"Between the Darkness and the Light"
	Written by: DQBunny
	Edited by: Meara 

	DISCLAIMER: Just in case Naoko ever wants to come after me for using her 
characters, I will glad give her the horror of a eunuch American-made Tuxedo Kamen 
doll.  After all, it makes for great target practice! 

	Chapter 5

	For years, Aino Minako had gotten away with more than any normal Japanese 
young woman would had gotten away with.  While everyone had been studying for their 
high school exams, involved in after school activates, and kept closely guarded by their 
parents, she had been out fighting for love and justice as Sailor V, then Sailor Venus.
	She never imagined that the day the Senshi needed her most, everything would 
catch up to her.
	Artemis sat on Minako's bed, watching her tie her customary red bow in her hair.  
It was an ordinary task, but one that gave the lunar guardian comfort.  His heart ached 
with the knowledge that he could not follow the Senshi into battle.  But, he had faith in 
their abilities to be save the universe.  
	Ever since the defeat of Pharoah 90 and the completion of the high school exams, 
all of the Senshi seemed to regress slightly in their behavior.  Instead of the mature 
young women Artemis had seen them become, at times they acted like petty, immature girls.  
He supposed it had to do with the lack of pressure on them, even though they were fighting 
the Dead Moon Circus.  Heck, at times Chibi-Usa appeared more mature than the Senshi.  
To him that was the saddest thing of all.  But, when the Dead Moon Circus finally 
decided to make their final attack on Tokyo, the Senshi managed to get it together.
	Artemis prayed they would keep it that way.
	Minako turned around to face her guardian, a grave expression on her face.  She 
was dressed in a blue skirt and white blouse, with a row of dark blue lace edging the 
scooped neck of the garment.  She looked like any young woman about to go spend a day 
with her friends.  In her hands, she held several pieces of folded notebook paper.  She 
approached the bed with them and set them down next to Artemis.
	"What's this?" he asked, opening the papers.  He scanned the first few lines, then 
his head shot up.  "Mina!"
	Minako laughed nervously.  "You don't have to make such a big deal over it, 
Artemis."
	"But, Mina..."
	"I have to be ready...just in case," Minako said, softly.  "If I don't come back, 
please make sure Okaa-san and Otou-san get this."
	Artemis laughed, trying to mask his fear.  "Don't be silly, Mina!  You'll be fine!  
Now, hurry up and destroy this before anyone sees it."
	"I can't," Minako said, shaking her head at her friend.   "If we don't make it, they 
deserve the truth.  They need to know what happened to me.  It's the least I can do for all 
of the times I've never shown up to dinner, came home late, snuck out early, and 
everything else I've done.  I'm suppose to be the leader of the Sailor Senshi, but I haven't 
been acting like it."  She picked up her purse off her dresser and gave Artemis a small 
smile.  "Ready?"
	"Hai!" Artemis nudged the letter under some pillows before jumping off the bed 
and following Minako out of the room.
	Minako descended the stairs just as the grandfather clock her father had imported 
from America started to ring.  She looked over at its familiar face and saw it was nearly 7 
a.m.  She frowned.  She was going to be late if she did not hurry.
	"Mina, where are you going?"
	Minako looked up to see her mother standing in a bathrobe at the top of the 
stairs.  She blinked several times.  Usually, her mother did not wake up until noon on 
Saturdays, leaving Minako and her father to fend for themselves.  After a moment, her
father joined her mother, already dressed in his business suit.
	"I'm heading to Rei-chan's," Minako said.  "She wanted to show us a special 
ceremony she is preparing for."
	"Not today you aren't," Aino Yashirosquinted at his daughter.  "Your mother and I 
had a long talk last night, and we decided it was time to curb your wild behavior."
	Minako's jaw dropped.  "My what?"
	Aino Michiko descended the stairs and gently cupped Minako's face in her hands.  
"Mina, dear, you're almost of age.  I married your father when I was sixteen years old.  
It's time you stopped running loose in the streets and learn the skills a young lady should 
learn.  Starting today, we shall begin coaching you on how to be a lady of your station."
	Minako's heart sank.  She gazed at Artemis, who nodded slightly, then scurried 
out of the way to alert the other Senshi.

