A/N Yes! It's a miracle! I didn't drop off the face of the planet after all! I know I've been MIA for a few weeks, but I had some things come up. The good news is that the school year is over and now I'm free from work for a little while. I went out of town for a little while and I've been busy getting some things done around the house, like getting my pool opened and stuff so that now I can sit back and enjoy my summer vacation. I just hope that you guys haven't been thinking that I was giving up on my stories. No way! In fact, I'm looking forward to working on both the projects I have going right now and some new ones that I hope to eventually post. Anyhow, that's enough from me. Let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

JuliaGulia17

blk0912

shar1993

silvermermaidprincesskerry

Atem's Sister Atea

sabina21

Puella Pulchra

Seredhiel05

MeganLeBlanc

GoldenDragon326

CharmedSerenity3

jade2nightwing

wonderwomanbatmanfan

Chibi Kitt

FanaticArmy

KageNoNeko

saveme57

x-YingYing-x

rainbabie

Katie

Starrlight1812

SailorMercuryROCKS

S dot Serenity

nileena

(my anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name)

mayilu

LBricker88

ailzzzz

Thanks bunches guys! I hope you're still sticking around for this story. I am going to try my hardest to not go so long without updating again. Now I'm going to shut up and let you read. It's a nice long chapter, so I hope that makes things up a little bit.

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 27

Party Crashers

Over the years that Sailor Moon and her faithful friends had been fighting to protect the Earth they had been faced with many different types of enemies. There was always an evil mastermind behind the attacks, but they usually had to go through dozens of battles with the lesser minions before they reached their true enemy. In the almost seven years that had passed since the night that fourteen year old Serena Tsukino had transformed into Sailor Moon for the first time and had rushed off to fight her first youma, hundreds of battles had taken place.

They had faced youmas, cardians, droids, heart snatchers, amazons, possessed sailor scouts…the list went on and on. In some cases it felt like that they had barely gotten one enemy defeated before another one showed up.

But if you were to ask the scouts, Sailor Moon and the inner scouts in particular, which battle stuck out in their mind the most, you would probably be surprised by their answer. Most people would assume that their struggles with Discord over the last couple of years or the fight with Chaos when the Earth was almost destroyed would be their answer, but it wouldn't be. The truth was that every one of them would say that their very first battle against the Dark Kingdom would be the one that they recalled with the most vivid clarity.

Maybe it was because it had been their first fight. Maybe it was because of the evil tricks that Beryl had pulled with the men that they loved. Or perhaps it was because Beryl and Metallia had been the ones to destroy their past lives and had brought everything crashing down. None of them knew the precise reason why their thoughts always seemed to stray to memories of that time when they thought about their lives as sailor scouts, but they did.

The Dark Kingdom base in the Arctic Circle was gloomy and silent once again since the recent defeat of the resurrected Beryl and Metallia. Discord had searched through it after Serenity and Endymion had disposed of them, but all he had found of interest had been Endymion's dagger and two lone youma that he had taken with him.

Beryl had been in the process of expanding her youma army at the time of her defeat, and on the night that she had left for the fight in Tokyo where she had met her doom she had left those two youma in charge of watching over the pod-like eggs that were incubating her newest creations. There were about fifty of them in all, and she had looked forward to adding them to her ranks.

Discord had sneered in disgust when he had seen them. Youma were so inadequate when compared to the genetically engineered guardians and sentinels that he commanded, so he had taken their babysitters and had left them behind, figuring that they would die off without ever reaching maturity. Youmas were nothing more than manifestations of negative energy, and they required several doses of energy while going through the generation and growing process, which was why the two youmas had been left behind to oversee their younger siblings.

But what Discord hadn't known was that mere minutes before he had discovered them, they had just delivered the last of the energy that Beryl had set aside for her babies, allowing the infantile youma to enter the final stage of their metamorphosis. So even though they were alone in the dark cavern deep below the snow and ice, the youma continued to grow inside their pods.

And finally on a cold April night in the Arctic, they reached their maturity and began bursting from their pods as fully-grown youma. Their eyes glowed with eagerness to fulfill the mission that had been programmed into them from the moment of their creation.

Go to Tokyo. Destroy the sailor scouts. Conquer the Earth in the name of her majesty, Queen Beryl.

Once all of the youma had emerged from their cocoons, they pooled their power together and opened a portal to the city of Tokyo and rushed through it.

"Okay, we're here. What's the big emergency?" Serena asked as she and Darien, trailed by Jess and Andrew, joined their large group of friends outside the entrance to Lita's La Foret restaurant.

Lita crooked a finger at her blonde friend. "Come here and I'll show you."

Shrugging, Serena followed Lita's example and poked her head discreetly around a corner so that she could see into the main dining room.

"Do you see what I see?" Lita asked as she pointed toward a large table in the back where ten people sat eating.

Serena pulled back with a huff. "Honestly! Did you guys really call me down here to spy on the kids? Don't you think they deserve some privacy? This is a special night for them."

"You didn't even look!" Lita complained.

"And I'm not going to!" Serena fired back. "Rini and DJ would have my head if they caught me snooping around while they are on a date. Even my dad never stooped this low."

Raye tapped a foot impatiently. "This doesn't have anything to do with your kids, Meatball Head! Didn't you notice something strange?"

"Like what?" Serena said in exasperation. "All of the kids are eating dinner. What's so strange about that?"

"Oh for god's sake! Move over!" Jess grumbled as she pushed her way between Serena and Lita to take a peek around the corner.

She zeroed in on the table in question, but she didn't see what the big deal was. Rini and Helios had their heads pressed close together as they talked to each other. DJ and Katie were smiling at each other, and she could see that they were playing footsy under the table. Alex was whispering something in Emma's ear that caused the blonde beauty to giggle and Jayden and Hannah appeared to be talking to each other in between bites. Meanwhile Skye was busy glaring daggers at an extremely good looking boy sitting next to her.

Wait just a minute! Jess jerked back in surprise to look questioningly at the others. "I thought Skye was going stag tonight. Where did she pick up the hottie?"

Mina burst into giggles. "In Crystal Tokyo, apparently. Pluto showed up at our place and dropped him off a little while ago."

"What!" Serena almost screeched as she took another look around the corner. After gaping for several seconds she turned back toward her friends. "Great! Don't tell me we have another time traveler on our hands. Just who is he?"

Lita shrugged. "Your guess is just as good as mine. I quizzed Jayden and Hannah pretty hard on the way here, but they were kinda closed mouthed about the whole thing. The only thing I could get out of them was that he was some guy that Skye has had a huge crush on for a long time, but that they don't really get along. Other than that they said they couldn't say because of Pluto and her rules."

Jess clucked her tongue. "What a shame. He's a cutie. He's got that brooding bad boy look down to a tee. He must have a really crappy personality to overshadow that."

"I thought he seemed to be very polite," Amy spoke up softly. "And the rest of the kids seemed genuinely happy to see him. Emma and Hannah were all over him the moment he walked in the door and Jayden and Alex greeted him like a close friend. The same thing happened when the others met up with him here. Rini and Katie were squealing and hugging him while DJ and Helios seemed pleased to see him as well."

Andrew, unable to take the suspense thanks to the Furuhata gossip gene, took a quick look. Then he grinned widely. "So who's claiming possible parenthood this time? I know I'm not."

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Kunzite grumbled. "He seems older than the others. If I had to guess, I would put his age at being around twenty."

Mina chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't think any of us are his parents. I'm not sensing any kind of a bond between him and anybody here. He may just be some guy that the kids know from back home. There's no law that says that every kid that comes visiting from the future has to belong to one of us."

"He's not normal," Nephrite muttered irritably. "He's got powers of some kind. You guys all saw what happened when Skye tried to shock him. He repelled it like it was nothing. I for one would like to figure out what his story is since he's hanging around with my daughter."

Lita rolled her eyes. "Down, Papa Bear! I want to get the lowdown on this guy too, but we can't just go barging in and demanding answers."

Zoicite sighed. "The boy has shown that he does possess some kind of powers, and because of that I have come up with one possible set of parents for him."

Darien chuckled. "Leave it to you to try and figure out the puzzle. So lay it on us. Who do you think gets to claim the bundle of joy?"

Zoicite shrugged. "I may be way off on this, but have any of you thought that he might be Hotaru and Sammy's child?"

"No way!" Serena squealed. "That would make him my nephew!" Then she shook her head. "That can't be right. I love my brother to death, but there is no way that he could father a child like that. From what little I saw that boy was built and buff. He's nothing like my scrawny brother."

"It would explain his powers if his mother is a sailor scout," Amy mumbled.

Jadeite barked a laugh. "I agree with Serena on this one. Hotaru is a petite little thing and Sammy barely cracks six feet. That Kyrian guy is every bit of 6'4" and built like a linebacker. So unless one of them are carrying some pretty impressive genes from somewhere down the family line, it just doesn't add up."

Jess burst into giggles and bent over as she clutched her stomach. When she finally managed to draw in a breath she gasped, "Did you just say our mystery visitor's name is Kyrian?"

The scouts and generals all nodded.

"Oh man!" she exclaimed as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "I wish you had said that sooner. I know exactly who he is."

"Who?" a chorus of voices demanded.

Jess's eyes glittered mischievously. "This is too good! You mean for once I know something that nobody else does? Sweet! I've got to take a moment and savor this."

Serena growled. "Yeah, yeah! Go ahead and yuck it up! Now quit gloating and spill the beans. Who is he?"

Jess smirked superiorly. "Anya told me that she's pretty sure her baby is a boy. And if it is she's going to name him Kyrian after her father."

Mouths dropped open all around.

Jess howled at their shock. "Talon is going to be so surprised! He's convinced that they're having a girl!"

Sighs of relief were heard all around at the news that none of them were the future parents of yet another time traveler.

"I could use a drink after all of this drama," Raye grumbled. "Come on, I'll get a round for everyone, on the house. It's better than hanging around out here like a bunch of gossipy old ladies."

Serena linked an arm through hers. "Sounds good to me. I want to get out of here before we get busted and the kids think that we're spying on them. They would not be happy at all."

Everyone else agreed and beat a hasty retreat toward Blaze. Now that the mystery had been solved they were content to leave the teens alone to enjoy their evening.

