That Special Magic 76

That Special Magic
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
http://strands-of-moonlight.my3gb.com
-or- http://strands-of-moonlight.6te.net
A Sekkushiaru Roman
featuring characters from the anime "Sailor Moon"

> Chapter 76 - Of Legacies and Paradox <
       A fourteen-year-old girl continued to scream in inconsolable grief. Fully half of her own self had been torn away, inflicting so grievous a wound that there was seemingly nothing left. Mamoru was gone. The two supposed Sailor Senshi who meant to kill them both were gone. The park was gone. The city was gone. Everything was gone. For her, this could only be the final moments before death, since she already knew she could not live without him.
       Slowly, she became aware of other screams of terror and cries of grief, coming from more than six billion souls who had all been suddenly torn from their lives. As the full realization of what had just happened sank in on her, she wished more than ever for the release of oblivion.
       Deep inside, however, she knew she had defied death once to be reunited with him. Now that she was pregnant, she had even more reason not to give in.
       "Mamo-chan!" she cried.
       Suddenly, she felt his presence. His soul rejoined with hers, and he appeared next to her. Tears of joy filled her eyes as she embraced him, but she could sense that he was dangerously weak.
       Again realizing that the world they had been reborn to protect was now gone and their children's future wiped out, she felt the tears coming once more, but she cried out and embraced him more tightly, rejecting this outcome. It had to be different. This could not happen. She refused to be the one who destroyed all they were meant to protect. Supported by the overwhelming power of his love for her, and by the realization that as a wife-to-be and mother, she now lived for others, she cried out against the senseless waste, against the loss of her friends and family. Deep within, she could feel the ginzuishou still pulsing wildly. She struggled with it, desperate to reverse this catastrophe, but the ginzuishou hardly responded at all.
       As she sobbed in failure, she became aware of voices. Looking up, she saw many women beginning to appear, all attired in silver gowns, all with their hair drawn up in odangos, and all with golden crescent moons shining on their foreheads. They seemed to be speaking to her, but she could not comprehend their words. Somehow, though, she felt strengthened simply by their presence.
       "Who... who are you?" she gasped.
       As the women drew closer, their bodies glowed and they began to merge together. The final unified form was a very tall, stately woman with brilliant platinum hair that actually seemed to glow, and a crescent moon so bright that it made it hard to look into her face. She reached out and touched Usagi's hand, suddenly transforming into the image of Princess Serenity.
       "You... are me?" Usagi asked.
       The woman smiled. She gently caressed Usagi's cheek. "You... are us," she finally said.
       Usagi gasped in shock, even though she didn't understand.
       "From the first, we have broken the rules... to protect life... and love," the woman said. She brought her hand down to Usagi's abdomen, but stopped short of touching her there. "You broke the rules for love... just as we would expect... One of our forms broke the rules to save you, giving you this unprecedented second incarnation... Now it is time for our latest form to break the rules to save this world that we made our home."
       "Break the rules?" Usagi asked, not comprehending.
       "Do that which all you have been taught says cannot be done," she replied. "Pay no heed to what others may insist. Do what your heart alone commands. Do this not for what is past, but focus on those who are, and on those who are yet to be." She reached out and again touched Usagi's cheek.
       The woman's crescent moon glowed with almost blinding intensity, and Usagi could sense that hers was doing the same as her own power surged beyond anything she had ever known. She could feel Mamoru, both alongside her and within her, and she could sense her babies in her womb. Around her, she could still sense all those who had been torn from their lives.
       The woman, still in the form of Princess Serenity, smiled and nodded. "Do what your heart commands," she repeated. "For this moment, we have raised our latest form beyond mortal limits, so that you are able to do all that needs to be done. Remember the love that brought you to this form. Remember the love you share with this man of Earth." She took hold of Usagi's hand once more. Both their bodies were glowing with almost blinding intensity. "Know that we have defied the gods themselves for those we love, and that you, by conceiving with this man of Earth, have broken the penalty of solitude we bore because of it. Such supposed limits cannot stop us now." She began to fade. "You are us. Act from love."
       The woman was gone, but Usagi felt the intense power still surging through her as her body glowed. Much of what the woman had said she didn't understand. She didn't understand how she could be them, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was saving those she loved and those she had wrongly harmed. Focusing every fiber of her being on the ginzuishou, she felt it beginning to yield to her will. Even with the additional energy at her disposal, it was still painful and so incredibly draining, but in her mind, in her heart, in her soul, she continued to repeat that she would not be stopped, that this was nothing but a nightmare, and that everyone should awake as they had been to find it not the least bit real.
       The ginzuishou flashed once more, a blinding surge of energy sweeping unstoppably outward, remaking the Earth as it had been just prior to Neptune and Uranus demolishing the mall, and restoring those souls to where they were meant to be. Even Uranus and Neptune were restored, but being still only human, Usagi left them with no memories of their powers or their past; they too were true soul-mates, bound by the sort of love that had allowed her to restore the world, and they could not be separated, but she would take no chances on them making another attempt against her Mamo-chan.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Akari felt an intense surge of magic, leaving her very dizzy and making her entire body tingle. She stumbled, reaching out to brace herself against the wall.
       "Grandma?" Kara called in concern, running to her.
       Akari took a breath, then crouched down to embrace the little girl. "I'm OK, honey."
       "I felt something strange," Kara said.
       Akari nodded. "I think it was what your daddy's been working on."
       Kara nodded. "Will you read me a story, please?"
       "Why don't we read it together," Akari suggested, knowing Kara was already a capable reader of English, and that Atana and Rei wanted her to keep it up.
       The little girl scowled. "OK," she acknowledged.
       As Akari stood back up, she realized something now felt very different. "Uhm, you choose a book, honey. I'll be out in a minute." She stepped into the bathroom.
       "OK," Kara called in reply.
       Closing the door, Akari reached out with her senses, finding she had the expanded senses of a princess of Mars, but no longer those of her spirit form. Focusing her attention, she tried to shift to the form of Rika, but nothing happened. She knew something very significant had happened, and was reasonably certain Usagi had just used the ginzuishou to restore the world. In the process, the crystal had somehow restored her to mortal existence.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Benjamin and Gordon rushed back to the monitor room when the alarms began to sound.
       "What's happening?" Benjamin demanded.
       "Magic flare," the duty officer reported.
       "Seismic activity?" Benjamin asked.
       "No reports of any," the duty officer said.
       "No preceding ripples?" Gordon asked.
       "We didn't detect any."
       "What was the intensity?" Benjamin asked.
       "Completely off the scale," the duty officer replied. "Quite a few of our sensors have been burned out."
       Benjamin looked at Gordon nervously. "That much power... and no visible effect?"
       "I don't understand it," Gordon said. "There should be something..."
       "There's something else," the duty officer said. "This time, we didn't pick up the leading edge of the wave. We only registered the wave as it was fully passing over us. That seems to be why so many of our sensors burned out. They went from minimal ambient levels to off the scale in an instant."
       "That doesn't make any sense," Benjamin said.
       Gordon nodded. "Very strange, indeed."
       Benjamin looked up at the duty officer. "Have you checked with Tokyo? With so much power there should have been some visual phenomena at least there."
       "Tokyo has reported the event," the duty officer responded. "But they made no reports of either damage or visual evidence of the flash. Also, this time they do not believe the event was centered there."
