RIBBONS OF TIME CHAPTER FIVE: the end? *********************************************************** The crystal had formed a protective dome around King Endymion, the sleeping form of Serena, and the scouts. The sudden blinding transformation had temporarily stunned everyone--but as they adjusted, they noticed they were encased under a translucent white surface that shut out the sweep of the dark ribbons of destruction swirling around outside its borders. Mercury quickly began calculating. “The silver crystal is protecting us. I am not sure how long it can withstand Saturn’s attack--” “As long as its long enough. Why is this happening?! Why is she attacking?” Endymion demanded. “I don’t know but I don’t care.” Everyone turned to Saphire. He shook his head. “I don’t think it's bad that she is. This place deserves to be destroyed if it means a new earth, the way it is supposed to be can rise! These crystals are evil--and she should destroy them!” Malachite barely restrained himself from attacking the young man. Zoycite was not so controlled. “Are you insane!? These crystals protect our lives--without them, this ENTIRE planet would be a wasteland like the homeworld from which you ran away--” Mars felt a voice speaking to her. The sound seemed to travel through the crystal itself, but it was almost too faint to hear. “This is all wrong.” The voice said. She shook her head, and concentrated. “The only reason it IS a wasteland IS these crystals!” Saphire shot back. Zoycite pounded his fist into his hand. “Arguing like that is pointless. We need to concentrate.” “If only there were a way to travel through time.” Setsuna whispered. Diamond frowned, knowing that she was frustrated by her inability to use her power over the situation. Zoycite heard the whisper and replied. “It's only theoretical, but I may have a way.” “A way to do what?” Venus asked. “And whatever it is, can we do it quickly!? We don’t exactly have a lot of time.” “That’s just it--I have a way to make time--by traveling through it.” Zoycite replied. “Using the crystals themselves as a link between the past and the present.” “But!” Setsuna gasped going pale with confusion. Her mind spiraled through the implications of what what he suggested. Of course it was possible, but she had not even thought along thsoe lines because of how dangerous this was. “But such a thing is highly unstable!” She pointed out. “At this point, we don’t have time to be picky about theories.” Malachite said. “No matter how unstable such a method would be, I am willing to try.” Neflite nodded. “I too would rather die trying something than waiting for this dome to collapse. What do you need me to do?” Zoycite lifted an eyebrow at Jaedite. The General shrugged, and after a heartbeat, grinned. “Well, Z, its not my trust you need to confirm--you have it. But Mercury--does he have yours?” A rush of breath escaped Mercury’s slightly parted lips, making something between a hastily covered curse and a sigh. “I am sure we are all in agreement that we have to take whatever risk is necessary.” She said tonelessly. “You of course have our support.” “Amy, you’ll have to trust me.” Zoycite replied, ignoring the others. He wanted to say more, much more, but this was not the time or place. Right now, he needed to be practical. “I need your computer.” Mentally he added what else he wanted besides her computer--but if this worked, he vowed he would tell her. One blue nail tapped on the computer, calculations flying by on its screen. The sounds of the battle faded away around her. There was just him, and her and the tension between them. “My computer?” “If I’m right, this is how I can go back in time and stop this.” He gently took her hand. “I don’t have time to explain. The short of it is, that I know I can do this. We don’t know how much time longer Queen Serenity can hold out as our shield. Don’t waste her sacrifice.” “Mercury--let him try.” Venus commanded. Despite the order, she hesitated. Mars whispered then. “I know this is what you have to do.” Still hesitating, Mercury looked up at Jupiter who just winked. “It’ll work out, it always does, doesn’t it? The three sailors stood in a triangle opposite her. She trusted them of course. Yet it was the one friend’s voice who was absent that made her hesitate despite the pressure to decide. She couldn’t do as they asked. She couldn’t--and then she felt the computer slide out of her hand. She didn’t stop it, but neither did she hand it over to him. Mentally she couldn’t really justify why she would let him take the computer when she still couldn’t bring herself to give it to him. “Mercury, do you believe in me?” He asked. She looked into his eyes. “I will.” She said. ****************************************************** She had no identity in this existence which had no ends separate from what formed around her, save for that thin red line spinning from her to somewhere. Her choices to decide the future were the same as her choices to exist or not exist. Her mind swerved around what was happening. Only once had she experienced anything so formless, in the few precious seconds of the end of her last life.. A small sliver of direction formed before her. A break in the nothingness it was at least a direction. A limit and from that she could find a way. Was this why the time door had been built to put limits so existence could keep its form within this realm? To separate one point from another in some fasion. She couldn’t tell. She was formless. She didn’t exist. Nothing