The Light Never Fades, June, 2001, by Sailor GlitterGirl
& Rose Aquarius


Rose-chan: *smiles and puffs proudly* Okay, like 
GlitterGirl said in the last AN, this one was mostly
done by moi.*beams* She added a few things, and 
rearranged some others, but overall I did it. 
*smiles proudly*

GlitterGirl: She means she gave the outline, and I made
it readable.

Rose-chan: *glares and growls deep in her throat*

GlitterGirl: Uh...heh heh heh...um...heh? Uh, should I...
run? Oh, yeah, uh-huh, I think that would be a good
idea. HEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!! *runs across screen
with Rose-chan swing a large staff over her head*

Together: READ ON AND ENJOY!!!!!

Rose-chan: While she lives! *contiues chasing GlitterGirl*

	*****@ THE UNIVERSAL GALAXY SAGA @*****
		The Light Never Fades

Chapter Two: Family Tree
Rated: G
By: Sailor GlitterGirl and Rose-chan
At: sailorglittergirl@sailormoon.com or Rose-Chan@sailormoon.com


     The two 'sisters' smiled at the conversation that
had gone from them to the ever popular argument between
Mars and the moon princess.

	Ali looked and Alex looked at each other out of the corner
of their eyes, sad rememberence sparkling in their depths. 
Turning back to their meal, they couldn't help but think 
how much alike some of the senshi of this generation were
like their mother's, and yet how widely different others
were.

	"Are you ok?" Serena asked, suddenly, noticing
supressed tears in the eyes of the two new girls. 

	*Gosh! She even sounds like her Mother!* Ali 
thought, on the verge of a nervous breakdown again as a
wave of longing for her favorite cousin, Queen Serenity,
came over her. Faintly, through her own pain, she sensed
Alex in emotional termoil over knowing that their 
beloved friend and queen was... dead.

	"I'm fine." Ali covered, but Serena knew people
and she wouldn't stop at an 'I'm fine.'

	"No, you're not, now what's wrong?" She asked,
her voice determined yet still kind. Then her eyes 
became full with sympathy.

	*They're homesick, I'll bet.* The former moon 
princess thought.

	"Just homesick I guess," Ali echoed Serena's 
thoughts, forcing a smile, and Serena nodded an 
understanding. 

	<More like best friend sick> She heard Alex's 
dull thoughts in her mind. <I sympathize, sister, but we
can't let it all get to us now. You have to be happy 
around her or she'll know something is up. We can't have
them know who we are. We have to find out if she even 
remembers the legends about us before telling that those
legends are real! Remember; we promised Queen Serenity 
that if anything ever happened to her, we would protect and 
befriend her daughter, to keep her from falling into 
sadness. I know you miss Rena, but-> 

	<Don't you?> Ali shot back.

	<Yes, every bit as much as you do.> She sighed
mentally. <We'll talk later, okay?>

	<Okay.> 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

	*Who's Rena?* Raye thought. Either she was 
insane or some more of her powers from her life as the
Princess of Mars had come back to her. She was discovering
more and more of herself lately. Had she just overheard
a TELEPATHIC conversation? Of the two cousins -no, 
sisters, they had called each other.

	Yes she heard them. And now all of the other 9 
people at the enlarged table were staring at the three
people that were in some trance- the two cousins looked
like they were talking to each other and Raye looked as
if she was eaves-dropping. 

	Finally, they came back to earth with a loud
booming from a masculne voice.

	"HELLO?!" Amara boomed at them and they came out
of the trance dazed with a start.

	"Thank you." Serena said, and blushed as they
all looked at her strangely. They all thought the same
thing; she'd sounded like a princess just then. Ignoring
them, Serena looked at Raye and the two girls.

	"Um...are you guys...okay?" She asked.

	"Uh...Yeah, fine. Oh, dear! Ali, we're late!" Alex
said, hastily standing and grabbing Ali's wrist.

	"Late? Late for wh-ouch!" Ali hissed as Alex 
stomped on her foot under the table.