       "What?" Benjamin asked incredulously.
       "That is what they said, sir," the duty officer replied. "They reported only a handful of directional indicators. The data was contradictory, but nothing indicated it coming from southern Tokyo as before."
       "Double check with them," Benjamin instructed.
       "Yes, sir," the duty officer acknowledged, reaching for his phone.
       Benjamin turned and leaned closer to Gordon. "I don't like the sound of this. There's something terribly wrong here."
       "I agree," Gordon replied, his voice low.
       "I'm particularly worried this could be some sort of pre-shock," Benjamin said. "An even bigger one could follow at any moment."
       "Entirely possible," Gordon responded, now deep in thought. "Or it could be..."
       Just then, David hurried up the stairs. "All is quiet in Japan, Benjamin," he called. "I just finished talking with Yusuke. Beyond most of their monitors being blown, he says there are no disturbances. None of his local offices are reporting anything, nor is there anything drawing attention from the media."
       "This makes no sense," Benjamin said. "A flare that's off the scale, and yet it does nothing."
       "Unless there was no visual phenomena to observe," Gordon said. "If it was pure magic, the physical senses wouldn't have detected it... and if there was any visual effect, we should expect to find that on the leading edge of the wave, which even our best detectors apparently couldn't read."
       "And what about the flare not originating in Japan?" Benjamin asked David.
       "What Yusuke told me was that they could not determine directional information on the flare, but that it was completely inconsistent with the previous events, which unmistakably originated in Minato-ku," David said. "Given that, he was unprepared to call this one."
       "Well, that much at least seems reasonable," Gordon said. "Even if so little of this makes any sense."
       One of the phones rang, and Dorothy reached for it.
       Benjamin and Gordon walked over to her as they saw a look of disbelief on her face and heard her pressing the person on the other end of the line for more information.
       "What's happening?" Benjamin asked.
       Dorothy raised her hand to signal them to wait. "Well, check it again," she said into the phone. "Because what you're telling me and what I've been seeing on the monitors is impossible." She listened, scribbling down figures on a note pad. "Yes, I have it... Yes, I know. Sherlock Holmes. 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' But in this case the improbability that remains seems downright impossible too." She hung up the phone.
       Benjamin and Gordon continued to stand there.
       Dorothy took a slow breath and ran a hand through her hair. "We have a synchronization discrepancy," she said.
       "Discrepancy?" Benjamin asked.
       She nodded. "It just appeared out of nowhere. There's no explanation for it."
       "What's happened?" Gordon asked quietly.
       "As you know, we maintain our clocks according to the regular magic pulses of certain magic points here on Earth and several out in space," Dorothy said.
       Benjamin and Gordon both nodded.
       "Shortly after the silver crystal event, we suddenly encountered a slight but statistically significant synchronization error," she said. She indicated a graph on the screen, which had a green divider line imposed on it. "To the left of the green line is before the event, to the right is after. The Earth magic points are unchanged. The stellar points are still in the same relationship to each other, but are collectively now out of their earlier synchronization relationship with the Earth-based points."
       Gordon nodded grimly. "There's your effect," he said to Benjamin. He turned back to Dorothy. "The stellar points didn't change. The ones on Earth did."
       "But our charts show that's not true," Dorothy protested.
       "The charts, and our memories of them, are wrong," Gordon answered.
       "I don't understand," Dorothy said.
       "Neither do I," Benjamin said.
       "The charts tell us the Earth-based magic points haven't changed, just the way the archeological record tells us the Franks became the dominant power in Western Europe and the Angles and Saxons progressively overran what is now England," Gordon said. "But we all know if we could go back in time, we would see it didn't happen that way."
       "You're saying it was the silver crystal?" Benjamin asked.
       "The flare we just registered had to have been the second of two," Gordon said. He nodded to Dorothy. "As you just said: 'when you have eliminated the impossible...' The first flare must have been at least as powerful as the one we've observed, and presumably caused at least extensive devastation on Earth. The second pulse reversed that, undoing the damage and erasing all memory of it. That's why we have observed no material effect from it."
       "But why the synchronization error?" Dorothy asked.
       "Because the young woman who is the reincarnation of the princess of the Moon doesn't know of such things. I would assume her only concern was to put things right," Gordon said. "That also explains why we did not observe the leading edge of the wave, and is probably why we couldn't isolate its origin point. Presumably neither we nor our equipment were in any condition to have been able to observe it until after the wave restored things."
       "My God," Benjamin whispered in shock. "That means..."
       "That the reincarnation of the princess of the Moon is one incredibly strong-willed young woman, since she must have done this by force of will alone," Gordon said.
       "And it proves Atana's prediction that there would be more," Benjamin added. "We cannot risk another one."
       Gordon nodded. "I couldn't agree more. Tell Yusuke to contact him. Now. We can't wait any longer."
       "Agreed," Benjamin acknowledged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Mamoru found himself sitting on the ground in the park next to an unconscious Usagi. As he softly caressed her cheek, he reached out through their link, breathing a sigh of relief as he found she was merely exhausted. He had experienced her exchange with the mysterious woman, but he didn't understand it any more than she did.
       There was a flare of energy as Atana arrived with the others by way of a teleport spell. Looking over, Mamoru was momentarily alarmed when he saw Minako and Geoff weren't with them, before recalling that Atana couldn't teleport Geoff. Seeing that everyone else appeared well and in particular that Rei was holding Atana's hand, he was greatly relieved.
       "Mamoru-san," Atana called. "What just happened?"
       "Usagi-chan!" the girls called, as everyone rushed over.
       "Uranus got in a lucky blow on me," Mamoru said.
       "And that's when the ginzuishou went off," Atana said.
       Mamoru nodded. "It destroyed everything..."
       The others gasped in shock.
       "But she refused to accept the outcome," Mamoru continued, indicating Usagi. "She tried to impose her will on the crystal, but at first it didn't work. Then a group of women appeared, who may have been past queens of the Moon since they all were dressed that way, wore their hair that way, and each had a golden crescent moon on her forehead, but they merged into a single woman..."
       "A single woman?" Atana asked.
       "Yes," Mamoru confirmed. "Quite tall, with radiant platinum hair worn just the way both Princess Serenity and Queen Serenity wore theirs, and with a very brightly glowing crescent moon on her forehead. She then transformed into the image of Princess Serenity, and said Usagi was the rest of them."
       "I don't understand," Rei said.
       "Neither of us understood it either," Mamoru replied. "But the woman said they had even defied the gods themselves for the sake of those they loved and that now it was Usagi's turn. In any case, the woman somehow tremendously boosted Usagi's own energy, and it increased her resolve. She poured all her love into the ginzuishou, forcing it to put everything thing back the way it was before Uranus and Neptune attacked us at the mall. She also erased Uranus and Neptune's memories of having been Senshi."
       "I can understand that," Makoto said softly. "After how they acted, I wouldn't want them as Senshi."
       "Neither would I," Rei said, shaking her head.
       Atana enfolded Rei in his arms, again so incredibly happy to have woken up to find her alive and well.
       Minako and Geoff arrived, both looking breathless for having run most of the way.
       "Good to see everyone is OK," Minako said.
       "Usagi managed to force the ginzuishou to restore everything," Mamoru said.
       "Is she alright?" Minako asked.
