Rising Darkness

By Sillabub

Chapter Five - Retaliation

*****

“Be careful, Princess Serenity. One day your precious guardians may not be around to protect 
you.” -Hecate

*****

It was the day after the return of the Lights and Princess Kakyuu, and Usagi was enjoying herself more 
than she felt she should have been. At the request of Kakyuu, who had not experienced much of Tokyo 
the last time she had been there, they had gone out on the town, exploring the city and having fun despite 
the cold winter air. Kakyuu, who Usagi had always thought of as very somber and quiet, was looking 
around at the sights with wide, childlike eyes, often grabbing Seiya’s arm in excitement when she saw 
something that she found of particular interest. Makoto, Ami, Usagi, Yaten, and Taiki had all laughed 
uproariously when Kakyuu spotted a women’s public bath and, in her excitement, dragged Seiya along 
with her to see it. When they returned moments later, Seiya dripping wet and smelling of soap from an 
assault by the bathing women inside, it was decided that lunch was in order.

The group was small; Minako, Rei, and Mamoru were busy or at work, but Usagi took advantage of that 
intimacy and rambled on and on about the goings-on since the alien soldiers left, pausing only briefly to 
take a breath or ask a question about Kinmoku. Taiki and Yaten exchanged many exasperated glances, 
but Seiya and Kakyuu were only too happy to oblige and spent almost as much time as Usagi talking. 
When they passed the arcade, they met up with Haruka and Hotaru, who were inside playing a racing 
game. After a little persuading by Usagi and Hotaru, Haruka agreed to join them, albeit reluctantly; she 
was still having trouble accepting the fact that she was supposed to be friends with Seiya and Yaten.

After they had settled into a table in a small sushi restaurant and ordered their meals, the group struck up 
an interesting discussion about space travel, which was hundreds of years more advanced on Kinmoku 
than on Earth. Ami especially was eager to hear about the technology, and several times she asked 
questions that contained words with so many complex syllables that Usagi and Makoto had to make silly 
faces across the table at each other to keep themselves entertained. Taiki seized every opportunity to 
explain the different theories and formulas to Ami, all the while ignoring the amused stares coming from 
Seiya, Yaten, and Kakyuu, and the discussion only ended when their meals were brought to their table.

“Thank God!” cried Usagi as her plate was set in front of her. “I’m starved!”

They all stared as Usagi began shoveling down food with the efficiency of a black hole.

Makoto blinked. “What happened to your stomach flu?”

Usagi shrugged, gobbling down rice like there was no tomorrow.

Kakyuu stared in awe, clearly amazed at the rapid intake of food, while beside her, Yaten wrinkled his 
nose in disgust.

“Do you usually eat enough in one meal to feed an entire third-world county?” he asked, looking sincerely 
repulsed.

Usagi shrugged again, paused to swallow, and grinned. “I’m just hungry, I guess.”

Seiya was grinning. “I’m beginning to remember what an appetite you have, Odango.”

Kakyuu blinked at him. “You mean this is normal?”

“Not normal,” said Makoto, who was watching Usagi closely. “That’s a lot of food, even for you, Usagi-
chan,” she added carefully.

Pausing with chopsticks poised to eat, Usagi turned wide eyes to her. “You think so?” she asked. When 
Makoto nodded, still scrutinizing her, Usagi let out a nervous, high-pitched giggle that made the others 
look at her strangely. “You know how it is after you’ve had a stomach flu,” she said dismissively, “once 
you get better, you can’t stop eating.”

“That’s true,” said Hotaru cheerfully. “I remember once when Haruka-papa ate some bad eel . . .”

“We don’t need to discuss that just now,” said Haruka, interrupting and looking irritated. “These guys 
came halfway across the galaxy, we don’t want to bore them with personal stories.”

“Oh, no, by all means, bore us,” grinned Seiya, batting his eyelashes across the table at Haruka. She 
scowled at him, and he turned his gleeful expression to Yaten, who was staring out the window. “Don’t 
you want to hear the story, Yaten?”

