Mugen: Infinite Eternal (A Circles of Time tale)
Final Eternity - Vlatmere
Rated R



THE FUTURE:


     History is like an endless waltz. The progression
     of war, peace and revolution all continue in an
     endless cycle.

               -Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz



     Magik is arbitrary. Black, white, grey: colour is irrelevant. 
Magik knows no love or enmity, no fear or honour. It only knows 
itself, that which is magik. The user determines the shape the magik 
shall take when it is manifested. It is the user who can create or 
destroy. Magik cannot differentiate, cannot be blamed. The soul is 
what moves magik, be it a black heart of cold stone, or a fragile 
heart of beauty and truth. 
     One day all this knowledge, this magik, shall fade, and be 
forgotten, and become just a legend spoken to little children at 
bedtime. Magik shall become magic, and shall be given colours. Only a 
handful of souls will ever remember such a time as this, when magik 
was the life and breath of the Earthworld and its solar system.
     Time passes, as it always has and always shall forever, ending 
yet never-ending in the boundary that marks eternity. And with time 
comes change: of worlds, of faces, of legends and myths. Time does 
indeed change. But the magik shall always remain the same, and stay 
with us until eternity itself comes to an end.
     You can try to forget the magik, but it shall never forget you. 
If you were once destined to wield it, you shall wield it once more. 
Black, white, grey; it does not matter.
     I am His lordship Chaos.
     One of many writers who have come together to craft an epic 
spanning the millennia and legends of a world first created by Naoko 
Takeuchi. The Senshi are her children, the original tale hers to tell. 
But the other tales and other souls we have drawn into this realm 
belong to those who have created Circles of Time. Naoko has her 
children, as do I have mine. I, as do all the other writers of this 
epic, ask for your permission should you wish for our children to 
enter another realm.
     But for now, let the eternal night fall as silence swallows up 
the brilliant light of the future. Listen to this last chapter of a 
tale I have to tell you.
     For time is of the essence....

               -His lordship Chaos
                    hislordshipchaos@hotmail.com
                    http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9897/ct.htm



     Nestled between bluffs and mountains and forests, GlenHawke 
watched Elfhame burn and sink into the ocean. Teacher and student 
alike left the interior rooms of the various buildings. Some ran with 
panic. Others walked with a numb expression on their faces, as if what 
was being seen wasn't really happening at all. No one wanted to 
believe this.
     But no one could deny it.
     Not even Halefyne, who stood at the threshold of GlenHawke's 
front gates, watching in horror as the distant horizon was engulfed in 
a plume of smoke and magik. The dense Elven forest cracked apart, 
thrown into violent upheavals. Even from here the smell of churning, 
hot sea water was pungent in the air.
     Maya clung to Halefyne's robes, tears running down the little 
girl's cheeks. "Halefyne," she whispered, too terrified to break down 
and sob. There would be time enough for that shortly, the Mother 
silently knew.
     She couldn't even sense the magik of Serenity.
     All she could sense was death.
     "So Kakkyou," she murmured. "Is this what you were protecting my 
school from? Did you manage to protect Serenity from it as well?"
     But she knew Kakkyou would never answer her. Regardless of 
whether or not he had succeeded, she recognized this as an act of 
sacrifice. Kakkyou had given up everything for Serenity...including 
his own life. 
     Halefyne looked down at Maya and tried to make her eyes seem 
more compassionate; she didn't want to cry just yet in front of the 
students. "Come now, Maya," she said softly, turning the child away 
from the fearsome pillar of Elven magik stabbing into the sky.
     This was not something someone so young should have to see.
     Maya lingered in watching the final throes of Elfhame's demise, 
until at last the seemingly endless green kingdom was swallowed up by 
the shimmering fury of the now not-so-distant oceans. When she turned 
away, she began to cry.
     Halefyne did nothing to try and stop her.
     She had enough trouble trying to save her tears for a later 
time.



          MUGEN: INFINITE ETERNAL

               (A Circles of Time tale)



             Final Eternity - Vlatmere



     Those at Glenhawke were not the only ones to bear witness to the 
true destructive power of Elven magik. A small group of Faerie beings 
watched from a nearby field of green grass and fruit orchards. Between 
rows of thin trunks and large clumps of leaves and apricots, four 
youth who were in fact older than anyone could have ever guessed 
watched the skies near the Elfhame horizon catch fire and ignite, blue 
turning to scarlet as the ground beneath their feet trembled 
violently.
     And then suddenly a pillar of golden inferno erupted, shooting 
straight into the skies with no intent on dying out like a mere human 
explosion. Clouds were driven from the sky, banished within seconds by 
the shaft piercing the heavens above.
     The trembling of the earth turned to convulsions.
     The four sisters no longer looked at the sky, but to the world 
and orchard around them. Birds were taking flight and fleeing the 
presence of the Elven magik. Woodland creatures and animals of the 
fields were following suit.
     "Can you sense it?" murmured the youngest sister, her braided 
auburn hair now dancing around her face as a chilling wind began to 
approach them.
     A sibling nodded. "Elfhame's gone."
     What could make the Elvens, who were like kindred with the 
Faerie races, invoke a magik of self-destruction? What were they so 
bent on protecting...and what was so terrible that they would be 
forced to resort to such deadly measures?
     The second-oldest of them, her curls of hair even more silvery-
blue than her clothes, turned to one of her sisters. The fear of the 
unknown was evident in the girl's expression. "What's happening?"
     The second-youngest one clutched her opaque crystal orb a little 
tighter, and shook her head. "I haven't the slightest idea."
     Then the shockwave flowed out, a wall of strange glowing air and 
transparent, pulsating lightning resembling slivers of ice rushing 
past the four Faerie. And with it came the unearthly whispered howl of 
a thousand souls screaming blood and death.
     With a grim expression on her face, the oldest of the four 
turned and put her back to the pillar of magik. "We should be leaving 
now, Palla," CereCere stated, making sure to catch the eyes of her 
younger siblings. "This place isn't safe for us any longer."


     And upon the moon, the darkness cast over the Raithe's shakujyo 
became darkness no more. A pillar of Elven magik defied the boundaries 
of Earth, raging towards the very place where the shakujyo stood. 
Shadowy craters and grey rocks shimmered with the unnatural light 
shooting towards the lunar surface with the colour and ferocity of a 
comet.
     But the Elven blast of magik was quickly dissipating as it went, 
losing momentum and intensity. For as powerful as the magik had been, 
such strength still had limitations. It was dying as it reached the 
moon.
     The shakujyo waited patiently.
     The garnet orb began to churn its opaque, enigmatic mists.
     When it seemed that the last few dying sparks of Elven magik 
would be unable to reach the moonscape, they found something else 
waiting. The sparks touched the orb.
     And a second explosion of light rocked the lunar world.
     Whatever energy lost was regained and then added to, amplified 
to what could have been a near infinite level. The burst of light 
renewed the power of the Elven magik, sending it hurling like a 
shooting star across the darkened heavens. Off into the deep realms of 
space it moved, leaving a hauntingly beautiful tail of violet and blue 
in its wake.
     The moon's surface shuddered violently as it endured the 
battering of magik. But the garnet orb began to crack from the strain 
of the effort. So much power being unleashed in such a concentrated 
burst. For as durable as the orb was, it too had limitations.
     The windfall of Elven magik continued to be catapulted, rattling 
the shakujyo. One by one the metal rings broke apart as they shook 
horribly. The shaft of the pole began to bend backwards.
     But the task was not yet done.
     With great tenacity the shakujyo persisted, willing itself to 
carry on this final task until completion. And just as the final 
plosive flash of magik was sent off, the garnet orb shattered. Shards 
fell to the barren grey surface, sparkles of purest magik and energy 
raining down with them.
     As they touched the crater-marked surface of the moon, the magik 
began to worm its way into the rock. Everything changed. Desolate 
landscape turned itself fertile. Wild grasses forcibly pushed out from 
the ground as warm, white steam and gases furiously vented themselves 
from the cracks in the ground.
     An atmosphere was being created.
     An inhabitable sphere was in progress.
     Its beauty echoed of Elfhame, resonating faintly from the Elven 
magik that had fallen upon the lunarscape, and having been fed by the 
last magik given up by the shakujyo. And then the immense crater next 
to the broken remains of the shakujyo began to fill up with the 
clearest blue water. The Sea of Tranquillity was born, with no 
witnesses but an exhausted yet satisfied ringed staff.
     The shakujyo had served its master well for this final task.
     No more would it have to wait for magik.
     Now it could join its master, and rest.


     The battle skimmer was waiting for them on the other side of the 
Elfhame forest and its accompanying mountain range. But even though it 
was a welcomed sight, no one really felt like celebrating. They were 
glad to be alive, but left feeling hollow.
     Despair hung over them like a cloud, a grey mass which blackened 
the light of hope they might have otherwise had. The soldiers were all 
subdued--grateful in breathing, but chilled in knowing what had 
happened moments after their departure from Elfhame. Serenity had 
lapsed into a near catatonic state, unable to hope with the horrific 
shock. Magellan and Myung were together, but unable to speak, still 
numb from what they had witnessed and been unable to prevent.
     And Setsuna had separated herself from the others, even Haruka 
and Michiru. Those two wanted time alone anyways, to whisper sweet and 
caring reaffirmations of life. She just wanted to be alone with her 
thoughts. Outside, upon the top deck of the battle skimmer she sat, 
leaning against one of the railings as she let the sunlight fall down 
upon her and the air rush past her face.
     They were picking up speed now.
     Within another few hours, they would reach Vlatmere.
     And after that. After that....
     Setsuna wasn't sure what would happen after that. And that's 
what she didn't like. It felt like there was no one left to turn to, 
and no more options left open to her. The Dark Messiah, at one time 
her own daughter, was ruthlessly crushing everyone who stood before 
her. Camelot was wiped clean from the face of the planet. And now 
Elfhame shared that fate, though on its own terms. What guarantees 
would there be that Vlatmere wouldn't fall the same way?
     It had been horrible to see Serenity crying out for her fiancé, 
struggling with an unrivalled power that could only be of the Messiah 
of Light. It was a wonder the Man With No Name had been able to hold 
her back until she exhausted herself.
     At last she'd found their Messiah. 
     But what if they had broken her in a way that was irreparable?
     Setsuna could only wonder about the future. Even now when the 
future seemed so certain, she found herself doubting if they'd win the 
Messiah Wars. Right now things were looking their bleakest. 
     "May I sit?"
     It was Merlin.
     Setsuna nodded, still watching the world move past them. The 
hypnotic blurs of the green and gold fields served to soothe and calm 
her. Up here atop the skimmer she could be alone with her thoughts, or 
not even think at all.
     Merlin, it appeared, had other ideas. Yet Merlin was the only 
one of them whom she knew best of all, and knew from before Aurora's 
destruction. He was the closest thing she had to a confidante here on 
Earth.
     Still dressed in the blood-soaked uniform of a Vlatmere 
footsoldier, Merlin slowly lowered himself onto the floor next to 
Setsuna. His face was not of the old, wizened wizard, but a youthful 
face that knew even more wisdom and magik. "If there was anything I 
could have done to prevent that--"
     "--you would have done so," she finished. "I would have too, 
Merlin. Just as I would have tried to save Camelot and Aurora. But 
nothing we say can bring them back. It...it was destiny."
     She almost spat that last word out.
     Destiny.
     It seemed to hard to believe such a hellish thing could be 
destiny. The Raithe had once spoken of Aurora's destiny: a field of 
lifeless rock. Had he known the destiny of death awaiting Elfhame too? 
To think that he had shouldered such a burden for who knew how many 
centuries. How long ago had he first learned a planet he loved would 
be destroyed?
     A little part of the way he had behaved and lived finally made 
sense to Setsuna. But he was gone too; there would be no chance to ask 
him about such things.
     "Do not be so quick to blame this on what you might call 
destiny," Merlin said quietly, so quietly that Setsuna almost didn't 
hear him over the whipping of the winds. "Kakkyou marched back into 
Elfhame of his own free will. He died not because he was forced to by 
the hands of time, but because he loved. And because he loved, he was 
willing to give everything he had for Serenity. His life, his 
kingdom...everything."
     Those words rang true in Setsuna's ears.
     She turned to Merlin, but he was already getting up. She watched 
him leave, his body swaying with the shuddering motion of the battle 
skimmer.
     "Dust to dust," the Ancient murmured quietly to himself. "And 
ashes to ashes. But their memories will live on."


     Serenity's form was laid out on its side, upon the covers of a 
bed in one of the officer's chambers. She appeared to be sleeping. Her 
wide, crystal blue eyes attested otherwise. Yet now they were blue 
orbs void of the life and vibrancy they had once beheld, sore and red 
from the tears she had silently cried. Her head rested upon The Man 
With No Name's lap, his black redingote covering her shivering body 
and keeping her warm.
     He constantly stroked her long blonde hair, letting it fall down 
past her face and cast the contrast of night and day against his coat.
     "Kakkyou," she mewed weakly, stirring. She moved as if she was 
lost in a dark and deep slumber. Running and calling out a name but 
finding no soul to guide her back to a place of warmth and comfort.
     The Man With No Name frowned but said nothing. He understood 
that stoicism was a part of his nature and mystery. But in her 
presence, he could feel that words were unnecessary. Not when she was 
like this. Her magik was mourning; he could feel it weighing down upon 
his shoulders and chilling his skin. It was crying because Serenity no 
longer could, lost in the shock of what she had witnessed.
     And for as thick a skin and uncaring an attitude he had, the 
nameless stranger bent to magik. Magik was the one thing he knew he 
could not win against, her magik above all others. And so as her magik 
mourned for Kakkyou, he found himself overwhelmed by the sadness that 
he knew came from her broken heart.
     Another tear fell from his face, falling towards Serenity's 
cheek. In a swift, silent and fluid motion he swung out his hand 
caught the teardrop.
     And stared at it.
     The shimmer the teardrop reflected from the skimmer's overhead 
lights was abruptly placed in shadow. The Man With No Name looked up 
and saw Magellan looking down.
     "How is she?" Magellan asked in concern.
     The Man With No Name gave him a pointed stare. "If you just 
witnessed your fiancé and his entire world get annihilated, think 
you'd be over it in a day?"
     Magellan scowled at the harsh reply. "You don't have to say it 
so callously."
     "And you needn't be asking stupid questions," The Man With No 
Name answered.
     Magellan bristled, a slight ripple running through the 
breastplate of his armour. The mudbrown colour momentarily ran dark, 
and then returned to its original hue. 
     "Let her be," The Man With No Name said. "She's just lost 
someone she cared deeply for. This is her last chance to say good-bye 
while there's time."
     "I thought you didn't care about such things," Magellan said, 
the hostility in his tone dropped. They were talking about Serenity 
now; his heart went out to her. Never in a thousand years could he 
imagine how he would react if this happened to Myung. Never in an 
eternity would he wish such a fate on his worst enemy.
     The Man With No Name turned his head to one of the large 
windows, and looked at the distant horizon behind them. Far away now 
laid the smouldering remains of a once rich and beautiful forest. "I 
did care once, but I'd forgotten," he answered. "When I look at her 
tears, I remember losing my wyrm in Hakkeda...and I wish that she did 
not have to be the reason I feel such sorrow."
     Magellan turned and left The Man With No Name alone with 
Serenity.
     As it should have been.
     The Man With No Name knew he did not understand these strange 
emotions fuelling his mind with strange, foreign images and longings. 
But it was something new to experience, and he gave no protests.
     "Kakkyou," she said again amidst a choked cry.
     "Shhh," he whispered to her. "Rest now, Serenity. And I shall 
cry for both of us."