       Ami completed a scan of Usagi. "She's just exhausted, but not physically hurt."
       "Yes," Mamoru agreed. "I could use some help getting her home."
       "Of course," Atana agreed. "One teleport spell coming up."
       Minako and Geoff stepped back. "We'll meet you all at Mamoru and Usagi's apartment," Geoff said.
       The rest gathered around Mamoru and Usagi, being enveloped in the soft glow of Atana's spell before fading away.
       They reappeared in Mamoru and Usagi's living room.
       Mamoru carefully lifted Usagi onto the sofa as Luna and Artemis came running into the room.
       "What happened?" Luna asked.
       "Usagi exhausted herself," Mamoru said.
       "She just needs rest," Ami added.
       Atana glanced at the clock. "Rei and I should be going," he said. "I called for help, and after this, I'm sure to be getting a response."
       "Help?" Ami asked.
       "Yes," Atana said. "I went back to Hawaii earlier today and tried to search for the golden crystal on my own, but I came up empty. So I contacted a friend of mine who is also a wizard, and asked him to pass along a request for help to the authorities of Earth's surviving wizard community. I gave them more than enough information to establish my bona fides. And after what we just experienced, we can't wait any longer. Usagi-san might not be able to reverse it next time."
       "That was good thinking," Artemis said. "We probably should have done that earlier."
       Atana nodded. "Probably true. But I wanted to be sure the answer wasn't sitting right in front of us... And I needed to have as much information as possible for when I did contact them. Afterall, from their perspective I'm just a rogue wizard who doesn't adhere to the rules and who has never bothered to register. That means the burden is on me to prove my bona fides."
       "I guess I can see your point," Artemis acknowledged.
       Mamoru nodded. "Let us know what you learn, please."
       "Certainly," Atana said. He slipped his arm around Rei. They stepped to one side of the room and teleported away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       "Past queens of the Moon?" Akari asked, as Atana and Rei were relating what Mamoru had told them.
       "That's what Mamoru-san said," Rei answered. "He said they all wore silver gowns, wore their hair in the lunar style, and each had a golden crescent moon on her forehead."
       Akari nodded in understanding.
       "But then they all merged into a single woman," Atana said. "Mamoru-san described her as very tall, with radiant platinum hair, likewise worn in the lunar style, and a very brightly glowing crescent moon on her forehead. He said this woman then assumed the form of Princess Serenity."
       "Did this woman say who she was?" Akari asked.
       "No," Atana answered. "She just said that Usagi was the rest of them. Neither Mamoru-san nor Usagi-san knew what that meant."
       "It almost sounds like the goddess of the Moon," Akari said.
       "What?" Rei asked.
       "Well, among the titles of the queens of the Moon was 'mortal incarnation of the goddess of the Moon'," Akari explained. "I always thought it was just an expression, something out of legend... but maybe there really is something to it."
       "Mamoru-san did say that Usagi-san received a tremendous energy boost from her," Atana said. "And apparently this boost made it possible for Usagi-san to override the ginzuishou."
       "Incredible," Akari exclaimed softly.
       Rei began looking at her mother closely. "Is there something different about you, Mom?"
       Akari nodded. "Somehow... when Usagi-san and the ginzuishou restored everyone, it returned my spirit to a mortal body."
       Atana also studied her closely.
       "You're serious?" Rei asked, stunned.
       "It certainly looks like it," Atana said.
       "Yes," Akari said. "I am now once again an eighteen-year-old mortal woman. I still have at least some of my powers as a princess of Mars, but that's it."
       "Does that mean you can't assume your later form?" Rei asked.
       "That's correct," Akari confirmed. "I can't appear and vanish like I have been, and I can't take the form of Rika."
       "That means you can't show yourself to Grandfather," Rei said.
       Akari nodded.
       "We may be able to address that situation with magic," Atana said. "But we're also going to have to create a modern legal identity for you."
       "That's true," Akari agreed. "But even that could present some difficulties. I can hardly resume being Hirano Rika."
       "Well, at least not without some considerable help," Atana said. "Once we can get the ginzuishou stabilized, Usagi-san could probably arrange that, if she's willing."
       "That might be asking a bit much," Akari said. "She would have to create a false history that I, as Rika, never died."
       "The ginzuishou has already created a much bigger false history," Rei pointed out.
       "I know," Akari acknowledged. "But so much of your life centers around you having lost your mother and never having a real father."
       Rei embraced her. "I would never complain about having my mother back."
       Akari smiled. "And I love being a mother and grandmother. But this would be a case of changing the memories of your grandfather and so many other people just for our convenience."
       "That's true," Atana agreed. "And that's why I don't want to suggest I'm promising anything. While I'm sure Usagi-san will want to help you in any way she can, it's entirely possible she wouldn't be able to go along with this particular option."
       "What about what you did?" Rei asked Atana. "That... what was it?... That assimilation spell?"
       Atana shook his head. "An assimilation spell is well beyond my abilities. Queen Serenity arranged for my assimilation into this era. It wasn't my doing."
       Rei nodded with a sigh.
       Akari looked at Atana. "But whether it is pretending that I didn't die, or creating an entirely new identity for me, either way depends first on resolving the problem with the ginzuishou."
       Atana nodded. "True. And very soon now, I'm expecting a visit from members of Earth's surviving wizard authority. I called for help earlier, and after what just happened, they're certain to be taking this seriously."
       "I understand," Akari replied. "If you would like, I could take Kara out for dinner and a movie." She turned back to Kara, who was engrossed in a video she was watching. "Kara. Would you like to go with me to have dinner and a movie?"
       "Oh, yeah!" Kara cried, jumping up. "That would be great!"
       "Thanks, Mom," Rei said. "We appreciate this."
       Akari smiled. "I don't mind in the slightest."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Now alone, Atana and Rei embraced.
       "How are you feeling?" he asked.
       "I'll be OK," she said softly, still holding him tightly. "How about you?"
       He sighed, gently stroking her hair as he held her. "I was terrified," he whispered.
       She leaned up and kissed him.
       "I lost you once. I couldn't bear to lose you again."
       She kissed him again. "I couldn't bear it either. We're made for each other."
       He nodded. "Now I'm at least as grateful to Usagi-san as to Queen Serenity."
       "So am I," she admitted. "But I'm not sure I'll admit that to Usagi."
       A smile spread across his face. "Now that's the woman I love."
       She scowled for a moment, then chuckled softly. "And I can hardly believe it about Mom."
       He nodded. "That was definitely a surprise. I can only guess Usagi-san's directive to restore people to life didn't take into account there were spirits on Earth that weren't in mortal bodies."
       She sighed as she pressed herself against him.
       Leaning down, he kissed her again. "I'm just glad to have my family complete."
       Rei smiled as he continued to hold her. "Is it complete?" she finally asked.
       He looked at her uncertainly. "Well, at least for the time being," he said.
       She looked into his eyes silently.
       "You said you weren't ready to become pregnant," he reminded her. "That means the time isn't right just now. That's good enough for me."
       She tightened her embrace of him. "You are such a wonderful man."
       "And you're a very wonderful woman," he replied.
       She rested her head against him. "Suppose... Suppose I changed my mind..."
       "You're the one to decide if you're ready," he said. "I already respect all your decisions."
       "So, even about that?" she asked.