existed. This was nothing. This was not what she wanted. Then stop it--how? Her mind raced. Again she returned to the line, the red-line which connected her to something. That alone had remained of her existence. So what was this? A symbol, certainly, becasue that is all that exists when nothing else does. But a symbol of what? How could she forget. A symbol of love. Their love, over time, across worlds, through centuries, death and this state of eternity. While it held her, she was still herself. She would save them all as she always had. “So how would you stop it?” A girl asked, as she appeared before Serenity. A long white gown, decorated with tiny crescent moons appeared around her form. “At what point would you change history?” Another version of the girl appeared, this one with a slightly taller form, a narrower white gown, and a mark of maturity. “And what reality do you want?” Another said, appearing in a short sailor uniform. “I am the past you remember.” Princess Serena said. “I am the future you must forget.” Neo-Queen Serenity replied. “I am the present you must restore.” Sailor Moon said. “Is this a dream?” She asked quitely. A horse appeared in the nothingness, the three visions of herself dissappearing. “Helios!” She said. The horse became a boy, a very familiar boy to her. “I can’t stay here!” She replied. “But where else can you go?” Helios asked. “The world you knew is gone.” “I can save it.” She said emphatically. She always had. “Really?” Helios replied. “But which world?” “All of them.” She said quickly. He shook his head. “If Crystal Tokyo is to exist, then your world must be destroyed. Crystal Tokyo is being destroyed because someone is trying to save your world in t he present. And of course, if the Moon Kingdom were saved, then both the present and the world of Crystal Tokyo would cease to exist.” She blinked. “I don’t understand!” Helios nodded. “Until you do, you cannot make a decision.” “What decision? What do I have to decide?” She voiced the complaint with urgency. “Destruction leads to creation. What do you want to destroy and what do you want to create?” Helios asked. “You’re not making any sense!” She accused. “Dreams hardly ever do.” He replied calmly. “But I am helping you.” “No you’re not. I need to save Crystal Tokyo!” She responded. “Help me! I want to save everyone.” “Then you have to destroy them.” ****************************************************************** Zoycite typed furiously with one hand, with the other sketching petals in the air. Malachite’s brow crinkled as he watched the pattern forming. “I know that spell--dimensional shortcuts--you used that in the Negaverse.” Zoycite’s only response was a quick nod. He hadn’t done this in so long it seemed. This aged body of his certainly didn’t help. Yet trust Malachite to quickly grasp what he was trying. “I’ll back you up.” Malachite added after a second. Jaedite and Nephlite both nodded. “I could use the energy.” Zoycite said, only a slight wry smile indiciating that he was glad of their support. After all, that was the way they always had been, their strength formed from their trust in each other. The petals formed a soft whorl of energy, which beat more rapidly as the three generals fed their energy into it. “Time is space.” Zoycite said with a wink to Mercury. “So if I can’t time travel directly, I can do it indirectly.” “Be careful.” Mercury whispered. She wanted to say more, but her mind was too confused, the events too rushed and the situation too strained for her even to understand herself what she wanted to say. “I will. But its a one way trip this way. So this is goodbye.” His eyes met hers for a second and then he was gone. “For this lifetime.” “Did it work?” Venus asked a second later. “But nothing’s changed.” “He escaped.” Diamond said accusingly. “He left us here to deal with this?” Saphire continued. The Generals turned to the brothers. “Of course not. He wouldn’t do that.” “Why not!?” Saphire demanded. “Even if perhaps it was not intentional, perhaps it didn’t work.” Setsuna said, placing her hand on Diamond. “Time is nothing but unpredictable.” ************************************************************ “Zoycite!?” Venus said stunned to see the general appear before her. “Now everything’s gone crazy.” He looked around, somewhat confused. “What’s going on?” “Prince Darien, er, Tuxedo Mask just got caught by this weird crystal substance--what are you DOING HERE!” Venus complained somewhat confused. “Helping, I hope.” He said. A wave of petals modulating with a strange pattern pushed back the crystal. Jaedite turned to him. “how did you do that?” “Simple really--I just found the frequency at which the crystals molecules are vibrating, and disrupted that by a wave of energy. The end result is that the particles which make up the --” Venus shook her head. “In ENGLISH.” Malachite narrowed his gaze. “I think I know what you mean. So...like this?” He threw a crescent beam of energy slicing towards the crystals and they split apart. Raye transformed. Concentrating, she summoned a beam of fire straight at the crystal. The crystal dissolved. “It worked! He’s ” Venus frowned and tried again. Nothing happened. “Are you sure about this!? And can we trust him!?!?” She looked at Zoycite accusingly. Malachite shook his head. “Trust is a luxury, my love.” He said as he pushed back a wave of crystal that had started to sink around Venus’ feet. “But,” he glanced at Zoycite. “it is good to be fighting with you again, my