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Gaea
"Sailor StarMaker, Sailor StarHealer, Sailor StarHunter, Sailor StarFighter, Sailor Saturn, Sailor V, Sailor Papillon and ... who is the other one?"
Mercury glanced up from gathering her supplies at her youngest child, Ryo. "Who, the girl or the boy? They're both staying here, so it doesn't really matter."
Ryo looked at his mother and frowned. "I know the blondes are staying, but what about the redhead?"
"The only redhead is StarMaker," Mercury replied, crossing to the window. She looked out into the courtyard of the palace where the dimensional travellers were doing some last minute training. "Who are you talking about?"
Ryo sighed slightly, pointing to the edge of the courtyard where a crouched figure with red hair was watching the newcomers. "That one. She appeared in the courtyard about ten minutes ago, but hasn't moved from that spot."
Mercury gasped as she quickly scanned the redhead. "I don't know who she is ..." She grabbed Ryo's arm and started running for the stairs. "Grab the children and take them to the Throne Room. Cronos may have sent a spy into the palace."
StarMaker frowned at her daughter as she continued to simply use the butterflies to block attacks. "'Tomi, I know for a fact that Papillon could do a lot more than that. You aren't even trying to fight back are you?"
Papillon dodged another attack, then turned to glare at her 'mother'. "Not really, no. I enjoy being roasted by my aunts." She jumped as yet another energy blast came flying right in front of her.
"Pay attention to who you're fighting, not someone on the sidelines." StarHunter smirked slightly at the look on the younger woman's face. "'Tomi, why don't you let Mars-san-"
"No! I'll figure this out on my own or not at all." Papillon frowned as the butterflies vanished and her fuku shifted back to her normal clothes. "And it looks like not ..." She swayed on her feet then collapsed into StarMaker's arms.
StarMaker sighed as she made the younger woman sit. "And I thought you said that controlling the butterflies didn't wear you out as much anymore." She glanced up as Mercury's son, Ryo came running into the courtyard then toward where Yaten and Seiya were working with Shi and Zoi, trying to help them regain their memories. Mercury followed moments later, several guards close on her heels. "Mercury-san?"
"Maker, are there any more of your friends in this world?"
"Not that I know of," the redhead replied, frowning.
Mercury motioned the guards to the edge of the courtyard. "Restrain her and anyone else that might be with her. I highly doubt Cronos is only going to send one spy."
"Cronos?" StarMaker quickly helped her daughter to her feet and followed after Ryo. They had been staying inside the palace since they found Shi, the younger woman terrified of leaving the wards that surrounded it. Now, the soldiers were doing most of the searching while the Senshi worked on getting their younger members ready to fight, if needed.
StarHunter had heard what Mercury said and quickly notified the other StarLights. They were scattered over the courtyard, so that stray attacks wouldn't hurt anyone. She saw StarHealer start running for them and knew StarFighter would be there in moments. Unfortunately, once they understood how Shi was teleporting inside the palace, they had altered the wards to prevent her, or anyone else, from doing it again and Mars was having trouble lifting the restriction so soon after placing it.
The gray-haired woman followed the blue-haired Senshi toward where the guards had grabbed two women. As they got closer, she immediately recognized one of them. "Mercury, tell them to let them go. That's the Princess!"
Kageshirou glared at the armed men around her as they stepped back. "I told you, we're friends. We just wanted to know where they were!" She saw StarHunter approaching and allowed herself to relax slightly. "Aunt Kaish!"
StarHunter pulled the redhead into a hug and grinned. "It's so good to see a familiar face that isn't my sister or her cohorts." She winked at the younger Senshi, then glanced at the figure beside her. Her grin spread when she saw her own child, Xavier, also in female form. She pulled her into the hug as well. "It's about time the two of you showed up."
Mercury motioned for the guards to stand down as the other StarLights came running up to them. She glanced over at the two and saw them both smiling. "I take it, you know these two party crashers?"
