A/N Update time! I did better this time. You didn't have to wait as long. Yay me! So I know you don't want to hear me rambling, but I do want to take a moment to thank all of you for your feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad you guys seemed to like it, and I hope you enjoy this one as well. Let me get out those hugs now. BIG HUGS TO:

Atem's Sister Atea

sabina21

GoldenDragon326

jade2nightwing

x-YingYing-x

MeganLeBlanc

JuliaGulia17

Puella Pulchra

Chibi Kitt

KageNoNeko

nileena

shar1993

Seredhiel05

Isis2010

Wonderwomanbatmanfan

FanaticArmy

sailorashes

CharmedSerenity3

SailorMoon20114486

saveme57

ailzzzz

insammity

Katie

SailorMercuryROCKS

silvermermaidprincesskerry

Alix Romanov

S dot Serenity

rainbabie

Thank you so much, as always! Now moving on! The prom is over. Our little teens have been enjoying a halfway normal life. But all of that will soon end. Dum, dum, dum!

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 28

Mental Mothers and a Sneaky Goddess

Skye stumbled a little as she and Kyrian appeared in a grassy field high up in the mountains a few hundred miles away from the bustling city of Tokyo. She was grateful for the arms that helped keep her upright. Teleporting was not something that she was used to, and she was pretty sure that she would have ended up on the ground if Kyrian hadn't wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Easy," he cautioned her lightly. "Give yourself a few seconds to get your bearings."

She nodded and then glanced around curiously. A modest sized, log cabin style house stood a short distance away from them with light blazing from several windows despite the late hour. "It looks like your dad woke your mom up with no problem," she snickered.

"Yeah," he agreed ruefully. "This could get crazy. I was too young to remember how mom was when she was pregnant with Julian, but I do remember some of when she was expecting Taylor. And of course we all know how psychopathic she was when she was pregnant with Abby. That was actually one of the reasons why I started spending so much time in Crystal Tokyo. I was too scared to stay at home because of her mood swings."

Skye arched a brow at him. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? It's not too late to turn back."

He heaved a sigh. "I'm sure. Besides, I figure that if this wasn't supposed to happen that Trista would have shown up and stopped me by now. And anyway, she already knows that I'm here in this time by now and I don't want to upset her by standing her up."

A small smile twitched Skye's lips. Kyrian may appear to be a brooding, devil may care playboy at first glance, but he had always been very devoted to his sharp witted and sometimes sharp-tongued mother. And she admired him for that.

"I guess we better get this over with," he sighed as he took Skye's hand in his and began leading her toward the house. To his immense delight she didn't pull away from him. He paused when they reached the front porch. If he were back in his own time he would just push the door open and walk into the house he had been raised in. But he was a visitor here, so he knocked on the door instead.

A muffled squeal came from the other side of the door, followed by a flurry of footsteps. He and Skye shared a conspiratorial grin when they heard Talon fussing, "Slow down before you fall down, Anya!"

Then the door was wrenched open to reveal the petite, very excited, and very pregnant Anya.

Skye stared in disbelief for a moment. Good grief! Anya's belly looked to be twice the size that it had been the last time she'd seen her. The poor woman appeared to be ready to pop at any moment, and she still had another month to go before she gave birth!

Tears filled Anya's coffee colored eyes as she got her first look at her future son. Then she began laughing. "Good lord! It's no wonder I'm as big as the side of a barn! You're huge!" Then she flung herself at Kyrian, going up on her tiptoes so that she could wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

He looked to be in slight shock, but he acted on long standing instinct and automatically bent down to lessen the foot difference in their height.

After a minute, Anya let go of him and stepped back with a giggle as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Now let me get a good look at you. How old are you now?"

"Almost twenty," Kyrian replied with a grin.

"Twenty…" Anya sighed. "That would explain why you remind me so much of your father at that age. He used to strut around like he was the baddest thing in the land."

"Hey!" Talon complained from where he had assumed a leaning position against a wall as he watched the interaction between his wife and future son. "I've never strutted in my life! But I'm still the baddest thing in the land."

Anya smiled a patronizing smile. "Of course you are, dear. But it looks like you might have some competition in the future."

Skye giggled. "I know what you mean. Kyrian likes to walk around and act like he's the king of badasses."

Kyrian grimaced. "I knew that you wouldn't be able to go more than five minutes without you tossing out some kind of an insult about me."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Just remember, smart guy, you're the one that asked me, no, practically begged me to come with you."

"I…I didn't beg you!" he stammered in disbelief.

Skye deepened her voice a couple of octaves to mimic his tone. "Please come with me so that I have someone I know with me. My mom's going to flip out," she mocked him. "Does any of that sound familiar?"

"That's not exactly how I said it!" he insisted.

Anya dissolved into giggles. "Oh, you two are precious together! And Skye, you look absolutely stunning tonight! That shade of maroon suits you so well. I heard that the two of you were attending a prom together."

"Not by choice," Skye muttered darkly.

Anya stopped laughing with a gasp and placed a hand on her distended stomach. "Down there, baby. Momma didn't mean to shake you up." Then she grinned at Kyrian. "Do you play soccer by any chance?"

He looked utterly perplexed. "Not on a regular basis or anything, but I have played some."

"I knew it!" Anya crowed. "I knew that there was no way that this monster baby inside me could kick the way he does and not be able to kick a soccer ball." Then she winced and grabbed her belly with both hands as she almost doubled over.

Talon was at her side in a flash, wrapping an arm around her waist as he chided her. "Damn it, woman! At least come and sit down if we are going to continue this visit. You're getting yourself too worked up."

She looked at her husband in disbelief as he guided her into the living room and lowered her to the sofa. "How can you be so calm about this? This is our son, our future son, standing in our house at this very moment! Do you expect me to just sit here all calm and cool and politely say, 'Hello. Nice to meet you,' like it's no big deal?"

"Of course not!" he snorted. "That would be like asking for a miracle. But I'm sure that Kyrian would like to ensure that you take care of yourself so that he comes into the world when and how he's supposed to."

"He has a point," Kyrian agreed as he and Skye entered the living room and looked around. Despite a thousand years and an ice age, the room was barely different from what he had known his whole life. The furniture and some of the pictures on the wall were different; he only spotted one Jessica Alexander original painting compared to the many that decorated his family home in his time, but it was basically the same.

"We probably shouldn't stay long anyway," he said to the past forms of his parents. "When Trista was explaining the rules of time travel to me she warned me that being too close to my past self could put a serious energy drain on both of us if we were around each other for too long, and I don't want anything to happen to baby me."

"But you just got here!" Anya complained. "Surely you can stay for a few minutes. I made some lemonade earlier. How about I get us some and we can visit just a while longer."

"Oh no you don't!" Talon argued and put a hand on her shoulder as she tried to rise from the couch. "You just sit still and relax."

"He's right," Kyrian interjected. "We'll stay for a little longer, but you don't need to go overdoing things with refreshments and all."

"Now don't try getting all overbearing with me, you two!" she snapped back. "I'm only pregnant, not sick and helpless! I am not some china doll that is going to shatter into a million pieces! So both of you better back off before you piss me off! If I want to go pour a few glasses of lemonade, I will! And neither one of you are going to stop me!"

"How about if I help you?" Skye said quickly, hurrying to the couch and offering her arm to Anya to help the poor ungainly woman to her feet. She gave both the men a look that clearly told them that she would keep an eye on the other woman to make sure that she didn't do anything overly strenuous.

Anya gave her a conspiratorial grin and a sly wink. "Thank god for the power of estrogen! Come on, Skye, us women have to stick together. Maybe the testosterone will have settled down to a normal level by the time we get back."

Skye appeared to follow her meekly into the kitchen, but a tiny smile quirked her lips up. At 5'4", there didn't appear to be much to Anya. But Skye knew better. She had seen this woman run her household of predominantly larger males with the tenacity and ferocity of a drill sergeant. And even though all three of her sons had towered over her by the time they were thirteen, they still gave her a wide berth when she was riled. She was a scary lady when angry, and she wasn't afraid to whip out her magic if the occasion called for it.

