Author's Note:

Hm...I should have mentioned before, this is
ONE BIG SPOILER FOR SAILOR MOON R. Not that I spoil all of
it, but I'm assuming your familiar with what happens. I know,
I know, the dub version stops halfway through.

I know, I've written battle scenes, background scenes and
the romantic triangle edge of things, and I promise the next
chapter begins the actual "Romance" part for Pluto.
You'll see why I have to when you get to the last part of this
one...
****************************************************************

A noise startled her, and immediately, Pluto raised the staff
and took in the breath to start her battle speech. Before she
could, the mist cleared to reveal a familiar figure approaching her.
In his arms, she spied a small bundle squirming about, swathed in
pink cloth.
She lowered her staff, and mentally formed the
barrier around the area to protect her visitors. She felt
the energy drain out of her slightly, but she ignored it in the flush
of happiness inspired by her guests.

"Oh, King and my Small Lady?!" Pluto called warmly. She smiled briefly,
but then look slightly puzzled. "But where is the Queen?"

Ever since she'd returned from meeting Queen Selenity, Pluto had
gotten used to the visits from the Royal Family. They would
always come together with their daughter, and talk to her. At first,
they tried to get Pluto to talk about her past. Since
she couldn't remember it, they instead told her about theirs, and
how they had met her before. At least, what they could remember
of having met her.

She loved those times, as they were the highlight of her existence.
She wasn't sure if she believed everything they told her--how could
they say they had met her, when she had always been at this Gate?!
Especially if their memories had been so scattered during their
Cold Sleep.

"What, you are not glad I came to see you." The King teased, as his
baby pawed his face. He pulled back a bit, barely closing his eyes
in time to avoid a pudgy finger aimed at his eye.

"Oh no! I mean, yes...I?" She blushed, wondering why she always
felt flustered around him if he appeared by himself. With the
Queen she could usually maintain her composure, despite even the
funniest stories the Queen would tell. The Queen often said the Time
Door was the one place where she could be at peace with her old self again.
So when she came she tended to push the conversation away from
anything serious. Sometimes, she even snuck in manga or animated programs
for them to watch.

"But where is she?" Pluto inquired after she could form a complete
sentence.

"She sends her apologizes, Pluto. But I'm afraid she is finally resuming
the purification process of this world."

"The Purification Process??" Pluto asked.

The King shook his head. "I keep forgetting that you've lost
more memories than even we did. You recall we told you of the
Cold Sleep?"

Pluto nodded. "You said that during it,
the earth froze and all went into a deep sleep.
When you awoke, you discovered that only those inside the Crystal Palace
could be sure of being safe from the cold. But I thought
Serenity already healed the world outside the palace with the Silver Crystal?"

"Only some of it--those who now live in Crystal Tokyo. But Serenity found
the use of the crystal too draining to save the whole world all
at once. So we decided to wait at least until Rini's birth to finnish cleansing and building cities for the rest."

"I see." Pluto nodded, as she smiled at the small baby and how Endymion
gently rocked his child. Suddenly she asked "How long has it been since the cold sleep?" Somehow in the times Serenity visited she found herself
unable to pindown little details in between the Queen's ramblings.

"I wonder if your dissappearance affected your memory?
You were only gone a few hours, as far as the GREG could tell."
His eyes grew less serious, and focussed again. "its been about 100 years
actually since we first awakened."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she blushed. "I didn't realize.
You don't look that old!"

"Neither do you." He smiled. "Why don't you hold her a bit?! She's a little too active sometimes! Just like her mother!" The smile widened into
a full fledged, and rarely indulged in grin as he transferred the
flailing baby to her.

"I'm sorry I don't remember!" Pluto murmurred, narrowly avoiding getting
punched by a frantically waived fist.

"Don't worry Pluto, I've realized memory is a funny thing."

She nodded and cooed at the baby, trying to get her to smile. The
little fists began to slow, then lowered.

Endymion sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "You know, its strange what we remember--like Small Lady's name,
and what she was like at an older age. And how we were attacked in the past by the Dark Moon, and Wiseman...and coming here to the future. Yet the
cause of our Cold Sleep, that is gone, the very event that shaped
our society today."

Pluto nodded, only half listening to the meaning, her mind
simply entranced by the cadenence of his voice, and the small
form in her arms.

A voice called out "How touching, the Guardian and her
Family...well, enjoy it, because while you are playing
house, we'll be using this time door!"

In a blast of black smoke, her shield dissappeared.

