Stars in Love

A Journey Through Time and Back

Author’s Note

Signs at the beginning of each paragraph:

stands for the place, city or whatever or just a time jump

() stands for the POV I’m writing from

Chapter Seven: The (early) End of an Era

Tokyo, Japan; 1998 (Setsuna)

A tremor. It all started with a little tremor. A tiny shockwave in the Space-Time Continuum.  The effects had been and were still unpredictable. The waiting was driving me crazy, a feeling I rarely had in millennia upon millennia of guarding the gate. Something was boiling, something with far more consequences than any of us could even imagine.  And Venus and Saturn were out there, fighting it… alone. I longed to go but I could not. The stage was set, the choices made, solid and without any chance of changing them. I could not go, not there, not now, not ever… The temptation was too great, the intoxicating possibility of changing history and saving the Silver Millennium… I had always been true to my calling but that one, that particular time, I had forbidden myself to visit. Instead I chose two of the others to do MY job. And with that I most likely sealed their fate.

So deep in thought, I almost didn’t notice that I was slipping into what the world knew as a vision. Darkness, everywhere… No, not darkness. Nothingness. But where from? This was the beginning, the source of forever. Where everything came from and there everything would go, everything that is existence; space, planets, stars… time. Not spirits, spirits were traveling to different places after death – like eternity or hell – but that wasn’t of importance here. Or was it?

There, in the middle of everything were spirits; two spirits. A figure clad in Orange, a figure clad in Violet. Symbols, stars, planets, a connection, I could not identify; however I could guess quite well. They sang a haunting, yet beautiful melody that tore right through your heart and your very soul. It was a sad, tragic tune, full of pain, heart-wrenching pain, still with a promising touch, a glimmer of hope…

The scene changed abruptly, then I could see a woman with long midnight blue hair holding three shimmering objects, vaguely resembling the… I never finished the thought as the objects touched each other and everything simply ceased to exist. And I mean ceased to EXIST. Only the void of origin, the nothingness before creation was left behind.

The tinkling noise of my now broken cup of tea brought me back to reality. I looked down and saw that the contents of the tea cup were spilled all over the living room floor and my hand… forget that, my whole body was shaking with a fear and terror I never had experienced before; not even during the fall of the Silver Millennium. I could not describe, not comprehend what I had seen. One thing was for sure: I miscalculated. There was far more than a simple time demon at work, something far superior, something much more devious. And the two senshi I sent to hunt it were right in the middle of it.

I stood, not bothering about the liquid soaking the living room. “Pluto Crystal Power!” I whispered and in the next second Sailorpluto, my true identity – Meiou Setsuna was nothing but a shadow in this world – took over. The Garnet Orb shimmered and right at the very moment when Michiru entered the room to demand what all the fuss was about I blinked out of this time, back to the gate. There were things to fix, I just hoped that there was still something left that COULD be fixed.

Outer, approaching Inner Space (Yisa)

The ride had been quiet until now. Venus and Saturn were flying ahead on Zemor with all three fairies in the front, intensely locked in conversation probably about family stories. Cassandra and I were trailing behind and I actually had time to enjoy my very first space ride on a living creature, not to mention on the back of a High Fairy/unicorn-hybrid I really grew to like in the short time. There was some sort of connection I could almost touch but I didn’t know really why.

“Enjoying yourself.” It was more a statement than a question and, unlike Zemor would probably have, Cassandra didn’t chuckle. I just couldn’t help it. The ark was something entirely different, a ship, a combination of technology, science and magic; this however was entirely different, a natural experience. “Yup, I think I’m starting to like space rides.” Especially space rides on you, I added silently but didn’t say it. Where dragoncorns often were a little rough to ride, Cassandra on the other hand was gentle and more… fluid. She seemed as natural as a fish in water, or so to say, although the High Fairy wings still looked odd.

“Thanks.” I blinked. “Huh?” Did I say my thoughts out loud or did she… I mentally slapped myself. Of course she read my mind. “You’re welcome,” I recovered quickly trying to hide a blush. Why the hell was I embarrassed? The only thing I did was compliment her, just a friendly gesture. I dismissed the strain of thoughts as simply stupid. “You really seem natural at this. I never thought you could do this but it figures somehow. How else would you move around as a High Fairy anyway.”

Cassandra smiled and I caught her eyes twinkling, however she remained calm. “I’m surprised you can breathe here. Must be the planetary gifts you inherit as Venus’ sister.” I had wondered about this too but was too preoccupied with enjoying the ride. I looked ahead and saw the couple ahead talking softly. You couldn’t help but notice the rare love both were emitting. It was truly fascinating and just plain beautiful. On one hand I envied them but then again – thinking about what they had to face – I truly didn’t want to trade. They were probably talking about the scroll Auntie Celeste gave my sister. I knew all too well what it was. Damn prophecies.

“The only thing we can do is be there for them and aid them as best we can,” Cassandra had caught on my thoughts. She didn’t have to actually read them, my expression must have given them away. “You do know about the prophecy, right?” I was surprised she didn’t know for sure. “Mother told me… Well, not actually told me but I had dreams, visions and when she told me what she knew… from your ancestors that is.” Cassandra nodded. “I spent ages deciphering its meaning but with no real progress. We can just wait and see…” She trailed of and silence remained for a while.

After a minute or so I suddenly spoke up again. “I’m glad you came with us.” There was not really much to say about this. Cassandra had been persistent about her joining our little group and all of us had no real reason in arguing. Venus and I had liked her instantly, Saturn was glad her family was finally reunited and Zemor was glad to have another kindred… although he didn’t even know how kindred they were. When he realized that he had almost hit on who had turned out to be his half-sister, he would cower in shame… I wondered briefly why she didn’t tell him but knew better than to question her.

“It is my fate to help you…” I cut her off, annoyed at the lack of understanding. “No, I mean I’M glad you are here.” The unicorn turned her head and looked at me thoughtfully. “You’re troubled.” Again no question. Ack, I hated that. She really took after her half-sister. “So are you. Maybe that’s why I’m glad you are here. You understand how it is to know and not be allowed to act on it. We’re just covering the hurt differently.” Ok, now I figured out why I felt so drawn to her but there still was a funny feeling I could not yet determine. “It runs in the family, I think.” She nodded in response, telling with her eyes what she was thinking.

The silence following became soon unbearable and I knew I had dug out memories well hidden, of times I didn’t want to think about nor did Cassandra. Deciding a topic change was in order, I tried to fake a cheerful voice. “Is it true that you can jump through inter-dimension?” Cassandra didn’t reply for a second, in deep concentration. “You will experience it soon.” I cocked my head curiously. “Why?” She sounded rather serious and with a hint of concern in her voice. “Something’s happening. Something evil.” That’s just what Saturn mentioned from in front of us a second later.