	*****

	The sound of the doorbell penetrated Makoto's dream.  The brunette frowned and 
clutched the pillow in her arms tighter.  "Please," she muttered in her sleep.  "Don't turn 
back into a pumpkin on me!  I couldn't bear it!  Please, just one kiss...just one kiss..."
	The doorbell kept ringing.
	Makoto turned onto her back, consciousness slowly returning to her.  She stared 
at the ceiling for a moment before looking at her nightstand.  The red numbers on the 
digital clock flashed 6:00.  She sprang up in bed.  She had to be at the temple by 7!  
There was barely enough time for her to shower, cook breakfast for everyone, then bike 
over there.  She threw back the covers and got out of bed.
	The doorbell kept ringing.
	Makoto grabbed her robe off the bed, shoving her arms into it as she walked in 
the living room.  Surely none of the Senshi could be here, she thought.  Rei would be at 
the temple taking care of early morning chores, and there was no way possible Minako or 
Usagi would be out of bed unless it was 5 minutes to 7.  That left Ami.  Makoto sighed.  
It was probably Ami.
	Makoto threw the door open.  "Good morning, Ami-chan, what brings you...oh?" 
she asked, looking at the petite woman with long black hair tied back into a braid 
standing on her stoop.  "Good morning, ma'am," she said, bowing politely.  "How may I 
help you?"
	"I'm Masaka Himeko, nice to meet you," the woman gave a slight nod of her head.  
"I'm from the Tokyo Social Services, Kino-san, and I'm here to take you into custody for 
running away from the orphanage.  
	Makoto gasped and backed away from the door.  "No...you're kidding...you 
can't!"
	Himeko stepped in the door and grabbed Makoto's wish.  "I can and will.  If you 
don't come with me, I'll call the police and have you arrested."
	The young woman simply stared at the woman in shock. 

