Chapter Twenty-Eight:

March 1997


The next two days seemed to pass by in a relative blur, but by that Friday all the warriors had finally managed to wake up at a normal time. For the most part they were still suffering from exhaustion, but the soreness in their limbs was finally starting to receede.

All of them were taking it easy, trying to take full advantage of the time they had to rest and recuperate. The Seasonals, on the other hand, were being exceptions to the rule.

They had resumed training sessions the day before. The men were far too used to such strenuous battles to be so horribly affected by them, that and the fact they had a few centuries on most of the others.

Kayura hadn't seemed to care much about either fact, as she had easily remarked to Ryo that the four of them were completely insane and it was probably why Talpa had gone after them in the first place. Insane people liked being around other maniacs.

The Ronin of Wildfire had chuckled at that, but nothing more. His thoughts had been largely elsewhere.

Elayne had yet to reemerge from where she had sequestered herself in her room…After his exceedingly early morning visit which had gotten him thrown out, she had locked the door.

Anytime someone went to knock, they got no response from the inhabitant they knew had to be in there. Black Blaze would get let out of the room and then back in…But, other than that Elayne was not venturing past the door.

This had he and the other Ronin concerned, while the other four were still largely unsure about "Universe" they were worried about Elayne. The Inner and Elemental Senshi seemed irked and figured the girl was purposely keeping them waiting.

The Outer Senshi didn't seem to be bothered at all, Lindsay was definitely annoyed, but the other four were not. Amara had actually waved off the younger Senshi's complaints.

She calmly told them that Elayne would wake up and deal with them when she felt the timing was appropriate. Until then, they were just going to have to wait.

So, when the Ronin Leader and other four men walked back into the house after having gone out for a brief walk…Imagine their surprise when Elayne was sitting on the couch in conversation with the Outer Senshi.

The black tiger lay curled up at her feet, seemingly asleep. Yet, his ears swerved back and forth signifying the fact he was indeed awake.

Amara had her back to the Ronin, but she knew they were there. She continued on with her talk, "I still can't believe you were right under our noses the whole time. But, you always were too clever for our own good."

Elayne grimaced, voice strained, "Haruka, please. I'm by no means proud of what I had to do nor the means I did it with." She took pause, now speaking with conviction, "But, I'd do it again if I had to."

"Always were a bit of a noble sort," Michelle teased.

The girl derisively snorted to this, but directed her attention to the Ronin Warriors, "Feeling better?"

"We're all fine," Ryo answered with a smile, quick to ask, "You?" He could sense his friends uncertainty, knew they were uncomfortable and unsure of themselves.

"Oh dandy," Elayne chuckled out, remarking in amusement, "You all keep it up, and you really will be the death of me one of these days."

Ryo grinned wryly, before flopping down in the chair, "Time for another group pow-wow I take it?"

The girl gave a nod, her attention shifting to the stairwell as the Inner Senshi were in the midst of walking down it. Kayura and the Seasonal armor bearers came in from outside, having received the girl's brief mental message.

The Elemental Senshi came up from the basement, though they overall looked displeased. Darien and Rini were already in the room, simply waiting for this all to take place.

Kento took the floor…A million things running through his head. His mind just did not want to accept the fact that his mei mei was a Senshi, and one of the oldest ones at that.

The Ronin of Strata was just trying to figure out how he could have missed the clues, because he was certain she had dropped plenty of hints that he had just failed to get at the time.

For Cye, he wasn't quite so apprehensive about the new tidbit of information. It actually made sense to him. As the Ronin of Trust he had always been able to sense when there was more to a person, or a situation. He had always felt that there was more to Elayne, and now it made sense to him why.

Sage was probably the only one not giving her strong enough emotions for her to read off of. It was just as well, she had already grit her teeth together in aggravation at the current swirls of emotion.

The white tiger had been a room away but quickly padded over, and rested his head on her knee. Effectively drawing her out and away from the emotions…When she was tired like this, it was hard for her not to get taken in.

"Thanks boy," Elayne breathed out, as she stroked his head.

'Not an issue. If you want me to eat one, just say the word,' the tiger let out a chuckle before laying down next to the black one. As if in warning, White Blaze sent a look to those warriors he could see, before putting his head down on his paws and closing his eyes.

"I have no excuses to offer you, nor will I make up any to give," a frown tugged at the corner's of her mouth. "There is a misconception that I need to clear up, I was never placed into this lifetime I've always been a part of it. I just didn't happen to exist like this."

