“I am the queen of this planet. I vow, Lunara shall never be yours!” Cerulean eyes glistened wickedly at their red-violet opponents that glowed with a vicious flame.

“I beg to differ,” the owner of the cerulean eyes said. He shifted slightly, his black metal armor making a scraping sort of noise against itself and the hard leather beneath it. “You and all of Lunara shall bend to my will. You shall be the first, as I shall make you bow to me.”

“You have lost your way, Hermes,” his rosy-skinned opponent said. She shifted as well, letting her bow brush against her carnation skirt. The bright silver string of the bow glistened, giving off a shine that the nervous onlookers almost felt blinded by. They anxiously waited for twilight, when the battle to determine their future would begin. Their beautiful queen, so beautiful and wise, was opposite her would-be lover. Hermes had courted her three times, once out of love, once out of anger, and now out of spite. He was determined that if he could not have her, no one would. He would either defeat her and take the throne, ruling Lunara viciously, or he would lose and be killed by her hand. None ever thought or wished their queen to be bloody, but there was little choice.

“Little princess, it is not safe...” A pair of sapphire blue eyes looked up through the crowd to her tall guardian. “Your sister demanded you remain at the castle.”

“But I must see,” the yellow-haired child said. “Sister is going to fight that awful man. I must see!” The guardian reached down and brushed aside a lock of already-silvered hair. It seemed their family curse, for the girls to turn silver young, and Serenity seemed to be no exception.

“Now princess, we must go.” Serenity sighed and took her guardian's hand. They wormed their way through, and just as her guardian got out, Selenity let go and dashed back into the crowd, leaving her guardian to shout her name. “Serenity! Serenity!”

“Serenity?” The mighty queen looked to the crowd as she heard her sister's name called.

“Sounds like your brat of a sister didn't follow big sister's rules,” Hermes said snidely. The queen looked at him with a deadly glare that made the crowd gasp.

“You shall never speak of my sister like that again,” she said lowly, a hint of a growl laced within it.

“Oh, but I shall,” Hermes said as he pulled his sword slowly from its scabbard. Its slightly rusted blade made a horrible sort of scraping noise. “You know, this fierceness in your eyes... Cecesila had it too, right before my blade took her head from her shoulders...”

The beautiful queen screamed as she suddenly became a warrior as ruthless as those of Mokusei. She charged at Hermes, her bow in the air as an arrow of pure silver energy flickered to life. “Lunara Piercing Strike!”

“Bring it on,” Hermes said as he shifted into position.

“Kofuku-san!” The bouncing bubbly blond Tsukino Usagi charged up behind the familiar pink head she had come to befriend. “Kofuku-san, wait up!” Kofuku Usubeni smiled and turned around with a slight sidestep to avoid being trampled by the fellow Juuban student. Usagi ran past and skidded to come back around. She stopped soundly next to Usubeni. “Kofuku-san, for shame!” Usagi scolded. “How could you let those girls call you that?”

Usubeni giggled. “I used to go to school with them,” she explained. “My nickname of 'Usubaka' is meant in fun, nothing more. They mean no offense by it, and I, in turn, feel no offense. It is my equivalent of your 'Odango' that Seiya-san called you.” Usagi frowned at the mention of Seiya and Usubeni tilted her head. “You miss him, don't you?” she asked. “You two seemed like such close friends. You were the envy of all of the girls. It is too bad he, Taiki-san, and Yaten-san had to leave.”

“Well, I know they are happy where they are now!” Usagi said cheerily. “Now, let's get that ice cream!”

“Only if they have mint chocolate chip,” Usubeni said with a grin. “The chocolate chips make crunch noises!”

“What is it with you and crunchy things?” Usagi asked. “Everything you each has to be crunchy. Why?”

Usubeni shrugged. “I just like crunchy things,” she replied simply. “It is just as you like sweet things like ice cream.” Usagi giggled and imagined her soon-to-be ice cream cone. She grinned and started to drool a little. Usubeni gave her a playful knock to the head. “Earth to Usagi, wake up!”Usagi shook her head and laughed. She gave the back of her head a scratch as she looked to Usubeni, but found that her friend was suddenly not there. She stopped and looked around, but Usubeni was nowhere to be found. “Kofuku-san? Kofuku-san!”

