Little Lost Rabbit by Ikuko
Part 6
G to PG
Ami's narrative
I still do not own Sailor Moon
_________________________________________________


						Never let your sense of morals 
						prevent you from doing what is right.
								A. Asimov

Did you ever notice that bureaucratic duties are always dumped on the 
least suitable one? I am really not very assertive and they made me an 
official of the tournament! OK, I can keep the information straight, and 
write the report in time, but mediating the fight? Sorry, it is not 
really my call. The only good thing about it was that I finally got my 
hands on the information about rules and traditions of the tournament. 
And, to tell you the truth, it did not look good at all. Judge for 
yourself: Only avatars of the large worlds have a chance to draw enough 
power from their planets for the required strength of the chi attack
However, our stubborn freshly-made king insisted on participation. Not 
that I did not understand his reasons. Being killed, even for a while, 
is better than to see the one you love to marry someone else. Still, 
there should be another way... 
	As an official, I was helping the senshi that registered the 
contestants. Of course, Seya was participating too. As one of a great 
star, he had a good chance to win. There was this huge fellow from 
Betelgeuse who was so proud of the size of his star and so sure that the 
victory would be his, he started to call Princess "my dear". The nerve. 
The most bets were divided between these two.  As the senshi explained 
it to me, Seya could still count on his feelings toward Usagi to 
increase his chi. I wished that it could help Mamoru, but well, I 
realized that no love could possibly replace the sheer power that the 
huge star will provide. Day did not go without a curious incident: one 
of the Earth human representatives inquired if HE can participate! The 
lady he had addressed to was extremely indignant, and not so much at the 
fact that he dared to think that he can challenge an Avatar, as that he 
considered himself as a potential consort of one! I gathered that it was 
her morals that were hurt the most. In her mind the thought of the 
mortal of mere tree dimensions seeking favor of a multi-dimensional 
being was something like an offer of marriage from a poster character to 
a human. What she had to tell him was both amusing and educational, but 
in no way suitable for official documenting.

Battle began. I was trying to keep an eye on Mamoru. We all knew how 
small were his chances, so if he will need help I will be able to alert 
the jury. The identical black force fields cover Avatars. The field of 
the King was indeed weaker than others, almost translucent. It is not 
nearly as dense and black, the streams of power flowing over it's 
surface, but not incasing him completely in the ebony capsule. However, 
a few seconds later he seemed to master the field, and it became so much 
like others under the dome that I literally lost his field among them. 
The power signatures were impossible to read through the outer field, 
and the only thing that I could do was to watch. Under the dark dome of 
the force field, the capsules levitated and sent shots of chi energy at 
each other. Some stronger ones simply smash their rivals against the 
outer shield, by sheer strength of the force field. Defeated have their 
capsules collapsed, and drop on the ground, to be pulled out of the way 
by assistants. Some concentrated on one-on-one duels, some formed 
temporary teams to defeat a stronger rival, some attacked from behind 
ones engaged in a duel already. There is only one rule: to remain 
suspended when everyone else is on the ground. Eventually, there are 
only three capsules left: one exceptionally large, one strong and swift 
constantly attacking it, and one, of the average size, that was just 
hanging there, never trying to engage in any battle. I had seen many 
trying to attack that one, only to be shot down by their own reflected 
charge. Healer explained to me that the reflection of the attack is 
never used, because it requires immense power to reflect even a fraction 
of the charge. To do what the warrior in the passive capsule is doing 
meant or some unknown trick, or that he was more powerful than all 
others combined. But if it was true, why did not he just attack and get 
it over with?  Two others also tried to team up against the passive one. 
The heavy one threw itself at the mysterious warrior, only to be 
reflected like a ball from a stone wall. He fell on the ground and his 
field collapsed, revealing the avatar of Betelgeuse. The other one, 
swift and agile, spirals around the motionless sphere, attacking it from 
all directions at once. He only succeeds in getting blasted by several 
reflected attacks simultaneously. When his capsule finally collapsed, it 
revealed bruised but very proud Fighter. The silent lonely winner was 
still hovering high above the ground. Seya got from under the outer 
field:
"I told you, princess, I will beat that Betelgeuse guy! So what if his 
star is twice as big as mine! For you, princess..."
"Ah, shut up, Seya. It seems to me that you were beaten yourself. Is it 
over?"
"Come on, Mars! That guy - you can not beat him. If you only felt the 
chi he has! You need a thousand of the black holes to have an energy 
like that."
"Who is he?" 
"I do not know. The jury will end the tournament as soon as he will get 
down to announce the winner. Sorry, princess, it would not be me to 
become your husband; you will see your consort soon enough."
"You mean when he will come down. He seems to like it up there"
"No one can sustain the force field indefinitely. Why is he wasting the 
energy? He had won already"
"May be one of my shots did reach him? In the head?"
"Is there any way to get him down?"
"We never had a problem like this before. I suppose, we can remove the 
outer field now, seeing that the battle is over. At least we will be 
able to see the winner through the field. May be the light will make him 
to come down."
The dark dome of the force field collapses, leaving the small sphere 
suspended in the air. We can see the warrior in black inside it, in the 
meditation pose. It is Endymion! But how? They said he had no chance at 
all! And why did not he really fight anybody, only reflected the 
attacks? I know, he is all out for the global peace, but this is 
ridiculous: this is a tournament, not the war. The bright light and the 
shouting from the crowd seemed to interrupt his thoughts. He opened his 
eyes with the look of surprise. Slowly, his capsule descended and 
dissolved. King walked to us, in visible confusion.
"Did I do something wrong? Were are all the contestants?"
"The tournament is over, my king. We are happy to see you all right"
"Over? Who had won?"
"You, your Majesty."
"But... I did not even fight! I did not attack anyone, and no one 
attacked me..."
"You mean, you did not notice how you shot me down with my own charge?"
"I did? I did not mean to harm you...I do not understand... I only began 
to power up in meditation. All I noticed was a swarm of tiny sparks 
around me, like a fireflies"
"Now I am a firefly. Come on, man, I hit you with enough energy to 
destroy an average size continent! Are you trying to tell me you did not 
even notice the battle! Endymion? Mamoru? Where did he go?"
Indeed, there was no trace of our victorious king. Jury announces 
Endymion a winner, but hesitated to declare him a consort.  The charges 
against him still stood, and besides, there was no explanation for the 
power he had displayed. Some even suspected that he had cheated, though 
had no idea how. At least, no one of the tournament participants 
question his superiority anymore. Even if the jury could not explain the 
power Endymion possessed, the warriors themselves were now too familiar 
with it to hazard another confrontation.

