Here I am again! I've been having such wonderful brainstorms for this story that I feel the need to write and write and write! I just hope I can squeeze it all in! Still, I suppose that anything that doesn't get used can always be used in another story. ;)

Speaking of other stories, while "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and other stories have inspired me on certain points, I want you to know that I go to great lengths to keep my story original.

Many, many thanks go out to:

Mieco: I'm glad you like it! Here's more!

tangentsferret: Thank you very much for your many compliments. For you, I shall make an extra effort to watch for typos and missed words! I'm so used to seeing/hearing both sets of names that I don't think much about them anymore, myself. I have been trying to use a careful blend of the Japanese and the English names and titles though. I hope it doesn't serve to confuse you further. :( Hope you like my further writings and don't get into trouble at work! ;) And I didn't give Darien a powerful sister. It all gets explained later. Glad you like my story.

Suki: Thanks again for reading this and I'm so glad that it met your approval. Yes, the lack of a red-head bothered me also. In my mind, Darien is not acting as a Senshi/soldier, but as a Monarch protecting his home. I'd explain it better, but I'm afraid of giving away too much - you think as fast as I do. ;) And ... it won't be as complicated as you think. Watch and see!

Venus Smurf: Wow! Such wonderful compliments! Thank you!!! :D

Disclaimer: Still don't own anybody who wasn't mine to begin with!!

Chapter 9

The Powers That Be

Rory had agreed with Raye that the cycle needed to be completed. They would all meet at the Temple before dawn and go to Elysion. As they broke off into smaller groups for the day, Luna reminded them to keep an eye out for trouble and to call.

Serena and Darien went for a walk and a bit of shopping. Hotaru asked to go with them. Rei decided to meditate by the Temple Fire and see if could reveal anything about the Enemy. Amara and Michelle went back to their place once they realised that they didn't have Hotaru under foot for a bit. Amy went back home to see if her mother had been home in the meantime and to do a bit of reading. University wasn't far away and she wanted to be ready for it. Mina and Lita wandered back to their place. Mina had moved out of her mother's house (at last, as far as she was concerned) and Lita had agreed to room with her. They had found a two bedroom with a beautiful view. Lita had wanted a spare bedroom, but three bedrooms were out of their price range, so they decided a fold out sofa would have to do.

Trista and Rory walked to the park and sat down on the grass, looking up at the clouds.

"That one," said Trista, pointing, "looks like Sailor Uranus' Space Sword."

Rory chuckled. "No ice cream cones and bunnies for you, eh?"

Trista looked down at Rory's upturned face. "Yoake," she spoke, her voice lowered to just above a whisper. Rory didn't move her eyes from the sky, but Trista knew she had her attention. "Why is it that Serenity can't Heal the Generals from Beryl's brainwashing when they are revived?"

Rory lowered her gaze to Trista's. "The Power of the Crystal is limitless in what it can do. She will indeed remove any traces of control left behind by Beryl because it is the nature of the Crystal to cleanse away negativity, replacing it with positive so that it may Heal itself. The Crystal also helps speed the Healing process, much like the psychometry that Darien uses. But it doesn't offer protections. It doesn't prevent damage from being done again to what it has Healed. I can, Sets. I'm never going to leave my brother unprotected again."

"I see. Well, that makes more sense." She leaned forward and placed a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Are you sure you're not conflicting your duties though? Your brother has a Guardian - Helios. You are the Princess' Guardian."

"Yes and no, but that doesn't matter. You know as well as I do that as long as one is protected, it benefits the other." Rory looked up at the sky again. "Look! That one looks like a crescent moon being crossed by a rose."

Trista looked up at the clouds again. The conversation had ended, but it wasn't finished if she could help it.

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Serena and Darien wandered through the market with Hotaru alternately holding Serena's hand and running to a display in wonder over a trinket and back to Serena. Darien smiled at Hotaru's ability to be a child when she wasn't being a senshi. He smiled as her laughter bubbled up at another cute toy.

"Darien," Serena spoke softly. "What are we going to do with ... with your friends, once they arrive? Where will they stay? What will they do?"

Darien put an arm around his wife's shoulders and smiled down into her concerned blue eyes. "Well, I'm sure that they can stay with Helios for a little bit until arrangements can be made. After that, let's not worry about it too much. Anything can happen between then and now, Buns, but I'm sure that they will do fine here."