	*****

	Setsuna paced the temple grounds.  It was 7:15 a.m. and there were no signs from 
Usagi, Mamoru, Minako, or Makoto.  The sun had finally started to rise a few minutes 
earlier, and Ami sat on the temple stairs working with her mini-computer, guessing why 
the sun didn't rise when it should had.  But, Setsuna did not need a computer to tell her 
why the sun didn't rise that morning.  She knew who had caused it.
	Still, something else did not feel quite right about the morning.  She could not put 
her finger on it, but something was definitely out of place
	"And I bet Kuro is up to it," she muttered under her breath.
	"What was that, Puu?"
	Setsuna looked up to see Chibi-Usa sitting next to Ami on the temple steps.  She 
and Hotaru had come back from the park earlier, exclaiming about the sun not rising. 
Setsuna allowed herself a small smile, remembering when she had checked her version of 
the Old Farmer's Almanac that morning to make sure when the projected sunrise would 
be.  The smile quickly faded.  The situation had to be serious if the younger girls noticed 
the sun did not rise without the help of an almanac.
Still, there was little any of them could do.  The only one who had any remote 
link to Elysion other than Mamoru would be Chibi-Usa, but her powers concerning the 
Earth would be latent for years, if they ever developed at all.  
	Rei walked out of the shrine, looking puzzled.  "I called Mako-chan at home and 
no one answered," she said.  "I haven't tried Minako-chan yet.  Her parents like to sleep 
in on the weekends and get pretty cross if the phone wakes them up."
	"We could go over there and check on her.  She's probably not awake, because the 
sun did not rise on time.  What about Usagi?  Why wasn't she with you, Chibi-Usa-
chan?" Ami asked.
	Chibi-Usa blushed.  "I was still mad at her for what she said yesterday.  But, I 
looked in her room and saw that she wasn't in bed.  I figured she was here with you."
	"If she's not home, and she's not with us...," Rei let the comment trail off, a 
smile slowly forming.
	"No!!!" Luna shrieked from her position beside Ami, her eyes growing large and 
luminous. 
	"Oh, I don't know, there's a slight possibility," Rei's violet eyes twinkled. "After 
all, they have been dating for almost two years now..."
	"No, no, I refuse to accept it!" 
	"She's almost sixteen, Luna," Ami pointed out.  "She's too young!" 
	"She's older than she was when Princess Serenity died," Setsuna spoke up. 
	Luna fell silent at that comment. She looked at the gathered Senshi and sighed. "I 
just want to protect her, as Queen Serenity instructed me to." 
	"You didn't fail in your job," Rei said, sitting down next to Luna. "Granted, she's
not Princess Serenity, but Usagi's done a lot of growing up over the past few years. True, 
I could had done without her stalking this place as a ninja a few months ago, but look at 
the way she behaved when facing down the Dead Moon Circus." 
	"She saved my life," Chibi-Usa whispered. "If she hadn't jumped over the edge 
like she did..." 
	"She deserves a chance to be with the one she loves," Ami said. Everyone stared 
at her. Instead of blushing when she talked about such personal matters, the Senshi of 
wisdom gazed at her friends. "Princess Serenity's greatest wish was to be with the man 
she loved. She never got a chance to realize that wish. Usagi-chan has. Now, it looks like 
they may be ripped apart again. Give them the chance to be a couple before they put their 
lives on the line once more. I've never met two more unselfish people than Usagi-chan 
and Mamoru-san. They deserve some happiness before we tread into the darkness." 
	Luna sighed and laid back down. "I guess I can't stop Usagi-chan from growing 
up." 
	"It is the hardest thing," Setsuna whispered, looking at Hotaru and Chibi-Usa. 
"Knowing that the ones you love grow up and will not remain the same innocent people 
that they used to be. Caught forever in the essence of childhood, clasping each other in 
childlike embraces even as death approaches...," the elder Senshi laughed. "I've been 
reading too much George Eliot lately."  
	"You can never read too much Eliot," Ami said with a grin.  Setsuna returned it.
	"Still, maybe they could stop by and get Minako-chan for us," Rei said, turning on 
her communicator. "That saves us a trip and they're on her side of town anyhow. I'm sure 
that Mako-chan will be here any moment." 

