Chapter 4

Preparations and discovery

The next morning I was awoken to a loud knock on my door. "Princess Serenity," a male voice called, "Your mother wishes to see you. The queen said that she would be in the court room."

Sighing, I turned over to look at the clock; it was nearly nine thirty in the morning. "I'll be down as soon as I get dressed," I called back, setting up and stretching.

"I shall inform the queen right away."

After yesterday's events, it almost made me scared to imagine what today would hold. I wondered if Dad was going to take Ami's advice, and what was Kaden planning to do to get me to love him, but more than anything, I wanted to see Helios.

I went to my closet to get dressed for the day choosing my long skirted simple pink dress. As I dressed I wondered why mom wanted to see me. I wondered if dad had told her about Helios, after all. Maybe it was about yesterday. Really it could be anything considering the way my mom is.

Someone knocked on my door, than Diana barged in without waiting for me to reply, she was in human form, looking happy and very pleased. She too had grown up as I had. She had the appearance of a teenager. Usually she ran around as a small grey cat. She had short grey hair put up in a similar hairstyle to her mother's, only she has twin round buns on her, and has beautiful dark lavender eyes. Like me, she has a crescent moon on her forehead, a gift of sorts bestowed upon the cats since the time of Queen Selene's rule. She still had not figured out how to lose the tail. She once told me that she didn't care if she did, she said it was her way of telling the world that she was different and didn't need to not have a tail in order to fit in with everyone else. She was dressed in her usual grey clothes, that had orange bells hanging off her knee length skirt and the sleeves were long. She also had a yellow ribbon around her neck with a small bell on it.

Diana was the most polite and respectful of anyone in the palace despite her small stature. Everyone who had ever come in contact with her, weather she was in human form or cat form fell in love with her immediately, and who couldn't? She had that certain charm about her. Even the frowning Rei couldn't find a single fault with her, even if she sometimes, reluctantly, took part in my silly schemes.

"So who gave you cat nip this morning," I asked in a teasing manner.

She stuck her tongue out at me. "I find that very insulting," she replied back with a small grin. "Anyway, I came to tell you that everything is planned and all in order, you will be going on vacation and I shall be waiting here, eagerly awaiting your return. I can't wait for you to get back." She took my hands and we twirled around. I couldn't help but laugh at her happiness.

"Don't get too lonely without me," I told her, "I wish you wanted to go with me."

"I do, Lady," she said, looking serious. "I want to stay here this time though, but I want to ask you something before you go. Usagi, are you okay? I think there is something bothering you, and you haven't-"

"There you are," Luna, in human form, said as she walked into my room with a sigh. "I have been looking for you everywhere. Artemis and I had a few things to run over with you before we leave out with Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion."

Luna, usually around as a black cat, was as tall as my mom in human form. Her hair was black and very wavy, butt length, with two twin odangos on each side of her head. She two had the crescent moon symbol on her hair. She usually wore a yellow sundress that had a black mesh like skirt under layer, and was help up by spaghetti straps with pompom like things in the front and a moon crescent hanging off her dress at the waist. Usually she went around barefoot.

Luna was Diana's mom, and Artemis's mate, as they called each other. She was acting advisor for my mother and father. Despite the rocky start she had with my mom when she had first rediscovered her in her second life, Luna and my mother had been inseparable. Serious in nature, it was hard to make her laugh, how Artemis managed to get her to relax was beyond me, or anyone for that matter! Despite her serious demeanor, she was always willing to help a friend in if she could, and was always at the ready if there was any sign of trouble or danger.

Diana nodded to her mom, and then turned back to me. "I'll talk with you later, Lady."

Together the two of them left, closing the door behind them. I was left to wonder what it was that she had wanted to ask me. Could it have something to do with what her father had told me yesterday? 'Something she dreams for most dearly,' he had told me in her words. Again I wondered it had something to do with Helios. She had always known how I felt about him, as I do tell her everything.