"Mmm…it's amazing how quiet it can be around here sometimes considering how many people live here," Luna said as she stretched and then curled up once more on the cushioned window seat on the upstairs landing of the generals' and scouts' penthouse.

Artemis was stretched out nearby, and he cracked an eyelid open to look at her with a lazy blue eye. "Yeah, sometimes it's hard to believe that a dozen people live here and that four of them are teenagers. But this place is big enough that I can usually find somewhere quiet to hide out when things do get crazy."

"You're lucky," Luna sighed. "Serena and Darien's place used to be nice before we started having all of these kids coming here from the future. Now there never seems to be a moment's peace around there except during the day when everyone's at work or school. Someone is always coming in or out or squabbling about something. I've been seriously considering asking Darien to put in a cat door to his home office so I can escape in there. That's the only room in the apartment that nobody else goes into. I can see why Nebula chooses to stay in Elysian with Aurora most of the time. With Jess and Andrew's place being right next door it's just as hectic."

"Hmph! I'm surprised you haven't gone to Elysian to stay with your sister," Artemis grumbled.

Luna looked shocked at the idea. "I couldn't do that! I am the advisor to the future queen of this planet. I have to stay nearby in case she needs me. I can't spend all my time hopping back and forth between here and Elysian. That arrangement may work out fine for Nebula and Jess, but I can't do that." Then she snickered. "Besides, I love my sister to death, but I can only handle so much of her before I feel like I'm going crazy."

Artemis snorted. "You've got that right! I'm ready to start pulling my fur out after about two seconds in her presence."

Luna raised her head to look at him reprovingly. "I wish the two of you would try to get along. Do you know how frustrating it is for me to try to keep you two from clawing each other to shreds every time you're around each other? It's very exhausting."

Her white haired companion stood and arched his back as he stretched. "You should tell her that. I've tried my best to ignore her when forced to be in her presence, but she always seeks me out to jump on me about something. And I'm not going to just sit back and take it. I've never done anything to her."

"I know. I know. She's temperamental," Luna said soothingly.

"Ha! She's just mental, period!" he fired back.

She shook her head. "She's my older sister. I guess it's just in her nature to be overprotective of me. I've been telling her ever since the Silver Millennium that she doesn't have to protect me from you and that you would never hurt me, but she doesn't listen."

"I don't think her attitude has anything to do with me and you," he muttered.

"Probably not all of it," she sighed. "But it's not fair of her to hold what your brother did against you. You are nothing like him."

Artemis growled low in his throat. "I tried to warn her in the beginning not to get attached to Orion, that he was a wanderer and would never settle down in one place. But she was stubborn and thought that she could change him. If she had listened to me she wouldn't have gotten her heart broken when he left."

Luna stood up and nudged him gently with her head. "I know. I tried to tell her too, but she shut me out. She was in love with him and nothing else mattered. Now I think she's afraid that one day the wanderlust will hit you too and you'll take off somewhere and leave me like he did her."

"Orion couldn't help it," he mumbled. "He took after our dad on that. Dad was always the adventurer and traveling off to see other places while mom was content to stay at home on Venus. Her idea of adventure was taking a trip to the moon to visit. I guess I have more of her in me. I didn't mind traveling to the other planets with Minako back in the day, but there was no place like home in my book. And I sure had no inclination to travel to other galaxies like my brother."

He paused for a moment and looked out the large window in front of them at the star filled Tokyo sky before whispering. "I do find myself wondering sometimes if he's still alive out there somewhere."

"Orion?" Luna asked softly.

He nodded. "I know the rest of my family died on Venus during the collapse after the moon kingdom fell, but I have no idea where Orion was at the time. If he was in another galaxy at the time he may have survived. And he was blessed by the Silver Crystal just like us, so his lifespan is infinite. He could be out there, sitting on some distant planet and thinking that we are all dead."

"I don't know, Artemis. I guess anything is possible," Luna replied gently. "Now that's enough with this melancholy mood. Why don't we go down to the kitchen and see what goodies Lita left out for us tonight. That will perk you up."

Artemis's expression turned humorous. "After all of these years Serena's obsession with food is finally rubbing off on you, huh?"

She pushed him playfully with her paw. "Oh hush! I was just trying to make you feel better. And even I get hungry sometimes."

They jumped down from the window seat and began descending the stairs. About halfway down Luna paused and tilted her head to the side. "Artemis, do you hear that noise?"

He stopped and listened hard. "Yeah. It's a beeping sound. But where is it coming from?"

"I think it's coming from downstairs," she told him.

They crept down the stairway slowly. And as they did the beeping got louder. When they reached the large foyer they began searching for the source.

"I think I found it," Artemis proclaimed a minute later. He jumped up onto a table and nudged a blue purse. It fell to the floor and its contents scattered everywhere. There was a wallet, a couple of pens, a tube of lip balm, a paperback book…and a small, light blue, hand held computer.

"It's the Mercury computer! Amy must have left it behind by accident," Luna exclaimed as she ran over to it. It was blinking and flashing as information scrolled across the screen. Her mouth fell open in shock. "There's an attack coming! It looks like a large group of youma are about to hit the city. We have to alert everyone!"

"Come on!" Artemis told her as he dashed back up the stairs. They flew across the landing and down the hall to Mina and Kunzite's suite. The door to the sitting room was open, but the bedroom door was firmly closed.

"Damn!" he growled as he slammed his shoulder against the unmoving wood. "My communicator is in there! I have no way of calling Mina! Wait a minute! Isn't there a way that the Mercury computer can call the scouts' communicators?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Do I look Mercurian to you? I don't know how to operate it!"

"Then we'll just have to hunt them down the old fashioned way," Artemis said as they whirled and began running again. "They were all heading toward the multiplex to spy on the kids. If nothing else Raye and Lita should be there."

They stopped in the foyer just long enough for Artemis to grab the Mercury computer up in his mouth before they sprinted to the partially open balcony doors in the entertainment room.

"This would be so much easier if we could assume our human forms whenever we wanted to," Luna grumbled as they began the task of jumping from balcony to balcony down the side of the building.

A normal Earth cat would probably never attempt that balancing act, but Luna and Artemis were not your typical felines. They hit the ground a few minutes later and took off in the direction of the Crown, ignoring the gasps and squeals of the people around them as they weaved in and out of the pedestrian traffic.

"So are you having fun yet?" Alex said loudly to be heard over the pounding music.

The blonde currently wrapped around him threw back her head and laughed. "You're asking me that already? We've only been here for about five minutes."

He grinned. "So!"

They had entered the hotel ballroom where the prom was being held a few minutes before. And as soon as the fast, thumping rhythm of a current club favorite hit their ears they had taken to the dance floor. They both loved to dance, but only with each other.

Emma smiled brightly and tightened her hold around his neck. "Of course I'm having fun. I always have fun whenever I'm with you."

They slowed down as the fast paced song melted into one that was perfect for slow dancing to. He unwrapped her arms from around him and took her by the hand to twirl her around before pulling her back tightly against him. He ducked his head down to sneak in a quick kiss.

He gave her a heart melting smile. "Maybe we'll leave this party early and go find someplace private. We've been so busy that we haven't had any alone time lately. I've missed you."

A blonde brow arched slyly. "I think that can be arranged. But right now I want to just enjoy the music and the dancing and do a little people watching. The vibes flowing around here tonight are quite intense. It will also be interesting to see how a certain drama plays out."

Alex flicked his eyes over to where the tall, auburn haired Skye seemed to be having a heated discussion with her unexpected escort for the evening. Kyrian leaned against a wall casually with an amused expression on his face while Skye ranted at him.

"They'll probably end up in a knock down, drag out before the night is over. Skye's pretty pissed about him being here," he commented.

Emma's gray eyes glinted mischievously. "Maybe not. I think this may be exactly the push they need to clear the air between them. They have always been highly combative, and they probably always will be, but it used to be all in good fun. Kyrian's personality has never changed, but something happened to cause Skye to view him differently. I've never been able to get her to talk about it though."

Alex chuckled. "Well your mom must think that it's a good time for something to happen between them or she wouldn't have sent him."

She shrugged. "I guess so. She's usually right about these things. Thank goodness for that. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't helped cover for us with my dad when we first started dating. I probably would have spent many lonely nights sitting around the palace doing nothing."

"That would have sucked," he murmured. "Some of my favorite memories are of our early dates."

"Mine too," she agreed. "I wouldn't trade any of the time I've had with you for anything in the world." Then her look turned pensive.

"Hey! Why the long face all of a sudden?" he chided gently.

She gave herself a shake. "It's nothing. It's just that when we're here together like this it's easy to forget all the problems we still have left to face. We still have a huge battle in front of us before we can even think of moving on with our lives. And even then there's no guarantee that everything is going to work out. There are so many things that could go wrong. What if…"

Alex placed a finger over her lips to cut her off. "We're not going to dwell on the what ifs tonight. Tonight is our night to enjoy ourselves without thinking about what lies ahead. We'll face what's coming when it gets to us. But for tonight let's just let it all go. Let's live for the moment like we have no worries, okay."

She smiled up at him. "I love you so much."

He quirked a grin at her. "I love you too."

She laid her head on his shoulder as they continued to sway to the music. Her gaze landed on Chad, who was the deejay for the evening, as he stood at the table that held all of his equipment. He was bent down slightly, talking to a woman beside him. She giggled. "It looks like Chad brought a date to the prom too."

Alex turned slightly so he could see. Then he chuckled. "Well it's about time. I wondered when those two were going to hook up. I was starting to get worried."

Hannah eyed the dance floor warily. "I don't know about this, Jay. I've never really danced before."

Jayden laughed. "Sure you have. You used to dance all the time back home. I've seen you."

She shook her head. "That was different. The only reason why I attended those dance lessons was because my mom said that I needed to know how to dance properly since I'll soon be old enough to start attending the more important court functions. But I don't think the waltz would quite fit in here."

"Oh come on!" he cajoled her. "That's not the only dancing you've done. What about all the times when we were all hanging out and listening to music? You danced then."

She blushed violently. "That was just goofing off with friends in the privacy of our home. I probably looked stupid!"

