"Seiya? Seiya?! Earth to Seiya!"

It was the jolt of pain from a punch to his thigh that snapped him back to reality. Seiya blinked rapidly, shook his head, and looked up to see his sister lowering herself on to the swing next to his. He had come to their favorite park earlier that afternoon, worn out from the stress of keeping so many things secret; not just his own, but Chibiusa's, Mariko's and Akemi's.

He was fairly certain, although it hadn't been tested, that Chibiusa had completely lost her ability to transform into Sailor Moon when he had unwittingly taken control of the Silver Crystal. That was definitely the biggest secret the two of them were keeping, and it was gnawing at his conscience that it had been his decision to do so. He knew that, given the choice, his sister would have gone straight to their parents and spilled everything, including her visions of Elysion, its guardian priest, and what Artemis suspected it all meant. He had trapped her in a corner and coerced her promise to say nothing.

Although he was beginning to think maybe there wasn't a need for all the secrecy. In the week that had passed since that day he had held the Crystal on a couple of occasions with no reaction of any kind. Was that transformation into whatever-he-was just a fluke? Or was it all still wrapped up in, and entwined with, the questions of Chibiusa's destiny?

"I only just sat down and there you are, gone again."

Seiya grinned. "Sorry. Lots of things on my mind, you know."

Chibiusa held back a sigh. Oh yes, she did know. So many things to think about , to worry about, to turn over and over in her mind until her head was spinning and she felt herself going insane. But for now there was only one issue, one question, that she could focus on. She took a deep breath.

"Seiya, I'm going to tell Mom and Dad everything." She glanced sideways and saw her brother's eyes widen in surprise. "There's too much at stake in all of this. I'm sorry, but it's irresponsible, and selfish, of us to not speak up."

There was silence after she finished her little speech. She could feel Seiya's eyes on her, studying her, but he didn't speak. The movement of the swing he sat on also stopped, and she could have sworn he had also stopped breathing. The moment stretched longer, and tighter, until it felt like every tick of her watch was taking an hour and her heart beat sounded unnaturally loud in her ears.

"Something happened at school today," Seiya whispered, his eyes still locked on her face. "You've learned something else."

Chibiusa shook her head. "Not learned something, no." She heard Rio's voice in her head: I don't think you could call it a theory. "It's more like. . . Well, something to mull over."

"Something else, you mean? As if we don't already have enough."

Chibiusa reluctantly grinned. "Yeah, I know. But I have a sneaking suspicion that this might just beat out everything else."

"And this whatever-it-is is why you think we can't keep quiet anymore. Why we need to tell Mom and Dad," Seiya stated, cutting to the heart of the issue. "What are we talking about, exactly?"

She took a deep breath. "Rio thinks it's possible that Akemi and Mariko are not meant to be the next Mercury and Jupiter."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me," Chibiusa said. "And the more I think about it the more I'm starting to agree."

Seiya shook his head. "What sort of logic has led the two of you to this. . ." His voice tapered off and he shook his head again. "Hell, I don't know what we can even call it! Conclusion? Theory? Insanity?"

"Any or all of the above?" Chibiusa asked with a laugh. "It's about their personalities, and how neither of them really fits. Akemi, the Warrior of Intelligence, and Mariko, the Warrior of Courage? Not exactly what you would picture for the two of them, is it?"

Seiya gave that a moment's thought before shaking his head. "When you put it that way, no, it's not what I would imagine." He gave his head a firmer shake, clearing his thoughts. "And Rio, perceptive little soul that she is, made the connection that nobody, not even their respective mothers, did? Might that be just as hard to imagine?"

Chibiusa raised a finger and shook it in admonishment. "Not as much as you might think," she said. "Remember that for most of her life Rio has lived as a person apart from the rest of us, and the estrangement from her mother only made that worse. I think that - disconnect, for lack of a better word - enabled her to look at it all so much clearer than any of us has ever managed."

"Put like that I can see your point," Seiya said. He scrubbed his face with his hands and gave a frustrated grunt. "Damnit, didn't we have enough crap to worry about?" He lowered his hands and met his sister's gaze. "But you're right about one thing; this puts a whole different spin on everything. We do need to spill the beans to Mom and. . ." His voice faded away and his gaze shifted until he was staring intently at the top of her head. "What the hell happened to your hair?!" he blurted out suddenly.

