Okay, hope you liked my little peek at Roseanna's personality last 
week!  Here we are, back for a real chapter!  Thanks to everyone who 
is mailing me and please, keep it coming!

**IMPORTANT** Everyone, I've had a little confusion on *when* this 
takes place.  This story takes place when the girls are seventeen, 
Darien is twenty-one and Rini is eight.  Since I don't know much about 
the Outers and what happened after the R season, I changed the time 
between R and now.  Nothing happened after the R season except for a 
few youmas that aren't really imortant.  There was no Mistress 9, 
Dead Moon Circus, or Galaxia.  So in other words, this is their first 
*real* battle in almost three years.  Just remember, NOTHING happened.  
I hope this clears things up for anyone who was confused!  If not, the 
addy is:
stefaniecraig@hotmail.com

Okay, here is the official results of whether or not you want me to 
do an R sequel to "Truths."  According to the amount of mail I got, 
there will be an R sequel!  Now, what I have planned will take several 
chapters to tell, so instead of doing what I did last time, posting 
when ever I got time to do a chapter, I'm going to post a chapter of 
it every other week.  But that means that "Final Awakenings" may only 
be posted ever other week, also.  I'm going to try and make it so that 
"Final" is posted one week, and then the next "Truths" *and* "Final," 
K?  I *am* sorry, but writing two fics at once is difficult for me.  
There may be weeks where I can't get "Final Awakenings" out because I 
was working on "Truths."  So 'gomen' in advance.

And for you fans out there of Nicole Cherre's work, her computer is up
and running.  She just wants to do a little bit of editing and will 
have new chapters out soon, won't you, Nikki-chan?  Anyway, this week
she's posting a short story entitled "Meatballs and Muffins" for all 
of your enjoyment!  Have fun!

That's all the announcements for this week, so on with the chapter!

DISCLAIMERS: I've said it in *every* chapter of *every* fic I've ever 
written.

RATING: PG- You know what's in it.

Quote of the Week: "I don't know who I am or where I come from, all I 
know is that I'm supposed to protect you!  I have this feeling we knew 
each other a long time ago.  That's about it though." TM- EP. 16- "Who 
is that Masked Man?"


FINAL AWAKENINGS
CHAPTER FIVE

_________Venus' Illustrious Spirit_________


A little boy giggled and looked out the car window as he asked his 
parents a question.  "Mommy, Daddy, where are we going?" the boy with 
black hair asked excitedly.

"Birday! Birday! BIRDAY!" a two-year-old in a car seat next to him said 
through her giggles.

The woman in the front seat gasped and turned around, "Rosie, honey, 
shhh!" she told the youngest while putting her fingers to her lips.  
"Don't tell Darien where we're going!"

"AW!  Come on, Mom!" Darien said with a small pout.

His mother shook her head and turned back around.  "If I told you, it 
wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

"I'll act surprised!" he told his parents with hope shinning in his 
eyes.

His father chuckled and turned around in his seat slightly.  "Son, you 
know we can't-"

"OH GOD!  LOOK OUT!" his wife suddenly screamed.  The man turned around 
and saw a woman standing in the center of the road.  He swerved the 
wheel left to avoid her.

He had swerved too much.

The car skidded off the road and went through the safety dividers to 
the edge of the cliff.  Darien and Rosie screamed and held on to the 
car for dear life.  "MAMA!  PAPA!" they cried as the car lurched over 
the side of the cliff and into the trees below.

During this whole time, the woman did not flinch.  She chuckled evilly 
and teleported to the bottom of the ridge where the car had landed.  
The woman held her staff in her hands tightly and went closer to the 
car, which was in flames.  She laughed again.

"I think it's safe to say my Queen," a man spoke up from behind her, 
"that Sailor Earth shall never awaken."

The woman turned to face the man with silver blond hair and smiled 
again, her pointed teeth shown in the moonlight.  She stepped forward 
cautiously in her tight purple dress.  "I suppose so.  Let's leave.  
We have four more Brats and the Princess to find before I will feel 
safe trying to take over this world."

