"Full Circle"

By Meara

Chapter 13 – "Full Circle"

It started out as a low hum, felt more than heard like a deep, bass note. That hum grew and the floorboards beneath Minako and Goruden Kobushi vibrated then started to dance. The trembling moved to include the walls, pictures hung there flying off and to the ground. Whole chunks of plaster cracked from the movement, crashing to the floor. The light fixture on the ceiling took up the melodic vibrations, quivering wildly before exploding with a shower of sparks.

The motion and noise seemed to clear the last of the cobwebs from Minako's mind. "Is it an earthquake?" she called out, mentally reaching for her henshin wand. Even as she was tossed around like a toy, she called out her henshin phrase and transformed into Sailor Venus.

The floor convulsed, sending the two of them in opposite directions. Goruden's eyes were wide, a strange look in them as he stared at the now glowing body of Tuxedo Kamen. He could sense the energies of the Golden Crystal being used.

"No," he shouted above the roaring, "It's coming from the Prince!"

The tuxedo clad prince knelt in the calm center of the storm of magic. From the floor came a rush of golden fire. It entered him where he touched the ground, running up his body, filling him with light. Every muscle tensed and his hands balled into fists at his side. Still on his knees Mamoru threw back his head and screamed a single word as the golden fire exploded from him in every direction.

"USAKO!"

The power surged outward, then like a wave reaching its crest, slowly flowed back into the Prince of Earth. The earth stopped shaking when Mamoru closed his eyes, taking control of the magic raging inside him. The aura around him pulsed brighter and he burned the last of the darkness that sought to control him from his mind and body.

So bound up was he in the magic of Earth that Mamoru didn't see the stirring shadows that crept into a corner of the room, but Goruden Kobushi did. It all happened very fast. Kobushi had no more than a vague impression of a figure within the roiling darkness when a bolt of power lanced from it and straight at the still dazed Mamoru.

There was no thought behind Kobushi's action, just an instinctive need to protect the man he'd pledged his life to serve. Goruden threw himself onto top of Tuxedo Kamen, taking the blast meant for him. He stiffened and gave an involuntary shout of pain as the dark power arced through him.

"Kobu-chan!" Venus shouted his name, lunging for him.

Mamoru caught Goruden in his arms as the man pitched forward, gently lowering him to the floor. All the color was draining quickly from Kobushi's face and he started to tremble with the shock that was quickly settling in. Minako was there to take him in her arms, tears all ready running down her face.

Kobushi smiled up at her and tried to raise a shaking hand to her face. She caught the hand in her own, holding it to her cheek.

"No, no, no," she wept at him. "You can't leave me. We just found each other. Please don't leave me!"

"Sorry, Mina-ko," he whispered. Then with a sigh, he passed out.

"I never would have thought Goruden one who would court death so openly. Perhaps he's not as big a fool as I thought him to be," the voice seemed to be everywhere at once. Venus was too lost in misery to notice it, but Tuxedo Kamen did. His head snapped up at the sound of it. Over six years had passed since he'd last heard it, but Mamoru could never forget that voice.

The seething dark mass lingered in one corner of the room. Slowly, achingly slowly, the outline of a man became perceptible. He blended seamlessly into the darkness and it was hard to tell where it stopped and he began. A ragged cloak covered him, only his hands visible. Those hands held a dark crystal ball between them, circling it endlessly in an unbroken stride.

The door to the room was blasted off its hinges, shattering into a shower of wooden splinters, but Mamoru barely noticed it. He was focused on the demon in the shadows.

"Wiseman," he growled.

Jupiter stood in the mangled doorframe, electricity still crackling around her body. A small but feral smile was on her lips.

"Mamoru, Minako!" she called out.

Mars was, appropriately enough, hot on her heels. "W…Wiseman?" Mars stuttered in shock, moving tensely towards the sinister man. "This isn't possible."

Neptune glanced at Mars, "You know him?"

"An enemy from the future," Pluto replied grimly. Things were beginning to make a lot sense to her suddenly. "One we thought was destroyed."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes, allowing a part of her mind to take in the psychic "feel" of the creature in the darkness. What she found wasn't really any surprise. This was the same, shadowy being that Michiru has sensed in her Mirror, the one that had spoken to Hotaru.

"What is death to me?" Wiseman snarled with contempt. "I am immortal, eternal, an endless and primal force of the universe itself. When she burned me with the Silver Crystal, Neo-Queen Serenity killed me and gave me new life at the same time. Now she'll give me life once more with her death."

A golden aura pulsed around Mamoru's body, flashed in his eyes. "Where did Kunshin take her?!"

The demon hands never stopped circling the glowing ball between them. "To my domain - a place you have no hope of ever finding. Even now Tetsu holds your beloved in his arms while he feasts on her life," he taunted Tuxedo Kamen. "Soon he'll devour all of it and I will have the means for my final victory."

The ground echoed Mamoru's anger, a low rumble starting once more beneath his feet. "There's no where on Earth you can hide her from me, monster."

"No where on Earth, indeed. Fool, did you think I'd chance having Tetsu take her somewhere on this world?" His form moved deeper into the darkness, only the glowing eyes still visible. "I was going to kill you now, but perhaps this is better. Suffer, Chiba Mamoru, in the time you have left. Suffer with the knowledge that your 'Usako' dies because she gave herself to Tetsu to save you."

The nocturne folded in on itself until the only thing left was the echo of Wiseman's cold laughter. "My revenge starts now. The circle closes at long last – but this time I am its master!"

"No!" Mamoru shouted. He shook with contained anger and frustration. Pluto's hand on his arm startled Mamoru and he turned to look at her.

"I think I may have an idea where Kunshin took Usagi…" she started slowly, as if thinking as she spoke.

"Can we get there?" Mamoru asked succinctly.

"Yes and no," Setsuna shook her head, grimacing. "That's the problem."

Radiance, like the long rays of sunshine on a perfect summer afternoon filled the room, pushing away the last lingering traces of the cold darkness. A breeze wafted in with the light and it carried the scent of flowers and the sweet smell of sun warmed grasses. A figure resolved in the golden glow, that of a young man in the first bloom of adulthood. He went to one knee before Mamoru, head bowed in respect.

"Hail Endymion," said Helios, Priest and Guardian of Elysion, "Master of the Golden Crystal." He raised his head and looked first at his Prince, then at all the Senshi. "Just as the soldiers of the White Moon came to the aid of Elysion in her time of trouble, I offer the assistance of the Golden Kingdom now." He smiled after the formal words and added, "I think I know a way to solve your problem."

"A what?"

The astrophysicist from NASA took a slow, deep breath. What he was telling the man on the other end of the telephone line, in this case the President of the United States, was hard to say once, let alone repeat. Forcing himself to stay calm and professional sounding, he repeated the news.

"A planetoid sir," he started slowly. "It was discovered by a civilian at the Mt. Wilson Observatory as it moved past Mars. We repositioned the Hubbell and used it to verify the sighting."

There was silence on the other end of the telephone line for a moment. "I studied business at Harvard so this is just a little bit outside my realm of knowledge. Is a 'planetoid' anything like an asteroid?"

