Sailor Saturn pulled herself back up to her feet, almost as if by the pure force of her willpower alone. She leaned on her glave, pushing her dark hair out of her eyes with a shaking hand. Closing her eyes, she pulled herself up, standing there straight and true. "I will not let you win," she said calmly, leveling her glave at her assembled enemies. Prince Diamond smiled, shaking his head in honest if somewhat reluctant admiration. "Make it easier on yourself," the silver hared man urged her, "give up. The Queen and the Senshi are sealed in the palace, and the Outers can't break through our barrier keeping them out." Emerald laughed shrilly, her voice grating on them all as she tossed her green hair back. "There's no one left to come to your rescue, little girl," she mocked Saturn. A soft voice rang in Saturn's ear, "Not quite true." A pink light swelled around her, and a figure appeared beside her! "Sailor Moon!" Saturn cried out, looking over at her lover in shock. Chibi-Usa stood beside her, her scepter pointed at their surprised adversaries. Her costume was much like her Mother's, but a bit more pink. 'Well,' Saturn had to admit, 'it's a lot more pink.' "No Senshi ever fights alone," the new Sailor Moon said coolly, helping to take Saturn's weight. A soft light seemed to enfold them both, and all of Saturn's wounds began to disappear. "It's too dangerous," Saturn quietly urged her, "you shouldn't be here!" "I think you're right," Sailor Moon answered with a impish little smile, then she loudly declared, "neither of us should!" She held a small object up, it almost looked like a key, and that pink light built up around them again. "Stop them," Diamond roared, finally realizing what was happening to them. But before Sapphire, Rubius or Emerald could make a move, the two teens were gone, having disappeared into the timestream itself. All four of them felt a sudden chill, and they quickly turned to see... her. She stood in the darkest shadows, carrying a familiar looking, key shaped staff, and from what they could see of her face, she was clearly enraged. "You let them get away, my Senshi" she whispered to them, "even with all the power I have granted you." Diamond opened his mouth to try and protest their innocence, and with a single blow she struck him down with the staff. He fell, spitting his blood and teeth on the ground. "We'll go after them," Sapphire said, the blue hared young man stepping forward bravely to face their dark mistress. She looked at him calmly, "You had better." And with that, she was gone. Hotaru felt herself beginning to return to wakefulness, and part of her wanted to just lay there in the comforting warmth of the small bed. She smiled sleepily at Chibi-Usa, her arms gently wrapped around the other young lady. 'Where are we?" Hotaru found herself wondering, looking around her curiously. She could hear voices talking nearby, and her eyes widened as she recognized them all. 'The Senshi,' she thought, and the memories of her arrival here began to leak back. Falling out of the timestream into midair, then falling, landing on... someone. Hotaru's smile widened, as she heard a familiar voice going into her lecture mode: "One of the hazards of time travel, being in two places at once." There was a bit of a pause, then "They're both from the future." She gently disengaged from the sleeping Chibi-Usa, and, after straightening out her black dress, she carefully made her way to the doorway and looked out at the talking Senshi. "Hello," she said softly, more than a bit nervous. Setsuna turned to smile at her, "How are you, Hotaru?" "Fine, now," Hotaru answered. She smiled to the Inners, executing a little bow as she said, "My name is Hotaru Tomoe." Usagi got up, smiling, "If what Setsuna says is true, you already know us all. A bit of a weird situation, huh?" Hotaru smiled back at her, "I always wondered why you all knew so much about me when I first met you. Now I know." Both Haruka and Michiru were looking at Hotaru rather oddly. "When you arrived," Haruka said, "you called us Papa and Mama. Why?" But before Hotaru could say anything, Setsuna sighed, holding up one hand as she said, "Don't answer that." She looked at all the Senshi as she said seriously, "We shouldn't know about what the future holds for us." Usagi pouted. "But that spoils all the fun," she said jokingly. Hotaru shrugged. Before she could say anything else, she heard a sleepy voice from the other room, "Hotaru? Where are you?" The pink hared girl stumbled into the room, her own clothes rather untidy. The teen rubbed at her blue eyes, smiling a bit bemusedly as she looked at the gathered sailor Senshi. "Is there something to eat?" she asked them plaintively. Everyone immediately looked between her and Usagi, odd expressions on their faces. "I think she takes after you," Minako said dryly. "Hey!" Usagi protested. Makoto chuckled softly, shaking her head. "I'll see what I can scrounge up in the kitchen," she offered pleasantly. "It's good to see you awake, Small