The little boy on the ground felt his eyelids getting droopy.  He 
watched in awe as the people disappeared in flashes of light.  His 
breathing slowed and he succumbed to the pain he felt and passed out 
whispering "Rosie no...Serenity...help..."

************************************************************************

Darien woke up with a gasp, breathing hard and with sweat pouring down 
his face.   He tried to remember the details of the dream, but it was 
fading away in his memory like it always did.  "What was that?" he 
whispered to the empty room.  His alarm went off and he looked at it.  
With a groan he got dressed quickly.  He and Serena had promised Rini 
that they would do what ever she wanted today.  He also remember that 
before that Luna and Artemis had called a Scout meeting to discuss the 
enemy and to clear up how much they didn't know about it.

"It's gonna be a long day..." he muttered to himself.

************************************************************************

Terren examined the piece of paper that Rose had handed him carefully.  
"It's well drawn," he told her.

Rose rolled her eyes and snatched it from him.  "Thanks for your help, 
Baldy!" she told him hotly.  "I was wondering if you could tell me why 
I drew a picture from the Silver Millennium though!"

Terren examined it again and sweatdropped.  "Oh yeah!  I knew that!"

Rose sighed and looked out her window.  It was finally November and 
the leaves were changing from green to beautiful oranges, reds, and 
yellows.  It was Rose's favorite time of year if only for the fact 
that she could paint the beautiful changing of the seasons.  She 
looked to Terren and rolled her eyes, "Terry, you are so weird!" she 
said with a giggle.

Terren looked down and faked a sniffle.  "That's okay.  I understand 
if you don't want me..."

Rose couldn't help it, he looked pathetic!  He had a paw over his eyes 
as he "cried" and his lower lip was trembling, as was the rest of his 
body.  She started cracking up.  "YOU ARE TOO MUCH!" she cried out.

Terren grinned and took a bow.  "I try, Milady!"  Rose giggled again 
and turned to face him.  "Anyway," Terren began again breaking the 
mirth mood in the room, "I think this is a sign that we will be meeting 
the Moon Princess soon."  Rose's eyes brightened.  Surely the Princess 
would know her!  "Which means you will have to be prepared for anything 
to come your way.  She may be revealed because she is in danger."

Rose sighed again.  She picked up the picture and examined it carefully.  
Her eyes opened with shock as she noticed something.  "Terry!  Look at 
this again!" she told him thrusting the paper back at him.

Terren examined it and looked up at her strangely.  "It looks the same 
as it did five minuets ago, Rosie."

"Exactly," she told him seriously.  "One Princess, one Prince, one 
Queen, three cats and four Scouts, Terry.  *Four* Scouts."

Terren looked up at her in understanding.  "No Sailor Moon," he stated 
bluntly  "You're not in there either."  He thought about this for a 
moment, "But that could be because you drew it."

Rose nodded, "Tuxedo Mask isn't there either.  Terry, what could that 
mean?  Could Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask really not be a part of the 
Silver Millennium?  Who are they?" she asked. 

Rose frowned and lay down on her bed.  'We were originally with the 
Dark Moon,' she heard Prisma's voice echo back to her.  "The Dark 
Moon...could that be what the symbol that Emerald and Rubeus have on 
their foreheads represents?" she asked out loud.  "What about Rini?  
And what is 'Crystal Tokyo?'" she asked the walls.  "So many questions.
Why do I have to answer so many questions?"

Terren hung his head and looked away from Rose.  'If we could only 
find them...' "I don't know, Rose.  I really don't know."

************************************************************************

Serena shivered and sat closer to Darien.  The temples heating system 
had blown, and the only thing they could do was sit by a fire and 
drink hot chocolate until they left.  Lita had suggested leaving and 
going to her place instead, but Raye needed to do a fire reading.

Raye peered at the fire through half-closed eyelids.  She hadn't told 
the others what she had seen in the fire just weeks ago about Sailor 
Earth.  'The Moon Kingdom...If she is the real thing, then she should 
be in our past.  But why do Serena and Darien not remember her?'

