It was all over her. Red on her body. Red in her eyes. Red all around her.

Red. Red. Red.

The myriad twirls of an elemental. Mocking, jeering, laughing.

Morrigan.

Anger. Hatred. War.

Red.

There was energy inside of her. It wanted to get out, but there was no place for it to go. Angry power, power like fire. Surging and boiling. But heavy.

She wanted it to blow away.

But someone was watching her. Watching, and laughing...

suki ni michibikarete doko ni tadoritsuku to mada kangaete iru

Yasashige na lullaby kiite kako wo sukoshi dake omou
Machigai mo hiai mo ippai dakedo anata ga iru kara
Koukai-shinai

Pink-iro no tsuki no shita ni iru kedo
Motto tsuyoi nagusame ga iru no
Tatoe ayamachi dake shitemo
I love you tte itte ne

Though I hold a mysterious destiny,
I'm still wondering to where I will struggle on,
being led by the moon

Listening to a gentle lullaby, I think just a little of the past
It's full of mistakes and sorrow, but since
You are here, I won't regret it

Though I'm under the pink moon,
I need an even stronger comfort
Even if I make only mistakes,
Say, "I love you," okay?

Moon Senshi: Unmei no Kodomo

Episode Ten:

"The Beautiful Shadow"

"Deidre," a voice encouraged her. "Deidre, wake up. You're home." He opened the car door and shook her gently.

She woke up with a jump. She looked into the tired old eyes of her new father.

"No!" she said urgently, grabbing him. "N-not Deidre! Please...Kazeko."

"But Deidre...you don't think that changing your name is going to make you look Japanese, do you?" The man shook his head. "Listen, there are a lot of foreigners in Japan now. It's no big deal. Besides, just because your name is different isn't going to make you look any different. You look as Irish as anyone can. And that's a good thing. See? You have such pretty red hair." He brushed through her long, coarse hair. "You'll be very popular."

"I-I....I don't want to be popular!" Kazeko stuttered, the scarlet images crawling back into her brain. "P-p-please don't say that, Mr.--Mr.--"

"Shirochize," he reminded her gently.

"Y-yes. Please, call me Kazeko."

"Calm down...Kazeko. You're fine, see? You have a new house, with new friends. Now stop stuttering like that..."

Kazeko tightly shut her eyes, vainly hoping to will away the confusion of this new place. She didn't want a new house. Only a few hours ago, they had picked her up at the orphanage. Kazeko overheard them talking to the caretaker...her Japanese was bad, and they were pretty far away...but she could make out bits and pieces...

"We're looking...very nice...lady...polite. Oh, please, let her be pretty. I'd like a pretty girl."

Her "mother" was neat. She dressed like a man typically does--except for her long, thin skirt.

"...exciting? A daughter...our own. ...can't wait!"

Her "father" dressed almost exactly the same as her mother. He was wearing a gray outfit, and he had a thin, hide covered case. The case made Kazeko nervous. The caretaker nodded.

"I know...perfect. A little shy, but she has beautiful hair. ...very sensitive, though."

They talked about her like a flower, Kazeko thought. Pretty, but--as far as they were concerned--brainless.

Kazeko stepped out of the car and looked around her. It was strange. She hated this place--so few plants and trees. Even the orphanage wasn't like this...was this, as they said, the place where the gods dwelt? What power did they have, so far from the Source? There was no smell of rotting leaves or damp here, even though it was springtime.

"It isn't the Eire," she mumbled.

"No, it's not Ireland. But you left Ireland, remember?" Her mother took her hand gently. "All by yourself. That's impressive. I wonder how you managed that...Kazeko?"

"I..I left on a plane," she mumbled.

Her mother chuckled kindly. "No, Kazeko, I was just wondering where a fragile little thing like you got the money for a plane ticket. But we can talk about those things later. It's not imp--"

Kazeko became fearful. Her face began to flush. "I-I-I---I begged...for the money.."

"Dei--Kazeko...what's come over you all of a sudden? You look feverish. "

Red..I have to escape...I have to run away...

