"Time Twister" Author's Notes

   This story is written with the assumption that the reader has seen or
read scripts/synopses for the following episodes: "A Friend in Wolf's
Clothing", "Jupiter Comes Thundering In", and "Trouble Comes Thundering
Down" [episodes #24, #25, and #64 of the Japanese series, respectively].
There are important scenes in this story which are found in those
episodes. This storyline is based in the North American Sailor Moon
universe [Zoisite is a woman, the Negaverse is the Negaverse, not the
Dark Kingdom, etc.], except that Rei's and Zoisite's names are spelled
according to the Japanese episodes.
  I would like to thank Nikki "Jetwolf" Purvis for extensive advice,
research, fact-checking and posting this whole thing up for me; DiC for
bringing Sailor Moon to North America [without which I might never have
seen it]; Mark "Professor Chronos" Sprague for help in translation; and
the following for their pre-views of the story: Mark Sprague, Belial,
Jessica Krewe, Kawaii Tenshi, Novareinna, and UPN Mulder.
  Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters contained within this work
are the copyright of Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, Kodansya and
probably lots of other big people I'm forgetting. I am using them
without permission, but suing me because of it would be futile as I have
nothing. Feel free to distribute this work around (for no profit, of
course; I'm not making any...), as long the included text is unmodified.
If you publish or repost it somewhere, please let me know.
  Comments, criticism, flames, etc. welcomed (and, in fact, requested)
at Ultrace@aol.com.

Author's Rating: PG-13



Time Twister
A Sailor Moon fanfic by Mike Chenoweth [Ultrace@aol.com]
Part 1:  Neflyte Resurrected
July, 1996


   Rini was cold, wet, and scared.
   "Please, Luna Ball... Can I go home to my mommy now?" she asked,
hopefully.
   "No, not yet."
   Rini moaned. "But I wanna use this key now to go back to her."
   "Rini, you must be very, very cautious using the Time Travel Key.
You know that."
   "But why?" Rini protested. "I wanna go home!"
   "Too dangerous. I know you're awfully young, but you've got to be
brave, little one. To save your Mom's life, we have to find the Silver
Crystal. I'm sorry, Rini, but you can't leave there till you find it.
You're a good girl, Rini. Don't worry, everything will be okay."
   "No. No!" Rini yelled, but the Luna Ball was silent now.
   The storm around her worsened. More bolts of lightning arced through
the air. She ran, terrified, but there was nowhere safe for her to run.
   She clutched the small gold key in her hand.
   "Take me back!" she yelled.
   Threads of light shot out from the key. Things nearby began to float.
A pulse of light flared for a fraction of a second, and disappeared.
   The key did not take her back.
   Something had gone wrong.

                            ------------------

   Molly felt wonderful and terrible at the same time.
   She was being carried in Neflyte's arms, away from the three youma
who had kidnapped her as bait for Neflyte. He'd shown up and saved
her--he really did care for her, her dreams had come true.
   But to get to Molly, he'd had to fight all three of them. When she
saw the cut on his left arm, she had become worried. It was bleeding.
   She took a look at it after he put her down.
   "I'm okay," Neflyte told her.
   "No Neflyte, you got that cut because of me," she said. "Those evil
creatures might come back. Come on, this way."
   She led him by his other arm into a wooded section of the park. He
followed without protest.
   "Now, take off your jacket," she said as he sat down against a tree.
   She could see, as he was taking it off, that the jacket was too dirty
to use any part of it as a bandage.
   Molly looked down at her blouse. She bit into it, ripping off a
couple of strips that she used to begin wrapping Neflyte's arm. When
she'd finished, he flexed it. "Thanks, Molly," Neflyte said.
   Molly sat down next to him and looked out into the trees. She told
him about the great chocolate parfaits they served at the cafe downtown
that would be much better if he had one of them with her.  To her
surprise, he had agreed.
   They stared at each other for a few moments. Anxious to break the
silence, Molly asked if there were any holidays in the evil society he
came from.
   Neflyte looked at her for a few seconds, then chuckled. He began to
laugh.
   "Neflyte, you're actually laughing..."
   Molly couldn't resist, and soon she was laughing hysterically as
well. "Hey, it's funny," she said, "I'm laughing and crying too!"
   It was only a second later that Molly heard something off to the side
of them. She turned to look and saw that the youma had caught up with
them.
   "Neflyte! Look out!" she yelled, pushing him aside right before the
thorns extending from one of the youma's arms thrust through her
shoulder.
   "Molly!"

   Neflyte managed to overcome his surprise at the attack quickly enough
to realize that if he had any hope of saving Molly's life, he had to be
fast. The shock seemed to have knocked Molly out.
   The youma retracted her arm, leaving a gaping hole in Molly's
shoulder. "Too bad, girl. That stupid move is going to cost you your
life, and we're still going to get Neflyte!"
   "You're going to die!" Neflyte yelled, not bothering to hold back his
anger. He lunged at her, the sword that he had used earlier reappearing
in his hand. Again, she was too slow to move, but this time, he didn't
stop short.
   He cut her head off.
   Even before her body fell to the ground and turned to dust, he was
after the others. The one in green and white tried to disorient him with
her vertigo powers, but he was already heading right at her. He was
dazed, but felt the blade of the sword shoot through her stomach,
accompanied by an ear-piercing screech.
   The third of them had fired a volley of small bombs at him. They hit
before he had a chance to draw the sword out of the second. It hurt, but
he wasn't about to be stopped. The smoke from the bombs was obscuring
his vision, but he had an idea of where she was.
   Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars came into the wooded
area unnoticed.
   Neflyte charged, using his body as a weapon instead of the sword.  It
worked, knocking the youma several feet back and giving him just the
room he needed to swing down on her.
   The entire fight took less than thirty seconds.
   "Molly!" Neflyte yelled again, running over to her. He didn't have
nearly enough energy to heal a wound like the one in her shoulder.  He
noticed Sailor Moon and the others. "Sailor Moon... Help me!"
   "Molly!" Serena screamed when she saw the unconscious body. The
Sailor Scouts ran over to where Molly lay.
   "This is serious!" Amy said. "She'll bleed to death unless we get her
to a hospital right away!"
   "A hospital. Of course!" Neflyte said. He did have enough
energy--barely--to teleport with Molly... Before anyone could react, he
disappeared with her body.
   "No, wait!" Serena yelled, even though she knew it was too late.
"Tell me where you're going... There are a dozen hospitals in the city!"
   "Maybe we can get to a phone and call the hospitals--see which one he
takes her to," Rei said.
   "It's all we can do," Amy agreed.

   Neflyte awoke with a start. He couldn't remember falling asleep, only
teleporting right to the hospital and yelling for someone to help Molly.
The staff convinced him to remain in the waiting room and got some vital
information from him. After that, he must have sat down and passed out.
   Having fought the three youma twice, he had been in no shape to take
Molly anywhere, but he didn't have a choice. At least, he was feeling
better now.
   He grabbed a passing nurse. "Excuse me, I brought someone here
earlier. Her name is Molly Baker..."
   She noticed his concern. "I'll see how she's doing."
   It took a minute for a doctor to approach him. "Mr... Stanton?"
   "Yes."
   "The girl you brought in earlier, Molly... She was in surgery for the
past three hours. Her wound was large, but fortunately it wasn't in a
vital location. She lost a lot of blood, though, and she's in a
unconscious state. It will probably be a few days before she regains
consciousness. We're keeping her in ICU for the time being. "
   "I need to see her."
   "I'm afraid not... Not yet, at least. You've done all you can for
her. You don't look too good yourself. I'll get one of the nurses to
check you in and we can see to that arm and the rest of you."
   "That won't be necessary. I'm alright."
   "As you wish." The doctor walked off. Neflyte studied him as he
walked away.
   `I have to see her,' Neflyte thought. He left the waiting area and
found a hospital directory in one of the halls. With his restored
energy, he teleported into the Intensive Care Unit.
   Serena, Rei, and Amy had been standing down the hall, but they didn't
recognize him.

   "It's all my fault," Serena said for the tenth time. She was
crying--she had been ever since she arrived and heard about Molly.
   "If only I could've convinced her about Neflyte..."
   "You did what you could," Rei said, trying to be comforting, "but
Molly is in love with him. She wouldn't have listened."
   Serena's continual wailing was getting on her nerves, but she
couldn't help but sympathize.
   "I should've made her listen! If I ever see Neflyte again..."
   "We don't know what happened," Amy said. "Neflyte seemed as concerned
as any of us."
   "How can you say that? This all happened because of him!"
   "Serena, we can't do Molly any good here right now," Luna said,
"Perhaps, we should all go home and get some rest. We can come back
tomorrow, and I'm sure we'll be contacted if Molly's condition changes."
   "Maybe you're right, Luna," Serena said. She didn't sleep well that
night.

   Neflyte knelt down beside Molly's still body. She was pale, but apart
from that, she looked the same... Pretty.
   "I'm sorry I let this happen to you," he said.
   "You may not be able to hear me, but I have some things I need to
tell you anyway. You know that I've lied to you since we first met, but
there was one thing I told you that turned out to be true.
   "It took me until tonight to understand, but you really did teach me
what love is, Molly. All my life, I've fought for the Negaverse, never
knowing how much it could hurt to lose someone that mattered.  I never
had anyone that meant anything to me. Now I do, but I could lose you,
and all for this little crystal."
   He held up the Star Crystal. It glowed faintly when he brought it
near her. He suddenly wished that he'd never laid eyes on it.
   "All for this Star Crystal that I was using to find the Silver
Crystal..." he said to himself and paused.
   "...the Silver Moon Crystal that was..."
   It all made sense now: why the Star Crystal reacted to Molly and
nothing else. It didn't matter, though.
   "I'm going to get the one who's responsible for this. I love you,
Molly."
   He bent over to touch his lips to hers, but there was an air tube in
her mouth so he kissed her on the forehead gently instead. Then he left
the hospital.

   The next day, Serena, Amy, and Rei all met at the hospital.
   "Molly's doing much better," one of the doctors told them. "She began
steadily improving last night. If this continues, we can expect her to
awaken within the next couple of days. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have
some other patients to attend to."
   "Thanks!" Serena said, immensely uplifted.
   "Looks like she'll be okay after all," Amy told her.
   "Serena," someone said from behind. The three of them turned around.
It was Neflyte standing there in a fresh uniform.
   "Neflyte!" she yelled, taking a step toward him. "You've got some
nerve, showing up here..."
   "You're right," he said.
   "Wh-huh?" she asked, completely taken off guard.
   "If it hadn't been for my own greed, this wouldn't have happened to
Molly. I used her when all she wanted was my love. That was wrong, and I
don't expect anyone to forgive me. I've been nothing but trouble for
her. You were right about me. She should have listened to you."
   Serena was speechless.
   "But I didn't come here to discuss the past. Here." He handed her two
labeled envelopes.
   "What's this?" she asked.
   "I won't fight for the Negaverse any longer," Neflyte told her. "I
want to help protect Molly and people like her. But first, I have a
score to settle. A woman named Zoisite was responsible for what happened
to Molly, and I intend to make her pay. If I don't make it back, give
this envelope to Molly, and the other... To Sailor Moon."
   Serena smiled a little. Neflyte didn't know that Rei and Amy were
Sailor Scouts. He was keeping her identity a secret after all.
   "Serena?" a woman asked, walking up to them.
   "Hi, Mrs. Baker," Serena said.
   "I'm glad to see you," Mrs. Baker said, "Molly will be happy to know
you were here for her."
   Mrs. Baker looked like she had been at the hospital through night and
into the next day.
   "She's getting better!" Serena said with a smile. Mrs. Baker smiled
back.
   Neflyte had been just staring the entire time. "Mrs... Baker? You're
Molly's mother?"
   "Yes. Are you one of Molly's friends?" Mrs. Baker asked. The stranger
seemed a little old to be a friend of Molly's, she thought.
   "Yes, I am. You have a wonderful daughter, Mrs. Baker. You should be
proud of her..." He started to walk away.
   Serena couldn't believe it. It sounded like Neflyte was about to cry.
   "Is he alright?" Mrs. Baker asked, watching him leave.
   Rei smiled. "I think so. Now."

   Serena ran to catch up with Neflyte.
   "What is it?" he asked.
   "I just wanted you to know, I was wrong about you. I didn't think you
could change, but you did. I've never been so happy to be wrong, and I'm
wrong a lot..."
   Neflyte almost smiled. "Take care of Molly while I'm gone."
   "I will. Er, good luck."
   "Thanks."
   Serena watched him walk out of the hospital and disappear.

   Zoisite was in the cavernous underground she called home, deciding
what to do, when Neflyte appeared. Though she knew it was only a matter
of time before he arrived, she didn't expect it to be so soon.
   She wouldn't let him know that, of course. "Well, well. It's about
time you showed up. I thought I might have to send someone out to get
you," she laughed.
   "You failed, Zoisite," he said. "You failed to get the Star Crystal
or to eliminate me."
   "I'm about to correct both of those mistakes."
   He held up the Star Crystal. "It's this you wanted, wasn't it?"
   He squeezed the Star Crystal between his finger and thumb. It
shattered, just like Zoisite's expression.
   "All that effort over a useless crystal."
   "What are you talking about?" Zoisite demanded.
   "You don't know, do you...? There is no Silver Crystal. Beryl has had
us searching for something that doesn't exist."
   Even Zoisite's confidence couldn't mask her surprise. "What?"
   "Centuries ago, when Metallia and Beryl originally dominated the
Earth, their seven greatest warriors were imprisoned in the Silver
Crystal, and somehow, it shattered into fragments that were sent to
Earth.
   "The Star Crystal was made to find the Silver Crystal, which doesn't
exist as a whole, only as those fragments. I must have somehow guided it
to Molly without realizing it. Perhaps I loved her then and didn't know
it."
   "You're pathetic, Neflyte. Falling for a human like that."
   "I thought you might understand, since you have Malachite, but I
guess not."
   The sword appeared in his hand. "Enough talking. This is for Molly!"
   He leaped.
   Zoisite held out her arm. "Zoi!"
   A wave of force knocked him back.
   "Did you think I'd stand there and let you cut me apart like those
stupid women?" she asked, with a laugh. Her own sword appeared in her
hand. It was thinner than his, and slightly curved. "Good-bye, Neflyte."