StarFighter chuckled slightly. "I would hope so. The one being squished by Kaish is Zavi. The redhead that's caught in the middle is Shirou, Taiki's daughter."
"She said the Princess was here."
Kageshirou blushed as she finally pulled herself free from the hug. "That would be me. I'm also the child of Princess Kakyuu." She looked over the blue-haired woman and chuckled slightly. "For a moment, I almost thought you were Aunt Ami."
StarHealer grinned as V and Saturn finally joined them. "Not even close. But if you ask her nicely, she might let you see some of her gadgets."
V grabbed her side and frowned. "Damn ... and I thought chasing toddlers would keep me in shape," she replied between breaths.
Saturn nodded, trying to catch her breath as well. "That's it ... as soon as we get home ... I'm going into training for that damned marathon."
"Speaking of home, we were wondering how long it would take you guys to start showing up. Please tell me you aren't the only ones," StarFighter replied.
Kageshirou frowned slightly. "It's been barely two weeks. Argent-san has been trying, but she couldn't open the portal before now." Her frown deepened at the look the older Senshi shared, but she ignored it for the moment. "And no, we're not the only ones. Tenou-san, Sarah-chan and Devii came with us. Zavi found you, but wasn't sure if you were fighting."
"I tried getting closer to you, but couldn't teleport. I contacted Shirou, then waited to see what was going on." Xavier extracted herself from her mother's hug and moved to stand behind Saturn. "Feel free to use the big knife to keep her over there. I don't know what's gotten into her."
"It's quite simple, really," the purple-clad Senshi of death replied. She straightened, turning to face the violet-haired alien. "For you, it's only been two weeks. Here, it's been over two months."
"Just how many of you guys are there?" Lysithea grinned as she looked between the two Senshi in front of her. Finding out that there was a second Venus had been strange enough, but coming face to face with a second Uranus ...
"Says the woman who looks just like Dema and Aunt Kou." Xavier grinned slightly at the older woman as she walked past.
Uranus chuckled as she looked at her own double. "You're right, love, it is quite ... unsettling to see oneself like this."
Haruka frowned slightly, glancing around the room. She hadn't seen anyone that looked like Michiru, or even her cheating husband, Roland. "Um, if you don't mind me asking ... who were you talking to? Just so I make sure I don't ... do or say anything stupid in front of them."
Lysithea laughed, putting her arm around Uranus' waist. "For the moment, she was speaking to me," the green-eyed woman replied. She put her other arm around the second blonde's shoulders and grinned. "I think I could get used to having four of you around."
Uranus laughed, pulling the gray-haired woman away from her double. "Stop teasing, Trans. She's barely older than Ryo, you do realize?"
Lysithea frowned slightly. "No, I didn't. Damn. Why do your doubles always have to be babies?"
"I'm hardly a baby," Haruka replied. "I do have six kids, after all. Well, actually, three of my own, but I think of them all as mine."
Uranus smiled sadly. "I had three as well, but only one is left. But I think of all of them as mine."
"Speaking of kids ... shouldn't you be at home ... with the baby?" Saturn frowned slightly at her 'papa'.
Haruka blushed slightly. "I ... Michiru is staying with her. I needed to get out of the house for a few days." She smiled at her 'daughter'. "Roland is being ... himself. I had to get away before I killed him."
Devii grabbed at Xavier as the older girl walked past her. "Zavi, help!" Kaish had grabbed her as soon as she saw her and had refused to let go.
Xavier grinned as she danced out of her sister's reach. "Sorry, kiddo. You'll just have to deal with it like I did. She only let go of me when you showed up."
Kou Yaten chuckled slightly at her sister's actions. She knew the other woman had missed most of Xavier's life, thanks to Galaxia and that the whole situation with Beryl had brought up unpleasant memories. The slightly older woman had been worrying herself sick over the fate of her own children. The former singer was suddenly glad her three other children were nowhere near this planet, no matter how much she wanted them in her arms.
