The Galactic Trinity

by PrincessSerenity1976

Sequel to Lunar Princess of the Earth. Three teens are on the run from an enemy in Crystal Tokyo. They find themselves in present day Tokyo with our favorite heroes. What will happen when their identities are revealed? Read to see. Full summary inside.

33. Things That Go Bump in the Night

A/N What's up! I never believed that I would be ready to update again already, but this chapter just seemed to flow out of me. This chappie is a little different from my norm, but it's probably one of my faves so far. A lot of you have commented on how much you like Future Kat and DJ, so I think those of you that do will love what I do with them here. But other than that we have some humor and drama thrown in along with a few embarrassing moments because of some…well…sexual innuendos. But it's nothing bad. Just some teasing. Now let me get out those hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

Atem's Sister Atea

sabina21

Seredhiel05

saveme57

MeganLeBlanc

FanaticArmy

Jasmine Indigo Sappihhra

nickybluejess

Wonderwomanbatmanfan

silvermermaidprincesskerry

Alix Romanov

rainbabie

SailorMoon20114486

ailzzzz

KageNoNeko

jade2nightwing

Starrlight1812

Tiny2008

x-YingYing-x

SailorMercuryROCKS

S dot Serenity

CharmedSerenity3

Nyx MG

nileena

R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle

GoldenDragon326

Thank you guys so much! I think I've blabbed on enough for now, so I'm going to let you get to it.

ENJOY!

---

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 31

Things That Go Bump in the Night

---

The dream started out the same as it had every other time she'd had it…

She was standing on the steps of the Crystal Palace, watching as Discord's latest army wrecked havoc over the city. People were running in every direction and screaming. And in the middle of all of the chaos were flashes of light as the scouts and generals launched their attacks against them.

And then the dream changed from the norm.

As the fighting grew more intense, the number of attacks filling the air thickened. In fact, there seemed to be far too many attacks flying for the number of fighters on their team, at least twice as many. As she watched, she could have sworn that she saw two of Sailor Venus's Love Chains whipping through the air as well as two of Sailor Mars's Flame Sniper arrows. That couldn't be right. They could only launch their attacks one at a time.

Just then a hand grabbed her arm and she turned to see…well…herself. At least that was who she thought it was. The Sailor Shadow standing before her was identical to her, from the long, dark blonde hair dangling in a braid down her back to the snapping dark blue eyes.

But her fuku was different. It resembled Eternal Sailor Moon's more than it did the Super Sailor Shadow fuku she now realized that she was wearing. It had a three tiered skirt in silver, gold, and dark blue and rounded, puffed short sleeves that were also dark blue. The blue starbursts at the wrists of the elbow length white gloves were mirrored in sapphire star choker around her neck and the earrings dangling at her ears. Wings of delicate silver and gold swirls adorned the back of the fuku. The only similarities between the two outfits were the silver and gold striped bow at the chest and the knee high, navy blue boots.

"Did you come here to gawk or did you come here to help?" Eternal Sailor Shadow growled. "Geez! Get with the program already! I know I was never this dense in the past!"

Sailor Shadow felt anger bubble up inside of her. "Excuse me! Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Eternal Sailor Shadow rolled her eyes. "It means it's time to get down to business. I don't have time to hold your hand, little girl! Now let's get moving!"

Jess came awake slowly as the dream faded away. She looked around curiously, surprised to find herself in the bedroom that she and Andrew shared when they visited Elysian and wondered how she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered had been sitting with Andrew, Serena, Darien, and her grandparents from her past life, listening intently as they told stories from the past. Since she had only lived to be five years old in the past she only had her memories to go by, and some of those were pretty vague at times, so she had enjoyed hearing about her family from the past.

But she had begun feeling tired and found herself drifting listlessly toward Andrew's shoulder. Evidently she must have fallen asleep at some point and he had carried her up to bed, and then had passed out himself if the arms wrapped around her waist and the breath brushing the back of her neck was anything to go by.

She lay there in the semi-gloom of the room, taking comfort from feel of her fiancé's embrace and the slight movement of his chest against her back as she thought about the dream that she had just woken up from.

She had become used to dreaming about the future by now since she seemed to visit the battle in Crystal Tokyo every night, as she had been doing for weeks. But this time it had been different. This time instead of seeing everyone lying dead she had witnessed them fighting.

And then there was who she assumed must be her future self. Usually she was already dead and lying under Andrew's lifeless body by the time she found her in the dream. But this time the woman had been alive and had come to seek her out. She'd even cocked a bit of a nasty attitude with her. But really, what did she expect coming from a woman that was technically her? No matter how hard she tried to contain her anger at times she was still known as Queen Temper. It was just who she was.

But with the change in her dream she couldn't help but think that it was trying to tell her something important. Helios had filled her in on as much as he could when the dreams had first started, and he had told her that she would have a decision to make at some point. But other than that he had remained extremely vague. So maybe the time was drawing close and her dreams were now trying to show her what this all-important decision was.

Feeling the need to talk to the dream priest, and figuring that it was the perfect time since she was already here, she slid carefully out of Andrew's arms and out of the bed. She stifled a giggle when her sandy haired, soon to be husband grumbled something incoherent in his sleep, grabbed the pillow she had been laying on just a few seconds before, and buried his face in it as he crushed it to his chest.

"You big cuddly teddy bear," she whispered fondly as she barely perched on the side of the bed to pull on and lace her tennis shoes. Then she leaned over to kiss his cheek lightly before slipping soundlessly out of the room.

The hallway was empty and all was quiet, making her pretty sure that everyone else had finally given up and decided to try to catch a few winks as well. They probably all needed it after the eventful night they had gone through.

She paused when she heard a noise, thinking that someone else must be up and about besides her after all. But when she heard what sounded like muffled voices yet again and she looked around to find that she was right outside of Serena and Darien's room, she sped away. The memory of what she had heard as she had stood outside their apartment door the night that the kids had gone to prom had been embarrassing as hell, and she really didn't want to be subjected to any more. What they did behind closed doors was their business.

She smiled as she passed by the door to her old bedroom from the Silver Millennium and pictured the cozy couple inside. The kids had given up the fight against sleep before the rest of them had and had escaped upstairs to catch a few winks. When she, Andrew, Darien, and Serena had come up to check on them about a half an hour later they had found that none of them were in their beds alone. DJ and Katie had been curled up together as were Alex and Emma. Jayden and Hannah were not quite as close, but they were asleep on the same bed. And they even found Skye passed out in Rini's room where it looked like the two girls had fallen asleep while talking.

Jess stifled a giggle as she remembered Andrew's reaction to seeing their future daughter sleeping peacefully with her head pillowed on the shoulder of the dark haired prince and his arms around her. She'd literally had to clamp her hand over his mouth and physically drag him from the room to keep him from waking the teens up. Of course he'd turned a blind eye to the fact that their future son was sharing a bed with a girl. The curse of the double standard between boys and girls struck again. But after she'd threatened him with no sex until after the wedding and to tell his mother that she thought she might be pregnant, he had reluctantly agreed to keep his complaints to himself.

She heard the sound of voices coming from one of the drawing rooms as she made her way toward the stairs that would take up to next floor where Helios had his private rooms and paused to peek around the doorframe. All four of her past grandparents stood near the balcony doors, conversing together in low voices.

She pulled back and cursed under her breath. She loved the fact that she had the opportunity to visit with them, and she planned on spending a lot more time with them before they had to leave, but right now she needed to talk to Helios. And she knew that if they saw her right now that she would get pulled into a conversation with them. But in order to reach the stairs she needed to make it past the enormous double doorway without being seen.

She glanced around the hall and grinned. There were a few wall sconces giving off dim light, but there were plenty of shadows too. She should be able to pull this off with no problem. She melted into the shadows and tapped into her powers. A darker haze fell over her vision as she became camouflaged.

Then she began to make her way past the doorway, feeling rather proud of herself. The grandparents would never know that she was there. At least that was what she thought until she had almost reached the other side.

"Really, Melody!" Althea's voice called out to her. "Did you honestly think you could hide in the dark from me?"

"Nuts!" Jess grumbled to herself as she let the energy around her fade away and she felt herself become fully visible once more. She grinned sheepishly at the four people that were now looking at her in amusement. "I guess I'm busted."

Jonathan chuckled. "It sure looks that way. Now what are you up to that has you sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

"I…um…well…I wasn't trying to ignore you guys," she stammered. "I just have something that I really need to talk to Helios about."

Edward snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that!"

Jess looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

Serenity rolled her eyes at the two men that were now guffawing like they had heard a funny joke. "What they mean is that Helios might not be in a position for company at the moment."