       "Of course," he said. He took hold of her left hand and ran his finger over her engagement ring. "I asked you to marry me, and you said yes. That proves I consider you to be mature and adult in your judgment. A person cannot propose marriage to someone with the reasoning, judgment, and maturity of a child."
       "What about popular entertainers who are filing for divorce before the signatures on the marriage license is even dry?" she challenged.
       "That proves my point," he said. "People used to being waited on hand and foot usually aren't known for maturity and sound judgment."
       She nodded.
       "So, are you wanting to consider it?"
       She shook her head. "Not right now... but... maybe... after we take care of the problem with the ginzuishou, we can at least discuss it more."
       "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed.
       The doorbell of Atana and Rei's apartment rang. They separated and he opened the door, finding two men standing there. His senses immediately told him they were fellow wizards.
       "Magi-san?" the first man asked.
       "Yes. I am Atana Magi," he replied.
       They both bowed.
       "I am Inoguchi Yusuke," the first man said. "And this is Miura Takeyuki." They each held up a small rectangular metal badge which was readable only for an adept. "We're with the enforcement division of the International Magic Authority."
       "Please come in," Atana said, gesturing.
       "Thank you," Yusuke and Takeyuki said together.
       Atana closed the door. "Thank you for coming." He gestured to Rei. "This is my fiancee, Hino Rei."
       "Hino-san," they greeted her.
       Rei bowed in return.
       "As I understand it, you came forward in time with your daughter, Magi-san," Yusuke said.
       "That's correct," Atana confirmed.
       Yusuke nodded. "And Hino-san, you are the reincarnation of the last princess of Mars."
       "Yes," Rei said.
       Yusuke looked around. "Is your daughter here right now?"
       "No," Rei answered. "She is with my mother."
       "That is helpful," Takeyuki said. "Our superiors wish to see you right away, Magi-san. After today's incident, we cannot afford any more delay. You are of course also welcome to join us, Hino-san."
       "Your superiors are here in Tokyo?" Atana asked.
       "No," Yusuke answered. "Wales."
       "Wales?"
       "That's correct," Yusuke confirmed.
       "And you did say time was of the essence," Takeyuki added.
       "Yes, of course," Atana agreed. He took Rei's hand. "Shall we go?"
       She nodded.
       They moved closer to the other two. Yusuke cast a teleport spell, and in an instant they were in a conference room.
       Atana's senses immediately recognized that they were deep underground.
       Rei sensed the same thing.
       Three men entered the room.
       Yusuke took up the introductions. "Magi-san. Hino-san. This is Gordon-sama, director-general of the enforcement division." He then indicated the second man. "This is Benjamin-sama, director of the operations center. And this is David-san, deputy director for the East Asian district." He turned to his three superiors. "This is Atana Magi, formerly prince of Rangarota, and this is his fiancee, Hino Rei, the reincarnation of the last princess of Mars."
       "A pleasure to meet you both," Gordon said. "Please have a seat."
       "Thank you," Atana said, as he and Rei sat down.
       "Do you prefer Prince Atana, or Mr. Magi?" Gordon asked, sitting next to a computer terminal.
       "Mr. Magi, if you wish to be formal," Atana answered. "Rangarota no longer exists, so the title is meaningless. In any case, if memory serves correctly, I usually dispensed with the title when serving with my wizard order."
       "As you wish," Gordon acknowledged.
       "I think we should begin, Mr. Magi, by letting you know that we have researched your report as fully as we are able to," Benjamin said.
       "I expected as much," Atana replied. "That was why I made sure to provide the key details."
       David leaned forward. "But as I am sure you are well aware, at least one of those key details was wrong."
       Rei stiffened, a hard scowl forming on her face. She felt Atana gently squeeze her hand.
       "David!" Benjamin objected.
       "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Atana said calmly. "Everything I told my friend Brian is correct to the best of my knowledge, and that of my companions."
       David picked up a sheet of paper. "The report, as we received it, says that you are certain Queen Julianna of Atlantis did not pass along the golden crystal."
       "That is correct," Atana said. "The person who is the reincarnation of Prince Endymion recalls that after evacuating to the Moon, Endymion never returned to Earth. Likewise, one of Queen Serenity's last two surviving royal advisors states that he recalls Queen Serenity herself expressing unease over the fact that, with the fall of Atlantis, the golden crystal had not been passed on to Prince Endymion, and that he also recalls Prince Endymion, as commander of the surviving Earth forces, being present for every conference of the military leadership that took place, which would not have left time for a clandestine return to Earth. Also, the young woman who is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity has said she has no memory of Endymion ever leaving the Moon during those final days."
       "That certainly sounds good to me, David," Gordon said, before the other man could respond. "In any case, I think the current crisis is far and away the more pressing matter. We did not call Mr. Magi here for an inquisition, and your information in fact does not prove any falsehood."
       With a frown, David stood up, clearly upset that his objections were not being taken seriously. "If you will excuse me, then?"
       "Very well. That is probably for the best," Gordon said calmly, watching as David walked out of the room. "I must apologize for him, Mr. Magi. He says one of our investigators was on the palace staff in Atlantis in a previous life, and that this person claims to remember seeing Prince Endymion visiting his mother the day before the fall of Atlantis."
       "Really?" Atana asked.
       Gordon nodded. "I cannot account for it, but that is what the man says. He even agreed to submit to a memory probe, and it does seem to bear out the man's account..."
       "I guess I have a better understanding of David's attitude now," Atana said.
       "From this, David infers that Queen Julianna must have passed along the golden crystal," Gordon continued. "His evidence, however, does not seem to conclusively prove that particular assumption."
       "But in any case, this current matter is far more pressing," Benjamin said.
       "Yes. We have observed that since the last pulse, Earth-based and stellar magic points are no longer in the same synchronization that they were before the event," Gordon said. "From that we are forced to conclude that something disastrous happened prior to the pulse we observed, and that the one we observed restored everything on Earth to the way it had been, with the sole exception of leaving Earth-based magic points slightly out of synchronization with the stellar ones we monitor."
       Atana nodded. "That... is correct," he said. "Two other Sailor Soldiers appeared in Tokyo, identifying themselves as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. They concluded the only way to eliminate the threat was to kill the bearer of the silver crystal. The result was quite a major battle that caused considerable collateral damage. At the end of it, one of them succeeded in stabbing Prince Endymion's reincarnation, and they did it right in front of the reincarnation of Princess Serenity."
       "In her grief and anger...," Benjamin began.
       "Precisely," Atana said. "The crystal went out of control, destroying everything. But as she realized just what had happened, Princess Serenity's reincarnation was so deeply shocked that she rejected the outcome completely. It seems the strength of her emotional response overrode the silver crystal, forcing the second pulse which restored everything to the way it had been before the start of the battle."
       Gordon and Benjamin looked at each other.
       "That was what I had theorized," Gordon said. "But it is still incredible."
       "Uhm... yes, well..." Benjamin nodded, still a bit shocked by it all.
       "Ah... have either of you heard of any connection between the queens of the Moon and the Moon goddess?" Atana asked.
       "No... Not specifically," Benjamin said.
       Gordon tapped at his computer for a moment. "The only reference I find here is that we know Queen Serenity was referred to as the incarnation of the Moon goddess. Unfortunately, we know virtually nothing about her predecessors, and nothing at all about consorts."
