1. don't own Sailor Moon--never have never will.
2. This is in the present and the past as indicated.
3. Two more chapters...to be posted soon ;).

BACK IN THE FUTURE __PRESENT DAY:

Everyone looked up from Serena, to the sleepy voice of Holly (Hotaru) standing in her nightgown...

"What's wrong...why are you all still awake?" She asked.

"Now we know how Beryl was able to breach the defenses of the Moon Kingdom, and devastate it as she did." Darien said. His voice was low and somber. "The inner scouts gave the generals a way to deactivate the shields."

Susannah paled a little under his direct accusation of the inner scouts. "Come Holly, you should go to sleep. There's nothing to be done tonight." She smiled, faintly..."I don't remember what you all did. I must have entered into the time stream before that---why don't you discuss this before drawing conclusions."

After Susannah led the littler girl away, the others returned to pondering the question that troubled them..."Maybe we're jumping to conclusions... What if Beryl found her own way behind the shields? " Serena asked the others. "Then your actions had nothing to do with her getting behind the shields."

Rei shook her head. "Serena, don't soften our guilt. The Moon Kingdom's shields could not have been deactivated, and the seven shadow warriors could not have gotten inside, unless one of us let them in...Darien's right. They betrayed us, and in turn we failed in our duty to protect you."

"We let our emotions interfere with our duties."Ami added. "We gave our trust when it was not ours to give."

Mina whispered "A heart filled with guilt cannot love." for once getting a saying almost right, "That's why we're alone...it's our punishment."

"If you acted out of love, then you did not do anything wrong! A heart full of love has no guilt!" Serena argued back. She gasped for breath, and then, her voice rising in pitch and passion continued "You didn't know they were evil!...And maybe they weren't...maybe Beryl stole the keys, and then made monsters that looked like them or brainwashed them, and they had no choice?" Serena expounded. "If you let down the shields because the Generals needed help, and Beryl followed them in, you upheld the honor of the Kingdom, because otherwise you'd have sacrificed innocent people......"Her voice trailed off "How great a kingdom would the Moon Kingdom have been if you'd allowed that to happen?"

Darien frowned,as Serena's words made him think. Although initially he'd condemned the inner scouts for not keeping to their duties, he realized Serena herself had done the same in granting him protection. Ultimately, he thought, if he had not put his love for Serena before his duty to Beryl, She would not have attacked...I think there's a larger issue here than whether you upheld your duties a lifetime ago..."I'm not sure you understand how brainwashing by the negaverse works--I've been there. To betray the moon kingdom like that--to trick you into lowering the protective shields, to carry such evil inside, and attack, --that is not something simple brainwashing could do. Remember how much trouble I had attacking you all?"

"That's because you are so good..." Serena said. "And you love me."

"Yes, but that's not just it--It's hard to do evil...remember, Neflite had trouble attacking Molly after she'd broken through to him? That's my point. Beryl didn't just want me brainwashed . She wanted me to willingly give myself to the negaforce...to Metallia and the evil. I didn't. She kept trying though."

"What does this matter?." Lita said angrily." All this happened a lifetime ago...the Silver Millennium ended whether or not we loved them or whether they joined Beryl. Nothing changes."

"Greg wouldn't come up with the picture now if its not quite finished." Ami said...she shivered a little. "Logically, there is some reason that this came to light...now."

"I agree." Darien said, his thoughts coalescing into one dangerous thought.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Lita demanded turning back to Darien. "What was the larger issue?"

"At least one of the generals gave himself to the evil. He went willingly, and just as we were reincarnated after our Battle with Beryl--they may be as well...their destinies are linked with ours. If that is so--the original traitor may try to find their reincarnated selves and awaken them--and their powers...and again betray them to evil. "

"Without Beryl? She's gone now!"Horrified Ami argued back.

Darien shook his head. "Perhaps the force that drove Beryl -Metallia, lives. In another dimension. If it could find another victim as it did those years ago when it took her jealously, bitterness and hatred, and forged its way into the world... and even if Metallia is gone, there are other sources of evil."

"They could come back!" Mina gasped.