It wasn't until they entered the kitchen that Anya allowed the stern expression to drop from her face. She leaned against one of the countertops as giggles came from her mouth. "Oh, that was fun! It's nice to have a partner in crime for a change. Talon has been like a mother hen ever since the moment I found out I was pregnant, but it has gotten worse the last few weeks since I've gotten to where I can't even get up from a seat by myself anymore. He'll probably drive me insane by the time the big day gets here."

Skye laughed lightly. "He probably will. Irritating women seems to be one of the things that the male species excels at."

"Don't I know it," Anya agreed. "And my brother is almost as bad as Talon. He was hovering over me so much the other day that I had to kick him out. I really wish that he would go find himself a woman of his own to pester so that he would leave me alone. But unfortunately Evan appears to be a confirmed bachelor. I've seen women practically throw themselves at him and he barely gives them a second look. He says that he hasn't found the right woman yet. I guess he's expecting her to just land in his lap some day. I keep telling him that it doesn't work like that."

Skye chuckled as she made herself busy around the kitchen. Luckily she had visited this house several times while she was growing up, and it appeared that everything was in the same place. She pulled four glasses out of a cabinet and walked over to the freezer to fill them with ice.

The ease at which the young woman maneuvered herself around her kitchen wasn't lost on Anya. It was clear that she was going to get to know Skye a lot better in the years to come as she watched her grow up. She also hadn't been able to miss the way that she and Kyrian had interacted with each other. There was definitely some tension between the young people, but there was something more there, something deeper.

"I want to thank you for giving me this chance to meet Kyrian," Anya said softly.

Skye turned around from where she had just set the pitcher of lemonade on the counter. "I didn't have anything to do with this."

Anya shook her head. "I think you did. I don't believe that Kyrian would even be in this time right now if it weren't for you. He came to see you. My getting to meet him is just an added bonus."

Skye's face flushed a deep brick red. "It's not what you think. Things between Kyrian and I are…difficult."

"A lot of relationships usually start out that way. Not everybody can have the idyllic, fairytale love at first sight where everything is perfect from day one," Anya told her. "Some relationships take a lot of work to make them happen. Believe me, I know. Talon and I were friends as children and I hero-worshipped him from a young age. Then I suffered the heartbreak of watching him fall into another woman's trap. Being with Beryl was almost the end of him, but I stayed as supportive as I could. And then Discord came along and warped his mind until he was nothing more than a shadow of the man he had once been. I could have left at any time. I almost did on several occasions. It killed me to see him change so much. But I stuck it out and stayed with him, and in the end it paid off."

Skye nodded. She had grown up listening to the stories of the trials and tribulations of building relationships. Her own parents had experienced a rocky start together, as had the other scouts and generals. Even Serena and Darien had gone through their share of ups and downs.

She had also seen her own friends go through ordeals when it came to love. Okay, maybe not Emma and Alex, they seemed to be one of the rare exceptions. But Katie and DJ and Hannah and Jay had all suffered through long periods of fighting together before they had admitted their love for one another. And even though Rini and Helios had been an item for practically years now and everyone knew how much in love they were, they still had their moments of tenseness as well.

But she still didn't know if she could trust Kyrian with her heart. He may not have meant to, but he had broken it once before and she was afraid of the same thing happening again. He said that he loved her. But did he really? She knew that she loved him without a doubt. But to admit that to him could leave her wide open to a fresh new world of pain.

Anya chuckled softly. "Don't look so serious, Skye. All I'm saying is that sometimes you have to take a chance. That's all." Then she winced and rubbed her belly. "I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm carrying a litter in there instead of just one baby with the way he squirms and carries on."

Skye watched in amazement as she saw Anya's whole stomach give a leap beneath the giant t-shirt she wore. "That looks like it really hurts."

"Not always," Anya replied with a laugh. "The only time it really bothers me is when he hits a sensitive spot, like my bladder. The rest of the time I enjoy feeling him move. It lets me know that he is real and alive inside me. Would you like to feel him?"

"I don't know," Skye replied uncertainly.

Anya grabbed her hand. "Don't be silly! Everybody else seems to think that it's open season to touch my stomach. There's no reason for you not to." She pressed Skye's hand firmly against her belly.

Sky stood there for a moment, feeling completely ridiculous. And then she felt the most peculiar sensation. It felt like something was squirming under her hand. And then the firm thump of a kick hit her palm.

"Oh!" she squeaked in surprise. Before she realized what she was doing, she had dropped to her knees so that she was face level with Anya's rounded stomach. Then she pressed her other hand to it as well. Her face was full of wonder as she said, "Hey there, little baby."

Anya giggled. "I think he likes the sound of your voice."

Skye's head shot up. "Really?"

The soon to be mother nodded. "I just felt him flip over. He always does that when he's finally decided to settle down and get some rest."

"Maybe I just bored him to sleep," Skye smirked.

"That's not possible. You could never bore me," a deep voice spoke up from the kitchen doorway.

Skye looked up to find Kyrian watching her with a gentle smile on his face. Embarrassed at being caught in such a position, she tried to scramble to her feet. But the long skirt of her dress made that difficult without ripping it, so she found herself stuck.

Anya giggled mischievously as she picked up two of the glasses from the counter. "I'm going to rejoin Talon. Help the poor girl up, Kyrian. And be nice." She paused next to her future son as he stepped aside to let through. She smiled up at him. "Good grief! You really do remind me of your daddy. I just can't get over it!"

Skye glared daggers at Kyrian as he stepped into the kitchen. "Not one sarcastic little snicker out of you, mister, or I swear I will zap you so hard that your brains will turn into scrambled eggs!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't going to say anything. I promise. You and my mom have always gotten along well together. It's probably because you're both beautiful, stubborn, and hard headed women."

She growled low in her throat. "Calling me names isn't exactly the way to get on my good side, you know!"

He grinned cockily at her. "Hey! I called you beautiful! That has to count for something."

"Just help me up!" she snapped, holding her hands up for his assistance.

He pulled her to her feet and then held her close against him.

She pushed against his chest. "Kyrian! Stop!"

"Nope!" he said with a laugh. "I warned you that I'm going to wear you down, and that's what I'm going to do. I only have a few hours left to work on you tonight before I have to leave, and I'm going to take every opportunity I can get. And then maybe, just maybe, you'll miss me so much when I'm gone that you'll be happy to see me when you come home again."

Oh she knew that she'd miss him, but she wouldn't tell him that. "Don't hold your breath about that."

He smirked evilly. "We'll see." Then he bent her back over his arm and gave her a kiss that caused her toes to curl up inside her shoes.

Somewhere in Japan – The 30th Century

"Did you get the energy I sent you for?" Discord asked as he felt the presence of the two youma enter the cave where he and his forces were making their temporary base.

One of the youma knelt down and held out a swirling orb of energy before her. "Yes, my lord. It was done as you requested. We were able to hit several large cities and steal the energy from lots of people there without drawing attention to ourselves. I hope you will be pleased by the amount."

It had been slow going in collecting the energy that he required for his plan since he had to work under the radar of Crystal Tokyo. He knew that they weren't stupid and were probably well aware by now that he was gathering energy from the inhabitants of Earth, but as long as he kept the pattern erratic they wouldn't be able to track him.

A wisp of his dark, cloudy being reached out and closed around the orb. It was a decent amount of energy, but he still needed more. "Well done," he praised them. "But I require more than this in order to complete my plan. You will go out and gather more for me."

"Of course, master," both youma intoned respectfully.

"And what of the DNA samples I asked for? Were you able to procure them as I requested?" he asked them.

The second youma went down on her knees next to the first. "It was done as you asked, my lord." She held out a small wooden case that securely held several glass vials. "I still don't see why you needed the DNA of these animals when you've already had so much luck with the predators."

"It's not your place to question me!" Discord demanded harshly as he took the case from her.

She bowed her head instantly. "I'm sorry, master."

He fought back the urge to snarl. He detested youma, but he had to admit that these two had done an admirable job for him so far. Thanks to their mostly human appearance, it hadn't taken much to make them blend in with the humans, especially since they didn't possess the glowing red eyes that his guardians had. And also unlike his guardians, the youma didn't have the same homicidal tendencies and were easier to control. That made them extremely useful for this particular assignment.

"Where would you like us to go this time, my lord?" the youma asked together.

