Chapter Five: A General Mess "Happy New Year!" Serena flung open the door to find Celia poised gracefully on her front step with a cake. "Celia!" she shrieked in surprise, "What are you doing here? I was expecting Darien! How did you get to leave the Gates of Time!?" Sailor Pluto smiled secretly as her future Queen wrapped her arms around her in an exuberant hug. "Your future self requested I send an important message to you. May I come in?" "Certainly," backing away from the door, Serena made room for the graceful young woman to enter. Taking the heavy cake from Celia's hands, Serena paused, doubtful of the situation. "This isn't bad news is it?" Shaking her floor length black tresses with amusement, Celia laughed. "I don't know how a cake can be bad news, it's chocolate." Serena looked surprised at the well-timed joke and then cracked a small smile. Pluto laughed again. "No, Princess. I bring merely an answer. Neo Queen Serenity offers a few words of wisdom. 'Tell my younger half that the answer lies within her giving heart. Four corners met at midnight will alter the bonds of time.'" Serena frowned in consternation. "'Four corners met will alter the bonds of time?" What it the world is that supposed to mean?" Pluto smiled. "Only love will pave the rightful path, Serena. I must go now, the Gates of Time need watching." "Pluto! Wait! Please, give me some form of explanation, I'm confused." Celia took the cake from Serena's hands and set it gently on the dining room table. "You are growing up, Serena. You are a far cry from what you used to be, but there is still a great long road you must travel in order to become Neo Queen Serenity. You must go to school Serena, to learn the art of being a good and virtuous leader; you owe it to your future people. Though you would do well on your own with your generous intuition, there is more to running a kingdom than petty judgments. You must learn to rule fairly with a balance of mind and heart." Plopping down on the couch, Serena sighed. "Part of me doesn't want to be Neo Queen Serenity, Celia. Who am I to want to become Queen?" "You are heiress to the Moon Kingdom, pretty soldier of justice, Sailor Moon, Serena," came Celia's chastising response. "You are royalty of a time long before this planet divided in to nations. You are of a time when this entire Solar System was green with life and hopeful of the future. You will one day become Neo Queen Serenity, in all her beauty and glory, and will one day bear the first child born to the next generation of Sailor Scouts. You will lead this beautiful world out of Chaos time and time again, just as you have before. And when you cease to live in this world, countless other worlds shall stretch before you, open with possibilities and hopes. Is that an answer enough for you?" In reply, Serena shook her head. "That's all she said, Pluto?" Her face was hurt. "Just that four roads will meet?" Celia placed a gentle hand on her princess. "That story is in the distant future, Serena. I would pay no attention to it now, just let it lie and know that all will be well. Good bye Serena." Serena murmured a farewell and felt Celia leave the room. "Four roads will meet, four corners will meet. What in the world could she have been talking about?" Serena looked up at the small cake primly resting on the table. "Why did she bring me a cake?" she wondered aloud. * * * * * * * * * * * BRIIINNNGGG!!! Lita dived for the phone, rolling as she hit the floor. "Hello?!" Laughing softly, Ken shook his head across the room. Lita had been on pins and needles all day long, waiting for her final scores from a friend at the cooking academy. She slowly replaced the receiver in the cradle of the phone and plopped down on the couch. Ken tossed a green rose at her head. Without glancing up, her hand shot out and caught it between two fingers. He laughed, "Wow, you're getting better at catching those things than me. Maybe you don't need a Jupiter Knight and can protect yourself." He shook his head at her lack of response. "Lita, honey, what is it? Where those the scores?" She nodded and curled in to a little ball on the couch. He heard soft whimpers drift up from the cushions. "Lita?" No answer. Ken rose to his feet and moved to the couch, easing his lap under her head as her salty tears soaked his pants. "Shh, it's okay. It'll be okay." Calmly he stroked her hair, loosening her ponytail so he could massage her scalp before she developed a stress headache. "Shhh, it'll be all right, I promise." Snuffling into his pants Lita began to cry harder. "I...thought...that...I...did...well," she hiccuped. Ken ran the tips of his fingers along the back of her neck, easing some of the tension he found there. "What happened?" She shook her head violently and buried