Elayne tried placing emphasis on those words in the hope they'd be able to stay with her while she tried to explain it all, "Last time, and I'll say this now I've been through this lifetime you're living more than just once, I only existed as Universe, and was completely subject to the restrictions. The Elders had to let you find one another on your own, and suffice it to say you were anything but trusting. Not that I could blame you for it, but the doubts cost far too much later."

"All right, so far I'm with you on this," the blue-haired archer spoke up, and he queried, "So what happened?"

"I didn't know what to do," Elayne let out a strangled sigh and leaned back into the couch. "My main concern has always been for your safety and well-being nothing more than that; it's why I barely listen to the Elders. I wanted to do something to make sure you'd get through things, but what could I do? My powers were effectively tied up into the shield the Council left in Akemliek's domain, I'd been fighting with the little Senshi power I had and by the time you really needed my aide I was useless. Not to mention the fact I was completely invisible to you."

Her eyes were half-lidded now as she spoke, "It was just after Serenity died, and the Senshi were sent forward in time, that Neo showed up. Needless to say, I was surprised to see her. Messing with time directly is something I would never do just because the consequences tend to be worse than the original end result. But, she was desperate and knew I was starting to get there."

Ryo frowned at this, tilted his head a moment, "She went that far back in time?"

Elayne gave a nod, sighing out, "She knew I wasn't on my first or second time through this life, and she had been through it more times than I had. Neo had been unable to prevent certain things from happening, which she knew contributed to the failure in the future. The problem, she told me, was the fact there was no way to get you all to trust each other within the correct time period. The gap between you was just too wide, and you'd all been fighting for so long it was natural for you to distrust newcomers even if they were friends once upon a time."

"Basically, it was your idea to do this, and then again it wasn't?" the Ronin of Torrent queried, still trying to understand most of what she was saying.

The girl gave a vigorous shake of her head, "Understand something, Neo and I are alike only in name and purpose, all our similarities end there. The passage of time and fights has made her cold and bitter, and exceedingly callous. But yes, it was her idea that I revoke use of my Senshi powers, and exist in my non-Scout form. She'd use the crystal to lock my memories, that way the Elders could not accuse me of directly interfering. I was anything but thrilled at her proposition."

"First off, even if I had no knowledge of it, it meant intentionally lying to all of you. My main problem was the fact I'd have to use the part of my personality that I kept buried and permit it to take up point."

The comment didn't make sense to all of them, but Sage understood it all too well, "As a warrior you were to be neutral when it came to emotion, and free from almost all emotion. To suddenly lose what had been schooled into you, and what you had practiced for so long…It makes sense you'd be apprehensive."

"It's just as well I let her talk me into it. She didn't do it right away, she waited until she was sure the Raikken weren't going to try and interfere anymore than they already had. After we were both confident they were done, I let her put her plan to work." Elayne opened her eyes now, the even violet suggesting she was calmer than what she felt. "Now, I'm back to having just one personality, a blending of the two."

The girl suddenly turned her attention to the Elemental Senshi, saying, "As for your questions of how I was still alive…The building did fall on me, but I managed to make it out by the skin of my teeth. And as to why my signature now, didn't match the one I had back then…" She grinned, "Sage was right, that was never my real one. I did it back then to mask my presence from the Raikken, they've never had a great love for me. Most times it worked others…Not so well."

Kento finally managed to gather enough will-power to ask the question he was dreading an answer to, "How long have you known?"

"Late November," the girl briefly grimaced before schooling her face so that it showed nothing, "The crystal panicked at Ryo's predicament and partially awoke me."

"Whom, seeing as how we're all sitting here and one good confession deserves another," Ryo cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him now, "Has had his memories back since he woke up from the coma that went along with that lovely little incident."

"Wha?" his four friends cried and stared at him. The looks of disbelief soon gave way to annoyed scowls.

The Ronin Leader let out a chuckle, "What? I couldn't say anything, otherwise it'd cause damage or something like that I was told. But, seeing as how we made it out of Akemliek's Domain, and Uni kindly set herself up in front of the firing squad? I figured now was as good a time as any."

"Ryo," Strata's bearer began in irritation.

"Did the right thing," Elayne cut him off, adding a glare for measure. She then got to her feet, and both tigers immediately got up as well. "Revealing such knowledge is dangerous, it could trigger your own memories, and nothing is worse than remembering a past life before you are ready. Normal humans aren't supposed to remember past lives at all, it's too hazardous; you all barely manage to get by without having the consequences they would experience."

