Author's Note: Here is the next chapter. Don't forget to read the notes at the end of it and do enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, but I do take ownership for the concepts and ideas that went into the making of this story.

::

Memories in Time

By: SailorPerfect

Chapter 5: The Origin of Darkness Revealed

Nemesis, Central Planet of the Dark Kingdom

Victory came in so many ways.

It seemed that although Ares had always been the older brother, the stronger of the two, after so many years of loneliness and the emergence of the strength of his evils, he now held the upper hand.

But such things were not to be gloated on. A prize such as the one now currently sleeping in his bed would always be nameless, priceless. Victory was a sweet taste on his tongue, like a fine wine, although the bitterness of life still held his heart entrapped in its jealousies.

So many years ago he had been gone. So many years of living as a void, as a mere body, a vessel used to conquer the known worlds he held. None of what had occurred had been his choices solely. They had been shared, directed by another who had led him to the victories and power one as young as he would never have been able to carry on his own.

The other had also banished all memories of Selene, feeling a love such as this was weak and would not due to be carried as a torch in a man meant to rule the Dark Kingdom. His existence had been barren, a day by day hell of no emotion. Battles had honed his body into the hard, remarkable build he now held, the killing of innocents beneath his blade chasing the gentleness of youth away. His heart had darkened over time, his mind focusing with only one purpose.

To possess more power then any other in the universe.

Together they had managed to take and possess much of the universe's strengths, much of its wealth and importance. Worlds had been plundered by them, lives had been taken, empires overrun in a matter of hours. Endymion had lived the life of a man empty of all but the thirst for more.

He would have remained trapped in this world, under the other's thrall, but the union of his brother and his woman had been so strong, the surge of power sent out by their joining bodies so powerful, he had awakened as if from a nightmare of years and felt the bombarding of rage and sorrow all in a matter of seconds.

It had been foreign to feel such heartache and despair so quickly, to feel such a betrayal by the two people who had mattered most in his world. But he had soon realized they had thought him dead all these years, gone from them.

His mind had been, trapped in another's, while his body had remained living and breathing, conquering and slaughtering for the gain of more.

But something he had quickly realized as well was that no matter how much he would have been pleased to believe he had been under the other's complete control, he knew in his heart he had not. Ares had always been the stronger of the two, always so confident in his abilities and easily able to control others about him. With the help of the other, he had been able to realize his own power and finally allow it to fester and strengthen, enough to where his brother could no longer match him in a battle against one another.

He would need that power now, he mused as he strode from the balcony of his rooms and back into the cool interior. Selenity lay across his bed, her silvery hair spread about his pillow, her long, slim body stretched out and covered scantily by a single, thin sheet. She looked exquisite, the most ethereal woman he had ever seen in all his travels.

He knew Ares was now preparing his armies, intending to send them out in search of his Queen. Endymion had no intention of allowing her anywhere his brother ever again, nor did he intend for Ares to meet him in a surprise battle. He would find that frightening him would take more then merely a war.

He felt Selene was well worth it. When he had been awakened fully back into himself, the first person he had thought of had been her. His love for her had come back as strongly as it had once been. It was something that had never wavered nor disappeared with time.

Of course the realization that she had become his brother's wife had quickly dispelled any joys he may have felt. Love had swiftly moved to a dark, deadly obsession, and the betrayal, the rage he'd felt upon awakening had driven him to take her from his brother with a black magic he had learned long ago.

The other entity that had taken over his body and banished his memories of her had been then banished by him. Love and obsession for her had strengthened his mind and enabled him to push the other back into oblivion and finally take complete control of himself once again.

He would always be thankful to the other for giving him the power and knowledge he now had. It was that power and wisdom that would help him in destroying Ares and the empire he had created after their father's death.

In bed Selene shifted, her long lash's fluttering for a moment before they lifted and her eyes focused on him. He expected some shock, some surprise at awakening with him for the first time and not her husband. He was pleased she merely held the sheet to her breast and sat up, those eyes remaining calm and cool, and directed steadily on his.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked the question quietly, watching her intently. He had been aware that although he had been able to take her from his brother, Ares himself might also find a way to steal her back. With this awareness he had placed a strong, protective shield in her mind while she slept, blocking any others from invading unless it was him.

