I Don't Have A Title Yet

Four

1

“Serena,” Usagi smiled tenderly as she wiped the tears from the little girl’s face as she came awake.

“Mama!” The child cried as sat up. She threw herself into Usagi’s arms and began crying afresh.

It hurt her not to be able to comfort her child, more so than the pain she already felt at losing Mars. The undeveloped maternal instincts were tugging at her heartstrings causing Usa to feel guiltier than she already did. It was bad enough that she hadn’t been to school in the last four days. She was in danger of failing this term, but it was kind of difficult balancing schoolwork with growing the demands of the both the Silver Millennium and the Silver Alliance. She could never forget her duties to her planet and empire. Nor could she forget her until recent silent enemy, whose only moves so far had been to put a doomsday prophet at First Street, scare a bunch of kids, blow up a gym, and kidnapped Rei.

Usagi tucked Serena into her lap, wrapping her arms about her as she rocked them slowly. Ares was not happy and Luna hinted that some of the diplomats thought she was incapable of dealing with this situation and a few others thought she was not fit to rule her kingdom. Luna felt that all the fears and doubts could be laid to rest if Usa would return to Silver Millennium, most especially now. For the protection and continuation of the line of the Selene and the protection of the Universe, all parties believed that it would best if she would go back to the Moon, be crowned and started behaving like the ruler her mother had brought her up to be.

All of these arguments and the constant fear of more of her Senshi being taken. These burdens were wearing not on Usa’s mind and her spirit, they were manifesting as physical ailments.

Usa ran a through Serena’s unbound hair. The silken strawberry strains slipped easily through her long pale fingers. No, she couldn’t believe that. There had to be hope for herself and her kingdom in the future if she and Darien were to have Serena…

Or maybe something did happen and Silver Millennium suffered because she refused to leave Terra and was the reason the enemy was here.

Great Goddess she did not know!

Serena raised her worried, tear-stained face and saw the pain and sadness etched on her mother’s face. Slowly she reached up, her small, childish hand brushed at Usa’s tense face. At the soft touch, Usa looked down at her questioningly.

“It’s alright, Mama,” the little girl smiled; although her sapphire eyes were swimming in unshed tears, “Even queens cry sometimes.”

Usagi searched the child’s face, before her lips curved into a hesitant smile. “Thank you, bunny.” She pressed an affectionate kiss the Serena’s brow. “And I will, after we bring Rei home.”

2

The enemy had disappeared once again.

Mina was half listening to her professor as she tried to make sense of the latest reports she had received from Silver Millennium.

How could they suddenly appear and just as quickly disappear?

She had given up on to decipher what the Seers on Pluto had tried to communicate. She would let Trista deal with them. Just as she put those aside she got an e-mail from Ami. As much as Mina hated it, she had been forced to deal with the Menace and his leader.

Since Frankie had been working at the temple, he and Rei had become close. What she didn’t tell Usagi or Ami, Rei had confided to Frankie. So Frankie, with the help of Jiro and Rei’s grandfather, they were searching for any trail that their enemy could have made in this world or the spiritual one.

She hated this. She really freaking hated this entire situation. She was two Senshi short, with a lunatic band of determined psychos terrorizing Silver Millennium and her Queen. And all she could do was sit by and for them to attack again.

The class couldn’t end soon enough. Students were packing up there bags as the professor called out the writing assignment for the next lecture. Mina slammed her notebook computer closed and started to reach for her bag only to have someone beat her to it. Her pale gold eyes moved over the large, strong hand, the powerful tanned forearm, the solid thick biceps and shoulder to Dave’s slightly grinning face.

“I got this for you, Min.” He said as he hefted her heavy bag up on his shoulder.

For a moment, Mina stared at him speechless. She recovered though and with a haughty little toss of her head, Mina turned her back on him.

“I didn’t know you were taking this class, Rothschild.” She said once they had left the hall. They started towards the student quad, Mina waved at some people she knew.

“It’s part of the requirement for my major.”

“And what are you reading for?”

It took him a moment to understand what she meant. “Oh, yeah. You Brits with your strange ways.” He flashed a quick grin, “I’m studying International Law and Sociology.”

“A double major?” She was impressed.