       Atana nodded. "We have already learned from the spirit of Princess Rei's mother that 'mortal incarnation of the goddess of the Moon' was part of the title of queens of the Moon, but she had believed it was just based on legend."
       "You have reason to think otherwise?" Gordon asked.
       "I'm not sure just yet," Atana replied. "Princess Serenity's reincarnation experienced a vision while struggling to restore the Earth. It appeared to be of many women, presumably past queens of the moon, who then merged into a single woman. She didn't understand it. I was just curious if your records could offer any insight into this."
       "No, I'm afraid not," Gordon said.
       "And we do have a more urgent business at hand," Benjamin reminded them, picking up a report. "Now, we are aware that Sailor Moon successfully used the silver crystal during the campaign against the Dark Kingdom, and apparently had no difficulty with it."
       "That is correct," Rei confirmed. "The problems were first noticed only a few days ago, when its power output started to fluctuate."
       "Has she utilized the silver crystal in a significant fashion since destroying Metallia and the Dark Kingdom?" Gordon asked.
       "As far as I know, she utilized it several times in the days immediately following that," Atana said. "And since then, I believe she has only used it once in a significant fashion, when she recalled the spirit of Rei's mother."
       Gordon and Benjamin looked at each other in surprise.
       "And how long ago was that?" Gordon asked.
       "Several weeks," Rei answered.
       "During the fight with the Dark Kingdom, she was using it quite extensively," Atana said. "My theory is that she was using it enough that it effectively balanced itself."
       Gordon nodded. "Very good, Mr. Magi. Are you certain you weren't being modest in saying you were only a junior fellow at the Andar Academy?"
       Atana looked at him for a moment. "Quite certain. It was rare enough for a person of eighteen to be admitted to the faculty."
       Gordon nodded again. "I ask because ten of our top experts have each arrived at precisely the same theory, and the youngest of them has more than two decades of experience."
       "Well, all I can say is that I've had over two months experience in close proximity with the silver crystal in this era," Atana said.
       "That would make for a significant difference," Benjamin said.
       "Yes," Gordon agreed. "It is still reassuring that your reasoning and that of our experts match. Also, they each agree with your hypothesis concerning the golden crystal's ability to provide a balancing influence."
       Atana nodded.
       "Our experts have researched all surviving information regarding the golden crystal," Benjamin said. "Like the silver crystal, we do not know its origins with any certainty. There is a legend, however, which does conform with your theory that the golden and silver crystals are meant to balance one another."
       "Really?" Atana asked with great interest.
       "Yes," Benjamin confirmed. "The legend describes a gathering at some point in far antiquity of some of the greatest wizards and other adepts of that era. The story is that the natural magic of the Moon and of the Earth were both very powerful, but for some reason, which the legend does not explain, the very delicate harmony between them was being disrupted. The plan was to create a magic crystal to regulate the interaction between the two, but the magics refused to combine, forming two crystals instead of one. When they were formed, the legend says the magic fields coalesced into two points, one silver and one golden, that seemed to be spinning around a common center. The full text of the legend contains unmistakable embellishments and considerable mystical imagery, which means we have no way to know just how much truth may be in the legend..."
       "But it certainly does sound hopeful," Atana said.
       "But now we have to find it," Rei added.
       Benjamin sighed. "As for that, I'm afraid our preliminary efforts have been uniformly disappointing. I'm not even sure to what extent we truly can search for it, since we already know the silver crystal cannot be located unless it is releasing a significant amount of energy."
       Atana nodded. "I had tried to conduct a search of my own before I decided to contact you, but I couldn't find anything. That was when I decided I needed help," he said. "The only other search plan I've been able to think of would be to use the silver crystal to try to make the golden crystal respond to it, but in the current situation, I don't dare."
       "Certainly not," Gordon agreed.
       "We just recently made a search of our own," Benjamin said. "It was conducted by thirty wizards around the world, and while they may or may not have had more resources for the search, Mr. Magi, they too came up empty."
       "We were told that the silver crystal would specifically blend in to the background magic so that it could not be readily detected," Rei said. "But even so, after throwing back the Dark Kingdom, Queen Serenity took considerable efforts to hide it away until our time."
       "How was the silver crystal hidden?" Benjamin asked.
       "It was broken up into seven pieces, with each piece being hidden in a living host in this era," Rei explained. "Queen Serenity arranged for Sailor Moon to have a detector that would respond to the fragments, and the fragments were primed only to recombine for her."
       "But Queen Serenity never made any provision for the Sailor Soldiers to search for the golden crystal," Atana added. "In fact, if this matter hadn't come up, I don't think we would have any reason to even know about it."
       "It does appear very difficult," Gordon said. "From what you say, Queen Serenity made elaborate preparation to enable you to find the silver crystal, but obviously Queen Julianna was not able to make similar preparations."
       "If only we had some idea of where she might have hid it," Benjamin said.
       Gordon nodded. "If it never left Atlantis, then our chances of finding it may be bleak, indeed, since all the major islands that made up Atlantis were utterly obliterated."
       "What about this person who claims to have seen Prince Endymion?" Rei asked. "We know he couldn't have seen Endymion..."
       "Entirely possible," Gordon agreed. "He underwent a memory probe less than an hour ago. I was present for that, and from the image projections of the probe I have to say the young man he saw certainly does appear to be Prince Endymion, but it is still possible that you will see something of significance that we have missed." He picked up a telephone handset and pressed a button. "This is Gordon. Please send in Gregory and his memory probe... Thank you."
       "So...," Benjamin said. "You've been in this era for roughly four years, Mr. Magi?"
       "That's correct," Atana confirmed.
       "But you've never registered?" Benjamin asked.
       "I couldn't remember anything before the explosion of my workshop," Atana said. "It turns out that was my arrival, but naturally the assimilation spell produced ample evidence that I had a life in this time. Thus, I didn't know what was what, and had no way of knowing if I was registered or not. On top of that, a group of Dark Kingdom demons had pursued me; their assaults were only sporadic and disorganized, but they were enough of a threat, especially since I didn't know who or what they were, that obviously my immediate concern had to be protecting my daughter."
       Benjamin was making notes. "That makes complete sense," he said. "I'm going to have this looked into. I understand our Hawaii office has several still open files concerning unaccounted for activity there. If any of those turn out to be related to you or those demons who pursued you, we can close those files."
       "How is it we Sailor Soldiers have never heard of you?" Rei asked.
       "It's really very simple, Miss Hino," Gordon answered. "You and your friends are outside our jurisdiction, since you are not wizards like Mr. Magi. Also, your activities did not threaten the secrecy of the wizard community, which is our primary responsibility. Any abnormal events in Japan were put down by the media as relating to the Sailor Soldiers. But perhaps most importantly, we could not engage a threat like the Dark Kingdom without revealing ourselves, and even then we had no reasonable likelihood of victory to offset the cost. Thus, like the rest of the people of Earth, we were entirely dependent on the Sailor Soldiers to win that fight. The only difference was we knew what you were doing, and the general population didn't."
       Just then, there was a tap at the door.
       "Yes," Gordon called.
       The door opened, and a man stuck his head in. "You called for me, sir?"
       "Oh, Gregory. Yes. Do please come in," Gordon said. "I want you to meet..."
       "Prince Atana and Princess Rei," Gregory exclaimed softly.
