The Light Never Fades, part six, by Sailor GlitterGirl & Rose Aquarius,
July, 2001

Sailor GlitterGirl: Well, here we are again! Here's chapter six! All you
action lovers, eat your heart out! Plus, those of you who have been at all
confused, this is where it'll all be cleared up. Thanks for sticking with
us!!

Rose-chan: Ditto! Anyways, this part is mostly by moi, save for the 
argument, which GitterGirl and I acted out via Instant Messenger. So the
words are actually our own. Enjoy!

Sailor GlitterGirl: PS: For the sake of the story, we have to pretend that
Darien has the Golden Crystal already, kay?


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

Chapter Six: Questions Answered, Questions Arise
By: Rose Aquarius & Sailor GlitterGirl
Rated: PG for violence


	
	Versia slammed the door to her and her sister's apartment shut, and
dashed to her room, tears streaming down her face as she cursed her sudden
weakness. She'd always been the strong one, never breaking, always ignoring
the sadness, hiding her sorrow beneath coldness and sarcasm, joking when
she was upset. 

	Laxa was the opposite. She took her pain in silence, simply shutting
out everything that might hurt her.

	Versia threw herself onto her gold silk comforter covered bed,
desperately trying to force back her sobs. She tossed and turned, her gaze
suddenly captured by the polished ebony piano in the corner. 

	Sniffing, her tears coming silently now, she rose, a flurry of
golden petals and black sparkles surrounding her, a gown of the blackest
darkmatter satin now clinging to her form and flowing to the gown in endless
black eternity. The sleeves hung off the shoulders, a swooped, gathered 
neckline edged in gold, her gold tinged Universal Crystal hanging just over
her heart, swinging slightly as she sat at the piano.

	Sitting up straight and postioning her fingers, she let her sorrow
take control of her movements, and that same, hauntingly beautiful song
poured from her soul, and out through her fingers, her tears coming out,
ignored, as they flowing over her red cheeks, her eyes closed as she let
the melody sooth her.

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

	Laxa raced up the steps, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and
burst through the heavy doors on her level, her ears meeting the sound she
wanted to hear the least.

	A sob was wretched from her throat, as that song, that same melody,
the notes that echoed the pain in her heart filled her hearing, and she 
forced her cold exterior back into place. Unlike her sister, who dealt 
with pain by ignoring it and hiding it with sarcasm, she preferred to bottle
it up, cover it with a cold silver cover of iciness.

	She bashed open the door to their apartment, silver petals and white
glitter swirling about her as her clothes disappeared, to be replaced with
her starlight silk gown. Laxa followed the music back to her sister's room, to
see Versia playing at the piano, tears running down her face. Laxa found 
herself getting all choked up, then got angry. She stormed over and slammed 
a fist into the piano keys.

	"Versia, why can't you just forget? It's in the past; let them go!" 
Versia stood and whirled, black satin fluttering around her, the black stool
tipping over and falling to the ground with a thump.

	"Forget?" She raged, cries of anger in her voice. "I protected you
all my life! I didn't let it get to me, holding the pain at bay for over
a thousand years, Galaxcia! Just let me grieve!" she screamed. She ran from 
the room past her fuming sister and off to the only thing in the past that
could calm her, The Rose Gardens. 

	She was acting very unusual for her.  She was always the "strong
one". When was *she* allowed to greive? 

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

	Laxa stared after her sister, sorry she had yelled. Suddenly, she
crumpled to the ground, sobbing. Versia was right. And she was right as well.
They should grieve. But the question was, when should that grieving end? 

	Wiping her tears, Laxa stood, and headed for the door, intent on
finding her sister and apologizing. Plus, they needed to talk. They had let
this pain, these wounds sit and become infected for too long.  	
	
	Silver swirls surrounded and transformed her white gown into shorts
and a white tank top with a denim jacket over it as she slipped her feet
into her shoes and darted out the door, more tears flowing down her face.
Enough was enough! They had to fix this together! 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
 
	 Versia stopped at a bench and controlled her emotions once more. She 
was too good at it. She never showed her emotions. Perhaps that's why Laxa
had yelled. She was hurting, too, and mad at herself because she still was,
so she'd tried to reason why she shouldn't be grieving by shouting at 
Versia.

