The Moon!

When Mercury told Luna about the fact that she felt at least some of the answers the Senshi sought should be on the Moon, and she hadn't yet found a way to extend the teleportation method she'd invented to a full group, Luna -- perhaps aggravatingly -- remembered just then that the Senshi, as a group, already had a method to teleport anyway. At least she agreed that the Moon definitely held answers.

When Sailor Teleport activates, there's a brilliant and sustained light, a rush of strong upward wind, and everything shifts. This version, like many others, is not instantaneous: clear travel is involved, though it's rapid and frictionless. The team is propelled at incredible speeds through the vasty waste of nothingness between the Earth and the Moon, bypassing the detritus in the former's orbit. They're shielded from the vacuum of space, and the stars are streaks of light.

They land and their shield fades, unnecessary. Where they are, there is atmosphere, preserved by a magic kept out of the universe since the Sorrow of Serenity. They stand amidst the wreckage of an empire, in the courtyard of the grand central palace of the Moon Kingdom. No building is intact, and char mars the crystal and luminous stone from which they'd been constructed.

The city's ruins are vast, ringing the still and silent Mare Serenitatis behind them-- a sea filled with lifeless water, wrecked ships within it lifting skeletal fingers to the starry black sky. Until now, no human, magical, or robot explorer has broken the seal which has kept these ruins locked in secrecy for untold aeons, undisturbed and sacrosanct. They stand untouched as a monument to fallen worlds and lost cultures, to long lives of hope ended abruptly.

Whether it's magic or technology as yet un-rediscovered, there are conditions here in this sideways slice of reality that have persisted since the fall; there is nothing gruesome to find.

There is no life... and yet, a light shines from within a partial tower within the palace, flickering occasionally.

Mercury has been trying to solve the secret of reaching the moon for nearly four months, now. It's been a low-burning frustration in the back of her mind, but not one she's shared with even Usagi until a scant week ago. The fact that they could have come here much sooner if she'd talked to Luna is a little irritating, but it is mostly self-directed irritation, so she doesn't voice it.

Once Sailor Mercury has convinced the other girls to go, though, she prepares herself mentally. Mercury lowers her visor well before they begin the teleportation spell, because the reading she can garner on it are far too interesting to pass up. She's even put a small remote imagine camera on Usagi's bow, out of sight but recording to her computer just the same.

When the light from their teleportation fades, Sailor Mercury looks around with awe. "I expected to find something," she notes very quietly. "But I never expected this." The ruins of a civilization that once never was. The proof of a life that never could have been. "There must have been thousands here," she murmurs quietly. "Tens of thousands."

Minako Aino/Sailor Venus just clucks her tongue a few times. "Should have asked me. Don't know if I would have talked about it, though."

"I don't like it up here. Not at all," she comments, but doesn't have much more of interest in elaborating. It's all scanning corners and looking around, noting down points of interest, and occasionally kicking her feet into the lunar dirt. Half of her attention goes back to peeking 'back' or 'up' to Earth every few moments, as if checking to make sure it's still there.

Sure, it may be aggravating to the others, but it is even more aggravating to Luna, only remembering things at last minutes. After all, how handy would this have been for the Paris trip? And perhaps the frustrated feline could have actually gone with instead of staying behind with Shingo and Ikuko.

For her part, Sailor Moon is just...staring. Her feet move in footsteps that she's taken a voided lifetime ago, and part of her just knows that her favorite dressmaker's store had been right here.

"I think more," she says distantly. "Even Australia has more than that in one of their major cities. And this place is...larger."

Finally, she ducks behind Jupiter, a tall pillar of strength. "This place makes me sad."

And that faint, flickering light makes her even more sad. Who wants to bet that's where they're heading next?

    Mars keeps her annoyed thoughts of 'you could've told us this a long time ago' and 'why are you only thinking of this now?' to herself. She also wonders just exactly how they'll be expected to breathe on the Moon and figures that Mercury has probably figured something out so that they don't asphixiate.

    Then they get there and there's no asphixiation. Yay! Mercury gets a brief hug from Mars before the fire senshi starts walking around their landing point. "It's pretty crazy how no one has ever noticed these before. I mean, sure, magic, I get it, but still. Are we the first ones who have been here since... you know... back then?"

