When Hotaru sensed the crystals of Neptune and Uranus, she woke up. Her face fell when she realized it wasn't the two she had grown up with a second time around.
The new arrivals noted her, but said nothing. They recognized her presence at least. She could introduce herself later.
Zechs noticed the girl asleep on the couch, and wondered why her face seemed disappointed when she saw them.
Noin was on edge for good reason around the Chinese boy. The blond set up the video and brought them something to drink. The boy with the green hair and yellow highlight gave them the explanation. He answered every question asked, and then asked them what made them wait so long before coming.
The two Oz pilots wondered who's side they would be on, now that they had seen this vision of true peace.
They stayed overnight, though they were assured that when they went back it would be less than an hour after they left.
He was drifting in darkness. His soul was as black as the space between the stars he loved. He could feel the light of life trying to lead him back.
But what reason did he had to return? His life was spent trying to save the mortals, and what did that get him? Pain and suffering.
The very people he was trying to save hated him. They expressed joy when they learned he was going to die! They even destroyed his precious Aibou, and didn't care about why he was fighting.
Maybe he should return to the Faeries, and give up on the peace he tried to bring about.
Suddenly he felt pain. It was like he had stuck his tongue on a damn car battery! (Which despite 05's belief he was an complete idiot he wouldn't do.)
Another strike of pain. The lightning was stronger now.
He was alone, his best friend was stuck inside a time bubble until she could be reborn into this world. His partner, destroyed. His people were dying out slowly. The ones he tried to free from tyranny hated and despised him and the others. What reason did he have to fight?
The pain was worse now. The lightning refused to stop.
Why? Why did it hurt so much?
He opened his eyes to darkness. Suddenly the pain stopped, and he felt warm. He couldn't move, but he could look.
A familiar face. Messy brown hair framed a gentle face, cobalt eyes looking concerned. He knew this person.
Jupiter's child.
Well that explains the lightning...
The lightning hit him again, only this time it didn't hurt. Heero had his head in his lap.
"Don't you dare leave me you braided baka," he whispered.
The warmth grew stronger. The lightning which played gently across Heero enveloped him. The darkness was beginning to fade a bit.
'What is the point? Why should I keep fighting?'
Heero seemed to think about this.
"We need you."
Images of the other pilots played across his mind. Quatre, Trowa, Wu Fei. Poupelin, Orangeat, Banane, the silly sprites which often came to see him. Luna and Artemis.
"I need you."
The darkness began to recede, and he could see the pure light of the crystals leading him back. Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Uranus, Pluto, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Earth and the Moon. He could feel their light in this darkness.
Suddenly the hopelessness and despair which he felt went away. Shinigami went back to sleep, driven back by the Light of the Moon.
He fell into a peaceful slumber, and when he woke up he would be back to normal.
Heero was sound asleep next to the crystals, and never noticed Quatre putting the blanket around him. Not that it mattered, since the crystals enveloped him and placed him next to Duo.
Before he left the room, he noticed something had changed. It took him a moment to realize what it was.
The crystals which were healing 02 had cleared up! He could almost see through them now! Quatre immediately went to Poupelin and told him the news.
The fairy was thrilled and more than a little relieved. Zechs and Noin were confused as to why that would be good news.
Wu Fei explained briefly about Duo.
"Duo and I were captured. Une apparently tortured him more than she did me, and he snapped. I don't know what caused it, but he went completely murderous. He killed everyone we came across trying to escape...except for Une and that was because he told me to knock him out before he went too far. He came very close to killing her as well."
Something seemed to click in Noin's memory.
"Which base was this at?"
"I have no idea. Somewhere in the colonies, or possibly the moon. Why?"
"I heard a disturbing report from one of the bases on L3. According to the coroner's report, their were bodies in pieces, and it's taking them months to put them back. That was 02?"
Noin looked more than slightly disturbed. The report had included photos...and they had left her more than a bit sickened. Zechs had yet to see the report.
The sound of bells filled the air, and everyone looked up. Sprites danced around in joy, and they followed them.
Duo yawned widely and noted Heero was waking up as well. He saw Zechs and Noin behind his brother.
"Took you long enough. They give you the tour yet?"
"Just the video and history of the crystals," said Quatre.
"Ask the cats about your ancestors. They can give you the activating words before you go."
"Our...what?" said Zechs in confusion.
Duo winked at him.
"Each of the new Senshi...except for me and Hotaru of course...are descended from the original warriors. You two are no exception."
"What about you and...Hotaru?" asked Noin.
Duo let his wings out and shifted into his true form.
"I'm an immortal fey and Hotaru is one of the remaining two Senshi alive. She also commanded that meteor shower back in Siberia."
Clearly surprised, he smirked mischievously.