Without replying, Yaten abruptly excused himself and got to his feet.

“Yaten?” said Taiki. “Where are you going?”

“Outside,” he replied impatiently. “I’ll be right back. I just . . .” But he didn’t finish; the smallest Light had 
tugged on his coat and was walking toward the exit.

“Yaten!” called Seiya.

But he was gone, and they watched through the window as he dashed down the sidewalk. Hotaru turned 
big purple eyes on the others, blinking widely.

“Is something wrong with Yaten-san?” she asked.

Seiya, Taiki, and Kakyuu exchanged puzzled glances before Seiya replied, “No idea.”

Meanwhile, Yaten was hurrying down the sidewalk after having spotted a mane of long blond hair 
disappearing around a corner moments before. The cold air burned his throat as he inhaled, but he pushed 
on, and soon he drew close to his target.

“Hey! Wait up!” he shouted after her.

She kept walking, like she hadn’t heard him.

Yaten scowled. “Aino Minako!” he yelled.

Minako froze, as if the sound of her own name frightened her. She turned slowly as Yaten jogged up to 
her, and when she saw who it was, she smiled. Yaten noticed, though, that although the gesture was 
friendly, Minako seemed oddly detached.

“Hi, Yaten-kun,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow at her as he responded, “Hey.”

She cocked her head to the side and her hair, devoid of its customary red ribbon, blew around her in the 
cold breeze. “What are you doing?”

Yaten shrugged. “Just taking a walk,” he said. He paused, studying her attire with mild amusement, then he 
smirked. “Nice outfit.”

Her cheeks colored as she pulled her coat tighter around her waitress uniform. “I just got off work,” she 
said defensively. “Hush.”

Pale silver eyebrows raised. “You’re a waitress?” he said, sounding skeptical.

Minako looked away and shrugged awkwardly. “It pays the bills.”

There was a hint of scorn in his voice as he scowled and said, “Glad to see you’re living your dream.”

Minako blinked at him, and her chin trembled for a brief moment before she turned away. “It’s none of 
your business what I’m doing with my life,” she said coldly, squaring her jaw.

Yaten frowned. “It is if I decide to make it my business,” he replied. “What’s going on?”

She suddenly whirled on him, and for a moment her expression was contorted in a mixture of self-loathing 
and desperation. “Leave me alone, please!” she cried. “I don’t want to talk about it!”

Yaten stared at her, taken aback at the tears in her blue eyes. A frown creased his brow, but he gave a 
curt nod of understanding and watched silently as Minako choked back a sob, wiped her eyes on her 
sleeve, and raced away down the sidewalk. Yaten stood alone in the cold and watched her run away until 
the last traces of her gold hair were no longer visible.

For a few moments he stood in silence, trying to figure out what could have changed someone who used 
to be so determined, so bright, but he came up with nothing. Frustrated with himself for not finding an 
answer (and for caring at all in the first place), Yaten turned and began to walk back to the restaurant, 
shoving his hands in his pockets to keep warm as he exhaled into the cold air. Suddenly he stopped, 
sensing something that sent shivers down his spine. 

Turning slowly, like a man in a trance, Yaten looked down the sidewalk Minako had just gone running 
down and saw a crowd of screaming civilians rushing toward him, their faces pale and their eyes wide with 
terror. Without thinking, Yaten ran towards the oncoming group, shouting at them.

“Hey! Hold it!” he yelled at the people rushing past him. “Stop, damn it!”

But no one would. Filled with frustration (and a tiny bit of dread), Yaten grit his teeth as he was jostled by 
the crowd of people running around him and searched for a weak target to attack.

Suddenly he found one, and he seized a short, fat, balding man by the collar and hauled him up so that he 
was at eye level. “Hey! Earthling!” he yelled, but the man only stared at him and yelled in terror. Yaten 
scowled and slapped him across the face. “Snap out of it, fat man!” he shouted, and the man closed his 
mouth and gaped up at him. “Tell me what’s going on!”