     Magellan rejoined with Myung, shaking his head. She 
instinctively drew closer to him as he sat down, wanting to reassure 
herself with the warmth of his body against her own. 
     Here upon the upper decks of the battle skimmer were the 
officer's quarters. Despite these being amongst the first prototype 
skimmers, they had tried to allow for a bit of luxury. During the 
initial field tests out in the middle of nowhere, these quarters had 
all served for giving the researches and engineers a place to sleep 
comfortably.
     There was only a queen-sized bed and a desk & chair, but the 
reinforced windowpanes allowed for a spectacular view. Magellan felt a 
little guilty, knowing how all the rest of his men were resting down 
in the belly of the skimmer. But that guilt was overshadowed by all 
the other thoughts plaguing him.
     He had changed since yesterday.
     He could not deny that.
     But where there had been doubts about himself last night, today 
there were doubts about the future. Magellan found his mind consumed 
with thoughts and strategies, each one growing more desperate than the 
last. He held Myung as tightly to himself as she held him against her 
own body. Neither one said anything.
     Myung was lost in her grief for Elfhame, and sensing but a 
sliver of what Serenity was now going through.
     But Magellan found his thoughts focused not on grief, but on 
something far darker. Ominous visions. He tipped his face down and 
kissed Myung's head, savouring the scent of her blonde hair. A memory 
like this was worth clinging to, worth fighting for. He understood 
what Kakkyou had done, but he had no intention of letting his own life 
end in the same manner.
     The final showdown would be in Vlatmere.
     And Magellan was almost certain he would be the one to meet 
Mistress 9 face to face, in the war that would decide the planet's 
future.


     "What do you think, love?"
     Michiru has asked that.
     They laid side by side upon the bed of another stateroom. 
Michiru had her chest pressed against Haruka's back, while Haruka 
stared out through the window at the rolling white clouds.
     "What do you mean?" Haruka murmured. A part of her didn't feel 
in the mood for talking. Another part of her was willing to talk, and 
all because it was Michiru.
     "Our chances for survival."
     Haruka felt her stomach slowly knot itself. Yet it was all 
because of Michiru; she could not see her aqua-haired lover brood like 
this. It seemed so unlike Michiru. It felt so much like an unnatural 
thing. "We've done fine so far," Haruka said quietly.
     It was meant as a reassurance.
     So why didn't she feel reassured by her own words?
     Haruka rolled onto her back, and then onto her other side. Face 
to face she and Michiru stared into each other's eyes. Took in each 
other's scent. Marvelled at how beautiful their silence together was.
     Yet the oceans captured in Michiru's eyes were clouded over. She 
was worrying. And Haruka suddenly realized what was wrong; she had 
never seen it before, and therefore didn't properly recognize it at 
first.
     It was the first time she had seen Michiru scared.
     The Neptuni princess hid her fears well enough, but total 
concealment could not be achieved. After what they'd witnessed in 
Elfhame, it wasn't that surprising. The Elven race had been destroyed. 
They were perhaps the closest beings on earth who could rival the 
power of a Sailor Senshi. If they had been wiped out by the Dark 
Messiah, what were their chances now?
     It was hard suddenly coming to grips with your own mortality. 
With the fact that you might suddenly lose the person you cared for as 
much as life itself. But Haruka had been raised with this 
understanding of war and death: it was a risk, one you had to ask 
yourself if it was worth taking.
     Looking into her lover's eyes, Haruka knew the answer for 
herself. Yes, she was afraid, but she would die to protect Michiru and 
never regret it. 
     But this was Michiru's first real taste of death. The Neptuni, 
being peaceful by nature, had yet to see how horrific war could truly 
be. "Hold me," she whispered, her arms seeking out Haruka.
     Wordlessly Haruka slid closer to Michiru, letting their bodies 
entangle as much as possible. Any further and they might become a 
single entity. It was here in the warmth of sensual and loving touch 
that Michiru calmed down. Such a time was not meant to spent fearing 
loss. But instead to discover and appreciate the togetherness you'd 
already found.
     Haruka held Michiru in her arms, not caring if Michiru cried or 
not. Silent tears flowed. Michiru's body shuddered and shivered with 
muffled sobs. For so long, it had felt like Michiru was the strongest 
of them. Always calm, always thinking, always with an insight to put 
even the worst of situations into perspective.
     Now things had changed.
     Haruka smiled as she kissed Michiru's hair, sensing the 
Neptuni's tears slowly abating. Such a strange way to discover where 
her own strengths lay.
     "Feeling better?" she asked softly into Michiru's ear.
     Michiru didn't answer, but gave her a reaffirming squeeze. A few 
moments of tender silence between them found Michiru lifting her head, 
her eyes red from her crying. Yet now she was smiling.
     Haruka had to resist the urge to ravish her with kisses right 
there. Such resistance, as it turned out, was unnecessary as Michiru 
laid her head against Haruka's chest.
     "If this is our last day upon the planet," Michiru murmured. "We 
should make it count."
     Haruka smiled as she felt Michiru's fingers start to pull at the 
lapels of her jacket. "Hai hai," she agreed, working to kick the 
covers off the bed. "Who am I to argue with Neptuni wisdom?"


     In the depths of the ocean, Elfhame continued to burn. The 
corpses of Elven and demon alike floated in the churning water, kicked 
and pushed this way and that by the currents. Sent spinning by the 
geysers of bubbles erupting from the broken earth at the bottom of the 
seas.
     Debris littered the water, some of it wooden shards from a tree, 
some of it large chunks of earth with entire trees still rooted in the 
ground. Eerie glimmers of light and residual echoes of magik filtered 
through the water. Impossibly, fires continued to lick at the remnants 
of Elfhame's life--even at the bottom of the seas. Trees broke apart 
under the pressures of the defiant inferno, unleashing large bursts of 
black smoke into the water.
     And amidst this undersea graveyard, there was still a heart of 
darkness. A sphere, like a giant black pearl, sat upon the ocean 
floor. It waited patiently, keeping its child safe and secure, 
choosing a proper time to resurface. That time was coming soon.
     The last spark of Elfhame's magik went out.
     Sensing this, the black sphere began to rise, floating leisurely 
from the depths and darkness as if it weighed nothing. Any floating 
debris between it and the water's surface moved away, pushed back by 
pulses of dark energy. Waves of blak magik.
     With ease the orb broke through the water, spraying foam and 
surf in every direction. And then the orb melted away, starting from 
the top. Everything retracted and then dissipated into nothingness.
     In its place, hidden and guarded against the worst of Elfhame's 
self-destruction, was Mistress 9. Curled up in a fetal position, she 
slept soundly. As if the waves of the ocean were a comfortable 
mattress.
     Mistress 9 awakened, violet eyes fluttering open.
     She slowly, gracefully stood on her feet, walking upon the water 
without leaving ripples in the waves to mark where her footsteps had 
been. She saw the sea's restless tide, flowing and ebbing where land 
had once been and now was no more.
     Her fingers touched her lips, as if she could still taste the 
power Kakkyou had invoked before dying. "Such delicious magik," she 
whispered.
     The Dark Messiah abruptly winced, tenderly feeling her sides. 
She had barely managed to cut herself off from the Lifespark before it 
would have killed her along with Kakkyou and the other Elven warriors. 
Even still, her insides felt raw and agitated.
     This nausea and discomfort would pass soon enough.
     With a forced giggle, the Dark Messiah limped towards the remade 
shores. It was time to reassemble her armies, and finish what she had 
intended to do before getting distracted by the Elves.


     She was dreaming.
     Serenity was dreaming.
     And in her dreams she plunged into total darkness. Unable to 
run. Only allowed to walk. In a place where black was the floor and 
ceiling and space. She cried out for someone...anyone... Kakkyou...but 
no one answered her.
     She was alone.
     Serenity collapsed onto her knees, and began to sob.
     A tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek. It hung at 
the base of her chin before falling and striking the darkness with a 
resounding echo of water against water.
     Serenity found her crying forgotten, though the tears refused to 
abate.
     Ripples of blue flowed past her, like the darkness itself had 
become like water. It reminded her of Elfhame's pools and springs. It 
reminded her of Kakkyou's face.
     Darkness fled from the surface beneath her feet. The skies and 
space remained pitch and opaque, yet now the world beneath her 
kneeling form glistened blue like an enchanted ocean. And Serenity 
found herself standing upon an ocean which seemed to have no end. 
     Something shifted beneath her, yet as it rose up the water's 
surface remained untouched and still. As if the air itself was pushing 
away and taking shape. And it was a dragon, black like the iron metal 
it was forged from. Its flight was graceful even for a creature that 
did not breathe. Perhaps there was a dragon's soul in the machine.
     Or perhaps the young girl was its soul.
     Serenity's eyes widened as she recognized the newcomer to her 
dream. Ravendark hair and pale skin triggered memories of another 
dream. Serenity looked up at Hotaru, and remembered how when last they 
had met inside a dream, Hotaru had been killed by a vicious woman.
     A Dark Messiah.
     Hotaru walked calmly, majestically, on the water. Tiny ripples 
radiated out with each gentle footstep touching the liquid surface. 
Her expression seemed almost void of emotion, and yet there was a 
warmth in her lips that gently shimmered through her smile. Black hair 
flowed around her face, accented with golden ribbons. The folds of her 
Auroran kimono danced around her petite form.
     The iron dragon rumbled, the enormous and elaborate joints of 
its neck shifting to lower its head in reverence to Hotaru. She looked 
at Serenity, and her eyes were of violet.
     A wind swept past them, the tranquillity of the water disrupted 
by ripples and white crests of foam that playfully licked Serenity's 
bare feet. The iron dragon hovered in vigilance before its mistress, 
frighteningly still. 
     Hotaru never moved, never changed, though everything else around 
Serenity was changing. Hotaru was the only constant. Those violet eyes 
never broke their gentle gaze from Serenity. Ripples flowed around 
Hotaru's feet once more as she began to walk closer to Serenity.
     Yet they were still so far away from each other.
     The iron dragon took its head and sank beneath the water, just 
enough of its face and snout left dry for Hotaru to step up onto the 
beast without getting wet. Noiselessly the joints of its neck 
straightened, and she now stood level with Serenity, the distance 
between them no more. The world around faded to darkness and Serenity 
was left there in the shadows.
     Her crystal blue eyes continued to look away, too pained to even 
allow for the transient wonder of the dream. She did not want its hold 
upon her fragile heart.
     "Why are you crying?"
     Serenity lifted her chin.
     Hotaru stepped off her metal beast, and took one final step 
which brought them face to face. She did not smile, did not scowl. Yet 
in her violet eyes was the desire to find the source of Serenity's 
pain, and ease it. "Why are you crying?" she asked again.
     Serenity was barely able to say a word.
     All she could do was look mournfully at her feet.
     Yet magik spoke the words she could not.
     It whispered Kakkyou's name in Hotaru's ears. "I'm sorry," 
Hotaru said quietly as she listened. "Even though I am not responsible 
for it, never the less I have brought this pain upon you."
     She wrapped her arms around Serenity, holding the sobbing blonde 
tightly. Serenity accepted the warmth of another body and soul, yet 
was still like a lifeless doll. Her cool tears splashed against 
Hotaru's cheek. And Hotaru had to force back the tears of her own.
     "I know what it's like," she murmured. "I've lost my family, my 
friends...my entire world, Aurora, is gone. And I am all that's left. 
The sadness of knowing I am alone is sometimes more than I can bear, 
and deep within my heart I cry for them, even though the daimon inside 
of me refuses to let that humanity be released."
     "I don't want anyone else to die," Serenity cried. "No one 
should go through this."
     As gently and lovingly as she could, Hotaru placed Serenity's 
face between her palms and held it there. Violet eyes were blurred in 
a storm of tears and emotion. 
     "Please," Hotaru asked. "Accept my gift."
     She gently pressed her lips against Serenity's.
     There was nothing hidden behind the kiss itself that made it 
significant. But what was passed through the kiss, from one heart and 
soul and mind to the other, would in the final moments determine the 
outcome of the Messiah Wars.
     Hotaru drew her lips away, a sad smile on her face.
     Serenity could only touch her own lips with trembling fingers, 
lost in confusion of what she had received, the tears still flowing 
down her pale cheeks.
     "When the time comes," Hotaru whispered. "you will remember what 
I have given you. And then, just as you will awaken within yourself, 
you can awaken me."
     Without another spoken word, Hotaru turned and silently walked 
back onto the snout of the metal dragon. Its neck joints rose and 
curved, raising Hotaru high above Serenity's head. And then the dragon 
slowly began to sink into the watery surface beneath their feet. Blue 
ripples and edges accented the shadowy realm which swallowed first the 
dragon up, and then at last Hotaru.
     Serenity was still touching her lips as Hotaru's violet eyes 
disappeared beneath the darkness. "Awaken," she whispered to herself, 
as if hearing it clearly for the first time. "I must awaken...."


     Compared to Camelot, Vlatmere Castle seemed a poor replica. It 
lacked the immense shining walls, the daunting array of spires and 
towers and walkways. It's perimeter was at best one-third that of 
Camelot's. Yet despite its faded blue roofs and ordinary masonwork, it 
was still home.
     And for the weary travellers of the scarred battle skimmer, 
there could have been no better sight at the end of a hellish journey 
than this. Throughout the interior of the ship, loud cheers were 
lifted up as word spread of the castle being sighted.
     From where he stood with the others on the bridge, Magellan 
could feel his own soul start to rise. There was no thought that 
Vlatmere might or might not stand a chance against Mistress 9. In 
fact, the Messiah Wars were suddenly far and away from Magellan's 
mind. Childhood memories overtook him, nostalgic sights and sounds 
granting him momentary amnesty from the Messiah Wars.
     Such exhilaration may have been fleeting.
     But it was needed never the less.
     "Vlatmere castle," Frederic stated, letting out a deep sigh of 
relief in the process. He turned back to Magellan. "Never thought I'd 
be so happy to see it."
     The two watched as the castle no longer remained a distant 
silhouette on the horizon. It grew larger, wider and more welcoming 
than ever.
     Magellan kept thinking back to all the pranks he'd played in the 
palace halls as a kid. The lectures from tutors he'd received as a 
prince--most of which were rather boring. The combat training with 
Frederic, his best friend and sparring partner.
     His father....
     This would be for his father, Magellan resolved. He would fight 
this battle and somehow find a way to win. To avenge his father. To 
avenge Aurora and Elfhame. To avenge them all. And to protect the rest 
of the world, the ones he loved and cared about, so that they would 
not need to be avenged.
     The last thing Magellan allowed himself to even consider was 
what might happen to Myung. He wanted to marry her even now; nothing 
had changed. But he feared she might be taken from him regardless. All 
the more reason to make the necessary preparations they could in the 
present, and then wait for the future to come to them.
     For now he'd left Myung sleeping in their room. It didn't seem 
right to disturb her; she needed her sleep for the war. As a Senshi, 
more responsibility rested upon her young shoulders. Her duty was to 
find and awaken the Messiah of Light. His was to hold back the Messiah 
of Darkness. Magellan's focus sharpened, and his eyes narrowed as he 
once more was reminded on the responsibility upon his own shoulders. 
One that for the time being could not afford the time or luxury for 
sleep.
     They had a lot to do, and very little time to accomplish it all.
     With a shudder, the battle skimmer docked at the edge of 
Vlatmere's East Gate and disabled its hovering mechanism. The craft 
settled onto the ground with a loud hiss of steam and smoke.
     "We've landed," the skimmer's captain stated, looking to 
Magellan. "What are your orders, your Highness?"
     "First thing's first," Magellan said. "Anyone--and I mean 
anyone--who looks or feels tired is immediately ordered to get some 
sleep. We can work with the reserves we left at the castle. Did you 
send out the communiqué as I requested when we came aboard?"
     The captain nodded, handing Magellan a small datapad. "All 
requested preparations are already underway, Sir. The names at the top 
of the list are overseeing the work detail; they're the ones to talk 
to."
     Magellan gave a quick scan over the list and found it more than 
satisfactory. In fact it was nothing short of impressive. Despite 
having already evacuated virtually all the civilians in the castle, 
things were operating smoothly--albeit on a lesser scale than usual. 
He made a mental note to commend the work crews personally when he met 
up with each one.
     "Relay my orders to the soldiers and crew. And then open the 
exit hatches." He moved out from the bridge, leaving the skimmer's 
operation with her captain. Frederic was one step behind him. 
"Frederic, if you can find them, I need to talk with any of the 
Senshi--Myung or those Outer Planet ones. The more, the better."
     Frederic nodded. "I'm on it." He paused for a moment before 
adding, "It's not over yet, is it?"
     As much as he hated to do it, Magellan shook his head. "Mistress 
Nine came after us when we were in Elfhame. I'm willing to bet she's 
going to be coming to Vlatmere now. We've got soldiers, skimmers--not 
to mention four Sailor Senshi, and a guy with no name and a hell of a 
lot of power."
     Magellan said nothing else, catching himself before letting slip 
his quiet thoughts regarding Serenity as the Messiah of Light. That 
was just one of the things he wanted to discuss with the Senshi. For 
the time being he wasn't about to give the men a false hope.
     They turned down one of the junctions in the corridor, heading 
towards the officer's quarters.
     "There's also yourself," Frederic added, picking right up where 
Magellan ended off. "Unless you lied your ass off at Camelot, you 
kinda stopped Mistress Nine dead in her tracks. And you've upgraded 
since then too. Bet she's looking forward to a rematch."
     "Don't remind me," Magellan said, wincing. That was the last 
thing he was looking forward to. For another moment the Aroth Armour 
flickered in colour, as if disagreeing.
     Magellan paused at one of the suite doors, and then quietly 
knocked before entering. Frederic went past him to notify the sailor 
soldiers. The Vlatmere lord entered the room and stood just inside the 
doorway.
     Serenity was awake.
     No longer crying, but still not wanting to move.
     She laid there with her head in the Man With No Name's lap, her 
blonde hair spilled beautifully around her form. The Man With No Name 
continued to gently caress her hair and face with one of his hands, 
saying nothing.
     The Man With No Name looked up, eyes hidden behind tinted lenses 
staring at Magellan. "We've arrived?"
     "I'll show you to a room in Vlatmere where you can take better 
care of her," Magellan stated. 
     "Are you sure you trust leaving me alone with the Messiah of 
Light while you make battle plans?" the Man With No Name inquired.
     That he called Serenity the Messiah didn't surprise Magellan. 
The Vlatmere lord leaned against the wall. "I don't think you're an 
enemy...but I'm not sure if you're an ally either. However, I'm 
willing to trust even a nameless man who cares for her like she were 
his own daughter."
     A strange smile worked its way onto the Man With No Name's face, 
for reasons even he did not fully understand himself. He stroked 
Serenity's hair one more time before carefully gathering her up in his 
arms. She was still moving not of her own conscious will, but was no 
longer a dead-weight. She moved as she was guided, and obediently 
wrapped her arms around the back of the Man With No Name's neck.
     "A daughter, then," the Man With No Name agreed. He turned his 
stormfed eyes to Magellan. "Lead the way."


