Title: Love For All Time Part 10 Author: Jade Hunter A.N: Alright! This is something that I decided to add at the last minute. You will find out what happened at the end of the Silver Millenium in this chapter. Disclaimer: You can find the standard disclaimer on Parts 1, 4, and 8. "talking" <> **thoughts** _emphasis_ ////memories//// ############################################################################# It was almost midnight, and it was a new moon. It was the only time this could be done, and he couldn't loose this chance, lest he'd have to wait for another month. And this _had_ to be done, this was the only way. The only place it could be done was in the heart of Earth, Elysium. Elysium was not to be mixed with Elysion. Elysion was where Priest Helios lived, with the temple maidens. Ryuujin sighed at looked at his surroundings. He was at the heart of the Earth, someplace more sacred than Elysion itself. It's beauty was astounding, and a normal person would have been gawking, but he, having been here thousands of times, stalked with determination to his goal. He reached an elaborate palace, made entirely of diamond. There was no sunlight, this sacred place being so well hidden, but the entire area was lit up with an inner light, one that made Elysion and the regular world seem pale and dull. Once inside the palace, he headed to the stone altar, placed where the throne room should have been. The altar was made completely of ivory, and had four medium sized stones imbedded in it, placed in a circle. In the middle of the wide circle was a slightly larger diamond stone, and around that was an array of ruby red rose petals that were arranged into the symbol of Earth, made completely of diamond. In the front of the altar, there was a large wheel, and on it, was a hole, carved in there for what looked like no purpose at all. But Ryuujin knew what it was there for, and he prepared once again to summon the sacred protector of the planet. He took out his Elemental Stone, and placed it in the hole, vertically. It fit perfectly, as he knew it would. He then grasped the wheel tightly and turned it, so that his Stone was now horizontal. "Who summons me," a woman asked, her beautiful voice echoing throught the area. As the symbol of Earth began to glow, and a beautiful, dark haired woman appeared hovering over the alter, Ryuujin bowed down, with more respect than he had ever shown to Queen Serenity, and answered in a humble voice, "It is I, Goddess Gaia, Mother of Earth and all those who dwell, the Elemental Knight." "Ah," Gaia opened her pupil-less, sky-blue eyes and smiled down at him. "You have come once more, you whom I have blessed with all the power I had at my disposal more than five millenia ago." "Yes, Mother Gaia. I have come again," he said, lowering his head further. "Rise," Gaia instructed, her hand raising and touching his shoulders. "And let me see the face of the oldest of my six sons, the only son of mine which I share with so many others." This was said with a pointed glance at the other jewels embedded in his armour besides the diamond. He stood on his feet and looked at her, a smile lighting his face also. They regarded each other for a moment, Goddess and one she considered her favorite son, sharer of most of her power. "Well, then," she asked, one sculptured eyebrow rising up. "I assume that you have another reason for coming here than for visiting me?" "Yes, Mother Gaia," he agreed with a smile. "I have come, to ask you to free the rest of my brothers from their stones." "Oh?" she asked. "Is it time once more for them to venture into my world, for them to find their soulmates once more?" "Yes," Ryuujin nodded. "Very well," she sighed. "I shall let them go, although they have been an excellent company for my lonely self." "I wish I could visit you more, Mother Gaia, if only to please you, but I can visit you for trivial purposes as that no more than I can visit the others who have blessed me," he said in a tone that was slightly wistful. "I know, I know, my son," Gaia nodded with a smile. "I know the rules as well as you do. Even if the rules were only set because we didn't want you to pick favorites." "Favorites?" Ryuujin asked, incomprehending. "How could I choose to be with one more so than the other? You have all equally blessed me, and you all have an equal place in my heart." Seeing the look coming to him, he added, "Even Father Chronos. The fact that I love his daughter is not to be counted." Gaia smiled, and as the clock struck midnight, turned to the four stones. With a wave of her hand, they began to glow brightly, their respective colors. At once, in front of their stones, four men appeared, all bowing down to the Goddess of the Earth. They stood up when the Goddess bid them to, and looked at each other and smiled. "You are free once more, my sons," Gaia announced to them. She then pointed to Ryuujin, whom they had not noticed, and said before disappearing, "Go with your elder to my world, and be free with your soulmates once more." Immediatly, the four men bowed to him, speaking words of apology and regret, but he waved them off with one hand. "No unnessisary formalities," he smiled. "I hold no grudges towards you for what you had no control over." The leader of the four spoke up, "Our thanks, holy one, for giving us