    Venus says that she doesn't like it here, and Moon says that the place makes her sad. Mars gives the two of them a concerned frown at that. "Well... it's only for a bit." She tries to be reassuring.

    Turning towards the tower with the flickering light, she purses her lips. "That seems like the only source of... anything around here." Everything else just seems dead and empty, though she doesn't say it. "What could possibly still be giving off light after all this time?"

Jupiter, herself, is feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Lately it seems like she keeps on discovering things that she never knew about herself, her world. As she looks around her at the vista of ruined beauty that remains of the Moon Kingdom, her thoughts keep stumbling a little over the fact that they just, of their own power, traveled in space and now they're on the moon.

It's hard to keep up, and the wistful, poignant feeling that the sights around her stirs up in her heart doesn't help. Nevertheless, she stands tall and firm as ever when Sailor Moon ducks behind her, looking back to offer her friend a gentle, reassuring smile.

A thought flits into her mind, and Jupiter's hand reaches out to settle against Sailor Moon's shoulder, a light, warm point of contact. "...Hey, Usagi-chan," she says, her tone soft and more soothing than humorous. "Think this makes you the bunny on the moon?"

It's not a time for joking, but she can't stand to see Usagi looking so sad.

Mercury blinks in surprise at the hug from Mars, but she certainly isn't upset by it. SHe smiles to her friend, then covers a smile at Jupiter's joke. It's not the time for joking, and yet the little bit of humor is no less welcome to Sailor Mercury than the hug was.

In one corner of her visor, Sailor Mercury analyzes the atmosphere around them, and in another she analyzes the materials used in the construction of the buildings. "Larger, but also older," Mercury notes. "Maybe more," she agrees. "It's hard to say without ..." she trails off, then lets it go. Because really, all of these people are dead, and while the anthropology of the moon kingdom is a fascinating topic for Mercury, she suspects it's not the same for the reincarnation of this kingdom's princess.

"There's still energy here," she notes quietly, looking towards the tower. Excitement begins to thrill through Mercury as she the data begins to coallesce. Yes, there are definitely answers, here. She wasn't wrong.

Moon nods at Mars. True, only a little while.

And then Jupiter makes the name pun, and even though this place still makes her sad, she loves the pun! It's beautiful! Glorious! Groanworthily so!

So she does what she does, and after blinking for a moment, snuggles Jupiter in warm hugs and gives an 'EEE hee hee!' and the hearts in her voice are heavily implied!

And the joke, though innapropriate to some perhaps, gives Sailor Moon the levity to actually look around.

And she looks up, toward where she expects the hunk of rock beneath her feet to be in the sky and just gasps in awe.

She'll be following others as she moves, but her eyes will be trained on the earth above them. And she points.

"I could never figure out, but look! That shade of the oceans, see? They're his eyes!"

Sappy, yes. But very truthful.

Even on Earth the oceans don't quite match that shade. But here? Through hemispheres and space? It's a perfect match in pigmentation.

(And really, to her, the trip's already been worth it!)

Still looking at the earth's oceans, she turns her head a little toward Mercury. "So...there? With the glow?"

Her hand blindly seeks out Jupiter's before clasping it.

"There's still lots of stuff up here," Sailor Venus comments. "It would be interesting to look around, but you wanna go to the palace. That'll be the best place for information."

She points off into the distance. "Some nice tall stuff there with pretty images on it. Ruins are interesting to look at. They might be fun to play with. But! Don't go too far or else you won't be able to breathe."

"Breathing is 'really' important," she stresses, not spoken in her usual bubbly, happy voice despite the casual nature of the comment.

Mission accomplished. Jupiter accepts the Moon-hugs gladly and responds in kind, arms wrapping around her friend for an encouraging squeeze. Your friends are here, she says without words; we've got you.

And then she, too, trails along with the others, listening to Mercury's comments as she looks around. When Sailor Moon points upward, Mako's eyes follow the gesture--

--and it stops her, just for a moment, a wash of deja vu as she realizes that she knows this sight. She's seen it before, not in photographs or video but has actually stood here, maybe right on this spot, looking up at the blue-green jewel of the planet hanging amidst the stars in contemplation and wonder.

Sailor Moon's hand closing on hers brings her back to herself again; Jupiter's fingers curl around Moon's with a little squeeze as her eyes seek the glowing light that Mars mentioned seeing.

