Three Days Later . . .

The inner Senshi were forced to collect Mamoru and Usagi themselves since the newly weds hadn't shown up at the temple that morning as planned. And to make matters worse his phone was off the hook. With each passing day their unknown future weighed heavier upon them, and a lot needed to be done now that the honeymoon was officially over.

By way of teleportation the girls arrived at the top of one of the stairwells in Mamoru's condo, then powered down to make their way down to his front door. Once outside Mamoru's unit Rei knocked persistently.

A few seconds passed without any response until they heard a heavy thud followed by Mamoru's cursing through the door.

"Who is it?" He demanded in irritation.

Rei planted her hands on her hips, "Who do you think it is?!" She bellowed back.

They could have sworn that Mamoru mumbled in surprise it being Thursday already when the bolts unlocked. Mamoru barely pulled the door open to peek his head out. All they could see of him was his face beneath heavily tousled black hair.

"That time already?" He sheepishly asked.

Seeing his disheveled state the four of them grinned uncontrollably but nodded in silence.

Ami blushed, "We hate to interrupt but we only have a few more days and we have an endless list of things to take care of."

Mamoru looked down in full Senshi seriousness, "Of course."

Minako had the hardest time hiding the triumphant grin just begging to break through her casual smile. She began leading the girls away from the door and back to the stairwell, "Okay, we'll be at the temple."

The girls smiled innocently at him as they retreated down the hallway. Makoto tilted her head with a smile, "No need to rush too much."

Mamoru observed their Cheshire cat grins and his mouth pursed in irritation. He would not let them leave without a good scolding.

"Wait."

They paused.

Over the course of their honeymoon Mamoru and Usagi had been completely open with each other and had eliminated all of their misunderstandings through countless heart-to-hearts. Due to their absolute honesty Mamoru learned of the note they left in Usagi's bag. What followed was the clarity of hindsight; a fridge full of aphrodisiacs, a romantic bedroom revamp, notes for himself and Usagi.

Mamoru looked at them disapprovingly, "You guys have been busy haven't you?"

The very real hint of accusation lingered in the short silence where no one flinched.

Minako broke the guarded pause and shrugged dumbly, "Well, we have a million things to do Mamoru, so I would imagine."

Mamoru raised an accusing eyebrow, staring at them with scrutinizing suspicion. Mamoru tried to believe that they couldn't have known about his early days fanaticizing about Sailor Moon as consolation for denying his feelings for Usagi . . . but still.

"Motoki told you, didn't he?" Mamoru offered.

The girls remained neutral, appearing lost when Minako looked at him as if he had just said something ridiculous, "What are you going on about Mamoru?"

Mamoru wasn't buying it, "Do you even know how much trouble you got me into due to your attention to detail?" he chastised, recalling the look on Usagi's face when she realized he wasn't the one who redecorated.

Rei tilted her head in what seemed to be confusion, "Trouble?"

"Yes!" Mamoru belted at their feigned innocence, "Trouble! I'd never seen Usako so hurt-"

Mamoru was all set to lay into them when he suddenly paused as an image of himself loosing control and pouncing Usagi in the living room once she had transformed came to mind . . . They suggested for her to do that.

Mamoru shook it off and continued with his lecture. "There was the oddest thunder clap the other night . . ." he leveled his criticizing gaze at Makoto. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

Makoto shrugged nonchalantly, "Thunder and lightning are random things Mamoru. You really can't predict exactly when they will strike."

Mamoru rested his eyes on each one of their clueless faces.

"Is something the matter Mamoru?" Rei inquired, "Was your honeymoon not enjoyable?"

Underneath their questioning stares Mamoru recalled the lingerie Usagi wore due to the magic of his bedroom. He remembered the delightful way Usagi tackled him to the couch when the lightning struck. He remembered how his glorious honeymoon began after he lost his self-control the moment Usagi transformed into Sailor Moon.

