The Princess of Ruin and Birth found herself once more in the lush garden outside the palace, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply of the fragrances surrounding her. It was early morning, and she cherished the moments before the kingdom would wake and the third day of public celebrations would begin. Instead of the dark purple royal gown she'd been wearing for the public, Saturn wore the light blue nightgown she'd slept in, the grasses still damp with early morning dew beneath her bare feet. There was something paradoxical about a woman powerful enough to destroy half the solar system and herself with a single attack moving gingerly among the delicate flowers, and if Saturn herself had given it any thought she might've even laughed at the irony of it as well. She wasn't thinking about quirks of irony at the moment though, not when she'd reached her favorite part of the garden. Blossoming chamomiles, yellow roses and tall sunflowers greeted her smiling face, her violet eyes taking in the yellows and gold of the flowers spread out before her. Yellow and gold, just like her hair... "Looks like I'm not the only one up this early." Saturn turned with a start to see Lady Neptune standing next to some azaleas, her dark blue eyes looking curiously at her fellow royal. She wore a light green robe over a white nightgown, and her hair was pulled loosely up in a bun. "Neptune, I... I thought I was alone..." "So I guessed," she said, noting the flowers the Princess of Silence seemed so mesmerized by. Like Her Holiness the Priestess-oracle of Mars, Neptune had innate psychic abilities which allowed her to sense danger and, sometimes, to see beneath the still waters of surface appearances, allowing a glimpse of the storms that sometimes existed deep beneath the seeming calm. It was never spoken of between them, but Neptune knew, and somehow Saturn was aware that she knew, that she loved someone from afar. Someone she could never have, someone already in love with another. Neptune broke the awkward silence, "Do you suppose their royal highnesses Serenity and Neherenia are awake yet?" Lady Saturn turned a slightly amused glance towards the palace. "They're awake, but I wouldn't disturb them just yet if I was you. Their curtain is drawn." Lady Neptune smiled. Soon after Queens Neherenia and Serenity fell in love, while they were being intimate, it was discovered that when Serenity climaxed the yellow crescent on her forehead gave forth a blindingly bright golden light. After one embarrassing incident where several palace guards stormed into the bedroom with buckets of water to put out what they thought was a blazing fire, dark blue curtains were hung in the windows of the royal bedroom. The sight of the curtains pulled across the royal window still elicited the occasional snicker from those in the know. Saturn studied her friend's face, "Neptune, is something wrong?" Neptune crossed her arms as she walked closer. "I don't know. I... I have a feeling. My intuition says that something isn't right somewhere. It's probably nothing though." Saturn looked at Neptune with concern. She knew the Princess well enough to know not to be dismissive of the aqua-haired woman's intuition. "Are you sensing any sort of danger?" "I'm not sure. Again, it's nothing I can put a finger on just yet. It almost feels like something is, well, like something's missing." "Missing? Neptune, have you discussed this with Lady Uranus?" "No, and to be honest I probably shouldn't have even discussed this with you either. At least not until I have a better handle on what I'm feeling." "Neptune," a husky voice called over. Both princesses looked over to see Lady Uranus walking over in a pair of pajamas, the sandy blonde holding out a cup of warm tea to her lover. "When I woke up and found you missing, I looked out here and saw you with Lady Saturn." "Yes," the aqua-haired Princess of Deep Waters answered as she accepted the tea, "We were just talking." Neptune put her hand in the crook of Uranus' arm, and together they walked back to the palace. Saturn watched them walk together into the palace, a bittersweet smile on her face. Ladies Uranus and Neptune had found their soul mates in one another, just as Serenity had in Neherenia, Serena had in Endymion and, she suspected, just as Princess Mercury had in Princess Jupiter. The Princess of Silence brushed her hair back with the edge of her hand. Perhapse she was like Lady Pluto or Her Holiness, the Priestess-oracle of Mars. Perhapse she was destined to be alone. She shook herself out of her melancholy as Neptune's words once more came back to haunt her. Something was missing? What could that possibly mean? Just then, she saw something small and grey moving amongst the sunflowers. "Diana?" she asked as the kitten stepped out towards her, "I didn't expect you to be up this early too." "I'm a cat, Saturn-sama," Diana pointed out, "We're nocturnal. Saturn-sama," the kitten said as she came closer, "You look ill at ease. What's wrong?" Saturn