A/N Okay guys, I only have three words for you. I'M SO SOORRRYYY! That's the best Serena wail I can manage. I know you guys have been waiting forever for this, and you've really been great and patient about it. My life has just been one large roller coaster ride the past year or so. So please continue to bear with me. I promise that all of my stories will be completed and that I have more planned for the future. And, if the greater being upstairs is willing, I hope to never have to go so long without updating again. I have actually been going through withdrawals from the lack of writing time and from being able to read everyone's wonderful reviews. That was why I launched one of my other stories, The Moon and the Earth, way ahead of schedule on Darien's birthday. I was shooting for updating Rekindled for that day, but it's just not ready. But it's coming soon. Okay! I know I haven't groveled near enough, but I'm sure you're ready to move on. This is a really long chapter, even for me, so I hope it helps make up for the wait a tiny bit. Now let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

Wonderwomanbatmanfan

Litalove

little princess of mercury

Seredhiel05

sabina21

Atem's Sister Atea

Robyn

MeganLeBlanc

saveme57

KageNoNeko

TheMoonPrincess110

GoldenDragon326

beautifulbrainiac101222

CaughtInAFantasy

nickybluejess

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Megan

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Perfect Beauty

SailorMercuryROCKS

LBricker88

There are not enough thank yous in the world to express how much I appreciate all of your reviews, but I will still say it anyway. THANK YOU! Now, on with the show. The battle with Discord begins!

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 39

The Battle of Crystal Tokyo Part 1

"Holy crap! I can't get over how weird this is. She looks exactly the same as I remember her from when I saw her years ago."

"I know. I was caught in a youma attack when I was a kid, and she, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter showed up to fight it. Her outfit was a bit different then, but she still looks pretty much the same."

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth as she heard the clicks of several cameras snapping pictures over the murmuring voices and saw the flare of flashes in spite of the bright day.

Close by her side, Neo Queen Serenity whispered, "Just smile, Serena. Don't let them know that they are getting to you."

Her younger counterpart drew in a deep breath and plastered a bright smile on her face. But out of the corner of her mouth she muttered, "They are like vultures. How the hell do you put up with this?"

Serenity chuckled softly. "By never leaving home without my Luna Pen. But even that is not always fool proof. The paparazzi have a nasty little knack of being able to sense whenever I step foot outside and they hunt me down, especially if Darien's with me. He's tried all sorts of ball caps and sunglasses to hide his identity, but he's just so easily noticed. And the moment anyone sees him with a woman they know that it has to be me in disguise."

"Not always," Endymion drawled sardonically as he appeared at his wife's side. "There was that whole fiasco back about ten years ago with that nosy reporter that snapped that picture of us coming out of that restaurant. The next morning the headline was blaring that I was having an affair on you."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Nobody paid attention to that. The paper that girl worked for was nothing more than a rag mag. And people seldom believe what they read in the tabloids."

Sailor Moon squeaked out a giggle, but it was shaky and nervous sounding. As a rule, she and her friends had avoided the press like the plague over the years since they had started fighting. So suddenly being thrust into the spotlight was an entirely new experience for her.

Just then, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a warm, concerned voice brushed her ear. "Are you okay?"

She jumped a little, and then turned her head to look over her shoulder into a pair of dark blue eyes that were watching her from behind a white mask. She sighed heavily as she heard the murmurs around them increase in excitement and the cameras began clicking again with renewed vigor. "I guess I'm just feeling a little frazzled. I'm not used to all of this attention."

Serenity reached over and squeezed her hand. "They'll run out of steam soon and go find new victims. They're just pumped up right now over seeing the four of us together. I bet we make the front page of every paper in town tomorrow morning."

"If there is a tomorrow morning," Eternal Sailor Uranus growled as she, her past self, and two aqua haired scouts appeared on the scene.

"Amara, behave!" Eternal Sailor Neptune chastised gently. "You make it sound like we've already lost."

"Anything could happen," Uranus replied before her future self could respond. "After all, we are trusting everything to a group of high-schoolers."

Neptune snorted daintily. "A group of mature and highly intelligent high schoolers, Amara. So I believe that we should give them the benefit of the doubt."

Eternal Uranus rolled her eyes. "I'm not doubting the pipsqueaks. I'm just hoping that they've learned enough this go around to take care of business as fast as possible. The sooner they get this over with, the sooner we can get back to our lives. The first race of the international circuit is coming up, and I will be pissed if I have to miss it."

Eternal Neptune giggled softly. "Do you really need another trophy, dearest?"

"You can never have too many trophies!" Uranus exclaimed, beating her older self to the punch. "In fact, as nice as this visit has been, I need to get home and get back to work myself."

Eternal Uranus shot her a smirk. "Then how about we get this show on the road. You want to help me exterminate some of these pests so that Kitten #1 and Kitten #2 can get to work and stop posing for the cameras?"

Sailor Moon's face turned a vivid red as she wailed softly, "Take that back, Amara! I was not posing for anything! You know me better than that!"

Uranus patted her head like a puppy's. "Don't take it so seriously, Kitten. You know we're just kidding with you. I can't help it if I think you're too adorable for words when you get all hot and bothered."

Then she flashed a playful wink at her princess before joining her future self and both Neptunes to chase off the hounding members of the press. A few of the reporters and photographers tried to argue that they were within their rights to stay where they were and cover what they considered to be a major news story. But even the most argumentative of the group quailed quickly under the hard as nails glares given to them by the dynamite duo of tall, blonde scouts with their flashing navy eyes. There was no doubt that they meant business.

Serenity giggled softly. "Leave it to Amara to run right over people. And nobody stands a chance with two of her running around."

A low chuckle rumbled from Endymion. "At least they got the job done. All of those whispers and cameras were starting to get on my nerves. I knew this was going to be a circus, but it's even worse than I thought it would be."

A small burst of static came from the communicator on the queen's wrist, followed by Eternal Venus's voice. "Hey, Moon, this is Venus. Can you hear me?"

Serenity raised the communicator to her mouth. "Loud and clear V-babe. What's up?"

"Ames and Zoi have finished doing whatever it was they were doing to the security system, and they were wondering if you and Serena could slip away for a moment to come and talk to them," Eternal Venus replied.

Serenity looked to Sailor Moon, who nodded rapidly, eager to escape the spotlight for a moment. So she answered, "Tell them that we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Will do," Eternal Venus chirped in her usual perky way.

"Sometimes I wish I could bottle her energy," Serenity muttered, half in exasperation.

Sailor Moon grinned ruefully. "You and me both. Mina has always had enough enthusiasm to fuel at least ten people. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew that Artemis had naturally white hair and that Kunzite was born with his platinum locks, I would be tempted to say that dealing with her was the cause of their hair color."

Serenity nodded enthusiastically. "Don't I know it! Of course, I'm surprised that all of us around here aren't gray, white, or silver haired after putting up with what we have over the years. But you'll see what I mean when the time comes. I would never trade either one of my kids for all the cake and ice cream in the world. But I have had my hair raising moments."

"Oh joy! I can't wait!" Sailor Moon snickered sarcastically as she followed her future self, Endymion, and Tuxedo Mask back into the palace to see what their resident geniuses had in store for them.

"This place is a mad house," Katie grumbled as she looked over the railing from the third floor landing of the Crystal Palace into the main foyer below.

"Tell me about it!" Rini agreed at her side. "I've never seen this big of a crowd even during the holiday balls. This place is almost bursting at the seams."

Little Corey squeezed between them, pressing his face close to the slats in the railing. His blue eyes were round and wide as he stared down in wonder. "Wow! There really are a lot of people here."

A second tiny body shimmied into the small gap as well to peer down at the crowd below. "I've never seen so many people at one time," Talon and Anya's five year old daughter, Abby, barely breathed.

The teens at the rail, Rini, DJ, Katie, Alex, Emma, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah all backed away so that the younger group could get a good look at all of the activity going on.

"That is a lot of people," Nick commented dryly.

Kyle snorted. "That just means more pandemonium when people start freaking out."

"Do you always have to be so pessimistic?" Ryssa snapped peevishly. "I still wish you guys would let me come with you. I'm a sailor scout too now."

"Absolutely not!" Jayden exclaimed with an emotion akin to horror. "I don't care if you are a sailor scout. You are too young to get wrapped up in this crap."

Ryssa, the newly dubbed Sailor Deimos, stuck her tongue out at him. She had debated long and hard over what name to take for herself. But she had always been close to the guardian crows at her great grandfather's shrine, and had always felt a closer bond to Deimos than she had Phobos. Thus the decision to take that name for her alter ego. The thought of using the ancient name for terror and dread made her feel decadently wicked.

"You may as well give it up, Rys," Nick grumbled. "Nobody is going to let us do anything except sit here and be bored. Why else do you think the parents have us under guard?"

Skye reached over and tugged on a piece of his shaggy chestnut hair. "Watch it, little bro! We're not here to guard you. The adults just asked us to keep you guys entertained and out of the way while they concentrate on taking care of business."

Kyle rolled his blue eyes. "That's practically the same thing. No matter how you put it, it translates into you guys being our wardens."

Emma giggled. "You make the palace sound like a prison. What kind of prison has video games and a home theater? Not to mention that the group of us are much nicer and better looking than most prison guards. You should count yourself lucky."

Rini blew out a long-suffering sigh. "Ditz!"

"Complete ditz," Skye agreed.

Katie held her hands up in front of her. "I'm not getting the middle of this one."

Hannah nodded her head. "Me neither."

"What is a ditz?" Abby piped up.

The teens were saved from trying to explain things to the little girl by the arrival of her mother. Anya appeared at the top of the stairs; looking much like a child herself since her petite form was almost completely swallowed up by her three gigantic sons behind her. Kyrian, of course, was the tallest. But seventeen year old Julian, who greatly resembled Anya with his dark chocolate hair and coffee colored eyes, was only a couple of inches shorter. Even Taylor, who had evidently inherited some recessive genes from his maternal grandfather and had the same white blond hair and golden eyes that his Uncle Evan had, stood right at six feet tall, and he was only thirteen. Add in their father, Talon, and they made a family of very big men.

Abby, on the other hand, showed signs of taking after her mother. She was extremely small, even for a five year old. But other than that she took completely after her father. She had Talon's warm, medium brown hair and his jet black eyes, which always glittered with whatever emotions she was feeling.

Those eyes were flashing with excitement now as her tiny feet hurled her at her mother. "Mommy! Mommy! Have you ever seen so many people in your life? I didn't know that there were this many people in the entire world."

Anya laughed as she picked her daughter up and set her on her hip. "It is a lot of people, isn't it? That's why I told you to stay up here. So you wouldn't get lost in the crowd."

"Or stepped on," Kyrian teased as he tugged gently on his sister's ponytail. "A little thing like you is liable to get squashed like a cockroach down there."

An indignant look scrunched up her pixie face. "I'm not a bug, Kyrian!"

He merely chuckled at her as he looked around. His gaze met and held Skye's for a long moment, and she tried to fight down the flush that crept into her cheeks as the hot flash of emotion in his eyes brought the memories of all they had shared together the night before rushing to the front of her mind.

"Hmm…" Emma buzzed quietly beside her. "You may think that I am a ditz, but this ditz can plainly see that something has changed in your and Kyrian's relationship. You've been a naughty girl, haven't you?"

"Shut up!" Skye hissed back softly. "My personal life is my business!" But she couldn't stop her heart from beating a little faster and her breath from catching a bit at the thought of the hours that she had spent in her dark haired sorcerer's bed. It had definitely been a life changing experience.

Emma merely shrugged a shoulder. "Hey, I'm not condemning it. In fact, I'm pleased as punch for you. Besides, do you honestly think I was alone in bed last night?"

Skye growled and stomped away, muttering to Alex as she walked by him, "You better get your little girlfriend under control, sun boy, before I strangle her to death."

He held his hands up in a gesture of helplessness. "Hey! I can't control what she says or does. She is her own person."

"Down, children!" Anya demanded in a tone of voice that immediately had her four children snapping to attention. After all, she hadn't run her predominantly male household all of these years by being soft spoken. They knew she meant business.

"That's better," she declared when silence fell and all eyes were on her. "Now, Serenity and the others have requested that those of you ages fourteen and up to come downstairs to cover some last minute things. I will take over keeping an eye on the younger ones. I was also told that Jack and Sasha are around as well."