“Usagi why are we here again?” Ami asked. She looked past her friend to the school beyond the gates they stood at.

“Kofuku-san's friends go to this school,” Usagi said. “They may know what happened to her!”

“Usagi, they probably don't,” Ami said. “Rei told us that whatever happened to Usubeni is connected to this evil power she has been feeling. These friends of hers won't know anything.”

“Besides,” Makoto added, “They've all probably gone home by now.”

“No, the important friend will be here,” Usagi insisted. “Her friend Maryoku always stays after school. Usubeni and I pass here as we walk home and she is always leaving when we pass. I hurried so we wouldn't miss her.” Ami and Makoto shared a look, which was interrupted by Usagi's jump. “There she is!” She waited impatiently as the slightly-heavy girl with peach hair came toward them. Her bag was worn and looked heavy, as though weighed down by many books. “Maryoku-chan!” Usagi waved her arm. The girl looked surprised as she came over.

“You are Usubeni's friend, from Juuban, right?” Maryoku asked. Usagi nodded. “Well, where is Usubeni? Aren't you two always together?”

“Well, I thought you might know,” Usagi said. She pressed her index fingers together. “See, Usubeni kind of disappeared, and since you are her best friend I thought you might know where she went.” Usagi didn't mention the fact that Usubeni had disappeared right from Usagi's side.

Maryoku looked understandably surprised. “Well, no, I don't know where she went,” she said. “She disappeared?” Maryoku dropped her eyes to the ground. “So she's gone, too?” Now it was the other girls' turn to look surprised.

“What do you mean by 'She's gone, too?'” Makoto asked.

“Well, she isn't the first to disappear off the face of the Earth,” Maryoku said, dropping her voice. “A girl in my grade, in another class, she was sitting in class. The teacher turned around to write something on the board, and then asked her a question as he turned back, but the girl was gone. Just 'poof,' vanished right out of the middle of the classroom. No one saw her leave. Another girl, one in my class, she hasn't been in class in a few days. Then another girl a grade above me, she tutors me in math, she has been missing, too. She vanished right as she was tutoring someone else.” Usagi, Ami, and Makoto looked at each other. “You know what is really suspicious about this, them disappearing aside?' She dropped her voice even lower. “All of them, every single girl, had pink hair.” She nodded and lifted her head up straight. Her face looked hard, like she was fighting back a storm of emotion. “Oh, I hope nothing bad has happened to Usubeni... She was the first real friend I'd ever had.” Her nose crinkled and she lifted her arm to wiped away the tears that leaked by. She began to fully sob as she ran around the gates and away from the girls.

“Girls with pink hair...” Usagi looked at the others. “Thank goodness Chibiusa isn't here.”

“It seems to be a growing epidemic, as girls of all ages disappear from towns and cities across the world. Moreover, all of the girls reported missing from the US to England to Japan have pink hair...”

“Usagi, turn that off already,” Minako scolded. “You are depressed enough already.” Usagi seemed as though she weren't listening, so Minako stood and moved to the television. She switched it off, and Usagi instantly seemed to return to Earth.

“Huh? Minako, I'm listening to that!” Usagi said. “We might hear something important!”

“They have been saying the same thing over and over all day,” Minako said. “We have a better chance of learning something new from Rei than from the news anchors.” Usagi sighed and crossed her arms on the arm of the sofa. She put her head on them and frowned.

“I just wish we knew what was going on,” Usagi said. “Do we have a new enemy? Where have all of these girls gone? Why only ones with pink hair?”

“Someone looking for someone else?” Minako offered. “I mean, pink hair can't be THAT common, can it? Maybe that is why pink-haired girls are disappearing.” Usagi looked up at Minako and then settled her head back down. Minako sighed. This wasn't working. They sat in silence for a moment before their communicators went off.

“Sailor senshi!” Luna's voice called. “Emergency at Juuban High School!”

