CHAPTER FOUR: Bridges of Time Author's Note: Hm...I should have mentioned before, this is ONE BIG SPOILER FOR SAILOR MOON R. Not that I spoil all of it, but I'm assuming your familiar with what happens. I know, I know, the dub version stops halfway through. I know, I've written battle scenes, background scenes and the romantic triangle edge of things, and I promise the next chapter begins the actual "Romance" part for Pluto. You'll see why I have to when you get to the last part of this one... **************************************************************** A noise startled her, and immediately, Pluto raised the staff and took in the breath to start her battle speech. Before she could, the mist cleared to reveal a familiar figure approaching her. In his arms, she spied a small bundle squirming about, swathed in pink cloth. She lowered her staff, and mentally formed the barrier around the area to protect her visitors. She felt the energy drain out of her slightly, but she ignored it in the flush of happiness inspired by her guests. "Oh, King and my Small Lady?!" Pluto called warmly. She smiled briefly, but then look slightly puzzled. "But where is the Queen?" Ever since she'd returned from meeting Queen Selenity, Pluto had gotten used to the visits from the Royal Family. They would always come together with their daughter, and talk to her. At first, they tried to get Pluto to talk about her past. Since she couldn't remember it, they instead told her about theirs, and how they had met her before. At least, what they could remember of having met her. She loved those times, as they were the highlight of her existence. She wasn't sure if she believed everything they told her--how could they say they had met her, when she had always been at this Gate?! Especially if their memories had been so scattered during their Cold Sleep. "What, you are not glad I came to see you." The King teased, as his baby pawed his face. He pulled back a bit, barely closing his eyes in time to avoid a pudgy finger aimed at his eye. "Oh no! I mean, yes...I?" She blushed, wondering why she always felt flustered around him if he appeared by himself. With the Queen she could usually maintain her composure, despite even the funniest stories the Queen would tell. The Queen often said the Time Door was the one place where she could be at peace with her old self again. So when she came she tended to push the conversation away from anything serious. Sometimes, she even snuck in manga or animated programs for them to watch. "But where is she?" Pluto inquired after she could form a complete sentence. "She sends her apologizes, Pluto. But I'm afraid she is finally resuming the purification process of this world." "The Purification Process??" Pluto asked. The King shook his head. "I keep forgetting that you've lost more memories than even we did. You recall we told you of the Cold Sleep?" Pluto nodded. "You said that during it, the earth froze and all went into a deep sleep. When you awoke, you discovered that only those inside the Crystal Palace could be sure of being safe from the cold. But I thought Serenity already healed the world outside the palace with the Silver Crystal?" "Only some of it--those who now live in Crystal Tokyo. But Serenity found the use of the crystal too draining to save the whole world all at once. So we decided to wait at least until Rini's birth to finnish cleansing and building cities for the rest." "I see." Pluto nodded, as she smiled at the small baby and how Endymion gently rocked his child. Suddenly she asked "How long has it been since the cold sleep?" Somehow in the times Serenity visited she found herself unable to pindown little details in between the Queen's ramblings. "I wonder if your dissappearance affected your memory? You were only gone a few hours, as far as the GREG could tell." His eyes grew less serious, and focussed again. "its been about 100 years actually since we first awakened." Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she blushed. "I didn't realize. You don't look that old!" "Neither do you." He smiled. "Why don't you hold her a bit?! She's a little too active sometimes! Just like her mother!" The smile widened into a full fledged, and rarely indulged in grin as he transferred the flailing baby to her. "I'm sorry I don't remember!" Pluto murmurred, narrowly avoiding getting punched by a frantically waived fist. "Don't worry Pluto, I've realized memory is a funny thing." She nodded and cooed at the baby, trying to get her to smile. The little fists began to slow, then lowered. Endymion sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "You know, its strange what we remember--like Small Lady's name, and what she was like at an older age. And how we were attacked in the past by the Dark Moon, and Wiseman...and coming here to the future. Yet the cause of our Cold Sleep, that is gone, the very event that shaped our society today." Pluto nodded, only half listening to the meaning, her mind simply entranced by the cadenence of his