"I don't want to think about what kind of position he might be in. I don't want to go blind," Jonathan blurted out before breaking into side-splitting laughter and Edward joined in.

Jess shrugged. "Okay, you lost me. What's the joke?"

Althea took pity on her and said, "Little Serenity snuck past this way a short while ago. So it's safe to assume that Helios might be…occupied at the moment."

"Oh," Jess muttered. Then her eyes widened. "Oh! That little sneak! She better hope and pray that Darien doesn't find out what she's up to. There will be hell to pay if he does."

"Aren't they supposed to be announcing their engagement soon?" Serenity inquired.

Jess nodded. "Yeah, when Rini turns eighteen next month. But Darien's liable to burst a blood vessel if he even suspects that they've…well…you know."

"Ooo, look at her blush!" Jonathan snickered. "Good grief, girl! You're almost a married woman! You've been with Motoki for two years and been living with him for most of that time. You've got his ring on your finger. And he's a solarian, so I know that there is no way that he has left you untouched after all this time. We're all adults here and we've all done the deed. There's no sense in stuttering and blushing like a virgin!"

Jess's head flew up. Her cheeks were still red, but her eyes were flashing like sapphires. "Holy shit! You sure are blunt, aren't you?"

Edward chuckled. "And you seem to have developed a potty mouth. I would suggest that you clean up the gutter talk before you give your grandmothers a heart attack."

"You two are infuriating!" Jess squealed as she stomped her foot. Then she turned to Serenity and Althea. "How the hell do you put up with those two? I thought Drew and Darien could drive somebody up a wall when they are together, and don't even get me started on when the generals around too. But these two take the cake!"

"You two stop picking on her!" Althea demanded. "I think both of you get worse with every century that passes."

Edward waggled his eyebrows. "I usually don't hear any complaints out of you, love."

"Wow! Just…wow!" Jess muttered as she felt her face growing hotter at the blatant flirting. "I need some air," she announced, stepping toward the open balcony doors.

---

Darien lay on his stomach with his head buried in a pillow as he moaned, "My god! You have got to have the most talented fingers in the world!"

Serena giggled and leaned over from where she was straddling the back of his waist to whisper in his ear. "If you keep moaning like that people are going to get the wrong idea about what we're doing in here."

"I don't care," he groaned. "Let them think what they want. Right now I'm in heaven!"

Serena smiled as she pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder and then sat back up to continue the back massage she was giving her fiancé. "You're so tense, baby."

He turned his head to the side so that he could look up at her with one sleepy sapphire eye. "I won't be after a couple of more minutes of this kind of treatment. If you weren't studying to become a teacher I would say that you had a bright future as a massage therapist."

She wrinkled her nose up at him. "I don't think so. There's only one person whose body I want to run my hands all over, and he's currently right where I want him. Now just relax and let me work my magic. You've been too stressed out lately."

"Sorry," he mumbled around a yawn. "There's been so much going on between work and the kids…it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to take care of everything."

"I know," she sympathized softly. "It makes me wonder sometimes why you would still be willing to marry me knowing some of what our future holds."

Despite his obvious tiredness, he smiled. "I can't seem to help myself where you are concerned. I never have been able to." After that he closed his eyes and fell silent. A few minutes later his breathing became deep and even as he drifted off to sleep.

Serena crawled off of him, being very careful not to disturb him, and sat next to him for a minute just looking at him. It still amazed her sometimes, the depth of the feelings that she had for this man. But the most miraculous thing was that he felt the same way about her. They had always been pegged as an odd couple, in both lives. Where he was quiet, she was loud. He was more reserved while she was carefree. They were even total opposites in looks. He was the pure embodiment of the phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome'. And while she technically didn't fall into the category of 'petite' anymore, she always felt tiny when next to him. And her fair appearance was a complete antithesis to him.

But whatever it was that clicked between them, it worked. The bond they shared was so strong that it had survived death and rebirth. There was only a handful of people that she knew of that could claim that, and they were all members of her extended family. And it was only thanks to her past mother's sacrifice that they had gotten this second chance.

Thoughts of Queen Serenity had her slipping quietly from the bed. Normally she valued her sleep and would have been out in half the time it took Darien to fall asleep, but knowing that her former parents were there and that she only had a limited amount of time to visit with them had her feeling wide awake. She could catch up on her sleep later.

She bent down and kissed Darien lightly on the cheek as she whispered, "Sweet dreams, my prince," before she crept from the room.

Once in the hallway she went in search of her former parents. Everything had been sort of chaotic since they had arrived and she was looking forward to being able to spend a little quiet time with them without having over a dozen other people swarming around. Of course, considering the sheer size of the palace, it could take her a while to find them. Figuring that it was probably best to start at the bottom and work her way up, she headed for the stairs that would take her down to the ground floor.

But as she approached them she saw light spilling out of a nearby drawing room that was accompanied by voices, and it brought a huge smile to her face. It looked like they were going to be easier to track down than she thought. She walked toward the door with a bounce in her step, but she pulled up short when she heard the voices inside raise slightly.

"Ooo, look at her blush!" she heard Jonathan snicker. "Good grief, girl! You're almost a married woman! You've been with Motoki for two years and been living with him for most of that time. You've got his ring on your finger. And he's a solarian, so I know that there is no way that he has left you untouched after all this time. We're all adults here and we've all done the deed. There's no sense in stuttering and blushing like a virgin!"

"Holy shit! You sure are blunt, aren't you?" Serena covered her mouth to stifle a giggle when she heard the voice that could only belong to Jess.

Then Edward chuckled. "And you seem to have developed a potty mouth. I would suggest that you clean up the gutter talk before you give your grandmothers a heart attack."

"You two are infuriating!" Jess squealed sharply. "How the hell do you put up with those two? I thought Drew and Darien could drive somebody up a wall when they are together, and don't even get me started on when the generals around too. But these two take the cake!"

Althea's censuring voice cut in. "You two stop picking on her! I think both of you get worse with every century that passes."

"I usually don't hear any complaints out of you, love," Edward replied smoothly.

"Wow! Just…wow!" Jess muttered. "I need some air."

Serena stepped into the room just in time to see Jess walking out onto the balcony. She eyed the tall, broad blonde man that was currently red faced and doubled over with laughter and scolded, "Papa! How could you talk to her like that? She's practically your granddaughter!"

Then her eyes swung to Edward, who was in the same hysterical state. He looked so much like Darien that it was easy for her to snap at him. After all, she'd had years of practice arguing with his son, in both lives. "And you're just as bad! Honestly! I'm seriously starting to think that you two are nothing more than a couple of immature adolescent boys trapped in men's bodies."

Both men sobered up and Jonathan looked sheepishly at his past daughter. "Sorry. She just looks so darn cute when she gets worked up that I couldn't resist picking on her a little bit." Beside him, Edward nodded.

But Serena wasn't backing down. She placed her hands on her hips and remained stern. "Well that was taking it a bit too far. Jess may be brash and hotheaded, but she does have a sensitive side to her and she's shy when it comes to talking about personal issues. Not everybody is as comfortable as you are talking about what they do between the sheets!"

Jonathan's light blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Just between the sheets? That's not very inventive of you, Serenity. You're a grown woman that has already been married and had a child in one life, and soon you will be married again. I'm sure that you've had some…experience by now."

Serena felt a blush rising up her neck, but she pushed it back down and met her past father's eyes squarely. "Not that it's any of your business, but Darien and I have a very satisfying life together…and that includes all aspects, thank you very much!"

Queen Serenity clapped her hands together. "That's my girl! You go right on ahead and put them in their place."

Althea sniffed daintily. "Well it serves them right! They can be so crude sometimes."

Jess snickered from the balcony door, where she was leaning up against the doorframe. "Crude is putting it mildly. They took me by surprise there for a moment, but now that I've seen their true colors I'll be ready for them."

Edward chuckled. "You know we're just teasing you, right Pumpkin-head?"

Jonathan tried his best to look contrite. "That's right, sweetheart. We were just poking a little fun. Do you forgive us?"

Jess shook her head with a smile. "Of course I do." Then her expression became serious as she looked at Serena. "Rini is in Helios's room."

Serena sighed. "Well I can't say I'm all that surprised since she comes here most nights anyway. I admit that it's a little gutsy for her to do it while Darien is here, but I'll deal with him if anything blows up. He's just going to have to accept that Rini isn't a little girl anymore."

Jess giggled. "None of our little visitors can be considered children. Well, Jayden and Hannah are still fairly young. But the others, they're practically adults. I just find it funny that they think they can hide things from us. I know you've heard the footsteps coming and going from your apartment at night the same way I have. I caught sight of a hickey on Katie's neck the other day when the collar of her shirt slipped. I'm just glad Drew didn't see it. He would have a stroke."

