After finding Romana, Alam was not sure what to expect. Certainly not a giant ring surrounded by lab equipment. And he certainly did not expect his pursuers to rush in. Alam watched said pursuers as they were literally frozen in place on the stairs. The one thing he could not help notice was how oddly quiet it was after the two men were immobilized.

That following silence was brief.

Arms of the Crystal Guard flung all over before Alam could react. Shouts overlapped one another, making them incoherent, but the rough tones told Alam that he was in big trouble. One voice cut through the rest, almost drowned out.

"Wait! Stop!"

Alam peeked his eyes through the Crystal Guards surrounding him. Romana, the very woman he tried to save, was coming to his rescue. "Let him go!" she ordered the others.

"Release him." That was Sailor Mercury, whom Alam barely saw through the guards. She was visible after the guards moved aside yet still flanked Alam. "I would ask how you have escaped the guards, but we have more important things to worry about. Your advice, Romana?"

Alam held in a retort and watched Mercury turn away. His eyes briefly glanced around the cavernous room before they fell on Romana, now walking towards him. "Romana, I…" Alam started but she cut him off.

"Alam, please wait," Romana said then turned to address Mercury. "Listen, now the Time Lords know I'm here, they will try their hardest to get to me. How soon can we get it ready?"

"Not long," the blue-haired Scout replied. She glanced over to Alam. "What about your friend?"

"Leave him alone," Romana explained without looking at the exile. "He can stay here to help me out. His powers may be useful. It's your only chance."

Mercury slowly nodded. "Very well."

"But, mistre–"

Mercury cut off the guard who asked, the very one by Alam's right. "The decision is final. Everyone take your stations!" she said and whirled around to convey her new orders to her own people, the several white-coated scientists by the giant ring.

Alam opened his mouth but Romana spoke before he even could. "Alam, what are you doing here?" she asked, turning to him with a look of surprise.

"I was trying to look for you! Trying to get you away from…" Alam stopped himself when he was reminded of the guards on either side.

Romana sighed, and it turn Alam to see the disappointment in her eyes. "Alam," she began, hand rubbing her brow, "you were supposed to have waited. If you did, this whole thing could have been avoided. Now, you may have done more harm than good… for all of us."

"I don't understand," was all he could say.

Again, it hurt to see the look in Romana's eyes. "For now," she said, clearly changing her mind, "stay here. I might need your help with all of this soon enough."

"Wait! What can I do?" Alam called out when Romana turned away. Though the guards blocked his view of the Time Lady, he heard her response and the restrained exasperation in it.

"Just… wait there."

Hiding a frown, Alam stood there and waited with the guards all around him. Though they blocked him from Romana, Alam still saw the two men in red, frozen like the wasteland outside Crystal Tokyo. They were still very much alive, and Alam peered at them.

A guard grabbed his shoulder. "Eyes forward," he ordered, forcing Alam to look away.

However, Alam was sure he saw a light blinking from one of the two frozen men.

Aboard his flagship, Andred tried flexing his injured hand as he sat back in his command chair. "Did you send the command?" he inquired his second-in-command.

"Yes, sir. The rest of the fleet shall be arriving shortly," the man replied over the sounds of computers erratic with new commands.

Andred frowned and flexed his numb hand again. Not a mere hour, and everything had gone wrong. He returned with no pod and no runaway Time Lady. Not to mention relations with Earth were now non-existent, given its monarchs' treachery. "Run a scan of the planet. Some of our men are still on the surface. Try to get in contact with them." Andred ordered. "In the meantime, inform the fleet. We'll begin the invasion as soon as they arrive."

"Yes sir," saluted his second-in-command.

Left alone in his chair, Andred brought his attention to the lone planet on the view screen. The time barrier was not up now, and that would change soon. Still, there would be enough time, and Andred would not let go of this. He refused to.

"Connect me to the palace," Andred ordered.

"Sir?" asked a confused technician. A glare from the commander made the man obey his command.

The holographic screen appeared in front of Andred, who was staring at the face of Neo-Queen Serenity. "Your highness," he glowered at the woman, "you have made a grave mistake."

"There is nothing else here for you, Commander Andred," the queen warned. "Please return to Lord Rassilon and inform him not to return."

Andred frowned. "No. I think not."

Serenity glared. "You have the pod. That should be more than enough."

"There was more than just the pod I wanted. You betrayed our pact. You hid a vital fugitive from us," Andred replied thinly. "When we first met, I warned you what would happen. Now, you will suffer the consequences."

Palming his armrest, Andred cut off the connection. He was left with the soldier standing by his chair. "Sir," the soldier said, "the signal has been sent. However, the time barrier is up and will prevent us from entering the atmosphere."

Andred waited for a second to think. "Do we have a signal of our two missing soldiers?" he asked.

"Uh, yes sir…"

"Then, focus on that signal. Send in a transmat. That barrier may stop our ships, but it can't stop our soldiers."

As the solider turned away to convey the new orders, Alam turned away from the projection of Earth and focused his mind back on the task at hand, not even caring what was going on down below.

