Diamond smiled at them coldly even as Sailor Nemesis raised her hand and suddenly slapped Pluto, sending her staggering backward. "You are not worthy to even speak with me, betrayer," the young woman hissed. She glared at the assembled Senshi as she continued, "You all will pay for the sins of the past." "What sins?" Sailor Moon asked, honestly confused. "Who are you, and why do you look just like Pluto?" "It would me more accurate to say Pluto looks like me," Nemesis corrected her coldly. "She is the Senshi of a world that died," Pluto said, rising to her feet and wiping a bit of blood from the corner of her mouth. "All that's left of her world, Nemesis, now is the Asteroid belt, it was destroyed during the Silver Millennium," she explained quietly. "Don't you dare put it so simply," Nemesis glared at her. "The Moon Kingdom chose to withdraw it's protection from my world, and the Negaverse destroyed it and all those who lived there," she spat out. "That's not," Pluto started. "Silence!" Nemesis barked. "We were the first Senshi of Time," her voice dropped to a whisper, "the true masters of time, and when I was reborn I retained all those abilities. And I swear they will be your end." "This can't be good," Natsuna said, looking out the window at the new arrivals. The double of Pluto was bad enough, but she was being followed by a pretty-boy. Personally, Natsuna just hated pretty-boys on general principles. Artemis jumped on her shoulder, "I'd have to agree with that." Professor Tomoe looked quite pale as he gazed outside as well. "I think you should go out there and help," he said quietly to them both. "Hotaru would never forgive me if you were hurt," Natsuna shook her head. With a slight smile Tomoe said, "In here, what can you do, exactly? At least out there you'll be doing some good." Natsuna sighed loudly, "I really hate it when people use logic against me." She checked her gun, then turned to him and said, "Please stay down, and try to keep as far away from the windows as you can get, OK?" "Right," he saluted mockingly, and Natsuna rolled her eyes. He watched her ease the door open and slip outside, trying not to draw attention to herself. He sighed, reached up to gently massage the pain in his chest, and slumped into his chair. Prince Diamond glared at Sailor Moon. "Let me be the instrument of your vengeance," he said softly to Sailor Nemesis, "let me destroy Sailor Moon." "Of course," Nemesis smiled, and Diamond started forward. She looked over at the other Senshi, "But I don't like these odds. Lets even things up a bit, shall we?" She raised her staff, spinning it, and for a moment it glowed faintly purple. "No," Pluto cried out, raising her own staff, "this violates every law!" With a flash of light and a loud displacement of air a red hared woman in a long gown appeared, looking about her angrily. She seethed with dark power, and when her gaze met the Senshi's her face darkened in hatred. "Queen Beryl?" Sailor V managed to get past her surprise. Another burst, and a young man appeared. His skin was an odd, pale green, and his hair was blue, with two pink tufts on each side of his face. His clothing was all black, edged in gold, with a flower on his breast. "Fiore," Tuxedo Kamen murmured softly. The air grew chilly, and suddenly white figures twirled and danced across the skies, their numbers swelling by the moment. "And the Snow Dancers," Natsuna cursed. Diamond charged, sword swinging, and Sailor moon ducked his blow before pulling off her tiara, "Moon Tiara Magic!" It blazed in her hands, lengthening into a softly glowing sword. She parried another strike, "We don't have to do this." "Oh, yes we do," Diamond hissed. His white hair gently blew in the breeze, and he smiled charmingly as he added, "Though I'd much rather be fighting you in the bedroom, but I'm afraid that's not possible." Sailor Moon made a face, "Ewww!" "Be careful Sailor Moon," Chibi-Usa cried to her, "Prince Diamond is the best among Nemesis' lieutenants." Pluto leveled her staff, "Dead Scream!" "Deadly Cry!" Nemesis cried, her own attack meeting Pluto's in mid- air and canceling it out. But before she could recover Pluto was in front of her, her staff locking with hers. Energy crackled around them as they struggled against each other. "Nemesis didn't die like that," Pluto managed, pushing against the Senshi. "Liar," Nemesis growled back. "Fiore's mine," Tuxedo Kamen said simply over her shoulder as she charged towards the confused young man. "Great, just great," Sailor V