       Atana nodded in acknowledgment. "I see your memory of your past life is very good, sir, although I regret to have to admit you do have the advantage of me. But please, you may dispense with the titles. In this time, I am Atana Magi, and my fiancee is Hino Rei."
       Gregory nodded. "Of course. My name is Gregory. As for my past self, don't be ashamed. I worked in scheduling for the most part. I was just one of those many nameless, faceless people of the household staff who lived in the background."
       "And at the end?" Rei asked.
       "I was assigned to the queen's staff as one of the keepers of her scheduling log," he said. "By then, I think we all knew it was just a matter of time, and those of us who couldn't join the fighting buried ourselves still deeper in our work. It was the only way not to give in to despair."
       "Have a seat," Benjamin said. "We wanted to discuss your memories of seeing Prince Endymion visiting his mother."
       "Yes. We wanted to find out what you actually saw," Atana added.
       "Oh, there was no doubt about it," Gregory said, nodding. "It was Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity. I'd seen them both many times before."
       Atana and Rei looked at each other.
       "You're absolutely sure?" Rei asked.
       "Oh, yes. No doubt about it," Gregory said. "They arrived completely unannounced, but under the circumstances that was to be expected. Neither of them had any sort of escorting party with them. They met briefly with the queen, and then they left. The queen was quite emotional."
       "That would also be expected," Benjamin said.
       "Yes... But in this case, the queen actually seemed rather happy," Gregory said. "I would guess like when a woman learns her daughter is marrying the ideal young man, or something... That happiness just seemed out of place for that time and place, and that's why it has stuck so clearly."
       "May we see that?" Atana asked.
       "Certainly," Gordon answered.
       "Another probe?" Gregory asked uneasily.
       "Oh, no," Gordon said. "It is much too soon to ask you to go through that again. We'll simply show the recording we made. But please feel free to offer any insights you might be able to offer."
       Gregory nodded.
       Gordon inserted the crystal into a display unit, and an image appeared above the end of the table.
       They saw a corridor with boxes stacked haphazardly, and people rushing this way and that. A number of the people there in uniform were scarred or bandaged.
       Suddenly, there was a commotion from farther down the hall, as voices could be heard cheering. Officers, clearly surprised, began to snap to attention. Two figures hurried down the hallway. As they came closer, it was unmistakable that it was Prince Endymion in his usual cloak, black pants, tunic, and breastplate, his sword at his side, accompanied by an unmistakably female figure attired in a hooded, floor-length gray coat. As they drew closer, it became clear that the female was Princess Serenity. They approached an officer next to Gregory's past self, where Endymion said they had come urgently to see the queen. Gregory and the other officer escorted them to the door to the queen's improvised suite, where the other officer knocked and answered the security challenges from someone within, then placed his hand on a crystal panel mounted on the door which appeared to scan his hand. One of the queen's attendants opened the door. Through the door, the figure of Queen Julianna stood there, looking slighter than either Rei or Atana could remember, and with her hair now noticeably streaked with gray instead of the pure jet black they recalled. She wore an ornate chain over her shoulders, like an emblem of office, at the center of which was a large golden gem. Her blue-gray eyes, virtually identical to Endymion's, sparkled in surprise, but before Endymion could say anything, a strange expression crossed the queen's face. At this point, Endymion and Serenity stepped into the room and the door was closed.
       "Did you see that expression on Queen Julianna's face?" Atana asked Rei, his voice a whisper.
       Rei nodded. "She was a telepath. Maybe she sensed something."
       "Gregory, you obviously couldn't hear anything of their conversation," Atana said.
       "Of course not," Gregory replied. "My past self spent a lifetime in royal service. It's one of those jobs where even if you are in the room, you learn not to hear. They had to be able to speak freely."
       Atana nodded. "About how long were they in there?"
    "About half an hour or so, I would think," Gregory replied.
       The image resumed, now showing the door opening. Serenity now had uncovered her head, and though smiling was looking surprisingly fatigued. Julianna was hugging her and Endymion. Tears were in her eyes, but just as Gregory had said earlier, her expression and demeanor seemed at least partly joyful. There was something slightly awkward in the way she was embracing Serenity, but as Julianna stepped back it was clear she was no longer wearing the chain or the gem. Endymion embraced his mother one last time, then stepped back, allowing it to be seen that he was not wearing the gem. The door closed. Serenity took hold of Endymion's arm, then gazed up at him and mouthed something; being inaudible, the display unit did not translate it for them.
       Rei and Atana both leaned forward, finding something decidedly out of place.
       "What did she just say to him?" Rei wondered softly. There was a nagging sense of familiarity at the back of her mind, but she couldn't place it.
       Atana shook his head. "I don't know."
       Benjamin leaned forward. "We're not sure what it is either."
       Gordon nodded. "I have a decent familiarity with the Atlantean language from having spent years working with old records, but I couldn't make that out. We haven't had time to have any of our language experts review this, but my initial guess would be that she was saying something in the Lunar language."
       "That's entirely possible," Atana agreed. "But this raises a number of questions. How could they have been there when the memories of their reincarnations place them both on the Moon? And why was Serenity dressed like that? I've never seen any of the princesses dressed that way."
       Rei's eyes widened in realization. "Yes... Yes, you have."
       Atana looked at her for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Of course... When you were..." He turned back to Gordon. "Can we run that back to when they're leaving, and the queen is embracing them."
       "Certainly," Gordon said.
       The image above the end of the table faded for a moment, then reformed to show the door opening and Julianna embracing them.
       "Hold, please," Atana said. "I know this isn't film or video, but can we zoom in the image on Serenity?"
       "I think I can enhance it a bit," Gordon replied, adjusting the settings.
       In a moment, the image did zoom in somewhat.
       Atana leaned closer, studying it carefully. " 'Until to somebody occurred a startling paradox'..." he recited to himself. "That's it. You're absolutely right, darling. I can't believe it, but it explains everything."
       "Explains what?' Benjamin asked, mystified.
       "Princess Serenity never wore a coat like that," Rei said.
       "But Mr. Magi said you did," Gordon said.
       Rei nodded. "Princess Rei of Mars, when she was pregnant."
       "I never knew Princess Serenity was ever pregnant," Benjamin said in surprise.
       "She wasn't," Rei replied. "But Usagi, her reincarnation, is."
       Gordon whistled softly as the meaning sank in. "A paradox indeed," he said quietly. "But that does explain how Gregory could have seen them, when Endymion and Serenity never left the Moon."
       Gregory looked confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand this."
       "Those are the reincarnations of Endymion and Serenity that your past self saw," Atana explained. "They went back in time to retrieve the golden crystal, since they already knew it wouldn't play any part in the coming events."
       "And that explains the look of joy on Queen Julianna's face," Rei added. "They must have told her the story."
       "But he wasn't wearing the crystal," Benjamin pointed out.
       "It could easily have been hidden on his person," Gordon observed. "It is a logical assumption they knew they could not be seen with it in that time."
       "So, what now?" Benjamin asked.
       Atana glanced over at Yusuke and Takeyuki. "We need to get back to Japan right away to brief our friends... before there is another pulse." He took Rei's hand and sighed ruefully.
       "Sailor Pluto is just going to hate this," she agreed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       The entire group gathered at Mamoru and Usagi's apartment. Usagi was sitting up on the sofa drinking some tea, but still looked exhausted. She and Mamoru had again recounted her experiences in restoring the Earth.