     In the next few hours following the battle skimmer's arrival, 
the world around Vlatmere castle grew frenetic. And the only ones who 
didn't seem to be doing any work were the Sailor Senshi. But their own 
work laid ahead in battle, and everyone knew it. That was why none of 
the men and women working to secure the castle as best they could were 
complaining. That was why Sailors Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto 
restlessly paced the expanse of a large study which also seemed to 
double as a war room.
     One of the walls consisted of nothing but bookshelves, working 
like vines on a trellis to stretch from floor to ceiling. Some shelves 
housed leather-bound volumes of ancient lore and history. Others were 
the display cases for strange, exotic artifacts and weapons. Even 
others held large hollow cylinders, inside which were housed fragile 
scrolls whose importance they could only guess at.
     The rest of the room was void of furniture, save for the ringed 
oval table acting as the centrepiece. Twelve chairs in all were placed 
around it. All of them currently unoccupied.
     "He's late," Haruka remarked, glancing at the chronometer on the 
wall.
     Michiru absently nodded, more engrossed with reading one of the 
ancient books from the shelves. "Given the business of everyone down 
there, I'm not all that surprised," she said in response. She took her 
time flipping through the pages, reading through the runes of the old 
worlds. The book in her hands had been scribed by an Auroran 
philosopher. 
     Such works would now be rare and valuable.
     Myung said nothing and continued to lean against the wall next 
to the enormous arched windows, an immense semi-circle of magik-
reinforced glass letting them watch the people in the courtyards and 
streets below scurry about with tools, equipment and weapons.
     Her blue eyes continued to watch a door that still would not 
open and bring Magellan back into her arms. Occasionally she glanced 
out the window, but had long since given up on catching a glimpse of 
Magellan moving through the crowds.
     He'd been...distant since they had left Elfhame.
     Myung knew there were good enough reasons for it: subdued 
mourning for Elfhame, or else his thoughts rested with his burdens of 
knowing what they were committing themselves to. But what she 
suspected most of all, and was thusly the most afraid of, was that 
this was an after-effect of his newfound magik.
     The Aroth Armour and Excalibur now working in alignment with the 
mysterious power that created his roses from nothingness. It had given 
Magellan a strange new confidence in himself and in his mission. So 
why did it leave Myung feeling so concerned?
     "You're worried about him, aren't you?"
     The voice addressing her almost startled Myung. She turned her 
head and saw Setsuna standing a few feet away. Those strange magenta 
eyes had a haunting agelessness about them, and Myung wondered what 
the one who held the key-shaped staff had seen to give those eyes such 
a shimmer.
     "Magellan," Setsuna said again, looking momentarily out the 
window herself. "You're worried about him."
     Myung nodded, the worry on her face increasing all the more now 
that she knew it could not be hidden from the others. It was 
intimidating to be in the presence of three other Senshi who already 
acted so much like soldiers, who knew more about their own mission 
than she did. It was intimidating, being the outsider.
     Somewhere deep inside Myung realized that this was why she 
wanted to be with Magellan now more than ever. At least when he was 
around, she felt that she had some importance and bearing on the 
future's events. Ever since the Outers and that man with no name had 
appeared with the fallen Warhammer, she felt as if she was less and 
less important.
     She didn't even know everyone else's names.
     "What would you know about him?" Myung asked. There was no issue 
of challenge in her voice. No scorn or malice. It was but a question.
     Setsuna shook her head. "I know very little about him, 
admittedly." She smiled. "However, it's been rather hard to not notice 
his feelings towards you, and yours to him."
     Hearing that made Myung want to blush and smile warmly at these 
reassuring thoughts and memories. But she found herself unable to work 
with such indulgences. "If that's all you know about me, then you know 
next to nothing about me. And I know even less about you. Acting like 
we're friends regardless is nothing more than a slap in the face."
     The others in the room were listening now, though they might 
have feigned otherwise.
     "We owe it to each other," Myung said quietly, looking directly 
at Setsuna. And then to Haruka. And then to Michiru. "I have to know 
what I'm going up against when I fight alongside my fellow Senshi in 
this war, otherwise I may kill us all and not even understand why."
     Awkward silence hovered inside the room, filling the spaces 
between them.
     "She's right," Haruka sighed at last, ruing the fact that she 
had just been rightfully chastized by someone easily four years 
younger than she was. "We owe her that much."
     "And in return," Michiru agreed, closing her book and sliding it 
back onto its place upon the shelf. "You can tell us what happened to 
Magellan last night in Elfhame, and why he's suddenly radiating a 
magik we've never seen before."
     Myung nodded.
     She reached out her hand to the nearest Outer Senshi, to 
Setsuna. A friendly smile worked its way onto her face as Setsuna 
shook hands. "Deal."


     Down in the courtyards, it was nothing short of organized chaos. 
Magellan found himself not only believing in but living the concept. 
Soldiers, worksmiths and extra labourers raced about in every 
direction, bumping into each other, dodging and weaving around 
machinery, pulling and pushing items designated to be elsewhere. Each 
person had their own tasks, their own missions. And right now 
everyone's mission intersected directly with everyone else's.
     Magellan found himself half-walking half-running from one part 
of Vlatmere castle to the next. Rare was the moment to stand back and 
take a deep breath without being interrupted and called up to answer 
questions, oversee a task, or be notified of the latest emergency.
     "No, load the launchers closer to the battlements! To the left!" 
he shouted, waving his arms in the desired direction. A level above 
him, at the height of the outer walls encircling the castle, dozens of 
soldiers were busy getting an enormous crossbow launcher into 
position.
     Magellan knew full well that this sort of weapon would be near 
useless against hordes of rampaging, magik-enhanced demons. But right 
now they needed every last weapon they could get their hands on.
     Let it never be said that when the Messiah Wars came to 
Vlatmere, the people were caught unprepared.
     Magellan clapped a hand over one of his ears, trying to listen 
to a voice crackling over his headset. "Frederic, that you?" he asked.
     "Yeah, it's me. Good news."
     "Good news?" Magellan laughed. "Well, that's a pleasant switch 
for once."
     "What can I say?" Frederic remarked airily. "Told you I was a 
good-luck charm. But now we've got two aerial carriers here on the 
loading bay. The pilots have volunteered to join the war, and are 
already working to retrofit their crafts with any sort of weapon."
     Magellan took the moment to close his eyes and let loose with an 
silent cheer. "Do you need any work crews up there?" he asked.
     "Nah, we've got enough as it is. I'm going to leave them be on 
the landing pad, and head over to the North Gate. Rumour has it 
they've got trouble barricading the right side."
     Sadly, it wasn't a rumour: the request for assistance had just 
gone out a few minutes prior.
     "Sounds like a plan," Magellan said over the headset, grateful 
he didn't have to go to the other side of the castle to help out.
     "You won't be thanking me once you see the money you owe me for 
all this overtime work," Frederic glibly retorted.
     They both shared a laugh before going back to their respective 
duties. Shouting out a few more instructions and commands to the 
workers, Magellan found himself being called away yet again. Now it 
appeared there was a potential breach in one of the sewer pipes 
leading out from the castle. The only problem was that the place to 
otherwise blockade it was being obstructed by a number of loading 
machines that were themselves helping lift much-needed weapons and 
supplies for the second defensive lines.
     "And this is only going to get busier," Magellan muttered under 
his breath as he walked as briskly as possible without running. 
Luckily he managed to catch a loader driving by and was spared the 
extra walking across the castle's perimeter.
     Things were hectic now.
     But at least they weren't under attack.
     A part of Magellan idly wondered why the Dark Messiah hadn't 
fallen upon them yet. He had actually been expecting her armies to 
sweep across and engulf the battle skimmer before it even arrived 
within sight of Vlatmere. But a distant, echoing whisper in the back 
of his mind argued otherwise.
     Mistress 9 was recovering from whatever wounds the fall of 
Elfhame had managed to give her. For now she was keeping her distance.
     But come sunset, there would be war.
     The final war.
     Magellan sighed deeply, glancing up at the sun. They had perhaps 
four hours of daylight left. If the skies remained this cloudless--
Magellan refused to brood over why there were no clouds in the sky 
this day--they would have an exceptionally clear night. And a night of 
the full moon, no less. That was to their advantage; with all the 
extra nocturnal light, they'd be able to see the Shadow Armies from a 
lot further away than usual.
     Upon his arrival, Magellan found someone else intervening on his 
behalf. Merlin, wearing his weather-beaten skin and fishbone white 
hair, was using his magik to finish the uploading process, and thusly 
allowing the machines to move and allow for the sewer blockading to 
begin.
     Merlin was proving to be no less than a miracle-worker.
     The Ancient's very presence was inspiring anyone in sight of him 
to work harder and redouble their efforts. More than anything he was 
giving them all hope. And luckily, everyone was too busy prepping the 
castle to pause and ask where Merlin had been at Camelot.
     Magellan was fairly certain he knew the answer.
     And he was the answer. More to the point, Helios was the answer, 
and it was now hidden within him...somewhere. Magellan didn't pretend 
to understand just where Illusion was hiding now. All he knew was that 
Helios had been granted the chance to find some peace after Aurora's 
destruction. And some protection.
     "Good to see you here, Merlin," he said, managing a tired but 
grateful smile. "Guess I didn't have to come all this way across the 
castle after all."
     "Actually," Merlin countered evenly, his eyes still focused on a 
walkway upon which he was settling some large crates. "I came here to 
find you, but it appears I arrived first."
     His task completed, Merlin gestured for Magellan to walk with 
him through the bustling crowds and soldiers.
     "What do you want to speak about?" Magellan asked. He was 
expecting some sort of check-up on Illusion, or perhaps the Vlatmere 
war preparations, or something related to the Dark Messiah.
     What he received instead was something meant for him.
     "You're pushing yourself too far and too fast, Magellan," Merlin 
stated. "Your newfound magiks are only fuelling this even further."
     Magellan stopped mid-step, and remained where he was.
     As if not surprised to find this happening, Merlin stopped and 
turned to maintain their eye contact. "I will not sugar-coat my words, 
nor will I patronize you. The change from the Magellan I saw last 
night and the Magellan I see before me now has been incredible. You 
are every bit your father was before he died, and more. He was ten 
years older than you when he reached this level. But you're still 
dealing with an unprecedented amount of power even I can't fully 
comprehend right now. That's like a child playing with a loaded cannon 
they found."
     Magellan bristled.
     It felt as if he was being challenged and not cautioned.
     "Merlin, what are you talking about?"
     The Ancient let his eyes flicker in colour so that only Magellan 
saw it. "Don't let the rush from wielding this new magik overpower 
you. The Aroth Armour feeds on any emotion. It doesn't care what fuels 
it, but it intensifies whatever it's fed. That is why it's become the 
Demon Armour to so many souls who lost sight of what truly is 
important in this life. Keep your emotions and your priorities in 
check."
     "No offence, Merlin," Magellan said as politely as he could 
manage. "But if you've never worn the armour, or swung the sword, or 
had the ability to create roses from nothing, what makes you the 
expert to tell me how to handle this?"
     "I speak as one who knows magik, Magellan," Merlin stated 
solemnly. "Magik may have different breeds and forms, but when you 
have lived for as long as I have with magik, you learn that there are 
similarities lurking in the undercurrents of all magik. It knows not 
what corruption is, but it can corrupt. It knows not what we call good 
and evil, only itself--but it has the potential to be either."
     They both turned their heads as someone shouted for Magellan. 
And as his ocean blue eyes were looking away from Merlin, Magellan 
heard the Ancient's whispering voice.
     "Control your magik, Magellan. Otherwise it will control you."
     When he snapped his head around, Merlin was gone.
     But the Ancient's warning lingered.
     And it made Magellan suddenly feel very uneasy.