"Exactly. " Darien nodded. "They were one of our fiercest enemies." "They killed all of us..."Mina whispered...."The only thing worse was Gallaxia...And, I have to admit, we may not be exactly up to another fight on that scale again."

"I could handle it." Lita said grimly. "Besides, we've got stronger powers and more reinforcements now. they'll be toasted. Let' em just try..."

"That is not the point." Serena said. Rei nodded. "Something's, like destiny, make patterns that must be completed. We need to solve this before our lives can move on..." She blushed. "I know that sometimes timing is coincidental--and other times it is not . I sense this is not"

Seated by her on the sofa, Serena recalled another day when She and Rei had been together. Serena remembered she had almost lost Rei (again) that day...but it wasn't the attack by the heart-crystal seeking rather trollopy troll of the day that made her swallow slowly. She recalled Rei's voice softly telling her... one of her dreams was to be a good wife to a beloved husband. They had sparked a little over it, as usual, though Rei had been kinder than usual.

Her tones were those of her guarded softer side now. Her eyes were large, soft and sad as she said "We must resolve this or our lives and those we love will suffer."

It was obvious she was thinking of Chad.

Serena frowned. " Yes, Rei. I understand. It must be hard to see me and Darien be so happy... and always be alone.." Especially when once Darien and Rei had...but that seemed so distant. It was as if both had lost that memory for good.

"Well, you don't have to rub it in!" Mina said...

"I'm not...I promise...though...." She blushed. "I will not be with my love til you have your own." The crystal sparkled....

"Serena--Don't say things like that---you know promises have power!" Shocked Rei looked at her friends. "You and Darien needn't wait for anything--your destinies have kept you apart long enough!"

Everyone agreed...Darien and Serena exchanged a long glance and their thoughts were known only to each other.

"Maybe we can find out if there any clues through the left over essences of the generals? " Ami suggested..

"They all vanished without a trace. But with some of their essences we can track who they are reborn as?"

"Neflite must have made an impression on Molly even if she doesn't remember." Ami pulled out her computer..

. "Whats this about my, er Neflite and Molly?" Lita demanded. .

"Oh...we fought him before we found you...I suppose that's worth a shot, but we'll have to try tomorrow and ask her. I think she kept some rag she'd used on him..."

"That'll need to be done delicately." Ami said.

"What --why?" Lita asked. Everyone ignored her.

Finally, after a short bit, Lita thundered "I Can't Stand it... Someone tell me what happened?" She stomped her foot for emphasis , but...inadvertently her foot landed on Artemis's tail.

He wailed and jumped onto Mina, who fell backwards onto the Piano with a crash. Everyone cringed with the loud sounds..."Er, maybe we should call it a night." Darrien said, running his hands through his hair.

"I CANNOT STAND IT...WHAT HAPPENED" Princess Lita said.

Serena sighed in relief--leave it to Lita to push for a straight answer.

"I'll skip the history then, Serena, though you ought to know it." Ami paused.

"When the Kingdom of Earth and Mineral were fighting, the Moon stayed neutral, til at last Mars's Queen married the King of Earth's younger brother. She begged Moon for help, so that the war would end...Moon used her powers.. .and saved the Kingdoms by a pledge that they would unite through bloodlines rather than bloodshed. Even though the Kings son was only a baby, he was pledged to the Mineral Kingdomm's princess, Beryl. It was at that ceremony that Venus's Queen and Queen Serenity met the Sun Kingdom Twins, for every power in the Solar System attended. ..The two golden men captivated the rulers who had been alone for a long time. They both pledged their love, but impulsive, Venus's Queen married her love immediately. The Moon Queen wished to return and marry in her palace. So they did. She sent invitations to all the Planetary Powers as had been done for Beryl's and Endymion's engagement....but somehow, they failed to send one to the Dark Planet Kingdom.. {.perhaps Serena inherited her disorganization from someone! ..thought Rei}] That planet orbits strangely...., But it's ruler was very angry...she appeared, and cursed the marriage-- that just as the Sun's shine on her planet was too short, so would this union be. She also said that any child born of this union would be doomed to live without love--as had her planet been doomed."

