Chapter 9: Winds of Uranus

January 24, 8983 – January 26, 8983

"Mother . . . you're dead."

The former queen smirked at the comment, shrugging slightly. "Clearly. When I died, I used the last of my power to bind myself to my talisman so that I could be here for you now. You're beautiful, my daughter."

Haruka, having spent most of her life acting like a man, struggled to hold back her tears as she rose to her feet. "I don't know what to say."

"I don't have much time, in any case. The power of a slumbering planet cannot give me form for long. Haruka, you have to go to Neptune. There is a threat to our kingdom, a threat that I sensed as I was in labor with you, and you have to find out what it is."

"A threat? My premonition?"

Kazeko nodded, emerald eyes intense even as a ghost. "A great darkness is coming, a darkness so vast that it can destroy everything you love, everything you protect. If you and Sailor Neptune do not stand fast against the darkness, the Silver Millennium will be destroyed. Only you and Shousha's daughter can save it."

Haruka reached out with one hand, desperate to touch her mother but knowing that it could never happen. Smiling sympathetically, Kazeko touched Haruka's cheek, a faint chill lingering at the point of contact. "Promise me you will go to Neptune."

"I promise," Haruka whispered, unable to deny her mother even as she had been unable to deny Serenity two nights earlier. "I don't understand what you expect me to do once I get there, but I will go."

"Just be yourself," Kazeko replied ruefully, the Space Sword pulsing as she faded. "I can't stay any longer, Haruka, but know that I love you. Please don't be angry at Koshu or Shousha; they both love me and don't understand that they are hurting you because of it. I will see you again when the planets awake."

"Mother!" Kazeko's ghost faded, returning to the Space Sword, as Haruka stared at the space she had occupied. The wind senshi stood silently for a handful of minutes as she considered her mother's words and her own premonition of destruction. Serenity watched her protector patiently, knowing that Haruka would speak when she was ready. "Shousha is still Sailor Neptune?"

"Technically, yes," Serenity replied, knowing why her senshi was asking. "Her daughter is old enough to receive the henshin stick, but Shousha has not passed it on. There is a rumor among the queens that Shousha has not transformed in over twenty years, and she may have lost her link to the Neptune powers and talisman."

"Is that possible?"

"It's not unheard-of for a senshi to lose her powers when one of her teammates dies. I'm sure you understand that it is the loss of a soul mate that causes the loss of power, not just any teammate. In Shousha's case, I believe that it is possible she has not been able to transform since Kazeko died. If she still had a connection to the Aqua Mirror, she would have seen this darkness coming before you began to have dreams."

"Then the Sailor Neptune who can help me with my premonition is Michiru."

"Most certainly."

Haruka growled and waved a hand at the communications console, forcing herself to control her raging emotions. "Shousha will never allow me on her planet, Sailor Uranus or not! The kingdom will fall because she hates me so."

"Perhaps not. Haruka, your birthday is in only three days."

The blonde's head shot up, shock from the revelation warring with curiosity as she tried to determine why her princess cared about her birthday. "And?"

"Every year, on the anniversary of Kazeko's death, Shousha travels to Oberon and visits her grave, arriving a few days early so she has time alone before anyone else comes to visit the site. She is there now, and she will be there through the end of the two-week Mourning. If you were ever going to go to Neptune, you must go while the queen is on Uranus. She will never know."

"After your mysterious trip, when you no longer require my protection, I will go to Neptune," Haruka decided, one hand on the hilt of her sword. "Thank you for what you showed me, Princess. I've always wanted to know."

Serenity slipped her arm through Haruka's as she guided the blonde senshi back to the gardens. "You deserved to know. Now that you have your answer and your plan, you should be able to meditate like you intended."

"Yes, I should. Thank you."

Haruka returned to the apartment long after the artificial night began, surprised to see Rei and Minako awake on the couch so late. "You two know that we have training in the morning, do you not?"

The Martian looked up at her warrior friend, nodding at Makoto's closed door. "It looks like you're going to win, after all. Minako is so upset about it."