Royal Palace, The Moon; Final Period of the Silver Millennium (Sailormoon, the past, not meant to exist one)

The power, it felt strange. Was it like that? Did the others also felt so… incredible when they change? Though, the blue and red senshi fuku looked a bit ridiculous I had to admit. For the Senshi of the Moon, the Princess of the Silver Millennium I had expected something more… regal, fitting, beautiful. Oh well, the fukus are always the same, they are meant for combat, not for pretty posing. Also I had other, far more important things to worry about than the design of my senshi fuku. The bemused but still threatening time demon was one of them. To tell the she was the ONLY important one at the moment.

“What is this, little princess wants to play hero? Isn’t it a bit to early for you for this sort of things?” the demon ridiculed. She mocked me! I don’t like to be mocked! With something I hoped sounded like a determined battle cry I launched myself forward, counting on the element of surprise. It didn’t work though. All the training, the drills from Callisto, did nothing to prepare me for the impact when my jump kick missed and I crashed into the transparent wall.

The demon laughed while I desperately tried to stand again. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all. Even Venus and Saturn weren’t able to successfully fight her and they had years of practical experience. But… What else could I have done? The guards would have even more of a disadvantage than I. “Really, I praise your courage Princess, however you do not really think you can take me, do you? I studied you, all of you. And apart from your future self’s final form you all are no opponents for me. So you had better stand back and watch. I have something to ask your mother for.”

“Never!” Lifting a hand to my forehead I took the tiara and hurled it at the demon who stood in the center of the terrace, not bothering to move. “MOON TIARA ACTION!” The tiara was instantly filled with magic and turned into a golden disk of powerful energy. The still bemused woman easily caught it in midair and – to my horror – easily snapped it in two with one quick motion …

“Oh!” she looked down at the broken pieces of the tiara in mock shock. “Did I break your toy? Sorry.” Slowly she began walking towards me, abandoning her original target. While I was glad she wasn’t threatening mother anymore I was not so sure if that was a good sign… for me. Slowly the demon advanced on me and I retreated backwards, quickly realizing I was already standing against the glass wall. “I must say. I didn’t expect that much of resistance. It seems my plan had some holes or maybe all the events were just meant to be. But in the end to every downside is an upside… or something like that. You see it doesn’t really matter which one I take: Yours or your mother’s. There might be a difference in power and development but that’s of no importance. For once this is not about power.”

I couldn’t make any sense to her ramblings. Why wasn’t power important for her goal? Why did I have what she wanted too? Did this really matter? I decided no, since the only thing that mattered was that I would be dead any second for sure. “W-Who are you…” I stammered out, my voice shaking, my composure breaking and any battle spirit evaporated into thin air. The demon smiled wickedly. “Call me… Enigma.” Well, that helps… As much as it would when a bottle of water would shatter on Earth right at that moment. Absolutely nothing. I had hoped for some sort of reference, hint to her origin. But Enigma was… well, an enigma.

She now stood directly in front of me. I tried not to look scared – terrified would be a better word – but to no avail. I was probably shaking and the evil aura Enigma emitted wasn’t helping either. Out of the corner of my eye I saw mother raising her wand in preparation of an attack. The crystal on top flashed in response… She never came to use it.

“SUPREME THUNDER!”

Upon impact the glass globe shattered in thousand pieces and before any of us could even look up a second and third attack followed immediately.

“FIRE SOUL!”

“SHABON SPRAY!”

The fireball forced the demon to jump backwards and Mercury’s mist covered the whole area immediately. Relieved, I allowed myself to give a little sigh. A split second later my four guardian senshi jumped down in front of me while I could hear the ark continuing its descend on autopilot. “Really, Serenity, you can never stay out of trouble, can you?” Mars commented, and for once I didn’t have an equal reply. I still was too shocked to bicker with the tempered senshi. Mars took position with Mercury and Jupiter at her side, slightly behind Venus who stood calm and confident. A confidence I wasn’t really sharing and that added only more to the amusement of the demon.

“You’re not welcome here, demon. Remove yourself from this planet and leave the people of the Silver Millennium alone.” Enigma chuckled, “And if not? What are you going to do?” Instead of responding Venus began to glow merely enough to see and semi-transparent elfin wings emerged from her back. I just stared, as did the demon. Venus was an elf? Since when… She didn’t give us time to think.

“CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER!” The battle was on.

Outer Space (Saturn)

I didn’t believe this. A lot of things had happened in the last hours, including reuniting with a family I never knew I once had – who were right beside me all the time except for Cassandra. But this, this… just couldn’t be. Minako had shown me the scroll her aunt had given to her in the veils. The words on it, the song, legend, prophecy whatever… they were all too familiar. I would have believed it to be some sort of coincidence if I hadn’t dreamed about the written text on the scroll being sung in what I was now almost certain WAS a vision.

“Are you sure? I mean, maybe you just didn’t remember it that well and mixed up…” Minako started but I didn’t let her finish. “I AM sure. I dreamed this DOZENS of times. That’s exactly what the figures are singing, I would remember the words everywhere.” It came out a bit harsher than intended and I almost swore when I noticed Minako flinch and look away. Maybe I had been TOO harsh. Softly I touched her shoulder. “Gomen, Aino-chan… I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It’s just… this dream was bothering me for weeks and nobody – not even Setsuna – believed me when I said it was a premonition. Then we came here and since that first night I thought it had ended and now…” Minako finally faced me again, a rueful hint of a smile on her face. “It’s okay, Firefly. I’m sorry too that I reacted that sensitively. I should really learn to trust you, Kami knows how often it saved us.” I returned her smile and finally realized that we had called each other by our nicknames again. Just like on our first full day in this time. Oh well, this felt nice. After all we WERE a couple now and nicknaming the partner was nothing out of the ordinary.

Instead of answering I laid my head on her shoulder and relaxed. Minako instantly pulled me in her arms and we sat there like this for a few minutes silent, both of us bathing in the emotions the other offered. This had become a habit since we left Saturn and everything I had experienced there made me more content about Minako and me, as it did to her. I could finally understand and feel it now. There WAS an us and both sides were desperately wanting and trying to deepen it. Just the thought of that created a warm feeling inside of me. I had never really experienced to be loved. Back then I never thought it was something to be experienced. I surely would never have expected that… Then Chibiusa literally flew into my life – or rather her hat – and from that day on my life had turned upside down. First I gained a best friend, then a purpose, through that a whole lot of friends and now… now I finally experienced real love. And as it was with all the previous experiences there needed to be a big crisis… I guessed the life of a Sailorsenshi was never boring.

