Queen Yori stood from where she had fallen to the ground while trying to fight the panic that she felt rising from within her. The Benu were an ancient race that once made its home on Earth but had left centuries ago. Though only after a terrible feud had erupted between them and the Kingdom of Nihon. Now it would seem that they have taken the new opportunity to attack the people of Nihon who no longer had their planetary protectors in orbit.

"They are here to destroy the kingdom but first they will kill all with royal blood coursing through their veins. Every last one," the queen said while turning to the oracle. "I should return to the Royal Chambers. The rest of the Royal Family should be assembling there."

"Your Majesty, the palace is already being overrun with enemy soldiers. You'll never make it there alone. This sanctuary will be the last stronghold. It would be wise to remain here."

Yori knew that the other woman was right. Still, she'd prefer to not be in this place set up for the chambermaid's daughter if she was to die today. Nor could she in good conscience hide while her people were being slaughtered; killed for crimes that had been committed against the Benu centuries ago.

"No. I must go. And there is something else that you must do after I leave. The Benu will learn that Queen Serenity sent my son to the future. In their lust for vengeance and blood, they will not allow him to escape their wrath. In fact, I fear that they will seek him out with greater fervor than myself and my husband."

"Crossing time and space isn't an easy task. The prince should be safe," the young woman followed the queen out of her sitting area back out into her outer chambers as she spoke.

"No, he won't be. And now he doesn't even have his generals to guard him. He will be in a strange time without the knowledge of the Benu or why they are attacking. He will need help."

"What do you mean?"

"You are able to see across time and space. I believe that now with the Sailors dispersed and even the Gates of Time damaged after the recent attack on the Moon Kingdom, you should be able to travel it as well so long as you have a proper tether."

The Oracle stopped short as she realized what the queen was asking of her. Did she really believe that the Benu would be so bloodthirsty that they would seek the prince in a distant incarnation? If they did, could she stop them? Traveling through time was never as simple as it appeared. Could she do as she was asked?

"My Queen, even if I was able to cross that chasm, there are no guaran-"

"My son must be protected." Yori's eyes burned with determination before adding, "As soon as the Benu have destroyed all who are above, they will eventually find their way down here, as well. The magic that protects you in these chambers will serve as a beacon for them. They will not care that you are the palace oracle, nor will they care that you are the daughter of a chambermaid. They will strike you down where you stand. Only by doing as I ask will you be able to save yourself."

Darien sat up in bed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. In the last couple of months his dreams have been plagued by images of a long forgotten time; which in and of itself was nothing new. What was new was the fact that he'd seen someone who has never been in any of his previous visions of the past.

The woman felt familiar to him somehow (too familiar actually), yet he couldn't pinpoint just who she was. Now that he was awake, he could only recall brief glimpses of the strange woman, but he was certainly curious. Why was he dreaming of her now? Did Serena's recent marriage to Kyle Garret have something to do with it? The fact that their apparent destined love affair was now over?

Groaning, Darien looked at his alarm clock and saw that there was no point in trying to get any more sleep, so he went ahead and got up to head for the shower. In the weeks since Serena and Kyle got married, it seemed that Darien was doing good just to get about four hours of sleep each night. Last night had been no different.

At least there hadn't been any Scouts' business to attend to since he knew that he wouldn't be at his best if he had to go out and fight a monster anytime soon. When he went to the gym to train or when he practiced on his own at home, he was aware of the fact that his timing was way off. He knew that it would take time for his life to really feel like it was getting back to normal but in the interim, the lack of sleep just might kill him.

Once dressed, Darien decided to head out for an early morning run even though it was still hours before daylight. He took a jogging path that went the long way around the park and was on his second lap when he saw a flash of light in the darkness up ahead. Concerned, he increased his speed in search of the cause of the mysterious light.

After searching for more than two hours, Darien never did find what had been the source of the flash in the night sky. The only thing he was certain of, however, was that something was incredibly wrong. He could feel it in his very core.

Hatsu woke for the day, quickly grabbed up her belongings and went to where the morning meal would be waiting for those who had slept in the shelter overnight. She accepted the paltry offering before taking a seat in the dingy room that served as a dining hall. The same as she had for the last year since arriving in town. She estimated that she'd been in this time for about a year and a half; wandering about aimlessly for the first half of a year after arriving in this time period before coming to this town and shelter.