	Sniffing and wiping away the last of her tears, letting the cool
midnight breeze sooth her feverish skin, she sat on the bench in the park
as she looked at the night sky, the stars twinkling, comets flying. she felt
in control again. Taking a deep breath and hearing the sigh and swish of 
satin, she looked down and cursed as she realized she was in her black gown. 

	"Damn," she muttered and detransformed into a pair of dark denim jeans 
and a long sleeved gold sweater. Suddenly she felt VERY cold. 
  
 	"Shadow Bringer," she hissed under her breath as if it were a curse
word. Even as she rose to her feet, summoning her Universal Light Staff to 
her hand, she could feel her energy being ebbed from her body, the darkness 
of the creature that was slowly forming before draining her light energy
simply by being near her.

	<Laxa! Help!> She called to her sister, hoping it would work over
such distances. She forced herself to stay upright on her feet, willing 
herself to fight her natural weakness of being extra sensitive to dark
energy and magic. It was a great handicap. The more evil and the more potent
her enemy's dark power was, the more effect it had on her. Usually, the
presence of her sister shielded her from the bulk of it, but now...

	<Galaxcia!>

	Now she was alone.

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


	 A dark haired man with grayish silver highlights materialized 
into existence behind a tree. He looked around the trunk, and spied a raven 
haired beauty clad in the finest gown spun of darkmatter satin. Sobs wracked
her slender form, until she was finally able to force down her tears, and suck
in some deep breaths. 

	She looked down at herself, muttered something, her brow creased,
and her gown disappeared, black jeans and a gold sweater appearing on her 
body, a gold and black pearl clip in her hair. 
 
	 The man suddenly shivered as a cold breeze swept through the park.
'Shadow Bringer,' he heard the woman hiss, and his eyes went wide. His
mistress and master wouldn't dare! Yes, they would he realized. He looked
around. Sure enough, a dark spot seemed to be growing from the ground, in
the center of the round clearing with cement ground and a fountain near 
the middle, the place with the bench that the woman was sitting on. He saw
her rise to her feet, waving her hand behind her back, narrowing her eyes
as she called her gold and black staff to her hand.

	Midnight bit his lip in worry. He hoped his other half sister got
there soon; Universia wouldn't last long against one of the Shadow Kingdom's
strongest warriors.

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

	 She felt the presence almost immediatly. Versia disappeared into a 
large subspace pocket that was conveniently nearby, and appeared moments later
as Sailor Universe. 
 
	Before her, the shadows of trees and fountains and rocks and flowers
seemed to be being sucked into the dark spot before her, the Shadow creature
growing, gaining strength from the surrounding darkness.

	Only light could dare to challenge a shadow creature, but would she
have enough strength to call on enough light to vanquish THIS monster?

	She didn't know.

	Would she and Laxa have enough power, even together? Somehow, she
doubted it. Something about this situation was...different. She knew that 
even at their best, she and her sister would have needed help. But with her
as weak as she was, almost unconscious and barely on her feet, she knew she
needed help. And so she called for it, opening a link that she wasn't even
sure still existed. Her mother and aunt had mentioned it once or twice, but
in the sense that it was still experimental. For the sake of humanity, she
hoped that that experiment proved positive.

	Sailor Universe closed her golden eyes, and concentrated, her light
symbol flashing gold and black on her brow, the faintest tinges of the colors
and symbols of the other senshi glittering ever so faintly around her own.

	<"Senshi...Sailor Senshi..."> She whispered, both with her mind and
lips. <"Please, Senshi, guardians of earth and and humanity...please come
to my aid! Help me! Come help me NOW!!!">

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

	"Man, I *still* don't get all this!" Mina plopped down onto Raye's
bed. It was after Alex's and Ali's abrupt exit that they'd decided on a 
get-together at the temple. Even the Outers were there.

	"I know, those two are super weird," Lita mused, popping open a can
of coke and gulping it down. "I mean, don't you guys find it odd that they
show up at the same time as those two new Senshi?

