Rei crossed her arms and leaned against the pillar of the shrine's verandah. "I'm not sure if I trust them or not. Even if they really are from Mars, why would they want me to be Queen again? The Silver Millenium has been over for more than a thousand years. They don't live that long, do they?"

Charlotte turned to Rei. "Ice Warriors live about three hundred years on average. However, they have mastered suspended animation. It is possible, probable even, that they were in stasis during that time and have only recently awakened."

"So they could have been alive during the Silver Millenium?" Serena asked.

Darien shook his head. "It's possible, but if they had, they would have recognized Rei. And you said they had to ask you if you were Princess Mars first, right?"

Rei nodded. "It was the first thing the one with the silver helmet asked. Ta-cha or whatever it was."

Mina crossed her arms and leaned against another pillar."Maybe being asleep for so long causes memory loss,"

Charlotte shook her head. "Their process is efficient enough that there are no long-term side effects."

"It's still very suspicious," Luna commented. "Now they're here, I definitely remember Ice Warriors being mentioned, but I don't recall ever seeing one on the Moon more than once or twice."

"They never went to the Moon?" Rei asked. "But they were part of the Kingdom?"

Artemis nodded his head. "If I remember correctly, the Ice Warriors were like the Outer Senshi; tasked with protecting the Kingdom from outside threats. They weren't exactly known for being polite either. They rarely, if ever, attended any parties or official functions."

Luna's tail twitched. "Yes, I do remember they were something of a mystery. We never were sure if they were really part of the Kingdom or biding their time before taking over again. Mars was the crown jewel of the Solar System several thousand years before the Silver Millenium. I'm not exactly sure what happened to change that. It was all well before the rise of the Moon Kingdom."

Darien glanced at the Ice Warriors. "If they wanted to take over, they would have done it already. Looking at their technology, it should have been easy for them to conquer the rest of the solar system with the Moon Kingdom gone."

"Unless they joined Beryl and she betrayed them," Luna said flatly. "Or Queen Serenity defeated them in the end. I know for sure that they weren't there when Beryl attacked and the battle raged for days. They should have had more than enough time to respond."

"It's possible," Artemis replied. "Luna is right, but maybe they were fighting off the rest of Beryl's army. The part that landed on the Moon was only a small portion of it, a tenth at most. I'm almost positive the rest was attacking the other planets at the same time."

"Or they were sealed into hibernation by Queen Serenity," Luna said.

"So they could have been in hibernation for a thousand years, recently woke up and now want revenge?" Serena asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "They would have attacked if they wanted revenge. As I said, Ice Warriors are not known for deceit. We can probably assume they're telling the truth, or at least part of it."

Rei scowled. "So they wait a thousand years before showing up to ask?"

Charlotte considered for a moment. "Well, it is possible that, if these Ice Warriors didn't go through hibernation, they could have gotten the stories from their predecessors. If they recently learned that the stories were fact, they would have started looking. Or, they could have only recently found a way to locate you, but that would require an existing genetic sample. From a parent or sibling, for example."

"Ah," Artemis sighed. "The Queen and King of Mars were both buried on the planet. If they found their remains-"

"They could locate a genetic match," Charlotte finished. "Based on our observations, I estimate that is the most likely scenario."

Lita leaned forward. "What do we do now? We can speculate, but we won't get any answers."

Rei shook her head. "We need to know more, but we have to assume everything is a lie or partial truth until they can prove we can trust them. But I can't think of anything that would make that happen."

"They seem earnest enough," Ami said thoughtfully. "Why don't we take time to get to know them? That seems like the best way to determine if they're being honest or not."

Lita looked less than thrilled at the prospect. "How exactly are we supposed to make friends with the giant green men from Mars? We can't exactly take them around and show them the sights."

Serena glanced to the Ice Warriors, all of whom remained a respectful distance away. "We don't make friends with the aliens that show up often. It's going to be weird being friends rather than fighting, but we can do it."

Mina tapped her fingers on her elbows. "I don't know that it'll be that easy, but it's worth a shot. Nothing tried, nothing ventured!"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Ami corrected her. "We could take them to someone's house. We could try my place, but I don't know that they'll fit."

Mina sighed. "I don't think my parents would be thrilled with seven giant martians showing up at our house."

"Same," Serena said.

Lita crossed her arms, a dark look on her face. "Don't look at me. They won't fit and they'll trample my plants."

Rei shook her head. "I can't have them around. They'll scare people off."

Serena looked around the almost empty shrine. "What people? We're the only ones who come up here."

"Maybe some people will want to come," Rei grumbled. "And I don't want them scared off by aliens."

They all looked at Darien who shifted in obvious discomfort. "I don't like where this is going," he commented.

"You're the obvious choice," Ami pointed out. "Your apartment is the biggest one and you're by yourself."

Darien looked moderately unhappy. "There's still the problem of getting them to my place. People are going to notice."

"I know!" Mina said, straightening up and looking excited. "Tell people they're some friends you made in America who came to visit!"

The others stared at her in disbelief.

"Americans?" Rei said incredulously. "That's your solution?"

Mina nodded. "I've heard they're all really big and since everyone else assumes he really was in America for a semester, they won't question it much."

"I don't have a better idea," Lita glumly admitted .

"Now all we have to do is get them to Darien's apartment!" Serena announced.

"You're forgetting about their ship," Darien commented.

"Oh, yeah," Serena looked embarrassed. "I forgot about that."

Rei rolled her eyes. "This is why we don't leave you in charge of things, meatball brain."

Lita glanced over to the ship. "We could have them leave it here while Luna and Artemis keep an eye on it. Then, if the Ice Warriors try to activate it or something, we'll know about it."