   "What do you think it means?" Serena asked.
   She'd felt compelled to open the letter Neflyte gave her almost
immediately after she returned to the others. It only had two sentences
written: "Find an entrance to the Negaverse's base at the D-Point of the
North Pole. Be prepared."
   "Looks like he wants to make sure he helps us, even if he doesn't
come back," Rei said.
   "It could be a trick," Luna told them. "After all, he is from the
Negaverse. Some things never change."
   "No way, Luna," Serena said. "He's totally different now. If you'd
seen him, you'd know. He's been won over by the power of love..."
   Before she could get carried away, Rei interrupted. "I didn't sense
anything wrong about him... But what did he mean by 'Be prepared'? Be
prepared for what?"
   "It could mean that we shouldn't go after them until we're sure we're
ready. There are probably people much more powerful than Jadeite or
Neflyte inside of the Negaverse base," Amy said.
   "I don't think we're ready..." Serena said.
   "Of course not! We still have to find the Moon Princess!" Luna
reminded her.

   Neflyte staggered back against the wall of the cavern, clutching at
his ribs. The fight was not going well.
   "A pity, Neflyte, you're too weak. If you'd regained more of your
strength first, you might have had a chance."
   Despite a slash across her arm and another in her shoulder, Zoisite
had come out on the better end, managing to reopen the wound on
Neflyte's arm and get a short stab at his stomach. She was faster--and
with his current wounds, stronger--than he was.
   `Looks like I won't be having a chocolate parfait after all' he
thought. His mind raced to come up with a way out of the situation.
   "Now, I'll just have to get rid of you," she continued. "You see, we
don't tolerate traitors."
   "A simple question, before you finish me off... What would you do if
Beryl asked you to kill Malachite?"
   "What?"
   He grasped his sword with both hands and swung it wide. Zoisite
raised her own sword in defense, which was exactly what he wanted. He
was aiming right for it, and knocked it out of her hand. She stumbled
backwards.
   "Damn!"
   "You were always... Too easily distracted," he said, raising his
sword for the kill.
   "No!" came Malachite's voice from behind him.
   Neflyte saw the crescent-shaped blade heading for him, as his head
turned. To avoid it, he dropped to the floor--not a difficult task in
his current condition. The blade embedded itself in Zoisite's chest.
   It was the best opportunity Neflyte had to get out. If Zoisite lived,
he could return another time. He teleported--barely--back to the safest
place he could think of.
   "Zoisite!" Malachite cried, going to her. He carefully pulled out the
blade and tossed it aside, but its damage had been done.
   "I wouldn't kill you... Even if it cost me my own life," she said.
   "Zoisite... I'm so sorry..." There wasn't anything else he could
think of.
   "Hold me," she said. Malachite cradled her in his arms. "And promise
me you won't forget me... Please..."
   "Never."
   Zoisite closed her eyes and dissipated into energy, leaving behind
only a few handfuls of flower petals.
   Malachite was silent in his mourning.

                            ------------------

   It was two days before Molly woke up. Neflyte and Mrs. Baker were
there for both of them, as was Serena.
   Neflyte had recovered completely from all of his recent battles
within the two days. He no longer appeared in his uniform and was
instead wearing clothes that belonged to Maxfield Stanton.
   Although Serena and Mrs. Baker were both anxious to visit and talk to
Molly, Neflyte eventually got a few minutes alone with her.
   "I'm sorry about everything that's happened," he told her. "If you
don't want me to be around anymore..."
   "Don't be silly, I'm just happy you're here. I remember your voice,
telling me you were going somewhere. I thought you might not come
back..."
   "Going?" he asked. "I'm not going anywhere, now."
   "I'm glad."
   They both smiled at each other.



Time Twister
Part 2:  The Storm Dispersed

   "Malachite, report!"
   The voice belonged to Queen Beryl. She was the unquestioned ruler of
the Negaverse, and she was not happy.
   "Yes, my Queen," Malachite said, coming forth from the crowd.
   "Do you want to explain to me why you allowed Zoisite to be killed?"
   "It was my mistake. I thought she was capable of defeating Neflyte,"
he said. It had only been the day before; it still hurt him to think of
Zoisite, and how he had been tricked into giving the killing blow.
   "Do not make such a mistake with yourself in the future," Queen Beryl
scolded. "I have an important task for you. Take this black crystal.
With it, you will be able to track down the seven Rainbow Crystals."
   "Regarding Neflyte..." Malachite said, with venom. "I would like to
get rid of him."
   "You may go after him if you wish--once you bring me the seven
Rainbow Crystals. They are the priority, not your revenge."
   Malachite gritted his teeth, but only for a moment. "Yes, my Queen.
I'll go retrieve the first crystal without delay."
   "See that you do."
   Malachite teleported out of the throne room. Queen Beryl sat back and
peered thoughtfully into her pulsating crystal ball. Neflyte was more
powerful than she had imagined, perhaps even as powerful as Malachite.
She had to have the Rainbow Crystals before they met again.
   Once she had the crystals, she wouldn't need anyone...

   Lita's day at her new school had not been that great. Not that she
expected it to be, but there was always the chance that someone she met
at school wouldn't have heard of her reputation as the "Karate Maniac."
So far, though, all the students had.
   To top it off, they didn't have any school uniforms that fit her, and
it would be weeks, if ever, before they could get some, so she had to
wear the one from her old school. If she didn't stand out like a sore
thumb before, she sure did now.
   She couldn't remember the last time she didn't feel much like eating
at lunch.
   Someone was behind her. She whipped her head around.
   "What do you want?" she snapped.
   "Nothing, just walking by!" the girl said with a startled laugh.
   "You're the girl I met on the way to school today, right?" she asked,
sounding much more friendly--here finally was someone who didn't stay
twenty feet away in fear.
   "Oh, you remember that, huh?"
   Lita moved over on the curb. "Here, have a seat."
   The girl sat down next to her. "Is it true you were kicked out of
your old school for fighting?"
   Lita hesitated. At least she hadn't been called the Karate Maniac...
Yet.
   "Well... Sort of. You want some of my homemade muffins?" she asked,
quick to change the subject.
   "Yeah!" the girl said, eyes widening. "I mean... I don't usually eat
sweets, but if you insist..." She grabbed a muffin and bit into it.
"Chocolate chip, too!" She made a not-at-all concealed "Mmmmmmm" sound.
   "Thanks, I made them myself. Usually, I'm really hungry and I eat a
ton, but everyone's been so mean, I lost my appetite."
   "That's 'cuz they're scared of you."
   Lita looked at her in mock surprise.
   "I mean, they're scared of your reputation."
   "Oh?"
   "There's a pro report on you already. Word gets around fast in this
place," the girl said, preparing to finish off her muffin.
   "Oh, well, maybe I should transfer to a foreign school..."
   "Are you crazy? What for? You're the mysterious new girl."
   "You mean the Karate Maniac?" Lita asked, sarcastically.
   "Who called you that...?"

   The Black Crystal worked like a charm, showing Malachite the first of
the bearers of the Rainbow Crystals. He was a normal-looking boy, but
inside him was the crystal that would unleash one of the seven shadows.
   His best chance of getting the crystal without any interference was
to take his prey alone and in a secluded spot. The boy had obliged him
by leaving the gaming center and entering an alleyway.
   Malachite appeared in front of him.
   "What do you want?" the boy asked.
   "The darkness inside of you," Malachite said.
   "I don't want any trouble. Just let me get by."
   Malachite tossed out the spinning Black Crystal, which hovered in the
air a few feet away.
   The boy dropped his bags and began howling in pain, frozen in place
by the Black Crystal. Malachite could see the Rainbow Crystal in the
boy's chest, just waiting to come out.
   Someone interrupted them. "What's going on here?"
   "None of your concern," Malachite told the brown-haired girl. His
concentration broken, the Black Crystal had returned to his hand and the
boy fell to the ground.
   "Leave him alone," she said, "if you know what's good for you!" She
ran in front of the boy.
   Malachite was in no mood for intrusions. "Leave now or be destroyed,"
he growled.
   "I don't think so!" she shouted, running up and attacking him. She
was swift and skillful, to be sure, but she was only human. He easily
stepped out of the way of her attacks.
   "You will not interfere!" he said, preparing to knock her to one
side.
   "Shut up!" she yelled, throwing a few more punches. Suddenly she took
off her earring and threw it at him. He dodged it as effortlessly as the
rest of her assault but moved right into one of her punches.
   It hurt. Malachite was first stunned, then outraged. "You dare strike
me?"
   He raised his hand to her. Lita was thrown backwards thirty feet into
one of the concrete walls of the alley and fell to the ground like a
doll.
   Malachite released the Black Crystal again. Within seconds, the
Rainbow Crystal had left the boy's body and was in his hand. If they all
were gained so easily, he wouldn't have to wait long for revenge.
   "Drop that crystal!"
   It was Sailor Moon coming to the rescue. She felt very strange for a
few moments, sort of a cold chill running through her.
   Malachite knew the voice. "Sailor Moon..." He said, looking up.  "You
are too late." He teleported away.
   On the ground, the boy, Joe, was having difficulties. He was
twitching and still moaning in pain. Before Sailor Moon could go to him,
a whirlwind whipped up around, covering him. When it disappeared, Joe
was gone and a monster had taken his place.
   "I'm Game Machine Man, champion of the Negaverse!" he yelled. "Time
to play, Sailor Girl, the game's about to start!"
   From his arm sprang a huge spiked hammer. He whirled it around,
attempting to smash Sailor Moon. Despite her innate lack of grace, she
was able to avoid the swinging of the weapon.
   Game Machine Man wasn't finished yet. The hammer disappeared and in
its place was a huge vise-trap. He fired it and snagged Sailor Moon. "No
bonus round for you, loser! Round two comin' at ya!"
   The grip was strong and squeezing tighter every moment. Sailor Moon
was beginning to be crushed. "Someone help!" she cried.
   "Mars Fire... Ignite!"
   From the same overpass that Sailor Moon had dropped down from came
Sailor Mars' blast of flames. Game Machine Man's trap arm shattered into
pieces.
   "Augh! My circuits!" he yelled, falling backwards.
   "You whipped him just like that?" Serena asked as Rei ran down to
meet her. Amy was close behind.
   "Well, someone has to save your butt," Rei told her.
   "He's not beaten yet, Sailor Scouts," Luna said. "The only possible
way you can stop him is by making him human again."
   "How are we supposed to do that??" Serena asked, in disbelief.
   Just as Game Machine Man was getting up, Luna did a backflip in the
air. Some sort of stick fell into Serena's hands.
   "Wow, what's this, Luna?" Serena asked.
   "It's the Crescent Moon Wand," Luna said. "Take it and say `Moon
Healing Activation!'"
   Serena did as she was told. Waves of sparkling dust surrounded Game
Machine Man, who reverted back to Game Machine Joe, and passed out.
   "Wow, cool," Serena said.
   "Where's Amy?" Rei asked, looking around.
   The three of them found her in the corner of the alley, with someone
else who had been injured. Amy was bent over the person.
   "It's Lita!" Serena said, as they got closer.
   Amy stood up, shaking her head. "She's..."
   Serena stopped walking and simply stood there for a few seconds.
   "No. Lita... No!" She suddenly ran past them, pushing Amy to one
side, and shaking Lita's body as if she could bring life back to it.
She burst into tears--she didn't know why and she didn't care.

   It took them half an hour to control Serena's hysterics. Even then,
she wasn't making any sense at all.
   "She's gone... Jupiter... She's gone..."
   They were back at the temple. Serena was sitting in a chair, with Rei
next to her. Amy was standing off to the side, holding Luna.
   "What's she talking about, Luna?" Amy asked.
   "I'm not really sure," Luna said, "but I think Lita might have been a
Sailor Scout."
   Rei looked at her. "What?"
   Luna hopped out of Amy's arms and into another chair. "None of you
were ready to know this... But now it could be more dangerous for you
not to know.
   "Long ago, a kingdom existed on the Moon as well as on the Earth.
The people of those kingdoms had kept peace with each other. There was
always the chance of war, though, so both kingdoms had great warriors.
The greatest warriors of the Moon Kingdom were the Sailor Scouts."
   "The Negaverse corrupted the Earth and its people waged war against
the Moon Kingdom. The Sailor Scouts fought bravely, but the Negaverse
was too powerful. Before the Moon Kingdom was destroyed, the Queen of
the Moon used the Silver Moon Crystal to imprison the Negaverse and send
the inhabitants of the Moon to Earth, where they were reborn without any
memory of what happened. The Queen made sure that I kept some of my
memories, so that if the Negaverse should reawaken, I could seek out the
Sailor Scouts."
   Rei was confused. "What does all this have to do with Lita?"
   "It looks as though Lita was a Sailor Scout long ago. I sensed a
powerful force about her when we first met, but didn't realize what it
was.
   "Serena must have had a stronger bond to her than the rest of you
did. When Lita... died, it seems to somehow have triggered those
memories in her.
   Luna looked at Serena, sitting there in a complete stupor. "She
wasn't ready for this..." She said, sadly.
   "Will she be okay?" Amy asked.

