Part 6

“They’re not dead,” Mercury whispered, but her voice carried throughout the entire hall. “They were still breathing.”

Sailor Moon exclaimed, “Oh good!” The others around her sighed with relief.

Sailor Seishou-Yami laughed cruelly, “Of course not! I’ll save that final step for little Mahou-Henshin to watch. But, Mercury dear, you weren’t supposed to figure that out.” She paused for a moment and gestured idly into the darkness. “That can’t be allowed,” she sneered.

Suddenly, a streak of midnight blue shot out of the darkness with a shout.

Sailor Mercury couldn’t react quickly enough. She yelped and dove but her attacker anticipated it.

“Omega Timescape Rapture!”

Mercury shrieked and contorted in pain; her dive turned into an awkward tumble and roll. She moaned, then laid still.

“Ami-chan!” Sailor Moon shrieked.

“How could you!” Sailor Neptune demanded coldly, glaring first at the newcomer then at Seishou-Yami.

“You do away with your enemies without second thought,” the small woman on the throne said lightly, “We have that right as much as you do.”

“But—” Saturn began.

“And you,” Sailor Omega started as she strolled towards her leader through the cluster of remaining senshi.

Saturn warily grasped her glaive again just as a second soldier in royal purple emerged from the darkness following Omega.

“How many of them are there?” Pluto asked Saturn quietly. The purple-clad senshi near them chuckled.

“It’s about time you meet all my elite, all at once,” Sailor Seishou-Yami said, grinning as she rose from her throne. Raising her hands into the air, she called, “My soldiers, come to me!”

The dark air swirled with colors for a moment; then, a line of senshi stood along either side of Seishou-Yami’s throne. Omega and her companion casually joined the line.

Looming in front of the three remaining senshi and their fallen companion stood the most powerful senshi of the Dark Realm.

Sailor Seishou-Yami sunk regally back into her throne. “I suppose you all haven’t been properly introduced,” she mused. “Ladies, before you we have Sailor Saturn, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Neptune. The one on the floor is their little friend Sailor Mercury. Behind you, pathetically pinned to the wall, is the famous Sailor Moon.”

Snickers, chuckles, and laughs ran up and down the line.

“And you women can introduce yourselves to our visitors,” she said once the murmurs died down.

Pluto shifted uncomfortably at the thought of number of enemies against their small group while keeping an eye on her princess.

“Out of the darkness, Patient Soldier, Sailor Omega!”

“Out of the darkness, Deep Soldier, Sailor Alpha!”

“Seeking justice, Swift Soldier, Sailor Nu!”

“Seeking justice, Defiant Soldier, Sailor Mu!”

“Seeking justice, Resonant Soldier, Sailor Lambda!”

“For the Dark Realm, Soldier of Rust, Sailor Epsilon!”

“For the Dark Realm, Soldier of Aggression, Sailor Theta!”

“Of the new destiny, Soldier of Eternity, Sailor Pi!”

“Of the new destiny, Soldier of Boldness, Sailor Beta!”

“You see now, Sol Senshi, that you cannot win,” Sailor Seishou-Yami said. “These are my finest soldiers, and besides that, you do not have powers,” she paused for a light chuckle, “and they do.”

“Someone is missing,” Sailor Moon observed quietly.

Sailor Epsilon snickered.

Just then, they heard the clatter of shoes on the cold ground. Another purple-clad senshi joined the line, a struggling Mahou-Henshin grasped to her chest.

“Let me—oof!” the small senshi muttered as she squirmed.

“Forever devoted to the Dark Universe and its order of justice, Spark Soldier, I am Sailor Sigma,” she said with a smile.

“Lovely!” Seishou-Yami clapped her hands and smiled. “Now, to the wall with her.”

The soldiers of darkness surged into action while the Sol Senshi warily held their positions around Sailor Mercury.

“Now’s our chance,” Neptune hissed, so quietly that only Pluto could hear her.

“Maybe we should wait until we have a better opening and just hold back for the moment,” Pluto argued hesitantly, with equal softness.

“Are you giving up, Setsuna? I’d much rather die fighting for justice and freedom in our universe than sit around and wait for death,” Sailor Neptune retorted. “The others, who couldn’t transform, were much braver than we are being now.”

“I—” Pluto stammered.

