A/N I know, long time no update! Those of you that are reading Rekindled already know that I have been suffering from a horrible case of writer's block lately, and I have been doing everything that I can to try to get my muse flowing again. I think I'm over the worse of it though, so to make it up I have a nice long update for you. Now, just let me get my hugs out of the way and we can move on. BIG HUGS TO:

Seredhiel05

little princess of mercury

Atem's Sister Atea

saveme57

Ms. Fairweather

KageNoNeko

nickybluejess

Wonderwomanbatmanfan

MeganLeBlanc

Chibi Kitt

sabina21

GoldenDragon326

CharmedSerenity3

perfect beauty

SailorMercuryROCKS

TheMoonPrincess110

Thank you so much for all of the great reviews, you guys. Now I'll stop wasting your time and let you get on with it.

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 36

Home Sweet Home

Time was a funny thing. Sometimes it seemed to fly by so quickly that if a person took a quick microsecond to blink they would miss a lot. And then sometimes it seemed to slow to a crawl, making each minute feel as long as an hour.

That was the way that Katie felt as she knelt down and opened the bottom drawer of the dresser in the bedroom that she had been sharing with her brother since the end of January. It felt like it had been so long since the first night that she had fallen asleep in this room, but in reality it had only been a little over three months, not a very long time at all.

"You know," she said, directing her words to the black haired young man who was currently lounging on her bed. "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we'll be home at this time tomorrow. It feels like we've been here forever."

DJ looked up from the manga he had swiped from Alex's stash. "Yeah, it does seem like we've been here a lot longer than we have. Probably because we've had so much happen in such a short time."

"I suppose," she mumbled as she began removing the clothes from the drawer and packing them into the black duffel bag beside her. Then she giggled. "I guess we've been here long enough for me to build an entirely new wardrobe though. When we came here I had one backpack with a spare pair of jeans, a couple of shirts, a few undergarments, and a pair of sweats. Now I'm returning home with a duffel bag full."

DJ snorted. "That's because Jess is a demon shopoholic. You've probably spent more time trolling the mall with her in the past three months than you ever have with your mom back home."

"You're probably right," she laughed as she got up from the floor and walked to the closet. "I usually managed to weasel my way out of shopping trips with mom before, but she probably won't let me do that anymore now that I've spent so much time indulging her here in the past." She pulled two plastic hanging bags from the closet.

"Aren't you taking everything with you?" he asked, eying the number of hangers still on the rack.

She shrugged. "No reason to. They're just school uniforms, and I won't need them at home. I thought I'd ask Michelle if maybe she knew of a girl at school who could use them. They haven't been worn that much, so they're like new. I'd rather somebody get some use out of them instead of them collecting dust in my closet. Why? Are you taking yours?"

He shook his head. "No. But I'm leaving them behind for a more selfish reason. As much as I can't wait to get home, a part of me is hoping that by some chance we'll be able to come back and finish the last few weeks of school here. I figured why lug them home just to have to bring them back. This way they will be here waiting, just on the off chance that we come back."

Katie draped the garment bags that contained her black dress with the rhinestone jacket from Valentine's Day and her precious mint green prom dress carefully over her packed bag before turning to look seriously at her boyfriend. "Do you really think that there is a chance for us to be able to come back?"

He lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't see any reason why not. If we are successful in getting rid of Discord I don't think our parents would deny us this one small request. Besides, it's not like we're asking to come back here forever. And once school is over we would be returning home for good."

"That's true," she agreed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She twisted her fingers together nervously in her lap before she asked in a whisper, "So do you think we can do this?"

He sat up straight and reached for her face. He placed gentle fingers under her chin and lifted it so that her mossy hazel eyes would meet his. He smiled as he used his thumb to tug her bottom lip free from the tiny white teeth holding it prisoner. "Of course I think we can. We've worked hard to get to where we are. Sure, it hasn't been easy, but I think we've grown even stronger because of the problems we've had to face. You, Alex, and I make a good team, and we've got my sister and the others backing us up. Discord is finished. We just have to keep our hope for that alive."

Katie sighed heavily, but she also rolled her eyes playfully. "It's amazing how much you look like your dad and yet sound so much like your mom sometimes. That sounded eerily like a Neo Queen Serenity pep talk."

He grinned his lopsided grin at her. "What can I say? I got my dad's dark good looks and his suave, debonair personality and a healthy dose of my mom's cheerful optimism. Not a bad combination in my opinion."

A strangled shriek of laughter caught in Katie's throat. "Oh yes, you just think that you are smoother than silk, don't you?"

"I got you, didn't I?" he teased back. "And at one time I thought that would be an impossible feat to accomplish."

A flash of pain raced across her eyes at his words and she jerked her chin away from his hand. She pulled one leg up and wrapped her arms around her bent knee as she stared at the floor. After a few moments she whispered, "I'm almost too scared to go home. I was such a bitch to everyone before I left. Do you know that I even pushed my mom and dad away when they tried to hug me goodbye? I didn't do it to be mean. It just happened, like I didn't have any control over my reactions. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't want me back after that. I took all of their love and affection for me and threw it in their faces."

DJ felt his heart break for her as he saw a shiny tear fall from her eye to leave a glistening trail down her cheek. In a move almost too quick for human eyes, he plucked her up and sat her in his lap so that he could wrap his arms tightly around her.

"Baby, don't cry," he breathed against her hair as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You weren't yourself when we left home, and your parents know that. But no matter what, I know that they love you. And I bet they'll be so ecstatic when they see how far you've come in overcoming what Discord did to you that it will probably take a crowbar to pry them from you."

Her tears were hot against the skin of his neck, but a small laugh puffed past her lips as her arms came up to encircle his neck. "You're right. I'm being silly, aren't I?"

"No more than usual," he quipped back without missing a beat.

"Knock, knock!" Jess said as she appeared in the open bedroom doorway. After a few seconds her smile faded as she took in the scene on the bed. Then her expression turned worried. "Is something wrong?"

Katie lifted her head and shook it as she swiped at her wet eyes. "No. I was just having a stupid emotional blonde moment."

Jess's lips quirked up in a knowing smile. "I feel you. I'm quite prone to those myself. I was just coming to let you guys know that dinner will be ready soon. Have you gotten everything packed?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I think so, except for the things I'll need for tonight and tomorrow morning. But that can go in my backpack. Other than that I'm ready to go."

"Okie dokie then!" Jess chirped. "I'll see you guys in few. Drew pulled out all the stops tonight, so we have a meal that will be out of this world coming our way."

"Hey, Jess!" Katie called after her mother's past self before she could leave. "Can I ask you something?"

Jess turned back toward her. "Ooo, sounds serious. But sure, lay it on me."

Katie fidgeted nervously for a moment before asking quietly, "Did you ever say or do anything to your parents that you felt completely miserable about later and wish that you could take back?"

A flurry of emotions played across Jess's face, making Katie instantly regret her question. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you…"

"No. It's okay," Jess interrupted her. "It just took me by surprise. That's all. But to answer your question, yes, there are a lot of things I regret saying and doing in my past, especially where my parents are concerned."

Katie's eyes widened at the impassioned declaration. "Really?"

Jess's head jerked in a nod. "Oh yeah! Don't get me wrong, I had a great childhood, but it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows. You know what my personality is like, and neither one of my parents were pushovers either. So with the three of us living under one roof it was inevitable that sparks would fly sometimes. Now that I think back on it, I could be a nasty little snot of a kid when I wanted to be. And don't even get me started on my teen years. There are definitely some things there that I wish there was a redo button for. Of course, on top of that is the fact that I wasn't exactly your average normal girl. But there were several blow-ups with my parents where I let my mouth overload my brain and I said some things that I never should have."

"But they always forgave you for it, didn't they?" Katie asked hesitantly.

Jess sighed and moved to sit on the foot of the bed. "Yeah, they did. I used to wonder why they did though. I could be a major bitch at times. Like this one time, it was the summer after I had graduated high school. We had come here for a visit just before I was scheduled to start classes at UCLA. When we got back home I said something to my parents about wanting to trade in the car they had gotten me for my birthday for something a little sportier. There was nothing wrong with the car that I had, but I was on an ego trip. I thought that since I was about to become a big college student that I needed something better than my little black Honda hatchback."

DJ snickered. "I bet that went over really well with them."

"You have no idea," Jess replied with an eye roll. "They put their foot down and told me make do with what I had and that I should count myself lucky that I even had a car because a lot of college students, especially sixteen year old college students, didn't even own cars. Well, I lost my temper and yelled at them. At one point I even accused them of not loving me at all. After that I stomped up to the attic that I had converted into a studio and locked myself in. I barely spoke to them for three days. I finally got over it and came out of hiding. I knew that they were right anyway. That was one thing that I could say about them, just because we had money didn't mean that they gave me everything that I wanted. I hate to think of what a selfish person I might have grown into if they had. I was luckier than most though. I went to a good school. I had my martial arts and gymnastics classes. And, even though they were both scholars, my parents supported me in my art. The biggest thing was that they loved me unconditionally and always forgave me for my temper tantrums. When I started talking to them again they just moved on like nothing had ever happened."

She looked away then, staring out the window with dark blue eyes that shimmered with unshed tears. "I've always been grateful that I snapped out of my funk when I did and that they didn't hold it against me. They died just a few days later, and I'm so glad that our last few days together were happy instead of strained. I would probably be miserable if I had been on bad terms with them when they died."

"So you're saying that parents always forgive their kids, even when they have acted badly enough that they don't deserve forgiveness?" Katie's lips trembled as she asked.

Jess looked at her again with one blonde brow arched. "I would say that everyone deserves forgiveness, but that's not entirely true. I believe that everyone who is truly sorry for the things that they have done deserve to be forgiven. Of course that doesn't include youma, guardians, sentinels, or evil entities who are bent on destroying the world."

The three of them shared a laugh over that.

Then Jess stood up again. "I guess my point is, and this is just a theory since I can't speak for all parents and I am not technically a parent yet, that for the most part parents will always forgive their children for their mistakes. There are some exceptions of course, such as the fact that some people just don't have the parenting instinct and might be better off never having kids. To be honest, I had never really thought much about becoming a mother until I met you. Until that point the concept of parental love was all Greek to me. But now I understand it better and it's even helped me see my parents in a different light. When you love your child you are willing to do anything to keep them happy, healthy, and safe, even if it means giving up your own life. I see things much clearer now. Do you know why my family moved to California instead of staying here?"

Katie shrugged. "Grandpa got that big promotion and you had to move?"