The girl sighed then, murmured, "I'm afraid that if you have any more questions, which I know you do, I can't answer them. It's the Elders place to tell you things; not mine. I just had to explain myself; I don't want, or need, you to struggle with questions concerning me or my fate. They're inconsequential."

"So, you can't tell us anything else?" Vanessa queried with a raised eyebrow.

'You and I,' the Ronin of Hardrock told her mentally. 'Are going to need to have a talk about the "I-don-t-matter" statements, later; got me?'

'If there is a later,' the girl mumbled in reply, before saying aloud, "Not unless they tell me too, or unless they give jurisdiction of me over to you. There are some rules I simply can't get around. They want me to bring you to them, for what reason I can only guess and roll my eyes at if it is what I think it is."

"Seeing as how we're all awake, and it's been quite a while since they said that to you, perhaps it would be prudent for us to go now?" Dais offered.

There was a round of nods, and a few yeses went up as well to the comment.

"I'll take you, but you have a choice you need to make first," Elayne said calmly. "It is something you will have to decide for yourselves, no one can help you with it."

Serena looked totally and completely perplexed, she wasn't the only one dumbfounded though, "That would be what exactly?"

"You can either come with me to the Elders, or you can leave here and never be involved with such matters again."

"What?!" the outcry came from many of the warriors, while most simply stared at her in shock.

Elayne was quick to elaborate, "If you go with me to the Elders, you will be officially accepting your past, and subsequently your future." She looked to each warrior as she continued to speak, "Or you can walk away, now. No more demons, no more wars…None of it. You can go back to living normal lives."

"Universe, you can't," the Senshi of Pluto's voice contained an underlying note of fear. It was the first time she had spoken, and also the first she had addressed the woman by title. Trista was all too aware of what she was proposing, and also aware of the consequences to her person for doing this.

"I can, and I will," violet eyes calmly gazed at her, the tone of voice even. "I told Kaosu the last time if I could find a way to get any of you out of this, then I'd find it and offer it up. I've found a loophole. You were permitted to choose, Setsuna, they've more than earned the same right. And the offer applies to you as well."

"I won't take it, thank-you regardless," the Time Guardian remarked, adding, "Then, you'd best tell them all the details."

"I had planned to," the girl replied, then turned her attention back to the others, "In essence, none of this will have happened. Your existence in the prior lives will be erased, as well as this one."

"You'll go on living your life without your tie to your element, and without the friends you have made because of what you are. The only thing that will be the same is any family you may have. This conversation will be the only thing you remember, and it will be easily pegged as a dream and soon forgotten."

Now Trista gave a scowl that was what she had figured on. Elayne would not tell the others about the danger to her own being. But, she shouldn't have been surprised Universe always did things like that.

"Who's going to fight Akemliek?" Michelle queried, seeing a potential flaw in this plan. "And who is going to be here to stop an outside threat from helping him, or wreaking havoc?"

"Who ever may be left? And if no one stays me?" Elayne gave a careless shrug of her shoulders, and then soon regretted it having disturbed her sore one, "I'm sure I'll think of something."

"You're insane!" Sekhmet declared abruptly…Yeah, that was saying a lot coming from him.

Cale gave a slight nod, "Offer this up, and not have a back-up plan?"

The girl gave them a bored look, flatly replying, "I do have a plan; it's just not open for discussion."

Anubis chuckled rather glad to know for certain that Elayne was still very much the same, and that the only real difference in her was her power and knowledge.

True he was just as surprised as everyone else that she could offer them something like this. He wondered just what had driven her to this point, there had to be something specific, didn't there?

"Why…Why are you doing this?" Cye finally managed to gather up his wits and ask the question, though his voice was whisper-like.

"I'm tired of it, Shin," She muttered coldly, then said as impassively as possible, "I'm sick and tired of seeing good, kind-hearted people, forced into a war that they should've never been forced into in the first place! I'm weary of witnessing the same things happen over and over. What was forced upon you had no right to be, and nobody in a higher position other than Kaosu is willing to admit to it…"

The girl paused, having begun to walk to the front door, "But I am. Since no one could be bothered to offer any of you a choice, I am. It's the least you all deserve, and the very least I can do."

"Just like that? We can choose to leave, there has to be a catch somewhere!" Mina protested, though she may play the ditzy blonde, anyone with a grain of common sense could figure out there HAD to be a catch.