"You didn't look stupid!" he insisted. "Besides, this is a slow song. All you have to do is hold on to me and move from side to side. That's all there is to it."

She sniffed daintily. "You just want an excuse to put your arms around me."

He grinned devilishly. "Of course I do. You are my girlfriend and we are on a date. It's only natural that I would want to hold you."

Hannah's mouth fell open as she gaped at him.

"What?" he demanded.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally squeaked, "You just called me your girlfriend!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well you are, aren't you? I thought we had already settled that part of our relationship."

She nodded. "Yeah, but that's the first time I've ever heard you use the word girlfriend out loud to describe me."

Poor Jayden looked severely confused. "Man, the other guys were right. You girls can get picky about tiny relationship details, can't you? What else would I call you? You're sure as hell not my boyfriend!"

Her bright green eyes flared. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just that I've heard you talking to some of the other kids at school this week, and I always hear you say that you are taken, not that you have a girlfriend."

He groaned in exasperation. "It means the same thing! I am taken, taken by you. Everybody in our class is well aware of that by now."

"Never mind! I guess it's a woman thing," Hannah said with a wave of her hand. "I just think that using the word girlfriend implies a much more meaningful relationship. But it's not worth getting into an argument about it. I want to have fun tonight."

Jayden snickered. "Well the first step to that is getting on the dance floor." He tugged on her hand. "Come on! Just follow me and you'll be fine. I promise you'll have fun."

"Okay," she grumbled grudgingly as she allowed him to pull her into the throng of dancers.

He led her to a spot that wasn't overly crowded and then turned to face her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Now put your arms around my neck."

She hesitantly did as he said, but she felt as stiff as a board.

Suddenly Jayden leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Relax," he told her with a roguish smile.

She forced her muscles to loosen up, and when he began moving to the music she did the same. In less than a minute she was completely at ease and all smiles.

"See what I mean. There's nothing to it," he quipped.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "You're awfully good at this. How many other girls have you danced with like this?"

He blinked hard. "Just two. We used to dance together all the time."

A pang of jealousy shot through Hannah. "Oh really," she drawled. The air around her dropped several degrees.

Jayden laughed. "Don't freeze up on me, Snowflake. I'm talking about my mom and my sister. You know my mom likes music and dancing. She turns on the music whenever she can and dances around our apartment in the palace, so I grew up with it. Ryssa and I always loved to jump in and join her. And when dad wasn't around I would dance with mom. She's the one that taught me how to slow dance. You are the first person I've ever danced with like this that I'm not related to."

That took the chill off her temper. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't be so jealous anyway."

"Nah! It's cute," he chuckled, which caused her to blush.

The slow song ended and then another one came on. As Hannah grew more comfortable she allowed her head to rest on Jayden's shoulder and sighed in contentment. This was probably the most perfect moment that she had ever experienced in her short life.

Jayden was thinking along the same lines as he tightened his hold around her waist and rested his cheek against her soft, wavy sapphire hair. He remembered asking his dad once, after he had been ambushed by a group of giggling girls at a party, how to know when you had found just the right girl.

Jadeite had laughed. "It's different for everyone. Sometimes it hits you at first sight, and sometimes it takes time to grow. That's the way it was with your mother and I, at least when I met her past incarnation. We saw each other several times when we were kids and I thought she was a stuffy, stuck up brat. Then we didn't see each other for a few years. When we met again when we were older we still didn't mesh well, but something inside me made me pursue her. Then one day I woke up and realized that I was head over heels in love with her. She took some persuading in both lives, but I knew that there was no one for me but her."

He thought his father's words over carefully. He and Hannah had known each other their whole lives. They had been raised together in the palace. They had spent years picking and bickering with each other. But now that they had grown close he realized that at some point he had fallen deeply in love with the girl in his arms and he couldn't picture ever being with anyone but her.

Kyrian looked up at Skye through the fringe of dark chocolate brown hair that hung over his eyes. "So did you want to dance?"

She growled softly. "What I would like is for you to get lost! I can't believe I'm here with you. The first thing I'm doing when I get home is hunting Mina down and giving her some much needed shock therapy for meddling in my life. And then I'll probably go after Trista for helping her with this idiotic plan. I was looking forward to tonight. Now it's ruined!"

He folded his arms as he leaned broodingly against the wall. "It's not so bad that I'm here, is it? I remember a time when you used to like it when I hung around. We would spar together and sling insults at each other and it was fun."

She speared him with a contemptuous look. "That was before I discovered what an asshole you were! Now I can't stand the sight of you!"

He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of the long black jacket he wore. "That is something that you have made painfully obvious over the last couple of years. I still don't get what changed. One day we were friendly adversaries, and the next you acted like I was your worst enemy. What happened?"

She snorted. "Don't be stupid! You know exactly what happened! I'm sure you got a good laugh out of it too! But I'm nobody's fool, Kyrian! And I refuse to be played like one. So just do me a favor and stay the hell out of my life!"

He pushed away from the wall and grabbed her by the arm. "You need to dance."

She jerked away from him. "Get your damn hands off me! I'd dance with the devil before I'd ever dance with you again!"

His brow furrowed. "Again? What are you talking about? I've never danced with you before."

"Spare me the temporary amnesia!" she hissed. "Maybe the event was so hideous to you that you have conveniently blocked it from your mind, but I remember every second of it! Maybe it was all fun and games to you, but I took it seriously! I poured my heart out to you that night! And the next day you acted like nothing had happened! I hate you!"

She whirled away from him, but he reached out and grabbed her by the arm again. This time his grip was like iron. It wasn't tight enough to hurt her, but it was solid enough to keep her from breaking away.

"Okay!" he grated out between clenched teeth. "There is obviously something going on that I missed out on. So we are going to hash this out right now because I'm effing sick and tired of always having to be on the defensive every time I'm near you!"

He pulled her protesting form behind him toward an unoccupied corner of the ballroom. She dug her heels in and jerked against him as she shrieked in protest. Several boys that were classmates of hers looked as if the were about to interfere on her behalf, but once they got a good look at the much taller man with furiously flashing black eyes they backed off. He yanked her into the corner and shoved her, surprisingly gently, against the wall.

"You bastard!" she snarled and swung a hand to slap him.

He caught her wrist in his hand before it could make contact and then pinned both it and her other hand to the wall on either side of her head. She let out a screech of anger and tried to knee him in a very sensitive spot, but the long skirt of her dress was fairly tight fitting and hindered her movements.

Kyrian let her squirm for a minute until she finally stopped and leaned her weight against the wall behind her. Her chest heaved as her breath huffed and puffed past her lips and her slate blue eyes were as hard as steel as she glared at him.

"Did you get it all out of your system now?" he asked in a brisk voice.

"Go to hell!" she spat. "You are so lucky that we are in a public place right now, or I would transform and fry your ass. You may have some shielding abilities, but even that wouldn't save you if I turned up the juice."

"Yeah, yeah!" he drawled. "I know you're a badass. But I don't care about that right now. What I want to know is what you think I did that made you turn into such a bitch toward me, because I don't have a clue."

A snarl ripped from her throat. "Does the spring festival two years ago ring any bells for you?"

His forehead creased in concentration. Because of their magical abilities, the clan of people that his father led tended to be loners and preferred to stay in their mountain village and away from heavily populated areas. However he, thanks to his ability to teleport, stayed in the city a lot and even kept a small apartment in Crystal Tokyo and had attended the university there. The rest of his family also liked visiting the city several times a year to see their friends and had a standing invitation to drop in at the palace any time they wanted to.

But every year, in the spring, his entire family would go to Crystal Tokyo, at Neo Queen Serenity's invitation, to attend the largest of the spring festivals. It was always a blast because the royal family and their guards would don disguises and try to enjoy the day as normal people. The men and boys would get wrapped up into intense competitions over the games while the women and the girls squealed over the crafts and enjoyed carnival food. But the festival from two years ago…

"Uh, sure," he finally mumbled. "I remember that festival. At least some of it."

Skye's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, some of it?"

He shrugged. "A lot of it is a blur. My allergies were flaring up pretty bad that year and I was on some pretty heavy duty medication. I was warned not to drink alcohol while taking it, but my brother, Julian, had just turned sixteen and he was in a party mood. We found ourselves in this bar tent that would sell alcohol to an infant and we had a couple of drinks. I guess that didn't mix well with the medicine, because I don't remember much after that until I woke up in bed the next morning."

Skye studied his sincere expression for a moment, looking for some sign that he was lying, but she couldn't find any. "You really don't remember, do you?" she asked incredulously.

He thought hard, trying to fight his way through the haze that covered those memories like a layer of wet cotton. Then he saw a flash of something. Skye was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was in a tangled disarray around her flushed face and she laughed as he twirled her while music played in the background.

He let go of her and took a step back. "We danced?" he stated in a shocked whisper.

She nodded slowly. "I was listening to one of the bands that were playing when you came up and asked me if I wanted to dance. We danced for a while, and then…" her voice trailed off.

"Then what?" he insisted.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Excuse me. I need some air." She pushed past him and hurried toward the large doors that led out onto a terrace.

He stood there for a moment, watching her, until she was out of sight. But another flash of memory of her lips pressed against his had him wheeling around to go after her. He had to know what happened that night.

He found her outside at the far end of the terrace, standing next to the stone railing. He approached her slowly and asked. "What else happened?"

Her head shook furiously. "I don't want to talk about it. It was stupid. I was stupid!"

He saw her reach up to swipe the corner of her eye with her fingers and realized that she was crying. That shocked the hell out of him. He had seen her receive many injuries over the years while she had trained as a sailor scout; a broken arm, twisted knees and ankles, burns, cuts…but never had he seen her cry. She was strong.

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. She kept her head down, so he put his fingers under her chin to force her face up toward his. "Please tell me," he begged softly. "I want to know."

She sucked in a shaky breath. "It had gotten late and dark and the fireworks show started, so we wandered down near the lake. We were watching them when you suddenly took my hand and told me that you thought I was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen. And then…you kissed me. It was my first kiss, and it was magical. I couldn't help myself. I blurted out that I was in love with you and you shocked me by telling me that you were in love with me too. Then the next morning you patted me on the head like I was your kid sister and called me the Energizer Bunny before walking away like nothing had happened."

