Author's Notes
------------------------------

Here we go with Chapter 5! And in a much more timely manner this time. 
^.^ I have to warn you, this chapter is rather depressing. All the sad 
stuff is necessary to the plot, unfortunately, or fortunately, 
depending on how you look at it. ^.~ Don't worry, things will start 
looking up for the Sailor Senshi soon!

If you need something to lighten your mood after reading this, there's 
always my new Serenity/Endymion romance fic, "Against All Odds," which 
I started posting two weeks ago on all three sites. ^.~ Gotta get the 
standard plug in. :P

I reconnected with my new beta-reader! I am now getting lots of great 
culture and canon feedback from Horosha in addition to the excellent 
work The Perpetual Lurker has been doing for me. Things should only get 
better from here! Thanks, guys! ^.^

Yay! More reviewers to thank! ^.^

- On Aria's Ink - 

Vanillabeans: I don't know of Anne Bishop, actually. Your name looks 
familiar to me too, though... Heehee, I'm glad you're okay with Mamoru 
not being in this story much. I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes a 
little change now and then. ^.~

Loki: Good to see you're still keeping up with this story. I'm thrilled 
you liked the little Luna and Artemis scene, I thought you'd enjoy that 
one. ^.^ I hope you'll stick with me through the sad stuff too!

- On Fanfiction.Net - 

Karla: I'm so flattered that you actually look for updates from me! 
It's great to know someone is actively watching for me to post up new 
chapters. It motivates me to write regularly! I'm glad you find SME 
original and I hope this chapter will be worth the search. ^.~

Mai: I love all these returning reviewers! ^.^ I'm glad you're okay 
with Mamoru not being in the story as much. Don't worry, he will be in 
an entire Book later on in SME, as well as some more brief scenes and 
moments throughout the fic. After all, he is Usagi's fiance, I couldn't 
just ignore him even if I wanted to! ^.~

- On ASMR - 

No reviews from ASMR this time. ;_;

- To Everyone -

That's about it! 
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy my work.
-Dejana
04/12/2004

------------------------------
Sailormoon Eternity
Book 1 - The Poison of Amaranth
Chapter 5: Shadow
------------------------------
"Even if it means my life, I will erase you from this world."
------------------------------


	"Mako-chan?"
	Blue eyes wide and swimming with tears, Eternal Sailormoon slowly 
approached the pillar where her abducted friend had been bound only 
moments before. She reached out, gloved hands grasping at empty air. 
"Mako-chan, where are you?"
	Two Sailor Senshi were gone now, vanished, without leaving any 
clues to their fate at the hands of the enemy. Moon's knees buckled and 
she sank to the floor, pounding her fists against its smooth polished 
surface. "Iie! It's not fair!"
	Sailor Saturn laid a comforting hand on the winged soldier's 
shoulder. Pluto, meanwhile, was searching the area around the now-empty 
pillar with her eyes. "Makoto was tied securely," she mused aloud. 
"Even if our enemies have the ability to walk through walls, they could 
never have cut her loose and taken her so quickly that we would have 
missed it completely. Besides, why would they take the ropes as well?"
	"What are you getting at, Pluto?" Saturn wondered aloud, looking up.
	"Perhaps the ropes were not real ropes," Pluto continued, meeting 
Saturn's glance. "Perhaps Makoto was not the real Makoto." Saturn's 
eyes widened.
	"What are you saying?" Eternal Sailormoon whimpered, still 
kneeling on the floor of the corridor. "Mako-chan was here, right 
here!"
	"Iie, Sailor Moon," Saturn replied bitterly, shooting an 
exasperated glare at the floor. "It was the ShapeShifter, assuming 
Makoto's form."
	Sailor Pluto looked thoughtful for a moment, and then her eyes 
filled with alarm. "Even now, the ShapeShifter could be-" She stopped 
abruptly and readied her Garnet Rod in her hands, backing slowly away 
from the other two soldiers. Saturn gasped in comprehension, then 
snatched up her Silence Glaive from the floor and whirled around in a 
stance of alert wariness. Saturn and Pluto both stepped carefully back 
from Moon's crouching form and from each other, holding their tools in 
defensive postures, grim suspicion contorting their features.
	Moon looked up at the two Sailor Senshi in disbelief. "You don't 
mean..." She climbed to her feet, trembling with emotion. "How will we 
get anywhere if we can't trust each other?" she demanded, staring at 
her sailor-suited companions. "Isn't there a way to know for sure that 
none of us are the ShapeShifter? Luna and Artemis were able to figure 
it out!"
	Sailor Pluto looked thoughtful for a moment. "The power of our 
guardian planets stems from the Sailor Crystals we carry," she said 
finally. "The ShapeShifter can duplicate our appearances, but not our 
planet energies."
	The crimson-eyed soldier raised the Garnet Rod and summoned her 
element to her side. The mists of Time responded to her call, 
materializing around Pluto's staff and swirling around her in a thick 
cloud, drawing her streaming green hair into the growing storm. 
Concentrating, the Time Guardian focused and controlled the raw fabric 
of the ages, condensing it into the proper shape for a Dead Scream 
attack, but she did not utter the key words. With a slight shudder of 
effort Pluto held the power in check, ceasing its growth before it 
could form into something destructive. She relaxed slowly, allowing the 
gathered Time energy to dissapate gradually. The ancient sentinel 
heaved a small sigh of relief, then looked expectantly at her Princess.
	Eternal Sailormoon, annoyed at her friends' skepticism, did not 
bother with the Eternal Tier. She shot a pointed glance at the other 
two Senshi, scolding them without words. Then, she raised both gloved 
hands to either side of the winged locket in the center of her chest. 
Her eyes slid shut. An eerie breeze swirled up in the sterile corridor 
of metal, tugging at Moon's twin streams of hair.
	The locket opened. A flood of pure white light burst forth, 
filling the passageway with a wave of gentle warmth. Trapped as they 
were, with two of their friends missing, the Senshi's world suddenly 
seemed a little brighter, their burdens a little lighter on their 
shoulders.
	Through a vaguely euphoric haze, Sailor Pluto noticed Moon's head 
snap back as power flowed out of the Silver Crystal, and the gem 
brightened. "Princess! Stop!" she cried out in alarm. Moon was jolted 
out of her trance by Pluto's commanding voice, and her eyes opened and 
blinked as they cleared. Her hands dropped to her sides.
	"Gomen," the winged soldier muttered vaguely. The Silver 
Crystal's light faded, and the locked closed, sealing the gem away into 
the heart of Eternal Sailormoon's being once again. "It's a little hard 
to stop the Silver Crystal once it's active."
	Pluto's garnet eyes turned their sharp gaze upon Sailor Saturn, 
wielder of a power that could destroy worlds as fast as the Princess 
could heal them. "Be careful, Saturn," the Time Guardian advised her.
	The youngest Sailor Senshi nodded solemnly and lifted the Silence 
Glaive in her hands, planning a simple display similar to Pluto's. 
Saturn fixed her gray stare on the silver blade that curved toward the 
ceiling, intensifying her concentration as she silently called to the 
dark powers of entropy, commanding the energy of the life cycle to 
emerge from the wellspring hidden within the Silence Glaive.
	Nothing happened.
	Saturn's eyes narrowed. She tried again, her hands shaking as she 
squeezed the shaft of the Silence Glaive so tightly that her fingers 
went numb. With every fiber of her being the soldier of revolution 
demanded the blade yield up its powers of death and rebirth. There was 
no response.
	"I...I don't understand," Saturn stammered, looking up at Sailor 
Pluto. The violet-suited soldier's blood ran cold as gaze eyes met 
Pluto's. The Time Guardian's eyes were, at first, wide with horror, her 
lips parted in disbelief, but as the short-haired girl watched the 
crimson stare became dull and empty.
	"Saturn, what happened?" Eternal Sailormoon's innocent question 
went unnoticed by the other two Senshi. Pluto's mind slowly numbed into 
an emotionless mass as she stared at her enemy, hiding in the guise of 
her beloved surrogate daughter. Standing face to face with the 
imposter, a threat to the Princess hiding in Sailor Saturn's skin, 
Pluto was filled with a cold fury. Hotaru was gone, replaced by a cheap 
imitation. In this moment, the green-haired soldier realized just how 
deeply she loved the young firefly.
	Sailor Pluto's eyes narrowed. Her fingers tightened on the s
slender Garnet Rod. A deadly fire sprang up within her soul, consuming 
any trace of doubt she may have felt as the pseudo-Saturn's gaze filled 
with fear. The dark-haired girl reached out tentatively toward the 
tanned woman.
	"Setsuna-mama, wait, onegai-"
	Any further words were drowned out by a maelstrom of mist-filled 
wind. Sailor Pluto gathered the energies of Time again, but this time 
she did not hold back. A raging whirlwind of eternity roared around the 
furious Senshi of Time, blasting her hair into a green cloud of terror. 
Her maroon eyes flashed at her target as she focused the storm of power 
into an orb of pure energy.
	"What are you doing?!" Eternal Sailormoon took a few running 
steps toward Sailor Saturn, but it was too late.
	"Dead...scream..." The roaring winds of Time tore away the few 
tears that appeared at the corners of Pluto's eyes as she whispered the 
command that would release her attack. Moon was thrown back by the 
blast as it streaked toward its target.
	"Silence Wall!" Sailor Saturn cried desperately, thrusting her 
Silence Glaive out in front of her. No shield of energy appeared to 
protect her. The short-haired soldier flung herself sideways, barely 
escaping the deadly barrage of age-old power. Saturn crashed heavily 
into the hard floor, sending sharp jolts of pain stabbing through her 
shoulder and hip. A burning sensation erupted in her bare thigh as she 
slid awkwardly into a wall. The Dead Scream missed her completely, but 
barely, and exploded in a nearby corner.
	"Pluto, have you gone mad?!" Moon screamed, hauling herself off 
the floor and running toward the fallen Saturn. She was stopped 
abruptly by the Garnet Rod, which Pluto extended forbiddingly across 
Moon's path at waist height.
	"That is not Saturn," the dark-skinned Senshi replied bitterly. 
"It's the ShapeShifter. Saturn is gone."
	"How can you know that for sure?" Moon demanded.
	Sailor Saturn struggled to push herself off the floor, gripping 
her injured left shoulder with her right hand. She turned her head 
slowly to look at the Time Guardian. The violet-suited soldier's face 
was streaked with tears and filled with the agony of betrayal. She was 
shaking with pain and emotion.
	Pluto felt a pang of guilt at the sight. A shadow of doubt passed 
through her burgundy eyes. ~If I do not act now, it will be too late.~ 
She raised the Garnet Rod again. "Forgive me, Princess," she said 
softly. "I must protect you." The ancient soldier took a deep breath, 
then extended a strong arm and forcefully shoved Eternal Sailormooon 
backward. Ignoring Moon's cry of shock as she fell, Pluto gathered 
enough energy for another fatal attack as swiftly as she could.
	There was no mistaking the deadly conviction in Sailor Pluto's 
expression. Summoning all her strength, Saturn snatched up her useless 
Silence Glaive, leapt to her feet, and dashed off down the nearest 
corridor at top speed. The desperate need to escape blocked out 
everything but terror as the young soldier fled her mother-figure's 
full-force assault.

