Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in Italics are thoughts;

Text in Triangular Brackets is psychic communication;

"'No secret is forever.' That is a profound truth, and one that I am reminded of time and time again as the decades pass.

"It is odd to look back across the centuries and remember those first years. I was still a child, both in body and in soul, filled with a child's simple view of the world and the creatures living in it. However, I was also a warrior, a fighter for justice against evils that were not only from beyond this world, but also from beyond this universe.

"As much as there was a part of me that desperately wanted to transform in the middle of a boring class and accept the plaudits and adulation of the other girls, I knew that I could not do that. I would be risking my own safety, that of my family and friends, and that of everyone to whom I had revealed my other identity. Too many of the agents of the Negaverse were walking the Earth. If they found out who Sailor Moon truly was, no one I knew would be safe. They would all be weapons to use against me.

"So I kept my peace, deliberately exaggerating my early-teen clumsiness to contrast even more dramatically with the agile and strong Sailor Moon. I even started deliberately over-reacting to minor frustrations and hurt to make me seem a cry-baby, one unlikely to be the fearless magical champion of the Moon.

"However, you cannot kill the truth, only bury it deep. And nothing ever stays buried forever. My friends and I were all lucky to have intelligent and perceptive friends and relations. In the end, it was only a matter of time..."

"You are the one for me, Serenity," Prince Endymion of Earth said as he leaned forward. Serena could almost feel his lips on hers. "I have never felt like this about anyone before, and I never will about anyone else. I love you."

"I love you too, Endymion," Princess Serenity of the Moon said in a small, emotion-choked voice. I love you, Darien, Serena's mind added. The Prince of Earth leaned down, pressed his naked body to Serenity's, and began to stroke her gently. The electrifying contact caught them both in an escalating spiral of joy…

*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!*

"WHAT?" 16-year old Serena Thompson awoke so suddenly that she jumped into a sitting position, disturbing her feline guardian, Luna. When she realised who and where she was, she slapped the 'snooze' button on her alarm clock and slumped back onto her pillows. She folded her arms and twisted her pretty face in a disgusted scowl. "Damn it," Serena hissed. "Why, gods? Why do I always have to wake up when I get to the good bit?"

"That isn't fitting language for a Princess," Luna said in a disapproving tone of voice, although Serena could see good-natured humour in the golden eyes of her guardian. "As for why you always wake up before you reach the good bit… Well, if you want time to enjoy all of your dreams, maybe you should try to get to bed earlier than 1AM rather than spending all night 'chatting' with Aramina and Amy over the Internet."

Serena stuck her tongue out at her oldest friend and was about to think of a suitably biting retort when her mother called from downstairs. "Breakfast, Serena! Come on, love, you'll be late for school."

"And we don't want that, do we?" Serena said to herself sarcastically with a mock idiotic smile.

Luna chuckled like a parent watching the antics of a wayward but beloved child. Serena wasn't exactly the best student in history. Oh, she had improved a lot, the nightmarish D- and the occasional 'F' grades had vanished from her report cards over the last few years (mostly thanks to Amy and Greg). Her current steady C+ to B+ grades were not too bad (indeed, since Darien started helping her, she had even managed the occasional A- in History, her favourite subject). However, she still lagged behind most of her class in several subjects. She just wasn't the studious type. Considering her destiny, Luna found that unfortunate.

Serena had stripped off her pyjamas and was now shrugging into her school uniform, which (for some reason) was a sailor's fuku. Oh, it looked somewhat cute on a pre-teen, Serena admitted to herself, but she wasn't impressed any more. She would prefer something with a longer skirt, for instance. She was getting a little too leggy for the micro-miniskirt that was part of the uniform.

Serena stopped off in the bathroom to wash her face. Her face had got a little longer in the last few years, but little else had changed. Her eyes were still a vibrant blue (her inheritance from her American maternal grandfather). However, she noted that she would have to dye her hair again soon. Her natural black hair coloration was now clearly visible at the roots. With a sigh, she pulled her hair up into her preferred ondango styling and went downstairs. She rarely wore makeup for school. She didn't think it was worth the effort.

"Hey, Sis," Sammy said, briefly stopping his inhalation of his breakfast cereal to acknowledge his older sister. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, if you look forward to dying of boredom in school, which I don't," Serena said, repeating her usual complaint about school. It was odd how it had become a habit, although she didn't really hate it anymore. "Good morning, Mama, Papa."

Kenneth Thompson looked up from his morning Nippon News and gave his oldest child a bare nod of acknowledgement before returning to his consideration of the financial pages. Irene, his wife, was more expressive. "Good morning, darling," she said, kissing her daughter on the cheek. "Are you ready? Today is the day of the big English test you've been studying so hard for isn't it?"

Serena's jaw dropped open in a very comical fashion. It was indeed the day of the English Language test. Serena had to master the language, as it was the lingua franca of the industrialised world. And no, she hadn't done a bit of studying since learning of the test last week, apart from one short cramming session with Heather's boyfriend, Richard (who spoke it like a native… because he was a native). All the other alleged 'study sessions' were actually dates with Darien, Senshi training or fighting for her life against assorted NegaGoons. "Um… yes, I'm ready," Serena managed to say in a very faint voice.

***

It was lunchtime at Juubian High School, Tokyo. Serena was out in the yard, doing something alien to her. She was studying.

"Mercury's Sandals! This is the first time I've ever seen you study so hard!" Amy Anderson was extremely impressed at the pile of books surrounding Serena on the picnic table. Her usually rather air-headed friend was nearly invisible behind the pile of books on English grammar, pronunciation and language. "You know, I'm starting to think that we have more in common than fighting monsters!"

Serena, her face hidden behind a book, gave her friend a slightly ironic smile. "Well, we've got a test today," she said. "I've got to be ready for that!"

"Didn't you study at home over the last week?" Amy asked innocently. Stupid question, I know, but…

"Well, well, it's the cry-baby and the swat!" announced a nauseatingly familiar voice. "And the cry-baby has become another swat too!"

Amy twisted around and looked at Cassidy Wilkes, the most popular girl in the school and the foulest bully. She was even worse than Serena's previous nemesis, Leanne, who had dropped out after getting pregnant at just 15 years old. That matter had killed Serena's opposition to Darien's insistence that they wait until they were married before having intimate relations. You see Leanne always used protection, but there was no such thing as 100% certainty in this world. "What's the matter, Cassidy?" Amy asked in a sneering tone of voice. "Worried about your score?"

"Hardly," Cassidy yawned. "However, it looks like Ondango Atama is worried."

Serena scowled. She didn't know how Cassidy had learnt the nickname that Darien had given her, and she didn't care. The other girl just drove her to distraction. "Maybe I want to do well," Serena announced. "Maybe I want my life to be more than hanging on the arm of a rich husband and whoring myself to keep body and soul together!"

Cassidy sneered at Serena's comeback. "Ooh! We've got an emancipated woman here, girls," she sneered, making her entourage giggle mindlessly. "Obviously she isn't interested in Mr. Darien 'I own a publishing empire' Shields because of his money."

It took all of Serena's self-control not to use her Moon Tiara attack and allow the horrible girl opposite her make an ash of herself. Having Amy's hand on her knee, holding her in a sitting position helped a lot. She drew in a deep breath. "I am interested in Darien for other reasons than his big portfolio, Cassidy," she announced with a wicked smile. Amy giggled at the image that put in her brain.

Cassidy snatched the book out of Serena's hand and threw it away. Then, with an idle shove, she pushed the rest off the table. Only Serena's reflexes stopped the books from crushing her toes. "Wave your boyfriend around while you can, cry-baby," Cassidy hissed. "He'll see sense soon enough, and you will be what you deserve to be: Ignored and alone."

Serena could take most taunts, but ones about her relationship with Darien, who she loved, had loved thousands of years ago, and would always love were something she would not endure. "You close your mouth, harlot!" she snapped. "Your jealousy is so transparent!"