her cheek deeply in to his upper thigh as she tearfully gazed out the window. "I hate that professor. I could never do anything right, nothing!" "Are they going to kick you out?" Ken stroked sweaty tendrils of hair off her flushed face. She laughed wetly. "They would, but they can't. Tokyo Culinary Academy has already accepted my transfer." "Your what?" Ken leaned over Lita's body to gaze in to her eyes in surprise. "You transferred?" She nodded and wiped the last of her tears off her face. "I got to thinking about Serena being Sailor Moon alone, and how Ami finally decided to transfer, and Raye and the other girls are in town...well, I decided that I needed them." She paused a moment then brushed her fingers along his cheek. "Mostly it was for the betterment of the team. I didn't want to tell anyone in case I didn't make it in. I guess it was a good thing in light of these scores from London's Academy. I needed that teacher like I needed a kick in the head. I just wish I could find out why that professor didn't like my cooking. I wanted to stay but I needed to do this, for everyone. They need me. But I need you, Kenny." She wiped her tears away and gazed sadly in to his dark eyes. "Lita," Ken began, but was suddenly interrupted with a tender kiss. His thoughts spun out as her lips danced over his. Okay, I really love this girl. I don't know what I'd do without her. But we need to talk about the dreams. How am I going to bring them up? A loud beeping interrupted the sweet scene. As they both drew apart, Ken didn't meet Lita's eyes as he began looking for the rose he tossed at Lita earlier. She hunched over the table and flipped on her communicator. "Lita and Ken here, what's up?" Ami's voice cut through the room, urgent and commanding. "No one can find Serena or Darien, but there is a big mess over by Tokyo Tower. Mina's already on the scene, Raye and Chad are on their way, Greg and I are in route, and Solan is waking up Auriel as we speak. Get over there, quick!" * * * * * * * * * * * "Ugh!" Mina flew backwards as another wave of energy ripped through her system, electrocuting her frail form. Blood dripped from her scraped arms, but she staggered to her feet to attempt facing off with the large beast once more. "Where is the crystal?" it hissed from behind her. A hand grappled at her neck, ripping and clawing away at where her piece of kunzite hung. Mina noticed the necklace and her mind whirled with random thoughts. That's odd, I don't remember ever having another piece of my street clothing remain after I morphed before. "The crystal! Give it to me!" Mina swirled towards the voice, her arms poised to begin powering up for a Love Chain. The creature was nowhere to be seen. Damn! That thing moves fast! "Mina," screamed a voice from nearby. She turned to see Ken and Lita racing for her with Solan and Auriel at their heels. "Behind you!" Solan drew his sword as he ran, but Mina knew it would be too late, he didn't have Adam's accuracy. "Venus..." Mina reached deep within her, bringing up pictures of Adam in her mind, the way his green eyes flashed, the comforting way he had held her in Raye's kitchen. "...Golden..." the words flew from her lips, Mina felt the control of the blast slip away as her body arched and spun of its own accord. Her thoughts whirled and danced with the realization of what was happening. I have a new attack! I thought we were finished learning new attacks! "...Dome..." her arms arched above her head, and Mina leaned backwards, spinning a small orb of golden light in her palms. "...Protect!" As her scream faded, the ball exploded outwards in a circle of golden links, effectively creating a barrier of shifting energy chains. The creature, too far into it's attack to stop the momentum it had gathered, threw itself on the crackling energy dome, electrocuting itself with positive energy. The other Scouts skidded to a stop as the creature fell to the ground, dissolving in to a filmy gray dust. The dome shimmered and faded, leaving Mina kneeling alone in the center of a light scorch mark in the earth. Her fingers grappled at her neck, searching for the necklace. Its cool weight in her hand calmed her trembling. "Adam," she whispered as she collapsed. * * * * * * * * * * * "Is she going to be okay?" Solan peeped around the door to Raye's guest bedroom with concern. "I mean, she's not going to die, is she?" Serena folded the blanket warmly around Mina and put one finger to her lips. She gracefully drifted towards the door, and quietly shut it as she stepped in to the hallway. Turning to Solan, Serena shook her head. "She'll be fine, I promise. But if you were right about the power of that attack, and the size of the beast, then she's lucky to be alive. She is incredibly drained. Even most