DJ hitched a thumb over his shoulder to the door behind him. "Yeah. They're in the entertainment room. They're pretty bummed out though. They feel like all of this is their fault."

Alex snorted. "Well it is."

"Alex!" Katie exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"That's not the truth," she retorted hotly. "Discord would have found a way to do this, with or without them. So you can't blame them for everything."

"It makes me feel better," he grumbled.

"Right on!" DJ seconded.

Katie whirled on him. "Don't you start! We are just as much to blame. We made it easy for them by actually dating them."

Rini pushed her way between them. "Um, guys…meeting…downstairs…bad guy that still needs beating…remember? Do you think you can save the soap opera for later?"

"She's quite right," Anya agreed. "Now all of you scoot. Not you, Taylor! You better get your butt back over here before I tan it!"

"Aw, mom!" the fair-haired boy complained as he slunk back from where he had been trying to slip off with his two brothers. "It isn't fair! I'm almost fourteen! Why should a few months be held against me?"

The older teens, at least those that could, transformed and started down the stairs, leaving behind the sounds of mother and son bickering. The second floor landing and halls were fairly crowded, since it had been set aside for families with small babies, pregnant women, people who were ill, and the elderly. Despite the number of people around, it was fairly calm and quiet.

Once on the ground floor, that all changed. People were packed in tight together and speaking in loud voices in order to heard over everyone else. Older children ran around wildly, buzzing with the excitement of being inside the palace.

The group of teens stuck together as they made their way through the crowd. It wasn't long though before people noticed them and began pointing and whispering behind hands.

"What are they all staring at?" Katie growled angrily. "They're acting like they've never seen us before."

DJ took her hand and squeezed it gently. "They're probably just wondering why you, Alex, and I aren't transformed like the others."

That was probably true enough. Rini and the others carried an air of authority around them since they were in their uniforms while they were dressed in their everyday clothes.

Alex leaned toward them with a smirk. "And the guys are probably going gaga over seeing you in that outfit, Kat. Have I told you that you look a lot like your future self today?"

She looked down at her clothes. She was indeed dressed in the same manner that her future self had been every time she'd seen her. In fact, that had been why she had gone to her family's house in the early morning hours, to get the faded old jeans, close fitting black tank top, and lace up boots she now wore.

Her cheeks flushed when she also remembered how she'd had to make a second trip back to get the items when she'd forgotten them after her rendezvous with DJ. They had remained in her bed until the sun had begun coming up before teleporting back to the palace. DJ had left her in her room to return to his own, and she had been heading for the shower when she remembered that she had left the clothes sitting on top of her dresser and had to go back for them.

She managed to shrug nonchalantly. "I figured my future self had the right idea. Looser clothes are comfortable, but they can get in the way while fighting. And I want to make sure I have my full range of motion during this fight."

DJ's fingers stroked the tiny strip of skin visible between where her sword belt was strapped around her hips and the bottom of the tank top. Then he bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "I don't care. Let all of the other men drool. I know what is mine."

A shiver of desire raced through her at his words. "I'm all yours," she barely breathed.

"Oh! Ew!" both Rini and Alex exclaimed as they jumped away from the obviously enraptured couple.

"Oh, leave them alone!" Emma scolded softly, aware of the crowd around them. "Far be it for any of us to condemn a couple that is obviously in love."

Katie blushed even more as Emma gave her an outrageous wink. The girl might be practically her sister-in-law at this point, but she was as lacking in subtlety as her mother. "Thanks for setting the record straight, Em," she growled.

Emma took the comment with a graceful smile. "I'm always ready to help."

By that time, they had worked their way past the crowd and to the large conference room where a handful of the adults were gathered. Most of the room's occupants were transformed, but the teens let their transformations fade as they walked in. The adults had been doing this a lot longer than they had, and could keep their transformations up without using hardly any energy at all. It was second nature to them now. The younger group preferred to save every drop of energy they could for the coming fight.

Sailor Moon was leaning over Eternal Sailor Mercury's shoulder, looking at something on the screen of the Mercury computer as she shook her head. "I think you guys are putting way too much faith in me. I just don't think I'll be able to pull it off."

Serenity was walking by and stopped to pat her past self on the shoulder. "It's you who isn't giving yourself enough credit. You can do this. I have it on good authority, by which I mean myself. You just need to find the strength inside you and use it."

"I'm with Serena on this," Sailor Shadow drawled as she cocked back in the chair she was sitting in and propped her navy blue boots on the conference table. "Not that I like to toot my own horn or anything, I'm pretty good, and I know I am, but some of what you are asking us to do sounds a lot like suicide…or Armageddon. I can't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Can't I just go out and kick some ass?"

"If that's all you want to do, then why did you bother spending all of those hours training with Kyrian?" Eternal Sailor Shadow sneered as she knocked her younger counterpart's feet off the table. "I go through the trouble to get you as prepared as possible for this, and now you want to back out? I don't remember being so cowardly."

Shadow jumped to her feet. "Just who the hell are you calling a coward? I'm not afraid to go into this battle. I'm just a bit apprehensive about accidentally taking out everybody else in the process. What good is it to try and save the world if there will be no world left to save?"

Eternal Shadow grinned. "Now there is the Alexander fighting spirit! Don't worry so much. I'll keep an eye on you and you keep an eye on me. I think if we work together we should be able to keep each other in balance and under control."

"If not, it will be one hell of a fireworks show," Katie muttered as she crossed the room to her mother.

"At least you will have front row seats," Eternal Shadow joked as she squeezed her affectionately to her side. "What's the matter, baby girl? Don't you have any faith in your old mom?"

"You're hardly old, mom," Katie snickered, but that didn't stop her from leaning against her mother for a moment and briefly laying her head on her shoulder.

Alex chuckled. "Are you kidding, mom? You are a knockout! If you weren't my mom and I saw you out somewhere, I would definitely have to give you a second look or ten."

"What am I, leftover sushi?" Shadow grumbled. "For crying out loud, I look just like the woman, but no one is paying me compliments. It's the new fuku, isn't it? I wish I could hurry up and get it for myself." She flicked a piece of nonexistent lint off of her short, dark blue skirt with its silver and gold trim.

Eternal Shadow smirked. "Sorry. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while to get this transformation."

All of the younger scouts had been stunned earlier when their future selves transformed to reveal fukus that were different from theirs. The changes weren't huge, and they'd kept their personal colors, but the puffed sleeves and multi-layered skirts definitely resembled the style of Eternal Sailor Moon's.

Shadow had been the least surprised by the transformation since she had already seen her future self in her dreams. But it had still been a bit of a shock. Now she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way. "I guess Serena is the only one of us that gets to be special."

Sailor Moon forced a smile and a giggle at her teasing, but she was nervous and jumpy on the inside. It was true though. She had powered up a few times and achieved her super sailor scout form before any of the other scouts had. Then she had gone even further and reached eternal status. According to what Serenity had murmured to her earlier, none of the other scouts, not even Jess, who was every bit as powerful as she was, would become eternal scouts until the Earth was awakened in the future and she had accepted the title of queen of the Moon.

And if she did what Serenity and Amy had both told her that she needed to do today, then she would be leaving her scouts even further behind. But the thought of embracing her fully powered princess form still frightened her. What if she couldn't control it?

She felt hands on her shoulders and turned to find Darien standing behind her. He had de-transformed after they had returned inside the palace earlier. He'd claimed that it was because he was tired of dealing with his cape, but she knew better. He was conserving every speck of energy that he could in case she needed his help later.

His deep blue eyes looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded jerkily. "Yeah. I'm just nervous."

He chuckled softly. "You don't have to tell me that. I can feel your emotions zipping through our bond, and you are about to jump out of your skin. I know you have a big task ahead of you, but I know you can do it. And I'll be right there with you to help if you need it. I won't let anything happen to you."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks for his support, but her fears didn't lessen much. She hadn't told anyone, not even him, about what she had discussed with Serenity and the future Amy the day before. She admitted to herself now that it was because she had been in denial about the need for her to unleash that fearfully awesome power that she had drawn on when fighting Galaxia. But now that she had seen the full layout of Eternal Mercury and Zoi's security plan, she knew that there was no way around it.

Crystal Tokyo was surrounded by a series of conducting crystals with several more scattered around the city itself. Most of the time this system strictly acted as a monitoring system to let them know if any negative forces tried to enter the city. But during times of battle it could actually be used for protection. When the power of the Silver Crystal was channeled through the grid, it formed a protective barrier across the city that could prevent the negativity from entering. The downside was that Crystal Tokyo was an extremely big place, and it would take a lot of energy, her strongest energy, to be able to both cover the city and repel the enemy. If she didn't give it her all, Discord's monsters would be able to find gaps and slip right in.

So she and Serenity were going to take turns powering the barrier as long as they could. No one doubted that eventually they would either wear out, or the enemy would find a way to knock out one of the crystals so that they could force their way in.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and the inner scouts from the past were well aware of the fact that the inner scouts of the future were perfectly able to combine their energy to cast a protective barrier. They had witnessed it firsthand during their previous visit to the future during the Dark Moon siege, and the scouts had valiantly expended their energy for weeks on end until the Doom Phantom had been destroyed and peace had returned.

But there were several downsides to asking them to do it again. The most important was the fact that once they put up the barrier they required total focus and concentration to keep it up, which would remove four fighters from the battlefield that they might need. There was also the fact that their barrier would only cover the palace itself and the immediate grounds, which would leave the rest of the city in the path of destruction and the overflow of citizens that spilled out past the palace boundaries open for attack.

So that was where the two Sailor Shadow's came in. According to the future Jess, she could generate a shield that would cover a good sized portion of the city, but it was extremely draining to both expel the energy and hold back her potentially destructive powers at the same time, so she had to take periodic breaks to keep herself balanced.

The younger Jess, on the other hand, wasn't able to make a shield quite as large as her future counterpart's, and the bigger it was the more likely it was to have weak spots in it. But between the two of them they were hoping to keep the casualties and damage in the city down to a minimum.

With any luck, between the two Silver Crystals and the two Celestial Crystals, they would be able to hold off Discord's forces until the teens managed to defeat Discord once and for all. If not, it would then fall to the rest of their friends and family to protect the city as much as possible. With three lines of defense between them, everyone was trying to keep their hopes for victory high.

"So what do we do now?" Rini asked as she slid into the chair next to where her mother had taken a seat.

Serenity sighed deeply. "Now we wait." She looked out a nearby window at the sun that was steadily rising higher in the sky. "It won't be long now. That bastard will be making his move soon. He's been waiting a long time for this, and I know he's got to be feeling antsy by now."

Endymion came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "We've all been waiting a long time for this day. But with a bit of faith and luck, hopefully everything will work out in our favor."

"If the Treacherous Trio doesn't screw things up you mean," Rini snorted. "We may need more luck than you think, dad."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis."

"No doubt," Katie grumbled as she slouched against the wall next to him.

Alex, on the other hand, grinned goofily. "Well! I feel thoroughly downtrodden and insignificant now. Thanks for lifting my spirits, Rini. You're a real pal!"

"Good grief! Does he come with an off switch?" Skye muttered.

A look of mock horror spread across Emma's face. "Of course he doesn't! Why on Earth would I want to turn him off?"

Julian, who up until now had remained quiet, chuckled evilly. "That's right, Aphrodite. You're supposed to turn him on, aren't you?"

He and Kyrian guffawed loudly together as they shared high fives and knuckle pounds. Jayden snickered at the comment as well, but a faint flush on his face betrayed the fact that he was slightly embarrassed. Hannah merely clapped her hands over her ears, her green eyes wide and her cheeks looking like red apples.

Serenity clapped her hands together. "All right, everyone! That's enough playing around. The main reason why I called you down here was to make sure that nobody had any last minute questions because once this fight starts most of you will be cut off and separated from the rest of us. If you have any concerns, now is the time to voice them."

The three Trinity holders and the other five members of their team glanced around, sharing looks with each other for a few moments before shaking their heads. They had spent months preparing for this day. If they didn't have everything lined out by now, then it was too late.

Endymion sighed heavily. "Okay then. I know you get tired of hearing this, but be careful out there."

DJ smirked at his father. "Maybe we're the ones that should be telling you guys to be careful. There's going to be an awful lot of power flying around here when things get started. Discord may be the least of our worries in the end."

"Smartass!" Endymion chuckled affectionately.