Lady," Setsuna said with a little smile. "I'm glad you're here, Puu," the pink hared girl said, smiling at her. She turned to the other Senshi, executing a little bow, "My name is Usagi." Usagi looked more than a bit startled. "To prevent confusion," Hotaru said with a little smile, "we all call her Chibi-Usa." "No too little," Ami noted thoughtfully. "When you arrived," she said, "you called Rei and Usagi your father and mother. How is that possible?" "I'm not really allowed to say," Chibi-Usa said with a little smile. She chuckled softly, "But I understand it involved an imaginative use of the transformation pen." There was a moment of dead silence in the room. Ami got it first, blushing fiercely. Minako and Natsuna shared a glance, and started laughing uncontrollably. Both Haruka and Michiru looked a bit dumbfounded. And poor Rei and Usagi both went beet red. "What?" Makoto said as she stepped in, carrying a fully loaded tray. It was obvious she hadn't heard the conversation that had come before. Setsuna decided just to drink her cup of tea and keep her mouth shut about it. "I'm sorry," Setsuna said to the other Senshi softly, "but I'm going to need to talk to these two alone, first." "But why..." Haruka started to ask, then she stopped. "Of course, knowledge of the future. I hate time travel," she finished with a sigh. Usagi and Minako both looked like they wanted to protest that, but they kept silent. Setsuna led both young ladies out of the room silently, a grave expression on her face. Chibi-Usa gave Setsuna an odd look once they were alone. "I just remembered," she said softly, "you said we were right on time when we fell here. You knew we were coming?" "It's not quite that simple," Setsuna sighed. "I have limited foreknowledge only, Small Lady. Some things I know, some I do not. Like what happened to send you here," she said, looking at the two young women. "Our Senshi in the future, were defeated by a new enemy. They said they came from a place called Nemesis, and used immense power to achieve their victory. I was hoping that with the aide of the Senshi of this time, we could defeat them," Chibi-Usa explained breathlessly. "I could barely hold my own," Hotaru confessed, "and I was only attacked by one of their leaders. If all three had attacked at once, I doubt I would have won." "But Mercury and Jupiter's Senshi powers haven't yet awakened in this time period," Setsuna said to them grimly. Chibi-Usa's eyes widened. "Then I may have led the enemy to Senshi who may not be able to defeat them," she said softly. "You didn't know," Hotaru said. She looked up at Setsuna, "Plus we have all the Outers here, unlike in the future. It may make a difference." Setsuna didn't look all that confident at that. "I hope so," she said softly. She looked at the two somewhat sternly, "You must be careful about what you reveal about the future. A slip of the tongue could change the path of your own future." Both girl's looked somewhat sheepish at that. "We'll be really careful," Chibi-Usa reassured Setsuna earnestly. "You mean to say," Makoto said, her eyes wide with disbelief, "that sometime in the future Rei's going to borrow Usagi's disguise pen and..." She made a hand gesture that was almost, but not quite, naughty. Both Rei and Usagi were still blushing fiercely. "Don't tease them," Minako said, a little smile on her face. Haruka smiled tentatively, sitting down by Michiru. "You all right?" she asked her quietly. "I'm not sure," Michiru admitted to her softly. "Hotaru, she called us mama and papa," she said softly, "does that mean we'll adopt her? Or will something else happen?" Before Haruka could answer her, there was a loud knock on the door. "Talk about bad timing," Rei muttered, getting up to answer it. She opened the door to see two rather odd looking figures standing there. The girl had purplish hair, and looked kind of catlike, somehow. The red headed man behind her had an arrogance in his stance that instantly set Rei's teeth on edge. "Have you seen my daughter?" the girl said with a raspy sounding voice. "She has pink hair, and is about my size," she then took the red- head's arm, trying to look couple like. He seemed very unthrilled by the prospect. 'What on earth? Is someone already chasing those two?' Rei wondered. "No, I haven't seen them," Rei lied sweetly, hopping that Chibi-Usa would stay in the other room. "Hey, the food's here!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed happily from behind her. 