"T-t-t-the dreams are bad," she muttered. "I've got to go. I've--I've got to calm down...I have to find a tree..."

"A tree? Kazeko, what are you mumbling about?" her 'father' asked. "Come on, now, be a good girl and tell me what's wrong."

"I'm looking for a tree!" she said urgently, grabbing his arms. "Please, help me! D-d-don't ask me why!"

"There's a tree in the backyard," he replied, putting his hands gently on her shoulders. "Please try to calm down."

"I-In a moment..." Kazeko ran to the car trunk and flung it open, digging her cotton cloak out of one of the hide-covered suitcases. It was worn, handmade. She put it on, clinging to it desperately, and fumbled toward the tiny backyard.

It was a cedar. Kazeko ran toward it and placed her hand upon it. She breathed deeply. She had to relax.

Cedar. A tree for repulsing negative energies.

The branches almost seemed to wilt upon her touch. This tree was old; it had been assaulted by progressive waves of energy. First darkness. Then light. Then darkness again. The tree used the darkness and the light to bring balance. Combined, those energies made it whole again...

Sorry, she thought. Sorry, but I need to get rid of it.

Kazeko felt her hand become heavy like lead as darkness pulled away from her and into the tree. Slowly, slowly, make it disappear....

"Disappear..."she murmured.

She could hear footsteps distantly, in the back of her mind. They were coming toward her, behind her...

"You have to escape, Deidre--"

The patter of footsteps, inside the brush--running, running, closer behind her...have to escape, have to escape--!

A hand fell onto her shoulder. Kazeko gasped. Her hand pulled back. She cringed as the energy she had concentrated so hard to remove siphoned back into her, filling her body like a syrupy poison.

"Deidr--"

"K-Kazeko!" she corrected him. The fear in her voice made it snap.

"Sorry...Kazeko." He paused for a moment. Kazeko didn't turn around to see the expression on his face. Probably fear, shock, or disgust.

"W-what?" she finally replied, trying to breathe deeply despite her irrationally lit fears. She turned toward him.

"Kazeko..are you all right? Why is your hand on the tree like that?"

Kazeko fumbled for her pendant. A knot with three points, smooth cold silver. "N-nothing. Just looking. It's...a nice tree."

"Kazeko...I know things were hard, but--"

Red.

Kazeko winced.

"But try to relax, okay? It's very safe in Crystal Tokyo. This isn't sketchy like some of those European towns, and there's not any dangerous wilderness..."

Kazeko frowned. The man, her foster father Mr. Shirochize--whose first name she did not even know--looked at her.

"Kazeko...please give things a chance? I want us to be a family."

"O-okay. I understand. I just...I have trouble with new places."

"It's okay," he said comfortingly. "Come on, you can go inside and rest. I'll bring you your dinner. Try to calm down, okay?"

He held open the door as she walked inside.

It was Crystal Tokyo.

Home of the Tuatha De Dannan.

"King Endymion...I have some very unsettling news," Sailor Pluto said.

The meeting had only just started. Every morning at eight o'clock, the council convened. Usually only one or two members of the sailor senshi attended, depending on the issue. Today, only Serenity and Endymion attended. The councilors immediately fell silent at Pluto's interruption. The king and queen turned toward her.

"What is it?" Serenity asked, worried.

"I went to Nemesis less than an hour ago in order to check on Seisui and restock her supplies. Upon my arrival, however, I found that she was missing--and not only was Seisui gone, but..." she paused, an expression of worry crossing her face.

"Yes?" Endymion urged her.

"There's a new enemy on Nemesis--or so I presume. When I arrived, there was a towering castle. The sky had become murky...there was a huge, black obelisk at the center of the palace..."

There was silence for a moment. A councilor looked toward Pluto.

"Then, the Black Moon family--"

"Who knows? But it looks like another enemy--probably an incarnation of Chaos--has appeared. What I fear even more than this is that Seisui is gone. She could be dead--but even more than I worry about that, I hope that she hasn't been captured and taken under this new enemy's...influence."