                            ------------------

   Serena was sitting in a field that stretched as far as she could see.
It was full of flowers. Dozens of kinds and colors. Everything was
beautiful and peaceful and quiet.
   Just Serena and the flowers. There was no Sailor Moon. No Negaverse.
No one who needed saving.
   Only Serena and the flowers--and someone else. A woman. A cold woman,
full of anger and sadness that Serena could feel.
   The woman was talking to her, spitting out her name with disgust,
seething with rage.
   Serena picked up one of the daisies and smelled it, a wonderful
fragrance flowing through her. Its petals looked especially beautiful in
the sunlight.
   Time was passing very, very slowly.
   The woman was screaming at her, fists clenched in hate.
   Someone else was there now, standing between Serena and the woman.
It was a girl, a friend. Serena felt better with her around.
   The woman spoke again, this time to the girl. Serena grabbed some of
the red flowers. She didn't know what they were, but they looked very
nice.
   She was being hugged now, squeezed tightly by the girl. She felt even
safer.
   Something else was happening. The woman was attacking the girl,
making her cry out in pain. It must have been a dream. No one would
fight here.
   Everything looked so pretty.
   The girl continued to cry out, each time more than the last. She
finally fell down next to Serena. Her voice was filled with sorrow and
regret. "Serena..."
   She disappeared. Serena was alone again, with the flowers, the woman,
and something the girl had dropped. She looked down at it. It was a very
small rose, shining in the sun.
   Time slowed to a crawl.
   A rose...
   The woman was talking to her once more, but Serena couldn't hear her.
She couldn't feel the anger and hate any more. She wasn't afraid.
   A rose...
   She reached over and picked it up, feeling the warm, friendly touch.
"Lita!" she cried.
   Everything shattered--the flowers, the field, the woman. Everything
but Serena and the rose.

                            ------------------

   Serena stood up so suddenly she made Rei jump. "Hey, watch it!"
   Serena didn't respond. She just walked out of the temple.
   "Serena? Where are you going?" Amy asked.
   There was no answer.
   "She's probably still in shock," Luna said. "We'd better go along."
   The three of them followed her to the alleyway. Serena didn't seem to
notice they were there. She was looking for something. It was several
minutes--and several unanswered questions from the others--before she
found it.
   An earring shaped like a rose. She held it in her hand, along with
the one just like it she'd found in the field.
   "Lita... I won't forget..."



Time Twister
Part 3:  Seasonal Eras

   Setsuna could feel it as soon she had cut the connection from the
Luna Ball to Rini. Rini had not listened to her, and was trying to come
back. Setsuna couldn't let her. Whether Queen Serenity lived or died all
depended on Rini retrieving the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal--and only
she could. Setsuna loved her almost as if Rini were her own daughter,
but as the Guardian of Time itself, one of the most painful things she'd
had to learn was the sense of true perspective.  The future of Crystal
Tokyo had to be placed above a young girl's happiness.
   Gripping her staff with both hands, Setsuna concentrated on blocking
the Key. She wasn't sure if she could. All of her knowledge and then
some had gone into its creation. It was made to resist just such
attempts at stopping or perverting its use. The fail-safe had been that
without guidance from Setsuna, no one but Rini could ever use it.
   Rini was pouring too much energy into the Key. If one of them didn't
give up, it might overload or worse, and anything could happen.  Setsuna
released her staff and let the Key go into effect. She would have to
allow Rini to return and hope for another way to get back the Crystal.
   Then she saw the images that told her the Key had already
malfunctioned.

                            ------------------

   Amy was sitting in the library, attempting to translate some sort of
ancient text. It was the common writing form used by the inhabitants of
the Negaverse. The samples she was working with had been taken over nine
hundred years previous. When she found the samples, she welcomed them as
a break from her current major project, which was to create a powerful
device for Princess Rini.
   It was no surprise that she hadn't come across them sooner. The
library took up an entire floor of the palace which was the smallest Amy
would let Serenity and Darien make it when the place was built.  She
couldn't walk from one end to the other in less than five minutes.
   "Amy," Setsuna said, from behind her, breaking the absolute silence.
Amy jumped out of her chair, screaming. The pen in her hand scraped
across one of her papers.
   "I told you not to do that!" she yelled. One of the samples had been
ripped, rendering a considerable portion of text unreadable.  That
angered her more than anything else.
   "There is no time, Amy," Setsuna said, "Something is wrong with the
Key."
   "I'm not even done with it yet," Amy said.
   "You will be. We must change our plans--the Key cannot be allowed to
resist my own powers."
   "That will require a much more complex system," Amy noted. "I'll have
to find a way to identify your own powers to single them out from anyone
else's. There'll have to be a safety system added to--"
   "What's going on?" Lita yelled as she rushed in from one of the side
doors. She'd been the only one close enough to hear Amy scream.
   "It's okay Lita," Amy said, "Just Setsuna up to her old tricks."
   "How quickly can you make these changes?" Setsuna asked Amy.
   "It'll take at least a few hours of work," Amy said, "We can get to
work right away in my shop if it's that urgent. Just let me put away
these scripts..."
   "We do not have time. Lita can take care of it for you."
   "Who?" Amy asked.
   Setsuna turned around. The two of them were alone. "Never mind. We
need to hurry."
   She knew that a few hours was going to take far too long, but they
had to try.

   On the way to Amy's shop, Setsuna tried to explain how she hadn't
been able stop Rini from using the Key.
   "You decided to come here? Why not go back and physically take it
before she could activate it?" Amy asked.
   "It would not work. If Rini didn't activate the Key, there would be
no reason for me to travel back to stop her. Another paradox."
   "Won't this produce the same effect, then? If we alter the Key so no
trouble occurs, there won't be any need for you to come back to here."
   "I will sense when she tries to use the Key in the future. I will
know that in order for me to be able to block her attempt, I have to
come back here."
   "If you say so," Amy told her.
   They arrived at the shop. Setsuna felt uncharacteristic remorse for
Amy, who had devoted most of her life to a pursuit of knowledge, and yet
never had the experience of fully feeling the fundamental forces of the
universe.
   Amy removed her prototype and some of her diagrams of the Time Key
from a safe in the wall. All the tools she needed were already on her
desk.
   "You will need Rini, since the Key needs to be attuned to her,"
Setsuna said, walking over to a communication pad on the wall.
   "What are you talking about?" Amy asked, "Who's Rini?"
   "The person for whom we are making the Time Key. The Queen's
daughter," Setsuna said. She knew what was happening--that Amy wouldn't
have any idea what she was talking about.
   "The Queen's--?" Amy started. "Are you alright, Setsuna? King
Darien's never had a Queen. The only one he would have taken was Serena,
and she's been dead for a thousand years."
   Setsuna realized that their time was up. "Tell me, then, Amy: Who
created Crystal Tokyo?"
   Amy thought for a few moments. As though a final tribute to her
amazing mind, she pieced it together. "I see... Nobody did. Crystal
Tokyo never existed." She looked around. "This is all wrong."
   She was vanishing, slowly, before Setsuna's eyes, but there wasn't
time for her disappearance to be watched.
   "Good-bye, Amy," Setsuna said, and lifted up her staff, moving to
another time just as the foundation of the Crystal Palace began to
disintegrate.

                            ------------------

   Serena was sitting in a field that stretched as far as she could see.
It was full of flowers. Dozens of kinds and colors. Everything was
beautiful and peaceful and quiet.
   Just Serena and the flowers. There was no Sailor Moon. No Negaverse.
No one who needed saving.
   Only Serena and the flowers--and someone else. A woman. A cold woman,
full of anger and sadness that Serena could feel.
   "At last we are alone, Princess."
   Serena picked up one of the daisies and smelled it, a wonderful
fragrance flowing through her. Its petals looked especially beautiful in
the sunlight.
   Time was passing very, very slowly.
   "I have waited so long for this moment, you miserable wretch. You
will never even know it has happened, but I will remember it for the
rest of my existence!"
   She drew back her hand and swung, but was stopped short. She turned
her head. "What?"
   "That is not how you treat a princess," Setsuna told her, pushing
Nephrenia's arm back with her staff.
   Nephrenia swiped at Setsuna, but she was too slow. The staff caught
her in the chest, knocking her back almost twenty feet.
   "Princess!" Setsuna yelled, trying to shake her out of whatever
trance she was in. There wasn't even the slightest response.
   "That is futile. She will never recover--she does not want to. This
is the ultimate fantasy for her, being relieved of all responsibility,"
Nephrenia said with a confident smile. "But how is it that you are
here...?"
   Nephrenia gestured with her hand and a large mirror appeared between
the two of them. Inside the mirror was Setsuna, imprisoned.
   "Release the Princess and the Sailor Warriors," Setsuna demanded,
wielding the staff threateningly. It was worth a shot.
   Nephrenia's response was a cold laugh. "You are nothing." She raised
her hand and bolts of black energy leaped at Setsuna. She blocked them
with her staff, but they still shocked her.
   `So much for the easy way,' she thought.
   "Dead Scream." Setsuna pointed the staff straight at Nephrenia. The
huge ball of energy hit her straight on and evaporated with no effect,
except for Nephrenia's renewed laughter.
   "Here I am supreme!" she bellowed. "Reality is mine to sculpt. None
will ever control me again."
   Setsuna could not defeat her here, at least not directly. She should
have known that from her own fate and that of the others.
   "Reality is yours, but Time is mine to control," she said, gritting
her teeth. This was going to be difficult. "Black Void Entrapment!"
   The jewel atop her staff began to glow. Points of light appeared
around Nephrenia's body, connecting themselves to each other by thin
strands. They were slow at first but sped up exponentially.
   It didn't take long for Nephrenia to discover what was happening.
"No!"
   She began lashing out with black energy, attempting to break her
confinement. Each blast destroyed a dozen points and two dozen more
sprung up to replace them.
   In less than a minute, Nephrenia was almost completely cloaked,
wrapped in the thread of Time itself.
   `Just a few more seconds...' Setsuna thought. The last strands were
connecting...
   "NO!!!" Nephrenia yelled. Suddenly the entire cocoon-like structure
shattered. "Why you--!" She clenched her fist. Another mirror, empty,
appeared in front of her, speeding toward Setsuna, but when it reached
her, she was no longer there.
   Nephrenia looked around for a few seconds. Confident that they were
indeed alone, she continued where she had left off with the Princess.
   Serena died.



Time Twister
Part 4:  Quest for Serenity

   Amy, Rei and Mina were in the coffee shop when the light hit.
   "Wh-what's happening?" Rei asked in a worried tone.
   "Is it an attack?" Mina asked.
   The single beam shot around the room, reflecting and splitting into
more beams until all they could see was the light. Then it disappeared
as quickly as it had come.
   Things got stranger. Everything in the coffee shop started
floating--including the three girls. Amy quickly scrambled to keep her
schoolwork from scattering.
   "What a totally... Weird feeling," Rei said. She couldn't control
where she was going, and her head went up Mina's dress.
   "Uh, do you mind??" Mina snapped.
   "This is an incomprehensible phenomenon," Amy started. "It's like the
Earth suddenly lost its gravitational center, but things aren't affected
outside. It's just us floating."
   `Aren't we special,' Mina thought. "Amy, this is no time to talk like
a textbook."
   Hovering between Amy and Mina, Rei had flipped upside down and looked
a little less than comfortable. "I wish I could go right side up!" she
growled.
   Whatever force had been supporting them began to wane. They were
drifting down.  "Uh-oh," Mina said.
   The drift became faster, much faster--they fell straight to the floor
in a jumbled heap.
   "Ooh! That hurt!"
   "Sure did..."
   There was someone standing in the doorway of the coffee shop. They
noticed her there for the first time. She was carrying a long staff and
wearing an outfit that seemed very familiar.
   "Sailor Scouts," she said, "I need your help."
   "Well, you sure got our attention," Rei said.