He was stunned. How could he not remember confessing his feelings to the girl he'd been in love with for years? He could still remember when he first took notice of her as a potential love interest when he had just turned sixteen. It had been at her thirteenth birthday party. And that had been when he realized that the little girl that he had wrestled and play fought with most of his life was blossoming into a young woman. But she had still been young at the time, so he had bided his time while waiting for her to grow up. But he had also been a teenage boy, so he had dated and flirted with other girls. He'd never had a serious relationship though, and that had earned him a bit of a playboy reputation. But the whole time he had been waiting for her.

He had just celebrated his twentieth birthday and she was fast approaching her seventeenth. No one could deny that she was grown up now and had been for a while. He had attempted to ask her out when she had turned sixteen, but she had completely shut him out by then. Now he knew why. He had proclaimed his love to her and stolen her first kiss when she had been fourteen, almost fifteen, and then left her dangling. No wonder she hated him. He felt sick to his stomach.

She jerked her chin out of his hand. "So now you know the whole sad little story and why I can't stand to be around you. I had practically hero-worshipped you my entire life, and somewhere along the way I was dumb enough to fall in love with you. And then I got my hopes up, thinking that you returned my feelings, only to have it thrown back in my face."

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye to slide down her cheek. Kyrian reached up to smooth it away with his thumb and she flinched back like she had been burned.

He heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Skye. I know that's a pretty pathetic thing to say, but I really am sorry. I honestly don't remember that night. I wish I did."

She shrugged and turned her back to him. "It doesn't matter anymore. It was just a silly crush anyway. I moved on a long time ago. But there is one thing I would like to know."

He crossed his arms at her defensive tone. "What's that?"

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, and her eyes burnt right through him. "Did you mean anything that you said to me that night, or was it just the drugs and alcohol talking?"

He drew in a steadying breath. It was time to go for broke with her. It wasn't like the relationship between them could get any worse. He spun her back around to face him and wrapped both arms around her waist as he tipped her back slightly. When her mouth popped open in shock he took advantage of it and fitted his lips over hers.

There was no gradual build up to this kiss. It was hot and it was deep from the moment of contact. After a stunned moment he felt her hands move to his chest and he readied himself, sure that she was about to start shoving him away. But he was surprised when she grasped the lapels of his jacket instead.

He plundered her mouth fully, not wanting to give her a second to think. If she had a chance to think, then she would probably get angry, and he needed to convince her that he loved her before she got her head back on straight again. So he poured every bit of emotion he had for her into that kiss.

Eventually she let out a whimper and twisted her head enough to break the kiss, but he didn't let up. He attacked her ear and neck with a series of kisses that alternated between licking and sucking.

"Kyrian!" she gasped. "Stop! I…I can't think with you doing that."

He raised his head to grin wolfishly at her. "I don't want you to think. I'm trying to tell you that I love you without you trying to rip my head off for once."

Her expression was completely dazed, but tears still filled her eyes. "You don't love me," she murmured. "You're just doing this because you feel sorry for me. And I'm not going to fall for it, not again. I can't go through having my heart broken a second time. I just can't!"

His dark eyes glittered like onyx as he looked down at her. "I may not remember what I said to you two years ago, but I'm not going to forget this time. I love you, Skye. I have loved you for years. Why else do you think I'm always coming up with excuses to hang around the palace? It's so I can see you. I treasure every moment that I can just look at you, even when you are screaming at me and trying to kick my ass."

Now she was pushing against him. "No! I don't believe you! Let me go!"

"I'm never letting you go again," he told her firmly. "I don't care what I have to do, or long it takes, I'm going to prove to you that I love you."

She stared up at him for a long moment before a challenging glimmer entered her eyes. She smirked and shrugged. "You can try if you want, but I think you'll find that I'm not an easy nut to crack."

He grinned at the challenge. "We'll see. Now how about a dance? Unless you're afraid to dance with me."

She snorted. "Yeah right! You'll be lucky if you can keep up with me."

"You better watch those hands," Katie murmured as she felt fingers stroking the skin of her back left exposed by her dress.

DJ smirked against the top of her head. "Why? Am I giving you naughty ideas?" He felt her face heat up where it was pressed against his neck.

"No," she grumbled. "It's just…distracting."

He grinned. He loved the way she could act so sweetly innocent at some times and intensely aggressive at others depending on her mood. But he had to admit that she was right. A crowded dance floor was not the place for them to get too touchy feely. Of course he, being a teenage boy, had been in a perpetually turned on state all night ever since he had gotten his first look at how beautiful she looked.

The song ended and a fast paced one came on. Katie pulled back and smiled at him. "Let's take a break. I could use something to drink. It's hot in here."

"Okay," he agreed and led her from the throng of dancers to where a table had been set up with punch, sodas, and a few other refreshments.

A group of boys were hanging out around the table and a guy that was a classmate of theirs greeted them as they approached. "Hey guys! Looking for a little liquid refreshment?" He sounded a little bit drunk.

DJ snickered and shook his head. "I'm driving, so I better stick with something safe." He grabbed a can of soda.

Katie leaned over to look at the innocent looking red liquid in the punch bowl. "What did you guys do to it?"

One of the boys shoved a cup into her hand. "We just added a little something to help enhance the party atmosphere. Try it."

She took a tentative sip and her eyes widened. "Wow! What is that?"

Alex suddenly appeared at her side and plucked the cup from her hand. He took a sip for himself and then grinned. "Ah, vodka. Nice choice. It has almost no smell so that it can't be easily detected by our illustrious teacher chaperones." He took a big gulp of the punch.

"I want to try it," Emma pouted next to him, and he passed the cup to her.

"Hey! That was my drink!" Katie protested.

"There's plenty more where that came from," said the same boy that had given her the first cup as he handed another one to her.

DJ placed a hand on her wrist. "Go easy on that stuff. I don't want to get the third degree from Andrew and Jess if I bring you home drunk."

She batted her lashes at him. "I'll be careful. The last thing I want to do is get wasted and ruin this night. I want to remember every moment of it."

"Come on, man!" Alex said as he snagged two cups of the punch for him and Emma. "Lighten up a little bit! I know we're driving, but we're not going anywhere for probably a few hours. A drink or two won't hurt you. It will have worn off by then."

DJ grinned. "I guess you're right. We are supposed to be having fun after all." He put the soda back down and took a cup of punch for himself.

"That's the spirit!" Alex cheered and took a long swig of his drink. In no time at all, he and Emma had finished theirs and returned to the dance floor.

Katie giggled and shook her head as DJ led her over to a less crowded area. "I swear those two are dancing machines. I don't know where they get the energy. I like dancing myself, but I have to take a break every now and then. Not only does it give me a chance to catch my breath, but it also lets me do a little people watching."

DJ chuckled and tugged on one of her pale blonde curls. "I thought you didn't inherit the Furuhata gossip gene."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't mean it like that. I just like seeing everybody else having fun too." She gestured to couple not too far away. "It looks like Jay was able to get Hannah to crawl out of her shell."

He looked and saw that indeed the young couple seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hannah had let her inhibitions go and was dancing just as enthusiastically to the pounding music as her date was. They were both laughing and looked to be having the time of their lives.

Katie then pointed in another direction. "And it looks like Skye and Kyrian have at least reached a truce for now."

DJ snorted at the tall couple that was easily spotted tearing up the dance floor. "I wonder how long that will last. Whatever happened between them anyway? One day they were pretty tight, and the next they were fighting."

She shrugged. "I don't have a clue. Skye never said what happened. But I'm glad to see them at least attempting to get along. I really hated that Skye was going to go stag tonight. I think everyone needs someone special to spend this night with."

DJ frowned as he looked over the crowd. "I don't see Rini and Helios anywhere."

Katie nudged him in the side. "Don't be such a killjoy! I saw them going outside to the terrace a few minutes ago. They're probably just taking a break like we are. Besides, they're practically engaged. I know they're waiting for Rini's birthday to make it official, but we've all known for a long time that they would end up together."

He forced the glower from his face. "True. But she is my sister, even if she is slightly older than me, and feel like I have to look out for her."

"Aww! You're so cute when you get overprotective," she cooed and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

He grinned at her before he knocked back a healthy slug of his drink. Then he asked her, "So what do you think about Chad's choice to bring a date with him tonight?"

She looked over to where Chad was manning the sound equipment with an attractive young woman at his side. She shrugged. "I'm not all that surprised. They had to start dating sometime since they eventually get married. I'm happy for them."

"True," he commented. He set his now empty cup down before taking her also empty cup and setting it aside. Then he smiled slyly. "So are you ready to give it another whirl?"

She smiled brightly at him. "I could dance all night if it means I get to stay in your arms."

Helios pulled away from the intoxicating temptation of his princess's lips and stroked a finger down her cheek. "You are so beautiful tonight."

Rini laughed softly. "You always say that."

"And I always mean it," he countered back. "You captured my heart from the moment I followed the light of your beautiful dream to you. You know, I used to wonder why Queen Serenity insisted on the Golden Crystal being held in Elysian for as long as it was instead of it being returned to Endymion at his rebirth, but now I think that she knew that one day it would bring us together."

A dreamy smile tilted the princess's lips. "I still remember the first time I saw you. I dreamed that I was walking through the woods, and then it opened up to a clearing and there you were."

"In all my horsey glory," he snorted.

She batted at his shoulder. "I thought that you were the most magnificent thing I had ever seen. I had heard of Pegasus in stories when I was growing up, but I never thought that I would get to see one in person. I remember asking my dad once, when I was about six, if I ever would. He smiled, patted me on the head, and told me that dreams were powerful things; and that if I cherished my dreams hard enough and held them close to my heart that they would come true. Little did I know at the time that he meant it literally."

He chuckled. "You always were an avid dreamer. I had been watching over you your whole life, but I had to be careful not to reveal myself to you until the time was right. And there were several close calls. You almost came across me several times in both the dream and the physical world."

A giggle bubbled from her. "I always thought it was strange that my parents said that the top floor of the Golden Palace was off limits whenever we visited Elysian. If only I had known that it was because you were hiding up there."

He rolled his amber eyes. "Not that it stopped you. You still snuck up there many times. Once you almost caught me coming out of the shower. I had to teleport away wearing nothing but a towel."