“We'll be right there!” Minako said as she and Usagi jumped up.

“No, don't!” Minako and Usagi turned around at the call of the unfamiliar voice. Standing behind the couch was a teenage boy with brown hair and a violin case in his hand. “It is a trap! You must not go!”

“Who are you?” Minako asked. “How do you know it is a trap?”

“Because I unknowingly helped set it,” the boy said. “I am Concerto, and I cannot let you go!”

“Are the girls there?” Usagi asked. “Are those missing girls there?”

“Yes,” the boy named Concerto said. “Yes they are. They are the bait, to draw out the sailor senshi. The man behind this whole plot, he seeks only one girl, but he hasn't found her and is convinced that the sailor senshi are hiding her.

“We are hiding no one, but that doesn't matter,” Usagi said. “We have to help those girls!”

“But it is suicide!” Concerto said. “You can't go! His power is unimaginable! It is an ancient power nearly 1,000 years old! The Ginzuishou couldn't stand up to it then, it wouldn't be able to stand up to it now!”

“Wait, the Ginzuishou...” Usagi looked at his warily. “The Ginzuishou has been used against him before?”

“Yes, by its original owner,” Concerto said. “He seeks the original owner. He is convinced she still lives on Earth somewhere. There is no telling what he would do to you, Sailor Moon, if he could not find her.” Usagi looked at Minako, who returned the look.

“It doesn't matter,” Usagi said. “I don't know how you know but I AM Sailor Moon, and that means I will face this threat. I must protect this planet and everyone on it.” Concerto sighed as his shoulders dropped.

“There's no changing your mind,” he said. “I can see that much. Therefore, I will accompany you and try to right the wrongs I committed.”

The roof of Juuban was covered in a mass of pink. Girls of every age and nationality were gathered together, some laying down sleepily while others huddled close together. None looked as though they had slept much. Some didn't even look like they had eaten recently. One looked particularly ill, another much smaller girl cried endlessly into the arms of an older girl. It was in this state that the senshi had found the girls, but were unable to do anything for them. The barrier around them had prevented them from getting past the roof access doorway.

“Have you found any way yet?” Sailor Uranus asked as she paced back and forth past the doorway.

“Nothing,” Mercury said, never taking her eyes from her miniature computer. “I can't find any flaws or weaknesses.”

“It seems there are none to be found,” Neptune added, lowering her mirror. “There is no enemy to be found, either.”

“But someone or something must be keeping this barrier up,” Jupiter said. “It's just a matter of where.” She didn't continue as the senshi heard the sounds of someone or several someone's coming up the stairwell. Two blond heads came into sight, much to their relief, but the third, brunette head caught them off-guard.

“Sorry we're late!” Sailor Moon said. She gasped for breath as the run up had left her lacking in it. When she lifted her head, she could see past the others to the pink-haired girls on the roof. “The girls! Are they all right?”

“They look tired, hungry, and scared,” Mars reported. “They can't hear us, or maybe they are too scared to answer us. Either way, we're at a standstill. There is a barrier over the roof. We can't get past the door.”

“That will be his doing,” Concerto said. He stepped up to the same step as Venus and Moon, his greater height giving him a better look. “He's greatly powerful. No one will get in unless he wants them to.”

“Who are you to be knowing this?” Uranus asked defensively.

“I am Concerto, the one who unknowingly helped him steal these girls away.”

“Then how do we know we can trust you?” Neptune asked.

“We trust him,” Moon said. “That is enough.”

“Actually, you trust him,” Venus said. “I am still debating.”

“Allow me to prove my worth,” Concerto said. He set down his violin case, took the guitar from his back, and stepped forward. Holding it firmly, he lightly strummed the strings. A pleasant sound came from them. Then his lifted his hand way up and brought it down with a great force, calling out, “Song of the Wanderer!” From that one strike came a harsh melody that visibly beat at the barrier. The areas seemed worn and weak by the time the tune had died down, but it quickly returned to the vibrant color it had been before.

“What was the point of that?” Uranus asked.