"NO---IT IS FORBIDDEN!" Pluto screamed, shifting the baby
to one arm, and grabbing her staff in the other. She threw
herself in their path to the Door.

They could hear voices just outside the Gate's Threshold, coming
from the palace hall with the secret door.

"STOP THEM!" They heard Jupiter's voice call, as a small group
of figures burst into the threshold of the Gate from
the secret palace door. They heard an explosion,
and an angry "Why'd you do that? I almost had them!"

They heard Mar's voice a second later " He's Catsy's
grandson, Jupiter, we can't kill him, not if there's some way
to save him!"

"You saw what he did back there! He doesn't
want to be saved."Jupiter growled back as the two
appeared in the palace door.

"She's got that right. We refuse to be "saved".
We will *NOT* have our memories
and powers replaced by your so called purification! Who wants
eternal life in your so-called society!" A tall man
who seemed to be in control of the group spoke.
A blue crescent symbol created a striking contrast
to his pale skin, as did the thick dark hair waving over his head.

Mercury and Venus sped into the room.
"Surrender now, and we will not hurt you!"
Venus ordered, having missed the man's speech.

"HAH..." The man laughed "I
am Coal, leader of the Blue Cresecent Rebellion! We refuse to submit
now or ever to the rule of Neo-Queen Serenity and her Crystal.
We will be governed by ourselves, and not as slaves to some 'royal'
but inhuman queen."

His followers shouted agreement. "DOWN WITH QUEEN SERENITY"

"And now that my psionic abilities have led us to the
Gate of Time itself, you cannot stop us!"

Pluto hesitated. She could blast them, but she feared
hurting the princess in her arms, or hitting the Scouts.

"We already have stopped your rebellion!" Venus argued
back. "This is the last of your group! Even now, the
Queen is purifying the evil out of your followers. You
cannot win now."

"WE ARE NOT EVIL!!!! We are human and want to
stay that way! Why can't you understand we want to
live as they did on the Earth of Old!" He shouted.

A white light appeared ushering in a rather exhausted looking Queen
Serenity. In her hands she held the small silver crystal. "Please,
stop this now!" She whispered. She stumbled a little, as
Endymion jumped to catch her.

Coal snorted. "Stop this?! You are too weak to stop us now, Serenity!"

"Why must we fight?" She whispered. "I only want you to be
happy in this world."

"I can never be happy in a place so artificial." Coal argued.
He charged towards the Door of Time. "You're the reason
the earth is a frozen wasteland!"

"Dead Scream" Pluto said as her attack winged its way towards
the man.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" Serenity screamed as she somehow used her
power to block the attack.

"You saved me!?" The man turned and looked stunned at the sunken
Neo-Queen. "But why? I thought you killed all those who
oppose you?"

Her voice was even fainter now, almost drowned by the soft wailing
of her baby daughter. "I only kill evil. And you are not, and besides,
you are Catsy's grandson...I couldn't hurt you when I promised her I would..."
She closed her eyes. Endymion looked up, barely controlled
rage in his eyes.

"If she is hurt, I swear I will" He started.

"We never meant for it to come to this!" Coal whispered, as he
knelt beside the fallen Queen. "We only
wanted to escape the crystal's effects...admit it, the crystal
altered all of you."

"What do you mean?!" Mercury challenged. "The Crystal healed
all of us after the Cold Sleep and protects us from the
darker urges hidden in us all. Our crystal cities allow us to
live despite the frozen surface...Those who do not get its protection
will die!"

"Are you blind!? These "dark urges" are human nature, and makes us
human! We don't need this crystal to rise above it or to protect
us from the earth!Better death in a frozen wasteland than eternal life in a
crystal cage!"

"Death is all you'll find outside these walls...Everyone who live
in one of our cities is safe. We must save everyone from
themselves." Mercury argued back.

"We must learn to adjust and control ourselves, and our world.
We cannot rely on her crystal to do it for us!" Coal
countered. "Man has always had great destructive capability, but
also great constructive ability. We do not need some mysterious crystal
to save us."

"Yes, but how many people must suffer and die out in this world,
while you search for a different way? Everyone in Crystal Tokyo is happy!" Venus asserted. "What could you have against the purification?!"

"Do you realize what it is? That crystal alters you when it happens...it
doesn't just destroy evil energy, it robs us of our Humanity.
I've read the underground reports...Ask yourself, in a 100 years, why is the Princess one of the few children born in this Crystal City? I'll tell you-- you aren't evolving - you are mutating! You can't even have children like normal humans anymore...Just look at these wings! She's some kind of freak!"