    Mars starts marching towards the glowing tower. She giggles as she hears Jupiter's joke, and then listens to Venus as she talks like she's been here before. All things considered, Mars wouldn't be surprised if that was true. "I'll try to remember to breathe. In case someone decides to take my breath away."

    She looks up at the glowing tower, then behind her at the other Senshi. "This way, right? What we're looking for is over here."

    To Venus, she asks, "Any idea of what we might find there? You sound like you've been here before."

    The Earth above gets very little notice from her, aside from a casual glance upwards. It's a strange sight, almost like a role reversal. Now the moon is what you walk on and it's the planet that's in orbit.

The light is coming from a pale blue sphere hovering above a podium just inside the base of the tower. In the small patio surrounding the tower sits a carved stone block about two feet high, wide and long; a blackened sword with a sturdy, prettily wrought hilt and guard is stuck through its center.

The tower itself-- the sights in and of themselves prompt fragmentary memories, flashes of lives once lived, but the tower-- it was sacred, it was the holy of holies. The sacristy, as it were, of the woman that legends on Earth named the Goddess Selene.

Queen Serenity's prayer tower.

It is the floating sphere that flickers; it flickers with every footstep of the girls. Mercury's visor can tell that the sphere is reading them as surely as she is reading it; there are vast stores of patterned energy just outside her reach. There is, however, an energy link between the sphere and the sword.

Venus will surely recognise the sword; the space itself, and the tower beyond? Every step is another wash of deja vu, of memory, for each of the girls. Coming here so small, waiting for the Princess to be born; solemn meetings with the Queen; chasing a tiny Princess through the halls to keep her from disturbing the peaceful sanctum...

Minako Aino/Sailor Venus is extra-reassuring for Mars. "Nothing dangerous. Don't worry. You can walk right in," she says.

"I don't know what you'll find. Everybody seems to just being shooting in the dark, but this place is a nice place for random shooting," she says, kneeling down comfortably a bit away from the interior, or what would be the interior minus structural damage.

"Poke around. It'll be educational!"

Sailor Moon tries to keep her eyes on that beautiful, perfect shade of blue for as long as she can. Once inside, part of her feels like she should be squealing and running around, being chased by figures much taller than her but so very comforting.

If she takes that door there, maybe she can even sneak away to take a peek at him!

She pauses mid lunge, looking very confused for a moment.

"What am I doing?" It's an inane question, really, intended to fall on no ears. But it's also a very important question, intended to be answered.

Sailor Mercury doesn't slow down in awe at the chamber they come across. Instead, she simply begins slowly circling it, carefully studying the entire chamber. The bluenette crosses the room on quiet feet, eyes mostly focused on the sword and sphere in the center of the room.

While the others talk amongst themselves and discuss this place, Mercury remains focused on her task, studying this world for its clues. After a few moments, she frowns, then reaches up towards the sword. She starts to touch it, but then hesitates and backs away.

"The sword needs to be removed," Mercury notes uncertainly, "but it's made of a toxic metal. I think our henshins should protect us from it, but ..." she trails off, then scans it from the other side. "More importantly, I believe once it's removed we will learn a great many answers. It seems the sword is acting as a breaker for an ancient power source. There's a lot of data stored here, but with the sword in place, we can't get to it."

"...we all have." Jupiter's gaze flicks toward Venus before settling on Mars. Her green eyes are opaque and serious. "Haven't we? We just... didn't remember..."

(She had a garden, she remembers now. There were many gardens and they were all beautiful, but she was allowed to arrange hers solely as she pleased, in artfully half-wild tumbles of plants and small secretive hollows.)

Mako closes her eyes against the memory, opens them again. Another look around and her attention falls on the sword for a moment, before she frowns and looks away. When Sailor Moon's hand pulls from hers it's almost automatic to start after her, ready to tug her back, but Usagi catches herself on her own and Mako can only offer her a smile of commiseration to answer her confusion.

(--fine silken hair spilling over her fingers; careful and patient, she combs and pins it, tucking many small pearlescent flowers into the strands where they'll glimmer like stars in the princess's radiance.)

Mercury brings Jupiter's attention back to the sword, and she frowns again, a more contemplative expression this time. "So," she says, "we need to pull it out?"