"Great Fire, I beseech you.  Tell me of Sailor Earth and of our enemy.  
Are they one in the same?" she asked the holy blaze.  The fire flared 
up for a moment, before dying back down.  Raye lowered her hands and 
sighed.  "Nothing.  Not a clue."

Serena sighed too and bent her head.  "This is just like before..." 
she muttered under her breath, referring to when Rini had first come 
to the past.  "Well, I suppose I could always ask Rini again.  But I 
don't think that will do us much good," she told her friends.

Darien nodded in agreement.  "She seems almost afraid to tell us what 
happen in the future.  Do you have any idea what she could be scared 
of, Sere?" Darien asked his girlfriend.  Serena shook her head.  
"Girls?"  The others did likewise.

Luna sighed and wrapped her tail around her legs.  "We have to find 
out how and why these enemies are coming back.  I think that you've 
done enough for today.  Artemis and I will go to Central Command and 
see what they've come up with.  All of you go out and have fun."

"YEA!" the girls cheered, happy to be able to leave the freezing cold 
Temple.

"WAIT!" Darien called out.  The girls stopped and turned toward him 
curiously.  "I almost forgot.  A couple of days ago, I saw Rose in the 
Crown and she was drawing something-"

Raye rolled her eyes at the ceiling, "So?"

Darien glared at her for a moment.  "So she was drawing what looked 
like a picture of the Sailor Scouts and Serena and I from the Silver 
Millennium.  There was more, but I didn't get that good of a look," he 
told them.

Luna looked down in thought.  "Maybe she is the enemy..."

"NO!" Serena and Darien protested.  "She can't be," Serena said.  
"Maybe she's a physic like Greg?" she suggested.

Luna sighed.  "While we're at Central, I'll see what I can find out 
about Roseanna Shilds.  I'll report what I find back to all of you 
later, okay?"

The others nodded as the cats left the Temple.

"Hey Mina," Darien addressed the blond girl.

"Yeah, Darien?"

"Didn't you have a date with Andrew today?" he asked her while quirking 
an eyebrow.

Mina furrowed her brow and looked at her watch.  "OHMYGOSH!" she yelled.  
"I'm so late!  Bye!" she called over her shoulder as she ran out of 
the room.

Raye through up her arms in disgust.  "I swear, it's a blond thing!"  
(AN: No offense to blondes, I'm one of them!)

************************************************************************

Mina ran as fast as she could to the arcade, hoping that Andrew hadn't 
already left, mad at her.  She was in luck.  She saw him leaning 
against the window looking at his watch.  "ANDREW!" she called out 
waving her hand.

Andrew turned to the sound of Mina's voice and half smiled half frowned 
while shaking his head at his girlfriend.  When she caught up to him, 
she bent over and placed her hands on her knees breathing heavily.  
"S-sorry!  I was out with the girls and didn't realize what time it 
was!" she told him.

Andrew shook his head again and touched her shoulder gently.  "It's 
really okay, Mina!  I just got off anyway, so you're not all that 
late!" he told her reassuringly though he was dying inside.  The girls 
and Darien were always doing things that he was never told about and 
never invited to.  It made him a little jealous, and suspicious.

Mina smiled him and leaned up and kissed his cheek.  Andrew blushed 
and touched his cheek.  "Shall we?" he asked her with a grin holding 
out his elbow.

Mina giggled and accepted it, "We shall!"

"Well then," Andrew began using his best Old English accent.  "To the 
park, Milady!"

"Of course, Milord!" Mina said before she burst into a stream of 
giggles.

************************************************************************

The man in the shadows paced back and forth in his chambers awaiting 
the arrival of his next lackey.  A knock came at the door and the 
lackey stepped in and bowed to the shadow man.  "You are late," he said 
with a slight hiss.

"There were some things that I was researching and I only just got 
your message, your majesty," the new lackey explained, his dark hair 
catching the little bit of light in the room.

The shadow man glowered at him for a moment.  "You know what to do," 
he told him.  "But do not fail as the others have.  I will tolerate 
no failure from you!  You were one of the best before, and you have a 
second chance to be great.  Go."

The lackey bowed and left.

"Are you certain that we should have resurrected him?" the shadow man 
asked.

