DAYBREAK

Episode 39

"MAMORU!!!!!!" Usagi was standing at the top of the stairs, watching her boyfriend kissing her very shocked sister. Mamoru pulled back from the kiss, leaving Kurai gasping for breath.

"What?!" Mamoru was staring back and forth from one blonde to the other. One, seething with anger, was slowly storming down the stairs while the other was quietly inching away, a deep blush in her cheeks. Usagi finally made it over to Mamoru, who smiled faintly at her. "Is this a bad time to ask who she is?" Mamoru pointed at Kurai, who had almost made it out of the front hall and now sighed from her failed attempt. She walked back over to the couple and curtsied before them.

"I, Prince Endymion, am Princess Apollo of the Moon family. It's nice to finally meet you in this time." Mamoru seemed to be very taken aback by the formal greeting.

"Pr-princess?" he finally managed to stutter.

"Yes, Mamoru." Usagi made her way over to Kurai and grabbed her hand. "Kurai is my twin sister."

"But…how?!" Mamoru couldn't understand how this had been kept from him for so long.

"It wasn't kept from you, Endy…I mean, Mamoru," Kurai replied instantly.

"How did you know that was what I was thinking?"

"Never mind. All I'm trying to tell you is that this is something new for everyone….well, except for Pluto and myself, of course."

"You know Setsuna?"

"Oh, yes. She's a very good friend of mine and I'm sure she'll be glad to hear I finally met you."

"Why would she be?!" Usagi jumped into the conversation.

"She just wanted me to meet the present selves of the people who used to be like family to me. That's all. Now that I've met all of the Royal Family, I can keep an eye on all of you much more easily."

"So you're here to protect us?" Mamoru asked.

"That and to make sure everything runs its course."

"What do you mean?" Mamoru inquired, not having heard Kurai's fully detailed explanation.

"Pluto sent me to this time to make sure everything went right and that the future wouldn't be changed. If I don' succeed, I'll be…" Kurai trailed off as she recalled Pluto's warning to her…

"Have you once again befriended Haruka?" Pluto was watching her companion getting ready for her journey.

"Yes. I didn't think my powers would work so well on her, but fortunately they did."

"Now, Apollo, I'm giving you a great responsibility here."

"I know, Pluto, I know. But I think I'm ready for it." Apollo was thinking about what she wanted to wear.

"You are the only one I would trust to do this. You know that, don't you, Apollo?" Apollo turned to Pluto, who was looking more and more worried by the second.

"Of course. I've been training for this day for who knows how long and now that you think I'm finally ready…it's a great honor." Apollo hugged Pluto, who returned the simple act of friendship.

"Before you go, though, I must warn you about something, Apollo."

"And what might that be?" Apollo let go of Pluto and was once again contemplating on what to wear.

"Apollo, if the future were to be altered a little bit, it would be alright…"

"Well, of course! The future is never certain."

"Yes, but if the future were to be changed drastically, and you had done nothing to stop it, I would be…forced to kill you." Pluto gulped as Apollo cautiously fixed her gaze on her.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Apollo finally uttered. Pluto grabbed Apollo's shoulders and stared deep into her black eyes.

"Apollo, you cannot change the future or let personal matters get in the way."

"What personal matters?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about…" Pluto felt Apollo shaking and sat her down.

"This was definitely not in the job description…" Apollo muttered. Pluto smiled wistfully, thinking about how she would miss Apollo's playfulness and sarcasm.

"No, but you must do as I say, Apollo. I don't want to be the one to end your existence. You're too important to the universe…and me."

"At least now I know why you've been so worried about me and this whole thing." Apollo stood up and stared deep into Pluto's crimson-red eyes. "Promise me one thing, Pluto."

"Anything."

"If I start to change anything in such a way that would endanger everyone else…kill me." Pluto stepped back a bit as she watched Apollo's eyes take on a pure black color.

"Your mother would have been proud, Apollo."

"How so?" Apollo's eyes turned back to normal.

"You are the most unselfish person I have ever met, sacrificing yourself for others."

"Not others, Pluto…everyone." Apollo waved her hand across her body and was instantly wearing a yellow summer dress. Her eyes were now a more inviting blue and the crescent moon on her forehead was gone.

"Welcome back, Kurai," Pluto suddenly said trying to change the subject.

"Very funny, Pluto." Kurai walked over to the Gates of Time and glanced back at Pluto, who sighed and lifted her Time Key. The Gates opened and Apollo took one step through.

"Good-bye Apollo," Pluto muttered quietly.

"Good-bye…Setsuna." Kurai whispered as she felt herself being pulled into the empty void of time and space…

"Kurai! Kurai, wake up!" Usagi was shaking Kurai, who had slipped into some sort of trance. "Is she unconscious or something?!"

"No, her eyes are open," Mamoru observed. He had just brought a cup of cold water from the kitchen.

"But they're so…black." Usagi stared at Kurai's eyes, where the only other color was a few specks of yellow here and there. The crescent moon symbol was glowing brightly on her forehead and she hadn't spoken a single word for a few minutes now. Usagi started shaking Kurai violently. "Kurai, wake up, damm it!" Suddenly, Kurai's eyes turned back to blue and she squinted them.