Her eyes glinted mischievously. "Too bad I missed that. I would have liked to have seen it."

"You were seven years old. It probably would have traumatized you for life," he retorted.

"Nothing about you would ever traumatize me," she purred as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "Of course you could always strip down and put on a towel and we'll see what happens."

He closed his eyes and groaned. "You are a vixen. I'm tempted to throw you over my shoulder and take you to Elysian right this minute."

"Maybe later," she whispered against his lips. Then she sighed. "Two more months until my birthday. It feels like this year has been slowly dragging by. I wish it would hurry up and get here so we can make things official. Then nobody, not even my dad, will be able to complain about the amount of time we spend together."

He smiled and gently tucked a piece of hair that had come loose from her twist behind her ear. "Your birthday will be here before you know it. Don't rush it. We have all the time in the world."

"I know," she grumbled. "I just get impatient sometimes. It's a curse that I inherited from both of my parents. Well, the night's not getting any younger. How about we go back inside and dance some more?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed with a grin. But as Rini turned to walk back toward the terrace and the ballroom, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against his front.

"I love you, my maiden," he whispered before he kissed her neck gently.

She shuddered in his arms. "You haven't called me that for a while."

He moved his lips to her ear. "You will always be my maiden, the one who saved me from the darkness."

She turned her head to look at him. "And you will always be my dream prince come to life. I love you too."

They shared one last kiss before returning to the prom. Neither one of them noticed the flashes of light a short distance away that faintly lit up the night sky.

"I shouldn't be here. I should be at home studying. I have finals coming up," Jess groaned as she dipped a cheese stick into a bowl of marinara sauce.

"I know, me too," Amy commiserated. "I can't believe the semester's almost over. It feels like it just started."

Serena reached over and grabbed a cheese stick for herself. "I don't see what you two are stressing about. We have a few weeks before the big bad exams hit us. Besides, it's Saturday night. Loosen up and have a little fun. Anyway, both of you would probably be able to ace your exams in your sleep."

"Shows what you know," Jess grumbled. "Have you ever taken art history? It's not exactly easy to keep all of those names and dates straight. And the Renaissance guys absolutely drive me batty. Not to mention I've got everything riding on those paintings that are going to be judged by every professor in the Art department. They're even bringing in some seasoned artists to help judge. If I flunk that I can hang up getting my degree."

Andrew wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Stop stressing about it. You'll be great, just like you always are. You'd think that you'd know by now that everything you create is an instant hit. Where's your self-confidence?"

"It's nonexistent," she moaned. "I don't handle criticism very well, and there's always at least one person that doesn't see what I'm trying to convey with my paintings. I entered this art contest once when I was twelve, and there was this horrid woman that was one of the judges. She took one look at my painting and told me that I needed to get my head out of the clouds and my feet firmly planted on the ground if I ever wanted to produce anything that could be considered real art. I placed third in that contest, but I was so disgusted that I burned that painting." Then she giggled. "I almost set the whole backyard on fire too. I thought my parents were going to kill me for that stunt."

"Ah, the power of fire!" Jadeite said as he tipped back the chair he was sitting in on two legs and raised his beer as if making a toast. "It's a dangerous, yet beautiful thing. Right, Firefly?"

Raye rolled her eyes at him. "Moron! Ugh! I really shouldn't be sitting here and wasting time like this. I should be working."

Jadeite nudged her gently. "Nah! Everything's running smoothly. Besides, the employees know where to find you if they need you. Take a load off and relax."

She sniffed. "I do know one thing, I'm never letting Chad take off on a Saturday night to do another gig ever again. Ben is fine as deejay during the week, but Chad always manages to have just the right mix of music to keep the crowd going."

Heads nodded all around as a popular, but not particularly uplifting song began playing. The group of them had commandeered the back corner of the upper level of Blaze for the round of drinks that Raye had promised them, but they had been lingering for a few hours now as they visited together and munched on food that Lita had brought over from the restaurant.

"Well at least we know that the kids have decent music to dance to tonight," Mina chirped. "But I agree, Chad is a much better deejay. For once I have no inclination to dance."

"Me neither," Lita agreed. "I wonder how the kids are doing. We haven't gotten any frantic calls saying that Skye tried to kill Kyrian yet, so I guess they must be okay."

"They better be," Nephrite growled. "If something happens to Skye while she's with him I'll kill him. There's just something I didn't like about him."

Zoicite chuckled. "You just didn't like him because he's a boy and he's hanging around your daughter. That's all."

Kunzite snorted. "Like you have any room to talk, Zoi. There have been a few times that I thought you were physically going to jump in between Hannah and Jayden."

Serena smiled as good-natured bickering sprang up between the overprotective fathers. All except one anyway. She turned to the silent man beside her. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Darien looked up from where he had been picking at the label of his practically untouched beer and gave her a wan smile. "I'm fine, just a little tired is all. Work was busy today."

"Did you want to go home?" she immediately asked.

He shook his head. "Nah! I'm not that tired."

She smirked at him. "You probably wouldn't be as tired as you are if you hadn't decided to get frisky on the floor earlier."

"I didn't hear you complaining," he shot back with a grin.

She tossed her head regally. "Of course not. I would never complain about getting some loving from you."

A heated light entered his eyes. "Well maybe you'll be up for round two later."

She flashed him a wicked smile. "I know I will. The question is, will you? If you're tired you might just pass out on me."

His look turned smug. "Maybe I'll just lay back and let you do all the work."

A shiver of anticipation ran through her, but she pursed her lips into a pout. "But I believe every relationship should be 50/50. It wouldn't be fair for me to do it all."

"I'm sure you can find some way to motivate me," he leaned down to whisper huskily in her ear.

She arched a brow at him. "Oh, I'm sure I can."

A breath hissed between his teeth a moment later when he felt her hand trailing up his thigh under the table. "Damn, Serena!" he muttered.

Her look turned as innocent as a child's. "What?"

"You know damn well what!" he ground out between clenched teeth as he fought against the urge he had to drag her from the club, in front of their friends, and back to their apartment. He was about to say the hell with it and act on his impulses anyway when a flurry of shrieks erupted from some of the nearby club patrons.

"Was that a rat?" one woman screeched.

Raye jumped up, concern immediately appearing on her face. The last thing she needed was for the club to get a reputation for being infested by rodents. That would kill her business for sure.

Serena leaped in her chair when she felt something furry brush up against her leg. She was on the verge of screaming when she heard a low voice hiss, "Serena!"

She peeked under the table and expelled a sigh of relief when she saw Luna's cinnamon eyes staring up at her. She quickly pulled her up onto her lap. "Luna! What in the world are you doing here?"

Across the table she could hear Mina murmuring the same thing to Artemis as she picked him up. He whispered something back frantically to her as she took something from him and passed it to Amy.

One of the bouncers came hurrying through the crowd. He pulled up short when he saw Raye. "Sorry Miss Hino, a couple of cats slipped in through the front door, a black one and a white one, and I'm trying to catch them." His eyes landed on Luna and Artemis sitting in their mistresses' laps. "Ah ha! There you are, you mangy fleabags!"

Startled meows ripped from both of the felines as the large man began stalking toward them menacingly.

Raye put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, we'll take care of it. They belong to some friends of mine."

He looked confused for a moment before shrugging and walking away, muttering, "I've heard of dogs tracking down their owners before, but never cats. That's weird!"

"Serena, we've got a problem," Luna said in a low voice.

"Oh my god!" Amy squeaked as she jumped up from her seat. She stared in horror at the Mercury computer that she held in her hand. "We have more than a problem. This could be a disaster."

"What's going on?" Serena and Mina demanded together.

Amy looked frantically around the crowded club. "We can't talk about it here. We need to find a private place."

Andrew stood up. "The service halls should be empty at this time of night." He patted his pockets. "Damn! I didn't bring my building keys."

Kunzite pulled a key ring from the pocket of his slacks. "I've got mine. Let's go."

They all scrambled from their seats and hurried out a side exit to the club that led into the dimly lit multiplex. It was a little after 10:00, so all of the shops were closed for the night. The only places left open were Blaze, La Foret, and the Crown arcade. Kunzite used a key to open a door, and they filed into a back hall that led to the loading docks at the back of the building where deliveries were made to the businesses.

"What is going on?" Darien demanded once they were away from the possibilities of anyone over hearing them.

Amy was typing furiously on her computer. "Well, if my readings are correct, it looks like a large group of youma are about to attack."

"Youma! But how? Didn't we take care of all of them already?" Zoicite exclaimed as he leaned over her shoulder to look at the computer. He frowned. "They're originating from Beryl's old base all right, but I don't get it. She and Metallia were destroyed. There's no one there to create more youma."

Amy shook her head. "She was trying to grow her army before her defeat. She could have started these before then and left them to grow. Now they've matured and they're breaking loose."

Serena groaned. "I feel like such an idiot! Talon offered to go up there and check things out after we fought them, but I told him not to worry about it. I figured the place was empty and abandoned. I guess I should have let him go after all. We could have stopped this before it started."

Darien hugged her against his side. "You couldn't have known that this would happen. But don't worry, we'll take care of it."

"That's right!" Lita said encouragingly. "Youmas are old school for us. We can take them out with no problem. How many are we talking about, ten, maybe fifteen of them? That's not even enough to make me break a sweat."

Amy swallowed hard. "Um…actually, my scans are showing there to be somewhere around fifty of them. But the good news is that they are all together, so that might make it easier for us."

"That's just great!" Serena moaned. "And where are they showing up at? Never mind, let me guess. It's the park, isn't it? It's always the park. God! Why can't these stupid youma come up with an original idea for once?"

"It makes sense," Raye grumbled. "It's a large open area and there are usually a lot of people around. It makes it a prime location."

Serena squared her shoulders. "Maybe we can cut them off before they do too much damage. Mina, call the outers. We may need their help."

Mina's hand hesitated over her communicator. "What about the kids?"

Serena's expression turned determined. "There are twelve of us here. Even without the outers we should be able to handle a pack of youma on our own. It's what we would do if they weren't here. I really don't want to interrupt their night if we can keep from it, so let's save them as a last resort."

"Yeah right!" Jadeite snorted. "Like they won't figure it out. The hotel that the prom is being held at is right across the street from the park."