“It let him know I was here,” Concerto said. He looked at her and handed over his guitar. “Hold onto this, would you? I'm tired of putting it back together after he breaks it.” Uranus took it mere moments before the light of the barrier extended and swallowed Concerto, pulling him and dropping him roughly on the roof. Almost instantly, black masses the size of basketballs began hitting him, beating at him until he dropped and didn't move.

“You disappoint me, Concerto!” said a firm voice. “I gave you power and opportunity, and this is how you repay me? Bringing the senshi to me doorstep?”

“The one you seek is here,” Concerto said. He rolled over onto his back. Black bruises were already forming. “Or, at least one like the one you seek. You have no need to hold these girls.”

“Perhaps,” the voice said after a pause. “Or perhaps I shall hold them until I feel I can trust your word. Bring this one forward.” Concerto hesitate before looking to the door. He slowly sat up and motioned to the door.

“Sailor Moon, he will let your through,” he said.

“No!” Mars protested. “We don't know if we can trust him! It could be a trap!”

“It may be,” Sailor Moon said, “But if I am the key to freeing those girls, then so be it.” She stepped forward and toward the door, but Uranus and Jupiter blocked her. It didn't make a difference, though, as the light of the barrier extended and brushed Jupiter and Uranus aside before swallowing Moon and pulling her in. She was dropped next to Concerto, but he rolled over and she landed on his back.

“Oof, Sailor Moon!” he groaned. “You could do to lose a few pounds!” Sailor Moon was instantly up and glaring at him.

“You'll have to forgive Concerto,” the voice said. “He is very honest.” Sailor Moon looked around for the source of the voice, but found none. Instead, she saw a Juuban uniform lying on the ground.

“Usubeni?!” Sailor Moon ran at the uniform, leaving Concerto behind to protest. The owner of the uniform made to roll over, but Sailor Moon was lifted into the air by light similar to the barrier before she could see.

“So tell me, Sailor Moon,” the voice said. “Are you as Concerto claims? Are you similar to the one I seek?”

“I... I don't know,” Moon admited. “I don't know exactly what you seek.”

“She is the host of the Ginzuishou,” Concerto said. “She is at least somewhat related the one you seek.”

“Ah, the Ginzuishou,” the voice said. “The pretty stone that ruined me and gave birth to the Moon.”

“Gave birth to...” Sailor Moon didn't understand, and the voice seemed to see that. A portion of the barrier came toward the inside and began to form into the shape of a human. The shape gained details, and then floating in front of Sailor Moon was a pale man with a messy mop of wavy blue hair and a pair of water-blue eyes. “You really have no idea as to the history of that stone, do you?”

“Why should she?” The man raised an eyebrow and looked down to one of the pink-haired girls. “Sailor Moon was not even alive in those times.” The man seemed torn between questions. He looked like he wanted to ask one of the pink-haired girl, but also to ask something of Sailor Moon. He chose to ask the latter.

“Not even alive?” he asked. “Are you not Serenity?”

“Yes, I am,” she said hesitantly. Now he looked to the pink haired girl, a gaze that Sailor Moon followed. She found Usubeni, standing tall in her wrinkled uniform.

“If she is Serenity, and I know for a fact she survived, then how can she not recall the events?” he asked.

“Because she is the the second Serenity,” Usubeni replied. “She is the daughter of the Serenity you knew, Hermes.”

The man named Hermes appeared thoroughly confused. He looked at Sailor Moon and then to Usubeni, and then back again. “So, if what you say is true,” he began, “Then this girl, who appears to be your age, is your niece, Diane?”

“That is not my name anymore,” Usubeni said. “I have changed. You have not, and that will be you undoing. End all of this. I defeated you once, I will do it again.”

“Ah, but being different will be your undoing,” Hermes said confidently. He lowered down to Usubeni's level. “You are no longer queen. You no longer have the Ginzuishou. You have spent over 1,000 years sleeping while I have grown stronger. You are doomed.” He gave a cocky grin before vanishing. The barrier vanished, as did the light that held Sailor Moon. She squealed all the way down. She was caught by Concerto, but he fell back by the weight of the sudden catch, leaving Moon to land on his stomach. Concerto felt like he was going to be sick as she rolled off and the other senshi ran to them.