The man began to tug on the hand holding him hostage. “Let me go,” he panted. “I have to go home . . . 
there’s a monster out there!”

Yaten stared at him. “A monster?”

The man nodded. “But there’s a Sailor Senshi fighting it off, I’m sure it’ll be fine, please let me go.”

“A Sailor Senshi?” Yaten asked, eyes wide, and he shook the man furiously. “Where are they?”

“Why would you want to go there?” asked the man, looking frightened.

Yaten scowled. “Do you want me to let you go or not?” he bellowed. “Tell me where they are!”

“Two blocks down, around the corner,” the man gasped. “By the coffee shop.”

Yaten dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, leaped over him, and darted down the sidewalk that 
Minako had run down minutes before, leaving the poor man rolling around on the ground as he struggled 
to his feet. As much as Yaten hated running, sweating, or physical exertion of any kind, he pushed on and 
ran as fast as he could, trusting the information he was given to direct his path.

He skidded to a halt moments later, eyes wide. “Shit,” Yaten remarked crossly.

Sailor Venus was racing around the deserted street, narrowly avoiding blasts of power coming from a 
fearsome-looking woman floating in the air, black wings flapping ominously. The windows of the coffee 
shop were shattered, and several bodies lay on the ground nearby. Venus seemed to be struggling to avoid 
the energy being slung at her; one blast of power came dangerously close, but she leapt out of the way just 
in time, leaving a large hole in the asphalt. 

As Yaten ducked into an alleyway to transform, Venus paused for a moment to kiss her fingertips and 
blow a heart-shaped blast of golden power at Hecate. As if it was nothing more than an irritating insect, 
the attack was deflected, and, try as she might to get out of the way, Venus was too slow. With a strangled 
scream, her own attack collided with her legs, searing the skin and leaving her flesh blackened and oozing 
blood.

Hecate chuckled as Venus collapsed to the ground. “Give up, Princess Venus,” she said. “You’ll never be 
able to defeat me alone.”

Blood streaming down her legs, Minako fought her way to her feet and sent a weak glare in the evil 
woman’s direction. “Yes, I will,” she growled, wincing. “I’m strong enough on my own to . . .” But then her 
legs gave out and she fell to the ground, whimpering.

Hecate cackled in twisted glee, her red eyes glinting. “Princess Venus, you are weak and pathetic,” she 
said condescendingly. Her wings flapped slowly as she lowered herself, drawing nearer to the wounded 
girl on the ground. “And now,” she hissed, grinning so that her fangs showed, “you will die.”

“Wanna bet?” a voice yelled.

Hecate looked up just as a ball of crackling blue lightning streaked toward her and struck her shoulder. 
Shrieking in pain, she spiraled into the air and glared down at Sailor Star Healer, who had rushed onto the 
scene and was now standing in front of Venus.

“Who are you?” demanded Hecate, hatred gleaming in her eyes. The skin on her shoulder was burned, 
flesh peeling back to reveal slick, glistening redness beneath, but she hardly seemed to register that she 
was wounded as she glared down at this stranger.

Healer’s green eyes blazed as she stared right back up at her. “I guess you wouldn’t know me,” she said, 
anger evident beneath the conversational tone of her voice. “I wasn’t around during that whole Silver 
Bicentennial thing.”

“Millennium!” snarled Hecate, then she shook her head, looking outraged. “No matter.” With a look of 
concentration, Hecate closed her eyes and the diamond-shaped stone on her forehead glowed blood red. 
Healer stared as skin grew up around Hecate’s wound and mended itself, leaving smooth skin where the 
attack had hit.

“Damn,” breathed Healer. 

Hecate glared down at her. “I’ve lost interest in who you are,” she growled. “You managed to wound me 
and you’re protecting a creature who’s not worth protecting. That’s enough reason for me to kill you.”

Staring up at her, Healer edged closer to Venus, guarding her. “Try it,” she said defiantly. If she had been 
facing Venus, she would have seen the look of pain and rage on her face.

