Hi there peeps! Special thanks to everyone who has written me; your comments mean the world to me! Although I can't say I got too many... most people were sending me death threats last week! *cough!* Nikki! Ti'ana! Butterfly! *cough!* Hee-hee! I promise, no Endy torture this week. And no Nurse Venus! *Rose sighs in relief* I hope you had a Merry Christmas and all those other Holidays that I can't remember! Autumn, I promised you another chapter! It's a small part, but you're there! Not too much to say this week, but I hope you enjoy because I was nearly kicking my self on Tuesday because I didn't know what to do with this chapter! It just wasn't right! I sent it to Nikki who helped me out a lot with her advice and then did some re-writing and viola! It's as good as it can get! Oh just a warning, I started the chapter off with another dream. They're the best ways to start these things! Mysterious and tense...I love using dreams in my fics! Oh, and I have to give Nikki-chan credit for the title of this chapter. Part of it is from her chapter 13 of "A Trusting Heart," called "Crystal Tears and Wishes." Read it! DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely nothing. I'm sixteen years old and I don't have a job. I'm lucky that I can afford my manga! If you want to sue me because you think that I'm saying I own this, you can have the change in my pocket. That's about it. RATING: PG- One swear word and almost no violence. There is about a three-page battle in here for a very cryptic and critical reason. Quote of the Week: "Fresh tears fall from my eyes, not because I am saddened, but because you have brought me joy." Butterfly The sweetest, most lovable girl I've ever known said this to me after I tried to cheer her up. The whole letter was beautiful, as is her soul. You're my best friend, Butterfly. FINAL AWAKENINGS CHAPTER 7 ________Joyous Truth and Crystal Tears________ "Do you really think you can stop me, Sailor Earth?" a woman with dark red hair said to Sailor Earth. Sailor Earth held her position and glared at the witch in front of her. "You killed them," she whispered in a dead, emotionless voice. "You killed my best friends!" She didn't cry. There was no need to cry now. The woman laughed and grinned. "Oh, I'm far from done, Roselyn. Your friends died...honorably. They died in battle. No death is more noble then that, don't you agree?" Sailor Earth held her staff ready. "You're going to die, Beryl. I swear to it." "EARTH CYCLONE WINDS!" "EARTH MAGMA BOIL!" The two attacks swirled together to strike Queen Beryl, but the Queen of Darkness simply stood there as though her power was nothing as it disintegrated against and invisible barrier. Sailor Earth gasped. "My turn," Beryl whispered as she raised her hand. ************************************************************************* Rose gasped and woke up. She was breathing hard and sweat was pouring down her face and back as she sat up and looked around her room in fear. It was so real. Every time it happened she couldn't help but think that this was a part of her past life. She knew it had to be, but she couldn't figure out from when. "Hey, Rose?" Terren asked as he looked up from his place at the foot of her bed. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You were crying out in your sleep." Rose shook her head slightly. "I can't take this anymore, Terry," she whispered. Terren walked up to her and touched a paw to her arm. "What Rose? Can't take what anymore?" he asked her softly. Tears began to spill down Rose's cheeks. Terren's eyes opened wide with shock and he gasped. "Rose, what is it!?" "I-I don't know! Terren, something's wrong! I keep seeing it over and over in my head!" she told him. "Seeing what, Rose?" he asked gently. "A lot of things. I can see myself walking with a man; we seem really close, almost like family. The car accident that took my parents lives and then this one where I'm fighting Queen Beryl but it just ends!" Rose stopped and regained control of her emotions. "My dreams. I just don't know what they mean! What are they trying to tell me?" Terren gently nestled her chin and licked her cheek; two very cat-like actions. 