She tossed her hair over her slim, pale shoulder, nodding slightly. "Yes, I did." She ran her hands over the smooth, silk sheets, shifting over enough to show him she wished for him to sit next to her.

He obliged, moving forward and settling himself on the bed, drawing her into his arms, her bare body rubbing itself against his naked upper torso. "What is it?" He nuzzled her hair gently, waiting for her response.

She took her time, clinging more strongly to the arms he had wrapped around her. "I've betrayed my husband, Endymion." Her tone broke, her eyes blinking rapidly at the tears that burned and threatened to leak through. "Ares never deserved this."

His arms tightened, his lips forming a thin line. He could feel the fury boiling in his gut, the nameless rage that was quickly becoming a familiar emotion whenever he thought of his woman and his brother. "Do not speak his name to me." He warned her softly, a distinct edge to his voice.

The sorrow and guilt was quickly banished by his tone, her own anger mounting to match his. She twisted out of his arms and took the sheet with her, wrapping it about her body as she paced away from him. "And don't you dare deny what we've done! I married your brother Endymion, your twin brother! And now I've left him to be with you, the ruler of the Dark Kingdom!"

His eyes flared with fury, the deep blue turning a violent black. But when he spoke his voice was calm, completely at odds with the dark shadow moving over his features. "And you will not return to him, no matter how guilty you feel."

Selene raised one slim brow, her eyes shifting from furious to cool. "If I chose to return to my husband, you nor any other would be able to stop me."

He moved so quickly Selene let out a screech of fright, suddenly swept into his fierce embrace, his eyes mere inch's from hers. "You underestimate my powers, little one. You will not move from this palace, from this room, without my consent."

"This is madness you speak, Endymion. You can't hope to keep me trapped in this room for all time." Selene attempted to soothe him, to make him see some sort of reason.

"If it means keeping you at my side and away from any possible threats, than I will most assuredly keep you here." Endymion jerked her closer to him, crushing her lips in a brutal kiss of violent possession under his. When he pulled back enough to allow her air, he quickly began an erotic exploration of her throat. "You've been gone from me for so many years."

This was the closest he'd come to resembling the man she had once known, a gentle, yet strong man who had captured her heart for all time. "I never stopped loving you Endymion, not for one moment of that time."

He could feel the fury threaten to emerge, but he battled the demon back, knowing she wasn't a woman to speak a lie to him. Although she had married and lain with his brother, he knew through it she had never stopped loving him. "You will remain with me now." It came as an order, not a request.

She smiled as she stroked his dark, unruly hair, soothing him with her touch and presence. "I will remain with you." She agreed quietly.

He lifted his head from her throat, allowing his piercing eyes to meet hers. "And what of when my brother comes for you? What of when Ares comes with his armies and threatens me and this world?"

Selene knew the day would come. Ares loved her, as she still loved him, but he would most definitely be gathering his forces together at the present time to assimilate an attack against his twin brother and take his wife back. She was his wife, the Queen of the Silver Millennium and now the Earth, her rightful place by his side. When he came for Endymion, she would have to face him and the treachery of her actions.

She knew though that love was never to be set aside, especially the love she felt for this man. It was an all consuming emotion she would never be rid of, one that she would carry in her soul as long as she existed. Such a love was only ever felt once in all of one's lifetimes.

Wrapping her arms securely about his neck, Selene lifted her lips and melded them with his, directing the kiss to be slow and devastating, and passionate enough to have them both tumbling together onto the bed.

His hands were rough against her soft skin, his mouth avid and aggressive as he traveled with ravenous hunger down her slim length. She cried out against him and arched more closely to him, clutching his dark head in her hands.

Endymion took her furiously, sending them both flying beyond the stars and into their own paradise, free-falling back to the present time and to one another. His chest was heaving against her naked breasts, his face buried deeply against the smooth slope of her neck. He felt love and obsession rise so swiftly he was unable to separate the two, his hands clutching her brutally.