"But -"

Darien stopped and taking both her shoulders in his hands, leaned close to face so that they were eye to eye. "One thing at a time, Serena. Don't borrow trouble. Just enjoy the day, like Hotaru is. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together." He kissed her forehead, and placing an arm around her waist, turned back to Hotaru just as the girl ran back to take up Serena's hand. Serena sighed as they continued their walk but tried harder to push her concerns aside. She smiled down at Hotaru who was watching her carefully. Hotaru smiled back.

"Well, hello! And who's this?" came a new voice from behind them.

They turned as one ... and came face to face with Serena's Mother.

"Mom! What are you doing here?"

Ikuko Tsukino smiled warmly at her daughter and her husband. "Why, I'm shopping, of course! Your father and brother need new shirts and I was hoping for a new dress for the family picnic next week."

Darien looked startled. "Family picnic?"

Ikuko frowned. "Why, yes." She put her hands on her hips as she turned her frown on Serena. "Serena! Don't tell me that you didn't tell him!"

Everyone turned to look at Serena and she blushed as she looked at the floor. "It, uh, kind of slipped my mind, Mom. I'm sorry, Darien."

Darien pulled her close. "It's okay. We still have a week." He looked to his mother-in-law. "What's the family picnic for? Is it a tradition? I don't remember you all doing this before."

"Well, it's partly to celebrate our anniversary, but we've included Molly and Melvin as well since they've returned from their honeymoon a little while ago." She looked at her daughter again. "You haven't called her yet either, have you?"

Serena sighed. "I'll call her tonight, Mother. Things have been ... busy."

Ikuko shook her head. "I thought you had outgrown this, Serena. It's been a while since you've been so forgetful."

Darien smiled as he came to his wife's defence. "Actually, Ikuko-san, Serena's right. I've recently found my sister and we've been helping her get settled into things. She's staying in our spare room right now."

"How wonderful!! You must bring her with you!" She bent down and looked at Hotaru. "Though I must say I expected your sister to be older. Too bad we don't have anybody here her age to play with."

Hotaru frowned. "I'm not Darien's sister, Tsukino-san, I'm just a friend. My name is Hotaru Tomoe."

"Oh!" Ikuko blushed. "Well, it's very nice to meet you." She looked at Serena, who smiled at her.

"It was an honest mistake, Mom. Hotaru was one of my bride's maids, remember? We're watching her for a bit while her guardians are doing other things. She's being raised by Amara, Michelle and Trista. Do you remember them?"

"Yes, of course! I'm a big fan of Michelle's ... I can't believe that young woman is really Michiru! She has such talent!" Ikuko sighed. (A/N: Michiru is Michelle's "professional" name.) "Well, since Molly and Melvin will be there, you must invite your other friends as well, Serena. We'll make a big party out of it. Oh, what fun I'll have baking for you all!"

Serena smiled and watched the gears turn in her mother's head as her mother calculated everything she'd need to feed so many people. Her father was going to faint when he found out, she knew. "I'm sure that Lita will help out Mom. You know her cooking is good. In fact, I'll make sure that everybody brings a dish. Will that help?"

Ikuko hugged her daughter. "You are so thoughtful, dear! Yes, that will help! Just let me know what everybody is bringing." Serena smiled happily and hugged her mother back. "Well, I've got to run or I'll never get everything done!" She bowed to Hotaru. "It was wonderful to meet you, Hotaru-chan, I hope I'll see you at the picnic as well?"

Hotaru smiled, her violet eyes shining as she returned the bow. "Thank you, Tsukino-san. I'm sure we'll be there."

Darien leaned down and kissed Ikuko's cheek. "We'll call you later, Ikuko-san."

Ikuko winked at him. "One of these days I'm going to get you to call me 'Mom' too, Darien."

Serena smiled. "And give Dad another reason to faint? Really, Mom, you are bad for his heart!"

Ikuko smiled as she turned away. "He's more fond of Darien than you realise, Serena," she said over her shoulder and with a wave she walked away.

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Raye knelt in contemplation in front of the Temple's Fire. Her hair was held back with a blue temple ribbon that Chad had given her at one time, to keep her hair from flowing into the flames. Her fingers formed ancient symbols as she chanted.

"Show me, Great Fire, what I need to see. Show me the face of our new Enemy."

The face of Maboroshi appeared within the flames. His image then faded slightly and another figure began to replace it.