	"And what about that legend that Luna told us about?" Hotaru added.
"Those two original Senshi? The Sailor Guardians? The Queens of the Light
Kingdom?"

	"It's just too bizarro," Rini shook her head and plopped down between
Mina and Serena.

	An eerie silence that was an agreement of sorts followed.

	Suddenly, Raye gasped, and fell to her knees, the tea that she had 
been pouring falling to the ground.

	"Help..." A forlorn, distant voice whispered.

	"Huh?!" Amara leaped up, her space sword shimmering into her hand,
the others suddenly alert as they searched for the familiar voice that had 
seemed to echo aloud and in their minds.
 
	"Did anyone else hear that?" Ami asked quietly, her voice shaky. 
Everyone nodded, save for Setsuna, whose eyes had narrowed, her lips pursed
tightly.

	"Please...guardians of earth..." Her voice was faded, some of the 
words completely missing. "Help...me..." Everyone jumped at the next command.
It was a command they all remembered, for it came from a voice that was a
trained Senshi.

	<"***NOW***!!!!!!!!*"> The voice cried. Everyone snapped out of their
trance, and Lita dashed for the door.

	"C'mon! Let's go!" The brunette cried, henshin wand in hand. The
others immediately followed.

	All except for Setsuna, who adjusted her grip on her staff, and
narrowed her eyes.

	<Well, I heard you loud and clear.> The Guardian of time called
telepathically to her cousin, hiding her worry; despite being upset, she was
still geniunely worried for her relative. <But we'll talk about that later.> 
Puu said in Versia's mind.

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

	Versia visibly cringed. 

	*I knew she'd hear me.* she thought, inwardly smacking herself. *But
I still had to go and do something stupid didn't I?* Versia sighed, adjusting
her sweaty grip on her staff. *Yes,* she thought. *Yes I did.*

	She faced the dark area, grasping her staff for support, cursing the
reason that she sensed energy more than her sister, making her more senseitive
to the slightest change in her environment. It was greatly hindering at times;
she couldn't handle massive energy changes. Let alone an elite of the Shadow 
Kingdom.

	This was the worst possible scenario.

	Winds picked up and the dark Senshi felt very weak, even now she was  
holding on to her staff with trembling hands.

	"Where *are* they?" She hissed and braced herself for another energy 
flux, hissing as the still half formed creature taunted her with tiny 
pinpricks of dark energy that a child could have ignored, but left her gasping.

	She couldn't hold out much longer.

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

	Laxa was running full out, her heart and mind sick with dread that
she would be too late. Even as she sped towards the park, she could feel her
sister's life energy slipping away, and she vowed that the being that caused
her beloved sibling's pain would die a death more painful than anything ever
imagined. 

	She ducked out of sight and returned as Sailor Galaxy. She had a major
migraine and realized that it was her link. She was all too aware of her
sister's handicap. if she didn't hurry then the senshi of the stars might
not be there. 

	The thought of losing her last family member drove her to pick up to
speeds, rivaled by the speed of light itself, and raced to the park.

	"Oh, Selene! Hold on, Versia!" Laxa said outwardly. "Please! Please
hold on! I'm coming!"
 
 *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

	"Oh, dear." Mercury said.

	"What?!" A frazzled Venus asked.

	"Don't you feel it?" Mars asked.

	"No, WHAT?!?" A fuming Jupiter demanded.

	"A massive energy flux." Mercury answered matter-of-factly

(An from Rose-chan: You all know what's coming. All together now.)

	"*ENGLISH*!!!!!!!!!!" the whole group chanted.

	"Evil Energy. And LOTS of it." Mercury answered simply.
	
	"Where?" Pluto snapped, though she knew very well where.

	"The Park, Rose Gardens," A frantic Mercury replied.

	"Well, then Let's go!" Uranus chided, obviously annoyed. Nodding 
grimly, the group set off at a dead run, charging through the night to rescue
someone that they felt if they didn't...all, or at least something, something
beautiful, would be lost.

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

	"Just a little while longer," Sailor Universe hissed, holding her 
staff out before her, letting it's light shield her from the shadow creature.