“Healer, stop,” whispered Minako between grit teeth.

“Jupiter Oak Evolution!”

Leaves and green energy shot through the air and struck the side of Hecate’s face as Sailor Jupiter, Sailor 
Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Star Maker, Sailor Star Fighter, and Sailor 
Kinmoku appeared on the scene. Snarling, Hecate flapped her wings and whirled to face them, and when 
she spotted Sailor Moon in the group, her expression became one mingled with hatred and glee, and the 
mangled skin on her face contorted with her evil grin. She paused only to allow her wounds to heal (the 
senshi exchanged shocked and worried glances), then she stared down at Sailor Moon and bowed 
mockingly.

“Princess Serenity,” she said, raising her head and gesturing around the street, “I see you’ve come to 
admire my handiwork?”

A small gasp came from Mercury as she looked toward the ruins of the coffee shop, and, barely daring to 
breathe, Sailor Moon followed suit. 

She froze as she spotted the dead bodies scattered around the street beneath the window, and her knees 
wobbled as a wave of nausea hit her. The realization of what had happened was screaming through her 
mind, and her skin grew pale as she began to tremble. 

People were dead. People were dead for no reason other than this twisted woman’s desire to kill her . . .

She turned fierce, blazing eyes on Hecate, and, fighting off the sick feeling in her stomach, she demanded, 
“Why did you kill these people? They did nothing wrong!”

“Making you suffer is my primary goal,” purred Hecate. “Knowing that innocent people have died for 
nothing, knowing that I’m not afraid to kill as many people as it takes to get to you . . .” Her red eyes 
glinted as she grinned down at Sailor Moon. “Does it not kill you inside?”

“Shut up!” shouted Fighter. Hecate peered down at her as Fighter held her hands out and cried, “Star 
Serious Laser!”

The beam of red light streaked toward Hecate, and although she flew out of the way of it, she did peer 
with interest at Fighter, Maker, and Kinmoku.

“More imposters?” she asked quietly. She turned her fearsome gaze on Sailor Moon, whispering, “How 
strange it is that you have such people helping you, Princess Serenity.”

“It’s not strange,” retorted Sailor Kinmoku, stepping forward. “We’re here to protect her.”

“And yet you’re aliens to this world,” said Hecate. “You’re outsiders, yet you’ve come all this way to 
protect someone who’s going to die at my hand, despite your efforts.”

“She will not!” a voice cried, and Tuxedo Kamen appeared, leaping down from the top of a building and 
thrusting his staff into Hecate’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

“Tuxedo Kamen-sama!” cried Sailor Moon, her eyes wide.

He fell through the air and, with the grace and agility of a cat, landed in a crouching position beside her and 
stared up at Hecate, who was clutching her stomach and gasping for air. Her eyes blazed red with rage as 
she glowered down at Tuxedo Kamen, but she seemed unable to move until she regained the breath that 
had been knocked out of her.

Believing Hecate to be harmless for the moment, Uranus sprang into action, leaping through the air with 
her Space Sword outstretched, poised to sever Hecate’s head from the neck. As Uranus sped towards 
the winged woman, it looked as though the attack would prove to be fatal for Hecate, but Uranus had 
made an error in judgement by believing Hecate to be harmless.

Like she had been expecting the attack all along and had only been pretending to be injured, Hecate 
caught the sword between two long-nailed fingers and ginned at the wide-eyed Uranus, who whispered, 
“No.”

“Uranus, move!” screamed Sailor Moon, but there was no way Uranus could have avoided what was 
coming next.

Hecate’s other arm shot out as she grabbed Uranus by the throat, causing the tall woman to lose her 
breath as she dangled from Hecate’s grasp. Hecate grinned very cruelly down at her, showing her 
glistening fangs as she gripped the Space Sword in her other hand. Usagi’s stomach dropped as Hecate 
whispered, “Die,” and swung the glowing blade down.

Three things happened at that instant: Saturn began to scream; the Space Sword cut into Uranus’s flesh; 
and a sudden spray of icy water, courtesy of Sailor Mercury, struck Haruka and threw her from Hecate’s 
treacherous grasp.

