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Earth
"Ok ... so, Dema, Shi and Miyo are in another dimension?"
"Yes. Along with your aunt and uncles. As well as Tanetomi."
Urani nodded, frowning down at the table. Since they had arrived on Earth, Kakyuu and a lady he had found out was Shi's real 'mother', had done nothing but hover around him and Hiko. They were currently all in the kitchen, eating ice cream. "When will they be back?"
Kakyuu smiled slightly. "The portal can't be opened for 12 more days. I'm sure they'll be back as soon as it's opened."
"Oh."
Hiko looked at his brother, then to the tall redhead. "Why is Onii-chan sad?"
"Because his sisters aren't here, sweetheart. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll cheer up soon." Kakyuu glanced toward the doorway as they heard several pairs of feet running down the stairs. "Usami, slow down."
Usami ran into the kitchen, carrying Rei and being followed by Kai and Tsuki. The latter two stood staring for a moment, then nearly ran over each other to hug Urani. Hikari followed a few moments later, carrying Yo-Ichi.
"'Kari ... who's dat?"
"No clue, Ichi." Hikari saw Hiko hiding behind Usagi's wheelchair and smiled slightly. "Come on, I see someone we can talk to."
Hiko tried to hide behind the blonde's big metal chair as the other girl came over to him. It was only after he saw a boy a couple years older than himself that he poked his head out slightly. "'Nii-chan?"
Urani instantly turned to his brother, then looked at Usami. "Who are they?"
Kai grinned. "That's my sister, Hikari, she was born here on Earth; and my little brother, Yo-Ichi. He was born after ... well, after you left."
"Ah." 'They're ok. They're family.' Urani turned back to watch as his brother hesitantly stepped toward Yo-Ichi. He smiled a little, then blushed when he felt one of the girls hug him again.
Usami backed away from the one-armed hug, smiling. "Sorry, it's just ... you look so much like Uncle Seiya when you do that. And it's been so long since we've seen him really smile."
"Usami-chan, don't you think you should introduce him to Rei-chan?" Kakyuu smiled slightly at her eldest daughter.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Usami put the six-year-old down and grinned at Urani. "'Rani-chan, this is Rei-chan. Rei-chan, this is Urani-chan ... he's your brother."
Urani looked at the little girl curiously. "I have ... another sister?"
Rei smiled slightly and held out a small wooden box. "Shirou-chan said they found this on your ship and Usami-hime said I had to give it to you, but I don't know why she couldn't just give it to you herself, she's silly sometimes. Shi-chan made this, didn't she? She has one just like it that she keeps under her pillow, but no one's s'posed to know about it, cause she said it was 'tween her and 'Rani. That's what Usami-hime called you." She watched him for several moments as he reached out and gently took the box. "I didn't know I had a brother."
"I didn't know I had a little sister," Urani replied, smiling. He glanced inside the box, relaxing when he saw the blue and green stone safely tucked inside.
Usami grinned at the two siblings, then turned to her mother and said something in a language Urani only vaguely recognized. As she turned, he got quick flashes of things that had happened over the last few years. Frowning slightly, he reached out and grabbed Usami's arm. "Princess."
Usami eeped and turned to look at Urani. "What is it? Did you- Sorry ... my mind wanders. They told us to be careful, at first, but also to see-"
"How well my powers worked?" Urani sat there for a moment, just looking at the older girl. 'I saw your dreams.'
Usami's eyes widened and she pulled her arm from his grasp. "Just Shirou wanting to know how well you've been treated and all. I think he's quite ... upset with your Kara."
"He isn't the only one," Usagi replied in Kinmokunai. The Kinmokunai turned to look at her and she smiled slightly. "Seiya-chan has been teaching me some of your language."
'You're the one Dema fell in love with, aren't you?'
Usagi blushed slightly, but nodded. 'Yes. The others don't know about Shi-chan, though. Only Kakyuu-sama, Usami-chan and my daughter Sarah-chan.'
Urani thought for a long moment, then nodded. Turning to the others, he smiled at Usami. "Where is Kageshirou? I want to give him the information I have on the ship."
Usami glanced between the two telepaths for a moment. "He's downstairs. I'll show you. What about ... Hiko?"
Glancing at his younger brother, Urani smiled. "He'll be fine. Now that he has someone to play with." He smiled slightly at Rei when she grinned and ran over to the younger boys.