Nephrite nodded. "Not to mention that the group of them have an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble."

"Then we'll have to take care of it as quickly and as quietly as possible," Serena insisted. "Let's let them be normal teenagers, just for one night."

"Oh man!" Katie groaned as she leaned up against the wall in the women's restroom. "I don't think I've ever danced this much in my whole life."

"Me neither," Rini agreed as she sat down on a chair, her black, high heeled shoes dangling from her hand.

"Lightweights!" Emma scoffed as she studied her reflection in the mirror. "We've only been at it for a few hours."

"No doubt," Skye agreed next to her. "I could dance all night."

"Well some of us aren't robots," Hannah grumbled as she collapsed on a seat next to Rini. "I'm glad mine and Jay's curfew is earlier than yours. There's no way that I could make it until this thing is over at 1:00."

"That's because you're a newbie to this," Emma told her. "But I have to say that you have been pulling some pretty impressive moves out there tonight."

Skye nodded. "You sure have. I guess all those nights we spent goofing off at home paid off. You and Jay look good together."

Hannah blushed, but her eyes sparkled mischievously. "And what about you and Kyrian? I noticed that the two of you looked pretty cozy."

"You go girl!" Rini crowed, slapping the younger girl a high five. "I was just about to say something about that myself."

Katie snickered. "Yeah. What's up with you guys? Inquiring minds want to know. I thought you hated him."

Now Skye's face flushed pink. "It's not what you think. I still think he's a major ass, but the man can seriously dance. So I figured that I should take advantage of the situation since I'm stuck with him for the night."

"Mmm hmm…" Emma mused. "So the fact that you've been plastered up against him during every slow dance with your head on his shoulder and a dreamy smile on your face means absolutely nothing, huh?"

Skye shoved her lightly. "Shut up! Like you have any room to talk. You've been crawling all over Alex so much tonight that at one point I thought you guys were just going to lay down on the floor and get your freak on right there in front of everybody."

"Eek!" Rini squeaked and slapped her hands over Hannah's ears. "Hey! Watch what we say! There are young virgin ears here!"

Hannah snorted. "Virgin ears, my butt! I know how things work. Believe it or not, you guys aren't the only ones that have had the misfortune of walking in on your parents when they are trying to sneak in a private moment without having the common decency to go to their bedroom and close and lock the door first. But I really don't want to go there right now."

Giggles pealed from Katie. "Amy and Zoi, really? Who'd have thought it?"

"Oh, for the love of Aphrodite!" Emma sighed in vexation. "Why is that so hard to believe? I know the two of them may be reserved, but they are soul mates and crazy in love with one another. That alone has a way of making the most serious of people go a little insane sometimes."

"Forgive us, almighty love goddess," Skye drawled as she leaned in close to the mirror to inspect her hair and make up. "The rest of us aren't as blessed as you are and able to see the bonds between people. Which, come to think of it, I would probably consider it to be more of a curse than a blessing to constantly see the ties between everyone around you. Especially since you won't even take pity on one of your best friends and let her know who her soul mate is so that she can try to get a little happiness in her life like everyone else."

Emma shared a conspiratorial look with Katie as they both bit back grins. Then she shook her head. "There are some things that people have to discover on their own, Thunderpants. Eros might be my great uncle a few thousand times over, but could you imagine the insanity if my mother and I started playing Cupid and told everyone who they were destined to be with? Part of building a relationship are two people taking the time to get to know each other and discovering their feelings for one another themselves. Tampering with fate could be a messy business."

"Shh!" Rini warned as the bathroom door opened and a large group of girls entered. She stood and smoothed down the skirt of her dress. "Well, time's ticking and I've got a man out there waiting on me. It was nice to take a load off for a minute, but I want to soak up every moment with him that I can."

"Hear, hear!" Katie agreed as she pushed away from the wall and joined Emma and Skye in front of the mirror. She sighed as she tried to fluff up the curls that were starting to fall out of her hair. In all honesty she was surprised that her painfully straight hair had held the curl as long as it had. The tiny white rose clips had also slipped loose from the exertions of dancing and straggling pieces of hair hung limply around her face. She snorted in disgust. "Ugh! I'm surprised that DJ hasn't run for the hills. I'm a mess!"

"Hold on!" Emma squeaked as she turned toward her boyfriend's twin sister and began expertly repining the pale blonde strands back into place.

"It's not fair!" Katie moaned. "The rest of you have danced as much as I have, but you all still look just as perfect as you did at the beginning of the evening. I should have known that I couldn't pull off the graceful woman look for the entire night. My dad was right all the times he joked about how I was such a tomboy that it was almost like having two sons."

"Oh, quit whining!" Rini snapped. "You're every bit as feminine as the rest of us. I know my brother very well, and believe me; he must find something womanly about you. I can see it every time he stares at you with those pathetic goo goo eyes of his. You've turned my little brother into a whipped puppy."

Katie giggled. "Oh no! There's nothing whipped about him. If anything, he's the one that's whipped me."

"In more ways than one," Emma snickered loudly as she elbowed Skye.

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Okay! Now I've had enough of your conversation. I may have a high tolerance for listening to you depraved lunatics and your double entendres, but that doesn't mean that I have to subject myself to it when I have a way to escape it. Now I don't have much time left before Jay and I have to leave to make our midnight curfew and I would rather spend it having fun instead of hanging in here with you hormone fueled nymphomaniacs."

The four older girls froze in shock at her surprisingly flippant words. Although Hannah could get loud and indignant on occasion, she was usually quiet for the most part. And when she did speak her mind she enjoyed throwing around her advanced vocabulary, so it was surprising to hear anything even close to crudity coming from her mouth.

Skye was the first to recover. She laughed as she walked over and slung an arm around Hannah's shoulders. "I couldn't agree with you more, Frosty. Just because they are getting laid makes them borderline nauseating, doesn't it?"

Rini shook a threatening fist at her. "I'll show you nauseating!"

Katie groaned and slapped her hands over her suddenly burning cheeks.

Emma sniffed imperiously. "You know, you could be getting some action yourself if you would stop being such an uptight bitch whenever Kyrian is around. Honestly, I don't see how you can be so ignorant about such a hot piece of man-flesh like that. If you have a single functioning brain cell inside that head of yours you will snatch him up and hold on to him tight."

Skye's eyes narrowed. "Why are you and mother so insistent about throwing that son of Satan and I together? If I didn't know any better I would think that the two of you got some sadistic pleasure out of seeing me suffer."

Katie jumped forward and put a hand over Emma's mouth before her friend could spill out more information than she should. Her friend had indulged in a few glasses of the spiked punch and was probably not in complete control of her tongue. It had been one thing for the young love goddess to spill out the fact that she and DJ were soul mates since they had already been involved in a relationship, but to tell Skye that she was destined to be with Kyrian while they were on such shaky ground could backfire harshly.

"Of course no one wants to see you suffer," she covered quickly. "But even I have to admit that you and Kyrian make a great looking pair. Can you honestly say that the guy doesn't make your mouth water when you look at him?"

"Puh-leeze!" Sky snorted as she turned and strode for the door. The others followed her, giggling.

The five guys waiting in the hotel lobby straightened up as the girls left the restroom.

"Hey, Aphrodite!" Alex grinned good-naturedly as he slung an arm around Emma. "Are you ready to tear up the dance floor some more?"

She batted her lashes coyly at him. "You know I am."

DJ smiled wickedly at the sight of the silver high heels dangling from his girlfriend's hand. "You're not throwing in the towel on me, are you?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "No. But my feet have gone on strike and refuse to spend one more minute in those stupid shoes. They could have been used as torture devices during the Spanish Inquisition."

He snorted softly. "Says the girl that can land triple back flips in high heeled boots."

"Nah! I agree with her," Rini interjected, indicating her own black stilettos that she was still holding. "Sailor scouts boots feel like they were custom made by Dr. Scholl's. These things just suck!"

"But they did look nice while you were wearing them," Helios commented genuinely.

"I would have worn heels too if I'd known that I was going to get stuck with tall, dark, and annoying all night," Skye grumbled. At 5'11", she never wore heels. But Kyrian's 6'4" stature made her feel like she was at a disadvantage.

He leaned down to drawl huskily, "You just want to be closer to my lips."

"Don't start!" Hannah snapped, cutting off the tirade that was about to spew from Skye's mouth. "Come on, Jay. Let's go enjoy the dance a little bit more before we have to leave."

The blonde boy grinned broadly as his date took him by the arm. "Lead on, my lady."

The whole group of them made their way back toward the crowded ballroom, but were almost run over in the doorway when several of their classmates came rushing by.

"I'm telling you, man," one boy was saying. "It shocked the hell out of me. I just stepped outside to have a smoke and then I heard something. When I looked up I couldn't believe my eyes. I haven't seen them in person since I was caught up in a mall attack back in middle school."

"Same here!" a girl was gushing. "Some crazy monster thing attacked a carnival I was at when I was about twelve and they showed up. It was way cool!"

"Hey! What's going on?" DJ called out to a boy he knew from his calculus class.

The boy stopped for a moment. "Dude! There's a shitload of monsters attacking the park across the street and the sailor scouts showed up to fight them. There's a pretty good view of the fight from outside, so we're all going to watch. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than this dance."

DJ felt Katie's fingers tighten around his as she whispered, "Oh no! What do we do?"

"Let's go up onto the roof," Alex suggested quietly as he indicated the elevator. "We'll have a better vantage point from up there."

"I can't believe no one called us!" Rini groaned when they were all inside the car. "They would have a conniption fit if we jumped into a fight without telling them first."

"Easy, love," Helios soothed her. "I know it's hard to remember sometimes, but Serena and Darien are your parents' past selves and they have fought many battles without your assistance and can take care of themselves."

Hannah fidgeted anxiously. "What I don't get is where this attack is coming from. Oh, I wish I had my computer with me!"

Emma's eyes widened in shock. "You don't think Discord has found a way to breach the time gate again, do you?"

Kyrian shook his head. "No way! Pluto has sealed the entrance he used the first time. The only other way he could get in would be to use the door in the palace, and there's no chance of him getting in there. The palace is locked down so tightly that I almost couldn't get in. I just got lucky that Kyle and Nick were outside and saw me at the gate. They ran and told Kunzite and he vouched for me."