Minako sat down beside the younger Yaten, smiling slightly as Kaish pulled Xavier into a hug again. "Don't worry, Kou-chan. We may not have had much luck so far, but now that we have full access to our dimension, we won't stop until we have them."
"But for how long? How long can we move back and forth this time? And what if we don't find them? Will we have to stay here another two months? Longer? Will we never be able to leave?" Yaten sighed, turning to face the blonde. "You should go home. You have little ones that haven't seen their mother in a long time."
"And you have three kids worried that you and their sister aren't coming back. I can't imagine what Jinia-san is going through, either. But I'm not leaving until we can all go home." Minako hugged the gray-haired woman. "I know you would do the same if it were my babies that were missing."
Sarah stared at the little girl in shock. "That's ... that's ..."
Seiya smiled slightly as she knelt beside the younger blonde. "Shi, do you remember Sarah-chan?"
Shi looked up at the strawberry blonde and frowned. "No. Should I?"
"It's okay, little one. I'm sure you will eventually." Seiya left the younger blonde in the care of the young man that looked like Yaten and Kaish. Trun was the grandson of Lysithea, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter, but like all of the other male children of the 'Goddesses', had inherited no powers. He and his uncle, Ryo, were in charge of keeping Shi and Zoi out of trouble. They had no problems out of the sleepy Shitennou (Mercury had said his body was still trying to get used to not having the dark energy of the Dark Kingdom), but Shi kept both men running at full speed.
Sarah waited until they were in the next room, before lightly grabbing Seiya's arm. "Are you sure that's Shi-chan? She's a ... she's just a kid!"
"I'm positive that that is my daughter. I was hoping that you'd be able to ... pick up some sign of Miyo from her. She can't ..." Seiya sighed, leaning against the wall. "We think that whatever Cronos did to the two of them, it ... severed the bond between her and Miyo. She doesn't seem to be able to sense her."
Glancing back at the happy blonde in the next room, Sarah frowned. "I don't think it has. If she was worried about her sister, she'd be upset, not laughing. I think Shi knows that Miyo is safe, even if she isn't here. But if you'd like, I'll talk to both of them and see if I can't ... find something."
"Thank you, Sarah-chan." Seiya was surprised when the younger woman hugged her. "S-Sarah-chan?"
"After Chiba-san died, I ... thought I'd never see mom smile again. Thank you." Sarah smiled at the former singer, then walked back into the room where the two younger blondes were using the gray-haired man as a jungle gym. She chuckled slightly when Shi ducked between his legs and nearly tripped him. "You look like you could use some help."
Trun frowned, grabbing Zoi and making him sit down. "Whatever would make you think that?" He grabbed Shi and carried her over to the strawberry blonde. "You're ... Zara, right?"
"Sarah." She grabbed Shi and chuckled again. "I am so not letting you forget this, nee-chan."
"Ah, so you are related to these monsters."
"Only this one," Sarah replied, putting Shi down and holding on to her hand. "But don't tell Seiya-san, she doesn't know yet."
Trun frowned slightly. "How can she not know? Never mind, if it's a Senshi thing, I don't want to know. I have enough headaches trying to deal with my family, let alone yours." He grinned as Shi latched on to Sarah's leg. "I'm Trun, by the way."
Sarah smiled. "Nice to meet you." She pulled Shi off her leg and led her over to the table. "Now, Shi-chan, I'm going to need your help with something. Your Dema wants me to help you find Miyo."
Shi frowned slightly. "Can't. She's the one that has to find me. She's the peletath."
"Telepath. And I think you are too. It just works a little differently for you," Sarah replied, smiling. 'And if you think for one minute that I'm going to let you just vanish from mom's life now, you're crazy.'
A few hours, six cups of some strange drink, a million questions and one rather embarassing temper tantrum later, Sarah was no closer to finding either Miyo or Mi-ko than she had been. As she slumped into a chair, the red-haired man sitting across from her chuckled.