       "Akari-san thinks the woman might be the goddess of the Moon," Atana said. "She said one of the titles of the queen of the Moon was 'mortal incarnation of the goddess of the Moon'. The wizards confirmed that at least as regards Queen Serenity. They know almost nothing of her predecessors."
       "But mother also said that at that time she believed the title only referred to legend," Rei added.
       "Perhaps not," Luna said.
       "I vaguely remember the title, but nothing about its origins," Artemis said.
       "Why don't you ask Queen Serenity, Usagi-chan?" Minako asked. "If anyone would know, she would."
       Usagi nodded. "I can't reach her," she said softly. "I hope it's just that the ginzuishou is blocking us, and not something more serious."
       Luna stepped forward. "Well, for the moment I think the situation with the ginzuishou is the most immediate concern."
       "I agree," Artemis said. "Once the ginzuishou has been stabilized there will be time to consider the identity of the woman in your vision, Usagi."
       "There is one more issue," Rei said. "I don't think we can do anything about it until the ginzuishou has been stabilized, but it is a result of Usagi restoring everyone. Mom has been restored to a mortal body."
       "You're serious?" Usagi asked in shock.
       Rei nodded.
       "I certainly didn't mean for that to happen," Usagi said. She thought for a minute. "But... I don't think there is anything I can really do about it... I mean... I don't see how I could undo it... That would mean..."
       "Akari-san said she has no problem living a mortal life again, Usagi-san," Atana said. "But right now, she has no legal identity. If she was stopped by the police for some reason, she can't prove who she is. She can't obtain a drivers license. She can't get a job, or do anything that involves being paid, or that requires a background check. We had discussed the possibility of recreating her identity as Hirano Rika, since that would be the easiest as concerns her relationship to Rei and Kara, but obviously there are some significant difficulties there. Whatever the ultimate choice might be, creating a permanent identity for her will require the power of the ginzuishou, but we wanted you to know about it."
       Usagi nodded in understanding.
       Luna turned to Atana. "Were you able to learn anything from the wizard authorities?"
       "Yes. We found the answer," Atana said. "But it's really crazy."
       "What do you mean?" Artemis asked.
       "When we met with the wizards, we were challenged by one of their officials who claimed to have a report from a man who, in a past life, had worked in the Atlantis palace, and who claimed to have seen Prince Endymion visiting his mother there the day before the fall of Atlantis," Atana explained.
       "That's impossible," Mamoru said.
       "Yes, indeed," Artemis agreed.
       "That's what we thought too," Atana said. "But we decided to meet the man and review the images from his memory probe, to see if there were any clues there." Atana produced a crystal and a display unit. "They let me borrow this to show you. Without this, I'm not sure you'd believe the conclusion Rei and I came to." He put the crystal in the display unit and set it on the table, and the image formed above it.
       The others reacted in surprise at the appearance of Endymion and Serenity, and they noticed the strange expression on the face of Queen Julianna. When Endymion and Serenity emerged again, they all noticed that Serenity was looking noticeably fatigued and that Julianna was no longer wearing her golden gem.
       As the image showed Julianna embracing Serenity, Usagi noticed the way the queen was hugging her, as well as the unusual attire Serenity was wearing. The door closed and Serenity and Endymion turned back down the hall. Serenity clutched Endymion's arm and smiled up at him. As Serenity's lips began to move, Usagi gasped, seeing that she was plainly calling him 'Mamo-chan'. "That... that's us!"
       Mamoru nodded, stunned, having realized the same thing.
       "Are you sure?" Minako asked in shock.
       Usagi nodded. "She called him 'Mamo-chan'. That's me in the image, not Princess Serenity."
       "And that explains the coat she's wearing," Rei added. "Princess Serenity wouldn't have worn something like that, but Princess Rei did... when she was pregnant."
       "So Usagi and I go back in time and get Queen Julianna to give us the golden crystal," Mamoru said.
       "That's right," Atana confirmed. "That explains why no trace of it was ever found. And it was the perfect way for Queen Julianna to make sure it didn't fall into the hands of the Dark Kingdom."
       "Incredible," Artemis exclaimed.
       "Now we just have to convince Sailor Pluto to send them back," Atana added. "That's another reason I borrowed this. To give us proof to show her."
       "Wait," Luna interrupted. "It's not quite that simple. Mamoru and Usagi cannot walk the halls of the Atlantis palace and expect people to believe they are Endymion and Serenity."
       "Why not?" Makoto asked. "We just saw it."
       Luna nodded. "But at this moment, neither Mamoru nor Usagi have recovered enough memories to know where they would be going in the palace. And neither of them speaks the language. Even if the wizards of the Magic Authority were able to supply you with translators, the mere fact you were even using them would be noticed right away and would betray you at once."
       "Luna's right," Artemis agreed. "What we just saw had to have been preceded by considerable preparation."
       "Hypnotic regression," Atana said.
       "Yes," Luna confirmed.
       "But that gets tricky with Usagi-san," Atana pointed out. "With every step, we run the risk of another pulse from the ginzuishou."
       "And Usagi has just been through a very grueling exertion," Artemis added. "We have to make sure she's physically up to this as well."
       "We already know Usagi is one of those who goes back... and you all saw she looked as fatigued there as she does now," Luna said. "That means we have to figure out how to make that work."
       "How do we handle the hypnotic regression?" Mamoru asked.
       "I can take care of that," Luna said, the crescent moon on her forehead beginning to glow for a moment. "But we're going to need at least an hour of total peace and quiet."
       "I guess that's the cue for the rest of us to leave for a while," Geoff said, rising to his feet.
       "You'll call us back when you're done?" Minako asked.
       Usagi nodded. "Of course."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Usagi sat there, feeling very strange. Luna had managed to awaken the remnant of Princess Serenity to an awareness of her own, so that it was almost like having two people inside her head. Serenity's memories were still very incomplete, and her personality was still gushing over being pregnant and being on the verge of marrying the reincarnated Endymion.
       Mamoru too was finding this to be a very disconcerting experience. When he had assumed the form of Endymion before, he had assumed all Endymion's abilities, and some of his memories, but now it seemed like the prince was there as a separate part with his own awareness. Even when he had tapped into Endymion's skills as a swordsman, it was more like a reflexive awareness rather than a separate voice in his head.
       "Luna," Usagi said softly. "Is it supposed to be like this? Like there are two of us?"
       "Perhaps for a while," Luna answered.
       "It was never like this before," Usagi said. "Not even when I faced off against Beryl and Metallia. Memories would surface, and I could recall how Serenity would likely have reacted, but now I can actually hear her thoughts separate from my own."
       "I know," Luna said. "But as I said before we started, we had to go much deeper this time. This time, it won't be enough just to look like Serenity and use her name. You need to be able to truly become her, in manners, in speech, in what you know. You have to speak Atlantean the way she did, down to the accent and the way she put the emphasis on the wrong syllable in a handful of words. And Mamoru has to actually be Endymion, able to assume that air of authority of a man who has been commander of all Earth forces for over six months. You're going to be among people who have known Endymion up close for years, and who have known Serenity for over a year. Any slip in character would be noticed immediately."