    Mars walks into the tower and immediately sees a black sword. "Hey. Awesome. Finders keepers." When she reaches for the sword, nothing really stops her from touching it. When she grabs the hilt, she finds that she can't... actually draw it. Huh. "Well that's weird." Maybe a bit disappointing, too. She can think of a few people she'd want to stab with it.

    When Mercury explains that the sword is important, Mars turns towards her and says, "Oh really? Toxic metal? Well, removing it's going to be a problem. Any idea what the lock on it is?"

    After all, they came here for answers. There's no point in leaving empty-handed just because a sword got in their way.

    Mars listens to Jupiter, and grins sheepishly. "Well... yeah. I mean. A long time ago, we did."

"We all have? Maybe. Don't focus on memories. Don't worry about them," Sailor Venus answers to Jupiter, as if the thought of memories dismays her. "They're not important for the here and now. In fact, they might not even be accurate," she says, trailing off, not wanting to commit to any sort of circumspect conversation about the nature of moon memories.

More upsetting than memory talk is hearing that Mercury can't do more with the sword in place. Or that it doesn't come out when Mars pulls on it.

She approaches the podium without pulling attention to herself, waiting until conversations cross and bits of moon architecture garner scrutiny. She touches the hilt and grip with her bare hands, heedless of poison, and draws it out in one smooth motion.

When Venus wraps her fingers around the hilt, cracks of light appear in the blackness, widening, shining blindingly through. When she pulls--

--it comes free in a brief blaze of light, the shinnnng of unsheathing echoing across the inside of the broken tower and outside on the patio, in the courtyard. When the light fades, the sword is no longer black, it is a whining silver-white metal, polished to a brilliant sheen and sharper than any blade buried in stone has any right to be. Words appear, etching themselves into its surface, glowing as they form. It's in no language any of them remember how to read.

As soon as the sword is out, too, the floating globe of light flickers again and spreads up and out, resolving into a small projection, maybe about a foot tall. She's a flowing, translucent, and ephemerally lovely figure, winged and crowned, silver and glowing. Her hair is done like Usagi's, and is the color of moonlight. Her gown wafts in an invisible breeze, and she smiles, kind and sad.

Queen Serenity.

"My precious daughter," she says, clasping one hand to her chest; the other gathers her skirts, and she takes a step up, then up again, all on the air, until she is at eye-level with the girls. "My brave Senshi, her beautiful and determined protectors. I am so glad and so proud to see you all well. I am sorry for the sorrows and trials you have suffered in this life; you were never meant to."

The doll-sized projection of the Queen tears her gaze from Usagi to look at Venus during her last statement, and there is such love and affection and sadness in her face. "But one by one, you gain the tools to make right what I, in my grief and fury, failed to do."

Any desire to chase one of the girls around, to hide behind pillars and giggle when they can't find her, are gone the moment the Queen appears. All movement in her stills, and all she can do is stare.

Until the Queen breaks eye contact first, and suddenly the pillar where the sword was is suddenly very fascinating.

"I'm sorry..." Is this an apology for that final act in a past life? Or her current self-perceived failures in this one? Maybe both?

For a moment, she struggles with a title. What does she call this apparition?

Then she just blurts it out. "Moon-mama?" (After all, Ikuko is the only singular Mama she has in this life!) "What am I -- what are we suppose to do?"

Because even now, with all the intel they've gathered, with what they know, with what they've learned, Usagi feels as lost as ever.

And then she remembers! Politeness! Formalities! "Um, I mean, how are you? Is it lonely here in...space...?"

    Mars watches as Venus draws the sword and contains her jealousy. When will she get a cool medieval weapon? Obviously not a sword now because that'd be copying Venus, but maybe it'd be cool to have a bow or something.

    Then everything is shining and Mars is pulled away from that line of thought by the sudden appearance of Queen Serenity. She stares as the image of the Queen steps down on stairs of nothing and begins to address them. The projection knows that they are there. It recognizes them. It's hard to take in just how advanced a civilization would have to be in order to even do something like this.

    "Queen Serenity," she says respectfully. "It's... been a while." Massive understatement. "It's good to see you again, even if we don't remember all the details."

    She tries to think of what else to say, but really Moon's question is better than anything she can think of at the moment.

