Author's Notes:
Part of my inspiration problem was I missed the goofiness I could write
in with the other characters. Not to say Pluto and Diamond don't
have a sense of humor, but they're kind of glum, aren't they?
Unrequited love, noble sacrifices and all might do that to you, but
it was *getting me down!* ;)> So now, I've livened things up
in a big way and my fingers are itching to type more....hee hee,
hope you like this chapter :).

Just a note, you may not have caught what happened there at the
end of the last chapter , but this chapter makes it very evident. I found pronouns
consequently a rather tricky thing..I tried to do my best
with it without making it confusing. The stuff in () refers
to the pronoun that matches the appearance not the mind of the
character.

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

Diamond breathed in and then out, keeping his eyes firmly shut.
If he didn't move in anyway other than the minimum necessary to breathe
he would be ok. Because if he did move, he would start to feel
all the differences that existed between his body and the one
he now occupied. How long he'd been asleep he couldn't
tell, but right now, he wanted to cling to the unconsciousness
and avoid the mortifying memory of looking into the mirror
and seeing Serena instead of his own body.

He hadn't *wanted* to be here, he told himself. He couldn't just
lie there. He had a mission to do. Slowly he
sat up, and two silky pig tails of blonde hair teased his
face. He breathed in the perfume of them, the scent momentarily
calling to memory the look in Neo-Queen Serenity's eyes when
she'd welcomed him to Crystal Tokyo. He felt so close to
her here, he thought, his hand trailing down the tendrils of
hair. He stopped suddenly, as if he had violated her
somehow, and the shamefulness of it paralyzed him.
What was he doing?!

"Sorry, I'm sure she won't mind its very important!" Darien's
voice called a second before the door jiggled and he stepped
into the room. "Please tell your mother its ok I'm here!"

"I'm fine. I just need to talk to Darien. Leave me." Diamond [Serena]
called, then caught himself.[Herself] "That is, I'll be okay mother."
The words sounded stilted and not at all like the girl
he remembered.

Darien winced as the lady shook her head and
departed mumbling "Sometimes Serena, I think you're about 4 different
people...but I have to go shopping anyway. Darien, you are
staying to dinner aren't you!? You know you're part of our
family now!"

Steps descended the stairs, and another door shut. Darien
sighed in relief, then closed the doors and came forward
holding a hand up as if to block an attack.

"Please, stay calm when I tell you this. I'm not who
you think...Serena, its Setsuna,
Somehow, I travelled through time, and am now trapped inside
Darien's body. I know this is hard to believe, but you must--" The
low voice swept on until Diamond cut her[him] off.

"I know." Diamond (Serena) sighed. At least it wasn't just him [her] "This
isn't Serena. Its Diamond."

Silence crackled for a second. "YOU TOO!?" Pluto {Darien} asked
after a minute.

"Yes..." He sighed miserably and cutely in Serena's voice.
I hadn't expected this. But we better do something soon. This is
very awkward for me."

"YOU FEEL AWKWARD!?" Pluto (Darien) groaned "You trapped me in his body! What
am I supposed to do!?" Pluto's hands gripped Diamond's. "This is
intolerable for me! How can you seem so calm about this!"

"What good is shouting going to do? And I feel, as I said,
extremely awkward...I have to deal with her family...and
I have no idea how she acts with them. I don't even know this
century's technology or customs, and I can't let them get suspicious, right?" He countered.

"But I'm trapped in *his* body..." Pluto blushed "I cannot even...look
at myself without feeling as if..." She stopped as Diamond touched
her arm.

"I know...I feel the same way, if not worse, but this may be our only
opportunity to contact Sailor Moon."

"What do you mean? You're in her body!How are we supposed to contact her if you're there and she's not!?" Pluto argued. "We must go back right away..."

"I 'm not sure that is possible" Diamond exhaled slowly, and sat down
on the bed, propping his head against his hand, slanting his (or
rather, Serena's) body to the side. "I cannot feel my powers
at all."

"And I don't have my staff..what are we going to do!?"
Pluto exclaimed, her hands gripping
his arms, pulling him up. She'd forgotten she was in Darien's
body, and he in Serena's for half an unbelievable second. The door swung open.

