A/N Okay, here we go. I know you guys have been waiting for this, and I apologize. School has been really hectic lately (but I'm almost done for good…yay me!) and between that and my hubby and son, I haven't had a lot of free time. I want to thank everyone for the response to the prologue, you guys really helped lift my spirits. So my big hugs this time go to:

chimichurri

xo Usako ox

GoldenDragon326

amaramichelle

anime-lover10

Atem's Sister Atea

Lady Airly

tiny2008

sasumiofjp

Ldsprincess

LittlebitsD

CharmedSerenity3

Seredhiel05

JmacKarla

madorno81

S dot Serenity

ange de l'aube

SailorMercuryROCKS

Inufan155687

Chichiforever

Thank you so much everyone. I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter except that it covers about six years and shows a few different events in the lives of our three newcomers and their families. The official gauntlet starting the beginning of the new adventure will be thrown at the end. Enough out of me!

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 1

The Chaos Before Discord

"Ahhh!!!" the scream echoed down the hall of the crystal palace, bouncing off the walls with enough strength to probably wake up anyone within a ten-mile radius.

Before the sound even had a chance to fade, a door was thrown open and Neo Queen Serenity appeared, quickly tying the belt of her pink silk robe as she hurried down the hall. She burst through a door and hurried to the bed across the room.

"DJ? DJ, sweetie, wake up!" she exclaimed, grasping her thrashing ten year old son by the arm and shaking him gently.

He gasped and flew into a sitting position, eyelids popping open to reveal scared blue eyes. He panted for breath for a moment before realizing who was sitting beside him.

"Mom!" he cried, throwing himself into Serenity's arms with the force of a small speeding car. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he buried his head in her chest.

"Shh, it's okay," Serenity whispered soothingly. "Was it a bad dream?"

The ebony head nodded, but he didn't raise his face to hers. His arms were locked around her waist like steel bands.

She smoothed his tousled hair with soft fingers. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

He shook his head. "I don't remember it," he said in a muffled voice.

"Hey, is everything okay?" a sleepy, husky voice asked from the doorway. Endymion stood there, bare-chested and wearing a pair of sweatpants.

DJ jerked away from his mother and began scrubbing the tears from his cheeks and eyes. He didn't want to let his father see that he had been crying like a little girl.

Serenity smiled at her husband. "Everything's fine. Just a little bad dream, that's all."

Endymion crossed the room to join them, and DJ quickly turned his head away. He knew that his eyes were probably red and would give him away. His mother was the best in the whole world and he loved her with his all his heart, but his father was his idol and hoped that one day he would be just like him. The last thing he wanted to do was to appear weak in front of him.

"Everyone has bad dreams sometimes son," Endymion told him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "And it's okay to be upset by them. There's no shame in crying over them. I've done it myself on several occasions."

DJ's head snapped around to stare at Endymion in disbelief through tear reddened eyes. "You have?"

The king grinned at him. "Yes, I have. No why don't you tell me what this dream of yours was all about."

The light blue eyes suddenly held a shuttered look and his face hardened. "I don't remember it."

Serenity sighed. Just like his father, DJ had a habit of withdrawing into himself when he was troubled about something. "Okay, honey. Now do you feel like you can go back to sleep."

"Yeah, " the young prince answered, laying down and pulling the covers up to his chin. "'Night, mom. 'Night, dad."

They both bid him goodnight and left the room, closing the door quietly behind them. Once in the hall, Serenity threw herself at her husband, holding him tightly.

"He's lying to us, Darien," she said in an urgent voice. "He said he doesn't remember the dream, but I could tell that he does. I could see it in his eyes."

Endymion kissed the top of her head. "I know, but we can't force it out of him."

"He 's too much like you." Serenity sighed. "When something bothers him he pulls away from everything hides behind a wall."

Endymion pulled her arms from around his waist and took her hand, pulling her down the hall toward their room. "Come on, Serena. It's late. Let's go back to bed."

DJ heard his parent's voices fading away and breathed a sigh of relief. He felt bad about lying to them about not remembering the dream, but it was too terrifying to repeat. A part of him was also afraid that if he said it out loud, it would come true.

He had been standing on a hill, outside of the city, looking out at Crystal Tokyo in the distance. Suddenly there were loud explosions, and the city went up in flames. He heard two startled cries and turned to find his best friend Alex, and of all people, Alex's bratty sister, Katie, standing next to him. Both of them were staring at the burning city in the same state of shock that he was.

A heavy fog suddenly rolled over them, making it hard to see. Two shadowy figures appeared not far from them, but it was impossible to see who they were through the fog. An eerie sounding laugh boomed around them, and then the ground beneath them began to buck and crack.

A large hole opened up under Alex and Katie, and both of them fell into an endless darkness. What haunted him the most was the look on Katie's face as she spun to look at him moments before she fell. Her hazel eyes had been full of fear, and for once looked at him pleadingly instead of glaring at him like she normally did. Then he woke up.

A quiet beep came from the cell phone on his bedside table, letting him know he had an incoming message. He looked at his clock, wondering who it could be at 1:30 in the morning. He flipped it open and saw that it was from Alex.

Hey D, r u awake? If u r, call me. A.

'Okay. That's weird,' DJ thought as he dialed his friend. Why would Alex want to talk to him in the middle of the night?

The phone only rang twice before it was answered with a quick, "Hello."

"What's the deal messaging me so late?" DJ grumbled, still feeling irritated by the nightmare."

"Sorry," Alex said, his voice shaking a bit. "I was freaked out and needed someone to talk to. I just thought I'd take a chance and see if you were awake."

"Well you got lucky," DJ retorted. "What's up?"

"Well, it's kinda strange," Alex hedged. "You know how Katie and I sometimes think the same thing at the same time and can finish each other's sentences, right? Well something really weird just happened."

"You wanted me to call you in the middle of the night so that you could tell me about another one of yours and Tinkerbell's crazy twin things?" DJ asked in an exasperated voice.

Alex responded quickly. "Just wait a minute and hear me out. I had this wacky nightmare a little while ago and woke up screaming. Mom and dad are out at a gallery showing and left us here with Dawn. I guess she couldn't hear me downstairs or she would have come running."

DJ felt a shiver down his spine. "What kind of nightmare?"

Alex launched into an explanation. "It was creepy. I was with you and Katie standing outside the city. Then all of a sudden all of Crystal Tokyo went up in flames. Then this fog came out of nowhere and I could hardly see a thing. There were two people in the fog, but I don't know who they were. Then this giant hole opened up and you and Katie both fell in and disappeared."

DJ froze. It sounded just like his nightmare; except he had seen Alex and Katie fall into the darkness.

"Anyway," Alex continued. "This is where it gets weird. Right after I woke up, Katie comes running into my room all crying and upset. It took me a minute to get it out of her, but she had the same dream. She said the only difference was that she saw me and you fall into the hole."

DJ sat quiet for a moment before whispering, "I think something really weird is going on, because I had the same dream."