There was then another knock on my door. Then Rei walked in. "You were asked, nearly an hour ago, to come to the court room for a discussion with your mother. Why haven't you done as you have been told, Usagi?"

"I'm sorry, it has already been a busy morning, Rei," I began. "Diana visited me, she was about to ask me something when her mom came in, then I started wondering what it might be. Then I just completely forgot about it," I explained in a rush. "I will go there now," I promised her.

I left my room running, leaving Rei shaking her head in disappointment. I had to hold up the skirt of my dress so that I would not trip. The last thing I wanted to do was get my dress torn from my lack of punctuality. I knew that mom would understand about my not coming to her summons right away, as she was hardly ever on time for anything, but if Dad was there with her, he would not be pleased.

By the time I reached the court room, I was out of breath. Mom looked like she was trying to hold back laughter; Dad on the other hand looked a bit unsympathetic. Four of mom's senshi were there too; Mina, Mako, Hotaru and Setsuna. Mina and Mako were both trying to hold back their laughter too, no doubt thinking that I was no different than my mom back in her day. Setsuna had a small smile on her face but was shaking her head, and Hotaru remained expressionless, though her eyes hinted at her amusement.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad" I apologized, hastily curtseying to them, "I was visited by Diana, and I had nearly forgotten your summons."

Mom waved her hand, as if dismissing the tardiness. "We called you here because your father and I have been talking about the Golden Crystal recently. We know that you are the one who will always wield the Pink Moon Crystal, as for the Golden Crystal, we think you are the key in finding that next person to find an heir for the Earth Crystal."

"As you are both a child of the Moon and of the Earth, while you can use the Pink Moon Crystal, we think you can use the Golden Crystal as well, although not in full power. We do not know what that toll would mean for your body, should you try to use both though," Dad went on. "Helios has informed me that it is possible for there be another to harness its powers, but it could take some time to find the one that could be capable of doing so. I wanted to see if you were able to use its power while we were in search of another to take my place as its welder."

"I don't understand what you are trying to tell me," I said looking at them in confusion. "If I am not able to use the Golden Crystal, then… does that mean that I won't be able to take Mother's place when its time," I asked.

"You will, Lady Serenity," Mom quickly assured me. "The important thing is that you can use the Silver Crystal, we just need to find out more about the Golden Crystal."

"Which brings us to why we are here," Setsuna spoke up from behind mom, and started walking toward me with Hotaru just behind her.

"We will be assessing you to see if you are able to use Earth's sacred gem, even if for just a moment. Then, in turn if you are able to use its power, we will proceed to see if you can use both, perhaps even simultaneously. It may be a slow and tedious process but we shall see the results in due time," Hotaru explained.

Hotaru, is the senshi of ruin and rebirth, or commonly known as Solder of Silence, Sailor Saturn. Hotaru was the youngest of the older sailor senshi, and had somehow kept a teenage like appearance, and appeared to look about sixteen or seventeen. When she would look at you with her dark violet eyes, you could see their depth as someone who had seen too much. She tried avoiding eye contact with people she didn't know by hiding behind her strait shoulder length hair of dark, nearly black, violet.

She was often feared by people, and rightfully so, she could bring about death to a single planet if she wanted to, within a single swing of her Silence Glaive. It was rumored that she was nearly as powerful as my mother. It was this reason that she hardly ever left the palace, innless it was in the company of the ones that she considered her parents; Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru.

"So who will be my teacher," I inquired.

Setsuna smiled. "Both Hotaru and I will be your mentors, as we both have the powers to help keep you from hurting others or yourself. Should you lose control of their powers, we can form a barrier around you."

This was the coolest thing I had ever heard since my return to my timeline. It made me a little scared to be the first ever to try to use both powers of the Moon and Earth's crystals. I wondered if there was another way to use both without ever needing to be used separately, like maybe they could converge into one crystal and then be called the legendary golden-pink crystal. I looked at my hands, just thinking about all that power that I could possibly control frightened me a bit. It also meant that I would become a target for the next enemy attack, perhaps even more than one.

"When do we start?"