"Hey, Serena, are you two fighting or just playing
around!? " A nosy Sammy asked, eyes wide
and a grin on his face, as he watched his sister dangle by her arms
from her fiance's grasp. "Whatever it is, you'd better quit it,
cause Dad'll blow a gasket and his car just pulled in the drive!
You two may be engaged, but save that kind of horseplay for
when Dad's not around!"

Pluto/Darien dropped Serena/Diamond quickly, as a blush spread on
her (his) face. "Hi Sammy...I was just leaving." She (he) said. "We'll
talk later." She (he)said, turning around and exiting the house.

"What's this!?" Sammy wisecracked. "You two really are acting
strange tonight!...I mean, stranger than usual...." He looked
at Serena, just sitting there calmly on her bed.

Sammy's eyes grew larger, and then sneakier..."You're letting him
go without a gross display of affection!?..."He teased as she continued
to sit there. "Could it be those fires of love are finally boiling
down!? That's it...I knew he'd dump you sooner or later!"

Serena stared at him blankly.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my sister!?" Sammy declared
the evil smirk lighting his face with little brother joy.

Serena gasped at that, flushed a bit and eyed the teenage boy wearily.

"What do you mean!?" Serena asked quietly. "What are you implying?" Her
tone was serious.

"I was kidding, kidding...gee, you really are giving me the creeps
with that stare...but you're not acting like normal...."Realization
swirled in the boy's eyes. "I'm sorry ....you two really did have a fight didn't you!? "He said backing up "I didn't mean...I was just teasing honestly... come on Serena, throw a pillow or something, wail or curse me out
like you usually do...I don't want you to be really mad at me...if that jerk
hurt you, I'll...I'll..." He swore pounding his fist into the other.

"He did not hurt me." Serena responded.

"So you two still love each other and everything?" Sammy asked cautiously
"You're still getting married."

"I suppose so." Serena answered. "I am rather tired now.
Please excuse me."

The worried look only increased in the boy's eyes. He took a step
forward. "Look, Serena, I know I'm a pest sometimes, but if something is
bothering you...I'm still your brother." Sammy said quietly

"Serena" smiled briefly at that, as Saphire's face flashed before Diamond's
memory. "Thanks, I'm just a little worn out, that's all..."

Sammy didn't look convinced, and left.

About an hour later, Diamond heard Serena's mother call that
dinner was ready.

"I do not wish to eat right now." He (She) replied from the top
of the stairs. Shocked gasps echoed from below, as questions
flew. "I will be fine, I just need to rest!" He/She concluded
before retreating.

An hour or two later, Diamond's quiet contemplation of Serena's
room was interrupted by a shrill beeping sound. He'd been thinking
that he really didn't know that much about her either in her Crystal
Tokyo incarnation or her previous life. Yet he'd felt he loved her,
looking around the room, he could see signs that she seemed a caring
and gentle person. Yet her brother's comments hinted at an emotional
volatility that Diamond personally thought would be irritating.
What did he really know about her?

The beeping sound continued to sound, so Diamond frowned, looking for the
source. A few seconds later, he located a small rectangular object. As he
touched it, it lit up and the face of a pretty young woman with blue hair
appeared. She looked concerned, and this carried ripples into her calm
voice "Serena, Sammy just called me, saying he thought you looked very
upset. He said you didn't eat, and so I knew it was serious.
He thought you and Darien may have had a fight. Or perhaps,
thought you'd ended the engagement. So what in the world is going on?"

A sailor scout...Diamond stared at her. He was familiar with this kind
of technology, as Crystal Tokyo used it. She was not in her uniform
as Sailor Mercury, but it took him only a second to recognize her for
who she was...but he couldn't remember her name in this guise.

"I'm ok...but I'm really not myself right now." Serena/Diamond explained.
"Perhaps it would be best to talk in person....and we need Darien
too. Right away, if its possible."

"What's this about? Do you want the others?"

"Yes...everyone. As fast as possible!" Diamond/Serena exclaimed.

"All right, where should we meet? Its too late to go to the
Shrine, but we could meet here..." Amy briefly looked around the
cramped apartment. Mina's books were strewn where she'd dropped them
while waiting for EZ to pick her up for their date. It was
11:30, but Mina hadn't returned yet. Amy sighed "Or we could
use Lita's apartment. " Lita had moved in above her new restaurant,
and the place was very large. Not quite as large as Haruka and
Michiru's penthouse, but then, they hadn't been there in quite
awhile. Not since Pluto had....Amy whisked her thoughts back to
the current crisis. "Should we contact the Outer Scouts...I'm
not even sure they're back from that vacation they took..how
serious is this?"