"Then there is no choice but capital punishment, now that Seisui is corrupted!" shouted Councilor vonDarkmoor, the blonde-haired representative from Germany. He stood up from his seat as he spoke. Perhaps he did so, Endymion thought, to make up for his lack of height.

"We don't know that she's corrupted," Serenity objected quietly. "Moreover, even if she were, I could purify her."

"That isn't even the issue. If Seisui is corrupted, she'll be inside that palace. And I don't think it would be prudent to rush in on this place right away--we aren't even sure if it is Chaos or some other enemy," Sailor Pluto interjected.

"Don't forget, your majesty, that Sailor Charon can teleport," another councilor suggested, scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Sailor Titan may already be on Earth again."

"That seems highly improbable. Sailor Charon does not have the power to teleport anywhere near that far."

"Do you know that?" Councilor vonDarkmoor asked.

"Sailor Saturn has informed us that Sailor Charon, upon trying to teleport into Seisui's prison, ended up in Saturn's room. Is it really feasible that she could teleport to Nemesis?"

"I would argue it is, your majesty," vonDarkmoor continued. "The power of a Sailor Senshi is an act of will. If Sailor Charon was able to get only a few floors away from her best friend when she was imprisoned on the same planet, how far could she go if something much worse happened--say, if she thought she would never be able to see her friend again? No, I think it quite possible. Perhaps not probable, but possible--and the risk that Seisui could be running freely on Earth again is not one we should ignore.

"Moreover, it seems odd to me that these rebels--these 'Moon Senshi'--appear right before a new enemy. While we have already established that these are real Senshi and not impostors, could it not be possible that they chose to work in league with Chaos or one of it's minions? It wouldn't even be necessary for them to be corrupted, would it? It could even be a condition of their cooperation. I can see Chaos making a deal if it were advantageous. The rebels might say, 'we'll confuse and scatter the Sailor Senshi, you go in for the kill...but we refuse to be corrupted.' It's a well thought-out tactic. After all, the Moon Senshi have distracted us--but that is all they can do. They don't have the power on their own to destroy the queen. But with the help of Chaos, they could. And Chaos, I'm sure, would benefit from the queen's emotionally weakened state--"

"Enough. There is nothing to support this hypothesis," Endymion interjected. "If I see any proof that the Moon Senshi are allied with Chaos, I will investigate it further, but for right now I shall assume that they are separate enemies.

"I will, however, consider the idea that Sailor Charon could have teleported Seisui. While it is unlikely, I suppose it is possible; it is even possible that this enemy could have seen it beneficial to teleport her back to Earth instead of taking her under their wing. God knows she's caused enough trouble without being corrupted. Knowing the Moon Senshi's less-than-graceful strategies, it wouldn't surprise me if she were merely back at home. Sailor Pluto?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Please find Seisui. If you do, return her here. We can't afford to delay any time in coming to a decision on this--not now that a new enemy has appeared."

Sailor Pluto bowed. "Yes, your majesty."

"I will inform the others of the new enemy, and we'll begin research immediately--though often, I'm afraid, little can be gleaned before the first attack."

When he awoke, there was blood.

It was an endless pool. Extending for eternity. It was up to his knees. A Sailor Senshi stood before him. She looked into the lake of blood.

"I am....dead..."

Her form became vague. A thousand countless Sailor Senshi split from her. They walked toward him, arms dangling at their sides, limp, hanging as if on hinges.

"We are...dead...."

"Who are you?"

"It's your fault, isn't it? It's our blood, isn't it? You couldn't protect us. You couldn't serve us."

"What are you talking about?"

"So you killed us."

He looked around in panic. The voices came from everywhere, from nowhere. Hollow laugher, and then sinking. They all fell, one by one, their bodies splashing limply into the stagnant, iron-scented pool.

Then, a black mask. It smirked, mockingly.

A dark, tall man. Long hair, and a cloak. Armor like iron. The black cloak had a red underside, red entrails spilling from the black, iron cloth.

"What are you afraid of? Of me? Of course...you would want to forget, wouldn't you...?"