Endymion caressed his wife's shoulders, above the wings he'd grown
used to seeing. Her shoulders pulled together, as she gave a soft
gasp and sunk lower. They'd never bothered him, as it just seemed
natural to him. He picked his wife up and stood.

"You're the Freak, wise-guy!" Jupiter growled as she took a
step forward.

Coal continued, a disgusted and desperate look on his face.
"Why? Wings are not normal for a human to have! Nor is your youthfulness...
A 100 years ago, you were around the same age as my grandmother, and
yet you have not changed!"

A woman with the same blue crescent nodded, shaking her silvery,ashen blonde hair about. "Everyone was preserved during the Cold
Sleep, but you have not grown since then. How long before
the crystal does that to the rest of us? We just do not want any
part of it. Can't you understand that? Whatever changes have
happened to us, we want no more. "

Coal put his arm around the woman. "We didn't want to hurt anyone,
but you wouldn't listen to us. Force was the only way to escape."

Jupiter flushed guiltily. "They were in my sector. I just thought
they were troublemakers....I mean, whats so bad about purification!?
Its for their own good! After it happens, you life span will
increase, your constitution will strenghten and"

The Queen's eyes fluttered. "We would never force you." Her voice
though soft overpowered and cut through Jupiter's lecture.

Mercury popped her computer into existence and began to scan.
"He is right! I never noticed it before, but our genetic structures
are somewhat altered than they were before. I believe the change
happened so gradually, that I never checked for it before. Everyone
who lived within Crystal Tokyo has been altered, but the effects
are most pronounced on those closest to inner Palace and the Crystal."

"We cannot let them go unpurified, the danger to others is
too great." Mars cautioned.

"Is there no way to peacefully co-exist?" Queen Selenity asked, as she
struggled to sit up in her husbands arms. "We could just
let them be, far away from us on another continent. The earth is so big!"

"Not big enough. You're not only altering yourselves but the
atmosphere of this planet. We'd have to deal with more than
the frozen world...Currently, you live encased in
this city of crystal, with its different air. By purifying the
world you're converting the rest of the outer cities to a state
like this one. Pretty soon, we would not be
able to live here!" Coal complained. "Our scientists have
confirmed it. The whole earth will change into a crystaline
world, and we will die. These crystal cities could not exist
on an Earth like the one we used to have."

"It seems we are at an impasse. What did you intend to
do by seizing the crystal?"

"That was just a decoy. We had heard of the Door of Time, and
my Grandmother used to tell me stories of another planet,
one that travels a different route. All the known
planets cannot support human life, but maybe this one..."

The woman by his side nodded. Her eyes looked up
hopefully. "Maybe we can start a new life as humans there!"

"It is Forbidden and too dangerous to travel through
the Time Corridor!" Pluto spoke quietly.

A chill ran down Mars spine, as she tried to recall why
the whole scenario sounded so familiar. Yet she needed
to focus. An enemey stood in their midst, and this could
all be a diversion.

"He's right! There is another
planet in orbit, and its atmosphere is surprisingly
closer to Earth's original atmosphere than it currently
is." Mercury exclaimed, an astonished look on her face
as she manipulated the small computer on her screen.
"The G.R.E.G. Calculated its trajectory, and within
seconds it should be at the right point for a transport.
We can design a space ship to take all those who would go,
but we do not have a lot of time. The planets will be
aligned for only 6 hours. If we miss this interval, it will be
almost 900 years before it comes close to earth again!"

"Then we must hurry!" Coal said. "We are all agreed
this is best right?" He turned and looked at his followers
who all nodded. "We were ready to die for what we believed
in, but it is better to live. And exile from a corrupted
planet is no hardship to us!"

"Whatever you need for supplies you shall have!" The Queen
replied.

Endymion nodded. "Mercury, please, find what you think will assist
them in their new home! Jupiter, Mars, Venus, please,
assist in building this ship. I will get the Generals,
so we can start. Hurry! We don't have time to spare."

The other four guardians bowed, and took off running.
Mars paused, a disturbed look on her face, but with
a call from Venus, she resumed her mission.

"You'll understand if we ask you to wait in a special room until
it is ready?" Endymion said as he moved to
take his daughter from Pluto.

Coal smiled slightly. "Why should we trust you, if you
do not trust us?"