   Setsuna knew what would happen next. After Rini had returned, she had
told Setsuna all about the troubles she had faced in the past.
   Rini came running into the room, right on schedule. "Help me!"
   For the moment, Rei, Amy, and Mina forgot about Setsuna standing
there, as they all focused on Rini. Rini had not seen Setsuna.
   Behind Rini came the monster that was chasing after her. It didn't
have a name, but Rini had called it the Thunder Monster. It was silly,
pathetic, and dangerous all at once.
   The Thunder Monster was banging on a drum that was sending out sparks
and small bolts of lightning. It was grunting with each beat.
   Setsuna had not come to watch the Sailors fight the Thunder Monster,
though. Her business with them was much more important. There wasn't the
time to waste watching them primp and deliver speeches before defeating
it.
   She spoke very quietly, but no one could miss hearing her voice, even
above the beating drum.
   "Dead Scream."
   Setsuna whipped the staff around, dark winds entwining it and sending
out a huge ball of energy which completely and immediately disintegrated
the Thunder Monster. It barely had time to let out a pitiful screeching
wail.
   "Wow," Rei said.
   "Pu!" Rini cried, running forward. She was delighted.
   "All right, you negafiend," Sailor Moon said, running into the room,
"now you're going to--get it?"
   "Sailor Moon. Hooray. We are saved," Rei said, with obvious sarcasm.
   "Um, what's going on here?" Serena asked. Nobody answered her, which
was something she was becoming used to.
   "Who are you? Are you a Sailor Scout?" Amy asked.
   "We have little time for explanations, Amy," Setsuna told her.
Before Amy could ask how she knew her name, Setsuna went on. "My name is
Setsuna Meiou. I am also known as Sailor Pluto, a Sailor Warrior of the
outer planets. My mission is different than that of you, of the inner
planets. I do not help to guard the Moon Princess, but instead to
protect the element of Time."
   Rei and Mina looked at each other and shrugged. Their best bet was to
leave this to Amy.
   "You know her, Rini?" Amy asked.
   Rini was leaning up against Setsuna. "Uh-huh." She looked up at
Setsuna, and received a confirming nod. "She's the one who made it so I
could come here."
   "I had a little help," Setsuna said. "The necklace around Rini's neck
is actually a Time Key that allowed her to come here from the future."
   There was really no point in holding back any details, she realized.
Convincing them of her sincerity was the most important thing. If they
succeeded, they would forget almost everything she told them. If they
failed, nothing she said would matter anyway.
   "The future?" Serena asked, unbelieving.
   "No wonder you wouldn't tell us where you came from," Mina said.
   "In the future--as it should have been--we have all known each other.
That is how I know who each of you are, Serena, Amy, Rei, Mina.
   "Rini was sent back to this time using the Time Key--which you helped
me create, Amy--to retrieve the Silver Crystal. She tried to go back
without it, and when I prevented her, something went wrong with the Key.
The energy it released has altered the past and is causing more damage
than you can possibly imagine."
   "That's funny," Serena said, "I don't remember anything changing."
   "Of course not," Rei said, "if the past was changed, then we'd think
that's the way it always was. Try taking your brain out of neutral,
Serena."
   "Can we change whatever it was that caused the problem back?" Mina
asked Setsuna.
   "It is not that simple. I have twice attempted to correct the
imbalance in Time in different ways and failed both times. The first was
to try to improve on the Time Key in the future before it was given to
Rini. Afterward, I tried to prevent the most important of the changed
events in Time."
   "What was that?" Serena asked.
   Setsuna looked at her. "Your death."

   "Wha-a-a-t?" Serena yelped.
   "In the future, you will be killed," Setsuna told her. She said it
very matter-of-factly, and without any sort of emotion or drama. It was
merely the truth; she had seen it herself.
   "You will be killed by a woman named Nephrenia, and all of the Sailor
Scouts will be imprisoned forever. This will all happen because of a
single change in your past."
   "Wait a minute," Rei interrupted. "If you're from the future and all
the Scouts have been imprisoned, how can you be here?"
   "My powers allow me to stand outside the boundaries of Time... for a
while. I have escaped my fate long enough to try to correct things. I am
growing weaker by the moment, however. I do not think I have enough
energy to travel to the past again and still be able to do what needs to
be done. That is why I need you Scouts to go back in time and restore
the past to what it was, or none of us will have a future."
   It appeared that Setsuna was having trouble standing. Rini tried to
help hold her up, with limited effectiveness. "It's okay, little one,"
Setsuna told her.
   "What can we do?" Serena asked.
   Setsuna brushed some debris off one of the seats and sat down. "A
single change is the cause of all this trouble. A henchman of the
Negaverse, Neflyte, fell in love with a girl, Molly Baker. He rescued
her when she was captured by others from the Negaverse, but they killed
him while he was protecting her. That is how it should have been.
Instead, Neflyte survived and Molly was hurt. Neflyte went after the
person responsible, Zoisite, and killed her."
   "I remember that," Serena said.
   "Neflyte was supposed to be dead?" Rei asked. "It's hard to
imagine..."
   Setsuna went on. "Unfortunately, though Zoisite was evil, she was a
necessary piece in the mosaic that makes up time. Zoisite should have
been the one to battle you for the seven rainbow crystals inside their
human hosts. She did not. If she had, Sailor Jupiter would be alive and
with you."
   At the mention of the name, Serena's hand automatically reached up to
touch one of the rose earrings she was wearing.
   Setsuna went on. "Because Zoisite was dead, Malachite killed Jupiter
in the past. She will not be there to save you from Nephrenia, and I
will not be able to. The only way to ensure the safety of the future is
to be certain that Neflyte dies."
   Everyone was silent for a few moments. Eventually, even Serena
figured out what Setsuna meant.
   "We have to kill him?" she asked, in horror.
   "Not you, Princess. You must stay here. We are trying to save your
life. If something were to happen to you while you traveled into the
past, our problem would only be compounded."
   "If it has to be done..." Rei started.
   "It does. You must leave immediately--I have spent too long
explaining already. With the help of the Time Key, I will send you back
to several hours before the time when Neflyte must die so you can make
any preparations you need. From then, I will give you as long as
possible to succeed."
   Amy, Rei, and Mina looked at each other for a few long moments.
Then, speaking for all of them, Rei said, "Let's go."
   "Rini, give me the Time Key," Setsuna said. Rini did so. "The Key is
specially attuned to you, little one. If you are nearby it might
interfere with the travel. Serena, please take Rini across the street
for some ice cream." She looked at Serena very sternly.
   "Uh... Sure," Serena said. "C'mon, Rini."
   "I wanna stay with you, Pu!" Rini said, clinging to Setsuna's leg.
   "It's only for a few minutes," Setsuna told her. "Then we can talk
about all the fun you've been having."
   After Serena managed to separate Rini from the leg and left, Setsuna
held the Key and closed her eyes. At first it glowed almost white, but
slowly dimmed. Setsuna looked much worse for it.
   She gave the Key to Rei. "Put this around your neck. When the three
of you have succeeded, it should automatically return you here." She
stood up and hefted her staff. "Do not resist the travel."
   The Time Key began to glow brighter and a pink column of light shot
through the ceiling to the floor.
   "Go ahead," Setsuna told them.
   Cautiously, Rei stepped into the light first, and simply disappeared.
Mina was more apprehensive about it, but she followed.  As if she were
about to say something, Amy looked to Setsuna, but instead turned back
and went to join the others.
   The column of light faded. Setsuna, exhausted, collapsed back into
the seat.



Time Twister
Part 5:  Reflective Journeys

   It was not a pleasant trip for any of them. None of the three had
ever traveled in time before, so they were completely unprepared for the
flurry of experiences that assaulted them. Rini's Time Key was made with
the intent of transporting only Rini, which didn't make things any
easier.
   Mina's trip, while not difficult to understand, was strange
nonetheless.
   She was sitting in Serena's room, looking at herself in the mirror.
Serena was standing behind her with a comb in her hand.
   "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Mina told her.
   "Oh, come on!" Serena said. "It's not that bad. You said maybe it was
time for a new look."
   "I was talking about you..."
   `This didn't happen. This isn't happening. A dream?' Mina wondered.
   "Yeah, but you never do anything new with your hair, either," Serena
said.
   "Serena, this isn't new. It's YOUR old hairstyle. If you can call it
a style..."
   "Hey, I heard that." Serena was rummaging around in one of her
drawers.
   "No, I think I'll stick with what works for me," Mina said. She
started to undo the meatballs on her head.
   "Aha!" Serena said, having found what she wanted. "Check this out."
   Mina turned her head. "Check what out?"
   The answer was a click and flash of light. "Perfect!" Serena yelled,
taking the Polaroid from her camera. "Wait until the others see this!"
   "Why you--" Mina started, walking towards Serena. "Give me that
picture!"
   "Nuh-uh," Serena told her, backing towards the door.
   Mina rushed her. Serena turned around to make a run for it,
forgetting that she'd closed the door. Mina tackled her.
   After a minute of grappling, Mina had her hands on the picture and
ran over to the mirror at the other side of the room, leaving Serena on
the floor. She prepared to rip up the picture. "Huh?"
   The picture wasn't of her. It was someone else, with brown hair and a
ponytail. "Cute, Serena. Now how about giving me the real picture?"
   Her eye caught the mirror. She froze.
   The picture WAS of her. She was someone else completely.
   She turned back to Serena, but Serena wasn't there. Malachite was now
standing behind Mina, arm outstretched.
   "Die," he said.
   Mina went flying through the window and landed one story below on the
lawn, flat on her back. She was gasping for the air that had been
knocked out of her, but her lungs wouldn't function. It was only a few
seconds before she passed out.

                            ------------------

   Amy's trip was the most enlightening.
   She stepped into the column of light only to be right back in the
coffee shop with Setsuna and Mina, who was herself walking into the
column.
   Amy could feel her head turn to Setsuna, her eyes focus on the face.
Her mouth opened and words came out. She had no control over any of it.
It was like watching a movie where she was the character performing.
   "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?" she asked.
   "Yes," Setsuna told her. "There is more at stake than the lives of
the Sailor Scouts. You are familiar with the Stability of Time?"
   Not very. Amy had read a couple of articles on the idea, but it was
mainly a topic of philosophy, and not very interesting, since it was
impossible to prove.
   "That's just a theory," she said.
   Setsuna shook her head. "Time is an element that binds together all
that is. It can be destroyed and broken down like anything else. And
that is what is happening."
   A very simplistic synopsis. Amy now realized they were going back to
preserve Time. There was only one effect that, in theory, could corrupt
it.
   "A time-paradox? That's what this is about?"
   Setsuna half-nodded. "Serena and Darien are Rini's parents, but she
will not be born for a thousand years. If Serena dies before that, Rini
will never exist..."
   "...and she'll never be able to come back and cause Serena's death by
using the Time Key," Amy finished.
   The fact that Rini was Serena's daughter came as a surprise to her,
but it made sense. Amy had noticed several similar personality traits
between the two of them, along with Rini's inherent fondness of Darien.
   "That is the paradox. Time has already begun to unravel itself.
Things are changing that have nothing to do with Neflyte's death. If
this continues, everything in existence will be destroyed--or rather,
will never have existed."
   "Why didn't you tell us this before?"
   "As I said already, I have known all of you in the future and know
what you are capable of. Of all the Scouts, you are the only one who can
fully comprehend the situation. Your mind works on a higher level than
theirs--I knew as much when you helped me to fashion the Time Key. Do
you think that Mina--or Serena--could contemplate the links between Time
and the Universe? Even Rei, whose psychic powers give her a sense that
few others can perceive, cannot grasp it. They might be able to realize
the end result of all this, but belief requires understanding.
   "You are the only one I could depend on if the others fail--if they
cannot do what must be done when the time comes."
   "You don't sound very confident," Amy said.
   Setsuna gave the same stern look that she had given Serena earlier.
"Have you ever had to destroy someone not working for the Negaverse?"
she asked. Amy's expression was answer enough--she hadn't. "I know this
will be hard on all three of you. But make no mistake, I have confidence
that between you, you can succeed."
   Amy just looked at her.
   "The others are waiting," Setsuna said, falling back into the chair,
but trying to make it look like she had intended to.
   "Are you okay?" Amy asked.
   "No. In order for you three to go back, the last of my energy had to
go into the Key. I can no longer resist the call of Time, but as long as
the Key has energy, you should be protected from the chaos that is about
to become reality... Hopefully for long enough."
   Almost speaking to herself, she added, "I won't get to talk with Rini
again, after all. But she won't remember..."
   Setsuna slowly faded away. Amy found it impossible to do anything but
watch.
   With a heavy burden suddenly on her shoulders, she stepped through
the column and into the darkness.

