A New Hope

Chapter twelve: The Silver Crystal

Ai Takeme and Eri Kamei got the jobs as maids in Diamond's palace. They were put directly under Emerald's watchful eye.

"I have a bad feeling about those two" Emerald muttered to Diamond after the girls had picked up thier uniforms.

"Nonsense" Diamond said, laughing. "They're teenage girls, how much trouble can they be?" Emerald frowned, but remained silent.

One afternoon, Ai was cleaning rooms, when she got a good look at the crystal. She opened the door to the room and began sweeping, when the sparkling rock caught her eyes. It was centered in the middle of the room on a pedestal, surrounded by a glass cage, just as Luna had described. Ai stared at the crystal in awe, remembering what Rina had told her and Eri.

"You cannot touch the crystal with your bare hands. It will kill you"

She reached out to touch the glass when a voice stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Ai whirled around to see Emerald glaring at her.

"I'm sorry" She whispered. "I came in here to clean and noticed this beautiful gem. I wanted to get a better look, milady" Emerald shook her green hair and frowned.

"This room is forbidden to all staff" She said. "It should have been locked" Ai nodded and quickly left the room, taking her broom with her. That evening, Emerald decided to approach the subject at dinner.

"One of the new maids was snooping around this afternoon" She said, delicately placing a piece of bread in her mouth. Diamond sighed.

"Very well, What happened?" He asked.

"I caught her in the room with the crystal. She was leaning to touch the glass" Emerald said. Diamond sat back in his chair.

"It enamored her" He explained. "Shiny objects tend to do that to teenagers. Who did you say it was?"

"I didn't" Emerald said through clenched teeth. "It was Ai Takeme" Diamond nodded thoughtfully.

"I can see you're itching to punish the girl, so we'll have her polish the crystal" He said. Emerald gaped at him.

"How is that a punishment?" She asked. Diamond smiled.

"It is a punishment to a degree" He said. "If she does not know how to properly polish it, she will disintegrate, since no one can touch it except a member of Serenity's blood line" Emerald scowled.

"I suppose that could work" She said. I won't give her any cloth or cleaners, then she'll have to touch it.

The next day when Ai entered the palace, she was stopped by Emerald.

"You have a different task today" Emerald told her. "I need you to polish the crystal" Ai gaped at her.

"I..get to touch it?" She asked like an excited school girl. Emerald nodded.

"Come with me" She said sternly. Ai followed her to the room that held the crystal and Emerald led her inside. "I'll be back in 15 minutes" She left, slamming the door behind her. Ai looked around the room and realized that it must be a set up. There were no cleaning supplies or cloths to polish the crystal. Ai sighed and slowly lifted the glass and set it aside. Next she removed one of her socks, luckily it was clean, and stuck it on her finger like a glove. Next she ripped a part of her skirt. With the sock hand, she grasped the crystal bringing it down off the pedestal. She placed it in the ripped material and tied it, sticking it into her pocket.

"I hope this works" Ai whispered, as she pulled another crystal, a replica of the one she just took and placed it on the pedestal. She placed the glass back on, just as Emerald opened the door. Emerald glanced at the fake crystal and at Ai, almost angrily.

"Very well, you may go" She said. Ai nodded and walked past her. After she finished the rest of the work day, She and Eri headed home.

"I got it" Ai whispered to her new friend. Eri grinned. Phase one was complete. When they got home, Ai pulled the small wrapped stone out of her pocket and handed it to Rika. Rika took it and slowly unwrapped it. As she held the stone in her hand, it glowed brightly and vanished.

"What happened?" Rika asked, worriedly. Setsuna smiled.

"It's alright, The crystal is back where it belongs" She said.

"Where is that?" Eri asked. Setsuna smiled.

"It is in Rika's heart and will come whenever she calls upon it" She explained. "A part of the crystal will also be embedded into the moon wand" Rika smiled.

"I'm ready to fight Diamond and win" She declared. Luna smiled.

"We still have much to do. They will soon discover that the crystal is missing and they will come looking for Ai. We must act quickly. We must find our supporters and anyone who aided us four hundred years ago that may still be alive" She said. The girls nodded.

"Let's do this" They said together. That night, the Sailor Scouts went around to all the villages and cities putting up flyers.

WE'RE BACK!!!!

Calling Everyone who supports or supported Queen Serenity during her reign

The Sailor Scouts are back and ready to take on Diamond, but we can't do it alone.

If you are ready t do your part to see a Moon Princess regain the throne,

CALL 1-800-PRINCESS

At the bottom of the poster was a picture of the sailor scouts in full uniform. The next day, the whole country was buzzing.

"They're asking to get caught" A woman said examining the poster.

"No, they're smarter than that" A young girl said, leaning against the poster. "The number can't be traced"

"Are you one of them?" The woman asked. The girl tossed her white hair over her shoulder.

"Depends on who's asking?" She said, grinning. The woman looked around to see if anyone was listening, then leaned closer to the girl.

"My name is Galaxia. I would like to see Sailor Moon, if I could" She said. The girl cocked her head, as if trying to determine whether Galaxia was being truthful. Galaxia stepped into the alleyway and the girl followed. She closed her eyes and revealed her true appearence.