“So…” Minako hesitated. “Can you make any sense of it? Now that you have the words black and white?” Sadly this was not the case. “Not really. I can remember the dream now in detail but I still don’t know what to make of it. Either I am blind to something very obvious or the whole thing is not meant to make sense until it is supposed to.” She blinked. “Eh? What logic is that?” Zemor gave a deep chuckle. “I have to say I can’t follow that one either.” The fairies were to deep in their conversation to even pay attention to us. “Well, you see, prophecies most of the time find a way to fulfill themselves and in order to do that premonitions, visions or anything else can only be solved at a specific time…”

Suddenly a strong feeling of danger cursed through my senses and made me freeze in mid-sentence. Concentrating, I closed my eyes and followed the feeling back, racing along various nexi points that all pointed in one direction. There were dim energy signatures. One was without ANY doubt the demon, the other was Queen Serenity, then I also sensed those of the four Inner Senshi but also… Nah, that made no sense. It was totally impossible; not that I would be surprised if it were true.

“Hotaru?” I looked up and stared straight ahead. “Something is not right.” Being around me long enough my partner picked up on the meaning of my statement rather quick. “Where?” She sounded as if she knew already but wanted to hear a different answer. “The Moon Kingdom.”

Venus swore then turned around. “Ok, you two. Get ready, the slow ride is over.” To Zemor she said. “I can vaguely remember doing this once. I always wanted to do this again. Ready for inter-dimensional jump?” The Dragocorn simply nodded, a twinkle of amusement at his prior Ajama’s excitement in his features. “You’re going to love this, Firefly.” Despite the seriousness of the situation I couldn’t help but being curious. I had no idea what I was in for though…

Inter-dimension flight was something exciting and terrifying at the same time. A multiple mix of wormholes that were somehow clustered together described it at least vaguely. The interesting thing was that at one moment you were in one hole and in the next in another, whether you reached the end of the previous one or actually saw the beginning of the next one. If you stared too intensely at the swirling and zooming mess of colors you were bound to get insane… Nevertheless Minako seemed to enjoy the ride, as did her sister.

A few minutes later we entered normal space again. Just a few miles from the Moon’s surface. Our sensible (High) Fairy and elfin senses picked up the obvious battle signs without any problems and soon we were heading towards the palace. The guards must have looked quite stupefied when a mighty Dragocorn and a unicorn with fairy wings flew right over them…

Moon Palace (Past Venus)

We positioned ourselves right between the demon and Princess Serenity – or should I call her Sailormoon now? I stood directly opposite of the dangerous, beautiful looking woman, shouting out a threat that at least sounded like one and showed of my hidden talents in response to her mocking. As expected Serenity… or Moon – I should really stick with that – was far more shocked than her mother who merely blinked. I was almost certain she knew of all this but then again… It might only be the shock from facing the demon. Couldn’t bother with that now.

“CRESCENT BEAM SHOWER!” It was easy to access this powers through my newly-discovered gifts. I even managed to master the chain so far even if not quite that accurate than that of my counterpart. Time to put all these new abilities to some use. Without waiting for the demon to recover from the sudden rain of energy beams around her I jumped up in the air and came down with a vicious spin kick aimed at her head, only that it wasn’t there anymore. I made a few cartwheels as soon as I touched the ground and looked back to locate my opponent. She was under the glass globe and forming and energy blast. Mercury reacted quickly and blinded her with her mist just enough for me to fly up and engage the demon in battle before she could finish whatever she intended to do. The fight lasted for about two, maybe three minutes and I felt my reserves already failing while the demon still looked as fresh as ever. Time to take a risk. Again counting on the element of surprise I managed to grasp and hurl her towards the ground. She would recover about two or three seconds later I knew but that’s more than I needed… at least I hoped so.

“VENUS… LOVE AND BEAUTY… SHOCK!” I managed to form the energy blast all right, but not much better than my future self the first time we met. I hoped my new powers would somehow give it more substance but I figured I was able to actually pull it of BECAUSE of my elfin gifts and it left me rather drained. The golden heart spiraled sown and ironically hit the surprised demon in the face.  It sent her flying into the glass globe with and audible impact.  The entire thing collapsed; I had to remember to thank the constructors because the glass globe somehow shattered outward.

Breathing hard, I landed on the ground and looked over where the demon crashed, she was already getting back up. “Damn…” It seemed she was furious now. Really furious. Jumping up she practically warped towards us at a speed not even an elf could manage as far as I knew, firing blast of dark magic. We barely managed to avoid not being hit. Mars and Jupiter tried to counterattack but just ended up twenty feet away from there they stood from their original position, Mercury wisely knew she wouldn’t stand a chance.

However, instead of turning and coming at us again she headed directly towards the Queen and Moon, who had run to her mother’s side. “Watch out!” I cried out but I noticed it was already too late. Queen Serenity had raised the Moon Wand and the Ginsuishou began to flare. “MOON HEALING…” She never finished the phrase as the demon suddenly was right in her face, she lunged forward and yanked the crystal that was already sparkling with energy right from the top of the wand, much to the shock of all of us.

In the distance a thunderclap could be heard. A loud, NATURAL thunderclap, though there was no natural lightning on the entire Moon. All was magic; however this sounded just like nature was angry herself. Queen Serenity led out a chilling cry of pain as the demon jumped back to a safe distance trying to control the power of the crystal in her hands. Serenity’s body began to shake uncontrollably as her star seed was torn away from her breaking the connection that created her living body. Instead of vanishing she just fell down completely limp and began turning an odd, unhealthy white color. Her daughter, finally letting out a cry of pain, fell to her knees and wept.

This hardly seemed real. It all happened so fast; I asked myself why we hadn’t concluded earlier what exactly the demon was after. The answer was practically hanging right over our heads and we were to blind to see it. Every being of chaos coming here eventually sought the crystal. Anger welled up inside of me and the anger about not being able to do anything mixed with it turned it into rage. With a shriek of inhumanity I shot forward, ignoring all the protest my body made. There was only a few minutes to get the crystal back before its owner dissolved permanently into nothingness. To make it short the demon just shrugged me off like a fly…

“Finally!” She exclaimed and began laughing maniacally as we could only helplessly watch while a devastated princess cried over the lifeless body of her mother that soon would be no more… We had failed, we had horribly failed to a monster we were not made to fight. A battle that was fated to be lost. But nevertheless had we failed our queen. Watching Serenity, we also had failed our princess and with that our friend. And after that… there was nothing but pain. Pain at failing in our duty to protect the ones we had sworn to and that we loved.