"I will destroy him." He swore it quietly, as his body remained locked with hers, as her arms cradled him drowsily close. "I will rip him apart and eliminate any threats he may pose to you."

Selene chose instead to remain silent, holding him closely and hoping the demon that now lived inside Endymion would never turn itself upon the good of this universe.

::

The Planet Earth

They arrived on the planet amid plans for war and destruction. Ares was gathering his forces to him, several thousands of soldiers flying in from the outer system patrols, others riding in from the corners of the Earth to fight under their King. The rumors were he had gone mad with fury and a demonic rage days earlier, that the force of his seething emotions had caused the entire planet to tremble and a slight wave of power to explode from the earth.

The Senshi had felt this explosion, and although the other senshi had been confused over it Mina had known what it was caused by. Only one with true power and strength could cause such an occurrence. She had been terrified to realize Ares could contain such an enormous amount of energy inside of him.

She was surprised when they weren't questioned at their arrival, even more shocked when it seemed they were expected and escorted from the space port to the palace. The courtyard was filled with men preparing for battle, the halls littered with more soldiers who made their way through the halls to either training or the weaponry room. The young soldier who escorted them took them to a large study, one Mina recognized as Ares'. They were left alone, the door closed at their backs.

In silence they waited, each of them allowing their gazes to travel throughout the room, warily awaiting someone to make an appearance. It took only moments for the doors to burst open and Malachite to rush in, followed by the other three Generals close behind him.

Mina's gaze locked with his, and in them she saw immediate joy, so much she had been about to launch herself into his arms when a voice spoke from the shadows of the room. "You have two minutes to tell me what you know of my wife's disappearance before I consider you traitors and execute each of you myself." The voice was low, filled with hatred and venom, and although they hardly recognized it, each of the women knew who it belonged too.

The Outer Senshi each glanced briefly at one another, moving more closely together as Mina stepped forward and lifted her chin, her blue eyes darkening with anger as her gaze searched the room. "We know Selenity has been taken by her former fiance and your twin brother, Endymion." Mina raised a single, slim brow in mocking amusement. "Were you not able to protect her yourself?"

Each of the women felt the rise of power, the immediate anger that caused Ares' aura to rise and his power to fill the room until Mina feared they would each be consumed by it. "I'm of a mind to murder each of you and be done with it, but the knowledge that you could very well find me my wife holds my blade in place." He emerged from the cornered darkness of the room, and each of the women realized he had shifted from the jealous, suspicious husband they had left, only to become a tyrant who would eliminate any who stood between he and his wife. "So be warned to hold your tongue woman, or I'll be forced to slice it from you."

Mina refused to be intimidated by the look of him, the dark, almost calm way in which he moved through the room, like a predator stalking it's prey. "It seems we must reach a mutual compromise, or we'll murder each other before the day is done."

Ares' smile was thin. "You can be certain of your own death if you defy me, rest assured."

"Enough!" Malachite shouted the command, tired of watching his sovereign threaten the woman he loved. "This bickering gains us nothing. If we do not unite and fight together, we have no hope of ever regaining the Queen and defeating Endymion's armies."

"He's right Mina." Lita spoke quietly, reaching one hand out and gripping her friends arm. She could feel the muscles vibrating beneath her hand, but it was the current of power that worried her, straining for release. "Were all angry and worried for Selene's disappearance, but fighting amongst one another won't help her."

Mina kept her gaze locked with Ares', deliberately relaxing her tense muscles degree by slow degree. Her powers had been much to close to the surface that time, she reflected with some annoyance. "Your right, of course. I'll speak calmly, but not with this man threatening the lives of my senshi."

Malachite spoke before Ares could. "That is agreed, as long as the only murdering we speak of is that of the Dark Kingdom's army." He slid his gaze to his King's, distinctly warning him to not contradict him.

Ares wanted to lash out at these women, who were the closest thing he now had to his wife. He had not wanted to rely on them, had not wanted them near he at any time. That had been the entire reason he had sent them from his planet, to keep her locked more securely to him with no threats. He would now have to live with the guilt and knowledge that if he had allowed them to remain, perhaps Selene would never have been taken from him.