Jess shook her head. "That's what I used to think. And I was always a little resentful about that, thinking that we were uprooted and moved just because of his job. But now I can look at it from a different perspective and I know that they did it to keep me safe. We used to live not far from here, just a few miles away, and I had started Kindergarten right here in Azabu. But by the time I got into school I already had a reputation for being…different. Parents didn't want their children around me because I was that odd girl in the neighborhood that talked to plants, who would sit outside at night for hours on end staring up at the moon, and who always seemed to have strange things happen around her. Legally they couldn't deny my right to attend school, but that didn't mean that anyone had to be nice to me. From day one everyone shunned me. Kids teased me and repeated the things that they'd heard their parents say about me. Even the teacher singled me out, giving me a desk in a corner, away from the others. I was miserable and I hated it, but I tried to keep a stiff upper lip. Dawn offered to home school me, but my parents thought that being with other kids my age would be good for me…until the day a second grade bully came after me on the playground and I decided that I'd had enough."

"What did you do?" Katie whispered, eyes wide.

"I don't really remember," Jess mused, tapping her chin with a finger. "I just remember that asshole pushing me, so I turned around and pushed him back, hard. He fell on the ground and then my vision turned blue. I guess my eyes must have started glowing or something, because he called me a freak and then ran off. Of course he ran straight to a teacher and told her that I had attacked him, and since he had skinned his elbow when he fell and I didn't have a scratch on me, they believed him and called my parents in to tell them that I had been fighting."

DJ snorted. "Yeah right! Like anyone sane should believe that a five-year-old girl would just randomly attack an older, larger boy. That's crazy!"

"Well these people were just looking for an excuse to get rid of me," Jess drawled. "The story spread like wildfire and parents began complaining. Some of them even went so far as to call my parents and tell them that they should lock me away in a mental asylum before I went schizophrenic on them and killed them in their sleep. About that time my dad got the job offer in California and decided that moving us away was the best thing to do. And it really was. We got a fresh start where nobody knew the stories and rumors about me. I started at a new school, and with Dawn's help I began being able to keep my…differences…hidden a bit better. I slipped up from time to time, and there were some people who still thought I was a whack job, but all in all I had a much better life, even if I didn't appreciate it at the time."

She paused for a moment to reach out and tug gently on her future daughter's silky, light blonde ponytail, ignoring Katie's squealed "Hey!" Then she huffed a quiet laugh. "So if you're worried about something that you said or did before you left home, don't be. Unless I've turned into a completely cast iron bitch between now and in the future, I can't imagine myself holding it against you. And if my future self has a problem with things, I'll be there to knock her down a peg or two."

Katie giggled. "Now that would be an interesting thing to see. I'd almost be willing to pay money to see that."

"Very funny!" Jess scoffed good-naturedly. "And now that I've gotten my whole Dr. Laura spiel out of the way, I'm heading back toward the kitchen. I'll catch you guys in a few." Then she breezed out the door.

But she had barely taken two steps into the hall before she found herself caught up in a pair of warm, strong arms. She barely got her bearings together before a husky voice whispered, "Have I told you today how much I love you?" Then a swift, but still highly intoxicating kiss was pressed to her lips.

She blinked hard a couple of times and then looked up into those twinkling hazel eyes that she adored so much. Muffling a giggle, she whispered back, "What was that for?"

Andrew tucked a curl that had come loose from her braid behind her ear. "For just being you. That was a very sweet thing you did, reassuring Katie like that. I know that there are some parts of your childhood that you aren't comfortable talking about. But if she had any fears about going home, I'm sure you just alleviated them."

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Damn those nosy Furuhata genetics! You just couldn't help eavesdropping, could you?"

He smiled smugly. "I didn't have to." Then he tapped his temple. "I got the gist of most of it without setting a foot out of the kitchen. I don't know if you've noticed, but the connection between us has been growing stronger and stronger ever since you started expanding your powers. I've been getting random thoughts and feelings from you all week, and everyday it gets a little clearer."

'Great!' Jess thought to herself. 'I'm going to have to watch what I think from now on. The next thing you know we'll be carrying on full-blown silent conversations just like almost everyone else we know does. Creepy!'

'Who says that we can't already?' Andrew's voice echoed in her head.

She glared at him in silence for several seconds. Then he began chuckling. "Wow! I didn't even know you knew half of those words. I always knew that you were a bit of a potty mouth, but some of those things you just thought would make the most profane sailor's ears bleed."

"You'll be lucky if I don't make you bleed!" she growled. "Just because the connection is there doesn't mean that you have to stay tapped into it all of the time. Even Serena and Darien don't do that, and they're the most sickeningly sweet couple we know. There is a little thing called invasion of privacy you know."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay! Okay! You're right. I was just experimenting with it. But it does tickle me pink to know that the bond has gotten strong enough for us to use at anytime, instead of just in tense situations."

"Ooo! I'll tickle you all right! But you'll be black and blue instead of pink when I get done with you!" she squealed, lunging for him.

Andrew managed to dodge her and ran down the hallway toward the kitchen, laughing as she gave chase.

Back inside the bedroom, Katie was muffling a laugh behind her hand, having heard the whole scene between her parents' past selves. "They're never going to grow up, are they?" she gasped to DJ once their footsteps had retreated.

He shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. But I can say the same thing about my parents. Serena and Darien act so much like mom and dad sometimes that I forget for a minute that I'm not home. Can you just imagine how crazy it's going to be once we have everybody from both times together?"

She nodded. "It's going to be a madhouse. I'm looking forward to going back home now though. It'll be nice to see everyone and be back on our own turf again."

"I still can't believe this," Serena said as she closed the book that she had been diligently trying to study for the past half hour. "We're going to the future in the morning…the future!"

"I don't see what you're getting so hyped up about, Meatball Head. It's not like you've never been there before," Rini grumbled as she came into the living room from the kitchen.

Serena stuck her tongue out at her. "But this is different. This time we won't be going to an empty city. It will be alive and full of people. And this time my future self won't be dead to the world inside a giant crystal. I'll be able to meet her face to face!"

Rini grimaced. "Oh joy! Two featherbrained Meatball Heads together in the same place. I can't wait!"

Serena scowled. "How can you say that? I thought you loved your mom."

Maroon eyes rolled at her. "I do. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't grate on my nerves sometimes. She is my mother, and I love her dearly, but she can still be a giant space cadet sometimes, just like you. Sometimes it makes me wonder how in the world she has managed to be queen of the Earth for as long as she has."

"Probably because she has a good king beside her," Darien chuckled from his favorite armchair as he looked up from some patient notes that he had been going over. "Think about it. Your mother is the one that married into the Earth's royal family. If it weren't for that she would only be queen of the moon."

"Ha ha!" Serena spat acidly. "Keep it up, Darien Shields, and I might just decide that you can have your precious planet all to yourself. I don't have an overwhelming urge to be queen, after all. But maybe I can resurrect Beryl for you one more time. I'm sure she would love to take my place."

"Hey! Those are fighting words," he growled back, but his dark blue eyes twinkled with humor. "Besides, I can't picture you sitting quietly over to the side and watching that witch put the moves on me. You'd kill her again in five minutes, tops."

She smiled impishly. "Not if you made me mad enough to want to see you suffer. And can't imagine a more painful torture for a man than to see him trapped in a relationship with that, and I use this term loosely, woman. Just ask Talon about it. I swear the man visibly shudders every time the subject comes up."

Darien shrugged. "I'm not too concerned about it. You're full of nothing but empty threats anyway. I'm too adorable for you to stay mad at for very long, and I know it."

"Oh yes, you are just too adorable for words," Serena cooed as she batted her eyelashes at him playfully and crawled over to him from where she had been sitting on the floor at the coffee table. Getting up on her knees, she leaned forward and kissed him.

Rini choked out a gagging sound. "Oh, for the love of… Could you at least wait until I'm not around before you start that crap? I really wish that somebody would invent eye bleach, because I could definitely use it to erase all of the disturbing images that you two have subjected me to my whole life."

"No one said that you have to watch," Serena replied in an innocent voice with a bright smile.

"Kinda hard to miss it when you practically shove it in my face," Rini grumbled. Then she growled as Serena slipped up onto Darien's lap, pushing his notes to the floor in the process, "That's it! I'm outta here! I'm going to Elysian. At least things are normal there."

She scrunched her eyes closed and disappeared a few seconds later with a tiny pop.

"We can clear a room, can't we?" Serena sighed as she laid her head on Darien's shoulder.

He chuckled in response. "That we can."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why she gets so bent out of shape just because we show a little affection toward each other. Somebody needs to video tape the way she acts when she's around Helios and show it to her. That would shut her up really quick."

An angry sound rumbled in Darien's throat.

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "Oh, don't start! I would have thought that you would have gotten over this overprotectiveness by now. I swear that you are just as bad as my dad sometimes. Rini's not a little girl anymore, and she hasn't been one for quite some time now."

"I know that," he muttered reluctantly. "And I know that it's only natural for her to grow up and to fall in love. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if Helios is truly the right one for her. Don't get me wrong; I don't doubt his feelings for her. A person would have to be amazingly dense to not see that he cares for her and that she is crazy about him. But I worry sometimes. She's been dead gone on the guy since she was just a little girl and has never even tried dating anyone else. Now she's talking about getting engaged next month. How does she know that she's making the best choice for her? There could be someone that's an even better match for her out there somewhere."

Serena looped her arms around his neck. "Oh sweetie, you are so cute when you get worried. But I wouldn't be too concerned about the Rini-Helios situation. So she hasn't dated anybody else, big deal. Do you know how many guys I dated before you? None."

He arched a brow at her. "That's not true. Didn't you go out with Melvin one time?"

"I did not!" she screeched. "He just sort of tagged along while I was spying on you and Raye." She blushed and slapped her hands to her cheeks when she realized what she had said out loud.

Darien laughed. "So you were jealous even back then, huh?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No I wasn't! I was just looking out for Raye's best interests. Remember, back then I thought you were the world's biggest jerk and I had absolutely no romantic thoughts about you at all."

"Oh, that's right," he drawled. "You were all hung up over Andrew at the time and making a fool out of yourself by chasing him."

Her face flamed brighter. "How dare you bring that up! That was just a silly schoolgirl crush. I never went out with him. You, on the other hand, actually dated Raye."

Now his face turned a dull red. "I wouldn't exactly call it dating. We just hooked up a few times. Besides, I was just humoring the crush I knew she had on me. She hung on me a bit, but I never so much as held her hand. Hell, I'd never even kissed a girl until you came along."

Serena sighed. "Ah yes, our first kiss. That was both the best and the worst night of my life, up until that point anyway." Then she giggled. "I wish you could have seen your face when I kissed you that night at Starlight Tower. It was absolutely priceless!"

"Well you did take me by surprise," he grumbled.

"Sorry about that," she quipped, not sounding the least bit contrite. "I guess I just got caught up in the moment. It's easy to get carried away when a dashing super hero in a tuxedo saves your life. I acted on impulse."

"I'm not complaining," he told her. "If you hadn't made the first move, I would have."

