The Treason Of Time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The copy right of all things pertaining to the concept and characters of Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and various corporations. This story is a work of fan fiction; it has been written simply for the pleasure it gave me in writing it; and no money has or will change hands with respect to the story. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A pale October sun shone through the skeletal branches of the trees fringing the little cemetery. Its cold light flashed off the polished sides of a casket as it was lowered to the ground beside the waiting grave. The pall bearers stepped back, and shuffled away to a discrete distance. Their involvement in this sad occasion was purely professional; they were the undertakers men. There were only five mourners. A family group of husband, wife and two teenage daughters, all dressed in black, stood well back from the only other mourner. The elderly woman by the grave, draped in black, wore a veil covering her face. She was leaning heavily upon a cane with a curious crescent moon device in silver just under the handle. The priest droned out the service, his voice almost drowned by the roar of the Roman traffic dashing along the Via Tempore beyond the skeletal trees. Nothing stirred in the cemetery save the wind blown leaves hustling along the paths, and the veil of the mourner. The gauzy black material rippled in the breeze; and yet, it seemed almost that it was the face hidden behind it which was shimmering as the wan sunlight fell across the wasted flesh. The ceremony was soon over. The elderly woman held up a pale flower to her lips and kissed it, before dropping the exotic bloom into the grave. As she hobbled away towards the waiting family, the undertaker's men took up shovels to finish their part in this endless round of birth, life an death. The old woman paused by the little family group to address the man. "Marco, I would count it a great honour if you and your family would ride with me back to La Luna," she said. "There are some matters of business which must be attended to promptly." Marco was dark skinned, and looked exactly what he was, an Italian man in late middle age, running somewhat to fat. Though he was a servant, the grief in his dark eyes was genuine. "Si, Seiniora," he said. Marco bobbed his head, replaced his hat and put out an arm for La Domina. She took it, and gave the family retainer a smile of genuine affection. Slowly, they progressed along the path among the crowding monuments of time worn marble towards a dark blue limousine parked at the gates. Twenty minutes later, the car turned in through a set of grand gates. It purred up a gravelled drive lined with neat Cypress trees to a hill-top villa. The look of the house betrayed an interesting architectural lineage. There was something indefinably classical about its form, mixed in with echoes of a more eastern influence suggestive of the Taj Mahal. The car swung into position before the front steps, and pulled up. The young agency chauffeur leapt out and got the doors. Normally, this would have been one of Marco's duties; but La Domina had insisted that it would not be fitting on such a day, for Marco had been as much a friend to Roberto and herself as he had been a faithful servant. Again, he offered an arm to La Domina. The elderly lady took it with a grateful smile; and the party entered the house. Marco's children were sent off to change from their funeral garb, while La Domina required Marco and his wife, Julietta to attend her in the library. Once La Domina was settled on a comfortable sofa in the book-lined room, she sat back and lifted her veil, the better to study the pair. Early afternoon sunlight, striking through one of the large windows, fell across the sofa from one side. The pale illumination cast La Domina half in light and half in shadow. Marco, gazing fondly upon the deeply lined features of La Domina's aged face, experienced one of those sudden moments of surreality which overtook him from time to time. Though every line and wrinkle of her face was familiar to him, sometimes, when he caught La Domina's face in three-quarters profile from the corner of an eye, or as now half in light and half in shadow, for an instant, he thought that he was seeing a young woman of no more than twenty or so. Though this woman, with a great mane of black hair flowing down her back, was a complete stranger, her eyes were always unmistakably the red eyes of his La Domina. That red colour of her eyes had always disturbed him, as much for their colour as for the world weariness with which they seemed forever clouded. La Domina broke the spell by setting aside the cane, and reaching over to a table from which she took a fat, brown envelope. "Marco, Julietta," she addressed the pair gravely; "I am afraid that I have some bad news. I am going to have to release you from my service." "La Domina!" Marco exclaimed in shock. Whatever he had thought was to happen, it had not been this. His eyes full of bewilderment, he asked, "La Domina... Why? Have I am my wife not given good service to your family?" "Excellent service, Marco," the elderly lady assured him. "The reason I must let you go has nothing to do with anything that you have done. You and your family have served my household faithfully; and we, Roberto especially, considered you more a friend than a servant." "Then