"Very." Diamond/Serena replied.

Amy astutely noticed the difference in mannerisms. Something
must be off. "I'll see you there soon, then..."

"WAIT" Diamond/Serena called. "Where is it, and how do I get there!?"

"What?" Amy asked incredulously.

"I'm not Serena." Serena replied. "I'm...." Diamond paused thinking better
of revealing his identity. They may still consider him an enemy at this
time, since he wasn't sure what they'd experienced yet. Or they may
have had no idea who he was. "In trouble." He concluded.

Amy nodded. "Should I have Darien pick you up then?!"

"I'm afraid she's in trouble too." Serena replied.

"She?" Now Amy's face looked very contorted.

"He. I'm sorry...please tell him to come also..if he knows."
Diamond watched as Amy nodded and the screen went blank. Perhaps
Pluto at least knew this world better. He wondered idly whether
he should have arranged this meeting without consulting her,
but in the end he knew it was best for them to do whatever they could
while they could.

Pluto stared at the phone. She'd forgotten Darien didn't have his own communicator, and missed her own. Amy's voice revealed little but
tension and surprise, but Pluto felt sure at least seeing her eyes would
have let her know just how much Diamond had revealed. Well, she'd see
soon enough. Then again, now was not the time to worry about changing
the future, and contaminating the past, not when she knew too well the
future might not exist at all. Whatever help they could get, they
needed to take. So perhaps Diamond's strategy was best, though
she felt a little taken aback he hadn't asked her about it. Perhaps
he'd run out of time when she'd visited him earlier, she told herself.

She (he) gently turned off the engine and went up to the house and
knocked. The door swung open, and Diamond (Serena) appeared.

"Let's go before anyone notices I'm gone...I think they are
starting to worry that something is wrong with me." He (she) said.

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

Pluto turned the red sports car off, its engine gently gurgling to
a halt. The second the noise stopped, silence slid around them.

"I apologize, but." Pluto said. "this is the closest
I can get this car. I hope you do not mind the walk."

"Its a beautiful night, so no, I do not. I never saw a
place like this on Nemesis...its beautiful." Diamond (Serena)
turned to stare up at the sky. His (her) head swivelled, the
pigtails flying. "Everything is. Such a world!" His (her)
hands flew out to his (her) sides as if to embrace it all.
Pluto merely gestured for him (her) to follow, and they
walked through a small garden in the direction of the restaurant.
As they did, the wind pushed soft petals against each other, so that
their scents teased Diamond's senses. He kept slowing his pace, until
finally he just stood in the center of the garden. The lights
at the end sparkled indicating their destination, but he didn't
care about that at this moment.
He'd never imagined such beauty in nature, and despite the dim light and
the gravity of his situation, he felt compelled to admire it.
"So beautiful" He said, picking a flower up, and sniffing it.
This was the type of world he'd longed for as a child, a world
where such things were common place and available to any who
wished it. A world with a (relatively) unpolluted atmosphere,
stars shining visibly above, and life of many descriptions and
kinds.

Pluto stopped, looking curiously at him as he paused in the
garden opposite the restaurant. "We're almost there." She
said, but not impatiently. For a second, she smiled, noting
that his expression could easily have been Serena's. That simple
kind of joy that resonated from him was something she had rarely
enjoyed. Only in those few precious years she'd spent here in
this world had she smiled as he did now.

Tenderly, he put the flower down. "I'm ready. I apologize."

"Don't." She said. "I should...that is, I'm glad we
stopped...let's just stay like this for a second."

His eyes met hers with surprise, but also gratitude. "We did
not have such things on Nemesis." He explained after a few
minutes of silent contemplation. "But we wanted to...its
all we wanted, in the beginning. I'd forgotten why until I
walked in this place."

"Its been awhile for me too." She answered. The moment
held their eyes in a visual embrace for another second, until
they both looked away startled by the sound of a passing car.

Pluto looked up, admiring the night sky. She relaxed in that moment,
unguarded, and caught up in her present, yet something seemed missing.
She could see stars, but no moon. Its absence reminded her
of her situation. "Diamond, we should go. The others are waiting."

