The ballroom was a glittering sea of strangers as Lena stepped inside. Her eyes darted across the room, hoping to spot a familiar face. She silently cursed herself for not coming with Michiru and Haruka or her parents. As she wove through the crowded room, she smiled awkwardly and nodded as unfamiliar faces congratulated her.

"You look you need a friend," she heard a soft voice say next to her. An arm wound through hers and she saw Rei's softly smiling face. "We're over here. Come join us."

Rei led her through the crowd, pausing periodically to nod in someone's direction or wave at someone she knew. When they reached the back of the room, Lena saw the other Guardians gathered together, laughing and talking. A vaguely familiar woman stood with them; she looked a bit older, tall with dark green hair and an impassive smile.

"Look who I found," Rei announced.

"It's the princess!" Minako cheered, hugging Lena tightly.

"It was a lovely ceremony," Ami said, giving her a hug when Minako stepped back, the others cheerfully agreeing. The tall woman held out her hand to Lena.

"I don't know if you remember me. I'm Setsuna," she said, introducing herself. Recognition hit Lena and she smiled widely.

"Of course! I haven't seen you in…" She trailed off, trying to remember the last time she had seen the Guardian of Time. Setsuna laughed softly.

"It's been some time, if I remember correctly. I have been a bit preoccupied with my duties," she said, giving Lena a warm smile.

"Well, you did it, little dove," Haruka said behind her. Lena felt a gentle pat on head, a welcome change from Haruka's normal hair mussing. "I have no doubt you'll do us all proud."

"Thanks, Haruka," Lena said, giving the taller woman a hug. Michiru stood behind them, her hands cupping her elbows. She looked paler than normal, but was smiling. Lena stepped away from Haruka and threw her arms around her cousin.

"I'm so proud of you, Leenie," Michiru whispered. "You're going to do so well."

"Thanks Michi," Lena whispered back.

Michiru pulled back, her hands on Lena's shoulders. "Now, it's time for cake!"

A chorus of cheers went up behind Lena, the other women agreeing. As a group they wove through the ballroom to a large buffet table set in the back. A cake nearly as big as the table it sat on was being cut, pieces passed on crystal plates. When Lena took her piece, she turned to the room, noticing that two people were missing.

"Where are Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion?" she asked, taking a bite of cake.

"Sick again, no doubt," Haruka muttered. Michiru's head dropped and she placed a hand to her forehead.

"Not tonight," Rei responded. Lena caught her quick eye roll.

"They should be here soon. Usagi promised they would make an appearance," Minako added.

Lena took another bite of her cake as the other women chatted behind her. The colors in the room were magnificent, dresses and suits in every shade imaginable. Her pale gold dress, with its simple lines and smaller details, felt understated compared to the other creations in the room. But I'm the only one with a crown tonight, she thought, gently touching the aquamarine diadem.

A dark green jacket and familiar hair caught Lena's eye. She squinted slightly, then gasped as her eyes widened in recognition. The man in the green jacket turned. His hair was still mussed and his smile was still warm. He was laughing at something someone said, his head slightly thrown back. With a scowl Lena thrust her plate onto a nearby table and stormed towards the man.

"Where is she…" Michiru trailed off as Haruka pointed across the room, chuckling low. "Oh no! She's seen him!"

"Exactly what are you doing here?" Lena demanded of the man, stepping in front of him.

"Lena!" Hale exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. He glanced at the group of stunned people he'd been talking to, and gave them a short nod. Placing a hand on Lena's arm, he led her to the back wall. She jerked her arm away, spinning on him.

"How are you here?" she asked. She crossed her arms over her chest. Hale rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I took a plane?" he said, a smile tugging at his lips. Lena drew her lips together tightly. He sighed. "I was invited."

"Who would invite you?"

Hale frowned. "Hey, that's not very nice. I was invited because each of the planets' courts were invited."

"Then that means…" Lena trailed off, looking away as she began to go over each of the courts' members.

"Then that means," Hale started. "That I'm a member of the Jupiter Court. My cousin is Princess Jupiter."

"Cousin of…" Lena gasped and hit Hale on the chest. "You're the Duke of Callisto she's mentioned?"

"Ow," he said, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him. "Yes, I'm the Duke. Have been since I was eighteen."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"You're one to talk," Hale said pointedly. "You didn't think to tell me you were coming back to Crystal Tokyo to become a princess?"

Lena's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to respond to his accusation. She hadn't told him the real reason why she came home. Behind them the music began to play a slow waltz. Lena turned to see dancers taking their places, spinning with the music.

"Let's go dance." Hale took her hand, leading her onto the floor. She let him, still too stunned. He placed one hand at her waist and began stepping in time with the music. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she let him lead as the ballroom began to blur into a motion of color.