	Anyway, we had better things to do than to quarrel with the jury. 
I had a good idea were the king had disappeared. His energy signature 
was so powerful since the battle, I almost did not need a computer to 
trace him to the Earth, to the temple grounds. Of course, the tree.  The 
very same we needed a crow bar to peel him from for the last few days. 
As soon as I gathered girls we went after him. We need Usagi more than 
ever. The cold was coming, freezing the planets over entire Universe, 
and there was no one that knew why or how to stop it. 
	Teleportation back to the Earth proved to be more troublesome than 
we expected. Because we knew exactly where he went, we concentrated on 
the Temple as our destination point. Well, it did not work out. The 
explosion of golden light had thrown us off the track, at least half a 
mile from the Hendai Hill. And a rough landing it was! It took us some 
time to figure out which extremity belongs to which senshi in the heap 
of the bodies, but eventually we untangled and got up. 

That was quite a spectacle to behold! The entire hill was covered 
by the grow of pure gold energy, so intense the air was crackling with 
it. Most of the Temple building were reduced to the ground by it's 
tremendous force. The energy was focused on the wondrous tree that 
bloomed against all laws of nature, and initiated from the King, who was 
chanting something on the language that I could not understand.

"What is he doing?" uttered  bewildered Jupiter.
"I think, he is trying to get our meatball head back to us"
"where is she?"
"It seems that he believes she is in that tree somehow. What is he 
saying?"
"I do not even know the language he is speaking"
"I think I do. I had studied it in the history of the religion. It 
sounds like Hebrew, only very old..."
"Could it be Aramaic, Rei?"
"You may be right, Ami, but I am not sure..."
"Well, let's check it..." I love my computer. It has everything you may 
ever need, even ancient languages tutorial. Audio reception... linguistic 
check... Gotcha!
"Rei, you are genius! It is Aramaic, I can translate it!"
"So, what is he saying?"
"Would you believe it? He is professing his love! To the tree! In 
poetry! And it sounds a lot like "Song of songs"!"
"Well, poetry I understand. That's Mamoru all right. He never attacked a 
bad guy in his life without saying a haiku on the occasion" Grinned 
Uranus. "But why Aramaic? And the tree? We all love cherry blossom, but 
never destroy temples because of it!"
"He is trying to reach her heart" came the voice from behind. Sailor 
Pluto, in her best grim self, was standing there, frowning. 
"What do you mean?" Venus asked. Being a resident expert of the matters 
of the heart is in her job description. 
"He is trying to convince Usagi that she is loved, so that she would 
return to him."
"The stupid air head needs more proof from him? Talk about slow! He had 
told her a million times! You would think the girl would know by now..."
"Oh, she KNOWS all right. In her mind, she KNOWS that we all love her. 
But she could never FEEL being loved" Chills of horror crawled down my 
back.  For me, the feel of love that was coming from Usagi was the only 
constant of my life, I can not even imagine now how I lived before I met 
her. And she was living that horror of forlornness all this time! She, 
who was giving love so freely to everyone who needed it!

"Why?! She is the most loving being in this world, and everybody loves 
her!"
"That's exactly why. Her love shines as bright as a sun, and our
 affections are simply lost in her glorious brilliance. Like the 
brightest star that is destined to exist in the eternal darkness, she 
was living in loneliness, unsure in the feeling of others. Words of love 
could only reach her mind, not her heart, and the mind is a cruel thing. 
It was playing tricks on her, supplying a discouragement for every act 
of affection she received, and telling her that it was not for her, but
 for the princess."
"Does the King know?"
"He does. He is fully awaken now, and can understand his soulmate 
perfectly."
"But he is practically attacking her with all he has!"
"He does not mean to harm her. He merely tries to reach her heart with 
his love, and we can only pray that it will be enough"
"Hell, he is not the only one with the heart! If the stupid meatball 
head wants to be consoled, she will be! I shall baby her to death! She 
will never get out of diapers!" Poor Rei! Her bark is indeed worse than 
her bite. She was spitting the angry words with trembling lips, and hot 
tears were pooled in her purple eyes. Determined, she fought her way to 
the King through the overpowering waves of golden energy and placed her 
hand on his shoulder. He did not even turn his head, but the streams of 
the gold mixed with the red flames that were flowing toward the tree. 
One by one, senshi joined the King, pouring their respective powers into 
the stubborn cloud of pink blossom. Well, I guess it is my turn. I am 
not good in the showing my feelings, but Usagi is a special case. As 
quiet as I normally am, I do have something in my sleeve. As I touch my 
King's hand with mine, I can hardly contain the joy of letting go, 
finally allowing all my barriers drop, and without shame or reservation, 
pour all my love to the incredible miracle of a girl in the explosion of 
the Mercury Power. I could see through the icy mist the powerful blue 
flow that merged with the energy of others, and it gave me a smug 
satisfaction.
 