smiled sadly, "Nothing, honest." The kitten tilted her head, "That's just what Pluto-sama said." "Pluto-sama? What's wrong with Lady Pluto?" "I'm not quite sure," she admitted, "She can't tell me, because it hasn't happened yet." Saturn focused more intently on the kitten, "What hasn't happened yet?" "The warning that she doesn't know about because it hasn't occurred yet," the kitten tried to explain, "Since it has yet to happen, she doesn't know anything about it." Saturn looked perplexed, "Diana, you're not making any sense. If Pluto doesn't know about a warning that hasn't happened yet, how do you?" "Because Pluto-sama told me about it," Diana admitted. Saturn looked silently at the small kitten for several seconds before she stood up and pulled her henshin wand out of a pocket in her nightgown. With a wave of her hand she was bathed in a dark purple light. As the light subsided, her nightgown had been replaced with a fuku similar to that of Princess Venus. Her top was white with dark purple armor over her shoulders, with petal-shaped white sleeves sticking out beneath it. She had a maroon bow on her back, a star-shaped brooch upon her chest, and white gloves trimmed in dark purple that ended above her elbow. Her purple skirt reached down to just above her knees, where they met a pair of long, laced purple boots. Her Silence Glaive, appearing during the transformation, was clutched in her hand. "Saturn-sama?" Diana asked, "What's happening? Why are you dressed for battle?" Saturn didn't answer. She was already headed out of the garden. She knew of three, possibly four beams of light that had entered the solar system roughly six months back that Neherenia, Endymion and herself had agreed to keep to themselves. She knew of Neptune's intuition that something was missing, something that was obviously important enough to register psychically with the Princess of Affinity. And now it seemed that Lady Pluto, who was damn-near omniscient, knew of some sort of warning that would occur soon. Saturn frowned. There were too many secrets being kept from too many people, and too many puzzle pieces she was now aware of. She couldn't see the pattern yet, or how all the pieces fit together in the bigger picture, but she knew that if she was going to be able to figure it all out she had to see the Guardian of Time. ------ Two hundred and thirty-eight thousand, eight hundred and fifty-seven miles away, Iron Mouse sat in one of the branches of a large oak tree overlooking the commercial center of Edo, looking at the busy city through a telescope. She had failed to recover a Star Seed for her mistress, and she knew only too well what the price of failure was. As she continued to scan the men and women before her, watching as several fishing boats came in to port, something fell on the top of her head with a clang. "Ow!" she shrieked, nearly loosing her balance and falling out of the tree, "What the..." her voice died off as she saw the tin cup hanging from a string, the string itself disappearing into the foliage above her. Nervously swallowing, she brought the tin can up to her mouth. "Did you call, Madam Galaxia?" she asked before bringing the cup up to her ear. "Sailor Iron Mouse, did you find a true Star Seed?" "N... No, not yet. But a human with a brilliant Star Seed will almost certainly been found soon, and..." "I'll be expecting good news," the voice said on the other end of the line attached to the can, an undercurrent of menace evident in her voice. "To dominate all the galaxies, get a true Star Seed as soon as possible!" "Yes, your Majesty," she answered as the cord was yanked upward and disappeared. ------ Back on the moon, in the semi-darkness of the royal bedroom, Serenity and Neherenia lay together upon a sumptuous bed, their fingers entwined as their foreheads touched together. Neherenia reached up to ever so tenderly to trace the outside of her love's lips, moving forward as she did so to kiss her closed eyelids. After the past two days of celebrations and public ceremonies that left them both too exhausted to do much of anything other than sleep at the end of the day, they'd given orders to let them sleep in this morning. Although, at the moment, sleep wasn't exactly what was paramount on their minds. "Aishiteru," Queen Serenity whispered, cupping the side of her lover and best friend's face as the two kissed. The kiss deepened as they wrapped their arms around one another, their wings covering their naked bodies as black and white feathers gently brushed against one another. From outside the room, the sounds of several trumpets sounded, followed by cheering and loud music. "Serenity," Neherenia said as she broke the kiss, "The celebrations have begun once again. It must be getting late in the morning." Serenity Sighed, "We should probably be getting up then, shouldn't we?" she asked reluctantly. Neherenia laughed warmly as she and her wife separated and dressed. A few minutes later the two monarchs left the royal bedroom and walked side by side