     The Man With No Name sat at the end of a twisting skein of 
hallways, chambers and spiral staircases. He sat within the heart of a 
hidden courtyard, the fading light from the skies above rippling down 
upon his form. His back was to the large garden archway, and while he 
knew there were playful bubbles floating in the air behind him, he let 
them be.
     He was here with Serenity, for Serenity alone.    
     And so it was here that they sat, in a realm which seemed to 
know not time nor day. An ethereal sanctuary of nature, where anything 
that might have been wall was green vegetation. Cobblestone pathways 
curved amidst rows of scarlet flowers, levels upon levels rising up 
around them. Petals were curled back, soaking up what the lingering 
sunlight had to offer. 
     A rose garden.
     The Man With No Name remained upon a patch of green grass, 
surrounded by a forest of flowers. The gurgling water from a nearby 
fountain added to the idyllic detachment. This rose garden was so 
unlike the rest of Vlatmere Castle. Right now the rest of this place 
was full of noise and people and whispers of war.
     That was the last thing Serenity should be around.
     And so the Man With No Name had instinctively brought her here. 
She was moving of her own will and volition now, though each action 
and motion was subdued in mourning. Her crystal blue eyes spoke of so 
much sadness that it rendered her lips and mouth paralyzed, unable to 
speak. Yet she followed him wherever he guided her, with the innocent 
trust of a child.
     He had no idea what the rose garden might do to help, but it at 
least appeared to be helping her somehow. Her form, given a new dress 
of silk and lavender, laid sprawled upon the grass. One of her hands 
was reaching out to caress a nearby rose petal.
     The delicate blossom went from scarlet to silver with her touch. 
It made Serenity smile softly, and the Man With No Name could hear 
from her the faint and broken humming of a song. 
     She was still distant, still grieving and in shock.
     She would not be talking.
     And for now, it didn't matter to him.
     Left in silence, the Man With No Name puzzled over the surge of 
power that had nearly burned his limbs when he'd tried to hold her 
back at Elfhame. The crescent moon upon her forehead; it confirmed 
what he had heard the winds whispering of.
     Her name was Serenity.
     Something, everything, was falling into place now. He could 
sense it, anticipate it, but could not understand it. He could feel 
the lock to his own soul being slowly opened. Soon he would know. Soon 
he would understand everything about himself, and why he was who he 
was.
     "How is she?"
     The Man With No Name slowly turned his eyes away from the blonde 
girl sitting with her head rested against one of his thighs. Eyes of 
churning cloud and darkness, no longer concealed by tinted lenses, now 
focused upon another woman, one far older than Serenity. Technically, 
a woman far older than him.
     Katherine Endymion, Magellan's mother and Vlatmere's widowed 
queen, was tending to them. She stood upon a cobblestone path with a 
tray of small cakes and fruit. For the Man With No Name, as he had 
requested, there was a small wineskin filled with mead.
     The Man With No Name unexpectedly found himself smiling, his 
fingers still running through Serenity's tresses of hair. "She's 
awake, but still dreaming. Yet when her mind opens itself up once 
more, I shall be here waiting."
     Balancing the tray, Katherine made her way over to the patch of 
grass and sat beside him. The tray was set upon the ground, and the 
two of them ate and drank together. Her dark eyes watched him as much 
as they watched Serenity.
     "You're a mystery," she said. "Both of you are. A young woman 
who was betrothed to an Elven king, and stranger who is human yet 
something more--and has no name."
     The Man With No Name drank from the wineskin, and glanced down 
at Serenity. "How are Magellan's preparations going?"
     At that, Katherine managed a bittersweet smile. "It's good to 
see all of Vlatmere pulling together to unite against the Shadow 
Armies. Seeing them all like this, with my son leading them, gives me 
hope that we might succeed where Camelot failed."
     "And as a mother?" he asked her.
     Katherine's smile now became a visage of sadness. "He's grown up 
and changed so much since I last saw him but a few days ago. And even 
now, we cannot afford the time to talk. I only saw him once in 
greeting, and then this war took him from me."
     "War takes many things," the Man With No Name said. He lowered a 
slice of orange to Serenity, and squeezed the fruit so that a trickle 
of its juices touched her lips. She drank in the juice, but otherwise 
reacted little to it. "Be thankful if you receive back what was taken 
from you."
     "You were at Camelot," Katherine said. "What happened there?" 
Stray breezes and drafts circling within the courtyard caught her 
braid of long dark hair and tried to make it dance. The same breezes 
held better success in playing with his dark brown hair.
     "A massacre," the Man With No Name answered. It was not in his 
nature to hide things. Tact was not in his nature either, though. But 
oddly enough he felt a tinge of what might have been guilt in seeing 
the pained expression on Katherine's face when she heard the news.
     "Camelot never stood a chance," he elaborated. "The Shadow 
Armies were too many and too powerful for even Arthur to handle. 
Everyone was pushed back, and fled the castle. Shortly afterwards the 
Dark Messiah reduced all of Camelot to ash and ruin."
     "Dark Messiah?"
     "Mistress Nine, once Morgana's subordinate, now the new and 
undisputed leader of the Shadow Armies. She's the one responsible for 
destroying Camelot...and right now she's searching for two things: 
your son, and an artifact of magik that will increase her power 
tenfold. If she gains either, then this war, this planet's existence, 
is over. And we lose."
     Katherine was trying to put on as brave a face as she could. It 
seemed cruel to tell her and worry her so, but they both knew it was 
necessary. "Can anyone stand against her?" 
     "A few have potential. Magellan is one. His girlfriend, Myung, 
is another. Like her, there are three other Sailor Senshi with whom I 
have been travelling. And then there is me. We all might be able to 
stand against her."
     The coat he had always worn, with its enigmatic white cross, was 
draped over the edge of an iron-framed bench off to his left. It felt 
strange to feel the cool breezes of the late and fading afternoon upon 
his exposed skin. His shirt held no sleeves, and now the Man With No 
Name shifted uneasily as if he had left himself exposed and vulnerable 
to an enemy.
     Katherine sighed heavily. "The way you word it makes me think 
you still may not succeed. If not all of you, then who can?"
     Innuendo of his own death was agitating him for the first time. 
What made the thought of death now so different than before, when he 
did not care? Fear only came in losing something you cared about. The 
Man With No Name saw the pale skin of Serenity's face, and understood.
     "She can. She will, once she awakens. And when she awakens, I 
will be waiting for her."
     "So what are you, then?"
     The Man With No Name stared into Katherine's eyes with his own 
stormfed ones. "The end. And the beginning. But I am meant for 
Serenity, and so I am here by her side until she calls for me. Until 
she calls me...."
     He could sense he was on the edge of epiphany.
     Yet the revelation refused to come completely, and it was 
starting to frustrate him.
     Their meal finished, Katherine took the tray in her hands and 
began to rise. "I need to go and feed Myung and her friends," she said 
apologetically. "I wish I could stay here and learn more about you."
     "If you stayed, the only things you'd learn about me would be 
that I know magik, but not myself," he answered her calmly. "Serenity, 
though, is another matter."
     Katherine nodded. "I can understand why my son wants to protect 
her so much."
     The Man With No Name asked another question, one personal yet 
not directed at her. "Who do you think Magellan wishes to protect 
more?"
     Serenity was the Messiah of Light, yes.
     But Myung was the one who was in Magellan's heart.
     As if finding something amusing, Katherine let out a little 
laugh. "Such blunt honesty, but it's a valid question." She paused and 
considered it. "For the future, he wants to protect Serenity. For his 
own future, he wants to protect Myung. Both are in good hands.
     "I need to go, nameless one. If you or Serenity require 
anything--"
     He pointed to the bubbles that were still bouncing through the 
garden air. "I'll send them for you if we need anything else, Milady 
Katherine. We both thank you for your hospitality."
     As she left the two alone once more, Katherine couldn't help but 
smile. She glanced at the Man With No Name's black cloak resting upon 
the bench. "She seems to be rubbing off on you already," she murmured 
with approval.


     Magellan stepped into the private study an hour later than when 
he said he'd be there. And he didn't like that fact in the slightest; 
at least he hadn't been further delayed outside. For the time being 
Merlin and Frederic were in charge of the operations and 
mobilizations.
     "Sorry I'm late," he sighed, closing the doors behind himself. 
"Unexpected complications."
     "Can't imagine why," Michiru chuckled, the sincerity in her 
voice making them all--Magellan included--share whatever laughter they 
could manage to find within themselves.
     Magellan found himself unsure of how to view what his eyes were 
now seeing. The four women, none of them in their traditional sailor 
battle fuku, were all talking around one end of the war table. In 
front of them all were silver cups that had once been filled with tea, 
and a small tray that bore only telltale crumbs of the food it had 
once carried.
     This scene was a far cry from the world outside the walls of 
this room. And Magellan suddenly envied the time they had already 
shared together, taking this brief interlude from the Messiah Wars.
     Myung smiled warmly as he sat down next to her, leaving an open 
palm on the table for her to clasp. "You didn't save any for me," he 
whispered into her ear, causing her to giggle.
     "Well, had we known you were actually going to show up..." she 
retorted, ribbing his armour.
     She had been talking with her new friends. With Haruka, Michiru 
and Setsuna. They hadn't really discussed anything about the Messiah 
Wars. Instead, they had talked about themselves and each other. For 
now that felt like the most important thing to do. It was a time for 
building trust with each other, and right now the Outers seemed 
willing to lower their guards a little and let her in. Likewise she 
had let them into her own life, to catch a glimpse of her hopes and 
dreams, and her worries.
     The only one who had been very sparing in her words was Setsuna. 
But then Myung reflected that Setsuna had not been as much sparing as 
she had been very selective. If Setsuna was in charge of Time now, 
then that meant she was trying not give something away that could ruin 
the entire timeline. That much Myung could comprehend.
     Everything else just went over her head.
     "I see my mother's been here," Magellan said, noting the tray. 
"I hope she's proven a better host than me."
     "After seeing the chaos down below, I think we're the ones who 
are at the advantage," Michiru answered.
     "If we came here to talk of war, then we should talk of war," 
Haruka stated, putting an effective end to any informal and friendly 
socializing. Everyone was reminded of their respective duties.
     Magellan nodded, and leaned forward in his chair. His hand never 
stopped grasping Myung's. "For what it's worth, we'll be ready when 
the Armies of Silence arrive. Once they do come, I can't make any 
guarantees if or for how long we can hold them back."
     "Our only concern is Mistress Nine," Setsuna said, her magenta 
eyes sweeping the occupants at the table. "If we are able to stop her, 
then the demons lose all their powers. The threat will end swiftly."
     "Easier said than done," Myung said, sighing deeply. "We were 
all there. We all saw what happened at Elfhame--and unless I'm 
mistaken we can all sense that she survived."
     "So how do we kill her?" Magellan asked
     Setsuna tried not to flinch, and failed miserably. Yet no one 
was looking at her, and so no one noticed. They were talking about 
killing her daughter...and none of them even knew about the 
connection. Could she say anything, though?
     Yet another paradox dilemma.
     If he had been here, what would the Raithe have done?
     No, she couldn't second-guess herself like that. She was not the 
Raithe, nor did she want to be like him. The office of the guardian of 
time had been effectively handed over to her, its future (and past and 
present) left in her hands. The decision would be hers alone to make 
now.
     Setsuna chose to remain silent.
     For the time being.
     "The girl," Haruka mused, more to herself than anyone else. But 
her voice was loud enough for them all to hear. She crossed her arms 
over her chest as she thought. "The one Kakkyou sent with us when we 
left. She may be the answer we've been looking for."
     "She is the Messiah of Light, isn't she?" Magellan pressed. 
"Serenity is ultimately the only one who can find the grail, and use 
it to combat Mistress Nine."
     Haruka was immediately suspicious. "How do you know about the 
grail?"
     "Three guesses," Myung said wryly.
     Rolling her eyes, Haruka got the hint. "Figures."
     "Just who is that guy anyways?" Magellan asked. "I mean, we all 
know the nameless man's a part of the war. But he acts like a 
spectator half the time. Who...or what is he?"
     Everyone automatically turned to Setsuna.
     Setsuna shook her head. "I haven't the slightest idea. But he 
knew about the Messiah Wars before they happened. If he doesn't even 
know his place, he might hold one of the most pivotal roles in the 
final moments of the war. And yes, we believe it just as you do: 
Serenity is the Messiah of Light."
     "Will she be ready to help fight alongside us when the Dark 
Messiah comes?" Michiru asked.
     All eyes now turned to Magellan, but he gave a helpless shrug. 
"I honestly don't know. Watching Elfhame burn itself into the ocean, 
watching her fiancé die, shattered her mind. The Man With No Name's 
been taking care of her. She's responding slowly, but I can't say for 
certain."
     "She's a fragile soul with a fragile heart," Myung said, 
recalling her time bathing with Serenity. "She is as innocent and pure 
as they come, almost unlike any of us who have been tainted by battle 
and blood."
     "The question still remains: how do we awaken her powers?" 
Haruka said. "If she remains like this she's useless to us, and 
Mistress Nine will not hesitate to kill her."
     "Do you think we could be of any help?" Myung asked.
     If there was a chance, even a remote one, they had to try.
     Everyone was getting desperate to keep holding on to hope.
     "If you've got an idea, you're welcome to try it on her," 
Magellan answered. His mind shifted back to the dreams he'd seen as a 
child. The crystal chamber, and its two shadow spectres. Their voices 
calling to him from everywhere and nowhere all at once: 'Find the 
messiah.'
     And he'd found her.
     Serenity....
     Michiru's words abruptly broke the spell the memories held over 
Magellan. "How much time do we have left then? How much longer until 
they'll be attacking?"
     The Aroth armour suddenly echoed a heartbeat all its own 
somewhere within him. Excalibur, still sheathed upon his back, its 
blade merged to a point where none could tell where the sword ended 
and the armour began, resonated the pulse. And Magellan found himself 
already, impossibly, knowing the answer. 
     "They'll be attacking near sunset," he said.
     "How do you know?" Setsuna asked, giving him a quizzical 
expression.
     Magellan shrugged, hoping he wasn't looking as chilled as he 
felt. "I would."
     Haruka found herself nodding with him. "A night battle would 
make sense. The Dark Messiah feeds of terror and bloodshed. An evening 
strike would give her both those things in great abundance."
     "What should we do until then?" Myung asked.
     Magellan pushed his chair back as he stood from the table. "I 
need to finish supervising the castle preparations. Then at sunset 
I'll march out onto the battlefield and meet Mistress Nine."
     "We'll be with you," Myung reassured him.
     But Magellan shook his head. "No. I don't want you out there 
with me, Myung."
     Myung was stunned, and then dumbfounded to find that she seemed 
to be the only one surprised by Magellan's strong countermand. "Why 
not?" she demanded. The shock brought her on the verge of tears, the 
tensions already running higher than ever. "You can't protect me by 
hiding me away, Magellan. Not when you need my strength!"
     "Myung," Magellan said as quietly and solemnly as possible. 
"When I meet the Dark Messiah, it will be only her and me. There will 
be no strength I possess save for what I carry with me to meet her."
     The frantic tears began to streak down her cheeks. "But then 
where?"
     "He needs us here, Myung," Michiru said, trying not to make it 
sound like she was reprimanding the youngest of them all. "If he falls 
to the Dark Messiah, then all of us need to stop Mistress Nine from 
reaching Serenity or the grail."
     "Wherever it is," Haruka muttered darkly.
     Michiru's aquagreen eyes looked to Myung for understanding. "We 
are the Messiah of Light's last line of defense. After Magellan, 
there's us. After us, there's nothing. And Mistress Nine will have 
already won the Messiah Wars."
     The warmth of Magellan's touch brought him back into Myung's 
sight. He was gently cradling her head in his hands, pleading with her 
through his ocean blue eyes. "I have to be there on the front lines 
with my soldiers; I will not leave them to be slaughtered. Myung, I 
cannot force you to stay here and watch me fight from a distance. But 
I ask you: protect Serenity for me."
     If he could not fulfil the wishes of that dream, then he prayed 
she might succeed if he failed. If he died....
     Magellan didn't want to think about that.
     He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, letting her 
drink up the emotion he was letting rush through the kiss. At last she 
drank her fill and pulled away, her cheeks stained and glistening from 
her tears. She was trying to smile despite her fear.
     "You just come back to me alive."
     Magellan knew he could make no promises.
     But he lied anyways.
     "I promise," he whispered.
     Sensing that their briefing had come to an end, the Outers 
silently rose from their seats and left the two alone. They left the 
war room doors open as they departed, but said little until they felt 
sure they were out of earshot.
     "Only a few hours left before the war reaches its climax," 
Michiru remarked, staring out one of the grand windows of the 
corridor. The peaceful fields of Vlatmere were sprawled out beyond the 
castle ramparts, bathed in golden hues by a sky steadily becoming 
crimson. "Where will you be until then, Setsuna?"
     Setsuna studied her reflection in the garnet orb of her 
Timestaff. "I have to double-check something with Charon, so I'll be 
gone for a while."
     "Will you share with us when you get back?"
     But Setsuna shook her head. "Maybe. It depends on what answers I 
get, if any. And you two?"
     Michiru wrapped her arms around Haruka and snuggled up against 
her lover's chest. "We'll visit Serenity first," Haruka said, trying 
to sound casual. "And then we'll spend the remaining time together, by 
ourselves."
     That made Setsuna smile, and she wished she could be so lucky as 
to have someone like that in the future. Someday. One day. "See you at 
sunset, Haruka. Michiru."
     "It was good working with you, even if it may only have been for 
a short time," Michiru added softly, as if afraid that saying it any 
louder would make it their death sentence.
     Then they parted directions, and went their separate ways.