One of Chibiusa's hands flew to the top of her head. "What? Why? What's wrong with it?"

Seiya stared at her, incredulous. "You don't know? Have you not looked in a mirror at all today?"

"Of course I have!" she indignantly replied. "Obviously not since I left school, but -"

"Could it have happened that fast?" Seiya asked, musing to himself. He reached out toward his sister and gently took hold of a section of hair. He regarded it with unusual interest, and for so long, that Chibiusa started to get nervous.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice betraying a note of panic. "What's the matter?"

Seiya just shook his head and pulled the lock he was holding forward, bringing it within range of her vision. Chibiusa gasped and took it from him, too stunned to say anything.

For buried within the tresses, and clearly visible against the blonde, was a long streak of gleaming reddish-brown hair. The reddish-brown color of earth.

The next day dragged on, making each hour that Usagi spent in the classroom feel like two. She found it especially difficult to concentrate with her mind and heart still reeling from the previous evening's revelations. She had still been trying to decide which was the biggest surprise when she had finally fallen asleep at three that morning.

Breakfast had been an extremely awkward affair, with no one knowing what to say or who to say it to. Seiya had looked like he would happily slide off his chair and disappear into the floor while Chibiusa had been hard-pressed to keep one hand from touching the streak of darker hair that was now over two inches across and impossible to hide. When she noticed her mother watching she simply smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe if I tell people I did it on purpose it'll start a new trend," she had said. "It's not like I can do anything else about it."

At the end of the day Usagi caught up with her daughter before she could leave the school grounds. One look was sufficient to show that Chibiusa's new hair had been flattered and fawned over all day long. With a rueful smile Usagi approached.

"I suppose tomorrow will bring a whole host of girls to school with dyed hair?" she asked, glancing at Chibiusa's hair. She was slightly dismayed to see what looked like another dark streak growing near the girl's left ear.

Chibiusa's mouth twisted in a half-smile, half-grimace. "They're totally ridiculous," she replied, reaching behind her head and releasing the ponytail. The darker hair lost some of it's dramatic presence when the whole mass was loosened. "The only person who's reaction didn't make me want to punch something was Mizuki."

"Mmmm? What did she have to say?"

Chibiusa grinned. "Just that it seemed obvious I couldn't do anything about it and I should just accept it until the issue is resolved." She shrugged and pushed a hand through her hair over her left ear; clearly she was aware of the new patch. "It's easy for her to say."

Usagi stared at her daughter, sterness replacing her earlier smile. "Easy for you to do as well," she said. "Mizuki is right; until the question of your destiny is answered nothing can be done about this. Focus on that, and nothing else, for the time being."

Chibiusa stiffened at the peremptory tone in her mother's voice. "I can't do that," she said with a firm shake of her head. "I can't be so selfish, not when Mariko and Akemi need my help."

"Maybe the best way to help the two of them is to resolve your issues," Usagi said. With a lift of her eyebrows she went on. "Or do you honestly believe that these things aren't connected?"

"I don't know," Chibiusa replied in a whisper, struck by the new idea. She swallowed against the sudden, choking feeling of tears. "I don't. . ."

Seeing the tears start to glimmer in her daughter's eyes Usagi felt guilty for making such a brutal statement, but she couldn't go back on it. Instead she clasped Chibiusa's shoulders and held her tight, forcing her daughter to meet her gaze. "Stop right there, young lady. You are not to blame for these things. Just because it is more than likely that everything about this whole mess is connected to you doesn't make it your fault. Is that understood?"

Chibiusa smiled. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

Usagi felt the corners of her mouth twitch. "I'm telling you. The only thing I'm asking you is what are you going to do about it?"

"I thought Luna and Artemis -"

She got no further. "No!" Usagi exclaimed with an emphatic shake of her head. "I don't want them to know about all of this right now." If ever, she added to herself. At least not Luna.

Chibiusa looked shocked at her mother's vehemence, then confused. But she nodded. "All right, I won't go to them," she said, her voice sounding more certain than she felt. "Nor will I ask why."