Tokyo – Present Day

"So where did you end up last night?" Emma asked in an excited whisper as she slid into the booth across from Katie.

Katie blushed brick red and looked down into her milkshake before murmuring. "We just went somewhere nice and quiet where we could be alone. That's all."

Emma looked taken aback for a moment. "Really? I would have pegged DJ for being a bit more romantic than that. Alex and I…"

"I don't want to hear any mushy details about what you and my brother did," Katie interrupted her suddenly. "I would like to keep my milkshake in my stomach if you don't mind."

"I wouldn't tell you about that part," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Of course, that part was…incredible." At Katie's strangled sound of mortification she quickly moved on. "Anyway, I know you guys have been practicing teleporting to different spots around the world, but I never thought that Alex would whisk me away to a deserted beach in the middle of nowhere. It was so…perfect! We had the place all to ourselves. It was just a shame that we couldn't stay there longer than we did. I would have been content with staying there forever."

Katie snorted. "Yeah, until the shopping bug bit you and there were no malls around. Then you would go on a murderous rampage."

Emma stuck her tongue out at her. "There's nothing wrong with a girl staying on top of the latest fashions. I would have thought that you'd have a bit more appreciation for that after the way you pulled off wearing that dress last night."

Katie giggled. "I don't mind dressing up on occasion, but I'd rather be comfortable. Give me jeans and a t-shirt any day. Besides, do you know how long it took me to wash all of that gunk out of my hair? And it still didn't even hold the curl all night. Nope! I prefer to keep things simple."

Emma shook her head and chuckled. "Then I guess it's a good thing that DJ isn't your typical prince. You two suit each other perfectly. So where did you guys go to be alone. At least tell me he took you someplace nice."

"Oh, it was nice," Katie mumbled dreamily. Then, as she realized that she had just spoken out loud, she blushed madly and slapped her hands over her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Emma fussed. "You act like you were a virgin on prom night or something."

"Emma!" Katie exclaimed as she slid down so low in her seat that she was almost under the table.

Emma kicked her lightly in the leg. "Stop acting like the innocent, sacrificial virgin and sit up, you little sex kitten! I'm not asking for details like how many times or what positions." She kicked Katie again when her friend really did almost disappear from sight. "I'm just interested in about where you went."

Katie sat up in her seat again and looked quickly over at the booth where Jess, Serena, and Mina were sitting as they chatted over milkshakes.

"They're not paying any attention to us," Emma told her in exasperation.

"I'm just making sure!" Katie hissed back. "They would probably burst blood vessels if they knew we left the city."

Emma snorted. "Like they could stop you, Alex, or DJ from doing it with your awesome god powers."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Awesome god powers indeed! Anyway, DJ took me to this place he found by accident last week when we were practicing teleporting. I'm not sure exactly where we were, but it was up in the mountains somewhere and there was this waterfall that fell into a pond. It was absolutely gorgeous."

He'd also gone there ahead of time and had left behind a blanket for them to spread out on the grass beside the water, but she wasn't about to tell Emma about that or what they had done on that blanket. That was strictly between her and DJ.

But Emma was happy with her response and squealed, "That is so sweet! Now aren't you glad that you decided to give him a chance?"

Katie looked around the arcade until her eyes connected with the pair of crystal blue that always made her heart beat just a little bit faster. "Yeah, I am." Then she shook herself and returned her attention to Emma. "So where is everyone else today? DJ told me that Rini took off to Elysian first thing this morning, but what about the others?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm not sure about Hannah and Jay. I think they might be at the mall. Hannah said something about wanting to hit the bookstore up." She rolled her eyes at that. "Like we don't have enough to read with school. Oh well, maybe Jay will bring back some good mangas. And Skye, bless her heart, said she was sleeping in. The poor thing looked pretty rough when I went in to check on her. I think she's bummed out that Kyrian couldn't stick around. I would never say this to her face, but she looked like she had been crying."

"Poor Skye," Katie commiserated. "Well I don't think she'll have to wait long before she sees him again. We'll probably be heading home soon."

Emma visibly perked up. "Have you heard something?"

Katie shook her head. "No. It's just a feeling I have. DJ, Alex, and I will be facing Discord soon."

Up at the counter, DJ watched as Katie sat talking with Emma. He never got tired of watching her. Last night she had appeared like an ethereal angel to him, but deep inside he preferred her as she was now. Her wholesome beauty may be understated to some, but he adored it.

A hand waved in front of his eyes. "Dude! If you drool anymore it's going to take a mop to clean up the mess!"

He glared at his friend beside him. "Very funny, Lex!"

Alex grinned. "Just pointing out the facts. Besides, just try to keep in mind that is my sister that you're eying so intently, and it seriously creeps me out!"

DJ elbowed him. "I can look at her however I want. She's not my sister. Anyway, it's not like you don't spend all of your time staring at Emma like you're ready to eat her alive, so you don't have any room to talk."

"Whatever!" Alex snorted. "Emma's not your sister either. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to watch me stare at Rini the way you stare at Kat?"

"Oh man!" DJ groaned. "I need about a gallon of eye bleach after that statement!"

Alex crossed his arms smugly. "I rest my case."

"You're demented!" DJ growled.

"What are you two over here muttering about?" Andrew asked as he appeared behind the counter.

"Nothing," both teens grumbled.

"Are you sure?" Andrew insisted. "You guys aren't having girl trouble, are you?"

"No!" they both insisted.

Andrew held his hands up. "Okay. I was just checking since you two are sitting here while your girlfriends are sitting over there."

"We're just letting them get in their girl talk about last night in without having to listen to it," Alex told him. Then he smirked. "Besides, look who's talking. I've noticed that you've been hanging out up here while Jess is in the back with Serena and Mina."

"Ha ha, smartass!" Andrew quipped back. "They're talking wedding stuff or something and I was banned from the conversation, Anyway, I'm just hanging around in case I'm needed. Lizzy called me earlier and said that she was running behind today for her shift."

Just then the doors to the arcade slid open and it was like a tornado blew in, a tornado that was complete with whirling red hair and snapping hazel eyes.

"Mom!" Andrew gasped as he took in the sight of what appeared to be a furious Kathleen Furuhata.

"Where is she?" she demanded.

"Where is who?" he asked in bewilderment.

In a flash, Kathleen had leaned across the counter and grasped Andrew by the shirt. "Don't play stupid with me, Andrew Furuhata! You know exactly who I'm talking about!"

"What's the matter?" Jess cried as she joined them at the counter, followed closely by Serena, Mina, Katie, and Emma.

"It's that daughter of mine," Kathleen moaned as she sat down on a stool. "I just know that she's getting herself into another bad situation. She wouldn't answer her phone last night or this morning. I went by her apartment, but I can tell that she hasn't been there. She's off with another loser guy! I just know she is!"

"Um…I know where she is," Katie said hesitantly.

Kathleen was off her stool in a flash. She took Katie by the shoulders and shook her a little as she almost shrieked, "What? Where?"

Katie was taken off guard by having the past form of her grandmother that she had loved her whole life acting like such a loon toward her. "Uh, well, I don't know exactly where she is right this minute. But I do know where she was last night. She was at the prom."

"Oh lord!" Kathleen moaned as she let Katie go and slumped back onto her stool. "The girl really has lost it! Now she's chasing after high school boys! What is she thinking? She's twenty one years old!"

"That's not the way it is," Alex interjected with a smirk. "She had a hot date with the deejay last night and came with him while he was working the prom."

"Chad!" Serena and Jess screeched at the same time while Mina just grinned.

"I don't believe this!" Serena muttered. Then she turned to Kathleen. "You don't have to worry about Chad. I've known him for almost seven years now and he's a great guy. He would never do anything to hurt Lizzy. Okay, so he's dated around quite a bit in the past, but he was never a playboy or anything."

Kathleen's expression brightened considerably. "He's a friend of yours?"

Serena nodded. "Yes ma'am. A very close friend actually."

"Then that makes everything all better!" Kathleen almost cheered. "I know that anyone that is a friend of yours is a decent person, Serena. Now I just hope that Lizzy doesn't do something crazy to drive him away. It's about time she found herself a nice guy instead of the bums she usually dates. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll marry him! I want grandchildren, but nobody seems to want to cooperate with me." Her eyes swung back and forth between Andrew and Jess almost accusingly.