	***** 

	"I don't think I've ever been here," Mamoru commented, pulling up next to a 
white two-story house. 
	"I've only been here a couple of times myself," Usagi said. "I think the last time 
was when she got the flu, and that was a couple of years ago. It's just always has been 
easier to meet at Rei-chan's." She opened her car door. "I'll be right back." 
	Usagi walked up the brick path leading to the door quickly. They had been getting 
dressed when her communicator beeped. At first, she was shocked to realize that the 
Senshi had guessed where she had been, but it was pretty obvious. If Chibi-Usa had 
looked in her bedroom, she would had noticed she was not there. There were not many 
places you could go on a Sunday morning other than a church. 
	"Hey, Usagi?" Rei had asked her. "Is Mamoru-san nearby?"
	"No, he's in the bathroom. Why?"
	"Tell me...how was it?" 
	It had been then that Usagi blushed. But, her eyes sparkled when she replied, 
"Everything I had ever dreamed off...but, something horrible happened this morning. 
We'll tell you about it when we get there." 
	Usagi pulled herself out of her thoughts and rang the doorbell. After a moment, a 
woman who looked a lot like Minako answered it. She was dressed in an old blue terry-
cloth robe and clutched a mug of coffee in her hand. "Good morning, Aino-san," Usagi 
said, bowing slightly. "Is Minako-chan here?" 
	"She's probably in her room," Michiko answered with a smile. "I'm sorry for my 
humble appearance." She stepped back so Usagi could enter.
	Michiko watched as Usagi took off her shoes and put on a pair of guest slippers. 
"I'm glad that you girls are doing something today," she said, walking with Usagi to the 
stairs. "I used to be so worried about Mina. She never had any friends and usually stayed 
out by herself. I told Yashiro that she needed to make more friends. I'm glad she found 
you, Usagi-san." 
	Usagi smiled. "We're glad we found her, Aino-san." 
	She climbed the stairs to Minako's room and knocked on the door. "Minako-
chan!" she sang out in a cheerful voice. "Come on, we're late!" 
	Usagi knocked again. "Minako-chan!" Finally, she threw the door open and 
looked around. Minako's bed was unmade, her clothes tossed on the floor. Other than 
that, it looked perfectly normal. Usagi glanced down the hall and saw that the bathroom 
door was open. She couldn't be in there. 
	Usagi frowned, then closed the door behind her and walked back downstairs. 
	"Where's Mina?" Yashiro asked, looking up from his newspaper at Usagi. "She's not 
with you?" 
	"She's not in her room," Usagi explained. "Maybe she's already left for Rei-
chan's. We're suppose to meet there." 
	"That's odd," Michiko commented. "I've been up since 5 a.m., because I wanted to 
do some extra work on a project due Monday. I looked in on her just as I was heading for 
the bathroom, and she was in there asleep. I'm surprised that I didn't hear her leave. I 
haven't been back to bed since." 
	A sinking sensation started to form in the pit of Usagi's stomach. She quickly bid 
farewell to Minako's parents and rushed out of the house. She ran down the walk and into 
Mamoru's car.
	He took one look at her and frowned. "Usako, what's wrong?" 
	Usagi stared out the windshield, not quite seeing the scenery before her. Finally, 
she looked straight into Mamoru's eyes. "I think she's been kidnapped by Kuro."  