	It was fully formed now, and attacking with long, wide lashes of 
light absorbing darkness.

	Universe knew this was a losing battle but tried anyway; she had to.
She had to delay the creature until the Senshi got there. She just prayed
that they could do something.

	Universia felt her strength ebbing away, felt herself loosing her 
battle for consciousness as pain lashed through her body, her shield failing
and the darkness enfolding her in shadowy arms. Her body limp, her mind 
going dull as she heard evil laughter, she pulled in ragged breaths through
pale blue lips, matching her snow white skin. She barely heard when her 
Universal Staff clattered to the ground, it's light fading with the absence of
her mind and touch.

	At the last minute before her heavy eyelids were forced closed, she
thought she saw a dark man resembling her brother, sneaking around the dark
shadow.

	And then all she knew was darkness.

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

	Pulsar sneered as she spied the dark man sneaking around the back of
her shadow creature, a black sphere of black hole energy forming in his hand.

	"Fool." She hissed. "I am the commander of the shadows; I will not
be outwitted by a mere boy!" She cackled quietly, evilly, floating high above
the fight that was no fight below her. The Master and Mistress had been wise
to strike now, when the Senshi most sensitive to darkness was alone, and 
emotionally vulnerable.

	With even one carrier of an Eternity Crystal gone, the creation of
the ultimate danger was impossible.

	"My Mistress will be so pleased!" Pulsar cackled. "I'll get rid of
Universe and Midnight at the same time! *evil laughter*" the dark woman 
purred, looking on as her 'void droid' was taking care of the two as she
spoke.

	Suddenly, she gasped. A flash of her power entered her mind, her
ability to sense the approaching death of people physically near her. And she
suddenly had the feeling that her death was imminent.

	She was right.

	"GOLDEN STARLIGHT SWIRL: BLIND!!!!" 

	Pulsar whirled, just in time to see a furious, livid warrior clad in
white and silver thrust her staff towards her, and shout out the words of
power that were not her own.

	The dark commander didn't even have the chance to scream.

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

	Ten warriors burst out of a grove of trees, and gaped at the sight
before them. They arrived just in time to see an immense light and cover
their eyes. 

	When the light cleared, they spied a large, dark mass in the center
of the cement clearing, shrinking away and hissing in pain from the golden
light.

	They looked up and saw a corpse falling from the sky. The body 
flashed, and disappeared. With the defeat of it's mistress, the
shadowy creature disappeared, hissing and sputtering.

	Mercury and Saturn rushed ahead to see what injuries had occurred,
to what extent, and to heal. What they found was a hyperventilating Sailor
Senshi, clad in silver and opalescent white. Silvery hair fell about her
shoulders as she desperately tried to push herself up onto her silver staff.

	"Sailor Galaxy." Sailor Saturn whispered, her young voice tinged with
awe.

	"Are you alright?" Mercury asked as Galaxy managed a small smile for
Hotaru.

	Sailor Galaxy gasped, groaned, and nearly collapsed. Mercury caught
the slight young woman just in time, and guided her to the ground.

	"Yes," She sputtered, coughing. "Help-" She coughed again, terrible, 
deep coughs wracking her whole body. "Please...help...UNIVERSIA!" She managed
to get out before collapsing completely into Mercury's arms. Sailor Pluto
rushed forward.

	"This is bad," The guardian of time muttered, taking her cousin from
Mercury's arms. "I'll take care of her. Go find Universe."

	"What's wrong with them?" Ami asked.

	"I'll tell you in detail later," Sailor Pluto rested Glaxy's pale 
face in her arms, stroking away strands of silky, silvery hair. "But basically
Galaxy borrowed one of Sailor Universe's attacks. The only reason she was able 
to do it at all was because they're sister's, and their powers are very 
similar. Now go. Sailor Universe needs help and fast! Go!" she gestured to the
medical and healing pair to go to the middle of the park, where the dark and still
form of Sailor Universe lay almost as if in death.

	Mercury quickly ran a scan over her, and determined that she had 
broken no bones, and no cerebral damage (brain damage), but was drained almost
to death.

