Christmas Time Blues The gray mists of Time danced and swirled and dipped around her, encasing her body in a timeless position. A form few bodies would ever see and never know of. She was the Senshi of Time. Sailor Pluto. The mythic guardian of to the Gates of Time, sworn protector of Past, Present and Future. She was incredibly beautiful; exotic some might say, with her long wealth of silken hair, stained a deep forest green, and her large magenta eyes that seemed to stare directly into one's soul whenever she looked at you. She was also incredibly bored, as the loud sigh the fell dead in the swirling mists attested to. She twirled the large Time Staff in practiced movements; Movements that could prove quite deadly if ever used on an opponent, but quite harmless now considering she was quite alone. She paced, walking from one end of the Time Gate to another. She polished the spotless Gate (after all, she polished it on a regular basis and it really didn't get a chance to do that much work, now did it?). Finally giving up, she walked through the Time Gate. It was like a corridor, she thought. A corridor of Time. There were portals, like doorways to different Times. A collage of Past, Present, and Future. She approached one of the portals and waved her Time Staff before it. A picture appeared, like that of a movie. And she smiled. Four young female warriors were smiling and laughing as they cuddled next to four young generals, the Inner Senshi and Earth Generals from the Silver Millenium. They were in a room covered with Christmas decorations; green garlands and strings of cranberries were hanging from the walls. The group was crowding around a tree, covering it with bows and strings. Venus called forth a chain of hearts that wrapped itself around the tree, glowing with the light of Venus. Sailor Pluto smiled and turned away from the portal, turning instead to different one. Waving her Time Staff again, another scene appeared before her. This one of a smiling group of onlookers as they watched a beautiful aqua-hair young woman hold a ring in her hands. Another woman (yes woman, some might insist she was a man, but she really was female) stood before the woman, short blond hair still managing to find a way into her gray-blue eyes. A ring was slipped onto a trembling finger, and the two bodies embraced. The Senshi of Time smiled again and turned to another portal. The scene there managed to bring hidden tears to her eyes. A modern day prince knelt before a blonde pigtailed princess, a ring encrusted with pearls in his outstretched hand. She turned away quickly, to see another scene. This one of a group of young woman and a young man dressed in ridiculous outfits, surrounded by red and green, screaming children, and presents galore. She laughed, turning towards another portal. The scene here showed the aqua-haired woman and the blond again, though the blond was dressed up in a large red suit and white beard. Another scene showed the couple again, this time in a silver sleigh. The green-haired senshi envied them, but was still very happy for the two lovers. Smiling, she walked farther down the corridor. Turning to yet another portal she saw a small pink-haired, pig-tailed princess ripping apart presents. The child smiled, revealing a missing front tooth, jumped up, and hurled her small body into a man's arms. The man smiled, lifting the child up higher, his lavender suit creasing slightly. The green-haired senshi reached out to touch the people, but pulled her hand back at the last possible moment. Turning sharply, she appeared back at the Time Gate, as though she had never left. She leaned her forehead against the cool surface of the Gate, swallowing back tears of loneliness. The sudden breeze of an opening portal made her look up. Immediately, the vulnerable, caring, emotional woman was replaced with that of an indifferent Senshi of Time. The mists parted to reveal a small bundle of energy, otherwise known as Chibi-usa. "Small Lady!" the green-haired woman said warmly, the indifference of the Senshi of Time melting away as the identity of her visitor revealed its self. The woman knelt, and the pink-haired future princess of Neo-Tokyo hurled herself into the woman's arms, shouting "P!" The child pulled away, smiling happily up at her friend. "Merry Christmas, P!" the child shouted happily. She bounced the ball that was her constant companion and a huge bundled appeared. Sorting through the contents, the child pulled out one thing after another. "These are from Makoto!" she said, smiling, handing her a Christmas Tree printed bag. "And Minako and Usagi insisted that I bring this even though I told them-" the child pulled a miniature Christmas tree from her bag. "And Mamo-chan and I got you this!" She pulled out another parcel. "And Rei asked me to give you this." Another present went under the small tree. "And these are from Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru!" More presents. "And, um-" She crawled into the bag. Retreated. Dumped the bag upside down and then stared back into it. "Darn! I forgot Ami's present!" A tiny bell rang out. "No you didn't," a small voice called out. "I have it here!" The woman and child turned to see a small pink kitten smiling up at them, a present with her. "You're a life-saver, Diana!" the child shouted, reaching for the present and placing it with the others under the miniature tree. The pink-haired child looked up at the green-haired woman. She hurled herself into the woman's arms again, whispering, "Merry Christmas, P!" The child turned to leave, a whirlwind of energy, turning around even as the portal opened. "OH! I almost forgot! There's a party tonight at the mansion! Everybody's looking forward to seeing you! See you tonight!" The portal closed around the child before the woman could reply. The green-haired woman looked at the mess that remained as the remnants of the child's visit. A smile and tears painted her face. "Thank you, minna," she whispered, touching the tree gently. "Thank you, and-and Merry Christmas to you all!"