Six Months Later

"Jerk!"

"Pain in the butt!"

"Come on you two, not again!"

"Momma's boy!"

"Pest!"

"Please don't fight today!"

"Tar head!"

"Tinkerbell!"

"Ohhh…that's it!"

"Oof…low blow, fairy flake. You fight like a girl!"

"I am a girl, genius!"

"Enough!" Neo Queen Serenity commanded, looking down sternly at the three children that were currently in a tumbled heap on the ground.

Two sets of blue eyes and one hazel looked up at her sheepishly. She sighed and shook her head. "What in the world am I going to do with you? It feels like I can't turn my back for two minutes without finding you at each other's throats."

Alex blushed and looked down. "Sorry, Aunt Serena. I tried to stop them."

Serenity smiled down at him and tousled his already messy brown hair. "I know you did, sweetie. Now why don't you hurry up to the dining room, dinner will be served soon."

"Okay," Alex agreed, walking across the lawn toward the Crystal Palace. He turned to look warily back at his sister and his best friend, wondering what their punishment would be this time. He adored his Aunt Serena almost as much as his mother, but she could get scary when she was mad.

Serenity surveyed the two remaining little troublemakers in front of her. "Now, since the two of you seem to have so much pent up, restless energy inside of you, I think we need to find an outlet for that. I want you two to go to the training room now for two hours of practice. That should wear you out enough where you don't feel like fighting anymore."

"But mooommm…" DJ immediately protested. "It's dinnertime and I'm starved. I already trained all afternoon."

Serenity felt her heart melt a little as she stared at her son. He looked so much like his father, but at least he didn't have Darien's pleading eyes. She was a sucker for those. She stayed firm. "You should have thought about that before."

"We're really sorry, Aunt Serena. We won't do it again." Katie said in a sweet little voice, clasping her hands in front of her and doing her best to look contrite. "We'll be better, I promise. May we please go to dinner?"

"Oh no you don't!" Jess said, joining them. "That little pitiful act of yours isn't going to work this time. You heard what Serena said, now move it."

"Fine!" both kids growled together, stomping off in the direction of the wing of the palace that held the training facilities for the scouts and generals. Secretly they called it the torture chamber. They may have only been ten and eleven years old, but they were required to spend several hours a day in there being trained on how to fight and how to control their powers.

Jess shook her head as she watched them stalk away. "And I thought they were doing better. Well, it has quieter recently. They're not fighting nearly as much as they used to."

Serenity sighed. "That's only because they are so tired most of the time. Have your two told you anything about the nightmares. This has been going on for months now."

"Not a word," Jess said sadly. "I can't get a peep out of either one of them. They're trying to hide it, but I hear them crying sometimes at night."

"Same here," Serenity agreed. "If I even bring the subject up, DJ just shuts down. I wish he would talk to me."

"What do you think it means?" Jess asked. "Do you think it has anything to do with, well…him?"

Serenity nodded. "In a way. Helios said that they weren't really nightmares, and Raye agreed with him. They think the kids are seeing premonitions of the future, to help prepare them for what's to come."

Meanwhile, two of the children in question were trudging slowly toward their destination. This was looking like it was going to be a long evening that neither one of them were looking forward to. In reality they both felt like doing nothing but going to bed and trying to get some sleep.

"Hey, DJ," Katie began in a hesitant voice. "Can I ask you something?"

He blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm sure you will anyway, so what is it?"

For once she didn't snap back at his irritated tone. "Don't you find it funny that when we get punished for fighting, our parents send us to go fight some more?"

He thought about it for a second. "You know, you're right. I never thought of it like that. Hey you actually made sense for once, Tink."

She scrunched her face up. "Don't start on me again. I'm trying to be serious. I just think it's weird. They don't want us to fight, but then they send us to learn how to fight."

DJ shrugged. "I guess they do it so we can take over one day. The other scout's kids are training too. And look at my sister, Rini can already transform into a sailor scout and she's not much older than us. One day we'll be able to transform too."

Katie brightened a little. "You really think so? That would be so cool! I wonder what my fuku would look like. I would be Sailor Kat, ready to swoop in and beat the bad guys. They better watch out!"

DJ chuckled a little, making her look at him in amazement. He usually had some smart mouthed comment to make when she said something silly, but this time he just looked amused. Then he shocked her further.

"I want to have a long cape and be mysterious, like Tuxedo Mask," he told her. "That would be awesome."

Katie studied him for a minute, and then nodded. "I can see that. You look a lot like your dad, so you could pull off the tuxedo look."

He grinned at her, and then sobered suddenly, realizing that he was actually carrying on a conversation with his arch nemesis that he had been fighting with his entire life. The scary part was he was actually enjoying it.

He surveyed her quietly for a moment. Okay, so she wasn't the ugliest girl in the world. She had long, straight, light blonde hair that she usually kept pulled back in a ponytail tied with a ribbon and large hazel green eyes set in a pixie like face with a light dusting of golden freckles across her tiny nose.

It was her eyes that drew his attention now. He saw the faint purple shadows under them and felt a little pang of guilt for teasing her earlier. Although they never talked about it, he knew that she and Alex had been suffering through the same nightmares that he had been having lately. It wasn't pleasant to see your home being destroyed night after night, and it had made him grumpier than usual. Evidently she was feeling the effects too.

He grabbed her by the arm as they reached the door to the training room. "Hey, I was thinking. You hate these extra training sessions as much as I do, right?"

She eyed him for a moment before nodding cautiously. "Yeah, why?"

A smug look crossed his face. "I propose a sort of truce. If we don't get caught fighting, then we won't have to worry about getting punished anymore."

She looked floored. "You're not going to fight with me anymore? You mean no more name calling and being mean to me?"

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't get your hopes up. I just meant that we wouldn't fight whenever any adults are around. That way we don't get in trouble."

A grin widened on her mouth. "I like it. It's very sneaky. But you have to promise me that you won't pick on me in front of the adults or all bets are off. Deal?"

He answered her grin with one of his own. "Deal! Let's shake on it."

He held his hand out and she took it in one of hers. They both felt a small zap that felt like an electrical shock go through them, and quickly jerked away.

"Let's get this over with," DJ grumbled as he pushed open the door. Both he and Katie moaned out loud when they saw who their torturers for the evening would be.

"Ah, there you two are," Lita said from where she was warming up. "I was beginning to think you got lost or something."

Amara grinned evilly at them. "Let's get started, shall we? We'll work out all that pent up aggression you have built up inside."

DJ and Katie stared at each other for a moment. It was going to be a long night.

Five Years Later

"Darien! Put me down!" Neo Queen Serenity squealed. "If you drop me in the lake, I swear you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next month."

"Oh, come on, Meatball Head," Endymion chided. "You were just complaining about how hot it was. I thought you might want to take a dip and cool off."

There was a shrill scream from the blonde queen that was cut short by a giant splash. A few seconds later, her head broke the surface of the water as she sputtered angrily at her husband, who was standing on the bridge that crossed the lake in the center of the park, laughing at her indignation.