"So you knew," she stated with no accusation in her voice. Hale made a questioning noise and raised an eyebrow at her. "You knew, the whole time, who I was?"

He shook his head. "Not the whole time. I thought you were just an average girl when we first met. But once you told me who your cousin was…" He shrugged, tightening his arm around her. "Makoto had told me about Princess Neptune abdicating and her cousin taking her place. I knew the princess only had one cousin, so assumed she was talking about you."

"Why didn't you tell me you knew who I was?"

"Why didn't you tell me who you are?"

Lena was silent. She heard Hale gently sigh. The music eased into a livelier tune, but they continued at their slower waltz.

"Lena, us meeting was purely coincidence. Maybe it's dumb, but I guess I was nervous telling you that I knew who you were… and who I am."

From across the room Lena saw Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion had arrived and were surrounded by their friends. Serenity sent a wide smile in her direction and waved excitedly. Her attention was drawn back to Hale as he lifted her arm, spinning her around. She slowly turned back, coming in close to him.

"You should have told me," she said softly, staring at his chest. He wore a small medal pinned to his jacket breast pocket, the symbol of Jupiter with a bear and bow and arrow behind it. "But I should have told you as well." She looked up and caught his eyes, jade green and soft. A smile grew on his lips and she felt his hand tighten at her waist.

"Next time I'll be sure to-" Hale was cut off by the sound of an explosion. Screams filled the room as windows shattered, glass flying into the room. Six flashes of light - red, blue, greens and yellows - shot up from the floor. The Sailor Soldiers appeared, surrounding the queen and king.

Hale pulled Lena towards him, covering her body. A flash of deep rose appeared near them, Sailor Pluto springing forward as she ushered them away from the melee surrounding them. The room erupted into a scream as a second explosion sounded and a blaze of light shot into the ballroom. Sailor Pluto paused, her face frozen in horror as the light neared the Sailor Soldiers. Before they could draw their own powers a flurry of purple flew in front of them.

"Silent Wall!"

The light hit a pale barrier, exploding against it. When the bright bursts had vanished, Lena saw a small Sailor Soldier standing, holding a glaive in front of her.

"Saturn," she heard Sailor Pluto whisper. Lena could see her swallow hard before exhaling sharply. "This way, Princess," Sailor Pluto instructed. Lena hurried after the Outer Soldier, Hale's arm still around her waist. When they had reached a small hall off the ballroom, Sailor Pluto stopped and turned to Lena, her face grave. "I need to go to the Queen and King. Follow this hall out to the guards. You'll be safe this way."

Before either Lena or Hale could respond, she was gone, running back to the ballroom.

"Well, you certainly know how to throw a party," Hale said, glancing down at Lena. She scowled at him, earning a wink. Hale placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes roaming over her as his hands ran down her arms to her waist. She fought the urge to cross her hands over her chest. "Are you okay? I don't see any cuts."

"Oh, right. Doctor," Lena muttered. She felt heat rise to her cheeks for thinking it was anything more than seeing if she was hurt.

"Huh?"

Lena shook her head. "I'm alright. I hope they're okay inside."

"They're fine," Hale said assuredly. "Now, since I guess the party is over, why don't I take you home?"


"What the hell was that?" Jupiter asked, pounding a fist on the table. Saturn jumped in surprise next to her, earning an apologetic look from Jupiter.

"Wasn't a full sweep of the palace done multiple times?" Mars asked.

Mercury pecked at her computer's keyboard. "According to palace records, four sweeps were done today. The first this morning at 8am, the second at 1pm, the third at 3pm, and the final one thirty minutes before the ball started. Sensors also show no change between the final sweep and the explosion."

"What does that mean then? That the explosion didn't come from the castle?" Uranus asked, her brows drawing together sharply.

"Theoretically, yes," Mercury agreed with a short nod.

"So are we saying whatever caused the explosion came from outside the castle?" Venus asked. "Someone was able to blow a hole in the side of the ballroom from a distance?"

"That would mean whoever we're dealing with is no ordinary criminal," Mars said quietly.

"Could it be…" Venus trailed off, steadying herself before she continued. "Could it be Chaos? We all know it's a possibility he could come back."

Neptune shook her head. "This doesn't feel like our enemies did in the past. Not quite."

"You feel something too?" Mars asked, leaning her head to the side as she stared at Neptune.

"I'm not certain," she replied, looking down at her mirror. "There's something... familiar, though."

The door to the small conference room opened. Serenity and Endymion stepped inside, the Sailor Soldiers quickly rising.

"Sit, please," Serenity said, motioning them down with a hand. "You know I hate that when it's just us."

"Was everything okay with Small Lady?" Minako asked.