Haruka grinned and sat down across from the pair of senshi, amused that the princess of Venus would stay awake to admit her mistake. "Let me guess. The date went well, they came back here and watched some sappy movie, and Ami fell asleep from the stress of physical training all day."

"Yes," Minako pouted, arms crossed in front of her chest. "It was a good movie, too! I thought for sure it would get them in the mood."

"Oh? What movie did you pick for them?"

"Winds of Uranus. Have you heard of it?" Even as she asked the question, Minako realized that it was silly. It was one of the most popular movies ever created on Uranus, so of course a Uranian noble would have seen it.

The Uranian nodded, mildly impressed at the choice. "Yes, I have. I was invited to the first screening on Oberon, actually. It's quite an epic love story, a famous legend on my planet, and this recent version, some say best version, stars Taichen Laira of Titania. She is one of the most accomplished actresses in the Silver Millennium, and possibly the best Uranus has ever produced."

"Have you ever met her?" Minako leaned forward in her seat, eyes glued on Haruka with something akin to idol worship. The taller blonde cursed silently as she felt herself blush, unable to prevent it as she remembered her meeting with Laira. Rei snorted at the look on Haruka's face, pulling her girlfriend back into her arms.

"I think that means they've met. Intimately, from the look on Kazemaru's face."

Haruka felt herself wince at the name, suddenly eager to assert her own identity in front of her friends. Something about meeting her mother had driven away her need to hide from her father and her birthright. "We met when she visited Oberon after her Knighting Ceremony on Triton. She is now a Lesser War Queen on Uranus and a Lady of the Neptunian Court. I helped her . . . celebrate."

"She was knighted on Triton? What did she do to earn that honor?"

"On Neptune, the arts are prized above all else," Minako explained, somewhat more familiar with the ceremony than her warrior counterparts. "The story is that Princess Michiru was so impressed with Laira's acting when she watched Winds of Uranus that she demanded her mother knight the lead actress. It was a huge news event for a princess who never leaves her planet to insist on knighting a member of another kingdom. On Neptune, all of the royals have to be accomplished in multiple forms of art, and I hear that the princess excels in painting, singing, dancing, and musical instruments."

"What instrument does she play?" Now that the topic of conversation had turned to one of the mysterious Outer Princesses, Rei was eager to learn more. Michiru had not been seen away from the moons of Neptune since she was a child at Serenity's Presentation. Kazan had shown her a few holos of the princess as he submitted suit after suit for her hand, but nothing had come of his marriage offers. What she had seen, however, pointed to a woman far more beautiful than her mother.

"She never said, but she seemed to have a soft spot for stringed instruments," Haruka answered without thinking, remembering the beautiful aqua-haired girl she had met briefly on the moon fourteen years earlier. She had not known that Michiru was the one who insisted on knighting Laira, but she was an impressive actress and a beautiful person, so it was fitting.

Rei spun in her seat, shock in her amethyst eyes, and Haruka knew that she had finally said too much. "How do you know? How could you possibly know? The Princess of Neptune lives secluded in her castle, and she has only ever left her planet once, on the day of Serenity's birth. Even I have barely seen holos of her, and only then because my brother was vying for her hand. Even he never got a chance to speak with her. No one knows anything about her, not even we princesses who are supposed to be her partner senshi, and there is no way that you have ever met her as the son of a duke! Queen Shousha has not yet allowed any off-world suitors to court her in person . . ." Her voice trailed off, Minako's hand on her arm tightening as the Venusian reached the only possible conclusion first.

"You play the piano," Minako whispered, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "I was so young that day that I had forgotten, but of course Michiru was at the Presentation of Serenity. I remember now that Michiru told Ami that she approved of her choice of the harp and she told Haruka that even a planet of war has time for art . . . you're her aren't you? You're Princess Haruka." Haruka looked away from the two women, both relieved that her secret was out in the open and worried that the senshi would not accept her after her deception. She looked up as Minako reached out and placed a hand on her arm, the Venusian smiling. "I'm so glad that you are one of us. I was worried that you would not be able to stay with us when our training is complete, but as Sailor Uranus you belong here."