Standing in the center of her throne room, Serenity watched the screen disappear into the floor. She barely heard her husband walking up to her side. "The time barrier is up. I'm not sure if it will hold them forever," Darien informed her.

Through the storm of concerns in her mind, Serenity sighed and glanced to the silvery clouds beyond the throne room window. "Tell Uranus and Neptune to escort the civilians to safety. We will have to move the Stargate to their location, once we manage to unlock it again."

"Your highness!" interrupted a Crystal Guard. "The other Scouts are here!"

"Let them in," Serenity nodded to the man. A second later, the three Scouts of Jupiter, Mars, Venus entered and knelt before their queen. "Thank you for coming quickly. As you have heard by now, our… discussions with the Time Lords has gone awry. They have learned about us secretly holding one of their own here in the palace."

"So, what are you orders, my queen?" asked Venus.

It was Darien who answered, "Join with Uranus and Neptune. You're to escort the civilians to the old ruins. Mercury will join your shortly once she has found the combination for the gate."

The Scouts' silence told Serenity of their uneasiness, and the queen knew why. Hours ago, they had been at their old homes after the Time Lady and an exile. Standing tall, Serenity addressed them, "I know it may not be easy for you to go there again, but it has to be done. To save Crystal Tokyo, we have to save everyone."

The emphasis on the last word almost echoed across the chamber. The Sailor Scouts were still unsure, but they now had their orders. They rose slowly, dismissed to leave the throne room. However, Serenity paused to recall another order: "Protect them…"

The command slithered from the back of her mind and coiled to the front until she at last called to the others, "That includes the exiles."

That stopped the trio by the door. They all looked at her in surprise. "Your highness, are you sure?" Jupiter asked to be sure.

Serenity nodded, to the dismay of Mars. "My queen, we can't be sure–"

"I know," Serenity cut Mars off, herself unsure why the words were leaving her mouth, "but they have to be saved as well. They are still part of our world, and we will be hiding in their homes. If we're to save our world, we will need their help."

The Scouts fell into an uncomfortable silence once more. Serenity would have opened her mouth to assure them when another guard ran in as fast as he could. "My queen, my king! We… have trouble! The skies!" the guard said, panting heavily.

Both monarchs of Crystal Tokyo were shocked. The queen turned to the window, and her eyes widened in fear. The king looked, too. Immediately, he whirled back to everyone and shouted his orders, "Go! Tell Mercury to join you! Save everyone you can!"

Serenity did not hear everyone else rush out, not even the hesitancy in Mars' steps as she was the last one to leave. Serenity still looked up at window, and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. "No…" she whispered.

One by one, the faint dots of Time Lord ships appeared above the time barrier and above the skies of Earth.

Sailor Uranus' gloved hand fell on the golden hilt of her Space Sword. Her boots remained firm on the streets of Crystal Tokyo while her eyes glanced at the rows of astonished and perplexed civilians being escorted to safety. Some spoke of a possible return of the Nega-moon Clan. A few others believed it to be an invasion of exiles, which everyone else waved off. The blare of every security crystal rang throughout every corner, but they weren't too loud to drown out the civilians' chatter or Uranus' own troubled thoughts.

"They need to move faster," Uranus thought aloud after seeing the pace in front of her.

"It's all they can do," said Neptune standing beside her.

Uranus frowned, catching the concerned look. Before she could say anything, however, she heard the cry of a Crystal Guard, "Ma'am, news from the palace-AH!"

Immediately, the two Scouts and everyone else noted a Crystal Guard from the empty side of the street. He had been running when he was stuck by a blinding white light and fell to the ground, dead. Screams of innocent spectators rang out, and Neptune shouted to the other Crystal Guards, "Get those people out of here!"

In a moment, Uranus whipped her sword out. Holding her blade aloft, the reflection of one side caught the crowd rushing their way out of the streets, helped by the living guards. Those not helping stood by Uranus and Neptune, spears ready and aimed at the lonesome figure standing over the body of the dead guard. Uranus barely caught the look of the guard's killer. A man dressed in familiar round, red armor, holding up a gun.

One of the guards alongside the Scouts shouted, "Ma'am, something is happening"

Uranus and Neptune, ready to rush the killer, saw it. Strange rods of lights teleported behind the strange man. They then condensed into the shapes of humanoid figures. "Be ready!" Uranus called to the rest.

By then, the figures finally came into reality. An entire squadron's worth of men, dressed in red and white armor, had materialized in the street of Crystal Tokyo. Most of them had simple designs with backpacks and rifles. A few of them in front were wore similar suits, save for carrying a pistol, not a rifle and a cape instead of a backpack. Their golden infinity-like symbol shone off their armor, easy for the scouts to recognize.

Time Lords.

The crowd of innocent bystanders screamed, now rushing toward the other end and away from the invaders. Uranus, remaining firm, shouted, "Hold your ground!"