of my attacks don't drain me the way that one did." "Well," Raye interjected, "she did fight that beast all by herself for twenty or so minutes before you got there. I'd be worn out too." "I'm worried about her," Lita sighed. "Mina's never been like this before. She's sick all the time now, constantly throwing up and the dreams from the other night didn't help matters. To find out that she was in love with Malachite of all people? I think it hit her pretty hard, there was a huge difference between Adam and Malachite." "Like there isn't a noticeable difference between Nephrite and Ken?" Raye snapped. "Guys," Serena broke in, "that's enough. We don't need to be fighting now. Mina's just tired, anyone can see that. She picked up the flu or something, that's all, okay?" "I think it's more than that." They all turned to see Ami fiddling with her necklace. "I think that Mina isn't telling us something. She keeps disappearing and now there's this new attack. She's...different, and not at all herself these days. Something is terribly wrong, I can feel it." Ami gestured for the group to move away from the door. They silently filed down the hall to the living room to meet with the other soldiers. Auriel glanced at Apollo and Aurora as they entered the room. A movement from Aurora and she bit her lip and remained silent. The Knights and Tuxedo Mask wandered in from the kitchen and back, each idly carrying a drink or snack. "So," Ken mumbled around a piece of chocolate chip cookie, "what do we do now?" Chad perked up, "Dude, are there any more of those around?" Ken pointed to the kitchen and Chad leapt up to grab a handful. Raye sighed and shook her head. "I think we need to figure out the real meaning of the dreams. There is absolutely no way I was in love with Jadeite! When we battled him, he was a total jerk!" Running her fingers through a handful of her thick lavender hair, Aurora began working out the tangles. "You don't seem to get the point Raye. I was there, as was Apollo. You were most definitely in love with Jadeite, all of you were in love." She paused to work another knot free. "But they took their stones of power away from Darien and gave them to Beryl. She is the one who brainwashed them. The men you each fought, Jupiter being the exception because Nephrite died before she met him, were once the men you loved in the Silver Millennium. They were just under Beryl's thumb." Lita's brow furrowed as she snuggled closer to Ken lounging on the couch. She could feel the tense muscles along his side, and knew that though he was pretending this discussion didn't bother him, he was secretly furious. "So what now?" she murmured. "Nothing has changed," Auriel replied. "You are still the same Scouts you were before. The Generals are gone; they've been dead for years. Nothing is different." Raye winced. "But we killed them." Aurora began braiding her long tresses. "Did you? Who killed whom?" Serena flopped down on the floor at Darien's feet. "We didn't kill Jadeite, he just disappeared after our big battle with him and we never saw him again." Apollo stretched out on the ground by the fireplace. "So that could easily mean Beryl punished him in some way for not killing you. It was her style." "Okay," Ami agreed. "I can see that happening. But what about Nephrite?" Serena broke in, "No. He died with Molly, remember? He decided he didn't want to be Beryl's puppet anymore?" Lita raised her head in surprise. "Nephrite wasn't evil when he died?" Ami shook her head. "Oh, no. He died sad but clean of evil. In the end he ended up giving his life for Molly's. It was strangely beautiful. His body broke in to a hundred bubbles and floated away. It was a peaceful death if not a good one." "Who came after Nephrite?" Chad entered the room holding the cake Serena had brought from home earlier. "And who baked the cake?" Serena glanced up. "I had an unlikely visitor last week I will tell you all about later. I need to figure some things out before I explain it all. She brought the cake. And for the first question, Zoisite came after Nephrite. He was after the Rainbow Crystals and that's when Greg came." Ken shifted on the couch, popping his back. "The Rainbow Crystals?" Greg blushed. "In the Silver Millennium...he was after me in part...well, because I once was part of the Nega-force." "You were what?!" Solan found his mouth wide open in surprise, and the words out his mouth before he could stop himself. Glancing at Solan and Auriel, Ami took up the explanation. "During the Silver Millennium, Queen Beryl wanted the strongest and most deadly warriors in the universe, the Shadow Warriors, made strong by their pure heart crystals known as the Rainbow Crystals. Six people were kidnapped from their various planets to be formed in to