                            ------------------

   Rei's trip was the most difficult. Wearing the Time Key, she bore
more of the effects than did the other two.
   Her first coherent experience was a slap that made her ears ring and
almost knocked her over, probably because she wasn't expecting it at
all. She found herself staring in shock at the snow on the ground.
   `Snow?' she wondered. She was aware of being very cold.
   Amy was standing on one side of her, and Mina on the other.
   "I'm sorry," Amy said, with both sincerity and surprise. "But
understand--we can't stop now, no matter how bad it might be."
   Rei's eyes were drawn to a jagged sculpture of ice rising up out of
the ground ahead of them. There was something hanging from it: Serena's
body.
   Now she remembered. The first attack from the youma had taken them
all by surprise. Rei and Mina hadn't been able to hold Serena back from
the illusion of Tuxedo Mask. When the illusion had been revealed, Sailor
Moon used her tiara against the apparent leader of the youma.  It
worked, but the explosion had killed her in the process.
   "It's over... We failed," Rei said, hardly aware that she was even
talking.
   "You hypocrite!" Mina snapped. "You wouldn't let her give up when
Darien was taken from her, but you're giving up now?"
   Rei could see the Crescent Moon Wand in her own hand, the Silver Moon
Crystal mounted in the top. "We were supposed to protect her.  That's
all we're for..."
   `What am I saying? This can't be real,' she thought.
   "We have to work together," Amy said. "We have to keep going."
   The four remaining youma appeared in front of them. For some reason,
they didn't bother with illusions this time, they attacked outright.
Sensing that Amy wasn't a threat, the youma split up against Rei and
Mina.
   "Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" Mina arced her attack, certain that she
would hit at least one of the four targets. She actually succeeded in
hitting two, but only one fell to the ground, somewhat injured.
   How to follow up was a difficult decision, but Rei decided to
eliminate the downed youma for certain instead of taking a chance on
hitting the others.
   "Mars Fire Ignite!" The spiraling flame burned the youma to ashes.
   "Separate them!" one of the remaining youma yelled.
   One youma was still coming after Mina. It extended tendrils that
wrapped her tightly. It began to pull her closer.
   The second youma dove into the ground between Rei and Amy, and the
other, the fastest of them, was heading straight for Rei. Rei wouldn't
have time to use her power, so she gripped the Crescent Moon Wand in her
hand.
   The youma tried to swipe at her as it dove, but only managed to rip
part of her skirt. Rei swung with the Crescent Moon Wand right across
its face. The Wand went flying out of her hands, and the youma crashed
to the ground in agony. Rei grabbed the Wand again before any of the
youma could try to.
   Mina was almost face-to-face with the youma that held her. Rei was
running up to help when she heard Mina.
   "Venus Crescent Beam..."
   Rei knew what would happen. The same thing that had happened to
Serena. "Mina, no!"
   "...Smash!"
   Mina put her finger to the youma's forehead and fired point blank.
The explosion knocked Rei off her feet, along with the other youma who
had been trying to get up.
   Rei stood back up and prepared to finish the youma off.
   Suddenly two halves of a small mountain rose up on both sides of Amy.
In an instant, they smashed together and crushed her.
   `It's not real!' Rei yelled, but only in her head.
   The underground youma rose up beside its recovering comrade. "Well,
well, you're all alone. Hand over the Silver Crystal and we'll kill you
as painlessly as that wimp."
   Rei looked down at the Crystal. It was pulsing with light. She could
feel its power.
   Amy and Mina had been right. Never give up. If she had to die to save
the Crystal, she'd do it.
   She held out the Wand. "Come and take it," she spat.
   The essence of the Crystal was flowing through her. She wasn't the
Moon Princess, but it didn't seem to matter. There was only one way to
make sure the Crystal didn't get into their hands. Rei felt powerful
enough to do it.
   The youma made their move from fifty feet away. Rei tightened her
grip. She had so much energy she was shaking.
   "Mars Fire... Super Nova!"
   Rei's detonation was spectacular. The youma, the Silver Crystal, and
everything else within a three mile area was vaporized, including the
Negaverse base and Queen Beryl inside of it.



Time Twister
Part 6:  Fateful Preparations

   Amy, Rei, and Mina all opened their eyes and found that they were
still in the coffee shop. No one else was there.
   "Wow, that was so real," Mina said, relieved to find breathing once
again a natural thing.
   "Yeah, it sure was..." Rei said cautiously, unsure yet if this was
another dream or not.
   Amy looked at a clock on the wall. 6:15. "If I remember correctly,
we've got about six hours before Luna calls us to help Serena."
   "You think that'll be long enough?" Rei asked.
   "Long enough to do what we can, which may not be much," Amy told her.
"We need to remember everything we can about what's going to happen and
see how we can change things to the way they should be."
   "I'm afraid I won't be much help," Mina said.
   "Maybe not in remembering," Amy said, "but you'll be a lot of help if
we need to change things ahead of time. Since you hadn't met any of us
yet, you can probably interact with Rei, Serena, and I in this time
without any problem."
   "Let's get to it," Rei said.
   Between them, Rei and Amy were able to reconstruct a large amount of
what had happened that night months before. Serena and Molly had both
mentioned parts of it that neither Rei nor Amy had been present to see.
It took half an hour to get all the details down on a sheet of scrap
paper which they found on one of the tables. Someone who worked in the
coffee shop passed by the room they were in but didn't pay them any
attention.
   "So this is what we know..." Amy began. "Around midnight, Molly will
be taken by the youma, and Neflyte will go after them. Luna will call
us, and we'll head out to meet Serena. Neflyte and Molly will go into
the park where they'll be attacked, and Molly will get hurt.  We'll meet
Serena near the park and go in as Neflyte is destroying the youma, and
then Neflyte will disappear to the hospital. Is that it?"
   "Sounds right," Rei said. "But what can we do?"
   "Hmmm," Amy said. "We can do a lot, but better to figure out only
what we need to do, and then decide how to do it."
   "We need to make sure that Neflyte is killed, either by us or the
youma," Rei said.
   "To do that, we'll have to make sure that you two and Serena don't go
to the park, right?" Mina asked.
   "Right, and from what Molly said, she pushed Neflyte out of the way
when they were attacked. If we can get Neflyte to push her out of the
way instead..." Amy said.
   "We can't warn him ahead of time," Rei said, "or they might not go to
the park at all."
   "Maybe if we distract Molly or alert Neflyte once they're at the
park?" Mina asked.
   "I don't think that would work," Amy said. "But we'll figure it out
later. Luna will call our past selves on their communicators, but we
have communicators, too. If we set ours to constantly transmit, that
would probably block Luna's signal, so she couldn't call either of us."
   "What about Serena?" Rei asked.
   "Molly called her before she was kidnapped, I think," Amy said. "We
can't prevent that, so she's bound to find out that Molly's in trouble."
   The three of them thought it over for a while.
   "If you know when Neflyte and Molly will go into the park, maybe I
can wait nearby and then stop Serena from going in when she gets there?"
Mina suggested.
   "Could you stop her without hurting her--or getting hurt? She might
think you're with the Negaverse," Rei said.
   "I think I can handle her," Mina said, confidently. "After all, she
doesn't have the Silver Crystal, or even the Crescent Moon Wand at this
point, and her tiara shouldn't be too much of a problem."
   "So we can prevent ourselves and Serena from showing up and seeing or
stopping us, but we have to be certain that Neflyte dies," Rei said.
Each time she mentioned Neflyte's death, she felt less and less sure...
Did it have to be? They could stop him from going after Zoisite--she was
sure he would listen to them.
   "If need be, we can make sure ourselves..." Amy said, nervously,
hoping it wouldn't be necessary--that she'd think of some way that the
youma could do what they should have done all along. But she couldn't
forget what Setsuna had told her, either.
   Rei noticed someone walk by the entry to the room carrying a
chocolate parfait. It was Molly, looking extremely depressed. She
noticed Amy and walked up. "Amy, I hate to interrupt, but could I talk
to you for a while? I just gotta talk to someone about Maxfield and
Serena won't listen..."
   "Uh, sure," Amy said. "We were just getting ready to split up anyway.
I'll meet you two at the park around nine o-clock. Be sure to keep
thinking about that problem..." she told Rei and Mina. That would still
give them plenty of time to set the communicators and do anything else
they needed.
   Rei and Mina walked out of the room.
   Molly put her chocolate parfait on the table, sat down and
immediately started to cry. "Oh, Amy..." she said. "What can I do?
Serena keeps telling me Maxfield is this terrible person, but that can't
be true. He's always so nice to me; he's never done anything that wasn't
gentle..."
   "Molly, what do you feel for--Maxfield?" Amy asked. She'd almost
called him Neflyte by mistake.
   "I dunno... He's so handsome... I know he's older, but we can make it
work."
   Amy was suddenly passing by Molly and Neflyte in the park. They were
sitting on a blanket on which sat a basket. Molly was handing him a
plate practically overloaded with food, and beaming with delight, while
Neflyte was giving the plate a wary look. It was all perfectly real.
   An instant later, she was back with Molly in the coffee shop,
although she didn't know if she had been gone for a second or five
minutes. Molly didn't seem to think anything was wrong. Was it an effect
of Time unraveling?
   "No, no," Amy told her, remembering what Molly had just said, "that's
not what I mean. What do you feel when you're around him?"
   "Nothing like what Serena says. He's got a good heart, I can just
tell. He might not be too personal with Serena, but that's just because
she doesn't know him. He'd never hurt me, I know it."
   Maybe it was because she knew it was true, or maybe because in a few
hours it wouldn't matter, but Amy couldn't think of a single thing to
convince Molly otherwise. "If that's the case, then follow your heart,
and don't listen to Serena. Make the most of every moment with him..."
Amy wanted terribly to tell her just how important those moments were
going to be, but she couldn't.
   "You're right!" Molly said, standing up with sudden determination.
"The next time I see him, I'm going to tell him something I've been
wanting to say since I first met him. Thanks, Amy, for listening to me.
I know I don't know you like I know Serena, but this means a lot to
me..."
   "No problem," Amy said, almost gloomily. Molly didn't notice.
   "I'll see you later," Molly said, leaving behind her uneaten dessert.
   `Sooner than you think,' Amy said, but only to herself.

   Rei was walking down the street heading toward nowhere in particular.
Mina had wanted to take an early look at the park and figure out where
she should be waiting, but Rei's other self had been near the park a
little earlier that day--no sense in taking a chance on running into
her.
   Besides, it would be a lot easier for her to think over what to do
about Neflyte if she didn't have to talk to anyone. Everytime she
thought about letting him live and trying some other way, the picture of
Serena's dead body on the ice, and Setsuna's words came flooding back to
her.
   If Neflyte's living was destined to destroy the Sailor Scouts, the
decision should be simple. Why wasn't it? Were her instincts trying to
tell her something? Could she even trust her instincts, having been
thrown over half a year back in time?
   It was starting to make her head hurt. She tried closing her eyes,
but it didn't do any good; neither the mild pain nor her problems went
away. As a matter of fact, the pain got worse--she ran into someone
coming around the corner and was knocked over.
   "Are you okay, Rei?"
   `Oh, no,' she thought. `Please, let it be anybody... Anybody but
him...'
   She opened her eyes. It was the worst person possible--Darien, in all
his handsomeness. The fact that he was wearing some kind of suit made
him look even more charming than usual. He was reaching down to help her
up.
   "You've got to watch where you're going. Serena must be rubbing off
on you," he said, when she'd gotten to her feet.
   Rei knew how she needed to act around him, but could she do it?
Feeling incredibly guilty, she grabbed his arm and hugged it. "I'm happy
to meet you anytime, Darien, even head-on," she said with a smile that
was half-true and half-false. She still loved him, desired him, but she
knew that he belonged to Serena, even if he didn't know it.
   Darien grinned (`Probably remembering the time I asked him out, after
I fell flat on my face,' she thought). "I was just getting off of work
and didn't have anything planned... That boat ride didn't really work
out the other day, I know, but did you maybe want to--"
   "Aha! Caught you in the act!" Serena yelled, stepping out from around
the corner. Rei grimaced visibly. If there was any way the situation
could have gotten worse, this was it.
   Was it...?
   Rei leaned over the seats into the next row. "Hey, stupid," Rei said,
slapping Serena on the head. It was one thing for her to lure Darien to
a violin recital just so she could see him in a tux, but it was another
for her to spend the whole night drooling over him--literally. "You're
supposed to be watching HIM!"
   "I WAS watching him!" Serena loudly whispered, "Until someone hit
me!"
   "I meant the violinist, not Darien!"
   To Rei's embarrassment, the entire crowd shushed them both. But there
wasn't any crowd. She was standing at the corner with Darien and Serena,
and looking like she'd just been in a daydream. She wasn't sure if she
had or not.
   "Are you sure you're okay, Rei? What's your problem anyway,
Meatball-head?" Darien asked, mildly annoyed.
   "So, thought you could sneak out and have plenty of fun on a school
night, eh, Rei?" Serena asked with a smirk, ignoring Darien.
   "I am not going to be having `plenty of fun,'" Rei snapped. "And you
are definitely one to talk. When was the last time you got to school on
time, hmmm?"
   "As if!" Serena retorted. "If you're not planning on going out, then
why'd you change out of the clothes you were wearing just a couple hours
ago?"
   Rei realized that, for once, Serena actually had a point. Even if Rei
really wasn't planning to go out, it had to look that way. "Just butt
out of it, alright?" she told her, and turned to Darien. "Give me a call
tomorrow and we can get together?"
   Before either of them could reply, she ran off. In the end, Rei had
been thankful for Serena's infuriating appearance. It gave her a chance
to get away from the torture that was being near this Darien, a Darien
that was hers and yet never would be. She thought she was over him, but
two minutes had just proven her wrong.