“Kofuku-san!” Sailor Moon ran at Usubeni and wrapped her arms around her. “I was so worried about you!”

“Tsukino-san?!” Usubeni backed out of Sailor Moon's hug in surprise. “Tsukino-san, you are Sailor Moon?”

“And apparently, your niece,” Concerto said as Jupiter pulled him up. Usubeni and Sailor Moon looked at each other with wide eyes, but their surprise gave way to joy as they squealed and hugged each other. “Those are two weird girls,” Concerto said. The other senshi nodded.

It was all fuzzy. The ground, wherever it was, was not stable. It seemed to shift beneath his feet. “Concerto, wait up!”

Who was yelling at him? “No, just go away.” He didn’t know who he wanted to go away, but he had a feeling of discomfort with that voice.

“Concerto, I’m your partner, we need to stick together!” Partner? Who was this person?

“Not every hour of the day! Give me some space!”

“Oh come on, there’s no need to be mean!” He wasn’t being mean, he just wanted to be left alone.

Well, maybe he was a little mean, but he meant what he said. “I wish you would just leave me alone!”

“Concerto!” Concerto stopped. The voice sounded different now. It sounded panicked and frightened. Concerto turned to see more fuzziness, but somehow he knew something was missing.

“Capella? Capella! Capella, where are you?!”

“Concerto! Concerto, wake up already.” His eyes fluttered open to see a pair of green eyes staring at him. Normally, he would have jumped in surprise, but he was far too tired for that.

“What can I do for you, Jupiter?” he asked with a yawn.

“One, you can call me by my name,” Makoto said as she stood. “Two, you can get up and off my couch already. You’ve slept through the whole day! It is nearly time for supper.”

“I apologize,” he said as sat up. “I am afraid I am catching up on some lost sleep. Working for Hermes has left me rather sleep-deprived.”

“Why were you working for him, anyway?” Makoto asked as she headed for her kitchen. Concerto didn’t respond, so she turned to look at him. He seemed to be lost in a gaze. “Concerto?” He snapped out of it and looked at her questioningly. “Why were you working for Hermes?”

“Why? Well… I do not recall. I cannot recall when or why. I just… was.”

“Okay,” Makoto said. “Well, who is Capella?” Concerto looked at her in surprise. Makoto watched the color drain from his face.

“I… do not know…” He turned away and ruffled his hair. Makoto left it at that and started on supper. She took a glance back at him as he proceeded to stare out into space again, this time with the look of someone trying to remember something very far away.

Evening was coming upon Tokyo as the girls relaxed with ice cream cones in the park. It had been a quiet end to an eerily quiet week. After the events on the school roof, everything fell silent, including their mysterious new ally, Concerto. Usagi had no concerns about him. Her only concern was for the safety of her recently-discovered aunt from her previously life, who was a mystery in and of herself.

“I really couldn’t say how I knew what to say,” Usubeni said as she sat down with Usagi and Ami. “It just sort of happened. I didn’t really know how to control it.” She sighed. “I suppose seeing Hermes sort of awakened something.”

“Just who is Hermes, anyway?” Ami asked. “We know nothing about him.”

“Well, in the past he was my best friend,” Usubeni said. “Well, he was Diane’s best friend. He fancied marrying her, though, and uniting the kingdoms of Lunara and Suisei, but she had no interest. “

“Suisei?” Ami asked questioningly. Usubeni nodded.

“He was the crown prince of Suisei, but when he went mad, his sister became ruler,” she explained. “No, Diane had no romantic interest in him. Her eyes were on the crown princess of Cerestia, Princess Cecesila. They never got to be together, though, because Hermes found out and destroyed the planet of Cerestia, creating the asteroid belt we know today.” Usubeni spoke so casually that the others were left speechless. She saw their faces and looked confused. “What?”

“You speak so casually of the horrible things that happened,” Ami said. “Can you not feel the emotion of it all?” Usubeni shook her head.