friend.” “And you too.” Zoycite said with a smile. The offer of friendship made him feel restored in a way he would not have imagined possible. He could enjoy that later. “Now we just need to rescue the others.” Grudingly Venus and Mars nodded and set to work. *********************************************** Saturn stared down at the white dome in which her friends lay. The inner sense that controlled her told her to destroy it. Was she yet again grasped by an evil entity that steered her to do wrong? She did not feel as if this were the case. No, this command, for that was what it was, came from the core of her being. Yet she hesitated. The part of her that was still human hung back, pleading to leave them be. Though it was already too late--the rest of the earth had been seared clean of the crystal protecting it. Yet it was that crystal that had brought the earth to this dependant state. Without the crystal the earth might in time, return to the state it should have had. Yet, it might not. That was the risk she took by using her power. Yet she did and she believed in Sailor Moon, that she could heal everything. This world could no longer sustain them. If a new one were to arise, then this was the only way. *********************************************************** Choose? How could she choose which world should survive? If fate decreed the destruction, then that was one thing. Yet if she were the instrument of that destruction she could not. Had she ever been able to sacrifice when she could make another way? “I want it to all survive.” She said. “Even if that is inconsistent.” ***************************************************************** We do not know the limits of possibility. Perhaps, it is possible to alter the universe without altering time by moving from one state to another. Perhaps if we were different sorts of creatures we would already have awareness of the many states of existance that occur simultaneously. For time itself is only a dimension, one that exists just as width or height exist along with depth. We experience it as something different because that is how we are constructed to perceive it. Yet our perceptions can limit us and the world around us. For example, a well known scientific theory states that if one measures a quantum particle, one changes it by that measure. So, without delving into that, suffice it to say that the world we know is perhaps limited by our understanding of it. When we change that--we may also change the world. So when, in her dream, Neo-Queen Selenity, decided she didn’t want to destroy any of the possible time lines that could exist, she did indeed, find a way to do so. In Crystal Tokyo, the crystal began to peel away, the scoured earth did in time return to normal, and life on earth started over, completely as if it had never even begun before. That is the what the rest of this story is about--but it is not the story that relates what happened when the world termed the “present” was saved through Zoycite’s inteference. Yet there is also the story of what happened to the future of the world in which Zoycite’s inteference tamed the crystal and prevented the forming of Crystal Tokyo. Maybe one day, that story will be recorded elsewhere than in one person’s imagination, but for now, let it dwell solely in yours. Let it lay side by side of your imagination as to what might have happened had the Moon Kingdom never dissolved, and what did happen when Zoycite saved the “present.” You may also imagine she did not succeed, and end the story now with her dilemma--which world to save? At this point, the story goes in infinite directions,which you would not have time to read, nor I time to write. But for now, the story continues in the present and in the future of Crystal Tokyo. “Something is different.” Mars said, shifting around. The dome that protected them had been growing clearer--the dark outside shifting into grey. Her hand had, until that second been resting around Jaedite, but with the sense of change, she had stood ready to fight. “I--I feel it too.” Serena said somewhat startled. She blinked. “I’m going home!” The time door reappeared, looking completely worse for the wear, and Sailor Pluto stepped out. They knew it was Sailor Pluto because of the costume, but her face and features were completely different from the Setsuna they knew. Her skin was pale, and her hair was silvery. The only thing they had in common were piercing red eyes and the top-knot hairstyle. She avoided looking at anyone, though her eyes did dart briefly to Setsuna. “Putu you did it!” A voice said behind her, as a pink-haired woman dressed in an outfit very simliar to Sailor Moon’s stepped forward almost knocking the dignity and staff out of Pluto’s hands. “Yes. Your highness, please, come with us. This is very unstable.” Pluto said. Setsuna felt her throat catch, understanding for the first time what Sailor Moon must have felt the first time she saw Rini and realized who she was. “You’ll be alright?” Serena said, hesitating at the threshold, half in their time and half in another. “Only if you go!” Mars said yelling. Serena nodded, and stepped out. Immediately, without even an eyeblink, everything changed. The danger was over. *************** Mercury frowned, feeling something slightly different about herself. She looked down, and for a second wondered at the faint lines along her hand-- signs of age, but she hadn’t noticed them before. “What is it love, you looked pale?” Zoycite said. For a second