why, La Domina?" Marco asked again, dismay and puzzlement clear in his voice. His wife stood silent at his side, still reeling from the shock of this most unexpected catastrophe. La Domina toyed with the envelope, turning it over and over in thin fingers, while she smiled encouragingly up at the distraught pair. At length, she said, "now that Roberto has... left me behind, I, too, must go away from here." Marco started to exclaim again, insisting that she must stay, that his existence would be meaningless without being able to serve his La Domina; but the elderly lady held up a hand to forestall him. "I have no choice in this, Marco, Julietta. I am compelled by circumstance to go, whether I wish it or not." "La Domina!" they exclaimed in unison. It was evident from their reactions that this was to them a far greater disaster than the loss of their livelihood. "But why La Domina?" Marco cried. "That I am afraid I am not at liberty to say, Marco," the woman replied. The smile faded from her lined features. The old woman sitting before them became suddenly distant. The change was so profound that Marco had difficulty reconciling this aloof woman with his beloved La Domina. The atmosphere in the library actually seemed to grow chilly. Then the stranger smiled; and it was his beloved La Domina back again. She said, "what is of importance to me is what is to happen to the two of you. Therefore, I have made some provisions for your future. From tomorrow at noon, La Luna will be yours. I am giving you the estate, the house and all the contents which I shall leave for you..." Shocked, both Marco and Julietta made to exclaim once more; but La Domina ploughed on. "You shall also have the house in Tuscany to do with as you please. Plus, I have set up a trust fund to meet all the costs and expenses of the two properties. I have done this in recognition of your many years of loyal service to both myself and especially to Roberto. We were particularly obliged to you both for your devotion during Roberto's final illness; and this is but a small recompense for your devotion." Marco was shaking his head slowly and muttering, "it's too much, La Domina. It's far too much," while Julietta clung to his arm looking pale. La Domina sat quietly watching the pair work through the shock, waiting for Marco to collect himself. She knew that he would find the strength, for he was a capable man, even more than he was a good man; and the Moon Kingdom inheritance was strong within him. She had, in truth, grown very fond of him over the years. At last, Marco was able to compose himself sufficiently in order to make her a dignified and heart- felt thanks for her beneficence. After giving the two servants such a shock, La Domina bade them sit while she served them wine with her own hand, much against Marco's outraged sense of propriety. His protests, though, were only for the look of the thing, as he had never been able to deny his La Domina anything. While they sat sipping the wine, La Domina went through the packet of papers explaining the arrangements for the transfer of the properties. With the business out of the way, they were joined by Marco's two daughters; and they spent some considerable time fondly recalling memories of Roberto. There was much to recall; but eventually a reflective quiet settled in the library as the re-telling of stories about Roberto wound down to a natural conclusion. Soon thereafter, Marco and his family were ushered out. La Domina closed the door behind them with a sense of deep sadness, because she would never see them again. She stood in the quiet hall for a long time, aware of the emptiness of the old house closing in about her. Roberto was gone. Without him, the house and all the things within meant nothing at all to La Domina. It was time now for La Domina to go, to walk away, to vanish from the ken of the people here, and begin again in another place, as she had done so many, many times before. This final act was no easier now than it had been the first time. It would get no easier in the future. For a horrible moment, La Domina hovered on the abyss of despair. Then, with a little shrug and a stiffening of her back, she marched from the hall. The temptation to self-pity was left behind to fester in the silence. As she ascended the grand staircase, her steps became firmer. The fiction of an elderly lady was shed like a snake sloughing off a worn-out skin. Though she still had the body of an old woman, there was now a new vitality about La Domina. The remains of the day were spent in wandering from room to room, recalling her life here with Roberto. She touched nothing; the objects in themselves were meaningless; it was the memories they evoked which had power to move her. Finally, she arrived at the tastefully furnished master bedroom. For a long time, she stood beside the bed, while a powerful tide of emotions washed through her. This place in particular held a special place in her heart. It was here where they had given physical expression to their love. A fond smile tugged at her faded lips. The old woman nodded - this had to be the right place for the final act in the fore-doomed tragedy of the marriage of Roberto and La Domina. Quickly, she stripped out of the black dress of mourning, and laid it on the bed. She removed her other clothing. She took a last, long look at the wrinkled and age-battered form reflected in the full-length mirror on the closet door - just to remind