Eternal Sailor Venus came in with Kunz at her side. "The evacuation is almost complete. Well, at least as much as we can. If the city perimeter is breached the hospitals will be our main concern since we couldn't move the patients. That's why we agreed that teams should be stationed there. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people who simply refuse to leave their homes or are taking refuge in their churches."

"Idiots!" Kunz scoffed. "We explained to them that we couldn't guarantee them protection if they didn't come in closer to the palace. But they said that they'd rather take their chances on their own."

A sad little sigh puffed past Serenity's lips. "We've done what we can. We can't force people to come here. We're not a dictatorship after all."

Endymion's expression was grim. "Some of them may change their minds when the fighting starts, which could mean big trouble. It will be like an all you can eat buffet to Discord's goons if they get inside the city and there are people running the streets."

"It could turn into a bloodbath," Darien agreed, meeting his future self's eyes. "We could be facing a repeat of the battle of the moon all over again."

"Don't say that!" Sailor Moon snapped in a firm voice. "What happened there won't happen here. We can't let it. I won't let it happen. If this planet was fated to be destroyed by Discord, then it should have happened millennia ago when he first came here. Instead he has been sealed away twice. I have faith that the kids can get rid of him for good this time. But if by some chance something goes wrong, I will seal him away again. I don't care if it takes every drop of energy I have. And I won't let this city get bulldozered by his flunkies either! One way or another, he's going down!"

Complete silence filled the room for a few moments after her outburst. Then, Serenity began to laugh. "Spoken like a true queen, Serena. I couldn't have put it better myself. And I agree with you completely. He's not going to win this day. We'll see to that."

"Ahem!" Eternal Sailor Mars announced from the doorway where she'd been listening. "If the two Meatball Heads have finished with their little pep rally I have some messages to pass on. Everyone has reported in, and we've covered every inch of the city, so everybody is making their way back in this direction. My grandpa has just arrived with Chad, Lizzy, their two sons of Satan, and the senior Furuhatas. And Momma Bear Furuhata is raising ten kinds of hell, saying that her grandbabies are not going into a fight without coming to say hello to her first. Big Poppa Andy is holding her back, but I fear for his life."

Katie and Alex looked at each other and grinned. Kathleen Furuhata had been described by many people, her children especially, as being a scary woman, but they never saw her that way. To them she was simply the grandmother that had fussed over them and spoiled them rotten their entire lives. She was the same way with Lizzy's two sons, and she adored being a grandma. The fact that she had been affected by the power of the Silver Crystal during the awakening of the Earth and was perfectly preserved at age forty-eight, though she didn't look any older than thirty-five, was just fine with her. Her bright red hair would never turn gray and her body wouldn't age. So she was free to play and romp with her grandchildren as much as she wanted to. She had even made a disturbing comment at the twins' last birthday about how they were almost adults and would be starting their own lives soon, and how she hoped that one day she would be able to run around after her great-grandkids.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Katie asked her brother with a giggle.

He smiled slyly. "I am if you're thinking that we should teleport in and get the drop on grandma for once. It would be the best prank ever!"

"I wouldn't be too mean to her if I were you," Eternal Mars cautioned. "She baked a batch of those secret recipe cookies of hers and brought them with her."

"Ooh! Grandma's cookies!" the twins moaned together before they both flashed themselves out of the room.

"Aren't you going to chase after them, Meatball Head?" Eternal Mars snickered evilly. "I said the word cookies."

Serenity sniffed daintily. "Really, Pyro, that old joke is getting rather stale."

"I don't think I could eat right now even if I wanted to," Sailor Moon muttered as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Me neither," Shadow agreed. "My nerves are so frazzled that I'd probably blow chunks. This is worse than a gallery showing."

Eternal Shadow waved a hand. "That gets easier with time. Once you get a few more under your belt you'll be fine."

Drew snorted. "Says the woman that I had to physically carry out of the house last summer to get her to the gallery on time."

Her eyes narrowed on her husband. "That was a slightly different situation, dear. And it's not one that we can talk about right now."

"What can't you talk about?" Shadow asked, her curiosity piqued.

Andrew sat next to her and took her hand in his. "Let it go, sweetheart. There are some things about our future that should remain secret."

Sailor Pluto stepped back from the river of time with a sigh. The time was almost upon them. From what she had seen, Discord would begin transporting his forces into the vicinity of Crystal Tokyo within the hour. The main timeline was holding bright and steady…for now. But there were still several alternate futures that branched off from it that could still come true. She just had to hope and pray that none of them did.

She walked across the misty time plane toward the door that would take her back to the Crystal Palace. Normally she would just teleport directly there to deliver her news, but she welcomed the few quiet minutes the stroll would give her so that she could think.

Last night, or early this morning rather, was still fresh in her mind. She had been so nervous at first about getting into bed with Evan. After all, what little sexual experience she had had taken place many, many centuries ago, and she had been celibate ever since. She had been afraid that he would think that she was no better than a fumbling teenager.

But nothing could have been further from the truth. Something had come over her the moment that he had taken her into his arms, and she'd felt like she had finally come to life. It had been like their souls had connected, and when he'd whispered loving words into her ear and told her how perfect he thought she was, she'd believed him.

And while she had been lying beside him after they'd made love, she'd had a startling revelation. She had loved Tristan deeply and had adored spending time with him. They had been physically intimate several times back during the Silver Millennium and had even spoken about marriage, and she would have been happy with that. But the sad truth was that what she had shared with Tristan paled in comparison to what she had with Evan. All he had to do was look at her to make her heart pound.

She didn't regret a moment of her time with Tristan, and a part of her would always love him and mourn his death. But after all of these years of listening to Venus, Serenity, and the others talk about soul mates and how extraordinary they were, she could fully relate to them. She had loved Tristan, and he had loved her, but they hadn't been soul mates. Evan was her soul mate. She could sense it with every fiber of her being. Now they just had to try to get past this fight with Discord and see where this relationship would lead.

She reached the door she needed and used her powers to remove the enchantments that she had used to seal it. Then she stepped through, almost trampling the small gray cat in front of it.

"Oh, Diana! I'm so sorry!" she gasped as she quickly bent down to scoop her up into her arms.

The bells on Diana's collar jingled as she shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine, Lady Pluto. I'm pretty quick on my feet, so you missed me. But there is someone else here that would like to say hello to you."

Pluto looked up, her jaw dropping when she saw the large man that practically filled the narrow basement hallway. "Evan! What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "Your little kitty friend there came to me and told me that this was the best place to come if I wanted to have a minute alone with you before everything goes crazy. She led me down here."

She was floored. She had been so careful about not letting anyone know that she and Evan were more than just mere acquaintances. Had she let something slip in front of the feline? "Diana, why did you do that?"

Diana nudged her chin with her head. "He had a lonely look on his face and you weren't there. I knew he was looking for you, so I decided to help him out. You two should have a couple of minutes alone before the battle begins."

"But how did you know…about us?" Pluto stammered.

Diana giggled. "Lady Pluto, you have left me to watch over the time gate for you on several occasions. I looked in the time stream of course. I've known about Evan for years now, and I knew that he was in your future."

Pluto slumped against the wall, bewildered. "But the time stream doesn't show my future, Diana."

The feline jumped out of her arms to the floor, and then replied smoothly, "The time stream doesn't show your future to you. But when I look into it I can see you. Now, I'm leaving so that you two can enjoy your moment." She dashed between Evan's feet and was gone up the stairs in a flash.

"That sneaky little cat!" Pluto chuckled as she leaned her head back against the wall. "I can't believe her sometimes."

Evan laughed softly as he moved to stand in front of her. "She's definitely a one of a kind. I'm grateful to her though. I was afraid that the fight would start without me getting a chance to speak to you."

She looked up, way up at him, through her lashes. "You just talked to me a few hours ago, remember."

His golden eyes smoldered down at her. "You mean while you were sitting on the countertop in my kitchen, drinking coffee and wearing nothing but my shirt? I'm afraid I didn't have talking on my mind then."

She bit her lip to hold back a giggle. "I don't think you have talking on your mind now either."

"You might be right," he murmured. "Ah, screw it!" His head swooped down quickly, capturing her lips in a kiss so hot that she was surprised she didn't spontaneously combust.

She flung her arms around his neck and moaned into his mouth as their tongues tangled together. The sensation of completeness that she had experienced with him earlier filled her once again.

After a minute, they broke apart, but he continued to hold her captive between his body and the wall. He gave her a lazy grin. "There! Now I feel much better."

She pretended to pout. "Oh! So you snuck down here with Diana just so you could have an excuse to grope me up against a wall. How sweet."

His expression turned wicked. "I'll take what I can get. I would much rather be groping you in my bed, along with some other things that I won't bother to tell you right now because we have work to do and you don't need naughty fantasies distracting you from your job."

Her garnet eyes flared wide in surprise. "Oh no! Now you have to tell me, or I'll be distracted by trying to figure out what you have rattling around in that head of yours."

"Well, I guess I could tell you one thing, just to ease your mind," he drawled. Then he placed his lips next to her ear to whisper, "Have you ever heard of chocolate Redi-Whip body shots?"

Her knees went weak, whether from his words or from the feeling of his breath brushing her skin she didn't know, but she gave a little laugh as she pushed him back a step so she could slip away. "You are positively evil! Did you know that?"

"And you love me for it," he quipped back without missing a beat.

"You know what, I think I do," she replied softly.

He froze, staring at her hopefully before asking hesitantly, "Do you?"

She thought for a moment. Several loving words had been exchanged between them earlier, but neither one of them had actually said I love you. I had almost been like an unspoken taboo. But now she knew exactly what her feelings for the big, blonde sorcerer were.

So she nodded and told him, "Yes. I love you."

"Thank the gods!" he groaned as he took two steps to reach her and picked her completely up off the floor so that her feet were dangling. Then he looked her directly in the eyes. "I love you too."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her gloved fingers toying with his white-blonde ponytail. "Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way. Now we have a fight to go win. So put me down so we can get on with it."

He shook his head. "Not yet. We just declared our love for each other. I think that deserves a kiss."

"Okay. Just one kiss though," she conceded as she leaned forward to place her mouth over his.

Everyone thought that they were ready for the upcoming attack, but several people congregated in the business wing of the Crystal Palace were caught off guard when DJ, Katie, and Alex's heads snapped up and their eyes suddenly flared gold, silver, and red-orange.

"He's here!" the three of them said together.

Rini, Skye, Emma, Jayden, and Hannah immediately transformed and flew to their sides.

"Can you pinpoint him?" Sailor Crescent Moon demanded as soon as she reached her brother.

DJ smirked. "Oh yeah! He's coming in loud and clear. Let's get it on!"

Before anyone else could respond, the eight of them joined hands and teleported out of the room.

"Well! So much for telling them good luck," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath.

Serenity gave a shaky laugh. "I think they are probably tired of our pep talks by now. We just have to hope that they know what they are doing?"

Just then, the security wards began sounding their warning.

Sailor Pluto stepped forward, her expression serious. "You majesty, I would suggest setting your security measures in place."

"Of course, Trista," Serenity replied. Then she turned to face the small army she had assembled. "I guess we should get to work everyone."

They all nodded in approval and then filed out of the room. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask walked proudly at the king and queen's side while they were flanked by double the amount of sailor scouts and generals. The people gathered in the foyer parted ways to let the large group through.

They all glanced up at the third floor landing as they passed by the stairway. All of their extended family had gathered to see them off, which boosted everyone's confidence. Ken and Ilene Tsukino stood near where Sammy was holding a smiling Kenny in his arms. Near them were Andy and Kathy Furuhata with Lizzy, Chad, their two boys, and Raye's grandpa.

Anya was guarding the top of the stairs with Jack and Sasha to make sure that none of the troublemakers, also known as Kyle, Nick, Ryssa, and Taylor, attempted to sneak down. The smallest two, Corey and Abby, were on their tiptoes as they waved wildly over the banister.

Dr. Mizuno was noticeably absent, but that was no big surprise. If there was a potential crisis on the way there was nothing that would drag her from the hospital. Not that her daughter and son-in-law hadn't tried to persuade her to come to the palace, they had. But Anne Mizuno was furiously passionate about her job. The entire hospital could come crashing down around her, and she would still be trying to see to her patients.

"That woman is so stubborn! Sometimes I wonder how she and dad ever managed to get together. It's no wonder he prefers to hide out in his cabin in the woods after being married to her!" Amy had raged the night before when her future self told her of the situation.