voice, and the small form in her arms. A voice called out "How touching, the Guardian and her Family...well, enjoy it, because while you are playing house, we'll be using this time door!" In a blast of black smoke, her shield dissappeared. "NO---IT IS FORBIDDEN!" Pluto screamed, shifting the baby to one arm, and grabbing her staff in the other. She threw herself in their path to the Door. They could hear voices just outside the Gate's Threshold, coming from the palace hall with the secret door. "STOP THEM!" They heard Jupiter's voice call, as a small group of figures burst into the threshold of the Gate from the secret palace door. They heard an explosion, and an angry "Why'd you do that? I almost had them!" They heard Mar's voice a second later " He's Catsy's grandson, Jupiter, we can't kill him, not if there's some way to save him!" "You saw what he did back there! He doesn't want to be saved."Jupiter growled back as the two appeared in the palace door. "She's got that right. We refuse to be "saved". We will *NOT* have our memories and powers replaced by your so called purification! Who wants eternal life in your so-called society!" A tall man who seemed to be in control of the group spoke. A blue crescent symbol created a striking contrast to his pale skin, as did the thick dark hair waving over his head. Mercury and Venus sped into the room. "Surrender now, and we will not hurt you!" Venus ordered, having missed the man's speech. "HAH..." The man laughed "I am Coal, leader of the Blue Cresecent Rebellion! We refuse to submit now or ever to the rule of Neo-Queen Serenity and her Crystal. We will be governed by ourselves, and not as slaves to some 'royal' but inhuman queen." His followers shouted agreement. "DOWN WITH QUEEN SERENITY" "And now that my psionic abilities have led us to the Gate of Time itself, you cannot stop us!" Pluto hesitated. She could blast them, but she feared hurting the princess in her arms, or hitting the Scouts. "We already have stopped your rebellion!" Venus argued back. "This is the last of your group! Even now, the Queen is purifying the evil out of your followers. You cannot win now." "WE ARE NOT EVIL!!!! We are human and want to stay that way! Why can't you understand we want to live as they did on the Earth of Old!" He shouted. A white light appeared ushering in a rather exhausted looking Queen Serenity. In her hands she held the small silver crystal. "Please, stop this now!" She whispered. She stumbled a little, as Endymion jumped to catch her. Coal snorted. "Stop this?! You are too weak to stop us now, Serenity!" "Why must we fight?" She whispered. "I only want you to be happy in this world." "I can never be happy in a place so artificial." Coal argued. He charged towards the Door of Time. "You're the reason the earth is a frozen wasteland!" "Dead Scream" Pluto said as her attack winged its way towards the man. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO" Serenity screamed as she somehow used her power to block the attack. "You saved me!?" The man turned and looked stunned at the sunken Neo-Queen. "But why? I thought you killed all those who oppose you?" Her voice was even fainter now, almost drowned by the soft wailing of her baby daughter. "I only kill evil. And you are not, and besides, you are Catsy's grandson...I couldn't hurt you when I promised her I would..." She closed her eyes. Endymion looked up, barely controlled rage in his eyes. "If she is hurt, I swear I will" He started. "We never meant for it to come to this!" Coal whispered, as he knelt beside the fallen Queen. "We only wanted to escape the crystal's effects...admit it, the crystal altered all of you." "What do you mean?!" Mercury challenged. "The Crystal healed all of us after the Cold Sleep and protects us from the darker urges hidden in us all. Our crystal cities allow us to live despite the frozen surface...Those who do not get its protection will die!" "Are you blind!? These "dark urges" are human nature, and makes us human! We don't need this crystal to rise above it or to protect us from the earth!Better death in a frozen wasteland than eternal life in a crystal cage!" "Death is all you'll find outside these walls...Everyone who live in one of our cities is safe. We must save everyone from themselves." Mercury argued back. "We must learn to adjust and control ourselves, and our world. We cannot rely on her crystal to do it for us!" Coal countered. "Man has always had great destructive capability, but also great constructive ability. We do not need some mysterious crystal to save us." "Yes, but how many people must suffer and die out in this world, while you search for a different way? Everyone in Crystal Tokyo is happy!" Venus asserted. "What could you have against the purification?!" "Do you realize what it is? That crystal alters you when it happens...it doesn't just destroy evil energy, it robs us of our Humanity. I've read the underground reports...Ask yourself, in a 100 years, why is the Princess one of the few children born in this