The characters here are trademarks of their respective owners. I can't list off all the copyright holders because I'd probably miss out on some and get sued or something! :) I am not expecting any money from any story I write, and therefore am not taking any money away from the copyright holders. Thanks to Lady Jupiter (now at LadyJupiter@SailorJupiter.com) as I was inspired to write this series after misinterpreting her "Remember When?" prologue and reading her "Rainy Day Man Remix" story. Sure, my other fic "Let The Punishment Be The Crime" had similar inspiration, but once you read it you'll see why. Like Lady Jupiter, I'm a huge Jupiter fan. That will become obvious as you read this and other stories by me, they are all Lita-centric. I will be using the NA dubbed named, because that's the way I prefer it! Also, this fic features the Scouts and Ken in Lady Jupiter's "Jupiter Knight" World where Ken is Lita's protector, Jupiter Knight. I have been given permission to do so. Also, it takes place before her "Remember When?" series. My other/future fanfics can be found at my "Writing" page at http://www.muskoka.net/~summerton/writing.html and probably anywhere else you got this fic from. Just so you know, this story also borrows some parts from my "Punishment" fic just like part one did, as you may notice similarities sometimes. Don't worry about that: I'm allowed to steal from my own work. :) I do it here because the descriptions were perfect the first time and, well, read on! If you're reading this, Part Six, then I sure hope you've read Parts One through Five, since this is the conclusion! Go read them now or what you're about to read will make NO sense and completely spoil the five previous parts! Divided Destiny Part Six - Last Dance by Scott "Cyclops" Summerton Last Revised Wednesday March 24th, 1999 --------------- ---somewhere else--- "So you're sure that you don't remember anything different?" "Absolutely, I remember what happened, but it all seems like a dream now, as if it happened to someone else." "But she's telling us is that this really happened, and you know she'd never joke about something like this." "The both of you are correct. This is no joke, but the dream explanation coincides with the actual events. I think this has been sufficiently proven, thank you, both of you. If you'll excuse me I now have work to do." ---Earth--- Crying loudly, Sailor Jupiter crashed to her knees after informing Sailor Mercury of the shapechanger's demise, knocking over part of the broken plumbing in the process. Jupiter Knight let his huge sword fall to the ground as he fell against the remainder of the restroom's wall while trying to maintain his balance. "Wow, that's the second bathroom this thing destroyed today..." a groggy Tuxedo Mask said to nobody in particular as he awoke. Sailor Juptier was looking down at herself. "My god... this... is permanent..." She could hardly be understood because of the sporadic nature of her words between her crying. "This may have been our best hope, but not-" Sailor Mercury was interrupted as Sailor Jupiter pushed her away as she started running towards the well. Loud heaving sounds could be heard as she bent over its opening. Sailor Mercury, landing on her rear-end, noticed... something... beside her right hand... "That's some sort of liquid, but it's maintaining its shape on the dirt..." As she called forth her mini-computer and began analyzing the substance, Sailor Jupiter collapsed to the ground, presumably in shock. The rest of the Scouts, starting to come around, began to detransform. Mina was covered in moss, grass and dirt, whereas Raye was walking tentatively on her right ankle. Artemis quickly approached the hyperventilating Sailor Jupiter while Luna went to Jupiter Knight, still leaning on the fragile wall. "Sail-" Artemis sighed. "Ken? Please just calm down. Luna and I saw everything, you guys did what you had to do." Sailor Jupiter, still breathing rapidly, turned to stare at the small white cat. She began to simply shake her head while repeatedly saying "No..." Luna's luck wasn't much better with Jupiter Knight. As the black cat approached she noticed Jupiter Knight slump to the ground, leaning against the wall behind him. As he did so, a small piece of metal pipe fell to the ground, spilling its contents. Jupiter Knight and Luna were oblivious to it, but Sailor Mercury saw the... something... but she just continued working on her computer. Luna just focused on Jupiter Knight however. "Lita?" Jupiter Knight continued to stare off into space. Luna remained calm. "Lita, talk to me." Jupiter Knight, eyes closed and breathing deeply, would only say "Forever..." Once the damaged plumbing stopped spouting water, Mina grew even more concerned. "Guys, we've got to get out of here before someone comes to check out those noises we made, especially with half of us transformed and the other back in normal form." "Mina's right," began Darien. "We'd better go back to Lita's since that's where the hospital will be calling in case anything new happens with Serena." "All right then." Luna looked to Jupiter