Usagi sighed, hands in her lap, as she waited for her boyfriend and her closest friends. For once, she was the one on time and they were all late. She sighed again as she felt a gentle breeze whisper across her face, the same wind eagerly rustling the leaves of the trees in the park. "Usako?" Usagi looked up, a brilliant smile spreading across her face at the word. With a characteristic squeal that time had not been able to temper, the blonde jumped into Mamoru's waiting arms, her eagerness a clear indication of how lonely the slender woman was. "Usako, Makoto-san and Rei-san called me before I left to say that none of them would be able to make and they were sorry. They tried to call you, but you had already left." "Ami-chan is at Mako-chan's apartment?" Mamoru nodded as Usagi smiled, blue eyes dancing. "Then Minako-chan is at Hikawa Jinja with Rei-chan! Mamo-chan, that's wonderful! Oh, but what should we do today? We have no one to spend the day with." "Then you two seem to be in our situation." The pair looked up as Setsuna, Ailan secure in one arm, approached them, stopping at the bench Usagi had been sitting on. "Hotaru-chan is at a picnic with some of her peers, and Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan are . . . occupied." Setsuna smiled as she looked at the silver-haired woman in her arms. "So Ailan and I are out for a walk." Usagi smiled at her mother, still not quite sure how to act around the woman. "Setsuna-san," she began, not sure how to pose her question. "Last night I relieved all of my memories from the Silver Millennium, thought most of them were no revelation. I assume that the other senshi also remembered, which is why Minako-chan and Rei-chan finally realized their feelings. Setsuna-san, was it your fault?" "Yes, I'm the one who returned their memories. They all remember now, even Haruka-san and Michiru-san." "Then they must be the reason you released the memories." Usagi's conclusion silenced the small group for a moment, Setsuna nodding slightly. Ailan finally broke the silence by embracing her daughter. "I knew you would figure it out, Serenity. You were always a very clever girl, especially when you snuck off to see Endymion. Do you remember how you and Haruka-san tricked me and went to Earth for her wedding? And how you took Endymion all the way to Neptune for Michiru's birthday?" Usagi blushed. "Yes, I remember. You were so angry." "I really wasn't. You may not believe me, but I was quite the rebel at your age." She glanced up at Setsuna, and Usagi wondered at the sparkle in her mother's purple eyes when she smiled at her lover. "But none of that matters now. You and Endymion can be together here on Earth." "Thank you for giving us this chance, Mother." Ailan watched Setsuna's face fall, and she pulled her lover back into her arms. "Anytime." ~*~*~*~*~*~* She stirred, her eternal sleep disturbed by a shaking in the fabric of her home, of herself. She focused her incredible will, knowing that she was weakened from her latest excursions, hoping that the problem would just go away. She found the disturbance, the slight pricking, and she Saw. This was NOT allowed to happen! This was FORBIDDEN!!! She told her, showed her many times, but it was happening again. And now that the powers were weak, the will marred by crippling emotions, she Saw the Thing she had been searching for since the last period of peace. She Saw that her servant had disobeyed her then and was disobeying her now, and she would not let it happen. She focused her will on her servant, the soul child she had nurtured for so long, sending a quick message to her brothers in charge of petty details. This mistake would not be allowed ever again, even if she had to eliminate all life in her universe to achieve that end. The promise I make is from long ago and was broken twice when I was not in full control of my realm and will not be once more. She sends her will, weaker than it had been so very long ago, out into the universe, arrowing toward the one who should have obeyed her without question. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna gasped as a sharp pain tore through her, a pain more intense than what she felt when she birthed Helios. She fell to the grass, eyes clouding, unable to feel anything but the burning, searing pain inside. She bit her lip, blood running down her chin, tears running down her cheeks, but she refused to cry out. Pluto collapsed, sent, as the pain abruptly vanished. She could feel Ailan's small hands whisper across her forehead and wipe the blood off her chin, as Usagi took her head and murmured something to Mamoru. The former prince lifted the limp senshi and placed her on the nearest bench. Setsuna slowly opened her eyes, finding Ailan leaning over her, lavender eyes worried. "Setsuna?" "I'm okay," the senshi murmured, not ready to try sitting up yet. "What happened, love?" "She knows," Setsuna whispered, a dark cloud covering her eyes before it faded. "I must have let my guard down—I kept her out for so long." She sat up suddenly, grabbing Ailan's shoulders. "Serenity, she knows about Usagi! She knows everything I did!" "Who?" Usagi looked up at Ailan, fear in her eyes. "What does she know about me? Who are you talking about?" She could see from the horror in her mother's purple eyes that the former queen knew. "She doesn't have a name," Ailan whispered, "and she's really not a she, just prefers to take female form in all of the