Preface: After my character's initial debut in Sailor Moon Defenders, I tried finding out how I can expand the character's growth a bit more. It took a couple of years, but eventually, I ended up coming up with this story.

Preface 2: This chapter has been remastered, thanks to fellow DoE fan James5.

For context: This story coincides with the Defenders of the Earth series. Inspired by Marzena's story "Defenders of the Earth: This is Their Story", I created these chapters which would be set during certain points of the series, and the Defenders will be making at least one appearance during the story, hence the crossover.

Disclaimer: The following chapter was co-written by James5, and the characters Abigail and Sara Gordon belong to him as well. For other disclaimer, see chapter one.

Plot: (Episode: set between "Innocent Man" and "Free Fall"; and between "Escape from Mongo" and "Creation of Monitor") Tori finds out about her aunt's passing and shortly before the funeral, Tori deals with an experience which could change her life forever.

Changes

Tori looked in from outside of the shop. Richie was there, as he'd said in a text. She certainly could use a friendly face right now.

Just as she was stepping through the shop's small door, she froze in her tracks, beginning to gawk. The guy from the woods was inside too.

Did she call the IUA up right now? She had been searching for the guy for days.

"Can I help y… Tori?" Richie noticed her and started bearing a grin. "Tori, is that you?"

"Hi…" she said, giving him a glance. Then her eyes settled on the man again.

"How's it going?" he asked, offering a quick hug. She was too stunned to really hug him back.

"Richie, who's this?" a woman with a thick French accent asked.

"Tessa, I'd like for you to meet Tori Gordon. Tori, meet Tessa. She's taken me in. She and Mac are kind of my foster folks now." He gestured to the man whom she'd seen in the woods.

Tori felt a shudder as the words sank in. Richie was living with a violent killer? "Richie!" she said, whispering. She pulled him close, stepping away. "I saw that guy do everything you described. He killed someone! He took his head!"

Richie's lips parted. He paused for a second. "Oh," he uttered, holding her hands. "About all that…" He licked his lips. "Let's sit for a moment. I can explain."

For around ten minutes, he did just that, telling her all about Duncan's clan. Tori grew aware of their noble cause. They weren't enemies of the IUA. They were fighting people who were, however.

After Richie's story was all wrapped up, with Duncan chiming in every now and then, Tori heaved a sigh, deeply relieved.

"I'm sorry that you saw what you saw out there," Duncan declared, extending his palm.

Tori paused a moment, then offered her own. She made a calm smile while shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tori," Duncan affirmed.

"You as well," Tori declared. "You too, Tessa."

Tessa made a nod.

Duncan got up and turned his gaze toward Richie. "Tessa and I are going out for a bit."

"I got things here," Richie replied.

Around two minutes after both of them left, Tori's phone rang. She answered it.

"Tor, it's me…"

Tori froze, gripped by fright, a deeper fright than she'd felt in a while. She heard a deep pain in her cousin's voice. April never spoke to her like this. She didn't want to learn what was going on — but knew that she had to ask anyway. "April…" she said.

"I'm on my way back from the academy. I'm coming home, T. You have to come too."

Victoria Gordon felt her knees grow weak. Her head felt light. Her face got cold. "…Why?" she asked.

Richie eyed Tori, looking concerned.

"Dad just called," April revealed.

Tori listened on, eyes on the wall, receiving the very worst news of her life.

Once it sank in, she dropped to the floor. The cell phone was shaking against her ear.

"Whoa!" Richie said. "What's going on, Tor?"

Tori eyed the wall. She couldn't respond.

Richie wrapped his arms right around her frame. "Tor?" he whispered.

-Defenders-Chronicles-Highlander-

Richie let himself out of Tori's home. He'd driven her there once she'd gotten the news. She was devastated by her Aunt Dale's death, and said that she needed to sleep right now. He'd asked repeatedly if he could help at all, but there was nothing more he could do at the moment.

Tori had been good to him since they'd met, and he knew how it felt to lose someone he loved. His heart was bleeding for the girl right now.

-Defenders-Chronicles-Highlander-

"We have to turn around," Janet announced, speaking to the pilot of her private plane.

The man glanced at her through the monitor. He appeared surprised as he saw her face. Maybe he'd noticed the tears she bore.

She brushed a long lock of her black hair forth, hoping to cover her current expression. People never spotted much emotion in her. She was a leader. She had to be tough.

She lowered the phone that she'd just hung up. "I've gotten bad news. Head to Central City."

The pilot made a nod. "Right away, leader."

Once upon a time, Janet and Dale were the best of friends. They had fallen out after Ian was shot. Over the past two years, however, the two had begun to rebuild their bond.

Janet recalled what had severed things. She wished ardently that she could change her mistake.

Several Years Ago

She steadied the rifle, taking a breath. These aliens and human with magical abilities caused her husband's tragic death.

Then she heard a crackle on her radio. No one ever reached out before a hit. No one except for the head honcho.

"Elisonne!" he barked. "It's Captain Hill. Lower your weapon. Do not engage."

She had to pretend that she couldn't hear. "Sorry, commander. You're breaking up." Janet made a sigh as she studied the target. Why couldn't anybody see things her way? These mystical people simply couldn't be trusted.

Another crackle came on the radio. "Janet, it's Dale. Do. Not. Shoot! That man whom you're targeting is innocent."

"Too late to pull back," Janet replied.

"Jan!" she bellowed. "You pull that trigger, I'm taking your daughter. I'll file for custody immediately."

The Present

Tori arrived at Central City. She looked around as she had spotted April at the airport.

"Hey, April," Tori greeted her cousin.