She gave him a feather light kiss. "My point is that I was young when I found you, and I've never been in a relationship with anyone else, in either life. I may have had a few crushes back in the day, but they were nothing serious. You are the only one that I've ever felt a connection with. It's the same with Rini and Helios. Just ask Mina about it. She saw the bond between those two from day one. So don't believe for a second that Rini is not giving herself a chance. Helios is the one that will make her the happiest."

He quirked a grin at her. "It's amazing how wise you have gotten over the years. You've come a long way, Meatball Head."

She began twisting in his lap, trying to get up. "Ooo, you can still be such a jerk sometimes!"

He tightened his arms around her to hold her still. "But you love me for it." Then he captured her lips fully with his.

After a few moments her protests died and she returned the kiss eagerly.

They were so wrapped up in each other that neither one of them heard the front door open. It wasn't until a voice said. "Oh, ew! Get a room you two!" that they broke apart to find DJ and Katie standing in the doorway. Their future son looked slightly nauseous while his girlfriend stared down at the floor, her face a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"Oh, please! Like you two don't play kissy-face!" Serena retorted.

"I guess it's just our day to horrify our future children," Darien choked on a laugh.

DJ rolled his eyes. "Whatever! I think it's amazing that I'm not scarred for life after being raised by your future selves."

"Speak for yourself," Katie mumbled. "At least you didn't see what I did when I walked into the kitchen a few minutes ago. I swear Jess and Drew looked like they were stuck together with super glue. And they had the nerve to laugh at me when I caught them."

"Anyway," DJ continued. "We came to tell you that there's a ton of food next door if anyone is interested. Drew's been cooking all afternoon."

Serena's stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food. "Not a word out of you!" she snapped when Darien's mouth opened.

"I was just going to say that getting some food sounds good," he said as he stood and set her on her feet. "Don't take everything so personally."

Together, with DJ and Katie, they walked next door to Andrew and Jess's apartment.

"Mmm, something smells heavenly," Serena moaned as delicious scents rushed out to wash over her as soon as the door was opened. Following her nose, she rushed into the kitchen, where her mouth fell open at the sight of all of the dishes sitting on the stove and the countertops.

Jess's laugh pealed like bells from where she was sitting on a stool on the other side of the breakfast bar. "Omigosh! It's a miracle! I think she's speechless!"

"Very funny, motor mouth!" Serena growled as she glared at her past daughter's reincarnation.

Jess stuck her tongue out at her. "Geez! Somebody can't take a joke. Don't come up in here with any attitude, or I won't let you have a single bite." She took a bite from the plate in front of her and her eyes fluttered shut in bliss. After swallowing she said reverently, "Mmm, Drew, I can't believe you finally managed to copy this enchilada recipe. It tastes just like the ones I always ordered from Mama Rosa's when I lived in California."

Andrew laughed as he put his elbows on the counter and leaned toward her. "I'm glad it meets with your approval, my lady. It's only taken me almost two years to get it right."

"Well you sure nailed it this time. Now I can stop bugging Dawn all the time to pop over and get me a to-go order. She always complains that it's a blatant misuse of power." She put another bite on her fork and held it out for him to taste.

"Ugh! Stop it with the goo goo eyes already! I'm seriously starting to lose my appetite here!" Katie complained as she elbowed her way past Andrew to get a plate out of the cabinet. "If you two get any more disgustingly sappy I just might hurl!"

DJ grimaced as he joined her. "Nice imagery, Kat."

Both of their heads whipped around as a familiar aura flared at the fringes of their consciousness. A few seconds later there was a flash of red-orange light from the living room behind Jess as Alex appeared with Emma.

"Knock knock!" the brunette boy said cheerfully as the reddish light faded from his eyes, returning them to their usual sapphire blue.

Jess jumped in her seat, almost falling from her stool. "Holy shit, Alex! Don't you know how to use the door? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

He had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry."

"So why the dramatic entrance?" DJ asked as he backed away from where Serena and Katie had both reached for a dish of honey glazed chicken at the same time and were now glaring at each other over it. He knew better than to get in the middle of that confrontation.

"Smart move," Darien muttered to him out of the corner of his mouth.

Alex shrugged as he came to lean against the breakfast bar next to Jess. "We needed to make a quick getaway, so I decided to teleport. The newlyweds were driving us insane."

"It's too much even for me to endure," Emma said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. Then she shuddered. "How long does it take for the newness of marriage to wear off? Because Mina and Kunzite are seriously creeping me out right now. Okay, so my mom has always been the touchy-feely type, but my dad usually walks around like he has an iron rod up his butt. Now he's been going around for the past two days with this goofy grin on his face and participating in some PDA's that I won't even bother repeating just to save the rest of you the trauma."

Katie snorted as she snatched the dish of honey chicken away from Serena, ignoring the other blonde's protests. "Well it's not much better around here. I think there's something in the air that's causing all of the adults to act overly hormonal."

Jess waved her fork in the air. "You kids better be thanking your lucky stars that we hormonal adults are the way we are, or you may not ever be born. Did you ever stop to think about that?"

"Oh! I am so out of here on that note. I'm going to eat on the roof," Katie squealed as she dashed out of the kitchen with her heaping plate.

"We'll join you," Alex called after her as he took Emma's hand and started to follow.

"Did you guys want anything to eat?" Andrew asked them before they left.

"Nah! Maybe later," Alex tossed back. "Lita fed us pretty good before she, Neph, Raye, and Jed left out to catch a movie with Hannah and Jay. Skye was with us, but then Rini popped in and took her to Elysian. I guess Kyrian was lurking around looking for her."

Then the door banged shut behind him.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Serena teased DJ.

He arched a brow at her, Darien style. "I will as soon as you decide to stop hogging all the food and decide to share. I know that your stomach is a bottomless pit, but get real! I can't believe you stay as skinny as you are when you eat like a linebacker."

Darien tried to cover a laugh with a cough.

Serena sniffed imperiously. "And here I thought that you were the kinder and more considerate of my children, but you are just as cruel and heartless as that pink haired spore of a sister of yours."

He just grinned cheekily. "But you love me anyway." Then he slid around her to put a few things on his plate before running from the apartment.

The adults stayed silent for a few moments after his departure before bursting into laughter.

Serena took her highly piled plate around to the other side of the breakfast bar and sat beside Jess. After wiping a few tears from her eyes she said, "I sure going to miss them when they're gone."

Jess nodded. "Me too. But it's not like we'll never see them again. Someday time will catch up to where they are supposed to be in our lives. And we'll be able to watch them grow from the beginning, from tiny babies into the young adults they are today. Can you imagine it?"

"We've already seen them grow a lot," Darien said as he brought his food over to stand beside Andrew. "They've come a long way in the short time that they've been here. They were good fighters when they arrived, but they've grown so much stronger and disciplined since then. I'm proud of all of them."

"Me too," Andrew agreed. "Even the little guys, Jayden and Hannah, have made a lot of progress. I think they'll give old Discord a run for his money."

Jess's hand clenched into a fist on the countertop. "I hope they do. I want that bastard to burn."

Serena placed her hand over Jess's and squeezed gently. "They'll get him," she said confidently. "Now, are you all packed and ready to leave in the morning?"

Jess gave her a grateful smile. "I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. But I have to admit that I am nervous as hell. It's not everyday that you get to meet your future self."

"It's not that big of a deal. I met my future self once," Darien replied in a bored tone.

Serena giggled. "Yeah, but you better be more careful this time. The king will be in his real body this go around instead of being a hologram. And if you decide to throw another punch at him he may decide to hit back."

Darien's lips pursed into a grim line. "I'll take my chances."

The 30th Century

"My lord," the youma said as she knelt in front of the shapeless, mist-like entity. "The conversions that you requested are almost complete. Soon your new recruits will be ready to launch the attack on Crystal Tokyo."

Discord swirled with excitement. "Very good. Let me know as soon as they are ready. Then we will move forward with our plans. Those meddlesome brats may come rushing back to help protect their home, but they won't stand a chance if I manage to get my hands on the Celestial Crystal before then. The Earth will be reduced to rubble, and them along with it, even with the powers of the gods. They are only mere mortals after all."

The youma bowed until her forehead met the ground. "As you wish, my lord." Then she disappeared.

Discord chuckled at the thought of facing his enemies. "Bring it on, you little brats. You think you have the power to defeat me, but I know where to hit you where it hurts. While you are focused on trying to beat me, I will go after all of those that you love. What good will your lives be once I have obliterated your families?"

His evil laughter echoed of the stone walls of the cave.

Elysian – The Far Future

DJ paused as he approached the bedroom door. He really didn't want to disturb Katie, but he knew that she would want to see the events that were coming up in Helios's viewing mirror. After a moment's hesitation he opened the door and stepped inside.

The bedroom was darkened, thanks to the curtains drawn over the tall windows, but his eyes adjusted quickly enough for him to see the woman huddled up beneath the covers. Katie's morning sickness had finally retreated, and her normal voracious appetite had returned, but she tired easily at this point in her pregnancy, making her sleep more than she normally did.

As he tiptoed across the floor she spoke to him. "You don't have to be so sneaky. I'm awake."

His breath let out in a whoosh of relief. "I just wanted to make sure before I disturbed you. I know that you and our little one need your rest."

A giggle came from the depths of the bed. "Okay, maybe we like our sleep, but we're not completely lazy."

He sat on the edge of the bed and bent down to press a kiss against the lips on the face peeking out at him from within the cocoon of covers. "So how are my ladies doing today?"

"We're fine," she said primly. "Feeling a little hungry, but we're fine. So why are you sneaking around?"

He shrugged. "Alex, Emma, and I were just watching the past events in Helios's mirror, and our past selves are about to return to Crystal Tokyo. I thought you might like to see that."

Immediately she threw off her covers. "You bet I would! I would definitely like to see something besides the scene that I remember from when we returned home after visiting the past." She shuddered as she remembered arriving at the Crystal Palace with her brother's lifeless body in tow. The sight of her grieving parents haunted her until this day.

"Rini made apple cinnamon muffins this morning. We made sure to save you some. Their Lita's recipe," he told her.

"Sounds good," she mumbled around a yawn as she stretched. "I can't believe how much this kid makes me want to sleep. I used to hate sleeping. Now I feel like I can't get enough."

DJ laughed lightly as he bent down to talk to the slightly rounded bulge of her stomach. "Good morning, little angel." Then he grinned up at Katie. "So what name are we calling her today?"

She scrunched her nose up at him. "I'm still calling her Allie. It's my favorite so far."

He chuckled. "Rini is still pretty steamed that none of the names we've come up with take after hers."

"She'll get over it," she replied flippantly as she sat up. "If she wants a baby named after her so badly, tell her that she and Helios need to get busy and have one of their own."

