The flames danced at a distance.  Its heat was warm and what a comfort it gave to her!  It was the only element that was familiar.  Everything else was pitched in dark shadow surrounded by gray skies and a roaring tempest.  In the midst stood a tall woman with her hands outstretched.  Her dark auburn tresses reaching to her shoulders.  She had the most evil eyes….

 But the sky displayed its most beautiful blue and light, fluffy white clouds were scattered over it.  Hino Rei remembered that ojii-chan was expecting fine weather today so she was very much relieved.  Had she promised to go to Mako-chan’s apartment today?  She hadn’t remembered the details very well….  Eeto….
 She sighed and tied her wish on the tree, praying that she and all of her comrades would be prepared for another battle… if there would be.  Would  Galaxia be the last?
Just then, either Phobos or Deimos nestled on her right arm.  She still cannot distinguish between the two.  It was as if they were saying, “It’s time, Rei-chan.”
Rei smiled.  “I will meditate by the fire in a little while.  You should eat first.”
Phobos and Deimos enthusiastically gobbled on the seeds that Rei lay before them.  Occasionally looking up to her for a long time that Rei could only think that her ravens had given her a thoughtful stare!
“I’m not feeling well, minna-san,” she said.  “Maybe you could change back to your human forms and tell me what’s wrong?” Rei laughed at the remark.  Either Phobos (or Deimos) took it seriously because one of them flew and rested on her arm.

“It would not be wise… to lead an army against the Silver Millenium!”
“Would there be any better alternative, then?”
The Prince bowed his head.
“Do you understand the choice we have to take, Endymion?”
“At official matters, you should address me properly, Kunzite!”
“Yes, my liege.”
“With all due respect, Your Highness.” Jadeite spoke.  “We are bound to her!”

 Chiba Mamoru found himself back on his own bed.  The memories only made him stronger from all the anger that was in his dream.  All the battles have ended.  The affairs with the Golden Senshi had been taken care of.  Maybe everything had just reminded him of the previous battles.  And of all of them, he had to be reminded of the most painful one.

 Hino Rei sat by the fire with her hands clasped together and her eyes closed in fervent curiosity.  Part of her enthusiasm had been fueled by fear and more and more, she wanted to know what it was.  She knew in her heart that the vision had returned for a purpose.
 The flames blazed mightily on the pedestal that instant. Rei opened her eyes but the answer given her was as vague as a black silhouette walking towards her.  That was the vision in the flames.  She could not recognize who he was.
 “Intruder!” she uttered the accusation at him.
 Intruder.  She accused him again and intently observed what his features would reveal. She had never seen him before but there was something … something slightly familiar with the intruder that she cannot speak of at this moment.

 “Why must we fight?”
  “Prince! We cannot stand for this any longer! We cannot continue to be at the Moon Kingdom’s mercy! They are watching us very closely!”
 “Since when have we been at the Moon Kingdom’s mercy? Who’s watching us? Who’s been telling you all this? Is it that abominable being? Are you still unsure!? We are being used by her!”

 We are being used by her!
 Those very words had silenced him again even if they were only present in his memory.  As if the Prince had been present there, too.  It had been so hard.  Several images begun appearing in his head the moment he had come back.  Why had he come back to the surface world?  It was all too complicated.
 A flash of light and the dismal view of the sky.  He was the first to stand and he saw how the others have come. The light gently transforming every detail of their features and slowly changing his comrades to become whole again.  They stood as confused as he was.  Shards of dark glass lay on the floor near them and he knew this place wasn’t as bright as before.  It was dark as Beryl herself.  He remembered that much having stayed so long in her domain.  She, who was already a part of their lives.
 “I’m so confused, Kunzite.”
 “So am I, Zoisite.”  Kunzite remarked at his comrade’s confession.
 “Several images keep coming to me!  And I cannot put together who I am or the lives I’ve lived!” Zoisite remarked in despair.
 “But we do remember Beryl.  Here we are standing at her domain, reawakened!  But what comes after that?” This time, Nephrite spoke.
 The leading general walked calmly amidst his comrades and massaged the pain in his temple.  For awhile, he thought of practical reasons for all his questions but no answer seemed to resurface.  “I don’t know…” he admitted calmly.
 Jadeite stood alone with his back turned against his comrades.  His vision was transfixed on the calm view of the sky lighting the canopy of Beryl’s last fortress, but his mental state had been elsewhere.  Her sharp purple eyes gazed thoughtfully at him.  In fact, she was the only image that had appeared in his head for awhile now.  Or maybe there were many, but maybe he had only allowed that vision of her. So much is to be gained from her reflective stare.  She had always seemed so real to him but it seems she could only exist in his memory.
 “We should go back to the surface world,” Jadeite told the other generals.  “That is the only way our memories can return.”
 