"Jealous? Of you?" Cassidy tilted back her head and began to laugh uproariously. "Oh that is just precious." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled patronisingly at Serena. "I could have any man I want, dear, including your precious Darien. Indeed, I may already have!"

Serena shook off Amy's hand and was suddenly on her feet. She was going to tear Cassidy's head off and damn the consequences. Twenty years in jail would pass in a moment so long as she could silence that nagging voice. "That's it!" she shouted.

"Come on," Cassidy said, raising her hands in a Judo offensive stance. "I'll make that face of yours even uglier!" There was a sudden blur of motion and Cassidy was on her back, staring up at Lita Harrod with a disbelieving expression.

The tall brown-haired girl was smiling down at Cassidy in a way that the bully didn't like at all. "Leave under your own power or on a stretcher," Lita said in a deadly, level tone of voice.

Cassidy knew about Lita's reputation as a fighter. She didn't need to consider the offer for a moment. She fled. "That's right!" Aramina Love shouted at the retreating bullies, suddenly emerging from the crowd who had been watching the confrontation. "Run and don't come back!" The blonde-haired European girl turned back to her three friends. "I was with you guys all the way, you know."

Serena felt the battle adrenaline running out of her system and smiled at her best friend in a shaky fashion. "I know you were, Mina," she said quietly. She had been surprised and appalled at how close she had coming to losing control. Even without her powers, Serena had learnt enough about fighting over the last two years to kill Cassidy with her bare hands, despite the bully's black belt in Judo. She was going to spend a lot more time at Raye's shrine from now on. She would take up her fiery-tempered friend's offer of lessons in anger management meditation.

The other three girls watched Serena's sudden slumped posture with some worry. "So, you guys ready for the test?" Amy asked, trying to give her friend and sworn liege-lady time to recover her composure.

"Of course," Lita said with a slight smile. "Ken helped me study," she added, blushing slightly.

"I'm ready, but that doesn't stop me from being nervous," Mina said.

"Mina, you are going steady with an English lord," Lita said in a puzzled tone of voice. "English is your first language! What have you got to be nervous about?"

"Nothing, and that is what makes me nervous," the blonde girl said, dancing fretfully from foot to foot. "How about you, Serena?"

Serena smiled warmly at her best friend. "I'm terrified," she announced calmly, a large droplet of cold sweat forming at the side of her face. "I can't remember a word of the language."

***

"Alright, class, hand your papers in now," Miss Haruna said. The students of Class 13C passed the test papers forwards so that the students in the first row could hand them to the teacher. "All right, that concludes the test," the teacher said. "I'll mark them tonight and you can learn the scores tomorrow." There was a barely suppressed groan of frustration. Waiting overnight for a test score was a nightmare for girls in their last year, especially when this was going to be a critical mark for their final rating on the subject. "I'm sure you can't wait," Miss Haruna said with a slight smile.

She's a sadist, Serena thought darkly. First Queen Beryl and now Miss Haruna! How will I survive?

"Psst! Serena!" Serena turned so she could see Mina, sitting on her right. 'How well do you think you did?' she mouthed. Serena grimaced and raised her hand horizontally, waggling it in a 'so-so' gesture. What was the difference between 'their,' 'there' and 'they're' anyway? She couldn't remember a single bit of that one!

Looking in the other direction, Serena saw Amy, who looked insufferably smug. 100% and an A++ grade again, Serena predicted. She would give a lot to have Amy's supercomputer-like brain. However, the small girl with the short black hair had very little social life except her passionate love affair with Greg, one of the boys in the same year at a nearby boys' school. Serena presumed from this that there was a price to pay for educational achievement.

"Now, girls, if you'll get out your math books," Miss Haruna was saying, "we'll continue the module on Products and Division." Serena rolled her eyes. Math was another one of her non-favourite subjects. Still, she could see the point of this now. Being able to figure one's household bills without the use of a calculator was one of those survival skills of the modern urban jungle.

Then, something curious and terrifying happened. As Miss Haruna began to chalk something on the blackboard, the chalk line suddenly twisted off the slate surface and curled around her wrist like a living thing. The teacher screamed in panic and tried to back away. She couldn't get free and more chalk lines began to tangle around her…

Suddenly, the test papers flew off Miss Haruna's desk and began to swell in size growing huge and suddenly folding into giant origami shapes resembling bipedal monsters. The blackboard twisted off the wall and began to slither forwards on innumerable chalky pseudopods. "Girls! Run!" Miss Haruna screamed.

Almost immediately, the origami-monsters moved to block the door. "Learn!" one roared in an inhuman voice.

"Teach!" the blackboard-monster roared, seemingly in reply.

Youma! Serena thought in terror. Here, in school! This had been her nightmare for a long time, to be caught in a fight in public where she had neither the time nor the necessary privacy to transform into Sailor Moon. What made matters worse was the instant hysteria of Serena's classmates. It was difficult to think, let alone decide what to do next when the tsunami of mob psychology was trying to reduce you to a screaming, paralytic wreck.

"Learn!" Serena suddenly snapped back to here-and-now as one of the Learn Youma charged her, its' paper claws extended to impale her heart and suck out her life-force. Trained instinct took over. Serena jumped out of her chair as if she were flying and somersaulted over the monster's 'head' to land on the table on its' other side. As it whirled, she unleashed a spinning kick that knocked it over her desk and out of the way.

Over to her left, Lita was defending herself as best as she could. Amy and Mina were using their chairs as makeshift weapons to hold other Learn Youma back. Another was lurching towards Serena, its' strange limbs extended. She launched herself forwards and kicked it in the centre of the chest, knocking it backwards. She used the recoil of the impact to launch her back across the room to kick the other Youma, which had just staggered to its' feet. Serena's twirling double-kick was so powerful that the creature began to spontaneously unfold and shrink as the Youma retreated to the Negaverse to heal.

However, Miss Haruna and the rest of the students were not part-time superheroes and they were in deep trouble. As Serena looked on, a Learn Youma impaled a girl through the chest. Serena recognised the girl immediately as Molly Baker. Before Serena had met her sister Senshi, Molly had been her best friend in the world. The demon began to tap out Molly's life force greedily; a process that Serena knew could end at best in death and at worse in becoming some kind of mindless zombie slave. Miss Haruna was hanging limply in the Teach Youma's grip, obviously close to death.

Serena's perceptions, heightened by her fear and anger, slowed reality down so she could think about her options. She could defend herself adequately, but without using her special powers, there was no way that she and her three friends could save their classmates from death or worse. Serena realised that, in the end, she had no choice. None at all.

With a strange sensation of relief, she pulled her Disguise Pen out of its' scabbard up her left sleeve. Serena Thompson was about to cease to exist, and she would be simply Sailor Moon, the champion of justice, for the rest of her life. It was a difficult choice, but it also solved many problems. "Moon Crystal Power! Make up!" Serena shouted, holding the Disguise Pen over her head.

She just had time to see Amy's jaw drop open and hear Mina shout 'Serena, what are you doing?" Then the power of transformation claimed her. Her clothes dissolved into pure lunar elemental energy. In less than a second, the energy reformed into her white body armour with a blue chiffon sash. The transformation energy centred on a point just over Serena's left hip, where her Moon Brooch materialised, the golden crescent moon logo glowing with its' mistress' massive power.

In the chaos, surprisingly few people noticed the sudden appearance of the famous girl superheroine. "Moonlight beam!" Sailor Moon shouted, unleashing a blue-white energy bolt from the gemstone in the centre of her tiara. The Learn Youma closest to her simply exploded into flame as the moon energy consumed it entirely. Then, Sailor Moon grabbed what looked like a black metal rod on her right hip. As it came loose of the bracket mounted on her hip a white energy blade suddenly flashed from one end of the slender rod. Whirling her Moon Soul Blade like a razor-sharp fan, Sailor Moon crashed into the massed Youma, slicing off their limbs and freeing their victims.

The Youma quickly surrounded Sailor Moon and numbers threatened to tell, as the demons were re-forming to create new limbs as quickly as the Priestess of Diana could cut them off. Everyone was staring at the young warrior now, as the Youma were concentrating on her, ignoring the other girls.