Luckily she was too worked up to see the panicked looks that flew between Andrew, Jess, Katie, and Alex. Nor did she hear the strangled gasps that they tried vainly to choke back.

Finally Andrew found his voice. "Geez, mom! Can I at least get married before you start demanding grandkids from me?"

"I suppose," she sighed. "But after you say 'I do' I don't want to hear any more excuses. I want at least two from you. A boy and a girl would be nice. But they don't have to be in that order."

'How about both at the same time?' Alex's voice rang inside Katie's head, making her have to cover a laugh with a cough.

Kathleen thumped her on the back. "Goodness! Are you okay? You're not coming down with something are you?"

"No," Katie gasped. "I just have a tickle in my throat." Then she glared at her brother who sat grinning like a Cheshire cat and her severely amused looking boyfriend that had heard the comment as well thanks to their three-way telepathy. She leaned across Alex, pushing him completely out of his seat, to grab the soda glass in front of DJ. She took a few gulps before wrinkling her nose. "Ew! Mountain Dew! How can you drink that? It's gross!"

"I didn't make you drink it," DJ replied calmly, but a smirk curved up his lips.

"Real cute, Kat!" Alex growled as he got up from where he had landed on the floor. "Is that any way to treat your big brother?"

"Hmph!" Katie huffed. "Big brother, my left foot! You are only seven minutes older than me! That hardly qualifies you for being my older brother!"

Kathleen squealed and turned to Jess. "Your cousins are so high spirited! I can't wait to see what kind of grandchildren you give me. Strong genes seem to run in your family. Combine that with the Furuhata bloodline and I bet we end up with some extraordinary children."

"You have no idea," Andrew muttered under his breath.

Jess moaned and laid her head on Serena's shoulder. "I feel like a brood mare! I think my future mother in law only wants me for my pedigree."

"There, there, sweetie! It will be okay," Serena consoled her soothingly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Kathleen exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat. She pulled Jess from Serena's arms and hugged her with amazing strength for such a tiny woman. "You know I love you, dearest! You are exactly what my Drew-baby needs to keep him in line."

The doors to the arcade slid open to reveal an irritated looking Andrew Sr.. The barrel chested blonde man scanned the arcade until he spotted his wife in the middle of the group by the counter. His glittering brown eyes narrowed as they landed on her.

"Uh oh! Someone's in trouble," Andrew whispered loudly. "Dad looks mad enough to bite the head off a rattlesnake."

"Ha! Like I'm scared of him!" Kathleen scoffed. "He's just a big teddy bear full of hot air."

The man in question looked more like a grizzly on a rampage as he crossed the arcade. The mostly teenage patrons of the place parted quickly to make way for him as he stomped toward the counter. He came to a stop in front of his wife and crossed his arms as he stared down at her.

Kathleen put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Don't you look at me like that, Andy Furuhata! What has crawled up your butt and died this time?"

A breath hissed out between his teeth. "You are an almost impossible woman to track down. Did you happen to forget that we have an appointment this afternoon?"

She sniffed. "No, I didn't. But we've got time."

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her so that she was facing the clock on the wall behind the counter and he pointed to it.

"Oh," she muttered when she saw the time. "Well why didn't you call me on my cell?"

Andy pulled the cell phone in question from his pocket. "I would have if a certain someone hadn't run out of the house screaming like a banshee this morning and left it behind."

"Well I couldn't help it! I was worried about my baby!" she snapped back. "I had no idea where she was or who she was with and I had to get some answers."

Her husband pinched the bridge of his nose. "When are you going to back off and let our kids live their own lives? They are grown now. For crying out loud, Drew is pushing twenty-four and Lizzy is twenty-one. They don't need mommy to rule their lives anymore."

"Amen!" Andrew mumbled softly as a round of bickering broke out among his parents.

"Uh oh! Don't look now, but things are about to get even more interesting," Mina squealed softly as she pointed out the front window of the arcade.

Serena, Jess, Andrew, and all of the teens looked out to see that a black Viper had pulled up to the curb out front. Serena immediately recognized it as being Chad's car. He rarely ever drove it because he didn't like to flaunt his family's money, but obviously he hadn't minded pulling it out in this case.

The brown haired Chad got out of the driver's side and rounded the car to open the passenger door. He reached a hand in and out stepped a beaming, red haired Lizzy. She reached up and pulled his head down to engage him in a lip-lock that was just short of being indecent.

"What the hell!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Holy shit!" Jess said at the same time.

Serena and Mina both slapped their hands over their mouths as they squealed.

DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma all dissolved into laughter at their shock. After all, they were already well aware of Lizzy and Chad's relationship since they came from the future.

"What are all of you going on about?" Kathleen snapped as she looked around at them. Then she followed their gaze out the window. "Oh my…"

When Jess saw her future mother in law's face turn the same color as her hair, she ran for the door. She liked Lizzy a lot, and she figured the poor girl deserved some kind of warning before she walked into the unexpected.

"Hey Liz!" she called out as the doors slid open. "I have one word of advice for you. Run!"

Lizzy pulled her lips away from Chad's to look at Jess in confusion for a moment. But her confusion melted away into fear and all of the color bled from her face when she heard the enraged, "Elizabeth Furuhata! Get your butt in here right now, young lady! We need to talk!" bellow through the open doors.

"Oh my god! It's my mother!" Lizzy gasped. Then she began pushing Chad. "You have to get out of here! She'll eat you alive!"

Chad laughed. "Honey, I'm not afraid to meet your mother. It's going to happen at some point."

"Yeah, but not when she's like this!" Lizzy cried frantically. "I would very much like to keep you alive."

Just then a screech erupted from inside the arcade and Jess whirled around just in time to move out of the way to let Andy stride through the doors. But the amazing part was that he had his wife thrown over one shoulder and was carrying her as she screamed and cursed at him.

He walked right up to Chad and held his hand out. "Hi. I'm Andy, Lizzy's father. It's nice to meet you."

Chad shook the offered hand respectfully. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Chad."

Andy grinned and indicated the squirming body draped over his shoulder. "This is my wife, Kathy. But I'm afraid she's not in the right frame of mind to meet people right now. Besides, we have an appointment to keep. So we'll see you kids later."

He walked away, with his wife still hanging over his shoulder screaming and ranting at the top of her lungs. "Put me right now you big bully! You are such a caveman sometimes! I swear, you better put me down right now or I'm going to make you sleep in the spare bedroom for the rest of your life! And don't think that I'm ever going to make you another strawberry pie as long as I live! Andy! Please put me dooowwwnn!"

Her wails finally died off when Andy dumped her inside his large gray pick up truck and climbed in behind her. He started it up right away and drove off.

Chad chuckled. "So that's your parents, huh?"

Lizzy slapped her hands over her red, embarrassed face. "Oh my god! I could kill them both right now!"

"Remind me to stay away from my parent's house for the next few days," Andrew said as he came up behind Jess. "It's liable to be a war zone around there for a while." Then he looked over at his sister who had her face buried in Chad's shoulder. "Are you going to get in here and get to work or what?" he called out to her.

She looked up and glared at her brother. "Go to hell, Drew!" Then she stomped by him, making sure to slam her shoulder against his as she passed.

Back at the counter, Katie giggled to Alex, "And grandma thinks we take after mom's side of the family? What a laugh!"

An Undisclosed Location in an Undisclosed Time

There was a soft flash of light as the moon goddess, Selene, appeared in the middle of what appeared to be a beautiful courtyard. Riotous displays of colorful flowers bloomed in planter boxes that were scattered all around and benches were situated where people could sit around and enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the wonderfully carved marble fountain in the center.

This seemed out of place since hardly anybody came here except her, Gaia, and Apollo. It was a shame too because this place was just as glamorous as any place that could be found on Mount Olympus, despite the fact that it was located deep underground. But it was easy to forget the fact that you were in a subterranean cave once you were there. Centuries ago, when they had first founded this place, she and Apollo had used their magic to enchant the ceiling so that it appeared as the sky on Earth would. It changed from day to night just like the real thing. And Gaia had used her powers of nature here so that plant life could grow. In addition to the flowers there was grass and trees. Even the air moved in a way that would make you feel like you were outdoors and there were many small animals that scampered around that called this place home.