"That will be my problem to deal with, when the time comes," Elayne reached out and put her hand on the door knob, "Your decision will never be known to anyone but myself after it is announced. Your involvement in any and all of the past will be permanently erased, and few will remember this discussion."

She pulled open the door, adding as an afterthought, and a bit of sadness slipped into her voice without her meaning for it too, "Don't worry, the enemy won't find out either, I'll commit seppuku before I dare permit anything to slip. I'll be waiting for your choice."

With that she left the house, Black Blaze once more on her heels…And the white tiger was not more than a step behind the black one.

It took not even two minutes for Trista to be up from her seat and three-thirds of the way to the door, before Amara called out to her; "Where are you going?"

The Senshi of Pluto didn't stop in her walk, "She is right. You must make the choice on your own; I cannot sway you in either direction. I currently need to have a talk with a certain Senshi and see where the hell her common sense ran off too."

Lita winced as the door slammed, she then frowned, "I don't believe she just put that choice right in our laps…"

"Neither do I," Kayura whole-heartedly agreed, "Messing with time is a serious affair."

Dais gave a slight nod, "It does explain why Trista was after her like that. Being the Time Guardian, that obviously ruffled a few feathers."

"Why would she…?" It made no sense to the Senshi of Saturn at all, and she stopped the sentence mid-thought. No, Hotaru knew immediately why her nee-sama would give them this chance…She wasn't the only one.

Aurora gave a shake of her platinum blonde head, "Guilt. Even after all this time, she still feels guilty for not being able to complete her original task."

"That," Callista muttered out, "And guilt for letting us get involved, even when our own families did nothing to prevent it. I guess she does feel responsible for all of it."

An eerie silence settled over the room for the next ten minutes, but the Ronin of Wildfire had long ago gotten to his feet.

He had made up his mind the minute the offer had been announced; he was only waiting to watch his friends' faces to see if he could tell what they were thinking.

Unfortunately, their faces revealed nothing and his head still ached too much to try and read them mentally, so he walked over to the front door.

"Ryo?" Rowen eyed his leader warily; unsure of what the ebony-haired young man was up to.

"Sorry, you have to figure it out on your own," he gave a sad shake of his head, and left.

The four Ronin were up and out the door within the mere span of a few seconds, they weren't going to let their leader off that easily.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Kento grumbled in annoyance, causing his leader to turn around.

Ryo scratched at the base of his neck, sheepishly inquiring, "What?"

"Oh, I'll 'what' you mate," Cye glared, eyes narrowed in irritation, "You didn't even think it over for five minutes!"

"There's a problem with that?" The Wildfire Ronin casually inquired, noting the now sulking form of Trista; 'Guess Layne told her off.'

The elder Scout was sitting on the porch railing not more than fifteen feet away from them, seething in silent rage. She had not liked the response she had gotten out of Elayne at all.

"I get the feeling you made the choice long before the question came up," the Ronin of Strata stated calmly.

Ryo was vaguely aware of the rain that now pattered against the porch roof, as it softly fell down; and then in mild surprise watched as it came down in sheets, "Maybe I did."

"Still bothered about being sworn to secrecy, with your memories and all?" The blond swordsman inquired, turning back to look at the others…He had been searching for the girl, but saw no trace of her.

"Yeah," a smile soon played across his lips, "Would you have preferred the universe being thrown into upheaval, or something equally that bad?"

An uncomfortable silence quickly settled over the five young men, and they all merely stared at the rain. None were quite sure where to go from here.

"So…" Kento began hesitantly, he, Rowen, Sage and Cye had all come to their decisions just a few minutes before Ryo had left, "You're staying?"

"Even if I didn't know the past, I'd still stay," he stopped watching the rain, and looked his companions in the face as he spoke. "Let's face it guys, this is all I've ever really known…All I've got left. It makes more sense for me to stay; besides I've seen this half-way through might as well finish.

Cye started chuckling, a small smirk adorning his face, "You just want to stay with her."

"Excuse me?" the Wildfire Ronin inquired, upturning an eye-brow.

Sage gave a smug grin, "He means you want to stay just so you can be with Elayne."

Ryo glared at them while they snickered, and he thought it over for the briefest of moments…Wouldn't it slay them if he…'Oh hell, why not?'

He put on one of his most normal faces possible, coolly stating, "Hey, you never know."

All four men stared at the person they had known for practically all their lives, with wide-eyes and open mouths, while Ryo beamed an award winning 'I-so-got-you' grin at them.

Rowen managed to come out of his sulking mood the first, "Well at least we know you're staying."