"They're all in love," Queen Serenity said softly. "And I'm sure both of you are aware how powerful love can be. The love that all of you share is what gives you your strength and will help you through all of the obstacles that lie ahead for you. This battle with Discord is not simply between him and the Trinity. It involves you all."

"Well, our future selves anyway," Serena murmured. "We know that the fight will take place in Crystal Tokyo, so I'm sure our future selves will be eyeball deep in it."

Serenity shook her head. "It will affect you more than you think. In times such as these time knows no bounds. There is no past, present, or future. Things simply are what they are."

Jess shivered as the queen's lavender eyes fell on her. She had a feeling that her past grandmother knew a lot more than she was letting on. "You know, don't you?" she asked softly. "You know about my dreams."

Serenity inclined her head. "I do. We all do. You have a decision that you're going to have to make soon. One that will not only impact your life, but will also involve the lives of everyone around you. What this choice is may not be clear to you yet, but deep inside you know what it is and you have already made your decision. I wish I could tell you more, but unfortunately I cannot. All I can say is to follow your heart and it will lead you in the right direction."

Jess wrinkled her nose. "You ancient people sure love to talk in riddles, don't you? Pluto is just as bad, and don't even get me started on Helios and how vague he can be. What you just told me is probably more than I would have gotten out of him."

"Did you have the dream again?" Serena asked in concern.

Jess nodded as she folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, but something about it was different this time. It's hard to explain." She turned her head to look out at the dark night. Suddenly she jerked and stood up straight to run to the balcony railing. "What the hell was that?"

The urgency in her voice had Serena flying to her side. "What? What is it?"

Jess shook her head. "I don't know. But there for a minute it looked like the shadows in the woods were…alive."

Serena let out a shaky laugh. "Is that all? You must be really sleep deprived, sweetie. Your eyes are playing tricks on you."

"The hell they are," Jess growled with a shudder as a faint aura of power brushed up against her. "There's someone out there."

"Get real," Serena scoffed. "This is Elysian. It's not like anybody can just waltz in."

"No, she's right," Althea announced. "There are presences in the woods tonight. But there's no need to fear, the Trinity bearers are on the case."

Serena and Jess both spun around in shock.

"Are you telling me that the kids are out there chasing intruders through the woods in the dark?" Serena almost shrieked. "And you've just been standing here calmly talking like nothing is going on?"

"Damn it! Why didn't you say anything?" Jess exploded. "Elysian may be well guarded, but it's not impenetrable. Discord managed to find his way here and attacked the kids once before. Who's to say he couldn't do it again?"

Edward lunged forward and grabbed her arm as she jumped up onto the balcony railing. "Discord is not behind this. Believe me when I say that they are not in any danger."

She jerked away from him. "Then there is no harm in me going to check on them, is there? Forgive me if I sound a little paranoid, but those are my children out there and I'm a little leery about them tramping through the woods at night."

Then she jumped. Blue light burst around her as she fell, and by the time she hit the ground in a crouch she had transformed into Sailor Shadow. She struck off across the grass toward the distant trees.

"Hey! Wait up!" Serena called after her as she jumped as well, also transforming in midair. In seconds, Sailor Moon was running after Sailor Shadow.

Serenity clucked her tongue. "They shouldn't have gone."

Jonathan chuckled. "Oh well! If they get lost out there we'll just have to send Endymion and Motoki in after them."

"I seriously doubt they'll get lost," Althea huffed. "I'm sure Melody can navigate the dark and the shadows just fine and Serenity will be fine as long as she sticks with her. I just worry about them getting on Sailor Pluto's bad side. I'm fairly confident that she has something to do with our mystery visitors."

Edward shrugged. "She probably does, but I'm not going to interfere. Let the oh so great time guardian handle them if they get into trouble."

---

"Oof!" the fully-grown and mature Alex groaned as he ran into a tree for what felt like the hundredth time. "Dang, Kat! You weren't kidding when you said that shadow power seriously impedes your vision. I can't see crap! How the hell do you make this look so easy."

"Easy!" the barely visible blonde woman at his side growled. "I can assure you that there is nothing easy about this! I'm not mom, so I haven't exactly perfected my technique or anything."

Alex snorted. "Not surprising, considering that you probably still have to sleep with some kind of light."

A snarl ripped from Katie's throat. "I wish somebody would remind me why I spent half of my life trying to bring you back from the dead, because right now I'm seriously wondering why I bothered!"

Alex gulped before he said hesitantly, "It's because you love me…right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately I do and I'm still trying to figure out why."

The black shape that was Alex moved and appeared to strike a pose. "You have to love me because I am your brother. Not just your brother, but also your twin. We were hanging out together before we were even born. You don't get much tighter than that. I also happen to be devastatingly handsome, so that helps too."

Another dark figure appeared beside him and there was a popping sound as a visible hand smacked him in the back of the head. Then a low voice hissed, "You two keep it down before somebody hears us. And Alex, quit distracting your sister. She has to keep her concentration in order to keep us hidden." He held up his hands to show that both of his arms were clearly visible all the way up to his elbows.

"Damn! Sorry about that," Katie muttered. She concentrated for a moment and DJ's arms were swallowed once again by the shadows. "I've never tried hiding other people besides myself before. I guess I'm not very good at it."

"You're doing fine," DJ whispered to her, and then paused to listen to the faint footsteps and voices in the distance. "Great! They're going the wrong way again. They're moving away from us instead of toward us."

"Then I guess it's time to do some more luring," Katie announced as she sprang easily into the branches above her.

"Whoa!" Alex mumbled in appreciation. "Kat must have some serious leg muscles to make that jump so easily."

"Yeah," DJ sighed, sounding a little loopy as he thought about what those long legs felt like when they were wrapped around his waist.

A shadowy elbow was jabbed into his ribs as Alex whined in a disgusted tone. "Ugh! Could you at least try to keep your perverted thoughts about my sister under control when I'm around? It's disturbing."

DJ grinned, even though he knew that Alex couldn't see it. "Sorry, man, but I'm in love. You know what that's like, right?"

He heard a snicker from his friend. "Yeah, I know the feeling. And that's why I want to get this over with as quickly as possible so I can get back to our own time and my lovely lady. I just hope she's speaking to me when we get there. She wasn't happy about being left behind."

There was a rustling above them, and then Katie's voice floated down to them in a harsh whisper, "Are you guys coming or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," they muttered before they jumped up to join her.

As soon as they landed on the same branch as her, she pushed off to jump to the next tree, ignoring the plummeting feeling in the pit of her stomach as she cleared the void and fighting down the nausea as she landed. She had to complete this mission. Her future depended on it. She had to make sure her past self, along with DJ and Alex, were set on the right path. Too many lives were at stake. More than she had ever imagined. Her stomach roiled as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Pluto earlier.

***FLASHBACK***

Katie stumbled from the bathroom, still feeling sick and dizzy. She still had a few hours before they were going to leave for Elysian in the past, so she figured she had time to squeeze in a quick nap. Hopefully that would make her feel better.

She made her way to the room that she had been sharing with DJ, but was surprised to find someone there waiting for her. "Trista," she greeted carefully.

The time guardian's garnet eyes traveled over her from head to toe, and then seemed to zero in on her stomach before she asked, "Have you told him?"

Katie shook her head. "No. Nobody knows. It's been hard to hide how sick I've been, but so far no one has become suspicious. Well, Helios might be a little suspicious, but he hasn't said anything."

"Are you going to tell him?" Pluto asked gently.

Tears prickled Katie's eyes. "I don't know if I should. I mean, does it even matter if I do? When time decides which way it wants to go and everything resets, this will reset as well, won't it?"

Pluto nodded. "In theory, yes. In fact, I wasn't expecting this to happen. It wasn't supposed to anyway. It is indeed an anomaly, more than likely caused by the fluxes in time."

"An anomaly," Katie whispered as the first tear broke free to roll slowly down her cheek. "Is that the way you describe what's happening to me?"

Pluto's expression turned concerned. "I didn't mean for it to come out sounding like that. I just meant that these events were not supposed to happen in this time and place. If anything, it's a testament that time is definitely attempting to right itself. Helios may think that Elysian is impenetrable, and it is to a point, but time is a powerful thing. But all of that aside, I would have thought that after everything that you and DJ have been through that you would be honest with him about this."

Katie sniffled as she walked past Pluto to climb onto the bed. She pulled DJ's pillow to her chest and hugged it close as she curled up on her side and burst into tears. "I can't tell him! Not with everything that is going on! Why should I bother telling DJ that he's going to be a father when this pregnancy won't even exist when we finally get our lives back?"