"No time like the present," Setsuna answered, getting my attention. "Before we start, I need you to set aside the Pink Moon Crystal, so that it is not influenced by the power of the Golden Crystal. In your current state, the meeting of the two crystals could cause bad things to happen that would be beyond our control."

I looked around; Mom, Dad, Mina, and Mako were nowhere in sight. They must have left while I was distracted with my thoughts. Hotaru hung back just observing me. I took off my broach that contained my sailor crystal and handed it to Setsuna, who had just transformed into Sailor Pluto.

Sailor Pluto's main sailor fuku was black, and like all the senior sailor senshi eternal forms, she had two layer skirt with the second layer being lighter than their main color, a grey color with a grey bow in the back. Her golden tiara on her forehead had a small black star in the center and her white gloves went past her elbows and had three black rings on them. Her huge front bow was a brownish color with a large black star on it. Her sailor collar was black too. She had see-through grey pads on her shoulders with two black rings attached below it. She had white boots with a single black stripe at the top.

Using her long silver key-like staff, which she called her Garnet Rod, she uttered some words and my crystal was then encased in a red sphere of light. "This will conceal the power of the Moon's crystal from the Earth's crystal." Then she handed me dad's gem. It was warm and not as bright as my crystal but was still just as beautiful.

"How do I use it?" I asked in wonder, feeling a bit stupid by the question.

"The same way that you use your sailor crystal, Lady," Pluto replied, "search deep within your heart and will it to do your request. If you share a similar power like your father, you can see the Earth; sense its soul and its heart, and see things around you in a way that make you and the Earth one."

I closed my eyes in concentration, trying to use all of my willpower to wield its power. I couldn't feel anything. Disappointed, I opened my eyes. Maybe I just needed incentive. I thought about Helios and his suffering that he had to endure when he was captured by Nehelenia, including her curse inflicted upon him as well as Mamoru. Earths most sacred gem had been the only thing that had been able to save them both, if I couldn't use the Golden Crystal now, like Papa did then, then how could we save Earth again should the time come?

I tried a few more times before I started getting frustrated. I finally looked up at Pluto after trying and for what felt like the twentieth time. "I can't seem to do it," I told her, feeling somewhat defeated.

She gave a small nod. "It is hard to get it on the first try," she said sympathetically. "Call it a day, we will try again some other time." I handed her back my father's crystal and she gave me back mine, releasing it from its prison.

"I hope I can achieve something next time," I said looking away from her, feeling like I had failed.

"There is nothing wrong with your ability," the senior warrior explained placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, "some sailor crystals choose their own bearers, the silver crystal choose you already, the golden crystal has yet to choose its bearer, and still recognizes your father as the carrier."

"I guess that you're right," I said, looking at my feet, "I guess that I'm slightly disappointed."

#*#*#*#*#*#*#

Setsuna and I parted ways. She told me that she wanted to report to my father, and also that she had to get back to the time door. Hotaru followed her not saying anything to me as she went. Ignoring my hurt feelings at her lack of initiated conversation, I went to search out Diana; she still had yet to talk to me. I also wanted to know what it was that she had been trying to ask me. She had looked a little more serious than usual. She wasn't usually the type to be serious in times of peace; I also wandered if she knew something I didn't.

I looked down at the ground, deep in thought. I suddenly bumped into something soft yet solid, and found myself on the floor. Angrily I looked up, about to tell the person off. When I saw that it was Kaden. He gave a small chuckle, and held out his hand.

"Princess Serenity," he said, "are you ok? Need a hand up?"

I frowned up at him. "Yes please, sorry I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's ok," he replied, as I took his hand and he helped me up. "Besides, I was looking for you."

"You were?" I asked trying to hide the disappointment from my voice. I really wanted to find Diana and talk to her.

"Yes, I thought you and I could go for a walk, and become better acquainted with each other," he told me. "Also I have asked your palace staff to prepare us a lunch in Neo-Queen Serenity's garden, as that is where I always seem to find you."