	"Let's get them back to the temple," A deep voice came from behind
Sailor Moon. Serena jumped, whirled, the launched herself into Tuxedo Mask's
arms.

	"What happened?" The prince asked after giving his love a light kiss.

	"We'll explain later," Sailor Mars said, helping Mercury carefully
lift Sailor Universe into Jupiter's arms. 

	"For now, like you said, muffin, let's get them back to Raye's
temple." Serena said, once again taking on that oddly responsible tone. 
"Uranus, go get Sailor Galaxy." With a smile, Sailor Uranus complied.

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

~*BACK AT RAYE'S SHRINE*~

	Sailor Galaxy woke up with a start. Gasping, the silver haired 
warrior shot up in bed, then quickly grasped her forehead and laid back
down, waiting until the onslaught of memories from last night slowed down.

	When her memory seemed to be intact, she focused on one thing.

	"Versia!" She gasped, and leaped out of bed. She rushed out of the
room, bashing the doors open and darted out, only to be greeted with 12 pairs
of eyes on her. She ignored all the sudden and surprised stares, and her eyes
locked with a pair of blood red maroon eyes.

	"Where is Versia?" Sailor Galaxy demanded of Setsuna. "Is she ok?
Please tell me!" She pleaded her older cousin.

	"She's out cold," Setsuna said simply, setting down her cup of tea
and walking over to Sailor Galaxy. The others stared on in amazement. These
two appeared to know each other quite well.

	"And might I say that it was *extremely* stupid to do what you did!"
Setsuna added in a low growl. "Your sister's power is too much for you, you 
know that! Even if it is similar, you know very good and well that borrowing
another senshi's power is dangerous! Even if she is your sister, I don't care!
*She* deals with the light of the stars, *you* wield the light of the planets!
You could have died! Next time you use your own solar powers! Understand?"
Setsuna suddenly dropped her tone with the last word, her voice and tone
softening.

	"Are *you* alright?" Setsuna asked quietly.

	"I'm fine." Sailor Galaxy whispered, launching herself into Setsuna's
arms and embraced her cousin tightly, sobbing into the Senshi of Time's 
shoulder.

	The two happy senshi suddenly pushed apart as a throat was cleared
loudly.

	"Could someone explain something before I get angry?" Jupiter asked, or 
rather, now Lita, Sailor Galaxy noticed. The Senshi of Protection and Lighting
cracked her knuckles for emphasis.

	And she laughed. Sailor Galaxy laughed very loudly and strongly. And
everyone laughed as well.

	"Oh dear. We've made a mess of things, haven't we?" A gentle voice
laughed from behind.

	"VERSIA!!!" Galaxy screeched, whirled around and swept her sister
up in a tight embrace, sobbing loudly and laughing with joy at the same time.

	"Oh, thank god you're alright!" Sailor Galaxy cried, Versia simply 
held her back, stroking her sister's hair comfortingly, tears running down 
her face.

	"Um, I hate to break up this little family reunion," Raye cut in, 
holding up one finger, "But could we PLEASE have some explanations?"

	Sniffing, the sisters pulled apart, but kept their arms linked, wiping
away their tears.

	"Sorry," they chorused together. 

	"So, what do you want to know?" Sailor Universe asked as she and Sailor
Galaxy sat on the floor.

	The senshi all looked at each other.

	"Everything!" They chorused.

	"Luna? How much have you told them?" Sailor Galaxy asked of the feline. 
The cat blinked, realizing that she'd been noticed, she slinked out from
behind a trashcan.

	"Well, I've told them the legend," The cat said matter of factly. "But
perhaps you should tell me if it is still accurate." Luna recounted the tale
she had told the Sailor Senshi, and Sailor Galaxy nodded.

	"Sounds pretty good." Sailor Universe mused. "Alright, so how do we
tie into all of this?" She looked at her sister. "Well, I think visuals would
be helpful. Shall we?"

	"Are you sure? Are you still strong enough?" Universe rolled her eyes.

	"I'm fine, sis!" Galaxy smiled.
	
	"Alrighty, then." She turned to the Sailor Senshi. "You know the legend
of how the planetary Senshi came to be, but you do not know why. 

