DISCLAIMER: SM is not mine. I just wish it was. Can't you think of the royalities Naoko-sama is getting? Anyhow, any complaints should go to my college's administration. Then maybe I don't have to take anymore tests! AN: This story takes place at the end of the anime version of SuperS. However, the outer senshi already have custody of Hotaru in this story and retain the ability to henshin. ***** "Between the Darkness and the Light" Written by: DQBunny Edited by: Meara (The graceful, talented, lovely Meara, the best editor in the entire world! She's good, she....::Megs is muffled and carries away::) Prologue "Damn it. Damn it to hell," Akumun Kuro stared at a wide screen which graced a third of the wall before him. He turned away from the screen and stepped off a small raised black marble tile, which caused the screen to cut off automatically. He paced to the opposite end of the room where a small window, no bigger than a porthole in a ship, was cut into the wall. A single drape covered the window. He moved to push the curtain back, but then still as his fingers touched the lustrious satin. He knew what would be behind the curtain, the same thing that decorated his palace and his world...darkness. If he had his way, the entire universe would share in his darkness as well. His next target was the Milky Way. Or had been the Milky Way. Things had been going along so perfectly. He had monitored the planet Earth for many months and noticed the appearance of the Black Moon Circus. At one point, they seemed poised to take over the world. But, thanks to the effort of six girls clad in scanty sailor suits who called themselves the Sailor Senshi, Queen Nelehenia had been stopped...for now. Kuro curled his hand into a fist and hit it against the wall. He didn't want to wait for Nelehenia to come out of her stupor and wipe out the senshi. He wanted it done now! It would had been so easy with her in charge, but he realized he was going to have to get past the Sailor Senshi himself. He shook his head. He turned around and crossed back over to the screen, stepping on the tile which turned it on as he did so. He stared at the screen. "Computer, pull up the files I have amassed on the Sailor Senshi." Moments later, pictures of six girls appeared on the screen. He frowned as he studied them. The leader obviously seemed to be Sailor Moon, a young woman who held the legendary ginzuishou. She, along with a younger girl named Sailor Chibi Moon, had defeated Nelehenia. The rest seemed to be backup in his opinion. "I have to think of a way to reach those senshi on Earth and wipe them out," Kuro wondered aloud. "There is more," the computer suddenly spoke up in its mechanical voice. "Huh?" Kuro's black eyes narrowed at the screen. "Don't tell me about Tuxedo Kamen. Some fool in a cape who spouts bad haikus is not the key to my taking Earth." "No, four more senshi." Suddenly, four new pictures appeared on screen. "Information on these senshi will be printed out shortly." Kuro's eyes widened and a smirk appeared on his face. Pressing the tile down so it could keep on, he approached the screen and stroked the face of one of the new senshi to appear on the screen. He smiled. "So lovely," he mused. "I can see my plan forming now." He thought of the beautiful blue planet and of the land that guarded it from its interior. His smirk grew wider. "You thought you had seen the last of me, brother dear, but I am about to prove you very very wrong." ***** Tenoh Haruka opened the door to the spacious mansion she lived in with her partner, Kaioh Michiru, along with Meioh Setsuna and Tomoe Hotaru. She pushed the door shut behind her and slipped out of her shoes, gazing around the foyer as she did so. Usually, when she got home, Hotaru would be running to throw her arms around her legs. In the six months since the three had taken Hotaru from her father, the child had grown rapidly. She appeared to be around the age of five or six now. Haruka frowned. It was unnatural for a child to grow that fast. Something had to be happening soon in order for such a growth spurt to happen. Haruka walked toward the kitchen, cupping her hand near her mouth as she did so. "I'm home!" she announced to the household at large. There was still no answer. Haruka stopped in the kitchen doorway and surveyed the area. All seemed peaceful, but she was not too sure about things. Something seemed out of place. Her hand slipped into her pocket and wrapped around her henshin wand. No, something was definitely wrong. She could feel it. She walked out into the backyard, her hand still enclosed around her henshin wand. She stepped out into the middle of the garden that Michiru had planted and looked around. Everything seemed peaceful, but the feeling of dread was quickly growing. Out of the corner of her eye, Haruka saw a bush move slightly. She whirled around, pulling her henshin wand out of her pocket. Suddenly, a small black-haired blur flew from the bushes and wrapped itself around Haruka's leg. She looked down to see Hotaru clinging to her, crying hysterically. Haruka picked her up. "Hotaru?" she asked. Hotaru cried for a moment before she regained the ability to speak. "They took her, Haruka-poppa! They took her!" she finally managed to say. Haruka's heart stopped. All the color drained from her face. "Who took her?" she said in a hoarse voice. "Michiru-momma! They came and took Michiru-momma away!" Hotaru buried her head in Haruka's shoulder and kept crying. Haruka stood in shock, her mind not fully comprehending what had happened. She looked over at the doorway to see Setsuna, dressed in her senshi fuku, standing in the doorway. Suddenly, Haruka approached Setsuna and handed the young girl over to her and held up her henshin wand. "Uranus Planet Power...Make-UP!" A moment later, Sailor Uranus pushed her way past Sailor Pluto into the house. She stopped for a moment and stared back at Setsuna and Hotaru, who had grown quiet. There was now a serious look on the young girl's face. Uranus' eyes narrowed, then she headed for the front door. She pulled the door open and looked back at Setsuna. "Make sure they don't get involved," Haruka instructed in a terse voice before slamming the door shut behind her. ***** In another area of Jyuban, Hino Rei sat meditating before the fire. Her head was bowed over her clasped hands as she chanted prayer after prayer. Suddenly, the flame began to shoot higher and Rei looked up. Her violet eyes narrowed as the flames nearly touched the roof. She immediately jumped to her feet and backed away from the flame. This has never happened before, she realized. She wondered what was going on. Suddenly, an image formed in the flames. Rei squinted, then gasped as the image formed into the shape of a black pegasus. Suddenly, the flames shot out at her and she was thrown back against the wall. She slumped to the floor, unconscious