A woman appeared beside him and gave a small laugh.  "Of course.  He, 
like the others, doesn't remember what truly happened in their final 
moments of life, so he will not suspect anything," she explained.

The man's eyes glowed for a moment.  "If you are wrong about this..." 
he warned.

"Trust me."

************************************************************************

"Thank Heaven!" Lita said as she walked with the other girls and Darien 
down Tokyo's main commercial street.  "I'm finally out of that ice 
box!" she said to the others, referring to the Temple.

The others agreed with nods.  "I hope Mina made it to her date on 
time," Serena said.  "She's almost as bad as I used to be!" Serena 
giggled.

Darien wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.  
"Well, you aren't like that anymore.  You haven't been late for on of 
our dates in a long time!" he told her.  Serena simply sighed and 
leaned up against him slightly.

Amy looked up at the sky and frowned slightly.  "Those clouds look 
like they could have enough moisture in them to produce frozen 
precipitation," she stated as she continued to examine the sky.

"So in other words, it might snow?" Raye asked as she and the others sweatdropped.

Amy nodded.  "Yes!  It is a possibility."  She sighed and closed her 
eyes.  "I love the snow and the water.  I always have..."

"That could be because you are from Mercury.  Your elements are ice 
and water," Darien suggested.  Amy nodded.

"HEY GUYS!" a voice called from down the street.  The group stopped 
and turned around to see Rose running at them.  "Hey!  Where are all 
of you going?" she asked after she caught up to them.

Serena shrugged.  "Nowhere.  Just wandering around town."

"Oh.  Can I walk with you?" she asked slightly shyly.

"Sure!" Lita replied happily.  'I don't feel uneasy around her.  She 
isn't our enemy.'  She cocked her head to the side a bit and smiled, 
"Is that your cat?" she said while pointing to the feline at Rose's 
feet.

Rose smiled and bent down.  She picked Terren up and showed him to 
the others.  "This, is Terren or Terry as I like to call him," she 
said while placing him on her shoulder.

Serena reached over and scratched his head.  Terren began to purr and 
Serena giggled.  "He reminds me of Luna," she said.

Terren stopped purring and looked up at Serena with interest.  'She 
couldn't mean LUNA as in *Luna* Luna!  Could she?' he thought.

"Your cat's name is Luna?" Rose asked remembering that Terren was 
looking for a cat named Luna.  "Why that?"

Serena hesitated for a moment.  'I couldn't tell her that that's what 
she told me her name was!'  "I don't know.  It's just a pretty name, 
don't you think?" Serena said with a slight smile.

Rose nodded.  'She's lying,' she thought as she studied Serena for a 
moment.  'She knows much more then she lets on.'  She smiled and 
continued to follow the others until Terren stopped her.  She groaned, 
"What is it, Terry?"  She then checked her watch and realized she was 
late for lunch back at the orphanage.  "Opps!  I gotta run, guys!"  
She turned and ran off, "I'll see you later!"

The girls looked puzzled.  "I think it's lunch time at the orphanage," 
Darien explained.

The girls nodded and continued to walk down the street.

************************************************************************

Mina and Andrew held hands as they strolled through the gardens in 
Tokyo Park.  Mina sighed and smiled.  It was perfect.  Simply perfect.  
'Is this how Serena and Darien feel when they're together?' Mina 
thought.  'Like I'm complete...'

Mina felt a rush of cold air hit her back and shivered.  She stopped 
and turned around.  Andrew stopped too.  "Mina, is something wrong?" 
he asked her.  She didn't answer.  "Mina?"

"Huh?" she said looking into his eyes.  "What was that, Andrew?"

Andrew furrowed his brow.  "Are you feeling alright, Mina?  You seem 
a little out of it today."

Mina shook her head and looked behind her again.  "No, it's just that- 
I've got a creepy feeling.  It feels like someone is following us," 
she told him truthfully.  'I feel evil...Oh man!  THEY ALWAYS INTERRUPT 
MY DATES!'