Mercury had simply looked amused at her outburst. "They have more in common than you think. But you'll find that out for yourself one day."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Amy had demanded incredulously.

But Mercury had only smiled and refused to say any more on the subject.

Venus' parents, it seemed, still lived overseas. So she wasn't concerned about their welfare. Although she mentioned that she had briefly thought of sending Kyle to them to make sure he stayed safe during the fight. But the headstrong boy had thrown back his head and howled at the idea, even threatening to run away if they tried to make him go. In the end, she and Kunz had decided to let him stay.

Mars had brought up her father once, saying that he was away on business in Europe, which had caused Raye's temper to flare.

"Who gives a damn about that jackass!" she spat.

Jayden and Ryssa had both seemed shocked by her outburst, but a quick look and headshake from their mother had kept them quiet.

Since the rest of their team consisted of members that were either orphans, resurrected from a different time, or loners, that was it for their hodge-podge family. The group of fighters shared some smiles and chuckles as they stepped out doors of the palace.

The regular palace guards had kept a large area of the courtyard cleared, and even now they were holding back the crowds. But cheers erupted from the throng the moment their king, queen, and the legendary heroes appeared.

Sailor Moon's already queasy stomach jumped at the sound and her fingers tightened impulsively around Tuxedo Mask's hand. He squeezed back and gave her grin in a show of silent support.

Serenity seemed unruffled by the attention as strode regally to where a large crystal, the nerve center for the security system, sat in the middle of the cleared area. Then she turned and gestured for Sailor Moon to join her.

Once her younger self had come to stand at her side, she said with a slight laugh, "Okay, scouts! You know the drill. We have to keep with tradition. I want all of you, present and past scouts, over here now." She looked over her shoulder at both Sailor Shadows. "That includes you two as well. Get your butts moving!"

Eternal Shadow sighed. "Looks like it's time for Serena's pep talk."

But she and her younger self went over and joined the circle that was forming around the queen and Sailor Moon. It took a moment, but after a bit of eye rolling and elbowing, the seventeen scouts finally stilled.

Talon tapped Endymion on the shoulder and asked, "What are they doing?"

The king grinned. "It's sort of a tradition. Before they go into what they know is going to be a nasty fight Serena always takes a moment to speak to them and reflect on things."

Beside him, Tuxedo Mask nodded. "They've done it from the beginning. Even back when it was just her, Amy, and Raye. I never thought I'd ever see so many sailor scouts together in one place though."

Kunzite snorted. "I'm just glad you don't make us guys have a love-in before fights."

Jadeite snickered. "This coming from the guy that recently married the scout of love? I would think that love-ins would be your specialty by now." Then he ducked to avoid the predictable hand that Nephrite swatted at the back of his head. But he wasn't prepared for when Zoicite took the honor for himself.

"Ouch!" he cried, rubbing his now aching head. "Are you guys teaming up on me now?"

"Just let it go, man," Jed told him. "Trust me. It's easier that way."

The other future generals chuckled darkly.

Andrew was shifting nervously from foot to foot, making his long black duster sway from side to side. The eyes behind his sunglasses were pinned worriedly on Sailor Shadow.

Drew, who had powered up to his full solarian form, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll be okay."

Andrew sighed. "I sure hope you're right. I know she's been training for this, and she's pushed herself to the edge to do it. But this is different than practicing in Elysian. She's never tried to use a high level of her power in a fight situation before."

Drew shook his head. "I know it's scary. I felt the same way when I was in your shoes. But my Jess knows her probably better than you do. She knows what her past self is capable of and will keep an eye on her."

That caused Andrew to snort. "That's an even scarier thought, letting two hot-heads look out for each other. One Jess alone manages to get herself into a lot of trouble. Now there are two of them. Great!"

"Well," Drew drawled. "I didn't mean that we wouldn't have to watch them like hawks as well. I trust my wife, but I'm not crazy. She's temperamental and impulsive, and I wouldn't put it past her to do something bordering on suicidal if she had the chance."

About that time, Serenity and Sailor Moon wrapped up with what they were saying to the scouts, and the circle began to break. All the women took turns hugging each other and telling one another to be careful. Then they joined the men and began breaking off into groups to go out to their assigned posts around the city's perimeter. In less than a minute, only Serenity, Endymion, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and both sets of Sailor Shadows, Andrews, Venuses, and Kunzites remained.

"I guess I better get to it. If Trista's information is right, then Discord's army will be knocking on our gates in just a few minutes," Serenity sighed as she turned to face the crystal.

Endymion took her by the arm and turned her back to pull her into his arms. The rest of them turned away to give them a moment of privacy.

"Don't overextend yourself," he chided her gently as he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "If you start feeling too much of a drain, take a break. You have your past self and both Jesses here to back you up. Take advantage of it." Then he lowered his voice where only she could hear. "And don't forget what happened when we were here in our past. I know you were worn out afterward, but Serenity almost killed herself trying to protect the city. I don't want to chance losing you."

She placed her hand to the side of his face. "I'm not going anywhere, Darien. I know my limits. I just hope that my and Jess's past selves realize their potential in time. Now give me a kiss for luck and let me get to work."

Endymion studied her for a moment before he let his head dip down to catch her lips in a short, but ravishing kiss.

Sailor Moon felt her cheeks heat up when the soft murmur of voices behind her stopped and several people in the crowd who were close enough to see oohed and ahhed. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the king and queen were doing.

Tuxedo Mask reached over and took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. She glanced up at him to see that the eyes behind his mask had an evil glint to them.

"Don't even think about it, Darien," she hissed at him. She supposed that someday she would learn to deal with the scrutiny from so many people. But for now she was definitely not comfortable with all of the attention.

He shrugged, his lips turning up into that familiar lopsided grin that she adored. "Don't worry. PDA's around our friends are one thing, but I'm not into exhibitionism, especially with a good percentage of the city watching us. But I will do this."

He lifted her gloved hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the back of it. It was a small, but unbelievably loving gesture that warmed her insides like she had just had a big swallow of hot cocoa.

A group of teenage girls in the crowd being held back by the guards obviously found his actions sweet too. There were six of them, all them appearing to be in their middle teens, and they squealed and went starry-eyed when they saw it.

He chuckled as he lowered her hand. "I never have figured it out. Is it the tuxedo or the mask that makes girls squeal so much?"

She gave him an impish smile. "I've always thought it was the cape myself."

A black brow arched above his mask. "The cape?"

"Um hmm," she murmured. "It adds an air of mystery around you. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people think of vampires when they see a man in a cape, and vampires are all the rage in the romance world right now, at least in our time. I notice that your future self seems to still like wearing them himself."

She looked over her shoulder, thankful to see that their future selves were no longer embracing. Endymion and Serenity had both dressed in their full formal court clothes for today. Serenity had moaned grumpily about having to wear the floor length white gown and the crown that was nestled between her twin hair buns, but Luna and Nebula had teamed up against her, declaring that she was queen and had to look the part in front of the citizens of the city.

She'd finally given in, much to Artemis and Orion's relief. Happy female felines made their lives much easier to bear. The squabbles between Luna and Artemis had died down to a minimum over the years, and Artemis liked it that way. Nebula, on the other hand, had put aside her anger at Orion for the time being. She wasn't being friendly to him, and she mostly ignored him, but she managed to remain civil when they had to talk. She'd even been overheard saying that Orion had come up with some ingenious tactical ideas during the planning for today's battle. It was nowhere near happily ever after for the two cats, but it was a start.

Endymion had dressed with flare as well. In fact, if he still had the ability to transform into Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon would have sworn that was what he had done. He was minus the hat and mask, and his black tuxedo was clearly a bit fancier cut than his younger self's, and it was tailor-made to fit him perfectly. But the red lined black cape that hung from his shoulders could have been the same one that he had always worn when he'd transformed into his previous alter ego or his former prince form.

The sword at his side and the dagger at his waist were the real deal though. The dagger was the same one that Darien had recently recovered possession of. It was Venusian-made, over two millennia old, and had been a gift from Princess Serenity to Prince Endymion the first Christmas after their marriage in the Silver Millennium. The gleaming sword had also belonged to the prince. His father, King Edward, had presented it to Endymion when the man had felt that his son had progressed enough in his training to have a sword of his own.

Ironically, it was also the same sword that Princess Serenity had used to take her own life after witnessing the murder of her husband and daughter at the hands of Beryl. Sailor Moon shuddered a little at that memory and pulled her attention away from that sword as Endymion helped his wife up the two small steps onto the slightly raised platform where the giant crystal sat. Then he retreated back to where the rest of them were.

He gave Sailor Moon a rueful grin. "Do I have something on my face, Serena?"

She started at his words and realized that she had been staring rather blatantly at him. She shook her head and blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. "I was just wondering what the deal was with that purple tux you were wearing the last time we were here. I haven't seen you wear anything quite so colorful since we've been here."

"Purple?" Kunzite and Sailor Shadow exclaimed in amazement.

Andrew tilted his head thoughtfully. "Oh yeah. I remember you guys saying something about that back several years ago."

Tuxedo Mask groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "I'm sure it was some kind of a mistake. Besides, he was just a hologram at the time and wasn't even real."

Sailor Shadow was practically choking on laughter as she sputtered, "Pur…Purple!"

Venus's head bobbed eagerly. "And not just any old shade of purple. It was a beautiful shade of lavender."

"Hmm…" Eternal Venus murmured. "I always thought of it as being more of a delicate lilac color."

"It was the same color I would choose if I were painting and early morning sky. It was quite pretty," Eternal Shadow snickered evilly.

"Pretty!" Shadow shrieked, tears of mirth in her eyes.

"It was a joke!" Endymion bellowed, finally losing his cool. "I'd thought that I had taken all the security measures I possibly could to keep Jed locked out of the hologram program. But that little bastard found a way to hack the system and changed the settings. I'm still not convinced that he didn't have some help from Zoi or Amy. Believe me, I was not happy when I came to after the Dark Moon attack and found myself in that purple get-up."

"I knew there had to be a simple explanation," Tuxedo Mask sighed. "And I'm not surprised to find out that Jadeite was behind it. I hope you got him back for that."

Kunz gave a sinister chuckle. "Let's just say that revenge was sweet. And I was happy to have a hand in it."

Endymion's head whipped around as silver light flared at the corner of his eye. A broad smile formed on his lips as he told the visitors, "Looks like the show is about to begin. Just keep watching, and be prepared to be wowed."

Serenity had summoned the Silver Crystal, and it hovered slightly above her cupped palms. The glow coming from it grew brighter and brighter as she poured her energy into it. Then a beam of light shot from it into the large crystal, and it began to glow as well.

Sailor Moon felt a rush flow through her as her own Silver Crystal flared briefly in response to Serenity's. And for a moment her fuku shimmered around her, almost turning into her princess dress, but she quickly reined in the energy and her fuku flickered back into focus.

Tuxedo Mask bumped her shoulder lightly with his. "Feeling anxious?" Obviously he had sensed her brief lapse through their bond and had seen her almost transform.

She nodded. "A bit. There is an awful lot of Silver Crystal power in the air right now."

She gasped a moment later when Serenity's Silver Crystal exploded into white-hot, blinding light. Even she had to clench her eyes against it for a moment to keep from going blind. Her Silver Crystal tugged almost painfully against her.

But when she opened her eyes again, all she could do was stare in shock. A beam of silver energy now shot up from the large crystal into the sky. She knew from Amy and Zoi's description earlier that all of the other smaller crystals around the city would be reacting the same way. A quick glance at the sky showed her that a hazy dome of energy was beginning to settle over the city, but she only looked at it for about a second before her eyes were pulled once more to her future self.

"Whoa!" Tuxedo Mask, Shadow, Andrew, Venus, and Kunzite all murmured in awe.

Endymion grinned at them. "I told you that you were in for a show. She's impressive, isn't she?"

"We're off to take up our positions," Kunz said in a low voice. "Mina and I, along with our younger selves will be guarding the perimeter of the palace grounds. It's up to the rest of you to hold this courtyard should the unthinkable happen and any of Discord's flunkies make it this far."

Endymion, Tuxedo Mask, Drew, and Andrew all nodded in understanding. It was their job to keep the women safe while they concentrated on keeping the barriers up for as long as possible. Everyone's hopes were riding on the younger group dispatching Discord as quickly as possible before Serenity and the others ran out of energy, because if Discord's army managed to make it inside, it would be catastrophic. Sure, the scouts, generals, and sorcerers were all excellent fighters, but a force of this size would overrun them.