The girls continued to stare him down as Mamoru sheepishly pulled his head back into his apartment, now wanting to change the subject, "So . . . the temple then."

Mamoru was about to close the door in order to save his dwindling male pride when he hesitated. He could see Minako out of the corner of his eye crossing her arms along her chest looking expectantly at him.

Mamoru felt her reproving stare as Minako silently raised both eyebrows, waiting. Mamoru resisted but then looked down and mumbled, "Thank you," and quickly closed the door.

He had wanted to rip into them for meddling in their affairs but unfortunately he could appreciate the wisdom behind it all. If they interfered as much as Mamoru suspected, he had to admit that the girls knew them better than Usagi and Mamoru knew themselves.

"Your welcome." Came a smug reply from the other side of the door.

Mamoru laughed out loud, now fully grateful for their wedding gifts no matter how far the giving went.

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi purred from the bathroom as the sound of water filled his ears.

"First things first," Mamoru thought while turning to navigate his way towards the bathroom, completely nude. He carefully stepped around the toppled furniture, abandoned picnics, blanketed spots of lovemaking, and strewn clothes and pillows. The disaster zone in his apartment was a testament to how thoroughly they had enjoyed their honeymoon. His steps quickened as he neared the bathroom to shower with his wife and start the day off right.

/

Ami, Rei, Minako, Makoto, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru sat around Rei's kitchen table chatting about various important issues while Luna and Artemis mediated from the centre of the table in feline form. A second pot of coffee made its way around followed by assorted pastries courtesy of Makoto. Just before Rei could check her watch for the sixth time Usagi and Mamoru stepped into the kitchen.

A sense of relaxation cloaked everyone in the room from their presence alone. As the married couple took their seats everyone could see that Usagi exuded happiness and contentment on a level they had never before witnessed while Mamoru seemed to glide with self-secure, effortless grace. They flooded with joy.

Haruka elbowed Michiru roughly who blushed when Haruka whispered, "What'd I tell you?"

Mamoru shot a warning glare at Haruka who winked at him in approval.

Usagi's genuine smile replaced itself with the look of an attentive leader, "So, what's new?" She asked now deathly serious.

Ami took out her computer and began typing in earnest, "Rei has done many fire readings over the past few days and came across some useful information."

Rei nodded, taking over, "I've been able to determine the exact time our first enemy will arrive."

"When?" Inquired Mamoru.

"Monday morning. 1:17 a.m." Rei continued, "I can't see exactly who the enemy will be as the visions I get are very unfamiliar. I do know that Tokyo will be where the chaos will begin." Rei turned to Michiru.

Michiru nodded and took her turn, "My mirror revealed an intense pulse of energy that will descend from the skies to order to attack the city somehow."

Rei added, "I have seen a vision of all of us standing on Tokyo Tower just before it happens. I get the feeling that is where we are supposed to be on Monday at 1:17 a.m., though I don't know why."

Usagi nodded in silence when Ami volunteered, "I had been digging in the hidden depths of the Internet and discovered a rogue scientist in Chechnya who has been reporting that light from distant stars and galaxies is gravitationally bending around a point in empty space within the Moon's orbit. His research suggests that the reason for the gravitational lensing is due to a densification of space-time around a singularity, but no one is taking him seriously or paying much attention."

"I finally convinced her to let me hack into his system so she could access his research." Haruka inserted.

Ami blushed, "His data allowed me to make some calculations and it shows that Tokyo will be directly aligned with the singularity at precisely 1:17 a.m. local time, this Monday."

Haruka nodded approvingly as Ami continued, "Also, after further research I found similar phenomena documented in the Silver Millennium archive files." Ami's typing increased in speed and intensity as she holographically projected the data for everyone to see. "In every case these singularities were detected just before a tunnel through space-time appeared."

"A wormhole?" Asked Hotaru as she studied the statistics.

"Yes." Ami confirmed.