"You're a dead man, Darien Shields!" she shrieked, swimming toward the edge of the lake. "You better start running now before I get my hands on you!"

Rini rolled her eyes as her mother drug herself from the lake and began chasing her father, both of them acting like a couple of kids. "Ten bucks says they're hiding behind a tree making out like horny teenagers within five minutes," she grumbled to her brother.

DJ's eyes flickered up briefly from his book to look at his parents. "I won't take that bet, because I agree with you. Sometimes they act worse than us, and we're supposed to be the teenagers here. Maybe we should be the parents and them the kids."

"No doubt," Rini agreed. "You would think they would grow out of it after being together as long as they have."

"Were they like this in the past too?" DJ asked curiously. He had always been a little jealous that his sister was allowed to go to the past and hang out with the past forms of their parents and their friends. But he loved hearing her stories about what life was like with them a millennium ago.

Rini watched as Endymion allowed Serenity to catch up to him. When she tried to tackle him, he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her behind a tree and they disappeared. "Yes, they were just as bad back then. I don't think they'll ever grow up."

"Who's never going to grow up?" Alex asked, joining them under the tree they were sitting under and throwing himself down next to them. "What did I miss?"

"Just the usual," Rini sighed. "Hormonal parents that can't keep their hands to themselves and insist on embarrassing the hell out of their children with their public displays of affection."

"Amen," Alex agreed. "At least nobody knows who they are when they're in incognito mode like this. I wish there was a way to make my parents hide their identity when they go out in public. Being around them too long makes me sick to my stomach."

"That's because they're in looovvveee," a voice singsonged above them. They looked up to see a pair of legs dangling from between the branches.

DJ smirked. "How long have you been up there, Tink?"

There was a rustling of leaves before the figure of a fifteen-year-old girl dropped from her perch to land gracefully before them. "Long enough. But you guys are right, it is nauseating. Look around, it's like open season around here."

Their whole mismatched family had decided to take advantage of the beautiful early summer they were having and have a day at the park, complete with one of Lita's scrumptious picnic lunches. They had found a secluded spot in the park that they hoped would keep everyone anonymous, and now there were happy couples scattered around while the younger children ran and played and the older ones broke off into their own little groups.

Katie plopped down next to Rini and put her head on her shoulder. The two girls were close despite the year and a half age difference and Rini's sometimes long absences. "Speaking of love, how's Helios doing these days?"

Rini's cheeks flushed as pink as her hair. "He's fine. How about you? I heard a rumor that you had set your sights on someone."

Now Katie blushed. "You heard wrong. Jack's just a friend. He just moved here and he takes piano lessons with me, that's all."

Rini giggled. "Sure it is. At least tell me, is he cute?"

Katie got a little starry eyed. "Yes he is. He's got the most gorgeous long black hair that he wears in a ponytail. And his eyes, they are just like a puppy dog's, the exact same shade of brown as chocolate."

DJ's hands clenched into fists. He didn't know why, but hearing Katie talk about another guy was pissing him off, something that had been happening more and more in the last year. Every since Alex and Katie had disappeared along with their mother for several weeks last summer, he had become overprotective of them both. Alex he could understand, he was his best friend. But Katie, he didn't know why he felt the way he did about her.

Maybe it was because he had actually missed their sparring matches while she was gone, though he would never admit it to anyone. The two of them had kept their promise that they had made five years ago and never fought in front of any of the adults anymore. But once they were out of earshot, the insults still flew. And they had gotten worse over the years.

He still called her Tinkerbell, but it didn't bother her like it used to. The name really didn't fit her anymore since she had suddenly sprouted several inches in height over the last few years, but he had called her that for so long that it was just kind of like second nature. Now he usually just looked around for the first thing he could find to poke fun at her.

He grinned. Today she had made it entirely too easy for him. He spotted the ragged spiral bound notebook that the girl had in her hand. He knew that old thing was like a lifeline to her. Before he knew it, his mouth opened and the words started pouring out.

"So Tinkerbell, I see you're up to your old chicken scratching again. What are you writing about this time, all the dates you wish you could have but will never be asked on? It's not like anyone would ever actually ask you out," he taunted.

He turned his head away with a smirk, waiting for the angry tirade that he was sure was coming. When seconds passed and he didn't hear anything, he snuck a quick glance over at the others.

What he saw shocked him. It wasn't the fact that Rini and Alex were gaping at him like he had suddenly spouted a second head; it was because of her eyes. Instead of glaring at him in fury and anger like the normally did, those deep swirling pools, that always made him think of a forest after a rain for some reason, were shining brightly with unshed tears.

She just stared at him for several long moments until he began to fidget uneasily beneath her gaze. When she finally spoke, it was in a trembling whisper. "I hate you! Just because I'm not a member of your little fan girl club that follows you around everywhere you go doesn't mean that other people might not find me attractive and desirable. All those little sluts that are constantly panting around you only want one thing, and that's a ring on their finger and a tiara on their head one day. They're only after you for what you can give them, not because they like you for who you are. At least when I get to wherever I'm going in life it will be because I got there on my own and not because of the fact that I was born royalty."

DJ's face paled as he realized that he had gone too far. All he had meant to do was pick on her a little bit, like always. But in a fit of jealousy he had said something that was way more hurtful than he intended.

He did a double take at what he had just thought. Jealous? Was he seriously jealous at the thought of some other guy taking Katie out? He thought about it for a moment and almost passed out when he suddenly realized that the answer was yes. Somehow, without him even knowing it, the girl that he had thought of as an annoying pest his entire life had managed to worm her way under his skin and into his affections.

He saw that she was watching him expectantly, waiting to see if her words had any effect on him at all. He suddenly felt scared. He couldn't let her know that he liked her. She would have a field day with that if she ever knew.

So instead of blurting his feelings out for her and the rest of the world to hear, his lips turned up into his signature smirk. "Sounds to me like somebody's jealous. Maybe deep inside you wish that you were one of my adoring fans, but you know that no matter what you do that you'll never be able to compete with them."

Katie jumped to her feet. "You are nothing but a stuck up snob. And you know what? I feel sorry for you. One day you're going to wake up and realize that no matter how many people you have around you, you'll still be alone. All because you hide who you truly are behind a wall. Well you can go to hell Darien James Shields! I'm tired of trying to be your friend. Don't you ever speak to me again!"

She turned and ran away, but not before he saw the tears she had been holding back begin to slide down her cheeks. Part of him longed to go after her, but at the same time another part of him said that that would be admitting a weakness.

"Man, that was way harsh, bro," Rini said in a disgusted voice. "Whoever thought you'd end up being such a jerk. I find it hard to believe we're related." She stood up and dusted her shorts off before walking off to join Hotaru and Trista who were sitting not too far away.