this second chance." "No thanks needed," he answered. He then retrieved his Elemental Stone with a telepathic thought and headed to the way he came. "Come, Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoisite." ***** "It's three," Haruka snapped at Setsuna and Hotaru. Michieru put a hand on her arm to calm her and then said to them, "It _is_ three. You said that he would be here." "And here I am." It was the same voice from yesterday, they all recognized it, though some more faster than others. Setsuna immediatly stood up, follwed shortly by Hotaru, and headed to the figure leaning against the frame of the temple. Rei stood up fluidly, a ward ready in her hand. The Elemental Knight moved forward, where they could all see him clearly. He was wearing light blue jeans, sneakers, a white button-down shirt, and a black leather jacket over it. Makoto raised her eyebrow and then whispered to Minako, "He looks - " " - exactly like your old boyfriend," Minako sighed. "I know, Mako-chan, I know." Makoto frowned, "Actually I was going to say that he looks way better than my old boyfriend. Freddy's _dog_ compared to _him_!" Haruka glared at them as she and Michieru took imposing positions in front of Usagi. Mamoru hid a smile as he stood towering behind his girlfriend. "Ryuu!" Setsuna smiled happily, happier than they had ever seen her. Usagi's mistrust wavered as she witnessed her friend's joy. The Elemental Knight hugged Hotaru tightly, and grinned at her. "I have something for you," he said. "What?" she asked eagerly, jumping up and down. Usagi's mind was now at conflict on whether to trust this familiar stranger. Ryuujin twisted his hand once, and in a moment, a shiny black box was held out to the frail girl. Hotaru giggled, and then took the box from him, only to gasp when she opened it. "You _found_ it?" she asked in glee, holding out the box so that her Michieru-mama and her Haruka-papa could see it. Inside the box, nestled inside the soft cotton, was a silver chain necklace with a snowflake charm on it, made entirely out of a hunk of amethyst. It had somehow been crafted - not cut, there were not sharp enough lines, only smooth, rounded edges - into the shape of a snowflake, including all the intricate details. Next to the necklace was a spiral snowflake ring, made entirely out of silver, except the snowflakes, which had, once again, been crafted from amethyst. " 'Found it'?" Michieru repeated, examining the jewelery with awe. Though she and Haruka were well off - extremely so - they had never even _seen_ anything that looked as expensive as this. In fact, she was sure that they cost more than the penthouse she, Haruka, Hotaru, and Setsuna lived in, including all the furniture. "I gave it to her for her fifteenth Winter Solstice," Ryuujin answered. "Solstice?" Minako asked, eyes on the jewelery. By the time the necklace and the ring had been shown, everyone, even Mamoru, had flocked to Hotaru to see the present. It had been unspoken, but from the looks on Hotaru and Setsuna's faces, they had decided that they couldn't _not_ trust this man, if only for their friends. "It was back during the Silver Millenium," Hotaru explained happily. "Almost like Christmas. I thought I lost them during the last battle! Where did you find it?" A shadow flitted across Ryuujin's face, and when he saw that everyone had noticed, he forced a smile and answered, "I found it before I went to fight." "_You_ fought?" Haruka asked, brow furrowed. "I don't remember that." Ryuujin smirked and shot back, "You all don't remember _much_." "That's true," Rei nodded. "I think the only person who remebers the entire battle is..............Setsuna." "And that's why I'm here. You _need_ to remember what happened, not just during the final battle, but during the entire Silver Millenium," Ryuujin said. "And that's where you come in, Setsuna." Setsuna thought about it for a moment, and then realized his intensions, "I see. I will make the nessisary preparations." "WAIT!!" Makoto hollered. "Why exactly do we need to remember all this anyway?" Ryuujin sighed and then turned to Rei, "You remember what the Sared Fire told you?" "Yes," Rei agreed. "Well, remebering everything will help you complete you souls," Ryuujin informed. "However, it will only get you a few steps of the way there, the other thing you need to fully complete your souls is ready, but you need to remember and get on that track and start before you can finish." "I see, so this will help us get more power?" Rei asked, mindfull of what the Sacred Flame said. Ryuujin thought about that for a minute and then answered truthfully, "It will strengthen your souls and give you a better idea of your _self_." "And what about that tiny part about us lacking power?" Haruka demanded. "That's where _I_ come in," Ryuujin smiled. "You?" asked Artemis skeptically. "Luna and I have been combing our resouce banks for new power wands but the Eternal ones aren't ready yet and there are no more." Ryuujin closed his eyes momentaritly as the two cats appeared in his range of vision. "So how can _you_ help?" Luna finished. "You'll see," he replied mysteriously, after recovering. "Now I know why Setsuna likes him," Luna muttered to Artemis. "He's as cryptic as she is." Ryuujin looked at the black cat for a second, but turned to Setsuna and