Suddenly, the demon stopped laughing and tensed visibly. The crystal in her hands still flashed trying to escape this unholy being. However, the demon’s gaze was turned skywards. Lazily I lifted my head and a flicker of hope suddenly seemed to lit up the darkened world… A huge Dragocorn and a unicorn came rushing through the sky towards us. On their backs: the future Venus, her sister and Saturn… maybe we could still win.

(Dinai)

Zemor dived down spitting a vicious white flame at the intended foe. It was the first time any of us, who had joined the time-traveling couple during their journey, saw the demon in flesh and blood… or whatever these beings are made of. Unlike what I expected, this one didn’t look like a creature of hell, a minion of chaos and tool of destruction. However I was not fooled for, I felt the incredible dark power that the being possessed. Though not as strong as an entity this one possessed stronger power than accustomed for her kind and even a far greater force, the force of knowledge. Dark knowledge, used in a careful plan to bring destruction. I knew Yisa’s dreams and I had a vague feeling I knew what exactly they meant already… But I didn’t allow myself to believe them. I could not imagine someone could go THAT far to reach their goal.

Before any of us could touch the ground the demon sprang into the sky and dashed of at mad speed. Her power was concentrated. She could have taken us now if not for its concentration all used to master the power of the crystal in her hands. Venus and Saturn looked at each other after quickly surveying the area and spotting the lifeless form of Queen Serenity. Venus gave a tiny nod to an unspoken question and her features hardened as Saturn jumped down. My cousins went to follow her but I stopped them. “You go with Venus, I can aid her better at this moment. The crystal must be retrieved,” I told them although knowing how futile such an attempt would prove. Jiya and Jayna nodded.

After Cassandra had dropped of Yisa on Zemor’s back I followed my half-sister downwards to aid my other half-sister, charge and friend. Zemor sped of at maximum speed giving chase to the being of chaos before it could escape. I prayed beyond hope that they would reach it in time. I on the other hand had more important things to do. Rhea already kneeled at the Queen’s side and had her eyes closed. Magic gathered and spread in an attempt to rescue a body without spirit; a heart without soul. She – we – could only prevent the inevitable, but that was the least we could… HAVE HAD TO do.

Cassandra – who already had assumed her human form – kneeled to our sister’s left while I took the other side. Soon our powers began to mingle with those of Saturn. Cassandra bore planetary markings itself while mine simply aided to her other parts. I could practically feel the column of light erupting skywards, the swirling, colorful pillar of forces beyond comparison but yet not strong enough to fight the ways of life and death itself. Nobody could do this, once a star seed was taken either the owner ceased to exist or the soul- and spiritless body was free to be taken by whoever pleased and had the power. However, as with everything that is inevitable it can be delayed, for a short time at least.

The light became intensified and finally burst – inwardly. The huge crystalline structure looked like it was made out of ice stalagmites spread out like a flower from the earth carrying the body of Serenity within its mouth. The senshi stared transfixed, the Princess could hardly believe her eyes, but I paid them not much attention. In a final act of pure willpower we bent the light again to form a glowing shield of energy nobody except us three could ever understand. It would protect the body from fading into non-existence for a few days, a week, maybe two even, nobody could really tell neither could we,

When everything was said and done all three of us collapsed. We joined the defeated senshi finally being able to comprehend the situation, and th dread that was really brought over the Silver Millennium by a single beautiful-looking woman. They said that the devil is often described as the ugliest creatures with red skin, horns and other sorts of similar things; but the true devil could be the innocent beautiful girl next door for you would never suspect her capable of it. They were right.

(Venus)

Zemor chased the demon at top speed. Yisa and I could have flew ourselves but I didn’t have that much experience in flying. Besides, an elf was nowhere as fast as a Dragocorn, not even the most experienced and skillful ones. I could not believe that we let her get away with this. It was insane! Why had we never thought of this? Somehow it seemed almost as if someone didn’t want us to notice. Neherenia had told us, Galaxia had told us in some twisted sort of way. The crystal would always be what every being of Chaos would seek. But the whole setting seemed so unrealistic: a demon who could travel through time. Why not go where the crystal’s owner is weak, or it has no owner at all? Why take all the risks, and risk being sealed forever by an experienced wielder? Maybe that’s why we never thought of it; although she mentioned looking for the Queen on the star sailor… Now Serenity was going to suffer and I didn’t even want to imagine what this could do to the timeline if we wouldn’t catch her.

“Where the heck is she going to flee?” Zemor exclaimed clearly annoyed that he hadn’t caught up to the demon by now. She was fast; we were getting closer constantly, but would still need some time to come close enough. I looked in the direction she was heading. Maybe the demon was smart enough to not actually try and outrun a Dragocorn in space or that was just not where she wanted to go. Though, I would consider staying here suicide.

My eyes widened when I finally calculated the general center she was closing in with her steadily changing movements. “She’s heading to the center of Mare Serenitas.” The Sea of Peace stretched out wide; beautiful, calm, and as peaceful as it’s name claimed to be. Some vague feeling told me that was a REALLY bad thing, and I had come to trust my instincts as a senshi. Yisa nodded and confirmed my feeling. “The center of the Mare Serenitas is a temporal nexi point, they say it can be used for difficult time travel.” We were dealing with a time demon here, who knew what she could do in a time nexus WITH the crystal. Disaster could only lie ahead.

“We have to stop her before she reaches it.” Zemor had already understood this but even I could calculated that we wouldn’t be fast enough. I glanced ahead and saw that the demon was in deep concentration trying to… She couldn’t control the crystal! I suddenly realized that although having it, she could not hurt us with it; not now anyway. And with all her concentration directed at the crystal, so that it would not rip her in pieces, we might have a chance. One lucky shot maybe and…

Suddenly I sensed a lot of mana rising, and it was not whatever the three Percyphers did back there with the Queen. It was different, more familiar, like mine… it was Yisa! She was drawing magic from the growing magical catalyst in the distance and added it to her own. I had no idea what she was up to but both fairies immediately supported her in directing the high mana I didn’t even thought my sister capable of. On the other hand… she was my sister and with that also bore a mix of Venus Power and elfin magic in her.

“When I say now, shoot your beam directly at her right hand.” Years of battle experience reminded me of not questioning a caster of a spell with time as short as now, so I simply nodded and aimed for the demon. I had perfected my beam years ago and could probably shoot a fly at this distance if I wanted to. The problem was the speed we were flying at and the speed the demon possessed. “NOW!” I didn’t hesitated one more moment. “CRESCENT BEAM!” The golden beam leapt from my index finger and lanced through the magical air with a speed that surprised even me.