Rei nodded in agreement with Minako, pointing at the sword on Haruka's hip. "Is that the Space Sword, then? It has seemed oddly familiar since we first met."

"It is. I was worried that it would give me away, but none of you seemed to recognize it and only Princess Serenity has seen through my deception thus far."

Rei shrugged and leaned back against the couch. "Uranians tend toward extravagance. Having a sword with a beautiful sheath means nothing to those of us who know of your people. At least I finally understand why I am so comfortable around you. Why did you come to Mars the day I challenged my mother?"

Haruka pulled the Space Sword from its sheath, the weapon glowing with a brilliant golden light as she probed it with her powers. "This took me there. I wasn't sure at the time, since every sensation was new after my first transformation into Sailor Uranus, but I found out tonight that my mother bound her soul to this talisman so she could be here for me now. She took me to Mars so that I could help you in your fight."

"Your mother?"

"Princess Serenity showed me some communications logs from the day I was born, and my mother appeared to me after that. She said that a great threat to the Silver Millennium is coming and that I must find a way to stop it. As the Senshi of Uranus, leader of the Outer Senshi, it is my duty."

"A threat?" Minako stood from the couch, pacing across the room as she tried to decide what to do. As the leader of a group of very untrained Inner Senshi, her desire to fight had to be tempered by her lack of warriors. "We'll need the other senshi, you know."

Haruka nodded. "Sailor Pluto has called a meeting on Titan in a couple of weeks to discuss this threat. She told me that I had to go. It seems that all reigning queens and active senshi will be required to attend."

"What is the threat?" Rei had not really thought much about the upcoming meeting on Titan, but Haruka's unease had her worried.

"Rei, she's called the meeting on Titan. The threat must be so great that she fears Sailor Saturn will wake."

Rei stared at Haruka for a moment, letting the dread of her statement sink in. Her words were barely a whisper when she finally spoke. "What can we do?"

"Finish your training over the next three days and practice fighting as a team after that," Haruka replied. "If there is a threat, we must all be ready to fight."

"As you can see from the accounts of the War of Unification, standard battlefield tactics were disrupted by the presence of not only Sailor Uranus, but Sailor Neptune as well. With careful use of their powers and a calculated show of force, they were able to subdue the Moons of Jupiter under the command of Princess Chijira. Five days after the end of the War, the Queen died of her wounds and Chijira took command of the Jupiter henshin stick." Haruka watched her students absorb the military tactics eagerly, glad that they enjoyed the major battles she had chosen to teach. With the exception of Makoto, none of the other senshi had ever learned about the Jupiter War of Unification, one of the bloodiest and most violent civil wars the Silver Millennium had ever seen. At first, the reigning Queen Serenity had refused to allow the use of senshi powers against mortals, but after the Black Thorns of Ganymede mortally wounded the Queen of Jupiter, Serenity had relented.

"Why were Uranus and Neptune chosen?"

Haruka waved a hand at Rei and Minako, calling attention to the pair cuddled on one couch as everyone looked up at Ami's question. "Look at them. They know each other far more intimately than you will ever know either one of them. In a battle, they will be able to sense each other's moves and predict each other's attacks. If I commanded the senshi and I needed to quell an uprising, I would choose a pair for the job. Sailor Jupiter was dying and her soul mate—judging from transit records of the period—was Sailor Mars. Without those two warriors, the Queen turned to the Senshi of Battle, Sailor Uranus, and her soul mate. As a team, they were unstoppable. This battle shows how knowing your allies is just as important as knowing your enemies."

Ami nodded and stared at the statistics on her data reader, committing Haruka's words to memory. Makoto watched her out of the corner of her eye, enjoying Ami's presence as she struggled to contain her turbulent emotions. She was perfectly willing to move their relationship along at Ami's pace, but it was getting harder and harder to sit next to the Mercurian without doing something that would embarrass both of them later. Cooling her desire with a supreme force of will, Makoto returned her attention to her lessons.