	<We need to get out of here before they start
asking questions!> Alex hissed. <Plus, we HAVE to talk.
I think Raye may have heard us!> Alex sensed Ali's 
surprise and sudden alarm, and the raven haired girl
agreed mentally, then they fled the arcade in a flurry
of good-byes and silken hair. 

	"Scout meeting, now!" Raye hissed as soon as 
they were gone, and they left the arcade.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

	"What's wrong?" Serena asked as she watched her
fiery friend pace along the floor of the temple.

	"Luna, do you know a 'Rena' other than Serena?"
Raye finally demanded of the confused black cat. If the 
feline had had normal human skin it would have paled.

	"Quee...Queen Serenity was often called that, 
but only to her family or very close friends." The cat
finally answered. "Or...or her own Senshi..."

	"We'll ask about that later," Raye held up a 
hand against the girls who were about to pounce on Luna
about what she had just said.

	"Luna," Raye continued. "I need to know; what
actual family did the Queen have?"

	"Do I really need to say it here?" Luna glanced
at Serena wistfully.

	"I need to know. Now." 

	"Can I whisper it-" 

	"LUNA!"
        
	"Not in front of Serena!" Luna screamed. Serena
simply stared on in shocked silence.

	"Fine. Tell me in my ear." Luna scuried up 
Raye's shoulder and started talking. And with every name
the priestess got whiter. 

	"Ok..." Raye whispered, her voice somewhat 
shaky. "Did she have any children?"" 

	"Two sisters, besides that not that I recall."

	"Someone tell me what was so secret that I 
couldn't know!" Serena demanded. 

	"Well..." Luna started, her eyes downcast. "I
didn't want to mention your father." Serena got white
with the comment but contiued.

	"Raye, what's wrong that you need to know my 
family tree?" Serena was a little confused. 

	"Well," Raye started. "You know how I said I 
was getting more powers? That I was regaining some of my
abilites from the Silver Millennium?" 

	"Yes."

	"Well, those friends you brought to the 
arcade... they were talking-" 

	"So?"
	
	Raye glared at Mina, who had interrupted. "They
were using TELEPATHY! Mind speak!"

	"What?!?!" Amara screeched.

	"Oh..." Mina whispered. Serena paled, and 
Darien pulled her close, kissing the top of her head
gently.

	"That's not all; Ali said she missed 'Rena' and,
from what Alex said, and from what I gather from Luna, I
think that 'Rena' was Queen Serenity.

	"And Alex said something about that they pledged
that they were to protect her daughter and befriend 
her." She looked at Serena, whose eyes widened.

	"Plus they were both mourning Queen Serenity as
if she had just died yesteday, and not over a thousand 
years ago, and Alex was trying to console Ali and said 
that she missed their *cousin* too. And she reminded 
Ali that they had to be happy around Serena so they 
wouldn't be found out. Something about a legend, and
remembering." Raye was pacing again, walking back and 
forth.

	"What...Luna, what does this all mean?" Lita
demanded of the cat. Luna opened her jaw to reply, when
a knock at the door disturbed the contents of the room.
            
	"Heeeellooooo?" A familiar voice called in
singsong tone. Gentle footsteps were heard padding
outside.

	"Anyone here?" A second voice called. It, too,
sounded familiar, and Everyone froze as they realized 
who it was.

	Alex and Ali

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

	"No one's here, Laxa." Ali sighed, ignoring
Alex's glare at her true name. "We'll just have to get
an apartment. Anyway, I can make-mmm?!!!!" Alex covered
up Ali's mouth as the door opened before them to see 11
people with expressions like a combination of having 
just seen a ghost and having just been told their dog 
died. 

	"Hi guys!" Alex said cheerfully, releasing a
struggling Ali, the black haired girl gasping for 
breath as she glared at her companpion.

	"Glad to see you again!" Alex continued. "Sorry 
to interrupt, but there's a job posting outside that 
includes room and board. Is there a priestess here we
can talk to?"

	*Hopefully they didn't hear us talking.* She 
thought wistfully.