"She can't win on her own," Mina said quietly, coming to the same desolate realisation that her best friend had come to seconds before. "Not against those numbers."

Amy nodded numbly and Lita just frowned as she pulled her Disguise Pen from her sleeve. They had their sworn duty as Senshi, and that was all that mattered. It was all that they could allow to matter. Without any comment, Amy raised her Disguise Pen above her head. "Mercury power! Make up!"

"Jupiter power! Make up!"

"Venus power! Make up!"

Suddenly, there were four warriors in the room. "Shine aqua illusion!" Sailor Mercury shouted. A field of blue-white energy glaze flowed from her fingertips and struck the Youma, sticking to them like some kind of glue. The demons screamed and froze, unable to move for a moment.

Sailor Moon took her cue. "Lunar shine protection, strike out!" The semi-permanent force field around Sailor Moon's body suddenly turned into a field of spikes and razor-sharp edges that radiated in every direction, blowing the Youma aside like the paper sculptures they were. "Nice work Am… Mercury," Sailor Moon said, waving to her friend. "Okay, let's finish this! Venus, Mercury, let's herd them into a corner so Jupiter can do her stuff!"

There were two 'snap-hiss' sounds as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus activated their Soul Blades. The three young women lay into the paper demons and quickly herded them into a corner. "Now, Sailor Jupiter!" Moon shouted, sweat running down her face.

"Jupiter Thunderbolt Power!" Sailor Jupiter said, unleashing a lightning bolt from both hands. The massive energy discharge heated the paper making up the Youma's assumed bodies to flash point in a millisecond.

There was a massed scream of "Shocking!" before the Youma burst into flame and disappeared in a puff of ash.

"Well, that wasn't so much of a chore," Sailor Venus said cheerfully.

"Teach!" a monstrous voice screamed and a jet of pressurised chalk-dust struck Sailor Moon in the back, sending her tumbling across the room. Instinctively, Sailor Moon rolled with the kinetic energy of the attack. Ignoring the stinging acid-like pain wherever the dust had touched her flesh, she somersaulted to her feet and span around to face the single surviving Youma.

"Crap! I forgot about the big mama!" Sailor Moon hissed, brushing off the Negaforce-empowered dust as best as she could.

The Teach Youma was waddling across the room, the helpless Miss Haruna still held in its' horrible coils. Before anyone could react, the creature began to glow. "Teach!" it screamed again. This time what looked like words and numbers in glowing purple light began to flash through the room. Horrifically, the energy seemed to siphon down Mercury, Venus and Jupiter's ears. The three Senshi clutched their heads and began to scream in agony as the Youma's attack began to overload their brains with a surge of random information.

"No!" Sailor Moon, not knowing and not caring what danger this might put her in, jumped across the room. "Lunar shine protection!" she shouted. Her force field expanded again, blocking her three sister warriors from the monster's attack. This combined with a wide-range healing energy discharge that restored the other Senshi to full health and made a few of the fallen schoolgirls stir weakly.

The Teach Youma stepped back and seemed to be thinking about its' next move. "An abomination of fear like you has no business in this place of learning and knowledge," Sailor Moon announced, pointing at the Youma, every bit the priestess and princess at this moment. "Release your victim and return to your true place or, in the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"

The Youma growled inarticulately. "Teach!" it suddenly bellowed, and fired four more jets of pressurised chalk dust. Long prepared, the four Senshi took the hits on their personal shields without even a twitch.

"Your loss, freakazoid," Sailor Moon shouted, more Serena than Princess Serenity now. "Jupiter, you're our defensive line!"

From behind the other three, Sailor Jupiter muttered a spell that created a charged field in between the Senshi and the Youma. Any further attacks would have to pass this formidable barrier, letting the other three Senshi concentrate their powers on the attack.

The Youma realised that it was in trouble. Every time a Senshi stepped forwards brandishing their Soul Blade, the creature hopped forward and held out the comatose Miss Haruna as a human shield. "This is a stalemate, Sailor Moon," Sailor Venus snapped.

Sailor Moon caught her best friend's eye and nodded once, making a nearly imperceptible gesture with her free left hand. Then she looked at Sailor Mercury and nodded.

"Yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!" Sailor Mercury screamed, like the heroine of a certain sword-and-sorcery TV show that she loved so much. Leading with the sky-blue Mercury Soul Blade, which was buzzing like a psychopathic electric shaver, she lunged towards the Teach Youma. As before the monster held out its' victim as a shield.

This time, however, the four Senshi had outmanoeuvred the monster. Sailor Mercury stopped well short, her attack nothing more than a loud and extrovert feint. "Venus love-me chain!" shouted Sailor Venus, loosing an orange-pink energy ribbon from her right index finger. The energy chain lashed around the Youma's rectangular body and yanked it backward off-balance.

"Teach!" it howled, in anger and fear this time. In a single blur of inhumanly fast motion, Sailor Mercury lunged forwards and severed the creature's chalky tentacles with one sweep of her sword. The Champion of Truth snatched the schoolteacher and, with the speed of her namesake, zipped away from the Youma before it could recover enough to try to regenerate.

Sailor Moon removed the Moon Tiara from her forehead and wound up like a pro baseball player. "Moon Tiara execution!" she shouted, hurling the decoration forwards. The tiara turned into a whirling blade of blue-white energy which struck the monstrous abomination in the centre of its' rectangular body.

"Lovely," it howled and disintegrated into white light, which imploded in upon itself with a puff of moon dust.

The Moon Tiara span back to Sailor Moon, who caught it and nonchalantly placed it back on her forehead.

A long silence fell in the classroom. Sailor Moon strode past the overturned desks and trembling girls to where Sailor Mercury was cradling Miss Haruna's head in her lap. As Sailor Moon knelt beside the Priestess of Hermes, Venus and Jupiter were helping the girls to their feet, making sure no one had been injured or, far worse, had been turned to the Negaforce. "How is Miss Ha… How is the teacher, Sailor Mercury?" the heir to the Moon Kingdom asked her friend.

"She'll be just fine in a minute, Sailor Moon," Sailor Mercury replied, pulling the Caduceus Wand from the armour over her left lower arm. She held it out over the comatose woman and concentrated for a second. "Healing power… activate," she whispered. The wand glowed with power in the same colour as Sailor Mercury's body-hugging armour.

Within a few seconds, Miss Haruna's eyes flickered open. She stared up at the two armoured women looking down at her in confusion. "M… Miss Anderson? Miss Thompson? What are you wearing…? What… oh… Oh my…!"

Serena felt that all the bitter pain that would doubtless follow this public revelation of their secret identities was worth it to see the look of utter disbelief on the rather prim and proper schoolteacher's face. I guess you don't get to stay being a schoolteacher if you can't recognise your own pupils, Sailor Moon thought with an impish smile as Sailor Mercury stowed away her Caduceus Wand. The shorter Senshi was desperately trying not to laugh at the expression on the teacher's face as she climbed shakily to her feet. She saw the other two Senshi and this only added to her culture shock.

"Miss Love? Miss Harrod? Why are you…?" Miss Haruna shook her head. "You… you four are the Sailor Senshi?" A statement, rather than a question, really.

"In the flesh, Miss Haruna," said Sailor Venus, ever the showgirl. The blonde-haired Priestess of Aphrodite curtsied deeply, making the other three laugh.

"Four of them anyway," Sailor Moon added with a totally straight face. "You only get so many of us per classroom. It's a union rule thing."

Molly, who had largely recovered from the attack by one of the Learn Youma walked over and looked Sailor Moon in the eyes. "S… Serena?" she whispered. "Is… is it you?"

"Sometimes," Serena said. She impulsively hugged the other girl. Serena had not been as close to Molly as she once had been, thanks to the revelation of her destiny. Even so, she would have hated to see her hurt. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Molly. Those Youma don't usually stop until you are dead."