"I'm not telling my sister that!" he protested as he reached for Katie's elbow as she stood.

She pulled away with an impatient huff. "I'm just getting out of bed. I don't need a caretaker for that."

He took her words in stride. "I was just making sure that you were steady on your feet. I know you get dizzy sometimes." Then he spoke to her stomach again. "Momma's cranky this morning."

Her lips twitched for a moment before she finally gave up and began laughing. "It's so cute, the way you always talk to her like that."

"Well she's a person too. I'm not going to ignore her." Then he placed both of his hands over the spot where their baby rested. "She's our very own little princess, Alexis Jessica Shields. Unless we change our mind about the name again."

Katie arched an amused brow at him. "You're being a little forward about her last name, aren't you? Maybe I want to give her my name."

He looped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him so he could nuzzle her neck. "But Shields would be your last name if we were at home instead of being stuck here. I would have hauled you in front of a preacher long ago."

She pouted playfully. "Just because I got knocked up?"

He shook his head. "No, because I love you more than life and I want to keep you with me forever. I went through fifteen years of hell without you, and I don't ever want to go back there again."

She waved a hand in front of her face as she sniffled. "Stop! You're going to make me cry. Stupid pregnancy hormones!"

"I don't mind as long as you only cry tears of happiness," he whispered huskily just before he took her lips in a sweet gentle kiss that made her tears spill over.

"Ack!" the disgusted sound came from the bedroom doorway. "You people should really close your door all the way if you're going to be doing stuff like that. Ew! I'll probably have nightmares for a year now."

"Alex…" Katie growled as she pulled slowly away from the warm temptation of DJ's lips to glare at her brother, who was standing with his shoulder propped against the doorframe and a mischievous smile on his face. "You are such a dirty, disgusting, voyeuristic pervert!"

He waved her off nonchalantly. "Nah, that's more Jay and Jed's forte. Anyway, I just came to tell you that if you didn't hurry up and get your butts in gear that you were going to miss the show. The group from Tokyo is about to make the jump to Crystal Tokyo. That should be an interesting scene."

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Katie told him. "Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and stuff."

Alex smirked. "Well you better not take too long to waddle your way there, or Rini just might eat all of the muffins. She's been eying them."

Katie shrieked and grabbed a pillow from the bed. She threw it at her brother, yelling, "I don't waddle! I barely even look pregnant, you insensitive jackass!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Alex said with a shaky laugh as he ducked out of sight of the enraged blonde.

DJ snagged her by the arm when she looked like she was about to give chase. "Okay! Time to bring things down a few notches. Take a few deep breaths before you explode."

She leaned her forehead against his chest and breathed as she was instructed. After a minute she sighed, "Do I really look fat already?"

"No!" he denied passionately. "Lex was just being a moron like he always is. You never have, and you never will be fat."

"Don't speak too soon," she mumbled. "I could end up the size of a whale before this is all said and done." Then her expression brightened. "Wait a second! No I won't, because the fight with Discord will be going down soon and time will reset. I won't even remember Alex picking on me."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Not in this time perhaps. But I'm sure he'll get to you when we get to wherever we end up. Don't forget, we're still supposed to have Allie. So you're still going to get pregnant."

She smiled up at him. "That's true. So, will you still love me when I'm as big as the side of a barn?"

He kissed the tip of her nose. "You will never be big to me. When I look at you I see a miracle. Even after everything that we've been through, here we are. And now we have a brand new life that we created together. I'll enjoy every moment of watching our daughter grow inside you and count my blessings that I am a lucky enough man to have you in my life."

Tears glimmered in her eyes again as she melted against him. "Oh, DJ, I love you so much!"

Crystal Tokyo – 30th Century

"Wakey-wakey, Sleeping Beauty," King Endymion said lightly as he shook his wife's shoulder. "It's time to get up."

"Just five more minutes, Darien," Neo Queen Serenity mumbled as she rolled over in the large bed and pulled a pillow over her head.

Endymion stood beside the bed for a moment, looking down at the snoozing blonde with a look that was part adoration and part exasperation. Then he reached for the pillow and yanked it away.

The result was instantaneous. Serenity shot up in a flurry of golden hair, the crescent moon on her forehead glowing in the early morning sunlight and her sky blue eyes flashing as she pinned her husband with a murderous glare.

"Darien Shields…you give me that pillow back right this minute," she ground out from between clenched teeth.

He shook his head. "No can do, love. Have you forgotten what today is?"

She looked at him in confusion. Obviously she wasn't awake enough yet for her brain to be functioning properly. "Um…it's Saturday, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, it's Saturday."

Her expression turned angry once again. "And that means that I have absolutely nothing scheduled for this morning and I can sleep in if I want to. So how dare you come in here waking me up so early! You're a jerk, Darien!"

He bore her tirade stoically. He'd had years of practice after all. And once her ranting had died off into indignant panting, he said simply, "Rini and DJ."

'Wait for it,' he told himself as he counted backwards in his head, '3-2-1'.

Right on cue, there was a glass-shattering squeal. "Oh my god! My babies are coming home today! How could I have forgotten?"

Endymion snickered. "Well, you have been in a food coma for the past ten hours after that pig out session you had last night. I think you just might have set a new record for yourself."

"Don't you have something else better to do than annoy me?" she snapped as she crawled to the other side of the bed, away from him."

"Nope," he answered cheerfully. "My job for the moment is making sure that you get up in time for breakfast. Lita is finishing up as I speak, so you better get moving."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't see what the big rush is. When we came here from the past we didn't arrive until around lunchtime. And that's a few hours away. So…Eek!" her complaints turned into a short scream as she toppled over the edge of the tall bed and fell toward the floor.

Endymion became nothing more than a blur as he raced around the bed and caught her in his arms two feet before she was about to become extremely well acquainted with the rug that covered the hard crystal floor beside their bed.

"Clumsy as always, huh, Meatball Head?" he chortled.

Serenity sucked in a shaky breath and tried to calm her racing heart after that little scare. Endymion's warm arms felt so good around her, but she made her expression irritated as she looked up at his beloved face. "Watch it, buddy! You're pushing all of my wrong buttons this morning."

He stood up straight, holding her bridal style in his arms. "I'm sorry, darling. I'll try to push the right buttons from now on." He kissed on the cheek and then set her on her feet.

"That's better," she replied happily. But her smile turned back into a scowl when he gave her a nudge toward the bathroom and a swat on the butt along with the order to get herself together.

"This manhandling borders on domestic abuse," she grumbled as she walked toward the bathroom, rubbing her offended bottom through the fabric of the over-sized t-shirt that she'd slept in.

"Aw…do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" he teased.

"Dream on!" she snapped back crabbily. Wow! She needed her caffeine fix in the worst sort of way. Why couldn't he at least have brought her a cocoa or a mocha that she could sip on while she was getting ready?

'Because I know you,' his voice echoed in her head. 'If I had brought you a drink you would dawdle forever getting ready. This way you have the motivation to get ready faster. The sooner you get dressed, the sooner you can get downstairs and get your caffeine.'

"Get out of my head!' she snarled mentally as she slammed the door on their mental bond. Then out loud she said, "You're a real pain in my ass sometimes."

"But you love me anyway," he quipped back.

She escaped into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. She took care of the necessities first before going to stand at the long vanity counter with the double sinks. She quickly washed her hands and face before tackling her obscenely long hair with a brush. Thankfully she had shampooed it the night before, so she didn't have to worry about that. Since she didn't have any official duties to attend to this morning, she gathered all of the golden strands together in a single ponytail held by a scrunchie. She looped it up and pulled the ends of her hair back through the band so that it wouldn't be so close to dragging the ground. Then she brushed her teeth before applying a little lip-gloss and mascara.

"That's as good as it's going to get," she told her reflection. Then she returned to the bedroom.

She ignored Endymion, who sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs and flipping idly through a book, as she made her way into the humongous walk-in closet that was easily ten times the size of her old bedroom at her parents' house. She bypassed the racks that held Endymion's tailor-made tuxedoes and suits, and the racks where all of her floor length, formal dresses hung. She passed by the rows of shelves that held shoes in every style and color imaginable, stopping only long enough to grab her favorite pair of sneakers, as she continued toward the back corner.

It was here that she and her husband kept what they called their normal clothes, clothes that would never be acceptable while conducting affairs of state, but the ones that they wore when they had down time. Most of the world might look upon them as being the esteemed king and queen of Crystal Tokyo, but at the end of the day they were still just plain old Darien and Serena Shields, the doctor and the schoolteacher. Okay, so she had never actually held an official teaching position because the Freeze had come before she had finished college, but she had finished her courses, even after becoming queen, and she held a degree in Early Childhood Education. So technically speaking, she was a teacher.

She rummaged through drawers; pulling out undergarments and socks, along with a bright pink, soft cotton t-shirt. Then she grabbed a pair of worn faded jeans from a hanger and began changing.

She shimmied quickly into the underclothes and jeans, but as she pulled the t-shirt over her head a deep voice complained, "Darn! And I was enjoying the view too."

"Aw, too bad, so sad," she teased as she tucked the shirt into her jeans and then sat down on a padded bench to put on her socks and shoes.

"You're not still angry with me, are you?" Endymion asked as he walked toward her.

She shrugged. "No. But you already knew that. I never can stay mad at you. But I would have thought that you would have enough sense of self preservation after all of these years to know that it is dangerous to pick on me before I've had my daily caffeine injection."

"I can't help it if I find you adorable when you get flustered," he returned smugly. "So, am I forgiven?"

She finished tying her shoe and stood. "You will be as soon as you lead me to the closest pot of cocoa or coffee. I'd even be willing to drink it black like you do at this point."

"Ooo, that sounds serious," Endymion chuckled as he held a hand out to her. "Well, come along, my lady, and we'll get you some wake up juice."

They left their bedroom and entered their private living room. As they crossed the room, Serenity's eyes went to the closed door on the left that led to Rini's room, and then to the one on the right that went to DJ's.

"It won't be long now, and they'll be back in those rooms," she sighed.

Endymion squeezed her hand. "Yes, they will."

They stepped out into the hall, only to run into Andrew and Jess, who appeared to be making their way downstairs as well.

"Good morning," Endymion greeted them cordially.

Andrew replied back in kind, but Jess only glowered and grumbled, "Coffee…must have coffee."

"Amen!" Serena seconded.

The dark blonde woman fell into step beside her as they headed for the stairs. "I don't know why I'm dragging so much this morning. I slept like the dead for once."

"Hmph!" Andrew huffed. "It didn't seem that way from my point of view. You were all over the bed, tossing, turning, and muttering in your sleep. I probably have black and blue marks on my legs from you kicking."

She winced in sympathy. "Sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

He smiled and tugged lightly in her braid. "I know you didn't. But I might have to start sleeping with my armor on just to protect myself while we're sleeping."