Serenity nodded. "He is right, Endymion. They are not our
prisoners and should not be treated as such. Come, you
can enjoy the crystal fountains, and perhaps you will
see something of delight in our artifical world! There is
still time to change your mind!"

Coal shook his head. "I rather doubt that." But he smiled
enchanted by Serenity's smile. "But I trust you somehow, and
I see why so many would follow you. Even if I never will."

Pluto gently kissed the baby, and handed her over to Endymion.

"Oh, she is not your child!?" A woman with the ruby red hair
asked as everyone filed out. "That is such a pity. You
seemed like such a natural with her. I want children, that
is why I do not want to be purified. Our scientists found
it makes people barren."

"She is the Queen's." Pluto replied.

"Is that true? I mean, so is everyone else in the Crystal city unable to
have children?! I mean,Coal
said it, so it must be true!" The woman's bright blue eyes looked
sad. "The Queen's so much nicer than I pictured, so I'm beginning
to wonder if everything he said is true.?" The woman asked eagerly.

"I do not really know." Pluto answered her warily "I am always at
these Gates and have very little to do with the City. Everyone
has left already." She prompted the woman.

"Oh, I'll catch up...but don't you get lonely here?" The woman asked.
"This is such a weird place."

Pluto stared at the woman blankly.

"I have a duty to fufill." Pluto explained. "My feelings do
not matter compared to the safety of those I love."

The woman sighed. "That is so noble, and so unnatural! I couldn't
do it. The man I love is Coal's best friend. So even though
I don't want to leave the Earth, I'm going along with them, because
of love.....By the way, I'm Garnet. What is your name?" Garnet asked.

"I am Pluto, the Guardian of the Gates of Time."

"NO!" the woman giggled. "Your *name*. That is just your duty!"

"You really should not be here you know." Pluto chided the woman,
who she realized was actually a young girl of about 16.

"Oh, I know, I know. I've always gotten into trouble for being
so curious, but I guess its just this psychic ability of mine.
I sense things about people, and then I make up stories."
The woman smiled sweetly. "Yours is
just like a fairy tale--A beautiful woman, condemmed to
spend eternity by the Doors of Time, all alone, forever,
while the man she loves is married to the all powerful
White Queen. I mean, I guess I'd make her evil in the story,
except, Neo-Queen Serenity doesn't seem evil. But--"

Pluto thumped her staff on the ground. "You really should
leave now." Her voice was slightly inignant. "I'm not
in love with the KING!"

Garnet shrugged. "Of course not. But it makes a better legend
that way...I just want to soak all of it up. All of you,
and how we started this journey, because its happening so quickly!
We knew it would, but still...this was my home and
Oh, dear, I'm going to catch it now! They
noticed I was missing. Well, wish us luck, Pluto!"
She winked and vanished.

Pluto sighed slightly unnerved by the weird encounter. These
people were so strange to resist the King and Queen. Why didn't they
want eternal life, in utter peacefulness?

She felt a strange sense of loss as she watched the ship
on the monitor. The Blue Crescent Rebellion dissappeared
into the space, presumably starting their adventure on their
new home, the bright blue planet, dotted with tufts of green.
They made their choice to give up eternal life, to risk
their own on a bold adventure. Over the intercom, Pluto
could hear Venus muse "Strange people, wonder why
they didn't want to gain the advantages of our lifestyle?!"

Pluto restrained herself from answering that question.
Over in her mind, Pluto could hear the strange girl's words
"Don't you get lonely?" repeat again and again, until
Pluto felt like screaming just to make it stop.

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

The "Blue Planet": Salvation

The ship, comfortably outfitted despite its hasty construction,
gently touched down on the mysterious planet.

Coal stepped out, inhaled air fresher than what he had ever
remembered, and bent to pick up a small blue flower.
"There is not much land on this planet, but what there is
seems full of life." He smiled and turned to help
his wife down. "Can you believe it? All those nights
of worrying about the future, and our place in it, and
we've done it. We're here!" He wrapped his arms around
her waist and swung her around in the sunshine.

"It's beautiful!" She sang "More beautiful than the pictures
of the way earth used to be, even before pollution and industrial
devices spoiled it! This is more than we dreamed of isn't it?"

The others also slowly began to emerge, shaking off the
effects of the jump. "We should celebrate tonight, my
friends." Coal announced. "But tomorrow, we will begin
to build our city, Harmony. We will use only natural
materials, and return to the Old ways. And then,
we will bury this ship and all our memories of that corrupted
Crystal Tokyo!"

Everyone cheered, except for Garnet.