Looks like we have all the senshi with us... Wait, where is the princess? 
She was with us when we teleported... But not when we landed, I was sure. 
I definitely did not have to untangle myself from the endless pigtails. 
Did she choose a different destination point? Where? Suddenly, I noticed 
two figures in the shadow of the wall, clinging to each other. One with 
unmistakable hairstyle, and one, taller, with black hair... Mrs. Tsukino! 
Oh, my princess, you really are worthy of being Usagi's vessel. We 
forgot about the mother, her pain and the power of her heart. But you 
remembered! My kind, my wise princess, she teleported straight to 
Tsukino's and brought the Mother here, where the destiny of her daughter 
will be decided. The two were standing away from us, watching the 
astounding power display from the distance. The older woman wispered 
something to the princess and encouragingly pushed her toward us. The 
princess made a few tentative steps, stopped, and glanced back to the 
Mother. It seemed that the smile from her gave the princess all the 
courage she needed. She approached the tree from the opposite side from 
us, and cupped the Silver crystal in her risen hands. Silver glow 
flooded the area as she gave everything she had to the tree. Without 
Usagi, her mastery over the Crystal was drastically diminished, I could 
see that she was draining herself fast. Not to mention that I felt my 
own power was stretched to the limit. Suddenly, we've got an unexpected 
help. Mrs. Tsukino came to the princess side, hugging her shoulders 
gently. The pure white glow emanated from the Crystal, hitting the tree. 
In it's blinding shine I could see that the tree disappeared, leaving 
two figures sprawled on the ground. In the haze of sheer exhaustion I 
could still see that the King had sank onto the ground, and then the 
darkness claimed me. 
	I woke up because someone was wiping my forehead gently with a 
dump cloth. The worried face of Yuuichirou was hovering over me... Where 
were the others? He seemed to understand my concern:
"They are OK, Ami" Ami?! Oh, I am in the civilian form... Did he see me 
detransform? Yuuichirou did not indicate any surprise on my being here 
or the damage to the Temple. OH, I will have time to worry later. The 
first thing first. To check on the Princess, King, senshi. And who was 
the second figure on the ground? I've got up, to find that I was not the 
first one to come around. Makoto was awake, and helped to carry the 
unconscious King in one of the remaining buildings. Good thing too, the 
evening was approaching fast, the wind was piercing and it looked like 
it will snow soon. The only problem was that he was still in his royal 
robes. Well, I hope I will not be the one to give explanations to Reis 
Grandpa. I stumbled to find Rei in the meditation room. I had a strong 
suspicion that she was there more for the warmth of the sacred fire than 
for the spiritual reasons. It was really miserable outside and most of 
other buildings had collapsed. It will not take long to lift the wooden 
frames and fix the paper walls. As long as Usagi is back, nothing selse 
matters. 
"Rei? Where is Usagi? Is she back?" Rei turned to face me.
"She is out of the tree, but did not join Serenity yet. They both are 
still out of it. Come, I will show you."
Rei took me back to the place where the tree used to be. There was a 
tiny new chapel, only in four tatami, built by Rei's Grandpa in the last 
hour. He himself was there too, chanting the prayers at the feet of the 
woman that laid on the floor. She looked so much like the Queen of 
Silver Millennium! It seemed he was worshiping her like a goddess... 
"Who is it Rei? Is it Serenity?"
"Yeah, but not the Queen. She is the Queen-Mother, the previous ruler of 
the Moon..."
"Why is your Gramps praying here? Is she all right?"
"She is asleep. And Granpa - he will never seize to astonish me. He told 
me that she is the goddess, guardian and the first priestess of this 
Temple. When he was a young lad, he came here to ask gods for a good 
fortune, and after service went to admire the famous cherry garden that 
gave the temple it's name. When the light of the full moon fell on one 
of the trees in bloom, he saw a woman on it'' place, a woman so sad and 
so beautiful, his entire soul was changed at that moment. The moon hid 
behind the clouds, and the vision disappeared. He stayed there all 
night, praying for her to show herself again, but to no avail. In the 
morning priests found him still in the garden. When they heard about his 
vision, they told him that it was a sign. He was chosen to serve the 
goddess of the Temple, and blessed with prophetic powers. He stayed in 
here for all his life but was never able to see her again. This is the 
first time he is able to serve her directly, and he is sure that his 
life is fulfilled now."

"Wow. And I thought that he is just, you know..." 
"Dirty old man?"
"I did not mean it... He was always very nice... But where was Usagi?
"She is still outside, Ami."
"Are you crazy, Rei? It is a snowstorm outside! We have to bring her 
inside at once!"
"Actually, we were hoping that you will figure out the way to do it. 
Look!" In the dimming light through the falling snow I could see Haruka 
and Hotaru kneeling in the snow, looking at something... When we came 
close, we were able to see her: a misty shadow of Usagi on the moist 
carpet of cherry petals. She was nothing more than a handfull of fog, so 
wispy and hazy, you could barely see her. 

"Have you ever seen a fainted ghost? How do you suppose we can carry her 
in? I am afraid that she will simply sink through the ground and we will 
have to dig her out."
Hmmm, I could see the problem... My hand passed through hers like through 
the thin air... Unless she will wake up and walk on her own, there was no 
way of transporting her inside. 
"Rei, you are the ESP of the team, could you teleport her or something?"
"I do not even know how to get a hold on her... I can try..."
"It would not be necessary" said the voice from the temple gates. There 
stood Helios, in his human form. He walked briskly to the ghostly form 
on the ground, lifted it like she was as material as you and me, and 
took her to the same tiny chapel were Serenity laid. I suppose, it made 
some sense, in a weird way: being a ruler of the land of dreams he could 
manage a spirit better than we. Our entrance seemed to have an effect on 
Serenity: she woke up, and tried to take my hand, but was too week...