Knight and over Sailor Jupiter. "Come on you two, there still might be some hope." Without a word, both Jupiter reverted to Ken and Lita and began walking toward Lita's apartment. Raye noticed that Amy was still Sailor Mercury. "Amy? What are you doing?" Sailor Mercury looked up almost as if she was startled. "Hmm? Oh, I just found this fasciniating liquid on the ground and I was just going to collect a sample." As she used a piece of piping that was fused shut at one end to scoop up the unknown material, she noticed Raye's slight limp. "Are YOU alright Raye? Your ankle looks somewhat swollen." "Yeah I'm fine, it's just a little sore that's all." Always the concerned friend and doctor's daughter, Sailor Mercury, now finally reverting back to Amy, wasn't convinced. "Well, it's not broken, or even sprained," she said while gently feeling Raye's injured limb. "Feels like you simply twisted it. Just go easy on it and it should be fine in a day or too." Raye couldn't help but smile at her blue-haired friend. "Thanks Amy, I don't know what we'd do without you always trying to help us out." Amy replied with a smile of her own, albeit a worried one. "I only wish that I can find a way to help Lita and Ken before it's not too late." "We can stay too." stated Mina, referring to Artemis as she hung up the receiver. "My parents wanted me to be with everyone anyway because of what happened to Serena." "So that's everybody then." responded Luna. Everyone had decided that spending the night at Lita's would make it easier on the Jupiters, and each other. Amy walked from the bathroom, closing the door behind her. As she did she nearly bumped into Darien exiting the bedroom across the hall in a similar fashion. Artemis thought to himself "That's weird timing." An ice pack on her ankle, Raye was the first to speak. "So... how are they?" Amy and Darien looked at each other as they sat on the couch. Amy nodded to Darien. "You first." Darien leaned back on the couch. "If you insist. Lita's taking it pretty hard. She's just sitting in there refusing to do anything right now." Darien looked towards Mina. "Even though she's trapped as Ken, I still think you should go talk to her, girl to girl. It might help bring her around." "I'll do that, after Amy fills us in on Ken." Mina looked down at her soiled school dress. "Then maybe I can finally have a shower." "He's nearly a complete disaster. He listened to everything I had to say, but I don't think he actually heard any of it. He refused all my insistence to eat anything as well, and has thrown up numerous times now. I'm going to wait a few minutes before I check on him again." Amy also turned to Mina. "You can go ahead now." As Mina stood and began to walk toward the bedroom, both its door and the bathroom door opened, and out stepped 'Lita' and 'Ken', face-to-face. Artemis thought to himself once more. "That's just bad timing." 'Ken' slowly walked to the empty space on the couch beside Darien, while Mina helped the wobbly 'Lita' to the chair she just rose from, 'her' face whiter than 'her' blouse. "We're staying over with you guys tonight," began Raye. "We're here for you, you know that." 'Lita' looked up at Raye, surprising everyone with the look on 'her' face. Never before had anyone seen such a defeated look on the tall brunette. After a failed attempt at a smile, 'she' resumed staring at the floor. Darien stood and began heading towards the kitchen. "If there aren't any objections, I'll fix us something to eat. After two battles and nothing to eat, I'm definitely hungry. Any preferences?" With "Nah" and "Not really" being the only responses, Darien entered the kitchen and began working away. Hungry or not, his friends new that he was actually desperate to get his mind off of Serena for the time being. Luna then placed her paw on a small glass jar on the coffee table. Contained within was the strange material found at the battle site. "Amy, have you determined what exactly this substance is yet? I've never seen anything like it, even at the Moon Kingdom." "No not yet, and my pocket computer nearly crashed when I tried inputting some data from it. I may have to use my mini-computer as Sailor Mercury to properly analyze it." Raye removed the ice pack and started rubbing her ankle. "You can do that later though. Right now we might as well work out sleeping arrangements while we wait. Ken and Lita get first choice of course, and then we'll spread out on the couch, the floor, and..." 