Andrew laughed and pressed his forehead to hers.  "I bet it's a couple 
of the girls planning on playing a trick on us!"  He kissed her temple 
and hugged her.

"Yeah..." Mina whispered not believing it for a moment.

Andrew's eyes suddenly got wide and he yelled, "MINA WATCH OUT!"  He 
grabbed her wrist and pushed her out of the way of a youma energy 
blast.

"YOUMA!" Mina yelled as she landed on the ground.  "Andrew are you- 
ANDREW!" she cried as she caught site of him lying unconscious on the 
ground where she had been standing a moment before.  She rushed to his 
side, thinking him hurt.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she 
determined that the blast hadn't hurt him, but only taken his energy.

Mina stood up and glared at the youma.  "You'll pay for that!" she 
hissed between clenched teeth.  She pulled out her watch and hit the 
'General Alert' button.

************************************************************************

Andrew opened his eyes and saw Mina standing up to the youma and 
yelling at it.  He opened his mouth to tell her to run but no sound 
came out.  His eyes went wide at her next actions.

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

Andrew watched as a flash of light surrounded his girlfriend, and then 
moments later Sailor Venus stood ready for battle.  'Mina is...Sailor 
Venus?!' was his last conscious thought before he passed back out.

************************************************************************

Sailor Venus stood in full battle mode in front of the youma.  It 
was, yet another, ugly one.  Its build was relatively human, except 
it was a dark charcoal black.  Her entire body, except for the blood 
red jewel sitting on its waistline, was jet black.

"So," the feminine voice of the droid said, "you are a Sailor Soldier."  
It was more a statement then a question.

Sailor Venus stood determinedly, "I am Sailor Venus and for disturbing 
my date, I will punish you!"

"You wish, Sailor Brat!" the droid said as it opened its palm and 
shot its energy draining power at Venus, who dodged it expertly.

"Try this soot breath!"

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

The chain of hearts sped towards the droid at a blinding speed, and it 
dodged as quickly as she had.  "HA!  You need to work on your aim!"

"JUPITER THUNDER STORM!"

Sailor Jupiter's attack slammed into the back of the droid, who roared 
as she fell to the ground.  "Was that a little better?" Jupiter asked 
as she jumped from her tree perch with the other Sailor Scouts to 
stand beside Venus.

"Much," Venus agreed.  She turned to Sailor Mercury, "Ames, do you 
think you can go and check on Andrew?  He got a lot of his energy 
taken..." Venus trailed off.

"Is he all right?" Tuxedo Mask asked concerned for his best friend.

"I think so," Venus replied as Mercury jogged over to where he was 
laying.

The youma roared and physically charged the Scouts who scattered.  
Sailor Moon smiled and pulled out her Moon Scepter.

"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"

The droid looked in horror as the attack raced towards her, and had 
no effect.

Sailor Moon gasped and stepped back.  "No way!  It had no effect on 
her!"

"Your attacks won't work on Malice, Sailor Moon.  Nothing is strong 
enough to beat her," a voice proclaimed over the battle.

In a small flash of light, a man wearing a blue jacket and white pants 
appeared between the Sailor Scouts and Malice.  The Scouts recognized 
him immediately.  "Sapphire?" Sailor Moon whispered.

"You know me?" Sapphire asked in a surprised tone.

"Why wouldn't we?" Sailor Moon asked as she stepped forward.  "Don't 
*you* remember?" she whispered.  "When the Wiseman was going to betray 
your brother, you came to Earth for help and-"

"That never happened!" Sapphire interrupted her.  "Nothing like that 
ever happened."

The Sailor Scouts exchanged looks.  "Yes it did," Mars said.  "It 
happened about two years ago."

"You came over to our side!" Venus told him.

"NO!  I've never even met you!" Sapphire told them.  "Have I?  Droid 
Malice!  Destroy them!"

"As you wish," Malice stated as she charged Sailor Moon.

"LOOK OUT SAILOR MOON!" a new voice called as a body hit her and pushed 
her out of the way.  The call was followed by an unfamiliar scream.

Sailor Moon looked up and saw Sailor Earth lying on the ground 
struggling to get up.  "Sailor Earth!  Are you alright?!" she asked as 
she ran to her 'friend.'