It cost him, to swallow pride and anger, and look at them as fellow soldiers who also loved his wife and wished only for her protection and happiness. "I want her back." The words slipped out before he could censure them, and in them each person in the room was able to hear the immense loneliness and love he held for his beloved wife.

Mina felt herself soften, her anger sliding away and being replaced with a strong understanding. Taking the step he had initiated, she went to him and placed her hand gently on his arm. "So do we. I promise you, your Highness, we will do everything in our power to get her back."

"I want all of you to understand something in this moment." Ares made sure he met the eyes of each of them, the Senshi and his Generals before he spoke. "I no longer consider Endymion my brother, but the man who now rules and controls the Dark Kingdom, therefor making him my enemy. The decisions I make, the actions I take, are to destroy this evil and to take my wife back. I will show him no mercy."

A heavy silence followed, accompanied only by the sounds of soldiers training outside the walls of the room. Everyone of them knew Ares was justified in his anger, in the fury he felt and the vengeance he now desired, but the four Generals who had once known Endymion and loved him as friends could not help feeling a small denial in this decision.

It was Haruka who stepped forward and spoke what the senshi had discussed among one another along the journey to Earth. "If we are to work together then every fact, every truth must be taken into account. Although your anger is your right, you must also realize something else."

Ares' dark gaze slid over her, a single muscle ticking in his jaw. "What?" He snapped the request, his mind already wandering with possibilities to begin his pursuit of his brother and take back his wife.

Mina held up her hand for Haruka's silence, allowing the other senshi to realize she was taking it upon herself to deliver this information to him. It pained her to be the one to tell him this, these truths that would only hurt him more and increase his sense of betrayal, but she and the other senshi had together agreed he needed to be told everything. "Selene is not a weak woman to allow a man to take her and hold her against her will." Mina made sure to keep her gaze locked with his, placing herself between him and her senshi. "You understand that she is a direct descendent of the goddess of the Moon, that she has immense power of her own?"

Ares had refused to allow his mind to take this route of thought, had cut off his wandering mind when he had begun to see past Endymion's treachery and to his own wife's. Even as the seed of doubt struggled to take flight, he ruthlessly shut it away and took blind anger against truth. "I refuse to listen to this." He shoved past her toward the doors.

Mina whirled to face his back, determined to see this through. "Selene was taken, yes, but don't blind yourself to the truth Ares. She made her choice! She remains with Endymion willingly and if you are so determined to declare war on your brother, understand this!" He had halted at the doors, keeping his back to her as she shouted the words at him. "Not only will you be declaring war on your brother, but also against Selene, your wife! She stands at his side now, not yours! And as long as that is her decision, that is where she will remain!"

Malachite moved forward and placed a hand on her arm, calming her and giving her strength with his presence alone. He spoke into the silence that had once again overtaken the room. "She's right Ares. You may choose to fight and ultimately murder your brother, but Selene has chosen. If you succeed in taking the Dark Kingdom, you will have two lives and two treacheries to decide upon: Endymion and Selene's."

The senshi watched as Ares kept his broad back to them, until after moments of silence he turned and each of them was shocked to see the deadly calm that had overtaken his features. "I have made my decision. Endymion will die and my wife will be returned to me unharmed." His eyes were like ice, sweeping the room and taking in each of their shocked faces. "Is that understood?"

They remained silent, watching as he stalked from the room and slammed the door behind him. They were each left with little doubt that the betrayal of his beloved wife and his long dead brother had indeed driven him mad with fury and grief, and also blinded him to the truth's that were set directly before his eyes.

"We must tread quietly with this knowledge." Malachite spoke into the silence, earning the attention of each of the warrior's. "Although each one of us is aware that the Queen made her choice, Ares refuses to see and accept this. His wife left him and although he feels she was taken, it was enough to unleash the legacy of dark power his father left in him."

Mina's eyes sharpened as she turned fully toward him, the other senshi mirroring her stance. "What dark legacy?"