Sadly the demon caught sight of it and spiraled away at the last second, lessening her concentration on the crystal for one tiny moment. That was all Yisa needed though. I realized just right when the crystal flashed, disappeared and reappeared in Yisas open hand that she always was a master in moving things through subspace. I barely controlled myself from laughing when I saw the stupefied expression on the demon’s face. Instead I turned and took the crystal from my sister before it could burn her or something. As Serenity’s second in command it was less likely that it would do something to me.

“Neat trick,” Zemor commented. “But couldn’t you just have moved it directly to where the Queen is?” Yisa shook her head slowly, tired from calling up enough mana to move something that holy through subspace. “I’m lucky I could even pull it off at this distance and…” We were rudely interrupted when the demon turned and raced towards us, finally realizing what had happened. “Zemor, turn and flee, I can’t fight her alone, not like this.” Zemor did so, at least he tried before a sudden vortex of wind magic erupted around us and nearly smashed the Dragocorn through the silvery surface. My Ajama had visibly problems to stay up and his wings seemed to be damaged badly. Before we knew it the demon was upon us.

I reacted instinctively, tossed the crystal back to Yisa and smashed into the demon with a uppercut that would have impressed any martial artist and just about smashed a rock easily. The demon reeled back and spun a few times before bouncing back. Her powers were still concentrated, focused and almost at their full extent. Even with my elfin gifts it should prove a delusion to think I’d be able to beat her. I had to try anyway. “Get the crystal back to the Queen,” I shouted and wasted no more time. “VENUS SWIRLING…” My hands began to glow with golden and orange energy that began slowly merging creating tiny boomerangs. “BOOMERANG…” With a swift gesture I threw the boomerangs. “STRIKE!” They were small and fast but they missed. I expected that though. The first strike was to gain speed and keep the enemy in false self-confidence. The boomerangs turned with a gesture of my hand suddenly growing in size and power, still not loosing any speed. The demon turned just in time to spot them before they slammed into her. A huge explosion shattered the air and almost threw me back. A second later the demon shot out of the smoke and attacked.

We were fighting hand to hand for seconds, seconds turned into a minute and finally two. Mako would be proud of me, I thought. I was fighting like I never had before, varying in a combination of ki and mana attacks, using my wings as if I had been born with them – technically I had been, at least the genes. However I felt my reserves rapidly weakening. I had to end this now or the demon would take me with her next swipe. Hoping that I had given Yisa and Zemor enough time to escape and knowing it was futile to hope for the help of the others after such a serious mana drain, I concentrated and willed my power into one final attack.

“COSMIC…” I didn’t really know where all this new attacks were coming from, how I managed to create new ones equally powerful to Saturn’s within moments but I never got the chance to direct it at the demon. A scream echoed through the air over the quiet waters of the sea below, shattering my concentration and draining me completely without even unleashing the attack. It was as if preparing to fill a cup of milk and the bottle suddenly cracked open at the bottom. I was barely able to keep myself in the air and when I saw who – okay, I had already guessed who – had been the cause of the scream and most importantly why. I felt like falling in the sea below and drowning myself was a very good idea.

There were at least a full wing a Drapyrs and several dozen Dark Elves had somehow floated into the area. Why that could have happened without me noticing and with the pureness of the Moon itself lay beyond my understanding, but they were here. In horror, I spotted Yisa held in a large Drapyr’s claw, it’s sharp fangs piercing into her sides while Zemor struggled weakly, but furiously against the grip of two others. A Dark Elf hovered in front of Yisa and snatched the crystal out of her grasp. In one fluid motion the Dark Elf threw it across the water right into the demon’s hands… I looked up and realized that our fight had somehow carried us right to the center of the sea. The demon cackled maniacally, the crystal flashed once, twice, a third time…

Then a vortex of dark power erupted around her. Clouds were forming although the satellite never knew such things as clouds. Lightning struck and a lay line pattern of energy formed like a net around the demon completely covering her, it’s arc the Silver Crystal. The vortex gained more and more power and then – with a final flash of blinding dark light – the demon was gone. And with it the crystal.

“No…” Finally I realized, I realized why the demon chose this time, why she’d come here. Wielding the crystal was one thing, but stealing it with the knowledge that without the future and that present we know would never come true, that was a completely other matter. This being was clever, far deadlier than all we fought before because she knew that if she’d stay that we would eventually beat her as we always did. The demon had learned from the faults of the other entities. With a terror of understanding, I finally understood that despite her strength, despite we had been defeated several times, besides all that; we had still underestimated her and now we had paid a heavy price.

My head whipped around when another scream from my sister rang over the sea and I watched helplessly as the Dark Elf by her side slapped her several times while the Drapyr dug deeper into her flesh. I felt a deep flame of rage building, powerful, a blinding rage that would finally erupt into a scream of myself that would be heard by the Outer Senshi on their planets. That is if Cassandra hadn’t have beaten me to it.

I had never thought the gentle hybrid capable of such a raging fury. Finally, I saw why she was Hotaru’s half sister and why she was meant as a counterpart to Saturn. Saturn had earned the powers of life by the Percypher line; why shouldn’t it have been the other way around too? Otherwise there would be no balance, right? Yisa’s tormentor never knew what exactly killed him when Cassandra struck resembling a pure beam of white crackling at the edges with menacing violet energy I knew all too well. She turned and raised her palm at the Drapyr, who took one look at her, let Yisa drop and fled. She blasted him anyway and caught Yisa a split second later.

“Close your eyes.” I felt Hotaru take my hand and turned to look at her for a moment then obeyed her wish and closed my eyes as I felt myself drifting away. What followed was a repeat of the events on Venus… just on a much higher and larger scale.

(Cassandra)

I hardly recognized myself in the blinding fury I was currently fighting in. The moment Saturn, Dinai and I entered the battlefield area and when I spotted Yisa being tortured by a huge Drapyr and a mocking Dark Elf something just snapped. In my opinion such a sweet creature like Yisa didn’t deserve treatment like this. The tiny elf was not a warrior, more a healer than anything else, but she fought bravely. At seeing her like this, years of patience, calm calculation, and trained serenity didn’t keep the anger from boiling over and erupting with a rage that probably scared me the most. Launching myself at the Drapyr, I unleashed power that I knew I possessed but never dared to use before. A gift of the deadly powers of Saturn, a gift a High Fairy would rather die before using it. Destruction.

I struck with unimaginable speed and deadliness no longer caring about any oaths, limitations or general behavior. The Dark Elf that had slapped Yisa never really got to understand what exactly hit him when I literally bore through him and might as well have evaporated him in the process. I did not really care to look back. Stopping myself before the rage could consume me fully, I raised a hand and leveled it at the Drapyr. It stared for two passing moments at me – almost too long – then dropped Yisa and turned to flee in a panic rush. An image of him sinking his nails in her flesh and choking her within his claw in the process appeared before my eyes and I shot the mana blast that lingered in my palm anyway. The Drapyr had just a second time to scream before he disintegrated.

