PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Setsuna opened her eyes in surprise, "Crystal Tokyo?"

After listening to the Inner Senshi talking about their dreams about their past, she now stared at Rei.

Rei nodded, "It wasn't Elysion. It wasn't the Silver Millennium. I am pretty sure about it: the city outside the window, the crystal palaces. A futuristic city. It was Crystal Tokyo." She took a deep breath, "I think I dreamt of my future in Crystal Tokyo, not of my past in the Silver Millennium." Since visions and dreams were becoming more and more frequent, she finally decided to talk about her dream of Crystal Tokyo with the Senshi.

Makoto scratched her nape, "Are you sure, Rei-chan? Maybe you had again a dream of you and Jadeite during the Silver Millennium, a moment of your past life with him, but you don't remember exactly about that room and that city." Despite her questioning words, there was hope in her tone; deep in her heart, she wanted to believe that the miko really dreamt of her future with Jadeite – and so, of their future with the Shitennou - in Crystal Tokyo.

Rei shook her head, blushing, "No. It wasn't a memory of my past life… " she averted her eyes from everybody "…I am pretty sure about it. It wasn't something happened then."

Makoto raised her eyebrows in confusion.

Minako had a soft giggle, "I think Rei-chan is trying to say that she dreamt of a really intimate moment with Jadeite, something not happened in her past."

Rei nervously closed her eyes and sipped her tea.

Minako turned serious, focusing on Setsuna, "Rei-chan has vivid dreams and visions of the Silver Millennium and of Jadeite since Metallia's defeat, but now it's more frequent and she has also dreams of future Crystal Tokyo. Makoto, Ami and I have these kind of dreams after we were back from Cauldron, as if the memories of our past self, especially about our love for the Shitennou, are becoming stronger and stronger. Even if I started to remember my past life before everybody else, I am surprised by the strength of these visions and dreams, anyhow." she glanced at Rei, "It's like Rei is a step forward from us, and it isn't surprising due her psychic powers. But we don't know what's going on, exactly. Her dream about Crystal Tokyo is confusing, and this is why we are asking for your help, Setsuna-san."

"Did Mamoru say something about it? He too has strong psychic powers, and maybe he is having this kind of dreams and visions, like you, or stronger than you."

Ami shook her head and answered Setsuna's question, "We haven't talked about it with Mamoru, yet. We prefer to understand what's going on before to talk to Mamoru and Usagi." She smiled sweetly, "We don't want to upset Usagi with our dreams. For sure, she would be saddened by the idea we are still mourning the Shitennou whereas she is happy with Mamoru. And Mamoru too misses the Shitennou, I guess, and we don't want to hurt him."

Rei intently stared at the cup of tea in front of her, her forefinger slowly sliding along its edge, "The point is that, well, when we fought against the Black Moon Clan and met our future self in Crystal Tokyo, the Shitennou weren't there; there was no sign of the Shitennou in that future. So, I am wondering if my dream can really be a vision of the future or it has no meaning, just a weird dream. You know much more than us of Space and Time."

Setsuna nodded, "That future is a different timeline. We are on a new timeline, now."

Ami opened her eyes wide, "A new timeline. Of course!"

Setsuna kept on talking, "When Small Lady left Crystal Tokyo and came to the 20th Century to ask for help, a new timeline was created from the former, diverging from it. In that timeline, the former one, I was a different Sailor Pluto than now, always staying at the Space-Time Door, never abandoning it and never interacting with any of you. I died and Neo Queen Serenity sent me here to be re-incarnated. I am here, now, as Setsuna, living a normal life with you. It means this is a new timeline. It means the actual future is different from the one you saw when you fought against the Black Moon Clan."

Ami nodded, "Our future selves were similar but at the same time different: we have reached our Eternal Form, now, but the future Senshi weren't in their Eternal Form."

Minako raised her right forefinger, "And King Endymion didn't know about the Black Moon Clan, as it was the first time he fought against it. It had no memory of himself already facing the Black Moon Clan in the 20th Century."

Setsuna smiled, "Exactly! Small Lady and her traveling back to the 20th Century have changed definitively the timeline. We don't know what's the future of this timeline. For sure, it's a future where we have reached our Eternal Form, a future where Mamoru and Usagi have already faced and defeated the Black Moon Clan (and they remember it): a future different the one you saw."

Makoto's eyes sparkled, "Maybe, a future with the Shitennou, too, as Rei-chan dreamt of."

Rei blushed, "Maybe, unless it was just a weird dream."

Setsuna had a sweet smile, "I think Rei dreamt of a future where Jadeite is by her side and probably the Shitennou are the Guardians of King Endymion, but I don't know how it will happen. I think you should talk to Mamoru and Usagi too about it, though."

Minako stood up, "Yes, I think it's time to talk to Mamoru."

Rei nodded, "Yes." She took a deep breath, there was something else the Senshi had to know, "I am wondering if the Shitennou are already out there, now. Lately, I am seeing Jadeite in the Sacred Fire. Not past Jadeite. Not future Jadeite. But a present Jadeite."

"WHAT?"

Rei shook her head and answered the surprised Senshi, "Maybe it's just him before his death. Maybe I am seeing his re-incarnation in the 20th Century, but some years ago, before Metallia found him. Maybe I am having visions of him in this Century, before he died". A cold grasp grabbed her heart.

Lately, every time she looked into the Sacred Fire, he was there: looking up at the sky, walking along the street, sleeping, turning around and smiling. But he wasn't past Jadeite. He was a new Jadeite, a normal guy in normal outfit.

Rei was seeing a present Jadeite: it was amazing and painful.

Junichi Higashi. Nobusuke Akanishi. Zenjiro Minami. Kazuro Kitamura.

Nurse Akane Nishimura was carefully reading the files about the four comatose boys, again: they weren't related; they came from different regions (Junichi Higashi was born in Tokyo, Nobusuke Akanishi in Okayama, Zenjiro Minami in Fukuoka and Kazuro Kitamura in Hokkaido); their families had no connections (Junichi Higashi had no family at all); they attended different schools. The only common ground was their missing (they all went missing nearly 4 years ago) and their shocking recovery: they were found unconscious in a cave at North Pole by some Japanese explorers. Nobody was able to explain why they were there and how they could be still alive in that place, but many absurd things had happened along the past years (monsters, missing peoples, magic warriors and so on) so there was nothing to be surprised of, after all.

But there was a thing that amazed Akane the most. When the four boys were found in that cave, each of them had in their hand a small fragment of stone: Junichi had a small fragment of jadeite, Nobusuke a small fragment of nephrite, Zenjiro a small fragment of zoisite and Kazuro a small fragment of kunzite.

Akane smiled: her sister Reika, expert of crystallography and student at K.O. University, was really impressed by that story.

Lately, the boys awoke from their coma and they left the Hospital. What a puzzle: they didn't remember anything of the last four years, and Akane was wondering what they were doing now.