Her tortured hazel eyes burned up at Pluto from the bed. "When I first began suspecting I was pregnant I was so happy. I mean after all of the years of fighting and trying to kill each other DJ and I are finally together. And the thought of having a child that is a part of him and a part of me is the most miraculous thing I can think of. But it isn't real. Once we return to whatever our lives hold for us I won't even remember any of this. So why bother?"

Pluto sat down on the edge of the bed and smoothed the tousled, light blonde hair away from the wet face. "Katie, listen to me. Just because I said that your baby isn't supposed to exist in this time and place doesn't mean that it will never exist at all. This timeline was skewed from the very beginning, and as a result of trying to correct itself there were several babies that were never born that exist in the original timeline. Don't you find it odd that Rini and Helios, Skye and Kyrian, and Jayden and Hannah have never had children despite being married for several years?"

Katie scrubbed at her wet cheeks. "Yeah, but I just thought that it was either by choice because they didn't want to bring children into our messed up world or because something was medically wrong with them."

Pluto shook her head. "No. They are all perfectly capable of having children. Time has just refused to allow them to be born in this timeline. There are so many little lives that have been denied, but hopefully that will all change soon. The fact that your baby's soul has fought to exist here gives me hope all will turn out as it should."

Katie placed a hand on her tummy and whispered, "So my baby is real? It won't disappear when time resets?"

Pluto laid her hand over hers. "Your baby is very real. She'll just be moved to her proper time and place when the time comes."

"She?" Katie squeaked, her eyes brightening. "I'm going to have a daughter?"

Pluto chuckled. "Believe me, your and DJ's lives will be anything but boring. You have a daughter, followed by twin sons, and then another little girl. And don't even get me started on your brother and Emma. I think they're trying to form their own baseball team with all of the rugrats they keep popping out. And that's not counting all of the other babies that the others have. If things go as they should, and thanks to the medical technology of the 30th century, I'll even get to become an aunt to Amara and Michelle's little girls."

Katie sat up, wide eyed. "But why are you telling me all of this? Doesn't this go against your own rules?"

A large smile appeared on Pluto's face. "I'm telling you this to ease your mind. And also because I know that you won't remember any of this when you go home. But in the meantime, I don't see anything wrong with you and DJ sharing a little happiness here."

Katie grinned and nodded. Then her look turned apprehensive. "Omigosh! Do you think he'll be happy when I tell him? What if he doesn't want to become a daddy? Oh no! Now I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to throw up again!"

Pluto gently pushed her back against the bed. "Just calm down. You don't have anything to worry about. DJ will be thrilled at the news. But might I suggest waiting until after tonight's job is done. He may not like the idea of you going while you're in such a delicate condition."

"You're right there," Katie agreed with a giggle. "He can be so overprotective sometimes. I'll probably be lucky to even walk across a room by myself once he finds out. He'll most likely turn out to be worse than my dad, and I've heard the stories about how he hovered over my mom when she was pregnant with me and Alex."

"Andrew was definitely protective," Pluto mused. "There were a few times that I thought Jess was going to murder him. But right now why don't you try to take a nap and get some rest. You're going to need your energy tonight."

***END FLASHBACK***

Katie rubbed her tummy absently and thought, 'Down baby! Just cut your momma a break for a little bit longer, okay. That's my good girl.'

The branch she was standing on shuddered as DJ and Alex landed beside her. Though she couldn't see him clearly, she felt DJ's eyes sweep over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah, you seem out of it tonight," Alex added. "You crashed and took a nap earlier, so I know you can't be tired. So what gives?"

She beamed a bright smile, even though she knew that they probably couldn't see it. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Now let's see what we can do about getting our past selves turned around."

"I still don't see why we are leading our past selves to that cave," Alex grumbled as they began leaping from tree to tree. "What's so important about that crummy old cave anyway?"

"Pluto seemed to think it was important," DJ answered. "But I do wish she would have filled us in on what it's all about."

"Shh!" Katie shushed them as they came to a stop. They peered down into the darkness below them where they could barely make out three shapes in the shadows.

A feminine squeal broke through the darkness. "Ouch! Alex! You stepped on my foot…again!"

"Sorry!" a gruffer voice muttered. "I'm not doing it on purpose or anything. I just can't see a damn thing!"

"Would you two knock it off!" a slightly deeper voice scolded them in a whisper. "We're going to have a hard time tracking down whoever's out here with you guys practically announcing our presence."

The first male voice snorted. "We'll be lucky to find anybody in this darkness anyway. These shadows definitely aren't natural. Hey Kat, can't you make them disappear or something?"

There was a sigh. "Do you think I haven't already tried that, you egghead? Just who the hell do you think I am, mom? I don't think so! I probably should have gone and woken Jess up and gotten her to come with us."

'Boy, am I glad she didn't!' the older Katie thought in relief. She had been able to hold off her younger counterpart's weak attempts to disperse her shadow magic, but she knew that there was no way that she would be able to stand up to Sailor Shadow if she became involved.

"Let's go," she whispered to her companions. And they leapt away, causing the leaves to rustle ominously.

"What was that?" they heard the younger Katie squeak in surprise.

"Nothing. It was just the wind," her brother answered, sounding apprehensive.

"No way," DJ's voice, an octave higher than that of his future self, rebuked. "There's no breeze tonight. There's someone out here."

The three people in the trees above stifled laughs as they dropped to the ground a short distance away and began stomping loudly through the brush in the direction of the cave.

"Oh man!" Katie gasped softly. "I think we're scaring the crap out of them."

Alex sounded strangled from choking back his laughter. "They do sound like they're about to piss their pants, don't they?"

DJ cocked his head to the side and listened. "I think we got their attention though. It sounds like they're heading this way."

They all paused for a moment, and sure enough they could hear the sounds of feet crashing through the brush in their direction and what sounded like disgruntled, muttered curses.

Katie sucked in a breath as another feeling washed over her, and this one rattled her to her core. This was not good. "Oh shit! It's mom!" she hissed.

"What?" DJ and Alex both whispered furiously.

She nodded, feeling her control over the shadows starting to slip away as they were pushed back by another, stronger power. The area around them began lightening. She grabbed both of the men by the hand. "We've got to move it! Now!"

With their vision partially restored and growing brighter by the second, the three of them took off like bullets from a gun toward the cave. Barely fifty yards behind them they heard the voice of the younger Katie squeal excitedly, "The shadows are fading! I can see again!" Then they heard her say in a harder tone, "Hey! I think I see someone!"

The future Katie kicked her speed into high gear and pulled ahead of the guys. No matter how many years had passed, she was still faster than them. A stitch began pulling painfully at her side, but she ignored it. Pluto had advised them to lead their past selves to the cave and try to avoid being seen if at all possible. But now that her mother's past self was obviously lurking around somewhere they no longer had the cover of the shadows. It was nighttime still, so it was dark, but not dark enough.

'Calm down, Kat!' she tried to reason with herself. 'Their night vision can't be any better than yours. They may be able to see you, but as long as you stay far enough ahead of them they won't be able to tell who you are. Just lead them to the cave and get the hell out of Dodge before something else happens.'

Yeah, that was good advice. She heard the sounds of DJ and Alex's heavy breathing a few paces behind her and knew that they were still right there with her. As soon as they reached the cave they could use the time key that Pluto had let them borrow to return to their own time.

No sooner had that thought run through her mind than she heard two male voices way back in the distance yell, "Kat!" Then a shower of silver light erupted in front of her. She skidded to a stop, but not soon enough. As her past self suddenly appeared in front of her she rammed into her, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

(From this point on, younger Katie will remain Katie and future Katie will be Kat. Past Alex will be Alex while future Alex will be Lex. And DJ…well he'll just be DJ. But future DJ will be in italics. I thought about using his given name, but calling him Darien could prove to be really confusing. Just thought I'd clear that up.)

"Ouch!" they both complained together as they hit the ground hard.

DJ and Lex pulled up short at the sight of the two blonde women on the ground. "Are you two okay?" they both asked together.

At that moment there were flashes of gold and red-orange as DJ and Alex teleported into view. Both of their mouths popped open to lay into Katie, but they froze, very much resembling gaping fish, as they saw not only Katie, but also a woman who strongly resembled the psycho future Katie who had attacked them at the hospital benefit a couple of months before.

"You!" they exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's right. Go ahead and get it out of your system now," Kat grumbled as she sat up.

Katie's head shot up at the sound of that familiar voice and she glared. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought we were done with you."

"Well so did I!" Kat snapped back. Then she smirked. "At least I'm not the one with freaky glowing eyes anymore."