"Hey yourself," April smiled as she hugged and greeted her cousin, "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"I can't believe it," Tori said sadly, "your mom was essentially a second mom to me."

"I know," April smiled. "I can't believe mom's gone."

"Did you find out how she was killed?" Tori asked, almost a stupid question.

"Ming," April answered bluntly, "he killed her, and Rick witnessed her death."

Tori placed a hand on her mouth in shock. It must have been horrible for her younger cousin to have witnessed something as horrible as their own mother's death. She couldn't have imagined what Rick had gone through.

"We should meet with Dad and the others," April suggested.

"That sounds like a plan," Tori nodded.

Within a half hour, Tori and April arrived at the mansion where Flash was waiting.

"He lives in a mansion now?" Tori asked.

"This is the mansion of Mandrake the Magician," April answered, "he and Rick live here now, and from what I hear, they're planning to find a new Headquarters to defend the Earth from Ming the Merciless."

Flash was at the doorway of the mansion, and he greeted his daughter and niece.

"The others are here waiting for us," Flash informed them.

Tori nodded as she and April followed him to the den. She recognized her other aunt Abigail, who Tori had considered to be nicer than her mother, and her youngest cousin Sara. She was the youngest by a couple of months, between her and Rick. She also recognized her uncle Flash and younger cousin Rick, who was talking with a girl with dark hair and a young black guy.

"Hey, Sara," Tori greeted her cousin.

"Hey." Sara hugged her cousin, "I wish this was a family reunion and not a funeral."

"I couldn't agree more." April crossed her arms.

Then there was Mandrake the Magician, whom she recognized as the man her mother tried to kill. Next to him, she recognized as Lothar, a man who was friends with Mandrake. The last person in the room Tori recognized was the Phantom, someone she thought was just a legend.

Along with the guy and girl who were talking with Rick, Tori didn't recognize the young Asian boy who was also in the room.

"Tori…" Flash looked over at his niece. "Allow me to introduce you to the team."

-Defenders-Chronicles-Highlander-

Tori looked at the beautiful night sky after enjoying a wonderful dinner with her family. She found the mansion was beautiful, and she was certain the Defenders would find a base. She was certain they would find proper resources and anything else they needed for that home base.

"Hey, Tori," Sara greeted her cousin, "the funeral is tomorrow, and we should get some sleep. Are you coming in?"

"Yeah," Tori nodded, "I'll be in shortly."

"Okay," Sara nodded before she made her way back to the mansion.

Then, Tori was thinking about the team her uncle Flash and cousin Rick would be with; the Phantom was mysterious, and from what she heard about him, he could be very helpful to the team. The same could be said for his daughter Jedda, who seems to be a quite bold young lady. Mandrake the Magician could prove very helpful as well with the battles against Ming. Lothar and his son LJ were strong and surely, they would be capable of taking down strong opponents when the others couldn't. She wasn't sure about Mandrake's ward Kshin though, but she was certain he would be helpful somehow, but she wasn't sure.

Being pulled from her thoughts, Tori heard a loud clapping sound from behind, followed by feeling a sharp pain in her back. She screamed in pain before she fell to the ground, despite trying to catch something to keep from hitting the ground, and she suddenly blacked out.

Several Years Ago

Dale knelt down and touched Tori's arms. "You know that me and Uncle Flash love you, right?"

Tori made a nod, licking her lips. Why did Aunt Dale seem nervous now?

"And you realize that we would never be mean. You know that you're perfectly safe in here."

She made another nod, holding her tongue.

Dale took a breath. "There's something that we need to have a talk about, Tor." She paused again. "You live here now. You're staying with us. You won't be going back to your house anymore."

Tori twitched a tad. "But why?" she asked.

Dale shook too. "Do you understand what a mistake is, Tor?"

Tori paused a second. "When someone does something that they shouldn't have done?"

She nodded a little. "When someone does something that they shouldn't have done." Her gaze drifted onto the carpeted floor. "Absolutely anyone can make a mistake — and that means mommies and daddies too." She shifted her eyes up to Tori's again. "Your mother made…a big mistake. I can't really tell you just what she did. But when a parent makes that kind of mistake…the rules say they have to stop being a parent."

The Present

April was startled upon hearing a gun shot sound, followed by a scream from Tori.

"Tori?!" April exclaimed in worry.

"What's going on?" Rick asked.

"Stay here," April told her brother before she headed outside, "I'll go out. Tell Dad that I'm with Tori for a late night walk."

"Okay," Rick nodded as she left the room. She could tell he wanted to help out with whatever was going on, but she guessed he was too tired to think about arguing.

April hurried outside, and then she looked on in shock as her cousin was shaking on the granite ground.

"Tori!" April ran and knelt at her side. Tori felt frail and weak in her arms. Her eyes had a hazy and distant look. "Can you hear me, Tor? Do you know who I am?"

Tori shook a little, pausing a second. "…Take me home, A. Just take me back home."

April knew exactly what Tori meant — back to the place where they'd both grown up. They still had the keys. It hadn't been sold. It was mainly used as their summer house now.

-Defenders-Chronicles-Highlander-

The home was covered in a dark-blue hue. Everything was absolutely quiet within.

She sat cross-legged on her bed with Tori, just as they had done on so many occasions. The house was flowing with memories — holiday seasons, birthday parties, little Rick sharing his dreams of heroics.

But April couldn't focus on the past right now. She had to zero in on the present instead. "What happened, Tor?" she asked with caution. She sensed that she wouldn't like the answer at all.

Tori eyed her lap. "It was really weird," she managed to mutter. "I blacked out a moment, and when I woke up…I kind of felt like I had changed somehow."