The Generals glanced uneasily at one another, shifting and averting their gazes. It was Malachite who finally continued what he had spoken. "Nemesis was a demi god, a man who had the blood of the gods in him, but also the blood of mortals through his mother, the sole Queen of Earth who never took a husband. She...the late Queen..."

"She lay with the god of war and destruction, the god and King of death." Setsuna finished for him, the eyes of the senshi snapping back to her. She bowed her head in acknowledgement to the look of utter shock the Generals sent her. "You fail to understand who I am." She extended her arm, slim and pale, and in it a long staff shimmered to life, silver and bright, and at the top a globe that swirled with gray fogs and dark secrets. She brought the staff down with a snap, and the thick fog within the globe swirled, revealing huge gates guarded by a sole warrior.

Malachite was unable to speak, so shocked he could feel his heart racing within his chest. "The Gatekeeper. You are the Guardian of the Gates of Time?"

Setsuna nodded once. "I am. And the story you are about to tell is not unfamiliar to me." She met Mina's furious glare. "You Mina must understand that I could not reveal my knowledge until the time had come. There are many things I know, but none of which I may divulge of. Tampering with time carries with it several consequences, and is also against my code. Since the time has come, I feel no guilt in relaying this story to you."

Mina knew her rage was indignant, unnecessary and most certainly uncalled for, but she couldn't help the fury threatening to overflow. "You know where our Queen is."

"And you will as well, soon enough." Setsuna raised a brow in question. "Will you listen?"

Lita took hold of Mina's arm, squeezing in silent warning for her to contain her temper. "We will Setsuna."

"The late Queen lay with the god of war and destruction, the god of death and conceived with him a child. In nine months she gave birth to a son, naming him Nemesis and raising him as a single mother. She knew in her heart that Nemesis would carry the dark evils his father had passed onto him, for Nemesis had been born a demi god."

"But the god of war and destruction, he was..." Haruka's voice trailed off.

"Chaos." Michiru finished, the blood draining from her face.

"Precisely. Chaos fathered Nemesis, then each was killed by the others hand in the Millennium Wars. Only gods may mortally wound and kill one another, which is why each was murdered that day." Setsuna allowed her gaze to meet Malachite's. "And although the blood was diluted, Ares and Endymion each carry that same blood in their veins. They are the grandsons of a god, and each of them is also, by blood, a demi god."

"Demi gods? But how can this be?" Amy exclaimed in horror. "Demi gods, children of Chaos?"

Raye took hold of Mina's arms, gripping them almost brutally as her dark eyes met Mina's, terror in their depths. "My mother...what she told me..."

"It's not possible." Mina refused to believe such a horrid thought, but dread was slowly filling her as the realization of who Selene's father hit her. "Selene could not descend from such a man. She could not!"

"No, she could not." Setsuna agreed calmly, moving to stand before the senshi. "Nemesis is not Selene's father."

Raye swung to Setsuna, breathing fast, fury causing her to shout at the other woman. "Why should we believe anything you say? You've kept so much from us, why would you finally tell us now!"

"You must understand that just as each of us has a duty to our Queen and also a duty we must each fulfill, Setsuna was only accomplishing hers." Haruka's voice was terse, but her eyes were sharp as she stared unflinchingly at Setsuna. "Although some warning would have been nice."

"Wait a minute, wait a damn minute." Mina, followed by Raye, Lita, and Amy, slowly approached Setsuna. "You just said Nemesis is not Selene's father."

"He is not. The Queen conceived her only daughter with another man." Setsuna let out a deep sigh. "This is a story each of you must witness, for my telling of it will not be enough, I'm afraid."

She lifted her staff and the globe shone as brilliantly as diamonds before a brilliant flash illuminated the room, the gray fogs within the globe erupting to encompass the entire room. They were taken to the dimension that existed between time and space, where centuries passed as mere seconds.

I'll take you back, to when the Silver Millennium was ruled by the Queen Serenity, and her court were the Sailor soldiers of old. Here you will see the true essence that is Selene, and come to understand what transpired so many years ago...