Usagi pouted her lips, "Hm. Okay, well, considering the newness of our powers I think we should use most of this weekend to train. We'll focus on precision and control and test our limits to see how far we can stretch them. We should also explore combinations."

Luna beamed with pride as Artemis implored, "We heartily agree."

Mamoru poured himself some coffee, "We're going to have to find new training grounds given the potential damage we can now cause. The city parks aren't going to cut it anymore. Any ideas?" He offered.

"Actually . . ." Rei hesitantly placed her clasped hands on the table. "That has been taken care of."

In response to their questioning stares Rei relayed to them what had happened the previous day.

/

Wednesday . . .

As part of her routine daily chores Rei diligently swept the front courtyard and basked in the beautiful silence underlying the pleasant sounds of nature. Each rhythmic beat of her broom caused Rei to smile with a hint of sadness that a true, peaceful moment like the one she was experiencing would be one of her last for a long time.

Rei continued her sweep when she heard her grandfather's voice calling behind her.

"Rei! I've made us some tea."

Rei's smile broadened at their usual routine. She promptly laid down her broom and went to join him.

Her grandfather poured their tea as Rei washed her hands in the sink. Once she sat down Rei grabbed a muffin from the plate on the table and began munching silently then immediately noticed the intense stare of her grandfather. She paused in mid-chew when her intuition hinted that he had something important to say.

Rei swallowed the mass of muffin in her mouth and seriously asked, "What is it Grandpa?"

Flowing with the truth her grandfather began, "I've been thinking a lot these past few days . . . about the road that you all have ahead of you-"

He paused. "Tokyo will probably be ground-zero won't it?"

Rei was caught off guard and couldn't think of anything to say. Thankfully, he saved her the trouble.

"Even still. Eventually you could be fighting all over the globe. With your private lives destroyed in addition to the unknown nature of the future, I feel that it will be necessary for you all to have a place where you can get away and regroup . . . a home base."

Rei furrowed her brow, "What are you saying?"

He finally looked up at her and smiled. He could not hide his sense of pride as his hand disappeared into the sleeves of his robe to produce a heavily folded piece of paper. Rei looked on in curiosity as he unfolded the paper revealing it to be a topographical map of Japan's Shikoku region.

While smoothing out the folded lines her grandfather explained, "The Shinto tradition was always present in our family history."

"Yes," agreed Rei, "You've told me this many times."

"But I didn't tell you how far back it went."

Rei just looked at him, puzzled.

The deep wrinkles in his tanned face seemed to soften, "One of our ancestors was a very wealthy man who lived on Shikoku in the eighteenth century. He achieved enlightenment through Shintoism and was so transformed and grateful that he used his fortune to build a Shinto temple deep in the mountains of Shikoku."

Rei's eyes split wider but her grandfather continued, "This remote temple is virtually unknown and its location has been passed down through generations of our family. Somehow I always knew I would pass the knowledge down to you, bypassing your father."

He looked into his granddaughter's eyes expressively, "I want you and the Senshi to use this temple as your sanctuary. I have seen it once and I know it will be perfect."

Tears of astonishment and honour gathered in Rei's eyes while her grandfather picked up a pencil and marked a specific point in the mountainous southwest. "It's here. I'm sure you'll be able to find it."

Before Rei could utter a word of protest or gratitude her grandfather just picked up his tea and walked out of the room.

She sat there staring at the map and thought about what he had just told her for a good hour. She wanted to tell him that they couldn't accept such a treasure, but the more Rei thought about it the less likely that seemed.

He was right. They couldn't live in anonymity with their loved ones in Tokyo anymore, especially since the entire world knew who they were and where they lived. It just wouldn't be plausible. The Senshi had almost no clue regarding the scale of attacks they were about to face and they would need a private place to retreat to when they needed to rest, regroup, and train without worrying about destroying anything. Rei had to admit that it made perfect sense.