Selene took a moment to breathe in the peace and tranquility here. She tilted her head back to feel the warmth of the realistic feeling sunlight on her face. Being the goddess of the moon didn't make her begrudge the sun in any way. She knew that the two of them must coexist in order to keep the balance of life. And though she would never admit it to Apollo, she enjoyed the warm, golden glow of the sun almost as much as she enjoyed the soothing, silvery light of her moon.

But she didn't have time to waste today, so she shook herself from her reveries and made her way down the path that led to the fairly large marble building that had been fashioned after the temples that stood on Mount Olympus. As she climbed the steps, the guard that stood before the doors raised surprised, storm cloud gray eyes to hers.

"My lady, goddess! This is a nice surprise," he greeted her. "It has been a while since I have seen you."

She smiled gently. "Hello, my old friend. Yes, it has been a while. I apologize for that. I have been kept busy lately."

The guard snickered. "So I have heard. Gaia and Apollo have both been by recently and have told me some of the events that have been taking place. And Setsuna has visited a few times as well. It sounds as if the new Trinity bearers have been on quite a little adventure so far."

"Yes, they have," Selene replied with a giggle. "But they are coming along nicely now, and it probably won't be long before they find their way here."

A deep sigh came from the guard. "I figured as much. Here's hoping that they have more success against Discord than their predecessors had. The universe would do well to be rid of that monstrosity."

"I agree," the goddess said with a nod. "I believe in them though. They are a high-spirited trio, but they are determined. I believe that they just might be the ones to end that demon's reign of terror for good."

A chuckle answered her. "Gaia agrees with you, but Apollo still has his reservations."

"Of course he does!" she scoffed. "He is probably one of the most pessimistic gods that I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. But these are good kids, and I think they'll do us proud."

"I suppose you want to take a look around," the guard said as he moved to the side so that she could enter the building.

"You don't have to make it sound like I'm checking up on you or anything," she teased as she stepped inside. "I have complete faith in you to keep everything as it should be. You have been standing at this post for many centuries now, and you've never let us down once."

He bowed his head. "You humble me with your praise, my lady."

"Oh pooh! You don't have to stand on ceremony with me. We've known each other for far too long for that," she fussed. Then she fell silent as she entered the large main room of the temple.

It had the look of a throne room at first glance. But instead of there being a throne on the raised dais at the end of the room there were three altars arranged in a triangle shape and topped with velvet cushions. On these altars rested the secret of this place.

She climbed the steps up to the altars slowly and bowed her head reverently for a moment before reaching a hand toward the one covered in white velvet. She sighed blissfully as the hilt of the slender silver sword slid into her hand. This was one of the keys to Discord's fall.

She lifted the sword from its resting place, marveling for what had to be the thousandth time about the beauty of Hephaestus's workmanship. She had no use for the sword as a weapon, but she had been pleased to accept it as a gift from her fellow god.

She looked over at her sword's two companions. Also made by Hephaestus, they mirrored the personality of their owners as well. Both were broader than hers, since Apollo was a man and Gaia was an Amazon when compared to her. The sun god's sword gleamed bright copper against its bed of red velvet while the earth goddess's sword shown bright gold from where it lay against dark blue velvet. All three of these swords must work together in order to achieve victory.

She thought back to the only people who had ever wielded these swords in battle, Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward. They had come so close to defeating Discord when they had faced him. But sadly the doubts that Discord had planted inside them and their overconfidence that they would win had been their downfall. And there was no way to be sure that the same events wouldn't happen again.

Or was there? A bright smile lit up Selene's face as an idea occurred to her. She carefully returned her sword to its resting place.

"It won't be much longer until you have a new wielder," she said softly. "And I have a feeling that this time you will be victorious."

She hurried down the steps, pausing for a moment when she reached the guard. "I will be back soon, my friend. Please continue to guard the swords as magnificently as you have always done."

He inclined his head. "Of course, my lady."

She ran out of the temple and into the courtyard, feeling as giddy as a young girl. She flashed herself from this special place to Mount Olympus. But instead of appearing in her own temple, she arrived at the temple of the goddess of the harvest, Demeter.

A handmaiden met her at the door of the temple. "I'm afraid that the goddess is not in at the moment."

Selene shook her head. "I am here to see Persephone."

The servant bowed her inside. "Right this way."

She led the moon goddess through the temple until they emerged into a stunning private garden. It was deserted except for a dark haired young woman lying on a chaise lounge.

"A visitor for you, Lady Persephone," the servant announced.

Persephone sighed and opened her eyes. Their chocolate brown depths began to sparkle when she saw who her visitor was. "Selene! Oh, it's wonderful to see you!"

Selene hurried forward and hugged to other woman tightly. "I'm glad to see you too. How have you been?"

Persephone dismissed the servant with a wave of her hand. "Absolutely bored to death! I miss my Hades so much! It never fails, every spring my mother drags me back here to be with her, and then she ends up spending most of her time up at the Thecropolis with Zeus and the others talking about "important" things. It's almost enough to make me wish I were mortal! Do you know how hard it is to endure months of celibacy after spending months in an extremely hot god's bed? The sexual frustration is almost more than I can bear!"

Selene laughed. "I'm afraid that I have never been in quite that position, but I may have an idea that might help you out a bit. I need a favor from your dear hubby, and as you know he and I don't always get along that great. So I was thinking that maybe if you went with me he might be more open to persuasion."

"I don't know," Persephone muttered. "Mom blows a gasket every time I sneak away to see him. She'll probably bring a famine on some poor country if she finds out."

"I'll take full responsibility for this one," Selene reassured her. "Demeter and I have been friends for a long time. If she finds out I'll explain to her that I needed your help. I'll make sure no innocent humans suffer for it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Persephone squealed, grabbing Selene's hand.

They flashed themselves from Demeter's temple to the underground entrance into Hades' domain.

"Let me feel him out first," Selene said. "I know he's going to say no because that's just the way he is. If he sees you right away he will probably still say no. You are my trump card, and I have to wait for the right moment to play you."

"Well don't take too long!" Persephone hissed. "The excitement is killing me."

"I doubt that!" Selene snorted. "You're immortal!"

She stepped up to the large double doors and knocked.

"Go away!" a deep voice bellowed from the other side.

"Open up, Hades! I need to talk to you!" Selene yelled back.

The doors swung open and she walked into the chamber to find the god of the underworld draped carelessly across his throne, swirling a glass of wine in one hand while he scowled at nothing.

"Please don't tell me that you are drunk!" Selene snapped.

His glittering black eyes swung to her. "Okay, I won't tell you. So what do you want, your moon-ness? Shouldn't you be off with your little buddies planning out how three teenage humans are going to save the world?"

She put her fingers to her temples. "You are drunk! That's just great! I came here to ask you for a favor."

He waved a hand at her. "Ask away."

She drew in a deep breath. "I wanted your permission to enter the Elysian Fields."

The underworld was divided into two realms. Tartarus was the hell realm where all of the evil souls were taken after their demise to spend eternity in misery. The Elysian Fields, however, was where the good souls went to rest in paradise forever.

Hades chuckled darkly for a moment and then said flatly, "No!"

Selene drew herself up straight and crossed her arms. "You know I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't important, Hades."

His black gaze narrowed on her. "And I said no. This is my world down here and I rule. I don't need you running around communing with the souls of the dead. Knowing you, you would start an uprising just to piss me off."

"I would not!" Selene gasped in outrage. "Look, I tried to ask you nicely, but now you're going to make me play dirty."

The god laughed. "Are you trying to be intimidating, Selene? That's not your style."

She tossed her silver head. "Maybe it's not, but don't forget that I am a goddess with just as much power as you have, and I know how to deal with arrogant drunkard gods like you. Just ask Ares what happened to him that night a few centuries back when he got falling down drunk and tried to put some moves on me. He may be the god of war, but I won the battle that night."

"Ares is an idiot," Hades drawled. "But I'll play your game. What have you got up your sleeve?"

"I've brought a gift for you if you will be kind enough to let me into the Elysian Fields," she said sweetly.