that deadly seven. The Generals, jealous of our new soul mates also captured the Knights as well. Greg was the seventh and final person to be transformed in to a Shadow Warrior for the Nega-verse. Their souls were connected, and they were deadly. When Queen Serenity used the Silver Crystal and sent us all to be reborn here, the warriors' powers were trapped in to the crystal and reborn as well. One happens to be Greg; coincidentally, another is Raye's grandpa. That was around the time we met Lita and Chad." "There was a battle each time, usually a loss of another crystal, to either Tuxedo Mask or the Nega-force, and that's when Ami and Greg met in this lifetime. We discovered this when Zoisite began attacking people looking for the Rainbow Crystals. Lita arrived when Zoisite began looking for the first crystal, and Chad showed up when he came after my grandpa. Lita was discovered to be Sailor Jupiter, but Chad wasn't activated until much later," Raye supplied. Greg blushed. "Due to my psychic powers, I knew I would hurt Ami, but I had no idea I was more than a Shadow Warrior. I didn't remember being a Knight at all. But when Zoisite and Malachite tricked Tuxedo Mask in to giving up the crystals he had stolen from them around the time Venus arrived, then he too was captured and brainwashed for the Nega-verse. " "The only difference with me is that I had Serena constantly in my mind, my fair princess holding on with a death-grip on my sanity every time we encountered one another in battle," Darien interjected. "Even in the battle where I was captured, she was there, begging me to hold on." Serena's hand strayed to her brooch. "Up until that point, we were still looking for the Moon Princess and the Silver Crystal. Darien was mortally wounded, and I cried when he fell in battle, Solan. My tear crystallized and the Rainbow Crystals joined with it to become the Silver Crystal you see before you today." Lita nodded. "The Scouts were finally complete, we knew the identity of the hidden Moon Princess, Serena had her crystal, but Tuxedo Mask was brainwashed. This is right about when Malachite became our main foe and Zoisite disappeared." "Do you think Beryl did something to Zoisite as well?" Ami ventured. "I'm almost positive," Darien supplied. "When I was in her kingdom, the only General I saw was Malachite. I didn't even remember seeing the others." Solan raised his hand. "Mind if I ask a question? So how did Malachite die?" Darien sighed. "His own attack rebounded and destroyed him." "So we have four dead generals and no leads?" There was a pause as Serena grappled with Solan's words. "No," she whispered. "If I'm getting what Aurora was saying correctly, then there is a very good chance that two of the Generals could be alive." "That's impossible," Raye protested. "If so, why haven't they come after us?" "Maybe they haven't been able to," suggested Greg. "Or after Beryl was destroyed, the powers of the brainwashing faded." "Could we change the subject?" Ken asked tightly. "I really don't think now would be a good time to talk about this." "Now is the perfect time to talk about this," Lita replied softly. "We need to figure this out or else we are going to wondering what's going on and all of us will get paranoid." "Paranoid about what?" he exclaimed, exasperated. "Paranoid about whether we will have to face them again or not," answered a weary voice from the hallway. Serena turned and rose to her feet. "Mina! You should be in bed, resting." She took a few steps toward her pale friend but Mina raised one hand in a gesture of anger. "NO!" Glancing around the room, Mina lifted her necklace. "Darien, tonight the beast was after my necklace. This necklace!" She yanked it off her neck, the golden chains shimmering in the soft glow of the living room lamps. She strode to the middle of the room before shaking it in Darien's surprised face. "Are you certain it wasn't planted in your closet for some odd reason? If it was, the others might be in danger!" "Mina," Auriel soothed, "calm down. You're being ridiculous. It'll be okay, it's only a necklace." She glanced at Serena who quietly stepped behind Mina and pulled her into a loose hug. Ami pulled out her mini computer and began fiddling with the clasp on her necklace. "Well," she began softly as she scanned it; "I'm not picking up any abnormal readings. It's merely stone and precious metals. There's no psychic energy, no life force, no tampering of any kind." The computer closed with a snap. "Mine is completely normal." Mina shook her head and broke out of Serena's soft embrace. "I am NOT imagining things. It was after the necklace!" Lita rose from her seat beside Ken and gently brushed stray strands of hair out of Mina's eyes. "Mina," she whispered in surprise as she