/

The Present . . .

After Rei related her grandfather's bestowal the Senshi just stared at her barely able to say anything.

Rei filled the silence, "I teleported there yesterday almost disbelieving that it existed . . . but it was there."

"Wow." Makoto stated.

"It needs a fair bit of work," admitted Rei. "Nothing we can't handle though."

"Can we just do that?" Usagi inquired, "I don't know if I'm comfortable invading an ancient, sacred family temple."

Rei rolled her eyes, "Like you don't do that here?"

Usagi let out a puff of indignation.

Rei laughed at their usual antics. "Odango, consider the situation. Are you going to live with Mamoru where the entire world would know where to find you? Or live with your family while fending off God knows how many evil psychopaths? You know you would never do anything to put them in danger."

The cold, hard truth silenced Usagi and everyone else at the table.

"Admit it," encouraged Rei, now much more somber, "It's the perfect solution. It's remote, peaceful, massive, and we are all now capable of teleporting anywhere on Earth on our own."

"Still . . ." argued Usagi, "if Tokyo or any other place on Earth is in the direct line of fire I wouldn't feel right if all of us teleported far away when we needed to rest. What about the cities? What about all of the people?"

Haruka smiled at her unyielding compassion, "Don't worry Odango. Remember that no one knows about our identities," she said motioning to Hotaru, Michiru and herself. "Our condo is a two-story penthouse suite, we can use it as an operating base. As long as Tokyo remains in direct danger there will always be Senshi on the ground. And we will do the same in other cities."

Minako jumped on that idea. "We'll take shifts resting up if things get really intense."

"You're both right," Makoto agreed. "We won't be much good in battle if we don't have a place we can retreat to in order to clear our heads."

Silence lingered again and Usagi exhaled slowly. Now that they had been forced to openly discuss the upcoming harsh realities they were going to have to face made everything much too real. Their discussion was a sober awakening for the Senshi as they sat there actively making plans and asking the loaded questions they had all been trying to avoid.

Before the next topic of discussion arose Usagi casually asked, "So, when is someone going to tell me where Pluto is?"

None of the Senshi moved a muscle in the immediate silence so Usagi was forced to continue, "I've been waiting patiently for one of you to bring it up and no one has."

Usagi could clearly see acute pain and silent regret flash across their faces. Her arms began to tremble and her fists balled up on the surface of the table.

"Where is Setsuna?" She demanded in a low whisper, paralyzed with fear.

Mamoru's warm hand immediately covered Usagi's and she began to instinctively relax though remained somewhat uptight.

"Pluto was forced to make a very difficult decision," Mamoru explained with a heavy heart.

Michiru jumped in, "Before we tell you what happened you have to understand that if she didn't do what she did it would have been impossible for us to find you."

Minako looked vacantly into the table, "If it wasn't for Pluto . . . your fate would have been Cirius for eternity."

Usagi's lips pursed as tears made their way down her face, "Where is Setsuna?" She demanded again, not fazed in the least by anything they said.

Rei reached across the table and grabbed Usagi's other hand carefully telling her about Pluto committing a great taboo when she created a backdoor to Cirius' dimension, allowing the Senshi to save her. Once Usagi understood that Setsuna was trapped inside a crystal encasement for a millennium while her consciousness remained active, her tears overflowed. She ripped her hands away from Mamoru and Rei and stood up in growing alarm.

"I'll save her," stated Usagi with fierce determination.

"We've tried to think of a way to rescue Setsuna from her fate," admitted Hotaru, "but we wouldn't know where to look or what we could do if we found her prison."

Everyone bowed their heads in sympathy for Setsuna. With a brief flash Usagi transformed into Cosmic Sailor Moon sparkling in gold, white, and silver.

"I'll save her."

Before anyone could ask what she would do Sailor Moon summoned her crystalline staff. The Ginzuishou intensified its steady shine and she closed her eyes, whispering quietly to herself. Sailor Moon suddenly vanished into white light to leave everyone staring blankly.