"Hn?" Ryo had long ago turned his gloating gaze elsewhere; he now turned back around to face his friends.

The Ronin of Torrent shook his head, suppressing a chuckle, "You weren't even going to ask about the choice we had made? Were you?"

"No; I do want to know," the Wildfire Ronin murmured, "But, it isn't my place to ask, it's your personal business. I have no right…"

Sage waved the man off, "That hasn't stopped you before. If you really want to know, we're in this for the long haul."

Kento happily nodded in agreement, "She can't get rid of us that easily."

"But…" Ryo began softly, a tad confused, they had decided almost as quickly as he had! "What about…"

"Our families?" Cye shook his head, and outright laughed that time, "Mate, right here's all the family I need. Sides someone has to look out for you."

"And give you dating tips," Rowen offered with a wink, the archer then became somber, "I'll tell you…If she had presented this to us during our first war with Talpa, I'd have taken the offer. But after all we've been through together? There's no way I'd trade any of it, not a day."

"Here here!" The other three voiced, with plenty of gusto.

"Oh joy, Ronins in stereo," Cale mumbled under his breath, having slipped out from a shadow.

Sage chuckled, giving a soft shake of his head, "I take it you five are staying as well?"

"Bravo Halo," Dais commented dryly, "How obvious was it?"

Cye gave the white-haired man a warning glance, just because the Summer Seasonal had managed to break-up most of the fighting between his groups, and sometimes theirs', didn't mean he could reverse rolls now.

Kayura gave a small sigh, "We have no lives, so we wouldn't gain anything. Besides who would watch the Nether Realm?"

"That's something she overlooked," the Ronin of Strata noted, after giving it a minute's thought.

"Oh no," came Trista's dry voice, the first time she had spoken at all, acknowledging she knew people were near her, "Trust me, she has everything worked out, and I mean everything."

The Senshi of Pluto, slipped off the railing to look at the people she was trying to speak too, "Granted, she's absolutely out of her mind for offering such a thing, but she's smart enough to have all the aspects covered. It makes me wonder if she wasn't planning this while she was back on the Moon Kingdom."

"You certainly don't seem happy about any of this," Sekhmet commented calmly.

The woman rolled her eyes, "I guard time, and only have the power to stop it, and it is forbidden for me to do so. She can modify time, due to powers the Cimmerian Crystal allows her. The Council only permitted her the chance to move time forward, but Universe can move it back and interfere in it. She will be breaking at least fifty rules by carrying out what she proposed."

"Fifty?" Aurora stepped outside, the rest of her team on her heels, "Is that all? You make that sound like a big deal. After all, I think you put all of us Senshi together and we've broken at least four times that many rules in one sitting."

Trista let out a chuckle, "Point taken; did you make up your minds?"

"Pah, we didn't even think about it," Vanessa gave a bored yawn, "We were just waiting for the others to decide. Serena finally managed to coax an answer out of her group."

"She and Darien didn't give much thought to the matter either," Kirstin brought in quietly, "After all, if they don't stick together we won't have little Rini anymore."

Kayura let out a small gasp, "I almost forgot about her! Where is she, I haven't seen her at all since noon."

"In our room with Diana," Rei answered with a slight stretch, "She just came down, seems she caught Layne in the stair well…"

"And Elayne asked her to stay put for thirty minutes," Lindsay finished, and gave a roll of her silver-eyes, "The twit had it planned down to the last second."

"Shut-up Lindsay," everyone stated in exasperation, and they quickly tuned out the young woman.

Elayne briefly glanced up upon hearing the low growl coming from the black tiger at her side.

"You have to give them time Kokuen," she murmured softly, leaning further back against the tree that was supporting her weight.

The tiger grumbled back at her, 'After Trista trying to grill you like that, I'm surprised you're acting so calm.'

The girl chuckled, "It's a practiced calm, I'm peeved, but it's not anything worth losing sleep over. Have patience my friend."

Black Blaze emitted another rumble, trying to lighten the atmosphere, 'Not like it could get any worse, ne?'

The skies above suddenly opened, the rain was soft at first and then it came crashing down quicker than a swirling ocean wave.

'Me and my big mouth,' the tiger huffed in annoyance.

White Blaze allowed himself a quiet chuckle as he continued to lay down on the girl's other side. He bit down a yawn and closed his eyes permitting himself to relax.

The girl merely shook her head, and stifled a giggle, leaning back further to enjoy the rain, while she continued to wait for the others.