Why couldn't Jimmy Carter still be President, the astrophysicist wondered to himself? At least he'd been a nuclear scientist. "Something like one, but much, much bigger. The current projections have it arriving in about two days time."

"Two days?" The President snorted in frustration. "Do you think we have time to evacuate the coastlines if necessary? Do we need to declare a state of emergency? If we only have a few days to prepare we need to act at once."

"Prepare?" a burst of laughter that held a note of hysteria to it came over the telephone line. "Sir," the scientist began hesitantly, "I don't think you quite understand what I'm trying to tell you. This is an object bigger than the moon and it's heading for Earth. I'm talking about an extinction level event!"

There was silence for a moment from the President. He was resisting the idea that was slowly coming to him. "Extinction of what?"

The words that came over the speakerphone were soft but not a person in the room missed them. "Of us," There was almost no emotion in his voice as he delivered the bleak news. "Of every living thing on the planet. When that hunk of rock and ice hits the Earth, it's not just the end of mankind - it's the end of this world."

"As far as Wiseman knows, all the Moon Kingdom has is the small Porto-Gate," Setsuna said as she stood before a pair of graceful white columns in the heart of Earth's shrine. "It's not nearly powerful enough to follow the trail he left through the forth dimension, especially since the time storm effectively erased all temporal 'landmarks' used to navigate there. What he doesn't know is that we have access to one of the Great Gates – the Timegate. It can follow the harmonic resonance trail even through the chaos engendered by a time storm. The problem is that when making a blind jump like that I have to leave one end of the portal open to act as a kind of homing beacon for us." Yes, she decided with a silent shake of her head. This spot would do quite well.

The Senshi both Inner and Outer were arrayed around Pluto, watching her as she attempted to find a way to do the impossible. Tuxedo Kamen stood slightly apart from the rest, Helios at his side. He knew that Setsuna was going as fast as she could, but the waiting was killing him by inches.

"What's the problem with leaving it open?" Mamoru asked in a tight voice.

Setsuna kneeled down to place one palm on the ground. Using that part of her that held the Gate, she probed the surrounding area. "An open portal continues to absorb energy from the forth dimension until it eventually overloads. Normally it would take several days, but because of the vast amounts of chaotic energy the time storm is producing that procedure will be speeded up. What should take days will occur in matter of hours."

"And what happens when a Gate overloads?" Mercury asked with trepidation. She had the nasty feeling she all ready knew the answer.

"Well," Pluto replied absently, "The resulting explosion would vaporize an area about the size of the state of Rhode Island. The dead zone around the smoking crater made by the blast will be three times larger than that."

"I can see how you might want to avoid that," Uranus said dryly.

"That's why Elysion is the perfect place to attempt this," Helios replied looking at Mamoru. "This sacred ground has certain cleansing abilities that can absorb some of that excess energy and redirect it."

"Let's try it, ne?" Placing a hand on the side of one column, Pluto opened her Gate.

The silver light pulsed and danced as she directed it to settle between the twin columns. With a sound like a rush of wind it opened. The mists slowly cleared from the surface and the time storm became visible. A thousand shades of midnight churned wildly between the softly glowing pillars. Tendrils of energy produced by the tempest, like multi-colored forks of lightening, struck at the edges of the portal. It shimmered, emitting an inharmonious hum that swelled and then faded as the ground around the portal absorbed and diffused the power.

"It's working," Setsuna smiled. "It's actually working!"

Mamoru didn't realize that he'd balled his hands into fists until he motioned to the rest of the Senshi. "Then let's go. Thank you Helios"

The young priest bowed to him. Mamoru was puzzled by the expression on the guardian's face, but knew he had no time now to ask him about it.

"You are the rightful and true Master of this land Endymion," Helios said. "I and Elysion live to serve you as you, in turn, serve us." When he looked up there was a strange sadness in his eyes. "When this is over, if you can, come back to Elysion. I'll be waiting here."

He watched until they vanished into the chaotic mass of the forth dimension, the time storm swallowing them up one by one. "I'll be waiting here," he repeated to himself, "and praying for all of you."

"They've gone then?"

Helios turned to see one of the two maidens of Earth's shrine walking gracefully towards him. He nodded in reply. "Yes. How's the young man they brought to us?"

"He's responding amazingly well to the healing for someone from the world above. My sister thinks he may live despite his injuries." The churning darkness was oddly compelling to watch and the maiden came to stand with Helios.

A sigh escaped Helios and the young priest placed a hand on the portal's frame. "I know that what comes next must happen or both Kingdoms will perish, but still…"

The maiden looked alarmed at Helios's tone. "You didn't tell them did you?"

The silver hair danced around his shoulders as Helios shook his head. "No. I wanted to, but I didn't."

"Perhaps things may not happen as the vision has told you," the maiden said in an attempt to comfort Helios.

"No," he shook his head, silver hair flowing around his shoulders. "So much is in flux right now, but that's the one thing I'm very sure of. Whether the Earth ends in fire or sleeps in ice, not all of the Senshi will return to us."

Nemesis was a dead world, stark, bleak and forbidding. Endless flat plains stretched out in all directions and were broken up only by jagged outcroppings of dark rock that erupted from the ground. The only movement was when the cold and rank breeze blew the dedicated soil into gritty curtains that danced across the plains.

A semi circle of the dark crystalline rocks was one of the few places of shelter on Nemesis. In the middle of that grove of oddly faceted black gems, hiding in the shadow of the largest of the dark crystals, Wiseman floated serenely and considered the tableau before him.

Kunshin Tetsu knelt on the barren ground oblivious to his surroundings; eyes glazed and jaw slack. One arm held a limp Usagi to Kunshin's chest, a hand was snaked around her throat and pulled greedily at her life and power. Locked in a sensual euphoria Tetsu was, ironically enough, as much a prisoner of what was happening as the woman trapped in his arms.

The journey of past and present was almost complete. The closing of the circle made the link between Kunshin and Wiseman all the stronger. The incredible, enthralling pleasure his past self was experiencing was disorienting for a being that had not experienced tactile sensations in more years than he could remember. With effort, he managed to turn his mind towards an emotion he was much more comfortable with – cold revenge.

An occasional soft moan was the only sign of the internal struggle that Usagi was putting up. She had more fight left in her than Wiseman would have thought possible at this point, but he didn't let it bother him. Worn down by months of Tetsu stealing away her life energy whenever he could, Usagi didn't have the strength left to win this battle on her own.

Satisfied that she couldn't escape what he had planned, Wiseman concentrated. The crystalline sphere between his hands glowed with the same murky light as the jagged rocks behind Kunshin Tetsu.

"Usagi," Wiseman's voice was soft, like the hissing of a snake about to strike. "Usagi, it's time to wake up. There are a few things I want to tell you before you die."

With a shudder Usagi's crystal blue eyes half opened. The look in them was clouded, as if she was still locked in dreams. She blinked, trying to focus her thoughts past the icy pain that was tearing her to pieces.

Wiseman moved slowly, floating into her field of vision at his own, leisurely pace. "Do you remember me?" He gave a small, cold laugh when he saw Usagi's eyebrows twitch as, still only partially aware of what was going on, she struggled to recognize his voice. "I certainly remember you, Neo-Queen Serenity. After all, you're the one who has made all of this possible for me."