Sailor Earth stood and gritted her teeth together.  "I'll live," she 
told Sailor Moon sharply.  Sailor Moon nodded and turned back to the 
droid.

"SAILOR VENUS!" Mercury called from her spot by Andrew.  She had 
analyzed him and determined that he indeed only had had his energy 
drained.  She had taken the time to use her computer to find a weakness 
and found none physically; only that she was one hundred percent Dark 
Energy.

"WHAT?!" Venus yelled back.

"She is made of hate!  Love is the only thing that is stronger then 
hate!"

Sailor Venus turned her head to where Mercury was watching over Andrew 
and she appeared to be talking to him.  'She hurt him.  She hurt the 
man I love!'

"VENUS..."

Sailor Venus cupped her hands together over her heart and a bright 
gold glow emitted from between her clasped hands.

"PASSION..."

She pulled her hands from her chest and cupped a yellow glowing heart 
in her palms.

"HEART!"

One hand went down to her side while the other stayed up as the heart's 
power kept growing.  With one swift move, she used one hand to throw 
the heart at Malice similar to the way Sailor Moon would throw her 
Tiara.

Malice screamed and disappeared.  "All right, Venus!" Sailor Moon 
cheered.

Sailor Earth smiled at Venus and then turned to leave.  "Sailor Earth!" 
Moon said as she placed a hand on the girls injured shoulder.

Earth winced, "Yes?"

"Are you going to be alright?" Sailor Moon asked.  "That was a pretty 
hard hit."

"I'll be fine," Earth told her shortly as she walked off.

"Sailor Earth, by the way," Earth turned around, "thank you for saving 
my life."

Sailor Earth smiled and walked away.  'I'm so going to feel this 
tomorrow.'

Sapphire watched as Venus defeated his droid and glared at her and 
then Sailor Moon.  "How could you!?" he yelled.

Sailor Moon turned back to him and stepped forward again.  'Someone 
made him forget.'  "Sapphire," she whispered softly.  "Please, you 
must remember.  Remember what happened right before you died?  The 
Wiseman, he betrayed you and your brother!  Sapphire, he killed you.  
Don't you remember?"

Sapphire shook his head, "You lie!"

Sailor Moon had to smile, "Don't you remember Prisma?  You gave her 
your jacket and promised her you'd return to be with her.  But you 
didn't!  Wiseman killed you!  Please!" she begged him.  "Please 
remember."

Sapphire shook his head to clear it.  'What is this!?' he asked himself 
as a picture of Prisma bringing him food flashed across his mind.  
Then another of the Sailor Scouts protecting him.

"I think he knows, Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask told her.

"Sapphire, please let me heal you," Sailor Moon asked.  "I promise, 
you can be with Prisma.  She's still alive and she still misses you."

"She does?" he asked with a voice full of hope.

Sailor Moon nodded.  "She does.  She still loves you, Sapphire.  You 
were used before, by the Wiseman and now again by whoever is sending 
you this time.  Please, trust me."  Sapphire nodded at her.  Sailor 
Moon smiled.  "Thank you."

She reached to her broach and held it above her head.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

Sailor Moon's healing energy flowed from the Silver Crystal to 
Sapphire, completely ridding him of the Dark Energy that flowed in 
his veins.

Sapphire looked up to Sailor Moon.  He remembered.  "I remember...you 
tried to help me and then Wiseman..."  He walked to Sailor Moon and 
bowed before her.  "Can you ever forgive me?"

Sailor Moon bent down to his level and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"I forgive you.  Now, let's get you to the sisters shop!" she told 
him as she took his hand a brought him up to a standing position.

Sapphire nodded and then looked over at the other Sailor Scouts, all 
of whom were smiling.  Jupiter gave him the thumbs up sign and Mars 
smiled.  Venus nodded at him and then turned, remembering Andrew.

Sailor Venus ran to where Mercury and Andrew where.  "Is he okay 
Mercury?" she asked frantically.

Andrew opened his eyes and looked straight into Sailor Venus's eyes.  
"I'll be fine...Mina."