Suddenly the room was filled with a Babel of voices. People were shouting excitedly to be heard, asking questions, begging to be allowed to try out a Soul Blade or shyly requesting an autograph. Sailor Moon staggered under the sudden weight of notoriety. From now on, her life would never be the same; she knew that.

"Well, at least I know why you never do your homework," Miss Haruna said. She was laughing and shaking her head in disbelief as this revelation dispelled every mystery about these four girls instantly.

Suddenly, Sailor Venus walked over. "Serena, I've just thought of something," the Champion of Love announced as she walked over, brushing off her classmates idly. "There is no telling how much damage those Youma could have done by even a passing physical contact. I think that you should use the Crescent Moon Wand to heal everyone's MINDS."

"That… that is a great idea, Mina," Serena said thoughtfully. The Crescent Moon Wand's power over the mind was easily abused and Serena was wary about using its' full potential. However, quick-witted Mina had suddenly presented a simple solution to the whole problem. "Everyone, can I have your attention please?" Serena said loudly. The Babel of voices fell silent and everyone was looking at their superheroine schoolmate. Serena quickly outlined a highly credible but fictional side effect of being attacked by a Youma and announced that she would use her Crescent Moon Wand to heal them.

"Venus… Joyful Sleep," Mina said as soon as everyone was looking at them. There was a long silence as she began to glow with orange light. Every non-Senshi fell into an ecstatic trance-sleep; their minds empty save for a deep, joyful sense of fulfilment. The trance was necessary for the Crescent Moon Wand to have its' full effect.

Serena raised the Crescent Moon Wand. "Moon healing glow," she said. The wand began to glow blue-white. "Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are not Sailor Senshi," she announced loudly. "The Senshi teleported in to stop the attack and then teleported out after making sure that everyone was all right. Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita were all in your sight at all times. They saw the Senshi too, and they cannot be the same people as those heroes."

Serena lowered her wand. The four girls transformed back into their school uniforms just as Miss Haruna shook her head and looked around. "Oh! They didn't even wait for us to thank them," she said in disappointment, just as one of the school's security guards finally smashed down the magically sealed door.

Serena looked at Amy, Mina and Lita and mimed wiping the sweat from her brow. That one had been too close for comfort.

***

"We really dodged a bullet this time, Darien," Serena said without looking away from the Raptor – Call of the Shadows II video game. Serena chopped back the throttles of her fighter plane and performed a twirling stall spin to get behind one of the Khanate's blocky fighter ships. She squeezed a trigger, sending a barrage of titanium shards, laser bolts, plasma charges, mini-rockets and air-to-air missiles into the enemy ship. The vessel exploded into flame and Serena ducked underneath it, switching her weapons selection to air-to-ground missiles to blow apart a gun turret on the ground below. Suddenly she was mobbed by about a dozen helicopter gunships, which tore her fighter apart. "Damn it! I was about to get the highest score!" she shouted at the screen, which was showing a crashed fighter and a message shouting 'Too bad! You're dead!' Then the message changed to 'You've got a high score!"

Darien looked on as Serena spelt out her 'tag' – MOONIE, in the second highest score box. "That is pretty good, Ondango Atama," he said affectionately, ruffling her hair. "No one in your school has got that far before. Only Andrew has done better, and that is because he is here almost all the time!"

Serena knocked Darien's hand aside with a mock angry pout. "That's no excuse," she said. Darien laughed and kissed Serena on the cheek. Then he helped her out of her seat (the game cabinet was one of those sit-inside designs) and led her over to 'their' table in the Crown Café, near the counter.

"So what was the bullet that you dodged today, Serena?" he asked discreetly as soon as Andrew had supplied them with their usual order of coffee and chocolate muffins.

Serena sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, only that the Negaverse attacked our class today. Mina, Amy, Lita and I had to transform in front of the whole class to fight off… gods, maybe thirty-five Youma!" Serena only rarely surprised Darien, and she was pleased to note that she had done so today. Her boyfriend's mouth had made a most satisfying 'O' shape. "Of course, everyone saw us and they all recognised who we really were immediately."

Darien shook his head. "I 'felt' you go into battle this afternoon," he said shakily. "I didn't feel any particular fear or strain, so I knew you were handling it but…" Darien stopped and looked around, surprised at how disappointingly 'normal' everything was. "So where is your police escort and hoard of screaming fans?"

Serena giggled. "Well, we got lucky. Mina and I were able to hypnotise the whole class into forgetting who we really were. But it was close this time, Darien. It was too close, if you see what I mean."

Darien did know. Frankly, it worried him a lot, this whole 'double life as superheroes' thing. The oldest of the 'gang' were Alex, Michelle and they were only 22 years old. The thought of suddenly losing the few precious moments of privacy and normality in their existence must have terrified the four girls, for he knew that it terrified him in his darkest nightmares. It was to their credit that they didn't hesitate to act to defend the innocent, despite what it looked like it would cost them.

From their future daughter's two visits, they knew that in the future, Darien and Serena Shields would be King Endymion and Queen Serenity of the Crystal Kingdom. Their friends, too, would be famous warriors and leaders, public figures in every sense of the world who were instantly recognisable no matter where they were. However, none of them were willing to take on such a public role this early in their lives.

"I'm glad everything worked out," Darien said, playing with one of Serena's long pigtails in an absent-minded fashion. Serena smiled at the easy intimacy of the gesture. They might have decided not to go all the way, but they were already closer than most couples would ever be.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Supreme General Diabolus of the Negaverse asked General Inquisitor, his chief intelligence officer.

The pale man nodded. "The correlations are within one one-thousandth of one percent of certainty on the probability scale," Inquisitor replied. "There is no doubt that this girl is, in fact, Sailor Moon."

Diabolus looked at the photo-quality printout thoughtfully. He had fought Sailor Moon and her fellow Senshi more than once and had a healthy respect for their powers and skills. Nonetheless, it was a strange feeling to realise that she was actually this… little girl. "Such a pretty girl," he said absently. "It shows that truth of that old phrase that goes: 'never judge a book by its' cover…'"

"Sir?" Inquisitor asked.

Diabolus waved his hand to dismiss his subordinate. This was an incredible chance. Not only could he now strike at Sailor Moon's most vulnerable spot, her family, there was a better-than-evens chance of capturing her and turning her to the Negaforce! All because some low-level agent tried to attack the wrong class at the wrong school at the wrong time! The black-haired warrior grinned viciously. Now you will pay for all the times you have interfered in our plans Sailor Moon, he thought. His fingers stroked the face on the printout. Or should I say… Serena Thompson…

The general stood up and keyed on the intercom system. "General Wolfspite report to my office immediately!" he ordered.

***

It was Saturday evening, three days after the incident at school that nearly blew Serena's cover for good. Much to her frustration (she did have other plans for the evening, some of which were even semi-legitimate) Serena found herself on a family outing. Her father, in one of his periodic flashes of guilt about not spending more time with Sammy and her, had decided that they were going to go to a 'Picnic in the Park' concert. Yuck, was Serena's internal verdict on the concept. Not only do I not get to enjoy a sleepover with Raye and the girls at the Hino Shrine, but I also have to endure that awful Western classical music that is just sooo monotonous.

Nonetheless, her father was resolute on the plan, even though Sammy was even less enthusiastic than his older sister was. Appealing to their mother was counter-productive, as she felt that Serena spent too much time out of the house anyway and thought a 'family bonding' evening was a good way to lead into a truly restful weekend.

As the Thompson family Toyota Landcruiser made its' way through Tokyo's crowded streets to Imperial Park, Sammy could see his sister's eyes lose all focus. She's thinking about Darien Shields again, the boy predicted. When does she think about anything else? Sammy snorted and turned back to looking at the world passing by the window. He would give a lot to be playing on his Game Cube right now, rather than travelling through the city to a boring cultural evening with a pair of adults and his space-case older sister.

When Sammy thought that Serena was thinking about Darien, he was completely wrong. She wasn't thinking about Darien. Indeed, she wasn't even thinking, in the strictest sense of the word.