	"I'm the caretaker of the shrine," Raye said,
her voice tinted with sadness. Her Grandfather had died
not long ago, leaving her the shrine to take care of. 

	"Well, you're obviously busy so we'll just 
leave," Alex said, catching the tone of Raye's voice,
and the two were gone before Raye could stop them. 

	"Well, that was freaky." Ali laughed as they 
trotted down the may steps leading up to the shrine. 
"You know, I'm getting us an apartment!" Ali said with
a move of her arm. "I know just the one; I saw an 
advertisement on the way over to the shrine. Let's go!"
Ali said. 

	"We're in sooo much trouble." Alex muttered, 
half to herself, not hearing her sister's enthusiasm.
"Puu was there!" 

	"I know, that was bad." Ali answered as they
came to an apartment buliding. She sighed. "Well, 
nothing we can do now. Just hope that Guardian doesn't
come after us and bonk us on the head with her oversized
key!" Alex chuckled at Ali's attempts to cheer her.

	"Well, this is the best apartment building as
far as getting to all of the senshi," Ali announced as
they stood before a tall, very classy looking apartment
complex. "It's the same distance from them all, and only
a five minute walk from the shrine. Room 220, 10th 
floor."

	"All except the Prince, that is," Alex
corrected. "We still don't know where he lives." 

	"True," Ali shrugged, and they went to the 
building not knowing that they were very close to one
of the people they were keeping an eye on. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*               

	Unknown to the Sailor Guardians, a group of eleven
had followed the two from the shrine and heard 
everything. At one point Amara clamped a hand over
Darien's mouth after he heard that their apartment was
next to his. And everyone looked at Setsuna, after 
Alex said the name 'Puu.'

	"Setsuna." Amara said lowly. "Care to explain?"

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

	"Nice, very nice," Alex observed as she dropped
her carry-on bag -which she still had with her from the
plane- onto a hook by the door.

	"Yes, I think this will do nicely." Ali agreed.
"But..."

	"But what?"

	"It needs something..." Ali narrowed her eyes in
concentration, eyeing the living room. "Ah-hah!" She
exclaimed finally, snapping her fingers. "I know!" And
with that, ignoring Alex's warning glares, she pulled 
out her gold Light Crystal from underneath her shirt, 
and, gripping it firmly in her left hand, closed her eyes
and waved her right arm in a full sweep around the room. 
Golden, glittering light with flecks of opalescent black
filled the room. 

	When the light faded, the living room was 
decorated with expert, and expensive taste. Plush oriental
rugs covered the bare gray carpet. A couch and a love 
seat that were a deep, dark red velvet were across from a
large fireplace, and to the left of it. Cream velvet 
brocade pillows with soft, downy throw blankets littered
the couches, as well as two polished mahogany, red plush 
covered chairs.

	Thick, wine red drapes were pulled back over the 
windows by gold tassels. Thin, white gauzy curtains were
over the windows, under the drapes. The same applied to 
the french double doors that lead out onto the balcony, 
the balcony of which had been turned into a garden. Red,
white, and yellow roses climbed all around, with a very 
nice porch set with a table.

	<Versia.> Came Laxa's cool voice in her head.

	<What?> Versia laughed. <We're gonna be here a 
while, why not live like the goddesses we are?>

	<We're immortal, Versia, not goddesses.> Laxa 
corrected with a mental sigh, giving in and smiling 
slightly as she plopped down onto the couch and laid
down. <And even then I'm not sure. Remember, Cousin
Beryl just trapped us in the Third Dimension -which we
named the Light Dimension, from where we could see all-
but she didn't trap us there for all eternity, which 
WOULD have made us immortal. 

	<But it's a good thing she didn't.> Versia 
added. <If she had trapped us there for all eternity,
it's doubtful that Rena would have been able to 
eventually find a way to make it so that we could 
leave.>

	<True.> Laxa ackowledged. <But even then, she 
wasn't able to do it until she became Queen.>

	<But by then the people had forgotten about us,
and simply turned our memory into a legend.> Versia 
finished with a sigh as she laid back on the love seat,
propping her head up with pillows and her feet over the
arm rest.