	In all her eons of life, Sailor Infinity had never felt as weak 
as she did in this moment. Her head lolled from side to side, and her 
eyelids drooped wearily. She felt as if her very lifeblood were 
draining out of her wrists, where the mysterious metal bound her hands 
together behind her back. Infinity lay abandoned in the center of an 
empty chamber, unguarded, chained only to her own flesh, and probably 
could have escaped had she possessed the energy to move.
	She was not alone long, however. The shadows in the corridor at 
the other end of the small chamber shifted, and a tall figure entered, 
draped in crimson. She was impossibly thin, with long hair the color of 
deep space rolling down her back. The woman's eyes were dark, so dark 
they appeared to have no color, but her skin was as pale as Infinity's 
own. Her presence seemed to fill the room, but her feet made no sound 
on the metallic floor.
	"I am Queen Amaranth," she announced. Her voice was deep and 
filled with an air of superiority. Everything about her reeked of power 
and command. Despite her mounting fear as she stared up at Amaranth 
from the floor, Infinity was momentarily puzzled.
	~Queen?~ she wondered. ~Why would the Queen of the Shinmosei 
accompany a ship on a deep-space conquest mission?~ Two guards, dressed 
in black uniforms with crimson highlights, entered the room behind 
Amaranth. Swiftly they moved to stand at either side of the captive 
Sailor Senshi.
	"What do you want?" Sailor Infinity whispered weakly.
	One of the guards yanked his sheathed sword off the belt at his 
waist and jabbed the blunt tip of the scabbard hard into Infinity's 
stomach. The black-suited soldier choked and convulsed as her lungs 
seized up, and she curled into a ball around the sharp ache in her 
abdomen, gasping for breath with wide bulging eyes. She was severely 
weakened; normally the Sailor fuku would have taken the brunt of the 
blow.
	"You are not to speak!" Queen Amaranth hissed, her lips curling 
in disgust. "Next time, it will be the blade!" Infinity coughed 
painfully, colors swimming across her vision, as her enemy towered over 
her.
	"I am not here to negotiate, or to bargain, or even to take 
hostages," the tall ruler said coldly. "I need your planet, and I will 
take it. My motives are not important, as there is nothing you can do 
about it anyway. I am here," and at this she stepped forward until her 
shoes were an arm's length from Sailor Infinity's face, "because I will 
not tolerate the freedom of an opponent with the ability to defy me."
	Cerulean-violet eyes stared up at the forbidding figure of Queen 
Amaranth. Through a mist of tears and weariness, Infinity beheld her 
enemy, close enough to touch yet so invincible. Her heart was pounding 
in her chest, her pale face hot and throbbing as she struggled to catch 
her breath. The forces of evil of the past flashed through the indigo-
haired soldier's mind: Queen Beryl, Mistress Nine, Nehelenia, Sailor 
Galaxia. Here she lay at the mercy of another great power. Sailor 
Infinity was terrified.
	~If only I could move!~ she though futilely, her eyes wide with 
fear. ~I could attack, and destroy our enemy before she does any harm 
to Earth! I could go back to Tokyo and get help! I could...run away, 
and escape her piercing stare.~ She shuddered violently. ~What will the 
others think? I've found our enemy, but I'm completely at her mercy.~
	Amaranth smiled a twisted smile. The soldier cowering at her feet 
had not spoken since her punishment. Amaranth had won this first 
conflict. "Every planet has its hero," she sighed in a mocking tone. 
"One opponent always manages to spoil my plans. It seems here on Earth 
you are that one. Therefore, you shall receive the ultimate 
punishment." The crimson-robed woman paused for a moment, allowing time 
for her captive's imagination to run wild with all the possibilities.
	Queen Amaranth pursed her lips, then curved them into a menacing 
smile. "You shall be the last to die." A thrill ran through her body as 
the bound soldier stared up at her with renewed horror. Amaranth turned 
and strode out of the small room, disappearing into the shadows, her 
dress sliding soundlessly along the floor. "Bring her," she commanded 
over her shoulder. The two guards seized Sailor Infinity's arms and 
hauled her off the floor, dragging her limp body after their Queen.

	~And again, it begins.~ General Jameton stood stiffly at 
attention in the control room. He could not relax in present company. 
His eyes were fixed on the drama unfolding on the semi-transparent 
screen in front of him, which had been lowered over the ship's front 
window to display the ongoing events. The image of Queen Amaranth 
strolled regally along a corridor, followed by two of her personal 
guard who were pulling Sailor Infinity between them.
	~Our plan was a success,~ he told himself, drawing up to his full 
height as he watched the Queen's new captive on the screen. Yet, 
something within Jameton cringed, a nagging doubt plaguing him: Where 
was the honor in this?
	~It was not always this way,~ he recalled with a pang of 
nostalgia. Out of the corner of his eye Jameton studied the ship's 
control center. At first glance, everything seemed orderly and 
efficient. The bridge was set up in three recessing levels elevated to 
different heights, each with its own panels and consoles for 
controlling the various systems of the ship. A trained technician 
hovered at each workstation, busily going about daily tasks or solemnly 
watching the scene displayed on the viewscreen. Only an experienced eye 
could detect the hovering cloud of despair that was sinking deeper into 
the crew with every passing day.
	The memories of every crew member were filled with failures. The 
importance of their mission kept them going despite it all, but after 
such a long time it was beginning to severely affect each one of them. 
General Jameton sighed inwardly and turned back to the images on the 
transparent screen, the gray corridors superimposed over the front 
window's tableau of stars. No one on board had been as badly affected 
by the pressures of their mission as Queen Amaranth herself.
	As head advisor, Jameton had spent more time in the presence of 
the Queen than almost anyone else. He had seen numerous planets in his 
time, studied countless Sailor Senshi, and observed Amaranth's reaction 
to every single one of them. It was true that Amaranth usually 
identified one individual from each group of opponents as her truest 
adversary. It seemed to happen by chance; a leader would emerge among a 
planet's Sailor Senshi, a strong individual dedicated to protecting her 
world and her fellow soldiers.
	In the past, Queen Amaranth had treated these opponents almost as 
equals, and would employ every resource of intelligence and logic she 
possessed in a deadly game of cat and mouse. These were the sort of 
encounters that had tempted Jameton to ascend through the ranks of the 
guard to become the Queen's right-hand man.
	Unfortunately, Amaranth did not permit anyone, not even her chief 
advisor, to become close to her personally. Despite all his years of 
service General Jameton never really knew what the Queen was thinking. 
As planet after planet passed under the view of the panoramic front 
window, Amaranth's behavior had become more erratic, more illogical, 
more desperate.
	It had started slowly, with the occasional opponent being treated 
less like a worthy adversary and more like a hunted criminal. At first, 
this type of behavior on Amaranth's part was rare, but as the mission 
wore on, the Queen's goals became more and more centered around 
extermination. Around eradicating vermin. Around seeking revenge on 
those who managed to foil one of her plots. Around causing pain and 
suffering.
	Jameton tried to suppress his shudder. ~I mustn't think about 
such things here,~ he scolded himself. ~It is too risky, I might show 
some sign...~

