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Looking into the fire, she saw darkness. It was pitch black. And suddenly, a pair of bright yellow eyes leered at her. It was the eyes of the wraith. She was brought out of her trance immediately.
"Sorry guys, I couldn't see anything in the fire." Rei told the group as she entered her room. Taiki was lying unconscious with his head still on Ami's lap on the floor. Mina was propped up in an upright position with her head on Yaten's shoulder, still unconscious. Hotaru was passed out on Rei's bed with Haruku brushing her face as Michiru held the young girl's hand. Seiya was beside Usagi and Mako around the table, in silence.
"My mirror didn't tell me anything either. It just turned black." Michiru said quietly.
"So who is that person and what have you found Ami?" Haruku's eyes flashed dangerously. She was angry ever since her adopted daughter was hurt. She loved the girl like she was her own and had become quite protective over her.
Usagi sighed, "We don't know. Pluto didn't tell us much just that we can't find that person but we have to trust them." She sipped her tea.
"That's not good enough!" Haruka bellowed. Michiru placed a hand on her lover's arm and shook her head, at which Haruka immediately stopped yelling.
"Where is Setsuna-san? She should be here since it seems like she knows what's going on. We should contact Mamoru-san too." Mako said calmly.
Usagi stiffened at the name of Mamoru. 'Should I tell them? But it will cause so many problems right now.' She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Seiya's hand squeeze her arm under the table. She looked up to see him smile kindly at her. She smiled back as he looked away to answer Mako.
"He will not be joining us anymore." Seiya was about to respond to Rei and Haruka's protests when Usagi raised her hand to silence them all. She was grateful that Seiya hadn't told them what happened.
"That is not important right now." She sighed then turned to face Ami, "Ami-chan, what have you found?"
Ami cleared her throat, "From what I can tell, these wraiths are created from human energy. I analyzed the black slime left on Maker and Venus when they had a hold of them," she absent-mindedly started stroking Taiki's hair and Yaten held on tightly to Mina's hand, "it is condensed dark energy with small traces of human DNA mixed in with it. The grey matter that they suck out of their victims is a solidified form of the person's energy. They consume it and mold it with their own dark energy to create another wraith."
Everyone gasped and cringed at remembering how the wraiths were reproducing.
Ami continued, "Which is why only the Silver Crystal can destroy these things. It cleanses the dark energy. But that is only possible if it does not absorb the attack."
"What do you mean?" Mako asked.
"As we've seen, it absorbs any energy that attacks it and this includes the Crystal's light. So in order to purify it, we have to prevent it from absorbing the attacks into its mouth. It worked when its mouth was producing the new wraith and when…" she hesitated to think for a moment, "when the mysterious figure blasted it from behind to freeze its movements."
"So, who is this person?" Yaten glanced at Seiya and Usagi when he asked.
It was Ami who answered, "I scanned her briefly when she appeared." She peered at Usagi and Seiya to see if they would disapprove and was glad to see that they were waiting for her continue. "From what I can tell, she's a senshi as well. Probably a child from her size. I couldn't get a clear reading on her energy, but it feels familiar."
"Pluto told us not to go looking for her. She told us that she is here to help us." Usagi figured that she could tell everyone about the promise since they are already aware of the mysterious person's existence.
"We should contact Pluto." Haruka stated bluntly. She was looking painfully at Hotaru's unconscious body while stroking her hair. Michiru continued for her, "Usagi-chan, I think you should contact her. She will answer you." Usagi nodded and took out her communicator.
"Usagi-chan…" everyone heard Pluto's weak voice.
"Pluto? What happened? Are you alright?" Usagi was worried because of the image of Pluto on her communicator. The Time Senshi had clearly been in a fight; her face was bruised and blood was trickling out of her mouth.
"Yes I am fine for now. What can I help you with?"
"Were you attacked? Where are you?" Usagi was determined to help after seeing her friend hurt.
"I am safe now."
"Are you with that mysterious senshi? We saw her when more wraiths came. Who is she?" Haruka, growing impatient, bellowed from across the room.