"Something is not right!" She thought to herself. "I feel
it, there is some presence here, something lurking." She
whipped her head from side to side, trying to pin the dark
shadow she caught in her peripheral vision.

A man came up to her, and grabbed for her hand. "Garnet, you
may have thought I was crazy for following Coal, but it is
all worth it now, don't you see!? Why do you still have
that worried look on your beautiful face?"
"I see all these beautiful flowers, but I do not hear any animals!"
She whispered.

"Hm...that is strange, but we knew this planet couldn't have
sophisticated life on it. That is why we brought our own
stock. And for all their weirdness, those Crystal Tokyo
folks assured us it was safe for human life here. Our
own scientist reviewed the data they gathered before we left...so sure,
there may be somethings off about it, but its better than
Earth."

"I guess the silence just unnerves me, thats all." She smiled
weakly. "But you're right. This is our home now."

Five days later, and a tentative city began to
form. Crops began to sprout in the overly moist soil, despite
the slightly cool temperatures that descended at night.

Five Months later, the planet celebrated the first
birth in their community. The community began
to grow, despite the gradual shifts in the climate.

Five years later, they noticed that many plants started
to die out, and the temperature continued to drop.
With much of the bloom of the strange plants gone, the
rocky terrain of the planet began to reveal itself. Still
the people of Salvation struggled on.

Five Decades later, the society's cultured solidarity
dissolved into feudal rule as fights for food broke
out. Ingenuity and desperation led to the creation
of burrowed cities far beneath the planets wintry surface.

Just when the cold became unbearable, there was a short
abrudt change and life bloomed again. 9 weeks
of brief sunshine and flowers teased them into life,
until the change occurred again. This time,
the water still drenching the land began to evaporate as the temparature
picked up. The days became increasingly
shorter, and the water supply began to evaporate to form a thick barrier of clouds overhead. This blocked out more direct sunglight,
leaving the land permanently overcast during the
few hours that the sun actually shined. This trapped even
more heat on the planet's surface, one again making life
there unbearable. The searing heat scrubbed all plant life away,
rendering their planet a boiling hell.

By the time the century was almost done, so was the
society on the planet they now called Nemessis. Only
the rediscovery of their mental powers and advanced
technology had allowed them to survive. That and a combined desire
for revenge against the denizens of Crystal Tokyo who had
sentenced them to this life. All they had wanted was to
live on an Earth-like land where they could return to
natural ways. What they had was a planet subjected to
such extreme temperatures that only their technology could
save their people. They were not a happy people,
as the decades of misery added up. Those who were
old enough to remember their history wanted only one
thing: REVENGE.

None felt this more strongly than the grandson of the
leader who'd brought them to the planet, a man long
since murdered by angry crowds of people upon the first
food crisis. Somehow, Diamond rose to power among the bickering
people of his Clan, and vowed to remove the sin of
his ancestor's mistake. He would get his people to
a better place. And he would make those who had
condemmed them suffer!

This desire remained intangible until the day
Diamond discovered the old spaceship given them by the
Crystal Tokyo people. He stared mezmerized at the
holograph of the woman who'd condemmed them to this
life.

"Neo-Queen Serenity?" He murmurred. What an odd
contrast, that someone so beutiful could have done
something so ugly to his people. He began to
reactivate the ship.

Deep within the bowells of the planet something evil
recognized the faint power it had scented years before.
At that time, that power had been shut away too quickly for
the evil to embody itself. To take the leap from recognition
to the desire for revenge. This time though, nothing
stood in its way as a skeletal body formed.

That evening, Diamond gained a new advisor, a mysterious
old "Wiseman" who claimed to do what his followers could
not--tell him of a way to strike back at Crystal
Tokyo and restore his people to the world they deserved.

*******************************************
50 Earth years later.
*****************************************
"Pu....are you here Pu!?" A small voice called out seconds
before a small form, rather like a pink mop,
ran straight into her. "I was so
worried, but I did it! I did it...I saved my Mommy!!"
The pink mop attached itself to Pluto's leg.

The look in Pluto's eyes softened. She relaxed her grip on her staff, and
reached down a hand to pat the small pink head.
"You were very brave, Small Lady. Very brave."

"And here's the key...everybody was ok, when I came back! We had
a party to celebrate, and everybody in the whole Kingdom
was invited...We even had friends of Mommy's from other
planets! But I didn't see you and I--" the voice grew into a whine.

"I cannot leave the Door, you know that, Small Lady."
Pluto chided. "Now don't be upset, everything is fine."