	The sun was going down. The glowing disc sank gracefully toward 
the horizon, spreading waves of russet and gold across the countryside. 
The trees and grass took on a gilded appearance, adding further luster 
to the few autumn leaves that still clung to their branches. The sky 
was afire, the billowing clouds streaked with orange and pink.
	None could be seen in this secluded area, but nearby, millions of 
people were going about their business. Couples were heading out for an 
evening on the town. Children were returning home to their families. 
Students were completing assignments for the next day's classes. 
Countless individuals moved about within their own little worlds under 
the setting sun, blissfully unaware that, right here in the city of 
Tokyo, soldiers were fighting to protect the world that so many took 
for granted.
	This, of course, was as it should be. Sailor Neptune turned away 
from the window and its tapestry of living color, her sea-green Sailor 
fuku a stark contrast to the golden lands outside. With a slight sigh 
she pulled the curtains closed and switched on a nearby lamp.
	"It's been too long!" Sailor Uranus muttered for what was at 
least the tenth time. Since the departure of half their number the 
blue-suited sky-soldier had been pacing back and forth across the 
living room, her steps becoming more rapid with each passing minute.
	The flow of time was being audibly marked by the ticking of the 
wall clock hanging at one end of Uranus' path. The slight sound of 
seconds slipping away usually went unnoticed, but in the tension 
growing in the room at this moment no one could ignore its steady 
pulse. The clock was a cheap, simple thing, purchased when Hotaru had 
begun to procrastinate on her lessons. It usually served as a gentle 
reminder that Time waited for no one - except, perhaps, Setsuna - but 
now the ticking was a grim sentinel of crucial seconds vanishing. As 
Sailor Uranus strode back and forth in her agitation, she fount it 
difficult not to match her pace to the insistent clicking of the 
clock's silver pendulum. It seemed to be growing louder, faster, each 
second evaporating with a stab of impatience, becoming more and more 
insistent until-
	A roar of frustration burst from Uranus' throat and the blonde 
woman's fist shot out, her white-gloved hand crushing the clock's face 
into the wall. With a sweep of her arm, the wind-ruler sent the device 
crashing to the floor in a jumble of gears and broken plastic.
	"We were so naive," Sailor Uranus spat to no one in particular.
	"We have no way of knowing what security measures might have been 
in place at the enemy's lair," Luna reminded the somber group from the 
small screen of Mercury's communicator. When Sailor Infinity had failed 
to return, the blue-haired soldier had contacted the two cat advisors. 
Artemis was employing all the resources of the old Crown Arcade command 
center to search for the missing Sailor Senshi. "Don't worry. We'll 
find them."
	Seated at the table, Sailor Mercury leaned wearily on one arm. 
She and Venus stared at the small screen of the blue palmtop computer 
as it continued its own scan. Already Mercury and the cats had combed 
the entirety of Tokyo and most of the islands of Japan, without finding 
even a trace of the other soldiers.
	"I don't understand," the blue-haired intellectual murmured, her 
eyes absorbing every line of text that scrolled across her computer's 
screen. "With five Sailor Senshi in the same place, we should be able 
to find them easily."
	"We knew." Uranus had turned to Neptune now. "In our hearts, we 
knew, and we were still so naive." With an exasperated sigh, Uranus ran 
one hand through her wheat-blonde hair. "We should have been the ones 
to go. Then, if she tried to betray us to the enemy, she would have 
found herself facing less ignorant opponents."
	"What are you saying?!" Sailor Venus leapt out of her chair so 
fast that it was flung backward, clattering across the floor. "Do you 
really think Sailor Infinity is a traitor?" Mercury looked up from her 
computer with eyes full of fear as a thick wave of tension surged 
within the room.
	The imminent argument was derailed by a sudden shrill shriek, 
followed by a blood-chilling full-throated scream. Wave after wave of 
verbal terror rolled out of the nearby bedroom. For a heartbeat, the 
four Senshi stared at each other in stunned horror as the screams 
filled their ears.
	"Rei-chan!" Sailor Venus shook herself free of the shock and 
dashed into the bedroom, her shoes clicking on the tiles. Mercury 
remained awkwardly in her chair, paralyzed by her friend's sudden 
outburst of pain.
	Venus burst through the doorway to find Rei sitting bolt upright 
on the bed, slapping at invisible flames and writhing in imagined 
agony. Her singed and frazzled hair hung crazily around her shoulders, 
her usually pale skin reddened slightly by the remaining burns. As 
Sailor Venus rushed to the bedside, Rei's screams became more 
hysterical, her thrashing more frantic. She scrabbled at her own skin 
in a panic until blood began to appear beneath her fingers.
	"Rei-chan, iie! Stop!" Venus flung her arms around her shrieking 
friend and held her tightly, pinning Rei's arms against her body to 
stop her from hurting herself. Sitting beside her on the bed, the 
blonde rocked Rei back and forth, gently, letting the miko's fear, 
pain, and trauma drain from her heart in a series of piercing screams.
	After a while the screams turned to sobs, the shrieks to moans, 
and Rei buried her face in the yellow bow adorning Venus' Sailor fuku. 
Her fingers gripped the soft white cloth of the bodysuit as if her life 
depended on it.
	"It's all right," Venus said softly. "You're safe now. It's all 
right."
	Rei drew a deep, shuddering breath, gasping against her friend's 
chest. "It burned," she whispered hoarsely, hot tears rolling down her 
cheeks. "So hot...the fire...oh, it burned..."

	"Hello?" a tentative voice called out into the darkness.
	A soft groan escaped Sailor Infinity's lips. She was battered and 
bruised, and at this moment wanted nothing more than to slip into 
unconsciousness and its blissful oblivion. She was lying on the floor 
again, having been tossed roughly into a pitch-black chamber. This 
time, her wrists were chained to a pillar of some kind.
	"Who's there?" the voice demanded, more insistent this time. 
Whoever shared this prison with Infinity was apparently not going to 
let her sleep. She groaned again, but something deep within her soul 
was clamoring for her attention. A bond once faded and distant, now 
flaring with renewed strength. The soldier's cerulean-violet eyes 
opened wide with the realization.
	"Mako-chan?" she whispered hoarsely. "Did they recapture you too?"
	"Dejana-chan? Is that you?" the reply came. The clink of a chain 
issued from a nearby pillar.
	"Hai, it's me," Infinity replied wretchedly. ~Some rescuer I 
turned out to be.~ She shifted awkwardly against the floor, its metal 
cold against her bare legs and arms. In her weakened state, the Sailor 
fuku was nothing more than a bathing suit and a short skirt. "What 
happened? Didn't the others...save...you..." Infinity trailed off as a 
new realization landed in her stomach like a block of ice. ~Back there, 
I was next to Mako-chan, but the bond was still distant, still weak... 
That wasn't Mako-chan.~ The soldier banged her head against the pillar, 
disgusted at her own mistake. "Baka, baka, baka!"
	"Who's baka?" was Makoto's confused reply. "What's going on? How 
did you get here? Are you...a captive?"
	Infinity was silent for a moment as tears of shame welled up in 
her eyes. "Hai," she admitted, her face burning. "We came to rescue 
you...demo, the ShapeShifter tricked us."
	"'We'? Who else is here? Are they safe?" Only silence greeted 
Makoto's question. The brunette's heart began to pound. ~Iie. Not the 
others, too?~ Makoto pounded her shackles against the pillar in 
frustration. "Who else?" she demanded.
	"Sailor Pluto," Infinity replied finally. "Sailor Saturn. 
And...Sailor Moon."
	"Nani?!" Makoto cried in alarm. You brought Usagi-chan here?!"
	"She refused to be left behind. I was the only one captured," the 
black-suited soldier added hurriedly. "The others are still free."
	"Free to look for us and be captured in turn," Makoto shot back 
bitterly. "And I'm stuck here, as helpless bait. With these handcuffs 
on, I can't draw enough energy to summon my henshin stick!"
	"And I couldn't return to my normal form even if I wanted to."
	Makoto's breath caught in her throat. "You transformed into 
Sailor Infinity, and they still captured you?" Unbidden thoughts rose 
within her mind. ~Strange that she'd be captured and thrown in here 
with me... Maybe Haruka-san had a point.~ Absorbed in her sudden dread 
of the possibility, it took a moment before the brunette heard the 
soft, shuddering gasps coming from her fellow captive. Sailor Infinity 
was crying.
	"Dejana-chan?" Makoto called out warily. "Are you all right?"
	The soldier could no longer contain her sorrow. "Iie," she 
sobbed, nearly choking on her tears. "I...I thought I was finally 
finding my place," she explained as her sadness rolled down her cheeks. 
"I thought I had finally found a way to help, and I've only failed once 
again. Some protector I turned out to be. I've only put more of you 
into even greater danger." Infinity shuddered, sliding down sideways 
against the pillar until her head lay in a pool of her own hair. "It 
would have been better, had I died back there with all the other normal 
Lunarians. At least then, Serenity would be safe."
	Listening to the soft crying of the mysterious soldier, Makoto's 
heart softened. "You really do love her, ne?"
	Infinity hiccuped, trying to swallow her sobs. "Serenity is the 
Light," she murmured, remembering the purehearted Princess who had 
befriended an orphan girl. "I love her more than anything."
	The other captive straightened up against the pillar, easing the 
pressure on her wrists. "Then you know that nothing would have stopped 
her from searching for me," Makoto sighed, leaning her head against the 
cold metal. "Usagi-chan doesn't understand that she is more important 
than any of us. All she understands is her own unconditional love."