Wiseman floated closer to Usagi. "I was trapped where you sent me when you burned me with the Ginzuishou. For years beyond counting I could only watch from the forth dimension as mankind continued to pollute creation with the noisesome clamor of life. But then you freed my father Chaos and sent him back into the fabric of the Universe. His freedom was my freedom and I resumed my great mission."

The need to extract a long dreamed of revenge was a trait shared by both past and future incarnations and it blinded Wiseman to anything else. His entire being was focused on the small woman with the silver hair.

"Do you know where we are? This is Nemesis and with it I will bring the Universe to a state of perfect silence – starting with Earth and the Moon."

So intent on Usagi was Wiseman that he never noticed the sound, like the rush of wind before a thunderstorm, nor heard the soft voice so full of power, until it was too late. The glowing eyes deep inside the cloak of shadows lifted to see Sailor Pluto just as her staff settled back into her hands.

"Dead Scream."

The power exploded from it and straight at Wiseman. Before he could react it slammed into him, knocking the demon away from where Kunshin held Usagi. At the same moment a rose, white as snow, buried itself deeply into Kunshin's shoulder. The magic inherent to it burst to life and the Dark Man gave a shriek of pain and anger as the power inside him was scrambled. His arm went numb and dropped Usagi to the ground.

Faster than the wind, Uranus leapt in to try and snatch Usagi from where she lay. Clawing the rose free from his shoulder, Kunshin's hands snaked out and grabbed Haruka by the neck. With one jerk he pulled her close to his face, closing the hands tightly around her throat.

"Did you really think I'd just let you take Usa from me," he snarled, enraged at his pleasure disrupted. "Did you think I couldn't catch you?!"

Her air cut off, Uranus grasped at the hands strangling her. "No," she managed to croak out, "I didn't."

While the Dark Man held Uranus, Tuxedo Kamen dashed in and scooped up Usagi. He moved away again before Kunshin could react. In the instant he was distracted, Haruka made her move.

A wolfish smile split Haruka's face. "In fact, I was counting on it." She closed her fist and slammed it into his chest as hard as she could. "World Shaking!"

It was hard to say if Kunshin Tetsu was blasted away from Uranus, or if she was the one propelled like a rocket back to where the Senshi had formed a defensive line. He disappeared into the shadows of the monolithic rocks, a cloud of dust floating out of the darkness to indicate that he'd hit the ground. Uranus rode the energy wave, flipping over in midair to land in a catlike crouch.

"I don't believe that suicidal stunt of yours actually worked!" Venus called out, glancing behind her to where Mamoru held Usagi.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're just short of insane?" Jupiter asked, arching an eyebrow at Haruka.

"Only 'just short of'?" Haruka replied. She glanced at her lifemate who only rolled her eyes.

Tuxedo Kamen had turned his back to Kunshin, bringing his cape up to cover both Usagi and himself. Before the last of the light finished dying away, Mamoru went to his knees, carefully settling her against his body. Usagi was like ice in his arms and shaking with more than just the cold. Pale and sweating, her breathing labored, Usagi was in deep shock. Unless he could somehow stabilize her and fast Usagi wouldn't survive the hour.

"Usako," Mamoru called, taking her hand in his. Her eyes were glassy and distant, not truly seeing him. "You can't leave me." He pressed his forehead to hers, "I won't let you die." He remembered when Chibi-Usa had lain like this in his arms, her pure heart stolen, her life slipping away. At the time he didn't know it was the power of the Golden Crystal that enabled him to link his life force to hers. Now he did and used the knowledge to the best of his ability.

"I won't let you die," he whispered to her again. A gentle amber aura pulsed softly around him once. It gathered together and raced into his hands and through his contact with Usagi, into her. For a long moment nothing seemed to happen. Then, ever so slightly, he felt her stir in his arms.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered weakly, the lingering cold from Kunshin's touch melting away in Mamoru's tender embrace. The temptation to just let go and drift into dreams while he held her was overwhelming.

"Usako," relief washed over Mamoru like a wave. Her saw her starting to slip away from him and down into sleep. "No, don't go to sleep. You need to stay awake. Talk to me."

There was a silver and golden glow that danced around the joined hands and Usagi felt his strength flowing into her. She sighed softly and her shivering lessened. Usagi wanting nothing more at that moment than to bask in the warmth that was filling her.

"I told you so," she smiled at her husband, his touch bringing warmth and life to her. "I told you it was a trap. I told you not to go to Earth without me. But did you listen? Nooo."

"Go ahead," Mamoru laughed, the sound of her voice so sweet in his ears, "rub it in."

"Okay. I told you so," she repeated in a drowsy voice. Memory returned with the power flowing into her and Usagi gasped sharply, trying to sit up. "Kunshin!"

"It's okay Usagi," Mars called out looking back over her shoulder. "I think Uranus just put him down for the count."

"You will suffer for this indignity!" The voice Kunshin Tetsu was filled with an anger so intense it boarded on irrational. From the settling dust cloud in the shadows of the giant black crystal that made up one wall of the small grove, the Dark Man emerged. His clothing was torn and hanging in tatters from him, but he was very much alive.

"I just knew it wouldn't be this easy," Neptune gave a loud sigh. "Deep Submerge!"

"It never is," Mercury agreed readily. She spun, calling her power to her. "Shine Aqua Illusion!"

A column of ice and water formed and headed straight for the dark Man. He raised one hand in a lazy fashion. A bolt of dark power shattered the ice to dust.

"Enough of these games." Kunshin was raving, insanely angry at having his pleasure interrupted. His eyes were filled with the same sickly greenish black power that burned in his hands. "I will have all of you – your life, your power, your very souls, one at a time!" He snarled as he looked at Tuxedo Kamen holding Usagi. "All but you, oh great 'True Prince". You I want dead right now. Wiseman, give me the power you promised me!"

There was a small motion in the shadows of the largest of the black crystalline monoliths. Demon hands stopped their endless circling of the crystalline sphere between them. It gave a dissonant hum and an oily sheen flickered across its surface.

"Yes," Wiseman hissed more to himself than the Kunshin. "Yes, you're ready now. You're finally ready."

"Then do it, damn you," Kunshin snarled. The driving, consuming need to feel the sensual ecstasy again was burning in him.

The crystal ball was raised above Wiseman's head. A beam of energy lanced from it and into Kunshin Tetsu. The Dark Man gasped as the power of the Black Poison Crystal coursed through him.

"Oh gods," he moaned, "I never imagined it would be like this. That it would feel so good." So intense were the sensations that he lost control of his body, going to his knees. The moaning became louder and the power continued to fill him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"Oh geez." Minako wasn't sure if she should be frightened by the display of power, or embarrassed at how it was affecting Kunshin Tetsu. "Get a room…"

Floating slowly out of the shadows, Wiseman came to hover just behind Kunshin Tetsu. The energy of the Black Poison Crystal continued to pour into him and the man was only vaguely aware of Wiseman. This was the most incredible moment of Kunshin Tetsu's life and he wanted to savor it as long as he could.