"Or just start sleeping in another bed," Endymion joked.

Jess tried to stick her tongue out at them, but ended up yawning instead. "This sucks! My kids are coming home today and I feel too much like a zombie to let the excitement hit me. If I didn't detest needles so much I'd beg somebody to hook me up and mainline some caffeine into my system."

"We'll perk up once we get that caffeine and some food into our systems," Serenity told her. "And when the kids show up a few hours from now we'll be all bright eyed and bushy tailed."

Trista blinked her eyes open, feeling completely disoriented for a moment as she tried to identify her surroundings. Then something rumbled under her ear and her head shot up.

As she looked down at the man she was practically lying on top of, memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She was in Evan's home. He had invited her over for dinner last night and had surprised her with the fact that he was a fairly accomplished cook. Afterwards they had settled down on cushions in front of the fireplace, nights in the mountains were quite chilly, even in May, and they had shared a bottle of wine as they talked for hours.

They had talked about anything and everything, spilling out all the secrets of their lives as they learned more and more about each other. She had told him everything, about her grandfather and her life during the Silver Millennium. She'd told him about how she had lost her grandmother, her parents, and her beloved twin brother during the fallout that had occurred after the fall of the Moon Kingdom. She had even been honest with him about Tristan when he had asked her if she had ever been in love before, and he'd seemed sincere when he'd told her that he was sorry that she'd had to experience such loss and pain.

But his story hadn't been exactly happy either. Anya and he had barely been in their teens when they had lost their mother and most of their family to a typhoid fever epidemic. Their father had survived, but he had been severely weakened by the illness and was killed by a bear only two years later while on a hunting trip. His powers had waned so much by that point that he'd been unable to protect himself. Talon had been his best friend his entire life, and they had banded together to watch out for Anya, at least until Talon had gotten sucked into Beryl's scheming ways. A rift had opened between them then.

He too had loved and lost. He had fallen in love with a young woman from his clan, who had been a friend and supporter of Beryl's. He had begged her to not join Beryl in her fight to take over the Earth and destroy the moon, but she had refused to listen to his reasoning, claiming that she was doing what was right for their people. Sadly, she had been killed during the raid on the earth palace that had claimed the lives of King Edward and Queen Althea. But rather than fall into despair, he had redoubled his efforts to keep his sister safe.

Then Talon had returned without Beryl after the destruction of the moon, injured and beaten down. He'd thought that perhaps their lives would finally settle down to normal, but then Talon had found and released Discord. A lot of their people had left then, striking off to form a separate clan. He'd wanted to take Anya and go with them, but she had fallen deeply in love with Talon by that point and had refused to leave him.

So they'd stayed. Neither one of them had taken part in Talon and Discord's plans though, preferring to stay out of the way with the other members of their clan who had stayed. He'd had his hands full though, Beryl's brother, Bastian, had been a sick, sadistic freak who had enjoyed beating and forcing himself on women, and he had killed quite a few as well. He'd usually preferred to find an unsuspecting female human to vent his perversions on, but he had also preyed on the sorcereresses of their clan as well.

Evan and Bastian had fought against each other many times during the ten centuries they had been holed up with Talon and Discord. Evan had always charged to the rescue of any of the women who had been unfortunate enough to catch that evil bastard's eye, and Anya had been no exception. Bastian had gone for her many times, despite Talon's orders that she not be touched. It had probably been Bastian's way of striking back at Talon because he was jealous of him. Luckily, Evan had always been there to protect his sister.

But then a miracle had happened. Bastian had been destroyed and Discord had been sealed away. Talon had returned to being the man who had been his friend so long ago and they had healed the old wounds between them. Anya had then married Talon and had given him three nephews and a little niece, who was the apple of his eye. He took his role as uncle very seriously and doted shamelessly on all of them.

At some point during the night they must have both fallen asleep, Trista realized. They were stretched out on the cushions before the now cold fireplace with her curled up close to his side and his arms around her.

She stifled a giggle as a low snore rumbled in his chest. Well, that explained the noise that she'd heard earlier. Several strands of his long, white-blond hair had come loose from the leather thong that he had it tied back with and lay across his face. She reached up to lightly brush the hair away from his handsome face, and promptly began laughing when he let out a sound that was an amusing mixture of a snort, snore, growl, and groan, all at the same time.

She slapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hold back her outburst, but she couldn't help it. That sound had been so cute and funny!

His arms tightened around her shaking body a moment before those hypnotic golden eyes of his opened to look at her curiously. "Is there something amusing about the way I sleep?" he asked in a voice that was husky with sleep.

She shook her head. "No. I was just having a moment. Don't mind me."

One pale eyebrow rose questioningly. "Is this the way you usually wake up in the morning?"

"Only when I wake up next to you, it seems," she choked out, burying her face in his chest.

He raised a hand to his mouth to cover a yawn, and then glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Whoa! I haven't slept this late in a long time. I'm usually up with the dawn. I guess that's what happens when you sit up most of the night with a beautiful woman."

Trista felt herself blush as she untangled herself from him and sat up. She wasn't used to sharing such intimate moments with someone. "I should probably get going. I have a busy day ahead of me."

Evan sat up too. "You don't have to rush off right this minute, do you? At least stay long enough for me to make you breakfast. I promise you, I make a mean omelet."

Being in tune with time, she didn't a watch to tell her that the day was quickly approaching mid-morning. Sure wasn't sure exactly when the crew from Tokyo was going to be ready to go to Crystal Tokyo, but if they stuck to what she had seen for the most part when she had checked on the timeline, they would arrive in the future just before lunch.

"I guess I have a few minutes to spare," she replied, not really in any hurry to leave Evan's company. Besides, they needed to cover a few things before she left. "I'm just going to borrow your bathroom for a minute and freshen up."

"Sure thing," he said, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.

The giddy feeling that she always experienced when she stood next to his impressive 6'8" height swept through her. She always felt dainty and petite when she was with him.

"I…I'll be right back," she stammered as she turned and almost ran down the hall.

Once inside the bathroom, she leaned against the door for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. Good grief! The way that man made her feel! After a moment she felt more like herself and she waved her hand to use her powers to summon her cosmetic bag to her. The fuchsia-pink zipper bag landed in her palm.

After she'd made use of the facilities, she began moving at sailor scout speed. And in only four minutes she had her teeth and hair brushed, hands and face washed, and a light application of cosmetics applied. She sent her bag back to her apartment where she had summoned it from and then took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom.

She wandered into Evan's spacious kitchen, but found it empty. Silly her, she had rushed for nothing. Of course Evan would want to freshen up himself before tackling breakfast. He was probably in his master bathroom, moving at a more leisurely pace.

She wasn't a spectacular cook, but she figured she could at least give him a hand. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out some of the ingredients she thought he might need, cheese, ham, and such. She set them on the work island in the center of the room and returned to the fridge for the eggs. She pulled out the carton and turned around, only to find Evan standing right behind her.

She squeaked in surprised and the cartoon slipped from her fingers. Without missing a beat, Evan snapped his fingers and the egg carton stopped in mid-fall.

"Well that was a close one," he chuckled. "It could have turned very messy really quickly."

Trista grabbed at her chest as she wheezed. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry. Anya has been telling me for centuries that I have a bad habit of sneaking up on people. I thought it was just her being a nag, but I guess she's right for once." He plucked the carton out of mid-air and turned to place it on the island.

Trista's nerves finally started settling. "It's okay. You just startled me." She moved to sit on a stool at the island.

He returned to the fridge, asking over his shoulder, "Onion and bell pepper okay with you?"

"Sounds good," she told him.

He brought the last of his ingredients to the island and set to work chopping. After a minute he said, "So, why do I get the feeling that you have something that you want to say to me?"

She grimaced at his question. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "Not painfully so. It's just a gut feeling I'm getting."

She sighed and rested her elbows on the counter. "Look, Evan, I really like you a lot, and I enjoy spending time with you. I want that to continue, I do. I find it amazing that our paths have never crossed before now, considering that we know so many of the same people. The only thing that I can say is that for some reason fate chose this as the time for us to meet. I am forbidden from seeing my own future, so I never saw you coming."

The knife in his hand paused as he looked up at her. "I guess that makes sense. But I get the feeling that there's more to your reasoning."

She broke the eye contact and looked away. "I'm assuming that you are still planning on being in Crystal Tokyo for the fight."

He turned his attention back to the food. "Yes. Talon, Kyrian, and I will all be there to help out if we're needed. Anya is coming along as well because the queen asked if she and Julian could help Jack and Sasha keep an eye on the younger children so that they stay out of trouble. So what's the deal? You're not about to tell me that you want me to sit the fight out, are you?"

"Don't be silly," she scoffed. "I know better than to do that. But I do have a favor to ask of you."

"And what would that be?" he asked as he took a skillet from a cabinet and sat it on the stove.

She sucked in a deep breath. Now for the hard part. "I need you to stay away from me as much as possible during the fight."

He turned around to look at her, his expression completely unreadable. "Before I jump to conclusions, I'm going to assume that you have a valid reason for suddenly wanting to keep me at a distance," he replied in a cool biting tone.

Feeling awkward, she twisted her hands in her lap. Nervousness was an emotion that she had rarely experienced in centuries. "It's not what you think. I don't want to keep you at a distance. I need to. Whatever this," she gestured between them, "is that is happening between us is supposed to happen here and now. Obviously neither Neo Queen Serenity nor any of the others had any idea that we might one day have a relationship or they would have let something slip by now. None of that lot, the women or the men, could have gone this many years without at least one of them saying something. So that lets me know that when Serena and the others come to this time from the past that they don't have a clue about us. I don't want anything to jeopardize what we have together, so I think it's best to keep them in the dark about it."

His posture relaxed at her explanation. "Well couldn't you just use your powers to remove any memories that you don't want them to have from their minds?"

"I could." She shrugged. "But that is a power that I don't like using. It seems intrusive to me to invade peoples' memories and alter them that way, so I try to not ever use it. I'll probably have to use it on the younger Mina though since she could sense a spark of emotion between fleas. But I would prefer it if she were the only one I have to do that to."

"I understand," he conceded. "And if keeping my distance from you for a few days will make you happy, that is what I will do. But don't expect me to stay away if you get in trouble and need help. I'll be keeping my eye on you, Setsuna."

Trista started. "Why did you call me that name? Nobody outside of Mount Olympus uses that name anymore."

A boyish grin curved up his lips. "Setsuna is a strong name for an amazing woman. Trista is the persona that you present to your queen and your fellow scouts. I prefer to use the name that I believe suits you best. But if it bothers you I won't call you that."

She thought about it for a moment. Sure, her grandfather and the other inhabitants of Mount Olympus always referred to her by her birth name, but no man had murmured it in such an intimate way since the last time Tristan had spoken it the last time that he had woken just hours before his death. It sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

"I…I don't mind," she finally stammered. "But let's keep it between us for now, okay. Just until Serena and the others leave."