“Uranus!” shouted Jupiter as Uranus plummeted toward the ground, blood streaming from the huge wound 
in her shoulder. Sailor Star Maker darted forward and caught Uranus, who landed, groaning, in her arms, 
and Saturn immediately rushed to their aid. Mercury quivered where she stood, face pale as she stared up 
at Hecate, whose terrifying scowl flickered between her and Sailor Moon, who was staring at the dead 
bodies with a haunted look in her eyes.

With a great flap of her wings, Hecate whirled on the group of senshi, her eyes flashing. “Be careful, 
Princess Serenity,” she snarled contemptuously, glaring down at Sailor Moon. “One day your precious 
guardians may not be around to protect you.”

Usagi froze, her blood running cold in her veins.

“Hecate!” bellowed Jupiter, bolting forward, a ball of lightning ready in her hand. “This isn’t over!”

“For now, Princess Jupiter, it is,” replied Hecate coolly. Makoto let out a cry and hurled the ball of 
crackling energy at Hecate, but the winged creature disappeared before the attack could connect.

The group of senshi stood silently in the middle of the street, their expressions grim as they stared up at the 
spot their enemy had been seconds before.

-Be careful, Princess Serenity . . . -

The words echoed in Sailor Moon’s head, making her stomach lurch. She trembled, then dropped to her 
knees in the middle of the street and slumped forward.

“God . . .” she breathed, burying her face in her hands. Tuxedo Kamen knelt beside her and gathered the 
shaking blonde in his arms.

“It’s okay,” he murmured soothingly as his wife began to sob. “Nothing’s going to happen to us.”

“Are you kidding me?” cried Sailor Moon, tears running down her face. “Innocent people died today! 
People I don’t even know are dead, people who had mothers and fathers and friends, and why?”

“Usako . . .” said Tuxedo Kamen gently, looking troubled.

“They’re dead because of me!” sobbed Sailor Moon. “They’re dead because of someone who’s after my 
life!” Lips trembling, she buried her face in her husband’s shirt. “And Uranus . . . Uranus almost died,” she 
whispered. “Why would that woman do this?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” her husband replied softly, brow furrowed. “I don’t . . .”

“Damn it!”screamed Jupiter, throwing a punch at a wall in frustration.

Saturn knelt beside Uranus, her small, gloved hands glowing as she began to heal Haruka’s wound. 
Haruka sat on the pavement in silence, her expression clouded with worry.

“Venus!”

Venus, who had been nursing her wounds, looked up.

“What the hell did you think you were doing?” Healer cried, turning toward the fallen soldier. “What 
possessed you to take her on alone?!” 

The blonde glowered up at her, blood spilling through her fingers as she clutched a wounded leg. “I had 
everything under control.” 

“Not from where I’m standing,” replied the other girl bluntly, her green eyes hard. 

Minako looked away crossly, then stood up, but she could not put weight on her wounded legs without 
collapsing. Healer caught her as she fell forward and gently lowered her to the ground. 

“Easy, easy,” she said quietly. “You shouldn’t be moving.” 

“I’m fine,” replied Venus, biting her teeth together from the pain.

Looking exasperated, Healer turned toward the others. She caught Saturn’s eye from where the smaller 
girl sat, healing Uranus’ shoulder, and gestured toward Venus. “Saturn, could you get over here when 
you’re done fixing that thing?”

Haruka’s eyes flashed. “That ‘thing’?” she repeated hotly, clenching her fists. “Look who’s talking, you 
transsexual piece of . . .”

“Don’t move, please,” Saturn interrupted with an impatient sigh, her hands glowing over Haruka’s 
shoulder as the wound slowly began to close up and heal.

“Don’t bother with me, I’m fine,” muttered Venus, attempting to stand again, but Healer grabbed her and 
made her sit back down. 

“You don’t get it, do you? You’re hurt.” 