A mocking laugh came from the demon that floated behind the enraptured Kunshin when he saw the Senshi bristle and take up more aggressive stances. "For years without measure I have ridden the great circle of time and fate; waiting and planning for this moment. You're too late to stop me Soldiers of the White Moon, much too late. The future cannot be denied and I am the future!"

As he spoke, Wiseman's body faded into an oily black mist. It slithered onto Kunshin Tetsu, climbing up his legs and onto his torso. "The circle closes now, but this time I am its master!"

"What's happening to me?" There was horror and shock in his voice. "What's happening to me?!" Kunshin shouted, unable suddenly to move. The cries of outrage quickly turned to pain. He looked down at himself, his face contorting in agony. He regained enough control of his hands to claw at his shirt, ripping open what was left of it. The strange mottling that had once only been on his hands was creeping up his torso like a living thing, consuming his flesh as it went. He could feel Wiseman in his mind, devouring everything that made him Kunshin Tetsu.

"No!" he shrieked. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! You're supposed to become me, not me become you! I want to stay human – help meeee!" His called ended in a shrill scream. The darkness covered him like a shroud and the mortal man known as Kunshin Tetsu ceased to exist.

The writhing shroud broke open, flowing down to the ground. It pulsed and moved like a living creature, slowly taking the shape of a tattered robe. The hood of the robe fell back and the shadowy face grinned.

"Kunshin Tetsu to Death Phantom, Death Phantom to Wiseman, Wiseman to Death Phantom. We…" he paused and the crystal ball came to float in front of him. "I have come full circle and I will bring the perfection of silence to the universe."

Taking the crystal ball firmly with both hands he loosed a stream of ebony lightning at the Senshi. It hit them, breaking the defensive line and scattering them like toys. The attack continued unabated heading straight for where Mamoru held Usagi. He looked up, saw it coming and turned his back to take the brunt of the impact.

"Silence Wall!"

Her glaive in front of her, Sailor Saturn stood, with her legs braced and impossibly tiny body holding back the storm of dark power. Like a wave against the shore, the power broke around the barrier, but didn't penetrate it. As quickly as the attack had started it stopped.

"Ah, there you are, little sister." Death Phantom laughed, sounding delighted by the display Hotaru had put on. "I was wondering when you'd reveal yourself to me. Harbinger of Silence, come to me and I will show you the glories of destruction."

The dim light that reached Nemesis made the razor sharp blade on the glaive gleam. "I warned you once," Saturn's eyes were cold and deadly. "If I come to you it will be to bring the final Silence down on you."

"But the Silence is coming, little sister. Why do you think I'm here now and in this place," he gestured to the empty and barren world around him. "Nemesis has come to my calling. My will guides it and in two days time it will crash first into the Moon then Earth."

"Oh God no," Usagi tightened her grip on Mamoru's arm. She felt him stiffen in shock at Death Phantom's words.

"Then we'll have to stop you before that can happen," Mars was on her feet. She pulled her arm back and drew a bead on Death Phantom. He stood there, unmoving, and watched as she called out.

"Mars – Flame Sniper!"

The fiery arrow was loosed without hesitation. It made a beeline for the Dark Man and struck him right where his black heart should be. He didn't even look at it as the arrow fizzled away on impact.

"Shimatta," Uranus cursed loudly. She glanced at Neptune and with the flawless timing that comes from years of working together, they summoned their strongest attacks as one.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

"Submarine Reflection!"

Without a sound, Death Phantom closed his hands once more around the crystal ball. It generated a small barrier that deflected the energy to either side of him.

"He touched it," Mercury said more to herself than anyone around her. "He touched it." With the tap of a finger, her visor slid into place. She stared at him through it, her mind working furiously as a theory formed.

"Pathetic," The Dark Man finally sighed. A surge of energy came from the ball and blasted towards the Senshi. Saturn's silence wall sprang once more to life, stopping the attack. The energy kept coming and she was pushed back, her feet digging small trenches in the sandy soil as she struggled to keep her friends safe.

"Why do you fight against me, little one?" the grating voice was lowered in invitation once more. "I can sense the power of destruction inside you, waiting to be released. You know you want to do it – give in and become an angel of death."

"I have to stop him," Usagi said, leaning against Mamoru as she got to her feet. Hotaru seemed to be keeping the demon occupied for the moment, but she knew it wouldn't last. "If I go into the Balance I might be able to…"

"No," Mamoru brought a single finger up to her lips to silence her. She looked at him surprise. "No, not 'I', Usako – we. We have to stop him."

"We work as a team, remember, Usagi-chan?" Jupiter walked to where the couple stood, the other Senshi following her.

"Yeah," Venus tossed her head, long blonde hair catching the breeze. "You know what they say, 'One for all and all for one'!"

Beside her Mars started to protest then suddenly stopped. "You got it right. Kami help us, that's a sure sign of the end times right there."

Uranus looked at the monster that was trying to entice her foster daughter. "Let's send this demon back to whatever hell he came from."

Death Phantom's patience with Saturn had just run out. "Very well, then die with them if that is your choice." A last blast of black lightening got through the wall and Saturn went flying. "Your dreams of the future die today, Senshi – along with you!"

Cupping her hands around her locket, Usagi called the Ginzuishou. It came to her, glowing with repressed power.

"No!" she called out, "I won't allow you to destroy the future!" Raising her arms, she lifted them above her head. The Silver Crystal pulsed brighter as she summoned the magic of the White Moon.

The laugh that came from Death Phantom was cold and condescending. "It took the Ginzuishou of both the past and the present to defeat me last time. Alone you have no chance."

One by one, the jewels in the tiaras of the Senshi began to blaze. A shining rainbow sprang up as they gave their power to Usagi. Tuxedo Kamen was just behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Together," he murmured to her, "whatever happens."

The Silver Crystal between her hands shined brighter as Usagi took the proffered power into herself. In a single, graceful motion she opened her arms wide. The Ginzuishou floated down to spin in front of her heart. She looked Death Phantom in the eyes, iron determination in every line of her body.

"Who ever said I was alone?"

The air around Usagi exploded as if a small star was being born. Light so pure and brilliant that it was all but blinding erupted from Usagi as she sought and achieved the perfect balance with the Ginzuishou. The power transfigured her and the small, trembling woman became an avenging angel. Usagi rose to hover above the ground on outstretched wings of silver fire.

Shouting in inarticulate pain and rage, Death Phantom pulled his crystal ball to him and tried to generate a field of darkness in which to seek shelter. Black lightening lanced from it at Usagi. She never noticed it and the light around her started to expand, washing over friend and foe alike.

The shadows it touched melted away, giving small shrieks like living things as the power of the Ginzuishou purified them. Desperate, Death Phantom gripped the ball even tighter and the jagged black monoliths in back of him hummed as he pulled at the power of the Black Poison Crystal.

Mercury saw it and everything fell into place for her. "He touched it," she repeated softly. From what Wiseman had said as he merged with his past self, he hadn't had a real body in a very long time. This new one, she suddenly knew, was unable to channel the raw power of the Black Poison Crystal without help.

"The crystal ball – it's his focus! Break it and you break his power!"