"You don't have anything I want," he scoffed.

Selene smirked. "But what if I did? Would you let me in then?"

He yawned boredly. "Sure. If you actually had something I wanted, I'd let you go into the Elysian Fields."

"Do I have your word on that?" she pressed.

"Yeah, yeah," he said carelessly. "Now go away."

"Oh not yet," she giggled. "I have your word now and you have to stick to it. So let me get your gift and I'll be on my way to the Elysian Fields."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself," he growled.

"I am," she replied confidently as she turned and waved toward the door.

"What are you…?" he began to demand, but his voice died off as he saw the woman that stepped inside. "Persephone?" he finally managed to croak.

"Hades!" she squealed as she raced across the room and jumped on top of him before he could even move from his throne.

Selene cleared her throat. " I'll just take my leave before you two get too wrapped up in each other. I have your permission, right Hades?"

The god tore his lips from his wife's to glare at the moon goddess. "Yes. Now get out of here. Can't a man make love to his wife in peace around here?"

Selene rolled her eyes. After all of these centuries together those two still acted like a pair of horny teenagers with each other. "Just remember, Seph, I can manage to wrangle you a few hours, but no more than that."

Her friend waved a hand to indicate that she'd heard her, but that was it. She already had her lips otherwise occupied.

Figuring that she better make her escape before the clothes started flying and she was treated to a show of exhibitionism, Selene hurriedly left the chamber. She made her way down the dark passageway until she reached a dead end with two gates that were guarded by the three-headed dog, Cerberus. The dog growled at her, but made no move to attack as she stepped through the gate on the right.

Immediately she found herself in the middle of what really appeared to be a paradise world. There were waterfalls, rainbows, and lush green fields full of colorful flowers. The sky was a perfect shade of blue while the sun shown down without being too hot.

Focusing on the presence she was searching for, she used her powers to teleport to it when she found it. Of course, the person in question wasn't alone.

"Great Selene!" a voice shrieked before she had even fully materialized. Then it said, "Oh my! It really is Selene!"

Selene smiled as she looked around the gazebo she had appeared in and at the four people situated there. "Jonathan, Edward, Althea, it's wonderful to see you again." Then she pinned her descendant with a serious look. "We need to talk, Serenity."

Crystal Tokyo – The 30th Century

Evan skipped a rock across the shiny, glassy surface of the pond in the middle of the park. "So if you're always going back to the past and you know my sister and Talon so well back then, how come we've never crossed paths until now?"

Trista shrugged eloquently. "I don't know. Maybe the time just wasn't right, I suppose. I'm not able to see anything that directly impacts my personal life."

A white blond brow arched perfectly over a gold eye. "So I'm part of your personal life now, huh?"

The normally unruffled time guardian blushed furiously. "I…I didn't mean it to come out sounding like that!"

He chuckled lightly. "It's okay, Trista. I would be honored if you would consider me to be part of your personal life."

She felt her face grow even hotter as his words. Good grief! There she went acting like an adolescent girl with a crush again. What was it about this man that brought out the blushing, giggly, feminine side to her? Amara would have a field day if she could see her right now.

She and Evan had spent a little bit of time together since their first walk in the palace gardens. It seemed like he always managed to show up whenever she was in this time, which really wasn't all that surprising since he was acting as Talon's official representative while this mess with Discord was going on, and he was usually able to steer her away for a few minutes of conversation before she had to run off again.

But when she had returned Kyrian to this time early this morning she had stuck around for several hours to visit with her friends here and to offer them what insight she could into Discord's recent movements. Evan had come across her in the gardens while she had been playing with Hotaru and Sammy's little son, Kenny, and at Neo Queen Serenity's insistence she had taken off a few hours to accept his invitation to lunch. They had gone to a small café to eat before ending up here at the park.

"So did Kyrian enjoy himself in the past last night?" Evan asked when she remained quiet. "I tried asking him about it, but he seemed a little depressed."

Trista laughed lightly at that. "I'm sure he did. He's probably just sad over having to leave Skye behind. He's really crazy about her."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. "He's been mooning over that girl for a few years now. I kept telling him to rush in and sweep her off her feet, but they always seemed to butt heads so much. Maybe things will be different between them now."

"Yeah, maybe," she echoed. She had already seen the way that Sky and Kyrian's futures were supposed to play out, and she knew that they would be very happy together, but she couldn't tell Evan that.

He turned to her and grinned as if he'd read her mind. "You don't have to play vague with me. I know you already know if they are going to wind up together or not and that you can't say. It's okay. I can live with that."

She gave him a grateful smile and then sighed. "It's been a wonderful afternoon, but I really should be heading back now. With so much going on I have to keep a close eye on things to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"I know," he said dramatically. "Such is the life of the busy time guardian. You're always in demand."

"It's the story of my life," she agreed with a giggle as he helped her up from where she had taken a seat on the ground.

"So will I see you again soon," he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist instead of stepping away.

"I'm sure I'll be around," she replied softly, feeling a little breathless. "I usually am."

She watched in fascination as his face lowered toward hers. At the last second she pulled back. "Evan, I really like you a lot, but I have my job to do. Being the time guardian doesn't leave me a lot of time for a personal life."

He smirked slyly. "Then I'll take what I can get," he whispered huskily before he closed the gap between their lips and kissed her deeply.

Trista moaned at the feeling and taste of him. She hadn't been kissed in 2,000 years and she had forgotten what it felt like. She had always been afraid that if another man kissed her that it would dredge up all of her old memories of her lost love and that she would be forced to compare the difference between the two.

But Tristan stayed safely locked away in his special place in the back corner of her mind and left her free to enjoy the moment. She wrapped her arms around Evan's neck and ran her fingers through the silky ponytail at his nape as she returned the kiss. She stroked her tongue boldly against his before pulling back slightly to nip at his lips.

He made a growling sound low in his throat. "I had a feeling there was a minx buried inside of you somewhere."

She giggled shakily. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I never act like this."

He chuckled and stepped back from her as he took her hand in his. "Come on. I better let you get back to work. The last thing I need is for Serena to accuse me of distracting one of her scouts right now while we are in a crisis. But once all of this crap with Discord is over…" he let his voice trail off suggestively.

"We'll see," Trista teased playfully, further shocking herself. She had kissed this man, and now she was flirting with him. She must have lost her mind! She had a job to do!

But once Evan had escorted her back to the palace and left her with a gentle kiss on the cheek before teleporting away to his home village for a meeting with Talon, she found herself climbing the stairs of the palace and knocking on a door that she never had before. When the door opened she wasn't sure who was more shocked, her or Mina.

"Trista! This is a surprise!" Mina squeaked. "Would you like to come in?"

Trista shook her head. "No thank you. I have to return to the time gate and this won't take but a moment. I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure," Mina said, stepping out into the hall and closing the door to shut out the loud sounds of her son, Kyle, and Lita and Nephrite's son, Nick, playing video games in her living room. "What's on your mind?"

Trista took a deep breath. "I was just wondering. Do you…Do you think that it's possible for someone who has lost their soul mate to be able to find another one?"

Mina tilted her head to the side. "Well…normally speaking there is only one soul mate out there for everyone. But that doesn't mean that a person can't find a deep and fulfilling love with another person. Many times people fall in love with someone and believe that they have found their true soul mate, but in reality they haven't. It doesn't mean that they can't be happy with their lives though. Does this have to do with you and Evan?"

The time guardian nodded. "Yes. I felt an instant connection with him the moment we met. I have only felt something like that once before when I was a young woman. I was in love with a man that unfortunately died of illness. Since Evan was already alive at the time I know that there is no way that he is the reincarnation of the one I once loved. That's why I was wondering if there was ever a case of their being another soul mate possible."

There was so much that Mina longed to say to her friend to ease her mind, but she had learned long ago that she just couldn't run around telling people who they should be with. Trista was just going to have to figure things out on her own. But she had seen the soul bond that tied Trista and Evan together, and it was strong. Trista may have loved someone else, once upon a time, but he hadn't been her soul mate.

"Trista," she said gently. "There is no doubt in my mind that you and Evan could be very happy together. But only you can decide whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with him. You may have loved and lost once before, but that's no reason to give up on love for the rest of your life. Everyone deserves love and happiness."

