Wow I'm so horrible; I haven't updated in ages! Writer's block has been murder for months, and I finally got this out, so if it seems a little rough, forgive me, I forced myself to write it. Anyone still reading this, I've posted all the revised versions of earlier chapters, so that I got more of the storyline I wanted in them. Even though the story remains at a total of 7 chapters for the moment, this is a new chapter! I combined the two Golden Crystal chapters into one. I skipped the Love & Nature Crystals (Venus & Jupiter, respectively) because they would be overly similar to the Fire & Ice ones, and their reasoning had already been explained.

I'm not trying to slight Mako & Minako, promise, they'll be in the rest! I hope I'll be able to post quicker, 'cause now I actually have an idea about what will go on now that all the Crystals have been bestowed and such, and it's summer so I don' thave major school things weighing down on me.
I might post another songfic soon, I've got it mostly written. So, yeah, be on the lookout for that!

Title: Crystal Power
Author: AriallaZarinth
Chapter Seven: Triple Bonding (the Amethyst of Death & Rebirth, the Aquamarine of the Sky, the Turquoise of the Sea)
Email: crystalstarr89yahoo.com

"Does anyone know what this is about?" The King of Uranus boomed at the other monarch. The King of Neptune shrugged and shook his head, casting a worried glance at his wife. She still looked a little pale, he thought, and wasn't nearly recovered enough to be here.

The ornate doors to the grand parlor swung open, the herald scrambling to announce the visitors.
"The Monarchs of Saturn--"
"I'm sure they know. We /were/ all invited, after all." The third king said, brushing dismissively past the servant. "Go see the other princesses, Hotaru." The young girl nodded, her black braid swinging gently against her dark purple dress. Lavender diamonds glittered on her fingers as she waved in greeting.

"Where is your wife, sir?" Queen Uranus asked gently.
"Resting, at home. You know how weak she's gotten, since the..loss." He responded tightly, waiting for the well-polished sympathy expected from finely bred women. Instead, a person caught his eye: a newcomer, her arrival notable only by the complete lack of movement in the room as she did so.

In one hand she held a great white staff, shaped like an ornate key that had been stretched and enlarged until the eye took a moment to realize what it was supposed to be. The corners of Sailor Pluto's mouth sloped downwards, and the Staff disappeared from her grasp. She knew the Garnet Orb could not be here when she relinquished the last three of her Crystals.

"You are wondering why you are here, together. The call came from summons you could not ignore, for reasons they can not explain." Sailor Pluto stepped forward, tracing a path between kings and queens, queens and princesses, circling around the tight groups. Sixteen eyes followed the black-clad senshi along her looping path. "Perhaps now you are even worrying about the safety of your wives, your husbands, your children..." Pluto had returned to her arrival spot, pivoting smartly on her heel to face her guests again. "You were all present at the last Convene, you heard the others from your Solar System stand and tell of their children, the gifts bestowed to them by some shadowy unnamed person -- a messenger from the gods, perhaps?"
"The Crystals..." The Queen of Neptune breathed, one hand reaching out for support.
"Here I gathered you...your children," Pluto's red gaze shifted, her feet carrying her towards the princesses.

"Firstly, to Hotaru, Princess of Saturn, I give the Amethyst of Death and Rebirth. The two twist and turn, but you will always know their distinctions." She murmured the bonding words, moving on. "To Haruka, Princess of Uranus, I give the Aquamarine of the Sky. Your desire for speed and power will be met in this Crystal, but be careful." Another transfer, "And to Michiru, Princess of Neptune I give the Turquoise of the Sea..." Sailor Pluto paused, staring at the young girl, "You know your soul. I have nothing more to say." A final transfer, and all the Crystals were gone.

Across the solar system, a series of souls clicked, a hyperawareness of some tranquility they didn't recognize registering in their selves. Pluto sighed softly, eyes unfocusing momentarily, as the bonded Crystals linked across space.

"Now, Kings, Queens," Pluto faced the parents once more, her brusque tone turning their wondering stares away from the new Crystalbearers towards their guest, "if you would be so kind as to retire from this room. I still have business here, but not with you." The King of Uranus bristled, but his fellow rulers of Neptune and Saturn nodded.
"As you wish, madam." The five monarchs exited.

"Ma'am?" Hotaru was the only one of the three to put her Crystal away, "Who are you?"
"I am Sailor Pluto, Keeper of the Time Gate, daughter of Chronos, Bearer of the Garnet of Time and the Garnet Orb, and formerly Crystal Keeper." Hotaru opened her mouth again, but a look from Pluto shut it. "Listen: you three are the last to Receive, considerably older now than the others were when I bestowed their Crystals. You three won't be as complete as the others, perhaps, but no matter...you will find out in time. Go on, Haruka, Michiru, you need your Crystals no longer." Pluto admonished. She closed her eyes, remembering.

..:Flashback:..

"If you'll notice, Setsuna, we've given you a gift." The three ladies were hidden in the most part by the Mists. One was shapely, lounging easily as if on a couch; another was shriveled, hunched over by age; the third towered over the others, hand hovering protectively over the first.
"What? Who are you?"
"Your Key, child." Setsuna's eyes flicked over the Staff; at the top was a red sphere. "It is the Garnet Orb -- one of a set of four Talismans." The tall one lectured.
"The other three you'll call on us to give, when the time's right, and you always know when that is, right cherie?" The speaker stretched, shifting on the couch.
"When you bestow the last three Crystals, she means, little bird." The old one's quavery voice twisted through the air.
"You can't bring your Orb when you call on us--"
"--the universe would end--"
"--and Time would be out of order--"
"--and that would be bad." The didn't speak quite in unison, but with one train of thought.
"How can I call on you if I don't know who you are?"
"Call for the kindly ones, cherie."
"We're always listening, especially to one like you." They disappeared with a laugh.