	***** 

	"What do you mean Minako-chan's been kidnapped?" Rei, Ami, and Chibi-Usa 
screamed at Usagi. 
	"I told you everything that Aino-san told me!" Usagi insisted. Everyone sat 
around the table in Rei's room, trying to digest the information that Usagi had brought 
with her about both Minako and what had happened to Mamoru earlier. "Aino-san saw 
Mina in her room at 5 a.m. She couldn't had left without her mother noticing. As of 7:30 
this morning, she was gone." 
	Setsuna's forehead wrinkled in concentration as Usagi spoke. "So, somehow 
Minako disappeared between 5 and 7:30. With the information you two told us about this 
morning, we know that Mamoru-san was pulled in to Elysion sometime around 6:00, 
when the sun was suppose to rise." She looked at Ami. "Ami-chan, when did you wake 
up this morning?" 
	"Me?  5 a.m.  I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to study the chemistry of black holes a 
little longer," Ami answered.
	"I was up by 5:30 to do the morning rituals," Rei said.  "I always wake up at 
5:30."
	"So was I," Chibi-Usa said.  "I couldn't sleep either."
	Mamoru frowned.  "So, all of you were awake around 6 a.m.?"
	"That was the time I woke up and saw you weren't responding to me," Usagi 
commented, absently.
	"WHAT?" Rei, Ami, and Luna shrieked at the top of their voices.  Usagi and 
Mamoru quickly turned beet red.
	"I don't want to know what happened now...wait, yes I do, tell me!" Rei 
exclaimed, grabbing Usagi's hand.  "How was it?  What was it like?"
	"Is it anything like in the books?" Ami asked.  Everyone stared at her and she 
blushed.  "I do read a lot, you know."
	"Enough, enough!" Mamoru cut in, his face still red.  The last thing he wanted 
was to have his love life being dissected by a bunch of 15-year-old girls.  He grabbed a 
legal pad and pen off of Rei's desk and thumped the pad on the table before them. 
	"Okay, Usako, me, Chibi-Usa, Luna, Artemis, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, 
Setsuna, and Hotaru," Mamoru read out loud as he scribbled down everyone's name.  
"Now, tell me where you exactly were when the sun was suppose to rise this morning."
	"I was with you," Usagi said.  "In your apartment."
	"I was in Elysion with Elios," Mamoru added, writing the locations down.
	"I was in the park where the battle took place yesterday," Chibi-Usa said.
	"I was with Chibi-Usa-chan," Hotaru added.
	"Setsuna-san and I were here at the shrine," Rei said.
	"Luna and I were on the Internet looking up more information on black holes," 
Ami noted.
	"So, Minako-chan, Mako-chan, and Artemis were all home at the time," Usagi 
wondered.  "Mamo-chan was asleep and pulled into a nightmare in Elysion, but I wasn't.  
Maybe they're all in some type of nightmare world as well."
	"But, none of them are home," Rei said.
	Everything clicked together in Setsuna's mind.  Her eyes narrowed.  "Kuro has 
kidnapped them."
	Everyone stared at her in shock.  "But, how?" Ami asked.
	"Through their dreams.  Pandora contains the darkest evils of the known universe, 
and it makes the Dead Moon Circus look like a cheerful carnival for children," Setsuna 
explained.  "The Dead Moon Circus never really used their full potential for power.  
When she attacked, Badiyanu tried to control your dreams, or rather the dreams of 
children.  Kuro's power is based off the same concept, except it is much stronger.  He 
must had initiated a dream for Minako, Makoto, and Artemis and through it lured them 
away."
	"You mean they're in Pandora now, Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked.
	The elder Senshi nodded. "It's obvious that they were after Mamoru-san next.  If 
Usagi-san hadn't noticed and revived him with the Ginzuishou...," she let her voice die 
away, knowing the Senshi would understand what she was getting back.
	Usagi stood up from her seat.  "It's even more important now that we get to 
Pandora to save them.  If we don't act now, someway, somehow Kuro is going to snatch 
us all away until there is no one left to protect our own galaxy."  
	She withdrew her locket from her pocket and gazed at it for a moment.  "When 
Luna gave me this locket, I had no idea of the trials we would be entering.  But, I 
wouldn't trade any of those for the joy.  We could abandon them now and not look back, 
just say they never existed.  But, we can't do that.  Our souls are bonded now.  I promise 
this, no matter what happens, we will get them back."
	Rei nodded and stood up as well, holding her hand.  "Mars Crystal Power...Make-
UP!"
	Ami raised her wand.  "Mercury Crystal Power...Make-UP!"
	"Pluto Planet...."
	"Wait!" Hotaru rose to her feet and faced Setsuna.  The elder Senshi stared at her 
for a moment, then lowered her wand.
	Hotaru bowed her head for a moment.  "You have not powered-up yet.  The time 
was not right for you to power up...until now.  I wanted to do this with the three of you 
together, but your powers are needed to be as strong as possible in order to fight Kuro.  
Sailor Saturn has granted me my powers to be used once again, but with it came the pain 
and the memories of my past."  She looked into Setsuna's eyes.  "With this power-up, you 
will regain memories of past events that you have blocked.  You always thought you 
were just a mere keeper of the time stream, but you are so much more.  This is the reason 
why you were resurrected after the destruction of Pharoah 90 and the reason I have to live 
now."  
	Hotaru took Setsuna's hands in her own.  "Saturn Crystal Power...Make-UP!"
	Setsuna nodded in understanding.  "Pluto Crystal Power...Make-UP!"
	Moments later, Super Sailor Pluto and Super Sailor Saturn took the place of the 
women who had stood there before.
	Usagi nodded in satisfaction and looked over at Chibi-Usa.  "Ready?" she asked.
Chibi-Usa nodded.  
	Usagi looked up at Mamoru, who also nodded to her.  He closed his eyes and 
shifted into the form of Tuxedo Kamen. 
	"Moon Crisis...Make-UP!"