   As she was making her way to the park, Mina was having as many doubts
as Rei was, despite having not known Neflyte very well. Mina did know
Molly, however, and that she was very happy around Neflyte.
   Her uneasiness about their "mission" was coming from a totally
different source. She could still remember, crystal clear, the day that
Artemis had awakened her into the life of Sailor V.
   "It's your destiny to fight, Mina, to help protect others and
preserve justice," he said. Pretty corny, she'd always thought, but
well-phrased, especially now.
   Was this justice? The three of them going back in time to kill
someone who would have been no harm to anybody? It just happened to be
that his actions would accidentally lead to their death or imprisonment
forever or something. True, he might have been meant to die before Rini
used the Time Key, but maybe this was some greater power's way of giving
him and Molly a second chance together?
   Were their lives more important than Neflyte's? Five Sailor
Scouts--six if she included Sailor Pluto--could do so much good fighting
against the Negaverse, but it just didn't seem fair to Neflyte, Molly,
or the three of them that had been sent back.
   Mina hadn't planned it that way, but at least she wouldn't have to
"Make sure" Neflyte died. Poor Amy and Rei.
   It was starting to get dark, but one of the houses she was passing
was still bustling with activity. Furniture and boxes were being moved
in from the back of a large truck. It looked like a few people were
rushing to get the job done before nightfall.
   Whenever she was down, Mina always felt better for doing something
nice--or going shopping, which she didn't have any money for. She still
had plenty of time to meet the others at the park later, so...
   "Could you guys use a hand?" she asked, walking up to the truck.
   "Sure, that would be great," one of the people inside the truck said.
She came out carrying a large box. "Feel free to carry in whatever you
want. Don't hurt yourself, though."
   Mina was paralyzed with shock. It was the girl from the picture.  Her
eyes looked down. `This lawn... This house...' Her thoughts were a
jumble.
   "Hey, are you okay?" the girl asked, shaking Mina lightly but firmly.
   "Uh, yeah, sure," Mina said. "Just never met a girl so strong."
   "Just as long as you don't call me an amazon or something..." she
responded warily, not sure if Mina's comment was intended as a
compliment or not.
   "What should I call you, then?"
   "Well, my name's Lita," she said.
   Mina froze for a second time, but recovered much more quickly.
"Lita?" she asked in a tone that indicated there was something wrong.
   Lita looked at her suspiciously. "Don't tell me--you've heard stories
about the `Karate Maniac'?"
   "No, just about a new student, that's all. I have some friends who go
to Crossroads Junior High. One of them must have seen you registering
there, 'cuz you look like the person they were talking about." From what
little Serena had ever mentioned of Lita, Mina did know that she had
gone there before she was killed--for a day.  "My name's Mina."
   "Ma'am," a man from inside the truck said. "It's going to be too dark
soon to get some of this furniture."
   "We'd better hurry," Lita said.
   With Mina's extra bit of help, the rest of the truck was unloaded in
a little more than half an hour. It wasn't that difficult, but Lita
showed definite gratitude.
   "I really appreciate it," she said. "Come on in for a few minutes and
have something to drink. You must be thirsty. I know I am."
   "Well, I was on my way to the park..." Mina said. She was thirsty,
but she couldn't be late to meet the others, either. "I think I can
spare a few minutes."
   Inside, Lita poured each of them a glass of orange juice. "Maybe I'll
go down to the park tomorrow," she said. "They probably have a lot of
big trees there."
   "You like trees a lot?" Mina asked with curiosity while sipping her
juice.
   "Yeah, they're great for climbing, helps keep me in shape. You should
try it. Oak trees are the best ones to start with."
   "Oak...?" Mina asked, her voice sounding distant both to Lita and in
her own ears. She was somewhere else.
   Her mind was filled with an image. Lita was dressed like a Sailor
Scout, spinning in place, sending up a spray of leaves everywhere.  Mina
could lightly taste the wood and dirt in her mouth. She could smell the
clear night air.
   "Jupiter... Oak... Evolution!" Dozens of small lightning balls shot
out in every direction. She could feel the static, smell the ozone of
each one that flew by.
   Mina snapped out of whatever it was she was in, almost spitting out
her orange juice in the process. `What's going on?' she asked herself.
   Lita must have noticed. She was giving Mina an odd look.
   "I'm sorry," Mina said. "I get this way sometimes, absentminded. I
might not even remember you the next time we see each other." Her eye
caught the time on the microwave. 8:16. "I really need to get going.
Thanks for the juice!"
   "Thanks for the help," Lita said. "Hope I see you around here again
soon."
   Mina smiled and left, hoping she would see her again, period.

   Amy and Rei arrived at the park at about the same time, meeting Mina,
who had already been there for almost fifteen minutes checking out the
area.
   "Any luck with what do to about Neflyte?" Amy asked.
   The other two shook their heads, almost simultaneously. "I couldn't
think of anything. Maybe we'll have to go with Mina's suggestion after
all," Rei said.
   "You want to throw a rock at Molly, or something?" Mina asked,
jokingly.
   "I suppose I could freeze her, if it comes to that," Amy said.
   "That would definitely stop her from getting in front of him," Rei
said. "He'd have to protect her."
   "She might not be able to defend herself, though. Maybe we could
signal Neflyte?"
   "That could distract him instead. How about if we..."
   They spent the next two hours ironing out what to do and where the
three of them would be. Mina chose a spot about twenty feet from the
park entrance where a group of shrubs helped to cover an already large
tree. Rei and Amy found two larger-than-average bushes that would cover
the both of them, close to where the attack would take place.
   They couldn't come up with a better way to distract Molly or alert
Neflyte other than using Amy's Ice Bubbles on Molly.
   None of them had a watch, but Amy figured that it was about half-past
eleven. She set their communicators to transmit. That would immediately
tell their past selves that something was wrong.  The other Amy and Rei
would be able to call each other on the phone, but wouldn't be able to
contact Luna and Serena, as they should already be out, about to
encounter Neflyte.
   The three of them transformed into Sailor Scouts, went to their
places, and waited.



Time Twister
Part 7:  Destinies Divided

   Rei and Amy were hiding behind the pair of bushes, waiting for
Neflyte and Molly to arrive. It was probably the most uncomfortable time
they'd ever spent together. Every silent minute felt like an hour.
   "Rei, you believe in destiny, right?" Amy asked. It was a stupid
question, Amy already knew the answer. Rei had made the others aware
many times that she believed in it strongly.
   Rei was looking up at the clear sky. "Yes," she said quietly.
   Amy waited a few seconds before she asked the next question. "Do you
think we're destined to always be together?"
   Rei smiled. "Maybe, but you know I'd rather spend the rest of my life
with a cute guy than with you."
   Amy giggled, a little. "That's not what I meant. Do you think the
Sailor Scouts will always be together?"
   Rei's smile disappeared, replaced by a more serious look. "Yeah, I
do." She stared at the ground while she gathered her thoughts. "The
Scouts are like the family I never had... I don't think there's anything
we can't overcome together."
   Amy was surprised by Rei's answer--she'd taken for granted having a
loving parent, where Rei only had her grandfather. The other Scouts
meant everything to Amy, but they must have meant just that little bit
more to Rei. "What if we can't put things back as they were? We'll have
no future?"
   Rei shook her head. "It will all work out... If it doesn't, then
that's how it was meant to be. It's easy if you think of it that way..."
   "Then nothing we do matters," Amy said.
   Rei turned to her. "Of course it matters!" she snapped in sudden
anger. "Ever since we got here, I've been doubting all of this. We have
to do what's right, regardless of how it will turn out. This is so
wrong... Killing someone and saying that's how it's meant to be..." she
stopped for a few seconds.
   Her voice very unsure, she started again. "But protecting my friends
is the right thing, too... And if this is the only way to protect all of
you... I'll do it."
   Amy just looked at her. She didn't have any more questions, at least
not for Rei. However, she was questioning herself more now than she had
been five minutes before.
   The two waited out the last ten minutes or so in silence until Molly
came into the park, with Neflyte following behind her.

   Molly led Neflyte over to a large tree in the middle of the park,
just where Amy had expected them to go.
   "Now, take off your jacket," she said as he sat down against a tree.
   Rei's eyes widened. Molly and Neflyte had sat down facing directly at
her and Amy in the bushes.
   Molly could see as Neflyte was taking it off that the jacket was too
dirty to use any part of it as a bandage. She looked down at her shirt,
then bit into it, ripping off a couple of strips that she used to begin
wrapping his arm.
   "You know, right downtown..." she started.
   "Hmn?"
   "...there's a cafe where they serve delicious chocolate parfaits."
   "Chocolate parfait?" he asked, almost confused.
   "Yeah, you like it?" she asked.
   He hesitated, having never had a chocolate parfait before. "Yeah, I
do."
   She smiled and looked up at him. In a lightly chiding tone, she said,
"You're lying... But you're only lying because you want to be nice to
me."
   She'd finished bandaging his arm.
   "Thanks, Molly," Neflyte said, flexing it.
   Molly sat down next to him and looked out into the trees. "I wish we
could have a chocolate parfait together. It's been a... secret dream
I've been having ever since I met you. But, I guess it'll never happen,
huh?"
   "Why not?" Neflyte asked. "Let's do it." Odd, he thought, he was
totally serious. The thought of he and Molly having a chocolate parfait
was appealing to him.
   "Really?" Molly asked, delighted.
   "Do you think I'm lying to you?" he asked her with a smile.
   "Nuh-uh, I'm just happy."
   They stared at each other for a few moments.
   "Tell me," Molly said, anxious to break the silence. "Do you have
holidays in that evil society of yours?"
   Neflyte looked at her for a few seconds, then chuckled. He began to
laugh.
   "Neflyte, you're actually laughing..."
   Molly couldn't resist, and soon she was laughing hysterically as
well.
   "Hey, it's funny," she said, "I'm laughing and crying too!"
   Amy had been watching the entire area, and she noticed that one of
the youma had floated into the park, completely unseen by Neflyte and
Molly. It was holding out its arm, getting ready to strike. Amy turned
back to Molly, preparing to hit her with the Ice Bubbles.
   Then she saw it, a look in Neflyte's eyes. He'd spotted her.
   Aware that something was wrong, Neflyte suddenly looked all around
the park. He saw the youma. With blinding speed, he shoved Molly aside,
and watched in shock as half a dozen large thorns went through his own
chest.
   "Neflyte!"

   Through some quirk of fate, it couldn't have gone any better.
Neflyte's discovery of Amy hadn't distracted him at all; if anything, it
had made him more alert. Neither Molly nor the youma had seen Rei or
Amy, either.
   "Getting careless, are you?" the youma asked, as its two partners
transported next to it. All three casually floated to the ground.  "That
thorn'll suck your energy and shrink your body to Nega-dust.  What a way
to go!" she cackled. "If you don't want the girl hurt, give us the Star
Crystal."
   Neflyte gritted his teeth. He was already weakened, the thorns were
draining his energy further, and his arm was almost completely
paralyzed. He couldn't possibly protect Molly from the youma, and he
sensed that the Sailor Scout he had seen in the bushes couldn't be
counted on either.
   In the end, there wasn't really any choice to make. "Fine, it's
yours," he growled to the youma, and then turned to Molly. They would
probably kill her anyway. "Now get out of here! Run!"
   "No!" she yelled repeatedly, running up to him.
   He made his best effort to shove her away. "Don't be foolish! Run!"
   Molly didn't listen. She grabbed at the thorns in his chest and
started pulling on them. They felt like acid to her hands, but the pain
in Neflyte's chest must have been twice as bad. He couldn't help but
groan in agony.
   The youma were watching on with amusement. "Stupid girl! She'll never
pull that out!" the leader of them laughed.
   Molly's hands were beginning to blister. She refused to give up.  In
the bushes, Rei wasn't surprised, especially after once seeing Molly
stand in front of Sailor Moon's tiara and protect Neflyte. But if she
actually did pull it out...
   "Quickly, it's alright!" Neflyte lied between groans. "Stop!"
   He looked down, and couldn't believe it. Some of the thorns were
actually coming out.
   The youma who had fired the thorns recoiled. "It's not possible!"
   Molly was crying, partly because of the horrible pain in her hands,
but mostly for him. "Neflyte, don't die!" she sobbed, "Please, don't
die!" The thorns she was pulling were only a couple of inches from
coming out. `Please...' she silently begged.
   Amusement had turned to annoyance. "Now I'll have to get rid of them
both!" one of the youma snapped. She threw out her arms to fire a volley
of bombs.
   But she never succeeded. A voice from the bushes reached her just
before the attack did. "Mercury Ice Bubbles--Freeze!"
   The youma watched as their bodies were encased in sheets of ice,
almost completely immobilizing them. With the exception of Molly and
Neflyte, every head turned to Amy in surprise--including Rei's.


   Serena thought that she had seen Neflyte somewhere around the park,
but when she heard the commotion inside, she knew for sure it was him.
She didn't mind going in alone without Amy or Rei--for once. She was so
angry about Molly, she felt like she could take on the whole Negaverse.
   For some person in an outfit that looked very familiar to suddenly
jump in her way was the last thing she was expecting.
   "Sorry, Sailor Moon, but you're not going in there," Mina said.
   "What?" Serena asked, totally off-guard.
   "You heard me," Mina told her. She was standing right in front of the
entrance.
   Serena didn't consider this blonde girl to be a threat, but nothing,
she told herself, NOTHING was going to get in her way. She heard Molly's
voice--she couldn't make out what was being said, but it sounded
desperate--and that was the last straw.
   "I am Sailor Moon, the champion of justice," she said. "I right
wrongs and triumph over evil, and that includes anyone who stands in the
way of friendship! On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!"
   Mina seriously doubted that. "Go ahead," she said. `Serena was always
thrown a little off by confident enemies,' she thought.
   Serena ran toward the park entrance, hoping to scare off whoever this
bimbo was. But the bimbo stepped to the side, grabbed Serena and flipped
her over onto the ground. She wasn't dealing with an ordinary person
after all.
   "Moon Tiara Magic!" Serena yelled, after getting back on her feet.
She flung the tiara-disc at Mina, who was completely prepared, since it
was Serena's only method of attack.
   "Venus Love Chain Entangle!" Mina called back.
   The chain of linked hearts flew out and met the tiara head on,
knocking it to one side and continuing on straight at Serena, who
managed, barely, to get out of the way.
   Mina had decided before Serena showed up that the best way to buy
time would be simply knocking her out instead of trying to delay her.
"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" The beam hit Serena in the chest, throwing
her back almost ten feet.
   Mina ran up and checked on Serena. She was unconscious, but okay.  As
Sailor Moon, she was a lot more durable than plain old Serena.
   It had gone as easily as Mina thought. She only hoped the same could
be said for Rei and Amy.