The Sailor Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and Sapphire, who had lined up behind 
Sailor Venus, turned slightly pale; but nothing compared to how white 
Venus was.  "I'm sorry, Sir, you have confused me with some-"

Andrew stood up shakily and narrowed his eyes slightly at Venus.  
"Don't give me that, Mina or Sailor Venus, or what ever, I *SAW* you 
transform!" he told her.  "You held up a pen with a star on it and- 
changed."

The Sailor Scouts exchanged looks.  Mars huffed, "Good going, V-babe!  
You're as bad as Meatball Head!" she yelled as she threw her hands up 
in the air.

Sailor Moon turned to Mars, "HEY!  I have never transformed in front 
of-"

"Jedite-"

"SO DID YOU!  AND MERCURY!  I TRANSFORMED LAST!"

"Nephlite, Darien, Anne, Alan, more youmas then I can count-"

"Mars!" the girls yelled.

"Lay off her, Mars," Tuxedo Mask told her in a voice that booked no 
argument.  "Mina felt she had to transform, so she did."

"Yeah," Jupiter agreed.  "We've all been in those positions.  Remember 
Chad and Grandpa?  Either of them could have been conscious with out 
your knowing."

"Give it up, Mars," Mercury told her.  "You won't win this one!"  Mars 
sighed and didn't say another thing.

"Excuse me!" Andrew said.  "I'd like to know *how* this is possible 
if I can."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask exchanged looks.  "Could you wait until we 
do one thing?  You can come with us, we'll just be a moment."  At 
Andrews's nod, Sailor Moon and the others motioned for Sapphire and 
Andrew to follow them as they ran.

************************************************************************

Catsy turned the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed' as she and her sisters 
prepared to close up for the night.  She looked out the window at the 
sunset and sighed.  'What's that?' she thought as she saw several 
figures running down the street.

Realizing who it was she called for the others.  "GIRLS!  I think 
something's wrong!  The Sailor Soldiers are running here, fast!" she 
yelled into the store.

Avery, Birdy, and Prisma dropped what they were doing to meet the girls.  
When the Sailor Scouts got to the store, they were surprised to see two unfamiliar silhouettes running with them.

"Girls!" Avery said as she stepped forward.  "Is there anything- OH 
MY!" she yelled as she saw Sapphire.

"What is it, Avery?" Prisma asked as she stepped forward to her younger 
sister.  "Is every-" she stopped speaking and simply stared at Sapphire.  
"Sa-Sapphire?" she whispered.  "Is it really...you?"

Sapphire stepped forward hesitantly.  "It's really me.  I'm so sorry 
for keeping you waiting, Prisma.  I don't know why I'm back-"  Prisma 
ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  
"Oh, Prisma," he whispered as he kissed her cheek.

The two pulled out of their embrace and turned to the Sailor Scouts.  
"Thank you- hey!  Where did they go?" Prisma asked as she looked 
around for them.

Birdy stepped forward, "They just left and they had Andrew with them.  
I think he may have seen too much.  Serena said they would be back 
tomorrow to ask Sapphire some questions."  She turned to her sister 
and Sapphire.  "It's good to see you again, Sapphire!"  She and the 
other two sisters hugged Sapphire and Prisma.  "You can stay here as 
long as you like."

Sapphire looked at each of the sisters in turn before nodding slowly.  
"Thank you."

************************************************************************

Sailor Jupiter opened her balcony door and held it open for the other 
Scouts and Andrew as they filed in.  They almost hadn't been able to 
get Andrew up to the tenth floor.  It had taken Tuxedo Mask and Sailor 
Jupiter to carry him up.  When all of them were inside, Andrew turned 
to face the nervous group.

"First off, why are we at Lita's?"

Jupiter smiled.  "My place was the closest.  We wanted to get this 
over with a soon as possible!"

"Lita?" Andrew asked.

Sailor Jupiter nodded and detransformed.  Venus did the same and 
stayed away from him.  Andrew turned to the other Scouts who looked 
to Sailor Moon for permission.  At her nod, Mercury, Mars, Tuxedo 
Mask and Sailor Moon's transformations melted to reveal their true 
identities as Amy, Raye, Darien and Serena.