Mamoru heard Ami call out, but wasn't sure if Usagi could hear her above the fatal song of rapture the Balance sang to her. He slipped his arms around her, calling with all the strength of his love for her.

"Usako…"

She was lost in the siren song of rapture the power sang to her. Through his link with Usagi, Mamoru could dimly feel what she was experiencing. The light that filled her with overwhelming bliss touched every part of Usagi. For a moment Mamoru wondered how he could possibly call her back from such ecstasy, but pushed that thought from his mind. He needed to believe in his own power and used it to call to her.

"Hear me, my beloved."

"Mamo-chan?" The eyes of crystal blue opened. The intense pleasure made it hard to focus on anything but the sweet song of the Balance. But as great as it was, the call of Mamoru's love for her was irresistible. Memory returned with his touch. "He has to be stopped."

"Together, remember? We'll stop him together," he called out, "Let me show you how."

The ultimate power of the Golden Crystal was the ability to shape and mold, to guide and to protect. Steady and enduring, the power of Earth was the perfect counter balance for the unbridled cosmic energies of the Silver Crystal. Calling on it, Mamoru used their link to show his beloved how to manage the force that used her as much as she used it.

The power of the Balance still erupted from her, but her eyes had been opened and Usagi was aware. The glow from the Ginzuishou narrowed and focus was achieved. It poured from her as relentless and unstoppable as a tidal wave.

Shrinking from the purity of the light the Dark Man was being pushed against one wall of the grove. The monolithic black crystals that towered over him hummed an inharmonious song when the light of the Ginzuishou started to touch them, one by one. There was the sharp sound of crystal fracturing and Death Phantom looked around him incredulously. Jagged cracks were appearing in the huge, black monoliths.

"Impossible," the Dark Man screamed. Pushed back against one wall of the grove he desperately looked for shadows to hide in and, under the relentless assault of the light, found none. "You can't do this! I don't remember you having this kind of power – you can't do this!"

"By the power of Light I bind thee," Usagi called out, her voice clearly audible even over the cacophonous noise of the battle. The crescent moon sigil on her forehead shone with the same light as the Ginzuishou.

"In the name of the Moon be thou sealed!"

A bolt of silver power slammed into the crystal ball between Death Phantom's hands and it shattered into a shining dust. His control mechanism gone, the power ran wild through the Dark Man. His newly won body writhed under the strain of the energies pouring into it and he started to come apart.

The being known in his many lives as Kunshin Tetsu, Death Phantom and Wiseman of the Black Moon melted into an oily black mist. The mist roiled in place, trying to deny the power that was compelling it. With a shriek, what was left of Death Phantom was sucked into the nearest dark crystal and disappeared.

Her task completed, Usagi let the silver light retreat back into the Ginzuishou. The Senshi were released and one by one, their magic exhausted and their bodies spent. With a last flicker, the silver light around Usagi went out and she collapsed into the arms of her beloved.

His own use of the Golden Crystal had left Mamoru feeling as if he's just run the Boston Marathon with cement blocks tied to his feet. Usagi was dead weight in his arms and he found he couldn't support her and stay standing at the same time. They tumbled together to dusty ground, Mamoru trying to spare her the jarring impact.

"Usako…" he tried to summon the energy to reach out and stroke her face, but found he it beyond him. The whole world seemed to recede behind a thick glass wall for Mamoru. He could barely feel Usagi in his arms, but resisted when he someone, Makoto his brain registered, try to take her from him. Nothing made much sense to him at the moment, but there was one fact Mamoru was very sure of. He had to keep a hold of Usagi or she'd die.

"No," Ami shouted to Mako and then Rei as they reached for the two on the ground. "Don't separate them!" Her visor was in place and the readings she was getting confirmed her suspicions.

"Ami-chan, what..?" Minako started.

"Mamoru has linked his life to Usagi's," her fingers danced over the keypad of her computer. "Going into the Balance drained Usagi to the point where she can't maintain autonomic functions on her own."

"What does that mean?" Jupiter rubbed her hands together nervously.

"It means that I still win."

The voice was rough and guttural, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The largest of the fractured dark crystals shuddered slightly and there was movement inside it. A shape took form, that of a man sitting with his legs crossed.

"Your precious Usagi bound me to Nemesis and sealed me within the Black Poison Crystal, but the price of that was her life." Death Phantom pressed his gnarled hands to the crystal as if trying to break free. His fists clenched together when he found he could not. "Chiba keeps her heart beating, her lungs drawing air, but not for much longer. He is all ready exhausted and soon they will both die"

Uranus drew back a fist, ready to slam it into the crystal that held Death Phantom when her lifemate stopped her.

The Aqua Mirror in hand, she shook her head. "He's not really here, Uranus. The form we see is a shade, an illusion, nothing more."

"Very true." The cold laughter that came from Death Phantom filled the grove of broken monoliths. They took up the vibration of his insane joy, shuddering in sympathy.

"My power is broken - for now. I can wait centuries for my energies to be replenished, but your King and Queen die today. With Nemesis and the Black Poison Crystal whole, I still win."

"I think not," Pluto closed her eyes and called with all the strength she had left. "Without your will to guide this planet it will drift into deep space. That's not on our travel schedule, so we'll be going now."

A small ball of light came at her summons, slowly taking the shape of a door. The mists obscuring the portal pulled away and Elysion was visible on the other side. Uranus and Jupiter on one side, Venus and Neptune on the other carefully gathered up Usagi and Mamoru making sure that they still touched one another.

"Ja, creep," Minako called out just before they crossed the threshold of the portal. "Enjoy your stay here on Nemesis. If you ever come this way again we'll be waiting for you."

"No you won't," Death Phantom said softly. "Run along Soldiers of the White Moon. The future is all ready mine."

There was something in his tone that made both Pluto and Saturn, the last of the Senshi still on Nemesis, stop and turn to look at him while the portal blazed in back of them.

"What do mean by that," Hotaru demanded, walking away from the portal and toward the fractured crystal where Death Phantom floated. "Answer me. What do you mean by that?"

The part of him that was Kunshin Tetsu couldn't resist the impulse to gloat. "I mean that my will is no longer needed to guide Nemesis. Momentum will carry this planet to Earth and the Moon. Granted the blow will be a glancing one, but it should be more than enough to doom those worlds."

His voice lowered to an enraptured whisper. "Think of the glorious destruction. The oceans will rise from their beds, the ground will quake and volcanoes erupt as Earth convulses. The vapor and ash will rise into the atmosphere and blanket Earth in darkness for years. All living things will die in the cold night that never ends."

"Master of Life have mercy," came Pluto's whispered prayer. She glanced through the portal at the pastoral beauty of Earth's shrine.

"Without the Ginzuishou you don't have enough power to change the course Nemesis is on," he started to fade back into the darkness of his shattered crystalline prison. "I still win."

"I can stop you," Saturn said, the blade of the Glaive in her hand caught the dim light and shone. "That's why you've been trying to lure me to your side. You know I have the power to destroy Nemesis."

"No!" Pluto's reaction was immediate. "We'll find another way. With the combined power of all the Senshi…"

"It still won't be enough," Hotaru cut her off. She shook her head and walked back to where Setsuna stood by the entrance to the portal. "Next to the Queen I have the most power of all of us."