Katie's silver eyes flared for a moment before she snarled. "At least I can turn mine off when I want to."

Kat flipped her blonde ponytail, which was now a few inches longer than it had been thanks to the fact that time moved differently in Elysian and she had been there for quite a while now, over her shoulder. "Touché!" Then she held her hands up. "Care to give a girl a hand, darling?"

DJ smirked and stepped forward to grasp her hands. "Of course, milady."

Alex's voice squeaked to life. "What in the #%&! (a/n LOL, I'm self censoring here, but the word rhymes with duck) is going on?"

Katie jumped to her feet and smacked him on the back of the head. "Alexander Andrew Furuhata! Mom would skin you alive if she heard you say that!"

He glared at her as he rubbed his now throbbing head. "Like you have any room to talk, Miss Sailor Mouth! I've heard you throw a cussing fit when you go on one of your tirades and you've said a lot worse stuff than that."

Lex chuckled. "Man! Just seeing that is giving me a headache. Is it possible to get sympathy pains for your past self?"

Katie spun around at the sound of that voice and her hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the brunette man that could only be the future form of her brother. Then her wide eyes flew to DJ, who was helping Kat up off the ground. "You mean it worked? My killing that sentinel actually brought him back to life? And you two are together and not trying to kill each other? Omigosh…omigosh…omigosh…!"

DJ snapped out of his shock and hurried over to put his hands on her shoulders. "Whoa there, Tinkerbell! Why don't you take some deep breaths before you pass out." He looked up at his future self, and before he knew it he was sharing a conspiratorial grin with him. It seemed that no words were needed between them where Katie was concerned. They both knew her well no matter what time frame she existed in.

Alex walked a wide circle around Lex, studying him closely. "Damn! I don't turn out half bad for a guy that spent fifteen years being dead. As a matter of fact, I am ripped!"

Lex leaned toward his younger self to whisper mischievously, "You have a certain love goddess to that for that. She keeps me pretty active and in shape." Then he winked slyly. "But I know that you're already aware of how insatiable she can be."

Alex beamed him a grin. "Don't I know it! She's a wild one!"

"Oh god! I think I'm gonna hurl!" Katie snorted.

"Me too!" Kat muttered, but for an entirely different reason.

Then, a woman's voice floated to them on the still night air. "Katie…Alex…"

"Shit!" Kat hissed. "I forgot she was snooping around out here too."

Katie's face paled. "Oh crap! Is that seriously Jess out here looking for us?"

Then they heard a second woman's voice. "DJ…"

"Damn, damn, damn!" DJ cursed. "Serena's with her too!"

DJ growled. "We need to get moving. We can't let them find us. It would cause too many questions and we don't need them interfering in what has to be done."

DJ crossed his arms and glared at his older self. "What exactly is that? And why are you three out here leading us on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night?"

Before the black haired man could answer, there was flash of pink light and a poof of smoke as Sailor Pluto appeared.

Furious garnet eyes glanced around before she growled, "I should have known that something would go wrong! This was supposed to be simple. You three would lead your past selves to where they needed to go and then go back to where you belong. But no! Jess just had to realize that something was up and decide to sick her nose into things. And what's worse is that she's dragged Serena into this as well."

She drew in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "So much for being able to take a couple of hours off! Okay, you three from the future take your younger selves to where they need to go and then go back to your proper time immediately. I mean it! No dawdling! Do I make myself clear? I'll handle Serena and Jess."

The older three nodded and then motioned for their teenaged selves to follow. The six of them hurried away. But at the last moment Lex spun around to give Pluto a quizzical look and ask, "Hey, Trista! Is that a hickey I see on your neck? Just what have you been up to?"

Kat grabbed her brother's arm and hauled him away as a snarl erupted from Pluto. They had just disappeared from sight when Sailor Moon and Sailor Shadow came into view. They both looked relieved when they saw Pluto.

"Oh, Trista! Thank goodness!" Sailor Moon sighed. "Have you seen the kids? They're out here somewhere and Jess and I wanted to make sure that they are okay."

Pluto gave the two someday-to-be mothers a benevolent smile. "I have seen them, and they are perfectly fine. They just have a little business to attend to tonight. Might I suggest we return to the palace and have some tea while we wait for them?"

Sailor Shadow's dark blue eyes grew impossibly wide in astonishment. "You mean you want us to leave them out here alone? That doesn't sound very safe."

"Jess…Serena," Pluto sighed. "You have known from the beginning that they are on a mission of their own. They may not be fully grown adults yet, but they are far from being children. I sent them here because they needed the chance to grow and develop into the people that they have become, and that would have been impossible for them to do as long as they remained in Crystal Tokyo. The risk of Discord coming after them too early was just too high. Your future selves knew that they would benefit immensely by coming to this time. Sure, they've still had to fight, and they've had some really close encounters, but they have also been able to experience having a regular life for the first time in their lives. They have matured and grown since coming here, and they have also flourished under your guidance. But the end of their journey is fast approaching, and it's time for them to unlock the last piece of the puzzle that will turn them into the warriors that they must become."

Sailor Moon sucked in a breath. "You mean the swords, don't you?"

Shadow jerked at this whispered statement. "You mean they're here, in Elysian?"

Pluto shook her head. "The swords are not physically here, but the way to reach them is located here. The gods had to form a gateway to them from the mortal plane so that the true wielders of the Trinity would be able to reach them. And what safer place to put that gate than Elysian? Few people can enter this place so it would be kept from prying eyes."

Sailor Moon nodded. "It does make sense. It's also the last place that anyone would think to look for them. I'm sure Mama, Papa, and Edward would be shocked to know that they were so close after the gods took them away from them."

"The hardest things to find are those that are hidden right under your nose," Shadow agreed. "I know that for a fact considering I spent a little time here in Elysian a couple of years ago and had no idea that the missing part of my crystal was right below us the whole time. So what do we do now?"

Pluto looped an arm through each of theirs. "Now we wait." She cut off both women's protest. "I know you want to help them, but there is nothing you can do. This is something they have to accomplish for themselves."

---

"So you've just been hanging out in Elysian all of this time since that night? That's gotta suck!" Katie said to her older self. She had to admit that it was strange to be carrying on a conversation with the woman that she had been fighting against only a short time ago, but it felt easy to speak her now that she wasn't acting like a raving schizo.

Kat threw her head back and laughed, further shocking her younger counterpart. She hadn't believed that the woman was capable of laughter. "It has had its boring moments, for sure. I'm not used to sitting around and doing nothing. But it hasn't been all bad. I've just been treating it like a vacation that's been fifteen years overdue."

DJ, who had been walking behind them and talking to his younger self, leaned forward and stuck his dark head between their two light ones. "Don't let her fool you, Katie. She was fairly calm for about the first week or so, but she's been practically crawling the walls since then."

In front of the two women, Lex turned around from where he had been speaking to Alex and began walking backward as he snickered, "She's been crawling all right, but I don't think the walls are what, or should I say whom she's been crawling all over. I think I've developed cavities just from being surrounded by all of the sickening, sugary sweetness around me."

DJ just chuckled snidely while Kat snorted, "Puh-leeze! This coming from the guy who would never let poor Emma leave the bedroom if it weren't for the fact that you had to eat."

Lex stuck his tongue out at her. "You're not fooling me by acting like such a prude."

"Oh my god! I am not seriously hearing this!" Katie squeaked as she buried her burning face in her hands. Then she glared between her fingers at DJ and Alex, who were both chuckling. "Shut up you two!"

Kat rolled her eyes and then caught Katie's gaze, which was now identical to her own since the younger girl had powered down. "Don't pay any attention to him. I'm sure you're well aware by now that he got shortchanged when it came to brain cells. I also haven't ruled out the possibility that mom dropped him on his head when he was a baby."

Lex pouted. "Go ahead and make fun of me! But I know that you really love me. In fact, you love me so much that I bet you'll name your firstborn after me."

Kat stumbled in shock at his words and would have fallen if DJ hadn't reacted quickly and snagged her around the waist. He frowned as he held her steady. "Are you okay? You're shaking."

She swallowed back the nausea churning in her stomach and pasted a bright smile on her face. "I'm fine. I must have tripped on a tree root or something."

"Are you sure?" he insisted as he laid a hand on her forehead. "You're white as a sheet and clammy."

She waved him off with a careless hand. "Geez! A girl could feel flattered from getting compliments like that. There's nothing wrong with me."

Katie watched the loving interaction between the two with an enraptured expression. Seeing them together like this gave her hope that there was a chance for her and DJ to build a life together. She felt the weight of someone's eyes on her and looked up to find herself drowning in those sky blue eyes that she adored so much. Her DJ was gazing at her with just as much love and devotion as his future self was showing to her future self. After a moment she glanced away as she felt a flush creeping up her neck.