One guard beside her fell dead to an energy shot. Everyone else around the fallen guard kept their guard up against the squadron of Time Lords, who took up formation and advanced upon the group. Of the two Outer Scouts, Uranus provided defense with her Space Sword deflecting a third shot, then a fourth. Neptune provided support, raising her arms and shouting, "Deep Submerge!"

A ball of blue energy, shaped like the planet she had been named after, slammed into the enemy formation. It didn't hit the men first, but a large force field. Neptune, holding her hands up, struggled to press her attack against the enemy's defensive shield. Uranus joined her, her sword glowing as she swung it on the call of, "Space Sword Blaster!"

The glow shot off Uranus' weapon. The large orb it morphed into, struck alongside Neptune's attack. Neither of the Outer Scouts let up their attacks, and both pushed against the barrier that kept their attacks from their targets. They pressed with all their strength, hoping their will would win.

Then, the shield broke, and the attacks exploded in a large puff of smoke.

The two Scouts, and the guards with them, looked away. "Forward!" Uranus shouted to the others when the smoke began to clear away.

Waiting for the Scouts and their underlings were Time Lords. A few remained standing in the now-cracked street, shooting their guns. Only one Crystal Guard, who was too eager to charge in, was shot down, and his fellows ganged up on the Time Lord who shot him. Neptune and Uranus came forward in the near-transparent smoke, the latter cutting more guns to pieces and holding her sword at their living owners. Uranus could only look on with a small smirk at the rest of the Time Lords lying at her feet, still alive. "Is that all?" she said quietly to herself. "I thought they would send more."

"Careful," Neptune cautioned. "There might be more around."

Her smirk gone, Uranus gave her orders. "Detain them. We'll need them for–"

Another shot went through the smoke. It would have hit Uranus had not Neptune pulled her away in time. They barely had time to register what occurred before more shots came through the disappearing smoke. Ducking with Uranus, Neptune pulled out her mirror, the special Deep Aqua Mirror with her signature on the back. "Submarine Reflection!"

Upon her call, Neptune's mirror revealed what she wanted to sea on the new enemy. Her eyes quickly widened, and Uranus wondered about it. "What?" she asked. "What can you see?"

Looking at the mirror, Uranus' own eyes widened. In the mirror was a full view of the streets they stood in. It once had been for people to walk through on a normal, peaceful day. Now, it looked anything but peaceful.

Neptune's warning from a minute ago had come true. More of those white flashes brought more soldiers, more Time Lords, onto another street, farther away from Uranus and Neptune's current location. Another squadron appeared behind them. Soon, more appeared on the other street at the fork where the Scouts had been and now faced with an entire platoon.

"Ma'am, more Time Lor–"

The shot cut the man's warning, and he fell dead on the street, alongside a few more Crystal Guards. Uranus and Neptune whirled, eyes staring at the platoon they had been in the mirror. The Time Lords approached, their numbers grown significantly and ready for battle.

Neptune turned to a still-living Crystal guard. "What is the status of the civilians?"

A second later, the man replied, "Still not out of the city. They barely passed the inner gate! It may take another hour before they're out!"

Uranus cursed, and Neptune prayed for them all to hold out and survive against the impossible odds stacked against them.

Romana was working furiously on calculations when there was a slight rumble. It was from the Stargate being rolled off the ramp and onto a hovering crystalline cart. She barely heard a surprised cry, one from the guarded Alam, when she returned to typing away at the computer. Most of the previous work and Romana's own additions were being downloaded, copied, then deleted from the databanks. As interesting as the calculations had been, they couldn't keep anyone away from a Crystal Guard into the chamber.

"Ma'am! Invaders on the streets!" the guard called.

In the hushed whispers and gasps ringing across the chamber, Romana almost went stiff at the computer. No, they couldn't have started so soon. There was no way they could've known for sure. Unless…

"Invaders? What's going on?" Alam wondered from his secluded corner of the chamber.

Without looking, Romana answered in a horrified tone, "It's my people. They're trying to take Crystal Tokyo."

"What?"

The sound from Alam was a soft one, horrified just as much. Romana had to pity him a little. All of it had been a series of circumstances, like a row of dominoes knocked one after the other. And Alam had been the one to knock them all down and start these series of events.

Mercury came up to Romana's side. "I have to go. Can you take this from here?"

A surprised guard spoke up, "Ma'am, I don't think–"

"She's our best chance, and I'm needed with my fellow Scouts," Mercury argued with the guard from her side. Looking back at Romana, she said, "How long can you take?"

Romana spared Mercury a glance from the computer screen. "Not long. I'll be done downloading the data soon."

"Take it with you and use the Stargate to get everyone out of here."

Romana, though surprised, nodded. The queen entrusted this duty onto one of her own. Now, this Scout was entrusting it onto her. As Romana watched Mercury rush up the steps, she hoped she could uphold it and keep her original promise to Alam at the same time.

AN: Welp, I'm back with another chapter. It's certainly been too long (well over a year now) since the last one. I'll probably be ending this story soon enough by the next chapter, so it'll be the end of this and I won't have to constantly keep anyone waiting only just to be disappointed.

Until then, I hope you find some interest in this story. Take care.

Raika out.