Erik's eyes snapped open.

He could still smell the iron. He had become used to the smell; his hobby was blacksmithing. It had become, even, like an old friend or a companion. But the iron-tinged scent of blood had given it new, terrible meaning.

4:30 am. Not any worse than a school day; it was a two-hour trip by train. He was used to seeing the deep blue morning, and even on weekends, he'd only wake up an hour or two later than this.

But he hadn't had a choice lately. Not since he'd taken up his new job.

The nightmares weren't bad at first. A few vague shadows, a sinking feeling of shame.

But they had gotten worse, more detailed, bloodier. Faces jeered at him, mocked him for some literally unheard of crime.

And then, the mask.

It had only been in dreams before. But once he started going to Tokyo, it would appear in front of him during the day. And then, hours lost from time.

This time, he woke up with a wound. He had to go the hospital, make up some excuse about an accident when he was forging a sword. The doctor looked skeptical. An accidental wound on the shoulder?

He brushed the bandage. Touching it filled him with a vague and distant shame.

He shook his head and walked into the kitchen. Vague and fearful thoughts yielded no answers.

"Seisui...hadn't you better hide somewhere? It won't be long before they find out you're gone." Seisui looked at the cherry tree as her mother spoke to her. The blossoms were starting to fall off. Now, it was almost uglier than it was beautiful; a mish-mash of pink, a beautiful head of hair with bald spots all over it.

"Yes, I should...but...where would I go?"

"You could stay at Tokimo's, right? No one knows she's a Senshi. And she seems like a nice girl...one of the few left in this world."

"I see what you're saying, and it would be okay for a little while, but...what am I going to do? I'm back, I'm finally safe, but what does that mean? I can't go to school, or they'll catch me. I'm too young for a job, and even if I weren't, they'd do a background check. It may be less lonely here, but the prospects are just as grim. I can't live off you forever."

"Seisui..." Her mother frowned. "I would gladly support you for the rest of your life and have you here with me than far away and out of my care." Her mother walked up behind her and rubbed her back comfortingly. "As for Tokimo...it's just for a little while, and I'll send them money. We're not rich, but I've managed to take care of you this long, I can scrounge it up. They'll forget about you eventually, if you stop making trouble. They'll know that you've given up."

Seisui clenched her fist. "I wish I believed you. But...after what I did...they'll tear this world apart looking for me. Right now, I am the most dangerous criminal..."

"They won't find you. They'll give up. Where will they look? Please, stay with Tokimo for a few days. There's no doubt that they'll come looking for you here. Please? I'd rather miss you for a few days than an eternity."

"Mom..." Seisui looked at her. Her mother hugged her; Seisui hugged back. "I'll go."

"Coming!" Tokimo's mother shouted as the doorbell chimed.

She opened the door. Her welcoming smile hung a little limp as she saw Seisui standing there with a canvas bag in her reddened palms.

"Excuse me for intruding..." Seisui stuttered. This, she realized, was probably the most rude behavior imaginable. What had her mother been thinking? Her mother, of course, probably had other things on her mind than politeness. Seisui only prayed that what Tokimo's mother had said about Shiwaumians being laid back was true...

Tokimo's mother shook her head as if she were remembering something. "Seisui! What's wrong with your hands? Did you walk all the way here with that bag in your hands? Why, I bet it even has your alarm clock in it, knowing you. I'm amazed you could fit everything in there!" she said admonishingly, pulling the bag from Seisui's hands. It was, indeed, a little heavy; most of the weight, however, seemed to be her school books, which bulged out conspicuously from the bottom of the bag. "It must be at least an hour's walk from here to Tokimo's. Why didn't you take the bus?"

"I...I...didn't want to be seen..."

"Well, I can forgive you for that, I suppose. Come on in, or else you will be seen--and it's a wonder you weren't already. You should have called me. I could have given you a ride."

"I didn't want to be a bother..."

"Well, it's too late for that anyway, so you might as well make the best of it. Besides, you can be a bother anytime you like. You know Tokimo won't have any problems with it," she said with a smile, moving out of the way so that Seisui could walk through.