'Damn,' Rei sighed mentally, even as the two tried to shove past her. "Rubius!" Hotaru angrily cried, recognizing him instantly. She raised her transformation wand, crying out "Saturn Planet Power!" Sailor Saturn stood in front of Chibi-Usa, her posture indicating that she would not be moved by anyone. "Catsy," Rubius said, smiling coldly, "take care of the others. Saturn is mine." "Not quite," he heard, and before he could react he was picked up bodily and pitched right out the door. Makoto dusted her hands as she continued, "Let's take this outside, all right?" Rei grinned at her, "Thanks." "Rubius," Catsy cried out, running over to see if he was all right. She pulled him back to his feet, then she turned to the Senshi with blood in her eye. "You'll pay for that," she vowed, charging the group of them. "Moon Prism Power!" Chibi-Usa cried out, even as Usagi said "Moon Crystal Power!" They shared a smile, as they transformed together. Rei drew a rose from her clothes, and the midnight black garb of Tuxedo mask appeared around her. Ami grabbed Makoto, "We've got to get changed!" "Right," Makoto said, both of them running into Rei's bedroom to change clothes. The three Outers raised their wands as one, "Pluto" Setsuna cried, "Uranus," Haruka, and "Neptune" from Michiru, "Planet Power!" all three cried out together. "Venus Star Power!" Minako cried, even as Natsuna puled her gun, checking if her charmed bullets were loaded and ready. "Gravity Pressure!" Rubius roared, throwing a bolt of force against Saturn and Chibi-Moon. The two young women barely kept their feet, the energy hammering at them. Before the other six could run to their aide, Catsy was upon them. Purple fire burned around her hands, as she cast it in a ring of flame around them all. Tuxedo Kamen calmly walked into the fire, to the alarm of everyone present. She rolled out the other side of the fire, her cape ablaze, and from the ground kicked Catsy in the stomach, winding her. Her concentration broken, the fire eased, and the Senshi moved to try and encircle her. "Shine Aqua illusion!" Mercury cried, firing an ice blast from her gloves. The ice distracted Catsy a moment, and Jupiter seized the chance. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she cried, casting ball lightning at the surprised villainess. Rubius ignored the other fight, concentrating on his primary mission. The Senshi were mostly irrelevant, but Saturn and Chibi-Moon had to be destroyed. He frowned, and increased the gravity again in a attempt to crush them, but the two stood against him still. "You're strong," he admitted, "surprisingly so. But you can't hold out forever." "They don't have to," the coldly quiet voice came from right behind him. He quickly turned to see Sailor Moon glaring at him, her eyes dark with anger. "Moon Tiara Magic" she said, and the glowing tiara rapidly changed in her hands. Instead of a mere shining disk, she held a longsword, shining softly like moonlight. Rubius looked at her in shock, even as he raised his hands to attack her. "I've never seen.. when did you learn to?" he started to ask. "Gravity Pressure!" he cried out, throwing all his power against her in a vain attempt to stop her. Her legs buckled a moment under the attack, but Sailor Moon stood firm against him. She took a single step forward, and swung downward, Rubius' body exploding in a wave of dark energy. They were all thrown apart by the blast, the smoke filling the air, but it gradually faded. Ash and dust were all that remained of him. The light of the sword faded, and a tiara reappeared in Sailor moon's hand. She put it on, a single tear trickling down her cheek. She turned to Saturn and Chibi-Moon, who both looked at her in awe. "Are you both all right?" she asked. Saturn took a half step forward, then she dropped to her knee. "You are truly the Princess," she said reverently, "and future Queen." Chibi-Moon looked Sailor Moon in the eye, nodding her agreement. "She's right," she admitted to her softly, "Rubius and the others beat the Senshi of my time with ease. How did you...?" Sailor Moon shook her head, her expression grim as she seemed to deny what they said. "What happened to Catsy?" she asked. "Over here," Venus smiled, sitting on the struggling young woman with Natsuna. "Can we let her up soon?" she asked. Mercury took a moment to scan Catsy with her visor. "That's strange. Her powers," she noted, "they seem to be gone." The two ladies got up off Catsy, who rose slowly, looking over at where Rubius had stood. Her eyes seemed clearer, somehow, brighter and more aware of the world. "What happened?" she asked, looking around her, "Who are you people?" It appeared, a castle of crystal and glass, floating invisibly above the city of Tokyo. It looked almost like a snowflake, spears of crystal stretching out in all directions. Inside, there was a chamber, with four mirrors reflecting locations across the city. "It seems Rubius failed," Diamond reported. The shadowed figure nodded slightly, thoughtfully. "It seems the future queen is more powerful than we expected," she said softly. "Emerald!" The green hared woman stepped forward, bowing, "Milady." "Take Birdy," she said, "and use some guile against them, this time. I noticed that Mercury and Jupiter seem to lack their powers. Slay them, and our enemy is reduced by a fourth." She watched as the pale blue hared Birdy look her place by Emerald, preparing to go. "Do not fail me," she said, as they disappeared from the ship.
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