"If that's what you really want," he told her. Then he picked up a spatula and twirled it expertly between his fingers. "Now watch a master craftsman at work."

She couldn't help but giggle. "I thought making weapons was your area of expertise."

He winked outrageously. "That is just one of my many talents. I can forge a sword that is the optimum weight, perfectly balanced, and able to split a human hair right down the middle, but I can also make an omelet that will practically melt on your tongue. Just wait and see."

Twenty minutes later she had to agree with him. She sighed happily as she swallowed the last bite of the breakfast that he had gallantly served her. "That was wonderful. Don't tell Lita or Andrew this, but I think that was possibly the best breakfast that I've ever had."

"They'll never hear it from me," he promised her. "Would you like some coffee or a refill on your juice?"

She shook her head. "I better not. As much as I would like to stick around, I better get going. Today is going to be a busy day." She froze as a telling tingle rushed through her. "And it appears that my day is going to get started sooner than I thought."

She clenched her teeth in agitation as she sensed several presences enter the time plane. The visitors from the past were early, much earlier than she had expected. Given what she had seen as possible outcomes in the river of time, and considering Serena and a few of the others' habit of sleeping in when possible, she hadn't expected them to make the trip to the future quite so soon. They must be more anxious than she had first thought.

Reluctantly standing, she called upon her transformation and changed into Sailor Pluto in a quick flash of magenta light and smoke. "It looks like the fun is about to begin. I have to go."

Evan nodded swiftly. "I understand. I'll see you later." He gave her a brief, but very sweet kiss.

Pluto let her lips cling to his for several long seconds before she reluctantly pulled away. She gave him a small smile before she called upon her powers to leave the human plane and return to her post at the time gate. She briefly considered popping over to Crystal Tokyo and warning the inhabitants there that they were about to be ambushed, but she quickly changed her mind. It served them right to be taken by surprise if their past selves decided that they were too impatient to wait until breakfast time was over.

In fact, she hoped that the unexpected early arrival of the visitors from the past took the entire palace off guard. It was what they deserved for interrupting her time with the most amazing man she had come across in more centuries than she cared to count.

The Time Plane

"I still can't believe that everyone got up and got together as quickly as we did this morning. I thought for sure that it would take a few hours for everyone to get up and moving. I even surprised myself," Serena said to Darien as they followed Rini and the other teens through the swirling mists of the time plane.

Darien chuckled under his breath. "I'm surprised at you too. Usually nothing short of a candy store going out of business sale would get you out of bed this early on a Saturday."

"You don't have to be so smug," she growled back at him. "Besides, who could sleep with all of the noise in the apartment? I'm almost positive that Rini was banging around the bathroom the way she was on purpose."

"You're probably right," he conceded. "The guys were telling me that their crew were unusually rambunctious this morning too, but I'm not really all that surprised. The kids have been away from their home for a while now, and they're probably in a hurry to get back."

"I know I would be," she sighed as she glanced around at her friends. She bit back a giggle as she caught sight of a pair of very annoyed and irritated dark blue eyes. "Poor Jess! I still can't believe that Katie actually had the nerve to go into her bedroom and pour water on her to wake her up. The girl must have a death wish."

"Hmph!" he huffed. "I'm just glad that Jess has learned the amount of control that she has. I still felt a spike of something in the planet when she got mad, but it was nothing compared to what she has done before when she has temper tantrums."

Suddenly, Jess's dark blonde hair pushed between them as she snarled, "I don't have temper tantrums, thank you very much! That little glitch this morning was pure, righteous anger, and I don't think you would have acted any differently if you had been in my position. Now, if you two old ladies are done gossiping about me…"

"Sorry, sorry," Serena apologized hastily before quickly changing the subject. "So where do you think Trista is hiding this morning? We are getting close to the time gate."

Nearby, Raye shrugged. "I don't know. I don't sense her aura anywhere, so she may not even be here."

Rini spun around to face them. "Well, wherever she is, she better get back here soon. My time key only lets us make it through the time plane without getting lost. She's got the door to our time locked up with enchantments, so I can't get us there without her."

Alex cracked his knuckles. "I bet Kat, DJ, and I could blast our way through the door if we had to. What do you say, guys?"

The duo responded in perfect harmony, "And be grounded by our moms until we're 100? No thanks!"

"At least some of you have some common sense," Pluto's voice said as she appeared in her usual puff of smoke. She glanced around briefly before her eyes settled on Serena. "You're earlier than I expected."

Serena saw an unfamiliar emotion swirling in the time guardian's garnet eyes and immediately felt like a chastised child. "I'm sorry, Trista. Should we turn around and come back later?"

Sailor Pluto sighed. "No, there's no need in that. You're already here, and your earlier arrival will not impact the outcome of the battle in any way, so you may as well continue. Follow me."

Everyone fell into step behind her as she walked away into the mist. The time gate had just come into sight when she veered off to the left. Soon they were walking through a maze of doors.

"Nothing around here has changed much since the last time we came this way, has it?" Jadeite said in a loud whisper. The other generals nodded in agreement.

Amy had her Mercury computer out and her eyes darted across the screen as she read her scans. "Hmm…this is a different direction than we went when we traveled to Crystal Tokyo before, isn't it?"

Pluto turned her head to look at the blue haired scout of ice. "Yes it is. When you went to the future during the Dark Moon invasion you arrived through a portal on the outskirts of the city. This time I am taking you directly to the palace. I was unable to do that the last time because of the shield of protection that the guardian scouts had around the palace."

"So we don't have to take that long walk through the city this time? Sweet!" Lita drawled.

A smirk curled up Pluto's lips. "Ah, no. This time the city is bustling with activity. And while the residents of Crystal Tokyo have long since become used to unusual things happening, it would probably still shock them to see all of you strolling down the street."

Hotaru, who had been walking beside Rini, turned her large amethyst eyes on the woman who was one of her adoptive parents. "Is everything okay, Trista-mama? You seem troubled."

Pluto reached out to smooth back her daughter's dark hair. "I am fine, little one. I was just slightly perturbed at having to end my breakfast so abruptly."

"Are you sure?" Michelle asked; her quiet alto voice laced with concern.

Amara snickered. "Yeah, you seem a bit on edge. It's very suspicious."

"I assure you, I am most definitely not on edge," Pluto sniffed haughtily.

Mina's eyes suddenly snapped to her, a very curious light beginning to burn in their bright blue depths. "Hmm…interesting. Has our elusive Sailor Pluto finally gone and found herself a love interest? My Spidey-senses are tingling."

"Something else is going to be tingling if you don't drop it, Venus!" Pluto snapped. "I have much more pressing things to worry about other than whether I have a man in my life."

"But…" Mina began to protest, only to be cut off by her new husband's hand covering her mouth.

"Let it go, sweetheart," Kunzite told her softly.

"Mom, dad, and the others do know that we are coming today, don't they?" Rini asked to fill the sudden void.

Pluto nodded. "Yes. But I don't think they were looking for you to arrive for a few more hours. You took me by such surprise that I didn't even have a chance to warn them that you were heading their way. So this could turn into quite a circus."

"Awesome!" all the teens said together.

"Man, my mom is going to flip!" Jayden crowed.

Hannah bobbed her head rapidly. "Mine too."

"Ugh! Don't get me started!" Katie moaned as she rubbed her neck. Orion, who had been sitting quietly on her shoulder, nudged her cheek with his head.

Alex copied her motion. "I can already feel mom's strangling hug. One day she is seriously going to kill us."

Emma patted his head and cooed. "Poor baby! I'll try to rescue you if she gets too enthusiastic."

Skye rolled her eyes. "Thank god my parents aren't psychotic."

Lita shared a grin with Nephrite before taunting her future daughter; "You're just ready to get back to a time where you have easy access to your boyfriend."

Skye growled low in her throat. "I take back what I just said. My parents are just as crazy as the rest of them."

"Here we are," Pluto announced as she came to a stop before a large white door that had a shimmering magical cloud covering it. She waved her staff and it disappeared. "Just through this door lies the 31st century and the Crystal Palace. Is everyone ready?"

Heads nodded all around.

Another wave of her staff opened the door and there was a rush as the teens tried to hurry through.

Rini beat everyone, and she pulled up short just a few steps into the hallway of the lowest level of the palace.

"Diana!" she squealed excitedly.

"Rini!" a high-pitched voice answered just as exuberantly as a small, light gray blur flew through the air at her.

Rini dropped the bag she had been holding to catch the ball of fur. A tear trailed down her cheek as she hugged the petite cat tightly. "Oh, Diana! I've missed you so much!"

Diana purred loudly as she nudged the princess's chin with her head. "Not nearly as much as I've missed you. I can't believe that you're finally here. I wasn't expecting you until later."

"We got in a hurry and decided that we were ready to come home," Rini laughed.

DJ poked her in the back. "Speaking of which, do you mind moving? We have a bit of a traffic jam here." Indeed, everyone was beginning to pile up in the doorway from the time plane.

"Oops!" she said, and quickly scooted further down the hall.

The teens quickly bustled in behind her while the adults spilled in at a slightly slower pace.

"Oh!" Serena squeaked when she caught sight of the gray cat in Rini's arms. "Diana! You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you! You are definitely not a kitten anymore."

Diana inclined her head. "It is wonderful to see you again, your majesty. And I am happy to see all of you again as well. Welcome to Crystal Tokyo."

Then her cinnamon colored eyes fell on the large, dark gray feline sitting on Katie's shoulder. "Hello, Uncle Orion. I glad that I finally get to meet you in person. My daddy has told me a lot about you."

Orion's storm cloud colored eyes glimmered wetly as he got his first look at his niece that the Artemis in the past had warned him about. "Diana…you certainly live up to your name well. You look a lot like your grandmother, except for the eyes. You have your mother's eyes."

"Okay! The kitty family reunion is great and all, but can we please go somewhere with a little bit more room? It's getting crowded in here!" Raye snapped peevishly.

Jadeite, who hated any kind of tight, enclosed spaces, nodded feverishly beside her.

Rini shouldered her bag while still holding Diana and began walking down the hall. "Sure. Where is everyone hanging out this morning, Diana?"

"Most everyone was in the kitchen the last time I saw them," Diana informed her. "They were just finishing up breakfast. There are not as many people about as normal because your parents have given all but the most trusted servants time off with pay until after everything has settled down. They knew that things could get confusing around here with visitors from the past coming."

"I'm getting so nervous," Serena whispered to Darien, grabbing his hand as they followed Rini and the other teens up a flight of stairs.

He squeezed her fingers gently. "Don't get yourself worked up. It's not like we're meeting total strangers."