At that Usagi laughed out loud. "If you have any pride as my daughter - and as a Guardian - you don't need to ask, you'll figure it out!" And she walked away, leaving Chibiusa in puzzled silence behind her.

Chibiusa watched her mother as she moved away, back straight and shoulders squared. She felt a rush of affection that was quickly buried by an indefinable sadness. Her mother was right; she didn't need to ask why the reluctance to bring Luna and Artemis fully into the picture. But buried deep down, underneath all of the doubt, she thought that perhaps Artemis, at least, already knew.

She turned then to leave the school's grounds, but caught her breath in a gasp. The gate wasn't there. Nor was the street. She spun around quickly; the school was gone as well, and in it's place was the familiar sight of the Temple of Elysion.

Familiar, but different. It took her a moment to realize what the difference was.

The entire place was awash in white roses. There wasn't a speck of red anywhere to be found. Red roses, symbolic of her father and his power, had presented a startling contrast to the pure white the last time she had been there. Now it was all white. All her.

"It is time."

She didn't react to the softly spoken statement, simply waited as Helios moved around her until they faced each other. He reached for her hand and she followed, unresisting, toward the temple. But the walk felt different this time, and not just because she wasn't alone. It was, she realized, a new-found confidence in herself; a confidence brought about by a decision she hadn't even been aware of making.

But now she was ready. No more letting circumstances, or other people's ideas, or even a messed up destiny push her where she didn't want to go. Helios was right: it was time. She pulled her hand free of his and forged ahead, walking with purpose and determination, and leaving her guardian priest behind. When he caught up with her and entered the temple she was standing alongside the plinth that held the Golden Crystal, white rose petals scattered to either side of her path through the building and drifting over her feet.

Chibiusa glanced at Helios as he moved to stand beside her and he simply nodded, his eyes bright even in the temple's dimness. She reached out a hand and held it, slightly cupped, beneath the Crystal, hesitating for the briefest of moments before closing her hand around it.

Immediately a warmth welled up throughout her body, intense and white-hot, but not burning. It spread from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair before retreating to her heart as suddenly as it had appeared, then sank away into nothing. With a sigh she opened her hand and saw the transformation brooch that had formed around the Golden Crystal. Etched on its face was the planetary symbol of Earth, a closed circle encasing two crossed lines. She took a deep breath, clenched her hand around the brooch, then raised that hand high above her head.

"Terra Crystal Power!"

There was a flash of light and sound, and a wind that came out of nowhere; Chibiusa could feel it pulling on her hair. It was all over in an instant, but she knew from past experience that her appearance, and her life, had been completely transformed. She glanced at Helios, the beginnings of a grin making the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Well?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Very earthy," was his wry reply.

Chibiusa burst out laughing, looking down at her sailor fuku; the skirt was the same reddish-brown color that her hair had been turning and all the accents were dark green. And speaking of her hair it was now completely changed in color without a trace of its normal blonde. It hung long and loose down her back, reaching to her knees.

Helios hadn't spoken since his joke, and she felt a small flutter of panic in her stomach. He had been so confident, even forceful, that all of this was what was supposed to happen. What if the reality didn't measure up? The thought was extremely unsettling.

But when she met his gaze all doubt and panic fled. He was watching her with admiration and something akin to awe in his expression. He smiled tentatively and she released the breath she had been holding with a gusty sigh. When he came forward and took hold of her hands she laughed. "What do I do now?" she asked, wonderment plain in her voice.

"You have power over all the things of the Earth," he said. "Plants, animals, even the weather." He smiled. "Especially the weather; you'll probably find the most effective of your new attacks are those that involve wind and rain."

Chibiusa looked down at where his hands enfolded hers, trying to imagine herself, as Sailor Earth, conjuring a typhoon. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but then something else struck her.

"What about psychometry, like my father?" she asked. "I've always had that ability, but in such a limited way."

Helios laughed. "Not anymore." He gestured to one of the temple's walls. "Try it and see."

With a questioning look Chibiusa removed her hands from his and stepped closer to the wall. She focused her attention and concentrated, lightly touching her hands to the wall's surface. It faded away, leaving behind a vision of a forest with a lake. Four young women, not much older than herself, were also there, walking in a sort of procession on the lake's edge.