“No, not really,” she said. “I see the memories, I see the events, but it is like seeing them through another’s eyes. I see, not feel.” She frowned. “I sort of wish I understood all of this before everything happened.”

“What does that mean?” Usagi asked.

“Well, I sort of ‘awakened’ to these memories before all of this happened, before I even began attending Juuban. Back in January, I started having dreams with all of these memories. About the middle of January, I woke up one morning and found this in my hand.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a round gold brooch with a five point star in the middle.

“Hey!” Usagi said. “That looks like my very first brooch!”

“Your first one?” Usubeni asked questioningly.

“That could mean you are a senshi like us,” Ami said, interrupting Usagi’s explanation.

“Me, a sailor senshi?” Usubeni asked. “That could be neat.”

“Kofuku-chan, put that away!” Rei hissed as she and Minako finally joined them.

“But why?” Usubeni asked as she tucked it into her pocket.

“Remember the fire reading,” Rei said. “We don’t want to give that vision any help in coming true.”

“What fire reading?” Usagi, Ami, and Minako asked in unison.

“The one she performed for me just a few weeks ago,” Usubeni said. “See, the dreams were getting ridiculous and I was starting to see ‘ghosts’ of Hermes and Cecesila all around me, so I asked Rei to see if she could do anything about these weird.”

“Instead, I saw a vision of Usubeni at the hands of a powerful enemy,” Rei said solemnly. “You must be more careful.” Usubeni nodded and returned her slowly dripping ice cream.

“I didn’t think you two knew each other,” Minako said. “How long have you known each other?”

“Almost seven years,” Rei said. “That snowstorm we had in 1990 snowed Kofuku-chan and her mother in at the Temple.”

“I remember that storm,” Usagi said. “No school for two weeks!”

“No heat, either,” Usubeni said. “It was so cold!” The girls all agreed, and then began sharing their own stories from that snowstorm.

“Would you please hurry up?” Makoto said impatiently over her shoulder. “I am late as it is.”

“You could have just left me,” Concerto said matter-of-factly. “There is no need to drag me around everywhere.”

“I was told to not let you out of my sight, so that is what I am doing,” Makoto replied with a final sort of tone.

“I’m out of sight now anyway,” he muttered as he followed behind. Then he stopped, frozen in his tracks by an eerily-familiar sort of tune. He lifted his head and craned his neck as he tried to hear more of it, but it began to fade. “Hey, did you hear-” He looked to Makoto, but she was turning the corner up ahead. Clearly forgotten by the tall young woman, Concerto turned and began heading in the opposite direction.

“Hey, do you guys hear that?” Usubeni asked.

“Hear what?” Minako asked.

“Well, it sounds like music,” Usubeni said. “It sounds familiar, sort of like hearing something from Diane’s memories.”

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late!” Makoto called as she ran up to them.

“Mako-chan, where is Concerto?” Rei asked. Makoto looked behind her and let her jaw drop.

“He’s not here!” she said. “He must have snuck away! I thought it was too quiet behind me…”

“Kofuku-chan?” Everyone looked to Usubeni as she stood.

“It sounds like an oboe,” she said dreamily. “It sounds lovely.”

“There is no music playing,” Ami said.

“Then what is she hearing?” Minako asked. She waved her hand in front of Usubeni’s face. “She’s in a trance?” After a moment, Usubeni snapped out of it. Her eyes grew and she dropped her ice cream cone as she looked to the sky.

“Hermes!” She girls followed her gaze, finding the pale man floating above them.

“An oboe, you say?” he asked. “How interesting... I’d always detested that instrument, so it is ironic that it alerted you to my presence.” Usubeni held her brooch out in front of her.

“Lunara Planet Power, make-up!” A wash of sparkling light blinded the others momentarily before it faded, leaving before them a senshi in a carnation pink fuku with red bows. In one hand was a black recurve bow with a brilliant silver string. She looked to the others.

“Everyone, transform!” Usagi said. “Moon Crystal Power!”

“Mercury Crystal Power!”