Mamoru smiled adoringly.

/

Cosmic Sailor Moon appeared deep in the ruins of the Moon Palace at the Crystal Tower in the Sacred Chamber of Prayer. In a very distressed state she called out, "Mother?"

Queen Selenity's apparition shimmered into existence before her. The look on her face was sad but strangely hopeful. "My darling."

Sailor Moon smiled lovingly at her mother for a moment then erupted in a desperate monologue about Sailor Pluto.

With the same confused look of hopeful sadness the Queen stated, "It is very unfortunate that in circumstances such as these I am unable to interfere."

Sailor Moon looked stunned, "What? Are-Are you sure?"

The Queen explained, "Chronos is in charge of enforcing the punishment that Pluto agreed to undergo if she were to ever break the time-warp, non-interference rule."

The apparition stated very clearly, "It is impossible for me to interfere in such matters since the covenant was between Chronos and Sailor Pluto, and I can not impede upon their free-will."

Becoming very desperate Cosmic Sailor Moon begged her mother for the opportunity to communicate with Chronos. She would not accept Pluto suffering this way. She was absolutely determined to try.

The hope that had been lingering in the Queens eyes overtook the rest of her face. Happily granting Sailor Moon's request Queen Selenity encouraged a spirit-link between the Consciousness of Chronos and that of Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon immediately learned that Chronos was not doing anything evil or bad. Chronos was simply performing its end of a sacred agreement. Nothing more. Understanding that she could not change such sacred agreements Sailor Moon poured her heart out to Chronos expressing everything she could not speak in words about Sailor Pluto, what she had done, and the delicacy of their circumstances. Even though Usagi sensed Chronos was already knowledgeable of everything she had conveyed, the intimate connection they briefly shared allowed Chronos to feel Sailor Moon fully. From this soul-felt understanding Chronos couldn't help but grant Sailor Moon's request to 'feel' Pluto's prison.

Almost instantaneously Sailor Moon sensed the crystal encasement holding Sailor Pluto within her spiritual reach. Sailor Moon could only feel paranoid fear and despair emanating from Pluto. Now very anxious Sailor Moon poured the Ginzuishou's energy into her prison. For the shortest moment Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto sensed each other. The most profound burst of relief and joy radiated from Sailor Pluto until she drifted off into a timeless slumber, only to awaken once her sentence was complete.

Upon opening her eyes Sailor Moon spilled a few emotional tears but was now at peace because Pluto was at peace.

/

Monday

1:11 a.m.

The Eternal Sailor Senshi and Cosmic Sailor Moon ripped speedily and gracefully through the Tokyo night air. Spread across a seven-block expanse, they vaulted over buildings effortlessly, able to cover full city blocks in one fluid, robust leap. It had been a unanimous decision that teleportation would only be used in absolute emergencies, for long distance travel, and would always be done in secret. Otherwise it would be business as usual.

Making their way towards the city centre the Senshi traveled in silence. After their twenty-four hour brainstorming session in Rei's kitchen it had been agreed that they would ask their families and loved ones to change their names, wipe out their old identities and relocate to leave all trails dead. The Senshi knew that it would be a difficult thing to ask, but the fact of the matter was that most of the world knew their identities. Even though alien enemies wouldn't likely pay attention at first, who knows what might happen if they got desperate and learned who was connected to their enemy.

The Senshi would not be able to concentrate if their loved ones were so easy to find and wouldn't be able to forgive themselves if anything happened to them. Surprisingly, once the topic was broached the family and close friends of the inner Senshi readily agreed, all willing to do whatever they could to improve the situation. They understood the great responsibility they now carried from simply being publically connected to the Sailor Senshi and wanted to help out in any way possible.