'It's Endymion, it has to be! Is he looking for her somehow? Maybe he felt her awaken and is helping her regain her memories!' Terren pulled away. "Cheer up, Rose! These maybe your memories coming back! Don't look so down. Now, get some rest! You're still a little sore from that fight!" Rose nodded. "Thanks, Terry." Terren grinned, "No prob, Rosie. Now, please, go to sleep!" ************************************************************************** It was before dawn at the Tsukino house, but one person was awake and alert as the golden sun kissed the sky. It was trying to reach the sky, but clouds were blocking it and causing a rather sad looking sunrise. Rini looked out the window of her attic room and sighed. She usually slept with Serena, but there were nights that she just wanted to be alone. This one had been one of them. Her father finally knew that Rose was his sister and they only need to go one step further and then she could tell them everything. Couldn't she? Rini looked at the Luna Ball that was floating next to her and slightly behind her. "Last time I was here," Rini spoke softly, "Puu was guiding me. Telling me what I could say to Serena and not. But now, I don't know! If Daddy and Auntie Rose find out who they are, do I tell Auntie Rose about me? Do I not do anything?" She picked up the Luna Ball and gazed at it. "Luna-P? Puu? Oh, what do I do? I can't even go home!" she said as she clutched the chain around her neck. The chain that she hadn't taken off for years was now only a chain. No time key. She had been in the past for over a month now, and not once had she talked to Sailor Pluto. It was almost as though she weren't at the gate, but that wasn't possible. She had to be at the gate. She wasn't aloud to leave the gate unless...Rini shivered. She wouldn't think like that. It couldn't happen. She searched her memory for any sign of *why* she was sent to the past. The first time had been of her own will. This time, she didn't even know until she had begun to fall out of the sky and land on her future parents. "I just want to know if my Mommy and Daddy are okay," she whispered. "If the future is okay. If this is going to turn out alright." Rini looked out the window again and her eyes opened wide at what she saw. It was snowing. She smiled. "Every thing will be okay...I hope." ************************************************************************** Sailor Pluto smiled sadly as she watched her young Princess try to contact her. "I'm so sorry, Small Lady. But I am forbidden..." she whispered to the emptiness of the Time Gate. "I can't answer you. You will know what to do when the time is right." ************************************************************************** Serena ran out of the door with Rini's hand in hers and jumped into the snow. It was only November and it was already snowing! Normally it didn't snow until after New Years. And there had been so much of the darn stuff, that school had been canceled! Serena twirled around and around in the snow until she nearly fell over from being dizzy. Rini laughed and then grabbed her mother's hand. "Come on, Mom! We're gonna be late!" she said, knowing full well that would get her moving. Serena stopped. "OH NO! LET'S GO, RINI!" Serena grabbed Rini's hand and the two ran off together. When they reached the Crown, they were surprised that they weren't the last ones there. Amy still wasn't there. "Hey, guys!" Serena greeted them as she sat down next to her boyfriend. Darien leaned over and kissed her cheek. Serena looked around the table to see who was there. Mina and Andrew were together, of course. Next to them were Raye and Chad, who had really only gone on a few dates, but were progressing into something more serious. Lita with Ken who had an arm around her. Serena smiled. When Rini had arrived the two were fighting over something that Serena didn't understand. Lita had gone out 'guy shopping' to make him jealous. It had worked and the two were together again. "Where's Amy?" Serena asked. Lita looked at her Princess, grinned and winked. "Meeting an old friend!" Serena smiled. "So what are we doing today?" she asked. "I'm in the mood for celebrating," Mina said as she looked up. "Amy will know if we have anything to be happy about." ************************************************************************** Greg smiled as he walked to the front door of Amy's apartment. It had been a few months since he had last seen her and he couldn't wait to see her again. And this time, they wouldn't have to say good bye. 'But the Negaverse is returning. And if my vision is correct, things have been really interesting lately. More than what she's been saying.' Greg rang her bell and waited for her to answer. No one came. "Strange..." he mumbled under his breath. He put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. It was open. Greg let himself in and called out. "Hello? Amy are you here?" 