grumbled. "Venus Crescent beam!" and she scythed down a flock of Snow Dancers. "Mercury, can your powers control these things?" "What?" Mercury said, surprised. "Well, they're made up of ice and snow," Sailor V shrugged, "and that's what you control. It's worth a try." "Shine Aqua Illusion," Mercury cried, cupping her hands. Power flared, and the Snow Dancers looked startled. The ice making up their bodies began to crumble, pulled towards to Mercury and gathering in the air above her. "That's incredible," Sailor Jupiter murmured. Then she saw the strain on Mercury's face, and realized that she was pushing her limits. When Mercury swayed a bit, she gently grasped her by the shoulders, receiving a grateful smile. "My love?" Fiore gasped as Tuxedo Kamen ran at him. 'Great,' Rei thought grimly, 'he doesn't remember what happened before." An idea occurred to her, and instead of attacking him, she sliced the Kisenian flower on his breast. Fiore howled in pain and surprise, almost as if he and the flower were joined, somehow. Tuxedo Kamen caught him as he fell, but his eyes were clear. "You carry his heart," Fiore said weakly, and Rei nodded in reply. Sailor Moon parried another blow, then gasped in surprise as Nemesis and Pluto both simply disappeared. "What in the world?" she let her sword fall as she murmured, then she had to quickly raise her blade again. "Take care of her," Saturn barked as she passed the younger Hotaru to Uranus and Neptune. She raised her glave and ran at Beryl, reasoning that she would have no idea who she was. "Death Ribbon Revolution!" She was right. Beryl struggled and cursed in her suddenly formed bonds, then she looked up. Her eyes widened as she saw Saturn leap up, and the glave came down at her in one smooth motion. "What have you done?" Nemesis demanded, looking around her in surprise. "We're in the past," Pluto said. She pointed with her staff, "And that is the planet Nemesis." The blue green world turned slowly beneath them, then they were suddenly descending down through the air to a massive city. It gleamed, crystal towers rising up to the skies, and happy people filled the streets. "All these people," Nemesis murmured, then her expression hardened, "all dead, because of the Senshi of this time." "No," Pluto said. The passed invisibly through the city, finally reaching a palace. They recognized the ones in the meeting, Diamond, Sapphire, Emerald and Rubius, and they instantly recognized who they were meeting. Queen Beryl of the Negaverse. "The powers protect me," Nemesis murmured softly, her face pale. It was obvious that the Senshi of Nemesis was arguing with the four, but it was also clear that it wsn't having any effect. She left, finally, her expression deeply troubled even as Diamond firmly shook Beryl's hand. "The Moon Kingdom didn't betray Nemesis," Pluto said sadly. She watched her fellow Senshi's face as the memories rushed back to her at last, "Nemesis itself withdrew it's power from the Moon Kingdom's defenses, and in the process created the weakness between the worlds that the Negaverse needed to invade." "To your credit," Pluto added softly, "you opposed the alliance from the start." Sailor Nemesis bonelessly slid to her knees, clutching her staff. "But why did the Negaverse destroy them, then?" she whispered. "Crossing into our world required a great deal of energy," Pluto said softly, "so when they arrived here the Negaforce was ravenous. It went for the nearest unprotected source of power it could find: the planet Nemesis." "Give it up," Sailor Moon barked, "your allies are defeated and Nemesis has disappeared!" She and Diamond fought back and forth, swords loudly clanging as they strove against each other for the victory. Finally, they were locked together, struggling against each other as they each fought to over power the other. K-click! Diamond looked sideways and saw a pistol pressed to the side of his head. Natsuna had come up to them silently, while they were focused on each other. "Put the sword down, slowly," she ordered. When he didn't move, Natsuna added, "This gun is loaded with charmed bullets, so if you're counting on some magical invulnerability, I wouldn't advise it." Diamond lowered the blade, complaining, "This isn't honorable!" "Neither are we," Sailor Moon smiled before slugging him unconscious. "Damn," Sailor V swore as both Pluto and Nemesis reappeared before them. Strangely, Nemesis seemed to need to lean up against Pluto for support, as if all her strength and fury had somehow been sapped from