     Magellan was holding Myung close to him as they left the war 
room some time afterwards. He could sense her clinging to him, not 
wanting to let him go. He didn't want to let her go either. More than 
anything he wanted to spend these last few hours together with her.
     But he had his duties.
     The future was more important than either of them.
     And he had to ensure that they had done everything in their 
power to protect it.
     With a heavy heart that refused to take any part on what he was 
about to do next, Magellan gently eased Myung away from him. Her eyes 
suddenly grew frightened, saddened and lonely all at once. His throat 
went dry and his stomach sank. But it was something he had to do.
     Magellan opened his mouth, desperate to say anything, but 
someone else's voice reached their ears instead.
     "Magellan."
     Almost startled, Magellan stepped away from Myung and looked 
down the hall. His mother, Katherine Endymion, was standing there 
expectantly. She nodded her head, and from his childhood memories he 
knew that gesture well enough.
     She wanted a word with him in private.
     "I'm sorry," he apologized to Myung. As much as he wanted to use 
this as an excuse to part for the remainder of the day, he was unable 
to say it. Her trembling blue eyes crushed any thoughts of leaving 
her, and so he said, "I'll be right back. I promise."
     Myung nodded and leaned against the wall in waiting for him. She 
looked so subdued there, her chest heaving with uneven breaths as she 
tried not to cry. As she tried not to suddenly feel so alone.
     "What is it?" Magellan asked his mother as he stepped up beside 
her. His own worries immediately flared up: something had gone wrong 
with the work outside. A crane had collapsed or a blockade had fallen 
apart.
     "My son," Katherine said quietly. "I have heard Kakkyou's story. 
He and Serenity loved each other, but they also had a precious gift 
you are denying yourself: one last night together with the one you 
love."
     Magellan found himself completely caught offguard, and he looked 
at his mother as if she'd said something in a foreign language. "We 
don't have a night. We may never have another night after a few 
hours."
     "A few hours are good enough," Katherine stated. In a firmer 
tone that made no room for challenges, she then went on. "I've already 
spoken with Merlin and Frederic. They've informed me that within the 
next hour, all major preparations will be completed. From then on, we 
all wait. In the meantime, they've agreed to take charge of the 
soldiers."
     Magellan's mind began to work.
     And understand what she was saying.
     Katherine cast a glance back at Myung. "Spend your time waiting 
with her, Magellan. If not for yourself, then for her. For that is 
what love is all about. Don't waste these last few hours. Make the 
most of them, and then you will discover what it is you really are 
fighting for. Not the future, but your future...your love."
     Magellan stared at her in amazement. But it was only a momentary 
stare as he turned his head and found himself focusing on Myung. Only 
on her.
     "Go to her," Katherine said to him. Her back was turned to the 
couple, and she walked away even before Magellan had taken his first 
step towards Myung.
     He felt a resurgence of everything embodied in that one moment 
and memory before they had been called to Camelot. When he had given 
her the ring and its Star Sapphire. It had been there in her eyes, in 
her trembling hands as her finger accepted the ring. In her scent and 
smile.
     In everything that was her.
     And he loved her.
     It suddenly felt like an eternity since that moment, his 
forgetfulness marked by war, bitterness and blood. But now Magellan 
found himself remembering, and in the process he found her again. And 
it pained him to see Myung like this; now more than ever he wanted to 
be with her, to comfort her, to comfort them both.
     Magellan delicately placed his hand under Myung's chin and 
lifted her head. "You're going," she stated, not about hide the 
sadness she felt about that.
     But he shook his head, and then kissed her lips. "No. I'm 
staying here, with you. 
     Myung's eyes widened, letting more tears fall down her face. He 
wiped them away, savouring the warmth of her skin. "Really?" she 
asked, almost unbelieving of what she had heard.
     Magellan nodded, wrapping her up in his arms and losing himself 
in the wondrous scent of her long blonde hair. "Let's go someplace 
private. We still have a few hours to be together. And that's more 
than enough time."
     Their footsteps led them back to the rose garden. For a brief 
moment the Man With No Name saw them, and then silently wet back to 
caring for Serenity. Left to their own, Magellan and Myung found their 
own corner of the garden.
     She laid down upon the grass, her blonde hair spilling out 
around her form. He rested beside her, enjoying the pleasant mixture 
of her scent and the aroma of the surrounding roses.
They only slept for less than an hour, together in each other's arms. 
For the time that they were awake, they clung to each other and 
whispered quiet words of affirmation, or else they laid in silence and 
enjoyed the quiet wonder of each other's eyes. At that time, when the 
world looked its darkest, for two lovers there was never a more 
beautiful moment in existence.
     Everything was forgotten save for each other.
     Everything was cast aside save for love.
     For those few hours, the threat of death was powerless against 
them.


     "It's good to have you here again, Setsuna," Charon's 
disembodied voice welcomed her.
     Standing on the edge of heaven once more, Setsuna nodded. "It's 
good to be here again, Charon. Did you miss me?"
     There was an awkward pause.
     Setsuna wondered if Charon was somehow blushing.
     "As much as a castle consciousness can miss its occupants," 
Charon answered finally. It seemed satisfied with the answer. "While I 
don't know if it could be called 'loneliness', I did find myself 
wanting someone to interact with whenever the Raithe was gone for 
years on end."
     With the breath-taking display of stars above her, Setsuna found 
herself a comfortable seat on Charon's promenade. She sighed deeply, 
closing her magenta eyes and letting her tense muscles try to find a 
moment of relaxation.
     She empathized with Charon.
     "What did you do when you found yourself alone?" she asked.
     "I usually busied myself with internal diagnostics," Charon 
replied. "Some of the more extensive checks would take upwards of a 
year or two to thoroughly clean out my systems. I'd work with the 
diagnostics report to improve upon my functions."
     Setsuna smiled and kept her eyes shut. "So you had an imaginary 
friend."
     There was a loud sputtering from Charon.
     "I, Madame, do not make up invisible friends," Charon stated, 
sounding indignant but interpreting the jab as harmless. As it was 
meant to be. Charon then added, "I make up invisible programs for 
myself."
     Setsuna burst out laughing at that.
     It felt good to sincerely, honestly laugh.
     How long had it been since she'd last done that? Forgotten about 
everything just indulged in the simple pleasure and gift that was 
laughter? Some might have considered it strange that she'd laugh with 
a castle's consciousness, but she was fast finding Charon to be not 
simply an ally or instrument.
     Charon was a friend.
     "Tell you what, Charon," she said, setting her key-shaped staff 
down at her feet. "Once the wars are over, you and I can go out 
looking for other castles like you. Maybe the other Outer Senshi have 
castles of their own."
     Charon sighed wistfully. "I admit that offer has tempted me 
before in the past. But no matter how many times I scan the Solis 
System, I cannot find any other Senshi castles save for myself."
     "Maybe," Setsuna countered. "you can't find them because they 
haven't been activated yet. You've had a guardian and keeper for 
centuries; no one else has. If Uranus and Neptune have awakened, 
perhaps their own castles might be willing to reveal themselves."
     Charon paused and gave the idea considerable thought. "I had 
considered the possibility, but never bothered to try it because no 
Senshi had awakened in this system. Perhaps you're right."
     He then added, "Thank you, Setsuna."
     There was a sincerity in Charon's tone that made Setsuna open 
her eyes. She smiled warmly up to the darkened cosmos above, hoping 
that somehow Charon could see it was directed at him. "You're 
welcome."
     She leaned back against the cushions, giving into the 
overpowering urge to relax all the tension in her body and mind. 
Slowly surrendering herself to the desires of sleep.
     The Messiah Wars seemed so far away. For the moment, she'd allow 
them to remain so far away. She didn't want to think about any of 
those things right now.
     "Magellan's one of them, isn't he?" she said quietly as she 
began to drift away to a dreamworld. "A seed of the future."
     "I'm not sure I follow you."
     But Setsuna nodded to herself, already deciding. "Magellan will 
survive, Charon. I'll make sure that happens. Earth will not become a 
second Aurora."
     She was fading from consciousness now, not fully aware of what 
she was saying. Abruptly she felt something warm and heavy settle onto 
her, and Setsuna wrapped herself up in the blanket Charon had given.
     "I'll wake you just before the sun sets on Vlatmere, Setsuna," 
the castle said to her. "In the meantime, rest. You deserve it."


     The Man With No Name was no stranger to silence.
     Here in the rose garden, silence was a welcomed friend.
     It was, in fact, a silence found in peace.
     He continued to stroke Serenity's blonde hair, though she did 
little to respond. The warm air was starting to cool. Soon it would be 
cold enough to make him shiver. And so he stretched out his hand, the 
black longcoat draped over the bench responding to his wordless 
calling.
     It moved swiftly through the air, launching its collar into his 
awaiting grip. Clouded eyes studied the coat. The white cross running 
down one of the sleeves. And then the Man With No Name carefully 
draped it over Serenity's prone form to keep her warm as the evening 
slowly marched towards Vlatmere.
     "Thank you," she whispered, her voice so quiet he almost wasn't 
sure if she had spoken at all.
     The Man With No Name paused, and then continued draping his coat 
over her body. He said nothing. Somewhere in the depths of this 
garden, Magellan and Myung were together. But they were not here, so 
he did not concern himself with them. 
     Only Serenity.
     A raindrop of lapis lazuli dangled around her neck, laid 
sprawled upon the grasses next to her. It was Kakkyou's gift to her, a 
promise to love her forever. Serenity closed her eyes, unable to cry 
any more. The fount of sadness had long since dried up, and could not 
supply any more tears for her. But the grief still remained, wrapping 
its hurting grip around her heart and making the pain anew.
     Serenity's eyes opened up again when she heard movement, 
something settling onto the grass next to her head. Orbs of crystal 
blue saw a rose, red and beautiful in bloom, sitting there next to 
her.
     "A rose's beauty cannot last forever," the Man With No Name 
said, one hand never ceasing to caress her hair. "But while its petals 
are open, there is nothing more pure and precious. When it's gone, you 
learn why it was so special. And then will you treasure it forever."
     Serenity reached a trembling hand out and touched the rose. Its 
crimson petals were washed away in a tide of silver. The change of 
beauty captivated her. Her soul remained subdued, but it was daring to 
open itself up once more.
     "Nothing I can say will bring Kakkyou back to you," the Man With 
No Name said. "Nothing I can do will bring back my dragonwyrm either. 
Both are gone. But I let the memory drive me forward, and refuse the 
loss to keep me locked away in sadness."
     Here eyes still watched the rose, yet her heart took comfort in 
what she heard. "Where did you learn to speak of things like that?" 
she asked softly.
     "You taught me," he answered. "Ever since you came to this rose 
garden, your magik has been whispering. And I have been listening to 
it."
     Serenity's hand wrapped around Kakkyou's pendant.
     One more memory of his face was etched in her mind forever.
     One more kiss was recalled, and treasured all the more.
     A single tear found a way to manifest itself, and it slowly 
moved down her cheek. Neither of them moved to wipe it away. A tear 
was still a thing of beauty, even amidst the realms of sadness.
     "Have you been with me all this time?" she asked.
     "Ever since Kakkyou asked us to take care of you." The Man With 
No Name let a finger caress her cheek. "He never wanted to see you 
cry. He gave his life in the hopes that you would be happy."
     "Then why do I feel so empty?"
     "Are you?"
     Serenity's mind was suddenly flooded with memories and visions 
of Elfhame. She saw faces and creatures and trees. All the places she 
had ever been to, all the treetops she had glided through. Every last 
whisper and smile and kiss from Kakkyou was there in front of her.
     She saw herself through Kakkyou's eyes.
     All this he had given her in that final kiss.
     "I had almost forgotten," she whispered, overwhelmed.
     "Grief has a way of making us forget. But it also helps us 
remember. There will always be an emptiness in your heart where 
Kakkyou once was, Serenity. But it will not always be as great or as 
painful as it now seems."
     He paused, and listened to her magik.
     "Love," he said quietly, echoing its whispers. "will find a 
way."
     For the first time since she had been brought to the rose 
garden, Serenity moved wholly of her own will and volition. She rolled 
onto her back, staring up at the Man With No Name. Her eyes were still 
red from crying. They still mirrored the sorrow of her soul.
     "You speak like a poet, yet you don't have a name."
     The Man With No Name tilted his face down as he heard the soft 
words of whisper from Serenity, and shook his head at her question. "I 
was born a stranger in a strange land. I listen to the magik that 
belongs to me, and it has no answer. For this reason I do not have a 
name, nor do I mind being without one."
     "It seems cruel that you would be without a name. A name gives a 
sense of belonging; Kakkyou taught me that. What am I to call you 
then?"
     "Don't call me anything. Avoid using my name." With a wry grin 
he added, "'Hey you' always seemed to work for Haruka."
     A weak smile found its way onto Serenity's face. "What about me? 
What does the magik say about me?"
     The Man With No Name looked up to the open skies overhead. Sky 
blue was turning navy blue. The world was darkening. War would be 
coming soon for them--and yet, so long as he stayed here with her, he 
did not care. When it came, it came. He would face it once it 
encroached upon the rose garden's boundaries.
     Once it came for Serenity.
     He answered her, "In the forest, Kakkyou called you his beloved, 
his fiancé. Magellan and the others call you Messiah. I shall call you 
neither. The title of beloved nor Messiah suits you in my eyes. You 
are who you are...and you shall be called Serenity."
     For the first time since he had awakened, the Man With No Name 
had found something. Not simply learned or discovered, but found. He 
had found something he wanted to protect.
     That was his purpose in this life.
     He would protect Serenity.
     He would give his life for her.
     And in giving that, he knew he would give her something else: 
the Holy Grail.


     Half an hour remained before sunset.
     Everyone was getting into armour, mobilizing, psyching 
themselves up for the war that was not an hour away from coming. 
Magellan was not yet there to lead his soldiers onto the battlefield 
in front of Vlatmere castle. That time was only a few minutes away, 
however.
     For now he was suiting up in private, letting the Aroth Armour 
lie dormant a little while longer. Its enchanted plates were hidden 
beneath a larger and most basic set of armour currently covering his 
body. Excalibur, currently just a plain-looking longsword, was 
sheathed at his back. He could feel every nerve tingling with a 
strange sort of excitement.
     He'd said his good-byes to Myung.
     Good-bye and not farewell.
     "What do you think our odds are?" Frederic asked, slipping into 
one of his boots.
     Magellan stared out the lancet windows of the chamber only he 
and Frederic stood within. He could see the distant lands surrounding 
the castle, and something stirring within the darkness. His heightened 
sense of magik sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing 
straight out.
     The Dark Messiah was there, waiting for him.
     "I'd rather die than see Mistress Nine beat us back again," 
Magellan growled.
     Suddenly his gauntlet rippled, black tendrils wriggling along 
the otherwise smooth, mud-brown surface. Magellan's eyes widened in 
surprise, and he clamped his other hand down around the twitching 
forearm.
     The resistance was incredible!
     He could feel his body shaking as he clenched his forearm, 
forcibly willing the armour to cease. The tendrils thrashed a few more 
times before hibernating. Slowly the armour quieted itself and 
reverted back to its original form around his arm. It slept as if it 
had never been disturbed.
     "What the hell was that?" Frederic hissed.
     "I don't know," Magellan said, wiggling his fingers as if 
doubting he still had control over them. "The armour, it...it reacted 
to my thoughts."
     And then he remembered what the mage had said in Elfhame: the 
Aroth Armour's power was fed and amplified by his emotions...no matter 
what the emotion was.
     "So what the hell were you thinking?" Frederic asked, though 
there was more an attempt to defuse the tension with humour than 
actually discover the reason.
     "Nothing," Magellan lied. He released his wrist and tested how 
smoothly he could unsheathe Excalibur off his back.
     But Frederic held his own reservations. "Look, Magellan; I'm no 
sorcerer and I'm no Ancient. But watch yourself. That armour wasn't 
called the Demon Armour because it made for a catchy name. The last 
thing I want to do is fight you."
     "It won't come to that, Frederic."
     He made it a statement and a vow all at once.
     For Myung, he would resist and refuse to become a demon.
     That satisfied Frederic enough. He nodded, and took hold of his 
bow. 
     "See you out on the front-lines?" Magellan asked as his friend 
walked out the door.
     Frederic smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."


     In the shadows on the borders of Vlatmere, something stirred. 
Something sensed the dying light and powers of the sun. The night was 
arising to take hold. To take control. Just as they would take 
control.
     They were the demons of darkness.
     The Armies of the Silence.
     Out from the darkness of a shadow cast by a tree, from the 
obscurity of a sloping hill or misplaced boulder, they emerged. 
Sometimes one by one, other times appearing en masse with a 
frightening beauty as they silently glided out in legions of unnatural 
hordes.
     Violet eyes opened.
     Mistress 9 stared out at the castle of Vlatmere.
     She could sense the magik belonging to the one named Magellan, 
the one who had now twice escaped her. She wanted vengeance. She could 
taste it.
     But she could also taste something else.
     A strange magik that had almost been completely muffled by the 
lethal energy of Elfhame's destruction. It echoed of light and 
happiness, of laughter and love. It was the purest magik she had ever 
tasted. Barely there amidst Elfhame's death throes, yet it continued 
to grow stronger the closer she came to Vlatmere.
     Mistress 9 let a wicked smile move across her face, and she 
licked her lips. Tonight she would taste this magik. Tonight she would 
have revenge.
     Tonight she would be the Messiah of Darkness.
     She turned her head back to her followers, the ranks of demonic 
creatures awaiting her command. The evening winds blew at her long 
ravendark hair, letting it cascade in ripples down the back of her 
dark dress.
     "Time to dance," she giggled.
     The Shadow Army began to advance upon Vlatmere.
     The last war was at hand.