	"As you already know, before your grandmothers became the first
planetary Senshi, there was our mother, and our aunt. They were the first 
Sailor Senshi, the Sailor Guardians. They controled the power of light. Our
mother, like Versia, was sensitive to dark powers, and controlled the light 
that came from the stars. Our aunt, like I, controlled the light that came 
from planets."

	"They were the Queens of the two halves of the Light Kingdoms," Sailor
Universe continued. "The Universal Kingdom, and the Galactica Kingdom. They 
were the only kingdoms in that dimension, or so they had believed. Then the Shadow
Kingdom attacked, destroying everything, save the capitol of the Light Kingdom.
Our mother and aunt knew that if the Shadow Kingdom prevailed, they would move
on to your dimension. They were the only survivors of the Light Kingdom, they
and our mother's daughters; us."

	"So, without any other choice," Sailor Galaxy closed her eyes, as if
in pain. "They summoned the Cosmos Crystal, an object where power or life force
is not a problem. It IS power. It was the creation of life force itself. But 
while they were using it, the king of the Shadow Kingdom put a curse on them,
and to this day even we do not know what it was, it was so horrible."

	"Anyway, to make a long story short," Universe took a deep breath. "Our
mother and aunt just barely manged to destroy the Shadow Kingdom, just enough 
so that they doubted they would ever come back. Or so they had hoped.

	"And then they traveled to this dimension, and split their power among
the Princesses of the Solar Planets, forming the different elements of their
power into twelve different crystals, one for each planet, including Earth's
moon. They then bid the planetary Senshi protect their universe and galaxy
from a dark evil that would someday return, the Shadow Kingdom. Then, they
gave us to Queen Serenity Tranquility, your grandmother, Princess," The dark
clad Sailor Universe nodded to Serena, whose eyes widened. "She raised us,
telling us that we were the sole survivors of a great kingdom, a kingdom of 
light, but nothing more."

	"But over time, the name and the warning of the Shadow Kingdom got
twisted, becoming the Dark Kingdom," Galaxy chuckled. "So when Queen Beryl got
a big head, thinking that she would be the queen of this ominous evil, she gave
her empire the name of the Dark Kingdom. And, well, you know where we went
that first time. We went home, in a sense. It took us many years to piece
together our own past."

	"But we did, and now we're here," Sailor Universe stood up, as she and
Galaxy had sat down sometime during their story, "And we're here to help you 
prepare to defend the Galaxy against the evil that the Senshi were created to fight."

	"Okay, that tells us WHY you're here," Rini spoke up. "But it doesn't
tell us WHO you are!"

	Looking at each other, the sisters chuckled.

	"Very well, Small Lady," They said together, bowing. Their light staffs
came to their hands, and they brought them together before them, held out,
then swept them around themselves, out to their sides. 

	Waves if gold, silver, black and white ribbons and miniature galaxies
surrounded the two warriors, swirling around them, lengthening their skirts and
dissipating other elements of their outfits.

	In a wave of silver sparkles, Sailor Galaxy changed from the warrior
of the Galaxy to beautiful, intelligent Princess Galaxcia.

	Amid swirls of golden glitter, Sailor Universe had become the princess
of starlight, the lovely and giddy Princess Universia.

	"I am Princess Galaxcia of the Galactica Light kingdom." Sailor Galaxy
started proudly, "Ruler of the second half of the Light Empire, the Galactica 
Kingdom."

	"And I," Sailor Galaxy said, a smile on her face, "Am her older sister,
Princess Universia, ruler of the First half of the Light Kingdom, the realm of
Universal."

	"But, of course you already know that," Laxa admonished. "So, sister 
dear, shall we show them who they know us as?" Versia giggled, and nodded her
agreement. Smiling mischievously, they snapped their fingers simultaniously,
and changed into her human guises among flashes of gold and silver.

	"I am also Alexandria Whitcom of Tokyo, Japan- student." Laxa chimed,
eyes sparkling at the dropped jaws of the audience.

	"And I am Alisia Warren, cousin to Alexandria Whitcom, also in Japan
as a student." Versia giggled.