She chewed her bottom lip for a second. "I know. But I forgot how overwhelming this place is. I feel underdressed now." She smoothed a palm down the thigh of the faded jeans she was wearing along with a pink, purple, and white peasant top.

Behind her, Jess snorted. "Puh-leeze! You act like we're here to make some kind of impression on people. We're only meeting our future selves. You might be a high and mighty queen here, but that doesn't change who you are. And I'm definitely not going out of my way to impress my future self. If she's really me, then she already knows how I am." She tugged the brim of her navy ball cap down further on her forehead and hitched her backpack up higher on her shoulder before shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans that were splattered with paint smudges. The button down shirt that she had borrowed from Andrew was in a similar state, and despite multiple washings, had refused to turn completely white again.

"So we're in a palace, big deal!" she continued grumbling. "It doesn't make me feel special or anything. I just…" her voice trailed off as they entered the grand foyer of the palace. "Okay. Maybe I'm impressed just a little bit. This is way different from the palaces of the past."

The morning sunlight lit up the foyer. And since a great deal of the palace was constructed out of crystal, the light seemed to make everything sparkle.

A gleeful look appeared on Mina's face. "This is much better than last time we were here. Everything was so dark then."

Raye rolled her eyes. "Well, there was a siege going on, you know."

"I have to agree with Mina on this one. It is nice that everything's not all gloomy and dreary this time," Lita drawled. "Now where is this kitchen at? That is one place that I have to check out."

"You would," Nephrite snickered, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his fiancée.

"This way," Rini motioned toward a large corridor off the foyer. "Everybody can just drop their bags by the stairs. Nobody will touch them." She sat Diana down and offloaded her duffle bag and backpack. Everyone else followed suit.

Just then, a female voice came from the corridor Rini had indicated. "One more wise crack out of you this morning, Darien Shields, and I swear I will move to a room on the opposite side of the palace for the next century! I can't believe that you would laugh at me over this!"

A deeper voice answered her. "Aw, come on, Sere! I didn't mean for you to take it that way. It was just so funny that I couldn't help myself."

Serena and Darien gasped as almost perfect carbon copies of themselves entered the foyer. The blonde Neo Queen Serenity was stomping in anger while King Endymion was two steps behind her, making placating gestures with his hands. At the sounds of the gasps, both of their heads whipped around.

Four sets of blue eyes, two crystalline and two sapphire, widened in shock.

Serenity's hand came up to clutch her throat, just above the dark brown stain that splattered the front of the pink t-shirt she was wearing. She stared at her past self for a long wordless moment before she caught sight of Rini and DJ just behind Serena.

"My babies!" she screeched, and then yelled down the hall, "Everybody! They're here!" Then she was nothing but a blur as she flew across the foyer.

Serena jumped to the side, pressing herself tightly up against Darien as she scrambled to get out of the way of the frantic blonde, who had thrown an arm around each of her children and had burst into sobs.

Serena's only prior experience with her future self had been when the queen had been under the influence of a sleep spell and frozen inside a giant chunk of crystal, so she hadn't been prepared for this reaction. 'Oh my god! I become a mental case!' she thought wildly to herself.

Pounding footsteps came their way, sounding like a herd of stampeding elephants. One person burst into view ahead of the others, and the flash of dark honey colored hair was the only thing that gave away her identity before she practically dove for Katie and Alex.

"Eek!" the twins squeaked in unison as they looked around for an escape. But it was too late. Both of their airways were almost completely cut off as an arm wrapped around their necks like bands of steel.

Four more bodies joined the fray, making the visitors from Tokyo take several steps back to keep from getting trampled as the future inner scouts converged on their children.

Chuckles came from the men, who were crossing the foyer at a calmer, but still brisk pace.

Endymion stopped next to Serena and Darien and gave them a grin. "Glad to see that you made it here with no trouble. I guess this is much different than the last time you visited."

Darien shrugged. "You could say that."

"This is so weird," Serena whispered as her eyes darted back and forth between the two identical men. "Last time wasn't as weird because the king was a hologram. But this is real!"

Endymion gave her a charming smile as he took her hand in his and lifted it to press a light kiss to the back of it, eliciting a growl from Darien. "It's a pleasure to be able to greet you properly this time, dear Serena."

"You better not be over there trying any slick moves on my past self!" Serenity snapped from where she was still hugging her children. "I'm still mad at you, so you better watch your step."

"Well, darling," Endymion drawled. "If you would quit trying to decapitate our children you could come over and meet your past self and keep an eye on me."

Rini and DJ both shot their father a grateful look as Serenity finally released them. Then Rini was squealing, "Daddy!" as she flung herself at Endymion.

He caught up in a tight bear hug. "How's my little girl been doing?"

Rini pulled back with a mock scowl. "I'm not a baby, daddy! But I'm fine."

DJ came over to them and shared a "man hug" with his father, saying, "It's good to be home."

Two voices rang out in a shout. "Mom! Let GO!"

Jess, who was standing with her back firmly pressed up against Andrew's chest, was staring in shock at the woman that was currently in the process of trying to strangle Katie and Alex to death. The woman was almost a perfect mirror image of herself, right down to the braided hair and paint-splattered clothes. But when a tall, sandy blonde man stepped up beside her doppelganger, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Talk about seeing double," she muttered over her shoulder to Andrew. "He looks just like you."

He chuckled and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Then we better make sure that we stick close together so that we don't accidentally end up with the wrong person, because she's the spitting image of you too."

Thanks to the intervention of the future Andrew, his wife had released the twins, who were rubbing their necks and glaring slightly at their mother.

"Damn, mom! Are you trying to kill us?" Katie gasped while she sucked in deep breaths.

"For real!" Alex seconded. "Do you see any of the others trying to do their kids in? What did you do, take out large life insurance policies on us while we were gone?"

"Ha ha! Very funny!" their mother snapped. "Is it so wrong for me to have missed my children while they have been gone for so long?"

Their father laid his hands on her shoulders. "No, it's not. But you were being just the tiniest bit overenthusiastic with your welcome homes."

She tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Did you actually expect anything less from me? I'd think that you would have learned better after all of these years." Then she turned to face her past self and spoke in English. "Well, well, who do we have here? It's the So Cal Smartass."

Jess immediately got defensive. "Right backatcha!"

"Ooo…" the older version of herself crooned. "I had almost forgotten exactly how touchy I was in my younger days. Get your hackles down, kid. I was just teasing you."

"Don't call me kid!" Jess exploded. "I'm not sure exactly how much older than me you are, but you don't really look any older. So cut out the superior, sanctimonious bullshit before I shut your mouth for you!"

The future Jess crossed her arms with a smug grin. "Do you honestly think you could take me, little girl?"

"Damn straight!" Jess fired back. "I could whoop your ass on my worst day! If you want to test that theory then bring it on! I've been itching for a good rough and tumble for a while now. So if you're feeling froggy, then leap."

Surprisingly, her future self stepped right up to her so that they were almost nose to nose. "I remember clinging to that last piece of anger buried deep inside me, the same way that you do. Hell, I still feel it sometimes. It can be a powerful motivator if you learn how to channel it properly. And according to what I've heard from Kyrian, you're on your way to learning that lesson. But I have a feeling that you'll be getting a crash course in it soon."

Then she took a step back and held out her hand. "It feels weird to be giving a pep talk to myself, but I'm glad that you're here."

Jess eyed her warily for a moment. "You were just screwing with me, weren't you?"

She was met with a cocky grin. "Of course I was. I give everybody else a hard time all the time. It's not often that I get to mess with myself."

But Jess wasn't completely satisfied yet. "And you've been messing with my dreams for the last several weeks, haven't you? If you are supposed to be me, then you know that I value every bit of sleep that I can get."

The future Jess waved a hand. "Oh please! Like losing an hour here or there was going to kill you. And I had a little help with trying to send you enough subtle messages that you would get your shit together."

Jess thought for a moment, and then ground out, "Dawn! I could throttle her right now!"

"Don't go hating on her!" her future counterpart snapped back. "I asked her to help me, and I'm pretty sure you will do the same thing once you find yourself in my shoes. Something had to be done because if you had come back here at the same level that you were at the night you had that little run in with Discord on that bridge in Tokyo, you probably would end up being Puppy Chow. So whether you choose to believe it or not, I did you a favor."

Jess struggled to fight down her rising temper. After a moment she mumbled, "Thanks, I guess."

A short distance away, Serena had been watching the scene along with most of the others in the foyer. "Wow! It's times like these that make me grateful that I'm not her mother this time around. What a temper!"

A soft laugh came from beside her. "I say the same thing to myself all the time. Jess is a great friend, but I hate to think what our relationship would be like if we were mother and daughter."

Serena turned her head to see that Serenity had come to stand beside her. She had thought it was strange to see Darien and Endymion together, but looking at another living and breathing person and feeling like you had looked into a mirror went way beyond the realm of strangeness and over the edge into possible insanity. She fought back the urge to hum the theme song to The Twilight Zone.

Serenity gave her a soft smile. "I know. This is way beyond weird, isn't it? I thought that it wouldn't feel so strange since I've been through this before from your perspective. But it's still knocked me for a loop."

"Yeah, me too," Serena mumbled. "I guess all of my mental preparation for this moment was for nothing."

Darien snorted a laugh. "I wouldn't say that. I hate to see what your reaction would've been if you hadn't known about this little trip beforehand. But I guess once a Meatball Head, always a Meatball Head, right, Serena?"

Serena raised her chin haughtily. "I'm not even going to grace that comment with an answer. It's not worth my time. But if you want to be a jerk, Darien Shields, you can go be one with someone else."

Serenity threw back her head and laughed. "That's telling him, Serena! Even his future self seems determined to put me in a bad mood today."

"What were you two bickering about when we got here?" Rini asked curiously as she looked back and forth between her parents.

Endymion grinned widely. "As you can see from her t-shirt, your mother had a bit of a cocoa mishap."

DJ's grin mirrored his father's. "I was wondering what that was. I thought mom was just trying to set a new fashion trend."

Serenity's blue eyes narrowed. "You better watch yourself, Darien James! You might be grown, but you'll never be too big for me to take over my knee." Then she looped an arm through Serena's. "Come on, Serena. These ungrateful leeches don't deserve our company."

The two blondes began circling around the foyer, checking in with their friends to make sure that they had gotten over the shock of being confronted with themselves.

The generals from the past were off to one side conversing with their future selves. The two groups had met and spent quite a bit of time together several years before when the past generals had first been returned to their bodies, so they were already talking and joking like old friends. The men from the future were congratulating the younger guys on their engagements, or in Kunzite's case, his recent marriage.

The inner scouts had also seemed to have quickly bonded with their future selves.