She vaguely heard the Ronins meander out onto the porch, and closed her eyes then blocked out the sound of their voices, so that she wouldn't hear their discussion.

She wanted to hear their decision when they were ready to give it; though she was sure she knew how it would end, but there was no harm in respecting people's privacies.

The rain was coming down hard but she didn't care too much about that. The water was helping to ease the massive pain that had settled into her shoulder, and the pain had been unbearable for the last few hours.

It was starting to fade to a dull throbbing instead of the sharp knife-piercing aches, and the crystal glowed as it started to heal what the rain had cooled off.

"Umm, where is she?" Mina asked, in confusion.

Silence had quickly enveloped the porch, the only thing that could be heard was the rain as it delicately pattered against the roof.

For five minutes since the last person's emergence, they had been trying to figure out what to do…Rather find out where the girl had disappeared to.

"I don't know," Cye mumbled, hands in his pockets, "Impossible to sense her now."

Michelle tore her eyes away from the forest line; she'd been scanning though it was hard to see through the wall of rain, "You don't think she's out in this, do you?"

A scowl had fully woven its way onto the Ronin of Wildfire's face, as he quickly stalked off the porch; the only word anyone was able to discern from him was 'idiot.'

"Does that answer your question?" Anubis asked in amusement, before one and all took a deep breath and dashed off the porch.

Elayne bit back a laugh, though her eyes were still comfortably close, she could hear the others running, slipping, and some of them falling in the slick grass.

Her shoulder was now fully healed, and of that she was ever grateful; she couldn't be a very good body guard if she was incapacitated now could she?

A small smile was on her face, as she was also very aware of Ryo cursing her under his breath, and catching from the others several complaints that the water falling was cold.

The girl let out a sigh, and all of a sudden the rain stopped abruptly, leaving everyone stunned into an unbreakable silence.

Quiet had settled for a mere ten minutes, when she broke it; "I assume you have made your decisions, then?"

Ryo was prepared to start off on an angry tirade when she spoke up; he looked to the others and then back to her, noting her eyes were still closed, "We have."

"And?" She prodded, opening her eyes, albeit reluctantly.

"Its unanimous," Kayura brought in cheerfully, "We're all staying."

The girl shook her head, and hid a smile, "You all happen to be frighteningly predictable. However, there is something you need to understand," though she doubted very much it would change their opinions. "After this point there is no turning back, I can't get you out of this if you change your minds."

She looked at them as she spoke, "I can only offer this now, because time is practically at a standstill unsure of what to do. I can't remove you from the time-line after this point because it'll do more harm to you than good. Do you understand?"

"Yes," each warrior answered calmly and clearly.

"Very well," Elayne murmured, asking, "And your decision remains the same?" She got another round of 'yes' in response to that. With a sigh she withdrew her transformation pendent, "Come and get your answers, minna. All I ask is that you keep up with me."

All it took was one twist and she was in Scout form, a light smile on her face, "Besides, you could all do with the exercise."

Before anyone could make a comeback, she had already taken off into the forest.

The Senshi of the Universe skidded to a halt, having put each warrior through a non-stop fifteen minute run. She suppressed a chuckle, as she heard several strings of swear words thrown her way.

The words that came to her ears were spoken in a mix of English, Japanese, Ancient Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. She was dying to laugh at that point but held her normal calm appearance.

Luckily they couldn't see the large smile on her face, otherwise they would've been swearing louder.

"Are…" Cye puffed taking in shaky breaths, "You quite through dragging us all OVER?"

The Guardian couldn't help herself after hearing that statement being bellowed aloud; she gave a musical laugh, and turned around shaking her head.

"Now Shin," the Scout easily chided, "You're the ones who wanted to come along. I did warn you."

"You…" Rowen gritted out between breaths, "Didn't mention a thing about us having to run the sprint from hell!"

She laughed a bit louder, whilst thinking in her head, 'Same old Touma.' The Sailor of Universe wisely decided to keep a witty retort to herself, though; she merely turned back around, coolly asking after the heaving breathing had subsided, "Are you ready?"

Some of the warriors groaned, they had just got through running, and did not wish to run any farther.

The Ronin of Halo frowned, sensing that there was something different about this clearing, the energy levels were higher…After a moment's hesitation he answered, "I think so."

"All right then," the Scout acknowledged his answer, taking a few steps forward and then calling out, "Oi! I did what you asked me to, they're here."

The Ancient's Staff suddenly appeared, and Kayura quickly clasped it in her hand, "What on earth?"

