"You've been missing for sometime my lady. May I ask where you have been?" Oniko kneeled before the dark swirling mass that had suddenly appeared before her. The void ignored her request.
"You're taking too long. The light is too close to us now. It knows of our existence. It isn't going to take much longer before it reaches this planet, and then all hope of victory on our side will be lost. You must speed up your plan. Kill them all if you must, but get the sword and get it NOW."
Oniko nodded curtly and stood as her mistress disappeared. "We will get the sword my lady. No matter what the cost."
Lunako looked up, her face tear-stained and weary. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
Galen smiled and nodded. "Your sister asked me to help you. This isn't going to go over well with Oniko and her sisters. But I gave my word."
"What about Arashi?"
Galen paused, then looked away. "We can't do anything for her yet."
"But-"
"Look."he said sharply. "I promised your sister that I would get you to Usagi. Gather what you need because we're leaving now."
Haruka turned the corner sharply, cutting the wheel to the left. Usagi squealed with fright as she gripped the door handle.
"Do you have to drive so fast?" she yelled above the wind.
"Do you want to get there late, or on time?" Haruka answered.
"I don't think anyone would really be surprised if I were late!"
"Still, we can't afford it."
Usagi attempted to scowl darkly as they pulled up to the Hino family temple. Haruka jumped out, quickly followed by Usagi, and raced up the temple stairs. The others stood at the top, Usagi nearly collapsing by the time she reached the top step.
"Rei-chan,"she sighed, "Can't you put an elevator in or something?"
"Usagi!" Luna scolded. "This isn't time for jokes. We have important business to discuss."
"Infinity Moon." Hotaru whispered, breaking the jovial mood.
"My mother said something about the powers of the old ones. Do you know what she could have meant?" Usagi asked, turning towards Luna.
Luna looked towards Artemis and then shook her head. "Your mother, being Queen of the Silver Millenium, had many enemies who would have taken any chance to overthrow her if they could have. If she truly is alive, as your dreams tell us, then she may very well be coming here. When the new Silver Millenium begins, Usagi may not be able to become Sailormoon anymore. If this happens, for a moment while she transcends from senshi to Queen, she will become a vulnerable girl. Anyone still around that was an enemy of your mother will gladly take the chance to cause Usagi any kind of harm. We will have to be on the lookout."
"But that still doesn't answer my question. What is Infinity Moon?"
"Let's be hypothetical for a moment."Setsuna offered. "Say that Usagi can still become Sailormoon after she is Queen. Maybe Infinity Moon is the Queen's form of senshi."
The others looked at her wide-eyed.
"But is that possible?" Ami whispered.
"Maybe." Setsuna continued. "The future that we have seen, we already know can't exist. In that future, the senshi's highest power achieved wasn't even as close as we are now. And, let's not forget the future that Sailor Cosmos faced. Our futures are not written in stone."
A noise startled them from behind and they turned to face a little girl. She smiled at them, dark black hair shadowing large pumpkin eyes. Rei smiled and bent down, eye level to her.
"Can I help you with something little girl? Are you lost?"
The little girl shook her head, saying nothing.
"What's your name?" Michiru asked, joining Rei's side.
"Deidre." the little girl answered.
Usagi went to move for a closer look when Mamoru suddenly grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at him in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"That's the little girl. The girl Arashi was holding in my dream."
Usagi turned and stared at the little girl.
"Are you certain?"
"Positive."
Hotaru stared at her, the color slowly draining from her face. Haruka took her hand and slowly lead her away from the others, Setsuna looking on quietly.
"Hotaru? Are you all right?"
Hotaru shook her head. "Something's wrong." she whispered hoarsly. "That ...she's.....darkness."
Deidre turned to them, leveling her gaze on Hotaru who took a step backward under the weight of it. Haruka stepped in front of Hotaru, breaking the contact between the two. Deidre shook her head then turned and looked back at Michiru and Rei, smiling.
Lunako grabbed the keys from him, fumbling with them in the darkness.
"Hurry." she pleaded. "I can't stand the dark. Hurry please." He took the keys back, trying to be patient, but quickly losing it. She sat whimpering in the darkness beside him, close to tears but fighting them back.
"If you don't quiet down then they'll find us." he whispered. He could feel her inching closer to him, shoving herself in the corner as if trying to melt into it. She sighed a shuddering sigh and then was quiet. At last he found the right key, and with a small click the door unlocked and swung slowly open. Lunako sighed with relief and pushed past him into the next hall.
"Okay." he whispered, "We're almost out. I'm taking you to the outside, and then you're on your own."