DJ was so stunned and lost in thought that he never saw the fist that was heading his way until it collided with his jaw and sent his head snapping back as he fell over on the ground. He lay there, dazed for a second as he stared up at his severely pissed best friend.

'Uh oh, now I'm in trouble,' he thought to himself in a panic. Alex wasn't one to pick a fight with anyone. He usually tried to play the pacifist. He was slow to anger and tried to avoid physical confrontations as much as possible. But once enraged he was a damn good fighter. And everyone knew that the one thing you didn't do was hurt his twin sister. He would come down like the wrath of god on anyone that did.

"You stupid son of a bitch," Alex snarled. Angry sparks were practically shooting from his sapphire eyes. "Just what the hell was that all about?"

DJ climbed a little unsteadily to his feet and glared at his friend. "Don't push me, Alex. What does it matter anyway? It's not like Tinkerbell and I haven't been fighting for years. So what the hell?"

"I'll tell you what, you smug, self righteous bastard!" Alex yelled, pushing DJ back hard into the tree behind him. "Do you remember what I did to the last asshole that made my sister cry?"

DJ smirked at him. "Do you think you can take me, sun boy? Then bring it!" His hands began to glow gold.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Alex's hands started glowing bronze. "You're on, your highness."

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on over here?" Endymion asked as he came over to them. Andrew was right beside him. The two men put themselves between the two battling teens.

"Alex?" Andrew questioned. "What happened? I would expect this out of Katie, but not you."

Alex raised a still glowing hand to point a finger at DJ. "Why don't you ask that little prick? He's the one that started it. Katie was minding her own business until he had to start showing his ass."

"I think we need to separate these two for a few minutes," Endymion said to his companion as he watched his son's eyes darken with temper.

"I think you're right," Andrew agreed, grabbing Alex by the arm and leading him away.

After a minute of walking, Alex took several deep breaths and his face smoothed as he brought his temper under control. "I need to go find Katie."

Andrew put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Your mom went after her, let her handle it. I've been wanting to talk to you anyway."

"Uh oh," Alex grumbled under his breath.

Andrew chuckled. "Don't sound so depressed. It's just something that has been weighing on my mind a lot lately."

Alex eyed his father warily. "Okay. What is it?"

"It's like this," Andrew began. "I've always admired the way you take up for your sister. She's always been able to depend on you to be there for her whenever your mother and I weren't. But son, you're not little kids anymore. Sooner or later you'll be out in the world making your own lives, and the world is not always sunshine and rainbows. Katie's going to have to learn to fight her own battles, because she's not always going to have one of us there to do it for her."

Alex nodded. "I know. But it just gets to me the way DJ is with her sometimes. It confuses the crap out of me because…" he broke off.

"Because?" Andrew prompted.

Alex looked around quickly to make sure there was no one within hearing distance. "Okay, you can't tell anybody I said this, especially Katie or DJ. They would kill me if they found these words even crossed my lips. I think they like each other. You know, really like each other. But they're both so stubborn that neither one of them would ever admit it."

Andrew just laughed and patted his son on the shoulder. "You're right about that. I don't think there are two harder heads on the planet, except for perhaps your mom's. And she's just plain scary sometimes."

Alex laughed with him as they went to join the football game that the generals were trying to get started.

(Switch to Katie)

The tears that had been stinging her eyes finally broke free as she turned and ran away from her tormentor. She didn't bother wiping them away as fled the cozy picnic setting. She wasn't in the mood to enjoy the day with her family and friends anymore.

She knew everyone was staring at her, and she didn't care. She caught a brief glimpse of concern on her Aunt Serena and Uncle Darien's faces as she blew by them, and she thought she heard her mother call her name, but she didn't stop.

She ran like the devil himself was chasing after her, across the bridge, and into the trees and high grass on the other side of the lake. Once she was sure she was alone, she dropped to the ground at the edge of the water.

She sat there for several minutes, just staring out at the glassy surface of the lake. Its calm, peaceful appearance seemed to be mocking the turmoil that was inside her.

She glanced down at the notebook she was still clutching tightly in her hand and growled as anger began coursing through her. She pulled her arm back and was preparing to toss the notebook into the watery depths when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"You don't want to do that, honey," Jess said quietly. "I know you're angry now, but you'll regret throwing it away later after you've calmed down."

"That stupid bastard!" Katie spat. "Just who the hell does he think he is? He always looks down on me like he's so much better. It makes me want to bash in that arrogant face of his."

Jess could see the hurt that was hiding beneath the anger in her daughter's eyes and pulled her close for a tight hug.

Katie wasn't usually one to cry, she was much more prone to lash out in anger when she was upset. But as she sat there with her mother's comforting arms around her, thinking about the words that had passed between her and DJ, she broke down. She sobbed loudly into Jess's shoulder for several minutes before regaining her composure.

"I hate him!" she said harshly. "All he has ever done is make my life a living hell. I wish I had never met him."

Jess studied her for a minute. "Oh sweetie, you don't really mean that. Men can be hard to understand sometimes. I don't always get your dad and his way of thinking, even after all the years of being with him. That's just the way it goes."

Katie sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Can I have a few minutes alone, please? I won't go anywhere, but I just want to be by myself for a while."

Jess nodded in understanding. "Sure. I'll just head back to the others and tell them you're okay." She walked away, looking back once at the forlorn picture the young girl made as she stared out over the lake with sad eyes.

Katie waited until the sound of her mother's footsteps faded away before pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them. She wasn't okay. There was a burning pain in her chest that felt like someone was trying to rip her heart out.

Raising her head, she flipped open the front cover of her battered notebook. This was her secret, her passion, her outlet. The pages of the book were covered in her ideas, songs and poems, which allowed her to pour out the feelings inside of her that she felt she couldn't reveal to anyone else. Not even Alex, whom she was closer to than anyone, knew exactly what that book held.

She traced her fingers over the letters that were inscribed on the inside of the front cover. At one time she had hoped that the words would come true, but now she knew that it was foolish to hope for that.

Her eyes hardened as she pulled a pen from her pocket and completely scribbled out the words, 'Mrs. Darien James Shields'. It was never going to happen. The one dream that had helped her battle the nightmares all these years was going up in smoke.

"Oh DJ," she sighed as a tear fell from her eyes to roll down her cheek. "I tried to win your heart, but I guess I wasn't good enough. No matter what though, I'll love you forever."

Then she took a deep steadying breath. She had to move on with her life. She wasn't going to sit around and waste her time pining away for someone who didn't want her. She was stronger than that.

(Back with DJ)

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?" Endymion asked his son.

DJ grumbled, "There isn't really much to say. Katie was being more annoying than usual and it got on my nerves. I guess I just snapped. Maybe what I said was harsher than what I intended it to be, but the words just kinda popped out on their own."

Endymion grinned. "I know exactly how you feel. When I wasn't much older than you, there was this girl who used to irritate me something horrible. It seemed like everywhere I went, she just seemed to keep popping up. Everything about her got on my nerves. It about to drive me crazy when I finally took a step back one day and took a good look at her. Luckily, my sanity was saved when I discovered that she wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe that's what you need to do with Katie. Perhaps if you can find something about her that doesn't irritate you, you might not fight with her as much."