   "What are you doing?!" Rei yelled, in disbelief.
   "I'm doing what's right," Amy said. "Isn't that what you said, `We
have to do what's right, regardless of how it will turn out'?"
   "We have to protect Serena--Princess Serena. Don't you remember
that?"
   "At the cost of innocent lives?" Amy asked.
   Unnoticed by Amy or Rei, the youma were busy trying to break free
from their encasings, but despite their powers, they lacked the
necessary strength. Molly, unaware of anything outside of herself and
Neflyte, had succeeded in pulling out one handful of the thorns in
Neflyte's chest and was working on the others.
   "You call that innocent?" Rei asked, pointing absently to Neflyte.
Her volume hadn't lowered a bit. "How many times did he try to kill us?"
   "Take a look, Rei!" Amy said. "He was just willing to give up his
life for Molly. Can you look at him and still say he's evil? That he
doesn't deserve another chance?"
   "Yes! Our future depends on it!" Rei yelled, almost in tears. She
turned to Neflyte and Molly. `I hate Neflyte... I hate Neflyte...' she
told herself. "He needs to die. Don't try to prevent it."
   Amy did exactly that. She walked up to Rei. "I won't let you," she
said, solidly.
   Rei looked at her, dark eyes burning. "You can't stop me." She
brought her hands together, but Amy grabbed them. Almost without
thought, Rei shoved her to the ground.
   `I hate Neflyte! I MUST hate Neflyte!' she yelled at herself.
   Molly managed to pull the last of the thorns from Neflyte's chest,
and now sat there looking at Neflyte with a dazed expression. Neflyte
had already seen and heard what was going on with the two arguing Sailor
Scouts.
   Rei brought her hands together again. "Mars..." she began, feeling
the power of fire move through her.
   Amy made a last appeal. "What would Serena want?" she asked Rei.
   Despite Rei's concentration, Amy's question hit its mark. Suddenly,
all she could see were images of Serena, some she was familiar with and
others she never knew existed. Serena, willing to die, begging Rei to go
home so she wouldn't get hurt. Serena, on an asteroid, giving up her
life so that everyone would be safe. Serena, surrendering to the enemy
when the Scouts had been captured, because she couldn't bear to see her
friends in pain.
   "Fire..." Rei continued, the hot energy flowing into her hands.
   When her mind cleared, she saw Neflyte sitting there, feebly
struggling to get Molly out of the way so she wouldn't be incinerated.
There was no look of self-preservation in his eyes, only a genuine
concern for her.
   `It doesn't matter!' Rei told herself, but she knew it was a lie.
   "Ignite!" she yelled.
   Neflyte, not as badly hurt as he wanted them to think, grabbed
Molly's shirt and slung her to the side the moment he saw the fire
emerge. After a few moments of involuntary flinching and screams that
weren't his, he realized he was still alive.
   The youma, however, were nothing more than a pile of ashes surrounded
by a few stray pieces of ice.
   Rei fell to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm so
sorry..." she said, imagining what she'd say the next time she saw
Serena and had to tell her that she'd die because Rei had been too weak.
She could feel Amy's hugging, but it gave her no reassurance.
   At his urging, Molly helped Neflyte stand up. Slowly, they made their
way to where Rei was slumped. "Sailor Mars..." he coughed out.  "I don't
understand...what just happened. But, thank you..."
   Rei was just sobbing, a thousand things running through her mind,
from when Serena would die to how it would happen. She didn't say
anything, because she didn't even hear him.
   After a minute, with Molly's help, he started to walk out of the
park.
   "Neflyte!" Amy said. Maybe there was still a way out of this...
   He stopped walking and half-turned to her.
   "If you want to thank us, then, please, don't go after Zoisite," she
told him.
   "How do you...?" Neflyte gave her a puzzled look. "I'm sorry...  But
I'll have to."
   "Molly needs you now more than ever!" Amy said, and as she did so she
looked at Molly, who appeared to be in some sort of shock. "Isn't she
more important to you than revenge?"
   "You don't understand... This isn't about revenge. I will do this for
Molly, not me..." He stopped to take a breath. "Zoisite will use Molly
as my weakness, just like tonight. So as long as Zoisite lives, Molly
will never be safe. I'm sorry."
   He turned back and walked out of the park with Molly.
   Rei was still crying, and Amy felt like joining her.

   When Mina saw Neflyte and Molly leaving the park, she knew that
something had gone wrong, especially since Rei and Amy were nowhere to
be seen. She decided against going after Neflyte, and instead opted to
make sure the other two were okay.
   She found Rei in a state of collapse and Amy trying to comfort her.
   "What happened?" Mina asked.
   "We failed..." Amy said, in a low voice. "We couldn't kill him."
   "I was too weak..." Rei muttered.
   "Is there anything else we can do?" Mina asked.
   "I tried to convince him not to kill Zoisite," Amy said. "He wouldn't
listen. I don't think we can do anything else. Lita won't be killed for
two days, but I'm sure that the Key won't keep us here that long."
   Mina suddenly remembered what Setsuna said. "How are we going to get
back, then? The Key's not supposed to take us back until we succeed."
   "It looks like it's been getting dimmer. Can I see it, Rei?" Amy
asked. Rei reached down to take off the necklace. Amy continued, "When
it runs out of power, I guess we'll probab--"
   Rei's hand touched the Key. It exploded in light.



Time Twister
Part 8:  Trial by Fire

   There was no advance preparation for the journey. As Rei's hand
touched the Time Key, it scooped up her, Amy and Mina and sent the three
of them through time once again.
   The first thing Rei noticed was that, unlike the last time they had
used the Key, the scene she was thrust into was completely unreal. She
wasn't standing on anything at all. As a matter of fact, she could have
been falling for all she knew, except there was nothing beneath her to
fall onto. Her sense of perception was skewed because there was
nothing--anywhere.
   Probably the second thing she noticed was that she was without a
single shred of clothing. Since she was alone, however, that didn't seem
to be much of a problem.
   Slowly, very slowly, a figure was coalescing out of the nothing
around her. Rei began trying to cover herself up until she saw that the
other figure was nude as well. It eventually resolved itself into a
woman, certainly older than Rei--taller, more developed. Unlike Rei, she
was glowing, which made details of her appearance indiscernible, except
for the long hair--a little longer than Rei's--that glowed like the rest
of her. It was impossible to tell just how tall the woman might be. With
no reference point, she could have been a mile away and standing at five
hundred feet, or six feet high, right in front of Rei's face.
   Rei could sense a certain familiarity. "Who are you?" she asked.
   "You know who I am," the woman said. Her voice was gentle, but firm,
and had an otherworldly echo to it. Rei was confused, because there
wasn't anything for it to echo off of. She didn't know who the woman
was, but she felt like she had known at one time. Maybe.
   "When you touched the Key, Rei, I felt your desire to save her, more
than anything else."
   "Yes," Rei said.
   "Why?"
   "She's the Princess. She's my responsibility," Rei told her.
   The woman simply stared at Rei.
   After a pause, Rei continued. "If I wasn't there, Amy and Mina would
have to spend more time with her than they already do. I wouldn't wish
that on anybody."
   Still the woman said nothing. Rei tried to stare her down, but the
woman's eyes didn't waver. Under her unflinching gaze, Rei could feel
her resolve fading.
   Finally, she gave up. "Alright, I love her! Is that what you wanted
to hear me say?" she yelled. There was no response. Rei could already
feel her anger evaporating, leaving her drained. She hung her head in
defeat, unable to stand the woman's stare any longer. "She's like a
sister to me. She means more to me than anything in the world."
   "You would not kill for her," the woman chided.
   Rei tried to explain. "She'd hate herself for the rest of her life if
she knew someone who meant her no harm had to die so she could live. I
couldn't do that to her."
   The woman sounded amused. "Yet you would give your life for her."
   Rei jerked her head up, meeting the woman's gaze again with pride.
"Yes."
   "She would hate you forever for it."
   Rei couldn't hide how much it hurt. Yes, Serena would despise Rei for
it, but Serena would still be alive, she wouldn't hate herself, and
that's what mattered. "I don't mind," Rei said, and was surprised to
find it was true.
   She almost thought she could see a smile on the woman's face. "You
will have a chance. You cannot hesitate," the woman told her, beginning
to dissipate much more quickly than she had appeared.
   "Wait!" Rei shouted, but the woman had gone and she was alone again.

                            ------------------

   Mina and Amy were standing at the corner of a street. They didn't
know what street it was, but the city was one they were completely
unfamiliar with. The buildings were futuristic, and all dwarfed by a
towering near-mountain of crystal glass, breath-takingly beautiful.
   They each knew, somehow, that this was another time-travel "dream"
and that they were in it together.
   "What's going on?" Mina asked.
   "I don't know," Amy told her, surprised to find that she could
control herself this time.
   There was some sort of commotion going on a few buildings down the
street. People were running in all directions, which was the best sign
that something was going wrong.
   Out of the throng of people leaped a monster, an eight-foot tall
combination of man and horse, carrying a type of bow.
   "What the--?" Amy started.
   As though she was the only one making any noise out of all the
people, the monster looked right at Amy.
   "Maybe we should transform?" Mina suggested.
   "Right," Amy agreed, and reached for her power stick. It wasn't
there. Neither was Mina's.
   "Centaur!" the monster bellowed.
   "We'd better call the others and hope they can get here fast," Amy
said. She didn't have her communicator. Again, neither did Mina. Amy
also found that her computer was missing.
   The monster pulled back on its bow. An arrow flashed into existence
and then launched at Amy and Mina. It slashed through a small tree,
which fell over and narrowly missed the two of them. Before the monster
could attack again, it was accosted from a nearby hill by the Sailor
Scouts, four of them--and Sailor Moon was not among them.
   Mina was confused. She and Amy were clearly among the group, yet
standing at the street corner as well. `How can that be...?' she
wondered.
   Interested in these new targets, the monster attacked. Amy and Mina
both watched, transfixed as the Sailor Scouts proceeded to defeat the
monster.
   Afterwards, the four were making sure that the bystanders were okay.
Amy and Mina still felt compelled to watch, until they were checked over
by the Scouts. They caught got a look at Sailor Mercury and Sailor
Venus, but their counterparts didn't seem to notice that they were
helping their younger selves out.
   As the two of them touched their older counterparts and began to
inexplicably black out, Amy's last thoughts were of how different their
other selves looked--older, more powerful, and yet somehow still the
same. Mina was simply surprised that this dream was even more weird than
her first one.

                            ------------------

   Amy, Rei, and Mina came to in the coffee shop. They immediately
noticed that it was no longer midnight; the sun was up outside.  There
was no sign of Serena, Rini, or Setsuna.
   Amy looked at the clock. 3:28. When Setsuna had shown up, it was
about 2:45. Outside, it didn't look like it had rained at all, and the
wall that the Thunder Monster had ripped through was completely intact.
   "We're not back where we originally came from," she said.
   "What do you mean, the Key screwed up?" Mina asked. That was all they
needed, to be somehow stranded in time.
   "When Rei touched it, that could have acted as some sort of catalyst
that caused us to return early, but it could also have changed when
exactly it sent us to," Amy explained.
   A coffee shop employee who hadn't noticed anyone enter the room but
heard their conversation walked by and gave the three of them a curious
look. Amy didn't understand why until she looked at Rei and Mina, and
saw that they were all still in their Sailor Scout incarnations.
   `But when did the Key take us to?' she wondered.
   She walked into the next room, leaving Mina standing there. Rei was
sitting down, just staring out the window and watching people walking,
completely lost in her own thoughts over the woman that she had met.
Who was she? Was it real? Probably no more so than the battles she had
fought when they had gone back in time to begin with. Chances were that
she had dreamed it up and told herself what she wanted to hear: that she
hadn't failed Serena. She looked very tired.
   When Amy came back in a minute later, she was holding a wadded up
mess that looked like a newspaper. "I was right," she said, pointing out
the top of it. "The date on this newspaper isn't the same day we came
from originally, it's two days after when we just came from."
   "Two days?" Mina repeated, questioningly. "Didn't you say that it
would be two days before Malachite went after the first crystal?"
   With her back to them, neither Amy nor Mina saw Rei's eyes slowly
widen as she looked out of the window, realizing for the first time that
she'd been watching Lita, far down the street, head toward the alleyway
where Malachite would strike.
   Rei remembered the voice. "You will have a chance. You cannot
hesitate." It was real. Even if she had only imagined the encounter, her
chance was there.
   She tore out of the room as fast as her legs would take her, leaving
a stunned Amy and Mina behind.



Time Twister
Part 9:  Thunder Rose

   Praying for strength, Rei sprinted across the coffee shop toward the
exit. Some sort of lethargy was slowing her down, and she knew what it
was. She had triggered the Time Key to bring them here. It was draining
her energy to power itself and give them a chance.
   "Rei!" Amy yelled, but there wasn't any response. She and Mina took
off in pursuit, wondering what had gotten into her. Just a minute
before, it didn't look like a hurricane could have moved Rei.
   `Why did we have to be on the second floor?' Rei silently cursed.
Every step she went down was another step farther away that Lita was.
   Amy and Mina reached the top of the stairs just as Rei was leaping
off of them and heading for the door. They were all moving at roughly
the same speed. She couldn't see Lita anymore, but Rei knew which corner
she must have turned at.
   Rei burst through the doors, ran out into the street and nearly got
run over by a car. She didn't stop, but rather she gained momentum, and
Mina and Amy began to fall behind. The sidewalk had very few people, but
they were still getting in Rei's way, forcing her to move around them
rather than just blunder through. A fall now would cost her more time
than any measures she might have to take to avoid them.
   It took a little over a minute for Rei to reach and turn the corner.
Less than a hundred yards away, she could see the profiles of Malachite
and Lita, almost face to face; she was attacking him.  Rei didn't pay
any mind to "Game Machine" Joe on the ground. Out of breath, she kept
running.
   She was over halfway there when she saw Lita land a punch right
across Malachite's jaw. Either shock or the punch itself had stunned
him. Within under ten yards, she saw him raise his hand.
   Her lungs were empty. She hoped her voice was louder than it sounded
in her own ears. "Lita! Look out!"