	"I don't understand. It just goes on and on." Sailor Pluto 
stopped and furrowed her brow, studying the branching pathways of yet 
another intersection. They had been wandering these corridors for what 
seemed like forever, walking through one empty gray passage after 
another, all of them identical. "I wish we had had an opportunity to 
speak further with Sailor Infinity. She mentioned the Shinmosei, but no 
practical starship would contain a labyrinth like this."
	There was no response from Eternal Sailormoon. Pluto turned 
around and gazed back at the angel with drooping wings. Moon was weary 
with grief over the loss of three of their number. She was still 
crying, although her sobs had been reduced to silent tears. She 
followed Pluto faithfully but her head drooped, her hair trailing on 
the floor. Sailor Pluto looked at her with pity, but did not know how 
to comfort her Princess any more than she had Dejana.
	"Sailor Moon," she said gently, "I can not teleport as freely as 
Sailor Infinity, but I can bring us both directly to the Time Door. 
From there, we can return to Tokyo."
	Moon's tear-streaked face lifted hopefully. "Would we be able to 
return here with the others?"
	It pained Pluto more deeply than she ever could have imagined to 
look into those pure blue eyes, bright with tears, and utter the words 
she knew would disappoint her. "I can find the Time Door from any 
location, and from there, I can find any place I am familiar with," the 
green-haired soldier explained, "but I do not know this place. I doubt 
I would be able to find it again."
	For a moment, Moon's gaze became distant. ~The others are waiting 
for us...~ She looked down at the black rod she was clutching in her 
hands, the Shadow Staff, left behind when its owner was abducted.
	~Mako-chan is a captive of the enemy,~ Sailor Infinity had said. 
~I can not rest until she is rescued.~
	"Iie," Moon said finally. "We can't abandon them, not even to get 
the others. We are here. Infinity, Saturn, and Mako-chan are here 
somewhere. We can't give up now."

	Sailor Saturn collapsed against a wall, gasping for breath. Even 
as a Sailor Senshi, she could not run forever. The soldier squeezed her 
eyes shut as a pair of hot tears escaped her eyes and rolled down her 
cheeks. Since her escape from Mistress Nine, Saturn had never imagined 
that she would again be on the receiving end of Sailor Pluto's power.
	~Setsuna-mama.~ She swallowed hard against the lump in her 
throat, remembering the look of heartless death in the green-haired 
Time Guardian's eyes. Saturn took a deep breath and leaned against the 
wall, letting her arms drop to her sides. The thin blade of the Silence 
Glaive rang as it struck the floor.
	~I can not really blame Pluto for being suspicious.~ Saturn 
raised the useless tool in her hands. ~Why wouldn't the Silence Glaive 
release its energy?~ she wondered. The usual ever-present vibration of 
power was absent, leaving it feeling as benign as a stick. The dark-
haired soldier tried once more to make the Silence Glaive respond, 
pulling as much strength as she could from the center of her being. She 
concentrated so hard that a faint violet aura began to shimmer around 
her body, and still the curved blade stubbornly failed to contribute 
its own wave of power.
	With a frustrated cry, Sailor Saturn hefted the rod in both hands 
and swung it toward the wall with all her strength. To her surprise, 
the silvery blade passed through the wall as if it were air, and 
Saturn's inertia pulled her around in a full spin as her swing met no 
resistance. Startled, the young soldier reached out a hand toward the 
wall. It was definately solid beneath her gloved fingers.
	The Silence Glaive also felt real in her hands, but now Saturn 
eyed it with wary suspicion. After a moment the suspicion shifted into 
fear, and the Senshi threw the rod away from her as if it were poison, 
sending it clattering across the floor.
	~A wise move, Sailor Saturn,~ a voice hissed. It was a sound 
filled with snakes and the buzzing of wasps, a whisper harsh with 
gravel and sand. Saturn looked around wildly, but the corridors were 
empty, and the shadows formed by the walls and corners in the dim light 
were far too slight for someone to hide in.
	"Who's there?" the violet-suited soldier demanded, her voice 
shaking slightly despite her best efforts. She was alone and powerless, 
facing an invisible enemy. There was no response, but before Saturn 
could speak further, her attention was drawn to the discarded Silence 
Glaive, lying a short distance away from her laced purple boots. It was 
moving.
	As Saturn watched, her eyes wide with horror, the black rod and 
its crowning blade melted and drew together into a puddle of gelatinous 
liquid. The resulting substance rippled like quicksilver, shining in 
the dim light like metal on metal. Before the dark-haired soldier's 
startled eyes, the liquid rose up from the floor in a vertical column, 
which formed itself into a vaguely humanoid shape. The outer surface 
took on a slightly opaque texture, providing the illusion of 
translucent skin, and barely-defined facial features swam into view.
	"So, this is the ShapeShifter," Sailor Saturn breathed, her heart 
pounding in her chest.
	The creature's lipless mouth curved into a sneer. "And you are 
Sailor Saturn," he replied in a voice that bubbled. Beneath his skin 
the liquid that was his essence was in constant motion, swirling around 
like clouds of smoke. "How strong are you, I wonder, without your 
blade?"
	A bout of eerie laughter issued from somewhere nearby, but the 
ShapeShifter was merely standing there, grinning. There was definately 
another presence in the area.
	"What have you done with the Silence Glaive?" Saturn demanded, 
trying to remain calm.
	"You shouldn't leave your tools lying around," the liquid alien 
replied, taking a step closer to the young soldier. "You made the 
switch far too easy."
	A memory rose within Saturn's mind, stabbing her with her own 
foolishness: the memory of events just prior to Infinity's abduction. 
~I set the Silence Glaive down, and tried to until Mako-chan's bonds 
with my hands,~ she recalled, a sick feeling growing in the pit of her 
stomach. ~Demo, it wasn't Mako-chan. It was the enemy. And when 
Infinity was attacked...~
	The scene replayed itself clearly in her mind. Saturn had stood 
up and stepped forward, turning her back to Makoto and the Silence 
Glaive. Then, when she had turned back to the pillar, Makoto was 
gone...and the ShapeShifter had found himself a new form.
	Saturn's blood ran cold as she analyzed the situation. She was 
alone, and without the tool necessary to focus and amplify her power. 
She was in a strange place, facing one enemy whose abilities were a 
mystery to her and another that she could not see. The odds were 
definately not in her favor. Although it pained her to do so, Saturn 
chose the wisest option. She turned to flee.
	The soldier barely managed to stop herself before running 
headlong into a wall that had not been there before. The corridor she 
had entered through was now a dead end. It had certainly not been so 
only a moment ago, but the wall now blocking her path was as real as 
the others, as strong and forbidding as anything. Saturn whirled 
around, and discovered that new walls had appeared to block all of the 
other corridors as well. She was trapped in a large segment of hallway 
with no exits.
	~The Queen must be watching,~ the raspy disembodied voice hissed. 
A brief flash of unease crossed the ShapeShifter's indistinct features, 
but he quickly composed himself. His watery eyes fixed their eerie 
stare on the soldier in violet, alone with two enemies and no weapons. 
He smiled a slow, sinister smile, as Saturn's mind worked wildly.
	~I can send the Silence Glaive into oblivion at will and recall 
it at any time,~ she remembered. ~There must be a way to summon it even 
if it currenly exists somewhere, wherever they are holding it.~
	The ShapeShifter took another step forward with one liquid leg, 
lowering his body into what seemed to be an attack stance. Sailor 
Saturn extended one arm over her head, fingers outstretched, and tried 
to summon the Silence Glaive as she would her henshin wand. Nothing 
happened. The item currently existed in reality, and thus could not be 
materialized from nothing.
	~Of course it wouldn't be that simple.~ Saturn turned her 
attention to calling the Silence Glaive across the fabric of normal 
spacetime. She closed her eyes, devoting all the resources of her 
heart, soul, and mind to her goal. Meanwhile, the ShapeShifter raised 
one of his arm, pointing at the concentrating soldier. The arm 
lengthened and thickened, extra liquid flowing from the rest of the 
creature's body to fuel the transformation. If Sailor Saturn's eyes had 
been open, she would have seen the arm slowly becoming a strange rifle 
with a large barrel, aimed at the center of her chest.
	Trembling slightly with effort, the young soldier focused all the 
power she possessed into her outstretched hand. A faint violet aura 
shimmered to life around her white glove. She pictured the Silence 
Glaive, not materializing from nothing, but vanishing from its current 
location and reappearing here in her hand. The power of Saturn 
resisted, unwilling to release itself without a focus of some kind. 
Desperately the Senshi added her voice to the mix, hoping a few trigger 
words would suffice.
	"Glaive of Silence, I am Sailor Saturn, Soldier of Revolution. I 
command you to return!"
	Two explosions of power filled thr room with light and deafening 
sound; one from Saturn's hand and one from the ShapeShifter's as he 
triggered the newly-completed rifle. As the tall, slender rod of the 
Silence Glaive's body flashed into existence in front of the violet-
suited soldier's eyes, she closed her outstretched fingers around it, 
gripped its center with her other hand, and thrust it out in front of 
herself at arm's length.
	"Silence Wall!"
	Not since her first transformation had the rush of planet energy 
felt so delicious. A surge of pure Saturn Planet Power erupted from the 
core of her being, and was answered by an accompanying wave from the 
Silence Glaive. The soldier's entire body vibrated from her toes to her 
fingertips as the shield exploded from the curved blade, rising above 
her in a protective embrace.
	It wasn't a moment too soon. The blast from the ShapeShifter's 
rifle crashed into the shell of violet light and rebounded, the laser 
beam streaking back toward its source. The ShapeShifter threw himself 
to the side, barely avoiding his own attack.
	Sailor Saturn let the Silence Wall drop and stood there a moment, 
breathing hard in the wake of the rush of energy, drawing comfort from 
the feel of the smooth shaft between her hands. She fixed her eyes on 
her enemy as he climbed to his feet. An enemy with strengths beyond the 
understanding of any of the Sailor Senshi. An enemy who had contributed 
to the disappearance of three of her friends. An enemy willing and able 
to end the lives of the soldiers, perhaps even Eternal Sailormoon. He 
was a threat to the future of the Princess, and Saturn knew of only one 
definite way to deal with that. Besides, even with the Silence Glaive, 
she was trapped, and her options were limited.
	"Even if it means my life," Saturn declared in a low, even voice, 
"I will erase you from this world." Holding her Glaive out vertically 
in front of herself, the young soldier summoned the energy of her 
ancient home once again. A strong violet aura sprang up around her 
entire body this time, shimmering with the power of revolution. At the 
other end of the sealed corridor the ShapeShifter stood, still looking 
confident, but shielding his eyes against the light.
	~Gomen nasai, Usagi-chan. I know you will grieve, but I must do 
this, to protect you. I know we will meet again, someday.~ A tempest of 
power was growing, becoming ever stronger with each passing moment. 
Pure energy flowed out of Saturn's body, adding to the violet sphere 
expanding around the Silence Glaive. At last, the power reached its 
peak.
	"Silence Glaive Surprise!" Sailor Saturn cried out, hair and 
skirt rippling in the flowing energy. With both hands, she swung the 
silvery blade back over her head. ~Sayonara, Usagi-chan. Setsuna-mama. 
Haruka-papa. Michiru-mama. Minna.~ With all of her strength, Saturn 
brought the Glaive down.
	An explosion of the very essence of Saturn ripped loose from the 
soldier's body and streaked toward its target, soon to engulf the 
ShapeShifter in eternal oblivion. Saturn felt as if her very soul had 
been torn from her body, leaving her an empty shell. The agony was 
extreme as her heart paused and her lungs seized up, but she struggled 
to remain standing long enough to witness the fate of her enemy. An 
enormous blast of brilliant violet light, too vast to be dodged, 
reached for the ShapeShifter with fingers of death.
	Suddenly, the very shadows seemed to rise up, surrounding the 
ShapeShifter in a cloud of darkness that solidified to resemble 
polished obsidian. Behind this barrier, the featureless alien sneered 
at the oncoming attack. As the power of Saturn struck, a bright red 
flash rippled across the shield of shadows, and the two forces fought a 
brief, private war.
	The essence of Saturn lost. In an instant the deadly attack was 
repelled, reflected, bounced away from its target. The rolling violet 
wave of energy ricocheted off the ShapeShifter's barrier and 
disappeared through a wall, wasted. Saturn's enemy was left without a 
scratch.
	The young soldier's shock was complete. She could not think, 
could not speak, could not fathom the magnitude of what had just 
happened. As it was, she did not have the time to try.
	As darkness encroached on Saturn's vision, she glimpsed the 
strange obsidian shield reverting to mist and hovering beside the 
ShapeShifter like a cloud, a living shadow. She collapsed on the cold 
floor, the Silence Glaive falling from her fingers and clattering 
against the metal. It was now nothing more than a blade on a stick.
	The hollow shell that was once a Sailor Senshi lay twitching on 
the floor for a moment, gasping for a breath that would not come. Eyes 
became gray and lost their focus, staring unblinking at the ceiling. 
All movement ceased, and the body went limp, all its muscles releasing 
the tension of life.
	The ShapeShifter and his partner waited patiently. After a few 
seconds, the lifeless body and its violet sailor suit began to 
dissolve, disintegrating into particles of light that rose into the air 
and faded. When all traces of the human body had disappeared, a small 
violet diamond remained, each of its eight facets flawless. Its light 
was completely extinguished, but it was a Sailor Crystal nonetheless. 
The ShapeShifter collected their prize, and together he and his partner 
set off through a wall to find their Queen.