Finally getting a good view of the leader of their own realm, Saturn observed, “She’s so tiny…”

Meanwhile, Mu and Nu approached where Sailor Moon hung, while Pi and Beta helped drag Mahou-Henshin to the wall. Sailor Mu and Sailor Nu each pressed two of Sailor Moon’s shackles and they sprung open under their hands. Sailor Moon yelped as she tumbled to the ground, “What’s going—?” Before she could finish, Sailor Lambda seized her and flung her back towards the sol senshi. “Have your princess!” she spat.

“Usagi!” Pluto exclaimed and hurried over to where Sailor Moon sprawled, nursing her wrists and struggling to sit up.

Almost as soon as Usagi was clear of the area, all of the dark soldiers swarmed Sailor Mahou-Henshin and pressed her into the shackles as she kicked, squirmed, and did everything else she could to prevent being locked up.

Saturn turned to Neptune and said quietly, “When we get an opening, let’s do it.”

That opening quickly presented itself when Mahou-Henshin managed to wrench one of her arms loose. She extended it and cried, “Stars Sparkle Shine!” Sailor Lambda and Sailor Beta released her, sputtering, and stumbled backwards.

“What’s going on?” Sailor Seishou-Yami shrieked, rising angrily from her throne.

“Now!” Saturn yelled. Both she and Neptune surged into the battle, kicking, hitting, and slashing their way towards the captive. Sailor Moon shakily rose, Pluto with her, and the second pair plunged into the chaos as well.

Now that she had both her hands free, Mahou-Henshin attacked with full force. One by one, her attackers released her and backed away. A glittering empty space now stood between her and her foes. The four Sol Senshi stood panting, beaten, and bruised nearby her, basking in her power.

“Enough of this!” Sailor Seishou-Yami shrieked. She stalked across the floor and pushed roughly past her soldiers. “What are you waiting for? Get her!” When none of the dark senshi moved, all eyeing both her and her twin nervously, she strode forward into the sparkling air. She gasped, hissed, and backed up, out of the light.

“Come no closer!” Mahou-Henshin said defiantly. “You will not harm them, and you will listen to me.”

“Where did you get all that power, Mahou-chan?” Seishou-Yami taunted as she paced, her mind reeling to find a way to turn the battle around.

“I am no longer in your grasp now, Seishou-Yami,” she answered, holding her ground. “I have access to my powers. Don’t think I’m weak just because I never use more power than I have to. Sometimes I make mistakes, but this won’t be one of them.”

“So confident?” Seishou-Yami continued her taunts.

The dark senshi shifted uncomfortably, fearful of the light, while the Sol Senshi grew stronger and more confident with each moment.

“Remember, dear sister,” she said while she paced around the circle, “you are still in my universe. Thus, you are still at my mercy.”

“You won’t kill them, and you can’t kill me,” the smaller senshi retorted.

“Oh, I can’t?” Seishou-Yami asked, an eyebrow raised.

A few of her soldiers laughed darkly.

“I don’t think it would be too hard, girl,” Sailor Alpha sneered.

Mercury finally opened her eyes and moaned. She struggled to sit up and asked, “What is—?”

But Sailor Epsilon cut her off, “What about that one, she’s not under your protection?”

“Sailor Mercury!” Mahou-Henshin gasped.

“Precisely!” Sailor Seishou-Yami grinned and attacked, “Ankoku Power!”

“Ami-chan!” Sailor Moon shrieked.

Saturn reacted without thinking, “Silence Wall!” Her protection leaped from the end of her glaive to encircle Sailor Mercury. The attack
exploded off her wall and both disintegrated.

“It worked!” Saturn celebrated, both pleased and surprised.

“I thought you were out of powers,” Sailor Nu observed.

“Not any more, they aren’t,” Mahou-Henshin declared, and, before anyone could react, threw her arms into the air. “My soldiers, come to me!”

Brilliant colors rushed through the air again. Even the four senshi nearest to her felt a curious tug. A moment later, Sailor Mercury, Haruka, Minako, Makoto, and Rei re-materialized standing near her, all looking revitalized.

Without any other cue, Haruka raised her space sword and sunk into a battle stance. “We are ready to fight for you,” she said.

“They couldn’t defeat us before, neither could you,” Sailor Sigma pointed out, her voice vicious. “What makes you think you can win now?”