"Wait a minute!" Lunako squealed. "I thought my sister told you to take me to Usagi. I won't be able to find my way back on my own!"
"Believe me." he smiled. "You'll be closer than you think."
She nodded in silence, and then lead the way down the hall. "You're going to be punished because of this aren't you? Once they find out what you've done."
"There isn't torture enough to pay for the sins I've committed. I'll take what I get without breaking. I deserve it."
Lunako turned to face him, a quiet look of pity on her face. He stared back at her surprised.
"It's not your fault you know. It's my duty as a senshi."
He blinked in surprise at the realization that this wasn't Lunako speaking.
"Arashi?"
"How I've missed you." she sighed.
He jumped forward to take her hand, but at his touch, Lunako sprang back into her body and the contact was broken. He let go of her hand and stepped back.
"I'm sorry."
Lunako took his hand again, and then crying threw her arms around him. "No I'm sorry." she whispered. "Such pain the both of you have to endure, I didn't know what had happened then. But I saw it now, just now. You-"
"Shhhh." he whispered, putting a finger to her lips. "It's all in the past. Yes, the past hurts, but nothing can be done to change it. You needn't worry either princess. None of this concerns you. You weren't even alive then. Now, let's get you out of here."
"Do you accept the challenge?"
Asanuma stood, rooted to the spot, staring in unbashed awe at the figure before him. He hadn't really believed the dream from the night past, but now saw that the elven girl had not been lying to him at all. The dark skinned woman with peircing green eyes extended her hand, asking him again if he would accept the challenge. He nodded, swallowing hard.
"Then close your eyes." the woman whispered. "And if you win this challenge, you will gain the first power you need to fufill your quest."
He did as he was told, sound dampened around him, as if everything was moving in slow motion. He felt movement off to the left of him, and he struggled not to open his eyes.
"Do not open your eyes." a voice commanded him. "Do not move, do not think. Clear your head of any thoughts, and the challenge will begin." He took a deep breath and tried his best to follow.
"I am the first one to test you, and so I will be testing your tolerance to pain. If you want to help those you love, you will be exposed to a great deal of pain, both physical and mental. War is anguish, and you will be thrust into it without the experience of your commrades. Do you understand what I am telling you?"
"Yes." he answered.
"The one for whom you do this for, the one for whom you would risk anything....she is a protector of this planet as well. She has experienced much pain in her brief tenure as a soldier in this life, and all for the sake of humankind. The pain of loss, and even death. I am going to show you this pain. Are you willing?"
Asanuma braced himself, and then bravely answered yes. The barrage of images that assaulted him next was both overwhelming and horrifying. He tried his best to endure.
An image of the polar ice caps....death, wrapped in ice.
Rebirth, attack from the future, kidnapped, blackness.
Back again, new enemy, silence, close to death but saved, only to loose a commrade that she had never known.
Solar Eclipse, the smell of death, being thrown into a nightmare world where nothing seems real, and reality and dreams are the same.
Death at the hands of those who were once allies, body dissolves, soul is captured only to be used against her will for evil. The attempted killing of the one whom she is destined to protect.
Blackness......................
"......ild.......child.....Child? Can you hear me?You may open your eyes now. You have passed the test."
Asanuma struggled to stand, failing to remember when he had fallen to the ground. He was dizzy and shaken, and to his surprise his face was wet with tears. Across from him sat the dark skinned woman with the green eyes.
"You have passed the test child. And as proof, I reward you with this shield. You have proven your strength well." A heavy shield suddenly materielaized on the floor before him. His fingers ran over the intricate artwork gingerly. It looked faintly Celtic in design, but despite it's beauty, it was strong.
"I must go now." the woman smiled. "But tomorrow you will be visited by another of my kind. If you pass his test, you will be granted another gift from the elementals."
"Will we ever meet again?" he asked hopefully.
The woman smiled as she began to dissolve into the blackness around them.
"Though you may not see me again in this form, I am with you always."
Asanuma blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing back in the street. The shield was gone. He looked around frantically for it when he heard a voice, coming from everywhere, and still it was faint.
"When you need it, it will come to you."
"She seemed innocent enough." Usagi shrugged as Mamoru walked her home. They were recalling the events of the afternoon, and the strange little girl who had suddenly appeared to them. An odd incident had taken place between the girl and Hotaru, of which Hotaru refused to discuss. They rounded the corner, talking quietly about the state of things, when Usagi suddenly got the urge to look behind them. She stopped and turned, but nothing was there. Mamoru quizically looked at her, staring down the street behind them, and then turned to see what she was seeing.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head and turned.Shoving her hands in her pockets she shook her head. "Nothing I guess."