asked, "Are you ready?" "Yes," she replied, looking at him strangely. "Ready for what?" asked Mamoru, curious. "To give you back your memories of the end of the Silver Millenium," Setsuna answered. "And then your minds shall take the cue from that and unlock the other memories." "I thought you weren't allowed to do that," Usagi frowned. "No, Princess," Setsuna smiled along with Ryuujin. "I cannot show you the future, there is no rule that says anything about the past." "Then why didn't you do this sooner?" Ami asked. "Nobody asked me to," replied the Time Guardian. Sweatdrops popped up, and Setsuna was suddenly the object of numerous glares. She smiled, unfazed, and admitted, "Actually, you weren't ready. Now, close your eyes and relax." They did as she said, and she summoned her Time Staff. As she poured her energy into the Staff, the Garnet Orb began to glow slighty. Ryuujin, sensing that she hadn't enough power, circled his arms around her and gripped the Staff and lent some of his own Time energy. The Garnet Orb glowled blindingly brightly, and then, a flash of dark red and black overtook them as they were sent inside their memories. ////flashback//// The tension could be _seen_ in the large room that hosted the ball. Queen Serenity, sitting at her throne at the front of the room, gazed out at the sea of dancers, along with her two Mao advisers, Luna and Artemis. There were eight different colored thrones, slightly smaller than the Queens or the Princesses, that were empty of their charges. Many couples were dancing, but even that had a cautious edge to it. Among the dancers was the Princess Serenity, and her forbidden love, Prince Endymon of the planet Earth. The first temor hit, knocking down some loose paintings and flowers. As the tremors increased in intensity and speed, the building started to cruble on the now paniced dancers. The room was emptied in a second, the Prince leading the Princess to saftey with the Queen rushing to the Tower to pray to the Goddess Selene. Outside, a war was raging, the Negaverse army was attacking, and at the head of the attack, was Queen Beryl of the Negaverse and Queen Metallia, the ancient evil, freed from her prison. The Nega-army was soon diminishing, and though the Silver army was loosing many of it's soldiers, eight defenders of the Silver Millenium still stood, the most powerful of them all. The four Outer Senshi came from the ends of the Galaxy to fight when it was clear to them that the evil could not be stopped by themselves. Even Sailor Pluto fought valiently, leaving her post at the Time Gate, sure of the victory. Sailor Saturn had been woken, and was now inflicting the most damage with her deadly ribbon attacks. The four Inner Senshi fought tooth and nail, even when the odds were against them, and won. All that were left that they could fight was the youma the Outers were fighting, and the four men that stood before them. Warned by Mars' visions, they knew that these four in front of them were not their loves, but were clones, infected with the blood of Metallia, and still retaining their origional's memories. No, the rugged silver-haired man was not Kunzite, Senshi Venus' love, but was Malachite, the leader of the Negaverse Generals. The woman with the long hair and green eyes was _definately_ not the Zoisite, the _male_ Zoisite of Sailor Mercury's, but was a copy named Zoicyte. The last long haired one, with tressed of deep brown was not Nephrite, soulmate of Sailor Jupiter, but was Neflyte, the third of the evil Generals. The boyishly handsome blonde, with the only short hair cut, was not the Jadeite that the Martian Senshi loved, was not the second in command of the Terran Generals, but was the fourth of the Nega-Generals named Jedite. And though the four Inners knew the difference, their hearts were not in the battle, for they did not think they were strong enough to kill someone who looked so like their loves. But with a warrior's heart, each of them charged, making the decision that none of them ever wanted to face but knew: duty before love. Duty to protect the Princess with their lives, even at the cost of their hearts. "You cannot defeat us," Malachite sneered. His Nega-sword met the Sword of Love with a flash of orange and black light. "We are smarter," snarled Zoicyte as she clashed her dark blade with the Mercurian's Sword of Fog. "We are stronger," took up Neflyte, his black sword meeting the Sword of Thunder with a resounding crash. "And we are better," smirked Jedite, deflecting the Sword of Fire with his Nega-sword. "We _can_ defeat you," Sailor Venus chanted, firing off one of her Cresent Beams, clipping Malachite in the stomach. "For _we_ are smarter," the usualy shy Mercurian attacked with a vengance, her perfectly calculated hits scoring. "_We_ are stronger," Jupiter snapped, and puched Neflyte in the gut, propelling him a yard away as if to prove her point. "And _we_ are BETTER," emphasized Sailor Mars, slashing Jedite across his chest and burning his wound with a Fire Soul. Snarling in defiance, the Nega-Generals ignored their bleeding wounds and charged, yelling, "We _always_ won during the practice fights!" The Senshi found themselves being backed up, and in unison, did something that they had never done before. They surrendered their Princess persona to the Warrior persona