He nodded and they emerged from the spongy park path onto the
street opposite the restaurant above which Lita's lights shone
a welcoming beacon. To Diamond's surprise, the inside of the
building contained almost as many plants as the park--or at
least, it seemed as if its owner tried to do that.
They ascended the steps to the apartment
above which continued the jungle like feeling.

A tall brunette opened the door, worry washed out by surprise.
"Wow, you're on time." She said "Even if Darien picked you up,
that's never happened before...so what's going on!?"

Darien (Pluto) smiled ruefully. "I think we had better save the explanations
until everyone is here."

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't want to repeat yourself. Its Scout
stuff isn't it? Wasn't sure it would ever really resurface...but guess I
wouldn't mind saving the world again!" She grinned good-naturedly and smiled
with determination " Normal life was getting kind of boring!"

"Oh, really, so who's bored?!" A man said entering from another room.
He casually swung an arm around the woman's waist, and kissed her cheek
"And I thought I was keeping you entertained!"

Diamond (Serena) stared at the man, trying to place him.

"Something wrong, Serena?" Field asked surprised by the quizzical expression
on Serena's face.

"Nothing..." Serena muttered. Diamond wondered if this man was one of the
three Generals he'd seen the day he'd arrived at the Crystal Palace. He
couldn't be sure, but he assumed it made sense.

Another knock disrupted the questioning, and soon the room began to
fill with people.

"Should we Generals stay?" A tall man with blondish-green hair asked Darien
(Pluto).

For an instant, Darien looked perplexed, but then nodded. Everyone
took a seat around the room, as the greetings died down, a dark haired
girl, that Diamond recognized as Mars snapped "Ok, Serena, what's
the big idea of rounding us all up? I have that festival to prepare
for and--" A man with short blonde hair placed a hand on her arm,
as if to cool her temper.

"Yes, Serena, you did seem quite worried, please, why don't you
start." Amy suggested. Of the group, she alone appeared to have
come without a companion. Diamond wondered about that. Were these
generals paired with the Scouts the same way Serenity and Endymion
were linked, or was it just a coincidence? If so, why was there
one missing?

Diamond looked to Pluto and said "I think Sailor Pluto should explain."

Though they all expressed their surprise at that statement differently,
they shared the same shock. Mina spluttered out the tea she had been
sipping.

"What do you mean by that!?" She blurted out.

Darien stood. "I'm not Darien. I'm Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, and I've
been accidently" Her (his) eyes shot to Diamond (Serena). "Trapped
in his body from the future. I'm afraid something has gone drastically
wrong, and all time is about to disappear. The Time-Door itself
has been violated, and I could not use it to contact all of you.
Worst of all, Neo-Queen Serenity and Endymion disappeared when the
door did."

Silence lasted for barely a breath before seven voices each took
their own approach to stating their opinion that this was a ludicrous
and not very funny joke.

"It is no joke. I am not Serena, either." Diamond explained. "I'm...
Someone else." He hesitated again before revealing his identity.

"He's Prince Diamond." Darien said.

This time Mina dropped the entire tea cup she'd been holding,
and the contents splattered across the lap of the man she'd been
leaning against. He stood up, the tea scalding his legs as Mina
frantically pressed napkins with both arms, one arm trying to mop up the
mess on the couch, and the other trying to help the man.

"Leave it, its ok!" Lita said noticing Mina was only pushing the
stain further into the cloth.

"STOP IT YOU"RE GOING TO KILL ME!" The man shouted as Mina's nails
accidently scratched across his forearm, as he tried to get her
to stop.

The man with short blonde hair looked rather amused. "At least
something never change" he chuckled.

"Jed, stop laughing. This isn't funny. I'd like to
know what is going on!?" Raye exclaimed with
irritation. "Did you say Diamond....!?"

One of the cats cleared its throat. "I do believe Darien, that is
Sailor Pluto is serious." Luna replied.

Artemis nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Amy stood, her computer clicking away.

"Is that right?" Field asked surprised. "How is that possible,
to take over someone's body like that?"

"You mean, its not some weird joke?" Mina asked, her hands were
being restrained by both Lita and EZ. "You've got to be kidding, right?"

Serena and Darien shook their heads. "It's the truth."

"Its got to be the truth." Amy said.

"The computer agrees?" Luna asked looking up.

"Not yet, but Serena hasn't even touched those cookies Lita
set out." Amy replied. "She's definitely not herself."