Crystal City? I'll tell you-- you aren't evolving - you are mutating! You can't even have children like normal humans anymore...Just look at these wings! She's some kind of freak!" Endymion caressed his wife's shoulders, above the wings he'd grown used to seeing. Her shoulders pulled together, as she gave a soft gasp and sunk lower. They'd never bothered him, as it just seemed natural to him. He picked his wife up and stood. "You're the Freak, wise-guy!" Jupiter growled as she took a step forward. Coal continued, a disgusted and desperate look on his face. "Why? Wings are not normal for a human to have! Nor is your youthfulness... A 100 years ago, you were around the same age as my grandmother, and yet you have not changed!" A woman with the same blue crescent nodded, shaking her silvery,ashen blonde hair about. "Everyone was preserved during the Cold Sleep, but you have not grown since then. How long before the crystal does that to the rest of us? We just do not want any part of it. Can't you understand that? Whatever changes have happened to us, we want no more. " Coal put his arm around the woman. "We didn't want to hurt anyone, but you wouldn't listen to us. Force was the only way to escape." Jupiter flushed guiltily. "They were in my sector. I just thought they were troublemakers....I mean, whats so bad about purification!? Its for their own good! After it happens, you life span will increase, your constitution will strenghten and" The Queen's eyes fluttered. "We would never force you." Her voice though soft overpowered and cut through Jupiter's lecture. Mercury popped her computer into existence and began to scan. "He is right! I never noticed it before, but our genetic structures are somewhat altered than they were before. I believe the change happened so gradually, that I never checked for it before. Everyone who lived within Crystal Tokyo has been altered, but the effects are most pronounced on those closest to inner Palace and the Crystal." "We cannot let them go unpurified, the danger to others is too great." Mars cautioned. "Is there no way to peacefully co-exist?" Queen Selenity asked, as she struggled to sit up in her husbands arms. "We could just let them be, far away from us on another continent. The earth is so big!" "Not big enough. You're not only altering yourselves but the atmosphere of this planet. We'd have to deal with more than the frozen world...Currently, you live encased in this city of crystal, with its different air. By purifying the world you're converting the rest of the outer cities to a state like this one. Pretty soon, we would not be able to live here!" Coal complained. "Our scientists have confirmed it. The whole earth will change into a crystaline world, and we will die. These crystal cities could not exist on an Earth like the one we used to have." "It seems we are at an impasse. What did you intend to do by seizing the crystal?" "That was just a decoy. We had heard of the Door of Time, and my Grandmother used to tell me stories of another planet, one that travels a different route. All the known planets cannot support human life, but maybe this one..." The woman by his side nodded. Her eyes looked up hopefully. "Maybe we can start a new life as humans there!" "It is Forbidden and too dangerous to travel through the Time Corridor!" Pluto spoke quietly. A chill ran down Mars spine, as she tried to recall why the whole scenario sounded so familiar. Yet she needed to focus. An enemey stood in their midst, and this could all be a diversion. "He's right! There is another planet in orbit, and its atmosphere is surprisingly closer to Earth's original atmosphere than it currently is." Mercury exclaimed, an astonished look on her face as she manipulated the small computer on her screen. "The G.R.E.G. Calculated its trajectory, and within seconds it should be at the right point for a transport. We can design a space ship to take all those who would go, but we do not have a lot of time. The planets will be aligned for only 6 hours. If we miss this interval, it will be almost 900 years before it comes close to earth again!" "Then we must hurry!" Coal said. "We are all agreed this is best right?" He turned and looked at his followers who all nodded. "We were ready to die for what we believed in, but it is better to live. And exile from a corrupted planet is no hardship to us!" "Whatever you need for supplies you shall have!" The Queen replied. Endymion nodded. "Mercury, please, find what you think will assist them in their new home! Jupiter, Mars, Venus, please, assist in building this ship. I will get the Generals, so we can start. Hurry! We don't have time to spare." The other four guardians bowed, and took off running. Mars paused, a disturbed look on her face, but with a call from Venus, she resumed her mission. "You'll understand if we ask you to wait in a special room until it is ready?" Endymion said as he moved to take his daughter from Pluto. Coal smiled slightly. "Why should we trust you, if you do not trust us?" Serenity