"S-usagi?" Kurai placed her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes. Her hair was falling into her eyes and she calmly put a strand behind her ear. Kurai's eyes fell upon Usagi, who was kneeling next to her. "I'm so sorry…" Kurai gasped as Usagi wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"What are you sorry about?" Usagi inquired.

"I'm sorry for not controlling my actions and making you worry," Kurai whispered.

"What actions?"

"Sometimes I have flashbacks and premonitions, which I've learned to control. But some are so intense that I just drift off into a trance-like state. I really don't know why I couldn't control this one…I'm sorry."

"Here, have some water." Mamoru handed the glass of water to Kurai just as Usagi let her go. She gulped it down and wiped her mouth. Kurai got up and stumbled, but Mamoru grabbed her and set her down on the stairs.

"I think I should get some rest. I'll leave you two to your date…" Kurai once again stood up and slowly started walking up the stairs. She stopped when she felt Usagi grabbing her wrist.

"I'm not leaving you, Kurai. Not after that." Usagi jumped up on the step next to her sister.

"But your date…" Kurai looked at Mamoru.

"Mamoru, would you mind if we rescheduled this?" Usagi was glancing at him hopefully, knowing very well that he would agree.

"Of course, Usagi. It seems Kurai needs more love right now than I do…"

"Mamoru!" Kurai started giggling at his remark.

"Hey, at least I made her laugh." Mamoru put his coat back on and started to turn the knob when Kurai stopped giggling.

"Mamoru, please stay. I would like to talk to you…" Kurai murmured.

"Huh?!" Usagi backed away from Kurai accusingly.

"Uh, let me rephrase that: since Mamoru saw one of my many episodes as well, he's most likely to be as confused as you are, Usagi. I'm sure he'd like some answers."

"Well, sort of…" Mamoru said cautiously.

"Very well, then." Kurai made her way back down the stairs and over to a couch in the living room. She rested her head against a soft pillow, laid down, and watched Usagi and Mamoru sit together on the loveseat. Kurai smiled at the sight, recalling the past and future.

"Kurai, your eyes!" Usagi suddenly yelled.

"Huh?!" Kurai came out of her daze and realized she had almost slipped back into her trance again. "How come I can't control them?" she whispered to herself.

"There's one thing I want to know about," Usagi commented.

"And what's that?" Kurai stared at her, thinking her sister had heard her words.

"Why do your eyes change color?"

"My eyes?…oh! My eyes! That's right, they do change color…" Kurai seemed to be preoccupied.

"Yes, and I'd like to know why," Usagi pressed.

"It's quite simple, actually. When we were born, the best way to tell us apart was by our eyes. You had blue eyes, like Mother, while I had black eyes with yellow specks. It was because of them that I was not given the role of future Queen…Mother knew there was something different about me. I normally have black eyes unless I'm in human form, like now, where I have blue eyes to make myself appear less demonic. Of course, I could always do this…" Kurai waved her hand over her face and she had cat-eyes.

"What the…?!" Mamoru slumped down into his seat, staring hard at Kurai.

"See what I mean?" Kurai closed her eyes and when she opened them, they were blue.

"How did you…?" Usagi began.

"Magic. Very hard for humans to learn, but very simple to execute." Kurai smirked knowingly.

"Magic? You mean, you know magic?" Kurai was about to shake her head yes when she heard someone speaking to her.

"Apollo, you mustn't tell them anymore…" the voice said quietly. Then, it went away as quickly as it had come. Kurai remembered Usagi's question and decided to make her answer as vague as possible.

"Just a bit. I only know enough to allow me to appear normal in public."

"Where did you learn it from?"

"Oh, just a friend of mine and Pluto's from the Silver Millennium. I also read a practical magic book several times over."

"I wish I knew magic…"

"Here, I'll teach you something." Kurai got up and motioned for Usagi to get up as well, and she did so. Mamoru looked oddly worried.

"What are you going to teach me?" Usagi inquired.

"I'm going to teach you how to change the color of your eyes."

"Is that all you can do?"

"No, but I think it's an amazing ability."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Here, listen. To change the color of your eyes, all you have to do is concentrate on the color you want as hard as you can and then shut them, while still concentrating. When you open your eyes, they should be that color." Usagi tried it and when she opened her eyes, they were a dull pink color. Kurai smiled at her. "Very good. You're a fast learner."

"At least she can learn something quickly," Mamoru commented. He could barely finish the sentence when he yelped out in pain. "Ow!"

"What just happened?" Usagi looked around in puzzlement, her eyes going back to normal.

"I don't know, I just felt something kick me and…" Mamoru stopped as his eyes fell upon Kurai, who was smiling sheepishly. "What did you do?!"

"Relax. It's a sort of telepathy where I made your mind think your body was being kicked," Kurai explained. "It's very simple to do and fun to watch."

"Yeah, very fun," Mamoru snapped.

"Oh, come on, Mamoru, Kurai was just teasing." Usagi made her way over to Mamoru and hugged his arm. Mamoru smiled at her and was about to kiss her when Kurai spoke up.

"Since I just ruined your whole evening, I might as well leave you two alone for now. Good night, Mamoru."

"Good night, Kurai." Kurai curtsied slightly and strolled up the stairs to her room, only stopping to also wish her sister a good night…