	In the darkened room that was her prison, Sailor Infinity was 
screaming. One of the precious fires within the core of her being had 
suddenly flared, then flickered and gone out. The firefly had flown 
into the light, sacrificing herself for one powerful burst of flame. As 
the Guardian of the Sailor Senshi, Infinity's body erupted into pain at 
the moment of Saturn's death.
	Every cell in her body burned with agony, and shriek after shriek 
burst from Infinity's throat as she writhed on the cold metal floor. 
The searing pain flared only briefly, but it seemed an eternity.
	"Dejana! What is it?" Makoto cowered in the darkness, unable to 
see what had caused Infinity's sudden explosion of suffering. She 
shrank back against the pillar to which she was bound. ~Is she going 
mad?~ Makoto thought wildly, Infinity's piercing cries sending shivers 
up and down her spine. ~Is it an enemy?~ The convulsing soldier offered 
no response to Makoto's pleas for information.
	At last, the crippling pain began to dull, and Infinity's screams 
quieted into gasps for air as she struggled to calm her seizing 
muscles. This was not the first time she had felt the death of a Sailor 
Senshi, but it was certainly more agonizing than any incident of the 
past. Even though she had not known Hotaru long, being in the same 
dimension as the Sailor Senshi had made her soul's bonds with them 
stronger than ever before. As the pain subsided into a dull emptiness, 
a sadly familiar hollow within her heart, Infinity dissolved into sobs 
and tears.
	"Kami-sama," Makoto whispered. "Infinity, what happened?"
	The Guardian of the Sailor Senshi felt cold and sick. She drew 
her knees up to her chest and shivered, weeping, but forced herself to 
say the words.
	"Hotaru-chan is dead."