     That night, at sunset, the armies of Vlatmere went outside of 
the castle to meet their destiny. Four Senshi, and a man with no name 
stayed behind. They had but one task, one duty: if the Dark Messiah 
broke through Magellan's defences, then they had to protect Serenity.
     All of them.
     In the distance, the Shadow Armies were marching.
     And Setsuna prayed that no more lives would have to be 
sacrificed.
     Rows upon rows of Earth's last battalions assembled in the 
fields of Vlatmere, the castle just in sight from the top of the 
hills. If they failed here, if they fell just as their comrades in 
arms had at Camelot, even on Aurora, then they were all doomed.
     Many of them were nervous, uneasy, morbid. The chances of their 
survival in the face of an enemy who took no prisoners and left 
nothing untouched were next to none. Better to flee and take their 
chances living as refugees in some godforsaken cave or forest.
     And many more were wearing faces of dark determination. If there 
was nothing to lose, then hell itself could be damned as far as they 
cared. If they were to die here, then they would die taking as many of 
those hellspawned creatures with them. For even if the chance of 
survival was close to nothing, it still was more than nothing.
     The hope was there for them to cling to.
     That hope of the men, and even of the women, gathered there for 
the last war was embodied in a young man standing at the front lines, 
the one destined to lead them in this final hour.
     "I don't see Morgana anywhere," came Frederic's voice in behind 
him.
     Magellan smiled bitterly. "I doubt she's even alive. Mistress 
Nine doesn't seem the type to take orders from the likes of her."
     That managed a slight chuckle from his friend.
     "Where's Merlin?" Magellan asked.
     "He's on the Eastern front; he'll be leading our soldiers on 
that side, while you and I defend against the demons on the north."
     While Magellan was relieved to hear that they had someone as 
powerful as Merlin co-ordinating their efforts, he still wondered if 
any of them would stand a chance. "What about the other sides of the 
castle?"
     Frederic shrugged. "The Shadow Armies only came from those two 
directions. They're forming a semi-circle, a sort of phalanx. Won't 
surprise me if they try to crush both sides together and squeeze us 
into a bottleneck."
     Magellan said nothing.
     "It won't be long now," Frederic stated. "I don't exactly think 
you have enough roses to impale everyone with."
     He nodded. "That's why I have the sword."
     Even more than a mere weapon, the sword in his hands was 
symbolic of the one who had led these armies before him. King Arthur, 
the Pendragon: the one who had created this great empire that the 
Mistress of Silence was so bent on wiping out.
     "Any regrets, Frederic?" he asked.
     Frederic grinned, a savage smile appearing from beneath helmet 
and armour. The arrow in Frederic's bow was knocked, ready to be drawn 
back and then unleashed at a moment's notice. "None come to mind. Even 
if I die, so long as Vlatmere is protected I will regret nothing on 
this day. And you...Lord Magellan Endymion?"
     "I will regret nothing," Magellan stated, his knuckles 
tightening around Excalibur. "I refuse to let Death come and take me 
from this life today."
     A shrilling howl was lifted up among the forces of their 
enemies, one that could have shattered the daylight.
     Magellan gripped the hilt of the longsword, eyes narrowing, the 
core of his very soul glaring at the charging forces of darkness. 
Indescribable creations borne of unnatural nightmares, hellish to lay 
eyes upon and ferociously epitomized with just a glance. The Armies of 
Silence came down the hills to meet them, a swarm of frenzied beasts 
that had once been human.
     That beautiful face...he wanted to see it once more. To feel the 
warmth of her smile, and the soft caress of her hands. To live another 
day with his beloved Senshi, he would protect her.
     "Myung," he whispered. "My Venus...."
     He would protect them all.
     Suddenly Excalibur's sleek and narrow form rippled, the metal 
morphing and pulsating as if it were alive. A geyser of molten grey 
spewed from the hilt, flying wildly in three arcs of watery tendrils 
that coiled around the blade of the sword. Liquid hardened back into 
solid metal, the blade now having tripled in its size. 
     Magellan's hands felt as if they were on fire as he felt the 
flood of magik flow into the hilt, the grip of the sword itself 
changing into something larger and easier for him to hold. What was 
once a slender longsword had now become a broad-sided and double-edged 
weapon that stood higher than he did. Down along the centre ran runes 
which openly displayed Excalibur's name.
     Frederic was breathing hard beside him. His childhood and most 
trusted friend raised the bow, aiming the pronged end of  the arrow at 
the nearest charging beast. "Now?"
     Ocean blue eyes narrowed. If Serenity was indeed the Messiah of 
Light, then all his own hopes rested in her. All he could do here was 
buy Myung and the others time.
     Time before the Armies of Silence marched across Vlatmere and 
wiped out the last pillar of resistance. Time to find the hidden magik 
laying dormant within that young girl and unleash it, to save them 
all. Time to find the Grail before Mistress 9 did.
     Everything had come down to a matter of time.
     And time was running out. 
     For a moment, Magellan closed his eyes. A wave of magik flowed 
out from his body, an entity appearing and consuming his form. His 
body was lifted into the air for but a heartbeat as a skin of shadows 
flowed out from the folds of his earthly armour, consuming the metal 
and devouring it completely. Everything turned an earthen mud brown. 
Pauldrons and gauntlets curved out and wrapped themselves accordingly, 
beautifully ornamented with unreadable runes.
     "Watch yourself," Frederic muttered, voice still tense.
     Magellan grimly stared out at the rampaging lines of creatures 
closing the gap between them. "I know."
     The Aroth Armour was alive.
     And in order to stay that way, it would keep him alive too.
     Magellan's blue eyes faded, the colours now a shade of brown to 
match his armour. They were now one once more, and he could feel the 
power flowing through it.
     The creatures of the Silence were almost upon them all.
     Abruptly the armour rippled, flowing around his skull and 
hardening to create the perfect mask. His eyes were barely even 
visible, but they burned with determination.
     "Now," he stated.
     Despite the weapon's enormous size, Magellan wielded Excalibur 
with astonishing ease. He swung the immense blade over his head, 
holding it there with both hands. And in not a word or shout, but a 
bellow, the call to charge was made.
     His soldiers were mere footsteps behind him as Magellan drove 
forward into the advancing rows of unnatural beings. Eyes bulging and 
glowing yellow, bodies with multiple limbs and fur and claws and 
fangs. It was almost as if hell had spat up its prisoners and let them 
run free here upon the Earth.
     Magellan gave a loud shout as he brought down the sword in a 
downwards arc, letting the massive blade cut a gaping hole through the 
first creatures who tried to tear his body apart. Blood spilled, 
splashed across his face, dripped down his armour and his weapon.
     Something leaped up from the moving mass of creatures, blocking 
the last rays of light from his sight as it pounced upon him. He could 
only watch, wide-eyed in horror as the beast descended, ready to rake 
its claws across his chest. Suddenly an arrow shot through the air, 
its pronged tip burying itself into the beast's skull. With a howl, 
the creature's flight twisted, and it crashed down upon its own fellow 
monsters.
     Magellan whirled and saw Frederic already knocking another arrow 
to let fly into the ranks of the demons. He didn't bother looking back 
to try and let their eyes meet. Magellan raised Excalibur and cut 
through the masses of darkness once more.
     Humans and beasts were meeting in a blood-soaked line, the once 
effortless charge now becoming thousands of small skirmishes between 
each other. Magellan pushed through as many as he could, cutting a 
gruesome path through the very heart of their numbers.
     "Damn!" he hissed, blocking the claws of yet another beast.
     Moments later, Excalibur bisected the thing from crotch to 
skull, a cascade of black ooze spraying down on him.
     Magellan spun around, lobbing the head off another attacker. Yet 
another surged up from behind, lunging from an angle he knew couldn't 
cover with his sword. He growled, summoning the powers locked within 
himself, and drew from it a brilliant yellow rose. The blossoming 
flower was hurled with deadly force and accuracy, the sharpened and 
thorny stem burrowing itself into the monstrosity's skull with near 
disturbing ease.
     Blood gushed out, rich and dark and drenching his armour.
     Magellan looked across the field of battle. There was only one 
soul he was intent on finding, one face among all the others he sought 
to confront. And all because he knew she was hunting for him. He had 
seen the Dark Messiah at the front lines, lifting her hand to give the 
signal to charge. After that she had been swallowed up by her minions.
     So where was she now?
     The ground began to shift beneath his feet. Magellan nearly 
toppled over, barely missing the savage jaws of some winged beast. 
Excalibur was used as his crutch, keeping his balance as the earth 
started to crack apart.
     Up from the underground rose a dragon.
     Black like the iron metal it was forged from, the mechanical 
beast broke through the layers of grass and dirt to slowly tower in 
the air over him. The flight was graceful even for a creature that did 
not breathe. But its form was immense, throwing Magellan into ominous 
shadows.
     "Fuck me!" Magellan exclaimed.
     Excalibur nearly dropped from his grasp.
     The iron dragon rumbled, the enormous and elaborate joints of 
its neck shifting to lower its head in reverence. And there atop the 
metal steed's head was the Messiah of Silence. Mistress 9's long dark 
hair flowed out past her face, caught by the winds whipping past them. 
Her dress danced to the same rhythm as her hair, a dance of blood and 
death. And in her arms was held the Silence Glaive.
     "Mistress Nine," Magellan said coldly, rising to his feet.
     Noiselessly the joints of the dragon's neck moved, its head 
lowering her closer to where he stood. The number of attacking 
creatures around him had suddenly dropped. Magellan looked, and saw 
that he was being deliberately left alone. 
     All for her.
     Suddenly the iron dragon turned its head. What was left for him 
to stare at was an enormous gaping eye of the metallic beast. He 
stared at a colossal black hole lit up like a spotlight. One enormous 
curved plate of steel slid up and retracted. The eyelid gone, Magellan 
could see himself within the reflection of the iron dragon's eye. He 
could have walked directly into it.
     But what he saw terrified him.
     He stumbled backwards at the sight, in seeing that the dragon 
was looking at him. From one living creature to another, it understood 
what he was and what it was and what they both were doing there. It 
understood everything. 
     There was a soul within this machine. 
     The iron dragon was alive.
     Mistress 9 giggled as she watched him. "Ara, you don't like my 
little pet, Magellan? A shame. I picked him out from my host's 
memories, and a strange dream that echoes of Auroran magik." Her 
violet eyes glanced over to Excalibur. "I see you found a way to 
repair it...but do you expect me to fear that? I killed the man who 
last held that sword in his arms. Your blade is nothing more to me 
than a mere toy."
     By his will, the helmet of his armour retracted. It was a risk 
exposing his face to someone like her; in that moment Magellan did 
not even care about it.
     "We'll see about that," he hissed. Magellan steadied himself, 
taking up the sword of his fallen King once more. He held it at the 
iron dragon and its rider, summoning whatever magik he could think and 
even dream of. The Aroth Armour rippled, attuning itself to his every 
thought.
     The Dark Messiah laughed from atop her iron steed. "A pity you 
refuse to join my ranks. My master, Pharaoh Ninety, would thank you by 
making you a daimon container instead of just wiping you out."
     Magellan growled at her statement. "You tried to kill me the 
last time we met in battle, Mistress Nine. I have yet to see you 
follow through with it."
     That managed to get a rise of emotion from her.
     And it was pure rage.
     Her hair blew out all around her form as her eyes began to flash 
a brilliant violet light. "You...dare you mock me?!" she shouted, 
raising a hand towards him.
     A blast of fierce magik erupted from her open palm, shooting 
through the air and then shredding apart the land as it impacted with 
the ground. The rampaging attack smashed itself against Magellan with 
violent force, the earth cracking apart and venting red hot steam.
     Magellan reacted by slamming Excalibur's blade into the ground, 
letting the metal sink as deeply into the dirt as possible. His armour 
rippled again, veins of black liquid racing down the blade of the 
weapon. Six shafts of light from all around him exploded from the 
grasses, lines of light racing together to form a sacred star.
     And he was its centre.
     The light abruptly turned black, converging upon his armour. 
Everything was focused into his body. With a loud shout, Magellan 
pulled out Excalibur, bringing with it a wave of incredible force that 
distorted the very air. The magik crackled as it tore a new path 
towards the iron dragon.
     Mistress 9 swung her glaive at the shockwave, barely managing to 
cut it in half before it would have overtaken both her and the metal 
beast. The air was shattered, and instead of one deep cut, thousands 
of smaller wind razors were scattered in every direction. 
     Creatures from the Army of Silence were sliced apart by it.
     Soldiers from Magellan's own army shared the same fate.
     But as Mistress 9 lowered an arm held protectively in front of 
her face, Magellan could see a small trail of blood running down her 
cheek. Her shoulders were heaving, her eyes murderous towards him.
     That he, a mere mortal human, could wound her.
     "It won't be so easy this time," he panted, adjusting his grip 
on Excalibur. 
     She was the reason an entire planet had been reduced to lifeless 
rock. She was the reason the Golden Empire was crumbling, almost gone 
completely. She was the reason King Arthur was dead. Why Elfhame was 
gone. Why Serenity was trapped in grief and sadness.
     That all this evil could come from one single person.
     Magellan suddenly realized how much he hated Mistress 9.
     In that moment, he forgot about everything else but the war, and 
all its violence and bloodshed. The memories of his quiet moments with 
Myung were lost. All his promises to protect his castle, his kingdom, 
his world faded to black in the corners of his mind.
     Mistress 9 raised the Silence Glaive over her head, swinging the 
staff and pointing the blade at his heart. She was challenging him 
once more. This time there would be no stalemate. He had no intention 
of letting it end at that. Neither would she.
     Something happened.
     The Aroth Armour started to beat to the rhythm of his heart.
     Magellan's smile suddenly grew dark, savage. The armour rippled 
once more, and then turned as black as a midnight without stars in its 
heavens. Bone turned to darkest metal. The armour flowed around his 
face, covering the back of his skull but keeping his face exposed. 
Like living paint it kept to the edges of his face, lines swimming 
onto his cheeks, curving and pulsating to create incredibly complex 
runes that became etched onto his skin.
     Runes of dark magik.
     His eyes faded from brown to a shade of night. Magellan licked 
his lips, almost tasting her blood upon them. And then he issued the 
words that would mark the beginning of the end of the Messiah Wars:
     "I'll kill you myself."
     Suddenly his entire form rippled and changed.
     Excalibur was consumed, the immense blade fusing and becoming a 
vicious double-pronged extension of his one arm. Magellan's body 
swelled, spines erupting from his arms and legs, running down his 
back. Fingertips became savage claws. A pair of immense, leathery 
wings exploded from his back in a fury of black rain, reaching around 
to enfold him like a womb.
     For a terrifying heartbeat they hid him from sight.
     And when they opened the metamorphosis was complete. No longer 
did the armour look like armour and Magellan look like Magellan. They 
were bonded together, creating a towering humanoid beast of darkness, 
one who had Magellan's eyes but not his soul. The wings unfolded from 
around his body, then spread and caught the winds.
     Magellan took to the air, now hovering over the heads of the 
other soldiers. He stood there, unmoving, his head bowed. Poised to 
strike.
     "Well," Mistress 9 remarked with a malevolent smile. "This is 
something new. Such beautiful darkness...and yet how much it hate me. 
Your magik, Magellan, will be such a feast."
     A low, guttural growl escaped his lips.
     The Aroth Armour had claimed him.
     Magellan had become a demon.