Diving down I quickly caught Yisa in my arms, carefully trying to avoid hurting her even further. From the look on her face you could tell that the elf-hybrid was in deep pain and agony. Honestly not even a battle-steeled warrior would look much better after being smashed by a Drapyr but she… She just didn’t deserve it. Yisa had such a sweet and cheerful nature although she had a similar past like mine, I envied her for that but also know exactly how she felt – or at least partly. How she could manage to have her sister around and pretend to not be more than a friend I honestly didn’t know. I had missed Rhea and Dinai terribly and could barely restrain myself to play my part during our first reunion. I had desperately longed to hug them all on the spot and tell them everything but I knew it had to be done that way. And I was a trained and powerful High Fairy/unicorn-hybrid. She had been nothing more than an ordinary elf and was still able to live with the heavy burden.

Much calmer, I began to work my healing magic on her light form trying to heal her wounds as best as possible for I know where still was a battle to fight; a seemingly unfair battle. She snuggled closer to me in my arms. A reaction to the agonizing pain she must feel at the moment I told myself, but still I felt my cheeks reddening and I had only a distant idea why. An idea that didn’t help the situation very much at the moment.

The battle had progressed further with the Inner Senshi entering it. The power of our healing dome had somehow effected them too. A good thing though that with three High Fairies we were able to use less single power in creating than feeding the transdimension shield together. Otherwise we would have been severally drained. My cousins had flown of to aid Aishar, and Zemor began to fight also fight with an accuracy that surprised. His wings were too battered to use agility so he just shot single precise white flames at his opponents. I guess he does have some skills inherited from mother, I thought. Anyway that still wouldn’t help much against this huge amount of opponents. We need a miracle.

Looking up when I felt a magnificent amount of mana steadily rising, I saw my sister had reached her mate and joined hands with her. Wondering and amazed at the same time I watched a white glow of such pureness form between them that one could not look at it for very long. The energy grew and expanded until it became a semi-transparent sphere. From my angle and with my fine tuned senses I clearly saw their faces. Both were definitely entranced as if some kind of higher power was guiding them. For a moment I actually believed that they were controlled by a higher power but then I remembered what they told me happened on Venus. The surprising things was though that their power was developing THAT fast. They were a mixture of races, yes. Powerful races, yes. They were trained and experienced fighters, yes. All that was true but even for chosen fighters like them, a power at this point of the bonding stage and experience was quite… scary.

The Silence Glaive appeared between them and both senshi lifted one hand to touch it, the other ones still tightly clasped together. Their eyes suddenly snapped open, Venus’ bore a deep golden-blue glow that emitted a radiance only pure light could create, while Saturn’s were a shadow of purple and violet. It was like Venus was the sun of the day and Saturn the matching darkness of the night. Light, Shadow, Twilight, the three powers of destiny. Huh? That hadn’t been my own thought!

The tip of the glaive began to glow brightly; ribbons of pure white light as well as pure dark shadows began flowing out of it. Thunder clashed and lightning struck, chasing the clouds of impure darkness away. The wind picked up to a level that I had to actually fight back against the current, the water of the Mare Serenitas created a whirlpool under the floating senshi, somewhere in the distant a fire crackled and its flame shot high into the sky, the earth rumbled deeply. I sensed they were drawing on each of the eight elements and probably some more that even I didn’t know of. The mana they created could easily shatter the whole system if they wanted to…

“CRESCENT REVOLUTION!” I guess miracles do happen.

Mare Serenitas (Jayna)

The waves splashed against the side of the hover sailor, creating sprinkles of silver and white. The sea that was supposed to be calm and peaceful became rougher, restless. I felt beaten: the victory was an empty one. The power displayed by the two senshi was miraculous, unique in its existence and probably only being topped by that of pure star mates. But what good had it done that the purifying energy had consumed all the enemies when it was unable to bring back the Queen? It was a disaster. The news would surely speed like a wildfire and the kingdom’s and Serenity’s political enemies would surely jump at this chance. I had lived too long at court to just simply put it aside. Venus and the Moon had probably the best relation in the whole kingdom and although Venus stood pretty independent we all did our best to serve the Silver Millennium. Seeing Serenity like this, it just hurt. The palace was on silence order, however I doubted it helped.

Venus and Saturn had been pretty drained by the time the display of power was finished and they needed solid ground for the time jump anyway; that’s why we needed a ship. I have never understood much of these things for I am not much of a learner. My magic was more potent my mother had said, but most of the time my rather sarcastic, but more serious, sister did better than me. I just simply wanted to enjoy myself. Tough choice at times like this…

My sister and I had a lot to think about. All the memories, our conflicting loyalties, I still felt pretty indebted to Venus and especially Yisa where as Jiya tended to feel more drawn to our cousins. But either way this didn’t matter much because at the end we were all pretty much family now and this was mostly the future Aishar and Rhea’s doing. They would be following the demon now and they probably intended to go alone. We wouldn’t let them though; I knew Dinai would be going and my sister felt the same way as me and her.

I was pretty sure Yisa and Cassandra had made up their minds the moment they joined our little group and Zemor would rather die than leave his Ajamas alone with this. I noticed the elf and our cousin seemed to have grown pretty close in the short time they knew each other. The boldness and fury of my cousin had surprised me to say the utmost least. Cassandra had always been the calm and collected one, always patient and rarely sensitive to anything – not that she couldn’t be sensitive herself if needed –, even a lot calmer than Rhea, who was quite a wildfire in her younger days.

The only thing that could have made Cassandra snap was when either one of her family was in danger or… Well, that was a guess since it hadn’t happened before, but High Fairies as well as unicorns were hyper-aware of the concept of soul mates. And a soul mate in need was more than any patience could bear. I suspected Cassandra saw in Yisa her soul mate, even if the latter surely wasn’t aware of it. Pretty funny, if you thought about it, Aishar and Rhea, Cassandra and Yisa, Dinai, my sister and I were raised on Venus and born on Saturn. Were our planets linked by destiny? Or was it just our fates? I had to ask my sister, or maybe better Dinai, about this.

We would be in the center of Mare Serenitas soon; I should go and join my friends. Enough brooding for the moment, that ain’t my style. That clarified, I turned and flew back to the others.