"Bully for you," Skye grumbled, but her eyes softened at the mention of her little brother she hadn't seen in so long. "So how is Nick doing?"

Kyrian grinned. "Growing like a weed. I don't know what your mom is feeding him, but he'll be taller than you before you know it. He and Kyle are both itching to fight. They begged me to bring them with me."

Emma giggled softly. "That sounds like them, the bloodthirsty little devils!"

"Ryssa's just as bad," Kyrian laughed. "She finally achieved her scout transformation about a month ago, and now she believes that she's ready to do battle."

"My little sister is a sailor scout," Jayden whispered in wonder. "But she's only ten! Nobody's going to let her fight, are they?"

Kyrian laughed. "Calm down, Smokey. You know that Serena has a strict rule that no one under the age of fourteen is allowed to participate in a fight. They don't like it, but it's either behave themselves or the parents threatened to send them up to my home village when the fight breaks out. That shut them up real quick."

"I just bet it did," Rini chuckled as the elevator came to a stop at the top floor and opened. "Well, let's go see what kind of mess is going on now."

Sailor Mars shrieked and ducked to avoid being fried by the ball of electrical energy that was only milliseconds away from colliding with her. It sailed over her head and slammed into a youma behind her, turning it into dust.

She glared at the tall, auburn haired scout that ran past her, laughing. "I think you're getting just a little bit too much amusement out of this, Jupiter! I probably look like I stuck my finger in a light socket now!"

Jupiter waved off the angry tirade. "Don't be such a prude! I knew you'd get out of the way in time. That freak left itself wide open to an attack, and I just couldn't let that slide."

Jadeite came to a stop next to his fuming girlfriend. He gripped his flaming sword in one hand while he used his free arm to pull her close to him for a moment. "Don't worry. You still look gorgeous to me." Then he kissed her quickly. He jerked back as she shocked him.

"Damn, Neph! How in the hell do you put up with that? It's like biting into a live wire," he asked the nearby general who was in the process of electrocuting a youma with a stream of lightning from his sword.

The chestnut haired man grinned slyly and wagged his eyebrows. "What can I say? Maybe I'm a masochist. I like it."

"Would you two perverts knock it off and pay attention to what we're supposed to be doing!" Kunzite snarled as he joined them. He held a three-foot long, light purple energy blade in each hand. "In case you haven't noticed, we've got youma scattering everywhere and it would be nice if we could keep them contained to this area instead of having to chase them all over the city."

His stern look turned to one of admiration as a bright orange light flashed to life a short distance away and one youma howled as it was vaporized by a flurry of golden hearts while another one found itself tightly bound by a jeweled chain.

"Now there's a woman after my own heart. She knows how to take care of business," he sighed.

Venus glanced in his direction and smiled coyly as she crooked a finger at her general. "Darling, would you please take care of that for me?" she asked, indicating the youma tied up with her love chain.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied smoothly. Then he lunged forward and with a swipe of one of his blades he neatly decapitated her captive. It disappeared in a glittery poof.

"Ooo…nice!" she cooed. "I've always liked a forceful man."

Uranus snorted derisively as she took out a youma with her space sword. "Now I see why Serena called us in to help out with a simple youma problem. The inners and their men can't focus on anything when they are around each other, can they?"

Neptune giggled softly. "You're one to talk, dearest. Who was it that was cursing just a short while ago because her plans for the evening were interrupted?"

Saturn made a gagging sound. "Please try to remember that I am here and that I don't want to hear about your private life. I'll never understand how I grew up at least halfway normal after being raised by you depraved lunatics!"

Neptune ruffled her adopted daughter's hair. "Well darling, you did have the advantage of growing from a baby into a pre-teen in a very short amount of time, so we didn't have to really worry about your formative years."

Uranus grinned slyly. "Oh I don't know about that. I think we had a bigger influence on her than she thinks. What do you want to bet that she and Sammy-boy were getting hot and heavy about the time we got the call?"

Saturn stomped a purple booted foot. "That's none of your business!"

"I don't believe this!" Sailor Moon moaned as she looked around at her friends and comrades. "We're in the middle of a fight and they're all treating it like it's a party. They used to take fighting seriously."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled in her ear. "Well darling, even you have to admit that this isn't much of a challenge for them. They all have developed their skills far beyond defeating simple youma years ago. This is nothing to them."

"I'll say," Sailor Shadow grumbled beside them. She had actually relaxed enough to take a seat on the ground where she had her elbows on her knees and her chin propped in her hands. Every now and then she would pop off an energy blast whenever a youma got close. "This blows! I got all excited, thinking that we were going to see some decent action with there being such a large group of them, but Beryl obviously really sucked when it came to making youma."

Andrew laughed lightly where he was lounging up against a tree trunk next to her. "You sound disappointed."

"I am!" she growled. "If I'd know it was going to be this dull I would have just stayed up on the roof of the hotel with the kids when I went and told them to stay put. It's not like I'm actually needed here."

"I wouldn't write things off so easily if I were you," Mercury chided primly as she and Zoicite joined the group. "While it's true that they are just basic youma, what they lack in skill they make up for with their numbers. We've taken out a good chunk of their forces, but we are still outnumbered at least two to one. So I wouldn't be getting too complacent yet."

Zoicite nodded sagely. "She's right. The important thing is making sure that we keep the youma confined to the park. They may not be a huge threat to us, but a normal human being wouldn't last ten seconds against one if it got loose in the city."

Shadow tossed her dark blonde braid over her shoulder. "So let's just toast their asses and go home then!" Her hands began glowing blue as she placed them on the ground in front of her.

An eerie chuckle came from the tree branches above them. "You're always so impatient, princess. Do you really want to steal everyone else's fun away from them?"

Shadow smirked as she looked up into the darkness. "Sometimes I think you exist for no other purpose than to irritate the piss out of me, Talon."

A dark figure dropped from the tree. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt while his longish medium brown hair was tied back at his nape in a short ponytail. His black eyes flashed humorously while the long jagged scar down the side of his face did nothing to detract from his sinfully handsome face. If anything it added to the air of mystery around him.

He grinned at Sailor Shadow. "You should know by now that needling you is my favorite pastime and I never pass up a good opportunity to have some fun."

"What are you doing here?" Andrew practically growled.

Talon seemed unfazed as he shrugged. "My wife, bless her heart, usually can't make it past eight o'clock nowadays before she has to turn in for the night. But I've always been a bit of a night owl so I usually sit up. When I felt the disturbance tonight I jumped at the chance to do something to liven up another boring night. Even if they are just pathetic youma it has to be better than surfing the web or watching a movie I've already seen a hundred times."

Shadow waved a careless hand. "Have fun! I hope you get more enjoyment out of it than I have. They're pushovers."

An evil smirk appeared on his face. "Oh, I don't know. I think it could be fun if it's done correctly." He held up a hand that clenched a sheathed sword. "What do you say to a little contest, princess? Whichever one of us takes out the most creeps wins."

Shadow jumped to her feet, eyes flaring at the challenge. "You're on! But I hope you're ready for defeat, because there's no way in hell you're beating me!" She and Talon jumped into the fray.

Andrew groaned and shoved his hands into the pockets of his long coat as he resumed his leaning against the tree trunk. "I really hate that guy sometimes."

"Are you not going to go after her?" Zoicite asked him.

Andrew visibly flinched as blue light flashed to life and he heard Jupiter yell, "What the hell, Shadow? That was my kill!" He shook his head. "Uh uh! You can feel free to get between her and a fight if you want to, but I value my hide too much."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "You are so whipped!"

Andrew eyed his best friend and the blonde scout that was practically attached to his side and smirked. "You don't have any room to talk, Tux-boy! Serena cowed you years ago."

Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at him. "I did not! I've never cowed anybody in my life! The worse thing I ever did was hit him in the head with a test paper."

"And a shoe," Tuxedo Mask inserted quickly. "There's also the million times you knocked me on my ass because you weren't watching where you were going and the dozens of milkshakes you ruined by pouring them over my head. And let's not forget the time you slapped me when you thought I had forgotten your birthday."

"Okay, okay!" Sailor Moon grumbled. "I get the picture. But you don't have to make it sound like I bullied you into a relationship. You could have walked away any time you wanted to."

"You two quit flirting! You're making my stomach churn," Mars snarled as she and the rest of the scouts and generals convened around them. "Who's the idiot that decided to let Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hog all the action? They're stealing all the fun."

Uranus snorted. "Like it was any fun anyway! What was fun was what I had planned before my communicator beeped and ruined the moment. Now I'm just hoping that the whole night isn't completely shot. May I go home now, oh fearless leader?"

Sailor Moon looked toward Mercury for confirmation that the situation was under control. "Amy?"

The blue suited scout shrugged. "I don't see any reason why not. Jess and Talon seem to be mowing through the dozen that were left. I guess we overreacted and made this out to be a bigger deal than what it was."

Zoicite put an arm around her shoulders. "It was better to be safe than sorry. Having fifty youma open up a portal here was definitely a big deal. We just got lucky that they were neophytes."

Venus giggled. "And I'm glad that we made the kids stay out of it. There was no sense in interrupting their night." She gave a small wave to the group that was peeking over the edge of the roof of the hotel across the street and saw Emma return it before turning away.

"I think we got them all," Sailor Shadow announced as she jogged over to rejoin the group. "I took out six of the suckers."

"Oh man!" Talon groaned. "I only got five. I can't believe you beat me!"

"But that's only eleven, and there were twelve left. That means that there is still one hanging around somewhere," Mercury stated as she flicked her visor into place and began scanning with her computer.

Then screams erupted from the group of high school prom goers that had congregated on the sidewalk across the street to watch the fight. They scattered in all directions to get out of the path of youma that was barreling toward them.

The youma was your normal, run of the mill, stripper looking, scantily clothed youma, but two sets of spider-like limbs protruded from her back. And just like a spider, she began scaling the side of the hotel as easily as walking down a street.

"This is getting boring," Katie sighed.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. It looks like they've pretty much got everything wrapped up now."

"I'm glad Jess told us to stay out of it. It doesn't look like there would have been much for us to do anyway," Rini said.