"Hey, Mommy!" Tokimo shouted, running out of her room. "Who's--"

"Hello, Tokimo," Seisui said, smiling.

"It's Sei!" she shouted, hugging her tightly. "Are you gonna stay over, huh huh?"

"For a few days, I think," she told her. "Hopefully, I won't have to stay too long. My mother will send you as much as she can," she added, looking apologetically toward Tokimo's mother.

"Don't worry about the money. My husband makes more than enough, especially since Tokimo is our only child."

"I'll try to help around the house," she added. "I can't go to school right now, either..."

"My mommy doesn't care, Seisui," Tokimo told her.

"Tokimo, why don't you help Seisui catch up in her schoolwork? Just because she can't go to school doesn't mean she can't learn, you know. Maybe they'll pardon the charges someday. Then you'll be ready."

"But I don't wanna come home and do more schoolwork after I've already done it!"

"It's okay, Tokimo," Seisui replied, "I'll just read your books. I usually catch on pretty quickly, anyway."

"Well...okay..." Tokimo pouted. "But right now, it's time to have fun! We can go to the mall! I'll put you in a super spy Tokimo disguise! No one will ever recognize you!"

"Not right now, Tokimo," Seisui replied. "I don't feel up to it. Maybe in a little while."

"Oh..." Tokimo replied, a little disappointed. "Well...okay."

"Seisui isn't here," Seisui's mother said firmly. Despite her complete distaste for the royal family, she tried to cooperate with this woman--this "Setsuna." If she did, they might lose interest sooner. They might give up on trying to find Seisui. "You were the ones who put her on Nemesis. You're the only ones that know where she is. Nemesis is a big place, or so the books say. Maybe she's just wandered somewhere on the planet...?"

"I assure you, Mrs. Han'i, that is not the case," she replied, sipping a cup of tea. "I have completely scoured the planet. If Seisui were present, I would know about it."

"Then I don't know what to tell you."

"If you did, I'm sure you wouldn't tell me," Setsuna calmly replied.

"If that's true, there's no reason for you to be here."

"Certainly there is," she disagreed. "If Seisui were in this house, you wouldn't have let me investigate the premises. To be sure, your house is small enough that if Seisui were here, I would have found her. Therefore, it is logical that she must be somewhere else."

"Where do you think she is?" Mrs. Han'i asked. "Do you have any clues...?"

"I'm afraid that I'm in no position to divulge this information," Setsuna replied. "However, if I hear word of your daughter, I will be sure to let you know. While what happened to her is sad, it would be better for your sake that we found her. We have certainly put no restrictions on your visiting; if Seisui is not found, however, you may never see her again."

"That's true," Mrs. Han'i agreed. "Despite my misgivings, I will let you know if I hear of her."

"Thank you being so cooperative," Setsuna replied, picking up her purse and setting down her cup. It was still half full. "I must be going. I can't afford to waste any more time here, and so I bid you good-bye."

"Of course," Mrs. Han'i said, "I understand completely."

"I told you so," Usako mumbled as the door opened. The hinges were always well oiled. They didn't creak. But Usako could see it open in her mirror.

"Usako..." Hiroshi mumbled, standing in the doorway. He had opened her door three, four times since Seisui had been banished. This was the first time she had said anything to him--at least, anything meaningful. She hadn't been going to school for the past week, but in all other respects, she had feigned health. She came down to eat every meal. She pretended to be interested in the small talk of the court. She assured her mother she'd be fine in no time. But after dinner and meetings and all the other family gatherings, she came upstairs and sat in her room. Hiroshi opened the door just like this, a crack, looked in on her, left. She'd be drawing, reading, sleeping.

"I'm sorry, Usako."

Her silence was broken by the clicking sound of her pencil falling onto her desk. She had been drawing absent-mindedly...vague, sketchy figures were tearing their way across the page--strange eyes, vague frowns, wine or blood falling from goblets.

"I didn't want to be right. I wanted you to be right. Even though I was angry because you trapped her, I thought, if you were right, if she were only imprisoned--I could see her, maybe--convince father to let us talk for awhile...maybe...