her. Sailor Nemesis raised her staff, and cried out, "Return!" Diamond, Beryl, Fiore and all the remaining Snow Dancers simply disappeared from the battlefield. Haruka noticed that the two sisters were still there. "Where did they come from?" she asked the others. "They were recruited from this era," Nemesis said quietly. She stepped away from Pluto to walk towards Sailor Moon. The other Senshi quickly gathered to protect her, but Nemesis merely stopped and said, "I'm sorry." Saturn leveled her glave at Nemesis even as she asked Pluto, "What's going on here?" Behind her, Uranus and Neptune came up, holding the child Hotaru in their arms. Pluto raised her hands, trying to calm her down, "When she was reborn, her memories were clouded. She thought that the Moon Kingdom was responsible for the death of her people." She met Nemesis' eyes, "She was wrong." "Sorry isn't enough," Chibi-Moon spoke up. "What about all the people she hurt in the future?" she asked. "I agree," Nemesis surprised them. "But what punishment would be fitting?" "I think I have an idea," Pluto said. "So Nemesis is guarding the Gates of Time," Makoto said softly, "forever?" "Not forever," Setsuna sighed, "but near enough as it makes little difference." They reached the part together, taking a moment looking out at the water before rejoining their friends. Makoto's face lit up as she saw Ami, so Setsuna discretely stepped away to give them some privacy. Haruka and Michiru sat together, and the younger Hotaru sat beside them. After the battle they had all ventured inside to find Professor Tomoe dead of a heart attack. Strangely, the older Hotaru took it the worst, sobbing against Chibi-Usa, while the younger remained calm. Rei and Usagi stood together talking to Chibi-Usa. "I almost wish I didn't have to go," admitted the pink hared teen. She sighed, "But I need to be sure everyone's all right." "We'll miss you," Usagi sniffled, then she burst into tears, "Write, or something," Rei said to her, a few tears in her own eyes. "I'll try," Chibi-Usa sniffled too. Hotaru walked over after saying her own good-byes, gently wrapping her arm around her shoulder. "We'd better go before we decide to say," Hotaru said gently. Chibi-Usa nodded, "You're right." She looked around at Minako, Ami, Natsuna, and others, "We'll meet again, I promise." She raised the Time Key, and both young woman were surrounded by a wash of pink light, then they were gone. "Everything's back," Hotaru smiled, looking around them at the shining city of Crystal Tokyo. It's gleaming towers stretched unbroken to the sky, and the people they met cried out their joyful welcomes. They ran down the crowded streets, eventually reaching the hill of the Palace. They slowed a bit, seeing that a crowd awaited them. Rei and Usagi stood together, the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo, and all around them the Senshi stood. Sailor Venus stood by Natsuna, while Mercury and Jupiter stood nearby. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto waited, each one wearing a matching golden ring. Luna stood by her lady, while Artemis and his bride stood nearby. Two young women ran forward, each one's forms shifting to a cat's as Serena leapt up on Hotaru's shoulder as Diana settled on Chibi-Usa. "Welcome home," Usagi smiled, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "I'm really going to miss her," Usagi sniffled. Rei slipped an arm around her shoulders, patting her gently. Natsuna stepped up beside them, "Look out." "What?" Rei asked, and something small and pink dropped out of the sky on top of her! "I'm sorry," the thirteen year old girl exclaimed, climbing off the two of them. She paused, "Usagi-mama? Rei-papa?" "Chibi-Usa?" Usagi gasped out. It was obviously the same person, but much younger. Hotaru looked around Haruka's legs at the pink hared young girl. Chibi-Usa noticed, and both of them seemed to freeze. "Who are you?" Hotaru asked her. "Chibi-Usa," she answered, seemingly lost in the other girl's gaze. "There's a note pinned to her back," Ami said. She carefully detached the note, looking it over. "It certainly looks like Usagi's writing," Ami sighed as she tried to figure it out. Usagi snatched it from Ami's hands and began to read, "Please take care of my daughter. I know that you and the others will help train her to be a good Senshi. When you send her home to visit, please include Mako- chan's cookies." "Sounds like Usagi," Rei sighed. "Hey!" Usagi protested.
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