	Sailor Uranus tripped as she was pacing around the room. 
Mercury's fingers slipped on the keys of her computer. Neptune sat 
down, hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. Venus rubbed her temples 
absently, puzzled by a momentary headache. After a moment, they all 
shook off the strange feelings and resumed waiting and working.
	The shuffling of bare feet on carpet drew the Senshi's attention 
to the doorway of the master bedroom. Rei was standing there, still 
wearing Michiru's bathrobe. She blinked in the dim light as if she had 
just awakened from a long sleep, and looked almost uninjured by her 
ordeal, but it was obvious that Rei had been drastically changed.
	It wasn't only her hair, which was singed and burned and barely 
reached her shoulder blades. Rei's face looked more solemn and sedated 
than Venus or Mercury remembered ever seeing it. Her pale skin gave her 
a deathly pallor, but it was her eyes that made Venus suck in her 
breath upon seeing her.
	Rei's violet eyes were truly a window to the scars of her soul. 
Where there was normally fire and life, only apathetic emptiness 
remained. Her gaze was dull, extinguished, separated from the spirit 
that had once reigned there. These eyes were a mask over hidden pain, a 
deep pool of private agony whose depths were endless. Venus tried to 
hide her shock, but wondered at the mist of loss and hint of fear that 
were clouding the gaze of her normally outspoken friend.
	Those dead, lifeless eyes swept the room, taking in the tension 
that was evident among the soldiers. Rei's face looked undamaged, but 
it carried a weariness that extended beyond the physical plane.
	"You've all transformed," Rei said slowly. "What's going on?"
	Venus got up from her chair and moved toward Rei, a warm smile on 
her face despite the circumstances. "The others went to rescue Mako-chan."
	A vague puzzled look crossed Rei's features. "What are you all 
sitting around for, then?"
	Uranus grunted and plopped down on the couch beside Neptune. 
Venus' smile became slightly strained and a hint of worry entered her 
bright eyes. "Sailor Infinity hasn't come back for us yet," she 
explained.
	Rei nodded, half in a daze, and did not seem to notice the tense 
undertones beneath Venus' words. "I suppose I had better get ready, 
then." Absently the violet-haired girl extended her fingers, and with a 
faint rush of air, her henshin stick appeared in her hand. Rei lifted 
the pink stick in front of her chest, the red crystal sending crimson 
beams across the aquamarine robe she was wearing.
	"Mars Crystal Power." The henshin stick sprang to life just as it 
had so many times before - with a burst of flame. Rei stared straight 
ahead, but began to tremble as the red orb glowed and thin tongues of 
flame crept out around her hand. She began to hyperventilate, trying to 
maintain control as the heat of Mars Power warmed her skin.
	"Rei-chan?" To the other soldiers' eyes, nothing was amiss, and 
they stared at the girl in the bathrobe wondering why she didn't finish 
the phrase. In Rei's mind, however, there was roaring fire, an element 
that had shunned and attacked her in the very place that represented 
their friendship.
	Her mouth opened, but the words would not come out. Rei closed 
her eyes against the flickering light issuing from her henshin stick, 
but she could still feel the heat on her skin, intensifying with every 
passing second as the power built up with no means of release. All she 
could think about was fire and heat and pain.
	~This is my power,~ Rei tried to tell herself. ~It protects me. 
It won't hurt me.~ But her entire mind was consumed by a fact she could 
not deny: her Sailor fuku would be forged from fire. If she spoke those 
final words, her body would be engulfed in flames. If her element was 
truly rebelling against her, there would be no escape this time.
	"Rei-chan!" Mercury cried out in alarm, watching the growing 
firestorm around her friend's hand. "You have to say the words! Hurry!"
	The violet-haired girl was shaking violently now, her fist 
gripping the pink henshin stick so tightly that her knuckles were 
white. ~I can do this.~ She tried desperately to force the flaming 
temple out of her head, to stop comparing it to the growing heat baking 
her fingers. "Mars...Crystal...Power..." she whispered hoarsely, her 
voice quaking. Fire. Fire everywhere. Burning. Searing. Choking heat.
	Rei gasped and released her grip on the henshin stick. The 
tongues of flame vanished as the rose-colored tool slipped from Rei's 
trembling fingers and tumbled toward the floor, the red crystal 
striking the ground with a sharp ping.
	"I can't," Rei whispered, breathing heavily. "I can't do it. The 
fire has forsaken me. I can't control it anymore."
	Uranus got to her feet, emerald eyes boring into Rei's wide ones. 
"Are you a soldier, or aren't you?" the older woman demanded, clenching 
her fists.
	"I can't do it!" Rei yelled out. As the four Sailor Senshi stared 
at her, startled, she buried her face in her hands and began to cry. 
"Look at me. Look at what it's done to me."
	"She's not ready yet," Venus declared, walking over to the 
weeping girl.
	Neptune's eyes narrowed. "We don't have time for-"
	The blonde whirled around and glared at the outer planet 
soldiers, her blue eyes more fierce than they had ever seen them. "I 
said she's not ready!" Turning back toward Rei, Venus gripped her 
trembling body firmly by the shoulders. "Come on, Rei-chan," she said 
gently. "Let's do something about your hair."
	"At a time like this, you're wasting time on hair?" Uranus 
exploded.
	"And what would you have me do instead?" Venus snapped. "If you 
know of some way I can help find the others, please, tell me!"
	The blue-suited soldier glared for a moment, then dropped down on 
the couch again.
	"If I don't do something to keep busy," Sailor Venus muttered, 
leading Rei away, "I'll go crazy."

	Eternal Sailormoon was a jumble of confusion. Three of her 
friends were gone. Most of the others probably thought she was dead. 
She was tired from walking all this distance and getting nowhere. Pluto 
moved too fast, and Moon was weighed down by the Shadow Staff. To top 
it all off, she felt sick to her stomach, the nervous kind of sickness, 
as if something unspeakably terrible had just happened.
	"Pluto, not so fast!" she complained.
	The green-haired soldier slowed down, but did not stop or turn 
around. She knew Moon would be able to see the truth in her face even 
if Pluto didn't say a word. Time was flowing onward, without one of the 
Sailor Soldiers. ~If I tell Sailor Moon, she'll fall apart, and we'll 
never find the others.~
	The air felt strangely cool against Pluto's face as she strode 
forward, trying to maintain a casual appearance. Something prickled the 
skin of her cheek. Pluto raised a hand to the irritation, and was 
surprised to find her face soaked with tears. Pretending to scratch her 
chin in thought, the tanned woman quickly wiped the tears away with her 
gloved hand, but they stubbornly kept flowing.
	Eternal Sailormoon sighed, weary of staring at Sailor Pluto's 
back as they walked. She felt as if she had counted every strand of the 
woman's forest-green hair by now. ~If only there were some color around 
here, or some difference from one hall to the next.~ As they passed 
another intersection, Moon casually glanced down yet another gray 
passage, and discovered this one was not quite identical to the others.
	At the far end, a dark figure was crouched in the shadows by the 
floor, watching her. Moon stopped short, staring at the silent black-
robed shape in the corner. 
	"Pluto."
	The older soldier slowed down further, but did not look back, 
still unable to stop the tears from slipping down her cheeks. She did 
not dare speak, for fear of her voice breaking.
	The dark figure stood up and took a step forward. It was quite a 
distance away and still in shadow, but now Moon could clearly make out 
a top hat on the figure's head and a long black cloak flowing from its 
shoulders. Moon's heart leapt within her chest in excitement.
	~If you need Tuxedo Kamen...~ Mamoru had said.
	~He knew I needed him, even though I didn't say so,~ the gold-
haired soldier thought with a thrill of excitement. "Tuxedo Kamen!" she 
cried out. 
	Now Sailor Pluto whirled around, teardrops spirling off into the 
air. "Sailor Moon! Wait!"
	It was too late. Eternal Sailormoon took a few crucial running 
steps forward, just enough to place her fully within the side corridor. 
Before Pluto could reach the intersection of hallways, a new wall 
suddenly appeared to block her path.
	"Nani?!" Sailor Pluto shoved her palms against the wall, but it 
was as real as any other. It was as if the intersection had been a 
straight corridor all along. "Sailor Moon!"
	There was no response. The two Sailor Senshi were both on their 
own now.

	General Jameton looked away, his thoughts momentarily taking 
precedence over his sense of self-preservation. By separating the 
wandering soldiers, Queen Amaranth had certainly gained the upper hand. 
The war was far from over; Jameton had seen the situation change 
completely under far more favorable circumstances than this. The only 
thing that was certain was that from this point on, the Sailor Senshi 
could not escape this fight without being forever changed.
	Behind the troubled general, another pair of eyes was watching 
from the shadows on an upper level of the control center. As the scene 
on the viewscreen switched between Sailor Pluto, Eternal Sailormoon, 
and the dark room where Makoto and Sailor Infinity were being held, the 
unnoticed observer absorbed it all, every detail and piece of 
information that could be gathered about the Sailor Senshi of Earth. 
Watching. Studying. Learning. Choosing a target.