Thanks to an underground connection of Haruka's, each of them abandoned their old lives and left all trails cold, soon afterwards popping up in different parts of Japan with altered appearances, different names, histories, and documents. None of the Senshi wanted them to have to do these things, but they were on the verge of accumulating countless enemies that might try anything to find their weaknesses. They could not afford to be careless.

The Senshi spent most of the weekend training in the Shikoku mountains while setting up their Shinto temple home and Haruka and Michiru's condo. Pushing the boundaries of their powers and training together without fear of damaging anything or being overheard had proved invaluable. They discovered various, revolutionary ways in which they could attack and defend and thoroughly explored the new depths of their powers. The weekend was so successful that they all wondered why they hadn't trained as a group before. The inners and the outers were training together for the first time in history and were equally on par. After a rough go of it in the beginning, eventually they began working well as a team and learned many new things from each other.

Eternal Endymion proved to be the most interesting addition power-wise. On top of his own attacks he became adept at amplifying the elemental attacks of the others. Next to Sailor Moon, it was Neptune who displayed a strong resonance with Endymion's powers. The Senshi attributed that to the fact that Earth is primarily an ocean world. In just three days the Senshi's confidence in their abilities had strengthened immeasurably. Even though they had no clue what was about to happen at Tokyo Tower, they were convinced they would be able to handle whatever would come, as long as they believed in themselves and believed in Cosmic Sailor Moon.

The crowds of people walking the streets below didn't notice the dark shadows streaking through the air high above them while Tokyo Tower grew taller with every leap forward. Sailor Moon's face held steady under the seriousness of what was about to happen. Her silver-white pigtails whipped violently behind her as she frowned in sadness watching Eternal Sailor Saturn dart across the skyline. Through her brief connection with Chronos, Sailor Moon learned that Saturn had been chosen to be the replacement guardian of time until Pluto reawakened. Her heart broke when she thought of Hotaru, at such a young age guarding the gates of time all by herself for the next ten centuries. Fortunately, Queen Selenity volunteered to guard the gate in periodic intervals so that Hotaru could still fight alongside her fellow Senshi and live a life. Saturn would still need to be trained as the time guardian and Queen Selenity would see to that as soon as there was no immediate threat.

While sailing through the air Cosmic Sailor Moon's somber eyes caught a huge neon billboard that read, "Thank you Sailor Moon. Tokyo stands with you."

Her heart leapt into her throat and she found herself smiling, then she caught another one that read, "We believe in the Sailor Senshi."

Her smile broadened. The people of Tokyo were responding to them. Sailor Moon was now very glad she had convinced the Senshi to drop in unexpectedly at NHK News 7 two days ago.

/

Two Days Prior

Saturday

6:50 pm

The Eternal Senshi emerged from teleportation on the roof of NHK's Broadcasting Centre. Sailor Moon quickly found the stairwell as the Senshi followed her down. Everyone was nervous as Mars said, "Sailor Moon, are you sure about this?"

"I am," came her confident tone, "It will put a lot of the rumours about us to rest, we could also potentially soften this media craze, and you know we should warn them of what's coming. It's only fair."

No one else argued with her.

Once they found the correct floor the Senshi left the safety of the stairwell to walk briskly through the halls. Anyone that came across them just froze in dumbfounded silence, the Senshi smiling sheepishly as they passed.

Quickly finding NHK News 7 they approached the receptionist whose attention was fixated on her Smartphone as she chatted away to a friend on the office line.

"Excuse me," spoke Sailor Moon.

Captivated by her phone the receptionist sighed in annoyance; they were minutes away from broadcasting for God's sake, who the hell had the audacity to bother her now? She told her friend to hold on a second and tried her best not to roll her eyes, "How may I help-,"

She looked up to find the Sailor Senshi smiling politely at her. The phone cradled under her ear dropped to the floor.

Sailor Moon gave a huge smile, "Hi! We were wondering if it would be possible for you to let us on the evening news. We promise we won't take long."