'I hope she doesn't get mad at me for this!' He continued to walk until he reached the study where a light was on. "Amy?" He smiled when he found her asleep over a book. No, it wasn't a book. "Her computer?" He picked the piece of equipment up gently so as not to wake her, and looked at what had caught her attention so. "What?" he said as he read the results of the test she had been conducting. "This means..." "That Darien has a sibling. A sister to be precise," Amy spoke up from her position at the desk. She stretched before standing. "Greg! How in the world did you get in my house?!" she asked him in a very un- Amy like tone. Greg gulped slightly and smiled. "The, uh...door, was unlocked. I just let myself in," he explained. "Sorry if I intruded." Amy sighed, "Well, if I didn't know your body outline, I probably would have screamed!" Greg looked down. "Just don't do it again. So," Amy hugged him and he pecked her cheek, "why are you here?" Greg smiled and pulled back. "Surprise! I live two blocks away from you now! We just moved back!" Amy's eyes lit up. "Greg, that's wonderful! You're going to Crossroads, right?" Greg nodded. "Of course! And Lita gave me a call this morning. All of the girls are meeting at the Crown-" "Why did she call you?" Amy asked while narrowing her eyes at him. "Uh...Well...Theykindaknewiwascomingback. I asked them not to tell you." Amy sighed. She was always the calm one. She wouldn't yell at him. "That's kinda sweet, Greg! A nice surprise!" Amy stood and began to head out. "I'm going to go get dressed. We have to tell Darien and Rose, I told you about her, the good news. We just found out yesterday." Greg nodded as Amy went to her room. 'She's much more then that, Dear Amy. But I don't think I can tell you that.' He looked outside at the snow and for a brief second, an older Sailor Scout appeared and shook her head at him. 'Not yet,' she seemed to whisper. ************************************************************************** "Maybe we should go look for Amy and Greg," Serena murmured. "No, we're here!" Amy said as she and Greg rushed into the Arcade and took seats by their friends. "And I suppose that all of you knew that Greg was moving back here?" she asked. The group exchanged looks before nodding vigorously; Rini included. Amy sighed and dropped her head. "What's wrong, Ames?" came a soft and familiar voice from behind him. Standing behind all of them was Rose and Terren. "Rose!" Darien said as he got up and hugged his sister, surprising all of the guys. "Amy, when are we getting the tests back?" Rose asked as she pulled away from Darien. Andrew looked to Serena with horror in his eyes but she was smiling. "Uh... What's going on here?" he asked nervously. Mina silenced him with a pinch to the arm. Amy smiled and held out a piece of, very official looking, paper. "They're already back. Mom works at the hospital and I asked her to pull a few strings." She handed the packet to Rose and stepped back. "Overnight?" she asked skeptically. "That's great!" The girls and Darien sighed in relief. Rose believed them. 'Thank you, God!' Amy thought. "I know this isn't a very appropriate place," she told them. "But I thought you would want to know as soon as possible." Darien and Rose looked at each other. The moment of truth. Rose opened the packet and read the contents. "99.86% accuracy." Her eyes lit up as they met Darien's. "YES!!" she screamed. All of the people in the Arcade turned to look at Darien and Rose. Darien picked her up and swung her around. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Rose pulled away and then just hugged him. "My brother. My big brother." Tears fell from her eyes and Darien held her tight. "I'm so happy," he whispered as he hugged her tighter. Serena got up and touched Rose's shoulder. "Welcome home, Roseanna." ************************************************************************** (Five days later, Saturday) Rose taped the last of the boxes closed and wiped her brow. "And done!" she said with a smile. "You ready, Terry?" she asked her guardian cat. Terren looked up from his spot, which was not on the bed, he was on the floor lying in the little bit of sunshine that was coming through the window. It was *still* snowing outside, turning Tokyo into a 'Winter Wonderland.' "I guess so, Rose," Terren told her with mild reluctance. "It's going to be hard for you to sneak out since you'll be living with Darien now," he told her. Rose shook her head. "If I can sneak out with out you knowing, then- I'M ONLY KIDDING, TERREN!" she told him when she saw the look on his face. As soon as Rose and Darien had found out that they were, indeed, brother and sister Darien had taken the papers to the state and presented his case to the courts. After a little investigation into his background, and checking to make sure he could provide for her, the state had agreed to let Rose live with him. Rose requested her name to be changed to Shields, seeing as that was most likely her real name. This was the day she was moving in with him. Terren sighed, "I really am happy for you, Rose. But explaining your injuries here was nothing. Most people didn't see you everyday. Now you're going to be living with only one person who you will see you everyday at dinner! This is going to be hard!" "Relax Terry!" she told him. "I'll jump off that bridge when it comes." "I would have preferred a better metaphor," he mumbled. (AN: No folks, she didn't say it wrong.) A knock sounded at the door and Rose got up to answer it. "Autumn!" she said enthusiastically as she let the girl in. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she let her in. Autumn stepped in. "I'm here for tea!" she told her sarcastically. "What do you think I'm doing here?!" she asked. Rose grinned, "What you do best. Causing trouble, mayhem, and chaos. The usual!" But soon her smile faded. "I'll miss you." Autumn half smiled. "I'll miss you, too." Her eyes suddenly lit up though. "I got you this," she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a book. She handed it to Rose, who burst out laughing. "'1,000 Jokes to Play on Your Brother!'" she read the title and laughed. She flipped through the book and nodded at some of the jokes. "Done that. Doesn't work. Done that. I'LL HAVE TO TRY THAT! Done that. Lame..." She smiled at her long time friend. "Thanks! I know Darien'll hate you for this! But I sure don't." Autumn reached for her friend and hugged her fiercely. "You come back and say hello, okay? Don't forget us without hunky, nice brothers!" Rose hugged her back. "I won't, smarty! And don't forget, he has a girlfriend." "Tell that to Charity," Autumn said as she rolled her eyes. "Can't you take me with you?!" she pleaded. "Rose, ya ready to go?" Darien asked as he walked into the room. "Oh, hey there, Autumn." Autumn nodded an acknowledgement to Darien and hugged Rose one last time. "See ya around, girl!" And she left. Rose smiled sadly at the retreating figure of one of her closest friends. She turned back to Darien. "I've done this before, ya know. But it's like last time I knew I'd be back. It wasn't as sad as this time. I-I'm gonna miss this place, but I'm also so happy to be gone. It's strange, ya know?" She looked up to him with her big blue eyes. A mix of emotions was clear in her eyes, even through the slight tears. "And I'm only moving a couple of miles away." Darien hugged her. "Believe me, I know. The only reason I didn't want to leave was because of Mrs. Jackson. You'll see them all again, I promise!" Rose smiled. "Thanks, Bro! Now, help me carry this stuff out!" Darien looked to the boxes in her room and sighed. "What do I look like, your servant?" he asked. Rose raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What's your point?" ************************************************************************** (Two days later, Monday) Rose was lounging on her bed in her new home. She was lucky Darien had an extra bedroom. It was *a lot* bigger then her either her room at the orphanage or at the Kents house. Even though it was Monday, she wasn't in school. She hadn't gone back since the youma attack. Terren had ordered her to pretend to still hurt for a while. She had all of her work for school made up and was going back to classes on Wednesday. On Tuesday there were parent-teacher conferences for the students who were failing. She and Darien were planning to spend the day together. Right now, Darien was out grocery shopping, leaving Rose and Terren alone to discuss their mission. "There haven't been any attacks in over a week," Terren told her. "We need to be on our guard. I have a bad feeling that the Princess and Prince may be in danger. Something big is going to happen." Rose leaned back on her pillows and studied the ceiling. She smiled and remembered that Darien had said she could do anything she wanted to the room. The landlord wasn't strict about painting the apartment or anything. She could have fun. "Terry, are you any closer to finding them? We can't even find out who the other Scouts are! How are we going to find out who the Princess is?" "I don't know, Rose. I really don't know." He thought for a moment. "I think the time is now. I feel it. We need to tell the other Sailor Scouts your identity." Rose's eyes opened wide and she stared at her guardian. "Terry, I just don't know. Do you think-" "Rose?" Darien called as he closed the door. "I'm in my room!" she called back to him. "Come on, Baldy," she said as she picked Terren up and walked out of the room with him. 'If I tell them, what will they think? I'm no one!' "I'm not bald anymore," he mumbled referring to the magic that he had used to cover up his crescent moon. "Oh, shut up!" she whispered as they entered the living room. "What was that, Rose?" Darien asked as he poked his head out of the kitchen. "Did you say something?" Rose sweatdropped and smiled. "No, no! Nothing!" Darien looked at her weird but shrugged. "Serena says that the others are really worried about you at school. Especially someone named, what was it...? Tim? Yeah! Tim is really worried about you!" Rose blushed bright red but was rejoicing. "That hot guy that sits in front of Serena?!" she screeched. "He's worried about me?!" Darien sighed. "Now I suddenly remember the only reason I can't stand girls other than Serena." He looked at Rose again and chuckled. She was so like him, but also like Serena or Mina at the same time. 