Everyone nodded at that, as Serena looked rather puzzled.
"Yeah, I guess that's proof enough." Lita sighed. "Ok, I can believe you're not Serena, but who are you again?" Lita asked. She'd heard, she just didn't
believe it.

"Diamond." Serena said.

"NO WAY!!!!" The four girls exclaimed at once. "You're dead!?"

"Who's Diamond?" The three men asked almost simultaneously.

"Only someone who almost destroyed our future home..." Raye said
as she stood rounding on Serena. "OK..what are you doing in
Serena's body...I swear if you've hurt her!" In the background,
a flash of blue light splashed, as Amy's transformation rippled
around her.

"Please, Raye, be calm." Darien intervened. "Diamond was saved...in
a rather complicated way, and he is now helping me to restore
time in our future. I tried to explain before that time
has disappeared, and by utilizing something Wiseman left behind,
we were able to come back here for help. Unfortunately, this"
She (he) gestured to her (his) body, "is how we arrived in
the past. We do not even know how we can get back to the future.
My time-staff is there, and apparently, so are Diamond's powers."

Mercury raised her visor. "As I thought. I couldn't tell before, because
in my natural state my calculation speed is somewhat less, but now,
I'm sure. Their mental wavelenths are different, and Darien's
pattern now matches Pluto's. I never took complete readings on Diamond,
but as far as I can tell, they are a match to the data I did have."

"So how do we get Serena back!?" Lita exclaimed.

Mercury shook her head. "I'm afraid I do not know...yet. Setsuna
sometimes helped me with dimensional physics, but she seemed reluctant
to reveal all she knew. I never really pursued it before, but
I'm sure if I try my best I may come up with something."

"I'm still here, Mercury." Pluto, that is, Darien pointed out quietly.

"Yes...you are. Then perhaps we'd better getter started." She
replied.

"NOW!?" Lita exclaimed "HERE!?" She looked at the clock, thinking of
how early she had to open the restaurant. Of course, this was
more important than the restaurant, but still...it wasn't as if
they really needed her help at the moment. "I guess you could stay..."
She felt Field's hands massage her shoulders.

"Of course not, we can use Darien's apartment." Pluto (Darien) said.
"The rest of you should get some sleep."

"Excuse me..." EZ said. "I haven't specialized in temporal physics,
but I have studied it, though from a chemical perspective...I may
be able to help."

Mercury smiled, detransforming in an instant. The men (including
Serena) blushed at the momentary flash when her clothes changed
and looked away. "Of course, then lets get going.
I walked here, but if you could give me a ride, Dar, er Pluto?"

"I'll come too..." Mina exclaimed as two voices loudly pleaded for
her not to bother. "After all, if you have more stones, you
can kill more birds!"

"Love, you wouldn't understand a thing we're saying..."EZ, the man
with the mint-green blondish hair said. He sounded rather gruff,
but Diamond noted the tenderness with which the man ruffled
the chipper blonde's hair.

Her eyes widened, her lips pouting determinedly. "So...I could do something...
What am I going to do while my roommate and you are working?
How can I *yawn* go to *yawn* sleep, if you are doing something!
Serena could be in danger...I have to help her too!" She raised her
hand seriously. "Even if its not very much, I *yawn* want to do
something!"

EZ sighed. "You didn't sleep much last night, and you have an
exam in your History Class tomorrow. Really, Mina, I know you want to do
something...I'm sure all of you do, but we have to recognize our
limits."

Mina met his eyes. If Serena were missing, she was the leader.
"My limits don't matter, where Serena is concerned." She
said. "I may not understand temporal physics, or even regular
physics, but she's my friend!"

Lita put her hand on Mina's shoulder. "Mina, I feel the same
way, but I know we just have to turn this over to them..and trust
they'll solve it. If it comes to fighting, well, then you and I
can kick back in, ok?."

Raye nodded "In the meanwhile,
I will try and see what I can in the great fire."

Field nodded. "The stars may tell me something as well. The
more information we have the better we'll be able to deal with this."

Amy nodded. "And in the meantime, we should do something so
Serena's family doesn't worry...as it is, Sammy called me about
you. I'll tell him your fine, but perhaps just a little stressed
with the wedding preparations."

Lita snickered. "Sammy called *you?* See, he still has
a crush on you Amy!"

Amy turned an interesting shade of purple. "Please! Lita...this is
no time to talk about that!"