"It is my favorite place to be, mostly when I need space or time to think," I agreed, blushing slightly, taken aback that he had noticed one of my preferences.

Kaden gave a small bow and then held out his arm. "Then would you honor me by accompanying me, my Lady?"

"It would be my pleasure," I replied, taking his hand. "I could do with some fresh air."

He straightened up and smiled at me. He started leading me toward my mother's garden. "I see that you are wearing the gift I gave you yesterday. It looks even more beautiful on you in the sunlight."

Again I blushed, not knowing what to say. As we walked, I listened to him tell about his childhood. He told me about his family and what it was like in his palace. About his friends there and the mischievous things they did as children. I felt sorry for the people who had to endure his jokes and cruelty.

"My favorite thing my friends and I did was to our poor cook, it was my fault that he was fired," he was saying. "One day we thought we would play a prank on him by switching the salt with the sugar. Everything that was meant to be sweet was salty, and everything that was meant to be salty was sweet," he gave a small chuckle. "I later told my parents the truth about what had happened. Father found it rather funny, Mother was livid, she punished me and my friends, and I was forbidden from ever going back into the kitchen. That same day our cook was hired back, only to retire a couple of years later."

"Mako would have zapped you and your friends," I smirked.

"Ah, and rightfully so," he mused, "I would have deserved it. I was a terrible child; my father let me get away with far too much."

'That would explain why you're so demanding,' I thought sarcastically. "I would assume so. I never had friends as I got older. As you are aware of; I was young, for over nine-hundred years."

Kaden visibly grimaced at this, as if knowing what I meant. We were friends when he was as little as me, till he grew and quit being my friend, only because I hadn't been growing up. It was a terrible memory that I doubt I could ever get rid of. "You have the Sailor Quartet now," he eventually replied, "and they are your closest friends; closer friends than you have ever had. You are lucky to have them."

"Cere and I are the closest, she also lives here in the palace with me, as her mom lives here too. Mostly they act as my guards more than anything," I told him. "I can't wait till they are considered true full-fledged guardians by my mother."

Soon we came to the Garden of Serenity. True to his word there was food lying on a blanket under my favorite tree. Mako had almost outdone herself. There were small finger foods of all kinds and a few pastries as deserts.

"Wow, I didn't expect all this, did you ask her for all this or did she assume?"

Kaden grinned. "Partially, I think she did overdo it a little." He cleared his throat. "Anyway we can't let all this good food go to waste, shall we eat?"

After giving him a nod we sat down to eat.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

"Helios, we have not been on Earth in nearly two millennia," Amara, a shrine maiden of Elysion was telling me. "Not including the time you went seeking help from the Golden Kingdom's prince from the old times, and not counting the time you crowned the King and Queen. Even then it was only in dreams that you went to Earth. We have no idea if you can even go there and still do your duties undisrupted, not to mention what the domino effect would mean for the wellbeing of Earth and Elysion. It could be catastrophic."

We were having dinner together when I had just told Amara about my wish to go see Lady Serenity. Amara would not hear of it. Eliana told us that she was staying out of this argument. Although she did not like the idea, I know that I have her support in whatever I decided to do.

Amara, the older of the two menaeds, is slender, with blonde hair and strange amber eyes that seemed to reflect her name. Stubborn in every sense of the word, she was also more firm in her beliefs and ideas. Eliana was slender too, with a slightly rounder face than Amara. With burnet hair

"Amara, if Neo-Queen Serenity can allow her most distant guardians to visit the palace on occasion then why could I not visit on occasion," I calmly asked her.

"That is beside the point," she countered, "It's that girl, you think of her too much, she is not your priority, your obligations are here, Helios. She is nothing but a mere distraction."

I put my head in my hands. My blonde haired friend was right, and I could argue against her all day, but we both knew that we would get nowhere. She cared and she didn't want me hurt and I knew that was what it boiled down to.

"Helios," Eliana said speaking for the first time since I had brought up the princess's name, "it is time for your daily prayer."