"True," DJ agreed. "I say we get back to the dance and let them handle it."

Jayden grabbed Hannah's hand. "Sounds good to me. Come on, Hannah! We still have a half hour left to party it up."

All of the couples headed for the door to the stairs except for one that remained standing at the edge.

Skye looked up at the man standing next to her. "Are you okay?"

Kyrian glanced at her and grinned. "Yeah. I was just a little shell-shocked for a moment. I wasn't expecting to see my dad on this trip." He turned his attention back to the past form of his father, who was across the street with the others. "It's strange. He looks exactly the same."

"I know," Skye replied softly. "I feel the same way every time I look at Lita and Nephrite, or any of the others for that matter. Sometimes it makes it hard to remember that we are in the past and not at home when they are identical to the people I've known my whole life. But let's not dwell on it. We have a party to get back to."

Kyrian smirked. "Is that your way of saying that you want to dance with me some more?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get any ideas! I just want to dance, period. I don't care if it's with you or not. If you don't want to I'm sure I can find someone else to oblige me."

He wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. "I don't think so, Shocker. I am your date for tonight, and you're not dancing with anyone but me."

"Geez! Pushy much?" she grumbled, but she didn't resist when he steered her to follow the others inside.

He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it closed just as quickly when they heard screams from the street below. He turned to run back to the roof's edge, but he had only taken two steps when an arachnid looking youma suddenly vaulted over the ledge and landed in front of them.

Skye felt tingles race down her arm as she called her electricity into her hand, but before she could act there was a blur of movement as Kyrian sprang into motion. All she saw was the glint of something shiny and a muted flash of light before the youma burst into dust.

"Take that, you energy sucking parasite!" Kyrian snarled. "Serves you right for slinking around while I'm trying to enjoy an evening with a beautiful woman."

Skye's breath caught at the impressive sight he made. Damn! He was seriously hot when he was in battle mode. Fighting down a flush, she made her voice sound as normal as possible.

"Well…now I see why you refused to take that coat off all night." She gestured to the slender, samurai-style sword that he had whisked from what was probably a sheath on his back that was hidden by his long coat.

He grinned slyly. "I never go anywhere unarmed. You should know that by now."

"Skye! Kyrian!" several voices called out to them as Rini and the others ran back toward them.

The roof suddenly became very crowded as Sailor Moon and the rest of Tokyo's heroes arrived on the scene.

"Are you guys okay?" the future queen demanded as she flicked her blue eyes over all of them to reassure herself that nobody was physically injured.

"We're all fine," DJ told her quickly. "I barely had time to realize that anything was happening. By the time I turned around the youma was already disappearing."

Talon shoved his way past everyone. Before anyone could blink he had grabbed Kyrian by the shirt in one hand and jerked him so that they were eye level.

"Just who the hell are you?" he snarled. "I don't recognize you as being a member of my tribe, and yet the magic you wielded to destroy that youma is known only to my people." Then he gripped Kyrian's wrist in his other hand and raised it up to take a good look at his sword.

His jet black eyes narrowed even more as he took in the ancient symbols engraved on the hilt and the blade. "This sword bears my brother-in-law's mark. He is one of the most skilled weapon makers among my people. So how the hell did you end up with one of his swords?"

Kyrian's dark gaze sparked with anger. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're insinuating! It was a gift! So don't go blowing a gasket, old man!"

Talon's grip tightened on him. "Oh! So you're a real smart-assed little punk, aren't you? Let's see how big you're talking when I get done kicking your ass!"

"Bring it on! I can take you!" Kyrian growled.

"Stop it!" Skye cried as she tried to push her way between them. "Talon, stop! This isn't what you think!"

"Get out of the way, Skye," Talon warned her in a low ominous voice.

"No!" she screamed. "I'm not just going to stand here and watch you beat him up!"

Kyrian snorted. "Just do as he says, Skye. It will come back to bite him in the ass later."

Tears burned in Skye's eyes. "Fine! Go ahead and get the shit stomped out of you! It's not like I care anyway! You're such a stupid idiot, Kyrian!"

Talon froze at the sound of that name. "Kyrian?" he whispered in awe. He studied the younger man closely. He took in the eyes that were as deep an onyx as his own and the shaggy hair that was the exact shade of dark chocolate. It was Anya's hair.

He let go of him and stepped back as realization began to dawn on him. This young man was hanging out with the others from the future. So maybe he was…

"You're from the future?" he asked quietly.

"I am," Kyrian replied simply as he reached over his shoulder and stuck the sword under the collar of his coat. It made a hissing sound as it slid into the sheath concealed underneath.

Talon bent forward and put his hands on his knees as his head spun. Then he laughed. "That Anya! She's always right about everything. She keeps insisting that we're having a son, and now I have the proof of it standing right in front of me. I can't ever win with her."

Sailor Shadow tapped a finger against her chin. "Well now, I don't know. Even if he is your son, there's no law saying that he is the baby that Anya is carrying right now. He could be another child."

"No. It's me," Kyrian said quietly. "That's why Pluto told me that I couldn't stay here for more than one night. There are now two of me in this time; me, and the past me that has yet to be born. She only brought me here as a favor." He shot a fond look in Skye's direction.

She crossed her arms and huffed. "I thought you said this was all Mina's idea."

He grinned. "It was, in the beginning. But Trista was debating on whether or not she should do it, so I begged her to let me come. I practically got down on my knees in fact. I hadn't seen you in so long that it was driving me crazy. In the end my Uncle Evan helped convince her to bring me here."

Talon sat down abruptly on the ground. "This is completely overwhelming. I don't see how the rest of you put up with it." Then he focused his eyes on his future son. "You have to come and see your mother. She will make my life absolutely miserable if she ever found out that I met you and she didn't."

"Sure. I'll stop by for a minute and say hi," Kyrian said with a smile. "You do know that she is going to flip, right?"

Talon's smile matched his. "Yeah. But she wouldn't be her if she didn't. Do you need any help getting there?"

Kyrian rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? I've been teleporting by myself since I was ten. I could find my way home blindfolded."

Talon's grin broadened. "Okay. Give me a few minutes to wake her up and prepare her. Then you can come." He disappeared in a soft flash of light.

Kyrian shuffled his feet nervously before looking up at Skye uncertainly. "Would you come with me? I'd feel better having someone I actually know with me for this confrontation."

Skye looked skeptical. "Are you sure you want me there? Your mom is hard enough to handle on her own. You'd have to be a glutton for punishment to want to deal with both of us at the same time."

He chuckled ruefully. "Maybe I am. I know mom can be scary for such a little woman, but now that I've met dad I really want to see her before Pluto comes and drags me back to Crystal Tokyo. On the same note I don't want to miss out on any time with you either. I probably only have a few hours left until my time is up. After that I have no idea when I will see you again."

She sighed and shook her head. "You big baby! Come on! I'll hold your hand and protect you from mommy dearest. I never knew you could be such a wimp!" She turned to Jupiter. "I'll be back later after I finish coddling this infant."

"You're the best!" Kyrian crowed as he took her hand in his quickly before she could change her mind. They both disappeared in a flash.

Hannah threw her hands up in the air. "That's it! I can't handle any more drama tonight! Let's get out of here, Jay. Maybe we can find someplace still open on the way home. I could seriously use a scoop of ice cream right about now." She stomped away with her blonde boyfriend only a step behind her.

Sailor Moon and the rest of the adults figured that they needed to make themselves scarce before some of the avid spectators from below decided to come up and investigate to see if they were still there. So they wished the teens a pleasant rest of the evening and leapt away. Soon only three couples remained.

Rini tossed her head. "I agree with Hannah. I've had enough of all of this drama. Let's go to Elysian for a little while, Helios. I could use some peace and quiet."

"As you wish," the dream priest said. A second later they both vanished.

"That's not fair!" DJ grumbled. "Going to Elysian extends her curfew since time moves differently there. She can spend eight hours there and still make it back in time for curfew."

Alex snorted. "That's only if Helios can stand to be around her for that long. And saying that, I think Em and I going to split. We still have a couple of hours left, and I can think of better things to do than to listen to anymore of Chad's pounding music."

Katie giggled. "Speaking of Chad, do you think we should have said anything about his date for tonight?"

"Nah!" Alex drawled. "I'm sure everybody will find out soon enough. I just hope I'm around for the big reveal. It should make for one hell of a show. Anyway, you guys have fun. We're out of here."

He grabbed a laughing Emma around the waist and held her tightly. His blue eyes flared to red orange as he tapped into Apollo's powers and teleported them away.

"What about you?" DJ asked Katie. "Did you want to go back to the dance?"

She shook her head. "Honestly, I think I'm about all danced out for the night. I doubt my poor feet can handle any more."

He grinned devilishly. "In that case…" He scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. "I've got someplace I want to take you." His eyes turned gold as he prepared to teleport with her.

"But what about Darien's car?" she protested.

"We'll come back for it," he told her. "Now hold on tight."

"I can teleport too you know," she grouched good-naturedly. In reality there was nothing in the world right now that would make her want to give up being held by him.

"Ah…but you have no idea where we are going," he said with a superior smirk.

She wound her arms around his neck. "Fine! But this better be good."

"Believe me, you're going to love it," he replied. Then he dipped his head down and kissed her lips as everything faded away around them.

A/N Once again I'm sorry about the long wait for this. I hope you all enjoyed it though. The final fight is coming soon, but there may be a little more fluff thrown in before we get there. So the prom was a success and I think everyone had fun. Now they've all snuck away for a little couple's alone time, except for Skye and Kyrian that is. They have to go deal with yet another set of future parents finding out about their child before he is even born. But I am pleased with the way that their relationship is starting to develop. She is her mother's daughter after all, so it's only natural that she have her moments of Lita-ishness. And don't forget about Chad's mystery date. Hmm…who could it be? Don't worry, all will be revealed. Some of you may have your suspicions about who his new girlfriend is, and if you do I would love to hear your guesses. And will Artemis's elusive brother, Orion, show up? We'll see. There may be some kitty romance before all is said and done. I haven't forgotten about Trista and Evan either. Well, I guess I better run so I can try to get updates ready for my other stories. Drop me those reviews guys! I eat them up! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~