"Now we will move on to the Antares Uprising. As you can see, the Queen of Antares called for help from across the cosmos when a rogue group of senshi tried to take her throne. The senshi in question were easily more powerful than most of our senshi, but a clever use of tactics initiated by Sailor Pluto managed to capture the aggressors and remove their Star Crystals, passing them on to less rebellious successors."

"Star Crystals?"

Haruka scratched her head as she tried to decide how to answer Minako. "Most of the information I have was painstakingly translated from the Saga of the last Sailor War and I cannot verify any of the information I obtained. It seems that every planet or star capable of empowering a senshi has a crystal imbued with its life-force that the senshi uses to both transform and channel the planet's powers."

"We don't have crystals."

"I know. Shortly after the Antares Uprising, Sailor Pluto saw a future of darkness and ordered all of the senshi to remove the Keystones from their Planet Crystals. After that, Pluto helped them create henshin sticks they could use to access the powers of their planets while they slept, allowing them to still be Sailor Senshi but with a significant reduction in power. This was also the same time period that gave rise to the Ancient Law preventing you from being with your soul mate. It seems that Sailor Saturn, who did rise to fight in the Antares Uprising and eventually had to use her ultimate power, was not required to remove her Keystone, since a slumbering planet could never power the senshi of Rebirth. Pluto also did not remove her Keystone since she needed the full power of her planet to be able to guard the Time Gate."

Ami's sapphire eyes lost focus for a moment as she scanned through her memories with her enhanced Sailor Mercury powers, focusing on a specific image of her mother. In that memory, Queen Amami had been dressed only in a loose blue robe, emerging from her chambers as a sleepy female voice called her back. As a child, Ami could not determine the owner of the voice, but now she was certain it was Meika visiting Mercury while her father was away on a diplomatic trip to Pluto. Sitting just above her mother's breasts, hanging from an intricate and ancient golden chain, Ami had spotted a perfectly round and flawless sapphire. "I think my mother wears the Keystone on a golden chain around her neck," the genius whispered. "It was a small, round flat stone the color of a sapphire with the symbol of Mercury carved into the surface. I only ever saw it once."

"My mother wears a lot of jewelry, but there is always this one golden chain that she never takes off," Minako murmured, Ami's description helping her identify the mystery necklace her mother had always worn. "I can't ever see what's on it because it always falls under her dress, but I think that it might be the Keystone, too."

Rei pushed herself to her feet, trying to remember if her mother wore a similar necklace. "If the Keystones could be removed, doesn't that mean we can put them back and reform our Planet Crystals? We can never access our full power otherwise."

"The galaxy will be consumed by Time and the Moon will fall to the Earth in a harvest of ruin when two planets combine," Haruka whispered in Plutonian, realizing for the first time the danger of knowing the true meaning of the Ancient Law. The four senshi turned back to their teacher, understanding her words and wondering at the strange translation of the Ancient Law. They had all known only the Mercurian Translation since they were children. "That's what it means when it references the full power of the planets. If two senshi combine their powers after taking their Keystones and reforming their Planet Crystals, the Silver Millennium will fall."

Rei narrowed her amethyst eyes, remembering Kazemaru arguing with Asakaze about the proper translation of the Law in the throne room of Venus only days earlier. "If we can recreate the crystals and gain the full power of our planets, we can stop the coming threat. If we can't surpass our mothers' powers, Saturn will rise and destroy everything."

"Is something coming? Is there a threat?"

Rei turned to Makoto and nodded, the senshi known for her premonitions informing her teammates that there was danger in their future. She and Minako had not found time to tell their partners about Haruka's true identity or her premonition, so it would have to be enough to hear it from Sailor Mars. "We must continue to train so that we are strong enough to face this threat. We have to protect the Silver Millennium as a team and prevent this darkness that might call Sailor Saturn."

Makoto reached out and took Rei's hand, Ami placing her hand on top of their linked fingers and Minako copying her actions. "We will be the greatest team of senshi the Silver Millennium has ever known," Makoto announced, smiling at her friends and partners. "We will defeat this evil you have seen."

"What are you thinking about?"