"Gag! Mush alert!" Alex and Lex groaned together and spun back around so that they wouldn't have to see the two happy couples.

"I so cannot wait to get back to Emma," Lex growled under his breath.

"I hear ya," Alex agreed. "I just hope she doesn't wake up while I'm gone. She'll be pissed to find out I snuck out of bed and left her sleeping."

Lex grinned. "She'll get over it. You know that she can never stay angry with you for long. Besides, this journey is almost over." Then he called back over his shoulder, "Hey lovebirds! Let's move it! We're almost there!"

"Almost where?" Katie said in a voice that was just short of a whine. "It wouldn't kill you guys to give us a little hint about why you're leading us off into the woods in the middle of the night."

DJ reached over to tug on her long blonde ponytail. "Just keep your britches on for a few more minutes, Little Miss Antsy. We'll be there soon."

Katie squealed in outrage and whirled to poke the older version of the prince she loved in the chest with a finger. "Hands off the hair, buddy! And don't be condescending to me! I think I asked a perfectly legitimate question, thank you very much!"

A low whistle slid past Kat's lips. "Uh, sweetie, I don't think I would be antagonizing her if I were you. I'm sure that with her little power up she packs even a bigger punch than I do, and we both know that I have gotten the better of you on more than one occasion over the years."

"I know I try not to get on her bad side," DJ muttered.

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Katie shrieked as she rounded on her boyfriend. Then she jerked her chin stubbornly. "You know what, never mind!"

She stomped over to where both Alex and Lex were watching the scene in amusement and threaded an arm through each of theirs. "Come on guys! Let's go find out what this big secret is and get it over with!"

DJ stared after her retreating back forlornly for a moment before shaking his head and muttering, "Damn, overemotional fairy!" and taking off after her and the two brunettes.

Kat arched a brow at DJ. "Is that what I am, an overemotional fairy?"

He chuckled and pulled her close for a quick hug. "Sometimes. But I wouldn't have you any other way."

She rolled her eyes. "You think you're such a sweet talker."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "And you love me for it. Now let's go after them before they get lost. Lex has a horrible sense of direction and I wouldn't put it past him to lead them the wrong way."

They hurried after the group and found them surprisingly still headed in the right direction.

Katie was jabbering animatedly to both of the Alex's in an attempt to ignore DJ, but as they continued further into the woods she became quieter as a sense of déjà vu began to come over her. Bits and pieces of the dream she'd had earlier began returning to her mind in vivid clarity.

She was about seven years old, sitting at the piano in the music room of the Elysian palace as she practiced a piece that Michelle had assigned her to learn, when she glanced out the large windows that overlooked the lawn to see Alex and DJ wandering off toward the distant trees. The two boys had told her earlier that they needed some "guy time" and for her to leave them alone, but she was curious as to where they were going so she followed them.

Once inside the woods there were no detailed paths, but she easily picked up the sounds of the two boys talking and used those as a beacon to locate them.

"Which way do we go now?" she heard Alex ask.

There was a pause, and DJ replied, "That way. That's the way I went before. It's not far from here."

She could see them now a sort distance ahead of her, but she froze as her foot stepped on a twig and it snapped loudly. She grinned sheepishly as both boys whirled around to look at her.

"Oh, great," DJ groaned. "Just what we need. What are you doing here, Tinkerbell? Didn't we tell you not to follow us?"

She shrugged. "Yes, but I saw you two head into the woods and I got curious. Our parents told us not to wander off."

He glared at her. "We're not wandering off. We're just exploring a bit. Anyway, this is Elysian. It's the safest place anyone could be. It's not like anything's going to hurt us."

She beamed an innocent smile. "True. So you won't mind if I tag along."

DJ moaned irritably. "Alex, would you tell your bratty sister to go away?"

"Aw, let her come. She's not hurting anything," Alex drawled.

"Whatever," DJ muttered.

"Yay!" she cheered. Then she asked, "Where are we going?"

"DJ found a cave near here," Alex told her. "He didn't get a chance to go inside before, so we decided to go check it out."

"Sounds like fun," she chirped.

"The cave…" Katie murmured as she came back to the present.

"What?" DJ and Alex asked together.

She stopped walking and looked at both of them intently. "I can't believe I forgot about that. Don't you guys remember? We came here for a visit when we were seven. It was right after the Black Moon Clan attack on Crystal Tokyo. You two snuck out here into the woods and I followed you. Then we went into that creepy cave that DJ had found."

DJ leaned close to Kat and whispered, "Do you know what she's talking about?"

"I don't have a clue," she whispered back. She glanced at Lex, who only shrugged.

But DJ and Alex had both frozen with confused expressions on their faces.

"I think I remember something," Alex muttered as he picked his brain.

The dark opening in the stone wall yawned before them. He peered inside curiously, but the feeling of his sister's cold fingers wrapped around his held him back from going inside.

"Uh, guys," Katie said quietly. "Don't you think it's kinda dark and creepy in there?"

"What's the matter?" DJ sneered. "Is daddy's little 'fairy princess' scared of the dark?"

She shot him a heated glare. "No I'm not! Let's go!"

He tightened his hand around hers. She was deathly afraid of the dark and he knew it, but she would never confess that to DJ. He gave her a silent look, pleading with her to go back to the palace, and she returned it with a look of defiance. He sighed and led her inside, never letting go of her hand.

Thankfully there was a glow that seemed to emanate from the rocks, keeping the cave from being completely dark. A short distance inside there were stairs leading down.

DJ looked at them with a smirk. "Shall we?"

They began descending the stone stairs that wound their way down in a spiral. It was darker down there, and it was impossible to see the bottom.

"Where do you think this goes?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," DJ replied. "But I hope it leads us to someplace cool. Maybe there's a hidden treasure or something."

"I don't like this," Katie whispered. "This doesn't feel right."

"Well go back to the palace then!" DJ snapped. "Nobody's making you stay here."

"Fine!" Katie retorted. "But I bet your dad will really mad when I tell him what you are doing."

She turned to start back up the stairs, and then paused as a loud rumbling sound roared over them.

And then the stairs fell out from under them.

"That damn cave!" Alex growled. "Yeah, I do remember it now."

DJ nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I do too," he mumbled as he thought back.

"Ouch," Katie complained as she stood and rubbed her bottom where she had landed. "That hurt. Where are we anyway?"

He rolled his eyes. "Where do you think we are, stupid? We only fell about six feet, so we're pretty much in the same place we were thirty seconds ago."

Hazel green eyes flashed furiously in the semi darkness. "Don't call me stupid, DJ! You're the one that's stupid. I was just as asking a question."

He rolled his eyes again. "And I answered it. You are such a blonde sometimes, Katie."

Alex raised a silencing hand, cutting off his sister's tirade. "Just save it, Katie. It's not worth it. Why do you have to pick on her so much, DJ? She hasn't done anything to you."

He shrugged. "She's just irritating. She thinks she can always get her way, and you make it easier for her by always sticking up for her."

"It's okay, Alex," Katie simpered sweetly. "He can't help it if he's nothing but a stuck up snob. I guess that what happens when you're a prince and a momma's boy."

"Why you little…" he growled, taking a threatening step toward her.

"Enough!" Alex yelled. "Both of you stop it. I'm tired of listening to you fight. Right now all I want to do is find a way out of here."

He glanced up the way they had come. The rock stairway had crumbled away. "Well we're not getting back that way."

"Hey guys," Katie called out. "There's a tunnel over here and I think I see a light coming from somewhere. Maybe this leads out."

They joined her and looked down the darkened tunnel. It was long and creepy looking, but there was a definite glimmer of light at the end.

"What have we got to lose? Let's check it out," he said, leading the other two into the tunnel.

They crept toward the light, surprised when they found themselves in a large chamber. Instead of cold stone walls, this room seemed to be carved out of solid white marble. A beautifully carved fountain of the same material sat in the center.

"Wow," they all breathed together.

"The fountain," DJ said excitedly. "I remember a fountain. It was white marble and had the symbols for the Earth, Moon, and Sun carved into it. We touched it. After that, everything went blank. The next thing I knew I was waking up in my room here."

DJ's brow had furrowed in thought. "I think they're onto something. There is something very familiar about all of this."

Kat shook her head. "Yeah, maybe. But why wouldn't we remember it?"

"Yeah," Lex agreed. "It's not like all three of us could come down with selective amnesia at the same time. That's too weird."

"Not if we stumbled across something that we weren't supposed to find," DJ said solemnly.

"Like what?" the three older counterparts asked.