“Renewed strength, new power!” Mahou-Henshin answered, then looked over all of her soldiers. “I know you can handle it now. Take this power, my senshi, and use it well!”

Suddenly, each of the Sol Senshi felt raw power surge through her own body. Words flowed to their lips:

“Marina Castle of my star Mercury!”

“Phobos Deimos Castle of my star Mars!”

“Io Castle of my star Jupiter!”

“Magellan Castle of my star Venus!”

“Miranda Castle of my star Uranus!”

“Triton Castle of my star Neptune!”

“Charon Castle of my star Pluto!”

“Titan Castle of my star Saturn!”

“Power of the Silver Moon!”

“Eternal Power, Makeup!”

Again, colors swirled around each girl, and the dark senshi shielded their eyes. When the light faded, all of the Sol Senshi had transformed. Now each sported tall white boots, fluffy two-tiered skirts, and round sleeves. While Sailor Moon’s outfit had not changed, her tier had extended to the full length of a staff, and large white feathery wings graced her back.

“You now posses eternal power,” Mahou-Henshin said proudly.

Several of the girls looked over their new fuku in awe while others prepared for battle.

“Now that I have force to back my words, will you listen to me?” Sailor Mahou-Henshin asked, stepping to the front of her group.

“If you are only going to say more about balance, how I shouldn’t kill you, and how we should all live happily ever after as friends, then no, I have heard enough already,” Seishou-Yami sneered.

“But you don’t understand the balance!” Mahou-Henshin began.

“I said I’ve heard enough!” Seishou-Yami roared.

Now that Mahou-Henshin’s light had faded, the dark soldiers did not hesitate. Pandemonium broke loose.

Sailor Pluto found herself immediately face-to-face with Sailor Pi. Pi swung her gold and silver staff at Pluto’s head, but she blocked it with her Time Key.

“Let’s see what you can do,” Pi said breathlessly with a smile. She lunged lower this time and Pluto blocked her again.

She responded with a smile, “Let’s have a dance. Darkness Downpour!”

“How about fighting lightning with lightning?” Sailor Theta asked, her black staff extended towards Jupiter’s chest, yellow lightning crackling around the crescent tip.

“I’m game,” Jupiter responded and lashed out in a kick that knocked the weapon’s aim from her and sent sparks up into the darkness.

“Jupiter Sylvan Storm!”

“Theta Thunder Javelin!”

The two attacks met in a blinding flash and a thunder crash that rocked the whole chamber.

Both senshi leaped back and prepared for another round.

Sailor Uranus slashed wildly at the tide of enemies before her. Finally, she zeroed in on a target, dressed in ice blue. She focused her attack and yelled, “Space Turbulence!”

The wiry girl yelped and rolled away, but she quickly returned to her feet and rushed back at Uranus. “Nut Light-Speed Rupture!”

Uranus dodged the poorly-aimed attack and raised her Space Sword again. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Sailor Nu,” she taunted.

“That was just a warm-up,” Nu laughed, raising her own forked weapon.

Sailor Venus whirled around, the poison sword still in her hands.

“Hey cutie!” someone called.

Venus scanned the source of the voice and found an orange-clad senshi smirking at her. “Yes, you,” the woman said. “Do you know how to use that sword? It looks a little big for you.”

Venus was caught off-guard for a moment. Do I, really?

Sailor Beta took that moment of laxness to attack, “Beta Engulfing Smog!”

The attack knocked her to the ground shrieking and sputtering for breath, but she didn’t feel too damaged. She smiled and murmured, “I like this new eternal power.” She leaped quickly to her feet and aimed the sword at Sailor Beta, “Rainbow Love Inflection!”

Her quick retaliation caught Beta off-guard, who screamed as the attack caught her. She tumbled awkwardly to the ground, moaning.

Venus looked from her sword to the fallen senshi, not sure whether to finish her off.

Sailor Saturn found herself backed into a wall; Sailor Omega’s long weapon locked with her Silence Glaive.

“It’s time to end this, Kid,” Omega said haltingly as she tried to force her weapon past Saturn’s. “You’re too young for this kind of battle.”