Saturn gave a sad smile at her foster mother. "It's all right, I'm not afraid. Don't you understand? All my life I've wondered why I was reborn in this time and place. Was it to be a vessel for Mistress Nine? Just so Galaxia could take my star seed? Now I know. I was reborn to be here at this moment."

"There has to be another way," unshed tears made Setsuna's eyes bright. Part of her realized that Saturn was right. "There has to be another way."

The tiny soldier sighed, as if giving into Pluto. Setsuna's posture relaxed and in that instant, Hotaru acted. She shoved Pluto through the open portal and swung the glaive at the shining door, coming into contact with the edges of it. The power in the Glaive caused the portal to destabilize immediately. It started to fold in on itself.

"I love you Setsuna," she called out as the shining door collapsed. She could see Pluto diving for the closing portal, but knew she'd never make it. "Tell Haruka and Michiru I love them, too."

"Little one," came Death Phantom's voice. It howled along with the cold wind that blew across the surface of Nemesis. "Lonely child of Chaos, it's not too late. Come to me. Join with me. I will cherish and love you the way no one else can. There are pleasures in destruction that you've never even dreamed of. I can show them to you. Come to me, little sister."

Power started to build in the Silence Glaive and Hotaru raised it in one hand. "That's the same trick you used on Chibi-Usa-chan. Well, I'm not a child to be taken in by your lies. I am the Soldier of Destruction, but in the service of life."

"What are you doing?" Panic started to creep into the demon's tone.

Closing her eyes, Saturn opened a part of herself she'd always kept deeply buried. The seal was broken and the power rushed through her. She threw back her head and concentrated.

"Death…"

It was surprisingly warm, this energy that filled her. She'd always thought it would be cold, like death, but it was so sweet and inviting.

"…Reborn…"

Her eyes snapped open and Hotaru gasped in joy. A tunnel opened up in front of her and she could see them, smiling and beckoning to her. Her father and mother, hand in hand called her name as they stood in a corridor of light. There would never be loneliness or sorrow again, Hotaru knew as that light touched her.

Home, she thought, tears of joy running down her face, at last I'm going home!

"…Revolution!"

"No," Death Phantom screamed and fled from the fractured monolith. He went into the most remote depths of the Black Poison Crystal that crisscrossed Nemesis. But even deep in the deadly jewel's heart he felt the moment when the Silence Glaive was brought down.

Nemesis shattered. The small, round planet was broken into pieces. The largest of them, rough and oblong, rocketed into a new orbit. This chunk of the dark planet would swing around the sun and move back out into open space for centuries before again slowly approaching Earth's solar system. Smaller asteroids were caught up in the pull of Nemesis and floated around it, forming a dark halo that would shroud the planet in perpetual night.

Linked to the Black Poison Crystal, Death Phantom too was shattered. It was like losing parts of himself and he shrieked in agony as he was torn asunder by Saturn's blow. He sank to the floor of the inner most chamber of the giant crystal, filled with hate and anger.

"No," he screamed calling on the last of his power. "I won't be denied the future – not again!"

A black mist settled around one of the larger chunks of the debris field that now surrounded Nemesis. It grabbed at it and in a burst of dark fire transported it. The hunks of rock and ice came screaming into earth's atmosphere at a speed of twenty-five kilometers a second. Across the globe people stopped and looked up as the stars rained down upon earth.

The first meteor, less than ten meters across, came down in the arctic. It exploded like a nuclear bomb, carving out a hole thirty meters across and vaporizing anything within that area. The light and sound of the explosion were heard more than five hundred kilometers away and the seismic activity it produced registered across the globe.

A second, smaller, hunk of nickel and iron came down in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The impact created a monster tsunami and like dropping a pebble in a still pond, it rushed out in all directions. Destruction came not in a single wave, but in a succession of them, the largest over three hundred feet high and spreading out in all directions.

Roaring like a maddened beast it rolled onshore, swallowing up anything and anyone in its path. Buildings, trees, cars and boulders roiled within as it moved ever onward, unimpeded by the petty obstacles of man and nature. There was no where to run, no ground high enough to be safe from the monster that devoured everything it touched.

It crested at last, almost 25 miles inland, before it was pulled back to the sea. When it was gone not an intact structure remained. Only a few souls had miraculously lived through the apocalyptic event. In the days to come they would envy those who had died quickly.

California, Oregon, Washington State, the eastern coastal cities of Mexico and all the way up to British Columbia looked like a giant hand had reached from the heavens and crushed what civilization had built.

The killer waves rolled over the islands of Hawaii, Polynesia, Samoa and Tonga. By the time it reached the Philippines, it had started to slow some, but not enough to spare them. The last of its fury was spent on Thailand, Vietnam and the southern most provinces of China.

The force of the giant tsunami ruptured the all ready unstable tectonic plates on North America's west coast, setting up a violent chain reaction that caused other, more stable plates to buckle. The New Madrid fault came to life, shuddering in a dance of death that would claim hundreds of thousands of lives.

Volcanoes in the aptly named "ring of fire" awakened from their long slumber. In Alaska, Italy, Africa and even ones as far away as Japan, they spewed molten rock and ash into the mix of water and dust that was enshrouding the earth.

The east fared no better than the west as one after another, tidal waves and earthquakes ravaged China, India, Egypt and Turkey. From Africa to Antarctica, from Boston to Bangkok not a region was spared the cataclysm. In a matter of less than a half an hour millions died. In the next few days, millions more would join them.

In a year, every living thing on the face of the earth would be dead.

The pull of the light was irresistible and Usagi found herself moving towards it. The warmth that came from it was all encompassing and it emanated a feeling of peace the likes of which she'd longed for all her life. Something tugged at her, a voice softly calling her name. Even though the song of glory before Usagi was strong, there was something about that other voice that made her stop and turn.

In the distance was another light, this one much dimmer than the splendor before her, but oddly compelling. As Usagi concentrated she could make out a figure silhouetted against the subtle glow. He held his arms open in a silent plea for her to come to him. She took a single step towards him and a name came to her.

"Mamo-chan?" Images rushed through Usagi's mind and with a gasp she remembered. "The Balance," she said slowly. "I went into the Balance to seal Death Phantom away."

"And did it, but at a great cost," a voice remarked. Selene, bygone Queen of the Silver Millennium was suddenly standing beside Usagi.

"I'm dead?" Usagi asked in mild outrage. "Why am I always the last one to know about these things?"

"Not quite, but almost," Selene answered. "Endymion is a very stubborn man, Serenity. It's your Prince and his Golden Crystal that keeps your heart beating for now. His strength gives me a few minutes to tell you what you have to know."

The elegant woman held out a single hand, palm up. Images played out above it and Usagi gasped at what she saw. "Earth has undergone a great cataclysm," Selene started. The pictured shifted one into the other, but everywhere death and destruction reigned. "Unless the power of both the Silver Millennium and the Golden Kingdom work together, every living thing on Earth will die."

The sight of a ravaged world mercifully disappeared with a toss of Selene's hand. "You've all ready begun to sense what the Ginzuishou and the Golden Crystal can do together, Serenity. That power you feel when you and Endymion work together is quite real."