Serena (Diamond) nodded. "I'm afraid they
suspect something. I must not act like her at all."

"Perhaps we should give him a crash course on how to be Serena?
That is, until we can resolve this?" Mina suggested. She brightened.
"That's it..while you figure out how to reverse the...whatever it
was that happened, I'll prepare Diamond on how to play Serena, so
her parents don't find out."

"Please, don't trouble yourself.. I may be gone by morning." Diamond
protested as the blonde tugged his (her) arm. "If I just perhaps
avoided them--"

Mina shook a finger in Diamond's face. "No...No, No...I think
Serena wouldn't avoid her family like that, and if this *does* take
more than one day then what?! Better to put the umbrella up while
the sun shines, I say."

Diamond noticed the rather exasperated expressions on everyone's
faces.

"I couldn't ask you. Its too much trouble!?" he (she) replied.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!...everyone says Serena and I think just alike sometimes,
so I'm the perfect person to teach you how to act like her!" Mina
blinked.

"Poor guy!" Jed whispered to Raye, as Mina's fist flew within inches
of hitting his face.

"Not at all!" Mina declared. "Leave this to me..by tomorrow
morning, you *will* not only have Serena's body, but her mind!!"

Diamond nearly swallowed his tongue. "That's too much!"The words
stumbled out quickly.

Everyone nodded.

Mina didn't notice their expressions. "Good, let's go. I
feel better about not helping with the temporal stuff."

Diamond tugged back, regretting he wasn't in his own body yet
again. "Hey, where are you taking me!?"

"My place silly. Until you know what you're doing, you cannot really
stay at her parent's place!" She grinned. "Since Amy's going
with Pluto there'll be plenty of space, but it is a small place."

"I suppose I *could* stay over at Darien's.." Amy offered. "I'll
just stop by the apartment and grab a few things."

"Is this really necessary?" Diamond asked finally. He didn't
want to upset Serena's family, but he also didn't want to pretend
to *be* her. He'd hoped just to hide somewhere til this mess
resolved itself.

Pluto smiled briefly. She could almost imagine she'd never left this
world. Everyone squabbled cheerfully about what to do
, as she watched Diamond struggling with Mina.
Except, Diamond didn't make as many faces as Serena would if locked
in that confrontation, and he certainly was quieter. Her smile
widened. "I think so. Without my Staff, and our powers,
we are at a great disadvantage, and I believe a solution may not
be easily found. If you could pretend to be Serena for that time,
we'd cause the least disturbances in this time that is possible,
given our circumstances."

"So it's all settled..." Mina grinned. "Besides, unless you're
able to go back before tomorrow, you'll *have* to play Serena
for her dress fitting. She'd never forgive us if she missed her
chance for this designer wedding dress."

Lita muttered "And neither would you!.."
Raye nodded, as Mina growled back "HEY! You were as excited as
I was about the fact that he said he do our bridesmaids dresses too!"

Lita had the grace to look a little embarrassed.

Raye laughed. "That's because she's thinks he's such a cute guy..."

Lita frowned, avoiding Fields raised eyebrow "You mentioned that
first, you know."

Jed tugged Raye's sleeve. Raye blushed "I said his dresses were cute.
After all, someone with my beauty deserves a dress that matches."

Jed groaned and slid down the wall.

"Private fitting with a cute designer,huh?" Field laughed as he pulled
Lita closer into a casual embrace. "Maybe I'll come to this
fitting tomorrow" He whispered jokingly into her ear "Course, you could
convince me of our love tonight, so I won't get jealous."

"Good night, everyone!" Lita waved, as she started pushing her guests
out the door. Mina, EZ, and Amy disappeared down the stairs.

"See you tomorrow! Diamond, you'll be ok.." She said
putting her hand on Diamond's shoulder. "Even with Mina...just
don't let her cook."

Everybody left laughed, including Diamond. He didn't get the joke,
but he shared in the moment. Despite the tenseness of their
situation, these people still managed to find a way to make life seem,
well, liveable. He felt amazed by the closeness of these people. The
friendship that sparkled in their eyes, even when they were fighting.

Just like the garden, he thought, the garden I'd never imagined, these
words of friendship are something I've wanted my life and never had.
No wonder they'd beaten the Wiseman, and his plans. Love such as this
deserved to win, he thought. As the door closed behind him, he vowed
he would see it would win this time too.