Sailor Moon heard the words around her, and she vaguely realized when the two Kunzite's and Venus's left, but her attention was still firmly fixed on the queen…or more specifically, on the large, white-feathered wings that now adorned her back.

"I guess that explains the backless dress," Shadow muttered next to her. "Can you do that, Serena?"

Sailor Moon studied her future self's face and found Serenity's face to be completely calm despite all of the power whipping around her. The power was strong, and it held just a hint of the wildness that she remembered from her fight with Galaxia, but somehow Serenity was able to maintain control of it and dole it out in a steady stream instead of it bursting out rampantly the way it had the one time that she had used it.

Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off, Jess. But I'm sure as hell going to try. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Just then, there was a muffled boom from the east side of the city, and Serenity shuddered a bit. Evidently their enemies had arrived. And from the sound of it they weren't too happy about finding their way blocked.

A few seconds later gold, silver, and red-orange light shot into the sky from the direction of a hill a couple of miles outside the city.

"Do you guys think he'll get the message?" Alex asked as he lowered his hands back to his side after shooting a blast of energy into the sky.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he will. We weren't exactly trying to be subtle about it."

"He'll come," DJ growled. "We probably took him by surprise since he more than likely thought we were still in the past, but he won't let this slide. He's too much of a narcissist."

Sailor Crescent Moon shifted from foot to foot in her pink boots. "I sure hope you're right, bro. I know mom and the others can hold the city for a while, but even they won't last long if he hits them full force."

Sailor Ishtar chewed on a thumbnail through her glove. "And if he gets inside the city and finds Jess…"

She didn't have to finish that statement. They all knew what would happen if Discord got his hands on the Celestial Crystal. Bye-bye Earth!

"Looks like Aunt Serenity isn't holding back," Sailor Caloris murmured. Her handheld computer was in her hand and she was scanning the shimmering silver dome of energy that was now covering the city.

Flame looked over her shoulder at the tiny screen. "Wow! I always knew she was powerful…but damn!"

"Silly, Meatball Head mom!" Crescent Moon muttered. "She's going to tire out quickly at this rate."

DJ's expression was worried as he too looked toward his home. Then his gaze narrowed on the large group that he and the others had watched come through a portal that had opened up not too far away. "It looks like the first of them have reached the city."

A few moments later there was a loud explosion from where one of Discord's monsters had tried to blast its way in. A cloud of black smoke rose into the sky, but the shield remained firmly in place.

Katie stepped between DJ and Alex and took one each of their hands into hers. "Do you guys really think that this is the best place for this? I mean, don't you feel like were kinda tempting fate or something by facing Discord here?"

The two guys looked around for a minute, thinking over her words. Their chosen battleground for this final showdown was a place that the three of them knew quite well. It had starred over and over in their nightmares for years now. Katie looked down fearfully at the green grass that covered the small hill they were on like she expected the ground to open up and swallow them whole at any moment.

Finally, Alex shrugged. "Maybe we are tempting fate, but I prefer to think of it more as turning a nightmare into a good dream. Besides, this is the best location. We're far enough from the city to hopefully keep it out of the line of fire, but still close enough to keep an eye on things."

She bit down on her bottom lip so hard that it hurt. In fact, she actually drew a bit of blood.

"Hey!" DJ fussed gently at her as he tapped her injured lip with a golden glowing fingertip. All traces of the bite immediately disappeared. "Lex is right, Kat. This is our chance to change our worst nightmare. And remember what the original Trinity holders told us. We have to get rid of all of our doubts. Discord will use them as ammunition against us if we don't."

She jumped a bit as the warmth of his healing power took the sting out of her lip. "You're right. I have to push those thoughts out of my head. Just because we are in this place doesn't mean that the nightmare will come true." Then her silver eyes turned reproachful. "And you aren't supposed to be wasting your energy on healing people."

He chuckled and drew her closer to his side. "Then stop it with the self mutilation. Anyway, I barely had to tap into my energy to heal that little nibble."

"Hey guys," Caloris said suddenly, looking up from where she had been typing on her computer. "Something is going on down there. I think Discord's army is beginning to split up."

They looked back anxiously toward Crystal Tokyo and saw that she was right. The majority of his army was spreading out to surround the city, but another portion, about twenty-five percent of it, had broken away and had turned in their direction. The large, dark cloud of vapor that was Discord hovered over that group.

"It looks like this is it. Is everybody ready?" DJ asked solemnly.

Nobody got the chance to answer, because in that moment there was a dark flash of negative energy from Discord. And then he and his minions had vanished.

"What the…" several of the teens began to exclaim. But before they could finish there was another dark flare of energy right before them and they were suddenly confronted by an army of snarling, rabid looking sentinels that were built like tanks. None of them were smaller than an elephant. There were also more than just the wolves and wildcats that they had faced in the past. There were some that looked like they might have been rhinoceroses, gorillas, hyenas, jackals, and a few more that they didn't have time to decipher.

The guardians were no less intimidating. They only vaguely resembled humans anymore, and the shortest one in the bunch looked to be at least eight feet tall. The rest of them stood about ten feet tall, and some were even taller. They appeared broad and powerful, and looked like they could rip large trees from the ground with their bare hands. Their eyes glowed blood red and their lips curled back to reveal long, serrated fangs.

A shocked whimper came from Caloris, and even Flame couldn't stop the strangled sound that caught in his throat. Crescent Moon, Ishtar, and Callisto held on to their composure a bit better, but their eyes widened in surprise.

Though it was hard to do, DJ, Katie, and Alex managed to keep their expressions completely neutral, although they were still just as shocked as the rest of them. They had known that Discord had been working on improving his fighters, but this was beyond anything that they could have ever dreamed. This was worse than their nightmares. But they swallowed back their fear as they stared down the evil entity. It was up to them to destroy him. The world was counting on them.

Two red, eye-like orbs appeared in the dark cloud and glared down at them. And then his demonic voice rumbled, "So! You brats made it back here in time. It's disappointing, but not completely unexpected. You'll soon regret returning to this time though. If you had stayed in the past you would have been able to live a little while longer. I was considering it to be my final parting gift to you. Now you will die along with this foolish planet."

Alex wore a smirk on his face that belied his nerves. "Do you ever get tired of listening to yourself talk?"

Katie forced out a giggle, and then said in said in flat monotone voice, "I am big, bad monster. Hear me roar."

Dark energy crackled around Discord. "You little bastards dare to make fun of me! I wore down the ones that came before you, and I will do it again. But this time I will kill you all. There will be no more Galactic Trinity! The bloodlines of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo will stop here. You are nothing but children, and you don't have the power to destroy me."

DJ's voice was deadly calm as he drew his sword. "Oh don't we?"

Katie and Alex followed, pulling their swords from their sheaths. The rest of their friends closed in around them, falling into the positions that they had practiced so many times that they could do it in their sleep.

There was only the sound of the wind, and the faint explosions coming from the direction of Crystal Tokyo, for several eternally long seconds before Discord hissed, "So be it. If you are willing to die so much…then die!"

And then his assorted troops attacked.

Eternal Mars and Eternal Jupiter stood atop one of the guard towers that surrounded the city, looking out through the barrier of the Silver Crystal's energy at the attacking monsters.

"Man! Discord sure hit them with the ugly stick," Eternal Jupiter drawled.

"More like the ugly tree," Eternal Mars sniffed. "After all of these years I had forgotten exactly how hideous they were. I just hope we don't have to get close enough to smell them this time. It took me six months to get that stench out of nose last time."

Eternal Jupiter shrugged. "Maybe we'll get lucky and Discord will do us a favor by dying quickly."

"It's a nice thought, love. But I wouldn't count on it," Neph said as he appeared at the top of the ladder to the tower.

Jed was right behind him. "Yeah, ladies, it's a wonderful idea, but you know he won't give up that easily. Even if he is nothing but a cowardly, bully bastard."

Eternal Jupiter nodded. "How is the shield holding up?"

Jed shrugged. "It seems steady for now, despite all the pounding that it's taking. So far Serenity seems to be holding it together."

"She won't be able to keep it up for long at this rate," Eternal Mars murmured, her eyes worried for her friend.

Neph leaned a shoulder against the wall as he looked out at the attacking forces. "What I'm concerned about is when she and Serena make the switch. Even if Serena powers-up fast, there will still be a few seconds when the shield will be down. Some of those assholes will make it inside the city when that happens."

Jed slapped him on the shoulder. "That's what we're here for." Then he ducked to avoid the playful punch that Neph shot at him.

"So how did we get put on hospital duty again?" Uranus growled.

Neptune sighed. "Take it as a compliment, dearest. The hospitals are full to the brim with sick people that the palace couldn't accommodate and the queen wanted tight security on them. You didn't hear our future selves complain when they were assigned to the other large hospital."

Saturn snickered. "That just shows that she wants the strongest scouts on the job."

Pluto looked fondly at the dark haired girl. "You sure have been in a good mood."

Saturn nodded eagerly. "I can't explain it. But ever since I spent that time with Kenny yesterday I feel wonderful. I feel light and happy. It's almost like what I feel when I'm with Sammy, but different at the same time. I'm all warm and fuzzy inside."

Uranus's melancholy expression melted away into a smile. "Now you know how we felt when you came to live with us."

"You were the missing link in our family. You made us complete," Neptune added softly.

"Yes she was," Pluto agreed, and then she giggled. "Of course that's not saying that we didn't come close to pulling our hair out sometimes during the early days. You were a good baby, Taru, but things moved a lot smoother once you learned to talk and could tell us what you wanted instead of us having to play guessing games."

Saturn grinned impishly at her. "I guess it's a good thing I grew up so fast." Then her voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper that only Pluto could hear. "I'm not the only one that has been acting abnormally happy. You've been positively giddy today yourself."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Pluto responded primly. But she couldn't stop her eyes from looking in the direction of the south entrance to the city, where Evan was stationed with his brother-in-law and two nephews, but at this distance she couldn't see anything.

"Uh huh," Saturn snorted disbelievingly. "Sure you don't."

"Fighting a defensive battle sure is boring," Jupiter groaned as she sat down on top of the wall that went around the city that she had been standing on. She eyed the enemies that were only about fifty yards away with a hungry gaze.

Nephrite chuckled as he sat beside her. "It is a little dull, isn't it? But you know the old saying. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense."

"I thought it was the other way around," Jadeite spoke up from where he'd actually laid down on the wall a short distance away. "I can never keep some of those old sayings right. They get all twisted around in my head."

"No surprise there," Mars drawled. She had elected to stay standing and was tapping one red high heel on the wall in impatience. Suddenly she glared down at her smirking fiancé. "You pervert! Are you looking up my skirt?"

His grin widened. "Don't blame me. You're the one that decided to practically stand over me while I'm laying down. Besides, there's nothing under that tiny skirt that I haven't seen before."

Jupiter burst into laughter while Nephrite shook his head, muttering, "You stupidly brave man."

Metaphoric steam poured from Mars's ears. "Keep it up, and I'll kick your ass right off this wall!"

"Aw, don't be that way Firefly. I was just teasing," Jadeite pleaded in his best innocent tone as he reached up to grab her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. Then he snuggled his head into her lap. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance to fight before this is over."

"I'm sure we all will," Nephrite agreed in a slightly eager tone.

Jupiter craned her neck around. "I just wish that we had gotten assigned to the other side of the city instead of the Amys and Zoicites. They might actually be able to see the kids' fight from over there. Now that could be interesting."

Mars sighed. "I wonder how they are doing."

"So who was the lucky lady last night?" Julian drawled as he slid up next to his brother.

Kyrian jumped a bit at the sound of his voice and quickly pulled his mind away from the daydreams he had been having about Skye. "What the hell are you talking about, Jules?"

Julian grinned goofily. "Dude, you so can't get out of this one. I was bored last night, so I thought I'd pop over to your place for a little visit."

"And probably hoping to score a beer or two," Kyrian muttered.

"Of course," Julian confirmed. "But it turns out that I wasn't the one that scored. I won't bother repeating the sounds that I heard coming from your bedroom, but it sounded like you were having a good time."

"You little voyeur!" Kyrian snarled and lunged for his brother.