she felt a wariness and distrust--as she looked at him. But that was ridiculous--hadn’t they been married for decades now, Guardians of the Rose Moon? And the faint lines along her hands--she’d seen them for years now, and she’d gotten used to them. All things age--even if, as a Guardian of the King and Queen she did so more slowly than the general populace. And unlike Venus who often complained about her “fading beauty” which no one thought had faded in anyway) she had always accepted that aging was necessary to allow life to progress and it was not something to be fought but celebrated. “I must have gotten lost in thought.” She said smiling and he couldn’t resist teasing her. “Considering how deep you think--I’m lucky I found you again!” He said kissing her nose. Despite the fact that she had accepted him again, after his split-self’s misdeeds in the past, he sometimes still felt fear that she would one day illogically grow angry at him again. As always, simply looking at her dispelled that fear. She pushed him back playfully. “Luck has nothing to do with it my love, it is our destiny.” “And I thought you didn’t believe in that.” He chided her. “We debated that for a full hour yesterday--even though Princess Rini’s acension ceremony had already started!” She lifted an eyebrow. “That is not why we were late if I recall.” She said, blushing slightly. She might have aged from when they first met decades ago--but she could never feel old around him. “Ah yes. Well.” He smiled. “It is time anyway, that the next generation take care of itself. If we’re always watching over our son’s shoulders for the darkness in the universe, how will he really be trained to thwart its plans!?” “I seem to recall you arguing yesterday that we were simply enjoying the life we had spent most of our past protecting.” She said slyly. “And that if we didn’t enjoy it--then, in itself it would be a victory for the darkness in the universe.” “Still an excellent argument.” He caressed her cheek. “But it is just a theory--shall we go and test that some more? I’m not quite convinced.” He was rewarded with a most unscholarly giggle from his usually serious wife. “They are SOOOO cute!” Venus declared from behind the pot where Malachite had pulled her when they had been about to interrupt the little scene. “I’m so glad she forgave him. And its all because I, the godess of love, told her that--” She was cut off by a kiss from her love. “You, my dear, meddled so much its a wonder things turned out alright as they did. And I think she forgave him the minute Serena used that new power of hers from the future on him, and he suddenly stood there as I remembered him from the days of the Moon Kingdom, as she must have remembered him too--not as that twisted old half-man.” “What do looks have to do with it--do you not love me as much as you did when I was young!?” Venus demanded. She did look older--not again, as old as either of them should look for how many decades had passed, but to his eyes, she looked more beautiful and he said so immediately. All, once again, was right in his world. ********************************** Neflite frowned at the silent young man in front of him who had again impatiently asked if he could be seen yet. Even if Neflite knew that very often good ideas came from such interviews, the danger to his King and Queen made him tense when screening those who approached the kingdom, especially those who did not wait silently and respectfully. He also felt disturbed by the oddest sense of having met this man before, though of course, he had not. The man had only been born twenty two years or so before. Neflite studied the records dutifully and again verified all was in order. An impatient voice in his mind tugged his thoughts briefly away. “Are you off yet?” Jupiter’s voice, he knew. “No.” He tried to convey a sense of regret, to warm that terse response. He did not dare shift too much of his conentration from those gathered in the room. “Soon.” “Good.” She sent and that was it. Mars opened the door and read off a name “Phire Ring?” The young man jumped to his feet and stepped on Mars’ heels as he entered the chamber. This caused her to stumble somewhat ungracefully just as she entered the throne room--to the evident delight of the Queen. This earned Phire a look that would almost burn a person. Neflite shook his head. “Good thing I’m here and not Jaedite, or...” He paused as he heard someone supress a snicker. “or what? Phire would have been fired upon” Jaedite said enjoying his friend’s groan at the pun. “I’m taking over for you.” He added. Neflite smiled. “Good.” “By the way, she wouldn’t have flamed they guy whether I lauged or not-- she’s much calmer now that junior stopped teething.” Jaedite added. A stir from the waitng room prompted him to add “And its not like she ever took her anger out on innocent people or guests.” Jaedite said. “No, I’m the one who’d have been scorched--or worse yet, she’d give me the cold shoulder.” A few people smiled in their chairs. Neflite laughed and waved as he dissappeared. After looking over the paper work of those waiting, Jaedite shifted his mind to the link he shared with Mars to find out what the young man who’d tripped her had come to say. ****** “And so, even though the outer planets haven’t been inhabited since the original Moon Kingdom perished, I think it would be good to settle them again.” Saphire Quatro said. He had almost lost his composure before the King and Queen of Rose Moon, one of the largest