stories. She guards the balance of our Universe, leaving the actual work to her children Order and Chaos most of the time, and if she's unhappy, it's because we did something to disrupt her plan." "I did something," Setsuna whispered. "Three things now, but she would never have known so long ago. My powers were strong once and I was not distracted. My shields have crumbled and she has been able to look into the past and discover what I did to disobey her. She never wanted the powers of Uranus and Neptune to combine so, long ago, she had the Senshi of Pluto tell all of the senshi to remove the Keystones, a tiny part of the Crystals that control the planets. But Haruka and Michiru never listen, and they took the stones back. They combined their powers in the Silver Millennium, just before the final ball, and conceived a child." "Oh my . . . who?" "The boy with the power of a senshi turned to peace and protection." "What did her protect . . . oh." Usagi's eyes widened, and her legs gave out, Mamoru catching her. "Helios," she whispered. "He's their child. But how was he born of he was conceived just before the end of the Silver Millennium? I know they died." "That's the part that makes Her so mad. I took Helios just before his mothers died. I carried him, birthed him, and took him back in time to be the Guardian of the Golden Crystal here on Earth. And now I have threatened Her plan again by releasing the memories of the Silver Millennium." "What did you mean when you said She knew about me? What does she know, Setsuna-san?" "I'd rather not say," the green-haired woman whispered, turning her head away. "Pluto!" She turned back, eyes wide at her princess's tone. "Tell me what you mean. Consider that an order." Setsuna glanced at Ailan, but the silver-haired woman was not her leader anymore. "Serenity, do you know what you are asking?" "I do. The truth can't be any worse than not knowing." Setsuna swung her legs off the side of the bench and gestured for Usagi to sit beside her. "Usagi, what do you remember of your father, the King of the Moon?" Usagi shrugged, closing her eyes. "Um, he was tall and had green hair and dark red eyes. He reminded me of you, oddly enough, but he always seemed like he had a cloud over his head. He died when I was just a baby." "He didn't die," Setsuna whispered; "he had to go away. His marriage to your mother broke every rule of the Silver Millennium, and your birth broke every rule that Balance has ever laid down. He never should have married her." Usagi's mind ran through the possibilities, landing on the only one that made any sense at all. "He couldn't be with her . . . because . . . he wasn't a man. He was—" She looked up sharply, eyes searching Setsuna's resigned features, and she shook her head, unable to believe what her mind and heart were telling her. "She was you." Mamoru caught himself against the edge of the bench, eyes wide, as Setsuna slowly nodded. "Yes. And now She knows and she won't want you. As a child of two senshi, you're far more powerful than she allows." Usagi laid a hand on Setsuna's arm, joy sparkling in her eyes. "I don't care." She flung her arms around the taller woman's waist, and Setsuna felt tears in her eyes as she embraced her daughter for the first time since she left the Moon centuries earlier. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "You just lie down for a bit, Setsu-chan. You'll feel better after a little rest." "I feel fine now!" Setsuna groaned. "I'm sorry. My head still hurts a little." She closed her eyes and let her lover pamper her, sighing as she felt a cool cloth cover her forehead. "I'm fine." "No, you're not. You're getting paler by the minute. Are you sure you're okay?" "She never wanted Helios to be born. Why? Did she mean for Earth to die? Did she not want you to be reborn? Certainly that can't have been her intended destiny? And what about Usagi? I can't imagine not having her." "You're babbling," Ailan whispered gently. "Go to sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Setsuna nodded and closed her eyes again, surrendering to the burning deep within her body. "I love you, Serenity." "I love you, too, Setsuna," Ailan whispered, tears in her eyes. Setsuna was really sick, and she no longer had the power to save her. *~*~*~*~*~*~* The colors of the time vortex swirled around her, hiding her and her handful of loyal servants from view. She clenched her fists as contraction after contraction rippled across her swollen belly, her servants swarming like drones over a queen ant. She groaned at the thought, finding it totally inappropriate in her present condition, and she let her mind cross back in time to watch her once-wife birth their daughter. Serenity had not taken nearly so long, or did it just seem longer because she was now the one in labor? She snorted at that word as her muscles clenched again. Labor. That was quite possibly the only word that adequately described it. She wondered if she should have asked Serenity what it was like to give birth before she had to. One of her servants placed a cold cloth on her forehead while the others waited for the boy, silently. There was nothing but silence. Setsuna could hear blood pounding in her ears, her heart beating so fast, could feel her entire body throbbing and trembling. "Michiru," she whispered, "I am glad you didn't have to go through this." At the next contraction, a scream forced itself out of her body, the strangled sound coming from somewhere deeper and darker than her soul. And then the unbearable pain paused, and a tiny infant's scream pierced the silence. Setsuna rested for a minute, her tired body using one last contraction to expel the placenta, letting her servants clean the child. She reached out, touching her staff as she willed her body to return to its normal shape. Sighing in relief, she stood and took the tiny boy from her servant, wrapped in white cloths and calmly watching what was going on around him. The servants faded into the mists, their jobs done, and Pluto smiled at Michiru's child. "Helios. Welcome to my world." 