Endymion nodded. "She was fine, asleep. Her nurse said nothing had happened the entire evening and the guards confirmed it. Sailor Pluto has agreed to stay with her until the sweep of the palace is complete."

"Good," Minako said firmly. Her lips tightened. "We need to figure out who is behind these attacks."


He whistled a jaunty tune as he stepped back to view his work. Smoke filled the air as flashing lights of emergency vehicles lit up nighttime sky. The shattered crystal walls of the Crystal Palace ballroom twinkled as the ballroom's light catching the shards. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket, rocking back on his heels.

"Some night, huh?" a man asked from next to him.

"Indeed," he said, his lips turning up in a small grin. "Terrible what's been happening here lately."

"You can say that again," the man agreed somberly, shaking his head.

He saw an opening, a tiny crack to slip his way into. "All these attacks lately," he started, his voice smooth. "Makes one wonder what Neo Queen Serenity has been doing to look into them."

The man nodded before giving a small chuckle. "Whatever she's doing, I would hate to be the one in her line of sight. She and her Guardian Soldiers..." The man shook his head and continued on his way.

Watching the man walk away he nodded before turning back to the palace. "One would hate that indeed."


Lena glanced at her hands clenched in her lap as she leaned her head against the car window. The car ride back to her apartment had been one of the most awkward car rides she had ever had. Hale cleared his throat. She glanced at him, thinking he meant to speak, but he remained silent. With a tiny sigh, she turned back to the window.

"Were you really even a doctor?" she asked softly.

"What?"

She turned towards him, bringing a knee up to the car seat. "In Connecticut. You're here now, the Duke of Callisto, the second highest ranking member of the Jupiter Court, when just a couple hours ago you were barely a doctor at some small hospital in New Haven. Were you really a doctor?"

"Were you really a student?" Hale scowled at her, the first time she had ever seen him angry.

"What? Of course I was!"

"Then why is it a princess can have an ordinary life but I can't?" he asked.

"I wasn't a princess!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The crown says differently," Hale said. He pointed to the diadem on her head. She glanced up at it and sighed.

"I was only the backup," she said softly, turning back to the window.

"I was only the backup, too," Hale started, equally as soft. "Until my dad died."

Lena turned to him, eyes wide. He gave her a small grin that didn't quite meet his eyes.

"That's the thing about being an heir," he said. "You're only backup until you're not. Difference between you and me? You did what you were supposed to do. It became your turn and you took it. Me? I stayed away. Mom's been good about filling in for me so long as I put in an appearance every so often. But I've never stepped up as I've been expected to."

The car pulled up to Lena's apartment. Resting her hand on the door handle, she glanced back at Hale.

"Do you want to come up?"

His eyes widened in surprise. She waved her hands quickly in front of her face, heat rising to her cheeks.

"I only meant… you know, friendly visit… I'm not trying…" she stuttered. Hale laughed.

"I know what you meant. Calm down," he said teasingly. "I'd be happy to come up for a friendly visit, so long as you don't do anything to sully my good name."

Lena rolled her eyes and opened the car door, gathering her dress in her arm. Hale leaned against the driver's window, explaining he would be back down. When they reached the private elevator to her apartment, she stuck her key in, calling it down. The ride to the top floor was quiet. Lena fiddled with her key. The elevator doors opened with a ping. Stepping out, Lena could see her apartment door open a tiny crack.

"That's funny," she muttered. "I was sure I closed it."

Hale put a hand on her arm just as she was reaching to push the door open. "Let me check."

Lena stood in the doorway as Hale searched the apartment. Her stomach clenched a little when he walked into the bedroom, knowing he would find a closet's worth of clothing scattered across the room. The rest of the apartment wasn't much better. She made a mental note to take her mother up on her offer to find a housekeeper.

"I didn't see anything," he said when he finished searching. "Everything looks in order, but you'll have to check to make sure nothing's amiss."

She was grateful he didn't mention the mess. As she walked further into the apartment, she didn't see anything out of place, but a growing knot of worry formed in her stomach. A hint of white stood out on the desk in the far corner of the living room. Pushing aside a book, she saw a small note card had been tucked behind, its corner just peeking out.

"Dear Princess Neptune," it read.

"It is my sincerest pleasure to welcome you as the newest princess of the honorable Neptune Court. You will be a wonderful breath of fresh air and will certainly bring about exciting changes. I look forward to your reign. Your ever admiring servant,"

There was no signature save a single black circle.


AN: WHEW! I have been putting off posting this chapter for a while now. I think I wrote myself into a hole of sorts and then realized the direction I was going wasn't the direction I had started going. So I had to go back and reevaluate some things, make a few changes, etc.

Luckily I have the next 3 chapters just about finished, so yay! Hopefully I'll do a better job of posting them though...

As always, thanks for reading! :)