DJ shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know."

Endymion just patted him on the shoulder and walked away. He had only gone a few yards when DJ called after him, "Hey dad, whatever happened to that girl?"

Endymion turned to face him with a wide smile on his face. "I married her and had two kids." He walked away chuckling.

DJ's jaw fell open. The annoying girl from his dad's past was his mother? He had heard some of the stories about the rocky beginning to their relationship, but this was a side that he had never heard before.

Guilt was eating away at him in the back of his mind as he stared off in the direction that Katie had run. Maybe he should at least go find her and apologize. After all, it wasn't her fault that he was feeling so messed up.

He took off at a brisk walk toward the bridge; not noticing the sly looks sent his way by his parents. He reached the other side of the lake and began searching. He knew she wouldn't have gone too far.

The sounds of her sobs caught his attention and tore at his heart. Katie rarely ever cried. She only gave into tears when she had been hurt deeply. This thought only made him feel lower than he already did.

He followed the sound on silent feet, creeping through the tall grass until he finally came upon the spot where she was sitting beside the water. When he saw that her mother was with her, he stopped. He really didn't want to have Jess as an audience when he made his apology and hoped that maybe she would leave soon.

After a few minutes of listening to her heart wrenching cries, he decided that he'd had enough. He was about to step out and make his presence known when her voice reached him.

"I hate him!" her voice was laced with venom. "All he has ever done is make my life a living hell. I wish I had never met him."

Those words stopped him in his tracks. He heard Jess say something to her, but he didn't pay attention to what it was. He ducked down quickly when the older woman began walking his direction, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping. Once she was gone, he looked back up to see Katie with her face buried in her pulled up knees.

He took a deep breath and then did one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his young life. He walked away. If she hated him then this was for the best. He would do his best to stay away from her as much as possible. There was no sense in making things between them more complicated than they already were.

Six Months Later

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you their royal highnesses, Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion."

DJ and Rini applauded politely with the rest of the guests as their parents made their way down the staircase and into the ballroom. They seemed to radiate happiness as they walked arm in arm toward the high table set on the raised platform that was reserved for the immediate court.

"Aww, they still look so cute together, even after all of these years," Mina cooed, earning a few glares and some eye rolling from the other scouts and generals.

"I think we would all agree that they make a striking couple," Michelle stated as she took a sip of her water.

Next to her, Amara lounged casually in her chair, swirling her wine glass. "Yeah, they look all right together. But I still haven't given up hope that my little kitten will wake up one day and realize that I'm more her type than Darien. She needs to take a walk on the wild side."

Snorts of laughter were heard around the table at the long standing inside joke. They all knew that Amara was only kidding and that she was completely devoted to her relationship with Michelle, but that didn't stop the wind scout from flirting with the queen every chance she got.

"Did we miss something?" Serenity asked as she and Endymion joined them and he pulled her chair for her so that she could be seated.

"Nothing more than the usual," Raye smirked. "Amara was just wondering when you were going to be ready to kick your little Dare-bear to the curb so that she can rush in and sweep you off your feet."

"Oh my," Amy muttered, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands.

Lita looked at her incredulously. "You can't seriously be embarrassed by that. Good grief, Amy. That joke has been going on since the Silver Millennium."

Serenity giggled as she turned to look over her children. "Rini, that dress looks simply adorable on you sweetheart. DJ, sweetie, come here, your tie is crooked."

DJ reared back in his chair to avoid his mother's seeking hands and grabbed the offending tie and attempted to straighten it. "I've got it, mom. Geez, you'd think I was six instead of sixteen."

Serenity gave him a look of mock irritation. "Fine. I was just trying to make you look presentable. Isn't that girlfriend of yours coming tonight?"

DJ growled, "Sasha's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend."

Serenity held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, just a friend. Talk about touchy."

"Momma!" Rini squealed excitedly. "Helios is here. Can I go see him, please?"

"Yes you may," the queen granted with smile. "But walk, don't run, young lady."

Rini was up and gone almost before the words were out of her mother's mouth and off into the arms of her soon to be betrothed. Everyone knew the two were going to be married. The official announcement would be made on Rini's eighteenth birthday in another nine months.

"Don't you dare break that wine glass, Darien Shields," Serenity whispered harshly to Endymion as she reached over to pluck the glass from his clenched fingers. "And you will leave the two of them alone tonight. I mean that. No sending anyone to spy on them."

"But Sere," Endymion complained. "Rini is only…"

"She is seventeen years old, Darien," Serenity hissed. "For the love of Selene, cut her some slack. I had a ring on my finger by that age. And don't even get me started on the Silver Millennium and what I had accomplished by the time I was seventeen."

DJ breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Andrew and Jess enter the room, followed closely by Alex. Thank god for small favors. "Alex is here. May I be excused?"

Serenity dismissed him with a wave of her hand and he quickly made his getaway. He weaved through the crowd, trying his best to avoid the clingy girls from his fan club. They all irritated him beyond belief with their obvious flirting and occasionally strong come ons. He reached his friend's side without mishap, leaving a trail of pouting girls in his wake.

Alex grinned at him. "Running the gauntlet again?"

DJ grimaced. "Yeah. And now it will be twice as bad because you're here. Why can't we ever come to one of these parties and have all those silly girls leave us alone? If we wanted to dance with one of them, we'd ask them."

"That's because the two of you are so handsome," Jess said, smiling at both of them. "I know I'd be interested if I was a teenager again."

"Thanks," DJ mumbled with a slight blush. Then he remembered his manners and told her. "You look very nice tonight, Jess."

And he sincerely meant it. Out of all of his "Aunts", Jess had always been his favorite. She was a few inches taller than his mother, with dark, honey blonde hair and sparkling ocean blue eyes. Even though she was technically over a thousand years old, she didn't look any older than twenty-one. The slim, midnight blue sheath dress she was wearing set her coloring off to perfection.

Jess giggled. "See what I mean? You are such a charmer. Now I'm off to greet your parents. You two have fun." She glided away on Andrew's arm toward the high table.

Alex elbowed DJ in the ribs. "Dude, were you just hitting on my mom?"

"No. That would be sick!" DJ quickly denied. He knew there was no way to explain to his friend that when he talked to Jess, it was like he was talking to Katie. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that it was her.

Even though Katie's coloring was different, she resembled her mother a lot. They had the same facial features, except Katie had inherited Andrew's eyes. Her hair was also several shades lighter than her mom's, even lighter than his mom's and Mina's sunny gold strands. Out of curiosity he asked once where the twins had gotten their hair from. Jess had laughed and showed him a picture of her parents, who had sadly died in a car accident when she was just a teenager. Her mother had the same light brown hair as Alex while her father had sported the same pale blonde locks that his granddaughter now had.