"I see they wear you out as easily as they do Trun." Ryo grinned at the look she gave him. "I would make a comment about youth, but I know for a fact that you are younger than I am. You drank Aunt Jupiter's 'energy drink', didn't you?"
"Six cups ... it didn't help."
A blonde in the corner started laughing. "You won't sleep for the next two days once that kicks in. Let me guess, Trun didn't tell you that it takes hours to kick in, did he? And that before it does, it makes you tired?"
Sarah frowned. "No, he didn't." Sighing, she straightened in the chair she was in and looked around the room she had sought refuge in. It was a small library and the red-haired man had been the only person she had seen when she opened the door. Having met him shortly before the tantrum, she hadn't been worried about him seeing her this frazzled. "I'm sorry, I didn't ..."
"It's okay. Mother has allowed all of you to go anywhere you like. Although, I don't think any of your companions have yet to venture in here." The blonde stood and walked over to where Ryo and Sarah were sitting. "I'm Serenede."
"I'm Sarah." Chibi Moon watched the blonde as she sat in another chair around the long table Ryo was working at. "I didn't know there was a Serenity here."
"Not SereniTEE. SereneDEE. They would never name her after the Queen, Goddess rest her soul." Ryo glanced up from his books and looked at the older blonde. "Sere usually spends her nights here."
"As does Ryo," Serenede replied. She smiled at the redhead, then looked at Sarah. "I am curious about a few things, actually. I had been hoping to speak to one of your friends, but ... they seem to avoid me."
Sarah frowned slightly. "I don't see why they would. You seem perfectly nice to me. What can I help you with?"
Serenede smiled a little. "I know our legends and histories like the back of my own hand. From what I've been able to find out from the others, there are many similarities between our world and your own. Only ... your Kingdom fell."
"The Moon Kingdom, yes. It did fall at the hands of Beryl, but Queen Serenity-"
"Goddess rest her soul."
Sarah glanced over at Ryo for a moment, then turned back to Serenede. "She was able to use the last of her power to send the Senshi to Earth, only ... they didn't appear for around a thousand years. Aunt Naru thinks that the Senshi may have been ... sealed until they were needed."
Serenede nodded. "That makes sense. Mother and the others were sealed away for a while as well. I think I see where the difference is. Your Queen saved the Senshi by sacrificing herself. Our Queen Serenity, Goddess rest her soul, died in the very first attack. There was no way she could have sent our Senshi to Gaea. They came here after the battle, to rebuild the Kingdom."
"What about your Princess?"
"Princess? What Princess?"
Sarah frowned. "Your Princess Serenity."
Ryo frowned as well, glancing over at the two blondes. "Queen Serenity, Goddess rest her soul, never had children."
"Did your Queen have a child?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Her name was Princess Serenity. She was killed during the attack on the Moon Kingdom and was sent to Earth with the Senshi. She is Sailor Moon."
Serenede frowned. "We never had a Princess. The Queen was afraid to have a child. She was sure that it would mean total destruction."
"So you don't have a ... Sailor Moon?"
"No."
"Then how can he ..." Sarah sighed, rubbing her head as she felt the energy drinks starting to kick in. "So, if you don't have a Princess Serenity, you don't have a Sailor Moon. If you don't have a Sailor Moon, you don't have a Chibi ... and you won't have a Neo Queen."
Ryo frowned. "A who?"
"Neo Queen Serenity. In my ... several years ago, there was a ... problem. People from the future managed to make their way back in time to fight the Senshi so that they could overthrow the future Kingdom of Crystal Tokyo. It's ruler ... was Neo Queen Serenity, the daughter of Queen Serenity, Goddess rest her soul." Sarah smiled slightly when she realized what she had said. "But she has said she'd never rule, so ... I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it wasn't really the future. If it could have been another dimension with similar Senshi."
"That could be. There are an infinite number of dimensions out there," Ryo replied.
"You speak as if you know this Neo Queen. Do you?"
Sarah grinned. "I'd hope so. She's my mother."