"The swords," DJ, Katie, and Alex murmured together before they spun and began running.

DJ, Kat, and Lex stared at one another in confusion for a moment before they exclaimed, "Swords? What swords?" and took off after them. They finally caught up with them in the clearing where the cave opening lay before them.

Lex chuckled humorously. "Well it looks like they didn't need us to guide them anywhere. They knew exactly where they had to go."

DJ nodded. "It does look that way. I guess this is where we leave them."

Katie's head jerked around. "You mean you guys aren't coming with us?"

Kat shook her head sadly. "We can't. You're now in the process of completely rewriting our pasts and we can't be involved. We promised Trista that we would see you here and then return to our time. That's as much as we are allowed to do. The rest of it is up to you. We weren't even supposed to let you see us, but that didn't exactly happen."

Alex snickered. "Isn't that the way that our luck usually goes?"

"Hey! Don't jinx us!" Katie and DJ groaned together, making the older visitors laugh.

Then DJ stepped toward his future self. The good manners instilled in him by his parents had him holding out his hand to him as he said, "Thanks for everything. All of it, not just tonight. I admit that I was a little disturbed at first when I found out that you had been slinking around in the past with Katie, but you really helped her through a difficult time and I'm grateful for that."

DJ gripped the offered hand firmly. "Hey, it was my pleasure. I did for selfish reasons as much as anything else. My life hasn't been exactly pretty, so I jumped at the chance to change it." Then he dropped his voice where no one would hear. "Take care of her. You'll never find another one like her, no matter how hard you try."

"I know," DJ replied just as softly.

Nearby, Lex shared a knuckle pound with his younger self. "Good luck, man. And do me a favor and try to stay alive, okay?"

Alex tossed his head, sweeping the golden brown hair from his eyes. "Hey! Remember who you're talking to. I've got no plans for dying, that's for sure."

Kat stared at her former self for a moment and was irritated to feel tears stinging her eyes. Geez! Were her pregnancy hormones starting to kick in already? To cover up the fact that she was about to lose it, she grabbed the younger girl up into an almost violently crushing hug.

Taken off guard, Katie's first reaction was to fight back. She and the woman before her had been involved in a few heated encounters after all. But when she heard Kat's quiet voice say in her ear, "Be strong. I know you can do this…for us. You are now living our life for both of us. Make it a good one," she stamped down the urge to strike out at her.

Instead she returned the embrace and whispered in a shaky voice, "I'm going to try my best. I have a lot to live for."

'You have no idea,' Kat thought to herself as she released Katie and stepped back, fighting the urge to place a hand over her wildly jumping stomach. A tremulous smile appeared on her face. "I guess we better go guys and let these three get to work then. Good luck, everyone."

She, DJ, and Alex walked a short distance away where DJ pulled out the time key and activated it. Just before the pink light swallowed them up completely, she took one last look at their past selves. Alex was waving cheerfully while Katie was clinging tightly to DJ's hand. They looked so young and strong. In that moment she knew that they would be able to pull this off. Discord would be destroyed and her life would change. She would have her brother, her lover…and their children.

(a/n DJ, Kat, and Lex now revert back to normal names)

Her stomach roiled violently as she was swallowed up by the time void. She stumbled a few seconds later as her feet hit solid ground. She vaguely realized that they had returned to Elysian of their time and were standing in the large foyer. She heard Rini and Helios call out greetings as well as Emma's enthusiastic squeal of delight, but it was all lost as a horrible wave of sickness slammed into her.

She shoved her way past DJ and Alex and darted up the stairs, praying that she would make it in time before she embarrassed herself in front of everyone. She charged into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and made it to the toilet just in time for her stomach to revolt.

Cold sweat broke out all over her body, running down her face to mix with her tears and her head spun dizzily as she clung to the porcelain so hard that it was amazing that it didn't break.

As the worst of the feeling passed the sobs began bubbling in her throat. "Stupid, stupid, stupid me! The whole freaking world is falling apart and I have to pick now to get myself knocked up! I am such an idiot!"

She closed her eyes wearily, but they popped back open a second later when she felt a ripple of shock waver through the air. She looked up through blurry, tear filled eyes to find DJ standing in the doorway staring at her with a blank look on his face. Damn! She'd thought she'd locked the door.

She groaned and banged her forehead against the toilet seat. This was not the way that she had planned for him to find out. She had envisioned something far more romantic than him finding her crying while she puked her guts out. She'd pictured them maybe going for a moonlit walk around the lake. They would find a quiet spot to sit, and when the moment felt right she would tell him he was going to be a daddy. Well that was shot now!

"Go away!" she moaned as more tears flooded her eyes. That didn't sit too well with her temperamental stomach and she heaved over the bowl again. She hoped that he had listened to her and left. This had to be one of the worst moments of her life, and she didn't want an audience.

Then she heard soft footsteps on the tile floor and the sound of the faucet turning on. A few seconds later fingers lifted her damp, sweaty ponytail from the back of her neck and replaced it with a cool rag. She whimpered at the welcome sensation and felt relief as the nausea retreated.

Those sure fingers stroked her wet bangs back from her forehead as his voice asked quietly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Now that the world had stopped spinning around her, she turned her head to look at him. "I was going to tonight. I just thought it was best to wait until we got back. But this is not what I had planned." She cringed a little as his expression turned stern. "Are you mad at me?"

He blew out a pent up breath. "A little bit. You've been out tonight, running through the woods and jumping from trees like a wild woman. And you got knocked to the ground pretty hard by your past self. That's not exactly ideal activities for a pregnant woman to be doing."

She pushed his hands away gently as she staggered to her feet and flushed the toilet. She felt him watching her as she stumbled to the sink and grabbed up her toothbrush and toothpaste. "That's why I didn't say anything before. I knew you would go into Mr. Protective mode. I'm not made of glass, DJ. I won't break that easily."

He remained silent and stood there watching her as she tackled her teeth, ridding her mouth of that horrible taste. For good measure she took a slug of mouthwash and rinsed as well. As she spat it out and straightened up she glared at him in the mirror. "What?"

He shook his head. "How long have you known? You said that you wanted to wait until we got back from the past, but we just found out we were going there today. And I have a feeling that you've known about this a bit longer than that."

She avoided his eyes as she wet another rag. "I started suspecting something a few weeks ago."

He growled behind her. "And you didn't tell me then?"

"Because I wasn't sure!" she shrieked. "Once I left home and I didn't have Amy to go to anymore I went off of my birth control. It didn't matter anyway because I wasn't sleeping with anyone. The only reason I was on it in the first place was for cramps and to regulate my cycle because it's always been out of whack. When we got here and started sleeping together the thought never crossed my mind. Then when I missed my period I didn't think anything of it because that was normal for me. It wasn't until I started getting sick that I started suspecting."

"But that still doesn't tell me why you didn't say anything then," he insisted.

She whirled to face him; fresh tears stinging her eyes as she screamed, "It was because I thought our baby wasn't going to get a chance to live! I thought that there was no reason to get happy about this if our baby was just going to disappear once time settled down."

He cocked his head to the side, studying her expression intently. "But you are happy about this."

She threw the rag at his head. "Of course I am, you ass! I love you and I love our daughter! And nobody can take that away from me!"

He started a little at her words as he caught the rag. "How do you know it's a girl?"

She wilted against the vanity behind her as all of her strength left her, making her feel wiped out. "I talked to Trista earlier about it and she told me. I was upset because I thought this baby wasn't supposed to exist. But she assured me that this baby is real and it's ours and that she will be moved back to the proper timeline with us when the time comes."

"I see," he said slowly as he walked toward her. He boosted her up so that she was sitting on the bathroom counter and began gently wiping her face. "What else did she have to say?"

As she sat there letting him tend to her, the whole story tumbled out. He chuckled at times, especially at the thought of his sister becoming a mother and Alex and Emma's overactive fertility. But emotion burned the brightest in his eyes when he heard what Trista had to say about their future.

He set the rag aside and put both of his hands on her still flat stomach. "So this little one is just one of four that we'll have, huh?"

Katie gave him a hesitant smile. "That's what Trista said. So how do you feel about this, dad?"

He swept her up into his arms, bridal style. "Like I'm on top of the world. Now let's get you and our little girl into bed. You two have had an exciting night."

She squirmed in his arms. "You don't have to carry me. I can walk, you know."

He gave her a placating smile. "I know. But you've made me so happy that I feel this overwhelming need to cater to your every need."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired right now that I don't mind. But don't get used to this. I'm a big girl now."

He kissed her forehead. "Maybe so, but you're still my princess and now the mother of my child. And I'm going to make sure that both of you are taken care of."