"Perhaps a more detailed explanation is needed..."
"If you don't mind..."
Peruru launched into the tales of the Senshi, and how they defended Earth repeatedly from outside invasions. Finding out they were the children of Uranus and Neptune was a bit of a shock, though they had to hide a snicker as Peruru admitted he preferred having Zechs as the new Senshi and not his sister.
When the two left, they took with them the watches that the fairies had designed for each new Senshi. Saturn, who was currently learning to pilot a suit with Heero, would soon take part in the battles to free the colonies and Earth from war.
Since they couldn't use their crystals against humans, Luna and Artemis were developing a way to use them as power conductors in suits. It looked promising enough that Quatre was helping them. Duo would be the test pilot for their first model.
In less than a month of figuring out a method to use the crystals to power a suit, the Mad Five tried to contact Duo. They had rebuilt the Deathscythe and upgraded it's systems, calling it Deathscythe Hell.
There was only one problem. Duo already had a replacement suit thanks to Luna and the others. Deathscythe Moon was more efficient and deadly than it's predecessor. Even the new Deathscythe Hell couldn't compare to it.
Hotaru had her own suit now as well, which they called Destroyer Scythe. Like Duo, she had a scythe as her main weapon, only her beam scythe looked slightly different.
She had no problem going against Oz, especially once she found out that something from outside their galaxy was beginning to possess it's more powerful officers.
They would need all the help they could get to beat this menace and bring about peace.
Mobile Dolls. A greater threat to the Gundams had yet to reveal itself. To make matters worse, the new models were developed by the Mad Five and their tactics were based off of Trowa and Heero.
All five had been captured. Hotaru, who took refuge in the Senshi base every time, was the only pilot who was free. Oz had one hell of a time trying to figure out who this new Gundam belonged to, since the Mad Five had adamantly said they had nothing to do with it. It didn't look anything like the others either.
Heero and Trowa were often taken out of the cell to fight the Mobile Dolls. Quatre and Duo worried greatly, since the dolls could easily kill their friends.
The Moon Locket would play nonstop when they were gone. The guards wondered where that music came from, but said nothing. It was a pretty tune after all.
A sharp pain raced through Quatre. Trowa had been hit, and was hurt badly. Duo sensed Heero's pain, and knew he accidentally hit Trowa.
A red and green light emanated from the locket, and the pain stopped. Wu Fei drifted to them, and said "What happened?"
Duo looked at him, eyes worried.
"The Mars and Jupiter crystal took them away. Pluto must have remotely activated the keys and taken them both to the past."
Quatre looked upset, and said in a pained voice, "What can we do?"
Duo's eyes became hard, as he said in a grave voice, "We have two options. Return to base or join them in the past. It's your decision."
"I'm worried about Trowa."
Duo's gaze softened.
"Perhaps you can learn from Minako herself. She could probably help with your empathy problem."
"What problem?"
"Your Space Heart is too sensitive. Remember when you destroyed that colony in a fit of rage?"
Quatre had the grace to blush.
"You were reacting to the anger of the Space Fairies, who were furious that the mortals were allowing themselves to become militarized. Minako might be able to help you with that problem."
"How...?"
"How do you go back into the far past?"
Quatre nodded.
Duo leaned his head against the blond, his chestnut locks resting there.
"Repeat after me."
'Guardian of Time...
Let the Door of Time
split the heavens
and open to me...
I call you by your true name.
The all knowing God of Time,
the Father of the Guardian...
Chronos!
Lead me!
Protect me!
Send me the
path of light!'
The symbol of Venus flashed brightly on Quatre and a light enveloped him.
He was in a dark place. He almost went one direction, but something called out to him from the other.
Not that way!
He went the other direction and saw an ancient door. Standing before it with a long staff was a woman. Her hair was extremely long and shiny, and she wore a sailor outfit. On her forehead was a tiara with the symbol of Pluto. Her staff was a light purple and had a red crystal.
"I am the Guardian of Time, known as Sailor Pluto."
A small ball that looked quite a bit like an enlarged version of Luna's head floated next to her.
"And this is Small Lady."
Quatre remembered that Peruru said something about the many different nicknames his friend had.
"Small Lady...is her real name Rini by any chance?" asked Quatre.
Pluto smiled warmly.
"You are a friend of the elf aren't you."
"Quatre Rebarba Winner, pilot 04 and child of Venus, at your service ma'am," he bowed politely.
"Why are you here, child of Venus?"
"I'm worried about my friend. Duo said he was taken by the Mars crystal to the past."
"Is that your only reason?"
Quatre shook his head.
"He said Minako could help me control my Space Heart. It went out of control and I destroyed a colony."
Her expression did not change once.