“Mars Crystal Power!”

“Jupiter Crystal Power!”

“Venus Crystal Power!”

“MAKE-UP!”

The senshi transformed in a flash. Sailor Moon stood next to Usubeni as the senshi flanked them on either side. “So, Sailor Lunara still lives,” Hermes said matter-of-factly. “I shall enjoy destroying you a second time.”

“You won’t get the chance,” Moon said. Hermes smirked.

“We’ll see.” He lifted he hands and sent basketball-sized black masses at the senshi. They scattered to avoid them.

“Mars! Flame Sniper!” Mars shouted, sending her flaming arrow at Hermes.

“Jupiter! Oak Evolution!” Jupiter’s attack followed the arrow closely, so much so that it brushed the fire and became a flaming stream of flowers and leaves. Hermes moved out of the way of each, watching them fly past before the entire area was coated in Mercury’s fog.

“Didn’t she tell you, Sailor Mercury?” Hermes shouted. “I am of Suisei as well. You fog will have no strength against me!” He swept his hands to the sides as though to dispel the fog, but nothing happened.

“Didn’t I tell you before, Hermes?” Lunara said somewhere in the fog. “By allowing that evil into you and into your heart, it has corrupted you and your powers. Your inborn powers of Suisei are useless! Piercing Strike!” Hermes looked around the fog, the first panic he had felt in over 1,000 years crossing his face as he tried to determine where Lunara’s attack would come from. He didn’t see it until it had pierced his leg. He screamed in agony and dropped instantly like a stone. The pure energy from the arrow burned his leg from the inside out and left him in excruciating pain. “I won't let you do to Earth what you did to my planet,” Lunara said as she stepped vaguely into sight. “I won't let you commit genocide again.”

“Ah, so you are saying that you allowed me to before?” Hermes asked as he pulled on the arrow.

“In a way, I did,” Lunara said. “I showed you mercy for a mere moment and allowed you enough time to ruin us all.”

“All except your brat of a sister,” Hermes said. “How did she survive, anyway? After all, I did aim the first blast at her...” Lunara's eye twitched at the recollection.

“Yes, I know,” she said. “What you did not see what that I took it. I held the Ginzuishou toward her as I took the blast, willing the Ginzuishou to save her at the expense of my life. I died and let the Ginzuishou do the rest.”

“Ah, so you willed the crystal to have sentience,” Hermes said. “That was risky. I am surprised you allowed it to happen, after what happened to Queen Phoebe.” The senshi slowly stepped into sight as Lunara remained silent.

“What did you know of my mother?” Lunara whispered as Sailor Moon stepped beside her.

“Ah, so Ermion kept you blind to the origins of your mother's illness,” Hermes mused. “How interesting.” He said no more as Mercury's fog became laced with darkness.

“Sailor Moon!” Mars shouted. She ran forward but vanished in the darkness.

“Mars!” Sailor Moon looked to her vanished companion, and then turned as Jupiter, Mercury, and Lunara vanished in turn. Then, everything went dark for Sailor Moon. “Everyone!” she shouted, reaching into the darkness. Then suddenly, she felt a scorching burn streak across the top of her hand, followed by a delayed shout.

“Crescent Beam!” Venus' attack streaked through the darkness and broke it apart. Moon dropped to her knees at the sudden scorching pain as her companions came into sight. Hermes was nowhere to be seen.

“He escaped,” Lunara said, stating the obvious. She sighed and dropped her bow to her side.

“Sailor Moon, what happened?” Mercury asked. She and the others hurried to her side.

“I think I got hit with Venus' beam,” she said as she tried nursing the stinging away.

“Oh my gosh!” Venus squealed. “I'm so sorry!” She was instantly fawning over her injured princess and repeating apologies and worries. Lunara was not so worried about the flesh-wound as she was about the crystal. Had the Ginzuishou had something to so with Phoebe's illness? Could something of that nature befall Sailor Moon? Or was Hermes pulling her leg, trying to cause confusion? If confusion and worry were the targets, he hit them right on the mark.

Coming Soon

Coming Soon