     "Something's wrong," Sailor Venus said, her voice now laden with 
urgent fear. She turned and stared at one of the walls, trying to look 
beyond the immense stone bricks covered by trellises and veils of 
green foliage.
     The other Senshi, also wearing their battle fuku, warily began 
scanning the garden. This place may have been shielded from the sight 
of battle, but not the sounds. Cries, shouts and the clashing of sides 
were dim but noticeable sounds to their ears. And even more than that, 
they could sense the magik that permeated the air, saturating 
everything around Vlatmere Castle, moving through walls and down 
passageways of its own accord.
     And now it had found them.
     Pluto gripped her key-shaped staff a little tighter, suddenly 
wishing she could afford the time to talk with Charon. Anything to 
know what was going on outside these walls--but she knew she couldn't 
leave her post.
     None of them could, not without risking Serenity's life.
     But the tsunami of magik that had just flooded past them was 
chilling their bodies. The Outer Soldiers turned their heads left and 
right as in the magik's wake came a tempest of winds rattling 
everything in the rose garden. Flower petals suddenly went from 
scarlet to black, the blossoms being ripped from their bulbs moments 
later. The maelstrom of black petals swarmed and circled around them, 
showing no signs of wanting to cease.
     "Kuso," Uranus muttered. "What the hell was that?"
     Neptune shook her head, one of her hands trying to seek out her 
lover. "I don't know. But whatever it was, it's powerful. And it's not 
Mistress Nine's."
     They continued to stand their guard, watching from the perimeter 
of the rose garden. With the magik now taunting them with ominous 
thoughts and fears and visions of a future gone berserk, they began to 
step back from the outer walls. Moved protectively to close around 
Serenity.
     The blonde girl still sat upon the grasses in the middle of the 
garden. But now her eyes were open and alert. She lifted her head off 
the Man With No Name's chest, and looked around. It was the first time 
she had made such dramatic voluntary movement since collapsing at 
Elfhame.
     The Man With No Name said nothing regarding this. Instead one of 
his hands adjusted the way his coat hung over her shoulders. 
"Serenity, can you walk?"
     Weakly she nodded. It would still be an effort for her, when 
most of her body had lost its will to move. When most of her heart had 
lost its will to exist.
     The Man With No Name then carefully, gently, helped her to her 
feet. "This part of the garden isn't safe anymore. You're not safe 
anymore."
     Serenity's eyes widened as she heard a blood-curdling bellow 
shake the walls enclosing the garden. Small patches of dust fell from 
above. "What's happening?"
     One hand slowly slid the tinted coin-sized lenses off his nose. 
The Man With No Name glanced down at the sunglasses, eyes of churning 
clouds and darkness seeing nothing and everything all at once. He 
suddenly realized that tucking the lenses away in his pocket would be 
a useless act.
     This would be the last time he ever used them.
     And so he tossed the sunglasses out into the garden. With a 
silent landing the frame holding the lenses in place sent up a fury of 
black rose petals.
     "The Messiahs are about to meet, Serenity," he told her. "But 
not before Aroth has some fun first."


     No longer was the creature hovering before her in the air the 
human she had somehow known to be called Magellan. That much was 
obvious. Mistress 9 could feel the creature's heartbeat echoing in her 
ears, escorted by a stir of magik that could not have originated from 
this world or even this star system.
     The Dark Messiah leaned forward atop the head of her immense 
metal dragon, and ran her tongue along her lower lip. "Aroth...so 
that's your name now."
     The creature growled again.
     Its heartbeat, one that she alone could hear, began to quicken. 
Mistress 9 ignored the frightened shouts of the people below her. She 
didn't care about the trembling that her own demonic minions were 
showing with the appearance of Aroth. All that mattered was the power 
before her. Power to be consumed.
     And beyond that...beyond that laid something she could feel 
stirring in the heart of this castle. Another magik was beginning to 
awaken itself.
     Mistress 9's eyes went back to the form of the Aroth demon. It 
was beginning to clench and unclench its hands, long clawed fingertips 
dripping with a black substance that could almost have been called 
sweat or blood.
     Suddenly Aroth's wings snapped out, spreading and stretching and 
carrying the demon straight towards her. The Dark Messiah flinched, 
her iron dragon rearing up in surprise. The metal beast roared and 
swung one of its forearms. Yet for as fast and merciless as the blow 
was meant to be, Aroth was smaller and faster.
     The demon twisted its winged form around the dragon's paw, 
soaring along the iron dragon's side until it cleared the body and now 
stood before Mistress 9. She whirled, swinging the Silence Glaive 
around.
     Aroth didn't move.
     Didn't flinch.
     With one swift, effortless motion it raised one of its hands and 
slapped the blade aside. Mistress 9 stumbled sideways, looking at 
Aroth in surprise. The demon snarled where it stood, its eyes glaring 
at her.
     And then Aroth lunged, trying to take her head off with the 
double-pronged blade that used to be Excalibur. The Dark Messiah 
pulled back her glaive, smashing the polearm against the nearest 
blade. The strike was just enough to have the edge of the blade 
narrowly miss her arm.
     Aroth quickly spun its body around as its attack was thrown off. 
The other hand was raised, vicious claws splayed, and the demon tried 
to rake those claws down Mistress 9's face. She jumped back, letting 
Aroth's fingertips meet with only air.
     She was panting for breath now.
     "So this is the reward for losing your soul," she said, pushing 
some of her long black hair off her shoulder.
     Aroth's jaws opened, revealing uneven rows of sharp teeth. A 
hiss of air escaped its throat.
     The Dark Messiah stood her ground, and smirked.
     Suddenly the iron dragon's tail came whipping over her head, its 
end lashing out and smashing into Aroth. The demon was abruptly 
launched off the dragon, sent tumbling through the air from the 
incredible force of the hit. Mistress 9 giggled as she saw Aroth's 
form descend to the earth.
     "So much for demon armour," she stated coldly.
     Aroth disagreed.
     A black streak came shooting back towards her, Aroth unleashing 
a howl that caused both sides below them to cease fighting and gaze in 
wonder and horror at the war in the skies above. Suddenly the iron 
dragon was upon Aroth, roaring with a ferocious echo that shook the 
Vlatmere fields even further. Dust was thrown in all directions, 
clouding the demon's form. The iron dragon pounced, swinging its 
jointed neck and snapping its jaws in a fury of teeth and transparent 
lubricant.
     Aroth dodged the snapping jaws, soaring beneath the iron 
dragon's body. And then it fell upon the metallic creature without any 
thoughts of mercy or compassion. The double-pronged blades of 
Excalibur were sent slashing along the back of the beast's armour 
plating. Scales forged of living iron took a savage beating as the 
blades dug in and tore gouges across the metal, the iron dragon 
rearing up and roaring in blind anger. Its wings outstretched, 
flapping wildly as the blades worked their way up to its head. 
     Aroth was moving almost too fast to be seen as anything but a 
blur up the iron dragon's back. But the Dark Messiah saw the demon, 
and continued to watch as it moved towards her. The blade of her 
glaive started to glow violet as she summoned her powers.
     This creature was making her work for its magik.
     Now it was time to demonstrate her true strength.
     Mistress 9 twirled the glaive over her head before levelling it 
with the impending form of Aroth. Her violet eyes narrowed, tresses of 
ravendark hair starting to billow out and float in the air.
     "Silence Glaive Surprise!"


     The heavens above Vlatmere castle were suddenly bathed in indigo 
flames, casting everything below in a purple hue. Even within the 
sheltering walls of the rose garden, the Senshi witnessed it. All eyes 
looked above.
     "Mistress Nine," Neptune said quietly, shivering at the memory 
of Hakkeda. "It could only be her."
     "She's going to be coming here if she breaks through," Uranus 
said, glancing over at Sailor Pluto. "It may all be over in a few 
minutes."
     Though she said nothing in response, Pluto shook her head. It 
would not end here. It could not end here. She wouldn't let the future 
be destroyed, not like this. Even if she had to give up her own life 
in the process, the future would be protected. Her Onee-san had given 
her a mission: to save the seeds of the future.
     As she looked with magenta eyes at the others standing with her 
in the rose garden, Pluto knew that they all were her allies, her 
friends. They were in this war together. All their seeds would be 
protected.
     Another jarring explosion caused the castle to quake beneath 
their feet. Uranus clenched her jaw, ready to unleash a World Shaking 
any second.
     Venus was no longer aware of the others. She was no longer 
looking up at the skies, but had her head bowed and blue eyes closed. 
She was silently praying, trying to reassure herself that Magellan was 
all right. That despite what she was seeing and hearing and sensing, 
he would come back to her.
     That Magellan would keep his promise.
     Tears were running down her cheeks as she pleaded for someone to 
hear, and answer her by returning Magellan to her.
     And the Man With No Name continued to stay close to Serenity, 
acting as her crutch so she might walk. Though he did not remove her 
altogether from the rose garden, he gently guided her footsteps to 
lead them both to the far side of the garden.
     The world around them was growing dark. The fiery rays of dusk 
were sinking fast beneath the horizon line. Within another few minutes 
all that would remain to give light to the heavens would be the full 
moon.
     "I'm scared," Serenity whispered, clutching his coat tighter. 
Trying to wrap herself up in something that might offer protection, or 
even a vague sense of security.
     "Change is approaching," the Man With No Name answered. 
"Everyone fears change. But you more than anyone else must change 
now."
     She looked up to him with her crystal blue eyes. They were 
questioning his words, asking for an explanation.
     The explanation itself was only now coming to him. As he spoke, 
the Man With No Name at last realized his purpose in life. His reason 
for waking up one day, an aged new-born upon this world with no past 
memories and an arsenal of old, powerful magik.
     "The time is coming, Serenity," he told her. "You must awaken."
     "Awaken what?" Serenity asked. She was pleading, desperate to 
know as much as he did.
     The castle shuddered around them a third time.
     Clouds of black rose petals burst into the air, swirling around 
Neptune and Uranus' forms.
     The Man With No Name let his blurry eyes begin to clear. A pure 
darkness was revealed as the clouds dispersed, displaying the 
lightning that was his source of power and being. 
     "It wants to awaken. It wants you to awaken with it, for without 
you there can be no magik."
     Serenity shook her head, overwhelmed by so many different 
emotions clouding her judgement. "What are you talking about?"
     "The magik that gave you your name. The magik you displayed when 
Elfhame was destroyed."
     Serenity's heart abruptly began to beat louder and faster.
     Awaken....
     "What is it that you want the most, Serenity?" the Man With No 
Name asked of her. "What is your heart's desire?"
     Serenity searched her heart.
     What she found was the memory of Kakkyou. His world, his 
whispers, his smile. The warmth she felt whenever she snuggled close 
to him. The security she felt as he held her tightly in his arms. The 
love he vowed to show her until eternity's end. And all that remained 
of him now was the lapis lazuli pendant dangling around her neck.
     Serenity knew what she wanted. "I want an end to the pain," she 
whispered, starting to cry. "I don't want anyone else to suffer what 
I'm going through anymore."
     She swallowed back her sorrows.
     Awaken....
     "I want an end to this war."
     The Man With No Name abruptly smiled, and caressed her cheek. 
"And that is why I was meant for you, and not Mistress Nine. That is 
your heart's desire, Serenity; for you, I shall grant it."
     Serenity looked up at the Man With No Name's stormfed eyes in 
confusion and awe. "How?"
     She wasn't the only one listening to his words.
     And suddenly the revelation struck Setsuna. She turned her head, 
magenta eyes fixating upon the Man With No Name. "You're the keeper of 
the Grail," she said.
     The Man With No Name chuckled. "I guess I am."
     He understood it all now.
     He had been created by the Ancients, a locked door to protect 
the Holy Grail until its rightful owner, the Messiah of Light, could 
appear and claim it. Only now it was a matter of discerning how 
Serenity could make the Grail manifest itself. And whether or not she 
could overcome the Dark Messiah when the Grail at last appeared.


     Out from the fires and ashes of the Silence Glaive Surprise 
erupted the Aroth demon. It wasn't even slowed down, barrelling 
through the heart of the attack and oblivious to the damage its body 
had taken. Mistress 9 revelled in the fact that she could see places 
where Aroth's strange armoured skin was burned and chipped.
     That exhilaration could only last for a few seconds though.
     The Dark Messiah and the Aroth demon collided once more, 
throwing their magik and weapons at each other with ferocious energy. 
A graze across her cheek drew blood, and Mistress 9 retaliated in rage 
by unleashing a second Silence Glaive Surprise.
     This time the deadly explosion caught Aroth and sent it tumbling 
into the side of Vlatmere castle. Its winged demonic form smashed into 
one of the lesser towers, pulverizing the reinforced wall. The tower 
shook with a gaping hole now in it. Yet before the dust could even 
settle, Aroth was back in flight.
     It howled for retribution.
     Mistress 9 watched Aroth once again draw nearer to her. "Now 
it's getting interesting."
     She silently willed her iron dragon to move through the air, 
racing towards Aroth with the same speed the demon was using. Their 
blades connected in a flash of magik and light that made it appear as 
if lightning had laid claim to the cloudless evening. The two pulled 
back and then lunged at each other again.
     The iron dragon's body twisted and writhed in the air, moving 
with a speed and agility that made it appear as if it were an 
extension of the Dark Messiah's own body. She was never jostled upon 
its head, never thrown or buffeted around. The dragon kept her steady 
as she repeatedly met with the winged fury of Aroth.
     Mistress 9 leapt off the iron dragon's head, falling towards the 
earth with a momentum meant to have the Silence Glaive cleave Aroth in 
half. Aroth's wings flapped once as it soared up to meet her. Their 
weapons connected in an explosion of sparks.
     For one brief second, their force was equal enough to have them 
hovering there. And then Aroth flung out its other arm and swatted 
Mistress 9 aside. She twisted her body with fluid perfection despite 
having been struck on the side of her face. The iron dragon was 
abruptly beneath her, letting the Dark Messiah land back upon its 
head.
     Aroth charged again.
     But the demon no longer went after Mistress 9.
     With an unexpected corkscrew, Aroth dropped beneath the iron 
dragon's head and flew past the Dark Messiah's perch. All too quickly 
Mistress 9 saw what Aroth intended to do.
     "Pull away!" she called to her mechanical beast.
     The iron dragon recoiled, swinging its head away from Aroth. Yet 
Aroth had already moved. With an unearthly bellow the demon flung 
forth its arms and buried the twin-pronged Excalibur blades deep 
within the dragon's one eye. Blood thick and murky like oil spewed 
forth in a geyser, gushing past the demon as it pushed in further and 
became lost within the dragon's eye. The eyelid frantically swung 
closed but was too late.
     The iron dragon was screaming in agony, thrashing madly as its 
jaws blazed white hot light that caught fire and burst into flame. An 
inferno rushed into the battlefields below, fire washing across the 
humans and youma in a dancing scarlet flood.
     Mistress 9 shrieked in outrage as she frantically leapt off from 
the iron dragon's head, trying not to get bucked off from its maddened 
convulsions. Silently she hovered in the air and watched her metallic 
steed spiral downwards, leaving a trail of fire and smoke in the 
darkened skies behind it.
     The dragon was on a collision course with Vlatmere castle.
     Aroth didn't even seem to care.
     Mistress 9 didn't really care either, for that matter. Yet this 
new incarnation of the Aroth demon had given her too many wounds to 
lick, delivered too many kicks to her vengeful pride. A harsh reminder 
that she had not been brought to the Solis System for fun. She had not 
been given this wondrously powerful host container simply to play 
games.
     Her mission was recalled and renewed.
     She would bring her master, Pharaoh 90, to Earth.
     But first she had to wipe out this opposition to her objective.
     The Dark Messiah ran one of her palms along the cool, metal 
surface of the blade. Watching as the iron dragon plummeted even 
further. And then suddenly becoming aware of yet another magik in the 
castle. Mistress 9 couldn't explain how, but she knew that what she 
sensed was the Grail.
     "Now," she stated coldly. "we end this."
     She would bring Pharaoh 90 here tonight.