::

She had lost track of time in this dark place Endymion had brought her too. It seemed days had passed, a knowledge she was aware of only because her connection to the Moon kept her aware of her home planet and the passage of time. She had thought to feel loneliness and despair, lost in such a place ruled by the presence of evil and malice.

It was Endymion's love that kept her from losing herself and all hope.

It seemed odd to find love in a man who lived and breathed the opposite of what she stood for and what she had always fought against. In the first moments with him passion had blinded her eyes to truly seeing him and his faults, but as those moments had slid away she had come to see that although he had changed and darkened with time, the love he had felt for her had remained.

One night he had lain awake, holding her close with their hearts pounding fiercely against one another, there bodies tangled together, their limbs slick with sweat. As she had struggled for breath and reason, she had felt his head lift, had felt his gaze on her, and had opened her eyes to see his gaze locked on the necklace she had kept with her always, on the pearl that rested against her pale flesh.

He'd been unable to believe she could have kept this treasure he had given her so many years before, especially after having married his brother. There were moments when a black rage seemed to take him, causing him to become surly and pace throughout the confines of their room, brooding in mute silence as she waited for the fury of his temper to pass. He comforted himself with this fact, taking her in his arms and nuzzling her neck, murmuring quietly and calming himself with the touch and feel of her. She had kept his gift, and had never forgotten him in her heart.

Although she knew she loved Endymion and held no doubt in her heart of how strong that love had become even as the years of heartache had passed with his disappearance, she was also aware that she still loved Ares. She had indeed fallen in love with Ares in mere days and although it had occurred as quickly as a slice of lightening streaking through her heart, she knew it held true and it had been the reason she had married him. Her choice in returning to Endymion's side had been solely her choice, but there were moments she felt such a strong sense of sadness and betrayal, and she knew in her heart she felt the fierce emotions tearing through her husband due to her.

In despair at her own tangle of emotions, she strode onto the balcony of her rooms, gazing out at the darkness that was Nemesis. She had discovered after days of being brought here that this planet was populated by people who had resided here before Endymion's takeover. They were the citizens that, although being ruled by a man who was a fiercely known warrior and murdering tyrant, still struggled to live among the normality that had been their lives before Endymion came to them. Yet they were never able to forget their ruler because his army of the dark patrolled the planet and kept order under his command.

In silence she stood, studying what she imagined would be her life now, her future she had set for herself. She often wondered if she had made the right decision. Thoughts of leaving Endymion and returning to her husband came frequently, but then he would come to her, would hold her and kiss her, murmuring words of love and devotion, and her heart would shudder within and make her realize she belonged with him, and she would be nothing without him.

He had left early that morning to begin assembling his men. He had explained to her the night before he had been made aware by neighboring planets that belonged to him that Ares was calling forth all of his own soldiers and was intending to bring him into battle. She had listened as Endymion had explained quite calmly that his own brother was now declaring war on him, and that he had no choice but to accommodate him and meet him. He would not relinquish his rule, nor title, and he would most certainly never return her to him.

It had shattered her to hear Endymion speaking of murdering his own brother with no remorse or compassion. He had spoken of it as if it meant nothing, merely another task to accomplish in his spreading rule of the universe.

She couldn't allow Endymion and Ares to murder one another. She loved them both and would only wish for them to come to some understanding and bring peace the galaxy as each of them had once believed in. How could their hearts have changed so dramatically?

Because of you...a voice whispered, a voice that represented the guilt living and breathing inside of her, everything that happens now is your fault. The death and destruction to follow will be caused only by you...

She shut her eyes and shook her head sharply, although she knew the truth in the words. If it hadn't been for her none of the sorrow and heartache, this entire war would never be occurring. Had it been selfish of her to merely wish for her love back, to return to Endymion's side? Had it been wrong for the two of them to re-ignite the love that had once burned as a fierce torch inside of them?

Even as these thoughts consisting of guilt and remorse raced through her mind, she slowly became aware of a shifting occurring in the air about her. It was subtle, almost insignificant, until the stirring of power grew greater and she recognized the source, even as her mind rebelled against it. Her head lifted and her eyes searched her surroundings, unable to comprehend this could be really and truly happening.