Hiko glanced up as his brother told him where he was going, then turned back to where Hikari had spread out coloring books and crayons. He barely even noticed when Rei sat down beside him. After coloring on his picture for a few minutes, he glanced up to Hikari. "Are you my sister?"
Yo-Ichi shook his head. "She doesn't speak Kinmokunai. And she's my sister, not yours."
"I think I'm your sister," Rei replied. "But the others aren't here right now."
"Oh." Hiko colored for a few more moments before looking at the two green-eyed siblings again. "She doesn't look like you."
"Well, I look like my father. 'Kari looks like her mother."
"Oh." Hiko watched Rei for several moments, then moved so that he was sitting beside her. "You look like Kara."
Rei shrugged. "I wouldn't know. He was gone before I was born."
Kai walked over to the group and sat beside Hikari. "They seem to be getting along well."
"I suppose. I can't understand a thing they're saying. I've really got to work on my 'alien'," Hikari replied. She asked Kai to stay with them, then walked over to the table. "Mrs. Chiba, Kakyuu-hime, can I ... talk to you about something?"
"Only on the condition that you stop calling me princess, Hikari." Kakyuu smiled slightly as she watched Tsuki follow Kai over to the younger boys.
Hikari took the seat vacated by Tsuki and sighed. "I ... well ... have you ... heard anything?"
Usagi shook her head sadly. "No. There is no way to contact the other world. But Goodman-san assures us that everything is fine."
"But what if it isn't?"
Kakyuu chuckled slightly. "Hikari, you worry too much. Just like the rest of us. They'll be fine. No buts. I know this is hard on you kids. It's hard for all of us to think we have someone we care for in harm's way, but ... we need for you all to try and keep your spirits up." Her good mood faded as she stared at the table. "Cause there's something worse coming straight for us."
Kageshirou looked at the computer screen and sighed. "Damn ... those guys really got busy, didn't they? Just cause one planet decided to stand up to them?"
"Not just one planet. When the other Colonies found out about Kinmoku, they rebelled. Of course, they were all destroyed. The Empress didn't want anything to happen to Kikvech."
"Kikvech?"
Urani nodded. "The new name for Kinmoku. It means 'Time World'. Real original, huh?"
Tavek shrugged. "The Hrrrrunai were never very ... good at naming things."
Urani smiled a little. "Trust me, I know ... Hiko's real name ... unpronounceable. Even Kara couldn't say it." His smile faded a little. "Is Rei-chan really ..."
Kageshirou nodded. "She's your sister. She was born about six months after you ... Dema was terrified of letting Aunt Seiya out of her sight once they knew." He grinned when the smile came back. "Speaking of names, do you know how long it took Meiya to be able to say my name? For the first year he was married to Dema, he called me 'Cage'."
"Kara called me 'Rahn' until I was four."
Tavek smiled at the two men as they compared their Hrrrrunai fathers. Glancing at one of the computers, he frowned slightly. "Kag ... why is that screen blinking like that?"
Kageshirou looked at the monitor and jumped out of his chair. "That's the stasis pods ... something's wrong with them. They're waking up the Vexans."
"That doesn't sound good. Any way to stop them?"
"None. Find Noi, meet me on the Flagship. Urani, you had better go upstairs and tell the others. And whatever you do, stay on the planet. Last time Miyo was up there, things went crazy." Kageshirou hugged the younger man, then ran upstairs.
Urani looked at Tavek. "Why does everyone keep doing that?"
"Because after the past few years, these guys need something good to happen. You're that something good." Tavek smiled slightly, then followed after the redhead.
Urani sat there for several moments, just watching the computer monitors. He reached out to touch one of the keyboards and smiled at the memory that flashed into his mind. He did that with the entire computer room before turning to follow the other two men upstairs.
"You seem to have the same love of computers that Kageshirou-chan has." Naru smiled slightly as the younger man jumped and looked at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"But how ... you're ... you're Osaka Naru, aren't you?"
"I used to be, but how do you know that name?"
Urani smiled slightly. "A little bird told me." He stopped next to her and lightly placed a hand on her arm. "He really did love you, you know."
Naru watched him leave, then glanced back into the room. 'Was he talking about you, Gurio? Or someone else?'