The receptionist remained mute and still, her mouth hanging open unglamourously as she stared at the most famous people in Japan at the moment.

As Sailor Moon tried to get a response from the shell-shocked young woman, a camera operator had witnessed the entire encounter from the adjacent hallway and immediately charged into the studio to find the director.

With no response coming from the girl at the front desk and the steady increase of eager faces pressed against the glass from the hallway, Mars offered, "I knew this was a bad idea, let's just get out of here, and quickly."

Before anyone could agree or disagree the director burst out of the studio and charged towards the front desk. "Sailor Senshi! You want on the news is that right?!"

"Uh, we know this is quite unorthodox," explained a shy Sailor Moon, "and we're sorry for barging in like this, but we feel it's important to-"

"You want to have your first interview on our news program?!" The director asked yet again, desperately trying to catch his breath.

Sailor Moon was getting annoyed, "Look, I know it's presumptuous but-"

"Benjiro!" Barked the director as he stared at his watch. "Get them into the studio, ASAP! We're live in eight minutes!"

Before anyone could blink the Senshi were being herded into the studio and the director thanked his lucky stars.

/

The Present . . .

As the Senshi ripped across the roof of the city Sailor Moon smirked. That 'interview' didn't go as planned for NHK News 7. The Senshi came in, said what they needed to say, then left a few minutes later. But the repercussions of those few minutes proved inspiring. Random billboards, social media, TV ads, blogs, and websites were popping up to give them messages of acceptance and support. There were a lot of skeptics and ridiculer's too, but the fact that there were people in the world that believed in them made their mission that much less of a burden.

As they approached their destination the Senshi's erratic paths magically converged at the base of Tokyo Tower where it was oddly silent considering they were in the heart of city. Unsure of what to do next they glanced amongst each other until Sailor Moon caught Neptune and Mars looking earnestly towards the tower's peak.

Cosmic Sailor Moon suddenly ignited into a sprint then launched powerfully into the air. Her body flipped around in mid-flight to land gracefully on the top of the building located at the tower's base. The moment her boots touched down on the building's ledge she gathered all of her momentum and vaulted up into the sky. As the matrix of red metal blurred past, Sailor Moon outstretched her gloved hands for one of the many observation deck support beams about half way up. Gripping one tightly she forced her weight and momentum into another direction, catapulting herself up and over to land on the roof of the observation deck. She crouched low once again, and then exploded even higher. Hurtling through the air Sailor Moon suddenly grabbed onto an antenna sailing past her and flipped herself around it in order to propel herself to the very top. Sailor Moon somersaulted up to the apex of her dismount and touched down with a soft thud on the platform beneath the spire.

She slowly stood up amidst the vortex of high-rise winds erratically assaulting her hair and uniform in persistent, beating swathes. It was now clear that Sailor Moon had fully matured, no longer hesitant to accept her destiny as a warrior. After all of her grueling experiences Sailor Moon had crystallized into a full-fledged Sailor Soldier that was now no nonsense if she had to be.

It remained Sailor Moon's dearest wish to never hurt anyone, but after four years of intense fighting Sailor Moon had finally embraced the truth. And the truth was Sailor Moon would not hesitate to wipe a soul from existence if she was left with no other option to save the Earth and humanity. It was as simple as that.

In this sense Sailor Moon had become a true warrior. A sharp tinge of sadness overtook her eyes. As willing as she now was to fully embrace her new destiny, it deeply broke Sailor Moon's heart that this was what she had to become if they were going to stand a chance . . . if the Earth was going to stand a chance.

/

The Eternal Senshi watched Cosmic Sailor Moon scale Tokyo Tower in seconds. Each of them stood transfixed and deeply impressed. With the faintest of smiles curving at their lips the Senshi took a running start and followed her up in sporadic, contrasting patterns.

