, sending him to the floor. He looked up at her, his eyes still glowing, "You can't stop us. The king and queen are dead. Only the princess stands in our way." The red glow faded, and the man collapsed. Mars felt for a pulse. He was dead.

Mars quickly called the senshi back. After running all the necessary tests, Mercury was able to determine that he had been controlled by the enemy's magic. "They may not be able to physically cross the barrier, but they seem to be able to slip some magic through. I noticed this when I was inspecting the barrier. It is very strong, but it covers so much area and is under so much strain from the constant barrage of magic that some leeks through."

"So they can still reach the princess," Venus murmured. "We have to keep her safe and the only way to do this is to hide her away until it is time for her to reclaim the thrown. Mars, you've spent the most time with her, will you...?"

"I'll take her," Mars said.

"We'll stay behind to keep the kingdom safe and running. You protect the princess. We shouldn't tell her who she is until the time is right. Small children have trouble keeping secrets. All we need is for this to get out," Venus said. "Check in with us often. We'll stop by to see you also."

"I'll take her into the kingdom and raise her as my daughter," Mars said. She picked up the princess. "Come Small Lady. We have a new life to begin."