"But you weren't right. I was right. Right when it counted. No one thought I was right about Purification or Seisui's innocence. Maybe, like Mom, they believed it when they saw it themselves--but not when I told them. Even you...doubted me."

"I never doubted you, Usako. I doubted Seisui. I think what happened to her was awful, too. I wanted Crystal Tokyo to change after finding out the truth. But Seisui was too full of anger for anyone's safety. She needed time to see that we could change. To see that we weren't just aiming to persecute her."

"But we were, weren't we?" Usako sobbed. "We did. We are! Seisui has been persecuted. And if you don't believe that, you can go to Nemesis yourself and see how happy she must be! Even when she escaped purification, it was only the next best thing for her!"

"Usako! Get a hold of yourself! It's never over. Talk to your father. Convince him that it's safe to imprison Seisui here on Earth! Maybe if we're there to help her, she'll change her mind. If we have to, we can go to Nemesis, talk to her there...maybe we could even live there with her for a while," Hiroshi reasoned.

"Seisui won't listen to me. She never has."

"If that's true, why are you still friends with her? What's the point of this argument?"

"I don't know!" Usako stuttered, resting her head on her desk. "I'm still in love with you, too, and you won't listen to me either. At least Seisui agrees with me, even if she hates me."

"I do agree with you, Usako! What happened to Seisui was terrible!"

"Then why did you entrap her?"

"Just because the queen hurt Seisui's father, that doesn't mean she should go and kill the queen! You don't believe she should, do you?"

"No...of course I don't."

"Then you must see why I did that!" Hiroshi replied.

"No, I don't see! I could have handled Seisui myself. I could have stopped her! Why did you need to? If you hadn't done that, I still would have had the chance to teach her, to help her..."

"Usako, I'm not sure you could have taught her. Usako, seeing your mother in pain made Seisui smile. Your mother's pain was a feeling she relished. And I hate to say it, but her feelings toward you seemed to be the same way."

"I could have taught her not to be that way..."

"Usako, you're being completely irrational! Settle down! How can you teach Seisui anything if you don't think she'll ever listen to you? You're not making sense anymore. I--"

A hollow knocking interrupted him. Usako quickly grabbed a tissue from her desk and began fiddling with her face, trying vainly to wipe away her tears. Hiroshi stepped back toward the door and opened it just wide enough for himself to be seen.

"Hello, Hiroshi."

It was Setsuna; she wasn't transformed. Even when Sailor Pluto did venture out of the gate of time, it was usually in Sailor uniform so that she would be ready to protect the gate if the need arose. But her dark blazer and skirt told him that she was still out on business.

"Oh...hello. Is there something you wanted to say to Usako?"

"Well...to get to the point, I wanted to know if Usako might know where Seisui was."

"What do you mean?" Usako asked, pulling herself out of her chair. "She's on Nemesis, isn't she?"

"Lady Serenity..." Setsuna hesitated and glanced down the hallway. She didn't want to keep any secrets from Chibi-Usa... "Lady Serenity, a new enemy has appeared. There's a strange palace on Nemesis, and a huge influx of evil energy. And Seisui is gone."

"Gone?" Helios exclaimed. "Then that means--"

"Maybe. We aren't sure. It is possible, though unlikely, that Seisui could have escaped via Sailor Charon. Despite the unlikelihood, however, it is still worth looking into."

"Then...Seisui may have escaped?" Usako murmured.

"Maybe," Setsuna repeated.

There was a pause. Usako sat back down. Helios stood in the doorway. Setsuna continued to stare.

"Do you know where she might be, if she were on Earth again?" Setsuna asked.

"If I told you, you would capture her again," Usako said dully.

"Yes, I would."

"Then I won't."

"But Usako...now that Seisui can't stay on Nemesis, she might receive a fairer punishment," Helios replied. "They might just imprison her, or put her under house arrest..."

"Do you think I have any reason at all to trust the clemency of my father's judgment?" Usako shouted, turning toward Helios. "When has he ever shown Seisui any mercy? Any pity? Any understanding at all?"