A small shimmer formed in the air before her, a tiny light that was as clear as a crystal and as beautiful as heavens light. Taking a step back in sheer shock, the crystal suddenly erupted in a blinding foray of violent lights, causing her to shield her eyes against the majestic glow.

The crystal lights glowed and pulsed with power and life, until it calmed and allowed Selenity to lift her eyes and watch the tall, slender woman standing before her, huge wings framing her back as she stepped gracefully forward.

"Selenity." The Angelic one spoke, the voice as pure and elegant as the majestic queen she had once been. "My darling, how you've grown."

Selenity could feel the tears in her eyes, could feel them trickling down her cheeks, even as the shock of it nearly brought her to her knees. "Mother?"

"Yes, it's me." The eyes were a smoking blue, calm and holding thousands of years of ancient knowledge that Selenity had always wondered at. "I always knew you'd grow to be a beauty. I see so much of myself in you, but its the strength and nobility of your father that shine from your eyes."

Selenity shook her head, moving forward so she was standing close to her mother, the two women standing eye to eye. "I don't understand. How is this possible? I prayed and prayed to the goddess for your return, but nothing-"

"Selene." Serenity spoke only once, but the tone had her halting. "I do not have much time. I have not come back, I have not returned. I am merely here in spirit because it is time you understand your past, your birth." The eyes softened, with a trace of both love and despair. "It is time you knew the origins of your birth."

Selene felt a shiver move down her spine at the graveness in her mother's eyes. "My birth?"

"I never told you who your father was. It is time for you to know." She reached forward and took her daughters hand, bringing it to hold against her cheek for a moment. "Many treacheries surround you, my beloved, many mysteries and such malicious jealousy mingled with possession. I would wish for you to understand where it is you descend from so you may understand your place in this galaxy, your importance. And I know now you will understand the decisions I made, and how love may be found in more then just one man."

"What? Mother I-"

Serenity released her daughters hand, silently gliding back, until she stood some feet away. When Selene attempted to move forward Serenity lifted her hand and halted her, her form shifting, fading, as the power that Selene had first felt grew so rapidly the air fairly vibrated with it. Within power came the shifting of time, the planet of Nemesis receding and bringing only darkness.

Selene could no longer see her mother, indeed she could only see only endless night, as if days had never existed in this dimension. The space created to hold time here was consuming, bringing with it the sensation of drowning, as if a sea of frost crawled over the body and took any emotions one might feel. Indeed she felt insubstantial, in a solitary despair caused by the sea of endless time her mother had taken her too. This was the curse brought by moving through centuries, through eons of worlds. One must conquer the cool fear of solitude and darkness in order to move through here.

Selene recalled stories of people who had attempted to use the Gates of Time and had emerged, unable to control the fear that festered and grew in the heart caused by the travel. Insanity had taken them, a punishment, but it was the curse that had remained with them until it had driven all memories of courage and light from their mind.

She could feel the creeping darkness, slithering into her mind, and just as the fear began to take hold she heard her, her voice sounding as if from a distance, but strong and true, echoing through the vastness of hollow existence and sliding smoothly into her mind and heart.

Remember that darkness and hate may never be taken lightly. The deepest of night drapes itself over evil and enfolds it into its arms, hiding it from those who would wish for good. But remember this as well, my daughter: love and hope may fight the darkness, even when all hope seems to be lost. Courage and the purity of spirit will be the only weapons against malice and greed. Take these virtues and you will exist as a ray of pure light against even the blackest of demons...

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Author's Note: A thousand apologies for the super long delay in getting this chapter out. To every single reader who kept right on e-mailing me and not giving up hope, this chapters for you guys!

Now then, did you guys like it? I hope so! Now I know I've left it at a major cliff hanger, but the next chapter I'm currently working on and I basically know exactly where the story will go from here. No more writers block with this one, its up and running! I hope to get the next chapter done in much faster time and have it up for you readers. Obviously the next chapter will center on what happened in the past and shine some light on several things. So stay tuned!

: SailorPerfect :