"Pluto, you're alright then?" King Endymion asked as
he stepped into the Doorway. "And again, forgive my
daughter's rudeness!"

"Yes. That is" Pluto blushed "She's not rude at all!
I've told you many times, that I do not mind her visits...
Or yours." She kept her eyes trained on the small girl
holding her leg.

"And I transformed and everything Pluto!"

"You have finally become a true Sailor Scout then, Small
Lady! Not just a soldier!" Pluto replied. "I wish I could have seen you!"

King Endymion smiled a private smile of his own.
"Maybe next time, perhaps. Small Lady,
we will need your help in restoring the city outside
the crystal points! Your mother is waiting."

"My help?!" Rini asked.

"Of course. You are now part of our team, right?"He
smiled at his daughter. She smiled back, and then
turned back over her shoulder to look at Pluto.

"See you later, Pu!" She called, as she and the small
black Luna-ball sped off down the palace halls.

"Pluto?" King Endymion asked after his daughter vanished
from view.

"King?" She turned and met his eyes. Her breath, as always
became a bit fast around him as her pulse raced. She had
known him such a long time, how could she have this reaction?
'Control,
Setsuna, control yourself!' She thought. Out loud
she responded "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing...Because of the war, I missed our usual chats...that
is all." He stared at her, as if he were debating asking
her something. Finally he sighed, and held up a hand.
"Perhaps I am wrong to ask, but I must know. During this
war, I met myself...and not just the younger version I
had expected. I met you and a version of myself who lived
another life than mine in Japan."

Pluto's gaze met his blankly. "Another you?"

"You were there Pluto. At least, a different you accompanied him.
What happened to me in that life?" Endymion took a
step towards her. "You two were trying to stop Wiseman's
time bridge, and I believe you must have succeeded. I am not
asking about the future, Pluto. So please, tell me."
His dark blue eyes met hers, and she could see the worry
caused by the unanswered questions the experience had caused.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. I do not remember!" Pluto
explained as she whirled towards the door. She braced herself
against it, as Endymion walked closer.

"Pluto...sometimes I have dreams, the kind I once had of my
past life in the Moonkingdom, about a different life.
The pieces do not all make sense. I only want to understand
to bring that to closure."

"The past is done, King. We should not disturb it." Pluto
answered, turning so that she was face to face with the King.

"You are right, except that my past memories leave me with
the feeling that there was something I wanted to do and could
not. Something was left undone in my past life, and I want
to finish it now, if I could. And somehow it involved you!
You must tell me what you know!"

"I am not lying to you." She replied, catching his hands in hers
before she thought. She could see the hollowness in his eyes,
and it ran right through her. "But I honnestly do not know of
any hidden past life of yours!" She needed to convince
him that she'd revealed all she knew. The others never
seemed to believe her but thought it another one of her "games".
Pluto felt she could not bear it if Endymion did not trust her.
900 years together, and she still felt the other Scouts
were only just beginning to trust her again.

"This feeling leaves me so unsettled...--"
The sound of a footstep made them drop their hands and
step back a bit.

"ENDYMION." Mar's voice called out sharply. "Neo-Queen
Serenity sent me to find you. She's ready to start
healing the outer sectors, but she wants you with her."

Mars looked dissapprovingly at the scene in front of her,
as Endymion and Pluto stood entirely too close for her comfort.
Puffs of steam all but rose in the cool air around her.

The King looked at Pluto, closed his eyes and said "
Please, think about it." Then he swept out of the room,
past an imobile Mars.

Not that there could be any doubt of the King's love for
the Queen, Mars told herself. At the same time, she felt
annoyed at Pluto. Having once had a crush on Darien herself,
Mars could easily read the expressions in Pluto's face as she
stared after the King. Would someone else's husband be next?!

Didn't she know any better, than to chase after the King!? Mars
thought. "It's a good thing that Neo-Queen Serenity is a lot
calmer than Serena was about Darien, but still, if she had
walked in here!" She yelled, and then realized she'd said
the words aloud. Slightly embarrased, she turned and left
the Time door without saying another word.

Pluto looked after Mars, and turned the acusatory words
over in her head. "They have always been like this, since I met them."
She sighed to herself. "If I were her friend, she would have
spoken to me about this rather than assuming the worst...
But then, why should I be her friend? Why should any of them
trust me if? They say I walked away from them,
and left them without an explanation of anything.
And even if they say they do not resent that, I know
they still cannot accept me in place of the Pluto they once knew.
Even though they have known me so much longer..."