"Serenity, you are all right!"
"Mercury, never mind me! Time is running out! You all have to prepare 
for the union! Or we all are doomed!"
"What do we have to do?"
"It is you, Mercury. You have to read the document it will tell you what 
to do. ... it is in your computer, find the key ...  Cold death is coming, 
hurry. Do not let Endimion and pure one together until I..." she passed 
out again
"Until you what? What file?" Oh. I think I know which one. Rats. It is 
so protected, I was never able to decode it.  Well, there is no time 
like now...
 "What is it? What did she tell you?"
"I am not sure, Rei. She sounded desperate... I have to find some 
information stored in my computer..."
"Then do it! You can sit in the meditation room, no one will disturb you 
there..."
There is nothing like hacking. I am not a criminal by nature, I am 
rather sure of it, but hacking brings you a satisfaction like nothing 
else. To outsmart, to find the way around the other's defenses, to fool 
all the booby-traps! And an incomparable joy of "I am in!"! This one is 
a lulu of a program. I was already proud that I've got this far! The 
traps were so flawless, so neatly hidden, I would give a lot to get to 
know the man who designed it. Anyone capable of constructing such an 
elegant logic deserves all the appreciation he could get! Oops, another 
one. He-he, good thing I had coded one just like this before. I would 
never recognize it if it would not be piggybacked to the same operator I 
had used before, to protect some personal files of mine. Now, let's see 
what this baby has... Did I miss another one? The screen changed color, 
and now was covered in intricate characters of classic Lunar.


"Greetings, Mercury. You are the only one who could possibly read 
this."

Why, thanks...
"I had written it for you - for myself, in anticipation of events 
that were prophesied long ago. If you needed this file, it means 
that the critical time had come, and the fate of the Universe is 
in your hands for a moment. It also means that you do not remember 
me or why this file is so important. I know how frustrating it can 
be, not to remember most of your past. I had forgotten it too. I 
once wrote this document, but art that time it seemed impossible 
to forget something so important as it's content or how to open 
it. But time is merciless to our memory, I had forgotten. It took 
me years to uncover part of the secret that protects the most 
sacred of manuscripts. I am sending this message to you, along 
with my findings, the only help I can offer from my time to yours. 
If you will uncover the secret, you will be able to lead others to 
the only right way, if not, all we lived for will be lost. I had 
decoded some of the puzzle, but I do not have the important 
information that by now you should had obtained. Be careful, 
Mercury. The file can be open only by a password, two names, three 
letters each. You have only one try, or the file will delete 
itself. That much I know, the rest is up to you. Search for their 
names, the oldest ones, the ones that mean their essence. Remember 
that you have only one try. I wish you luck. Do not despair, I 
believe in you...  I am always in you, hidden among other 
forgotten memories, waiting to be free one day, when the prophecy 
will fulfill itself and you - I will remember everything. Believe 
in yourself, in your destiny. Be faithful to your vows. You former 
self, Mercury."


Ook. So much trouble just to get a note from myself. However, there are 
decoding instructions and a link to another location... Lets try this. If 
I know myself, there is no more booby-traps. A-ha. I do know myself 
well. Here is the page, with the passwords. Now, let's see. The "names"... 
if there are two of them, it must be the prince and the princess, no 
doubt about it. Endymion and Serenity will never fit in this crossword 
puzzle. Hmm, three letters across... Mamoru and Usagi, when written in 
kana are three characters each... Too bad that the file is couple of 
thousand years older then kana alphabet, leave alone the names "Mamoru" 
and "Usagi". Well, it means we have to deal with ancient languages. 
Let's change the window and go to the Universal dictionary. Select 
languages... OK, everything that existed in BC era should about cover it. 
Plus Lunar, plus Intergalactic, plus Negaverse dialect. Now then, what 
are we looking for. "the essence" it said. OK. Earth and Moon, in any 
legend or document as lovers, spouses or any form of a couple. Aand 
ENTER! Tra-la-la... I am waiting... You can show the results any moment now... 
And here goes... nothing. Every couple found has at least a dozen of 
letters in names. Some Egyptians and Kimmerians are particularly long. 
Ancient Chinese, however, are only one character apiece. It was fun, but 
did not take me far. OK, lets try it again. So what did I do wrong. Ah. 
May be it is not prince and princess, may be it is Usagi I am looking 
for. After all, she is the one lost. Now, what is the essence of Usagi? 
That's a tough one. Warmth, laughter, friendship, love, loyalty, 
innocence, wisdom in klutzy disguise... As Mamoru said, she is the love, 
she is the life... Click. You know that feel when pieces of the puzzle 
that seemed to be a total mess suddenly fall together just right? Life! 
Her healing power, her energy signature... Even the name, Rabbit is a 
symbol of life in many cultures. As well as the ever-renewing Moon is a 
symbol of eternal life! Worth trying it, anyway. So, same as before, 
Earth and Life, and not to forget this time, no more than three letters 
in the original language. And ENTER! Tram-pam-pam. And here! much faster 
then the first time. Oh, my. Oh, my. WHY DID NOT I SEE IT BEFORE! 
STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! No wonder, prince was speaking Aramaic! 
Unbelievable that I did not realize it! Oh, well, I will have time to be 
ashamed of myself later. At least, now it is a piece of cake. Back to 
the password window, and double shift for Aramaic. Now type the magic 
words: Earth and Life, three letters each. 
Now, keep your fingers crossed, and ENTER! OK, you are a brave girl, you 
will open your eyes now and see what happened... 
Wow... The long document in Lunar is scrolling on the screen. My 
excitement is too great to keep my countenance, and on top of my lungs I 
yell "I am in!!!" Oops. It was WAY too loud for a quiet ol' Ami. Shoji 
of the temple almost snapped. But at least everyone runs down to my room 
immediately, in fear that I had got electrocuted or something. As soon 
as they were sure that I was OK, and decoded the file, girls were just 
as exited as I. The truth was that to get into the file was only the 
beginning, to understand what it was saying was a real challenge. Rei 
shooed everybody away from me to give me some space to work, and I was 
really grateful for that. They were sitting as quiet as mice, watching 
me struggling through half-forgotten language and lost magic techniques, 
and no one even thought of budging out of the room. The level of science 
and sorcery that was mention in the document was fascinating. To my 
shame I had to use the help of the computer to explain me the meaning 
more than once on every page. Computer clock told me that at least two 
hours past before I finally figured it out. Well, sort of, but I could 
not try the patience of my friends any longer. So we wakened up Minako, 
and I began to read: 

"After the world was created, two being were formed to reign over it. 
The man and the woman were created. The man was to rule over the matter 
and all forms of physical energy. His sign was Earth, and his name was 
Earth, and his power was over the matter. The woman was to rule over the 
life and life energy. She had the eternal youth, and her name was Life, 
and her power was over the life, youth and healing. They opened their 
eyes and looked at the beautiful world in awe. Even when they dreamed, 
they dreamed about the wonders of the universe, and the world was 
mirrored in their dreams. That world of dreams and spirits was Elysion, 
and Helios was the ruler of the dream world, as Earth was a ruler of the 
material realm. But he was alone and did not have a soulmate by his side 
as Earth had Life. With longing he watched how happy the first couple 
was.