Katie also had her mother's personality. She was caring and considerate, always ready to help a friend. But you better be ready to hit the deck if she ever got mad. That girl had a temper that was known to make grown men shake in their boots.

DJ chuckled inwardly at the thought of how her face would go red and her eyes would snap when she was angry. It was a sight that he missed seeing. The truth was since they had achieved their transformation powers a few years ago, he hardly ever saw her anymore. Alex and he spent most of their time training with Endymion, Andrew, and the generals, while Katie trained with Serenity, Jess, and the other scouts.

That was probably for the best. Since the day of the disaster picnic at the park, the two of them never even spoke to each other unless it was absolutely necessary. It hurt him deep inside, but at the same time it made it easier to keep his feelings to himself.

"Hey, have you seen Emma around?" Alex's voice cut into his musings. "We were supposed to meet up."

DJ grinned knowingly. "She's around somewhere with the other girls. But you better watch yourself. Kunzite is getting suspicious. He's liable to gut you if he catches you two together."

Alex had been secretly dating Mina and Kunzite's daughter, Emma, for the past several months. They had to sneak around because Kunzite was very overprotective of his only daughter and refused to let her date. He had blown his top a few weeks ago when Emma had come home from an outing that she had supposedly been on with her girlfriend's with a hickey on her neck that she couldn't quite hide.

Alex waved a dismissing hand. "I'm not too worried about it. This place is big enough and has enough hiding places that I should be able to sneak in a kiss with my girl if I want to. Speaking of which, I think I see her now. I'll catch you later."

And with that he melted into the crowd to make his way over to a tall, slender, blonde haired girl in a peach colored dress. DJ shook his head, hoping his friend would survive the night.

"Hello, DJ," a soft voice spoke behind him.

He spun around, thinking for a second that it was her. His hopes crashed when he saw who it was. Yes, the girl was blonde, but she was more of a strawberry blonde, not the flaxen hair he had been hoping to see. The girl also had green eyes, but they were a sharp jade green, not the soft brownish green he had been expecting.

"Hey Sasha," he greeted her, trying to not sound disappointed. "I see you made it."

She giggled, a grating sound that sent shivers down his back. "Of course I did, silly. This is the king and queen's anniversary ball. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The music started up then, and she squealed and clasped her hands together. "Oh! I just absolutely adore this song. It makes me want to dance."

DJ gulped, feeling trapped. He could figure out what she was hinting at fairly easily, but right now he just didn't feel like it. He did some quick thinking. "I would love to dance with you, Sasha, but I'm afraid that it will have to wait. I was just on my way to do something for my mother. But I'm sure someone else would be more than happy to dance with you. Save me one for later when I get back."

That being said, he turned and swiftly made his way to the closest exit to the ballroom, not seeing how those green eyes hardened and darkened as she watched him leave. He quickly took off down a corridor, making a few turns until he had left the people and the sounds of the party far behind.

He stopped by a large window and stared out over the glittering lights of Crystal Tokyo as he tugged at his tight, stiff collar. He always hated it when he had to attend these formal parties. The suits his mother made him wear were uncomfortable and the ties felt like a noose around his neck. He was definitely more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.

He had told his mom that once and she laughed at him. Then she had asked how in the world he could find a simple suit uncomfortable when he wore a much more complex tuxedo when he transformed.

He and his father had both protested, saying that the transformation tuxedos didn't feel confining in the least. As a matter of fact, when he became his alter ego, he felt as comfortable as if he was wearing his favorite sweats.

Yes, he had gotten his wish to become like Tuxedo Mask. When he called upon his transformation, he found himself in an all black tuxedo. Everything was black, his shirt, his tie; even the mask over his eyes was black. He had adopted the name Phantom since the black clothing gave him the ability to sneak around in the dark without anyone seeing him.

A soft whimpering sound reached his ears, catching his attention and making him look around. He had figured that he was all alone in this part of the palace since everyone else was at the party. But from the sounds of the quiet cries, he knew that someone else was nearby.

Curious, he followed the sound until he reached a curtained off alcove. He peeked through the curtains and was shocked by what he saw.

A young lady in a mint green dress was huddled up on the padded bench with her head practically buried in the cushions as she tried to muffle her cries. Evidently something had upset her very much.

He cleared his throat hesitantly. "Uh, miss. Are you okay?"

Her head shot up and he almost went stumbling back in surprise when he saw who it was. "Katie?"

She looked at him in just as much shock. Her face was very pale, making her hazel eyes stand out much more than usual. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for breath and she was visibly shaking.

"Go away, DJ!" she wailed in a hysterical voice. "I can't deal with you right now."

His first instinct was to turn and leave her there. But one look at her stricken face and he knew that he couldn't walk away from her when she was like this.

He approached her slowly. "What's wrong, Kat? What's got you so worked up?"

She shook her head violently, looking like she was going to pass out any second as she kept trying to desperately suck in air. "I'm…fine…just…panic…attack."

Unable to stop himself, he knelt down in front of her and took her hands that were clasped tightly in her lap in both of his, shocked at how icy cold they were. Her eyes met his and he could see the wariness and confusion in them.

"Now what have you got to be so panicked about?" he asked in the kindest voice he had ever used with her.

She tried to jerk her hands away, but he held them firmly. "The…performance…I can't…I can't…all those people…"

He grinned. So that was the problem. His little fairy had stage fright. Katie had shown great musical promise at a very young age and Michelle had taken her under her wing. By the age of seven she had mastered the piano far better than most adults and could also play the guitar quite well. With Michelle's help, she had composed a piano piece in honor of his parent's anniversary and was supposed to perform it later in the evening.

"Don't be silly," he told her. "You know you're good. You've been playing in front of all of us for years now. What's the difference?"

Her breathing had begun to slow. "But all those people…There's so many…I don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can," he encouraged. "When the time comes, don't pay any attention to them. Just imagine yourself at home, playing for yourself alone. Or just pretend that this party is just one of our small get togethers and our mismatched family are the only people there. If you do that, I bet you'll do fine."

Her eyes began to look hopeful. "Do you really think so?"

He nodded. "I know so. It's always like magic when you play. You'll knock everyone's socks off. I just know it."

Color had returned to her face and her respiration was nearly normal as she looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, DJ. That's exactly what I needed to hear. I probably would've been catatonic in a few more minutes if you hadn't come along."

He flushed a little and looked down at their joined hands. He couldn't help but feel pleased when he saw a silver charm bracelet with dangling moons hanging from it around her slim wrist. He had seen the bracelet in a store one day last year and had bought it on impulse when it made him think of her. Then he had wrapped it up as a mystery gift and had snuck it under the tree during their annual Christmas get together. To this day she had no idea who had given her the bracelet, but she wore it all the time.

"I guess I better get going," she whispered, pulling her hands gently from his. "Michelle will probably be wondering where I am."

He stood and watched as she got to her feet and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. Then acting purely on impulse he flicked his wrist, conjuring a pure white, thornless rose and presenting it to her.