'Lita' however wasn't paying attention at all, as 'she' leaned towards Amy seated on the couch beside her. "I think you'd better tell me those things you mentioned earlier that I'd need to know about being a girl now." In the middle of the night, 'Lita' awoke with a start, waking Luna who was sleeping at the foot of the bed with 'her'. Amy however, lying on the floor beside 'her', remained asleep. Luna was wide awake. "Are you alright? You don't look well, I'd better wake Amy." Half-awake, 'she' was fairly slow to reply, but fast enough to stop Luna. "No, no I'm alright, you don't have to wake her. She was up really late trying to figure out what that substance is." "Are you sure? You look like you're having trouble keeping your dinner down." "Yeah, I think so. Besides, I've looked like that since we left the park. I... I just had the weirdest dream." "Really? What was is about?" Luna recieved a confused look as her answer, so while waving a paw in the air she replied with "It might have something to do with all this." "I can't describe it exactly, only the feeling I got from it. I suddenly felt better for some strange reason, like I'd gotten revenge on everyone who ever harmed Lita and I." "That's strange, but we'll deal with it in the morning." Luna's smile was one of sympathy. "Right now you need to get some sleep, but we have to tell Amy in the morning, that's why she's sleeping in here you know." "I know, and you're right. She's just been working so hard on this that I want to give her a bit of a break, that's all." Luna only sighed in response as she patted her paw on 'Lita's' hand. She then returned to the end of the bed as the two of them attempted to resume sleeping. "KAHK! KAHK! KAHK!" "Artemis! That's disgusting!" "KAHK!" Artemis caughed up yet another blonde hairball. he now had quite the pile. "Yeah, well, you try sleeping next to Mina and not get any hair in your face Raye." Mina only smiled as she took a sip of her orange juice. "Now you know why I don't want you on my pillows when I go to bed." "KAHK! Unnnhhhh, KAHK! Ohhhhh trust me, KAHK! I'll take your word on it from now on." "How're the eggs Raye?" "Great Darien, I didn't know you were such a good cook!" Darien smiled and turned back to the stove. "When you live on your own it gets to be a -nasty- habit." Trying not to smile, he again turned and put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of Mina, to which she replied "Oh yes, -truly- horrible." She couldn't help but smile. "Thanks Darien." Darien once more turned to the stove. "Now, Lita, I don't care what you say, you barely ate anything last night, so you ARE having something for breakfast. Either you tell me which kind you want or I choose for you." 'Ken', twiddling a fork, finally gave in. "Alright, I'll have over-easy." "Alright then. Anyone know what kind Amy or Ken will want?" "Sunny-side-up for me, thank you, but I'm not sure about Ken." replied Amy as she entered the small kitchen. She noticed a weary-looking Artemis on the floor with Luna, who was practically laughing, beside him. "Artemis, are you alright?" "KAHK! Oh yeah..." Amy looked questioningly to Mina, causing the blonde to knowingly smile and play with her hair as she responded. "Don't worry, he's fine." "Ken will want scrambled, they're his favourite." "Thanks Lita." "How is he?" asked 'Ken' as Amy took a seat beside 'him'. "You never told Ken what girls do in the morning on a daily basis did you?" "No." "Lucky guy..." mumbled Darien. "Well, he nearly fainted a few times when I started into the details. Thankfully he hasn't thrown up since last night before dinner. He did mention an unusual dream that he had though. He said he was suddenly invigorated for some reason." 'Ken's' eyes went wide. "Did he say if he felt like he got revenge on everyone who ever hurt him?" "Actually, everyone who hurt the two of you. Why do you ask?" "Because I had a similar dream last week. It was as if I somehow got revenge on everyone who crossed me somehow." "That is strange." Amy pulled out her pocket computer "This was last Friday?" 'Ken' nodded as 'he' replied "Yup." "No talk, eat." Darien placed a plate of eggs in front of Amy. He was fairly surprised when he saw her continue typing away and eating at the same time, even though he knew he shouldn't have been. "I can't believe you can keep going like this with only a few hours of sleep!" Amy simply continued without losing a beat. Between bites she managed to say "Multitasking at its finest." "Your's and Ken's are almost done Lita." 'Ken' stood and started to the fridge. "OK, I'll just find something for Artemis and Luna." 'He' opened the door. "How does tuna sound?" "KAHK!" "I think what Artemis is trying to say is that tuna is fine." Luna looked to Artemis and the pile of blonde hair. "Thank you Lita." 'Ken' placed the fish into a small bowl and filled another with water, then placed them on the floor. "Hope you don't mind sharing." "KAHK! I feel like I'm dying." "You don't know the half of it." All eyes turned towards the new voice as 'Lita' slowly walked into the room, with dispair so authentic it seemed premeditated. Dressed in clothes identical to those 'she' wore last night, she took a seat across from 'Ken'. "Perfect timing." announced Darien as he placed the scrambled eggs in front of 'Lita' and the over-easy eggs in front of 'Ken'. 'Lita' closed 'her' eyes as her face again went a ghastly white. However, 'she' was quick to cast aside any fears by speaking almost immediately afterwards. "I'm OK. It's alright, just still a little light-headed, that's all." 'Ken' and 'Lita' both slowly began to eat their eggs, but after only a few bites did they both look to Darien curiously. "What? What's wrong?" 