Chapter Twenty

LadyPrin

Disclaimer Applies.

Serena woke with a start back in her bedroom.

Her cheeks felt cool, but her forehead felt hot.

She didn't feel any pain in her head, but she kneaded her forehead with a fist at the memory of the woman's pain.

"I don't know her." Serena muttered quietly to herself. "But she looked like one of Alan's species, at least where those pointy ears are concerned. I don't know what's up with the pink hair though. I wonder if that's a natural color for their species?"

Then Serena realized she was babbling.

"What am I doing? She could be dead by now!!!" She cried as she leaped from her bed. "First thing's first, I have to find out if Alan knows her!"

She flew out her door and down the hall, praying that the Impearium Silver Crystal wouldn't alert her mother or her friends to her distress.

The Crystal complied, though reluctantly.

She finally came to Prince Alan's room, where he was staying until the wedding.

She knocked on the doors, quietly at first, but as no answer came she knocked harder.

Finally one of the doors opened to reveal a very sleepy eyed, but alert, Prince Alan. His short brown hair was a mess, his sleeping tunic and pants were rumpled quite a bit, and he held a sword in hand.

When he saw it was she, he lowered the sword, but stared at her in confusion.

"My Lady, what's wrong?" He asked, trying to suppress a yawn.

"I need to talk to you." Serena answered, fighting back a yawn as well that was brought on by Alan's yawn.

She held a hand up to cover her yawn as she quickly pushed her way into Prince Alan's room.

"My Lady, I don't think this is appropriate." Alan started to say as another yawn overtook him.

"I need to talk to you and it cannot wait." Serena said firmly.

Alan glanced from her to the door, and then closed the door gently.

He walked over to his bed and sat down, laying the sword beside him.

"What is it you need to talk about?" He asked.

Then he realized that he was sitting down while his fiancé was still standing. He went to stand back up, but Serena told him to stay.

Serena walked up to him and stared into his eyes.

Her crescent moon symbol on her forehead flared and before Alan knew it he was now in her mind, looking at her memories.

She showed him all that she had seen and heard while inside and by the pink haired woman.

When she had shown him everything, she released him back into his own mind.

He blinked and shook his head a couple times.

"What was that?" He cried, wide eyed.

"Those were my memories of something I saw a few minutes ago." Serena explained. "While I was sleeping I got pulled into another person's mind. Her mind."

"So that was real?" Alan asked, as horror filled his face.

"Yes, I'm sure it was. Do you know her?" Serena asked.

"Yes." Alan answered with a nod. "Her name is Ann. She's my . . . friend."

"Yeah, right." Serena said skeptically.

"I'm about to be married to you, what else should I say?" Alan asked helplessly.

"Yeah, I know." Serena admitted with adverted eyes.

"So what are we going to do?" Alan asked, urgently. "We can't just leave her there to die!"

"We won't, don't worry." Serena assured him. "I've made a plan that I think will work. I need to wake the inner scouts first."

"Well, let's go!" Alan cried as he got up and headed for the door.

Serena caught his arm as he passed her.

"You need to stay here, in the palace." Serena told him.

"I can't!" Alan objected turning around to face her. "Ann needs me! I can't just sit in my room and hope your plan works!!!"

"I'm sorry, but I feel that you need to stay here!" Serena pleaded.

Alan opened his mouth to object some more, and Serena sighed.

"I'm sorry." Serena muttered as her moon symbol flashed.

Alan fell to the floor asleep.

Serena used the Crystal to move him to his bed.

"You'll wake up at dawn. Hopefully we'll be back by then." Serena muttered into his ear. "With your beloved Ann."

"Let me get this straight." Pluto said as she stood in front of the Time Gate, leaning on her granite staff that she held in her hands. "You want me to transport you thousands of universes away, straight into the heart of the Negeverse, INTO Queen Beryl's prison???"

"It sounds so much worse when you say it that way, but yes. That's exactly what I want." Serena answered.

"You're mother wouldn't approve of this crazy rescue mission!!!" Pluto exclaimed.

"Hopefully she won't know about it until after it's all over." Serena told her.

"And we'll be with her to protect her." Mars assured her.

"You all are crazy for letting her go!!!" Pluto yelled at the Inner Scouts who were all gathered around Serena.

"I'd rather have a distant husband than a depressed husband!" Serena told Pluto firmly. "Ann is everything to him, I felt it. If we don't do something to at least try and save her, I don't think Alan will last to the wedding!"

Pluto stared at her for a moment.

"You mean Ann is . . ." Pluto began.

"Ann is to Alan, what Endymion is to me." Serena finished for her.

Pluto looked away as she thought about this.

Then she sighed.

"If you die doing this, you're mother is going to kill me." Pluto informed them.

"Don't worry! You remember your part of the plan?" Serena asked.

"I wait here by the Gate. When I get your message via our mind link, I'll open the doors. If you are in a fight, you'll send Ann in first. I'm to take her straight to Alan, then come back and bring you through. If you're all dead, Ann should know and will tell me." Pluto quoted.

"Exactly!" Serena said.

With a nod, Pluto turned to the Time Gate.

She tapped her staff against the dark colored doors.

Millions of tiny Symbols that stood for planets and galaxies started moving quickly over the surface of the doors, shinning bright silver against the dark color of the wood.

The solid diamond frame that held the doors, were carved with glowing Symbols of all the planets of the solar system. Each symbol was shinning it's own respective color, but none of them moved. At the very top of the framing, shinned the bright gold symbol of the moon.

Eventually two symbols stopped moving across the doors, to stay still one on each door, right where the handles should be.

Pluto explained that the one on the left side showed the planet that Beryl was on, and the one on the right stood for the galaxy Beryl was in.

Pluto tapped her staff once against the pink clouds that were floating gently under their feet.

The doors opened into darkness, and the Sailor Scouts and their Princesses stepped through without hesitation.

Pluto remained worried as she closed the doors.