and most prosperous kingdoms on earth, and certainly, the most peaceful. After the magical revolution took place--surplanting the weapons and fear and distrust of the late 20th century, mankind had begun to bloom under the leadership of King Endymion and Queen Serenity. Saphire tried to remind himself that when they started they were not known as King Endymion or Queen Serenity. Those were titles they had chosen much later. His nervousness faed as he reminded himself they had once been rather ordinary citizens in the old country of Japan. In fact, Queen Serenity had almost been considered stupid compared to the average students. But her command of the new force of magic was unmatched and in the new economy this had made her a strong power. The Emperor of Japan had quietly abdicated many decades ago in her favor, and leaders of other countries had begun to do the same after noting her gentle wisdom and the unmatched prosperity of the countries she led. She was adamant about that wording--she and her husband refused to say “rule” but insisted they maintained an advanced form of democracy. She looked scarcely older than she must have when they’d first been recognized by world powers, appearing as a woman in her early thirties when she really must be somewhat close to 60. And, no less beautiful, which was principally why he was here and not his brother, the scientist and magician, who was almost obsessed with the Queen. “Of course, it is my brother Diamond’s idea.” He said. “But, he was too deeply involved with his research to come.” He smoothed over the lie--the real reason, being of course that Saphire had not trusted his brother in front of the Queen. They had waited months for this audience, and he was not going to let his brother’s fantasies destroy what was truly a viable solution to the Earth’s space problems. Queen Serenity whispered something excitedly to her husband and Saphire could only hear the words “Pluto.” He wasn’t sure what it meant. “You must agree that expansion into space is the only way to truly preserve a decent atmosphere on our home planet--we’ve taken over too much of this world, and without” He paused as the King had held up a hand. “We agree.” He smiled. “We approve the plan...but, at my wife’s insistance, we would like you to work with one of our palace experts on the inter-dimensional travel.” A young woman, seemingly in her early twenties stepped forward. She was wearing the uniform of a sailor--obviously one of the magicaly gifted protectors of the Queen. The outfit was somewhat different though, and Saphire guessed she was not one of her regular guard. “Guardian of Pluto--and master of time and travel.” She said. Long dark green hair cascaded down her back, held only by a knot on top of her head. Saphire stepped back somewhat taken aback--they not only agreed with his plan, they decided to support him with a Guardian? This was better fortune than he had a right to expect. In some confusion, he bowed repeatedly and ran out the door. He couldn’t wait to tell his brother and of course Hotaru--he smiled briefly picturing the woman in his heart. The Queen’s eyebrows raided, but she smiled to herself with a delicious secret. “Well, Pluto, are you excited?” Pluto looked worried, she tended to do that when she didn’t look lonely. “Are you sure its safe for me to stop guarding the door?” The King and Queen sighed in unison. The King explained gently “We’re not sure you ever do, even when you do. Our experience tells us it would be safe.” His tone suggested he would not explain further. Pluto nodded having grown used to the idea that while she might not remember the past she had shared with them (evidently), they did. Her reality and memory were so much more recent having been born in the modern world--post magical-revolution. They had sought her out--a student of physics, heavily immersed in trying to connect the theory of relativity to quantam mechanics. They had told her who she was even though she had no understanding of magic--and had given her the magic to transform the first time. It didn’t matter to them if she wanted to be different or be the same as the person they knew before-- “As long as you believe with your heart.” The Queen had assured her. At the moment, the reality of what they were suggesting consumed her. No more standing in the murkiness of no-when. A chance to apply her knowledge and magic to solving something important--and to work with others for a change! “Then I will prepare for this at once!” She said betraying her excitement with a slight quickening of her speech. She bowed and dissappeared. “She looks happy.” The Queen smiled. “There have been many good signs.” “What is it Serena--you look like you swallowed the last slice of pie.” “Well...its just that I am getting a feeling that another of my court will be returned to us soon.” Endymion squeezed his wife’s shoulder. “Saturn?” She nodded. “Its been so long--” Endymion did not look so happy. “Everytime she appears our world is destroyed.” “ALMOST destroyed.” She corrected, then corrected again. “And this time, it won’t even get near anything like that. It’ll be different.” “Why?” Endymion said sharply. “Because I believe it will.” She said confidently back. “We’re going to use her powers in a different way--to shape the universe for our people.” Endymion knew that somehow, he couldn’t argue with that. She had already changed destiny--no, perhaps not all of it, but just the parts she didn’t like. “Then I believe too.” End