And I have lived so many lives
Though I'm not old
And the more I see, the less I grow
The fewer the seeds the more I sow

-Try, Nelly Furtado

Rei hesitated at the door. She didn't want to enter but there wasn't really a choice. How could she choose anything if the doorway she stood in was not real? As the senshi of Mars and as a Shinto priestess Rei had long since adjusted to receiving visions about pending evil. What she wasn't prepared for was for any vision to appear in high definition.

She hadn't had visions that dealt with such specific imagery since the war with the Death Phantom. Her hesitation was brief as she knew that she could not prevent evil by dawdling. It would come whether or not she wanted to learn about it. Taking a deep breath she walked through the door and opened herself to what the vision could teach her.

Seven statues were scattered in a loosely shaped circle. They had been paired off into four groups and were depicting the death of the inner planetary princesses. Rei had always avoided this moment in her past life, all of the girls had. Who wanted to fixate on death and betrayal from a thousand years ago? They had already died in this new life twice but neither time had seemed as painful as this memory.

Each stone princess was frozen in her final moments as she was slain during the fall of the Silver Millennium. Each had died serving her duty as a Sailor Senshi of her home planet and as guardian to the heir to the Moon Kingdom- The moon princess Serenity. The Sailor Senshi of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus had been struck down by the four men who had sworn their lives and loyalty to the prince of Earth.

These men had once been the Heavenly Kings but through betrayal they had become the wretched generals of Beryl. The betrayal had been bitter and Endymion, the prince of earth, had been devastated by their abandonment. The moment the Shitennou had turned their backs on the prince had been the turning point of the war.

Each princess statue was posed mere moments after she had received the killing blow. Rei could see the realization on each face that life was over. It was clear that in the Silver Millennium none of senshi had died quickly and though they had all been together their deaths still seemed very lonely. Rei inhaled sharply and looked away closing her eyes only to find the same ghastly image from her own foggy memory inside her eyelids. Resigned she turned back to learn what the vision wished of her.

She began with the princess of Jupiter, who stood on unsteady feet as she held her opponent's weapon in her own hands still covered in the senshi's blood after she pulled it from her own body. Rei smiled despite feeling the cold trail of a tear rolling down her cheek. It was gratifying to know her friend had managed a final victory over the dark haired General, Nephrite, by taking his weapon.

Rei then turned to look at the solo statue of General Jadeite who towered over the scorched spot where she knew her body should be. Part of her was relieved to not have to see a statue of her death. All the information she needed was in that empty spot. The burn marks showed an exact outline of her dying body. It was easy for her to picture how Sailor Mars fit into this pictures.

As she had grown into her power she had also received more detailed memories of her final days as the Princess of Mars in the Silver Millennium. Now staring at frozen depiction of her death she could vividly feel that princess dying again. She stiffened in reaction with vivid sensations of pain, fear, heartbreak, hope, and sadness. She remembered the terrible smoke that had coated her lungs and how the heat had made her eyes water making the dark general Jadeite appear as a blurry silhouette in the end.

It was odd to be on her feet and able look Jadeite from a observer's perspective as he had towered over her to make the killing blow with his sword. She had never been able to see his face clearly in those final moments. But gazing at that statue now she realized how empty he looked. None of the men appeared to be rejoicing. They all seemed to have an understated satisfaction- like checking an item off a list or finishing a particularly burdensome chore. He had been void of everything that had made him a Heavenly King.

"Why did it end like this?" Rei asked the statues that surrounded her. Venus looked to be in such agony trying to get up from the floor despite the two swords still in her back as General Kunzite knelt over her. One of his hands hovered just over her shoulder holding a lock of her hair tightly in his fingers.

Receiving no answers Rei scrubbed the tears from her face with her sleeve and turned to face Mercury for answers. No answers were to be found as Mercury lay quietly at the feet of General Zoicite who was wiping her blood off his sword with one her uniform ribbons.

Rei couldn't bring herself to get any closer to the girls. Instead she looked at the strange scenery that surrounded the horrible little diorama. She didn't know where or when she was. Her visions usually set her in a specific place and time: The past on the Moon, The present Tokyo, or the future kingdom Crystal Tokyo.

That was what made this vision different from anything she had ever experienced. She stood in an odd mixture of the past and present that was on both the Moon Kingdom and Tokyo. Fallen columns of the moon castle lay in a heap surrounded by benches, bus signs, and parking meters as the earth shined above the Tokyo skyline in a swirl of ocean, clouds, and land.