completely, therby increasing their skills by tenfold, but trapping themselves in Senshi form forever. Immediatly, the Generals found themselves being put to the test, even the Senshi Mercury fighting to perfection. And as each General found their deaths, the Inners only had one thing to say. "We were _always_ holding back." Then, suddenly, a light enamated from the Tower of the Moon, a silvery light, the light of the Silver Crystal. It passed over the Lunarians, and the Senshi, leaving them unscathed, but destroyed the Seven Shadows attacking the Palace, and trapping Beryl and Metallia in the Negaverse. And as the relief hit all soldiers, the Princess and the Prince came out onto the balcony, revealing themselves unharmed. A ragged cheer went up amongst those left, a cheer which grew in porportion when the Queen came out at the Tower balcony, followed by her two advisors. "The Negaverse is defeated, and we are safe once more," Queen Serenity announced, smiling gently at the wounded soldiers and at the Senshi, all of whom gathered close. Sailor Pluto bowed once to her, and when she nodded, disappeared, back to her post. Suddenly, minutes after Senshi Pluto's return to post, another female voice called out, "The Negavers may be defeated, but you are most definatly NOT safe, my dear." A large darkness encompassed the Moon, and those that looked up saw a woman made entirely of shadows, only her blazing white eyes having any color. She gestured with her hand, and out of the darkness rose gastly creatures, all who began to attack and devour the soldiers left. Eventually, only the Senshi were left, and even they were struggling. The three remaining Outers switched to Warrior form completely, and fought better, but still were no match. They were all swarmed with Phantoms. And in the darkness, with the same suddenness of the shadow-woman, a strong, masculine voice called out, "Shadow, stop this at once!" Shadow whirled around, only to be confronted by the Elemental Knight, and then sneered, "Master. How kind of you to join us." "Sensei!" shouted the Senshi. He glared at her, while he dissapated most of the Phantoms with a blast of silver energy, and stated, "Go back to Takyan, just because your planet has no Senshi is no reason to destroy the Silver Millenium." Shadow cackled, "You are pitiful, I cannot believe I was ever ruled by the likes of you! Watch and learn!" More Phantoms grew in place of the ones the Elemental Knight had killed, and then immediatly attacked. As he killed all he could, Elemental Knight called out, "You can't risk _all_ your people!" "No, I cannot!" Shadow replied. The Senshi were all encompassed in mini-Phantoms, and were all gasping in horror. They fell, one by one, until only corpses were left. Unknowing to all, two mini-phantoms grasped onto Princess Serenity and Prince Endymon, and were strangling them to death also. As the bonds were cut in his mind, the Elemental Knight was distracted, and was vulnerable for a moment. This was taken advantage of by Shadow, who shoved a sword into his gut, saying, "You were weak, Master." She was about to laugh in triumph, when the devastated voice of the Queen called out, "Cosmic Moon Power!" Immediatly, Shadow and her Phantoms were all transported back to Takyan, which was knocked out of orbit and far away, three glalaxys over. The souls of the Senshi and the Lunarians were transported to 1,000 years into the future. The Queen rushed over to her daughter and the Prince while she completed the spell, and finding they were dead, sobbed heartbreakingly. She then headed to the Elemental Knight and looked into his pain-filled blue-grey eyes. She absentmindely instructed Luna and Artemis before sending them as well. As she started to loose consiousness, she whispered, "I'm sorry I can't do anything for you, Sensei." He grimaced as the pain consumed him, and answered lightly, "Hey, you did all you could, and I'll take care of the rest. I _do_ have considerable more power than you, after all. Just rest. You did good." She smiled, feeling like a child who's parents praised her, and closed her eyes and died. The Elemental Knight, taking the shadow-sword forcefully from his stomach, picked her up and lay her body on a pillar. He collapsed as he was walking away, the blood gushing out more than ever. With his last breath, he prayed, "Mother Selene, it is I, your one son. Take care of your daughter. Father Ares, Father Hermes, Father Zeus, Mother Aphrodite, Father Poseidon, Father Uranus, Father Hades, take care of you daughters. Mother Gaia, giude your son to you once more, and the others with him. They can live as Earthlings, until their power surfaces. Guide my soul to my next body, one that I have prepared. There will be a day when you shall see me, your son, once more, I promise you this." And the Guardian of Time, on her knees, wept, for she had let her friends, her people, and her Queen down. And most of all, she had let that man down. She vowed then, that she would wait. Wait for them to reappear again, so she could have a second chance. And as she did, she cursed the Time Gates and her duty, for keeping her from joining those who loved her. ////end flashback//// ############################################################################# To be continued in Part 11. ~~~~~Jade Hunter~~~~~