down the corridor leading to the throne room. On their way, they passed by a member of the palace staff who immediately bowed to the two queens. Serenity smiled, "Kenji, it's good to see you up and about so soon after your stomach flu." The staff member returned the smile, "Your highness is very kind to think of me." "Kenji," Neherenia interrupted, "Is there any news from the observatory?" "Yes your majesty. The Princess and the Inner Court arrived safely yesterday, and they signaled us immediately upon their arrival." "And my son-in-law and grandchild?" Serenity asked. "Well..." Kenji answered hesitantly, "To be honest, there's been no word from them yet." "No word?" the silver-haired queen asked in concern as she exchanged a worried glance with Neherenia. The Dark Queen put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "They must've been busy with receptions and ceremonies," Neherenia suggested reassuringly, "They only arrived yesterday, and it's still early. I think it's too soon to panic yet." Serenity forced a smile, though her eyes were still troubled. "Let me know the moment you receive a signal," she said to Kenji. "Let us both know," Neherenia added, "She's my granddaughter too." "At once, your majesties," Kenji said with a bow as the two monarchs once more made their way to the throne room. ------ The woman was beautiful, with a long mane of white hair and light blue eyes. As children danced around the maypoles and adults danced to music provided by the many bands and musicians in the square around her, she turned away from the dark castle and headed towards one of the vendors selling food. "Hello," the portly owner of the stand said, his mustache curled up at the ends and his hair slicked back, "You're a stranger here, aren't you?" The young-looking woman smiled, "How could you tell?" "Well, it was obvious from the way you were looking at the Dark Moon Palace. You had the look of a tourist about you, from the White Moon Kingdom no doubt. Now that there," he said, leaning on his food stand as he pointed at the structure, "Is the palace of Queen Neherenia, but she's not there now." "Oh?" "No, see she's over today at the other celebration, the one on the other side of the moon with the royals. You know; Queen Serenity, the great warrior Uranus, the all-powerful Saturn, Pluto, the Guardian of Time, Neptune..." "Great warrior? All-powerful?" the woman repeated nervously, "Oh, oh dear..." "Miss, is something wrong, you look pale? Can I get you something?" "Yes, I'll have some of that," she said as she pointed to some of the hot food in his stand. "This isn't going to be easy," she murmured as he handed her the food, "I'm so nervous that I've become... hungry." "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" an angry voice yelled over. Both the woman and the vendor turned to see a dusky-skinned brunette come over, looking irate. "Oh," the white-haired woman said softly, part of her food still hanging out of her mouth, "It's you, Lead Crow." Lead crow angrily grabbed the other woman by the arm and dragged her down a side street away from eavesdroppers, "Karasuma! That's my name here, so be careful not to call me by my real name." "Then, Miss Karasuma?" "Yes?" "Do you want some soduka?" she asked, holding her plate out to the befuddled brunette. Lead Crow's face fell, "How sad. Aluminum Siren, you used to compete with me for the position of number one in the animamates. Now, you've been transferred to this small hunk of rock out on the frontier, and I've lost another of my eternal rivals." "Congratulations!" Aluminum Siren said cheerfully, eliciting an angry groan from Lead Crow. "Are you kidding me?" she asked, trying to figure out if her rival's ditzy personality was an act or real, "You're supposed to be looking for Star Seeds here on this moon while Galaxia and the other animamates are on that nearby small bluish-green planet." "Well then, why are you here?" "I came here because I'm worried about you, my rival," she said exasperatedly. "Damn! I wonder how such a slow girl really is my eternal rival..." "I'm sorry about that," Aluminum Siren sighed as she ate more of her food. "Anyway, you should take your task more seriously. Have you found where there are Star Seeds?" "Oh yes. I know where there are several." Lead Crow looked shocked, "Y... You do?" she asked incredulously. Aluminum Siren smiled happily as she nodded her head. "Yes, they're on the other side of this moon, but they sound very powerful, and we'll be greatly outnumbered. There's a great warrior, another whose all-powerful, two queens, someone who seems to control time, and..." "Damn," Lead Crow growled, "We'd need an army to fight against people like that..." "Well," Aluminum Siren said as she finished off her plate, "Why don't we just turn everyone here into phages? Then we'd have an army, wouldn't we?" Lead Crow's eyes widened as her lips curled up into a smile. "Now you're sounding like the rival I remember, I... Siren?" she now asked suspiciously, "Just where