'Lita' picked at the plate with 'her' fork. "Mine taste funny." "Mine too." "That's strange, everynoe else's are fine, aren't they?" Raye, Mina and Amy nodded their heads positively, causing Darien greater confusion. Amy, almost reluctantly, picked up both 'Ken' and 'Lita's' plates and switched them, placing the scrambled eggs in front of 'Ken' and the over-easy ones in front of 'Lita'. "Oh... right..." was their only reply. As they ate, the next few minutes were completely silent, save for the soft clicking of Amy's computer keypad. After the dishes were piled away, everyone looked quizically at one another for an idea of what to do for the next couple hours before they could visit Serena. Suddenly... "KAHK!" Everyone slowly turned to Artemis, causing the white cat's ears to fold back as he lowered his head and placed his chin in his paws. "Sorry..." "So, it's gone?" "Yep, but how are YOU feeling?" "I'm fine Darien! I mean, I've got a crummy headache, but at least there's no icky scar." Serena, wide awake and starry-eyed at seeing all her friends, was trying to avoid the barrage of questions by unleashing a flurry of her own. "You guys are all ok then too?" "As well as we were beforehand anyway." commented a weary 'Lita'. Luna perched herself in Serena's lap. "You seem fine, it's a shame you have to stay here for another six days." "Yeah, but from what you told me, Darien made quite the replacement!" This caused Darien to blush, yet he still took Serena's hand in his own. "Tuxedo Mask could never replace Sailor Moon." He then raised her hand to his lips giving it a gentle kiss. It was now Serena's turn to blush. "Oh Darien..." She was quickly distracted however. "Um, Amy? Your pocket's glowing!" "What? OH!" Amy quickly reached in and pulled out the glass jar which contained the still unknown substance. Only now it was giving off a brilliant yet dark green light. "Is that that stuff you found after the monster was destroyed?" "Yes, but it hasn't done this yet!" Mina now made an unusual announcement. "Has anyone else noticed that nobody outside the room is moving?" "You mean the halls are empty don't-" Raye gasped as she noticed that the orderlies in the hallway were indeed mysteriously halted in midstep. "What's going on?" "Perhaps I can answer that." Everyone was startled by the sound of an older woman's voice in the already crowded room. "Sailor Pluto!" "Hello Luna." replied Sailor Pluto as she walked forward. The green-haired woman, dressed in a white and black Sailor Scout uniform with a large staff in her hands, always seemed to draw a commanding presence. "I believe I have the answers you seek." She walked to Amy and took the glass jar. She held it up so everyone in the room could easily see the glowing substance. "Temporal plasma," she annouced. "When a rip in the timestream occurs, this is occassionally left behind." Amy's curiousity was unrivalled. "How occassionally?" "Only when I intervene and damage is done to an important entity. I will answer your second question before you even ask; it is glowing because you and this entire room is now outside the timestream, causing the plasma to act as a sort of warning beacon so I can retrieve it easily." All semblance of uneasyness had now disappeared from 'Lita's' face. "You sent that shapechanger didn't you?" Sailor Pluto placed the jar of temporal plasma on Serena's nightstand table. "Yes, and I am now going to explain why to you." She leaned on her staff, known only to a few as a timekey. "After my assisting Ken and Lita on numerous occasions, I had too many variables in my calculations to yield proper results. I had to eliminate those variables, and the only way possible would be to validate the necessity of those numerous interventions, the very reason for the variables' existance." "Numerous?" began 'Ken'. "I only remember a couple of times when you've appeared." "It's only natural that you'd forget most of them, keeps the timestream in sync." The silence during Sailor Pluto's momentary pause seemed to last a lifetime instead of a single inhalation of air. "Because my interference in the timestream created these variables, I had to factor in an outside variable that would bear no affect on the actual timestream." She picked up the jar. "That's why this appeared after my shapechanger was destroyed." Amy's surprising role as the talktative one continued. "But, what was the creature's exact purpose?" Sailor Pluto looked to Amy and smiled. "Your calculations about the decreasing monster attacks was what I used to determine a viable timeframe for its insertion." She noticed a huge sweatdrop forming on Amy as the blue-haired girl began to smile and look to the floor. "It was sent to follow you, essentially. However, something went wrong when I sent it and it began to fail its original purposes. It was simply a monitor, not a monster, although its abilities gave it the appearance of one." Sailor Pluto got a look of sorrow on her face as she continued. "It continued to trail you, but it failed to conceal itself effectively. Your conclusions were correct, it does mimic the area is occupies, and it does flee when discovered. However, once it left Raye's temple and entered the park, if became confined to that area. I'm still trying to figure that one out." With confidence filling his voice, as well as a hint of hope, 'Ken' stood and confronted Sailor Pluto. "You told that shapechanger to switch us, why?" Sailor Pluto looked directly at him and stated mater-of-factly "Oh it didn't switch you, I did. Its job was to monitor the change for me." "What about the blast that hit Lita and Ken though?" asked Mina. "If you never gave it the power to switch them, then why did that energy affect their changes?" Sailor Pluto merely shrugged her shoulders. "Another mystery." 