Her eyes widened in surprise and he shrugged. "For luck."

She took the rose carefully, her fingers trailing lightly over the delicate, silky petals. The look on her face was so wondrous that he couldn't help himself. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a short, but sweet kiss.

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, he pulled back quickly. He felt like he was suffocating as he saw the dazed look in her eyes. He needed to get out of here, fast, before he did something even more incredibly stupid than what he had already done.

"I'll see ya later," he mumbled, making a hasty retreat. He headed for the nearest exit he could find and rushed out into the cool night air.

He cursed himself for being the biggest idiot in the world. He had just kissed the girl that hated him. Great! That was going to go over well. He kept listening for footsteps behind him, expecting her to come rushing after him to lay into him for what he had done.

If he only knew that the girl in question had only stood watching him before rushing to the ballroom with renewed hope pounding through her with every beat of her heart.

"Hey, where's the fire?" he heard a voice call out to him as he stalked down one of the garden paths at a quick pace. He turned to find Rini, arm in arm with Helios.

"There's no fire!" he snapped. "I just needed to get away for a minute."

Rini grinned slyly. "Did one of your fan girls corner you again? Or was it more than one this time? My poor baby brother, always being manhandled by his adoring public. Or perhaps it's just one girl in particular that has your underwear in such a bunch."

"Shut up, Bubble Gum Brains!" he exclaimed. "You don't know anything!"

"Whatever you say," Rini returned, condescendingly. "Anyway, we better get back inside before mom and dad come looking for us."

"Right," he growled, heading for the terrace doors that led into the ballroom. At least coming in this way put him close to his seat so he could avoid having to fight his way through all of the giggling girls again. He made it in with no problems and threw himself down in his chair next to his mother.

Serenity eyed him in concern. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he ground out. Alex caught his gaze, and he saw the questions burning in his friend's eyes, but he just shook his head.

There was no way he could tell his best friend that he had just kissed his sister. Alex would kill him for sure.

The chatter in the room fell quiet as Michelle took the stage, her calm, quiet presence demanding everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone," she began in her soft voice. "I want to thank all of you for coming tonight to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the union of our king and queen. We have a night full of entertainment in store for you, and I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to start off the festivities by introducing to you one of my star pupils. She will be performing her own original work for the piano entitled 'Love Everlasting'. Ladies and gentlemen, your majesties, I present to you, Miss Kathleen Furuhata."

There was a round of polite applause from around the room, but it faded in comparison to the amount of noise that was coming from the high table. Jess and Andrew were clapping loudly, eyes shining with pride for their daughter. Alex and several of the younger members of the group whistled shrilly. Serenity was practically bouncing in her seat. Only Endymion's hand on her arm kept her from jumping up.

A spotlight clicked on, illuminating the girl who was walking out from the wings of the stage. She looked like a vision in mint green as she made her way to the piano in the middle of the stage.

She looked confident, but DJ could see the slight hesitancy in her step and the small tremor that shuddered through her. She sat on the bench and held her hands poised over the keys. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them to meet his gaze head on. All signs of nervousness seemed to fade away from her in that moment and she gave him a small smile.

Then she began to play. The music started off light at first, but soon built into a swelling complex collection of notes that had her sure fingers flying over the keys like it was nothing. A look of total contentment came over her face and it seemed as if she had escaped into her own private world. She seemed surprised several minutes later when she brought the song to its conclusion and received a standing ovation.

DJ joined the others in the applause and grinned to himself. She had done it, just like he knew she could. And of course she had been amazing, but already knew that. He watched as she stood and curtsied before making her way off the stage. The music started up again and couples went back to dancing.

Just a few short minutes later she arrived at the high table, looking flushed and excited.

"Congratulations, baby!" Andrew exclaimed, sweeping her up and spinning her around.

Her laugh was like bells as she hugged him tightly before he set her down so that she could be mauled by her mother.

"Oh honey! That was simply amazing!" Jess squealed. "I just knew you would be a sensation."

"Not half bad, sis," Alex told her, engulfing her in a giant bear hug.

"Not half bad," Serenity said indignantly as she claimed the girl for another hug. "I thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

Endymion stood, and with a flick of his wrist produced a perfectly formed blood red rose. "A beautiful rose for our beautiful little future world performer."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him and taking the rose and sliding the stem under the sash at her waist.

DJ almost choked on the mouthful of water he had just taken as he saw his father's red rose now nestled up next to the white one he had given her. He figured that she would have pitched it after what had happened earlier. God, he hoped no one else noticed it.

Dinner was being served, so everyone sat back down. Somehow the seating arrangement had placed Katie so that she was sitting right across from him. He immediately went on the defensive and spent the entire meal ignoring her, just like he always did. He felt her questioning gaze on him many times, but refused to look at her.

They were just finishing when Sasha approached the table accompanied by her adopted brother, Jack.

DJ growled. Sasha was a good friend, even though he knew she was looking for more, and he had become fast friends with Jack as well. Which was surprising since he knew very well that Jack had set his sights on Katie. But the guy was friendly enough, and he had never made an attempt to move in on the blonde girl, so DJ and him, along with Alex hung out a lot.

But his eyes narrowed now as the black haired young man positioned himself behind Katie's chair and spoke quietly to her. "You were amazing tonight. It looks like all of my lesson time that I gave up with Michelle so you could put in extra practice paid off."

She turned that blinding smile of hers on him full force. "Yes it does. I must confess that I had never been more nervous in my life. I just knew that I was going to get my fingers all tangled together in some of the more complex parts, but some guardian angel must have been looking out for me."

Jack chuckled low in his throat. "I never doubted you for a moment. I've been watching you practice for weeks. I knew that you would pull it off flawlessly." Then he held a hand out to her. "Would you do me the honor of gracing me with a dance?"

"O-oh," Katie stuttered. "Well, I…"

'That son of a bitch!' DJ fumed inside as he watched the girl that he loved being asked to dance by someone else. He saw her eyes flick to him for a second and his breath caught.

He stood quickly and turned to Sasha. "I believe I promised you a dance earlier," he told the strawberry blonde.

She smiled and took his offered arm. "Yes you did."

Katie watched the couple walking away for a moment in disbelief before tossing her head defiantly and taking the hand offered to her. "Yes, Jack. I would love to dance with you."

Alex groaned and banged his head down on the table with a thump, muttering words like idiots, hard headed, and stubborn jackasses under his breath. The he got up from his chair, saying out loud, "I guess it's just a night for insanity. I might as well join in."

He walked over to where Emma was sitting next to her parents and held a hand out to her. "Shall we?"

She flushed bright red, but quickly took his hand and allowed him to help her up before following him to the dance floor.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Kunzite exclaimed as he got over the shock of having a boy ask his daughter to dance right in front of him. He started to get up from his seat.

Mina reached up and jerked him back down by his sleeve. "Leave them alone."