lightly stroked her forehead, "you're burning up!" "Am I?" Mina whispered as the world swam before her eyes. "I had no idea." The silence stretched out in to forever and Mina glanced around the room as her friends began swaying and spinning. "Ami?" she whimpered, "Please take me to a doctor. I can't feel my legs." Mina's eyes rolled up in to the back of her head and Chad caught her as she collapsed. He eased her feverish body to the living room floor and glanced up. "Call an ambulance." * * * * * * * * * * "Price Darien," cooed the vile Queen, "Take these four stones of power. They will protect you..." The world shifted around Darien and he stood in front of an ivory clad Serena. She smiled adoringly at him and took his hand. He gazed down to where their hands clasped as a warm ring of smooth gold slipped on his ring finger. He glanced around and realized they stood in front of a large gathering of people in the middle of Raye's temple. At the back of the temple stood four tall figures, each gripping the hand of an attractive woman beside them. He smiled and the first figure nodded quietly in return before the small group melted in to the shadows of the temple and disappeared from sight. Darien yanked from Serena's grasp to chase the men. "No! Wait! Wait!" Serena pulled at him, a look of horror and pain ripping across her face as he fought his way free. The entire temple exploded with voices as he ran down the aisle; some of the guests reached out and snagged at his tuxedo, ripping holes in the pants, shredding the coat tails. He worked his torturous way to the back of the church only to find the four men and the women gone. He turned to work his way back to Serena but a tall woman clad in tight black leather blocked his way. "You're not good enough for her," her strong voice commanded. A second, similarly dressed woman approached the first, idly twirling the tip of her long white ponytail around one finger. "Yes," she chimed in, "Let one who loves her for who she really is have a chance. You gave that up when you went on that wild goose chase, see?" The woman backed away a step and pointed to the front of the church. Darien gasped, the entire church watched as Serena slipped a ring on the finger of a tall thin young man with a long brown ponytail. "With this ring," she began. "Serena!" Darien shouted. "Serena! NO!" "SERENA!" Darien jolted awake and hit the cold linoleum hospital floor with a thud. Chad and Raye glanced up from across the waiting room and Ken opened one sleepy eye to see what all the ruckus was. "You okay, Darien?" Darien nodded. "Yeah, I just had the worst nightmare." He glanced around the dim waiting room. Ken was shifting uncomfortably on the one tiny couch across the room as Raye perched beside Chad on two of the thinly stuffed hard chairs lining the other three pale beige walls. The chairs were interspersed occasionally with small plastic table littered with magazines from three years previous and above them tottered vague watercolors that periodically wavered in the pale light shifting from the cracked and worn t.v. set high in one corner of the room. Darien grimaced; he hated waiting rooms. "Is she out yet? I have to get to work." Raye shook her head. "No. Serena's in there with her right now. The doctor came by about ten minutes ago to tell us that she'll survive but she's going to have to spend a couple nights so they can monitor her." He nodded. "Well, I'm sorry, but my interniship depends on me leaving now. Give Serena my love. See ya." He grabbed his scrubs and ran from the room, passing Lita in the hallway. "Hey guys," she announced as she entered the room with a flourish. "Are they out yet?" She plunked down on the chair closest to Ken and dropped a small backpack at her feet. Chad shook his head. "No, they aren't. Did you have any trouble getting into Mina's place?" Lita chuckled, "No. They recognized me from the last time I was over. I am so glad she's back in her apartment though. If she had still been on the set I don't think they would have let me in to her trailer for her stuff." "What did you pack?" asked Serena as she trudged through the waiting room door. "Did Darien leave?" Raye nodded. "He sends his love, but he had to get to work." Lita laughed. "I packed a change of clean clothes, a few nightgowns, some toiletries. Oh! I almost forgot!" Lita reached in to her own purse and pulled out one white paw from between the straps. "I brought a special visitor too!" Raye smiled and took Lita's purse from her. "You okay, Artemis?" Settling the purse carefully on her thighs, she reached deep inside and scratched what she thought might be the back of his neck. A moment later a low purr verified her guess. "You just have to remember to be careful, okay? I don't think the