..:End Flashback:..

"I call on the Kindly Ones -- the time is right, and your Talismans are to be given." Pluto murmured, too low for the three younger girls to hear.

"I said she'd always know when the right time was."
"It took you long enough, didn't it, my birdy?"
"Hush, sisters, we are not here on a social visit." Again they were shadowed, as if all the light in the world couldn't reveal their faces, as if they didn't have faces to reveal. "The last three Crystal Bearers, the first to hold a Talisman, together at last." The old one sighed softly.

"Last with the Crystals, last with the Talismans--"
"You did wait 'til an appropriate age, very perceptive, cherie."
"Hush!" The crone snapped. "Three Talismans, three Crystal Bearers. A mirror, a sword, a glaive. You three are charged with protecting the others, particularly whichever Crystal Bearer rises in dominance over the others."

"Our Setsuna doesn't count." The tall one added smilingly.
"But you should not gather unless there are times of great need -- three together is dangerous, all four will soon spell disaster."

"A mirror," The three spoke together; Michiru's hands cradled the cool silver handle, staring in wonder at the perfect reflection of the glass.
"A sword," Haruka automatically moved into battle stance, testing the heft of the glowing blade.
"and a glaive." The staff was already taller than Hotaru by itself; the huge curved blade topping it dwarfed her small stature, yet she held it with ease and authority, as if she were born to hold it, and perhaps she was.

The three who are one did not say goodbye; they simply were no longer there.

"The other Crystalbearers, no doubt, will join together. Their powers will be more instinctive, because they Received earlier, but do not envy them." Pluto said quietly, "for you have been given a second task. I would not speak of these Talismans to many, my sisters, gifts from the gods are not to be taken lightly. I will be at my post... Goodbye, and good luck." Pluto's bow was mirrored by the other three, and then she was gone.

"Well." Haruka spoke softly. "I guess this is hello and goodbye." Her eyes lingered on the exquisite Michiru, feeling a spirit grounded enough to hold her own airy soul in place.
"Yes." Hotaru responded briskly. "I will leave at once; I suggest you do the same, Princess Haruka. With these Talismans, an extended stay on Neptune could be dangerous." She smiled slightly, "I do wish I could have gotten to know you two better though..."
"Good luck, then." Michiru awkwardly clasped the girl's hand and watched as she exited the room quickly. Her calm seafoam-green eyes turned to the blonde left in the room. "To you too. I would say I hope we see each other soon, but I do not know if that would be a wise wish."
"It's just a wish." Haruka shrugged dismissively, "Nothing to it."
"I wouldn't say that." The Neptunian princess voice was low, grave, and her steady gaze followed the soon-to-be sky senshi out of the room.

"Michiru?" A questioning voice broke the young royal's pensive silence.
"Yes, Mother?"
"What did...who was...what happened in..." The queen didn't notice Michiru's small smile as the girl held up her hand to stop her mother's stumbling inquiries.
"If you were meant to know, Mother, don't you think you would have been permitted to stay?" Sheer willpower held in the laughter at her parent's confused expression, "Do not ask questions of me I am not going to answer." She ducked a curt curtsey and walked out of the room, stilling her father's questioning with a request to be alone.

The seas of Neptune are nothing like their more predictable counterparts on Earth, nor their entirely docile sister on the Moon. Nothing on Neptune is on the coast, for the coastline changes daily. Whirlpools and tidal waves are as commonplace as ordinary waves, Michiru mused as she walked along the beach. She knew her bodyguards would be nearby, but her wish for solitude would keep them out of sight. The almost green waters lapped at her feet, soaking the soft slippers made of rich satin. The stone cupped in trembling hands pulsed in response to its element, and Michiru found herself wading, wading, waist-deep in water. People were visible on the shore now, calling her with worry and duty in their tones. The sea called to her as a mother to a child, now, to this child of ten with wisdom in her words and grace streamlining her movements.

"Take me to them." She whispered commandingly, Crystal in hand. The water lifted her up, set her on the rocky land with gentleness. "I am fine." Her voice raised, regally nodding at her servants, "And I am returning to the castle now." They disappeared from view again, some more clumsily than others.

&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!&!

Hotaru knelt next to her mother. The weakened monarch opened bleary eyes, seeing pools of black surrounded by irises of purple. She blinked again, the face of her only child coming into focus. She closed her eyes in pain, seeing only the cold blue flesh of her recent baby.

"Go. Let me alone."
"No, Maman." Hotaru replied cooly but emphatically, "You are fighting a losing battle. You know death has loosed its grip, and you cannot join my brother."
"No..." The word was but a moan.
"Please, Maman. We still need you."
"You need no one. You never have." The woman spat, "You didn't even nurse as long as most children."
"I do need you. Everything I know I learned from watching you."
"/He/ needed me, and I didn't save him!"
"It was not your fault. You will join him someday, we will all be united in the afterplaces, but not now. Papa needs you as well."
"That man!" Tired eyes flickered open, "Hasn't even visited!"
"He watches while you sleep, afraid that if you see him, you will say goodbye and slip away forever. His fear is irrational, however. You are not even close to death anymore."
"Even this room has heard whispers, my girl, of a gift you have received. Could you give me what I desire?"
"Why should I interfere? If you are not meant to die now, why should you?" She smirked, "Even the doctors have noticed your immense recovery. You cannot hide it any longer. Maman...return to life." Hotaru bent over the pretending invalid, brushing her lips against the others', "You have much to live for." Her smirk had softened into a genuine smile.
"As you insist, daughter." The woman admitted grudgingly, "May the day not be too far that I hold my other child."
"Is the day ever far or close? We get a lifetime, nothing more, nothing less." Hotaru's voice lowered for her own ears alone, "Except some of us."