She leaned against the door, as the staff dropped across her body.
"But it does not matter! I have my duty at the gate. Even
if they all avoid me, I do not care." The last words came out
on a rarely expressed sob. "This is my Destiny. Only
this." She gripped the rod more firmly. In her mind she
could hear the faint voice of a young girl ask her "Don't you get
lonely?"

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

"You've got to find something for her to do." Mars said to
Neo-Queen Serenity. "Her relationship with Endymion is
unsettling."

The Neo-Queen's eyes filled with sadness. "My Darien, and
Setsuna? I do not believe you!"

"What do you mean by that, Mars!?"Jupiter asked, her voice
almost a growl. Why did Mars always have to go and say
something that upset the Queen, even if it were true?

Mars sighed, her face a bit flushed.
"I didn't say anything had happened...yet." She bit her lip
as the word slipped out.

"Then how can you accuse her!" Neo-Queen Serenity asked softly.

"I am not blaming her, but he *is*
the only man she sees." Mars blushed red as her planet as she
said it. "She may live an unusual life, but remember, she is still
a woman."

"She must be very lonely!" Venus added. "All that time,
without even a boyfriend! Its only natural she'd turn to focus
on Endymion."

"I don't know how someone could stand that! If I didn't have
Neflite...." Jupiter sighed.

Venus nodded. "If we didn't have the Generals--Oh! Sorry Mercury."

Mercury cleared her throat. "I do not know why you all are so
convinced that one must have a boyfriend to be happy!" She
replied "At times, you've all realized how important our mission
was, and that we didn't have time."

"Yes, but with the peace of the Crystal Empire, we do!" Venus
replied "And besides, our loves gave us strength to fight the
evil that rose before us."

"Not that you can't be happy without it!" Neo-Queen interjected,
placing a hand on Mercury's shoulder. Using her friend's old name,
she tried to tactfully smooth over the discussion. "I know,
Amy, you must miss Greg very much."

Mercury looked up into her friends eyes and smiled sadly. "He
is in my heart..." This reassurred her friends, if not herself.
How could she explain to anyone what she really had felt about his
transformation? In all the time she'd had to think and adjust,
she'd never really understood why she'd simply felt released
when it had happened. Yet, now she felt a constant lonliness,
and though she yearned sometimes for a love like the others,
she somehow knew that it was not Greg she needed. But she
couldn't explain this to even her closest friends, as that
secret thought defied logical explanation. And Mercury,
the former Amy Mizuno, was not comfortable with the illogical.

Yet perhaps it was this experience of sadness that made
Mercury feel as if she could understand Pluto.
"I do not think what Mars observed should make you
worry, Serenity. I'm sure the circumstances were
perfectly innocent."

"I didn't say they *weren't*" Mars argued back. "Its just
that how long are the circumstances going to be
so innocent!?" Her face grew red as the others
gasped.

Jupiter nodded. "I know what you mean. She's just not the same
Setsuna we knew before in Tokyo, the one that dissappeared
with Zoycite. She's too secretive. Wonder what else she'd
hide?"

Venus added "And even when *she* finally appeared with Zoycite 2 before this last attack, she didn't explain anything! She didn't even wait
to see all of us. So now we're stuck with two Zoycites, and not a clue of
how to handle it!" She sighed and then continued. "How much can
we really trust her, when we don't understand her?"

"She is our friend!" Serenity responded tightly, her hands
clenched. Mentally she tried to breathe. The old Serena would
have cried, or screamed, or run to him, to demand proof of
his love. Memories flashed through her mind. Of all the times
she'd screamed at her friends to leave "her man" alone. Once she'd
even been so jealous she'd played Ninja just to spy on him and Raye! When
strange women came near Darien, she'd been even worse: screaming, clinging,
and utterly embarrasing him. Her cheeks flushed a little at the memories
examined under the lens of maturity. Well, if he'd stayed with her through
all of that, then his love and faithfullness deserved some reward.
Youth excused such exuberance then, but as a Queen and mother, she could
not act the same. Nor, she thought, should her friends.

Quietly she said. "We'll have no more talk of such things. She
would not betray me any more than any of you would."

The three soldiers blushed a bit out of guilt, but Mars
recovered first.

"Yeah, well, I just said its not the first time I've seen that look
in Pluto's eyes when she looks at Endymion." Mars muttered.

Jupiter added. "Me too. I just thought
I'd be stirring up trouble to say anything. I mean,
nothing has happened or is going to, between them. I
saw it a decade ago. So what if she has a crush on him?"

