She was angry. Her rage at such presumption burned behind her eyes a dark smoldering fire of maroon. Most made the mistake of thinking that the one Senshi no one should ever bring to anger was Mars, or perhaps even Uranus, but those people had never seen Sailor Pluto when she was enraged. It was not an easy thing to do. She kept her cool because her powers where such that any wavering in her mental state reflected itself through Time. Her anger in particular made Time an almost solid thing, heavy with lasting repercussions. There had been only a few instances when her temper over took her, and the results had been messy to say the least. She preferred not to think about those rare instances. She had worked so hard her entire existence to keep everything in perspective, but some things were just too hard to bear. And at the moment she was fighting arduously not to let her feelings get in the way of her ultimate objective in life. Her duty was to protect Time. Everything else was secondary to that one great task. However she may feel about what such a tiny thing would cause, and however much pain and sorrow that slip in the timeline may cause she still had a duty to perform. She still had to mend the wrong doing, and she had to do it in a way that would not further disturb the ebb and flow of Time. She took a deep breath and released it. She found a moment of calm and with that was able to go to work. She reminded herself that there was a reason why she merely whispered her attack, rather than shouting it. She made herself recall what would happen if she lost control. She forced her self to look at the destruction, and looking brought her to her senses. Looking cooled the excruciating flames of hatred and desire for revenge. Mars may have been all fire. But Pluto was all Time, and Time burned straight through everything. She snapped her fingers and left behind her past mistakes, appearinging back on the Moon Kingdom. Now she had a better understanding of why she had replaced her past self. It was because a slightly more future self was already there...watching. It was one thing for her to exist twice in one place; that was easy. It was existing more than that which made things difficult. The only place it was really easy was at the Center of Time. All technicalities aside though everything made much more sense than it had. Sailor Pluto stood in mid-air over the party, invisible to all, including her self. She was breaking an uncountable amount of rules in the process but, as she had discovered, many of Time's rules were made to be broken. She watched the scene play out before her once. Queen Serenity turned right to go out onto the balcony. She was not supposed to go to the balcony. She was supposed to turn around, smile at Pluto, and then find her self dragged into a long and dull conversation with a member of the Jupiter delegation. Pluto sighed and pointed her staff towards the scene. "Move back," she said softly. And the entire moment moved in reverse to the beginning. "Move slowly." And the moment drew forward in slow motion. "Slower," she whispered. The movement of the scene slowed even more. "Slower." By now it was hard to tell that anything was moving at all. Her eyes scanned the room. "Slower." The people below her seemed to be frozen in Time, but they were not. The rules forbade her from stopping Time. However, she was more than capable of moving it to her will when it was absolutely necessary. She could move it along as fast or as slow a she needed. As long as everything kept moving she was in the clear from any ramifications. She stepped down into the crowd and stood next to the queen who was looking to her right. Pluto followed the queen's gaze towards the balcony doors. Her eyes narrowed as she caught the glimpse of a shadow that had no business being there. She snapped her fingers and vanished; as she disappeared the moment resumed flowing at a more natural pace. Under the dark Set deep in shadow With all the malice that is left behind What you believe to be revenge What you believe to be righteous It is but the sad cry of a spoiled child When it is compared to the suffering I have known You presume much in daring this act You think yourself clever for having found away around me Under the dark In the vast voids of black and seething Wet and dripping fears The thing you rebel against The thing you wish to change It is nothing compared to what is to come Remember... Always remember... There are worse things than you There are worse things that Time can brew "Show me the entire course of events," Setsuna commanded in a barely noticeable whisper. She stood at the Center of Time in between two of the four columns that helped to define that space. Directly across the way images sprang to life and she watched horror struck at the damage such a simple act as turning the wrong direction caused. "Stop... Stop this!" The images faded. "That is quite enough," she muttered. "That is completely unnecessary." After a few moments of thinking she began to ask questions that made no true sound. As she asked each query an image would appear and she would watch it expressionless for a moment and then ask something else. She continued along this course until at last she turned away from the center and walked off into a mass of colored fog that matched her eyes. She called her staff to her and it appeared in her hands. She stopped abruptly and held out her staff to a cluster of collecting mists. White light in the shape