“Age can be deceiving,” Saturn responded, just as slowly, sweat dripping down her forehead and running over her tiara. She mustered her strength and gave a short yell, pushing hard with her glaive. A moment later, it was Omega and not her that was pinned to the wall. She wrenched her weapon free and sent the dark senshi stumbling in the other direction. With one click of her glaive, she cried, “Saturn Phantom Silence!”

Sailor Omega was barely able to react in time. She shrieked, “Omega Timescape Rapture!”

The attacks met in an explosion that knocked both of them off their feet. They scrambled to get up and be the quickest to attack.

“Had enough yet, hot stuff?” Sailor Mu taunted as Sailor Mars rose, singed and battered from the ground.

“I won’t have enough until you or me are down for good,” she spat and clapped her hands together. “Mars Blazing Inferno!”

Mu twirled her wooden staff and yelled, “Mu Scorching Resistance!”

A blaze exploded between them, tongues of flame licking at whatever they could reach, including the two senshi and the throne near their battle.

“Well, that was fun,” Mu laughed.

“Alpha Geyser Force!”

A stream of dark boiling water shot towards Sailor Neptune. She dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. Bounding to her feet again, she called, “Submarine Violin Tide!”

Sailor Alpha tried to hold it off with a spurt of water from the end of her staff. “Alpha Geyser Force!” she yelled and braced herself for impact. Her blast diffused some of Neptune’s, but she couldn’t hold it off entirely. When the water finally reached her, she yelped and tumbled to the ground. Groaning, Alpha slowly rose, using her staff as a crutch. “You’re a fast one,” she chuckled weakly.

Neptune smiled dangerously, “One has to be, to stay alive.”

“Nice work, Sailor Mercury,” Epsilon laughed as she lunged back from her last attack. “You’ve improved since we last met.”

“A little more power goes a long way,” Sailor Mercury said smiling. She returned an attack, “Mercury Glacial Shimmer!”

“True enough!” Epsilon panted as she ducked and spun out of the way.

“And you’re just as nimble as ever,” Mercury returned, preparing for another attack.

“Well, Sailor Moon,” Sailor Sigma said a she took another swipe at Sailor Moon with her long silver weapon.

Sailor Moon ducked easily out of the way, wings and all.

“You still haven’t shown me what your new toy does.”

“New toy?” she asked, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the answer occurred to her.

“The Sol princess really is a block-head,” Sigma mused, relenting briefly.

Sailor Moon made a sour face but didn’t hesitate any longer. She pumped her wings and was pleasantly surprised to find herself lifting off the ground. She raised her tier and spoke the first words that came to her mind, “Moonlight Stardust Romance!”
Sigma couldn’t reach her any more, and, more preoccupied by Sailor Moon’s flight, was struck directly by the sparkling attack. She gasped and wheezed, dropping her staff, and collapsed to her knees. “I need help!” she called hoarsely. Help was something she had never needed before.

Sailor Mahou-Henshin easily dogged all of Sailor Lambda’s attacks. The much taller senshi could not match her agility. Occasionally, Mahou-Henshin sent bursts of irritating, though not immobilizing, star dust at Lambda.

“Would you fight seriously for once?” Lambda demanded and launched another attack to be dodged. “It’s like you’re joking, like you don’t care.”

“If this keeps you occupied,” she began, “Stars Sparkle Shine! And I’m not warn out yet.”

“Brat!” Lambda yelled and swung her weapon like a club. This too, she dodged.

Suddenly, Mahou-Henshin felt her feet being swept out from under her. Lambda laughed but quickly stiffened. Sailor Seishou-Yami loomed above her twin, smiling. “Lambda, assist Sigma,” she ordered while Mahou-Henshin tired to scramble to her feet. As she rose, she glimpsed Sailor Moon soaring high above them and Seishou-Yami’s two strongest soldiers preparing to shoot her down.

Mahou-Henshin paled. There’s no way Sailor Moon can stay in the air after those two attack her, and there is no way for her to survive that fall.

Fire in her eyes, Seishou-Yami took a few strides to Mahou-Henshin, who instantly backed away.

“Now that all of your soldiers are distracted, it’s just you and me, Mahou-chan,” she said with a dangerous bite to her voice. “It’s time for you to die.”

“No!” Sailor Mahou-Henshin sputtered as quickly as she could, “If I die, you’ll have to die. The balance will be upset. The universe will go haywire. There was a reason we were created together, at the beginning. Don’t you see?”