"But what if something happened" Venus exclaimed dramatically.
"Its no use to close your mouth after the gift horse is
gone! This is the most precious love we are talking about--
we cannot take chances! Why don't we just encourage Pluto
to go to the past now? We know she needs to go sometime...
And Small Lady's trip should be coming soon, right?"Venus continued.

"We should not act on Mar's insinuations alone." Mercury
responded. "There is no reason to banish Pluto to the
past just yet!"

"I didn't mean banish her!" Venus protested.

"Small Lady's trip!?" The Neo-Queen stood and turned to
stare at the Moon. Its
brilliance reflected off the symbol on her forehead, and
the crystal walls of the inner chamber. "I almost
forgot about that! I am so busy dealing with restoring
the world after the Black Moon attack!"

Serenity lowered her eyes."What has been, must be, I suppose. I will
miss her, but can treasure the memories of her time
with me in the past." She slowly expelled a held
breath, her luminous blue eyes recalling those times.

After a second she smiled. If there was anything to show
her the ludicrousness of her previous self's jealousy, it
was her treatment of her own daughter.
"Do you remember how jealous I was of my daughter, for taking
Darien's time away from me! I was so silly then! I overeacted
and misunderstood everything! But I cannot make the same mistake now."
Her smile faded and she stared straight at Mars and Venus.

"What are you saying?" Jupiter asked.

"I'm saying that I think Pluto must leave for
the past, but I agree this is to be because of Destiny
and not Mars' suggestions!"Serenity replied. "I have
faith in her...and him."

"Venus suggested that!"
Mars bit her lip to prevent herself yelling. Sometimes,
she wished they were still just Raye and Serena rather
than Guardian and Queen. Internally, she thought
"moon-brain, that's not what I meant! I wasn't
accusing Pluto of anything! I just didn't want you to
be hurt..."

Neo-Queen Serenity smiled at Mars as if she'd read the
thought, and then unclasped her hands. "I have
decided. Pluto must depart for the past, as she
must enounter us as we remember. We will find
another way to guard the Gate of Time while she
is gone. Perhaps then the Pluto we know will finally come back to us."

As the others filed out of the chamber, Mars stopped and
turned to face Serenity.
"You know I did not mean to suggest Endymion would ever--"

Serenity held up a hand to quiet her friend. "I know.
And I know why you told me of what you saw. The G.R.E.G.
Says that my Mother once warned "A heart that loves
without return can grow cold!" I do not want that
for her, just as my mother did not want that for us!"
She smiled sadly "Perhaps not all love works out, or
is destined to be, but there has to be a way to get
beyond destiny! Not just for Setsuna, but for
Mercury as well."

Mars tugged at her friends arm. "Serena!! You've
got that look in your eyes again!"

Despite the elegance of the Queen's attire, the stately
white dress and wings, the expression on the Queen's face
bordered on comical. "I just know, if I think hard enough
I can find someone for her!" Her eyes all but spun
with the challenge. "I don't know why I never thought
of this before! And, I'll find a way to
get Zoycite back to normal, so he and Mercury can
finally be reunited...."

"Wait--I remember what happens every time you
try your matchmaking techniques!" Mars spat.

"AND, exactly what was wrong with that!" the Queen
asked. "I put a good many couples together!"

"Like who? Moon-Brain!" Mars yelled unable to restrain herself
anymore "I think those couples got together inspite of you
meddling!"

"Show some respect, I'm your Queen!" Serenity countered.

"I'll give you respect when you deserve it--" Mars
growled back.

"OH Really?" The Queen of Crystal Tokyo, rumaging through her
diplomatic skills, and her set of retorts honed by much
debate with would-be politicians, dredged up the one reply
she knew would put Mars in her place. "Well, THBBBBBBYYYYTTTTTTHT"
She said as she stuck her tongue out at Mars.

Mars started to stick her tongue out as well as an automatic
reaction, until she and the Queen started to laugh. The
two collapsed to the floor, hands on each other's shoulders
to steady themselves.

"We haven't done that in so long!" giggled the Queen.

"Too long" Mars laughed back, and then sobered as she
stood. "But, I'm serious. We've just come through a horrific battle...
I'm not sure we could handle you trying to set Setsuna and Amy up!"

The Queen rose also, and nodded. "Of course. Of course. Don't
worry!" But the glint in her eyes revealed that she had no intention
of giving up her new pet projects.