nodded. "He is right, Endymion. They are not our prisoners and should not be treated as such. Come, you can enjoy the crystal fountains, and perhaps you will see something of delight in our artifical world! There is still time to change your mind!" Coal shook his head. "I rather doubt that." But he smiled enchanted by Serenity's smile. "But I trust you somehow, and I see why so many would follow you. Even if I never will." Pluto gently kissed the baby, and handed her over to Endymion. "Oh, she is not your child!?" A woman with the ruby red hair asked as everyone filed out. "That is such a pity. You seemed like such a natural with her. I want children, that is why I do not want to be purified. Our scientists found it makes people barren." "She is the Queen's." Pluto replied. "Is that true? I mean, so is everyone else in the Crystal city unable to have children?! I mean,Coal said it, so it must be true!" The woman's bright blue eyes looked sad. "The Queen's so much nicer than I pictured, so I'm beginning to wonder if everything he said is true.?" The woman asked eagerly. "I do not really know." Pluto answered her warily "I am always at these Gates and have very little to do with the City. Everyone has left already." She prompted the woman. "Oh, I'll catch up...but don't you get lonely here?" The woman asked. "This is such a weird place." Pluto stared at the woman blankly. "I have a duty to fufill." Pluto explained. "My feelings do not matter compared to the safety of those I love." The woman sighed. "That is so noble, and so unnatural! I couldn't do it. The man I love is Coal's best friend. So even though I don't want to leave the Earth, I'm going along with them, because of love.....By the way, I'm Garnet. What is your name?" Garnet asked. "I am Pluto, the Guardian of the Gates of Time." "NO!" the woman giggled. "Your *name*. That is just your duty!" "You really should not be here you know." Pluto chided the woman, who she realized was actually a young girl of about 16. "Oh, I know, I know. I've always gotten into trouble for being so curious, but I guess its just this psychic ability of mine. I sense things about people, and then I make up stories." The woman smiled sweetly. "Yours is just like a fairy tale--A beautiful woman, condemmed to spend eternity by the Doors of Time, all alone, forever, while the man she loves is married to the all powerful White Queen. I mean, I guess I'd make her evil in the story, except, Neo-Queen Serenity doesn't seem evil. But--" Pluto thumped her staff on the ground. "You really should leave now." Her voice was slightly inignant. "I'm not in love with the KING!" Garnet shrugged. "Of course not. But it makes a better legend that way...I just want to soak all of it up. All of you, and how we started this journey, because its happening so quickly! We knew it would, but still...this was my home and Oh, dear, I'm going to catch it now! They noticed I was missing. Well, wish us luck, Pluto!" She winked and vanished. Pluto sighed slightly unnerved by the weird encounter. These people were so strange to resist the King and Queen. Why didn't they want eternal life, in utter peacefulness? She felt a strange sense of loss as she watched the ship on the monitor. The Blue Crescent Rebellion dissappeared into the space, presumably starting their adventure on their new home, the bright blue planet, dotted with tufts of green. They made their choice to give up eternal life, to risk their own on a bold adventure. Over the intercom, Pluto could hear Venus muse "Strange people, wonder why they didn't want to gain the advantages of our lifestyle?!" Pluto restrained herself from answering that question. Over in her mind, Pluto could hear the strange girl's words "Don't you get lonely?" repeat again and again, until Pluto felt like screaming just to make it stop. *********************************************************** The "Blue Planet": Salvation The ship, comfortably outfitted despite its hasty construction, gently touched down on the mysterious planet. Coal stepped out, inhaled air fresher than what he had ever remembered, and bent to pick up a small blue flower. "There is not much land on this planet, but what there is seems full of life." He smiled and turned to help his wife down. "Can you believe it? All those nights of worrying about the future, and our place in it, and we've done it. We're here!" He wrapped his arms around her waist and swung her around in the sunshine. "It's beautiful!" She sang "More beautiful than the pictures of the way earth used to be, even before pollution and industrial devices spoiled it! This is more than we dreamed of isn't it?" The others also slowly began to emerge, shaking off the effects of the jump. "We should celebrate tonight, my friends." Coal announced. "But tomorrow, we will begin to build our city, Harmony. We will use only natural materials, and return to the Old ways. And then, we will bury this ship and all our memories of that corrupted Crystal Tokyo!" Everyone cheered, except for