The rings began to chime as the ancient rod quivered violently, and then as sudden as it had started it came to an end.

"Actually," the translucent figure of Queen Serenity smirked, "The correct question would be 'what on limbo'. Thank you Universe. I do hope you realize that had they accepted…"

The Senshi simply chuckled, and waved her off, "I've been planning this for millennia, and you know that, don't act surprised. I would have gladly dealt with the consequences; have I not dealt with similar ones before?"

"Besides, I told her to go ahead and make the offer," the Ancient brought in now, almost smirking when Serenity threw him a hateful glare.

"All right you two kill each other later," Universe told them in a calm tone. "They didn't come here to listen to two old bickering biddies." At their stares of disbelief she gave a chuckle, saying to the warriors, "When you have need of me call me."

She walked over to a shadow, "Oi! Yaku, Kouken, come on." The two tigers let out chuckles before following the Scout; a second later all three were gone.

"So, what are you going to tell us?" Kirstin asked, arms crossed in front of her chest, overall look one of displeasure. "No offense, you two have been anything but helpful."

Serenity didn't appreciate the criticism, especially from a member of her guard, "It's not like we made the rules, you know. You have rules to follow in your society, so do we. They are there for a reason, some are rather helpful."

"On topic please," the Fall Seasonal cut overtop of that argument. "What questions can you answer for us, if any at all?"

"Your pasts are for you to remember, and no one else."

"That, Ancient One," Wildfire's bearer spoke up calmly, "Isn't exactly the full truth. Their pasts will return when you permit them too by dismantling the block the Council put there, or after they end up in a coma. Seeing as how we all stood in this clearing, and pledged to the Great Council that we would seek out any evil and destroy it; I think we are all entitled to better answers than what you're planning to give us."

It was obvious the two had not expected this, for they quickly exchanged looks with one another, before turning back to study the Ronin of Wildfire.

"She didn't say…" Queen Serenity began a scowl on her face.

"I didn't make a point of announcing I had my memories back," Ryo serenely interrupted once more, "I was warned to keep quiet, so I did."

He spoke a bit louder this time, so he was sure the others could hear him, "Lady Universe was the last member of her clan alive that part of it at least, but she wasn't royalty and the fact of the matter is we are. That's why we're immortals, and why Uni answers to everyone else."

"What!" The Ronin of Hardrock looked at his leader in disbelief, "Are you serious?"

"Mhm," He gave a slight nod of his ebony-head, giving a pointed glare to the two spirits, "Would either of you like to continue?"

Queen Serenity just barely avoided throwing her hands into the air from exasperation, "I swear, I should be used to this by now, you do this to us EVERY time. Sometimes I wonder why the Great Council even bothered to try and hide the fact the past lives happened, since you all figure things out so quickly."

It was apparent she was a little more than steamed, "He's right, whereas the Senshi represent their planet's respective kingdoms, the rest of you represent the provinces on earth."

Rowen was trying very hard to hide the smug smile on his face, he loved it when he was right and he could not wait to get a chance to gloat in front of Sage later on.

"I don't believe it!" Amara bit back a laugh, the ten Ronins royalty? That was almost too much!

"But it does make sense when you think about it," Hotaru interjected thoughtfully.

Serenity let out a sigh, continuing on what would only be a brief explanation, "We were termed 'elders' by most of the Council, because we were old for humans, and being the last of her clan and thus it's representative, Lady Universe was also a member."

"The Council did as much as they could to keep her from voicing her opinions at such meetings, and since the original Universe was gone the job of Ambassador fell to her. That job entails the watching over of each galaxy and all the dimensions to make sure peace and prosperity flourishes, and that evil is kept at bay," Serenity took pause, "And no one, has ever been able to understand what made her swear an oath to protect you."

"You said last year the Council was disbanded, correct?" Ami queried tilting her head.

"Yes," the Ancient gave a nod, "At the end of the last lifetime, the Council sealed Universe's powers. However, this plan backfired because she accepted the full responsibility as her clan's representative. Thus, she was able to successfully disband the Council and gain the power her family kept."

"And, why," Rei dryly remarked, "Do I have this nagging suspicion those powers have something to do with the fact she can mess with time?"

"Probably because that is the reason?" Queen Serenity offered with a smile, but it faded. "In any case, now that Akemliek is free, and you are coming into your power, Universe's jurisdiction falls to you. She no longer has to answer to us, whether she has to do so to you, is your decision."