"Wait...what happened then? that's not the way it ended?!" Mina said...

"No, the King of Venus, couldn't let his brother's happiness be ruined...He gave up his powers in exchange that his brother's future be happier--and modified the curse... and banished the dark world so that it was never heard from again.. The modification decreed his niece would find love with a powerful planetary prince...one who would always protect her."

"So why...that doesn't explain it!" Lita said confused. "What's bad about that?" "Um...my dad forgot...there was only one Planetary Prince then--Endymion...So his modification created a destiny that would ordain Serena to fall for a Prince already engaged..." Mina blushed....

{{Rei thought, I guess that's where she gets it! Those Sun genes make both of them light headed. No wonder the Sun Kingdom failed!}

"OH no! So no wonder Mother forbid me to meet him. .I couldn't fall in love with him if I didn't know him... She bit her lip, lowering her eyes. so wait...how did..... what about my father?"

"With one of the rulers of the Sun powerless to defend it, suddenly, your father had to return to the Sun to defend it...they had planned to alternate duties so they could live with their wives...just before you were to be born, Serena, a terrible enemy attacked our Sun... and your father died protecting it--he was so used to having his brother to fight with him...that he overestimated the attack. Your mother finished it off...after all the Outer Kingdoms pledged to serve her...and as her daughter had no father, to send their children to protect you."

"Endymion and I were fated to be together..." She said. "We're tied by destiny."

"A cursed one...." Rei muttered.

"Revised curse." Mina amended.

"Why are there only four of you scouts then?" Serena asked

"Three of the planets were charged to protect against enemies from outside this system. And Pluto, of course, isn't settled."

"Oh..." Serena said..."I don't care about fate... I'm going to change destiny. I'm going to meet him" Determined she stood up. "With your help."

Three shimmering lights formed, red white and green. There stood three girls, one with long dark hair loose, one with brown hair in a ponytail, and the other with long blonde hair tied up with a ribbon. She was the shortest, and the most excited visibly.

"It's beautiful!" Serena called out. Her two guardians turned towards her.

"Shhh...be quiet! We don't want to call attention to ourselves do we?"

"But I'm just acting like Mina would!" Serena said.

She was attired in golden orange robes, her hair down for once, and tied up with an orange ribbon. "That was a great idea you had, Rei. After all, Mina can come to earth...this way no one will know. And with her acting like me, at home, Luna'll be fooled."

"As long as she doesn't mess it up" Rei mumbled. "I did a lot of planning for this. Remember what I told you.. You've only got a few hours with him. And, Jupiter and Neflite will be keeping you company."

"Hey-where are you going?" Jupiter said...she thought the deal was that both sets of guards would do this.

"Oh, we'll be around, but Jed and I have wedding details to work out." She smiled. "I'll see you later!"

"How do I loo--I'm acting silly." Endymion tried to steel his nerves and calm the feeling of intense excitement that was hopping around in his stomach.

"Aye, that you are." Neflite commented dryly. I don't see why we couldn't tell Zoey or Mal."

"The less people that know the better. I told you because I trust you Nef." Endymion commented.

"And you don't trust the leader of your guardians? Of any of us, Mal is the one most ruled by his sense of duty... he would never betray you."

"Except his duties are strictly seen. He would never betray me, unless I was betraying Beryl. He's a moralist. I don't think he would approve of this caper. So I think it better he not know--and Zoi can't keep a secret from Mal. He idolizes him."

Nef nodded. "I see the wisdom of this. I can't say that I mind the plan--I was to be honest, longing to see the Lady Jupiter again..." He smiled. "Yet who are we to say we visited...we must tell Mal and Zoey something."

"We'll tell them most of the truth." Jedite said slyly. you see, we'll admit to being visited by women from the moon kingdom...only, we'll hide the fact that Endymion was as well. As far as anyone else knows, my fiancé, the Lady Mars, was accompanied by chaperones in the form of Lady Jupiter and Lady Venus. No one will know more than that."