Trista looked at her quizzically. "You know something that you're not telling me."

Mina shrugged. "I have my rules to abide by just like you have yours. There are some things that I just can't say. But I think you would be crazy to not give Evan a chance. I think he could be good for you."

Trista surprised her by laughing. "You know what? I think you just might be right!"

The Elysian Fields

Serenity sat in shock as she stared at the goddess in front of her. "You want me to what! Did I hear you right?"

Selene nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! I think they need to know. I can only get away with very brief moments of speaking to them without having Zeus coming down on me for fraternizing with the humans. You remember what it was like when you were training with the Trinity. Apollo, Gaia, and I only popped in a few times to speak to you three when we could. But I really think these kids need to know the whole story. And who better than you to tell it to them? I would love it if you, Jonathan, and Edward could all go, but you are the only one who can traverse the astral plane because of your tie to the moon and your daughter's Silver Crystal. Besides, it's not like you haven't done it many times before."

"I know," Serenity groaned, rubbing her temples. "They do deserve to know the facts about what happened when we faced Discord. It's just that I always try very hard not to think about the events of that day. And to share that horror story with them…They are only children!"

"They are not children!" Selene insisted. "They are not much younger than you were when you wielded the Trinity. They are intelligent young adults with bright, happy futures ahead of them." She held out a hand and an orb appeared, floating above her palm. It swirled for a moment until a vision of DJ, Katie, and Alex became visible.

Serenity averted her eyes, but the other three leaned forward to get their first look at the new Trinity bearers.

"Oh!" Althea sighed. "Would you look at them! What strong looking young people! That one must be the one they call DJ. He looks just like Endymion, except for the eyes; he has Serenity's eyes. And the other two! The boy has your eyes, Edward! And there's no denying the girl's lunarian heritage with those facial features."

The black haired man at her side put his arm around her. "Calm yourself, love. It seems that there are more important things to discuss other than who our descendants take after."

Jonathan stared at the vision in silence. In his mind he wasn't seeing DJ, Katie, and Alex, but himself, Serenity, and Edward when they were close to the same age. They had been so cocky and thought that they were invincible. And they had almost paid for it with their lives.

"Ren," he said softly. "You have to tell them. I don't want them to suffer through what we had to if it can be avoided. We owe that much to them. It's the least we can do."

Serenity's wide lavender eyes swung to his. "Jon…"

"He's right," Selene whispered. "They have already suffered. But they have found strength in each other and it has only made them stronger. But at the same time they are only human, and it is human nature to have doubts. Discord will prey on that if given the chance. And I don't want to see a repeat of what happened before. If they fail there will be no chance of sealing him away this time because everyone will be dead."

The vision in the orb shifted, showing the blood soaked city of Crystal Tokyo. Bodies littered the ground.

Serenity raised a trembling hand to her lips as she saw the reincarnation of her daughter and her soul mate lying dead in each other's arms. Melody and Motoki's reincarnations lay dead as well, along with all of the scouts, generals, and even their children. The sight of the tiny blonde boy that couldn't be more than five or six years old lying motionless next to Sailor Mercury's body was almost more than she could bear.

"Is this the way that you want their second chance that you sacrificed yourself for to end, Serenity?" Selene asked.

The vision shifted again, showing the dark, inky vapor that was Discord. He hovered over the three dirty, beaten, and bloodied teens. They were all on their knees without the energy to even raise their heads to face their impending death. A wide beam of dark energy shot from Discord and hit them head on. A moment later, all three fell over dead.

"Okay! I get it!" the former moon queen choked out on a sob as she covered her eyes with her hands. "I'll do it!" She felt warm arms around her and sank gratefully into the embrace.

"You'll do fine," Jonathan whispered in her ear.

"They do need to know exactly what they will be facing," Edward said gruffly. "Tell them all of it. Don't let the mistakes of our past be repeated by them."

"Oh! I just wish I could go with you!" Althea cried, her own voice thick with tears.

Serenity uncovered her eyes and gave a wry grin. "I guess we're in luck that the phase of the new moon starts tonight."

Tokyo – Present Day

"So, Chad and Lizzy, huh?" Darien chuckled as he leaned against the kitchen counter and took a sip of his water. "I didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I," Serena replied from the depths of the refrigerator where she was pulling out some containers of food that Lita had sent with her earlier. "I about fell over when I found out. So did Jess. Of course Mina was all smug about it. She's probably seen it coming for a long time."

"Probably," he agreed. "How's Drew taking the news? He usually goes a little psycho whenever Lizzy starts dating anyone new."

She giggled as she stepped back and closed the refrigerator. "He's been really good about it so far. I think the fact that he already knows Chad and knows for a fact that he isn't a drug-dealing loser has helped a lot. I think he's okay with it. Now his mom on the other hand…"

Darien burst into laughter. "Did Big Andy really carry her out of the arcade over his shoulder, or were you exaggerating?"

Serena drew an X over her heart with her finger. "Cross my heart! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Lizzy was mortified. Now she's afraid that Chad is going to believe that insanity runs in her family and break up with her."

"Nah, Chad can handle it," Darien said in amusement. "That's probably one of the best things about him living with Raye for so long. He's used to insanity."

Serena slapped at him playfully. "Be nice! Raye isn't insane! She's just a little…"

"Crazy," he supplied with a smirk.

She placed her hands on her hips. "I could say a thing or two about some of your friends too, so don't start on mine!"

"I was just picking," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. He was leaning in for a kiss when a loud growling sound filled the air between them.

"That wasn't me!" Serena exclaimed jumping out of his arms. "So I don't want to hear any cracks about my vocal stomach."

Darien quirked a grin as he rubbed his stomach. "Nope! This time it's all me. I was so busy at work today that I didn't have time to eat. I'm starving!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you eat? I'm sure you could have taken five minutes to eat a little something."

He shook his head. "I literally didn't have the time. My private appointments ran behind all morning and then when I got down to the ER we were swamped. I barely had a chance to think. By the time it slowed down my shift was over. Zoicite was in just as bad of shape. I don't think we said more than two words to each other as we stumbled out to our cars."

Serena heaved a sigh. "I don't see how you doctors can be so hypocritical. You spend all day telling your patients about the importance of eating a well balanced diet while you abuse your own bodies. It doesn't make any sense to me. Shouldn't you practice what you preach?"

He shrugged. "I could, I suppose. But then I think about the man whose life I saved today. He might not be alive and with his family tonight if I had decided to take time off to go find something to eat."

She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You crazy, wonderful man! You weren't content just to be my hero. You have to go and try to be everyone else's too."

"I'm just doing my job," he said humbly.

"And you're so good at it," she replied softly as she stood on her tiptoes to brush a light kiss across his lips.

Just then his stomach grumbled loudly once again.

Serena giggled. "Come on! Let's get you fed. Andrew said he was cooking steaks tonight."

"I know," Darien groaned. "I can smell them from here. The balcony door must be open."

She snatched up the containers she had set on the table and grabbed his hand to pull him toward the glass doors. "Let's take the quick route. It's dark enough that nobody should see us."

They walked out onto their balcony and looked over to the neighboring one. Sure enough, Andrew was manning a grill while Jess lounged on one of the patio chairs with a sketchbook propped on her knees.

"Make way!" Darien called out in warning as he and Serena both leapt up onto the railing and then jumped across the dozen or so feet.

Andrew saluted them with the beer he held in his hand. "Welcome to the party, neighbors!" Then he handed Darien a frosty bottle as well.

Serena took it from his hand. "At least eat something first. Look, Drew's got some munchies laid out on the table."

"Good thing too," Darien growled. "If he didn't I'd probably rip those steaks off the grill and start eating them with my bare hands."

Andrew chuckled. "I hope you like them extremely rare then, because I just put them on. We have a little while."

"I brought over some pasta and a salad that Lita made. I thought it would go good with the steak," Serena told him. "I'm going to stick it in your fridge."

"Hurry back," Jess called out. "You've got to try this chardonnay."

Serena snickered. "It sounds like you've already made a dent in it."

"I've only had a glass…okay, maybe I've had two," Jess giggled. "But there's no problem. I have another bottle in the fridge."