The only children of the Universe, they played with gifts they had. 
Earth created beautiful gems of magnificent color and crystals of 
flawless symmetry, for he loved things that are symmetrical and of 
perfect order and logic. But Life touched them with her magic and they 
grew into plants and animals, which were not as perfect, but alive. 
Earth sometimes laughed at her and sometimes was amused, and sometimes 
he was upset. He tried to organize the world around him and bring it in 
impeccable arrangement. He systematized things and beings, and gave 
names to all of them. Everything that was about him was clever and 
logical and cold. But Life was not logical at all, she was overthrowing 
all the systems with her laughter, and light, and warmth. For in her 
heart she was growing in secret the greatest miracle of them all: the 
love for Earth that will last for eternity. She was always with him, 
trying to get him to smile, trying to warm his heart. Patiently he 
explained again and again the beauty of atomic structure, symmetry and 
clarity of the crystals that last almost forever, unlike her creations, 
that defied logic and died soon, and she listened. Clever he was, but 
she was wise. With her love that consumed her entire being she created a 
perfect flower, the red rose, more colorful that all the gems and more 
beautiful that all the crystals, and gave it to her love. In awe, he 
looked at the gift that taught him wisdom beyond logic. For the first 
time he forgot his reason and looked into his heart, his living heart 
that he ignored for so long. And he looked at Life, and saw that she is 
more beautiful that even her flower, because her eyes were shining with 
love, same love that now was overflowing his own heart. Unable to 
express the depth of it, Earth created the most beautiful thing he knew: 
the crystal that shone with silver light, and gave it to his soulmate. 
The power of Earth filled the flower, and the power of Life filled the 
crystal. The light of passion streamed from them and formed a river of 
eternal love. Great power the river held, and its name was Cauldron. 
Beautiful bright stars and immortal warriors were born in Cauldron, and 
populated the Universe, to live and love until the days of this world 
will run out and the cold death will claim it forever.
The greatest of loves enlightened the spirits of the lovers, and they 
were able to see what their future held. The terrible fate was 
threatening the very existence of the world. Their love had power to 
bring life to the Universe, or to destroy it. If they were to be united, 
they would consume each other and the entire world in the flame of 
passion. Their powers were so great and so different, they will 
annihilate it in the explosion of destruction and creation. Only if they 
sacrifice the love they shared the world could be saved. Heartbroken, 
they wept, and their tears were flowing together in a river of selfless 
love, but Earth and Life were separated forever. Earth had to stay on 
the planet they were born to, and Life was to travel the Universe, 
bringing the hope to the far worlds. Despaired, Earth prayed for a 
chance to be united with his love, whatever the cost. And he was 
promised a tiniest spark of hope, in exchange for ultimate sacrifice. 
Earth rejected his immortality that meant eternity without love and at 
that price bought a right to meet Life in his future reincarnation. He 
reduced himself to a mortal human, mere progection of the powerful being 
he used to be. But in his desire to protect his soulmate, he had passed 
his powers trough the river of Cauldron. Four powers he had as four 
dazzling gifts of the mastery over Time, Space, Matter, and Energy. They 
reflected in the river to give birth to four Senshi: Pluto, Saturn, 
Neptune and Uranus. Unable to go with Life himself, Earth charged his 
senshi with the task of protecting her wherever she will go. 
Life could not leave Earth without leaving part of herself behind 
too. She had also released her powers of life, and Wisdom, Love, Faith 
and Will were reflected in the river. Another four senshi came forth: 
Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, to stay with Earth and protect him. 
The eight senshi born of the power of Earth and Life had abilities above 
all others, for they inherited some of the energy they were born of. 
They were the absolute senshi, and they had sworn to serve Earth and 
Life to the last breath. The Earth stayed on the planet they were born, 
and Life went far away, to heal the fabric of the Universe and ensure 
its stability. Stars sang in sorrow for the parted lovers that were 
never to meet again. They sang about love and death, and about hope. 
They sang, and the prophecy was told in their song.

In mystical, cryptic words it gave them a faint hope for the 
resurrection of the love, not in this life but thousands years 
later. If there will be enough love in the Universe to balance their 
passion for each other by the time when they will be reborn, the world 
had a chance to survive. The prophecy warned about many obstacles that 
will stand on the way of their love, and almost impossible conditions 
for them to meet again. But it was hope, and hope reflected in the River 
of Cauldron, and another senshi appeared, the most powerful of them all, 
the Light of Hope, Galaxia. She was charged with the protection of the 
peace in the world, and every living being. 
The link that still connected two hearts now tortured them like a 
heavy chain. Both knew, that they will never meet in this life, 
and that the only chance for them was to be reincarnated in their own 
bloodline. That was another obstacle, seemingly impossible to overcome, 
for they could never love another, and therefore could never have any 
offspring. And even though the Life was essentially immortal, the 
prophecy was saying about the future Earth falling in love with the 
"pure and innocent child Life". Even the purest of hearts could not stay 
perfectly innocent after thousands of years in the world full of sorrow.  
For years Life studied the prophecy given in the song of stars with the 
help of the wisest of senshi. For years, Earth was fading away in 
despair. Finally, Life found the solution. But it was almost too late, 
Earth had only a short time to live left. Life concentrated her energy 
on the gift she received from the Earth, the Silver Crystal. The beam of 
bright light shoot from one edge of the Universe to another. It touched 
Earth in the sleep and from his own flesh and bone created the perfect 
likeness of Life, the first handmaid. Life gave her not only her looks, 
but also her name, and since that day she called herself Serenity, for 
in serenity she was going to wait for her love to return to her."