He followed her in silence, a little worried.
"A war is about to commence and you just walk idlely around?"
Usagi whirled to face Shiko, who grinned broadly at her surprise.
"Were you expecting my sister?"
Usagi didn't reply, but reached into her pocket for her brooch, thrusting it into the sky and grabbing Mamoru's hand she yelled "Moon Eternal Make-Up!"
Shiko stood patiently off to the side as a flash of light enveloped the two and a moment later they faced her again, transformed.
"Now are you ready to fight?"
Moon said nothing but tensed. Beside her Tuxedo Mask reached into his cape and pulled out a single rose.
"Stop!" a voice commanded.
Moon, Mask, and Shiko snapped around to face the interferance. A tall, but well built girl stood across from them. Her dark black hair twisted into a braid that wove around her head, the rest cascading off her back like a waterfall. Her formfitting dress, a deep purple velvet, moved in synchronization with her movements. Her violet eyes pierced them all in turn, Shiko squirmed uneasily. Nervous about the newcomer to the battle field, but Mamoru and Usagi gasped in recognition.
"Diassa?" Mamoru whispered, dropping the rose to the pavement. She turned and smiled at him, her eyes glazed over with tears.
"It's been too long my brother." Shiko looked at them quietly, and sensing her advantage at the distraction, quietly revealed a small dirk from her boot. Nobody noticed.
"Too long?" Mask echoed, "I though you were dead."
"I was." Diassa answered. "My soul was dead. But now I have returned."
Eternal Sailormoon grinned happily, happy for Mamoru, finally he could be at peace with his sister, despite their troublesome reunion of before. The cold glint of metal in the moonlight caught her eye, Shiko was creeping up behind Tuxedo Mask. Her heart dropped to the ground and everything seemed to suddenly shift into slow motion. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, her weight shifted as she moved to push him away, but she didn't make it fast enough. Someone else did.
Shiko screamed in agony as the nasty end of a sword slammed through her ribcage. She shuddered, looking down upon it in shock, slumping forward when it was withdrawn. The next thing she saw was the open sky before her as she hit the pavement. She looked up, and seeing the expressions of shock on the others faces, turned to face her attacker. Galen stood across from them, staring at her in quiet rage. Besie him Lunako defiantly glared, looking extermely brave despite what she had witnessed.
"May devils escort you to your eternal resting place, and may you burn eternally under the goddess' rage for what you have done." Galen cursed her.
Diassa nodded, recognizing the ancient elven prayer for the damned. Shiko sneered weakly at him and then closed her eyes. Her body dissolved into nothing, and she was gone. Galen picked up the sword, smiled faintly at Tuxedo Mask and then turned to leave. As Mask started to protest he turned smiled.
"Endymion-sama. It has been a long time since we've seen each other, and as much as I would like to join you, there is someone else waiting for me."
Mask nodded silently and then said. "Promise you will both return?" Galen shook his head slightly. "I can't. But if we make it out alive, you have my word."
With that he vanished, leaving them all in quiet pondering.It was Lunako who finally broke the momentary silence. She ran to Diassa, throwing her arms about her and then bursting into tears. "Sister." she cried, and held on for dear life. Moon and Mask turned to stare at them blankly.
"Sister?" Moon whispered. Lunako turned and nodded.
"Usagi-chan." she smiled through her tears. "I have a present for you."
Lunako held out her hands and in them appeared a small orb. "I couldn't give it to you when we first met, because I only knew your true identity for a short while. But here."
The orb floated over to Moon, and then with a small pulse of light, entered her brooch. It flashed brightly and then a warm light enveloped her body. The sailor top of her fuku extended rapidly until it brushed the ground, the dark blue fading into the lighter purple shades of sunset. Her skirt and body piece became one, with a faint purple border at the edge of the pleats. The pink-bubble sleeves vanished and became the swan-winged sleeves of Princess Serenity's dress. Her boots became heels, with a pearl string about her left ankle. Around her kneck the choker suddenly became a ribbon, with the tails extending down her sides. Her gloves vanished. Her brooch slowly melted, the heart became encompassed with a crystal star pendant. On the front of the heart blazed a crescent moon and the symbol for infinity. She exhaled deeply, and when she opened her eyes Lunako smiled, tears in her eyes.
"Infinity Moon." she whispered.
Down the street Tsukino Ikuko dropped the grocery bags she had been holding, her hands flying to her face in horror and shock. She felt herself go limp, the shock proving too much for her. Tsukino Usagi, her daughter, was Sailormoon.