did you get this information anyways?" "Oh, the street vendor who gave me the food told me." Aluminum Siren confessed. "Gave you the... Siren, vendors don't just give food, you have to pay for it, you..." "You!" an annoyed portly man called over as he came up to the two women, "You stole that food from me without paying! I want my money!" Lead Crow narrowed her eyes, "Let's start with him." "Alright," Aluminum Siren said. All at once, both women removed their disguises. "W... What's this?" the vendor asked. Lead Crow smiled wickedly at him, "The beginning of the end," she said, cackling viciously as two fiery balls of light shot forth from her wrists into the merchant, causing him to change. "Senshi Street Seller!" the phage called out. As he began run off in the direction of the White Moon Kingdom, Aluminum Siren and Lead Crow went back out into the crowded square, the joy and laughter of the citizens turning into fear and screams for help as the two began to raise the rest of their army. ------ She brushed the comb through her luxuriant dark-green hair, noting the luster as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had to look her best for the crowds she wouldn't greet this morning. She straightened her long black gloves, wanting to be immaculate for the queens who would shortly be wondering where she was. She brushed a piece of lint off her form fitting black gown that Uranus wouldn't be eyeing, and that Neptune wouldn't later admit to being envious of. Outside, she could hear the teeming throngs of the citizens she wouldn't be greeting this morning out on the terrace with Serenity and Neherenia. As a figure silently stalked into the room behind her, she turned around to face the confrontation she'd known was coming. "Oh, Lady Saturn!" she said as she jumped in surprise, "You startled me..." "I doubt that," Saturn quipped, earning an odd glance from Pluto, "We both know how much you see in your Time Gate, so let's drop the façade." "I see," Pluto said as she took in Saturn's clothing, "You're not wearing your gown. Are you preparing for battle?" "I hope not." "Come again?" "Six months ago, four beams of light shot into our solar system from the outer reaches of space. Earlier this morning Neptune told me her intuition warned her something was missing, and now I understand you're telling kittens about warnings before they happen. Neptune may not know what's going on, but you do. You're the Princess of Change and Revolution, and past, present and future are all the same to you." The sounds of music and of cheering came in the room from outside as the other royals made their appearance. "Saturn," Pluto asked impatiently, "Can't we discuss this after the ceremonies?" "I'm sorry, but no," Saturn answered, "Because all things seem to point to one conclusion; the Moon Kingdom will soon be in some sort of danger. Pluto, if you know what's happening please, tell me." Pluto closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, "You know I'm forbidden from doing so. I wish I could help, but..." "Pluto," Saturn said in an almost pleading tone, "You're one of my oldest and dearest friends. We fought alongside one another in the past, and no one understands your burden and the loneliness of it as much as I do. But if the Kingdom is in danger, my duty is to the Monarchy and the Moon Kingdom first. I don't want to push this old friend, but for the Kingdom and the Court I will if I have to. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be. Please, just tell me what I need to know." Pluto narrowed her eyes as she glared at her fellow Outer, "This conversation is over," she said, her voice betraying her annoyance, "I'm leaving." With that, she turned on her heels to walk out of the room. "Silence Wall!" Pluto stopped dead in her tracks as a dark barrier appeared between her and the door. Turning quickly, she found that Saturn had deliberately positioned herself between her and the Time Staff, and that she was aiming her Silence Glaive directly at her. "Saturn, what do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I am the Senshi of Destruction," Saturn announced, "My guardian deity is the planet of silence. I am the Princess of Death and Rebirth, and I will not be denied!" Pluto took a step back, "Lady Saturn, have you taken leave of your senses? You would threaten the Guardian of the Gates of Time?" "To protect all that I love and hold dear from an unknown menace, yes," she answered. "But... I can't! Don't you understand? Time must flow the way it's destined to, all must happen as has been predestined since before the first star ever even came into existence. I'm the Guardian of the Time Gate; it's my duty to see that all temporal events happen as they were meant to, I cannot..." "I am Saturn, the Destroyer of Worlds," her fellow Princess interrupted in a dangerously low tone as she came closer with the Silence Glaive, "And one way or another, you will tell me what I need to know."
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