	"Tuxedo Kamen, wait! Onegai..." Eternal Sailormoon 
collapsed to her knees on the floor of a circular chamber, too 
exhausted to run any further. Since being separated from Sailor Pluto, 
Moon had chased the caped figure through numerous twists and turns, 
never drawing close enough to see his face. 
	For his part, the tuxedoed man only slowed down enough to shout 
"This way! Hurry!" when Moon fell too far behind. Now, she had lost 
sight of him completely, and as Moon knelt on the floor gasping for 
breath, a nagging feeling that he would not be coming back began to 
grip her heart.
	~I can't give up. I have to find him.~ Groaning with the effort, 
Eternal Sailormoon began to struggle to her feet.
	"Wait, don't exhaust yourself," a voice called out from a passage 
adjoining the large round room. "Stay and rest a moment."
	At this, the gold-haired Senshi hauled herself upright as swiftly 
as she could and stood alert, Eternal Tier at the ready. "Who's 
there?" she demanded, her gaze combing the dimly-lit space.
	At the far end of the chamber, something moved in an entryway. A 
length of crimson cloth swam out of the shadows and into the light, led 
by a slender red shoe. As Eternal Sailormoon watched, trying not to 
tremble, the tall figure of a thin woman revealed itself from the 
darkness. The two women studied one another for a moment before their 
eyes met.
	"Who are you?" Eternal Sailormoon asked, unnerved by the obsidian 
pools of the stranger's dark eyes.
	"I am Queen Amaranth." The woman took another step forward, 
revealing long hair as red as blood. Her lips curved into a strange 
smile that Moon could not define as either friendly or sinister. "And 
you are Sailor Moon, heir to the throne of the Silver Millennium."
	Moon almost dropped the Eternal Tier, eyes as wide as they could 
stretch. "How did you know that?"
	"I can always identify a fellow carrier of royal blood." 
Amaranth's black stare fixed itself on the young Senshi's crystal-blue 
eyes. "You have invaded my realm of your own free will," she observed.
	"You have taken some important people; my friends," Moon 
countered. "I ask that you return them to me." Her grip tightened on 
her tool as she remembered her mission.
	"May I first ask you, Sailor Moon," the crimson-robed woman 
replied, "why you risk yourself for them? As the heir to the royal 
house, the future of your planet must depend on you, does it not? 
Surely your safety is more important than the captives you wish to 
save?"
	Eternal Sailormoon's eyes hardened, and she stared intently at 
the alien Queen. "A future without my friends is not worth 
protecting," she declared, her face as serious as steel.
	Amaranth nodded slowly, seeming to consider the soldier's words. 
"Very well," she said at last. "I must tell you, Sailor Moon, I came 
here to seize your planet for my own purposes. I did not know at the 
time that this world already belonged to a royal house, least of all 
the crown of the ancient Silver Millennium itself. Naturally, now that 
I am aware of this, I will leave your planet in peace."
	The blue-eyed soldier's sharp gaze did not soften, although 
internally she was relieved. "Even if there were no Sailor Senshi here, 
it would be wrong of you to take over a defenseless planet!" she burst 
out, appalled by Amaranth's casual attitude about something so serious. 
"You can't just go around the galaxy using other worlds for your own 
needs!"
	Moon gasped as, for an instant, the alien Queen's demeanor 
completely changed. A flash of fury contorted her features, accompanied 
by an explosion of hatred within her black eyes. Amaranth's entire body 
quaked with anger for the briefest of moments. Then, as quickly as it 
had appeared, the rage vanished, and the red-haired woman composed 
herself and reverted to her previous air of benign neutrality.
	Momentarily shaken, Moon cleared her throat. "Anno... Isn't it 
better to ask for the things you need?" she inquired timidly. "Is there 
something I can help you with?"
	Amaranth looked away for a moment. "No one can help me," she 
muttered bitterly. Her fists clenched at her sides, and the Queen 
recovered her emotionless composure. "Sailor Moon," she began with an 
oddly warm smile, "I apologize for any pain I might have caused you. I 
will be leaving this system soon. Please, allow me to return you to 
your world." She gestured to her side with a crimson-draped arm.
	With a faint sucking sound as the fabric of spacetime was warped, 
a portal swirled into existence a short distance from Amaranth's right 
side. Within the tear in reality, a familiar scene swam into view. It 
was the living room of the house where Michiru, Haruka, Setsuna, and 
Hotaru lived. Haruka and Michiru were visible on the other side of the 
spacetime window, cuddling together on the sofa. Nearby, Ami and Minako 
chatted aimably while Minako brushed Rei's long violet hair. As the 
image solidified, the figures noticed Moon watching them and broke into 
smiles, waving at their friend. They all looked as peaceful and happy 
as they had ever been.
	Eternal Sailormoon waved back timidly when she realized they 
could see her, glad for a glimpse of familiar faces again. She took a 
step forward. "What about the others?" she asked, never taking her eyes 
off her waving friends.
	"We've located all of them and returned them through this 
portal," Queen Amaranth replied. As if on cue, four more women entered 
the living room. Even Setsuna smiled at the sight of Eternal Sailormoon 
on the other side of the gate, and Hotaru and Makoto gestured excitedly 
for Moon to come through to join them. Dejana was standing in the back, 
nodding eagerly.
	~Is it possible? Have we finally met an enemy with compassion and 
reason?~ Moon walked toward the portal slowly, reveling in the image of 
her happy friends together again. All eight of them looked as real as 
life through the hole in the air, despite the distance that separated 
them from this room. She was so relieved to see they were safe.
	"Arigato gozaimasu," the winged soldier said breathlessly with a 
small bow, unable to look away long enough to even glance at the Queen 
she was thanking.
	"I will leave your world in peace," Amaranth replied as Moon 
approached the gently swirling portal. "There is no need for us to 
fight one another. Just a few more steps, Sailor Moon, and all this 
will be over."
	Something prickled at the back of Moon's mind, a nagging feeling 
that something wasn't right. Her footsteps slowed, despite the 
encouraging gestures of her friends within the safety of the outer 
planet Senshi's home. Someone was missing.
	"Tuxedo Kamen!" the blonde exclaimed, turning to face the 
crimson-robed Queen again. "He led me here! Where is he?"
	A brief shadow of frustration flickered across Amaranth's pale 
face, but her friendly half-smile reappeared before Moon noticed it was 
gone. "Ah, yes, I spoke with him earlier," the Queen explained 
smoothly. "I sent him to find you so you could both go back to Earth 
together. He lost you in the corridors, so I sent him on ahead and came 
back to locate you."
	Almost immediately, he too strode into the view shown by the open 
portal, and gave Eternal Sailormoon that smile that always turned her 
knees to water. She knew every detail of him, from his charcoal eyes to 
his smooth ebony hair, and it was all there, Mamoru in his adoring 
perfection. Surely this was real. The pounding of her heart, the 
quickening of her breath were certainly real.
	"Mamo-chan!" Moon breathed. He was back, he was truly back in 
Japan.
	"Usako." There was that voice, that melted-chocolate tone. "Come 
on, Usako, we're waiting."
	Through her joy, Moon wondered vaguely why Mamoru could speak 
when all her friends seemed muted by the portal. She took another step 
forward, then hesitated again. As much as she wanted to believe in what 
was happening, something just didn't add up. Moon studied the image of 
each of her friends in turn, returning again and again to the sweet 
face of her fiance, but she could not identify what was itching beneath 
her skin.
	"Is something wrong, Sailor Moon?" Amaranth asked. "It's 
perfectly safe, I assure you. All of your friends passed through this 
portal. Don't be timid."
	Her voice was so soothing, so reassuring. ~Why can't I believe 
her?~ Moon wondered, frustrated by her own doubts. ~All of this could 
be over.~
	"Usako?" Mamoru called from the comfort of the familiar living 
room. "What are you waiting for? Haven't you missed me?"
	"Hai, Mamo-chan," Moon stalled while her mind worked furiously. 
"I've missed you so much. What are you doing back in Tokyo?"
	There it was again, that beautiful, endearing, heart-melting 
smile. "I knew you needed me, Usako," Mamoru replied, his deep 
mysterious eyes drinking in her image as if it were life-giving water. 
"Even though you didn't say so, I knew I had to come."
	The odango-headed soldier blushed despite herself, smiling at her 
soulmate. "I'm glad to see you, but what about your studies?"
	"Oh, well..." Mamoru looked away and ran one hand awkwardly 
through his short hair, as he usually did when he was shy about 
something but didn't want to show it.  Moon felt a pang of longing at 
the familiar gesture and wanted nothing more than to leap through the 
portal into his arms, but the pebble nagging the back of her mind would 
not stop itching. Something was definitely wrong with this scene, but 
Moon could not put her finger on it.
	"I was going to wait until later to tell you this, demo..." 
Mamoru chuckled nervously, then beamed at his love. "I'm not going back 
to America, Usako. I'm transferring to Tokyo University."
	The winged Senshi just stared at him for a moment, alien Queen 
and foreign labyrinth of corridors forgotten. "N...nani?" she stammered 
in disbelief. "Going to school in America was your dream, Mamo-chan!"
	"That's not important anymore," the dark-haired man replied, the 
adoring smile back on his lips again. "All I want is to be with you, 
Usako. I love you."
	The tender words brought tears to her eyes. "Mamo-chan..." Her 
gaze roamed over the entire scene once more; all her friends happy and 
safe, and her fiance waiting for her with open arms. It was almost too 
good to be true.
	It WAS too good to be true.
	Suddenly, it hit her. Rei's hair. Most of the miko's long sleek 
violet tresses had been burned away in the temple fire, but the Rei on 
the other side of the portal had hair as long and beautiful as ever. A 
cold sickness settled in Eternal Sailormoon's stomach, and she took a 
few steps backward with wide eyes.
	"It's not real," she breathed in horror. "It's all an illusion."
	There was a low growl nearby, which grew steadily until a roar of 
pure fury exploded from Queen Amaranth's throat. Eternal Sailormoon 
leapt about a foot in the air, badly startled by the sudden burst of 
ear-splitting sound. More terrifying yet was the fact that the Queen's 
twisted expression and wide, fang-revealing shriek was mimicked by all 
the images of Moon's friends within the portal, including Mamoru.
	For a moment, the blonde soldier was faced with the horror of all 
her loved ones screaming like monsters. Then the portal disintegrated 
into spinning particles of shadow, which faded quickly into 
nothingness. As the gateway vanished, the uniformed sentry behind it 
was exposed. The red-haired man was holding a set of odd-looking 
shackles in his hands. He backed up as he glimpsed the Sailor Senshi, 
his frightened eyes darting between Moon and his Queen.
	"Go on, get out of here," Amaranth ordered the soldier with a 
sweep of her hand. He hesitated, as if unsure about leaving his 
sovereign with a Sailor Senshi. "Go!" the Queen yelled, pointing 
sharply at the exit behind her. The man was out of the room in a flash, 
vanishing into the shadows.
	"So, you think you can outsmart my illusions," the crimson-robed 
woman said icily, taking a few strides forward toward Eternal 
Sailormoon. Amaranth's eyes burned into the gold-haired young woman 
despite their inky blackness. 
	Moon swallowed hard, trying desperately to keep her head together 
and to stand her ground. She looked up at the tall woman, so dangerous 
and menacing, and one thing Amaranth had said rushed back into Moon's 
mind. ~No one can help me.~
	"We don't have to fight. Tell me what it is you need from this 
planet," the winged Senshi pleaded. "I'll find a way to help you, I 
promise."
	Queen Amaranth only laughed. "That's not the way the universe 
works, you silly little girl," she sneered. "It's time you learned 
that."
	Moon opened her mouth to dispute Amaranth's view, but then she 
remembered. "My friends. They aren't safe at home. Where are they?" she 
asked, dreading the answer.
	"Wandering, or captured," Amaranth replied with a casual air, but 
her eyes betrayed the pleasure she took in her opponent's fear and 
worry.
	~Why is she just standing there?~ Moon wondered, frustration 
building within her. ~It's just her and me. Why isn't she attacking? 
Maybe...she doesn't want a fight after all.~ The blonde's fledgeling 
hopes were dashed by the red-headed woman's next statement.
	"One of them, however," Amaranth said blandly, "is dead."
	The bottom dropped out of Moon's world. She gasped repeatedly as 
if she had been struck in the stomach, and dropped hard to her knees on 
the floor. The Eternal Tier rolled out of her gloved hand. "It's a 
lie," she whispered, although the feeling of dread she had experienced 
earlier argued otherwise. "You lie!"
	"You're their Princess, aren't you?" the alien Queen scoffed. 
"You know better." She stepped closer to the shuddering soldier. "So, 
what are you going to do now, Sailor Moon?"
	Eternal Sailormoon felt like she was going to be sick. Memories 
of Sailor Galaxia's systematic elimination of the Senshi surged within 
her mind in a wave of grief. ~Not again. It can't be happening again!~ 
She breathed heavily, fighting the nausea that plagued her stomach. ~It 
can't be true, it can't be.~ Enemy after enemy, it was always the same. 
Their opponent would wring out every drop of misery from the Sailor 
Senshi, and in the end, it always came down to Sailor Moon and the 
Silver Crystal.
	Her ears were filled with the ringing laughter of the woman 
towering over her cowering form. ~Are we truly fated to experience that 
cycle of pain over and over again?~ Moon wondered wildly. ~A different 
enemy, the same agony?~
	In the end, it always came down to the compassionate soldier who 
alone was both reluctant to fight and forced to. Sailor Moon always had 
to fight, when there was no one else left. ~I will have to face her in 
the end, whether I want to or not,~ Moon knew. ~Do we have to endure 
all that suffering first?~ Her fingers reached out and closed around 
the Eternal Tier. ~Iie. It doesn't have to be that way. My enemy is 
right here, right now.~
	~Demo, there is no evidence yet that she has harmed Earth,~ a 
tiny voice within her protested. Moon silenced it. ~Not yet. But she 
will.~ Her blue eyes focused on the weapon in her hand while her heart 
focused on the emptiness she did not yet have a name for. ~In the end 
it will be the same. Why not act now? Why not avoid all that inevitable 
pain?~
	~Because that is not who you are,~ the small voice replied. But 
Eternal Sailormoon could not hear it anymore. All she could hear was 
the sinister laughter of an enemy bent on destroying her friends and 
her world.
	"I won't forgive you. For justice, I am the sailor-suited 
soldier, Sailor Moon," she said softly, her gaze still fixed on the 
floor. "I will punish you. Now."
	Moon stood up, the fires of determination blazing in her narrowed 
eyes. These eyes were different from what she had shown her enemy 
earlier. Amaranth stopped laughing. Moon raised the Eternal Tier in her 
hand and looked at it. Then she tossed it aside.
	"Too afraid to fight, Sailor Moon?" Amaranth jeered, but there 
was a hint of uncertainty in her tone.
	The winged soldier merely glared at the Queen with eyes of blue 
flame. Her hands came up. Her locket opened. A blast of brilliant white 
light burst from the Silver Crystal and flooded the chamber, banishing 
the dimness and shadow in a blinding floor.
	"I will not allow you to destroy the peace that we have worked so 
hard to build," Moon announced in a cold, even voice. Amaranth's eyes 
were wide but she did not retreat, and simply stood there, watching.
	Although set on her decision, the legendary soldier of mercy 
could not watch what she was about to do. Eternal Sailormoon closed her 
eyes as she lifted her hands, drawing the Silver Crystal out of her 
locket and raising it above her head. She felt a sudden draft of cold 
air as her Sailor fuku disintegrated into ribbons of energy, then a 
familiar warmth and lightness as the ancient Princess gown with its 
gold accents settled around her body.
	Normally, she asked the Silver Crystal to provide the necessary 
energy. Now, she demanded it. Eyes firmly closed, Princess Serenity 
swung her arms forward, thrusting the Silver Crystal out in front of 
her and releasing a strong pulse of energy. Wave after wave of deadly 
power rolled out of the jewel, shooting toward Queen Amaranth like 
successive laser beams. As Serenity felt her power expand beyond the 
walls of the chamber, she dedicated a corner of her mind to holding the 
energy in check within the confines of the room. If she truly was on a 
spaceship, the Silver Crystal could destroy the entire craft if she 
wasn't careful.
	Serenity called on all the strength she possessed, gathering it 
all into the ancient gem that focused the energy into a powerful 
weapon. She concentrated on the gentle euphoria of pure life energy 
flowing through her body, trying not to think about the fact that she 
was destroying the leader of a people with very little justification. 
She thought about her friends; the one who was already lost, whoever 
that was, and the ones she would be saving from the same fate.
	Her body shuddered with effort as the power streamed from the 
jewel that was the center of her soul. Serenity was nearing the point 
of no return, that threshold beyond which her most vital life energy 
would become the fuel for the attack and she would become a martyr for 
her cause. As tears welled up beneath her closed eyelids, Serenity 
decided it would be worth it. ~It's better to sacrifice myself for the 
future now than to fail and have to go through all of this again.~
	As she approached the final boundary, Princess Serenity realized 
something that the turmoil in her mind had prevented her from noticing 
earlier. Her target was making no sounds at all. Stranger yet, 
Serenity's energy blast was meeting no resistance: Amaranth was not 
fighting back. Dreading what she would see, the blonde Princess opened 
her eyes.
	It took all the restraint Serenity could muster to prevent 
herself from dropping the Silver Crystal in shock. Queen Amaranth was 
standing exactly where she had been when Serenity closed her eyes, and 
was not moving. She was completely uninjured, her black eyes still 
fixed on the Princess and her Crystal. Serenity gasped in disbelief. 
The power shooting from her ultimate attack was passing right through 
Amaranth's body as if she were air, exploding against the wall behind 
her into a splash of glittering energy. The Queen herself was not being 
damaged in the least, despite the blasts of light streaming directly 
through her chest.
	Princess Serenity broke the flow of her life energy, carefully 
calming the Silver Crystal back to its usual duller brilliance. Without 
the power pulsing through her veins, she swayed weakly on her feet, 
lightheaded from expending so much energy. Clutching the Silver Crystal 
protectively to her chest, Serenity collapsed on the floor, her white 
dress flowing out over the metal. "It's impossible," she gasped. 
"How..."
	Queen Amaranth stepped forward, towering over the fallen 
Princess. Her features were alight in an expression of absolute 
sadistic glee, her eyes bright with triumph. "You fool!" she cried out, 
laughing at Serenity's weakened form. "Illusions are my strength! Did 
you truly believe I would risk facing my enemy in person?" She tilted 
her chin upwards, her lips shifting into a sneer of distain. "I have 
been defeating Sailor Senshi for longer than you have been alive," 
Amaranth said haughtily, "and I have become exceedingly good at it."
	The crimson-robed woman's head snapped back as a flurry of 
laughter burst from her throat. Princess Serenity could only stare up 
helplessly as peal after peal of laughter filled her ears. Amaranth's 
rolling laughter still echoed around the room as the Queen's tall form 
disintegrated into a cloud of glittering dust, then faded into mist, 
then was gone.
	Serenity curled up into a ball around the Silver Crystal, 
huddling on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chest. There was 
nothing to drown out the tiny voice now as it reminded her that she had 
violated her most sacred morals for nothing.