Garnet. "Something is not right!" She thought to herself. "I feel it, there is some presence here, something lurking." She whipped her head from side to side, trying to pin the dark shadow she caught in her peripheral vision. A man came up to her, and grabbed for her hand. "Garnet, you may have thought I was crazy for following Coal, but it is all worth it now, don't you see!? Why do you still have that worried look on your beautiful face?" "I see all these beautiful flowers, but I do not hear any animals!" She whispered. "Hm...that is strange, but we knew this planet couldn't have sophisticated life on it. That is why we brought our own stock. And for all their weirdness, those Crystal Tokyo folks assured us it was safe for human life here. Our own scientist reviewed the data they gathered before we left...so sure, there may be somethings off about it, but its better than Earth." "I guess the silence just unnerves me, thats all." She smiled weakly. "But you're right. This is our home now." Five days later, and a tentative city began to form. Crops began to sprout in the overly moist soil, despite the slightly cool temperatures that descended at night. Five Months later, the planet celebrated the first birth in their community. The community began to grow, despite the gradual shifts in the climate. Five years later, they noticed that many plants started to die out, and the temperature continued to drop. With much of the bloom of the strange plants gone, the rocky terrain of the planet began to reveal itself. Still the people of Salvation struggled on. Five Decades later, the society's cultured solidarity dissolved into feudal rule as fights for food broke out. Ingenuity and desperation led to the creation of burrowed cities far beneath the planets wintry surface. Just when the cold became unbearable, there was a short abrudt change and life bloomed again. 9 weeks of brief sunshine and flowers teased them into life, until the change occurred again. This time, the water still drenching the land began to evaporate as the temparature picked up. The days became increasingly shorter, and the water supply began to evaporate to form a thick barrier of clouds overhead. This blocked out more direct sunglight, leaving the land permanently overcast during the few hours that the sun actually shined. This trapped even more heat on the planet's surface, one again making life there unbearable. The searing heat scrubbed all plant life away, rendering their planet a boiling hell. By the time the century was almost done, so was the society on the planet they now called Nemessis. Only the rediscovery of their mental powers and advanced technology had allowed them to survive. That and a combined desire for revenge against the denizens of Crystal Tokyo who had sentenced them to this life. All they had wanted was to live on an Earth-like land where they could return to natural ways. What they had was a planet subjected to such extreme temperatures that only their technology could save their people. They were not a happy people, as the decades of misery added up. Those who were old enough to remember their history wanted only one thing: REVENGE. None felt this more strongly than the grandson of the leader who'd brought them to the planet, a man long since murdered by angry crowds of people upon the first food crisis. Somehow, Diamond rose to power among the bickering people of his Clan, and vowed to remove the sin of his ancestor's mistake. He would get his people to a better place. And he would make those who had condemmed them suffer! This desire remained intangible until the day Diamond discovered the old spaceship given them by the Crystal Tokyo people. He stared mezmerized at the holograph of the woman who'd condemmed them to this life. "Neo-Queen Serenity?" He murmurred. What an odd contrast, that someone so beutiful could have done something so ugly to his people. He began to reactivate the ship. Deep within the bowells of the planet something evil recognized the faint power it had scented years before. At that time, that power had been shut away too quickly for the evil to embody itself. To take the leap from recognition to the desire for revenge. This time though, nothing stood in its way as a skeletal body formed. That evening, Diamond gained a new advisor, a mysterious old "Wiseman" who claimed to do what his followers could not--tell him of a way to strike back at Crystal Tokyo and restore his people to the world they deserved. ******************************************* 50 Earth years later. ***************************************** "Pu....are you here Pu!?" A small voice called out seconds before a small form, rather like a pink mop, ran straight into her. "I was so worried, but I did it! I did it...I saved my Mommy!!" The pink mop attached itself to Pluto's leg. The look in Pluto's eyes softened. She relaxed her grip on her staff, and reached down a hand to pat the small pink head. "You were very brave, Small Lady. Very brave." "And here's the key...everybody was