“I’m FINE,” hissed Minako through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the burning feeling prickling at the 
corners of her eyes. She attempted to get up again, but Healer pushed her down. “Would you QUIT IT?!” 

“No. You’re not going anywhere until your leg’s healed up, okay?”

Venus was staring at Healer with eyes that, for a moment, looked as though they were glassy with unshed 
tears. But then she blinked and the glassiness was gone, and when she looked away Healer sat down 
beside her, ignoring the curious stares from Fighter and Maker.

“I can’t deal with this,” whispered Venus, clenching a fist at her side. “It’s too much for me.”

Healer glanced at her out of the corner of an eye, confused slightly by the blonde’s words, but as Minako 
squared her shoulders and stared at the ground, her expression unreadable, the other girl sat back and 
decided to remain silent.

Everyone stood in the cold for a long, long time, not speaking, just looking around and surveying the 
damage done to the street corner (although avoiding looking at the dead civilians around the coffee shop). 
It wasn’t until after the police arrived and the somber senshi reported the incident that they decided to 
leave, their silence continuing on into the night as they walked away.

*****

A thin, pale girl peered up at the darkening night sky, shivering as she clutched her cat to her chest and 
stroked its soft gray fur. The courtyard beside the palace was deserted except for a few of the gardeners 
who were preparing the flowers and the fountains of the extensive garden for nightfall. Even though climate 
control had existed for hundreds of years and cold, wintery weather had ceased to be, the girl found her 
skin covered with chill bumps, every hair standing on end as shivers passed down her spine.

“Diana . . .” Small Lady whispered, “something’s wrong.”

“Wrong?” the cat asked quietly, her large red eyes worried. “Wrong with what?”

“Usagi.”

Moments later, the Princess burst into the palace and, gathering her skirts in one hand, rushed to the 
Throne Room, face flushed and chest heaving. Neo-Queen Serenity looked up sharply as her daughter 
skidded into the room, a blur of pink, but the warning expression on the Queen’s face stopped her short. 
Remembering her manners, Small Lady blushed and curtsied, and when she raised her head there was a 
gentle smile on her mother’s face.

“Small Lady,” said Neo-Queen Serenity, rising from her throne and approaching her daughter. “You look 
flushed. Is something wrong?”

Small Lady straightened and nodded, saying all in a rush, “Something’s wrong with Sailor Moon, 
something’s happening in the past, do you know what’s going on?”

The Queen blinked, then her expression grew somber. “There may be some turmoil,” she said softly, 
looking away.

“I can help!” said Chibi-Usa eagerly. “I’m older and stronger, and I’m a lot more powerful!”

Slender fingers tightened on her scepter as Neo-Queen Serenity shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she 
replied.

Small Lady’s shoulders slumped. “What?”

Her mother looked sadly at her. “I can’t allow you to return to the past, Small Lady,” she said. “Your time 
there is no longer. Pluto has taken away the Key to the Gates of Time.”

“But Sailor Moon’s in trouble!” said Small Lady, her eyes sparking. “I can feel it!”

Neo-Queen Serenity peered at her, gaze unreadable. “Small Lady . . .” she started, but her daughter cut 
in.

“You’re asking me to sit back and do nothing!” cried Small Lady furiously. “You know I can’t do that!”

“Now is not the time to be reckless,” Neo-Queen Serenity said calmly, regarding her daughter with an 
almost pitying look. “You can’t just race back to an earlier time every time there is trouble. Please 
understand, Small Lady. Your duty is no longer to the past. What you need to concentrate on now is the 
time you live in and your duty that remains here.”

“But Mother!” protested Small Lady.

“I understand how you must be feeling now, my Princess,” said Serenity, and Small Lady felt angrier and 
angrier with each passing word. “However, I simply cannot allow you to go.”

Small Lady’s ruby eyes were filling with angry tears as she glowered at her mother, cheeks flushed. She 
was acting childish, she knew that, but she didn’t care. “Wouldn’t you go, if you were in my place?” she 
asked heatedly. “If you had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen to people you loved, 
wouldn’t you try to do something about it?”