	Queen Amaranth was still laughing when she opened her eyes in the 
command center. The light of the Crimson Crystal faded to a dull russet 
glow as the Queen returned her mind to her idle body. After so many 
years of moving through illusions, there was only a moment of 
disorientation. At last, Amaranth breathed a sigh of relief, leaning 
back in the center seat.
	Heaving a sigh of his own, but for different reasons, General 
Jameton moved to Amaranth's side. "My lady."
	"What is it, General?" the red-haired woman asked wearily, 
leaning on the arm of her throne.
	"The ShapeShifter and the Shadow have been asking to speak with 
you," Jameton informed her. "Shall we bring them back?"
	"No." Amaranth sat up again and raised the Crimson Crystal 
between her hands. The gem began to glow anew. "I'll send myself again. 
It's all right, General," she added as he opened his mouth to protest, 
concern in his eyes. "I have some business to discuss with those two." 
Her blood-red lips curved slowly into a smile, revealing her short 
pointed fangs.


------------------------------
End of Book One, Part Five
To Be Continued in Book One, Part Six: Fire
------------------------------

Sailormoon: Eternity copyright 2004 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Original version copyright 1997 by dejanatalis@aol.com
Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon and its associated characters and canon 
belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. Sailor Infinity/Dejana Talis was 
created by dejanatalis@aol.com and is her exclusive property, and may 
not be used without permission.  Sailor Moon Says: Don't steal! ^.^