'Lita' was now walking around as much as the confined room would allow. "So let me get this straight. You put Li in my body and me into her's, you send a creature to hunt and watch us, it somehow loses control, and then you show up after we destroy it? Why didn't you just pull it out of the timestream once it lost control?" "Strict orders from Queen Serenity, no further involvement was allowed." Everyone looked to Serena. "Hey I must have had a good enough reason to say something like that!" Sailor Pluto continued. "Even with the shapechanger misbehaving, it still served its purpose, so I had no valid reason to interfere, other than helping Artemis with a few insights." Artemis looked to Luna. "Told you those ideas just popped into my head." "It was all I could do to warn you, anything else would fracture the timestream even moreso with it in the weak state it was in. Once you destroyed it however, it became useless. I then had to consult another source." "Another source?" asked 'Lita'. Sailor Pluto looked at the brunette. "Yes." She then looked at 'Ken'. "Your future selves." "What? Can you-" Sailor Pluto was quick to interrupt 'Lita' before 'she' finished 'her' question. "No, I cannot tell you any details, we've gone over this before you know." Dejected, 'Lita' was quick to answer. "Yeah yeah I know, makes the timeline too unstable." "Yes, but after confirming my theory I was able to eliminate the excess variables. Only then was the timestream strong enough for me to appear directly." "What did you have to find out?" asked Darien. "I had to see if the answer would be united or divided." "If what would be united or divided? What was the equation about?" Sailor Jupiter answered 'Ken' by placing her right hand on 'his' left shoulder, and her left one on 'Lita's' right. After looking the both of them in the eye, she smiled and said... "Your destiny." In a bright flash of light blocking everyone's vision, Sailor Pluto had disappeared. Serena looked around. The jar of temporal plasma was also missing, and the halls of the hospital had resumed their usual busy activity. What really got her attention was Ken and Lita. They were looking at themselves, and once they looked each other, smiles crept onto both of their faces. He picked her up into a huge hug and shouted "Li!" to which she responded "Kenny!" Luna, her face nearly glowing, looked on in amazement. "Does... does that mean...?" In unisen the giddy couple yelled a resounding "YES!" "Oh thank goodness," began Artemis, now sitting beside Luna on Serena's lap. "Now maybe we can take things easy for a while." "But what about those monster attacks, and the reason for the shapechanger's confusion?" questioned Amy. "Not even Sailor Pluto could answer that." Lita, beaming as Ken set her down yet reluctant to leave his arms, was quick to respond. "Right now I don't care what happens, I just want to enjoy the rest of this weekend like we were supposed to!" She playfully punched Ken's shoulder and said in a low masculine tone "Right Kenny?" Ken reeled from the 'blow' and spoke in a deliberately high-pitched voice. "Oh of course, Li!" Everyone was content at merely watching at the young lovers in each other's playful embrace, that is, until... "KAHK!" "EWWW GROSSS!" yelled Serena as the blonde hairball landed in her lap. Once again, Artemis slowly lowered his head as he had earlier in Lita's kitchen... "Sorry again..." END PART SIX END DIVIDED DESTINY --------------- It's done yet it STILL has a cliffhanger! That means a sequel! Woohoo! Don't bug me about it though as I'm taking a break from Sailor Moon until after I write one other story first. The wait won't be too long though! The hidden things in Part Five were the hospital's name (taken from Lady Jupiter's "Guardian Angel" series) and the joint sword attack performed by the Jupiters (taken from her "Remember When?" series). The general idea of the wildness of their attack also came from "Remember When?". NOTE: This series' original name was "Soulmates" but I was told that title has been used previously. I reluctantly altered the title to it's current one, "Divided Destiny." Mail me comments, here's all the info you'll need: Scott "Cyclops" Summerton http://www.muskoka.net/~summerton thrawn27@hotmail.com, sjs3@hotmail.com and summerton@muskoka.net ICQ - 7383852, AOL IM - DarkCanuck Began Tuesday March 23rd, 1999. Completed Wednesday March 24th, 1999. Last Revised Wednesday March 24th, 1999.