       "And these are people at war and under siege," Artemis added. "The instant they realize you're not Endymion and Serenity, they will automatically assume this is an attempt by the Dark Kingdom to infiltrate the palace. They will shoot first and ask questions later."
       "My lord councilor is entirely correct." The words came from Mamoru's mouth, but his Japanese had become very formal and even archaic, and with a noticeable accent, showing that it was Endymion who was speaking. "And my lady councilor as well. This is the manner in which we must proceed to ensure the protection of our future and your present."
       "I agree, my dearest," Serenity said, speaking through Usagi. "We can walk those halls safely and securely in a way our reincarnations cannot." Her Japanese, though not so formal and archaic as Endymion's, had also acquired a noticeable accent.
       Luna looked up in surprise. "Thank you, your highnesses," she responded, falling back into the old customs in response to their use of her own former title. "It is crucial that the only person who learns the truth of your mission is Queen Julianna. And she must come to know precisely who you are and why you are there, or she won't give you the golden crystal."
       Mamoru took a breath, but as he recalled the images that Atana had shown him, he could sense that Endymion knew precisely where in the palace it was, and recognized some of the officers they had seen. Mamoru turned his attention to how to achieve their goals, and at once sensed the remnant of Endymion's personality laying it out with precision.
       Usagi was sensing this as well, through their link. At the same time, she could feel Serenity's pride in Endymion, as well as the princess focusing on the memories of the people they had seen.
       Mamoru nodded. "I think we have it under control," he said softly. "Endymion already seems to know just how to get in and out. The biggest thing is going to be getting used to there being an extra voice in my head."
       "And making sure you let Endymion's voice lead," Artemis added.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       The others had returned to Mamoru and Usagi's apartment. Mamoru was in the form of Prince Endymion, while Usagi was again in her princess form. She still looked very tired, and her silver-white gown made the fact of her pregnancy somewhat easier to see. Mamoru helped her put on the gray hooded coat, which effectively concealed it.
       "The personalities are still distinct?" Atana asked.
       "Yes," Mamoru said.
       Atana was skimming through a journal. "I just borrowed this from my friend in Hawaii, since it has considerable information about past-life recoveries." He found the section he wanted. "OK. That's probably good, at least for the moment. It means assimilation is not complete. You just need to let the personalities of your previous selves take the lead while you're in the past."
       "But this won't last," Artemis said.
       "No, it won't," Atana confirmed. "In time, the personality and memories of your past selves will be assimilated into your present selves. You will be able to remember things, as you already can, but you won't hear that separate voice anymore."
       "What happens if they lose the separate voices while in Atlantis?" Luna asked.
       "Let's hope they don't," Atana said. "But you're going to have to concentrate on your past memories, and on what Endymion and Serenity would do in that particular situation. It will still be there, but they will have become fully a part of you."
       "What about the condition of our own memories and recollections?" Endymion asked, his accent and more formal manner displaying it was him. "There are still many blank areas. Many things I am unable to recall at present. That could endanger us with exposure."
       "It is recommended that people not do full past-life recoveries," Atana said, indicating his journal. "Having two full sets of life memories can get confusing, especially if you have similar events. For this mission, Prince Endymion, the most important thing is that you and the princess react to those you encounter as they expect you to do."
       Endymion nodded. "Yes, I understand."
       "You perhaps would know better than I do," Atana added. "But from Gregory's memory probe, it appears you will only face military officers and household staff until you reach your mother's suite. I don't expect you would be socializing with any of them far enough to risk exposure."
       "You are absolutely correct," Endymion agreed. "We are there on a special mission, with little time to spare. As you say, that will keep interactions to a minimum. Any lapses in memory that may occur, I shall cover with an excuse of the stresses of battle."
       Atana nodded. "For the rest of us, it's clear that most of the memories we've recovered have focused on what we needed to know to combat the Dark Kingdom. That was probably Queen Serenity's plan all along. Mamoru-san and Usagi-san, and Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity, should be recovering essential memories concerning the palace and the people there because right now you need that, but for the rest of it, my guess is we'll probably never recover it all."
       "Well, right now we need Sailor Pluto," Luna said. Her crescent moon and Artemis' began to glow.
       Only a moment later, a glow appeared at one side of the room, and Sailor Pluto appeared in the center of the glow.
       "Hello, Sailor Pluto," Usagi greeted her. "We have need of you."
       Pluto nodded, a frown darkening her face. "I already know," she said. "I have seen the problems you are having, and I already know of your planned excursion into the past."
       "Of course," Atana realized. "Even if you didn't know of the events in this time, you would have witnessed the transit from your earlier perspective."
       "Yes," Pluto acknowledged.
       "Then you will not object?" Usagi asked.
       "I do not like it... but the event has already occurred. Now, there is only the obligation to preserve the necessary sequence of events," Pluto said. "And it avoids far, far greater complications at multiple points in time. Thus, this is the least of several evils in a scenario where there is no truly 'good' option."
       Usagi nodded.
       "I think you'd better not wait," Atana said. "The sooner you get going, the less chance there is of achieving full assimilation before you're done."
       Endymion sketched a diagram of the section of the palace where Queen Julianna's chambers were. "This is the direction from which the memory probe images showed us coming." He then sketched another hallway, showing a storeroom at the far end. "I believe this is the best location for us to arrive. It is quite out of the way, and there is nothing here to warrant the presence of guards."
       "I agree," Pluto said. "Our arrival there will go undetected."
       Endymion nodded, then traced the route they would take with his finger. "There will be no guard posts along this route. No one we meet will know that we cannot have returned, nor will anyone here know either of us well enough to become suspicious of any memory lapses on our part."
       "But Atlantis will fall the next day," Usagi said.
       "That is something that must not be mentioned," Pluto said.
       "Every one of them knows it is coming," Endymion replied. "They all know the opportunity for victory has long passed."
       "To bring that up would only insult their service and dedication," Serenity added.
       "Are you ready to go now?" Artemis asked.
       "Yes," Mamoru answered for himself and Endymion.
       Usagi nodded.
       "Yes," Pluto said.
       "Just be very careful, Usagi-san," Atana cautioned. "If the ginzuishou flares while you're back there, you will have changed history."
       "Are we sure bringing the golden crystal to our time won't cause the ginzuishou of that era to destabilize?" Ryo asked.
       "The short answer is that it obviously didn't," Atana replied. "But we also know from experience that the ginzuishou can operate for some time, even at very high output, without its counterpart. If it couldn't, Usagi never would have been able to stand up to Beryl and Metallia. My theory, and that of the experts at the Magic Authority, is that the ginzuishou can balance itself as long it's being regularly utilized at a significant power level." He turned back to Usagi. "And just being in close proximity to the golden crystal may be enough to balance yours out, Usagi-san. But we don't know how long it might take, nor what happens with two versions of the ginzuishou in the same point in time."
       Usagi nodded again, standing close to Mamoru and Sailor Pluto.
       As the others called out best wishes, Pluto's staff began to glow, and they faded away.

< To be continued >

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NOTE: Giving credit where it is due, the Sherlock Holmes quote is the work of Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, while Atana's recitation, "until to somebody occurred a startling paradox", was penned by William Schwenk Gilbert for "The Pirates of Penzance."

Hopeless Romantic and I now have a message group to notify our readers when we post new stories/chapters. Those who are interested can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/strands_of_moonlight/ .

Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.

-12.21.2012