It came as a complete surprise when one of the women stopped walking, turned her head, and looked directly at Chibiusa. It was even more surprising when she came forward and walked right through the wall. And as she moved from the mist of Chibiusa's vision to the reality of Elysion her clothing changed, becoming the uniform of a Guardian with a pink skirt and collar. The bow on her chest was a soft, charcoal grey. She sank down onto one knee.

"Princess," she said, bowing her head.

Chibiusa stood as if frozen in place, too stunned for a moment to speak. "I don't. . . It's not. . . WHAT?!" she finally exclaimed.

The woman before her raised her head, smiled, then gracefully rose to her feet. "I know things have changed in your world," she said. "We could feel it in ours, likes ripples. So that means you don't know who I am. I am Sailor Ceres, the leader of your four Guardian Goddesses."

"My four. . . What?!" Chibiusa looked to Helios but he just shrugged, as if to say This is for you to figure out.

Ceres grinned. "When you achieved your full power as Sailor Moon and the future queen myself, Vesta, Juno and Pallas were to be your protectors and aides, as Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter are for your mother. We have already fought with you once, but in a past that now never happened to you." She looked Chibiusa up and down, taking in the full existence of Sailor Earth. "And now that the expected future has changed. so the four of us must retreat back to our forest, to sleep and to wait."

"Wait?" Chibiusa asked, taking a step forward. "Wait for what?"

Ceres didn't answer. "I can not stay any longer, or the balance between realities will be disrupted." She laid a hand on Chibiusa's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If the time comes when we meet again you will know us." And with those words she walked back through the wall and disappeared, never once looking back.

"No! Wait!" Chibiusa sprang forward to try and stop Ceres, but ran painfully into the now solid wall. "Ow!" she said, rubbing her sore nose. When she turned back to Helios not all of her tears were from pain. "What do they have to wait for?" she asked, the fierce look on her face daring him not to answer.

He sighed. "They'll sleep until the next generation needs them," he replied. "Either a daughter of yours, or of Seiya's." He smiled slightly when he saw the quick look of dismay on Chibiusa's face. "I do mean sleep," he said. "They are not going to die and then be reborn when needed. The Quartet are different from other Guardians; the Amazon forest binds them in an ageless state, whether they are asleep or awake. You will see them again, have no fear."

Chibiusa was so sunk in thought then, trying to put all she had learned in it's proper place, that she failed to notice that with a wave of his hand Helios had caused the Temple, and all of Elysion, to fade around them. The sound of a car horn snapped her out of it, and she slowly took in her surroundings, first making note that her clothes and hair were back to normal.

They stood on the street corner were Seiya caught the bus to school. When she glanced behind her Chibiusa could see the corner of their house, marked by the holly bushes that grew there. And just visible beyond the bushes was a sight she hadn't expected: her uncle's car.

She grabbed Helios by the hand and ran the few hundred yards to the house, pulling him along behind her. She knew there was some significance in the fact that he was there, instead of staying in Elysion, but at that moment she couldn't have cared less. A car belonging to a police detective at the house was a much more worrying issue.

Seiya emerged from the living room when she and Helios burst through the front door, his forehead creased in a frown. He took in the sight of the pair of them, hands clasped, and met his sister's eyes with a questioning look. "Later," Chibiusa said, dropping Helios' hand and moving into the room where Shingo sat, tapping a file folder against the sofa cushions. He stood when his niece entered.

"What's going on?" she asked, glancing between her two male relatives. "Mom and Dad -"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Shingo said, hastening to reassure the two teenagers. "I wanted to speak to Usagi." He was now tapping the folder on the open palm of his other hand, clearly somewhat agitated.

Chibiusa nodded toward the file. "Does this have anything to do with her questions before?" she asked. "Mysterious deaths that look like heart attacks but aren't?"

Shingo was surprised that she knew about that and it showed in his dumbfounded expression, but he nodded and held the folder out to her. Chibiusa took it and flipped it open, scanning the information she found within. Her face paled.

"What?" Seiya asked, trying to take the folder from his sister. "What's going on?"

Chibiusa closed the folder and clasped it against her chest, her grip so tight everyone could hear the papers crumpling. Her gaze locked with her brother's.

"Aaron Henderson is dead."