"I see. So you wish to keep it from happening again, and harming more innocents?"
Quatre nodded.
Her smile widened, and she stood back.
"I grant you access to the past, child of Venus. When next we meet, it will be in the Senshi base. Peruru is going to break my seal next, and I will join you in battle soon enough."
"Thank you, Lady Pluto," said Quatre.
"Be warned though. If you do anything to alter the past, I will have to take you back before my seal is broken."
"I understand. I suppose it's a good thing I have no idea what happened in the past."
Quatre stepped out into the light, and found himself in a place he had never been before.
It was all so...antiqued. And peaceful. He saw the news on a large TV screen and not one mention of a war. No colonies, no war, and more importantly no suits.
He checked his pockets and found something in his right hand side. He pulled out his wallet...and found enough money and an ID to get a tank if he wanted.
There was a note behind the ID.
Enjoy the past. If you want to find Minako, look for a Sailor V doll, and ignore the red mask. She looked exactly like she does as a doll. Or you could look for Sailor V while she's fighting. For some odd reason no one ever noticed that the girls look the same aside from the outfits.
Have fun, Kit Kat!
Quatre heard a commotion in a nearby street. He followed the noise, and felt a slight twinge in his Space Heart. When he got to fight, he saw five girls and a little pink haired kid in sailor uniforms of varying colors fighting a monster. They seemed to be having trouble.
The monster went to strike the little girl, and Quatre reacted without thinking.
Venus Crystal Power!
A golden shield surrounded her, and the monster disintegrated upon contact.
His power draws the attention of the girls, but they say nothing until he spots Luna nearby.
"Hello Luna. How's Artemis?"
That gets their attention, and before he realizes what happens, he is promptly taken to a nearby temple with the girls. It is there that he spots someone he was looking for.
The one in the red and white outfit (who he later found out was Trowa's ancestor herself, Mars) saw where he was looking and said offhand, "You know Ares? He just showed up out of the blue a few months ago with no memory."
That had him confused. Trowa had only gone missing less than a week ago. He had promptly gone after him. Soon enough he was surrounded by the Senshi, all wanting to know who he was and why he could use the power of Venus.
"To start with, my name is Quatre Winner..."
"Usagi Tsukino," said the blond with hair like meatball and spaghetti.
"Ami Mizuno," said the blue haired one. (Quatre realized she resembled the Chinese pilot, and knew she had to be Mercury.)
"Rei Hino," said the long black haired girl. (Trowa definitely took after his ancestor in some ways.)
"Makoto Kino," said the brunette. (Heero had to be descended from her. They had the same aura!)
"Minako Aino," said the other blond. Quatre focused on her with his Space Heart, and sensed confusion. She could sense his crystal and their connection.
"And I'm..." started the younger girl...
"Chibiusa, also called Rabbit or Small Lady."
"How do..."
"I happen to be friends with someone who knows you very well. He's a Dream Elf who protects children."
Seeing her confusion, he belatedly realized that they probably haven't met each other yet.
"So what is it that you can do?" asked Minako.
"Actually...I came to the past for two reasons. One was to find someone...and to ask for your help."
"You're from the future?" asked Chibiusa.
"Pretty far into the future actually. But I was warned by Sailor Pluto not to do anything in the past to change it. Otherwise she'd get into big trouble."
"So who are you looking for Quatre?" asked Mina.
He blushed, and said "My boyfriend Trowa."
They didn't bat an eye. But before they could say anything, a set of thumps was heard, followed by muffled cursing and a "DAMN YOU MAXWELL! GET OFF OF ME!"
"Blame Pluto. This always happens when she drops more than one person off in the past," said the other voice.
Rei opened the sliding door, and revealed two new boys. One had an obscenely long chestnut braid, the other was Chinese with a short ponytail and raven black hair. In the light, his hair was more blue than black.
The brown haired one was on top of the Chinese.
"Duo! Wu Fei!"
"Ow...Pluto really needs to work on landings. I mean, a jump from two or three thousand years should not hurt this much!" whined Duo.
He looked at the girls, and did an overdone bow. His mischievous grin said it all.
"Duo Maxwell at your service. The grumpy grouch is Wu Fei Chang, and don't take what he says too personally."
"Maxwell, you never said we would end up in a bloody dog pile if we asked Pluto for help!" growled Wu Fei.
"Come on Wuffers, how was I supposed to know that happens? That was the first time I took a jump through Pluto's gate."
"Um..."
"Sorry girls. It was either stay in the future or ask for your help with their powers. And if I had to listen to his grumbling after I pranked him one more time, I was going to pull out my braid."
"We need Quatre or Trowa to keep the peace. He's insufferable to live with for longer than a week."
Quatre giggled.