“Shut up!” she shouted and slowly began her attack, “Ankoku—”

There isn’t any other choice… “Please forgive me, my soldiers,” she murmured then quickly raised her hands, “Starseed Birth Calling, Power of All!”

Sailor Seishou-Yami didn’t get a chance to finish. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. One by one, the Sol Senshi sunk to the ground, feeling drained. Sailor Moon fought weakly to stay aloft.

 

Mamoru suddenly gasped and clutched at his chest. Panting, the textbook in front of him blurred in and out of focus. “Why do I feel so weak?” he wondered aloud, reaching for a glass of water. “What’s happening?”

 

“All tuned up Hyakka?” Mokuhi asked of her friend, gesturing at the guitar. She glanced over just in time to see Hyakka’s eyes roll back and her tumble off the low stool she had been perched on. “Hyakka!” she shrieked and dove to cushion the fall of both her friend and the guitar.

As she propped her up, Hyakka only groaned. Imahodo appeared in the doorway, clinging desperately to the frame. “Not her too,” Imahodo moaned, “What’s going on?”

 

Nerine bounced in time with the rest of her teammates with perfectly choreographed pom-poms. She jumped forward to do a handspring, crisscrossing by the other cheerleaders, but her arms, her whole body in fact, gave out on her.

As she tumbled to the grass, some of the other girls gasped while others didn’t even notice. The coach’s whistle blew. “Chailyn!” she called, jogging over, “What happened? You usually nail that.”

Nerine moaned and rolled onto her side. “I don’t know,” she responded, “I feel like I don’t have any energy.”

 

A lady of the Kinmoku court shrieked, “Princess Kakyuu!”

One of the princess’s most trusted guardians was immediately at her side to catch her, but she collapsed as well.

“What is happening?” someone else shrieked and the crowd of courtiers drew nearer to their princess.

The princess and her guardian were a tangle of purple and red dresses. “Are you alright, Princess?” Taiki panted, trying to support them both.

“Yes,” Kakyuu replied slowly, “I feel—”

“Weak?” Taiki offered.

She nodded, “Then you felt it, too?”

 

“Lady Bengosha, I heard it said that you were against the new tax rates in the Kin prefecture,” one of the men around the long table urged her to speak.

“I am,” she said firmly, “It would harm—” Suddenly, she blacked out. When her vision cleared, she found herself breathing hard and shaking. “It would harm—It would harm…” she stammered absently. What is this?

“It would harm what, Lady Bengosha?” another man asked. Begosha’s head spun too much for her to discern who.
I can’t be seen publicly like this… “Excuse me for a minute,” she said evenly and rose from her chair, trying to conceal her weakness.

“But the taxes!” someone protested.

“My opinion can wait,” she said firmly, “I’m sure I’ll be back before this debate has ended.” I need some fresh air...

 

No one attacked, no one spoke; not even Sailor Seishou-Yami. Then the chamber with all its darkness seemed to rip apart at its seams. Everything melted into bright whiteness.

 

Usagi was the first to awaken into the sparkling light. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. After all the darkness, the light seemed almost blinding. Frilly fuku gone, she wore a simple short white dress. Looking around her, she saw all of her friends were dressed similarly. Girls that appeared to be the soldiers of the Dark Realm were all clothed in short dresses of their own culture. Peace filled in the air.

All around them, even among them, starseeds floated glittering just above the rich green grass. Blinking away her daze, Usagi surveyed the area. The grassy ground rolled in gentle hills. Upon one of those nearby hills, Sailor Mahou-Henshin and Sailor Seishou-Yami stood facing each other, deep in conversation.

Usagi straightened up and strained to hear them. Thankfully, their words carried easily in the near-silence.

“And I am expected to take your word on that?” Seishou-Yami demanded, “I’m sick of the word ‘balance’!”

“But you understand what the balance means for both of you, and all of your senshi now?” a small yet authoritative voice asked, though her words sounded like a statement rather than a question. Usagi could not find the source of the voice but somehow it seemed familiar.

Seishou-Yami didn’t respond.

“Now that that’s settled, we can live happily together,” Mahou-Henshin filled the silence cheerfully.