Makoto stared up at the Earth floating serenely overhead, sensing her girlfriend join her on the small porch to their empty suite, Serenity's private gardens stretching before her. Silently shaking her head, the green-haired woman just continued to stare at the planet overhead, desperate to ignore the fear filling her heart, fingers wrapped tightly around the smooth white wood of the railing in front of her. Ami stood behind Makoto and wrapped her arms around the Jovian's waist, offering her strength to the warrior.

"If we do what Rei wants . . . I'll lose you." Makoto's words, when they came, were almost a whisper, but the desperation in her voice was clear.

"I don't understand."

"The only reason the Queen turns a blind eye to our mothers being lovers is the fact that our planets are slumbering, as Kazemaru pointed out. If they wake, Sailor Pluto will force the queen to separate us."

"And if it's the only way to save the Silver Millennium?"

Makoto let her head fall, fists clenched tightly on the railing. Ami could feel the Jovian in her arms tremble with the force of the emotions she was trying to suppress. "I'm not logical, like you. I can't weigh our love against the lives of the people of this kingdom and just say 'I can give you up to save the Silver Millennium'. I'm a warrior, and I live by my instincts. I want to be with you forever. Even if it's the only way to save the Silver Millennium, I would suffer a pain worse than death every day without you, my love. We may have just met, but I need you."

Ami slipped around Makoto, squeezing in between the Jovian and the railing. Her sapphire eyes were filled with a passion that surprised her partner. Something passed between them, something that neither woman would ever be able to put into words, but they suddenly understood each other. "I need you, too," Ami whispered, pulling Makoto down into a bruising kiss, all of her shyness burned away by the power of Makoto's love. The princess of Jupiter wrapped her strong arms around the smaller woman, slowly backing away from the railing and toward the door leading into the palace.

Watching them from across the silent gardens, Minako and Rei sighed and hung their heads, handing their henshin sticks to a grinning Haruka. "You win," Mars grumbled. "I still don't know how you guessed it perfectly."

Haruka summoned her own henshin stick and began to juggle all three of them, devoting only a small portion of her attention to the act. "I told you that I have had lovers from almost every world and moon in this solar system. That part was never a lie."

"What planet is your favorite?"

Haruka tossed Minako's henshin stick at her, raising one eyebrow at the question. "As lovers, Venusians have a serious advantage. You're trained from childhood in the art of pleasure, so of course Venusians are the most experienced lovers. Martians have them beat in pure passion, but only a Jovian has ever had the stamina to be able to keep up with me. However, Mercurians' initially shy natures make them fun and I get hours of amusement out of how easily they blush."

"Yes, but which planet is your favorite?"

"Neptune," Haruka whispered contemplatively, tossing the Mars henshin stick back to its owner. "They're elegant and mature but they can be just as insatiably flirtatious and sexy as a Venusian." Minako smiled at that, raising one eyebrow as if to ask why Haruka would choose a Neptunian over all of the others. "Do you remember Princess Michiru from Serenity's Presentation? Something about her that day called to me, but I was too young to understand then. Now that I'm free of my father's court and his disapproval, all I want to do is travel to Neptune and meet her again."

Minako, seated beside Rei on the bench Haruka had become fond of, leaned into her girlfriend and nudged her conspiratorially. "Rei, could it be . . . love at first sight?" She spoke in Venusian, pretending that Haruka couldn't understand.

"She is certainly showing all of the classic signs," Rei mused, grinning at the outraged look on the Uranian's face.

"That's a Venusian fantasy," Haruka growled, narrowing her eyes at the pair of women seated across from her. "Love at first sight and soul mates are myths that belong on your planet, not mine. We just have desire and need."

"You have love, too," Minako whispered. "Just because you were born on Uranus doesn't mean you will be denied a soul mate and true love. Didn't you say in the narration of the Jupiter War of Unification that Uranus and Neptune were sent to quell the uprising because they were soul mates? Maybe Michiru is yours."

Haruka touched the Space Sword on her belt, considering the Venusian's words. "My mother said that I had to fight side-by-side with Sailor Neptune and that only Michiru and I can stop the coming darkness. If we are destined to fight something so terrible that it is calling Sailor Saturn, I would prefer not to fall in love with her just to lose her in this war. We soldiers of the outer planets don't have time for love when there is this kind of threat to the Silver Millennium."

