Rei waited patiently as Usagi dressed, staring at the picture of the two of them that the blonde kept on her dresser. She stood and picked up the framed picture, sensing that something was very, very wrong. Glancing at the flowery candle Usagi had burning on the dresser, Rei closed her eyes and whispered a short prayer. She felt something flow through her, something powerful, and she opened her eyes, staring at the picture. It had changed. Now Chiba Mamoru was standing there, Usagi smiling in his arms, an aura surrounding both of them. She blinked, and they changed . . . Usagi was dressed in a white gown, a golden crescent moon on her forehead, and Mamoru was dressed as a prince. Her prince. Usagi's prince. Rei gasped and fell back, dropping the picture and watching it bounce on the carpet. The flame blew out, a thin whiff of smoke reaching for the ceiling as Usagi stepped out of the bathroom. "Rei? What's wrong?" "Something's wrong," Rei whispered, glancing out the window. A tall woman dressed in a black dress shining red in the tiny spots of sunlight that filtered through the leaves, was standing in the tree, long green hair waving in the wind, garnet eyes ancient and all-knowing. She bowed and vanished, leaving the miko staring blankly into an empty tree. "I think someone is messing with reality. My visions tell me things that I don't see, that aren't real, but I think they were real once. Something happened, someone changed our world, and I wish I could see who did it . . ." "I know who did it," Usagi whispered, reaching for the black cat sleeping on her bed. Luna mrrowed and curled up in her mistress's arms, falling back to sleep. "I saw her, in my mind, when I felt that pain. I saw the woman with aqua hair, but I also saw Her." "Who? What does she look like?" "There was a slender woman with purple eyes and silvery white hair. Her hair was long and feathery, and she seemed to have a gold star in the center of her forehead. Or maybe it was a slender horn. It was very indistinct. She was wearing a white dress that seemed to have markings on the hem. Priestess markings, prayers, symbols of power in gold. She had long fingers, fingernails painted gold, and I think she had wings. Feathered wings. There was someone else, behind her, a friend or a partner, I suppose. She was powerful and old, her red eyes the only indication of her age, and she had green hair." "I saw the woman with green hair," Rei whispered. "We need to talk to her." "Right now we need to go to Aino Minako's concert," Usagi pointed out, placing Luna back on the bed. That cat had a crescent moon mark on her forehead. Rei looked up, banishing her vision from her mind as she smiled at Usagi's dress. The blonde blushed. "What do you think?" "You're beautiful," Rei whispered. "You don't look only fifteen. I may have trouble keeping my eyes on the stage." Usagi blushed as Rei wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, leading her out of the house. Luna looked up as they vanished, glancing out the window as a woman with silver hair and white wings appeared in the tree. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Tejina shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't do anything. I only have a limited amount of power. I was able to create this reality, but I don't think I can undo it." "Damn you! Who the hell do you think you are, meddling with destiny like this?!" Cupid 334 Omicron clenched her fists, glancing at her former apprentice seated on the branch beside her. "Those girls are senshi, reborn princesses of the Silver Millennium, destined to fight the evil threatening this planet." "There is no evil," Tejina pointed out. "I got rid of it for this reality. That was part of her wish. There is no evil, and there are no senshi." "And soulmates are separated! Do you know the damage you have done?! Certain things were mean to happen that haven't! Usagi is dating Rei, Minako is singing songs about loneliness and love, Ami is still shy and frightened at a time when she should be more confident and knowledgeable about her own power, Makoto still has strength and power she does not yet understand, and Mamoru still lays in his bed at night and asks who he is and who he belongs with. Why would you do this? What possible reason could you have for thwarting the powers and the duties of the Cupid Alliance?" "For my mother," Tejina whispered. "Because she asked me to help." "You're . . ." Cupid 334 looked up as a tall woman with long green hair and red eyes appeared beside Tejina, dressed in flowing black robes covered in red symbols that both Cupids recognized. "Se," she whispered, all of her anger leaving her. "Why would you do this to them? You were one of them, you love them all, yet you took their power and their destiny away. Why?" Se, called Meiou Setsuna on Earth, glanced at Rei and Usagi as they walked to the nearest bus stop and the concert. "Because I have seen what that power does. I have seen the pain and sacrifice and death. And because Haruka needed this. Michiru needed this. After betraying all that they held dear, neither of them are sure that anything in this life is real. Love, truth, trust, hope, loyalty . . . none of those words mean anything to them anymore. They're scared and confused and they have doubts about their power and their mission. They need to see this." "Do they all have to suffer?" Se hung her head at Cupid 557's question. "She begged me for this chance. She begged me for an answer. This was the only answer I could give." "Se, can't you see the damage you're doing?" "I was born to do damage," she whispered, staring at her hands. "Haruka once saw blood on her hands, once recognized the destruction she had caused, but she had no idea what true damage, true pain was. I know what she's going through because I went through it, too, but I lost my chosen love. I lost everyone