"The power of two as one," Usagi breathed.

"Indeed," The elegant woman nodded her head. "That power is why contact between our Kingdoms was always forbidden in the past. The Ginzuishou can create and renew, the Golden Crystal mold and shape." She brought her hands together as she spoke, "Together they can cleanse and shape a world."

The images of horror lingered in Usagi's mind. "We can heal the Earth? Fix the damage done to it?"

"Yes, but slowly," Selene cautioned, "and not without a cost. Working together the Silver and Golden Crystals can make the Earth habitable again. However, the energy drain on both crystals will be substantial. The ability to call on the greatest of the Ginzuishou's magics or the Balance may not be attainable again in your lifetime."

"My lifetime," Usagi's brow knitted together in consternation and she turned to look back at where Mamoru was trying to call her back to him and life. "From what you've just told me, my lifetime isn't going to be very long."

A gentle yet sly smile spread across the refined features of the one time Queen of the Moon Kingdom. "Trust me, my dear. My Master thinks of everything. There is no evil that good cannot overcome, and no sacrifice in the service of good that will go unrewarded."

From the shining glory a figure walked to where the edge of the light spilled into that place between life and death. The brilliant radiance seemed to shine from her as well as around her. Slowly, as Usagi looked closely, the figure resolved into one she immediately recognized.

"H…Hotaru-chan?" Usagi's eyes went wide as the implications sank into her mind. "If you're here, then you're…"

"Dead, deceased, passed on, bought the farm?" Hotaru cocked her head, amusement in her voice. "It's okay. My only regret is that while I brought down the Silence Glaive on Nemesis, I wasn't able to stop Death Phantom's plans completely. That's up to you and the others now."

She leaned forward as if imparting a secret, giving a wink. "And the way to do that is return a gift you once gave me."

Hotaru cupped her hands, much as Usagi did when using the Ginzuishou. Between them a the crystalline star that had always been on the front of Saturn's fuku appeared, shining with the same light that came from both Hotaru and Selene. The star pulsed, shifting shape into that of an ornate cup.

"The Holy Grail?" Usagi whispered in recognition.

"After the battle with Master Pharaoh 90, you used the power of the sacred cup to give me another chance at life." Hotaru looked at Usagi, peace and joy on her face. "Now I give it to you so that mankind may have another chance at life. Tell Michiru, Haruka and Setsuna not to grieve for me too much, ne?" Hotaru sent it floating at Usagi as if releasing a butterfly. "Tell them I'm happy."

It shimmered, changing into stardust that suffused Usagi with a warm glow. The place around her faded away and there was the sensation of gently falling. Hotaru's voice followed her as she moved back to life, her last words still ringing in her mind as Usagi became aware of her body again. Usagi could feel Mamoru's warm arms around her, and his voice softly calling her name.

"Mamo-chan," she croaked out. Her throat was very dry and it was hard to speak. "I saw Hotaru."

A gasp made Usagi turn her head. Her friends were all around her and Helios too, she noted with surprise. Where was she anyway? Mamoru squeezed her hand, trying to brace her for the news he had to give.

"Usako," there was sorrow etched on Mamoru's face. "Usako, we lost Hotaru on Nemesis. She's dead."

Strength was flowing back into Usagi's body as Mamoru held her. She looked up at her beloved and then at three mourning Outer Senshi. "Hotaru is dead," she nodded, remembering the peace she'd seen on Hotaru's face. "But she's far from lost."

The next twenty-four hours were nothing short of frantic. There was so much to be done and so little time to do it in. Usagi and Mamoru had presented the people of the newly resurrected Moon Kingdom with a choice. They could either sleep with the rest of humanity or take the S'Eyre up on the offer of refuge and live their lives out there.

Happily, most of them, even after all the heartache of the past year, chose to sleep with mankind. All the preparations made there was only one more thing to do before Helios would initiate the process that would send the world into a long, cold sleep. To that end they gathered in the center of the shrine.

The two voices were perfectly matched in the way only twins could seem to manage. Setsuna and Lorilei sang, their fingers occasionally brushing each other in an effort to seek and give comfort as they did so.

The tune was simple, but haunting. The language was that of Setsuna's mother, a princess of the S'Eyre. While the words were alien, the emotions behind them were all too human.

They sang for Hotaru and Rei's lost child. They sang for all who had died in the great cataclysm and all who lived with the pain of losing loved ones. It was the only memorial they could give, and the song lent voice to a grief shared by an entire world.

"Ar choinri Dhia sea chuireas inne thu

(In the keeping of God I place you)

Go n-osaclai na flaithis go reidh duit

(May the gate of heaven open to you willingly)"

Rei and Yuuichirou held each other tightly as they wept for their daughter. Her grandfather chanted his own prayer for Miya under his breath as the song continued.

"Dia agus go tige do d'eileamh

(May God come to claim you)"

Mamoru had his arm around Usagi's shoulders and felt them shake with her silent tears. Her family had been living under an assumed name in California at the time of the cataclysm. With so much death and destruction, there was no way to know if they were among the few survivors or the many dead.

"Is go mbbeire siad d'nanam go Cathair na Naomh leo

(and carry your soul to the City of Saints)"

Michiru and Haruka held hands, but neither one cried openly. Their grief had been expressed privately. But even with the sorrow of loss was pride at the way Hotaru faced her death. The Soldiers of the Outer Planets knew and accepted that in the name of duty, sacrifices sometimes had to be made.

"Don saol na tabhair gra'

(Don't fall in love with this life)"

Goruden Kobushi held Minako's hand as he listened to the words. It was easy to hate people from a distance, he'd come to realize. But the monsters of myth and legend had turned out to be people who laughed and cried, suffered and bled just like anyone else.

"Ni dimhaoine blath na gcraohn

(It passes like the blossoms on the branch)"

Ami stood with her mother. Fear and hatred were the real enemies she knew. Why did it take a tragedy to make people see that?

"Lean lorg a bhfuil ag traill

(Follow the path of those who journey)"

Makoto watched the mourning around her, her heart burning with more than just grief. Her gaze fixed itself on Goruden Kobushi. While Minako had explained that he wasn't the man who sent the assassin to the Moon Kingdom, Mako still held him partially accountable for Miya's death. Goruden Kobushi had helped to foster a culture of suspicion and hate. She didn't trust him and would be watching him very carefully when they woke from the long sleep.

"O ifreann go hiath na naomb

(from this life to the land of the saints)"

The last notes died away and Helios raised his hands. He looked at Mamoru and Usagi who nodded. As a priest the powers Helios had were very limited, mainly consisting of minor defensive and curative magics. Using the restorative powers of Elysion, Helios would send Mamoru into a deep healing trance.

Since Earth, its Prince and Helios were connected, what happened to one affected them all. Usagi and Mamoru were also bonded at level too deep to broken by anything but death. That soul bond would, hopefully, be what saved the world and mankind from extinction.

The Prince of Earth wrapped his arms around his Princess and dipped his head for a last kiss. She held him close, savoring the feel of his lips on her.

"Together," Mamoru started.