"Don't you wish you did have time? Don't you want to be loved?" Haruka nodded, the turmoil in her mind clouding her emerald eyes until Minako reached out and took her hand. "Haruka, no matter what happens, we will always be your friends. Even if Saturn rises or everything is destroyed, you are our sister." When Serenity had told her two days earlier that the senshi would love her as a sister, Haruka had not wanted such a sentiment. Now, hearing it from Minako after seeing her mother and learning her destiny, the Uranian smiled and bowed her head.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Makoto woke with a start, struggling to hold onto the dream that had worried her, but it faded as her eyes opened. She groaned and rolled over, realizing that she was naked and there was another person in her bed. A pair of startled sapphire eyes stared back at the Jovian, a blush slowly spreading across Ami's cheeks. "Hi," she whispered as the Jovian smiled and ran her fingers through the smaller woman's dark blue hair.

"Hi yourself," Makoto replied, her memories from the night threatening to make her blush, as well. "Did you sleep well, Ami?"

The Mercurian giggled as she cuddled deeper into Makoto's arms. "You can ask that, after last night? Makoto, I don't think I've ever been happier in my life than I am right now." They looked up as someone knocked on the door to Makoto's room, reminding the pair that they were still at the palace with a training schedule and team mates that might walk in on them. Ami grinned as she sat up. "Maybe I will revise that last statement. I'd be happier without interruptions."

"We let you sleep as long as we could," an overly familiar husky voice replied from the other side of the door. "You'll miss breakfast if you don't hurry, and you'll need all of your strength for training today."

"We'll be out in a minute," Makoto replied, slipping out of the bed and gathering the clothes she had thrown on the floor the night before. She sensed Ami watching her as she walked across the room to her closet so she turned back to the bed, surprised to see that the Mercurian's eyes were full of lust. "Ami, we don't have time for that right now."

"Too bad," Ami purred, slipping from the bed and gathering her own clothes. She slipped her dress on, her eyes never leaving the frozen Jovian. "Do I at least get a good morning kiss?"

Her words broke Makoto free of her trance, the Jovian crossing the room in two strides and wrapping one strong arm around Ami's waist. "Good morning," she whispered, threading the fingers of her free hand through her lover's dark blue hair as their lips met.

"Hey! Will you two stop kissing and get dressed already? Rei and Minako have the good sense to come out of their room in the morning!"

Makoto growled and pulled away from her girlfriend, walking back over to her closet and choosing a dress. "How does he know?"

Ami shrugged as she sat down at Makoto's dressing table and ran a brush through her hair. "Kazemaru seems to know things he shouldn't. There is something odd about him, about the way I am so comfortable around him. Despite the fact that his flirting made me a little uncomfortable the first day we were here, I trust him. I wish I knew why."

Kazemaru, Rei, and Minako were sitting on the largest couch when Ami and Makoto emerged from their room. The Martian, sandwiched between the Uranian and Venusian, crossed her arms and narrowed her amethyst eyes. "Took you long enough. Minako's stomach is growling loudly enough to frighten the Martian Army." A gentle smile spread across her face as she rose to her feet. "I'm happy for both of you." She turned and helped Minako stand, the blonde leading her fellow senshi out of the suite. Kazemaru fell into step directly behind Rei, the Martian entirely unconcerned with his presence in her blind spot. Ami grabbed Makoto's hand and held the Jovian back, her sapphire eyes concerned.

"Makoto, did you notice? Rei didn't even care that Kazemaru was walking just behind her. Martians never trust people to walk in their shadow, but she didn't care in the least. The three of them . . . they've become closer almost overnight. Who is he that they suddenly trust him so much?"

"Who is he that I trust him so much?" Makoto murmured, following her team mates to the small dining hall where they ate when the Queen wasn't present. "We need to figure him out, Ami."

"Did you have a good night?"