Serena ducked inside and stowed her goodies away in the kitchen before wandering back out onto the balcony. Darien and Andrew were already deep into one of their manly conversations, so she wandered over to where Jess was. She helped herself to a glass of the wine and then paused behind her friend to take a glance at whatever she was creating on the paper in front of her this time.

Serena was barely able to draw more than stick people, so she always found it fascinating to watch as Jess made things come alive on paper. She took a sip of her wine as she leaned over to get a better look at the drawing. She thought she'd see a sketch of the city skyline or of Andrew standing at the grill. Instead she almost choked on that sip a second later at the sight before her.

"Jess," she managed to whisper. "Do you know what that place is?"

Jess looked up at her, wide eyed. "Yes. At least I think I do."

Serena took the book from her and walked over to Darien, where she held it in front of his face. He leaned back to allow the light from inside to shine on the paper. His face went pale. "Crystal Tokyo?" he murmured, looking back and forth between the drawing and Jess.

"Hey! What's everybody looking at?" Andrew said with a laugh as he walked over to them. He looked at the drawing and chuckled, "Dang, baby! Are you still working on this one? You've been at it for the last couple of weeks. Every time I think you've finished it you go back and add some more details."

Serena looked up at him sharply. "So you know what this is too?"

Andrew looked confused. "What do you mean? I just figured it was something for one of her classes."

"Well it's not!" Serena said firmly as she took another good look at the drawing of the sprawling city with the tall crystal palace located in the very center. "I've been there before. It's Crystal Tokyo. Feel free to confirm it with the kids if you think I'm mistaken."

"I think the bigger issue here is how Jess knows exactly how a city that exists a thousand years from now is supposed to look," Darien replied, pinning his former daughter with a dark stare.

Jess cringed under his censuring look as she nervously twirled a loose piece of hair around her finger. "Geez Louise, Darien! Do you have to make me feel like I'm five years old all over again? I don't know whether to burst into tears or run for my life when you look at me like that."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Andrew piped up, trying to ease the tension. "She probably has just heard the kids talking about home or seen a picture. Alex has a ton of them on his computer, even though he has been really careful about not letting us see them."

Serena shook her head. "No way! That drawing is way to accurate to duplicate just from glancing at a picture." It was her turn to stare Jess down now. She arched a brow in an expectant look.

Jess pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and groaned. "Oh god! The flashbacks! Make them stop!" Then she looked up angrily. "You guys make it sound like I've been withholding some huge international secret from you and I haven't! I've just been drawing what I see in my dreams, okay!"

"In your dreams?" Serena gasped.

Darien relaxed his pose and sat back in his seat. Troublesome dreams was a subject he was well familiar with. "Does this have anything to do with why you went to meet with Helios a while back?"

Jess nodded. "It started back the night before the fight with Discord, Beryl, and Metallia." She turned to Andrew. "You remember that night, don't you?"

Andrew thought for a moment. "Yeah. I had to wake you up because your powers started surging and I didn't want you to bring the whole building down."

Jess sighed. "Well that dream was really confusing, just a bunch of jumbled up things that didn't make much since. So I just put it out of my mind and forgot about it for a while. It wasn't hard to do since we've been so busy lately. But in the last few weeks I have been having these really strange dreams almost every time I fall asleep. And it seems like each time I have one that things come in a little bit clearer."

"And these dreams are of Crystal Tokyo?" Serena prompted gently.

"That's the only rational explanation I can come up with," Jess replied. "Helios pretty much confirmed it when I spoke with him. I keep seeing what happens there when the kids finally go to face Discord."

"So that's the big dream secret you've been keeping from me, huh?" Andrew asked as he took a seat next to her.

Darien sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Maybe it's like what happened with me when my future self sent me those dreams. Your future self might be trying to warn you about something that may be in your future."

Jess shook her head. "I don't know if that's all there is to it or not. I'm not just a casual observer in these dreams. I'm actually there. But I don't see the events through the eyes of my future self. I'm there as me, just like I am right now. And I see my future self as well. It's like there are two of me in the same place. That's the part that has me so confused. I asked Helios about it, but all he would say was that when the time came for the kids to fight Discord that I was going to have to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?" Andrew demanded.

"I wish I knew," she groaned. "Trying to get straight answers out of him is like banging your head against a brick wall. You don't make any progress and you end up with a massive headache afterward. Now go check our dinner before you burn it. I don't want my steak charbroiled."

Andrew jumped up to do as she asked and Serena took his vacated seat. "It sounds like your dream is pretty vague. Doesn't your future self tell you anything?"

Jess gulped. She definitely didn't want to go into the details of her dream. In the ones that she had been having recently, everything started off nice. She could see Crystal Tokyo the way the kids from the future always described it. It was a beautiful city. A lot of it reminded her of the Tokyo of this time, but the glittering crystal palace at its center gave it an air of a city of power.

Then it was as if someone threw a switch. The sky would grow dark and explosions rumbled all around. People were running and screaming in every direction as monsters appeared from everywhere. Some of them were the same guardians and sentinels that Discord had been using, but there were other ones as well, huge, hulking beasts that barreled their way through people and objects like tanks. And then there were the giants. She never could make them out clearly, but they were as tall as buildings. And the whole time Discord's cloudy presence covered the sky as he laughed.

She always found herself in front of the palace, where she would transform and fight. But it seemed like no matter what she did, the ending was the same. Everyone, including herself, was dead.

She shook her head. "No. My future self never says anything to me."

"Well, what do you see?" Serena pressed on.

Jess shot to her feet. "I really don't want to talk about it, okay! The main thing I'm focusing on is trying to figure out this choice that Helios says I have to make, because I don't get it. What decision could I possibly have to make that could impact a fight that takes place a thousand years in the future?"

"Life is always full of choices, little one," a soft voice replied as Queen Serenity appeared in a soft glow of light.

"Mother!" Serena squeaked and almost fell off the lounge chair.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Cute, grandma. I guess knocking would be too subtle of an entrance for you, wouldn't it?"

Queen Serenity laughed gently. "At least I know I have your attention this way, Melody."

"Well you certainly have mine!" Serena gasped. "What are you doing here, mother?"

The queen folded her arms and sniffed daintily. "Do I have to have an excuse to visit my family?"

"Of course not!" Serena exclaimed as she jumped up and ran to give her past mother a hug. Jess followed right behind her.

After a moment, Serenity stepped back and cupped both of their cheeks. "My girls!" she sighed happily. Then she sobered. "I'm afraid that this is more of a business trip than a pleasure one though. I need to talk to the children."

"They're not here," Jess said as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket. "But all I have to do is make a call and I can have them here in a heartbeat."

Serenity waved a hand. "Do not trouble them at this moment. What I have to discuss with them will take some time, and my energy is low tonight since it's only the first night of the new moon phase. I just wanted to speak with you and see if you would bring them to Elysian tomorrow night. That will be when the new moon is official and my magic will be at its peak. I have spoken with Helios, and he has agreed that Elysian is the best place to reveal my story."

"What story is that?" Serena asked in confusion.

The queen drew in a deep breath and looked up with troubled lavender eyes. "I do not want to see the mistakes of your father's, Edward's, and my past repeated, Serenity. All the god powers in the world will not protect those children unless they truly understand the battle that they will be facing. It will be a difficult fight, and they need to be prepared for it. After much deliberation, I have decided that I am going to share with them the story of the original Galactic Trinity, and how we were such vain, ignorant fools that we let our one shot at ridding the universe of that monster slip right through our fingers."

A/N Another chapter down! Yay! So coming up, Queen Serenity's story! The final battle is fast approaching, and she wants to give DJ, Katie, and Alex the best possible chance for victory. And Jess is still having dreams of the future. What could this possibly mean for her and the rest of the past forms of the someday parents? And kudos to all of you that guessed that Lizzy was Chad's mystery date. I figured that most of you would get that. No new mysteries were dropped in this chapter, except for the person who stands guard over the Trinity swords. And most of you can probably put two and two together and figure out who that is as well, but feel free to tell me your guesses. I'm gonna run now. Catch you guys next update! Please continue to leave me those wonderful reviews and tell me what you thought. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~