Reactions flash across Sailor Jupiter's face at Venus's words: confusion, frustration, hurt. Her lips move like she's about to say - something - but whatever it is, she swallows it and says nothing. Instead she watches the sword come out, almost wincing at the shine of it.

And then the image of Queen Serenity appears and commands the whole of her attention. Everything else is, at least for the moment, forgotten.

"Your Majesty," Jupiter murmurs, throat working, hands curling at her sides.

Mercury watches in expectation as Venus pulls the sword free. When the brilliance of the action shines, she doesn't seem even the slightest bit surprised. Even when the small holographic form of Queen Serenity begins to speak, still Sailor Mercury does not seem surprised.

It's not until she glances down in the corner of her visor that Ami truly shows surprise. There is a subtle gasp from Sailor Mercury, and she actually pulls the blue tablet that is the Mercury Computer out of its storage space to begin entering commands. Except her fingers hover over the screen in uncertainty.

Given so many possibilities, Sailor Mercury seems uncertain where to even begin. So many questions, so many paths to explore. And instead all she mumbles is, "Queen Serenity," to the little hologram. Even if she knows it's not really her. Please stand by, Ami is presently dealing with a segmentation fault. Reboot in progress.

Minako Aino/Sailor Venus has nothing to say or contribute to the reunion. Everybody else is curious or will want to hear what it has to say, so she stays quiet.

So, with difficulty, she hefts up her blade across her shoulders and fades back into the background, so everybody else can have the opportunity to talk to the hologram.

The Queen's laugh is bright and beautiful, chiming and charming. "Moon-mama," she repeats, covering her mouth for a second. Then she tilts her head and lets her hands fall, still smiling. "I am not lonely, though I have been waiting for so long for the age in which you would all be reborn."

A glance to Mercury, and her eyes sparkle. "What you see is an image formed by a combination of the Eternity MAIN System here in the Moon Castle and my memories and will. I lingered to grant you understanding should you need it, but your restored connection to the main system will remain even once you return to Earth."

She lifts a tiny translucent hand toward Sailor Moon and floats forward, reaching to touch her face. "My dearest. First and foremost, you must believe with all your heart that you can, and will, win this ancient war and bring peace to the beautiful planet that is now your home. You must love with all your heart, and never let fear or hatred rule you: they weaken your heart, and your heart is your weapon against the darkness."

She draws away, positioning herself so that she can see all of them, can converse with each of them, without leaving any of them neglected. Her smile for Makoto is sad and loving, and so very proud. "Courageous and lovely Jupiter. Your strength, also, lies first in your heart. Do not second-guess it. You have always been driven to find the best, and your heart will not lie to you about where to find it."

Looking to Rei, Queen Serenity smiles again, but this time there is the faintest suggestion of mischief. "Mars, the passionate and insightful. It is also good to see you, but you mustn't worry about what you've forgotten. The memories that have been sealed are returning-- though it seems to me that they aren't necessary to reignite fires long since burnt out, are they?"

Did she just--?!

But then she's moving again, drifting through the air toward the withdrawn Minako, and she kneels down on the air about a foot away from Minako's face. "I understand," she says softly. "I understand that every memory hurts. I did not mean for any of this to have happened to you a second time. I did not foresee that Beryl would be reborn, that she would remember so quickly and begin to awaken Metalia and steal their minds again, steal them again. This is not your failing, precious child, dutiful girl. None of this is your failing."

The tiny queen drifts closer, and now it's Minako's face she touches, ghostly little hand brushing gently at her cheek. "That the heart of the Soldier of Love should have been broken so thoroughly so young, with a lie poured into the cracks in the guise of a curse, is one of the greatest injustices that my lack of foresight has caused in this life. I understand if you cannot forgive me, and will not blame you. But please, forgive yourself. None of this is punishment. Speak your heart to your sisters. Not your duty, but your heart."

Finally, the tiny projection straightens up and goes back to where she can see everyone. "You need the Silver Crystal. I cannot tell you where it is, but I can tell you that it is linked inextricably with Sailor Moon, with my Serenity, Usagi Tsukino. The remaining pieces of the key that will unlock the Great Seal are in the other former seats of power of the four corners of the Earth, as I expected -- when I hid them -- that you would have easily had the help of their owners. I am sorry for this. Mercury has access to the coordinates of the portals to these strongholds now, and you may visit them at will."