Makoto couldn't help but blush at Haruka's question, the Uranian tightening the laces of her leather boots as the Jovian checked her bracers. Even though they would spend most of the day in senshi form, their teacher had insisted that they each wear appropriate armor in their civilian forms. "You told me that Mercurians are shy, but Ami was anything but last night. And she was very . . . forward this morning."

"They're shy when they're virgins, but after that they tend to pick up on their partner's level of sexuality. Ami's cousin Lilia probably had many off-world lovers before you met her. Whatever you said to Ami on the balcony last night pushed her over the edge. She's completely at ease with you now, so she won't need to hide behind that famous Mercurian modesty anymore. You two make a good pair."

Makoto watched the Uranian rise, remembering that she was supposed to be suspicious of the older warrior. "Who are you?"

"The teacher you need, the Perfect Wind to push you in the right direction, and your friend." Haruka left the barracks, a grumbling Jovian in her wake.

"I didn't ask for a riddle or the meaning of your name." She would get a straight answer out of Kazemaru if it took her the rest of the day.

"It's easy enough to summon your power in your transformed state, but sometimes you might need your elemental strength in your civilian form. I want you all to summon a small amount of your element now."

Rei managed to form a fireball almost instantly, smiling as she let the small flame play across her hand. Ami, eyebrows furrowed, created a sphere of water next, turning it into ice and back to water as Haruka look on in approval. Makoto grinned as she balanced a ball of lighting in her palm, turning to Minako as the blonde leader of the Inner Senshi surrounded herself in a shower of golden light. Clearly, she would never have a problem summoning her power in her civilian form.

As soon as Haruka was satisfied with their abilities in civilian form, she had them all transform and practice destroying target dummies. The four senshi demonstrating their powers began to draw a crowd of nobles and servants, all of them eager to see the strength of the new guardians of the Sol System. Fire, lightning, ice, and light tore through the dummies, destroying the ground around them and creating quite a show for the watchers. Haruka grinned as she watched the senshi release their elemental strength without worry, drawing on the power of their planets to fuel their attacks.

"It looks like fun."

"It's practicing for war, Princess," Haruka replied, somehow not surprised to find young Serenity suddenly at her side. "Do you want to die so badly that you would be part of the coming battle?"

"I want the power to protect the ones I love."

"You don't have to be a warrior to have that." Haruka glanced down at the blonde by her side, sighing as she remembered the princess's request the night she arrived on the Moon. "It's time to go, isn't it?"

"We won't be gone long."

"I'll tell the senshi." Haruka walked to the edge of the field as the senshi took a short break, wind gusting around her. Mars and Venus looked up first, their attentive stance alerting Jupiter and Mercury to their teacher's presence. "You are all doing well. I have to go for a while on a mission for the Princess, but I'll return this afternoon. Until then, you should keep practicing."

"Who are you?" Jupiter fired her question at Haruka's back as the blonde returned to Princess Serenity's side. She would not be satisfied if the Uranian avoided answering her question again.

Haruka shrugged and waved one hand nonchalantly over her shoulder. "I'll tell you when I return."

"What is this place?"

Serenity shrugged, adjusting her dress nervously as she led Haruka into the small room. "Generations ago, Sailor Pluto had a series of transporters built on every planet so the queens could send their heirs away in times of emergency. We haven't had a war in a very long time, so these have been mostly forgotten. I found this one and programmed it to send me somewhere I could never take a ship."

"Where?"

"Just stand here with me and I'll show you." Haruka groaned at the innocent glance the princess shot her, knowing that those pale blue eyes were hiding something. Crossing her arms over her chest, Haruka stepped up onto the transporter platform beside Serenity, watching the princess type a command into the console at her side. An instant later, the pair of blondes disappeared.

AN: The story is moving pretty fast right now, so here's a super special Tuesday morning edition! There should be another chapter this weekend. I'm half asleep, though, so I don't have time to do review responses. Those will come next chapter! I was hoping to make it to Neptune this chapter, but some of the explanation between Haruka, Minako, and Rei and especially the Tactics class took much longer than I thought they would. Neptune is next chapter, for sure.