ok, when I came back! We had a party to celebrate, and everybody in the whole Kingdom was invited...We even had friends of Mommy's from other planets! But I didn't see you and I--" the voice grew into a whine. "I cannot leave the Door, you know that, Small Lady." Pluto chided. "Now don't be upset, everything is fine." "Pluto, you're alright then?" King Endymion asked as he stepped into the Doorway. "And again, forgive my daughter's rudeness!" "Yes. That is" Pluto blushed "She's not rude at all! I've told you many times, that I do not mind her visits... Or yours." She kept her eyes trained on the small girl holding her leg. "And I transformed and everything Pluto!" "You have finally become a true Sailor Scout then, Small Lady! Not just a soldier!" Pluto replied. "I wish I could have seen you!" King Endymion smiled a private smile of his own. "Maybe next time, perhaps. Small Lady, we will need your help in restoring the city outside the crystal points! Your mother is waiting." "My help?!" Rini asked. "Of course. You are now part of our team, right?"He smiled at his daughter. She smiled back, and then turned back over her shoulder to look at Pluto. "See you later, Pu!" She called, as she and the small black Luna-ball sped off down the palace halls. "Pluto?" King Endymion asked after his daughter vanished from view. "King?" She turned and met his eyes. Her breath, as always became a bit fast around him as her pulse raced. She had known him such a long time, how could she have this reaction? 'Control, Setsuna, control yourself!' She thought. Out loud she responded "Is something the matter?" "Nothing...Because of the war, I missed our usual chats...that is all." He stared at her, as if he were debating asking her something. Finally he sighed, and held up a hand. "Perhaps I am wrong to ask, but I must know. During this war, I met myself...and not just the younger version I had expected. I met you and a version of myself who lived another life than mine in Japan." Pluto's gaze met his blankly. "Another you?" "You were there Pluto. At least, a different you accompanied him. What happened to me in that life?" Endymion took a step towards her. "You two were trying to stop Wiseman's time bridge, and I believe you must have succeeded. I am not asking about the future, Pluto. So please, tell me." His dark blue eyes met hers, and she could see the worry caused by the unanswered questions the experience had caused. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you. I do not remember!" Pluto explained as she whirled towards the door. She braced herself against it, as Endymion walked closer. "Pluto...sometimes I have dreams, the kind I once had of my past life in the Moonkingdom, about a different life. The pieces do not all make sense. I only want to understand to bring that to closure." "The past is done, King. We should not disturb it." Pluto answered, turning so that she was face to face with the King. "You are right, except that my past memories leave me with the feeling that there was something I wanted to do and could not. Something was left undone in my past life, and I want to finish it now, if I could. And somehow it involved you! You must tell me what you know!" "I am not lying to you." She replied, catching his hands in hers before she thought. She could see the hollowness in his eyes, and it ran right through her. "But I honnestly do not know of any hidden past life of yours!" She needed to convince him that she'd revealed all she knew. The others never seemed to believe her but thought it another one of her "games". Pluto felt she could not bear it if Endymion did not trust her. 900 years together, and she still felt the other Scouts were only just beginning to trust her again. "This feeling leaves me so unsettled...--" The sound of a footstep made them drop their hands and step back a bit. "ENDYMION." Mar's voice called out sharply. "Neo-Queen Serenity sent me to find you. She's ready to start healing the outer sectors, but she wants you with her." Mars looked dissapprovingly at the scene in front of her, as Endymion and Pluto stood entirely too close for her comfort. Puffs of steam all but rose in the cool air around her. The King looked at Pluto, closed his eyes and said " Please, think about it." Then he swept out of the room, past an imobile Mars. Not that there could be any doubt of the King's love for the Queen, Mars told herself. At the same time, she felt annoyed at Pluto. Having once had a crush on Darien herself, Mars could easily read the expressions in Pluto's face as she stared after the King. Would someone else's husband be next?! Didn't she know any better, than to chase after the King!? Mars thought. "It's a good thing that Neo-Queen Serenity is a lot calmer than Serena was about Darien, but still, if she had walked in here!" She yelled, and then realized she'd said the words aloud. Slightly embarrased, she turned and left the Time door without saying another word. Pluto looked after Mars, and turned the acusatory words over in her