doctors will appreciate a stray cat running around the hospital." "I'm not a stray," murmured Artemis from inside the purse. "Mina just kept her promise and doesn't make me wear a degrading collar, that's all." Lita smiled and scooped up the purse and Mina's overnight bag. "Well, whatever. Mina needs her stuff, then sleep, so I'm just going to run this in to her and when I get back we can decide who'll spend the night here with her. Be right back." She rounded the corner as Serena dropped in to the seat she had vacated. "I'm so tired," she moaned softly. "Poor Mina. The doctors say they aren't sure what caused her to collapse like that, but they know something they didn't tell me. I can tell when someone's withholding information, and that doctor had 'Information' written all over her face." Chad's chair creaked as he settled more comfortably in to the worn seat. All around them the hospital whispered with the sounds of machines and the low squeak of nurses making their rounds. The busy silence rustled around them, dragging out, stretching Raye's nerves tight. "Why isn't she back yet?" she asked the air in front of her. Serena glanced over and shook her head, returning to her business law text. Raye watched Serena study in silence. After the holiday, Serena had thrown herself into the fervor of returning to school. Showing a rare streak of determination, she followed Ami's lead, reading ahead, taking notes, and going to group study sessions. Now she was highlighting key points of the text, chewing her lower lip and pulling one long blond ponytail as her brow furrowed over an important piece of the chapter. So intent on watching Serena study, Raye didn't hear Lita's light returning tread until the tall girl was behind her. "Oh, hey," she murmured to Lita. "Wow," Lita remarked. "She's really studying hard. I knew she had it in her." "I didn't," Raye replied. "Anyway, how's Mina?" Glancing downward at Raye, Lita shrugged. "I'm not too sure. I dropped off her stuff and let Artemis speak to her in private for a minute or two. She was asleep when I returned." The couch squealed across the room as Ken abruptly sat up. "So what now?" "We decide who stays in case she needs someone, and the rest of us go home," Raye sighed. Glancing up from her book, Serena shook her head. "Go home, all of you. I'll stay." Raye snorted. "I don't think so. You told me you had a double shift tomorrow and two exams. You are going home if I have to toast you to get you to do it." Serena's book shut with an abrupt snap. "I can stay here," she insisted. "It's okay. I have to study anyway, so I'll be up." "Aren't you like three chapters ahead?" Chad wondered. Serena's lips tightened, turning white at the corners. "So? I can handle this." Moving beside her friend, Lita wrapped two strong arms around Serena's shoulders. "We know you can handle it, but you need a break, Serena. You've been pushing yourself for over a month now. You have been scouting the city, planning your wedding, working doubles to pay expenses, taking over eighteen hours of school, and you still find time to occasionally stop by the orphanage to help out. We all know you are wonderful, but this high stress life is killing you. You need to go home and rest up for your exams. One of us will stay with Mina." "But," Serena protested, tears gathering in the corners of her wide blue eyes, "I need to stay in case she needs me. I haven't been there for her since Adam died, and she needs me. I have to stay. I couldn't protect her earlier, I need to be here for her now." Chad rose from his chair and gently helped Serena up. "No protests. You are going home right now and that is final." Serena stared at Chad in surprise. "Okay," she murmured, glancing down. "If you say so, I guess it wouldn't hurt." Glad that things were finally settled, Raye nodded. "I'll stay here with Mina. Chad has service in the temple tomorrow, so he'll take you home. Lita will take Artemis back to Mina's and Ken can come take shift two in the morning since he doesn't have work in the morning. Ami and Greg will be here around six a.m." She ran a tender hand down Serena's arm. "Don't worry. The Scouts have it covered. Just rest up and do well on your exams, okay?" Nodding dumbly, Serena hugged each person and gathered her things. "Bye," she whispered before turning and shambling out with Chad guiding her. "So what now?" Ken asked again. "We still don't know why she collapsed or what is going on. We never even finished the discussion about the Generals we started earlier." "The Generals can wait," Raye replied as she stared at the empty doorway. "Right now we need to worry about Mina and Serena. It's been over a month since we got the dreams, Mina is getting worse, Serena's pushing herself beyond her