“Not so fast,” Seishou-Yami argued, raising a hand to stop her. “I’m still not convinced of your intentions. What about my universe?”

“That was necessary to start bringing things back to normal,” Mahou-Henshin pronounced confidently.

“Necessary? Normal?” Seishou-Yami demanded. “That was my greatest work! I will not have my pride and joy be destroyed by your silly little sparkles drawn from your soldiers. How is it that I never knew of that power with my own senshi?”

“You didn’t look deep enough into their potential,” Mahou-Henshin offered lightly, “A little thought is all it took.”

“A little thought? My—” Seishou-Yami began angrily, clenching her fists.

“Enough with this pride!” the small voice roared and Mahou-Henshin gave a little triumphant laugh. “Both of you,” she added.
Mahou-Henshin sobered up.

“Your pride, Seishou-Yami, is what started this,” the tiny voice reprimanded, “and your pride, Mahou-Henshin, is what kept this going. You thought that there was a game to be won and that you would win at all costs, and you thought that you were the only one who knew the true situation and could stop what you saw as the problem.” Both senshi relaxed with shoulders slumped and heads hanging low. Neither said a word.

“You two were created from these seeds to be absolutely equal, each representing a different kind of necessary power. Hear me? Equal but different,” she paused to let her words sink in, “You two are the ultimate examples for your senshi. How you behave dictates how they behave. Evil creates enough chaos in this universe. I don’t need my two children doing the same among the protectors of the stars. It is time to set your example right!”

Just then, the rest of the girls began to awaken. Seishou-Yami opened her mouth to speak, but their shifting, groans, and murmurs drowned out the soft thread of conversation that she had been hanging on to.

“Where are we?” the girl who had been Sailor Epsilon asked softly. She seemed afraid to break the calm.

“The Galaxy Cauldron,” Rei answered, her eyes wide as she surveyed all the shining starseeds.

“Sagittarius Zero Star,” Setsuna added, mystified.

“Hey look!” the girl that had been Sailor Alpha exclaimed quietly, pointing to a rise a little way off. Until then, no one but Usagi seemed to notice their two leaders.

All the girls turned their gaze to that hill where Mahou-Henshin and Seishou-Yami stood, both avoiding each other’s eyes. To everyone’s surprise, there was no hostility between them, only regret and shame. The smaller of the two reached out her hands and her sister grasped them. Hesitant smiles spread over both of their faces. Those smiles spread contagiously throughout their audience.

Finally they noticed the group watching them. Both hurried down the hill towards their soldiers, and a small white sprite flitted after them.
“It’s Guardian Cosmos,” Hotaru gasped as the tiny figure came into view.

The Guardian of the Cauldron smiled broadly at them and said, “The war has ended. Let the healing begin!” With that, she disappeared.
A few of the girls cheered.

“It’s over,” Sailor Seishou-Yami said, breathing in a deep sigh. “We are to be allies now, no longer enemies.”
Some of her soldiers exchanged curious or skeptical looks.

“We both misunderstood each other, right from the beginning,” Mahou-Henshin said regretfully, “But it’s time to straighten things out.”
“You, my elite,” Seishou-Yami began, almost grudgingly, “will travel this universe and inform all of my soldiers that the war is over and bring peace to any battles between the white and dark senshi.”

“But what about our Dark Universe?” the icy-haired girl who could become Sailor Nu asked, “I can’t sense it any more.”

“I destroyed it, with the borrowed power of all of my soldiers,” Mahou-Henshin explained.

Many girls from both teams gasped.

“You witch!” the girl that had been Sailor Mu shouted.

“So that is what happened,” Ami murmured.

“I’ll have none of that any more,” Seishou-Yami scolded Mu. “This is a new order. We are to live in peace with all of the White Realm Senshi, fulfilling our own purpose along side of their purposes, not against.”

“You can’t be serious,” the electric-haired girl that had been Sailor Epsilon said flatly.

“I am,” Seishou-Yami said, her face almost completely devoid of emotion.

“Well then, if that’s what you want, we are ready to follow you,” Sailor Sigma said with a half-smile.

“Then we are off!” Sailor Seishou-Yami said, excitement finally breaking her mask of cool. Her soldiers all disappeared, but she lingered for a moment. “Until later, my sister,” she said and waved.