"Now, why does it sound so familiar?" Mars attention span is not much 
longer than Venus
"Well, because it the different edition of the story you know very well. 
Yeah, in Aramaic Earth and Life sound Adamah and Hayah, same ol' Adam 
and Eve, what did YOU think? I can not believe that I was thrown of the 
track just because Adam (adamah) was by pre-historic mistake translated 
as "dust" in English! And for that reason I did not associate it with 
"earth" that it really means! Who said studying foreign languages can 
not hurt you?"
"Wait, are you talking about the very first Eve? The one mentioned in 
Genesis? But I thought that the first Eve was evil?"
"No, nothing in the scripture indicates this. On the contrary, it shows 
her as equal to Adam in every way and created as his mate. The second 
Eve was a mere mortal, three-dimensional flesh-and-blood, inferior to 
Earth in every way.  She was the mother of all men on the planet. It is 
not in human nature to admit that they descent from the insignificant 
handmaid. Thus the first Eve had to be named evil. Yeah, not fair, but 
understandable. Funny, most often she was blamed in daring to stand up 
to the man as her only sin! And why would Lord create an evil one for 
his dearest creation? Mortal logic is most amusing, isn't it? OK, do you 
want me to continue reading?"

"Go ahead"
"When awaken, Earth almost believed that Life returned to him. But he 
saw only a mortal woman, which had no Spirit of Life about her. Angry, 
he wanted to send her away. But his friends and guardians from Elysion 
convinced him to accept the gift of love and hope, to take her as a wife 
and have children for the sake of the future. Sad union created mortal 
children, who lived only a few dozens of years. Nevertheless, the human 
population of the Earth flourished, because mortal child took only a 
very short time to create. In only nine month it was born, instead of 
nine centuries that needed to create a perfect immortal being."

"What?! Nine hundred years? I am not going to have any kids! Period! 
Nine hundred years with morning sickness? Centuries of maternity 
fashions! Not me, not ever, forget it." 
"Chill it, Minako. There is no centuries of maternity fashions. The star 
seed is the only thing that is forming for this long, the physical body 
of the baby takes only months create."
"Did you know about it before?"
"Yes, for some time already"
"Why did not you tell us?"
"I thought you knew. You had never asked any questions when almost 
toddler-looking Chibi-Usa told that she was over 900 years old."
"I thought she had stopped growing or something... Darn, I still thinking 
the way they do in England, counting the age from the birth... I forgot 
that in Japan it's from the conceiving... Still, I do not want to be 
pregnant for that long!"
"You are not likely to have a chance. You are the original Senshi, right 
out the Cauldron River. Very few of them ever had children. After all, 
for immortals the reproductive function is not essential. You may be a 
goddess of beauty and love, but not necessarily of motherhood."
"You mean... we are only soldiers, not meant to be mothers? Virgin 
warriors... Like ants and bees..."
"Come on, it is not so bad. You can love and theoretically you can give 
birth. Look at you! You are the most perfect female specimen! But our 
genes are so different from humans and from each other, we are not 
likely to produce heirs. It is like we are of different species, each 
one of her own. I believe, that only the true soulmate, the one that and 
you were created for and that was created for you can be a father of 
your children"

"So, what would you propose, Ami, the good old "try and error" method?"
"Minako!!!"
"Aw, I was only kidding. Go on"
"All right. Where was I? Ah, yes.  Soon, Earth-Father died from his 
grief, forever crashing the heart of Serenity and entrusting his Spirit 
of Earth to the care of Guardians of Elysion, for the future 
reincarnation. Serenity had no more reason to live. She returned to the 
Solar System, for after Earth died there was no more reason to stay away 
from it. The Moon became her home, and senshi formed the Moon Court. Her 
own senshi that stayed behind and mourned the death of one they were 
supposed to protect welcomed her back. Now the queen, Serenity conceived 
the child within herself, without a man."

"Hold it right there. You just told me that the immortals have almost no 
chance to have a baby because they can not find a mate, and now you are 
saying that they do not need one?!"
"It's not exactly so. I am translating from Lunar as close as I can, but 
it is almost impossible to keep all the details in. The meaning of the 
word that was used can be explained as "parthenogenesis" but it also 
involves a great deal of magic. In fact, the Silver Crystal initialized 
a new life from a somatic cell of the Queen..."

"Now, Ami, in plain Japanese please!"
"Oh. It's like cloning, year, only magical. The child was a copy of the 
mother, and was formed with the intend to transfer the very personality 
from older one to the younger when she will be mature enough. One queen 
after another had denied herself the right for happiness in favor of her 
innocent daughter, in hope that the time for Earth to be reborn is 
coming. OK, I will continue. "For nine centuries she was waiting in 
tears for a perfect copy of her, or rather a clone, to be born. She 
brought up the child as a daughter, then released the Spirit of Life to 
be reborn, and dissolved herself in the Silver Crystal. She left the 
Crystal to her daughter, to protect the future and uphold the hope. When 
Serenity the Second came to age, her mind embraced the Crystal. She 
learned about the love that threatened and saved the world, and about 
the prophecy. She learned that only the innocent child could become a 
carrier of the spirit, and that she was no longer a child. She submitted 
to her duty, accepted the role of the new Queen, and conceived another 
generation of Serenity. That continued for thousands of years, every 
next queen waiting for Earth to be reborn, giving an innocent birth to a 
daughter and at critical time giving herself into the Crystal. Each soul 
of the former queen increased the power of the Crystal. Each new queen 
had a greater strength of the magic. Each was hoping for her daughter to 
become a carrier of the spirit, but though the power of Life increased, 
the Spirit did not return. But day will come, when the Earth and Life 
will meet again in the prophesied union, and their love will recreate 
the perfect world. 