herself. Then she thrust out her right hand as though grasping something in mid-air. A tall staff with a garnet orb at the top came to her hand. She lifted it up towards the moulded plaster ceiling and cried out... "PLUTO PLANET POWER MAKE UP!" Neither the summoning phrase, nor the gaudy light show were strictly necessary; but Meiou Setsuna felt it only fitting for this particular transformation, as a tribute to mark this final farewell to Roberto; and to mark the beginning of a new chapter in her life. When the light show subsided, a young woman in the formal ceremonial uniform of Queen Serenity's Senshi, replete with gloves, boots, bows and tiara stood tall and youthful in place of the stooped, elderly lady. Senshi Pluto held the pose for a long heart-beat, before she let the transformation fade. In place of the grey-haired La Domina , there now stood a young woman with a dark olive complexion and a mane of black hair which possessed a greenish sheen. Setsuna let out a long breath, and dropped the formal pose. She moved to stand in the wash of sunlight coming through the window. The sun was setting. The view of Rome was spectacular. The eternal city appeared to be floating in mid air, buoyed up on an ethereal orange haze. She and Roberto had loved this view; it was why they had chosen to live in this particular house. In years gone by, the pair of them would stand for hours at the window as the sun set over this ancient city, just holding hands, enjoying being together. He knew of course, she had never deceived him on how long she expected to live, and how short his own span would be by comparison. He had never once reproached her with it in all their sixty three years of marriage. Somehow, that made it worse, made the unfairness of it all the more hurtful. It left her with no negative memories with which she might turn aside the hurt by hating him. Beyond the window, the people of Rome, of the entire earth, were going about their little lives surrounded by their friends and families. Setsuna had never felt so alone, so far removed from the people of the Earth as she did at this moment in time. Tears sparkled at the corners of her eyes. "Damn!" she whispered. She had promised Roberto she would not cry; and here she was already breaking her promise to her love with him not two hours buried. She raised a hand, and touched the wetness at her cheeks. She stared at the moisture on her brown fingers for a long moment, while the old and oft times considered treason gestated in her soul. "Why not? Surely now would be a good time?" A few years ago, something had blundered into one of the many dead- falls she had set at the outer edge to give early warning of a threat from beyond. Because of the sensitivity of the traps, and the way she had tied them to the Great Node at the Mugen Gakkuen in the heart of Tokyo, Setsuna knew that the Outer Senshi would have been re- incarnated. She had not sensed their re-birth directly, living in Italy as she had been for the last seventy years; but it would have been so. She had planned to see out the last few years left to her and Roberto before returning to Tokyo to seek out and protect the Outer Senshi while they grew to adulthood. In the meantime, she had intended to spend the time planning the defence of Earth against the impending incursion from Beyond. It was the right time, she told herself again. Now would certainly be a propitious moment to assemble the complete team as it had been in the glory days of the Silver Millennium. It was the perfect opportunity to lay to rest the old business of the Dark Kingdom, before moving to counter the new threat posed by the things from beyond. And yet... And yet, deep down, Setsuna knew that she was deceiving herself, that it was all merely justification. In her heart she knew the real reason... "I can't go on like this any more," she said to the empty room. She stared at her reflection on the glass. The ghost-like image was almost lost in the orange glare. "My Queen... Serenity... Forgive me - but I cannot go on like this any more." The image in the glass appeared to lift a hand to her shoulder. It was a familiar gesture of Queen Serenity's, intended to give comfort to her loyal Counsellor as she had cause to do so many times in the days of the Silver Millennium. Setsuna could swear she could feel the hand, gentle upon her shoulder, swear she could hear that silken voice saying, "follow your heart, Setsuna, follow your heart. I trust you with the future of mankind. Do what your heart decrees." It was, of course, nothing more than a memory of the distant past playing itself out in her mind; but why, Setsuna wondered, this particular memory- and why now? Was it the working of the harsh Destiny laid upon her by the hand of her Queen, and under which she had laboured so diligently these many millennia? Struggling with temptation, Setsuna remained at the window while the sun set over the city. She watched the growing shadows of the Cypress trees reach out across the lawns to darken the small grove of Flowering Cherries. Roberto and she had planted them together many years ago. The beautiful blossom of the spring time trees was now only a fading memory. The trees looked dead. Even the leaves had withered and fallen, leaving a web-work of skeletal branches, stark against the backdrop of evergreens. The symbolism of the evergreens overshadowing the bare trees struck deep into Setsuna's soul. It was almost like a sign, a sign from Queen Serenity. In that moment, Setsuna decided... She would commit the long considered treason. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pluto walked between the cobwebbed wine racks to the back of the cellar. She paused before a patch of wall beaded with moisture. The grey rock looked no different from any other section of wall; and indeed, it truly was solid rock. Yet to any person whose genes were inter-woven with the Moon Inheritance, and if the power had awakened in them, and they knew how to work the trick, the wall would prove to be no barrier. Pluto had the Moon Inheritance threaded through and through her DNA; she had been awake to her powers for millennia; and Pluto knew all the tricks there were to know about being a Senshi. She raised the Time Staff and touched the Garnet Orb to the wall. The jewel glowed. There was the scent of sakura sweetening the musty air for a moment. Nothing else changed; the wall remained solid; but when Pluto stepped forward, she passed into the wall as though it were made of mist. There was a momentary discomfort on penetrating the surface tension of the sub-space artefact. The sensation was reminiscent of when she sent and retrieved the Time Staff. This time, it was felt all over her skin, instead of just her hand and arm. Everything beyond the wall was a single-sided sub- space artefact. Its inner dimensions simply did not exist in real space-time if approached from any other angle than through this section of wall. The tunnel in which Pluto now stood was lit by the soft reddish radiance of the Orb. The way sloped down and curved out of sight to the left. Holding the Time Staff out before her, Pluto began walking. One minute later, she emerged into a circular chamber. The ceiling had been painted to represent the night sky. A full Moon sailed serenely among the stars, bathing the chamber in moonlight. Directly beneath the Moon, on a three tiered plinth, stood a life-sized statue in pink marble of Queen Serenity. Pluto paused a long moment to consider the two streams of hair falling in elegant curves from the odangos. The Royal Hair Style had been worn by all the Serenities. It ought to have looked silly; but somehow it had suited them all. The style had become the "trademark " of the Ruling House of the Silver Millenium. Its importance could be judged in the care the long-dead sculptor had taken over his art to create the impression that, if one so desired, one might appreciate every individual hair in those two pony tails. Pluto went down on one knee before this likeness of her long dead Queen. She remained there with head bowed for a long moment, before she rose and moved to the right wall. Raising the Time Staff, Pluto touched the Garnet Orb to the rock. Once more, the scent of Sakura sweetened the air; and she stepped through. The chamber was just meant to fool anyone able to penetrate this far into thinking they had discovered all there was to be found here. It had occurred to her that anyone able to penetrate this far would probably not be fooled by such a simple deception; but she had set it up anyway. The new section of tunnel ran straight for about ten yards, ending in another wall. She touched the staff to it, and stepped through into another chamber. This one was also circular. The room was lit by a shining blue-white earth hanging unsupported high up under the domed ceiling. The vault had been painted to represent the night time sky, with thousands of realistic looking stars, seen as they would appear from the Moon Palace in the Mare Serenetatis. Directly beneath the shining globe of the earth, was a white chest freezer. Luminous crescent moons had been painted on each surface. Pluto stepped to the box, and touched the Time Staff to the moon on the top surface. Again the stale air was sweetened with a momentary smell of Sakura. Senshi Pluto smiled. It was a good sign. She lay the Time Staff on the floor and took a hold of the lid. It lifted easily with a little crackle of energy. The box was full to the brim with shredded paper. She brushed it aside to reveal a globe made of frozen moonlight. Just visible under the shimmering surface was the curled up form of a black cat. The tiny crescent mark on its forehead glowed softly. There was a second globe of frozen moon light in the chest; this one contained a white cat similarly marked with a crescent moon. Pluto drew off her right glove. She brushed her fingers lovingly over the spheres, first the one containing the black cat, then the one in which the white cat slept. "Luna... Artemis," she called softly, and smiled to see the ears twitch in unconscious recognition of their names. She let her fingers linger a long while on the spheres of Moonlight, lost in remembrance of these two old friends. After the deed was done, Pluto hoped fervently that they would be able to resume their old friendship from where it had been interrupted by the mad ambitions of Beryl. Pluto drew on her glove and, with great reverence, lifted out the two Guardian Cats snug in their stasis cradles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Setsuna settled back into the seat as the taxi sped off towards the airport. To distract herself from the horrors of the journey as the taxi wove in and out of the Roman traffic at break-neck speed, she considered her plans. She had chosen the British Isles for two main reasons. Firstly, it was half a world removed from the