Hi Raye, Serena projected her mental vocalisation across the city.

A familiar fiery warmth dominated by a deep blood-red glow filled Serena's consciousness as Raye Hino replied to her friend and sister telepath. Serena! Why are you 'pathing me? We're all expecting you at the Shrine tonight!

I've got to cancel I'm afraid. My Dad has suddenly got an attack of family responsibility and he is dragging Sammy and me to some concert at Imperial Park.

Aw no! Raye sounded incredulous and angry, one of her most common emotional states. Serena! We've got so much planned! Couldn't you have made an excuse? Pretended to be sick or something?

Serena smiled. You don't know my Dad, she said. He has a sixth sense for BS, Raye. He would have detected a fake at once and I would have been grounded for weeks, if not months. Serena could feel Raye's telepathic 'flavour' change as her mind reacted sceptically to Serena's explanation. You know how your Grandfather gets when he is in a 'let's clean the Shrine' mood? Well, that is my Dad when he decides it is time we did something as a family.

Bummer! Raye's voice was tinged with sympathy now. There was a sudden mental glow that was Raye's irrepressible grim sense of humour at work. Do you need any help? Raye 'asked' in an innocent tone. Want me to use Martian Firestorm to destroy the bandstand? Serena had to choke down an urge to laugh. Sammy looked at her in an odd way, clearly thinking that she was going mad or something.

There was a long pause and Serena could sense something. Raye was talking to someone vocally, probably Chad given the softening of Raye's emotions and the edge of affection that suddenly appeared in her mind. With the sudden move of Raye's mental focus, Serena could also feel something else nearby, just on the edge of her consciousness… a darkness of some kind. She shook her head. There was always darkness stalking Tokyo these days. This was clearly in the upper end of the power bracket. Worse, it was focussed entirely on her, and it made her hackles rise instinctively. Raye… Serena warned.

I got it too, Raye replied, suddenly all business, suddenly entirely the Priestess of Ares, god of war. Trista says that she and the other Outers are already on their way. I'll gather the other Inners and get moving.

Serena nodded uselessly (Raye had already broken her contact) and changed her focus. A new sensation, a loving golden warmth that seemed to come from everywhere at once filled her perceptions. Darien?

Keep your eyes open, Darien replied along their aeons-old psychic link. I'm only a few minutes away.

Hurry, Endymion, Serena said, her increasing nervousness and fear making her slip into using her boyfriend's past and future name. Whatever it was, it was entirely focussed on her and, worse still, her family. It took all of her self-control not to transform now and try to copy Mina's teleport move so she could get them to safety.

"Okay, here we are," Ken Thompson suddenly announced. Serena would have jumped out of her seat if she were not held down by her seatbelt.

Serena nervously undid her seatbelt and stepped out into the semi-darkened car park. There were few people around, which made Serena feel better. Fewer people who could be Youma hosts or Negaverse agents. She stepped away from the van and looked around her hawkishly, honing her senses to a fine edge as she tried to locate the source of the danger. That is when she heard her mother scream.

Serena turned just in time to see a transformation that was so terrible that not even her worst nightmares came close. Sammy was glowing with a red light and his body was swelling up, with muscles, horny spines and claws extending from his flesh. Within seconds, he was unrecognisable and looked like something out of Doom or Quake. Before Serena could put together her wits enough to respond to the sight of her beloved baby brother being transformed into a Youma, a massive black hole opened up in reality and four more clawed spluttering demons leaped out to seize her parents.

The sight of the sneering Negaverse agent, General Wolfspite, standing in the midst of the chaos slipped Serena's mind from 'neutral' to 'drive.' She transformed and leapt forwards, intending to blast this creep into dust before freeing her parents (who had both mercifully fainted from the Youma's energy-stealing touch) and then working on curing Sammy of his curse. To her frustration, the Sammy/Youma jumped in her way. "Brother Love!" it bellowed at her.

"Moon glaze distraction," Serena responded. Her body began to glow with blue-white moonlight and the Youma took a step back, fascinated and entranced by the sudden tranquillising energy. Sailor Moon grinned in triumph and leapt forwards to free her parents.

"Brother Love!" the largest Youma shrieked again and launched a red energy bolt that knocked her out of the air. Sailor Moon rolled with the impact, but she was still stunned as she rolled to a halt about thirty yards from her imperilled kin. She staggered to her feet and shook her head, trying to reset her brain. How could that demon have resisted the moon glaze distraction?

Wolfspite, ever one to enjoy the sound of his own voice, answered the question for her. "What is the old phrase? 'Familiarity breeds contempt?'" he called out. "Well, it also breeds certain skills, Ms. Thompson. Your brother has been in the presence of your powers so long that he has developed a measurable resistance to them. You will find it difficult to beat one of his power, without killing the host as well as the demon."

Sailor Moon snarled. In a single motion, she snatched the Moon Tiara from her head and threw it at Wolfspite. The Brother Love Youma reached out with one of its' arms and blocked the attack. The energy release made it bellow in agony. "Sammy!" she shouted in useless fear and worry.

Wolfspite began to laugh. "Family love, how touching," he mocked. "If you have quite finished with your useless struggles, Ms. Thompson, I am willing to make a deal."

That caught Sailor Moon's attention. Since when did the Negaverse make deals? They conquered and stole. They had never shown an interest in negotiation before. Then something else struck her. Wolfspite had called her 'Ms. Thompson.' She swallowed the automatic response of 'how did you know my name?' before offering a more neutral answer. "Why do you keep calling me 'Ms. Thompson?'" she asked in a deliberately bored tone of voice, drawing herself up regally, trying to maintain the act. "My name is Sailor Moon, or 'Your Royal Highness, Princess Serenity,' to you, traitor."

Wolfspite's laughter became mocking. "You can drop the act, 'Your Highness,'" he sneered. "Your birth name is Serena Elaine Thompson. You are a 16-year-old girl from the Juubian district of Tokyo. This is your mother, father and younger brother." Wolfspite's smile became slightly vicious. "As you can see, we are quite well informed about your real identity."

Sailor Moon sucked in a deep breath. She didn't know how this was possible, and she didn't care. All that mattered was to get her family out of the firing line. "Okay, so you've done your homework, congratulations," she said in a slightly snide tone of voice. "Release them all," she continued calmly. "This is between us, Wolfspite, between Negaverse and Senshi. Don't involve innocents in our war."

"Spare me," Wolfspite shouted angrily. "There are no innocents in this war, Ms. Thompson, only masters and slaves. We of the Negaverse are the masters! Those who will not join us… will be slaves!" The Negaverse general had to spend a second to recover his poise after his impassioned outburst. Finally, he sneered at the Moon Princess. "Our terms for releasing your kin are quite simple, Ms. Thompson," he said. "You will give yourself, willingly and without any resistance, to the service of Negaforce. You will take the place of the late Queen Beryl and lead our forces to ultimate victory."

Serena had to restrain the urge to laugh aloud. He must be insane to even think… she thought before suddenly sobering. But he holds the cards. I'd better stall until I can come up with a plan. "And if I refuse?" she asked.

Wolfspite smiled. "Well, then we'll see how your mother and father fit in our ranks. I'm sure that, with their knowledge of you, they will both be as useful agents as your brother is proving a useful soldier."

Serena felt an icy gem of terror in her heart. It was clear that Wolfspite, or his mysterious superior, had thought this through pretty carefully. With the Brother Love Youma's resistance to her powers, they even had a decent chance of success. Finally, Serena came to her decision. It was the only one she could make, but she was sure that she would have a hard time looking at her reflection in a mirror ever again. "Forget it Wolf-spit," she snapped. "You are insane if you think I would turn to the Dark Side. I would be betraying everything my family have taught me if I did that, even to protect them."

To Serena's surprise, she saw some respect in the Negaverse general's eyes. "To be honest, Sailor Moon, I never doubted that you would say that," he said quietly. He turned to the nearest Youma. "Take Mr. and Mrs. Thompson to a conversion bay. Brother Love, keep Sailor Moon back until we are clear." The wormhole opened again and Wolfspite and the Youma holding Serena's parents prepared to leave.