Kunzite gaped at her. "But…"

"No buts!" Mina interrupted. "As the goddess of love I can't let you interfere with young love while it's in bloom. Now close your mouth dear, something may fly in."

After the song was over, Alex escorted Emma back to her seat, ignoring the glares that Kunzite was sending his way. He took a seat next to his mother and noticed that she looked really agitated about something.

"Mom, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Jess looked at him and then gave him a forced smile. "I'm fine, sweetie. Where are the others?"

Alex snorted. "I don't know. They were out there dancing and then they disappeared. They're probably of doing something stupid. They're both brain dead idiots."

She nodded jerkily, but continued to twist the napkin in her lap with nervous fingers. Suddenly Alex could have sworn that he felt the floor beneath them shake just a little. Then he saw his father reach over and cover both of her hands with one of his. Their eyes met and Alex could see that they were carrying on one of those conversations that they could have without saying a word out loud.

'Calm down, sweetheart,' Andrew was telling his wife.

'Calm down! Calm down! How in the hell can you expect me to calm down?' she shrieked back at him. 'Can't we just go home now? I know we said that we wouldn't do anything to change the events. But I can't just sit here.'

'Everything's going to work out just fine.' Andrew soothed her. 'I hate this as much as you do, but we made a promise to Pluto. If we change anything it could mess the timeline up. And I sure don't want to go through that hell again.'

"Excuse me for a moment," Jess said suddenly, jumping up from the table and walking away.

"I've got her," Serenity said, getting up and following after her friend.

'What a weird night,' Alex thought to himself. He was past the point of even trying to make sense out of anything. His confusion only grew as he looked at a wet spot on the tablecloth, wondering how it got there. A closer inspection showed that the water glass that had been in front of his mother now had a long crack in it and the water inside was slowly trickling out.

'Wow! Something must have pissed her off royally,' he mused. He hadn't seen his mom not be able to control her powers in years. And even then it was only in moments of extreme anger that she had ever slipped. Something bad must be going on.

DJ slammed into his bedroom, ripping off the damn tie and throwing it across the room. He quickly shed the rest of the suit and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt before throwing himself down on the bed.

He was so glad that this night was finally over. He had thought that it would never end. The whole night had been just one crazy thing after another. Not only had he kissed his self proclaimed mortal enemy, but he had been pounced on by an enthusiastic Sasha.

As soon as he had hit the dance floor with her, he knew that it had been a mistake. She wasn't the one that he wanted to be dancing with. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the sight of flaxen blonde hair and sparkling hazel eyes out of his head. His lips burned at the memory of how hers had felt under his.

He had barely noticed when the girl in his arms had pulled him outside into the garden. He was too distracted by other thoughts. The thought of his little fairy dancing in another man's arms had been torturing him.

Making up his mind to do something about it, he had turned to Sasha to make an excuse to her. Before he could get the words out, he had found a warm body plastered up against his chest and a pair of lips over his.

He stumbled and almost fell. To keep his balance, he had wrapped his arms around the girl. After he recovered from his shock, he pushed her back gently.

Sasha had blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I know what you must think of me now."

DJ wanted to yell at her, but the stricken look on her face made his voice gentle. "I'm sorry, Sasha. But I don't feel like that toward you. I like you a lot, but only as a friend."

She nodded. "I think I already knew that. Deep down I knew that you were already taken by someone else."

He gaped at her. "I'm not…I mean there isn't…"

She cut him off by laying her fingers against his lips. "It's okay. Anyone with eyes could see the way the two of you are with each other. Now go get her before that idiot brother of mine works his charm on her."

He hadn't needed any more prompting and had hurried back inside. He had combed the ballroom and every other place he could think of, he even went back to the secluded alcove they had been in earlier, thinking she might have gone back there, but there was no sign of her.

He had finally come across Jack leaving one of the bathrooms and had asked him right out where Katie was. Jack had shrugged and said that she had told him that she was tired and decided to leave early.

He had been pissed that she had slipped away from him, and had been tempted to chase her down. But common sense prevailed, and he decided to wait until morning. He was emotionally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He would go see her in the morning. It wasn't like she was going anywhere.

He returned to the party and told his mother that he was retiring for the night. One glance at the somber group around the table made him glad he was. They were all extremely down looking considering they were at a party. He said his goodnights and left, waving a goodbye to Alex, who was dancing with Emma again.

So now here he was, staring up at the ceiling as he thought about what the next day may bring. He figured he would go over to her house early, right after breakfast, and ask her if she would take a walk with him. Then they would go to the park, to the same spot where he'd had his revelation about his feelings for her, and then he would confess it all and see what happened.

He drifted off to sleep as the vision of her smiling happily and throwing herself into his arms flitted through his head. How he hoped that would happen. But when he began dreaming, it was anything but happy.

He found himself on the same hilltop that his nightmares always seem to start on, but this time he was alone. He alone was the witness to the destruction of Crystal Tokyo as it crumbled and burned to the ground.

He heard a muffled cry behind him and turned to see Sailor Eclipse, Katie's alter ego, standing behind him with tears in her eyes. She collapsed to her knees, her black-skirted fuku with silver bows fading away into the mint green dress she had worn at the party.

Her teary eyes beseeched him as she cried out, "DJ! Find me, please!" Then the life faded from her eyes as she fell to the ground, dead.

He tried to reach her, but before he could, darkness swallowed them both.

DJ jerked awake, bolting upright in his bed. He took several breaths to try to calm the pounding of his heart. As the roaring noise in his ears died down, he became aware of his cell phone ringing shrilly from the bedside table.

He was reaching for it when his bedroom door was thrown open and his mother rushed in, flicking on the lights. She looked to be very distressed and was dressed in a pair of jeans and one of his father's old sweatshirts.

"Mom! What…" DJ began.

"There's no time to talk about it right now," Serenity cut him off. "Just get up and get dressed. Meet us downstairs as quick as you can." And with that she was gone.

He stared after her in stunned silence for a moment before he realized his phone was still ringing. He picked it up in a daze. "Hello."

"Oh thank God! Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call your sorry ass for the last ten minutes!" a panicked voice came over the line.

"Alex?" DJ asked, confused.

"No, it's freaking Santa Clause!" came a sarcastic reply. "Of course it's me numb nuts!"

DJ had never heard his friend like this before. Alex was usually the calm, composed one of their group. Now he sounded hysterical and almost as if he had been crying. "Chill down a sec, Lex. What going on?"

A ball of dread began to form in the pit of his stomach. Something told him that he wasn't going to like this answer. But he still wasn't prepared when he heard the words.

"Kat's gone, DJ. Some sick bastard broke into the house and kidnapped her."

A/N Whew! Long chapter! Well I hope this gave you a little insight into what life was like for our three newcomers. Katie's kidnapping is the beginning of a whole new war. And don't forget about Sasha and Jack, I'm sure you've all realized that they tie into this somehow. In the next chapter there will be more Crystal Tokyo, we have to rescue Katie after all. But who will be the one to save the day? Check and see next time! Later!

~Sere~