location of the former capital city of the Crystal Kingdom of the Earth. Secondly, it had a Lessor Node which she had used many times during the Silver Millennium, so she felt confident that it would remember her and permit her to pass. It might only be one of the Lesser Nodes, but it would be powerful enough, with a little extra effort on her part, for the short step she needed to make. When Beryl traced her path back to earth, as she undoubtedly would, there would be nothing to discover save an isolated Lesser Node. Beryl would know that it was not powerful enough to be a threat to her ambitions; but she would certainly be distracted. Doubts would be planted in the fertile soil of her suspicious mind. With those fears preying on her mind, it would be more likely that she would swallow the bait later, when it became critical to draw her attention away from Tokyo. When the reborn Senshi reached puberty, and awakened to their powers, it would be a critical time for mankind. The young girls would be at their most vulnerable during the transition. What was needed was a decoy. Hence this trip to England to make certain preparations for the future. Not that any decoy was going to fool Metallia for very long. The Demon Goddess would soon become aware of the threat of the Senshi reborn, and move against them. She understood, as did Setsuna, that only the Great Node of the once Crystal Kingdom could furnish an environment suitable for the rebirth of the Senshi in this mechanistic age, and thus centre her activities on Tokyo. The fact that Metallia would have to work through Beryl might buy them some time; but Setsuna did not intend to rely on that. She laid a hand protectively on the back pack on the seat at her side. It's precious contents were a pivotal part of her plans to divert Beryl's attention from Tokyo. Setsuna dared not leave Tokyo undefended at such a fraught time as the awakening, so she would not be able to be on hand to guard the decoy. Therefore, it had to be someone bonded to one of the Guardian Cats. There were only two possibilities; and even were it practical, it was quite unthinkable to put the Princess in the way of such a hideous peril. Venus would have to be the decoy. As leader of the Inner Senshi, it was not only her duty to run the risk, but it had been arranged that she should be the first reborn and reawakened when the time came for the Inner Senshi to be reincarnated. Venus was the only choice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight 102, inbound to Heathrow from Rome's Fiumicino Airport, sank out of the layer of strato- cumulus into a drizzling gloom over London. Setsuna set down the partially unfolded street map of London she had been perusing to peer out the window at the grey afternoon. Even with her enhanced vision, it was hard to make out any details of the great sprawling metropolis. Looking out to the north, the world faded into a grey obscurity. The Minor Node in the northern suburb where she intended to secret the bundle stashed in the overhead locker was the only one in the London area. It was quite a way out from the centre. Not that the location was vital; anywhere in the Greater London area ought to suffice. The bond between Senshi Venus and her guardian cat, Artemis, which was to be reactivated had been a truly powerful one. A few dozen miles would make no difference one way or the other. Setsuna drew her gaze from the view outside and began to fold up the street map. They would be landing at heathrow in a few minutes. With any luck she would be at the house she maintained in Knightsbridge by six o'clock. Tomorrow she would retrieve the car from storage and drive up to north London. That should only take a couple of hours. Then she'd spend the rest of the day shopping in the West End. She really needed to relax, because the day after would be D-day. After that, there could be no going back. The "seat belt" sign came on. Setsuna reached for the straps. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The midnight-blue Jaguar turned into Endymion Road. As the sporty car accelerated along the quiet residential street, a tiny smile crept onto Setsuna's face. That name was a good omen. Perhaps it was the result of some dim racial memory stirred by the proximity of the Minor Node? She guided the car across the bridge over the main line railway out of King's Cross, and immediately swung the car into a road parallel to the railway. The road ran straight, climbing the rising ground in a gentle swoop. It was lined down both sides by an avenue of mature trees, decked out in autumnal golds and browns. Half way up the hill, Setsuna pulled into the kerb. She switched off, gathered a back pack from the passenger seat, and climbed out. A narrow footpath between two of the detached villas led to a footbridge over the railway. Setsuna strolled down this path. A cold, bright sun was shining full in her face from the pale October sky. At the footbridge, Setsuna turned into an unpaved alley running between the railway and the backs of the villas. She wandered slowly along, listening for the beauty of the Great Song to which her Senshi enhanced hearing was attuned. Here, in this far country, it was but a faint echo of the mighty chorus it was at the centre of the former Crystal Kingdom in Tokyo. She strolled on until she was certain that the song was diminishing; then she turned and began a slow stroll back down the path. She did this several