"NO!" Sailor Moon screamed. Blazing with the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal suddenly launched herself forwards. The Brother Love Youma blocked her way, but its' resistance to this power was far weaker than that to Serena's normal powers. The two of them were stopped dead with a silver and red flash of light by the interacting powers. The six-armed monster tried to hold the Senshi back as Sailor Moon, half-hysterical, tried to reach the demons dragging her parents off to brainwashing and slavery. "No, Sammy please fight it!" she shouted, sobbing in desperation and terror. "Please let me save them, Sammy!" There was not a hint of recognition or comprehension in the demon's eyes.

Suddenly, a short-stemmed red rose lofted through the air and struck the Youma right between the eyes. The creature reeled back as if it had been struck by a wrecking ball and fell to the ground with an earth-shaking concussion. Darien! Serena's mind exulted. Suddenly she realised that her Prince's arrival might be too late, the other Youma were about to cross the event horizon into the wormhole… and they were still carrying her parents. "Tuxedo Mask!" she shouted. "Collapse the wormhole, quickly!"

If the black-suited Earth Prince was surprised by the request, he didn't hesitate. A single red rose flew into the wormhole; the massive release of Earth elemental energy destabilised the particle flow through the event horizon and caused the formation of a singularity. In an instant, the wormhole collapsed in on itself, the energy backwash blowing Wolfspite and the Youma almost a hundred yards across the car park. The energy flare illuminated the entire city for a split second.

"Now, let's finish this," Tuxedo Mask said firmly, calling upon his full power. "Life energy beam." Red-gold earth elemental energy began to sparkle around his fists as he levelled them at the Brother Love Youma, which was still staggering to its' feet. Before Serena could say a word, the energy blast, more than enough to destroy the monster a dozen times over, lanced across the space.

"No!" Serena shouted, whipping the Moon Sceptre out of its' pouch. "Moon Sceptre Barrier!" The powerful magical shield intercepted Darien's attack and caused it to detonate uselessly in mid-air. Darien looked at Serena in utter disbelief, unable to understand why she would protect a Youma from his attack. "Tuxedo Mask! The Youma's host is Sammy Thompson!"

"That's right, Prince Endymion," Wolfspite shouted, pulling himself to his feet. "If you want your lover's brother and parents freed from the Negaforce, you and she will give yourselves to it willingly. Think of the power that you two would enjoy together!" Sailor Moon had to give Wolfspite points for thinking on his feet. Darien had been turned once before to the Dark Side, and, perhaps, he was hoping that would make him more receptive than her.

"Forget it," Tuxedo Mask snapped. "Release them all or face the consequences."

"I don't think you understand the situation," Wolfspite sneered. "You can't defeat Brother Love without killing its' host before I return to the Negaverse with my prisoners. You don't have a choice!"

Suddenly, Sailor Moon realised something and felt an idiot for not realising this before. Wolfspite's entire strategy depended on her being delayed by having to fight the Brother Love Youma without killing Sammy, allowing him to escape with his prisoners. However, the presence of Tuxedo Mask upset that equation. She wondered if the Negaverse agent had realised that yet…

Tuxedo Mask saw Sailor Moon look towards him. Her eyes were red from crying in pain, fear and anger, but they were clear. He also 'saw' what she wanted him to do. Suddenly, the Princess of the Moon was moving forwards. The Brother Love Youma leapt forwards to grab her in a bear hug. However, she wasn't there anymore. Instead, she was soaring gracefully through the sky, somersaulting over the creature's head. Simultaneously, Tuxedo Mask raised his cane and pointed it at the creature usurping the body of the cheerful, optimistic boy he had come to regard as his own brother. A stream of rose petals rushed forwards from the tip of the cane and began to spiral around the Brother Love Youma, trapping it within an invisible cylinder of Earth elemental energy.

Wolfspite was frozen for a second as the Princess of the Moon leapt across the full moon high in the sky and landed behind his force. So graceful, so powerful and beautiful, an irreverent part of him thought. No wonder she is the heir to the Empire… Before she had even landed, she had destroyed one of the Youma with her Moon Tiara attack. In an inhumanly fast blur of motion, she caught the airborne projectile as it returned and hurled it at another Youma with the full force at her command.

The second Youma burped "Lovely!" and imploded into moon dust.

Impossible, Wolfspite thought in horror as his mind recovered from this display of power enough to think coherently about his situation. This plan can't be failing so fast! It can't!

The general tried to wrestle his pulse pistol from its' holster. "Brother Love! Attack!" he shrieked. Unfortunately for him, the huge Youma was still trapped within Tuxedo Mask's Petal Life Trap. Wolfspite briefly caught Sailor Moon's eyes and didn't like what he saw there one bit.

"Moon heart spiral!" Sailor Moon shouted, pointing both arms at Wolfspite. Projectiles of blue-white energy (all shaped like little valentine hearts) formed a spiral of energy around her forearms. The energy vortex suddenly flashed forwards like horizontal tornado of energy and slammed into the Negaverse agent. The man screamed in agony as the surge of life energy overloaded his Negaforce shielding and dampened his dark powers to a dangerously low level.

The two remaining Youma, nearly mindless beasts at the best of times, were now in a serious dilemma. Their standing orders were to keep hold of their prisoners. However, their commander was clearly in mortal peril, and shouldn't he be their first priority?

They immediately released their prisoners and lunged towards Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon! Watch out!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.

"Concentrate on your prisoner!" Sailor Moon replied. She couldn't risk Sammy… the Brother Love Youma getting loose. She leapt over the two charging monsters and landed behind them. Her Moon Soul Blade flashed in a single pearly white arc and neatly cut both Youma in half through their waists. They imploded into light and were gone.

Wolfspite staggered to his feet and realised that he was in serious trouble. He was running dangerously low on power and he had also just run out of troops. He pulled out his pulse pistol and pointed it at Sailor Moon in an attempt at a threat. Sailor Moon smiled dangerously, another moon heart spiral attack curling around her right fist. She lifted her left hand and beckoned the Negaverse agent forwards, inviting him to take his best shot.

Wolfspite didn't get to be a general by being dumb enough to engage in single combat with a young woman who was perilously close to being a goddess. He holstered his sidearm. "Very well, I yield," he suddenly announced. "You've only won a battle though, Ms. Thompson," he continued. "You can't be everywhere, you know. Eventually, one day, we will get your family and the only way you will be able to save them is to surrender to us. Do it now and save them unnecessary agony."

"You are hardly in the position to be delivering ultimatums, General," Sailor Moon replied.

"Nonetheless, it is made," Wolfspite replied. "Consider it well." With that, the dark wizard opened a wormhole, stepped through it and vanished. The wormhole closed behind him and all was still.

Sailor Moon sagged for a moment as the adrenaline rushed from her system, then turned to her parents. They were still lying slumped on the blacktop where the Youma had dropped them. "Mama! Papa!" she cried, rushing towards them.

Suddenly four familiar figures dropped out of the sky each wearing armour similar to Serena's, only in blue, green and two shades of grey. "Gods! What happened here?" Sailor Uranus said in disbelief. She looked up and pointed at the Brother Love Youma, which was pounding uselessly on the walls of Tuxedo Mask's trap as the rose petals continued to spiral around it. "And what in all the hells is that thing?"

"It is my brother," Sailor Moon said in a low, hopeless tone of voice. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as her heart finally caught up with Wolfspite's threats. "They… they were after my family Alex… they… they wanted to turn them and use them against us… I…"

"Hey… Shh… Cool down, Serena," Sailor Uranus said, hugging her young friend awkwardly. The woman with the short, boyish blonde hair turned to her sister Senshi. "Heather, Trista, how are Serena's folks?"

Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto were already kneeling beside the two unconscious people. "They are unconscious, but unharmed and untainted," The Champion of Destruction and Rebirth announced in her hyper-serious tone of voice. Although Heather's main power lay in the shadows of the Death Force, paradoxically it made her a superb healer and one who could intimately know the quality of a person's soul. "They will likely have little memory of this."