"I didn't stick around or anything!" Julian exclaimed as he quickly dodged the hands that clearly wanted to rip him apart. "Honestly, bro! I got the hell out of dodge the moment I realized what was going on. I was just wondering who it was."

A growl ripped from Kyrian's throat. "That's none of your damn business!"

Julian shrugged. "Whatever! It would be nice if you left some of the ladies for the rest of us. I've seen you out partying, and I've heard the stories. You've probably slept with half the girls in Crystal Tokyo that are sixteen and up by now. Even if I managed to find a girl that I like, the chances are high that she's already been with you. And no offense, that's just a little bit creepy."

Kyrian pulled up short. He'd never realized that his younger brother had viewed his cover-up, playboy image so seriously. "Look Julian, I know it seems like I get around a lot, but I haven't seen as much action as you think I have. In fact, I can promise you that the chances of you hooking up with a girl that I've been with are pretty much zero. So feel free to play the field. Just make sure to leave a few free for Taylor. I'm sure he'll be getting interested in dating soon."

"Nah!" Julian scoffed. "Taylor's got a crush on some girl from the home village. I don't think he's interested in city girls."

Talon and Evan had been listening in on their conversation/argument from their positions near Crystal Tokyo's south entrance gate. The two men had spent the last couple of minutes trying to hold back their chuckles, but now they burst into laughter.

"They sound a lot like us back in the old days. Don't they, Talon?" Evan asked his oldest friend.

Talon nodded as he gasped for breath. "Yeah they do. You had quite a playboy reputation yourself at one time."

"An undeserved reputation I might add," Evan corrected him. "I couldn't help it if the ladies just naturally flocked toward my good looks and charm. But just because I was nice to them didn't mean I was shagging them. I left that part to you."

"You make me sound like a man-whore!" Talon exclaimed. "I wasn't with that many women."

Evan arched a brow at him. "Oh really? How many nights did I find you in a tavern, dead drunk with your hand up some wench's skirt?"

Kyrian and Evan both recoiled at the imagery. "Ew!"

"It wasn't that often!" Talon insisted.

"It happened often enough," Evan retorted. "I lost count of the number of times I practically carried you out of those taverns and teleported you home to bed. Then I would always stick around and cover for you when Beryl would come sniffing around and wondering what you had been up to."

Talon rolled his eyes. "You would have stayed drunk and been fooling around too if you had been stuck dealing with that whiny, red-headed bitch all the time. And hell! She was screwing around on me too, so what was the big deal?"

"You brought it on yourself," Evan declared loftily. "You would have saved yourself a lot of grief and heartbreak if you had never gotten wrapped up with that woman."

"I deluded myself into thinking that I loved her," Talon replied softly. "It blinded me to everything, even Anya. But it's all ancient history now, and things worked out for the best."

Evan grinned at him and clapped him on the back. "It sure did. And it will get even better once Discord's ass is gone for good."

Talon dropped his voice to barely a whisper as he spoke to his brother-in-law. "By the way, the next time you and Lady Pluto decide you want to make out on your kitchen counter, be sure to close your blinds. Anya sent me to see if you wanted to come for breakfast this morning. And let's just say that you should be glad it was me who came and not your sister."

"Crap!" Evan groaned. "Setsuna didn't want anyone finding out about us until later. You didn't say anything to Anya, did you?"

Talon gave him a reproachful look. "The fact that she's not here right now peppering you with questions should answer that. Don't worry. Your secret is safe. I just hope you know what you're getting into. She's not just a sailor scout. She's also a one-quarter goddess. I think old Chronos just might break Zeus's rules and come after you if he ever thought that you hurt his granddaughter."

Evan just grinned. "I know who and what she is. And I'm willing to accept it all. She's worth it."

"I hope so," Talon told him, shaking his head and stepping away. Then he walked over to join his oldest son, who was leaning against the gate and staring out at Discord's monsters that were attacking the city.

"So how about you?" he asked Kyrian casually. "Should I be expecting an enraged Nephrite to come beating on my door soon, claiming that you dishonored his daughter?"

Kyrian visibly started at the question. "What? Why would…? What does Skye have to do with anything?"

Talon put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Son, I saw the two of you together in the past, and I've watched the two of you your whole lives. I knew that one day you would end up together. I also know that this so-called playboy reputation of yours was a sham to cover up your feelings. Even on the nights when you didn't stay at the house, I knew that you were alone in your apartment."

A smirk turned up Kyrian's lips. "Been spying on me, old man?"

Talon held up his hands. "Oh, hell no! I have more respect for your privacy than that. But your mother, on the other hand, still likes to check on all of her kids at night to make sure they are safe. I've been trying to get her to stop where you are concerned, but it hasn't been easy. She'll stop once she finds out that you and Skye have become a couple."

Kyrian buried his face in his hands. It was embarrassing enough that his brother had been in his apartment last night, but the thought of his mother walking in… "She didn't swing by for one of those nocturnal visits last night, did she?"

Talon grinned. "You got lucky this time. Abby woke up with a tummy-ache a couple of hours after we got home from last night's meeting and put her to bed. So she spent most of the night taking care of her. By the time she came to bed it was late and she fell right to sleep. But I think you better let her know soon that you and Skye have started a relationship so that she knows better than to just pop in on you from now on."

"Good idea. Thanks, dad," Kyrian said gratefully.

Just then, Julian popped up from out of nowhere. "Skye! You are dating Skye? But she hates you!"

Talon saw the expression on his oldest son's face and looked pointedly away. "I see nothing."

Kyrian grinned evilly, and then popped off a mild shot of energy that hit the younger boy right in the butt, making him howl.

Eternal Saturn looked up at the sky with a worried expression. "Serenity's weakening," concern for her sister-in-law underlined her words. "She and Serena will have to make the trade soon."

Eternal Uranus punched a fist into her palm. "Then we'll have to be ready. The moment that shield goes down for even a moment, those bastards will come running in. I know the others guarding the gates can stop some of them, but not all of them. And that's fine with me. I'm ready for some action."

"Always ready to get bloody," Eternal Neptune sighed beside her as she looked out over the city from their perch on the roof of Crystal Tokyo's second large hospital.

"Only if it's my enemy's blood," Eternal Uranus quipped back.

Eternal Saturn snorted derisively. "Then I guess it's a good thing that our enemies always explode into dust. That's a big enough pain to wash off of me as it is. Not to mention that it smells."

Eternal Uranus smirked. "That's the price you pay in battle, kiddo."

Amethyst eyes rolled at her. "Honestly! Do you really have to still call me kiddo? For god's sake! I am a grown woman, a wife, and a mother. I hardly fall in the juvenile category anymore."

"It's hard to tell with all the time you spend hanging around Rini," the blonde scout teased back. "Sometimes when you two get together and start squealing I feel like I've gone back in time about a thousand years."

"So we have a good time together!" Eternal Saturn retorted. "Despite the differences in our ages in this time she is still my oldest and dearest friend. She also happens to be my niece."

"Dear heart, this might not be the best time to be teasing our daughter," Eternal Neptune cautioned her mate gently. "We are in the middle of a siege."

Her lover shrugged. "I guess you're right. I was just trying to break the monotony of the moment. I can't help it if I find our little Taru adorable when she gets flustered."

Eternal Neptune giggled. "She is precious, isn't she?"

"You two are depraved," Eternal Saturn sighed. "You guys should really look into adopting another kid or two. That would take the heat off of me."

"Would you really want to give up your only child status?" Eternal Uranus asked.

"Gladly," Eternal Saturn answered immediately. "Especially if it keeps you two from treating me like I am only ten years old."

Eternal Neptune's eyes twinkled, like she was hiding a secret. "Hmm, we'll keep that in mind in the future."

Eternal Saturn looked like she was about to question her, but then her head shot up. "Uh oh. The shield is beginning to splinter. Cracks are beginning to appear in it. Serenity has given it all that she can."

"So you told me a bit about mom. Is dad still doing okay?" Mercury asked her future self as they watched the east gate of the city from the roof of a grocery store.

Eternal Mercury nodded. "Oh yeah. He's good. Dad is, well…he's dad. As long as he has his paints, canvases, and charcoals he's thrilled. In fact, he, Jess, and Michelle have become quite friendly over the years."

"Really?" Mercury replied, slightly surprised. "I've known dad to do a few shows in Tokyo over the years, but he avoided it for the most part. We would always meet up for dinner or something when he was in town, but he always made sure it was when mom was working. I guess he was trying to avoid her. So it's hard for me to imagine him spending a lot of time here."

"Things are a bit…different here than they were in the past," her future self answered delicately.

Mercury's expression turned horrified. "Oh no! Dad lost the house in the Freeze, didn't he?" She felt a pang of grief at the thought. The log cabin style house nestled in the woods a couple of miles outside Tokyo had been in the Mizuno family for a few generations, and it had always been one of her favorite places to go when she wanted to get away for a while.

Eternal Mercury shook her head. "No. The house survived the Freeze. There was some damage, but it was repairable. Dad just doesn't stay there full-time anymore."

"So he's got a place here in the city?" Mercury asked curiously.

Zoi looked up from the Mercury computer in his hands and then reached over to place a couple of fingers over his wife's lips. "Darling, I believe you better stop answering her questions before you accidentally say too much."

She nodded. "You're right. Sorry, Amy. I really shouldn't tell you anymore."

Zoicite nudged Mercury lightly in the ribs. "See? I told you that you shouldn't be so curious. This isn't like school where you can ask a million questions and get the answers."

Her blue eyes snapped angrily. "The only thing I'm curious about right now is how many toes you could lose to frostbite and still be able to run away from me before I shove an icicle up your a…ah…never mind." Her cheeks flamed as she thought about the threat she had almost voiced out loud.

""Good grief!" she muttered. "I've been hanging around Raye and Lita entirely too long."

Her future self burst into giggles. "You can't blame it all on them. You have to admit that you've always had those kinds of thoughts. You were just too mature to say them aloud like the others did."

Zoi pulled on a piece of her blue hair. "Is that your way of saying I pull out the immature side of you? Because you usually don't think twice about telling me to go screw myself."

"Watch it, mister!" she growled.

Zoicite leaned down to whisper in his fiancés ear, "Do we act this way in front of other people?"

She shrugged in reply. "I can't imagine that we do."

"You do. You just don't see it for yourselves," Zoi piped up, not showing a bit of embarrassment even though he had been blatantly eavesdropping on them.

Eternal Mercury hauled him back a couple of steps by his collar. "What my dear husband is trying to say is that you two aren't quite the sticks in the mud that you think you are. Sure, your friends are a bit wilder and more rambunctious, but you let loose in front of them a little more than you realize. It took us a while to figure that out too."

Mercury and Zoicite were quiet for several long moments as they thought over what she had said.

"Hmm…" Zoicite mused. "It's true that Jadeite hasn't called me General Cob-Up-the-Ass in a while."

Mercury nodded. "And none of the girls have fussed at me lately for sticking my head in a book when I'm with them…because I guess I haven't been doing it like I used to. I've just been joining in with all the gossip about weddings, engagements, and kids without a second thought."

"That's exactly what I mean," Eternal Mercury told them. "You two used to hide behind your books, brains, and computers, only coming out of your shells every so often."

"Especially when you were alone," Zoi inserted slyly with a waggle of his eyebrows, a la Jadeite style. Then he quickly jerked his foot back as his wife's blue boot came crashing down exactly where his toes had been a moment before. He smirked. "You missed, love."

"You read my mind through our bond," she accused back before returning to what she had been saying. "Anyhow, the two of you used to only feel completely comfortable when you were alone together. And over time your comfort zone has spread out to include your entire, crazy, extended family. You've learned to relax and be yourselves. You say and do exactly what's on your mind without worrying what everyone else thinks."

"I guess that explains why Hannah is so outspoken and opinionated," Mercury giggled.

"Don't even get me started on her," Eternal Mercury groaned. "Or Corey either for that matter. I could do with a bit less of their opinions sometimes."

Just then, both Mercury computers began beeping, drawing the foursome's attention to the small screens. Both Zoicites hissed curses under their breaths while the two blue suited scouts came very close to doing the same.

Mercury's fingers were tapping the keys rapidly. "Serenity has reached her limit. The barrier is beginning to crack in places."

"Darn it!" Eternal Mercury muttered. "Well, I'm surprised she lasted this long with the amount of energy she's been expending." She lifted the communicator on her wrist to her lips. "Endymion, this is Mercury. Come in."