The blue eyes of her mother softened, and her gaze grew somewhat sad. “Small Lady . . .”

“Mother, they need me!” cried Small Lady fiercely, tears spilling from her eyes. “You have to let me go!”

Serenity’s expression was clouded for a moment, then she shook her head. “My decision is final, Usagi,” 
she said firmly. “You may not return to the past.”

Small Lady glared at her, every muscle in her small body tense as she clenched her fists so tightly that they 
began to tremble. Her ruby eyes blazed as she stared at the Queen, not speaking but squaring her jaw in a 
way that looked as if she was trying very hard not to say anything. Finally, with an angry exhalation of 
breath, Small Lady turned on heel and stalked from the Throne Room, and as soon as she was out of her 
mother’s sight she broke into a run, dashing up flights of stairs to reach her bedchambers. When she 
reached the top of the stairs and ran into her room, she slammed the door loudly and threw herself onto 
her bed, crying into the pink satin of her pillow.

She didn’t hear the soft knock on her door, nor did she notice a tall, thin figure slip into the room, but she 
noticed the warmth of the hand that touched her back and the gentleness of the touch, and she raised her 
head.

“Puu?” she said quietly, raising her tear-streaked face to stare up at her guardian soldier.

Pluto’s expression was unreadable as she stood beside Small Lady’s bed. “What’s troubling you, Small 
Lady?” she asked softly.

The child wiped her eyes with the back of one hand and moved into a sitting position, looking seriously up 
at Pluto. “Mother won’t let me return to the past,” she said, frowning. “She said you’ve taken away the 
Key and that it would be reckless to go back.”

Pluto nodded, not speaking. Small Lady slid off the bed and into a standing position in front of the tall 
woman, her eyes wet but determined.

“But I have to go back,” she insisted. “Something’s wrong with Sailor Moon, I can tell.”

“Small Lady . . .” Pluto began gently, but the Princess shook her head fervently.

“Don’t tell me I can’t go back,” she said heatedly. “You know something’s wrong, and I know it too. I 
have to go back!”

“I know,” Pluto said quietly.

Small Lady deflated visibly, confusing etched upon her features. “Then why can’t I go back? I know I can 
help.”

“I never said you couldn’t go back,” Pluto said.

The child looked sharply up at her, ruby eyes wide and glistening with hope. “Huh?”

“I have seen things your mother has not,” Pluto said softly, staring into Small Lady’s eyes. “Darkness is 
rising in the past, Small Lady. I am giving you back the Key.”

Small Lady felt her heart leap at those words, and she nearly threw her arms around Pluto but something 
stopped her, and she looked up at her guardian, eyes clouded. “But . . . won’t you get in trouble?”

Pluto’s expression was somber. “When one breaks rules, it’s always a possibility,” she replied. Upon 
noticing the distress on Small Lady’s face, Pluto chuckled and patted the child’s head. “Don’t worry, 
Small Lady. The Queen will understand. She may think it’s reckless for you to return to the past, but 
whether she likes to remember or not, she used to be quite reckless herself when it came to the people she 
loved.” Pluto gently pinched Small Lady’s chin in an affectionate gesture. “If I’m not mistaken, that 
recklessness still resides in her somewhere.”

Small Lady smiled. “You think so?”

Her guardian stepped back and nodded. “I do. Serenity just needs to remember it, that’s all. She will 
understand in time.” 

The child beamed up at her. “Thank you so much, Puu.”

A gentle smile crossed her face, and Pluto held out her hand; a delicate chain with a golden key on the end 
dangled from her fingertips. “I believe you will be needing this.”

Small Lady stared up at Pluto, her expression unreadable. Then, suddenly, she threw her arms around the 
tall woman’s waist, hugging her, and before Pluto could blink, the Princess had grabbed the Key and was 
rushing down the palace corridor to fetch Diana.

Pluto stared after her, a slight smile still on her face.

“Be safe, Small Lady.”

*****

End Chapter Five