'Tim, eh? I'll have to keep an eye on this...WAIT! What am I doing?! She can go out with whoever she wants!' 'As long as he's okay with me.' Darien turned back into the kitchen and buried his face in his hands. "Great. If I'm like this with just my sister, what will I do when Rini begins to date?" he asked himself. "No! Rini won't..." He groaned again. "Oh man! I'm turning out like Mr. Tsukino!" ************************************************************************** King Onyxious sat on his throne in front of his five lackeys. The five of them exchanged looks. He had been in somewhat higher spirits since his...talk with Endymion last week. But now, it was very obvious that something was troubling him. "Endymion still refuses to reveal any information as to the whereabouts of his daughter or of Serenity of either the twentieth or thirtieth century. I, and an assistant of mine have tried excessively to extract the knowledge from him, but he refuses to give in. I want another attack to be launched in the twentieth century. Rubeus and Zoisite," the two looked up at the sound of their names. "I want you two to organize a mild disturbance in Tokyo. Nothing to big, but powerful enough to kill the Sailor Scouts if it could." Zoisite looked to Rubeus uneasily. "Of course. I have noticed that in the past few battles, Sailor Moons' attack has done nothing. We could use that to our advantage." Rubeus narrowed his eyes at her. "You aren't giving her enough credit. I've fought her when she couldn't stand up and she did. Think more in depth about this plan, Zoisite. She is much stronger then she looks." Emerald laughed. "Something you had to learn the hard way!" "I don't remember everything, but I hear you didn't fare much better, Emerald!" Rubeus snarled. Emerald opened her mouth to retort, but Onyxious cut her off. "Enough. You will get to work on the plan. And you will not fail me." ************************************************************************** "So, how do you plan on using Sailor Moon's ability to not attack against her?" Rubeus asked Zoisite. Zoisite didn't answer and Rubeus chuckled. "Well, seeing as though you don't have a real plan, how 'bout we try this?" ************************************************************************** Greg slowly walked down the sidewalk of down town Tokyo. He had only been to 'Silver Cosmetics' once, but he could have never gone there and he still would have known where it was by heart. As he approached the store he felt excitement well up in his stomach and gulped. The sisters would know more about this then he would. Greg walked into the store and the bells jingled. A man with dark blue hair that Greg had never seen smiled at him. "Hello there. How may I help you?" Greg nodded to the man in greeting and looked at his nametag. 'Sapphire.' "Hello, Sapphire. I really need to speak to one of the four sisters. It's very urgent." Sapphire looked at the young man strangely, but nodded to him. "Hey, Prisma! Could you come out here please?" Prisma immediately came out of the back and smiled to Sapphire. "Yes, Sapphire? Do you need help with something?" Sapphire shook his head. "No, but his young man does," he told her gesturing towards Greg. "Yes? Oh, Greg! Hello, how are you?" Prisma greeted him. "Do you need a gift for Amy?" she asked with a sly smile on her face. Greg smiled slightly at her but shook his head. "It's not exactly about Amy. It's about..." he cast his glance to Sapphire and Prisma got his point. "Don't worry, Sapphire is like us. Sailor Moon healed him not too long ago," Prisma reassured him. Sapphire turned to Prisma in surprise. "Prisma?!" "Oh! I'm such an idiot!" Greg said. "Amy told me about you, I just have a lot on my mind and didn't put two and two together." Greg stuck his hand out to Sapphire. "I'm Greg. Ex Rainbow Crystal carrier. I date Sailor Mercury." Sapphire took his hand and shook it. "So what did you come here for? Did you have a vision?" Prisma asked. The four sisters had met Greg not too long after the Dark Moon was gone. They learned all about him and his talents and even helped teach him what different elements in dreams meant. Greg nodded. "I didn't like what I saw. It was different. I was hoping you could help me with deciphering it." "What did you see?" Prisma asked as she sat down. "A lot of battles. The Sailor Scouts were winning, but I didn't see the ends. The last thing I saw was Serena, holding her transformation locket, and it cracking." Prisma gasped. "And there was a woman, she was saying that the Sailor Scouts 'need to find a key to open the door.'" Prisma took a deep