Sailor Moon stays perfectly still. After all, if a hologram has waited a bajilionty years to touch her face, who was she to refuse?

Still, she swallows at the Queen's words. When she's done speaking to everyone in turn, Usagi whispers her question.

"But it's there. Is it enough I love him? Them? More than I hate that--" and here, her colorful string of obscenities create a tapestry that will likely haunt Senshi ears for years to come but otherwise stay stuck in this relatively atmosphere-free rock. "--woman?" She chews her lip in mild concern and studies another column. "I...really don't like her."

And it does make her weak. She can feel it, even now, twisting into something that she's afraid to poke at.

But then her eyes light up! "I don't think Mars even noticed I requested Fire and Ice to play!" Hue hue hue! "I didn't even get singed!"

But wait! She is Very Confused. "But Moon-mama--" yep, again! "My girls are strong and good and cuddly and amazing!" Prideful Mama Bunny! "Shouldn't it be with them?"

Sailor Moon thinks this must be so!

"It's even closer than us," Sailor Venus claims to Moon.

For little Serenity (or littler-Serenity), she gives an easy breezy wave of her (non-sworded) hand and a forgiving, albeit flippant smile. "Pssht, no problem, Queens. I don't think it's my fault. I'm not even heart-broken or anything-broken," she says, full of confidence.

"Just a little bruise every now and then."

She doesn't express anything resembling upset or anger at very specific references the hologram lays out against her except for the little autonomous reactions that no amount of self-control can completely hide - faster breathing, elevated heart rate, pupils focusing on remembered images.

"Sounds like some travel to foreign places. I figured as much. That's always fun. We got this," she says, confident and sure-sounding and only a little sarcastic.

    Mars sees that mischievious hint of of Serenity's smile. She raises an eyebrow as the Queen talks, and by the time she's finished Mars's face is bright red. "I don't know what you mean by that!" She turns away to hide the blushing.

    Litte red liar. She knows exactly what she means by that.

    She peeks over her shoulder at the projection, listening to what it says to the others, her sisters. When it's mentioned that Mercury has access to the other palaces, Mars turns to face her. "You do?" The thought of completing the next phase of their mission does perk her up. Especially if it means getting the Silver Crystal.

    Then Mars twitches as Usagi mentions her song request. "So that was you?!" She chases and reaches out grab Moon like she's mad, but when she does catch her she pulls her into a hug, whispering, "Thanks, Moon-chan."

    Then she releases her and looks away from Moon and tries to play it off like that didn't just happen.

"I do now," Mercury says. Her breathing is a little faint; rapid, as of someone experiencing an untold amount of excitement. Ecstasy? Sailor Mercury stares at her computer, and her cheeks begin to redden with the flush of her excitement. "There's so much here," she explains. "So much knowledge and data from that time. I can't ... I don't even know where to begin with it all."

Brightly, Mercury looks up to Sailor Mars, then smiles. "I know how to get there," she promises. "And one of them is closer than we think. One of them is in Japan. Ami swallows, then looks up to Queen Serenity. "Thank you," is all she manages to say to the image of Queen Serenity.

When the image of Queen Serenity smiles at her, Sailor Jupiter does her best to smile back, but it's a small, uncertain, questioning thing. There's a pressure at the corners of her eyes of things she almost-not-quite remembers. Her throat feels thick, like she might cry. She doesn't trust herself to speak; she just nods instead, hand coming up to touch over her heart in a gesture like a salute.

And she listens to the words that the Queen has for the others, watches their responses. Usagi praising her girls and teasing Rei, Rei's flustered response, Mercury's sheer elation at the treasure trove of new knowledge she's been given - these things are familiar, normal, and they leave Makoto feeling a little more grounded.

At that casual wave of Sailor Venus's hand, however, the flippant smile and the hint of sarcasm in the other girl's voice, Jupiter frowns.

"Minako-chan..." she says slowly, brows drawing together in anxious concern. "Are you really going to keep playing it off like that?"

"Sailor Moon," the little Queen projection starts, then sighs, face falling. Her voice is compassionate when she begins again, and tears shimmer in her eyes. "Serenity... no, Usagi. I failed because my heart was conflicted, my mind clouded. The Silver Crystal is directed by your emotion, my daughter. It is your heart, your soul, your power. If you let hatred into you when you use it, you will fail. You do not need to forget, but you must not hold onto hate, though you will and do sorely wish to. You are the Soldier of Mystery, and the mystery of this universe is that only love can truly triumph over evil. It is not enough to love your sisters and your prince. You must embrace all life, and by that action, you will purify and banish the darkness and chaos and malignance that plague it."