"But what are we going to do about him?" Tuxedo Mask asked, gesturing to his prisoner.

Sailor Moon broke away from Sailor Uranus' hug and turned to face her Prince. An idea had come to her mind; one that had forming there since this horror had begun. "I… I have an idea," she said, gulping down her tears. "I can cure him, but I need him immobilised."

"Okay…" Tuxedo Mask said sceptically, generating another red rose. He dispelled the petal life trap and threw the rose, blowing the Youma onto its' back again.

"Ground bonds!" Sailor Uranus commanded. Rocky arms suddenly swelled out of the blacktop and seized the Youma, holding it still.

"Okay," Sailor Moon said, pulling out her Soul Blade again. "This is tricky, but I think I can do it."

"Careful," Tuxedo Mask said as his true love clambered up onto the huge creature's chest. The four Outer Senshi, who had drawn their own Soul Blades (or Glave of Silence, in Saturn's case), mirrored his concern.

Sailor Moon was standing on the centre of the creature's chest now, the tip of her blade touching its' hide. Queen Serenity, mother, the young woman prayed, goddess Diana, guide my arm now. Give me success and cure this innocent of this evil. With a sudden motion, Sailor Moon drove the blade into the creature's chest and then yanked it out. The Youma made a gargling noise and stopped struggling against its' rocky restraints.

"Serena! Gods! Why?" Tuxedo Mask shouted in disbelief.

The Outers jumped and Sailor Neptune covered her mouth, looking utterly horrified. "Serena! You've killed him!" she protested.

Suddenly, Sailor Pluto's hand was on the shoulder of the aqua-garbed Champion of the Oceans. "Watch and learn, Michelle," the ancient Champion of Time counselled.

As they watched, a black stinking smog poured from the wound in the creature's chest and boiled into the night sky. It formed a massive cloud overhead, howling like a million lost souls as it did so. Simultaneously, the body on the ground shrunk down until it was that of a twelve-year-old boy… a living twelve-year-old boy. The Youma, now separated from its' host, howled inarticulately and prepared to attack.

"Moon planet power!" Sailor Moon shouted. It was a needlessly powerful attack, but she needed a release of her anger right now. Blue-white energy crackled around her hands, which were pressed together over her head as if in prayer. Then she pointed those joined hands at the monster and let loose her most powerful attack. The blinding pulse of blue-white light was so powerful that the Youma was simply atomised before it could make a sound.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. Sailor Moon had dropped to her knees at Sammy's side. The boy was moaning and groaning as he slowly regained consciousness. With infinite care and love, Sailor Moon cushioned his head in her lap and pulled the Crescent Moon Wand from its' place. "Moon healing glow," she whispered. The blue-white light covered Sammy for a moment and his eyes opened.

"Sailor Moon?" he said. He tried to rise and look around, but he was still too weak. Nightmare images of being transformed and enslaved were crashing about in his mind, disorienting him further. "Wh… where is my family? My mother and father…? Where is my sister?"

Sailor Moon covered her brother's lips with a hand. "Shh… quiet, stay calm," she said. "Your parents are unconscious, but they are going to be fine. I sent your sister to call for an ambulance." Sammy turned his head to see the Outers, aided by Tuxedo Mask, carefully arranging his parents in a comfortable position nearby. "You were attacked by monsters, but we drove them away," Sailor Moon continued. "You are very weak. Sleep now."

That command was backed up by the power of the Crescent Moon Wand. Sammy's eyes began to relentlessly close, but before he relaxed into a healing sleep he had a chance to look at the heroine above him and whisper out one word: "Se… re… na…?"

Sailor Moon lowered her brother's head to the ground and stood. She turned to Tuxedo Mask and nearly fell into his arms. The shock and the anguish of the night was catching up on her now, and she needed his strength to just stay upright. After a moment, she turned to her recently acquired friends. "Guys," she said, "I'd better call an ambulance, just as I told myself to," she giggled slightly and was appalled at the edge of hysteria in that sound. "Look, Raye and the others are on the way. Tell them the situation is under control here but…"

"But if they have attacked the family of one Inner Senshi, they may attack the families of the others," Sailor Pluto finished for her in a grim tone of voice. "We'll split up and protect them, Serena, don't worry about that."

"This fight is getting ugly," Sailor Saturn added quietly. "Now the Negaverse are targeting our kin! It makes a girl happy that she doesn't have a family anymore." Sailor Moon winced at that comment. Heather didn't mean anything bad by her words, but the implication was clear that she thought that Serena herself would be better off without a family.

"Nice way to help someone, 'Little Miss Sunshine,'" Sailor Uranus snapped, thumping her colleague on the shoulder. "Let's go."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask watched as the Outer Senshi rose into the skies and were soon lost from sight. There was a sparkle of light and they were Serena Thompson and Darien Shields again. As if in a dream, Serena pulled her pink mobile phone from her belt and dialled the city's emergency number. After the operator assured her that an ambulance was on the way, Serena fell into Darien's arms and began to cry helplessly.

***

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Luna announced unhappily.

Serena was sitting on her bed, looking out of the window. "Neither do I," she admitted. "But Luna, I can't think of any other way to handle this." Her feline guardian nodded sadly. Her family had been discharged from hospital within an hour, seemingly unharmed by their experience. However, Serena had not slept last night, spending hour after hour using the power of the Crescent Moon Wand to ensure that none of them, especially Sammy, had any memory of the horrors that had been inflicted upon him. The rest of the time she had spent fretting about what she should do next.

Now, this Sunday morning, she had come to a momentous decision, one that must, by necessity, change everything. "I just can't forget Wolfspite's threat," Serena explained. "I can't be everywhere, Luna. I can't protect them from the Negaverse so long as they are ignorant of the threat to them."

"But can't you just give them an edited version of events?" Luna protested weakly.

Serena could tell that this protest was for show only. She stroked the cat's head. "No," she said. "If I tell them just of the threat, they will want to know how I know. I could lie, but something tells me that this would be playing into the Negaverse's hands."

Luna sighed and stood up, pacing restlessly on her liege-lady's bed. "Serena, I am really very uneasy about this whole plan," she said.

Serena sighed. "If you have any other ideas…?" she asked, a little hope lifting her voice.

Luna shook her head with a laugh. "No," she said. "No, Princess, I do not, and that is the really frustrating part of this. This attack, this whole strategy, is just so unexpected. Nothing could prepare you for it, and there is no foolproof response on your part, given the Negaverse's demonstrated capabilities." The cat shook her head at last. "No, there is no other way. However, you should be aware that this must, necessarily, change your relationship with them forever."

"I know," Serena said, tears trickling from her eyes now. "That part hurts, Luna… But how else can I keep them safe? Safe for now, anyway."

Luna nodded wisely. "In both her visits to our time, Rini was quite certain about the fact that her grandparents did not survive the advent of the Crystal Millennium," she said. "Darien's parents have been dead for over a decade, but yours…"

"So long as they didn't know who I really was, there was a slight chance that Serena Thompson's parents might have survived, even if Neo-Queen Serenity's parents did not," Serena completed Luna's thought. "Who knew what crazy story I might have made public to protect them from the Dark Moon family?" Serena wiped away her tears and sucked in a sob. "By telling them my identity, by making our kinship known, I am signing their death warrants."

Luna sighed and climbed up onto her mistress' chest to rub her face supportively. "Remember what Sailor Pluto is always trying to teach you," she advised. "The future is forever in motion. There is no 'destiny,' no 'fate,' other than that we make for ourselves. Do as you feel is necessary to protect your family from the Dark Kingdom and hope that by preparation, determination and blind luck you are able to write some history of your own."