	<Still, I wish she could have visited more.> 
Versia said sadly after a moment. <I mean, I know with
the death our step-cousin -Rena's husband- and then the
birth of the Princess on top of that->

	<Plus trying to pull the Universe back together
after Beryl's first defeat, it's no wonder she was only
able to visit twice.> Laxa finished.

 	Suddenly, a wave of sadness overcame them both
as they remembered how they had both failed and yet
succeeded in their time as the guardians of the late
Queen Serenity. Versia thought of how she, her sister Laxa,
and nine others -one from every planet, including Earth, 
the mother's of the current Senshi- had once, over a 
thousand years ago, sworn to protect the Moon Queen, who
had still been a princess at the time herself.

	Then, the -past- Moon Princess's sister, jealous
of her sibling's beauty and goodness, but most of all 
that she would be queen, and not her, had turned to the
dark arts, becoming the dark ward of Metallia. 

	The senshi, all nine of them, including the 
younger Universia and Galaxcia, had managed to force them
back, shoving them into an un-populated, and -up till then-
unknown parallel dimension- The Negaverse.

	But, their victory had not come without a price.
In a last, desperate attempt to destroy her own sister, 
Beryl had thrown the last of her power at the young 
princess as she was being sucked into the Negaverse 
through a portal opened by the planetary senshi. 
Sailors Universe and Galaxy had to sit that one out,
as they didn't have the right type of power.

	But, it turned out the be a good thing, if 
they had been assisting at the portal, they wouldn't 
have been close enough to stop the oncoming attack. As
it was, they were just barely able to push the princess
out of the way, taking the blow for themselves.

	But because of the unusual structure of their 
power, when their magics tried to shield them, instead
of them either being killed or saved by their own 
shields, they were tossed into a rip in time and space,
and into yet another dimension. There was the Universe, the
Negaverse, and the Lightverse. They were trapped in the 
Lightverse, and it was only because of Queen Serenity and
Sailor Pluto that it was made possible for them to 
travel between dimensions when necessary.

	In time, the stories of their deeds became mere
legends, and they became the legendary Guardian Senshi,
only appearing when fate itself was in danger.

	<That was a long, long time ago.> Laxa 
whispered, mentally, sensing that her sister was
remembering the same as she. <We'd do best to forget
it for now, and move on.>

	<I know, but I still miss-> Versia suddenly 
bolted up, jumping up and gasping, her eyes wide. 
<Sister!> Versia cried.

	"What?" Laxa asked anxiously, aloud.

	<Do you feel that?> Versia asked, her voice
still remaining telepathic.

	<No...> Laxa answered in mind speak. <Do you
sense something? I don't.>

	<Well, I do and we have got to prepare for a
battle.> Versia's eyes hardened, and suddenly Laxa felt
it too as she reached out, probing with her mind.

	<Mars will feel something,> Versia thought to 
her sister, confidently. <The Senshi will handle it, 
most likely. It's good that they're all here.>

	<Maybe that's why Puu was here.> Laxa commented.
<Still, if this evil is from the new enemy, we should be
there, just in case they need our help.>

	<Agreed.> Versia walked towards the door, 
determination in her eyes. <Let's go.> Nodding, her own
features set grimly, Laxa followed.


To Be Continued...

Rose-Chan: Well, how's it doin, peoples? The story, I
mean. Does it totally suck? Does it rock? WE WANT E-MAIL!!!!

GlitterGirl: Whoa, girlfriend, calm down, you're gonna
hyperventilate.

Rose-chan: Yeah, whatever, but I still WANT E-MAIL!!!!
We've been working hard on this, and we wanna know if
it's paying off!

GlitterGirl: *thumbs up* I totally and completely agree.
But we have to be PATIENT.

Rose-chan: *grumble* yeah, well, they'd better write
soon!

GlitterGirl: I have to agree. Come on peoples! WRITE 
US!!! Anyways, ja ne until next time!!!

Rose-chan: sayonnara!


All Standard Disclaimers Apply