   There were many times in Rei's life when time seemed to slow down at
crucial moments. Perhaps adrenaline allowed her to think and respond
more quickly than usual, or maybe it was a higher power looking on her
favorably. She didn't bother to ask why it happened, she was just glad
it did.
   The moments she spent after lunging at Lita with every ounce of power
she had were some of the slowest she had ever spent. She had seen
instantly that Lita would not get out of Malachite's way. (In these slow
moments, she had time to realize it was rather foolish of her to think
Lita would know what to do if a stranger ran up telling her to look out,
anyway).
   Lita's head turned quickly, but she looked like she didn't know what
to make of this girl flying at her. She seemed to be a good fighter, but
with terrible reflexes--at least compared to the Sailor Scouts, Rei
thought.
   Malachite didn't bother to turn his head, or acknowledge Rei at all,
for that matter. His attention was completely focused on the pathetic
human who had just committed suicide by hitting him.
   Rei stuck out her arms, aiming right for the back of Lita's
shoulders. She could feel the waves of pressure emanating from
Malachite's hand as she impacted with Lita. She tried to curl her body
for what was about to happen.
   Time resumed its normal flow. Lita fell to the ground. Rei went
flying backwards into one of the walls with a sickening thud and then
came down on the concrete.
   Amy and Mina had passed the corner just in time to see it happen.
"REI!" Amy screamed, in horror.
   Malachite turned to them. He was powerful, but had not come prepared
to take on these three Sailor Scouts. The Crystal--and revenge--would
have to wait until a little later. He teleported away.
   Lita was on her hands and knees, probably trying to make out what had
happened, but she was definitely alright. Amy and Mina ran over to Rei.
She was trying to sit up on her elbow, and failing. There was some blood
running from her nose. Amy helped her up a little.  "Rei..." she
started.
   Rei smiled at her, weakly. "We did it..."
   "You did it," Amy said, unable to stop a few tears from running down
her cheeks. Mina usually managed to stay more composed than the others,
but her eyes were already watering.
   "No need to cry, it's going to be okay..." Rei said, and closed her
eyes. The Time Key's flickering glow finally died out.
   The three of them disappeared.

                            ------------------

   Serena's entire body jerked to attention as she awoke. Not a good
start to the day. Her dreams had been weird, but eventually ended up
with her and Darien all alone... And then she had to go and wake up.  It
figured.
   She felt unusually tense.
   `What time is it, anyway?' she wondered.
   "Ack! 10:30?? Why didn't you wake me up, Luna?"
   "I tried. Twice," Luna sighed. "The first time I was sure you were
going to strangle me, and the second time you kissed me before I could
get away--all the while mumbling about roses."
   "Roses?" Without thinking, she reached up to touch the earring she
was wearing. "I'm not going to make it in time for the meeting if I
don't get it in gear!" She hopped out of bed and made for her dresser
drawers.
   "I'm ready to go," Luna said, smugly.
   "Like you ever have to get dressed or anything," Serena muttered.
   "Well, I must admit, it is nice to see you take these meetings
seriously for a change."
   It took Serena all of about fifteen minutes to get ready and dash out
of the house. The temple wasn't too far away--if she hurried, she could
still make it in the ten minutes she had left.
   She ran into Molly and Neflyte--almost literally--close to her house.
Molly was carrying some sort of basket in one hand, with her other arm
wrapped around Neflyte's.
   "Hey, Serena!" Molly nearly yelled, although Serena was only about
five feet away. "We were just going out to the park for a picnic.  Wanna
join us?"
   Serena glanced at the basket momentarily. Tempting. "Sorry, but I'm
way late for something already. Maybe another time, okay?" She kept
moving toward the temple without waiting for a response.
   "That's Serena..." Molly said, smiling and shaking her head.

   Rei was eyeing the time as she swept up, waiting for the others to
get there. Nobody had shown up yet, surprisingly. She could usually
count on Amy being early, and Serena always being unfashionably late.
   Apart from looking for the others, she was thinking about her
nightmare from the night before. It was a jumble of images and events
that wouldn't resolve into anything coherent, leaving behind only some
sort of haunting premonition that something wasn't right. She couldn't
discern anything from the fire, though, the fortune she'd grabbed from
one of the temple's booths had been favorable, and even Phobos and
Deimos seemed at ease. Rei had been known to be wrong about these things
before...
   `Like when I first met Serena,' she thought with a smile.
   Her muscles felt like she must have tossed and turned all night long,
making a simple task like moving the broom a chore.
   She saw Amy walking up to the steps with a curious look in her
eyes--eyes that were looking straight at Rei. "What?" Rei asked.
   Amy kept coming closer until she was only a few feet from Rei, at
which point she ran up and gave her a big hug. Amy closed her eyes and
squeezed tight, not noticing the contorted look on Rei's face as spasms
of pain wracked her arms, back and ribs. Rei barely stifled a grunt, but
Amy heard it.
   Slowly, Amy loosened her hug and backed off a little, though she
still had her hands on Rei's arms.
   "So I wasn't the only one," Mina said, coming up the steps and
surprising the two of them. "What happened?"
   Artemis, sitting in her arms, had no idea what she was talking about.
   "I don't know," Amy said. She could sense that she wouldn't ever know
what--if anything--had happened. The more time passed, the further the
images she had felt faded, and the same probably went for the others
too. The only thing she could remember with any clarity now, Rei's
death, was entirely false anyway, as Rei was standing right there in
front of them all.
   Mina got to the top of the stairs as well and, before Rei could
protest, she was once again gripped in a painful hug, this time between
both Amy and Mina.
   "What's going on, guys?" Serena asked. "You look like you haven't
seen each other in forever."
   Rei didn't know which was going to make her fall over first--the
intense hug or the fact that Serena was actually on time. "Wow, you're
not late for once," she sniped. "If it wasn't such a pretty day, I'd
think the end of the world was coming."
   "It's not like you have to worry about being late," Serena griped,
"since we always meet at your house."
   "We could meet at yours, but once we went in your room, we'd probably
never be able to find the door again," Rei said, strangely pleased to be
arguing with Serena.
   "No sweat, you could just do your hocus-pocus and throw those little
sticky notes around and we'd find it in no time, hmmm?"
   "It's not hocus-pocus!" Rei shouted.
   "I thought she was going to take the meeting seriously," Luna said,
sadly.
   Unnoticed by Rei or Serena, Lita had arrived. "Hi, sorry I'm late,"
she said. All four of the girls turned to stare at her.
   As soon as Serena saw Lita, she knew she was forgetting something,
but she managed to remember in just a few seconds. "Oh yeah!" She
reached up and took off the rose earring. "I think you dropped this,"
she said, handing it to Lita.
   "Thanks!" Lita said, "I've been looking for this." She happily put
the earring on her empty ear.
   Rei, Amy and Mina looked at each other in puzzlement. Rei suddenly
had the impulse to pat her chest, as if something was hanging around her
neck. There wasn't. `Why should there be?' she wondered.
   "Are we going to stand around here all day, or get busy?" Artemis
asked, in his usual impatient tone.
   "Right," Luna said. "What we need to discuss..."
   Rei smiled as she half-listened to Luna go on about their latest
problems. Whatever was wrong earlier seemed fine now, and she didn't
mind at all not knowing what had happened. As long as the five of them
were together, it really didn't matter.
   She never gave it another thought.

                            ------------------

   At the Gate of Time, Setsuna smiled.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Clarifications, Corrections and other stuff you probably didn't
want to know. [These are spoilers as well. Don't read this section until
after you've read the story. It's better that way.]


Part 1:
   The first scene takes place in "Trouble Comes Thundering Down", and
the second in "Friend in Wolf's Clothing". Since these two scenes set up
the events of the rest of the story, it helps a lot if you've seen the
episodes.
   Neflyte mentioning Metallia was a mistake; as the story is based on
the dub, there should be no mention of Metallia, only of the Negaforce.


Part 2:
   Malachite doesn't ask about the Rainbow Crystals because according to
the dub, he knew about them even before Beryl did. Based on that, I made
the assumption in Part 1 that Neflyte also knew about them, but didn't
realize it until he was in the hospital with Molly.  Zoisite did not
know about the Rainbow Crystals, according to the dub.
   The scene with Serena in the field takes place in Sailor Stars
episode #5. If it isn't clear from the rest of the story, the evil woman
is Nephrenia, and the girl is Sailor Jupiter. How Serena sees all of
this is unknown; it is perhaps her bond with Lita showing her how
important Lita will be in the future, or it may very well be the Silver
Crystal attempting to warn her.
   Serena has two rose earrings at the end of the part; she really did
pull one out of her "dream".


Part 3:
   I goofed. Not only would Amy probably be intelligent enough to
restore the paper to its condition after being ripped, but she wouldn't
have been working with the original in the first place.
   Amy and Setsuna working together to create the Time Key is a guess of
mine. I don't think either of them could make it without the other...
Amy's vast intelligence and Setsuna's unique knowledge of how Time works
[in addition to the gem in the Key looks like part of the jewel in her
staff] would be required.
   The dialogue for the flower scene [again, Sailor Stars #5] is
completely made-up, as I can't speak Japanese; it probably has nothing
to do with the real plot of Sailor Stars, although Nephrenia clearly has
some sort of grudge against Serena.
   Pluto's "Black Void Entrapment" is a fictitious attack, not one of
her other attacks under a new name.


Part 4:
   The Thunder Monster does have a name: Droid Thunderclap. However, the
section of the story that describes it is told from Setsuna's point of
view, and presumably it's one of those things she deemed not important
enough to learn. [Read: I made a mistake.]
   Although I couldn't find a comfortable way to put it in the story,
the real reason Setsuna sends Serena and Rini for ice cream is so she
can tell Amy about them being mother and daughter, not because of Rini
interfering with the Key [although it sounds plausible enough that
everyone, including Amy, buys it].


Part 5:
   The events that Mina, Amy and Rei go through are not actually
happening; they are merely experiencing memories of things that might
have been. If those things were really happening, Rei would be dead, and
Mina seriously injured, when they all appeared back in the coffee shop.
Mina's "trip" is taken somewhat from "Bad Hair Day," and Rei's from "Day
of Destiny".
   The "Stability of Time" theory [which is fictitious] is impossible to
prove because you'd have to unbind everything in the
universe--destroying it all and yourself--to do so.
   "Mars Fire Super Nova" is also a false attack [In this attack, there
is no explosion that Rei creates, she herself explodes].


Part 6:
   The Scouts probably could tamper with phone lines, but I myself don't
know enough about the subject to write about it. The problem with
writing a story involving Amy is that you have to be as smart as Amy...
   Again, Amy, Rei, and Mina do not actually affect time with their
small trips, they just experience events without really being there.
The picnic that Amy witnesses happens in part 9, and Amy is definitely
at the temple at that point.
   Serena saying it's a school night is a mistake. According to the
logic of the story, Neflyte is killed on a Saturday night, as Lita would
go to school the next day if it had been any other day but Saturday that
she moved in--in Japan, school is six days a week, and the only day you
get off is Sunday. But Lita doesn't attend her first day of school until
the second day after she moves in. Oops.


Part 7:
   Amy's thoughts about Rei's parents are poorly worded. This story is
written with the concept that Rei's mother is dead, and her father is a
politician who cares little about his family, so technically, Rei
doesn't have a loving parent. But it's confusing anyway.
   Serena does not recognize Mina because Sailor Venus' outfit is
different from Sailor V's, and of course, Serena has not met Sailor
Venus at this point. As for how Sailor Moon reacts when she "first"
meets Sailor Venus now, sounds like quite a story itself...
   If Amy froze the youma, they should be solid blocks of ice. I don't
know why they aren't, although they couldn't scream if their heads had
been encased.


Part 8:
   Rei was naked only because her conversation took place on the astral
plane, per se, and those things always seem to be done in the nude. This
is not an ecchi scene. Also, what manifested itself there was her soul,
which represented itself in the form of her body.
   Again, the two days before Malachite goes after the Crystal are
mentioned--one day for Neflyte to recover and go after Zoisite, and the
next for Malachite to make his move after Zoisite died.


Part 9:
   Rei does not die after hitting the wall; Amy just thought she did,
which is why she was crying.
   The Scouts are meeting on the day after the day when Rini first tries
to unsuccessfully use the Key and start this [the day after "Trouble
Comes Thundering Down" takes place].
   Rei pats her chest and subsequently decides everything's alright
after Serena gives Lita the earring, the last link to the altered time;
this is what was bugging her. [The earring is actually the one she
pulled out of her dream, although I won't even attempt a logical
explanation of how she could have it all that time without Lita
noticing].
   The original end to the story had Amy convince Neflyte not to go
after Zoisite; there was no mad dash to save Lita. A flash to another
time showed Rini running in the storm. Before she panics and uses the
Key, she runs into Molly and Neflyte, heading to the cafe.  They help
Rini find Serena, and as a result, Rini doesn't use the key in the first
place. This was scrapped because it was too confusing, created a paradox
much like the one Setsuna was trying to prevent, and the ending just
lacked any sort of oomph.