limits, and due to his internship Darien isn't around enough to notice his girlfriend slowly ripping herself apart." "It's probably nothing," Lita agreed. "I mean if the Generals were still alive, wouldn't we have discovered that by now? Nephrite is definitely dead and so is Malachite, Serena saw them both die. The only uncertain ones are Jadeite and Zoisite. Leave it be and let's get back to tracking down who kidnapped Serena and set the Nega-verse Titan on us eight months ago. They are still a threat, not four dead reincarnations of our past lives." Nodding, Raye began to gather her things in an effort to settle down for a long night. "Exactly. Now Lita take Artemis home please. I'll see you about sunrise Ken, have a nice sleep." She rubbed her hands up and down her suddenly chill arms. "Sitting around her is going to be tedious at best, downright uncomfortable at worst. I'll see you guys later. Sweet dreams, okay?" "Bye Raye," Lita murmured as she and Ken gathered up their backpacks. "We'll see you later." As they left, Raye pulled her thick coat over her legs and curled up on the vacated couch. As she drifted in to sleep, she whimpered, reaching up and clasping the thin necklace dangling from her neck. "Jadeite," she moaned before settling deeper in to the dark cushions and drifting off. * * * * * * * * * * * The rising sun lit up the Gates of Time, sending gentle swirls of heat through the impenetrable fog Sailor Pluto liked to surround herself with. In her bedroom Celia turned over in bed and snuggled deeper in to her thick fluffy bedcovers. Soon the sweet smell of hot pancakes and rich coffee tickled her nose. "Mmmm, Aurora fixed breakfast." She sighed and cracked her back, enjoying the feel of joints settling and shifting. "Celia," called Aurora's familiar sweet voice, "your breakfast is here. Come on lazy bones," she poked her head through the door, "wake up! The world is new today." Sailor Pluto sat up in bed and shook her tangled hair out of her eyes. "Good morning. Could you hand me that brush over there, please?" Aurora tossed the large brush to Celia and drifted over to the bed. Settling herself on the end, she wrapped her arms around her legs and drew them tightly to her chest. "Aren't you ever tired of having so much hair?" Pluto laughed as she worked the brush through the thick green strands. "I have less hair than Serena." "I know, it just seems like you have so much more. Maybe it's because you always keep yours down." "So," Pluto began working out the snarls at the end of her hair, "why did you bring me breakfast? What's the problem?" Aurora stiffened. "There doesn't have to be a problem in order for me to be nice to the person who watched over me for over a thousand years." Pluto nodded. "You're right. There doesn't have to be, but I can tell that there is a problem and you want my advice." "Well, turn around. Give me the brush and I'll explain as I tackle that mop of yours." Pluto willingly handed over her brush and settled herself on the floor at Aurora's feet. The Goddess of the Sun picked out a snarl and began speaking; her low voice wrought with confusion as she brushed her friend's hair. "It's Mina. The timeline is shifting, I'm sure you can feel it." Pluto agreed. "Yes, but not much more than everyday matters. Nothing serious has altered yet." Using her fingers to separate small portions of the lustrous mane, Aurora sighed. "But it will. Auriel came to me last night. She has been watching Mina's fate closely since Adam died. It altered somewhat, as it was supposed to, but destiny will not be denied and that hasn't changed a bit. She will still be a part of Neo Queen Serenity's royal court in Crystal Tokyo. That's not the problem. The problem is an unforeseen incident which occurred a little over a month or two ago." Mind whirling, Celia tried to remember the timeline of over a month previous. "What happened?" "She met a young man. She got caught in a storm with him. The restaurant owner puts liquor in the drinks she makes to warm her customers up. Neither one of the two drink, and three cups later they are in bed. Do you see where this is leading here?" "Mina..." Pluto pulled away from Aurora's gentle touch, "She...I mean...how long have you known?" Aurora sighed. "That was the night we found Solan. Both Apollo and I were too caught up his discovery to watch the wheel of fate. She slipped right past or I would have stopped it immediately. The only reason I thought to go back and look was because Auriel was weaving the strands of fate and came across a very peculiar one for Mina." "Such as?" Aurora shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Mina doesn't even know yet, so I can't tell you, but I promise, this incident will change the Scouts, especially Mina, forever."