It will be the duty of all senshi to protect the star seeds through the 
transformation of the world, to unite them in the prayer of purification 
and love and to carry them in the new kingdom of hope"

"Wait a sec. What exactly are do we have to do?" 
"We will be quite busy, Jupiter. There is an information on preparation 
of each of our powers for the struggle of renewing. I will have to re-
code your henshin sticks and explain new duties to each of you 
separately. The one thing that we have to discuss together is this 
phrase: "Pray that earth and Life would meet before the days of this 
world run out and the cold death will swallow this realm"

"Does it mean the coming cold?"
"I do not know... All I can say, is that we are to choose between two 
evils: or the death from the freezing, or risk it all in the 
transformation of the Universe"
"I would rather gamble... But why the freeze is coming?"
"Well, scientist had warned for years already that the universe will run 
our of energy one day, but they thought it will take trillions of years... 
When I last analyzed the energy readings of the cosmos, I had found that 
they were mistaken. As soon as the threshold low level is achieved, the 
world will loose all the energy in a chain reaction of collapse, within 
weeks it will be all leveled at four degrees by Kelvin."
"You mean that that threshold is almost here?"
"No. We had already past the point of no-return. It is all up to the 
King and Usagi now. We can only pray that they will be awaken in time"
"What if one will come around before the other?"
"No good. He or she will remember the love in full, and an unbalanced 
passion will destroy another" 
"So the future King knew what he was doing when he warned prince from 
getting too close to Usagi?"
"I suppose so. Mamoru was older, and the terror of almost killing his 
love in the fight with Beryl could have caused the return of his 
memories.  If he would awaken before her, his power and love will be 
unbalanced and surely result in the catastrophe that king had 
demonstrated to his younger self in the dream."
"Good. I was thinking he was loosing his mind"
"I do not think so."
"So you are saying that Mamoru and Usagi are the incarnation of Earth 
and Life? What about when they were in silver Millenium?"
"They were incarnated then, but dormant. We better ask Serenity when she 
will feel better..."
"I am better."
"Your Majesty! You should not be walking around like this! You need your 
rest!"
"Do not worry about me, Mercury. Do not you remember? I was always the 
strongest and the most self-willed of all the Moon queens...  You never 
got tiered of telling me that when I was yet a princess... And now I am 
the old queen, and you are as young as when taught my mother to read..."
"You are not looking any older, my queen..."
"No, but my time is almost up. I lived longer than I was supposed to 
already. I am ready to use the full power of the Silver Crystal one last 
time..."
"Why? Why should you do it? You will die!"
"There is no other way. Someone has to mend the body and soul together, 
to seal the princess and the pure one as one being. She is the life, and 
she is the only hope. If I can do it, all these years on the Earth are 
not in vain, and my sins will be forgiven..."
"Sins? What did you do?" Oh, for the day to come when Minako will learn 
the meaning of the word "tact"
"It is a long story... The dynasty of the moon queens created the most 
powerful kingdom in the universe, and was an model of harmony for 
thousands of years. Meanwhile, on the Earth, countless generations of 
mortals were born and died. The story of the Earth and Life became a 
legend, partially deformed, partially forgotten. But the dream of love, 
the image of the perfect man and woman as an example of absolute beauty 
lived in the minds of humans. Once in a while the random chance of 
breeding gave birth to a man that looked like Earth, and sometime a 
fraction of Earth power was bestowed upon him. Human legends remembered 
many who were proclaimed to be the son of the Earth I remember one named  
Anthei, some others were forgotten. But the prophecy described the 
future incarnation of Earth in many details. It gave him perfect 
likeness with the mystical ancestor, gave him a new name of Endymion in 
the new incarnation, and said that the spirit will return when mortal 
will sacrifice immortality for the love to Life. That seemed impossible. 
Many generations of the Moon queens straggled for the better 
understanding of the prophecy. Little more about the fate of the Earth 
could be gathered from the cryptic text, and the destiny of Life was 
also confusing. Prophecy hinted, that the seventh Serenity might become 
a carrier of the Spirit, but that the fifth will host it too. That did 
not make any sense at all, but when Serenity the Fifth, I, was born, the 
hopes were high for me, and I was determined not to link with the 
Crystal until I find Endymion on the Earth. Year after year I was 
searching the Earth through my magic, but to no avail. Time came for me 
to start another generation of the Moon Princess, but he was no where to 
be found. The new princess was born, with no signs of possessing the 
spirit, and all hope for her mother was lost. Then, one day, with the 
shock the I discovered a young man on the Earth, in the country called 
Ellada. He looked so much like Earth, and his name was Endymion. I fell 
in love with the young man. I had convinced myself that the prophecy was 
misunderstood, that this was the chance we were waiting for generations. 
Deep in my heart I new it was not so, but my wish to love and be loved 
was too strong. I abandoned my daughter and my kingdom for the care of 
senshi, and descended to the Earth. Eventually I won his love, and we 
lived together for many years. People still remember the story of love 
between mortal Endymion and the goddess of the Moon. But alas, it was a 
disappointment for the me, for as much as I cared for my lover, I knew 
now, that he was not the one. I gave birth to many children, hoping to 
create an immortal being, but each birth came in exactly nine month, and 
resulted in a mortal daughter. They were his children, not mine! My body 
was repeating time after time the same magic of innocent conceiving, 
only this time it was using his seed, not mine."
"Why they were all daughters?" Minako again. I better interfere, poor 
Serenity is too upset to explain the obvious. 
"Of course, only girls were born. Endymion seed contained or X or Y 
chromosome, and they were duplicated in mitosis. If the cell did not 
have X chromosome, it could not support the life of the embryo, so only 
girls could be born. But it is an extreme case of inbreeding, very 
unhealthy."
"Gee, Ami, I love the way you explained it. Now it all clear to me. 
Clear like mud"
"Aw, just listen, it is not really important" 
"Thank you, Mercury. My daughters, though beautiful, were very fragile 
and did not live long.  After many years, Endymion died, and the former 
moon queen was left all alone on the Earth. Ashamed of what I had done, 
I never returned to the Moon, and was wandering on the Earth for 
centuries, waiting for my fate. For I knew, I was destined to host the 
Spirit of life, and could not seek sanctuary from the sad life in the 
Crystal until it will come to be. Time passed, and my daughter, Queen 
Serenity sixth gave birth to the new princess, Serenity the seventh, 
then one destined to be a carrier of the Spirit. Every immortal in the 
Universe knew the Prophecy. The little princess was a great prize if she 
was to possess the full power of Life. Dark forces began the war hoping 
to take little Serenity from her mother and rise her as an adept of the 
Negaverse. Queen Serenity VI could not hide her child on the Moon, so 
she sent her to the Earth, to live with kind human family, who came to 
love her as their own. Queen provided wealth and protection for her girl 
and her guardians, but could not see her until the danger passed. Humans 
still remember the legend of old Taketori and his beautiful daughter."