breath. This was different. "Catsy! Birdy! Avery! COME HERE!" The other three of the four sisters ran in to the front quickly asking questions. Prisma held up her hands and asked Greg to tell them what he saw. When he was done, the sisters were not only extremely frightened, but also extremely worried for the welfare of their friend. "Any ideas?" Greg asked. He hadn't mentioned anything to Amy yet, but he had a feeling he would need to very soon. Sapphire was the first to answer, "What if it's a warning? Saying that Serena is going to be hurt in a battle soon? Or maybe she's going to loose her power. And as for the woman, saying they need to find something to save the world?" "But what about the key and door?" Greg asked. "What does that have to do with anything." They lapsed into silence again and sometime passed before Avery offered an answer. "Maybe Sailor Earth? Could her mystery be what they need to open?" "You mean Rose?" Greg asked. Birdy smiled, "So you know too? The others don't yet. Not even Darien and he's her brother!" Greg nodded. "It probably won't be too much longer, but yes, I did see Sailor Earth in one of my visions, that's how I found out. I've known about her for a long time. But I can't tell Amy," he said. "But somehow, I don't think Sailor Earth is what we're looking for. She's going to tell them soon anyway." "How do you know?" Catsy asked. Greg smiled. "Just a feeling. I didn't see it, but I can feel it." "So what about the 'key' and 'door?'" Avery asked. Greg shook his head. "I have no idea." ************************************************************************** Rini smiled and looked at the gleaming snow. White. As far as the eye could see, the snow covered the ground. She, Darien, Serena and Rose were out enjoying the weather while it lasted. The snow was about a foot deep, but would probably melt soon because it was only November. She giggled and ran to a clearing to make snow angles. "Careful, Rini!" Serena called. "Don't stay out too long, you could get sick!" Rose rolled her eyes. "You act like her mother, Serena! She's a kid! Let her have fun!" Serena gave a small laugh and looked at Darien nervously out of the corner of her eye. "So? I'm a little over protective! I have a right!" she told her. Rose shook her head, knowing full well that she did have a right; just not in the way Serena was talking about. Rose and Serena sat down on a bench in the clearing while Darien stood behind them, watching his entire family as they gossiped and played. 'If only Rose knew who Rini was...' he thought with a smile. But the smile soon vanished as he realized something. Something that *someone,* *anyone,* should have realized a long time ago. Rini had known all along. Darien suppressed the urge to hit a tree for being so incredibly stupid, and simply looked at the eight-year-old in wonder and almost anger. She had known the whole time and not said a word. She had know that Rose was her aunt and his sister. 'I'll have to see about that later,' he thought as he shivered. Darien turned, trying to figure out why he was shivering. It was cold out, but he was wearing warm enough clothes. Then he heard quiet laughing. Very familiar, quiet laughing. He swore under his breath and pulled out his watch/communicator that Amy had given him not too long after the Dark Moon had been defeated. (Or so they thought.) He hit the general alert button and immediately, Serena's own communicator began to go off she turned to Darien quickly, who motioned that *he* was the one who had set it off. Serena's eyes went wide as she turned the alarm off. "Did you forget something, Serena?" Rose asked. Serena nodded. She had to get Rini out of there. "Yeah. Rini, come on! We're-" "Not going anywhere," a voice hissed. Rose and the others turned and gasped at what they saw. Rini cried out and hid behind Serena when she saw Rubeus and Zoisite. The two stepped out of the bushes and floated in the air and landed by the four semi-stunned people. "Hello, Rabbit," Rubeus greeted Rini. "You ready to go home? It's not the same home you may remember, but it is still Crystal Tokyo!" "What's happened to Crystal Tokyo?" Rini demanded, suddenly feeling braver. "What have you done?!" Zoisite laughed. "Well, it's not really what we've done, it's what your Mommy and Daddy haven't done!" "What do you mean?" Serena inquired quietly. Rini felt her temper begin to flare. "What are you talking about?! My Daddy and Mommy would protect Crystal Tokyo no matter what!" "Enough of this," Rubeus interrupted. "We aren't here to chat! We're here for one reason, get the brat!" Rini's eyes opened wide and she let out an ear-piercing scream. A bright beam of light encompassed the area around her, coming from the crescent moon shining on her forehead. The light was far too bright for any to look at and Rose was forced to avert her eyes. Zoisite yelled as she was thrown back slightly from the blast, "YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!" she yelled to Rubeus. "DID YOU ASK?!" he called back. When the light faded from Rini's forehead, she swayed slightly before regaining her composure. Rose removed her hand from her eyes and gazed at Rini in amazement. "What in the name of Serenity?" she whispered. "MERCURY ICEBEAM FREEZE!" A rush of water came from behind Zoisite and hit her square in the back. Zoisite stumbled forward from Mercury's attack and turned to glare at the offending Sailor Scout, only to find three others with her. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAPS ZAP!" Rubeus dodged the attack effortlessly and glared at Jupiter. He turned to the four people he and Zoisite had attacked. "Be right back!" "What a moron," Rini muttered under her breath while rolling her eyes. She grabbed her parents' hands. "COME ON!" Rose pretended to be running along side of them, but hid behind a tree as soon as she was out of site of the Sailor Scouts. "This is getting complicated," she whispered. "Rini holds incredible power." She peaked out around the tree and saw the Sailor Scouts battling the Generals. "They know a lot more then they let on." "EARTH STAR POWER!" ************************************************************************** Sailor Mars turned as she heard a voice cry out, "Earth Star Power." She looked and saw a flash of light from behind a tree and gasped. 'I was this close to finding out the identity of Sailor Earth!' She mentally kicked herself and returned to fighting when she saw Sailor Earth come out from behind the tree. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!" "EARTH GROUND QUAKE!" The ground underneath the two Generals buckled and cracked, throwing them off their balance. "It's not as strong as before..." she muttered under her breath. "It never is. Not after the first time," Mercury told her. "Your emotions fueled your power which is why you could destroy the droid the other day. But now, it will be very hard. Not as hard as it was with our other powers, though." Sailor Earth nodded in understanding. "So in other words for it to do what it did last time, I have to get really, really pissed off?" "YEAH!" Venus called back. "And *I'm* really pissed off for you making me ditch my date!" she yelled as she let her love chain loose. "No speeches today, I'm just plain mad!" Sailor Moon yelled as she leapt towards the enemy. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" Sailor Moon let out a cry of shock as it did nothing. The energy dissipated with Zoisite simply reaching a hand out to stop it. Zoisite laughed again and Rubeus thrust a hand out. Before any of the Sailor Scouts could blink an eye Rubeus had launched several small orbs at Sailor Moon. The force of the attack hit Sailor Moon square in the chest. The other Scouts cried out for her and an even louder cry could be heard from Tuxedo Mask, who was just arriving from dropping Rini off at Lita's house; seeing that it was the closest to the park. Sailor Moon looked at Rubeus in shock. The blast hadn't hurt very much but she was still thrown back into the snow. The soft snowflakes blanketed around her as she felt a familiar, and unwanted, sensation. 'I'M DETRANSFORMING!' she thought with panic as she grasped her broach. The Sailor Scouts could see the flash of light and immediately became panicked. Tuxedo Mask rushed to her and picked Serena up in his arms. He covered her with his cape, so that neither Sailor Earth nor the Generals could see who she was. "SHE CAN'T FIGHT! I'M TAKING HER TO JUPITER'S!" he called to the others as he carried her out of the park. Rubeus was about to take off after them until rings of fire flew in front of him and blocked his path. "You deal with us, before you deal with them," Sailor Mars told him with a cold voice. "VENUS PASSION HEART!" Venus's attack ripped through the air and crashed into a tree behind Zoisite. "I think now is the time to make an exit," Zoisite said. "They don't have what we need anymore. And we did the other job we came for." Zoisite disappeared. "Do send Sailor Moon my kindest regards!" Rubeus' voice echoed through the park as he disappeared. Jupiter swore viscously at Rubeus under her breath, causing Venus to cringe at her words. Sailor Earth looked to the space Sailor Moon had just been and sighed. "I'm serious when I say to send Sailor Moon my regards," Sailor Earth told the other Sailor Scouts before she jumped away from them by treetop. Mars sighed. "I wish I knew what she wanted. Things would be much easier." She detransformed and turned to the others. "Come on! We've got to go and make sure Serena is okay!" ************************************************************************** Tuxedo