She pauses for a second. "I suppose unbelievably foul language is a valid method of purging negative emotion, but it's not recommended."

Toward Mars, the Queen directs an indulgent smile, curling up slowly and knowingly. She does not actually expound upon her prior words. She has, after all, mastered the art that her daughter is so enthusiastically learning.

Her smile for Mercury shines; she understands this light in the blue-haired Senshi's eyes, the flush in her face. Echoes that reverberate and only grow louder through the veil of time. "You are welcome, daughter of wisdom. It is, after all, your birthright."

Once more, at Minako's declarations, Queen Serenity's face fills with sorrow and regret-- and she looks to Jupiter, pressing one hand to her heart. A slow, small nod. When she addresses Venus, her voice is firm, at once regal and compassionate. "Minako Aino, beautiful child of love. Brave Makoto has the right of it. If you continue to let them fester, these accumulating hurts will continue to obscure your sight and shadow your brilliant heart. Let your sisters help you heal. You must be united with them, and they cannot understand what you will not admit."

Bowing her head and clasping her hands to her heart, the little projection continues, "This sword is yours, it is true-- but it is the Holy Sword forged to protect the Princess, and as such, it also belongs to all of you. You were the only one who could pull it, but you are not the only one who can wield it. You needn't-- and mustn't-- bear its weight alone. Though the past haunts and torments you-- the ages past and these last years of this life-- it is important for you to accept what has happened and work through and past it, to accept help in doing so, even if your wounds are raw."

Then she turns to all of them once more. "And Venus has told you that you must be united in purpose: this is the truth. I have watched your struggles, and my heart weeps at the hurt that yours continue to endure. You must defeat the enemy, Metalia. She came from the sun and turned all the Earth but Endymion against us, through her willing instrument, the accursed Beryl. Metalia is powerful beyond imagination, and exists to cause pain and suffering; she draws power from it. This is the other reason why hate cannot exist in your hearts in this battle: it is a vector, it is an open door for her. Yes, save the Earth's noble prince, and yes, save his brothers and guardians -- if you can manage to save them first, you will have their help in the final battle, and they will give their strength and power to you gladly. If you cannot, do not despair, for purging Metalia from this world will purge her from them as well."

The image of the ancient Queen flickers, then, and her tiny face looks rueful. "There is little else I can tell you that Mercury cannot access within the Eternity MAIN database-- only that I am so proud of you, my heart is full to bursting; only to be strong, for much of your memory will return once you have left this place and stand once more on the living Earth. Stay with each other. Share your sorrows and your joys alike. None of you should be alone, for your hearts are meant to be together."

    After recovering from Queen Serenity's unabashed SHIPPING, Mars turns towards Venus and walks towards her. "Of course nothing's wrong with Venus-chan. Nothing at all." She leans closer. "... because if something was bothering her, she knows she could talk to us about it, right?"

    Venus also gets a Mars hug, because it's apparently Mars hugs everyone day today. Serenity better watch out. She might be next. "You know you could talk to us about it, and we could work something out, or be there to listen to you, hear you vent, and maybe even try to help you if we can, right?"

    "So until such a time happens, I'm not going to worry about V-chan, because she's strong, and smart, and clever, and unpredictable in the most charming way, and has a really cool sword that I'm totally not jealous of."

    Queen Serenity starts to flicker and fade away before Mars can get to her. Darn. She'll get you next time, holo-queen!

Usagi glances off to the side. Not hold onto it? But...even though it festered in her gut, that hate was about the only thing that kept her from being just a pathetic ball of tears all the time!

No, hide it!

Venus is being addressed and questioned. "I'm positive she knows her friends can handle it, can help her through it. But maybe she feels she doesn't want to burden us. Even if it's...not a burden." AHAHAHAHA not speaking from experience shut your face!

She's quiet for a moment, thinking, but when she looks up, the queen is flickering. Disappearing. And she's tired of just memories to keep her company, to hold close and help her sleep. She wants -- she needs -- she's really, really not good without --

What if they can't get all of them back before Beryl's to be defeated?