 
 “Rei-chan… nani?”
 Minako was thinking that maybe Rei-chan wasn’t eating well because she came rather… dizzy this morning.  She felt guilty having eaten the last yummy tidbit on Makoto’s plate and still eager to hear of her friend’s concerns, she had to be satisfied with Rei’s sullen, “Nothing.”
 “Are you hungry, Rei-chan?” Minako tried again.
 She just shook her head without ever looking at Minako.
 “Something’s bothering you, Rei-chan.” It seems Makoto had already sensed.  She had observed that Rei was the only one who had not taken a bite of the food she had prepared. She wasn’t at all offended but there had always been a mystery that hung over Rei’s head.
“Rei-chan?” Makoto asked again.
Slightly startled upon calling her attention, Rei was even more surprised to see everyone’s eyes on her.  Even serious Ami was called away from her books.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Makoto couldn’t believe.
Rei sighed.  She laid her chin on her hand.  “I was just remembering about our battles, minna.”
Usagi smiled.  “They are the past, Rei-chan.”
“Past.”  Rei repeated Usagi’s vital word.
“We should look towards the future, Rei-chan,” Usagi continued.  “The last battle has been fought and we’re looking towards a peaceful end.”
“I am looking forward to that, Usagi,” Rei answered sullenly.  She began to collect her books and stood up to leave.  “I’m just thinking about the past every now and then… in case I start to forget…”
“You’re not leaving now, Rei-chan?  Ami asked frantically.  “According to my schedule, we still have an hour left for studying.”
Rei had already put on her shoes.  “Gome, Ami-chan,” she said with a casual toss of her hair.  And before Ami could protest, the door had already slammed shut.

Sendai Hillside.  I remember this place very well.
Jadeite scanned the surroundings carefully.  Everything was familiar to him.  The wide and busy streets were never deserted at this time of day. Only a few people, however, occupied the sidewalks. From his place in the trees, he can see clearly the towering building of the shrine, of which name he can’t quite recall.
Not far from the building, a bus had just halted to unload some of its passengers.  Jadeite stared at some of the passengers carefully.  Happy students flocking together and some of them children.
“Nothing,” Jadeite whispered to himself.  No clear picture had appeared in his mind.  Jadeite bowed his head and turned back.  The day had ended in vain… except….
 

She wasn’t in a hurry to return.  If she would go back to meditate by the fire again, it would only be a fruitless search.  So Hino Rei purposely missed the bus, even if ojii-chan would wish that she should return to Hikawa Jinja early.  She could see that she was already nearing home.
 

Jadeite felt the strong force within him, but she hadn’t called to him.  She had turned at the corner at the right time.  A soft breeze lifted her long, dark hair from her face for awhile.  But he was disappointed not to have clearly seen her face from this distance.  Tendrils of her hair flew gracefully with the wind and then fell smoothly to her lithe waist.  Why is she walking with her head bowed down?  A deep concern fell over Jadeite and her melancholy disposition moved him.
Could she be….?  Jadeite could only guess from what’s left of what he knew.  He wanted to go to her even if he didn’t know why.  Would there be any reason left for him besides?  If it was easy to forget who he really was, it would be easy to forget the purpose of going to her.  Now, that was justified!  He initiated a step….
In that instant, something had stopped him.  Images of someone… a woman with strands of her long, dark hair touching her slender shoulders… She was lying down… sleeping.
Jadeite clutched his chest in confusion.  What is this? he asked himself.
 

Rei felt the sudden impulse in her veins just as she was nearing Hikawa Jinja.  It was as if someone was watching her.  She scanned the area for anyone that might be suspicious.  Her psychic powers told her nothing except that there were only a few students walking past her.  There was no one across the street.  No one?  She looked again to make sure.  Nothing.
Why is it that I feel this way? Rei asked herself.  The battles had been fought and they had won.  What else could be there?  Still, she didn’t discount the fact that it could all be possible.  It happened before.

He saw the three coffins lying side by side. In it are the skeletal remains of his comrades.
Zoisite… I refuse to be reduced to this like you… Jadeite… Nephrite… you are decaying more and more… such a pity.
 “The four generals have finally been reduced to just myself.”
  “If Kunzite of the Middle East branch can obtain the Magical Silver Crystal, everyone can easily be resurrected.”
 “I know that much… Queen Beryl.”
 He knelt down and kissed Queen Beryl’s hand.
 “But before that, I will see to it that the princess and the sailor-suited soldiers are… DEAD!”

 Why had his anger been that much before?  He had seen the bodies of the other generals corrupted and then rise again.
 A surge of lightning had collected in one part of their domain. The mass of energy revealed their comrade, Jadeite, with a dejected look on his face.
 “Have you found anything, Jadeite?” Nephrite asked with full curiosity.
 Jadeite shook his head.
 “We haven’t been long in the surface world,” Nephrite added sullenly.
 “Right now, I can’t even get a hold of any of my cursed memories!” Zoisite complained.
 Cursed?  The memory of her looking back at him and the few images he had of her had only appeared by sheer good luck.  “We need more time,” that was all Jadeite could propose.
 “Beryl has been defeated, we know this,” Kunzite interrupted his comrades.  He began to pick up a shard of glass that was lying in Queen Beryl’s domain.  The canopy of the once Dark Kingdom had been replaced by a faint hue of sunlight.
 “We have been fighting with her,” Jadeite told him.
 “Maybe, not exactly with her… but for her.”
 The three generals became silent at Kunzite’s remark.
 “The Magical Silver Crystal…” Kunzite began again.  “It holds the answer.”