Andrew stared for a moment at his friends before blinking slowly and 
rubbing his eyes.

Darien sighed, "No Andrew, this isn't a dream," he told him.  "All of 
us are the Warriors who protect the Earth."

Mina walked up to him and took his arm and lead him to the couch where 
she made him sit down.  "How?  Why all of you?" Andrew asked as he 
hesitantly slid an arm around Mina.

The Sailor's took seats on the floor and in chairs, with Serena 
and Darien sitting in the center so they could tell the story.  "I 
have one thing to say before I start," Serena said.  The people turned 
to face her, "Mina, we are so dead.  Luna and Artemis are going to kill 
us," she told her seriously.

Mina cringed slightly.  "Oh man!  I forgot about him!  AAGHH!  I'm 
dead!"

Andrew looked at her strangely but then Serena started the story.  
"One thousand years ago, there was a great kingdom..."

<:Hours Later:>

"...So now, all of our enemies are returning stronger then before.  
The Sailor Soldiers have new attacks, and we can only hope that that 
will be enough to beat them," Serena finished.  "And that's the whole 
story."

"I don't- I mean- that's incredible!" Andrew told them.  He then 
turned to Serena and Darien and raised an eyebrow, "Rini is your 
daughter?"

"You have to ask about that?!" Serena half wailed.  The others, except 
Darien who was red as a tomato, laughed.  When the laughter died down, 
Serena spoke to Andrew in a more serious voice.  "You understand, that 
only a handful of people know this and that you can't tell anyone, 
don't you?"

Andrew nodded.  "I swear, Serena, I won't tell a soul.  I guess I'm 
kinda proud of all of you.  You've spent so much time fighting and 
most people didn't even know there was a war going on.  That's 
brave."

The girls nodded.  "But we want to keep it that way," Darien told 
Andrew.  "We prefer a private war as opposed to an open one.  This is 
our fight."

Lita nodded, "And we won't loose!"

************************************************************************

Rose finally got home from her excursion.  She had run from the Sailor 
Scouts but then remember that the man leading the youma was still there.  
She had run back just in time to see all of them run off to the sisters 
store and listened as things were explained about Sapphire.  She now 
knew that Andrew knew the identities of the Sailor Scouts, except for 
her.  'I'll have to see if I can get anything out of him latter.'

She examined her injuries on her back and shoulder carefully.  She 
touched the skin and winced at the burning sensation that shot up her 
back.  "Well, the little comfort I can give you from this," Terren 
told her, "is that now the Soldiers may trust you more."

Rose glared at her guardian and wondered how much it would cost to mail 
him to Siberia.  There was a knock at her door and Mrs. Jackson poked 
her head in.  "Lights out, Rose!" she chirped happily.  "It's time for- 
My gosh, child!  What happened to you!?"

Rose sighed.  'It's going to be a looooooooong night.'

************************************************************************

The shadow man hissed between his teeth.  "I told you he wasn't to be 
trusted!  Now look!  He is with the other traitors on earth!"  He 
turned to the woman and glared at her.  "This is all your fault!" he 
yelled at her.

The woman took a step back.  "Forgive me!  I did not think-"

"You never do."

"I did not think he would fall under Sailor Moon's spell and get his 
memories back!" she continued.  "The next one will be stronger!" she 
assured him.  "Though he will not be ready for many weeks."

The shadow man waved a hand to dismiss her.  "Soon, I shall have my 
revenge on you, Serenity.  Very, very soon."

To be continued...

As Amber would say "Duh-duh-duh!" So, how'd ya like?  Sucked?  Ruled? 
No comment?  Please mail me, my mailbox has been really dry lately!  **PLEASE!!**

Next week: The moment nobody wanted to see.  The day no one wanted to 
come.  The one thing that could be the downfall for the earth.  The fate 
of our hero, Rose, rests in the hands of the most unlikely person in the world.......Nurse Mina.

*grin*  Thanks!  C'ya next week, minna-chan!

Stef-chan