She giggled softly. "Your 'I wanna be a doctor' side is showing again."

"Get used to it," he quipped as he carried her from the bathroom.

They had just reached their bedroom door when a voice called out from a door down the hall. "You are still going to name her after me, right? She can be an Alexandra."

Katie's head popped up and she glared at the twinkling sapphire eyes of her brother that were peeking at her through the crack in his bedroom door. "You were eavesdropping on us?"

He opened the door farther to face her wrath. "I wasn't eavesdropping exactly. I got worried about you when you rushed off and followed. It's not my fault the bathroom door was left open after DJ barged in."

Emma pushed her way in front of him and began shooing him back into their room. "Okay, sweetie! That's enough out of you. I think it's time we let the new soon to be parents have some alone time."

"Ha! Alone time is what got them into this situation in the first place!" Alex crowed.

"I'm going to murder you!" Katie growled menacingly.

Emma gave Alex a final push and then turned toward Katie and DJ with a wide smile. "You guys have a good night! And congratulations!" Then she snapped the door closed, cutting off Alex's sputtering protests.

DJ shook his head and carried Katie into their room, where he placed her gently on the side of the bed. Then, despite her insistence that she could dress herself, he helped her into a tank top and a pair of shorts before tucking her into bed and climbing in beside her. He held her in the protective circle of his arms as her breathing became the deep, steady rhythm of sleep.

He was close to dozing off himself when he heard the lightest of knocks on the bedroom door. He slid slowly from the bed, being careful to not disturb Katie, and hurried to answer it. He blinked in surprise to find Rini there.

Her pink hair was down to hang in tangled curls and waves that went past her hips and her wide, maroon eyes looked at him uncertainly as she scuffed a foot against the carpet. Then suddenly she went up on her tiptoes to hug him tightly as she whispered, "I'm happy for you, little brother." She kissed his cheek.

After a stunned moment, DJ grinned and patted the top of her head. "Who's calling who little? I'm 6'2" and you barely crack 5'7"."

She scowled at him. "Size doesn't matter. I may not be much older than you, but I'm still your big sister. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you congrats and all. And by the way, if you're planning on naming my niece after a sibling, you better name her after me and not that goofball Alex."

His smile grew. "Ah! I was wondering how you found out my news. I guess Alex couldn't wait to blab. Well Rini, I can assure you that if Kat and I decide to name the baby either Serena or Serenity it will be in honor of both you and mom, okay."

Tears brightened Rini's eyes and she hugged him again, this time around the waist, and said, "Okay." Then she pulled back and waved a hand at him. "All right! That's enough sibling bonding for now. Get back to your baby momma."

"Good night," he said with a light laugh as he retreated back into the room and climbed back into bed.

Katie stirred as he was settling down and murmured, "We are going to have a hard time picking out a name, you know. There are so many choices."

"Ah! You heard that, huh?" he replied as he took her back in his arms. "Well, I wouldn't stress about it too much. We'll figure it out."

"Mm hmm…" she barely breathed as she slipped back into sleep.

DJ reached down and found one of her hands resting protectively on her belly. He laced his fingers with hers and was soon fast asleep beside her as they both touched the spot where their baby rested.

---

DJ, Katie, and Alex stared at the spot where their future selves had just disappeared for several moments. Then they all turned warily toward the cave.

Katie shivered violently. "Okay, now that I'm starting to remember this place it seems ten times creepier than it did before. At least last time it was daylight."

DJ squeezed her hand lightly. "It'll be okay. If I remember correctly it's not pitch dark inside there."

"It'll be dark enough," she grumbled.

Alex took her other hand. "Don't spaz out on us, sis. We're both right here with you and we won't let any creepy crawlies get you."

She shot him a scathing look. "Thanks a lot, asshole!"

DJ heaved a sigh. "Well we're not going to find out anything by standing around. Let's go."

The three of them crept cautiously into the cave to find it exactly the same as they had before. The walls glowed softly, showing that the chamber wasn't very large, and then there was the stairway leading down.

DJ looked down the hole, seeing where the stairs ended a few feet down where they had caved in the last time they were there. "Looks like we're going to have to jump for it."

Katie pulled back a step, shaking her head as she eyed the gaping black hole. "Unh unh! No way! I am not jumping down there where I can't see. There's no telling what's down there. There could be rats, spiders, and god only knows what else."

"Kat," DJ drawled in his most persuasive sounding voice. "This is Elysian. It's not exactly a hotbed for rodents and insects."

Normally that tone would have melted her on the spot, but not this time. "I mean it! I am not jumping down there if I can't see where I'm landing. We could break our necks!"

"Both of you knock it off! I have a solution," Alex interjected smoothly. He let go of Katie's hand, ignoring her whimpered protest, and inched his way to the edge of the pit. Then he cupped his hands together and concentrated until a small ball of solar fire that resembled a tiny sun sat in his palms. He released it and it floated down into the pit until it reached the bottom. It continued to burn and sent dim light up the shaft.

He dusted his hands together and turned with a grin. "Is that better?"

Katie shot him a death glare. "I didn't know you could do that! Do you mean we spent all of that time stumbling through the woods in the dark and you could have conjured us up a light? You suck!"

He shook his head. "Nuh uh! It wouldn't work on the shadows. I tried. I wasn't even sure if it would work this time. I've only done it once before and that was by accident. It was months ago when we were back home. I was trying to sneak in the house one night after going out and it was dark. I found myself wishing that I had a light and then there it was. I almost set fire to the living room curtains."

DJ chuckled. "That sounds more like something Jayden would do. Well, we can see now at least. So what do you guys say, are you ready?"

The twins nodded and one by one they all dropped down the destroyed stairway. Before them lay the corridor that would lead them to the marble chamber with the fountain. A soft light shown from the end, as if beckoning to them.

Alex extinguished his solar light and they made their way down the corridor, each of them wondering if this trip would actually end up any different than their last one here.

They emerged into the chamber…and there it was, sitting exactly as it had when they had been there nine years before. The ornate fountain looked as if it had been carved out of a solid piece of white marble. Ancient looking symbols were etched all over it, but none were more prominent than the symbols for the sun, moon, and earth that were imbedded in the ledge that surrounded the rim.

As if in a daze, they each went to symbol that corresponded with their powers and held a hand over it. Then they looked to each other for reassurance.

"If I wake up back in bed without anything happening I'm going to be pissed," Alex declared.

"You and me both," Katie agreed.

"I think it will be different this time," DJ told them softly. "Are we ready? On three."

"1…2…3!"

They each touched a symbol, which activated the bracelets they wore and triggered their god powers. Their eyes swirled with power as their insignias appeared on their foreheads.

And then there was a bright flash of light.

For a moment they felt like they were freefalling through the air. Then they hit solid ground that made them stumble. After taking a second to get their bearings, they took in their surroundings in awe.

"Whoa!" Alex breathed. "Where the hell are we?"

They were still standing beside the fountain, but now they appeared to be standing in a beautiful courtyard rather than a cave. The sky above then was a soft blue and the sun shown down brightly on the flowers, bushes, trees, and the large meadows of emerald grass. A white, temple looking building stood a short distance away.

DJ shook his head. "I have no idea where we are. But I don't think it's naturally formed. It looks like someone created this place."

Katie giggled as she watched two bunnies chase each other across one of the paths through the flowers. "Maybe we're on Mount Olympus."

Alex had whipped out his mini-computer and was pressing buttons frantically. "I can't get it to turn on. Something's funny here."

DJ, always the level headed one, said calmly. "Let's take a look around. Maybe then we can figure out where we are."

"You are exactly where you are supposed to be," a male voice suddenly spoke up from out of nowhere.

"Who's there?" the three of them exclaimed together and quickly moved so that they were standing back to back, tense and alert for any possible danger.

There was a rustling sound, and then a cat came around from behind a bush. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. You may relax. You have nothing to fear from me."

Katie gasped. "He looks just like Nebula, Luna, and Artemis!"

Indeed he did. His fur was a deep charcoal gray and a bright golden crescent moon sat prominently above his eyes.

The feline inclined his head to them. "You three must be the chosen ones of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo. You have traveled a long road to get here, and I welcome you. This is the resting place of The Galactic Trinity. I have been its guardian for many centuries now. My name is Orion."

---

A/N Ooo…Orion! You guys remember him being mentioned I hope. Artemis's lost brother and Nebula's ex has been found! There may be some fur flying before long. And what about Future Kat and DJ? Were they not just too sweet for words! So anyway, the swords are about to be claimed by their new wielders and that's going to open up a whole new world. I really want to know what you guys thought of this, so be the dears that I know you are and drop me those reviews. They are what keep me writing. Catch ya next update! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~