"Unfortunately, we cannot stay any longer," the monk brought in. "And we will stay out of things from here on in, unless you summon for us. Good luck to you all and farewell." He vanished.

"One thing, Uni doesn't always have to listen. I think you know that well enough by now," Serenity remarked in amusement. "Just try not to aggravate her too much. She's got a biting sense of humor."

"Well," Anubis began slowly, "I think we were better off not talking to them."

"They sure bailed fast enough," Mina remarked, wrinkling her nose.

Ryo chuckled in amusement at that, "Yeah, well, what did you expect? The only one you'll get a semi-straight answer out of is, Uni. Speaking of, you can come back now!"

"No need to shout," the warrior in question carefully slipped down from the tree she'd been sitting in for the past five minutes, "I don't normally go too far. So, Kay, how vague were they this time?"

The Lady Ancient rolled her eyes, "Twice as bad."

"Honestly," the Senshi spat in aggravation, "You think considering how old they are they'd act a little more mature? Well, what did they tell you?"

"Um," Aurora began uncertainly, "A little about you, the Great Council, that the Ronins are royalty too. That we basically have, er, say-so when it comes to you?"

"Boy, they were really helpful this time," the Scout didn't bother to hide her mirth, she laughed, "My true bravery, send the Secondary Guardian to an early grave, how quaint of them."

"Is it really that bad?" Lindsay murmured curiously, quirking an eyebrow at the Scout.

"No," Universe steadied her laughter, "But to them, it appears that way. Come, we can talk more back at the mansion. If it starts raining again someone will end up catching pneumonia. Can't have that, now can we?"

Vanessa shook her head a small grin on her face, "Same old you, ne?"

"I," the Senshi remarked over her shoulder, "Have never had a need to change. Besides, when you come right down to it, change is too much like work."

They hadn't even been in the house for five minutes, when the skies opened up once more, but this time far more violently. Thunder sounded obnoxiously in the background, and lighting went off not far from the trees.

"Wow, we could've been stuck out in that," Lita made a face, tearing her eyes from the window.

Rini had been sitting in the living room, merely waiting for them all to get back, "Good timing, all right."

The walk back to the Shinwako mansion had been filled with conversation and jest between the groups. Elayne had powered down, the two tigers not leaving her side for more than a moment. She had not spoken a word to anyone, merely drawn herself inward and kept there.

The girl had merely kept to the front of the line, throwing cautious glances at the surrounding forest every ten minutes or so. No one was going to come and attack, but some habits she couldn't break.

It was as though she had gone permanently mute; until she collapsed onto the sofa, "Hey, Rini get me my kit, please?"

"Sure," the young girl handed her a case, only withdrawing after Elayne's free hand had ruffled her hair, "Laney!"

"Sorry, I'll behave," She rummaged through the case, quickly pulling out a bandage and a pair of scissors; she proceeded to roll up her pant leg, revealing an open gash on her leg.

Cye winced and quickly averted his gaze, "That looks painful."

"Wouldn't know," She impassively muttered, quickly wrapping up the wound, "Never even realized it was open, but Black Blaze did. Good thing too, or we'd have blood all over the place."

The tiger in question seemed to have a smug grin on his face, probably only to further irritate White Blaze, who was glaring at him…Well, it was an understatement to term that look unkindly.

"Why don't you…" Cale began and then paused, "You can't?"

"Mhm. Crystal's been busy with more important wounds," She briefly glanced up, having put the last finishing touches on the bandage, "Namely all of yours."

Rowen winced as the thunder snapped even closer now, "What is up with that?"

"I'd still like to know about all the rain we had before we left," remarked Dais.

"Heh, my bad," Elayne said, "Not in a good mood now, nor was I in one then."

She let out a sigh and calmed herself down, and to their surprise the storm outside died down in response, "My powers are back, so the weather reaction is a tiny bit more drastic."

"Ah, hold on a minute," Mina blinked, "How…"

"Scout of Pain and Sorrow," Trista brought in with a bored tone. "Her element is rain, even though she functions as the Elementals "fire" Scout when they need one, she's closer tied to the rain."

"Yeah, what she said," Elayne quickly put everything back into the case, then looked up with a slight grin, "Now enough about me. Why don't you all take a seat, because we may be here a while, I have story telling to do."

Curiosity had long ago gripped each of the warriors, and they were quick to find a seat, each waiting expectantly for what was sure to be a lengthy tale. The girl then took a deep breath, and quickly plunged into the story.