Kageshirou stepped into the cargo hold and saw the guards he had placed on the pods lying on the floor, bleeding. "Kuso!" He reached for his communicator, only to have an energy weapon placed against his head. "Okay ... let's just talk this out. There's no need to do anything stupid."
"Vacht kel?"
'Crap ... Urani, if you can hear me, tell Noi to get in here. NOW!' Kageshirou glanced at the computer console and noticed it was smashed. "That explains why the translators aren't working, at least. Look, I ... I don't understand you. If you'll just let-"
"VACHT KEL?!"
The door opened behind them and Kageshirou used the distraction to knock the weapon out of the hands of the woman that Noi had identified as a lesser noble. Glancing at the door, he saw Tavek, weapon in hand, glaring at the others. "'Vek, stay back." He saw one of the others bend down to pick up the weapon and instantly transformed.
The Vexan who had picked up the gun stared in shock, the weapon falling from suddenly limp fingers. "Sutar Lightu."
"Well, at least we know where that name came from now." Sailor Chibi StarMaker glanced back at Tavek and saw Noi sneaking past him. "Noi .. I think our friends here would really like to hear a comforting word in their own language."
The lady that had held the gun on the redhead turned to Noi. "Vek ... vek ti surn amdi."
Noi quickly translated the message, then shook his head. "No, that wasn't me. My ... great-grand-father was also named Noi. He would have been from the time you remember."
"Great-grand-father? But it was only supposed to take a few years, at most ... I thought."
"From what I've been able to piece together, your ship never landed on the moon, like it was supposed to. It was caught up in the edges of a vortex and pulled into ... sub space. Then when we came through ... 700 years later, we pulled your ship with us into another Solar System."
Mex thought for several long moments, glancing back and forth between StarMaker, Noi and the other Vexans. "700 years?" When Noi nodded, she felt the floor beneath her feet sway and was glad when two sets of arms grabbed her. "Wh-Where are we?"
"You're on a Kinmokunai Fleet Ship, currently in orbit around a planet called Earth. We're nearly a century of travel away from the planet the Vexan Empire was trying to seize."
"And the Vexans?"
"There are a number of their descendants scattered throughout the Galaxy. However, the Empire fell shortly after the battle in which you were all thought lost." Noi could see the faces of the Royals fall. "We could contact the others and see-"
"Put us back."
"What?"
One of the older Royals stepped forward. "Put us back to sleep. All we know is the Empire. And I, for one, do not wish to have outlived it." The Duke glanced at his companions, then to the youngest member. The Princess had barely been 18 when she joined the crew. "Princess, you should go with them, make a new life for yourself."
Princess Zaxi, youngest daughter of the Emperor Nimar, looked to the others, then to Noi. "I ... do not want to go back into stasis."
StarMaker listened as Noi explained everything, then glanced over at Tavek. "Think Mrs. C would mind another friend or two at the mansion?"
Tavek shrugged. "Don't think she would. But they may be more comfortable at the other house." He replaced the weapon in it's holster, then leaned against the doorframe. "Or there's always Goodman-san."
StarMaker nodded. "We could ask her if there is a world where the Empire still exists. Noi, explain things to them as much as you can. See if they would be willing. And ask them what we need to do with the woman in the medbay."
Gaea
"Any sign of them?"
"Two men left about an hour ago. The woman and child are still inside."
"Why would they leave them behind? The girl's a strong fighter."
The quiet hum of a computer answered as one figure scanned the abandoned house. "She's injured. Badly. The woman ... isn't human."
"Another of those monsters like we found near the airport?"
"Yes."
"Kill it. Take the girl."
Four figures moved swiftly and silently through the early-morning streets. Anybody that saw them simply turned away, long ago learning that it was best to ignore anything outside of their own lives.
Titus jumped up as the door to the house burst open. She barely had time to send off a call to Jadeite before a fiery arrow pierced what should have been her heart.
The blue-haired woman checked the unconscious girl on the bed, then nodded to her brunette friend. "I'll have to check her over once we get her back to the Palace, but I think she'll be okay."
The blonde stood over the dying Youma, frowning. "I thought this would be a lot harder. It doesn't seem right."
"You worry too much." The brunette picked up the younger blonde, then looked at the older. "That, or you were expecting a trap."
"I'm always expecting a trap. Let's just get out of here." The blonde plunged her sword through the neck of the Youma, watching as the body turned to dust.