head. "They have always been like this, since I met them." She sighed to herself. "If I were her friend, she would have spoken to me about this rather than assuming the worst... But then, why should I be her friend? Why should any of them trust me if? They say I walked away from them, and left them without an explanation of anything. And even if they say they do not resent that, I know they still cannot accept me in place of the Pluto they once knew. Even though they have known me so much longer..." She leaned against the door, as the staff dropped across her body. "But it does not matter! I have my duty at the gate. Even if they all avoid me, I do not care." The last words came out on a rarely expressed sob. "This is my Destiny. Only this." She gripped the rod more firmly. In her mind she could hear the faint voice of a young girl ask her "Don't you get lonely?" ************ "You've got to find something for her to do." Mars said to Neo-Queen Serenity. "Her relationship with Endymion is unsettling." The Neo-Queen's eyes filled with sadness. "My Darien, and Setsuna? I do not believe you!" "What do you mean by that, Mars!?"Jupiter asked, her voice almost a growl. Why did Mars always have to go and say something that upset the Queen, even if it were true? Mars sighed, her face a bit flushed. "I didn't say anything had happened...yet." She bit her lip as the word slipped out. "Then how can you accuse her!" Neo-Queen Serenity asked softly. "I am not blaming her, but he *is* the only man she sees." Mars blushed red as her planet as she said it. "She may live an unusual life, but remember, she is still a woman." "She must be very lonely!" Venus added. "All that time, without even a boyfriend! Its only natural she'd turn to focus on Endymion." "I don't know how someone could stand that! If I didn't have Neflite...." Jupiter sighed. Venus nodded. "If we didn't have the Generals--Oh! Sorry Mercury." Mercury cleared her throat. "I do not know why you all are so convinced that one must have a boyfriend to be happy!" She replied "At times, you've all realized how important our mission was, and that we didn't have time." "Yes, but with the peace of the Crystal Empire, we do!" Venus replied "And besides, our loves gave us strength to fight the evil that rose before us." "Not that you can't be happy without it!" Neo-Queen interjected, placing a hand on Mercury's shoulder. Using her friend's old name, she tried to tactfully smooth over the discussion. "I know, Amy, you must miss Greg very much." Mercury looked up into her friends eyes and smiled sadly. "He is in my heart..." This reassurred her friends, if not herself. How could she explain to anyone what she really had felt about his transformation? In all the time she'd had to think and adjust, she'd never really understood why she'd simply felt released when it had happened. Yet, now she felt a constant lonliness, and though she yearned sometimes for a love like the others, she somehow knew that it was not Greg she needed. But she couldn't explain this to even her closest friends, as that secret thought defied logical explanation. And Mercury, the former Amy Mizuno, was not comfortable with the illogical. Yet perhaps it was this experience of sadness that made Mercury feel as if she could understand Pluto. "I do not think what Mars observed should make you worry, Serenity. I'm sure the circumstances were perfectly innocent." "I didn't say they *weren't*" Mars argued back. "Its just that how long are the circumstances going to be so innocent!?" Her face grew red as the others gasped. Jupiter nodded. "I know what you mean. She's just not the same Setsuna we knew before in Tokyo, the one that dissappeared with Zoycite. She's too secretive. Wonder what else she'd hide?" Venus added "And even when *she* finally appeared with Zoycite 2 before this last attack, she didn't explain anything! She didn't even wait to see all of us. So now we're stuck with two Zoycites, and not a clue of how to handle it!" She sighed and then continued. "How much can we really trust her, when we don't understand her?" "She is our friend!" Serenity responded tightly, her hands clenched. Mentally she tried to breathe. The old Serena would have cried, or screamed, or run to him, to demand proof of his love. Memories flashed through her mind. Of all the times she'd screamed at her friends to leave "her man" alone. Once she'd even been so jealous she'd played Ninja just to spy on him and Raye! When strange women came near Darien, she'd been even worse: screaming, clinging, and utterly embarrasing him. Her cheeks flushed a little at the memories examined under the lens of maturity. Well, if he'd stayed with her through all of that, then his love and faithfullness deserved some reward. Youth excused such exuberance then, but as a Queen and mother, she could not act the same. Nor, she thought, should her friends. Quietly she said. "We'll have no more talk of such things. She would not betray me any more than any of you would." The three soldiers blushed a bit