times, each time travelling a shorter distance, until she was certain she had pinpointed the Minor Node. It appeared to be in the railway cutting. She went to the chain-link fence and peered down the overgrown bank. An Inter-City train in the blue and white livery of British Rail was accelerating up the track out of King's Cross. It raced past with a loud roaring of the diesel engine and a clatter of wheel noise. As it passed, it gave a ferocious blast of the horn in unknowing salute to the holiness of the spot it was just then passing. Seconds later, the train was away down the track on it journey into the north, the noise of it passage fading quickly back into the general hum of London. Half way down the cutting, almost lost among the tangle of brambles, nettles and weeds, was a small hut made of tarred boards. It looked dilapidated and abandoned; but it was definitely the right place. Of course, there would be something to mark the spot, Setsuna mused, even hear in this heathen land so far from the centre. Here it was a workman's hut; but in Tokyo, there would have been at the very least a little wayside shrine to honour the Kami of the place, if not a full-blown Temple. Setsuna made a quiet transformation. She brought out the full body armour, the matte black set which fit like a leotard. The only markings were the symbol in silver of Pluto which was cradled in a golden crescent moon over the left breast. For such an historical moment as this, she ought to have been decked out in the full formal armour of boots, gloves, tiara, bows and short skirt; but she really didn't like the look of those brambles and nettles, even faded as they were by the lateness of the season. Pluto took a standing jump over the fence. She made a perfect touch- down beside the rickety structure. The faint whispering of the Minor Node swelled into a mighty chorus of sound. Pluto's spirits soared. Her heart thudded wildly in time to the ageless rhythm as the music threatened to sweep her senses away. Yes, Pluto nodded to herself, this was indeed the place she sought. The package could be hidden in safety here until the right moment. The Kami which resided in this place would stand guard over it until the moment when the call came. She took the bundle from the backpack. The sphere of frozen moonlight gleamed, overshadowing the sunlight, shining like a beacon to light the path to a glorious future. The curled form of the pure white cat nestling inside the egg of moonlight was obscured entirely by the shining surface. Pluto stroked a hand over the sphere. "Sleep on, old friend," she whispered. "We will all be reunited soon now, very soon." Stooping, she set the sphere into the gap underneath the floor of the hut. As the Minor Node became aware of the stasis field, a sub- space pocket opened to receive the precious jewel. The air under the hut rippled for a moment, then the gleam of light dimmed as the sphere faded away. It was done. Senshi Pluto straightened, and regarded the tumble-down hut. It was certainly not a fit monument to mark the spot wherein much of the hope for mankind's future was to lay concealed; but knowing the one whom it concealed, she was certain he would have enjoyed the joke. However, on closer inspection, she noted that the spot had indeed been appropriately marked. Someone had chalked a crescent moon on the side of the hut. It had faded over time; but there was evidence to show that it had been re-drawn at intervals. Pluto smiled. Even in this far outpost of the former Crystal Kingdom, in this heathen land, and removed in time by many millennia, one person at least still recalled and revered the glory that had been the Moon Kingdom. Pluto took up a sharp piece of flint. She carefully scratched the sign of Pluto in the concavity between the points of the crescent moon, adding her own personal mark to the faded sign. Then she turned, and with a single bound, gained the path. As Pluto walked away, she let the transformation fade; the body armour went away to be replaced by Setsuna's somewhat frumpy clothing. She was well pleased with the morning's work. It was time for a little relaxation. She would go shopping in Oxford Street for some new clothes more suited to her present apparent age. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The light of dawn was reflecting in the rear-view mirror as Setsuna turned off the main road. Slowing to a crawl, she guided the midnight blue Jaguar down a rutted track between overgrown banks. For a couple of hundred yards, Setsuna followed the farm track as it wound its way into the wilderness of Salisbury Plain. Then she parked the car and slid out. For half a minute she stood by the car, considering. This was a special moment; the future of human-kind balanced on this pivotal moment of time. There could be no more important occasion in human history. She did not feel that discrete would be quite appropriate for such a moment of the Destiny as this. Only the full Ceremonial Transformation would suffice, complete with the shouted summoning phrase and the full light show. Besides, what did it matter who witnessed her transformation in this lonely spot? With resolution, Setsuna turned to face the dawn. The Time Staff came to her hand. She held it on high. "PLUTO PLANET POWER MAKE UP!" she screamed. The transformation came in a great surge of light and power. It felt really good. All too soon, the light show faded to leave Senshi Pluto standing by