'Mother?' "In a way. Your real mothers gave their lives so that you can live on and protect Earth for the future when they are reborn and will finally meet you. Their sacrifice was great, for you." 'See them?' "One day. For now, let's go to what's left of my home." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna tossed in her sleep, fever raging within her. Ailan clenched her fists, tears running down her cheeks at her lover's pain. Their daughter shook her head as she moved away from the bed. "I can't do anything for her, Mother." Usagi touched Setsuna's forehead, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to lose her, but the ginzuishou can't do anything. Do you think it's Her?" "It could be," Ailan whispered. "When She feels that Her plans are threatened, she has a habit of punishing her children. I hope that Setsuna will survive." In the doorway, Michiru stifled a sob and looked away, Haruka's long arms wrapped around her. "She won't die?" "I hope not, Haruka-san. She is fighting now, and I don't even know who. I can only pray that Setsu-chan will survive. She has to survive." Ailan took Setsuna's hand, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't live without you." The green-haired woman calmed for a minute at the soft words. "She lived without you," Usagi whispered. "She has loved you since the Silver Millennium," Hotaru continued, "but you weren't there and she had to endure the centuries alone. And now she's remembering that. It has to cause her pain. That pain is killing her." "I won't let it," Ailan whispered. "I let Kazeko die, and I loved her. But I love Setsuna more than I even understand, and I lack the power! I would give anything to save her, but I have nothing to give." "You have yourself," Michiru whispered. "Be with her, Ailan-san. She's so lonely; all she wants is your love." "Will it be enough?" "Love always is." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna walked through the gardens of Elysion, hundreds—thousands—of years before the fall of the Silver Millennium, a boy who looked to be ten years old by her side. Helios watched everything around him with purple eyes far too intense for his age, age that reminded Setsuna of Serenity, a woman she would only be happy if she could forget. "And this is Elysion, the world of dreams? It's very pretty, Setsuna-san." "That's the idea. Ah, here it is." Setsuna touched a crystal flower in the center of the stone courtyard with the tip of her staff. The Garnet Orb glowed fiercely for a moment, and the lotus flower opened to reveal a brilliant golden crystal. "This is your charge. It has the power to amplify any energy, good or ill. Be careful to whom you entrust its care, for it can destroy this planet. The time will come when the Golden Crystal will be needed, and you must be ready." Helios stared at the crystal, something in it calling to him, and he held his hand out. "Can I stay here, Setsuna-san?" Setsuna felt her heart turn to ice at the words, and she swallowed. The boy was ready to leave her, but she was not ready to lose him. Steeling herself, she nodded. "If you are ready." "It's ready for me," Helios whispered. He reached out to touch the crystal, and it glowed in recognition of its new master, its song of joy singing in his mind. "I want to stay. Don't worry about me, Pluto. I will grow here just fine. Go back to the place you must guard and do not worry about me." Setsuna nodded, hardening her heart as she took her Time Staff and returned to the vortex she now called home. She turned away from the boy she had birthed and raised alone, leaving Haruka and Michiru's son to his fate, turning away from the child she had come to love. It was dangerous to love. She returned to her lonely gate, not allowing herself the luxury of tears, as the Guardian of Time turned her heart to stone. She would never love again. *~*~*~*~*~*~* "Never love again," Setsuna murmured, caught in the throes of some nightmare, or perhaps some dark memory. Ailan took Setsuna's hand, tears dripping onto her lover's hand. "You can love, Setsuna," Ailan whispered. "Don't give up, beloved, please do not give up." "No one left. All gone. All alone." "You're not alone," Ailan whispered. "I'm here, and I'll never leave you." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna closed her eyes, feeling her energy vanish into the void, as she began to give up. No Sailor Pluto had ever guarded for so long, none had possessed the power she gained when she took her keystone and brought her planet to life. But none of that mattered. Senshi Duty, Time, Balance . . . it was pointless alone. She had nothing left to live for, nothing left to guard. The Silver Millennium had been gone for so long, everyone she loved was dead and dust. For so long, ever since she left Helios on Earth, her only hope was that the senshi and the children of the Moon, the children of the Silver Millennium, would be reborn and she could see them again. But the one person who made her life worthwhile was gone and could never be reborn. She sensed an enemy, an intruder in the Time Vortex, an intruder in the Solar System, and she stood, for a moment eager to fight and protect her home. Then she lowered her Time Staff. For the first time in her life, Pluto gave up. She felt a fiery pain tear through her, and she fell to the ground, holding her wounded side. The Time Staff broke, Garnet Orb shattering, and she knew she was dead. Then she was somebody else, standing outside her body, and Setsuna looked down, finding herself in her Sailor fuku once more, Time Staff in one hand. She looked at her past self, curled on the ground, and she watched her opponent, whom she knew as a servant of Chaos, desperate to destroy the earth while it was defenseless. She felt a pang of pity for her past self and she reached out to touch the shattered Time Staff, watching it reform. The Pluto on the ground looked up, blood covering her white fuku and tears covering her face. "I'm done for." "You can't be," present-Pluto whispered. "This is not how I remember this attack. I won." "No one left," past-Pluto cried softly. "All gone. All alone." "You're not alone," a silvery voice whispered from deeper in the mists. "I'm here, and I'll never leave you." Both Plutos looked up as a white-robed, silver-haired woman appeared out of the fog, a silver crescent moon on her forehead, lacking the crown she had worn in the Silver Millennium. She seemed surprised to be in her queen dress again, but she didn't let her confusion hold her for a moment. She knelt down and placed her hands on past-Pluto's wound, pulling a fully-healed senshi to her feet. "Serenity," past-Pluto whispered. Serenity took present-Pluto's arm and stepped back. "I will see you again, Setsuna, but you must not lose hope." "You came back to me?" "I will, after our daughter realizes her destiny. Look at Earth now, Setsuna." Confused, Pluto raised her staff to her hand and formed a mirror to look at Earth. In the circular looking-glass, the three women could see a blue-haired Japanese woman holding a tiny newborn girl, a girl with gold hair. In the magic of the mirror, a tiny golden crescent moon was visible in the center of her forehead. "Princess," past-Pluto whispered. "Serenity." She waved her hand, and other pictures appeared. There was a raven-haired girl with purple eyes, the symbol of Mars on her forehead. The mirror recognized no time constraint, flashing images of a blonde girl with blue eyes linked to the planet Venus, a brunette with emerald eyes linked to Jupiter, and a blue-haired girl with sapphire eyes linked to Mercury. It flashed again, showing two older girls, one a blonde with emerald eyes and a woman with sapphire eyes and aqua hair. They were identifiable as the senshi of Uranus and Neptune, the women who shredded the very fabric of the Universe too young yet to endanger anything with their love yet. The last image showed a small boy with black hair and stormy blue eyes, the powers of the last prince of Earth evident in his frame. "They're being reborn! Serenity, they're coming back!" "They are," Serenity whispered calmly. "Keep your hope, and know that the senshi are finally coming, but you will not remember the two of us. It would upset the Balance of Time." "I understand," Pluto whispered sadly. "But could I kiss you one last time before you leave?" Serenity stepped forward and let her lips touch past-Pluto's, the fire she felt from the younger Senshi of Time no less intense than the flame that burned in her lover's soul. She pulled away, eyes filled with tears, and Pluto waved her hand. Past-Pluto shook her head, a little confused, as she was pushed back in time a few moments, mere seconds before the attack. She raised her staff as she sensed an intruder, hope for the future filling her heart. Only a little longer, then she wouldn't be alone anymore. She could do this. Ailan and Setsuna, hidden in the mists, smiled as they heard the dark servant of Chaos die. Ailan looked up at Setsuna, realizing that she was not lost in her lover's mind but in her lover's past and she did not have the power to return. "Your pain called me," she whispered, answering the question Setsuna had yet to ask. "Thank you. I hate time paradoxes, Serenity. It seems that I saved myself from the greatest threat I faced during my long wait. And you saved me, even without any power at all." "Can you get us back? Are you ready to go home?" "Why does She want to kill me, Ailan? What can I do to show her that I never meant to threaten Her plan?" "We'll find a way. Together." Ailan took Setsuna's hand. "Please come home." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Setsuna moaned slightly, her eyes opening just a crack, wincing from the light. "Ailan?" "I'm here, beloved. Always." "Forever? You won't leave me?" "I don't think I ever could," she whispered, afraid of herself at that admission. "I'll never leave." Setsuna opened her eyes, raising a hand to her pounding head. "Hurts," she whispered. Ailan gently pulled her into a sitting position and handed her a glass. Setsuna grimaced at the taste, but the pain faded. "You stayed with me?" "I love you, Setsuna," Ailan whispered. "Of course I stayed with you."
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