	"I KNEW it!" Raye cried, leaping up. "I KNEW there was something odd
about you two, and I knew it had something to do with the new Senshi!"

	"Somebody tell me," Serena said thoughtfully. "Why I am not surprised?"

	"Tell me, Princess," Versia looked at Serena with serious eyes. "Have
you ever noticed how you seem to be more attuned to other's emotions? How
you seem to be able to see beyond what people seem to think, to be able to tell
what they really feel?" Serena blinked, comprehension coming slowly to her
face. 

	"That is because you have a rare and beautiful gift, my princess."
Laxa continued for her sister. "You have the power of Heart Sight. Only 
relatives of the descendants of the goddess Aphrodite have ever been known to
have it, and even then, one is born only once every hundred millennia."

	"Wow..." Serena whispered. "Well, that explains a lot."

	"As it should," Setsuna said gently. "But, now that it appears we all
are up to date on each other, I suggest that we discuss this new enemy."

	"Right," Amara said, furrowing her brow. "Since you two have fought 
this thing before, could you tell us just how powerful they are?"

	"It's not really a matter of power," Versia said wistfully. "It's a
matter of...well, it's sort of hard to explain. Let's say you have a shadow,
and you want to get rid of it. You can stomp on it and and throw darts at it
and drop a building on it and it wouldn't have any affect. Why?"

	"Because shadows aren't physical," Amy said promptly. "They're there,
but you can't touch them, yet they can still darken things."

	"Exactly," Laxa said, smiling. "So what's the only thing that can 
eliminate a shadow?"

	"Light!" Mina exclaimed. "It's kind of like a game, I guess. Certain
weapons will defeat certain beings, even if the weapon is as weak as a mouse.
Using one that's as big and power packed as a black hole wouldn't work, cause 
it's not tuned to fight that being."

	"Perfect!" Versia said excitedly. "And that's where the Sailor Senshi
come in. In a sense, the Sailor Senshi power was created PRECISELY for the
Shadow Kingdom, and nothing else."

	"But what about all those times they've defeated youmas with their
power?" Darien asked. "If their Senshi powers are tuned for Shadow creatures
and nothing else, why were they able to defeat the youmas of different sorts
of dark power?"

	"Good question, your highness," Laxa nodded at him. "I was hoping 
someone would ask that." She grinned brightly. "Okay, I'm gonna say this
straight out; Those powers you used weren't your Senshi powers."

	"*WHAT???!!!*" Came the astonished exclamations. Laxa and Versia
threw their heads back, laughing.

	"You heard her," Versia chuckled. "Those attacks, like 'Mars firebird
strike,' and 'jupiter thunder crash,' weren't the powers that came with being
Sailor Senshi. In fact, when you transform, those aren't your real Senshi
forms, but a reflection of your true Sailor Senshi selves."

	"But...but how?" Michelle asked incredulously, eyes wide. Versia
smiled gently, while Laxa continued.

	"The warriors you become, and the attacks that you've used in the
past, are YOUR warrior forms and attacks, not the transformations and weapons
of the planetary senshi. Your need to fight evil alowed you to tap into your
own personal powers, the power that all descendants of the gods have."

	"So are you telling us that...that we're NOT Sailor Senshi?" Hotaru
asked quietly.

	"Absolutely not," Laxa said firmly. "We're simply telling you that 
you have all been using your personal powers, not the your senshi powers; you
simply haven't reached them yet."

	"Unfortunately," Versia sighed. "We have run out of time for you to
reach your true Senshi forms naturally. I estimate we have less than two weeks
before the Shadow King and its queen launch their initial assault. We must be
ready, with our FULL powers." Laxa and Versia looked at each other. "And that
includes Pluto and ourselves as well."

	"Nani?" They all asked. Versia nodded. 

	"That's right; we haven't reached our true senshi forms yet either."
Laxa explained.

	"Alright then," Serena took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear
it. "So in order to defeat the Shadow Kingdom, we must have our full and true
powers as Sailor Senshi. I get that, but why?"