the car in the full ceremonial dress uniform of Queen Serenity's loyal bodyguard, which was so reminiscent of the prevalent dress code of the Japanese school system. Pluto chuckled. She really ought not to have done that. With a little of her particular brand of speculation, she might have easily devined that the Sailor Fuku she had introduced would catch the imagination. In the century or so since, the dress code had spread to almost every school in the Japan Islands. Perhaps it was some sort of racial memory? Japan had been, after all, the capital of the Crystal Kingdom of Earth. Transformed, and the Eternal Song of the Lessor Node rolled over Senshi Pluto, un-dulled by human perceptions. The Lessor Node did remember her; it sang now only for her, calling to the Senshi within to come. The great composers, Pluto mused, must have caught a faint echo of the Great Song and been driven on by its magical beauty to magnificent feats of composition in an attempt to capture that beauty. In that moment, Pluto felt sorry for them all, for their labour of love had to be in vain. This was the heart-song of the universe herself and even the greatest composer could never hope to emulate even a faint echo of that great and wondrous composition of creation. Hardly able to contain herself, Senshi Pluto began to run. Soon she was sprinting wildly, intoxicated by the power bleeding from the Lessor Node. Black mane streaming, bows fluttering, Senshi Pluto cleared fences and ditches without breaking stride as she powered over the grassy plain. Dark clouds, looming over the western horizon, appeared to rise up in pursuit. The just risen sun, reflecting from the tiara, crowned her brow with a spark of golden fire as she raced the dark to claim the new day. Many a local abroad in the dawn, who caught sight of the fey apparition, were gifted with a precious insight. Their belief in the magic and the mysteries, which had abounded in the world when they were children, were rekindled anew in their jaded imaginations. They went on their way, more alive than they had been in years. Senshi Pluto slowed her headlong pace as she neared the great Henge. Some of the last survivors of the destruction of the Crystal Kingdom had clustered about this Lessor Node for protection in the centuries of darkness which followed the fall. In time, this ragged remnant of mankind forgot that they were the heirs of a civilisation which, by the power of their will, had stepped among the stars; but they never forgot the special nature of this place. In time, the power which resided here became revered as holy; and much, much later still, they had raised these great stones to mark the spot. Pluto advanced to one of the portals. It did not matter which she chose. There was nothing special about the stones themselves. The portal would merely act as a focus for her will. She touched the Garnet Orb to first the left stone, then the right. She stepped between the two great megaliths; and her boot sank to the ankle in grey dust. She was on the Moon. Sudden panic gripped her at the thought of hard vacuum against her exposed skin. Then she forced herself to relax. The tingling over her body was just the shell of the sub-space artefact through which she had stepped onto the Moon. It now formed a second skin about her body, which shimmered slightly. Outside was the hard vacuum. The interior space of the artefact was still on earth. The shimmering effect was caused by the difference in strength of radiation falling upon this spot in the Mare Serenetatis, and the spot on Salisbury Plain occupied by the inside of the artefact. Pluto drew in a deep breath, and was relieved to taste the damp grass and stones of the Henge. The sky overhead was a velvety black, sprinkled with diamond bright stars. High up hung the Earth, a blue green crescent. Before her stretched a waste of grey dust, dry as death, dotted with the occasional boulder. Jagged peaks glared at her over the near horizon. There was nothing left to show that here once stood the beautiful Palace of the Moon Kingdom, that before her was the spot in space where the Great Shield had been forged by Serenity's last act of defiance in surrendering her life-force to seal away the enemies of mankind. Pluto could still sense the last lingering essence of her Queen. It was here that the Great Shield intruded deepest into sidereal space. Pluto gripped the Time Staff with both hands and raised it. She gave a great shout, which went unheard in the vacuum, and struck the sky a mighty blow. The garnet orb flashed. The universe rang with a flat note, as though some fundamental harmony had been disrupted. A thread thin crack opened in the sky; and a jet of darkness spurted forth to quickly dissipate in the vacuum. Senshi Pluto lowered the Time Staff. She set the but in the moon dust, her expression grave. Serenity's Seal was broken. The Great Shield was fatally flawed; in time the tiny fracture would grow into a gaping wound. From it would bleed Beryl's lunatic ambitions to poison anew an unsuspecting world. For better or worse, the last battle of Serenity's war with the Demon Goddess Metallia was begun. The date was Saturday 22 October 1977. On Earth, in a select suburb of Tokyo, a newborn baby drew in its first breath.... And screamed. The ecstatic parents had already decided on a name for their daughter... Her name would be Minako. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The beginning...