out of guilt, but Mars recovered first. "Yeah, well, I just said its not the first time I've seen that look in Pluto's eyes when she looks at Endymion." Mars muttered. Jupiter added. "Me too. I just thought I'd be stirring up trouble to say anything. I mean, nothing has happened or is going to, between them. I saw it a decade ago. So what if she has a crush on him?" "But what if something happened" Venus exclaimed dramatically. "Its no use to close your mouth after the gift horse is gone! This is the most precious love we are talking about-- we cannot take chances! Why don't we just encourage Pluto to go to the past now? We know she needs to go sometime... And Small Lady's trip should be coming soon, right?"Venus continued. "We should not act on Mar's insinuations alone." Mercury responded. "There is no reason to banish Pluto to the past just yet!" "I didn't mean banish her!" Venus protested. "Small Lady's trip!?" The Neo-Queen stood and turned to stare at the Moon. Its brilliance reflected off the symbol on her forehead, and the crystal walls of the inner chamber. "I almost forgot about that! I am so busy dealing with restoring the world after the Black Moon attack!" Serenity lowered her eyes."What has been, must be, I suppose. I will miss her, but can treasure the memories of her time with me in the past." She slowly expelled a held breath, her luminous blue eyes recalling those times. After a second she smiled. If there was anything to show her the ludicrousness of her previous self's jealousy, it was her treatment of her own daughter. "Do you remember how jealous I was of my daughter, for taking Darien's time away from me! I was so silly then! I overeacted and misunderstood everything! But I cannot make the same mistake now." Her smile faded and she stared straight at Mars and Venus. "What are you saying?" Jupiter asked. "I'm saying that I think Pluto must leave for the past, but I agree this is to be because of Destiny and not Mars' suggestions!"Serenity replied. "I have faith in her...and him." "Venus suggested that!" Mars bit her lip to prevent herself yelling. Sometimes, she wished they were still just Raye and Serena rather than Guardian and Queen. Internally, she thought "moon-brain, that's not what I meant! I wasn't accusing Pluto of anything! I just didn't want you to be hurt..." Neo-Queen Serenity smiled at Mars as if she'd read the thought, and then unclasped her hands. "I have decided. Pluto must depart for the past, as she must enounter us as we remember. We will find another way to guard the Gate of Time while she is gone. Perhaps then the Pluto we know will finally come back to us." As the others filed out of the chamber, Mars stopped and turned to face Serenity. "You know I did not mean to suggest Endymion would ever--" Serenity held up a hand to quiet her friend. "I know. And I know why you told me of what you saw. The G.R.E.G. Says that my Mother once warned "A heart that loves without return can grow cold!" I do not want that for her, just as my mother did not want that for us!" She smiled sadly "Perhaps not all love works out, or is destined to be, but there has to be a way to get beyond destiny! Not just for Setsuna, but for Mercury as well." Mars tugged at her friends arm. "Serena!! You've got that look in your eyes again!" Despite the elegance of the Queen's attire, the stately white dress and wings, the expression on the Queen's face bordered on comical. "I just know, if I think hard enough I can find someone for her!" Her eyes all but spun with the challenge. "I don't know why I never thought of this before! And, I'll find a way to get Zoycite back to normal, so he and Mercury can finally be reunited...." "Wait--I remember what happens every time you try your matchmaking techniques!" Mars spat. "AND, exactly what was wrong with that!" the Queen asked. "I put a good many couples together!" "Like who? Moon-Brain!" Mars yelled unable to restrain herself anymore "I think those couples got together inspite of you meddling!" "Show some respect, I'm your Queen!" Serenity countered. "I'll give you respect when you deserve it--" Mars growled back. "OH Really?" The Queen of Crystal Tokyo, rumaging through her diplomatic skills, and her set of retorts honed by much debate with would-be politicians, dredged up the one reply she knew would put Mars in her place. "Well, THBBBBBBYYYYTTTTTTHT" She said as she stuck her tongue out at Mars. Mars started to stick her tongue out as well as an automatic reaction, until she and the Queen started to laugh. The two collapsed to the floor, hands on each other's shoulders to steady themselves. "We haven't done that in so long!" giggled the Queen. "Too long" Mars laughed back, and then sobered as she stood. "But, I'm serious. We've just come through a horrific battle... I'm not sure we could handle you trying to set Setsuna and Amy up!" The Queen rose also, and nodded. "Of course. Of course. Don't worry!" But the glint in her eyes revealed that she had no intention of giving up her new pet projects. 1