She walked across the ornate marble floors to take a seat at the juice bar at the Crown Arcade which seemed to fit naturally amongst the parking meters and columns. The imagery of modern Tokyo mixed with the moon castle was jarring at first to Rei but after a few moments it felt natural. As if these elements had always co-existed in her life instead of a fuzzy memory that terrified her as a girl.

Rei screamed when a hand tapped her shoulder. As she turned she found herself face to face with Princess Serenity who looked at her oddly. "Come on Rei! We'll be late!" In her hand Serenity carried Usagi's school satchel. It made a beeping sound and she opened the top flap to take out Usagi's pink cell phone with the bunny decal on it. She flipped it open to read the text message.

"Mamo-chan wants to know what is taking so long. You girls are never this slow! If you keep it up were all going to be late." Serenity nodded her head at the Shitennou. "He has been waiting ages for these guys. What is the hold up? He is starting to worry"

"Princess Serenity?" Rei stammered. Never had the princess acted so casual and …so…well…Usagi-like.

"Duh! Rei. You can't call me Princess much longer." She put the phone back in her bag and fished out Neo Queen Serenity's crown and dress which despite being wadded up inside the school bag looked pristine and elegant. "Hey, can you girls help me get this dress on? I can't do it with out you."

When Rei didn't respond Serenity/Usagi started waving both items at her when suddenly Usagi's alarm clock rang from the nightstand next to the drink counter. "Shoot! I am going to be late! "She slapped the snooze button and started to hop as she put on her school shoes. Rei could only stare. Usagi's saddle shoes looked truly gruesome when paired with the delicate dress of the Moon Family. Unaware or indifferent to the clash of past and present the princess continued to talk, "Chibiusa, Pluto, and everyone are going to get impatient waiting for me! She stuffed the dress and the tiara back in her bag and rushed to a giant ornate crystal door that looked like it belonged to a palace. "Hurry up Rei! And bring the rest of them. Mamoru and I need all of you!" The door slammed leaving Rei staring into the spot where Serenity once stood.

Rei felt very lonely now that Usagi had left her behind. Turning slowly she walked towards the statue of Jadeite. It seemed her brief time with the moon princess had given Rei courage. She was ready to learn more.

She started by walking to Kunzite who was crying tears of blood as he knelt by Venus. Even crouched on the ground he still managed to tower over Venus. Meanwhile Venus lay struggling on the floor while bleeding his tears from her fatal wound. Rei then crossed over to Zoicite and Mecury and then Nephrite and Jupiter to find all the men shedding tears of blood while the girls bleed their killer's tears.

"She said that Mamoru was waiting for all of you…" Rei murmured as she looked at each man and fallen friend.

Finally walking to her own scorch mark she saw that Jadeite was doing the same. Only, the tears she bled still dripped on his sword hitting the ground loudly and making a puddle. "How do we stop what has already happened?"

A soft beeping sounded from her laptop on her bedroom desk which sat in her room just beyond the juice bar. She stared at Jadeite for a long moment, afraid he might somehow attack her. When the beeping continued she finally forced her eyes away from him and walked to the desk to retrieve the message. She opened a new email message from SailorMoon. You can't stop what has already happened, it's a waste of time and energy. You have to learn from it , stand up, and keep moving. Hurry up! We need you guys! The email flashed on the screen as the beeping sound became more and more urgent.

"What do you want me to do!" Rei cried. Throwing a frantic glance to Jadeite's statue only to realize that his eyes were following her.

Rei's sat up suddenly to find herself in her bedroom. Struggling to untangle herself from the blanket she pinched her arm to reassure herself that the dream was over and looked at her room to confirm that all four walls were back.

Blearily she picked up the red ringing cell phone that had woken her, clicked it open and groggily assured Minako that she was on her way. Standing up and stretching her muscles she stared at her flustered reflection in the mirror. She sighed as she began to run a brush through her tangled hair. She knew she couldn't ignore the dream any longer.

"Alright," Minako, who served as Sailor Venus and the leader of the Inner Sailor Senshi, said solemnly." I am not going to lie to you. The odds are stacked against us but we fought bravely and should have no regrets," She pursed her lips. "Who knows? Perhaps a miracle will happen. We just have to keep trying and do our very best." Usagi, the princess of the moon and future leader of the world, looked at Minako and nodded with determination.

" I won't back down!" Usagi said throwing her hand into the middle of their small circle. Mamoru, the future king and true love of Usagi, smiled gently before putting his hand on top of Usagi's. Minako placed her hand on top of the other two satisfied that the three of them were in this together.