"Whatever happens," Usagi closed her eyes and called…

In the same instant both the Golden and Silver Crystals exploded to life. Helios cast the spell that sent Mamoru and Usagi into the sleep that was not sleep. A wave started and spread outwards in the blink of an eye. Everything it touched was encompassed in layer of crystalline ice and immediately entered a state of suspended animation.

Usagi's last sensation was that of Mamoru's arms around her. Her last thoughts were fragmented, all the events of the past year playing out in a jumble of words and sounds, of pictures and emotions. All she really wanted was to do forget that any of it had ever happened. So much sadness and so little good had happened that it was more than Usagi could bear. As the icy sleep overtook her, she welcomed it.

The enchantment stared by Helios, increased by the power of the Ginzuishou and directed by the Golden Crystal flowed ever onward. It encompassed the pastoral beauty of Earth's hidden Shrine in a heartbeat. Growing stronger and faster, it left Elysion and raced for the world above.

His power was waning quickly now, most of his energy spent on flinging the asteroid into Earth's atmosphere. The dark silence in the inner most chamber of the Black Poison Crystal was broken only by the slow beating of Death Phantom's heart. The body he'd taken such pains to get was failing him and he knew that the only way to survive was to become like the crystal around him. That bit of transfiguring magic would take the last of his power and he'd be forced into a state of dormancy that could last eons.

No matter, Death Phantom decided, if he slept for a year or a thousand years. The universe was a vast place, full of the hate, fear and pain that made him strong. It was only a matter of time before he'd awaken once more. Then he'd bring to fruition his great mission and ensure that the creation became the silent, dark place it was meant to be.

He had mastered the great circle of time and fate. When he came into his own again, there would be no one to stop him. With dark joy, Death Phantom reflected on what must be happening on Earth right now.

The damage to Earth bio-systems from the asteroid would cause the planetary temperature to drop well below freezing and stay there. Earth would become a frigid wasteland for a thousand years or more. Everyone and every thing would be encased in a tomb of ice. It would take a miracle to save mankind now and without Neo-Queen Serenity and her Ginzuishou that could not happen. She'd been all but dead when he saw her last and her precious Prince Endymion would, no doubt, die with her.

Then he felt it, like a small tremor that caused the great black crystal to vibrate for a moment. There was only one force in the universe that could cause such a reaction. The Ginzuishou was being used. But the Silver Crystal could only be used by one person and she was dead – wasn't she? Usagi had to be dead!

Using the very last dredges of the power available to him, Death Phantom opened his mind. What he sensed would have made him scream in protest if he'd had energy to do so. As it was, all the Dark Man could was make a small, squeaking sound.

"No…"

It was the Ginzuishou and it was being used to put the Earth into a state of suspension. He could feel it, rushing across the beleaguered globe as unstoppable as a tidal wave. Death Phantom knew what that meant.

Earth would sleep for a thousand years then awaken by the power of the woman who would be called Neo-Queen Serenity. She and her King, Endymion, along with the four guardian Senshi would establish the unified Kingdom of Earth and the Moon called Crystal Tokyo.

"No…"

Where had he gone wrong, Death Phantom shrieked to himself? He'd planned it all out so carefully! Once freed from his prison in the fourth dimension he'd bided his time until Usagi's identity as Sailor Moon had been exposed. It had been so easy to prod people into fearing and hating the Senshi. Death Phantom remembered with great satisfaction the moment when the crowd had almost killed them all. Chiba and Pluto had been shot, the crowd was ready to tear them all to pieces then…

Then Usagi went into the Balance for the first time and stopped them.

"No!"

Just as the dark sleep came to claim Death Phantom, he knew the truth. Usagi would have never needed to find the ultimate power of the Ginzuishou if not for the events he'd set in motion.

Without the Balance, Kunshin Tetsu would not have had the opportunity to become addicted to the pleasures of stealing Usagi's power.

Without Kunshin Tetsu's total dependency on that sensual thrill Death Phantom could never had lured his past self into the actions that had led him to Nemesis.

Desperate but fading away into dormancy, Death Phantom knew what would happen when he awoke again. His memory of the past would be all but gone and his only goal would be the driving compulsion to acquire the power of the Ginzuishou.

To that end he'd use the small band of people who now lived on Nemesis, the so called "Black Moon Clan," and their desire for revenge. As Wiseman he'd pander to the growing obsession of their leader, Prince Demando, with the flaxen haired Neo-Queen of Earth.

That same woman would eventually face him in a battle that would destroy his body but send a tiny bit of his consciousness into the dark regions of the forth dimension. There, with flawed memories of the thirtieth century, he would wait and plan for his revenge and the opportunity to make the future his own.

He wasn't the master of the circle of time and fate – he was its pawn. Death Phantom was trapped in an endless cycle that would repeat until eternity itself ground to a halt. The knowledge that his actions had caused the very future he'd tried so hard to prevent shattered what was left of his mind. And as he fell into a dark oblivion, the creature known as Death Phantom called out to the being he called his "father", Chaos, for mercy.

But his only answer was silence.

"This is the story of my whole damn life," Haruka called out totally frustrated, "Nothing ever goes the way it's supposed to! Why the hell aren't we asleep like everyone else?!"

Michiru patted her lifemate's shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'm sure there's got to be a reason," she said in an unconvincing voice.

The two had watched in utter amazement as the wave flowed from Usagi and Mamoru. It headed right for them, then at the last moment, broke to either side and continued on its way. A layer of frozen crystal covered everything - the Senshi, animals, trees, flowers and even the blades of grass.

But not them.

That's why the voice that answered Haruka's question was such a surprise. "And that reason would be me."

They turned as one, attacks all ready powering up. Walking gingerly so as not to fall on the crystalline ice that was everywhere, was a young woman in the fuku of Sailor Moon. She was slender with the look of a girl in the first blush of adulthood. Her hair was the color of cotton candy and flowed half way down her back from the two cone shaped odongos that sat on her head.

"Chibi-Moon?" Neptune asked in amazement.

Princess Small Lady Serenity seemed very pleased with the look of shock of the faces of the Outer Senshi. "Actually I'm called Neo-Moon these days. Been a while, ne?"

"What are you doing here?" Uranus asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm here for you two, of course," she answered, holding up her hand. "The Outer Senshi are needed. You have to come with me."

"What about Pluto?" Michiru glanced at where Setsuna and Lorilei were cocooned together.

Sailor Neo-Moon held up her hand. In it was a small key shaped object. "Who do you think sent me? Puu is waiting for you. She'll explain everything."

Behind Small Lady a portal appeared. It shone with a silvery mist that slowly cleared away. Cinnamon eyes brimmed with contained amusement as she glanced back over shoulders.

"Are you two coming?" she asked then walked into the doorway.

After a moment to collect herself, Haruka gave a snort of derisive laughter. "The story of my whole damn life," she repeated. "Well, I once said I walk into hell to be with you, so how bad can the future be?" Haruka held her hand out in invitation to Michiru.

With a last look around her, the Senshi of Neptune took it. "I hate it when you ask questions like that. The answer we get is never good." She gave her lifemate's hand a squeeze and together they walked hand in hand for the portal.

And onward to the future.