of a doorway appeared and she stepped through it with true purpose behind her steps. She reappeared on the balcony railing of the Moon's palace, which she stood upon. She arched an eyebrow crossing her arms in an irritated manner as she peered into the shadows and caught sight of the form she had seen earlier. "I see you there," she said. "I would highly suggest you come out willingly." The figure in the shadows appeared to sneer. "I had a feeling I would be seeing you again Sailor Pluto," the figure stated. The voice was female and sinister. "Out of the shadows please," Pluto commanded again. "I'm afraid you'll have to catch me first." There was a sudden crease of light that came from the shadows and then the figured disappeared. Maroon eyes narrowed, "You would be the only to dare me into a game like this. Your presumptions make me sick." Sailor Pluto snapped her fingers. As she vanished Queen Serenity stepped out onto the balcony. A sudden sharp pain in her side made her start. She turned just quickly enough to see harsh ruby red eyes glaring back her. Then she collapsed as death took her. Don’t think I do not feel the sting Though I've no tears in my eyes You can not possibly know what you have done to me You can not comprehend the fractures that appear As my heart, as my soul Crumbles under the weight of everything I have lost Don't think I do not understand loss Do not presume I can not feel pain So deep that it cuts into my existence What is my purpose if I do not have this Why continue Why move on Oh believe me I have known sorrow I have felt it ripping through me like shards of glass Deep abrasions with salt ground in And the red in my veins washing over into the oceans This feeling... This agony... It is a dead scream in the darkness And it will stretch out across the worlds Until every soul understands it completely Deeply Utterly And divinely For the rest of Time Sailor Pluto appeared amid the desolate ruins of the Moon Kingdom. It was the moment right after Serenity had used the Silver Crystal to send Queen Metalia and her ilk back through the far reaches of space. Right after the queen had sent her daughter's soul back to the Earth to be reborn along with the girl's true love and personal guards. The destruction felt so senseless. There was only one person to truly blame for it and that woman was standing mere feet away. "Admiring your handy work," Pluto said coolly. The woman turned to face the Senshi. Her ruby red eyes gleaming with triumph, a sickening smirk spread across her lips, and then she laughed. "Why is it funny?" The woman stopped and smiling said, "This isn't my handy work Pluto. You know it isn't. The crystal did all this. It was the price she paid in trying to save her daughter." "Were it not for you it would not have come to this." "You think so," her eyes narrowed and she delicately removed a strand of red curly hair from her face, pushing it back behind her ear. "Miss me Pluto, or should I call you-" "You shall address me as Sailor Pluto or Lady Pluto," was the sharp interruption. "Despite any past we may have had you have destroyed all rights to refer to me in a familiar manner." The woman shrugged and then held up her hand. A small golden key on a matching chain dangled from it. "Do you think yourself clever for what you have done?" "No, Pluto I think myself victorious. How could you have allowed such a small bobble to wander about unattended? When I found it I was simply amazed." "You waited to use it; that is what amazes me." Setsuna was gripping her staff tightly. Despite all her efforts she could feel her anger growing inside her with every word spoken and heard. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. The woman was waiting for her to attack and she just could not give in to such a blatant request for violence. "If I had used it on a bigger scale you would have noticed much sooner what was going on. I couldn't have you doing that." "Metalia-" The woman scoffed, "You don’t honestly take me for that much of a fool do you? I've gained my victory and without that thing's help. I'm not about to ruin things by awakening her to over take the Moon. She wanted too much. I just want the world, and now...I have it." She closed her eyes and shook her head, "You have disrupted the timeline. You have caused a rift in the fabric of reality and Time will not allow you to succeed any further!" "You're so damn cocky. You always have been when it comes to this type of thing. Wake up! I've already succeeded. All that's left is you and you are too weak to do what you really have to." "And what is that?" "Kill me before I can even start all this mess." Sailor Pluto took a step forward and planted her staff in the ground, "You are unbelievably simple. Killing you is not in my destiny. Destroying you and Metalia is a task that is set for the princess." The woman's eye twitched, "The little brat. She was an undeserving opponent. Her mother insulted me by not using the crystal to kill me." "It was not in her heart to do so. Even to you... Even after what you put her through." She drew her staff out of the ground, "Come with me willingly Beryl or face the consequences for tampering with fate." "Do you think...," she held out the key and turned it in the air. "Do you think you can beat me to my next destination?" There was a flare of light and then Beryl disappeared. "Of course," Setsuna whispered sullenly, "I have the master key."
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