Falling back into position Minako pointed a stern finger at her opponents. "You are in trouble now!" Mamoru and Usagi took their places and watched as Haruka, the sailor senshi of Uranus, served the ball after she called game point. Mina met the serve with same ease and confidence she had when she played in middle school easily launching the volleyball hard at Ami, the Sailor Senshi of Mercury and general genius of all things except volleyball.

Ami barely managed to hit the ball by diving widely behind it and tapping it into the air. Haruka saved the ball a second time sending it floating to the net where Makoto, the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter, spiked the ball straight into Usagi's face. The ball landed with a very loud thwack sound and stuck to her face for three very long seconds before she and the ball splashed into the ocean water. Sputtering Usagi rubbed her forehead which now sported a red welt and the backwards logo of the volleyball manufacturer.

"Sorry sorry!" Makoto called out as she ducked under the net to help while Mamoru gently pulled Usagi out of the water.

"Well, that's the game." Minako tried to hide her disappointment at such a one sided match as she joined the rest of the team around a nervously giggling Usagi. "Who knew water volleyball could be so hard!" the future ruler asked her court. Everyone had enjoyed the game a great deal but was glad to see it come to an end. Their princess was kind, brave, and noble but she was also the biggest handicap that ocean water volleyball had ever seen.

Setsuna, the guardian of time, and Hotoru, the legendary soldier of death and rebirth, shared a quite giggle as they watched the end of another predictable volleyball match. Both women sat a short distance away but still near the shore. Setsuna relaxed in a chair as Hotaru busily built a wall out of the sand to protect her sand castle from the rising tides.

" Great try Usagi-chan!" Hotaru waved enthusiastically before moving to sit down under her umbrella as Setsuna took another picture of the girls and Mamoru with the camera.

After stopping to smile for the camera Usagi turned to see two familiar figures walking along the shore. "Look! Rei and Michiru are back from their walk! Lets get a picture of all of us together!" Smiling happily Usagi bounced over to join the Hotaru and Setsuna as Mamoru set up the tripod for the camera.

Today was the first time in a long while that everyone had gotten together for the purpose of fun and not to stop a dangerous force attacking the planet earth. Usagi was determined to make the day worth as much as possible. It would be the last time everyone could gather in one large group for a day of fun for a little while.

Many events were being celebrated. After years of hard work and study Mamoru had been accepted into Medical School at Tokyo University. The girls had graduated high school and were preparing to start their university studies. Usagi, Ami, and Minako where all starting their studies at Tokyo University. Ami had taken so many advanced courses that she was starting as a sophomore in Pre-med . Usagi in what had become a growing trend of mature and wise choices had chosen to study Political Science. Of Course, everyone was sure that having Mamoru studying on the same campus was a great perk. Minako hadn't chosen a specialty yet and was going to start with General Studies.

Rei and Makoto had were both attending College of Tokyo which was just 10 blocks away from Tokyo University. Makoto and Rei were both planning to study business. Makoto was also taking culinary courses so that she might someday open a bakery, restaurant, or a small shop while Rei studied international business courses while balancing the strict schedule of a Shinto Priestess in training.

All 5 girls still had a lot of growing and learning to do before the court of Crystal Tokyo, the future city they were destined to build, could properly form. They still fought as legendary senshi, gossiped at the arcade, and poured over idol magazines but they were also starting a new and exciting chapter in their young lives. They were adults.

A little ways down the beach a woman in a red swimsuit with raven black hair pulled into a loose ponytail walked slowly with a woman wearing a large elegant beach hat, stylish white rimmed sunglasses, and light blue swimsuit- all of which complimented her green wavy hair. The two of them spoke in quiet and low tones.

"I can understand your concern. Have you spoken to Setsuna about this?"

Rei, the sailor senshi of Mars who was gifted with visions and ability to sense evil, brushed sand off of her red suit and tucked a stray black strand of hair behind her ear as she nodded, "she told me that we should be ready for some sort of great disturbance but she insisted that today remain a special day for all of us." Rei looked down the beach at seven figures waving enthusiastically for them to join the group photo. "We're on our way!" She called back waving with forced cheer.

Michiru, the senshi of Neptune who occasionally was gifted with frozen images of possible outcomes, smiled and waved politely at the group and started to increase the pace of her lazy steps along the beach. "I agree. Today is very important to the princess." Rei walked along side her staring intently ahead. "I can feel a storm coming but I can't feel the tide changing just yet. I suppose all we can do is wait and prepare."

Rei nodded in agreement. "Whatever it is. We'll be ready."