"Yes, thank you Eliana," I said, silently thanking her for the interruption. "Amara, she isn't a distraction at all, more like… my inspiration," I told her quietly, then stood and walked out of the small dining room.

It felt like it had been only a few hours ago that my maiden had visited me, and I couldn't seem to get rid of her from my thoughts to preform my duty correctly, but I went to the tower of prayer anyway. Until the King no longer wanted me to continue as one of his guardians, I would do my duty unwaveringly.

Upon entering the room of prayer, something felt out of sorts, though I wasn't sure what it was. I knelt before the golden stone pillars and closed my eyes to pray. Suddenly I received an image. It was a young woman; she looked just like my maiden. She was setting down with her arms around her knees looking sad. Then she started talking, but she didn't seem to be directly talking to me. "Helios," she said, almost whispering, "I wish I knew how to use Papa's crystal, I'm afraid that I won't be a true guardian if I can't use it. If you know what the answer to my dilemma is, please send me some form of a sign."

I opened my eyes. It was my maiden, and she was sad. The first thought that came to my mind was, why did she need to use the Golden Crystal? I wondered if it had to do with my weakening connection with Kind Endymion, and if he too sensed it.

Ever since Lady's awakening a few years ago, my connection with the king had been waning. At first I had thought nothing of it, until just a few months ago, when I could no longer feel the strength of the bond. Queen Serenity passed it off as if we were just overthinking things, although I could tell that my king did not seem to think that this was the case. I summarized that it had to do with their daughter, Lady Serenity. Endymion didn't seem to think so, his idea was that the golden crystal's strength and power was diminishing. Amara and Eliana were quick to politely disagree with his conclusion. After all the discussions we had in the subject, we had all eventually just decided that there simply wasn't an answer.

"Amara," I called as I came back down from the tower that the prayer room resided in.

"Yes Helios." She said when I reached her.

"Have you or Eliana came across the history of the past of the Kings of Earth?"

Amara looked confused. "Most of the books from the past Kingdom were destroyed when Saturn was called forth to destroy the wreckage from the war, though we salvaged what we could."

Then Eliana spoke up. "Actually I have. Though they are written in a different language though, a forgotten language."

Why would you need such a book?" Amara asked curiously.

"I have a reason to believe that it is time for a new heir to take Endymion's place," I replied sadly. "They have been trying to see if Princess Lady Serenity can use the powers of the Golden Crystal. I had a vision just now of the princess and she is sad because she can't use its powers, and if the son, or daughter in this instance, cannot use Earth's sacred gem then there will be dark times ahead, especially if the king is weakening. I do not know why I did not think of this before. If the King is growing weaker… then it must mean that the time for a new rule needs to take place in some time from now. The Golden Crystal is what keeps this planet from falling into ruin."

Both Amara and Eliana looked at me in surprise.

"What will happen if Endymion cannot find a successor?" They asked in unison.

I shook my head. "I do not know, but we must find one that the Golden Crystal will choose, or all will once again be lost. We need that book Eliana, then we need to see if we can find a book that can help us translate the language, we may have to ask Queen Serenity and King Endymion for their help if we can't find such a book. Or perhaps Ami or Setsuna can help us decipher the language of old."

All I could do now is pray that my maiden finds a way to use the Golden Crystal, even though I already knew that the Pink Moon Crystal chose her and that Golden Crystal wouldn't choose her too. I would do all that I could in the meantime. I wanted to finally return the favor all those years ago. I owed the Maiden my life.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

*Notes* Since Chibi-Usa (Or lady Serenity in my story) is heir of Endymion too I figure they would see what she can do with the golden crystal, but since she already has the silver crystal, or rather the pink moon crystal (need to refer to actual name.) the Golden crystal would not accept her as the rightful person to control it.

Im trying to figure out what the quartet's attacks are and stuff, as I only know their group attack. Any ideas would be great. I will have some enemies star an appearance by chap 5. also trying to keep the story cannon as possible.

Review please :) Good or bad. I always want to improve my writing. ^_^