"Then lead on." Neflite said. "The stars are very clear tonight....."

"And the moon is softened in the night sky." Endymion said looking up. "Perfect cover."

{{Present Day}}

Rei was distressed as she felt again, the faint stirring of her consciousness. Someone was calling her. Weakly. The voice was one of confused anguish, and despair. He, for she felt it was a male, needed help. And yet she felt wary. She knew this voice that called to her. She knew it meant danger. She turned in her bed, her hand flinging out, and knocking over the small chime next to her bed. The noise awakened her the rest of the way.

With heavy lids, she stumbled to the prayer room. She couldn't keep going on like this. She needed to know what the dreams meant. She kept seeing a disjointed and fuzzy face--like it was broken. She had the image of cold water, running deep. She was flying, over the water with the face. Her love. He was inside the water. He was beside her, asking her why she didn't help...and then would she like to dance...the first was loving, but the second was menacing. He was asking her to fight... to fight him...or for him? His face was still unclear. What was he asking?

(Present day)

The rivers swirled around the crystalline form, as it splashed at long last into the Ocean. It had been floating, doomed to keep its occupant in eternal sleep, but Beryl's power was not omnipotent. Subsequent battles had sliced through the fabric of time and space and one casualty of this traffic was the spell that held the casing crystal. Its occupant slept, for lack of a better word for the trance like state, unknowing of the changes warping the outside world. The evil inside the casing seeped into the ocean where it landed, causing great damage to the neighboring fish. And the underwater world...at last unlocking an ancient creature from its sleep, it spied the glittering thing and swallowed it. And then, the seas went wild....

(Present Day--the day after the visions)

"Ami, what's wrong with her?" A very concerned Erika was smoothing the hair from Michelle's face. Michelle was weak and sick, and unable to do anything for days.... She kept mumbling about the ocean. She hadn't been sleeping well lately. "She hasn't even practiced for days!" Erika said.

"I know that it is nothing normal. This is...triggering my negavibes." Ami said.

"Negavibes? what's that?? I thought that enemy was destroyed long ago."

"Not so very long ago. Ami's right." Serena, for once, was thoughtful. "Maybe we'd better abandon figuring out the past for awhile. "

"Yeah, lets worry about the present for a change." Lita looked over the balcony, and to the edge of the city -- if she squinted she could see the gleam of ocean. It was one of the reasons they had chosen the apartment. "Did she have fish recently?"

"Yes, but, why do you ask?" Erika frowned...she'd had not been hungry last night having a race the next day, but Michiru had eaten her dinner regardless...ordering her favorite sushi dishes. Since Susannah didn't eat eggplant, and someone doing the ordering had forgotten, Holly had eaten that...

"It's funny but, i've been thinking the fish is a little weird lately so I haven't been preparing it. I wonder if that's got anything to do with it--i've been passing lots of people getting sick in the fish markets..."

"A new enemy is attacking the Ocean...ooooh" Serena said "For attacking our dinner we won't forgive them!"

"Can the speech Serena, cause girl, they're no monsters around right now..." Mina said nonchalantly. "But we'd better check it out as soon as possible."

"Well, what about finding out if the generals were reincarnated? Don't we need to figure out who the traitor was? And if they have reincarnated?" Ami said "These events may be connected or not, but both warrant attention."

"Then let's split up. We can cover all the angles that way." Mina said. "You know, leave no stone unearned."

"Unturned. Ok. That seems like a good idea." Rei said.

"Darien and Serena can work on getting that rag from Molly, and seeing what memories we can glean from there. Rei can go with Lita and Ami to check out the ocean."

"It's the ocean, shouldn't we take Neptune?" Ami asked "Her strength is water."

Mina shook her head. "She's not looking to well. Besides, we don't work together so well yet and I'd rather save the training of that for a time closer to home. Besides, if something goes wrong, we can send her after you."

"Well, then, if we are agreed, we'll go today." Ami said. "My computer has located the core site of the disturbances -where the boats have been disappearing as well. Really sad...."

"Michelle owns a yacht--it's docked--here, I'll write the details for you." Erika said when asked.

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