A few seconds passed with no reply. "Endymion? Darien? This is Mercury."

Still nothing.

"Jess? Drew? Anybody?" she tried again, hoping to reach somebody in the courtyard. "Serenity and Serena need to make the switch now. The shield is beginning to come apart and Discord's army will be able to force their way in soon. Can anyone hear me?"

"Maybe the Silver Crystal's power is messing up the frequency," Zoi murmured thoughtfully. "Let me try." He spoke into his own communicator. "Hey Dare, it's Zoi. Answer me, man."

About that time there was a burst of static from Sailor Mercury's communicator, followed by the familiar voice of Sailor Shadow. "Um, Amy, we've got a bit of a problem back here."

"What kind of a problem, Jess?" Mercury demanded.

"Well…" Shadow began to explain, but whatever she said after that was lost in a loud explosion as several of the smaller guardians and sentinels found their way through a crack that was just big enough for them that had opened up near the foursome. A larger, massive gorilla-looking sentinel had tried to force his way in, but he got caught up in the Silver Crystal's energy and had exploded into dust.

Mercury was blown to the ground by the force. And as she stumbled back to her feet, choking and coughing on the putrid dust, she could hear her communicator going crazy as calls began coming in from all over the city, "Breach! We have a breach in the shield!" followed by more explosions.

She didn't know what was going on back in the palace courtyard, but at the moment she couldn't dwell on it. Because the fight had now turned from defensive to offensive, and the battle for Crystal Tokyo was on.

Sweat was dripping down Neo Queen Serenity's face, plastering tendrils of her hair to her cheeks and neck as she kept pouring more energy into the Silver Crystal. Her vision was blurred and her legs could barely support her weight as more and more of her life force was drained away.

Then, warm hands were on her shoulders and the voice she loved more than any other was speaking in her ear. "Darling, you're going to have to let it go. You're too close to the edge as it is."

"I can't," she panted. "I can't let go until Serena is ready."

She blinked her eyes hard to try to clear them and then looked over at the young woman who was standing on the opposite side of the giant crystal, wearing a long white gown that was vaguely similar to her own and sporting the same hairstyle. She cupped a glowing Silver Crystal in her palms as well, but she wore an extremely frustrated expression on her face.

"Why can't I do this?" Serena ground out between clenched teeth as she tried to increase the amount of energy going into the crystal. It flared a bit brighter, but that was all.

Darien, who had transformed into Prince Endymion's armor when she had taken her princess form, stood at her side, coaxing her gently. "Come on, Serena. You can do this. You've taken down too many enemies before this to let this beat you."

Her blue eyes flashed at him. "That's easy for you to say! I usually have help when I attempt to do something like this!"

"You didn't when you beat Chaos," he reminded her quietly. "You did that completely on your own."

She started to snap back at him again, but then she latched on to his words. Yes, she had beaten Chaos all alone. She focused hard on what she had been feeling that day, the sadness, the anger, and the heartbreak. Maybe if she thought about how those emotions had clawed at her insides she would be able to tap into the true power of the Silver Crystal.

So she concentrated on that day, replaying it in her head. She had already been heart sore, thinking that Darien had abandoned her. Then the inner scouts had all died right in front of her. She remembered screaming her throat raw as Raye disappeared from her arms and Mina, Lita, and Amy had vanished as well. Then Pluto and Saturn had fallen, taken out by Uranus and Neptune, who she had briefly thought had betrayed them all. Galaxia had killed them too when it was discovered that they had only agreed to work for her to try to take her down from the inside.

That had all been bad enough. But the part that haunted her most, and what had given her nightmares for months after that battle, had been when Galaxia had revealed her collection of star seeds. Her eyes had immediately been pulled to the bright gold star seed. And she had known in that moment, before Galaxia even told her who she had stolen it from, that Darien was dead. Her heart had shattered into a million pieces, and despair, the same despair that had driven her past incarnation to commit suicide in the Silver Millennium, had overcome her.

She thought hard on all of those emotions and tried to channel them into herself once more. But long seconds passed and nothing happened. The Silver Crystal still glowed in her hands, but it didn't glow any brighter. And she certainly didn't feel her wings threatening to pop out of her shoulder blades.

She stomped her foot and shrieked, "I can't do this! No matter what I do, this stupid crystal just won't react like I want it to."

Serenity had a suspicion as to why the Silver Crystal wasn't behaving like her younger self wanted it to, and she wanted to tell her, but by this point she was barely conscious. Her voice was nonexistent and the only thing holding her upright was the man behind her.

She faintly heard Eternal Mercury and then Zoi's voices calling frantically over Endymion's communicator, but he didn't dare remove his arms from around her to answer it. Then she jolted as she felt a large amount of negative energy get tangled up in that of the Silver Crystal, and the crystal reacted instinctively, drawing on her last remaining tendril's of strength to obliterate it. The world began growing dark around her.

And then suddenly, she felt a rush of warm energy pour into her, revitalizing her just a bit. At first she felt relief, and then she was horrified when she realized that Endymion was sharing his energy with her.

She lifted her head weakly and turned it just enough to look over her shoulder. "Dare…no…don't."

He flashed her a grin. "I told you I wasn't going to chance losing you."

"But…the fight…they might need you," she insisted breathlessly.

He shook his head. "I'm okay. I didn't give you much, just enough to keep you on this side of the living. But you need to stop this, now!"

Then the communicator on his wrist went crazy with shouts from their friends saying that the monsters were now getting into the city.

Serenity jolted again as a few more large negative forces tried to push through her power. The energy Endymion had given her wouldn't last long, maybe just a few more minutes. Serena was still trying vainly to unleash her full power, but she wasn't there yet.

"I can't stop yet," she could barely croak.

"Oh for the love of god!" Eternal Shadow yelled suddenly. She followed up her outburst with a string of foul-mouthed curses that would have had her mother washing her mouth out with a bar of soap if she were still alive. As it was, she got a few open mouthed stares from those around her.

She stomped forward until she wasn't standing too far away from them. "I'll buy you guys a few minutes, okay, but only a few. I'll make as big of a shield as I can, but I won't be able to hold it long, and it won't keep everything out. When I say go, both of you stupid, Meatball Headed blondes cut off your crystals."

"Hell no!" Drew growled as he advanced on her. "You are not doing this right now! This was not in the plan!"

"Well guess what! Our plans just got screwed! Deal with it!" she snapped right back at him. The ground of the courtyard rumbled under them in response to her anger.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Once she felt calmed down some she opened them again to look into his beloved hazel ones. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just going to run some interference for a couple of minutes until Serena gets her head in the game."

He stared at her for several long seconds before he sighed and nodded. "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will," she promised. Then she cupped his face in her hands and gave him a short, but enthusiastic kiss. She released him and he began to back away slowly.

She looked over her shoulder at the rapidly fading queen. "I don't care what you have to say to Serena to kick start her powers. But whatever it is, say it quick."

Serenity nodded weakly at her.

The dark blue, star-shaped Celestial Crystal appeared in front of Shadow's chest as she called it forth. She cupped it in her hands and held out in front of her. It began glowing brightly as she activated its powers. Then, in a whoosh, her fuku changed into her long, royal blue, princess gown with its silver and gold embroidered stars at the bodice and hem. Her hair was now down out of its usual braid, and both her long, dark, burnished blonde curls and the ends of the streamers of gold and silver ribbons at her waist danced in the slight breeze that had blown up around her. A silver moon shot through with a golden rose glowed on her brow.

"Is that what I really look like when I do that?" Shadow whispered. "That can't be what I look like, because she's beautiful."

Andrew pulled her back against his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder so he could speak in her ear. "I've always told you that you were beautiful. Now do you believe me?"

She huffed a quiet laugh, but shook her head. True, she had argued earlier that she and her future self looked exactly alike, but after seeing her like this…nope, there was no way she could pull off that look. She was strictly a jeans, shorts, and Andrew's shirts kind of gal, with a few dresses thrown in from time to time for fun. But the woman before her now looked like a true, fairytale princess come to life.

"Okay, girls, let it go," that princess said now.

The glow of both of the Silver Crystals died at the same time and the large security crystal faded as well.

Two seconds later, bright blue light exploded everywhere.

And everyone around was so entranced by the show that no one noticed the two buxom women that had slipped their way to the front of the crowd. Nor did they see when those two women slipped their sunglasses down their noses to take in the scene before them with their glowing red eyes.

A large, rhino-looking sentinel shrieked as it ran into a wall of steam and burst into black powder.

"Oh yeah! Another one bites the dust!" Flame crowed as he shared a high five with Caloris. The combination of their fire and ice powers had already taken down nine of Discord's nasty minions. This one made ten.

"Don't get cocky, kids. We still have a ways to go," Ishtar warned them as she pulled back on her bowstring and a golden arrow appeared.

As she took aim at a guardian and fired, Callisto charged the arrow with her electricity. Both girls cheered when it went straight through their target and slammed into a second guardian, taking them both out.

Caloris tossed her blue head and sniffed. "And they tell us not to get cocky."

Callisto ruffled the younger scout's hair fondly as she raced by, another target already in her sights. "Nothing wrong with celebrating the small victories, Frosty."

"Now if we could just get close enough to the big guy to end this," Crescent Moon muttered from where she stood near her brother. She had been extremely productive in the fight as well, but she had refused to stray far from DJ's side.

So far everything had gone exactly the way they had practiced. DJ, Katie, and Alex had, for the most part, stayed behind their friends, letting them take care of the attacking force, only jumping in from time to time if a guardian or sentinel got too close or if someone needed help. It had been so easy up until now that it was almost scary.

Oh, it had taken them a few minutes to get into the swing of things after being caught off guard by the size of Discord's fighters, and they had been scared shitless at first, but once the fight started they had discovered a fatal flaw in Discord's design.

True, they were large and powerful, and they were fairly certain that the fact that the guardians now sported fangs that could rival their animal brethren meant that they were now poisonous as well, but all of that added weight and bulk had slowed them down. Sure, except for the three Trinity bearers, the others had to double up on their attacks in order to take down the guardians and sentinels, but since they moved slower it gave them the opportunity to pick them off.

"Things are going irritatingly smooth," Katie grumbled in response to Crescent Moon's statement. "And it feels creepy. Our luck is never this good."

"Maybe not, but I'm not going to complain about it," Alex replied as his red-orange gaze followed his secret fiancée around the battlefield. He raised his sword and shot a narrow beam of energy at a guardian, disintegrating it in an instant.

"Alex!" Katie groaned. "We are supposed to be conserving all the energy we can, but you keep blasting guardians and sentinels every ten seconds."

"That guardian was way too close to Emma's back!" he defended himself.

"It was at least twenty yards away!" she countered back.

"Would you two knock it off!" DJ snapped. "You two bickering is not helping us get closer to our goal."

The twins fell silent, knowing that he was right. Their friends had managed to open them up a clear path to Discord a couple of times, but every time they had drawn close to the evil entity he would retreat back behind a group of his lackeys. He may talk a big game, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that letting the teens near him while they were holding those swords could be detrimental to his existence.

Right now, he was seething as he watched the group, who were barely more than children, work their way steadily through his warriors. Six months ago his old model guardians and sentinels had come close to beating the young heroes on several occasions, and they probably would have if it hadn't been for interference from their parents. He had known from the battles that had taken place in the past that the youngsters were training and growing stronger, and that was why he had developed this new army to face them.

But now the little brats were actually defeating his genetically superior creations without suffering a scratch to themselves! And the gods' little protégés were staying quietly in the background and letting their friends expend most of the fighting power instead of exhausting themselves like their predecessors had.

Nothing was going according to plan! He needed them weak and beaten, not strong and powerful. Perhaps if he had brought more fighters with him instead of leaving them to bombard Crystal Tokyo…no, he'd made the right decision. It was important to get inside the city. His favorite mongrel princess and her powerful little crystal were in there somewhere, and he refused to leave this planet behind as a cloud of dust and stone without first getting his hands on the Celestial Crystal.

He had the power to conquer the universe on his own, but with the crystal's help things would go faster and smoother. Not to mention the fact that his having the crystal might act as a deterrent if any of the gods decided to attempt some other sneaky plan to try to destroy him. Crystals, after all, had originally been created by the powers of the gods themselves, and the Celestial Crystal was the most powerful one ever born.