At the Queen's words of pride, Sailor Moon seriously wonders what she's actually been watching. (Surely not her!) But she has a brave face! "We'll try to keep doing that. Making you proud." She nods. Yes! She can try that!

New goal!

Mercury plays with the computer, fingers fast moving across her little tablet as she absorbs the knowlegde there. Her birthright? No, this is her memory, in outboard form. These are all the things she has forgotten about the Silver Millenium; everything she ever wanted to know but couldn't piece together. It will take her a lifetime to understand even half of what's here, but she's not upset about that.

But for all that Mercury is somewhat lost in the datastream, she isn't entirely inobservant. She looks up briefly, then back down, then up again when her buffer of 'what's happening around me' catches up with her current processing thread. Mercury lowers the computer and it disappears back to wherever it is she keeps the thing. Knowledge is important, but she's being selfish and indulgent.

Mercury looks to Mars, remembering a conversation not so long ago. Biting her lip, the bluenette looks between Mars and Venus, then takes a breath and moves forward to join in hugging her friend. "Venus," she notes, "I know we don't always see eye to eye, but I'm here for you," she promises. "If there were anything in my power to help with, I hope you know I would not rest until I gave you my very all." The very same consideration she gave to Sailor Moon when she was asked to 'bring him back'. "So if something is wrong, please know that all you have to do is tell us. We're a team, the five of us. No matter what happens, we're here for each other."

Minako Aino/Sailor Venus gives Jupiter a brief smile as a sort of apology. "Right, sorry. I get silly when things get tough. Just, you know, these next steps we gotta do are gonna be rough. I'll try to be more serious," she says, straightening up.

She doesn't even respond to computer queens, not wanting to prompt any more responses out of it.

She does give Mars and Mercury a brief hug when offered, as well as half-hearted thanks. "I know I can talk to you both. It went so well last time," she comments. Her voice isn't biting or accusatory, just flat.

"Either way, I'm much better now. I got this," she says, flicking the hilt of the blade and making an effort to look like it's something that makes her happy.

    Mars immediately turns back to Venus with a sad smile. "I'm sorry about what happened last time. The way I said things was a lot meaner than I ever meant it. I didn't understand you then, and I still don't now."

    She reaches up to poke Venus's cheek. "Your mask is just too perfect for me. Really, you should take that as a compliment. Everyone else I can read like an open book, but I can never tell what you're thinking."

    There's no accusations in her voice.

    "Still, if you ever feel like taking it off, you know where to find me."

"I meant what I said last time," Mercury says to Venus quietly. "I cannot protect the princess like you can. I can't do it without you," she says softly, then reaches up to rub at her arm and step away. "And I'll do whatever you ask of me, if it's within my power. I always have," she notes, then turns away to study the rest of the room, giving Venus her space.

Jupiter watches Venus's face closely; the smile, the words, get a dip of Mako's head and an answering smile in return, though it's a little bit pained. "Okay," she says, and her eyes flick from Venus to Sailor Moon and back again. "It makes me worry more to think that you're holding something in all by yourself... but if it's something you can't talk about now, we'll wait until you can."

After she says this, she draws in a deep breath and settles her stance a little, trying to feel a little more solid on her feet. The echoes of memory that suffuse this place, even after the image of the Queen has faded away, leave her feeling unsteady. "We'll do this together," she says, for herself as much as for the others.

Still, as her eyes pass over the broken ruins, something a long way off - the shadow of a pit in the ground, like a crater left by a massive explosion - snags her attention. For a moment, Sailor Jupiter has to clamp down firmly on her self-control to keep from shivering.

"Taking it offfffff? Sure, all you had to was ask," Sailor Venus sings out.

Then, minimally more seriously for Mercury: "Sure. We'll talk sometime. Gotcha!"

"But seriously, I'm not keeping that much except the things I know will just upset everybody. And even then, I'm not keeping 'Senshi business' you need to know from you," she promises Jupiter.

Sailor Moon hugs Venus, as well. And whispers things in her ear!

And then pulls back. "Okay. Who wants to play...Try To Keep The Princess Out of Mischief?"

Before anyone can answer, she runs off.

    Mars winks at Minako, then suddenly chases after Moon. "I do!"