***

Serena slowly walked downstairs to the living room and marvelled about how normal everything was. There was no indication that the minions of the Negaverse had attacked her family not twelve hours previously. Her father was gamely trying to beat Sammy in a game of Pokémon Arena 2 while her mother was dusting the mantelpiece. You would think that nothing untoward had happened, Serena thought. Is this confidence, ignorance or denial? She cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me?" Everyone looked up. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Everyone could sense the waves of emotion radiating from Serena's tense body. Without a question, they gathered around her. "What is it, darling?" Irene asked her daughter in a loving, supportive tone of voice.

"It's about what happened last night," Serena began. "Those monsters attacking us…"

"Serena, we've talked about this," her father said firmly. "This was just a random attack, like has been happening all through Tokyo for years now. There is no reason to believe we will be attacked ever again."

"I… I'm afraid that isn't true, Dad," Serena said firmly, a tremor of unease in her voice.

There was a long silent pause. "What makes you say that?" her mother asked, her kind face filled with worry.

"Because I'm their target," Serena explained. "They will attack again, because they are after me."

"Serena, that's just stupid, and conceited," Sammy scoffed. "Why should you be different from the millions of Tokyo?"

"Because I'm not like everyone else," Serena said. She looked at their faces, trying to decide on what to say next. She had been rehearsing all night and all morning and had come no closer to deciding exactly what she should say. "This is so hard," she added lamely. She noted that her father looked openly sceptical, obviously attributing her words to teenage female hysteria. Sammy looked worried, concerned and, somehow, uncertain, as if something was tugging at some memory that the Crescent Moon Wand had not soothed away. Her mother's expression was entirely neutral, except for a distant sadness and this worried Serena, as she couldn't decide what that expression might mean.

"Let your sister talk, Sammy," her mother said quietly. "Tell us, dear, why do you think these demons are targeting you?"

"Because… because…" Serena's voice faded. "Oh, this is useless, I can't tell you!"

"Yes you can, darling!" her mother protested.

"Serena, if you are in trouble, you should tell us at once," her father chimed in.

"I can't just tell you, because you would never believe just the words!" Serena continued as if neither of them had spoken. "I'll just have to show you!" Before any of her family could react, Serena pulled out her Disguise Pen and uttered the magic words. "Moon Crystal power! Make up!" Ribbons of light and swirling stars suddenly surrounded Serena, making the other three jump back. Suddenly, she was standing there in white body armour with a blue chiffon sash. A golden brooch with the emblem of the moon was on the front of her left hip and a golden tiara with a blue gemstone was on her forehead.

Her father looked ready to fall over, his mouth had dropped open and Serena could swear he had stopped breathing. Sammy looked astounded, disbelieving and excited. Serena could just about hear the words: 'Cool! Wait until I tell my friends!' Her mother still looked sad and… oddly enough… relieved.

"You… you…" her father stuttered. He stopped and shook his head. "This is a dream… a nightmare!"

"I wish," Serena said quietly. "This is real, Dad. I… I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice, the Priestess of Diana and heir to the Kingdom of the Moon."

"I know," Irene said unexpectedly. Serena looked at her mother in deep disbelief. "Whenever Sailor Moon was on the news, you were not around," her mother continued. "You have those four close friends with whom you spend so much time, and there were five Sailor Senshi until just recently. It could have been a coincidence if it only happened once, but again and again? And then there is your young man, Darien Shields… Is he the one they call 'Tuxedo Mask?'"

Serena got control of her voice again. "I can't say one way or the other," she said at last. "Those aren't my secrets to reveal, Mama."

"I… I guess I knew last night," Sammy said. "In the car park, I looked into your eyes and I knew who you were, even though I couldn't see your face clearly."

"The eyes are the window of the soul," their mother said reverently. "There are some things that no magic could hide. That is why I knew almost from the beginning." Suddenly, Serena found herself hugging her mother hard. Irene stroked her hand through her daughter's hair and endured the hard touch of the kevlar plating making up her body armour as it pressed into her. "When I was carrying you, I could feel that my baby would be something special," she said gently. "I always knew that you were more than just my daughter, that you would be vessel to something wonderful, something from beyond time."

"I love you so much, Mama," Serena whispered. "I may have the soul of a princess from thousands of years ago, but I'll always be your daughter." Irene's only response was to hug Sailor Moon a little harder.

Finally, Serena looked at her father, who had gone pale and seemed to be having difficulty taking all this in. "Please understand, Daddy," she said. "I don't want you to hate me."

Ken sucked in a deep breath. "How long?" he asked at last.

"My powers first appeared just after I had my first period," Serena said. "I started training when I was thirteen, and I went into battle for the first time just after my fourteenth birthday, although the press didn't start reporting the exploits of the Senshi until some time after that." Serena didn't mention who was doing the training. She didn't think her parents were ready for the concept of a talking cat.

"My little girl, the warrior," Serena's father whispered. He laughed ruefully. "My father always insisted that I was dense and here is the proof. I didn't once guess that something was amiss. Not once did I even have a hint of a clue about this!"

"I did go to a lot of trouble to keep this secret," Serena said in a wry tone of voice. She looked at her mother with a slight grin. "Obviously, I wasn't careful enough."

"So this is why those monsters attacked," Sammy announced. "They were trying to get to you through us. They wanted to use us against you."

Serena nodded. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this war I seem to have inherited," she said.

Her father shook his head. "We're your kin, Serena. That makes this our war as much as it is yours. You should have come to us at once."

"Don't be naïve, Ken," Serena's mother interrupted. "How would have we reacted? She was right to keep her secret for as long as she could."

"But that isn't possible anymore," Serena said. "The Negaverse, that's the name of the bad guys, have made threats against you, specific threats. I can't protect you from them without you knowing exactly what is going on and why." Serena explained as concisely and as clearly as she could. She told them about the Negaverse and its' eternal quest for dominion. She told them about its' hellish ability to turn men into monsters. Finally, she told them about how the agents of the Negaverse had hoped to use them as weapons against her. After she finished her explanation, her family was very quiet.

"So what do we do?" Sammy asked at last. He was trying to look brave, but Serena could tell he was terrified. Hey, that was okay by her, as she was terrified too.

"I've thought about that," Serena said. She touched her brooch and the Silver Imperium Crystal appeared, glowing brightly. Serena pulled it from the brooch and held it up to the light. "Hold out your right hands, please," she said. When everyone complied, Serena concentrated and held up her hands as if in prayer. The Silver Imperium Crystal continued to hover in place and its' warm moonlight-like glow began to intensify. A single gem of light appeared in each hand and solidified into a blue-white crystal. "These are Moon Gems," she said. "They are concentrated pieces of the energy that gives me my powers." She sucked in a deep breath. "Please press them to your chests, right over your hearts."

Her kin complied and the gems seemed to sink into their bodies as if they were made of hot wax. A warm blue-white glow briefly covered everyone's bodies before it quickly faded away. "Cool," Sammy said. "Does that mean that we have powers too, now, Sis?"

Serena shook her head. "No, Sammy, it doesn't," she said. Sammy's face fell comically. "However, it does mean that you have some… special abilities. For a start, the power of the gems will prevent a Youma from possessing your bodies. Additionally, their power will provide you with a limited energy shield that will protect you from most light Negaforce attacks. As I can sense and manipulate lunar elemental energy in all forms, it also means that I will know exactly where you are at any moment. If you are attacked, I will know immediately, and I will be able to rescue you." Serena didn't tell them that she had never tried a teleport before, let alone the very difficult remote recall teleport she was now proposing. They would all have to get used to doing new things from now on. Serena placed the Silver Imperium Crystal back into her brooch and it faded from view.

Sammy was grinning up at Serena in an infuriating way. "This is so cool," he said. "I can't wait to tell everyone at school!"

"Sammy!" their mother began in an angry tone of voice.

"Kidding!" Sammy protested, turning his flashing amber eyes to his mother. "Mom, you don't think I am so stupid as to blab this about do you?"

"Serena…"

Serena looked at her father. "Yes, Daddy?"

"I love you very much, my darling little girl," her father said gently. "And I am very proud of how brave and strong you are growing up to be." Then all four members of the Thompson family were hugging tightly.