"I think, Lady Serenity, that would be a lot to ask of your father. You know how much Usagi means to him," Setsuna told her.

"Well, then, you must realize how much it is to ask of me to tell you where Seisui could be!"

"But Lady," Setsuna replied. "Aren't you concerned for the welfare of your mother?"

"I'm concerned for Seisui's welfare too, Setsuna!"

Setsuna widened her eyes a little. Chibi-Usa always called her 'Puu...'

"I want to save Seisui. I'm 914. I want to be able to make my own decision about my own problems. And I decided that there was hope for Seisui. I decided that she isn't as hateful as she wants other people to believe she is. Seisui had so many chances to kill me! And even the worst of them didn't seem wholehearted. I was one of the only people that ever treated her with kindness, and I can't believe she would just forget that completely!"

"There is nothing I can do to make you talk, Lady Serenity, and therefore, I will leave. However, I am bound by the king's orders. I must find Seisui. Please take care of yourself, Small Lady."

"Wait!" Hiroshi interjected.

Setsuna stopped turning around and looked at him.

"Seisui has a friend...her name is Tokimo. I'm not sure what her last name is, but...it's an odd name. If you go to the school, they'll probably know who it is."

"Thank you, Hiroshi...though part of me wishes you had not told me," she said, shutting the door.

The room was bathed in shadow. The curtains were closed. It gave everything in the room a lonely gray light.

"Why did you do that?" Usako whispered.

"I want to protect you. I didn't want to tell Setsuna behind your back, and I'm afraid Seisui will hurt you..."

"Whatever happened to 'Usako needs to be independent', 'Usako isn't a child', 'let Usako take care of this'?"

"I'm afraid for your life. I want to protect you," he said sorrowfully.

"No, you don't!" she said, turning away from him. "You want someone else to protect me! If you had protected me, you would have done it. You would have shielded me and healed me and helped me tell Seisui she was wrong. But you didn't. You just told my father. It isn't you who's protecting me, Helios! It's my father! And don't you dare tell me otherwise!"

"Usako, I--"

"I just wanted to be like Mama. I wanted to protect someone, help them, make a brighter future. But I can't. 914 and I'm still 'too little.'"

"Usako, I just--"

"Go away, Helios. I'm too little of a person to forgive you right now. I can't even think straight anymore."

Helios stood there for a moment, a feeling of helplessness overcoming him. He walked out the door and closed it behind him.

Clasping his hands together, a thousand particles of light gathered toward him. He prayed; the light gathered together and drifted him away. He would go to Elysion, a paradise with no company.

"Hey, Yamiko."

"What do you want? I went to school like you asked me. I took my pills on time. I didn't study too much. I did well on my English test. What more do you want?"

"Movie night!" Sayoko shouted enthusiastically. "What a great way to spend the weekend! We can rent some special effects movies...hey, I can pull out my old smell simulator! We could rent one of those old cooking shows with the smell simulator..."

"Don't you think that's a bit cheesy? I can make food myself. And then I can actually eat it."

"Ah, come on. We can watch some old anime or something. 'Shy na Venus...'" she began to sing, flailing her arms around as if she were at a rave.

"I am not going to watch anime. Or cooking shows. I'm going to sit here and read."

"We could go shopping!"

Yamiko sighed.

Sayoko frowned. "Come on, Yami...please? You've been so...routine."

"First I stay home too much, now I'm too routine."

"A little shopping would do you some good. We could go to Shibuya and check out the freaks and goths!"

"Sayoko, please. Just let me read my book."

"Hamlet isn't very cheerful company, you know."

"No, but he's a lot more intelligent."

"Yeah, right. I don't let my girlfriends drown themselves."

"I should hope not, you're straight. At least, the last time I checked," Yamiko dully replied.

"Comr on, Yamiko, please go out with me? Please? You spend too much time inside."

Yamiko threw down her book. "Unless I go with you, you'll never shut up. Is that what you want me to say?"

"It works in the movies."