	"Because only the true Sailor Senshi can wield the Light Crystals,
the twelve pieces of the Cosmos Crystal," Laxa explained. "Like when the
Princess's Silver Crystal was divided into the seven rainbow crystals. Only
when all twelve are together will we be able to form the Cosmos Crystal, and
decimate the Shadow Kingdom."

	"Everyone get it now?" Setsuna asked. Slowly, nine heads nodded.

	"Hey, I'm rather curious," Raye asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
"When I accidently tapped into your telepathic conversation that first time we
met you, you mentioned Queen Serenity, and it sounded like you were related
to her. And just now, you two and Pluto seemed rather close. Care to explain
that?"

	Laxa and Versia exchanged glances, then smiled and turned evil grins
onto Setsuna.

	"Plutie Puu..." They drawled together, using the nickname they'd 
bestowed upon Sailor Pluto when they were young. The Guardian of Time hated
it, and they knew it. "Your turn," they giggled.

	"Ugh!" Setsuna glared at the giggling duo. "Fine. Those two," she
waved a hand to the mischievously grinning sisters. "And I are cousins."

	"*What?*" Everyone shrieked. Laxa grinned evilly. "There's more," She
said. Then her face sobered. "Brace yourself," She said. "Go ahead Plutie
Puu."

	Setsuna glared at the girl, then sighed. "Queen Serenity...Rena was
my sister." That last was in a whisper, her face suddenly crestfallen. Serena
rose and stood beside her aunt, being the only one -besides the two sisters 
and Setsuna, as well as Rini- who had known, and she placed a comforting hand
on the woman's elbow.

	The room became deathly silent as the realization sunk in.

	"Serena, you knew?" Darien asked, breaking the silence. Serena nodded.

	"Sorry, everyone," Serena said, looking away. "I meant to tell you,
but, the time never seemed right."

	"Hey, don't worry about it, blondie," Lita said gently, her lips 
curved in a soft smile, her eyes kind.

	"So," Mina said suddenly, trying to be cheerful. At her sunny tone,
everyone wiped the tears from their eyes, becoming serious. "Well, at least
we know now, and we have something to work for, instead of just sitting here
and worrying our hair gray about the next attack."

	"But how do we reach our true forms?" Rini asked quietly, the youngest
one there thinking of the one question that probably mattered the most. The
Sailor Guardians blinked, and looked at each other before blushing sheepishly.

	"Actually, we're afraid we don't know."

	"But I know how to find out," A deep, yet at the same time light
voice said softly, yet still loud enough for all to hear. In a flash, all
those in the room, including the sisters, were on their feet, Henshin Wands
in hand and all in stiff battle stances.

	"Please!" The voice cried. "I just want a chance to say what I have
to say! Please let me speak to the Guardians!"

	Looking at each other out of the corners of their eyes, then all
looking at Laxa and Versia, the two girls nodded grimly, both holding their
Light Crystals tightly.

	In the center of the room, surrounded by a ring of wary warriors, a
shadow appeared, and Versia stiffened, willing a mental shield to keep it
from draining her. She felt Laxa help her automatically, as she had so many
times before.

	The shadow swirled, bits of silver and gold glittering along with it.
When it all cleared, a man stood there, and they all gasped.


To Be Continued...

Rose-chan: A cliffhanger!!! MWWWWWAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

GlitteGirl: *rolls eyes* Oh, shut up. *bops Rose-chan on head with
Galactica Staff* But, phew! Boy was that a hard one!

Rose-chan: Tell me about it! I wrote most of it!

GlitterGirl: Still, I am very pleased, and *shudders and giggles and
hops from foot to foot in excitement* I sooooo cannot wait to start book
two!

Rose-chan: Yup! Bet you peoples didn't see that one coming did ya? *looks
proud* Uh-huh, that's right boys and girls, 'The Light Never Fades,' is
actually Book One of a trilogy, the 'Universal Galactic Saga.'

GlitterGirl: Part seven should be the last part to this book, then
we'll be taking a break to work on our own seperate fics for a while. 
*shudders* I am soooo behind on my 'Queen of Legends.' So sorry, minna!

Rose-chan: Anyways, see you next time!!!!

GliterGirl: Ja ne!!

*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*