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “But lately it’s been feeling like a double noose.”

“Tell me about it.”

Dave regarded her for a moment, “Naw, I doubt if could.”

Mina didn’t like the way he was looking at her. The last thing she wanted was for the jerk who was trying to steal her brother to pity her. Call her crazy, but Mina would have preferred being pounced by a screaming horded of crazy Sailor V fans…

“I’m going to buy you cup of coffee,” Dave announced. Without waiting for her answer, Dave caught Mina’s free hand in his and pulled her towards the dining hall. At first Mina tried to pull her hand free, but Dave only increased his hold on hand until she stopped trying to get away.

She didn’t know what else to do short of pulling out her sword and cutting off his hand. She didn’t want to do that—But she really could use a something hot to drink and maybe a bite to eat.

“Alright, throw in a couple muffins and we got a deal.”

Dave looked down at her and was graced by one of Mina’s rare, carefree smiles as well as confirmed something that about her that Dave had always suspected: She was beautiful in anything, even if it happened to be baggy sweat pants, a hoodie, and running shoes with mismatched socks.

He just wished he could get her to smile like that more often and relax around him. It was kind of hard having a crush on a girl who acted like she wanted to rip you a new one every time you saw her. Yet Dave wasn’t about to give up on Mina. He was going to win this ice queen over. He just prayed that he survived the experience with all his teeth, fingers, toes, and testacies. Did he forget to mention that Mina was kind of evil and very scary?

No? He didn’t think so.

He was a sick man, but God, he was in love with this Goddess of Beauty, War, and Death.

3

“Hino Rei. You are so different from everyone else in this place.” The speaker cooed, “We know about you. The difficulties you face because of your gift. You feel as if no one understands you. Your father has betrayed you by abandoning you to life of isolation and fear by leaving you in that run down old temple with only that old man to care for you?”

The enemy had known things about Rei, information that was not common knowledge. They knew about Rei’s past, Ami wondered how their foe managed to obtain this information.

“Come join us, Rei.” Catzi said. Behind her appeared fifteen black droids. “Come to the Black Moon and we will take away all your fears and make you invincible.”

Rei had been their target all along. The enemy had needed a power psychic and somehow they had learned about Rei’s gifts. Where did they get their information and were they looking for others individuals like Rei on Terra and if they were, did the enemy all ready have them?

…The enemy was already here… Rei threw the thought out to her sister Senshi. “Who are you? Where do you come from and what do think you will accomplish here?”

“I am Catzi,” the strange girl was saying, “I am the youngest of the Four Sisters of Deception who serves Crimson Rubeus. And as for what we want. We want you, Hino Rei, to join our side.”

“Why should I?”

“To save our planet, Terra, from the cruelty of those who worship the accursed stone of illusions that will destroy our world.”

Stone of Illusions? Rei frowned. “What are you talking about? What stone could destroy this planet?”

“Terra is being threatened by the outside forces that will one day destroy our home. We need you to help us find the Silver Imperial Crystal and its keeper and destroy them before they can ruin our history and force us into subjugation while their puppet king…”

They were not of this time. They were rebels of future hell bent on overthrowing their King. They wanted to find Serenity before she claimed her throne. What would Usagi and Darien do in the future that would cause such a powerful rebellion? Why would they refer to Darien as a puppet King? Where would this group of radicals come from?

…The enemy was already here…

“Ami,” her swim coach called out, bringing Ami’s thoughts back to the present, “you’re up next.”

Ami went home tried after a long practice. Normally being in the water would invigorate her physically as well as spiritually. But today she had to struggle in the pool; the waters had felt as if it were trying push in on her and surround her. When she went to shower afterwards, every shower head and faucet exploded as the powerful jets of spray tried to wrap around her again. At first Ami thought her powers were out of control, only to learn that the problem was a bent pipe that caused the accident in the girls’ locker room and it was easy for her to caulk her poor performance in the pool up to plain old exhaustion.