As they ascended Tokyo Tower the Senshi collectively recalled what a haphazard crybaby Sailor Moon was when she had first become a Senshi. There was nothing warrior-like about her because she had no underlying Senshi experience, though she possessed fierce determination. She had been the Princess of the Moon and the Crown Princess of the Silver Millennium after all, the embodiment of peace and understanding. However, it was now evident that Sailor Moon had achieved the true spirit of a Sailor Soldier while simultaneously remaining their loving Princess with a hopeful, bleeding heart. The sense of excitement only a true warrior would feel just before battle bubbled within each of them, revealing their recognition of the formidably potent mix Sailor Moon had become. Climbing faster they remained pleasantly agitated wondering what kind of Senshi they now had the potential to be while protecting and fighting alongside such a strong, powerful, and lovable leader.

/

Sailor Moon stood silently on the windy peak of Tokyo observing her hometown. It was then she suddenly remembered what she had said after she let her transformation go on live T.V.

/

FLASHBACK . . .

Once she powered down Cosmic Sailor Moon had suddenly revealed herself on national T.V. She stood exposed and vulnerable as Tsukino Usagi with long blonde hair sporting a pair of ripped, faded blue jeans and red canvas sneakers. She nervously bunched up the sleeve of her white, knitted sweater confessing,

"Look. I am just Tsukino Usagi, a normal, human girl born and raised here in Tokyo. I grew up the exact same way many of you did; going to school, wasting time with my friends, playing video games, reading manga, and avoiding my homework like the plague. But, when I was fourteen I awakened to my purpose, I remembered that I am a Sailor Guardian who protects Earth from evil forces in the name of the Moon. The rest of the Sailor Senshi are also charged with protecting Earth in the name of their own planets.

"We are planetary protectors, that's all. We harness the power of the planets to fight for love and justice, and we are not the only ones. There are Sailor Senshi all across the galaxy whose duty it is to protect the planet that gave them life. The sad news is that we haven't seen the last of our enemies. They will continue to come to Earth and try to destroy our beautiful planet and our way of life, but you can be sure that the Sailor Senshi will die before we let that happen. Protecting Earth is the reason we exist, and we will gladly do so over and over, no matter how long it takes and no matter how many aggressors come here wanting to wipe us out. So please don't fear us. We are just like you and we will protect our home."

END FLASHBACK

/

At the peak of Tokyo Tower Eternal Endymion suddenly appeared arcing silently in the air to land directly behind Cosmic Sailor Moon. His thick cape fluttered around her as he touched down and stood up tall behind her. One by one the Sailor Senshi appeared at the height of their dismounts to land in rapid succession around the royal couple.

Gathered together the Senshi joined Sailor Moon in staring out at their home city in nostalgic silence. Tokyo was where they lived full, normal, and happy lives. This was where they had gravitated to become Senshi once again, but this time, together. They had so many fond memories here, struggled through seemingly countless challenges, and achieved many victories. They learned how to become better Sailor Soldiers due to being born on this breath-taking planet fighting for love and justice alongside Sailor Moon.

Eternal Mercury watched the countdown in the corner of her visor and pierced the contemplative silence,

"Sixty seconds."

The sudden realness of what was coming descended upon them, their stomachs lurching in frigid anticipation. The Senshi stood on the precipice of the end of an era while tumbling into an unknown beginning. They weren't quite sure what they were supposed to do in fifty-nine seconds, though each of them retained complete faith that they would know what to do when the time came.

As the few remaining seconds ticked by the Eternal Sailor Senshi anchored themselves, standing ready with the high-rise winds billowing aggressively around them. The dark clouds above the tower churned unexpectedly then began to swirl in an unnatural way. The Senshi stared up into the sky ominously, remaining frozen in their formation and prepared themselves to tackle whatever the Galaxy would throw at them.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I thoroughly hoped you enjoyed this story. I had worked on it for years then finally got the courage to share it. Please leave a review if you are so inclined. Hearing what other Sailor Moon fans think would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading ;)