Chapter 4-Setsuna the Time Lady

It's been a while since I was back on earth. As the guardian of the time gate, I got to see everything but I was never part of anything. Until Sailor Moon came along. Until Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru happened. I used to be fine with loneliness. Now, I looked forward to my Earth vacation.

I walked on the streets of Tokyo. Everything looked the same, except the giant Crystal Palace in the middle of the city. Shining brilliantly, a symbol of hope for all citizens to see.

I entered the palace and walked toward my queen. She was sitting on the throne, looking down at a piece of paper. She scribbled something and then erased it quickly.

I bowed down and announced my presence, "Queen Serenity!"

"Setsuna-san!" The queen yelled and ran towards me. She came and gave me a hug. My first physical contact in a long while. I held on and basked in her warmth.

"Setsuna-san. Oh no…" She looked at my serious face and she knew. When my presence was required, it usually meant terrible things would happen.

"It's time to call the others. We need to talk." I looked up to find the queen's eyes tearing up. I forced myself to smile a little, for her sake.

I wandered around in the garden. Everything looked brand new and lacked the scars of battles. When the Dark Moon clan and the wiseman returned to attack in the 30th century, the palace was destroyed. Queen Serenity rebuilt it after the war but it was never the same.

The others would get here soon. My heart soared when I heard Hotaru could make it to the meeting. With the recent peaceful times, she had been living a somewhat normal life. She was accepted into the Aerospace Engineering Program at the University of Hiroshima. Hotaru moved out of the house to pursue her dream at the tender age of 10. Youngest in the program, her intellect rose above everyone else.

As a time guardian, I understood duty and solitude. I unexpectantly gained a family when I swore to help Michiru and Haruka raised baby Hotaru. Everytime Hotaru called me Setsuna-mama, it thawed my icy walls little by little. I couldn't help but check on Hotaru even when I was at the time gate. I peeked into this timeline just so I could see how she was doing.

A small hand tapped me on the back. "Welcome back, Setsuna-mama." I spun around and picked up Hotaru.

"Hey, welcome back," Said Michiru and Haruka. Michiru's face was overcast. She had probably been sensing the evil energy building up. Sometimes knowing things ahead of times was pure torture. "Let's go see the others. Queen Serenity said the meeting would be in the dining room." I said.

On the way, Hotaru held onto my hand and Michiru's hand. Her face was serious. I wondered if she was happy at the university. Was she lonely?

I walked into the palace dining room and was surprised to see how different it looked. The future Queen painted this room green. Queen Usagi, however, had paintings of food decorating the walls instead. Everyone looked up and smiled when they saw me. I could detect a twinge of sadness underneath those smiles.

As much as I wanted to not do what I came here to do, I had a duty to perform. I needed to protect the timeline and preserved it as it is. The ripple effect could be catastrophic. So I cleared my throat and stood up. I stole a quick glance at Hotaru, who was looking sadder and more serious now.

"We all know who is coming. Wiseman is gathering up forces and he is planning to destroy Queen Serenity and all the scouts. He has been raising an army, gathering people that reject Queen Serenity. He is also the one that revived the Ice Queen and the cause of the ice age. In the 30th century, when Small Lady accidentally stole the silver crystal, Queen Serenity was defeated and was put in suspended animation. As we all know, Wiseman was eventually defeated but right now he is still in power. In this timeline, Wiseman is accelerating his plans faster than before…." I paused because it was too painful to say the next part.

"So it is different this time? We can change it?" Queen Serenity asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "The timeline cannot change, but it is happening faster. I am afraid we have to lose this battle. I am afraid the ice age has to happen. Those events have become key moments in human history and altering it could have catastrophic consequences."

I had hoped that we could change it and spared everyone all the pain. However, I was not to interfere with timelines. To do so would break one of the taboos of guarding time. All I could do now was to warn them and make sure they followed the timeline. Maybe this time, they could say goodbye to their love ones before being frozen.

"If we kill Wiseman now, Chibiusa would never have to return from the future to the present. If Chibiusa was never here, I wouldn't have met her and have the courage to break out of Mistress Nine's hold. If I wasn't awakened, then Silence would take over the world. Timeline would break…."Hotaru filled in the gaps.

The room fell into silence as everyone processed the news. Earth would need to be frozen. The scouts would need to guard the frozen Queen and fight the invading forces. They already knew this but now they had to live through it.

"One more thing, guys. In the original timeline, Wiseman acted alone in raising the Dark Moon clan. He did not collaborate with the ice queen. Now, they are joining forces. The ice queen focused on freezing the planet while the Wiseman continued to gather people for the army. At this point, I could see the time diverge a bit. This might be our only gray area to work with. But it is still my duty to tell you that we have to maintain the original timeline as much as possible."

I couldn't help but overshare my information a bit. There would be punishments for sure, but for my people, I would do anything.