(Jiya)

Silently, I watched my sister fly up the stairs to the deck while Dinai and I stayed behind. My cousin went to follow her but I just shook my head. “She gets like that sometimes. Give her a few minutes and she will be as chipper as always.” Dinai smiled faintly. “Yeah, I remember…” I envied my sister for her attitude. It was rare that she got depressed like that but it never lasted long. Jayna would brood for awhile, sort out her feelings and then come back to solve the problems at hand with even more eagerness and determination than ever before. Except for her ability in magic, she was my better half most of the time and I often wished to be like her.

I told myself and the world that I did not care that much about the Queen… dying. I pretended to care more for my family now that we were finally reunited. However, as much as I tried, I could not fool my heart. My loyalty had long been changed and was now divided in two. Saturn was a planet that could exist without the Silver Millennium, but the Silver Millennium could not exist without it’s queen. Desperately, I tried to push back the feelings of pain and coldness that threatened to consume me. It was a struggle that was meant to be lost.

The senshi were in the crystal room to navigate, except Aishar who stood with Zemor in one corner of the huge ball room. It was ironic that the best thing we could get quickly was a sailor meant for dancing, official occasions and the like. Since we couldn’t afford to give the demon too much space, it had to do. Rhea and the future Aishar had been quietly talking for awhile with both of them resting, but Rhea soon followed my sisters example at the moment and went upstairs with Aishar watching her thoughtfully.

All seemed normal, except for Yisa and my remaining cousin sitting together not far away from our position so that we could hear most of what they were saying. The elf leaned slightly against Cassandra and both of them didn’t seem to mind. It had scared me to see our long-time companion hurt that terribly by ancient foes, but even more it had scared me to see Cassandra so vicious. If I didn’t know that this might be because she saw her soul mate in the elf, I would have accused her of being insane. There were just things all of the magical races – as the humans called us often – had in common, some primal instincts that would easily override every other aspect of our personality. A soul mate in danger was one of them.

“I’m sorry I lost control like that. I nearly got you killed.” Well, that at least was the old Cassandra, even though she was bending the truth again to not earn praise. We really are a weird family. Yisa shook her head violently. “Nonsense. WITHOUT you I would’ve been dead. You just surprised me I think. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought you were an angry dragon.” She laughed silently and Cassandra chuckled. “That wasn’t really like me. Honestly, I didn’t know what got into me.” Liar, I thought. Being subtle aren’t we? Yisa seemed to catch it also but didn’t say anything. Instead she just touched Cassandra’s shoulder lightly, which made my cousin hide a blush quickly. “You should do it more often. When you just keep bottling everything up inside of you, it’s going to implode someday. Believe me, been there, done that.” She grinned, expecting to lighten Cassandra’s mood, but she just looked at her seriously for a few moments. “I do believe you.” Their eyes were locked and if you looked closely enough you’d see them battling with their emotions.

Suddenly Cassandra turned away, Yisa looked just the tiniest bit disappointed. I had known her for years now so I should be able to catch such things. “We’re almost there. We should join them if we wanted to go with them.” I looked around and noticed the future Aishar was gone as well, probably seeking her mate. Yisa looked at Cassandra who had stood up for a moment, then nodded. “Right.” My cousin extended her hand and the elf took it, smiling. Together they moved towards the stairs with Zemor soon following and Aishar heading to the other senshi.

I looked at Dinai for a moment. “Seems like your sister found her match. Do you think this has some greater meaning?” The other fairy frowned for a moment following the two hybrids with her gaze. “It almost seems so.” Then, we silently followed.

(Saturn)

The waves had calmed down to a more tolerable level; still those with potential could feel the atmosphere of despair in the air. A strong gust of wind blew my hair to one side and tucked on my fuku while sending chills down my spine. The clouds above still hadn’t vanished, towering over us like promising doom. Not even the display of power had chased the unnatural dark clouds away and it wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

It was the power that had scared me the most. With everything that happened, THAT was utterly terrifying. Some would say it was a miracle even though an empty one, but I tended to call it eerie, scary and almost uncontrollable. We – Minako and I – had just wielded what no creature should possess in that large amounts, not even the Princess. Pure light and shadow, that’s what it had been; pure elemental powers of the highest ranking. And it hadn’t really been us wielding it.

When I had flown up to Minako I never intended to do this. It felt like something just took control of my body. I could see, feel, everything except control my movements and the channeling of mana more powerful than everything I had ever experienced before. I had almost wanted to scream; although I knew that this power was the only thing able to save us at that moment. The feeling of being controlled reminded me too much of my time under the influence of Mistress 9.

I shivered as another gust of wind blew through my fuku. There were times that I really hated that silly thing. The sound of metal against metal made me look down. The tiny medallion Pluto had given us had hit the dark blue railing trimmed with silver lining. We would follow the demon as soon as we reached the center of her own portal. From Puu’s teaching I knew some things about time travel, at least theoretically. After the mess the demon created, it would be better to not take any more chances with opening a second portal. Too risky. Someone could have simply flown us to the center but that meant taking the person with us, not that we really believed one of our friends and family would back down from their silent offer in joining us. Cassandra and Dinai would hide behind destiny and fate, the twins wouldn’t want to be left behind, Yisa was too stubborn to leave her sister alone and she became pretty attached to Cassandra too, and Zemor was indebted to us, no chance there. I smiled faintly.

“Do you regret anything?” Strong arms circled around my waist and drew me back against the warmth of a familiar, comforting body. I knew what she was thinking right now, with all what has happened the past week. “It seems like a blur to me.” Yes, a blur. We never quite grasped what was really happening, stumbling from one fight to another, from one planet to another. We started with some shy teasing, followed by our first kiss on the star sailor and then… Everything seemed to speed past us, the events occurring so quickly we could barely manage to follow. How was someone supposed to think like this? How was someone supposed to know that this feelings weren’t just a result of this… crazy mess, but real? I, for myself, knew that I had loved Minako for a long time now even if I didn’t admit it to myself at that time. This adventure had just helped to draw it out.

Did I regret it? Maybe. Maybe, I did regret a few things. Such as not being able to take it slow, it was sort of sprung on us. I did regret not going out on dates, enjoy each others company, exchange small gestures of liking… all the small things a girl in love would appreciate. Shy and quickly stolen kisses, the slow building of love that would leave your senses tickling with emotion. I did regret not being able to focus my energy enough the first time I met the demon and destroy her before the whole mess could really have begun – but that was hardly my fault anyway. (However, I did not regret though that I accepted this assignment, I did not regret that Minako and I fell in love. I did not regret keeping that love because whether slow or fast this love built, it felt so natural and right; it scared me at times but left me bathing in this emotion as well. I felt wanted, needed, loved… finally.