Once seated, she stared into her cup of water that she'd been given just as she did every morning. When she did, she saw that her wait was finally over. They were here. They had come for the prince. Hatsu had hoped that she'd be given more time. She'd only located two of the generals and had only made contact with one of them. She had tried to tell him what was coming but he thought she was just another homeless woman who had retreated into fantasy to escape the realities of life. Not that she really blamed him. She would have thought the same thing, she supposed, if the roles were reversed. If only there was some way to revive his long-lost memories. To remind him of the man that he once had been.

She had searched for the proper components to create a memory potion, but magical elements were not as easy to come across in this time period as they had been in the past. Hatsu was tempted to reveal her magic to the general months ago, but she wasn't sure that he was ready for that just yet. Now with the Benu crossing the boundaries of time, she knew that she no longer had the luxury of waiting for him to be more receptive to her display.

With the morning meal eaten, most of the others who had sought refuge from the cold night left the shelter as they did every morning. Many would find odd jobs to earn pocket change while others she suspected lined their pockets in less than respectable ways. Though to be honest, she knew that without her magic, she may have been forced to do the same in order to survive in this less than hospitable time.

Coming to a different time where she knew neither the customs nor language where life was so much different than it had been back in the palace had left her very much out of her depth. While magic could help her survive, it didn't make living in a strange place much easier. As the nights had grown colder, Hatsu had begun to notice that certain places like this shelter opened their doors at night for those who didn't have anywhere else to go; an admirable notion, for sure.

It was when Hatsu found her way to this place that she felt as if the fates were shining down on her. It was here that she met the man that she'd known for years as Jadeite. Or at least, she met his current incarnation. She was amazed at how much alike, both in appearance and in personality, he was to his former self. Hatsu had wanted to tell the man of everything that she had gone through to get to this time period to find him and the other generals right then and there. The problem was, when she spoke, he didn't understand a word that she had spoken.

Jed cleaned up after helping to serve the morning meal to the dozens of regulars that frequented the shelter. Most mornings he saw the same faces as the day before with a few exceptions from time to time. Looking up, he saw one of the faces who had become one of those exceptions last winter.

Part of his job was to help the people who found their way to the shelter to transition back into society by finding them jobs and places to live full time. Neither easy to do when you don't speak the local language. The progress that the woman had made since first arriving on the shelter's doorstep was remarkable considering she didn't even speak or understand Japanese until he began to try to work with her. There were times that it was hard to remember that she wasn't a native speaker. After many months, Jed was now able to carry on a conversation with the woman, but he knew he still had a long way to go if he wanted to help her further.

"Hatsu, I was wondering if you were going to stop by before heading out for the day."

"Yes. I wanted to speak with you."

Jed motioned toward the small office that was set up for the employees to share while helping those who frequent the homeless shelter find various social programs for them. It was really the only place that he could speak privately with the woman.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jed asked as he motioned for his guest to sit down across from the cluttered desk.

"Something has happened. The Benu are here."

Jed fought back a groan as he heard Hatsu bring up the imaginary enemy that seemed to be at the heart of her psychosis. Hearing such outrageous stories from people on the street was nothing new. Still, he was always somewhat surprised when he heard the brunette refer to the Benu since when speaking of anything else, she appeared to be quite lucid.

"Hatsu, we've been over this before. The Benu do not exist. There is no one out there hunting this mysterious prince that you've imagined, nor do you have a mission to try to find his protectors."

"Jadeite," she hoped that using his old name would help to jog his memory.

"Jed," he corrected her. "My name is Jedidiah Young. I'm not this Jadeite that you want me to be. Now, I think that it'd be best if I set you up with another appointment with Doctor Rotar-"

As Jed spoke, he saw Hatsu lean forward and place her hand over his cup of tepid coffee. He then watched as the liquid began to boil as if it was on the stove.

"How?"

"I've tried to tell you before. Magic. It really does exist. It and everything that I've told you is real."

Jed reached forward to touch his coffee cup and felt the warmth coming from the mug. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. Things like this wasn't possible. Was it?

"Are you ready to listen to me about the Benu, now?"