There were a five messages waiting on her answering machine. Two were Mina which sounded urgent. Another was from her mother letting her know that someone from Moon had stopped by and left a package for Ami (she really did say it that way.) The package was more analysis of the Terran surface and report. She scanned the document as she half listened as someone invited her to some party for that weekend. Every since people found out that she knew the Starlights (it didn’t matter if she really knew them or not) and had seen hanging out with Mina Aino as well as dating Eiji Kaiou (it had been one time and it wasn’t even a date. Everyone had gone out as one big group,) Ami’s social star had risen in ranks at the Infinity College. To her disgust, Ami was now one of the popular people. It didn’t matter before when she was just the top ranking students in the school and highest ranked in the nation for her age group (Darien had held that title for so long that he was no longer included in this ranking.) or that she dominated in swimming. For the last two years, Ami has held the fastest time for the 400 meter medley and ranking national champion in the both the butterfly and backstroke and each year she broke her own record. Which reminded her; she had a meet the next day. She should call Usa and asked if she were coming.

The next message was from her coach reminding Ami to get some rest. That was top on her priorities. Ami couldn’t remember the last time she actually fell asleep in her bed. She had been passed out on the couches, at her desk, or on top of her bed but rarely has she moved beneath the covers. She prayed to all the Gods of both Mercury and Terra that she made it to bed before one o’clock.

The final message pushed all other thoughts about the enemy, her problems, and the meet completely out of her head.

“Hey, Merc, it’s Josh.” Ami dropped down in her desk chair; unbeknownst to her a bright happy smile broke on her face while she listened to Josh asking her if she wanted to catch a movie that night. Ami had the phone up before the message ended. She punched in the numbers she knew by hard and after three rings it was picked up.

“Moshii, moshii,” it was Frankie who picked up the phone.

“Hello, Frankie,” Ami was trying to be kinder to Frankie since Rei’s kidnapping. “Is Josh home?”

“No, he and the cover boy had to go the library for something. But he should be back in a few minutes. You want to leave a message or—“ Suddenly in the background there was a large commotion. Ami heard Jiro and Dave yelling something, she heard Mina’s name a couple times and then her own. Worried, Ami called out to Frankie, trying to get his attention when David came on the line.

“Ami, where are you?” He demanded.

Puzzled she said, “I’m at home, why?”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. David, what’s going on—“

“Damn it.” Dave turned away from the receiver but she heard him shout to both Jiro and Frankie, “How close are Darien and Josh to Ami’s?” He paused to hear the answer and he started swearing. He calmed down just a long enough to ask Ami if she could teleport to their house.

“I could,” she said hesitantly, “But why can’t I just—“

“I’ll tell you when you get here.” He said brusquely. “Just grab all that you need for the tonight and teleport inside our house.” And he rang off.

Ami did as he ordered; She grabbed her laptop, her toothbrush, and some clean clothes and her school bag. She had just summoned her Sailor Crystal when the something broke down her front door. Cold energy wrapped about her as the gates between dimensions opened up around her. Silvered, ice blue eyes flew to her bedroom door as it was blown open and inside rushed a woman in blue body suit and white hair.

“Stop her!” A disembodied voice yelled at the woman. And the strange woman made to leap at the disappearing Mercurian Queen.

But out of the blue, the strong, pure angelic voice of Ami’s Queen called out. “Moon Halation!” A brilliant silver light flooded Ami’s room, slamming into Ami’s attacker and disintegrating her on contact. As she faded from sight, Ami saw the light pour out of her room as Usagi’s purifying agents cleansed the darkness out of the Mizuno’s apartment and continued on to rest through the rest of the building.

When she looked again, Ami was standing in the middle of the Generals’ living room. Before she could speak, Ami was caught up in a big bear hug from Frankie.

“Frankie, please,” she gasped as she tried to get free. “Let me go. I can’t breathe. Frankie!”

Across the street from the Mizuno’s home, standing proudly on the roof top of another condominium was Sailor Moon. Clinging to her right leg, Serena gazed proudly up at the powerful warrior queen, who was her own personal idol.

Once the purification was complete, Sailor Moon lowered her scepter and with it her transformation faded until she was just Usagi again. She bent slightly at the waist to remove her daughter from her jean clad leg. Her long plaits fell over her shoulders, brushing both of their faces as she moved.

“Mama, is all over now?” Serena inquired softly as Usagi settled her on to her back.

“No, baby.” Usa replied grimly, “This war has just begun.”