"I cannot say. She is here to help you but you cannot know her identity." Pluto coughed before continuing, "More wraiths will be coming now but you can defeat them by increasing the power of your Silver Crystal."
"How!?" Everyone was shocked that the Crystal had more potential power.
"Follow your heart Princess. You can follow your heart now can't you?"
Everyone was confused at that statement… everyone except Usagi. Her eyes widened in shock as she continued to stare at Pluto's image on her communicator, 'How does she know?' She started to ask what had been bothering her since her break-up with Mamoru.
"I know what you want to ask Princess. But let me tell you that everything will be better if you follow your heart. Do not worry about the consequences now. Just follow your heart, please trust me."
Usagi bit her lip. She wasn't sure about Pluto's answer but thought that if the Time senshi assured her that everything was going to be ok then she didn't need to worry… right? She still had doubts about Crystal Tokyo and Chibi-Usa if she wasn't with Mamoru.
Pluto coughed again on the other end; she was coughing up blood now. In between her coughs, "Please follow your heart." And the screen went blank.
"What the hell does that even mean?" Haruka yelled. Everyone had turned to Usagi who just continued to stare at the blank communicator with watery eyes. "Koneko-chan?" Haruka's voice was softer after seeing Usagi's sad face.
"I…I…" she stammered while holding back tears. She looked at Seiya who just looked back with concern in his eyes. Their eyes locked for a while before she continued, "I have to go" and she quickly stood up and ran out the room.
Seiya ran out the door immediately after her. He had not expected her to just run out but understood that it was difficult for her to talk about it. As the others started to get up, Yaten spoke while still sitting on the floor with Mina leaning on him.
"Just let them go. He knows what's going on and when she's ready, she'll tell you guys too." He turned his face back to Mina and rested it on her head.
Everyone just stared at the door looking concerned, but it was Rei who spoke up, "What happened today?"
"Can't say." Lying was easy for him and he continued with a nonchalant expression, "Seiya just brought her back to our apartment and they talked." Mina shifted and groaned, which caught his attention. He placed a hand on her cheek to bring her to face him. "How are you feeling sleepy head?" He smiled warmly at her groggy face.
"Like I was slammed into a wall," She groaned again but managed to give him a small smile back before cringing in pain.
"It's ok. Just rest. I'll protect my clumsy blonde." He kissed her forehead and held her in his arms as she snuggled closer to him, falling back to sleep.
They all stayed in the room that night. Taiki had woken up briefly in the middle of the night before groaning and falling back asleep. Hotaru had yet to wake up or even move for that matter.
Pluto was resting in Naomi's bed after talking to Usagi. Naomi had tended to her wounds and stood by to protect her.
Pluto had just heard that Usagi and Mamoru broke up. Everything was going according to plan. But she suddenly felt an evil presence in the Time Gates dimension. 'They're coming.' Before she knew it, there were five wraiths in front of her. 'I can't let them cross the Time Gates. So she fought them off as best as she could. They fired her attacks back at her and before she landed from the attack another wraith was behind her, catching her by her neck. She swung her staff at it and it released her, only to be slammed aside by another wraith as it scratched her. They surrounded her as she tried to pick herself up, with her staff still in her hands. They held her up and one of them prepared to drive its hand through her chest. The orb on her staff glowed red and she appeared in Naomi's apartment.
Naomi had just returned from fighting the wraiths at school when she saw Pluto staggering to sit down in her apartment. She ran to her side to help her.
"They attacked me at the Time Gates. He must have helped them get there. I was overwhelmed so I transported them back to Crystal Tokyo before coming here. I temporarily sealed the gates but it won't be long until they get through." She choked on her cough. That was when Usagi called. After they finished talking, Naomi had pressed her stud earring and it transformed into the Luna Ball. With the Luna Ball back in its original form, (Naomi was Miya again)she asked it to heal Pluto's wounds.
"You're still weak. Lie down." Miya helped her into the bed. "They're coming soon then? Guess it's only a matter of time. Anyways I'm glad you're still alive. Seems like my plan is the only option when they all come to attack, so you need to rest up for it." Pluto nodded and fell asleep.
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