Mina was admiring the dress that her older self was wearing, which, she was informed, had been designed by her and was the top-selling design in her new summer collection. Emma was ooh-ing and ah-ing over it as well and begging her mother to get her one. The young girl squealed when she was told that one was already hanging in her closet, waiting for her.

Amy and her future self almost had their heads pressed together over their Mercury computers while the future Amy rattled off a long list of upgrades that she had recently applied to hers. Hannah had pulled hers out as well and was typing rapidly as she sought to upgrade her own mini-computer.

The two Rayes were deep in a conversation about the Hikawa Shrine and the changes that had taken place there over the years. The Raye from the past had tears of happiness in her eyes as she heard the news that her crazy, lovable grandfather was still alive and in charge of the shrine that he loved so much. Jayden stood not far away from them, rolling his eyes.

And of course, the Litas were talking about food. Future Lita was promising her past self that later she would personally give her a grand tour of the palace kitchen. Lita from the past was nodding vigorously and then eagerly asked if she could help prepare lunch or dinner. Skye jumped into the conversation quickly and pledged her help as well.

Jess seemed to have gotten over being angry with her future self, and the two women had wandered over to where a large painting, showing a panoramic view of Crystal Tokyo, hung on the wall. The painting style gave away the artist even before Serena saw the familiar signature in the bottom right corner, only this painting was signed Jessica Furuhata instead of Jessica Alexander. The two Andrew's stood nearby with the twins, talking, and Katie looked like she was almost glued to her father's side. Yep, definitely a daddy's girl.

The only ones who weren't mingling with the group were the outers. They stood over to the side, watching quietly. Serena and Serenity went to join them.

"Trista," Serenity greeted the time guardian, who had transformed back into her civilian form. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done. You got the kids out of here and watched over them all of this time. And now you've brought them back home to us. Thank you so much."

Trista inclined her head. "It has been my pleasure. I won't deny that this whole mission has given me my share of headaches, but it has been well worth it. All of the young ones, not just DJ, Katie, and Alex, have learned so much from this experience. I don't believe that we have ever been in a better position to take down Discord than we are right now."

Serenity nodded. "They have grown so much. I barely recognized Rini at first. She looks so adult, and DJ too. I swear that he has grown two inches while he has been gone. He practically stands eye to eye with his father now. And the rest of them…they all look like a mature and able group of warriors. I'm so proud of them all."

"So what are you guys doing over here, hiding?" Serena asked the other outers.

Amara shrugged. "Just trying to stay out of the way, Kitten. Since our future selves obviously aren't here, we thought it was best to just fade into the background."

Serenity giggled. "Oh, your future selves will be back shortly. We weren't expecting you to arrive until later, so they went out to have breakfast with the in-laws."

"In-laws?" Michelle questioned softly.

The queen grinned widely. "Oh yes! You see, in this time my brother and Hotaru are happily married. Right now your future selves are out with the cozy couple and my parents."

Hotaru slapped her hands to her burning cheeks as she squealed, "I marry Sammy!"

Curious eyes all around snapped to them at her outburst.

Amara let out a long chuckle. "I always knew I liked that boy. Now I just hope that he's man enough to make Michelle and me grandmothers. I've missed having a little one running around since you grew up so quickly, Taru."

Now Hotaru's hands were covering her eyes. "Stop it, Amara! You're embarrassing me!"

A mischievous look appeared on Serenity's face. "Oh, I think you'll be pleased with the way things have turned out. But I'll wait and let you see for yourselves."

Just then, a girlish scream came from above them, "Give it back, Nick!" followed by the pounding of footsteps.

A chestnut haired boy came sprinting down the wide grand staircase, followed closely behind by a girl with long, glossy black hair. They both screeched to a halt in the middle of the stairs when they saw all the people assembled in the foyer below them and stood silent and still in shock.

"Hey, Nick! You didn't let her catch you already, did you?" another voice said as a platinum haired boy also came down the stairs. Several feet behind him was a very small boy with wheat blonde hair. They too froze when they saw the large group.

After a few seconds of silence, the girl was the first to respond. "Jay!" she cried happily as she ran the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Ryssa!" Jayden responded just as cheerfully as he caught the smaller girl in a hug when she launched herself at him. "Oh man! I've missed you, little sister."

"Little sister!" Raye squeaked in surprise as she shared a wide-eyed look with Jadeite.

Emma and Skye broke away from the group to dash up the stairs to the two older boys, where they promptly began smothering them with hugs.

"Your big sister is finally back, Kyle!" Emma chirped as she squeezed the fair-haired boy tightly.

"Nicky! Nicky! Nicky!" Skye squealed as she hugged her brother.

"Ew! Big sister germs!" both boys shouted in complaint. Then, together, they roared, "Get off of us!"

The smallest of the group carefully made his way down, one step at a time, until he reached his blue haired sister, who was waiting for him at the bottom. Hannah was well aware of the fierce independent streak her brother had, so she force herself to wait patiently until he reached her. But when he made it to the bottom step and held his arms up to her, she swooped him up and gave him a smacking kiss on his chubby cheek.

"Hannah! You finally came home!" he cheered as he flung his short little arms around her neck. "You've been gone forever! Momma and daddy kept saying that you would come back, and now you did!"

Tears shimmered in Hannah's eyes as she held him close. "Oh, Corey! You've gotten so big!"

Mina's legs gave out, and she slumped to her knees on the floor, whispering, "I don't believe this. There are more kids?" She stared at Kyle, who had managed to wrestle his way out of Emma's grasp, in utter disbelief.

"Tell me about it," Raye muttered as she studied the girl that looked just like a miniature her, right down to the fiery aura that surrounded her. "Not only do I have a Jadeite clone, but I have one of me as well. I wish the fire had clued me in to that little fact before I came here."

"Ah, it's not so bad," Lita drawled, having recovered some from her shock. She grinned as she watched Nick try to outmaneuver Skye. She could tell from his face that he was young, but he was tall for his age. At the rate he was obviously growing, he would probably be every bit as tall as Nephrite when he was grown.

"Well this was…unexpected," Amy said in a hesitant tone as she took in the sight of the little boy, who was barely school aged, as he shrieked in glee while Hannah spun them around.

Then his blue eyes met hers and a crease appeared on his forehead as he frowned and said, "You're not my momma. You look like her, but you're not her."

"Corey! Don't be rude. Remember, I explained to you that we had some very special guests coming to visit?" his mother chastised him.

His bottom lip trembled and his eyes turned watery at the sternness of her tone. "Sorry, momma."

Unable to take the tension anymore, Mina jumped to her feet. Then she whirled around to glare at Emma, who let out a strangled squeak and ran to hide behind Alex at the sight of the sparks shooting from the normally happy, china blue eyes.

Mina was shaking so hard that even her hair was quivering as she growled at her future daughter, "I can't believe you. You've been with me all this time and you…how could you…why didn't you ever tell me that you had a brother?"

Emma peeked over Alex's shoulder. "Umm…you never asked me?"

"That's no excuse! All those hours we spent shopping together and you never once…I could strangle you!" Mina lunged for the younger girl.

Emma's bloodcurdling scream ricocheted around the foyer as she dashed out from behind her boyfriend and ran for Kunzite, ducking behind him before the rabid blonde could catch her.

Kunzite chuckled as he looked over his shoulder at her. "I think you picked the wrong guy, Em. If you're wanting your dad to protect you, then you want him." He pointed to his future self, who was standing several feet away, looking around with an expression on his face that clearly showed that he was struggling to keep from cracking up.

Long golden hair whipped into Emma's face as she shook her head. "Oh no! I knew exactly who I was taking refuge behind. This is your Mina that is trying to kill me after all. So do me a favor and calm her down, would you?"

Lita had grabbed Mina by the right arm and was holding her back. "Geez! Chill, Mina!"

"For real!" Raye growled from her left side, where she was helping to restrain her. "You act like you're the only one that has had a shock to their system. None of the rest of us knew anything about having more children either. But you can't blame Emma for not blabbing. I'm sure they were under orders from Pluto to not say anything."

"She's right," Serena agreed as she hurried to stand in front of Mina and cupped her fellow blonde's face between her palms. "Rini's been hanging out with us for years, but I never had a clue that DJ even existed until he was right in front of me. There are rules that have to be followed where time travel is concerned. You know that."

Mina sucked in a shaky breath. "This is all so overwhelming. All of my senses have shot into overdrive. I need some air."

"I have an idea," Serenity said, stepping forward. "I think we all could use a little time to get used to things. So why don't all of you kids take your things to your rooms and find something to keep yourselves entertained for a while. And after I run up real quick and change my shirt, all of us scouts will go take a stroll through the gardens while we talk."

The future Raye snorted. "Please, Serena! You haven't been a sailor scout for almost two decades now."

"You know what I mean!" the queen growled back as she headed for the stairs. She stopped and pointed a finger at Endymion when he made to follow her. "Oh no, buddy! I'm still steamed at you at the moment! You just go off with all the men and do your guy thing or something until I've had a chance to calm down."

Endymion crossed his arms with a huff. "Fine! Be that way!" Then he grumbled under his breath, "I don't see why she's getting so bent out of shape. She would have laughed at me if I had been the one to have a klutz attack and spilt cocoa on myself."

Serenity jerked her chin. "Yeah, but unfortunately you've never had a clumsy moment in your life. Now leave me alone."

"Home sweet home, huh," DJ grumbled as he dug his bag out of the pile and shouldered it in preparation to go up to his room.

Rini nodded. "You got that right. I'd almost forgotten how much mom and dad could bicker over the stupidest things."

"Um, what about us?" Alex asked as the rest of the teens, accompanied by their siblings, gathered their belongings and began drifting up the stairs.

Katie looked uncertain as well. "Yeah. Should we take our stuff to the house?"

Their mother came up behind them and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "We thought it was best to keep everyone together in case anything unexpected happened, so your father and I have been staying here. The rooms that you have used before when you have stayed the night here are ready and waiting for you."

Jess's head jerked around. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that we don't live here like everyone else?"

"Of course I am!" her future self fired back. "My family and I have our own home, thank you very much. Why on Earth would I want to live in a palace? Do I look like some kind of a princess to you?"

It was a poor joke, but everyone laughed.

A/N Success! Everyone has finally landed in the future. And I'm sure you all know what that means. The final showdown with Discord is right around the corner. I know that there wasn't any action in this chapter, and the beginning of the next will probably continue in the same way, but I used this chapter to really set up the foundation for what is to come. I wanted to show how much the Trinity holders, and the others, had grown since the beginning of this story. They started off as a group of confused teenagers, and now they seem so adult. I also wanted to show some interaction between the past and future selves. It would be no fun if the Tokyo crew just popped in, fought in the battle, and then left. I really want there to be some kind of relationship between them. I also enjoy paying a brief visit to our little refugees hiding in Elysian in the far future. Their story will play a small part in the upcoming battle as well. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought. Later gators! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~