"Fine, fine, whatever. I'll go to Shibuya. You better buy me something."

Sayoko shrugged. "It's all our inheritance. Even if I buy it for you, you're kind of buying it for yourself."

Yamiko shook her head. "Whatever. Just...let's go."

"Excuse me, Ma'am...I'm looking for a girl named Seisui Han'i."

Tokimo's mother stepped outside and locked the door behind her. She did not like the look of this woman, so mechanically and perfectly clad in office lady attire.

"Seisui Han'i is a wanted criminal. She's not here."

"I will be the judge of that myself, ma'am. Please allow me to enter."

"I will not allow you to enter. This is my home. You have no business inside of it."

"I do, I assure you. And I will enter--by force, I'm afraid, if that becomes necessary."

"I thought that the royal family was supposed to be a representation of the proper, moral course," Mrs. Joshi replied.

"What is right is not always clear-cut, I'm afraid, and sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the safety of everyone. If I do not investigate the possibility that Seisui Han'i is within this home, she may hurt someone."

"Seisui Han'i is only thirteen! Show a little mercy! Think of what the child has been through! Moreover, how much damage can she do against people with such great power? Even with the powers she has, she was imprisoned on Nemesis, helpless and alone!"

"And yet, now she is gone from Nemesis. She almost killed the queen. She tried to kill Lady Serenity, as well."

"Listen. I don't care what you blue bloods think, but I think Seisui is a sweet girl with a kind heart. I don't pretend to know everything...but I think for Seisui to do something that drastic, she must have been driven to it by something else."

"Seisui may be kind. She may have been driven to her crimes. But she is still responsible for her own actions. This is my last warning. I do not wish to hurt you."

"What's the world coming to," she mumbled, moving aside.

"You're looking for me, right?"

Setsuna looked blankly down at Seisui. She was just standing there, looking up at her, angry and sad at the same time.

"Of course," Setsuna replied.

"I would have appreciated a week or two of freedom," Seisui said apathetically.

"I'm glad I found you on Earth," she told her. "The alternatives were far worse. But I'm surprised you didn't try to run away."

"It's useless..." Seisui mumbled, tears falling down her face. "It's...useless."

"It isn't useless. I'm sure you will be free someday. Try to be patient."

"Chaos compass!"

Setsuna turned around. There was no one there. Without time to transform, she summoned, at least, her staff. She could feel something tugging the fabric of time space...tugging, pulling, ripping...

Sailor Charon's naginata screeched across her staff--Setsuna had blocked it without a moment to spare. A few stray sparks flew into the air.

"I knew this wasn't like you," Setsuna said with sigh.

"Seisui," Sailor Charon shouted, "Run away!"

Despite her overwhelming surprise at Tokimo's attack, Seisui only paused for a moment before dashing toward the nearest room in the hope of reaching a window.

"There is no time left for the Moon Senshi," Setsuna told Sailor Charon as her naginata screamed against her staff once more. "Now there is a greater enemy! We cannot waste time with this useless battle!"

"The only enemy is the one that threatens my friends!" Sailor Charon said.

"There is no time..."

Setsuna stepped backwards and flung her staff toward Sailor Charon's fist. Her naginata fell out of her hand. Setsuna swung her staff around again and rammed Sailor Charon squarely in the stomach. She fell backwards onto the ground, clutching her stomach in pain.

"Sei..." she groaned.

Setsuna wasted no time. She ran into the room that Seisui had gone into, and, with difficulty, climbed through a conspicuously open window. Seisui had not gotten far. She could see her.

"PLUTO CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!" she cried, transforming as she ran. "I'm sorry, Seisui, but you don't leave me many choices.

"Dead scream."

Seisui fell. Sailor Pluto ran to where she had fallen and picked her up gently. She wasn't dead; her injuries were severe, but she could be healed. It may have been her power that kept her injuries from being fatal.

"There is no time..." she said sadly, looking down at the limp, puppet-like figure. "Poor dreamers. Your nightmares will not come to pass. Other nightmares, I'm afraid, will replace them."