Mask opened the balcony door to Lita's apartment and slid it shut silently with Serena still in his arms. "I'm really okay, Darien," she mumbled softly to him. Her hand was still holding her transformation locket in a death grip. She hadn't let go of it once during the whole trip there. "I know," Tuxedo Mask told her as he set her down on the couch. "But I like you in my arms. That's why I took the long way here." Serena blushed and then giggled a little as Darien inched closer to her lips... "Mom, Dad! Is the battle over already?" Rini asked as she came into the room. Serena and Darien sighed. Ah, yes. The taste of parent hood a few years early. "Yes, Rini, it's over," Serena told her. Rini studied Serena for a moment and furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?" "Serena!" Amy said as she and the others detransformed and came into the room with Luna and Artemis following. "Are you alright? That was a pretty hard hit!" Lita clenched her fists. "That jerk, Rubeus! Give me five minutes in a room alone with him and I'll..." She cracked her knuckles to emphasize her point. "I don't whether to pity the man, or feel happy about that one," Darien mumbled under his breath. Serena nodded and faked a yawn. "Well, I'm okay, so let's go home," Serena said as she stood up. Darien pushed her back down. "Darien?" "Let Amy check you out first, okay? You did detransform," he told her. Serena nodded and placed her locket inside of her jacket. "It really was nothing. The hit just took me by surprise, that's all, guys." Amy pulled out her computer and scanned Serena quickly. "Well, she's right. There's nothing wrong!" Serena nodded slowly. "Well, I'm walking you home," Darien said. He then slapped his forehead. "Oh, shoot! Rose!" Serena sat up. "She wasn't with us when we ran from the attack! She must have gotten lost or something!" "No, I didn't," Rose said as she walked into Lita's living room. The door had been opened and she simply let herself in. "Rose!" Darien said as he ran to her. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I just got separated from you while we were running. I'm okay though." The others breathed sighs of relief. Rini looked at her Aunt with worry. 'Why doesn't she tell them the truth? She can trust them!' ************************************************************************** "Find him...Roselyn! Find your brother!" a female voice called to her. "You must find him!" "I HAVE FOUND HIM!" Rose yelled to the emptiness. She was in a vast gray cavern, and there was no one else around. The only other thing visible was a giant door with the moon phases carved into it. The voice seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe from the past... "Have you?" the voice asked. "You must find the other! Find your brother, Roselyn!" "What are you talking about!? My name is Roseanna! Not 'Roselyn!' Rose yelled to the voice. "Is it?" "What?" ************************************************************************** Serena gazed up at the full moon and sighed. Darien had driven her and Rini home and then taken Rose home. It was now very late and Rini was asleep in her bed. Serena bit her lip and pulled her broach out of her pocket. She had as of yet to inspect the damage that Rubeus had inflicted earlier that day. Fighting down her nervousness, Serena took a good, long look at her locket. It was broken. Cracked, in several different places. Serena bit back the tears that threatened her eyes. 'The only thing I have that mother gave to me...' Gingerly, she opened the locket to make sure the Silver Crystal was okay and breathed a sigh of relief. The Crystal was still in one piece. Not even a scratch. 'If it had been damaged, I don't know what I'd do!' Serena closed the locket and continued to examine it. 'Can I still transform? What will happen if I can't? The Scouts can't fight without me, and I can't just stand aside and let them fight alone!' Serena returned her sight to the Moon. "Mother? What does this mean? Am I no longer supposed to fight?" She gingerly touched the cover and felt for the power that the locket contained. Not the Silver Crystal, but the locket itself. It was there. Barely, but it was. Serena felt relief wash over her again, but quickly evaporated with a feeling of dread. 'How long will the power last?' TO BE CONTINUED... *thrusts fist in air and laughs* YES! I can not wait till next chapter! I knew I had to do something drastic! Ohh...Can't wait! Well, that's it for this chapter. Next week let's hope the site is Y2K compliant! Just kidding! I hate how people are freaking out about this thing! Minna-chan, have a happy and *SAFE* New Year. I can not stress that enough. Don't drink and drive, especially under age, and drive safely that night! Please, stay safe and don't freak out at midnight! See you next week! Stef-chan