Rei considered for a moment. "I suppose we could leave it here. I'll tell people it's art that was donated or something."

Ami nodded "It does kind of look like art."

"Not very good art," Serena added.

"How do we get them to Darien's apartment?" Mina asked. "I don't think they'll fit on a bus."

Lita shook her head. "Subway is out too."

Ami nodded. "We'll have to walk."

Darien frowned. "How do we get them there? Even if we say they're American, people are going to ask questions. They stick out too much. If we go untransformed, people will notice and might figure out who the Sailor Scouts really are. If we go transformed, it's the same problem."

Serena frowned. "Luna? Would the Disguise Pen or Mina's compact work on the Ice Warriors?"

"Not likely," Luna replied. "They're really meant to be used on a single person."

Mina pulled out her crescent moon compact. "It's worth a try, right?"

Serena held up her disguise pen while Mina held up her compact.

"Moon disguise power!"

"Crescent Moon power transform!"

"Turn the Ice Warriors into Americans!"

Nothing happened.

Serena sighed. "It was worth a try."

Charlotte frowned as she looked over the Ice Warriors. "I might be able to expand my hologram field to cover them. . . I'm not sure if it will work though and I need to know what an American looks like."

"They're fat and ugly," Mina said.

"They're always eating!" Serena added. "And they're really sloppy and dripping food on themselves."

"That sounds like you," Rei retorted.

Serena glared at her, but Lita spoke up before Serena could respond. "I've heard they're all really tall as well."

Charlotte's form wavered for a moment. It came into focus and standing in her place was a tall, obese man holding a greasy hamburger. "Like this?" He asked, munching on his burger. A large glob of grease fell off the hamburger and onto his white shirt, leaving a large yellow stain.

"It's a stereotype," Darien protested. "Only a few Americans really look like that."

"How would you know?" Serena asked. "You weren't actually in America, remember?"

"He has a point," Ami replied.

Mina ignored her. "It's perfect! Well, it's disgusting, but it's exactly what an American would look like."

Rei grumbled to herself, knowing it was useless to try argue with Mina and Serena. "We should tell them what we decided."

They all approached the Ice Warriors who were still standing in formation.

"We've made a decision," Rei said. "You're going to stay with Darien while we get to know you. Your ship can stay here."

Ta'Xaddir nodded. "We shall endeavor to make ourselves known to you. How shall we find the residence of Dairy-man?"

"I'm going to disguise you so they can lead you there," Charlotte said. "I calculate my holographic field can cover all of you, so long as you remain close."

Ta'Xaddir snorted. "We have no fear of revealing ourselves to the hoo-mans."

"We're doing it for the humans," Ami replied. "Given past experiences with aliens in the city, you're likely to terrify them."

Ta'Xaddir growled. "We do not care for hoo-mans. They are small and weak sacks of water."

Rei snapped. "Do you want me to trust you or not?"

"Yes. . ."

"Then stop arguing and let Char disguise you!"

Ta'Xaddir bowed his head. "As you request."

Charlotte hovered over the Ice Warriors. The light around them shimmered for a moment. Seven, tall, obese and greasy Americans appeared in the place of the Ice Warriors. Above them floated a forlorn, half-deflated balloon with an image of a cat on it.

"Nice work, Char," Mina said. "They look like real people!"

The balloon turned so the cat's eyes looked at Mina. "Yes, I am quite pleased with the result. However, I would appreciate if you could hurry. This endeavor is a huge drain on my reserves and I don't know how long I can maintain it."

"Come on then," Darien said. "It's not too far."

He led the entire party down the stairs of the shrine and onto the street. He tucked his hands into his pockets before turning and heading towards his apartment.

Serena wrapped her arms around his right arm and leaned her head against it. "I'm worried," she said in a low voice.

"About?" He looked down into her sapphire blue eyes.

Serena tilted her head back to the Ice Warriors. "I want to trust them but none of the aliens that have showed up have ever wanted to help us. It's strange and it worries me. I can't help but think they're up to something."

Darien considered silently for a moment. "There's a first time for everything. Maybe, for once, they really do mean it."

"I just wish I could remember them," she glanced back for a moment. "Luna and Artemis claim to remember them, but if they're Rei's people, why doesn't she? And if they are our allies, why did Chibi-usa never mention them? If they live as long as Char said, shouldn't they have been around in the Thirty-First Century?"

"I don't know," Darien admitted. "But we have to find the answers on our own. If they mean it, that's good. If they don't, we need to be prepared to fight them."

"I know," she looked forlorn for a moment. "We've fought so much and there seems to be no end." Her expression became more determined. "But we have each other, right? Together, us and the Scouts, we're unstoppable and we'll always defend our planet."

Darien smiled slightly. "I feel sorry for anyone who tries attacking it with you around."

"Wait," Rei said from behind them. They both turned to see the Ice Warriors, in their disguises, doubled over and wheezing heavily.

"I apologize that I did not foresee this difficulty," the balloon said glumly. "Gravity on Mars is sixty-two percent lower than Earth's. An Ice Warrior in full armor weighs around one hundred ten pounds on Mars. Here that makes them almost three hundred."

"Talk about gaining weight," Serena commented.

"We… are not used to this," Ta'Xaddir wheezed.

"We might not have to worry about them trying anything," Lita muttered to the others. "They can barely walk without almost passing out. If we have to fight them, they'll be the easiest enemies ever."

"We have recovered," Ta'Xaddir said, straightening up. "We are prepared to continue."

"We'll take it slow," Serena said.

The party began moving again, much slower than before.

"This is going to take forever," Rei grumbled. "A snail moves faster than us."

"We'll get there," Ami said, glancing over to Rei. "Eventually. . ."