Sure, the Silver and Golden Crystals were extremely powerful as well. They would have to be since it was their energy that had formed the Celestial Crystal in the first place. But the combination of the Moon and Earth magic had created something that was absolutely unique, a wild, rampaging power that had the potential to decimate an entire planet even faster than he could. And all of that power was sitting in the hands of a silly little princess who would never use the gift that she had been blessed with.

He was so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't sense the danger he was in until it was almost too late. At the very last second he realized that the warriors that he'd kept grouped around him had fallen and that he was completely exposed. He felt a surge of energy and darted away toward what remained of his troops only a heartbeat before the Trinity bearers teleported into the exact spot he had just been in.

He felt grim satisfaction as he heard the annoying blonde girl screech in outrage at his escape. Then he felt a surge of fury toward her. He had been a fool to ever trust her future self. If it hadn't been for that woman and her meddling, he would have killed those brats weeks ago, before they got their hands on those swords and actually became a threat to him.

But the girl was the weak link here, and he knew it. He had seen into the darkest recesses of her mind before and had found her to be a pitiful creature. She harbored an enormous amount of doubt and fear inside her, and her fascination with her little Earth prince only fueled her insecurities. If he wanted to find a way to shatter the bond between the Trinity holders, then she was the key.

He gathered up his darkest illusion power and sent a blast at her.

"Calm down, Kat," Alex was telling his ranting sister. "We'll get another shot at him in a minute. He doesn't have too many more scumbags left to hide behind."

"He's got a whole lot more just a couple of miles away!" she snapped back at him. "He could probably teleport some of them here in a second."

"Or he'll go back to Crystal Tokyo," DJ muttered, flashing a quick glance over his shoulder toward his home where the silvery shield still shimmered. "Mom has got to be feeling the strain by now. I hope she's okay."

Katie grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she and Serena have already traded off. We wouldn't be able to tell the difference if…"

Her voice broke off in a gasp and her fingers tightened around his like channel locks. Then a whimper came from her throat as her voice whispered in both boys' heads, 'It's dark. Why did everything turn dark? I can't see anything.'

'What are you talking about, Kat?' Alex asked her through their link. 'It's a little gloomy because of Mr. Psycho, but it's broad daylight.'

'It's so dark. I hate the dark! I hate it!' her voice was growing hysterical.

DJ studied her for a moment, taking in her wide, glazed eyes that stared unseeingly at him. Her breathing was already beginning to grow erratic and he could see the pulse in her neck fluttering wildly. It was like she was locked in a waking nightmare…or under a spell.

He quickly sheathed his sword and put that hand on her shoulder since his other one was still being squeezed in her death grip. 'Kat, listen to me. Discord must be using his funky mind bending powers on you. It's not really dark. He's just making you think it is. You can fight it off. It's just an illusion.'

'DJ's right, sis,' Alex chimed in. 'The sick bastard is just screwing with your head. Don't let him get to you like this. You beat Talon at this game, and I bet you can beat Discord too.'

'I can't!' her voice screamed. 'He's not like Talon! He's too powerful! It's too dark!' Her entire body was trembling by now.

DJ moved his hand up to cup her cheek. 'Remember what Grandma Serenity and the others told us. You can't believe what he makes you see. It isn't real. You can hear me and Alex, right? You can feel me touching you?'

'Yes,' she answered hesitantly.

'We are real. Now you just have to fight your way back to us,' he told her. Then, not knowing what else he could do to ground her to reality, he kissed her. And it wasn't just a simple kiss like what they normally shared when around their friends. It was deep and it was hot.

'Oh ew!' Alex's voice screeched at them.

Elysian – The Far Future

"Oh ew!" Alex screeched as he looked in the viewing portal at the spectacle the past forms of his sister and best friend were putting on. He glared at the dark-haired man sitting on the opposite couch. "Dude! Really? In the middle of a fight?"

DJ shrugged. "It's not exactly me. This form of me was never at that fight. So technically I didn't do it."

"Not that you remember yet," Katie grumbled from where she lay with her blonde head resting on his thigh. Her cheeks were blood red in embarrassment. "But if they manage to pull off this fight then what they are doing right now will become our memories."

He smirked down at her. "I can live with that."

"Oh, all of you hush!" Emma fussed from where she was practically draped across Alex's lap. "I find it all to be extremely romantic. Besides Cupcake, I know you haven't forgotten that night before you left to go to the past and that guardian attacked the movie theater while we were there. We were making out in the back row when it started and practically spent the whole fight kissing and groping each other every chance we got."

Now it was DJ and Katie's turn to look repulsed while Alex blushed furiously.

"What did I miss?" Rini exclaimed as she ran into the room, clutching a bag of chips and a package of cookies in her arms. "I heard Alex practically shouting, so I know I missed something. I should have known that something good would happen just when I decide to go get a snack."

Then she looked at the portal and squealed, "Oh yuck! I did not need to see that!"

"You missed the good part," Emma said smugly since the kissing couple they were watching were now pulling away from each other.

But what happened in the next few seconds shocked them all. There was a flurry of motion on the screen, and when it was over DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma all turned to stare at Rini.

The junk food fell from her hands to the floor as she gaped. "Holy crap!"

DJ looked at his sister with new admiration. "Not bad, sis. Not bad at all."

Crystal Tokyo

DJ had no idea how long he had been kissing Katie. He'd lost all concept of time. He could still hear the sounds of the fight going on around them, but most of his attention was focused on the girl in his arms. When she finally relaxed completely against him and began responding to the kiss, he reluctantly pulled away to look down into her thankfully clear silver eyes.

"Better?" he asked her softly.

She nodded. "Much better. Thank you." She looked over to Alex. "Both of you."

Alex snorted. "Don't look at me. DJ is the one that decided to go all Prince Charming with the kissing thing. I'm probably scarred for life now."

"I'm sure you'll get over it," she quipped playfully. But then she saw movement behind the two boys and screeched, "Oh shit!"

The three of them had been so distracted that they hadn't noticed the enormous wolf sentinel that had been closing in on them and was now only yards away. Both guys had sheathed their swords while tending to her, but hers still hung loosely from her hand.

She pushed them both out of the way and raised her sword, praying that she had time to get a shot off. But before she could even begin to start channeling the power she needed, the sentinel exploded, choking them with its dust.

"Not my brother and friends, you bastard!" a furious voice growled.

Once the air had cleared and they had stopped coughing, DJ, Katie, and Alex looked up, blinking their eyes in surprise.

Rini stood not too far away from them, but she was no longer transformed into Sailor Crescent Moon. Instead she wore a long white gown that was identical to her mother's and a golden crescent shown brightly on her forehead. Her hands were also still glowing pink from the energy she had used to blast the sentinel. This was the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo in her full power form.

DJ let out a whoop and ran to her, sweeping her up into an enormous bear hug. "You are the best sister ever!"

She huffed a laugh. "Can I get that in writing so I can shove it in your face every time you say something mean to me from now on? I got caught up helping the others and lost you for a moment when you teleported that last time. I was on my way over when I saw that sentinel creeping up on you. I knew one of my regular attacks wouldn't take it out alone and I just snapped."

"Well are we ever glad you did," Katie told her as she and Alex joined them.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, you saved our bacon. Princess Serenity to the rescue!"

Rini blushed and waved him off. "Okay, don't make a big deal about it." Her gown shimmered and changed back to her fuku. "Whew! That's better."

Triumphant yells came from the rest of their friends as they took out the last few enemies and then ran to join them. They were rumpled, dirty, and tired-looking, but they were ecstatic. Now there was nothing standing between the Galactic Trinity and Discord.

"It's over, Discord," DJ stated firmly, sounding awful lot like his father. "We finish this now!"

The evil entity rose a few feet higher in the air, but his voice was just as ominous as ever. "Do you really think this is the end? We're just getting started."

"We're not letting you go back to Crystal Tokyo either," Katie snapped. "If you're that scared of us, you can call the rest of your goons up here. But we're not going to let you take the city."

"That's right!" Alex growled. "So if you want to party some more, bring it on!"

Discord's dark chuckle boomed all around them. "You stupid little children! Do you honestly think that you are protecting your home from me? Crystal Tokyo is already falling. Even now, Neo Queen Serenity's feeble attempt to hold back my army is unraveling at the seams and my fighters are going in. See for yourself."

The teens looked toward the city, and saw that he was right. The glow of silver energy around the city had dimmed significantly in the last few minutes. And obviously there were cracks in the barrier too, because they could see, even from there, the dark shape of monsters making their way inside the city walls. A couple of buildings appeared to be on fire, and they were sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

DJ, Katie, and Alex stared helplessly. This was their nightmare come true. They had changed nothing. Their best friends were behind them, muttering and crying, as they watched what could be the destruction of their home.

And then, Katie's infamous temper broke. She whirled and glared up at Discord, her sword pointing right at him. "No way, you son of a bitch! I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing. I have faith in my family and friends. They'll hold things together for a few more minutes. We are settling this now. And once we've finally gotten rid of your ass we're going home to help everyone else clean house. By the end of today you will only be a memory."

DJ and Alex stepped up on each side of her, and they drew strength from each other. The three of them aimed their swords at him, ready for anything. True, he was pretty high up in the sky, but it wasn't an impossible distance for them to make.

'We'll have to time this just right and jump together,' DJ told his companions. 'If he sees one of us coming he could move. And it won't work unless all three swords are in him at once.'

'I hear ya,' Katie responded.

'I say we go on three,' Alex suggested.

All three of them took a deep breath and tensed to jump.

'1…2…'

"Aha!" Discord thundered, distracting them from their planned attack. "Your queen has fallen! And with her defeat goes your last hope for your pathetic little city."

They spun and looked. Sure enough, what was left of the Silver Crystal's barrier was rapidly fading. Then teens held their breath, waiting for the second silver shield they were expecting to spring to life. That unexpected little event would knock some of the smugness out of Discord's voice.

They waited several heartbeats and nothing happened.

"Something must have gone wrong," Katie whispered worriedly.

Then DJ jerked. "No it didn't. Look!"

A bright blue glow had lit up the center of Crystal Tokyo and was steadily growing larger, reaching out to encompass the city with its energy.

Alex jumped and punched a fist in the air. "All right mom!"

The rest of the teens began to cheer.

A foreboding chuckle came from Discord. "So the little princess has learned how to use a bit more of her powers since the last time I faced her. I wonder if she would be willing to play a game with me."

Then he began to swirl eagerly. "And what is this? Just before my two youma spies were obliterated by her energy, they managed to transmit to me that there are two Sailor Shadows in Crystal Tokyo. How interesting! Did you children feel the need to bring back help from the past? Well, this certainly increases my chances at success."

"You stay away from my mother, you sick freak!" Katie screamed at him. She was about to launch herself at him, but luckily DJ and Alex read her intentions and grabbed her before she could act. But that didn't stop her from struggling against them as she continued to spew curses at the entity, and she even managed to drag them with her a few feet.

Those red orbs glared out of the shapeless mist at them. "I grow weary of dealing with you three. I do believe I'll go and claim my prize first, and then I'll be back to take care of you…if you're still alive that is."

A surge of dark energy flew from him to impact the ground at their feet. Crescent Moon, Ishtar, Callisto, Caloris, and Flame were sent flying by the blast, but DJ, Katie, and Alex were trapped as the ground bucked and buckled around them.

And then the earth opened up into a dark, seemingly bottomless hole.

"Katie! Alex!" DJ yelled as they all began to fall.

He reached out blindly, and thought he felt the slightest brush of fingertips against his own. Katie and Alex's voices were screaming in his head as he was pelted by the rocks and dirt that was falling with them.

Then something slammed hard into his head and everything went black and silent.

A/N Uh oh! The nightmare came true! The ground opened up and ate DJ, Katie, and Alex! Well, Pluto mentioned something in the last chapter about taking out some extra insurance in case things got crazy. Let's just hope she can get her brain off of Evan long enough to do something. So monsters are getting inside Crystal Tokyo, Serenity is drained, Serena is having issues, and the future Jess is trying to hold things together until things get back on track. Could I have thrown any more twists in there? Sure I could have. But that would have just put things over the top. Besides, this fight is far from over. Okay, so updates for my other stories are coming soon. I'm not sure which order they will be in, but it will probably be Rekindled because the chapter I'm working on for Bad Boys will probably be the last one and I want to make sure it ends right. You guys all know that I adore reviews, so please feel free to drop me a few words and tell me what you thought. And thank you again, everyone, for being so patient with me. Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~