and everything I ever cared about because I let them die, I let them suffer, I did nothing to stop the coming apocalypse. The greatest coalition of kingdoms that ever spanned this solar system was eliminated in an instant, and I did nothing to save them. I cannot go back and see if I made the correct choice, but I can give her this chance. Tejina has the power to alter reality, so I helped her rewind time and change destiny. Now we can do nothing but see how this turns out." "If all the senshi don't die in the process." Cupid 557 crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the goddess. "Se, I commend your love for these mortals, but Haruka and Michiru are the only two who were united as planned. And Michiru was never meant to be raped. Have you done more harm than good?" "I never meant for that to happen," Se whispered. "But I cannot stop this. None of us have the power to reset reality. Michiru will recover physically, and Haruka will help her heal emotionally. Until then, we can do nothing." 557 shook his head. "I never thought I could doubt Hades's daughter." 374's silence was the only indication of her disapproval. Tejina sighed and closed her purple eyes. She never wanted Michiru harmed, but Haruka's wish was irreversible. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "Thank you so much," Minako smiled, her energy transferred to her fans. "There's just one more song I'd like to sing for you tonight. It's dedicated to my soulmate, whenever I find him or her, and to all of my old girlfriends and boyfriends. It's a song I wrote called "Setsunakute ii, and I hope you like it." The famous idol stepped back from the edge of the stage as her band began to play, the music fast and upbeat, a smile on the blonde's face as she began. Hey, as I sleep in the night, I can hear you, And once more, I remember you . . . Ah, opening the pale window I lift my eyes to the sky, to the planet turning. For you, I'll be good And I'll wear a red ribbon. From the distance, alone I watch for someone to call my own. How long till I exchange emptiness for love? In case your spirit Is alone, I'll stand alone . . . Hey, through the window, I want to be With you and hold you in my slender arms . . . And at once, if you're ever threatened and cry Surely, I'll run to you and end it. The suit of your spirit is in my heart And in the distance I can see your profile. My love will never change but Becomes more like you and Is in your name, I'll stand in your name . . . From the distance, I hold And watch for someone to call my own. How long till I exchange emptiness for love? In case your spirit Is alone, I'll stand alone. Minako replaced her microphone on its stand and bowed her head as the crowd cheered, one small section louder than the rest. Usagi knew that woman, and she cried out as loudly as she could, hoping that Minako would look at her. Rei also cried out, a sense of destiny pulling her toward the singer. She felt like the blonde belonged with them, was one of them, and she knew that Makoto and Ami felt it, too. Even Mamoru, who was silently watching Usagi, knew that Minako did not belong on that stage, a teen idol. She belonged in the crowd, with her friends, cheering for another famous singer. The crowd dispersed as Minako left the stage, the show over, many of them hoping for a glimpse of the famous singer. Usagi grabbed Rei's hand and dragged her toward the door, stopping beside the largest tree beside the stage where they had agreed to meet after the concert. Makoto and Ami joined them a few minutes later, Mamoru hanging back as he sensed that something was keeping him out of the group. "Mamoru-san, won't you join us?" "Thank you, Usagi-san." Mamoru joined the group as a discrete cough sounded from behind the tree. The group of girls turned as a slender blonde in an expensive golden dress stepped into the soft moonlight and the harsh glow of the streetlights, her blue eyes locking with Usagi's. "I saw you five in the crowd," she whispered. "I could feel this power calling me, coming from you. Do we know each other?" "We know you," Usagi answered, a strange maturity in her voice. "I think . . . you're one of us, Aino Minako. Or you were, once. My name is Tsukino Usagi, and these are my friends. Hino Rei, Kino Makoto, Mizuno Ami, and Chiba Mamoru. You were amazing. Especially that last song." "Thanks. I wrote it myself and I wrote most of the music. I let my band add the second and third level instruments, but the idea was mine. I had a dream one night about a redhead princess and I had a feeling that she and I were destined. So I wrote the song. She had a fiery temper and the most amazing purple eyes . . . I want to find her in this life. I know that she's the One." She looked up at Rei, feeling a flash of something, shaking her head when the miko raised an eyebrow. "I feel like I know all of you already. Do you think we met in a previous life?" "Perhaps. Aino-san, if you're not busy right now, the five of us had planned to go to a restaurant for supper. We'd be honored if you would join us." "Please, Usagi-san, call me Minako. Aino-san is my mother, not me. Would you really let me join you?" "Of course!" As the group walked away, Se watched them from the trees, twirling her Time Staff around and watching the light glint from deep inside the garnet stone. Three white feathers floated down from the sky and caught in her hair as two silent Cupids watched from the ground. They would not speak back to the goddess, but their anger colored the air and the ground, flowers wilting at their feet. The Cupid Alliance would file a formal complaint the next day, but it didn't worry Se. Haruka and Michiru were her best friends in the entire world, and they deserved a chance to know for sure. Even if her wish killed all of the other senshi.
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