“Until later,” Mahou-Henshin replied warmly and Seishou-Yami disappeared with a sparkle.

“How did she change so quickly?” Minako asked the question that had been burning her up.

“No one can talk sense into either of us better than the one who came before us: the Cauldron Guardian,” the tiny senshi explained. “After overpowered her and destroyed her base, she was more willing to listen, and I guess I was too. You have been sleeping for quite a while, darlings.”

“I can’t believe we’re back here so soon,” Makoto said, staring at the endless sea of sparkling starseed crystals.

“Everything that comes from here returns to it again,” Mahou-Henshin said.

“I’m feeling stronger now,” Haruka said, “but how is it that you could use my power, all of our power?”

“Oh, right, that,” Mahou-Henshin said sheepishly and hung her head. “That needs to be fixed as well.”

“What?” Rei demanded.

“Well,” she began slowly, “when I plant a starseed, I put myself as a filter between it and the Galaxy Cauldron, and your planet too, where all power ultimately comes from. That way I can know exactly where, how, and what each of my senshi is doing.”

“And that would explain our loss of powers when you were a captive,” Ami observed.

“Exactly,” she nodded.

“Can you fix that?” Michiru asked.

“Yes, but it will feel odd at first,” the small senshi answered. “You might grow even more powerful, now that I think of it.”

“I’m up for it,” Makoto said and stepped forward. The others nodded in affirmation.

Mahou-Henshin nodded slowly. “Alright.”

A moment later, it felt to each of her senshi as if a rubber band of energy had snapped back on them.

“It is strange,” Hotaru observed.

“I should also apologize for getting you involved in this and everything,” she said, eyes lowered to the ground. “Seishou-Yami knew you were my favorites.”

“Favorites?” Usagi asked.

“The Sol System is where I planted the brightest starseeds that I found, ages ago,” she explained. “Those starseeds carried through generations, making you girls the most powerful team I ever planted. Even though Sailor Earth hasn’t surfaced for many generations, you still remain strong. Her starseed is second only to Sailor Moon’s.”

“Sailor Earth?” Setsuna whispered thoughtfully.

“You like us because of our starseeds?” Minako asked.

“Well, not only that,” she continued, growing more excited, “but you’re all the originals. I can’t remember when I last saw a full team of reincarnations, except for Sailor Earth, of course.”

“Woh!” Haruka exclaimed, “Slow down. What to you mean by ‘reincarnations’ and ‘originals’?”

“I mean, well,” she began again, “The first person in a line that I plant a starseed in has a very special quality. She is more or less spiritually attached to the starseed even after she is dead, and she will be reborn again and again in times where her power is needed most. The originals are always the most powerful in a line, by far.”

“So we’ve lived many times already…” Michiru said softly.

“Like the Silver Millennium,” Rei murmured.

“And for all of us to be here at once means that—” Setsuna started.

“Means that our powers must be especially needed,” Ami concluded for her, darkly.

“And I am sorry for that,” Mahou-Henshin said sympathetically, “but nothing can be done to prevent what is coming. You will live long lives as long as you keep being victorious over evil, but they will not be easy ones. This was far from the last or the hardest battle that you will ever fight, I’m sure."

“Well,” Usagi said brightly, “If that’s what we’re reborn for, I know we’ll be ready to take it on together. I promise we won’t ever give up until your job is done!”

“Yea!” the other girls cheered along with her.

A tear crept down Mahou-Henshin’s pink cheek. “And that is another reason I love them so much,” she said quietly. In the cheering, no one even noticed her speak. She addressed them all, “I am proud of you all. Now it is time for you to return to Earth and get some rest before the next battle, whatever it might be. You have gotten this far through the onslaught of enemies; I have faith in you to defeat the rest.”

“And we’ll be ready for them!” Usagi added with a smile.

“Goodbye my solders!” she cried, and she and the Starseed Garden faded away.

The girls stood together on the circular dais in the middle of Juuban Park, dressed as they had been before they had last transformed. The sun shone brightly overhead and singing birds flitted from tree to tree. How none of the people in the park noticed their sudden appearance must have be an act of magic as well.

After happily taking in the air and the sunlight of Earth in silence for a few minutes, Usagi asked hesitantly, “Anyone want to go out for some ice cream?”

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~ Afterward ~
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