"Yes, Rei had enlightened us"
"On the Earth, the princess met a man she fell in love with. It took me 
years to find her on the Earth, and when I came it was too late already. 
I begged her not to repeat my mistakes, and to submit to her duty. She 
obeyed, but her heart was broken. Great was my surprise, when in the 
light of the immortal flame of the Mount Fuji I saw the imperor 
transform from a mere human into powerful Avatar of the Earth! To my 
many sins I added another one, keeping my granddaughter from her 
destined. In shame, I rejected the world and became a priestess, hoping 
to purify my soiled soul. I hoped that one day my dear one will be able 
to forgive me..."

"Oh, grandmother! Do not speak so! You lived and loved, and it is never 
a sin! You were seeking your own destiny! There was nothing to forgive! 
I love you so, grandmother!"
"Yes, child, but your mother chose a better part. She sacrifised her own 
love, and was happy for you, my dear."
"Oh... I see. She loved him too, did not she?"
"Of course. We all were made to love him. But only you were to be with 
him. Your mother understood it, and accepted her destiny, and I in my 
self-will curiosity, had followed my heart, and betrayed my duty..."
"It was not a betrayal, love is always good."
"Thank you, child, you are kind. But I no longer need it, centuries of 
meditation had taught me to accept my life. It is your future that I am 
concerned about now. Are you ready?"
"Ready? For what?"
"Too accept your own future. To become one with one that was reborn in 
you. To merge with the spirit of Life."
"Can you do it? Oh, grandmother, she does not want me..."
"No, child, no. She loves you as she loves everyone. When we parted, the 
last thought of her was if you would accept her back..."
"Oh, would I! Grandmother, but it means that you will have to use the 
Crystal! You will be gone! I do not want to lose you again! I missed you 
so, and I just found you today!"
"Silly girl! I will not die! I will dissolve in the Crystal, were all 
other queens are gone over ages. We are not separate people, we are one! 
When time will come for you to accept the memory of the Crystal, we all 
will merge with you, you will be the seven queens in one soul and body, 
the true goddess of Life. And I suspect it will not be long. In a matter 
of days we will be together again, and stay together forever. But first 
you have to merge with the spirit of Life and make sure that the 
Universe will survive the coming cataclysm."
"Serenity?"
"What, Mars?"
"If Usagi is so important, how come she is such a baby and a scaredy 
cat?"
"Oh, Mars, you are as teasing as ever. She is an innocent child because 
hers are the powers of eternal youth and pure soul, and she is not a 
coward. You know that she is the most courageous of all when it really 
counts. But she is afraid, more than you ever know. They say that one 
can be considered alive when one is afraid of own destruction, and she 
is so much more than alive, she is life itself. She lives with such 
intensity, flood of emotions pools her in all directions at once, 
distracting her. You know it well, for you love her above all things"

"I do... How can we help you?"
"Let's go see if she is awake. Make sure that the King is not around. We 
will not be able to stop them after Life will be back, and you are not 
ready yet for the rebirth of the world."

"OK. He did not come to yet, so we better go now"
We went back to the little chapel, where an old priest and Helios were 
taking care of Usagi. She was stirring, and attempted to hide when we 
came in. 
"Oh, Usagi, do not go!"
"Princess... will you forgive me?"
"There is nothing for me to forgive. Will you accept me as your vessel?"

"Vessel? What is it? I want to be back with you... He loves me, you, us, I 
felt it! Are you angry? Why are you crying?"
"No, Usagi, I am happy. Would you say the words?"
"Oh, OK. I, Usagi, accept you, Serenity the seventh as my vessel, 
completely and till the end of times"
Light of the Silver Crystal in the older Serenity hands shoot through 
the walls and ceiling of the little building. Three identical figures 
were swirling in the column of light, one with sage-green hair holding 
the Crystal, one with golden tresses, and one almost transparent. In the 
blinding shine I saw two of them merge, and descend to the ground. When 
the light died out, there was only two of them. Usagi was standing here 
in the flash, and older Serenity, spent, was uttering her last words:

"We will meet soon, oh pure one. My sins are forgiven, and my debts are 
paid. Prophecy is completed. I had joined the Crystal, and will wait for 
you to accept us for eternity... Remember, the key to the saving all is 
love outside love, passion outside the passion..." She dissolved in the 
waterfall of the rainbow colored sparks, leaving Usagi crying bitterly 
on the floor where she just has been... 


______________________________________________________

End of part 6. 
Feedback is appreciated. In fact, last time I had posted a chapter 
and it was not readable, i received more mail than usual, with people 
asking me what's the matter. Hei, you, out there? is anybody still 
reading? Was it too boring? Sorry, Ami is not particularly 
intertaining, I had to get into the character. Write me! 
Even better, write to Lilac Summers and make her continue her 
"First Truths" and "Vacation"! No physical threats, please!
Ikuko