“But no, I don’t regret anything.” I tilted my head and our eyes met for a brief moment that soon turned to an eternal length. I lost myself in the deep blue eyes with the just barely visible golden glimmer, but this time – unlike the time of our first arrival – I didn’t need to look away. Instead, there wasn’t anything to prevent me from going further than this. Not taking my eyes off of my beloved human/elf lover – it still tickles when I think of her like that –, I turned around in her embrace and reached up with my hands to push some golden hair out of the way. Snaking my arms around her neck, I noticed with absolute clarity that my own eyes were mirrored in hers. My own deep violet ones with the hint of silver due to my own heritage, mirroring the exact same emotions of her eyes. I could hardly believe this was happening, it all seemed like a dream despite everything…

In a bold manner just like on Saturn after the emotional turmoil with my family, I captured her lips with my own and pulled her even closer to quickly deepen the kiss. My tongue was soon exploring the inside of my lovers mouth, making her moan, and after awhile she responded in the exact same manner.

Aishiteru, Aino-chan. I knew she heard me. I knew that she had heard me on Saturn but I didn’t say anything. The bond was there, strong, stronger than I thought, and nothing was ever going to tear us apart. I love you too, Firefly. With this realization came the strength not to falter in this time of despair and chaos, not to cry because of the cruel fate destiny had laid upon us. Not to break and withdraw at the sheer impossibility of our task. Because I knew, whatever might happen, I… We both knew, with no doubt at all, that absolutely nothing could tear us apart.

Finally, Minako broke the contact when air became a serious issue – it wouldn’t be really pretty to die like this, now wouldn’t would it? I smiled a happy, true, and joyful smile. As always with us, there weren’t many words needed. We communicated on a basis much higher than anyone that never REALLY was in love could really understand, and even those who were could barely begin to imagine. Our souls were touching, caressing each other in joyful bliss. The feeling wasn’t one that could be described, it was just wonderful, beautiful and so many more things.

“Then let’s go.” She didn’t turn around as Cassandra and Yisa stepped beside us. My half-sister had one arm lightly around the elf’s shoulders, neither of them seemed to mind. Zemor came up behind them with Jiya and Dinai closely following, while Jayna flew just around the corner nearly crashing into her cousin from enthusiasm. The senshi remained at the stairs leading down, including Serenity now back to her princess-self. I looked up and saw the remains of the temporal vortex still lingering, swirling in the sky above. Yes, it was time.

Minako took a step back and broke the embrace. I took her outstretched hand though, and our friends – family I corrected myself – soon formed a circle around us. “We wish you luck,” was the only thing the young Serenity said, all her senshi nodded grimly. Venus made eye contact with her future self and her sister for a short moment remaining silent. In synchronization Minako and I raised our medallions and we spoke in unison.

“Guardian of Time, we call upon thee! Open the Gate of Time and Space for us!” The wind increased dramatically as the both medallions began to flare violently with purple energy. “Father of Time, Chronos, protect us and guide us…” The clouds split open as a beam of pure purple energy found its ways through them and came rushing towards us. The vortex was consumed into it and soon I felt the power embracing us. “Upon the way of light!”

Somewhere (Anshar)

And with a flash they were gone. I sighed deeply. “This was a weird one.” After a short pause I added: “Do you really think we shouldn’t interfere?” My sister laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “What good would it do? We knew that would happen and they knew it would happen in making their decision. The war is over and outside of our line’s safety, we are not allowed to interfere.” I shook my head stubbornly although I knew she was right. “But this is about the safety of everything in existence.”

A pause. I looked down at the four remaining senshi and one princess turned senshi. Such a sad fate, and in the same intake of breath such a sweet one. Maybe this is a test if their decision was meant to be. “True. But they ARE destiny, there is no stronger force than them. I long to help them too, brother, but we can’t afford to cross the lines any further. We already helped them access their power, they will meet with their equals in the future. They’ll know what to do.”

Turning around in defeat, I nodded to the golden-blond haired girl with the long robe, the uniform of a Destiny Guardian. “I hope so, Onee-sama. I hope so.” She laughed lightly and patted me on the shoulder. I hated it when she does that and grumbled. “Now, come on. Let’s go home, I thought you have a date with Adara. I don’t think she would like it to wait.” I took one long look back then decided Sin was probably right. “May they succeed.” I took my sister’s hand and together we vanished.

TBC in Chapter Eight

Pluto has to confront two angry senshi. The chase continues in Crystal Tokyo but not everything seems to be as expected. A lot of surprises await our friends.

Author’s Note

Well, finished with that one. This chapter concludes the Silver Millennium arc. There are some things I want to say though.

The chapter seemed a bit jumpy but I think it turned out fairly well, especially the last scene from Hotaru which was personally important to me (not that any scene I write is unimportant).

I brought in some new secrets and relationships that had been planned already. One is Yisa and Cassandra which will definitely get some attention in the following chapters and the other is Zemor completing the family relations of the group although he doesn’t know it yet, stupid guy… err, I mean dragon. J

The last scene featured the characters of Sin and Anshar from BSSM Another Story (the SNES game) briefly. This has something to do with my decision to mix this fic with some elements from my German Ai no Hoshi continuity (especially Destiny’s War). If I try to explain everything, it would take dozens of pages but I’ll make sure you’ll understand the things that are really important. More of that in the next chapter. For those who worry now because they can’t read German, it is not necessary to read these fics, I would make myself miserable otherwise. More to that topic in the next chapter because I’m sure most of the question will arise then.

Well, I finally have my group up. At the moment I’m still testing but you (can) reach the very first Minaru-group at groups./group/starsinlove. Please come by and join if you like the coupling. I’d like to also toss a challenge at you with this chapter, just curious if someone responds to it. The challenge is simple. Write a fanfic with Minako and Hotaru attending the same college. Hotaru gets a date but he/she just played with her and doesn’t show up. Minako by accident (or by choice, you decide) comes by and tries to cheer her up. Eventually something develops between them.

You can make it as short or long as you wish. Entries either posted on where I can actually find them or just mail me you did or will answer the challenge at . I prefer that anyway, so I don’t have to search through tons of fics… You can also join the group and post there, that would be the most efficient. J

Oh and… Please give your comments, okay? If your silence after a chapter means that you liked it then that’s, okay. However I’d like some feedback any now and then.

Ja ne, yours

Matthias

Note as of Monday, April 08, 2002

I’m sincerely sorry for the long delay of chapter. To tell the truth this chapter was finished for a month or even more. First there was a misunderstanding when my mail to my normal beta reader (Athenia) somehow got lost. I waited three weeks before we find it out… After that Athenia forgot to mention that she would go on vacation the next week right away, so I actually had to find another beta reader. At least Ayrki (one of the first who really got hooked with the couple) was able to do it then. And now finally I can present it to you. Again I sincerely apologize. It just seemed this chapter just refused to be beta read.