'No, it's not replacing it,' Raye realised, 'I'm seeing through it. Maboroshi was truly an illusion? Our Enemy must hold great power indeed if they can throw that much at us through an illusion.' She waited to see if the figure behind Maboroshi would become clearer, but it didn't. "Great Fire, who is the true Enemy?"

The Temple Fire showed nothing. It began to grow weaker, the flames slowly dying. Raye's face showed her alarm. It was very bad luck for the Temple Fire to go out. Suddenly the fire flared to twice it's original size. Raye fell back, crying out as the heat slammed against her.

"RAYE!" The door to the room slammed open and she heard steps running to her. Strong arms lifted her up and a hand brushed a few loose strands out of her face. "Raye! Are you hurt? What happened?"

Raye opened her eyes and looked up into Chad's concerned brown eyes. She looked to the Fire. It had resumed it's normal size and Raye Felt nothing from it. She looked back at Chad and smiled.

"I'm alright. Thank you, Chad. It's good that you were nearby."

Chad blushed. "Well, in truth, I was waiting for you outside the door." He helped Raye stand up, but didn't take his arm from her shoulders in case she fell again. "I needed your opinion."

Raye looked surprised. Then she smiled. "Of course, shall we go outside? I could use a bit of fresh air right now."

Chad nodded as he took his arm away. Raye was always so strong, it was rare that she needed his help. He was glad that he was always there when she did.

They walked through the trees, side by side. Raye waited for Chad to sort through his thoughts. He had been much more open with her since Catsy and the Black Moon had attacked the Temple. It felt like so long ago. She knew he would say something eventually. He wouldn't have come to speak with her if he wasn't ready.

Chad stopped, staring at the ground. Raye turned to face him, and inquiring look on her face. Chad took a deep breath.

"This is hard for me."

Raye took one of Chad's hands and smiled warmly at him. "You can tell me anything, Chad. We've become very good friends over the past couple of years, haven't we?"

"Yes." He looked up into her lovely amethyst eyes. "Yes, we have. You know that for a while, in the beginning, I had hoped for a little more than that, don't you?"

"Yes." Raye didn't know what else to say, so she waited for Chad to continue.

"Well, it soon became quite obvious, even to me, that I didn't quite fit into your life in the way that I hoped. Still, I admit that I hoped ..." Chad sighed. Raye gave his hand a squeeze in encouragement. "I am very glad, Raye, to have you as my friend. You'll never know how much I value it. While Grandpa and I were on our retreat, I ..."

Raye smiled. "You met somebody there, didn't you?"

"I swear I wasn't looking for anybody, it just ..."

"Happened?" she finished for him. "Chad, that's generally the way good relationships start. When you aren't looking for them and they find you anyway."

Chad took both her hands in his and smiled lovingly at her. "I knew you would understand." Then he grinned. "Though I almost wish that you had gotten a bit jealous."

Raye snorted and slapped his shoulder. "So what was the opinion you needed? Sounds to me like you've already made up your mind."

"Will you meet her? And give me your thoughts on her later?"

"Well, of course, I'll meet her, but why do you need my opinion?"

"Because you see things that others don't. I know you do. I've seen it. Every now and then you react to people differently. I don't expect you to see anything special or evil ... I just ..." Chad smiled. "It's cheating, I know. I just want to know that she'd be good for me." He looked into Raye's eyes. "Getting over you was hard enough. I'd hate to strain our friendship if this girl suddenly turns out wrong and I try to bounce back to you."

Raye smiled and pulled Chad close for a hug. "Of course, I'll meet her. It'll be my pleasure."

Chad's arms enfolded around her and he hugged her back. "How about tomorrow? Would that be okay?"

Raye hesitated. "I ... have plans first thing in the morning ... I'm not sure how long it will last."

Chad nodded but said nothing. When he didn't say anything for a few minutes, Raye turned to go back to the temple. She had only gone a few steps when Chad's voice stopped her.

"Will you tell me someday, Raye? This great secret you have? Will I ever know it?"

Raye didn't turn around. "I don't know," she said softly. She walked away through the trees.

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AGH!! I'm hungry! Go for a quick break!

Am also getting frustrated with my busy head. I'm trying to keep things slow and make sure I don't skip anything, but as I write this chapter, I've got great ideas for the next chapter and have to keep stopping to write them down!! Grrr ...

Please let me know if I'm rushing or miss something.

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The appointed time seemed to take forever to arrive. Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury alternately stood, sat and paced individually in the Temple courtyard.

"Well," said Jupiter, breaking the silence between them, "I think I have a better understanding of just how nerve wracking it was for Sailor Moon when we waited for a full moon to visit the Moon Kingdom to try to find a clue to rescue Tuxedo Mask from Beryl's clutches."

Mercury smiled. For once her idle hands did not hold a book. She couldn't concentrate on the words and decided not to try. She looked up at the slowly fading full moon and knew that dawn wasn't far behind.

Mars also smiled at Jupiter. "That Odango Atama ..." she mock growled, "always getting into such scrapes because she thought with her loving heart instead of her warrior mind."

Venus shook her head at Mars. "Sailor Moon gets her strength from her heart, Mars. She is not, and was never truly meant to be, a warrior. The fact that she became one was due to self defence only. Fighting was never a choice for her unless there wasn't one. Quite frankly, I've always admired her for her determination."

Jupiter and Mercury nodded in agreement with Venus. Mars, a bit startled by Venus' speech, quickly recovered to flash Venus her own 'V' sign. "Me too," she said warmly.

"Well, I admit to having doubts, myself," broke in a new voice.

The four women turned as one to find themselves facing Uranus and Neptune.

"But," Uranus continued with a smile, "I also admit that I quickly saw the error of those doubts."

Neptune smiled up at Uranus and took her hand. "Yes, Sailor Moon has a way of making people believe in her in spite of themselves. Sailor Moon is our strongest member and will make a fine ruler one day."

Uranus looked down at Neptune and gave her hand a small squeeze. A loving signal that was quickly returned. Uranus looked up at the others.

"So ... been waiting long?"

The last of the Scouts, Pluto and Saturn arrived soon after, followed by Eternal Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Guardian Eos. Eos quickly gathered everyone together.

"Let us begin our miracle."

With the first touch of the sun's rays, they entered Elysion.

The Outers stood off to the side, along with Helios and the Menards. Each of the heroes transformed to their Princess forms with soft glows of their signature colours. Tuxedo Mask became Endymion as he produced the case which held what was left of the Generals' bodies. Facing her brother and Serenity a few feet away, she directed Endymion to place the stones in a line between them. Endymion did so carefully, naming each one as he laid them down.

"Jadeite ... Nephrite ... Zoisite ... Kunzite."

As he laid down the Earth gems, the Inners lined up a few feet behind the Prince and Princess. Serenity looked back and smiled at her friends then turned back to Endymion. Drawing on the power of Elysion and his Golden Crystal, Endymion called forth the spirits of the Generals, one last time.

"Well," smiled Princess Serenity, "is everybody ready?" She reached out a hand towards her Prince and he took it within his. Then they both reached out with their other hands and Called their staffs. The appearance of the staffs transformed them into the Queen and King. Eos silently called her own staff at the same time, but only Helios was watching her. All eyes were on the royal couple and their entourage.

The Generals were startled by the change in their Prince's appearance, but were given no time to question him.

"Neo Queen Serenity, King Endymion," Guardian Eos called. "Let us begin."

The King and Queen raised their sceptres as Eos raised hers. The stones beneath each General began to glow and rise until each one floated at chest height within the spirit forms. Damage that had been sustained by the stones during the fight with Metallia slowly healed until you could no longer find any hint of flaw in any of the stones.

The Generals began to glow, brighter and brighter. In flash of blinding light, the four Generals stood before them, arms loosely at their sides, their eyes closed. Each still faintly glowed with a blue light with scattered pink sparkles here and there.

Serenity and Endymion lowered their staffs and powered down to their previous royal forms. Minutes later, Eos lowered her staff as well and the glow faded from the Generals. There was a moment of silence as the Generals stood there, their eyes still closed. With a rustle of material, the princesses of Mars, Jupiter, Mercury and Venus stepped forward and stood before the Generals. One by one, the Generals opened their eyes.

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I'm very sorry that it took me so long to get this out, everybody, but I'm working two jobs now and the Holiday season was just a mess! I really hope to squeeze in a moment here and there to write in, but I can't promise that I'll update quickly. On the other hand, I haven't been anyway, so this shouldn't be new for you! ;)

Hope you enjoyed the cliffy! May it inspire you to REVIEW and come back for more!