     Merlin paused only for a heartbeat as he cut down rows upon rows 
of creatures not meant to exist on this planet. Amidst the black muck 
and gore strewn across the battlefield, he could see the corpses of 
Vlatmere soldier and former youma alike.
     All wars were bloodbaths.
     This was no exception.
     But right now, this bloodbath was the only thing standing 
between Earth and total, global annihilation. Because of that Merlin 
showed no mercy or relenting. His powers might only have been at half 
their normal capacity, his body still drained from having exerted so 
much magik only days before in creating Illusion for Helios. But the 
last Ancient left alive refused to die without having sacrificed every 
last essence of his mind, body and soul.
     For the moment, death could wait.
     With a shout Merlin whirled, the motion causing his black hair 
to flutter in his face, and then unleashed a sphere of golden light 
from his outstretched palm. A hideous demon-worm found its upper torso 
blown apart, tattered shreds raining down. The small garrison of 
Vlatmere soldiers it had been trying to devour gave a short victory 
whoop before advancing on their next target.
     Another explosion sounded over their heads, the skies turning 
violet and casting shadows upon the ground below. Merlin raised his 
head, and saw the Dark Messiah's iron dragon continue its celestial 
rampage with Magellan.
     Or was it even Magellan anymore?
     With a grim expression, Merlin tried not to think about it. If 
Aroth had managed to be reborn, with Magellan as its newest unwitting 
host, then maybe that raw power would be enough to keep Mistress 9 at 
bay. He'd only have to worry about Magellan afterwards; right now his 
priorities laid with the soldiers, who were proving themselves to be 
more heroic than he could have ever imagined.
     Merlin found a tinge of pride making him smile. There were still 
heroes in the world, even after Camelot had fallen. But would their 
valour be enough? As he scanned the battlefield, Merlin realized it 
would indeed not be enough--not out here, at least. He closes his 
eyes, letting his voice project itself though his mouth remained 
sealed. Every last soldier fighting for Vlatmere heard his call in 
their minds, and quickly mobilized in reply. 
     'Fall back to the castle walls, and re-establish our line of 
defense there. I'll cover your retreat.'
     Now there was no holding back. The short, controlled bursts 
Merlin had exercised to keep his magik going as long as possible were 
no more. With an enraged shout Merlin summoned all the magik he could 
gather. Lightning made itself manifest, snaking around his form with a 
caressingly destructive touch.
     None of the soldiers looked back as they turned to run, some 
still fending off enormous demonic monstrosities.
     Merlin's eyes narrowed.
     And then the magik within himself detonated, radiating out in a 
shockwave resembling a ghostly white cloud of pure, electric energy. 
The cloud pulsed and surged, seeking out any demonic entity in its 
path before dashing the creatures to pieces. Swaths cut through the 
ranks of the Shadow Armies, wiping out a quarter of their ranks. Black 
ooze spurted and gushed all around him, Vlatmere's soldiers cheering 
as they watched their attackers abruptly hesitate and then pull back 
to escape Merlin's cloud.
     The attack had probably given the soldiers a good forty second 
headstart on retreating to the safety of the castle walls. Merlin 
hoped it would be enough. The cloud pulsed one last time, only 
knocking demons aside instead of destroying them, and then fizzled 
out.
     The Ancient collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed and exhausted. 
"Took more out me than I expected," he muttered. At this rate he'd be 
rendered useless if he tried another epic attack like that again.
     Suddenly another fireball rocked the skies.
     Merlin looked up in horror as he witnessed the iron dragon 
unleashing a wounded bellow before plummeting from the skies. And 
crashing right into the heart of Vlatmere Castle.
     It appeared Magellan had just become his top priority.


     The Senshi standing guard in the rose garden momentarily forgot 
about the war raging beyond the blossom-covered walls. All of them--
Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto--were staring at the Man With No Name 
in unbridled shock.
     "You?" Venus asked. The fact that the others were reacting just 
as she was, was the only reason she didn't immediately suspect that 
this was something the Outers had kept a secret from her.
     "You're the keeper of the Grail?!" Uranus exclaimed.
     Neptune wasn't as animated in her reaction, but she was still 
scowling at the Man With No Name. Her tone of voice was scolding, 
chiding, showing her displeasure with him. "You've been with us for 
days on end. Why didn't you tell us then?"
     The Man With No Name shrugged. "I only just discovered this 
myself. However, I'm the least of your concerns. And you are the least 
of mine."
     The Senshi exchanged confused glances with each other.
     He didn't give a direct response. "Ne, Haruka," he remarked 
casually. "You might want to take about three steps to your left right 
about now."
     Instead of heeding his instructions, Sailor Uranus started 
walking forward towards him. "What are you talking about?" she 
snapped.
     An instant later, the immense form the iron dragon smashed 
through the walls, spilling brick and burning vines as it crashed and 
tumbled into the rose garden. Uranus threw herself out of the way as 
coils upon coils of the dragon's metalloid body slammed down onto the 
place she had been standing moments ago. Everyone madly outran the 
downpour of dust and debris, the iron dragon bursting into flame 
moments after it rolled over one more time and then ceased moving 
completely.
     The Man With No Name put his back to the explosion, using 
himself as a shield for Serenity. She clung to him like a frightened 
child, terrified of what was happening.
     The other Senshi slowly picked themselves up from where they had 
thrown themselves to stay safe. More than anything they were decorated 
in dust and small cuts.
     Neptune studied the fallen dragon. It reeked of the Dark 
Messiah's powers; that was not in doubt. But the iron beast's fatal 
entrance left her worried. "What could have done this?" she asked 
quietly.
     Fires crackled and licked the body of the fallen metal beast. 
Cast an eerie shadowplay upon the walls, bathing everything in dancing 
hues of red, orange and yellow. Shone off the surface of Aroth's form 
as it stalked out from the chest of the deceased dragon.
     Its body armour was damaged even more, blood seeping out from 
numerous wounds. Yet Aroth noticed none of its injuries. It moved out 
from the flames, surveying its new surroundings.
     Venus' eyes widened as she saw the familiar shape the demon had 
taken. "Magellan!" she cried out happily as she raced towards Aroth.
     It was her mistake in thinking that the Aroth Armour had changed 
to further protect him. A mistake she only realized when Aroth turned 
its demon head and stared down at the blonde girl before it. Venus 
skidded to a halt, staring up in horror when she saw Aroth's eyes, and 
no longer saw Magellan there.
     "Venus, no!" Neptune exclaimed. "Don't get near--"
     Her shout held no further use as Aroth suddenly swatted Venus 
aside, sending her flying across the garden like a rag doll. Her body 
crashed through one of the benches before tumbling across the ground. 
Venus laid there amidst the roses, her skin cut and fuku torn from the 
thorns. Shining blue eyes almost closed completely, her breath coming 
in laboured gasps.
     "Magellan...." she rasped weakly.
     Aroth paid not her words nor her voice any attention. Instead it 
turned on the Outer Senshi.
     "What the hell is that?" Uranus said, taking a cautionary step 
back.
     Aroth snarled.
     "That," stated the Dark Messiah. "was once Magellan Endymion."
     Everyone, even Aroth, turned as Mistress 9 stepped through the 
gaping hole left in the garden's walls. Her footsteps were slow and 
sure as she made her way over the broken and torn shrapnel of her iron 
dragon. Violet eyes were alight in malevolent glee as she beheld the 
carnage surrounding her.
     The Man With No Name placed an arm in front of Serenity. "Get 
behind me, Serenity. Now."
     Mistress 9 kept her distance from Aroth, her own body showing a 
few stray wounds where the demon had managed to injure her. But now 
she was sizing up the others in the room, probing the magik of the 
three Outer Senshi. "To think he could control the armour. Now it's 
turned him into this: the Aroth demon."
     Her eyes fell to Sailor Pluto. There was a glimpse of confusion 
and recognition. "Have we met before?"
     Pluto shook her head, her grip around her Timestaff tightening. 
She could still vividly remember watching Mistress 9 decapitate Khai, 
Hotaru's surrogate father, back on Aurora. Yet her heart was racing 
not from fear, but from a glimmer of hope. A part of the Dark Messiah 
could still be confronted with Hotaru's memories. Her daughter might 
yet be alive, lying dormant and imprisoned somewhere in the daimon's 
new form.
     Mistress 9 turned to the Man With No Name, and glared. "You, 
though, I remember."
     The Man With No Name stood between the two Messiahs, a vicious 
smile on his face. "I wish I could say it was good to see you again." 
He let his eyes crackle with enchanted lightning. "Care to resume 
where we left off?"
     Uranus shot him a dark look, asking 'what about us?' through her 
eyes. The answer came when Aroth roared again and charged for the Dark 
Messiah. Mistress 9 whirled, swinging her Silence Glaive to meet with 
Aroth's twin-pronged blade. Sparks flew once more, but now she began 
exerting her full force.
     Mistress 9 shoved hard with her weapon, causing Aroth to slide 
backwards across the cobblestone paths of the rose garden. This only 
served to infuriate the demon even further. In blind rage it lashed 
out at the nearest victim--namely, the Outer Senshi. Uranus and Pluto 
hastily flung themselves out of the way as the double blades of 
Excalibur sliced through one of the trellises, dashing it to slivers.
     "Any ideas?" Pluto asked, forced to keep running as Aroth 
selected her as its newest target.
     The demon's rage had grown so much that it lacked focus.
     It was seeing all of them as threats worth destroying. 
     Even if they were the very ones Magellan had been trying to 
initially protect.
     Sailor Neptune answered with her own battle cry: "Deep 
Submerge!"
     Aroth was sent careening sideways as the tidal wave crashed into 
it. The burst of Neptuni magik tried to grind Aroth against the wall, 
gouging an enormous crater shaped like the demon into the stone. 
Seconds later the bubble burst, letting water explode and race past 
everyone's feet.
     With a howl that shook the entire garden, Aroth whirled and let 
its wings unfurl. Eyes the solid colour of blood, without any visible 
iris or pupil, saw the three Outer Soldiers. The demon splayed its 
fingers, readied its claws.
     After that attack, Aroth definitely saw them as enemies.
     "We have no choice," Uranus grudgingly said. "It's either him or 
us."
     Pluto swore as she watched Aroth sway its body from side to 
side. "It's come between us and Serenity. One of us has to get over 
there and help protect her."
     With a slow, ceremonial gesture, Uranus drew out her sheathed 
Talisman. "He won't feel a thing," she said quietly. "I'll make it 
quick and painless for him."
     They all knew Magellan would expect this act from them.
     He valued the Messiah of Light as much as they did.
     But one still objected.
     "Please," Venus pleaded, struggling to rise. Her arms were 
trembling fiercely, blood running down the side of her face. "He's 
still Magellan. We have to reach him...."
     Uranus unsheathed her Space Sword, letting the brilliant blade 
of her Talisman parry one of Aroth's attacks. Bizarre if not 
terrifying electrical arcs travelled across the lengths of Excalibur 
and the Space Sword, both intense magiks resonating and reacting to 
each other. The arcs crackled and ran down Aroth and Haruka's bodies, 
snaking along the ground and climbing up nearby pillars and trellises.
     "We don't have any other choice!" Uranus snapped, fighting to 
keep Aroth's twin blades at bay. 
     Pluto unleashed a Dead Scream and managed to push back against 
Aroth. The demon growled as it tore through the attack--but not 
without suffering damage of its own. Neptune tried to race past Aroth 
during the attack; it was their best chance to have another soldier 
fighting against Mistress 9.
     Yet Aroth abruptly lunged, carving holes into the ground with 
its claws. It tore apart the floor before Neptune's feet, causing her 
to come to an abrupt halt. And then the demon tried to tear apart 
Neptune's face.
     Uranus was upon Aroth instantly.
     The demon wasn't moving as fast as before, but was still 
incredibly lethal. And Aroth would not stop fighting until the person 
who had become the demon was dead.
     "Please," Venus said again. "Save him."
     "If we try to save Magellan, this demon will have more chances 
to kill us!" Pluto stated. "And we can't afford to spend any more time 
on him."
     Venus shook her head, sweat and blood-soaked blonde hair draped 
over her face. "There has to be another way," she whispered. She could 
taste the blood in her mouth. "Magellan, I won't lose you. I can't."


     Mistress 9 laughed as she walked away from Aroth's rampage, 
leaving the demon's bloodthirst to the Outer Senshi. Those four young 
women...such a strange power radiating out from each of them. It 
echoed of a curious magik she had sensed in possessing the body of 
this raven-haired child. Yet the child's magik was still dormant and 
undiscovered.
     It made for the perfect, near-unlimited energy source.
     Now it was time to expand her power.
     The Dark Messiah stepped towards the Man With No Name. "There's 
no use hiding it," she stated sharply. "I can sense the Grail here. 
Where is it?" Violet eyes widened in mild astonishment when she probed 
further, and found the answer. "You?"
     "Surprise," the Man With No Name said. "But sadly, you don't 
have the key to open the lock, Mistress Nine. The grail will be locked 
away forever; its secrets and powers will die with me."
     He glanced back at Serenity, who was shivering behind him, the 
ends of his black overcoat hanging at her feet. "Serenity, there's a 
hidden door to your left, beneath that trellis," he muttered. "Go 
through it. Don't look back."
     She tried to protest, scared to leave him behind. Scared for 
being left alone and on the run. Scared that he might become like 
Kakkyou. "But--"
     "Do it."
     The Man With No Name's voice left no room for protest.
     Mutely, her crystal blue eyes wide and terrified, Serenity 
willed herself to put her back to Mistress 9. She began to run, 
praying that there would be no sudden lurch in her body to signal her 
death.
     As she ran her magik left trails and wisps in the air behind 
her. Only those familiar with magik could have seen or sensed it. Now 
that the Man With No Name's powers were not shielding her, Mistress 9 
discovered Serenity's magik.
     Violet eyes widened, and for a moment Mistress 9 forgot about 
the Man With No Name. Her eyes followed Serenity, her mouth open in 
epiphany.
     "Messiah...."
     She instantly lunged for Serenity, letting loose with a battle 
cry as she swung down her glaive. And found the Man With No Name 
shooting out from the side of her vision, smashing a fist into her 
face. Mistress 9 toppled over sideways, her Silence Glaive slipping 
from her hands. The arcing blade nearly took off Serenity's arm before 
it clattered onto the floor.
     "You'll have to go through me first," the Man With No Name 
stated coldly, shaking his hand out. That had hurt more than expected. 
"And unless you don't want the Grail, you might want to refrain from 
literally going through me."
     Mistress 9 snarled as she rose to her feet, tresses of ravendark 
hair spilling out past her face. Stretching out one of her arms, she 
let the glaive jump back into her awaiting hand. Her eyes showed the 
pure venom she held towards him--but at the same time she was trying 
to find a way around his logic.
     A loophole to let her kill him and still get the Grail.
     The Man With No Name suddenly wondered if she'd call the bluff. 
He knew he was the gatekeeper and the key to the Grail. But he hadn't 
the slightest idea how to go about doing summoning the item. Killing 
him might be a way to do it. But that seemed impossible; if he was 
accessible to both yet meant for the Messiah of Light, there had to be 
another way.
     One only Serenity would intuitively know about.
     For the time being, he'd have to buy her time to let her magik 
awaken.
     Abruptly the Man With No Name straightened, and cast a glance 
over his right shoulder. The Dark Messiah also sensed what he did, and 
looked in that direction. "Good of you to finally join us, Merlin," 
the Man With No Name remarked. "What kept you?"
     "Demons are so inconsiderate about my timetables," Merlin glibly 
replied as he appeared from the shadows themselves, his once 
aristocratic robes now stained black from the blood of Mistress 9's 
unholy creatures. Patches and randomly spattered drops of demon blood 
covered his face and head. His hair remained long and a deep jet 
black, his youthful form revealing his Ancient status.
     "How are we doing?" The Man With No Name was acting casual 
despite their current situation.
     Merlin couldn't help but smirk and follow in suit. "Oh, the 
usual: the front lines have collapsed, we've regrouped at the castle 
walls, all hell's broken loose."
     "That good?"
     Mistress 9's eyes narrowed. She'd had enough time wasted on the 
likes of them. Regardless of their statures, she'd found a new target. 
That blonde girl...she was a Messiah too. A soul with incredible 
magik--a magik that could be stolen. 
     With the Messiah of Light out of the way, that left her alone to 
claim the Grail. Let the Ancient and that nameless freak cast their 
pithy spells.
     She gave no warning when she attacked.
     Merlin and the Man With No Name were ready.
     They defended and counter-attacked as one, dodging the savage 
thrusts of her Silence Glaive while trying to land punches, kicks and 
magik bursts of their own. Merlin flung forth his palms, unleashing an 
explosive sphere of magik. Effortlessly Mistress 9 turned and swatted 
it away.
     The Man With No Name raced forward, aiming for her side with the 
heel of his boot. Movements were accelerated by magik. But the Dark 
Messiah swung her glaive around stopped his foot cold with the broad 
side of her blade. Suddenly she went on the offensive, her weapon 
becoming but a blur of metal and magik.
     Barely able to keep up, the Man With No Name was forced to 
retreat one step at a time. He ducked a thrust meant to take off his 
head, then deflected an arc with the flat of his hand. The push gave 
him a heartbeat where there was nothing between him and Mistress 9.
     The Man With No Name jumped, hanging in the air just above her 
head as magik defied gravity. As his body departed, it paved a clear 
shot for Merlin. The Ancient mage unleashed another orb of destructive 
energy, sending it careening towards Mistress 9.
     The Dark Messiah's eyes widened.
     And the orb came to an instant standstill, hovering before her 
in the air. The seeming effort she was putting into holding the sphere 
of magik at bay melted from her face. With an evil smile she looked at 
the two and giggled.
     "Is it just me, or has she gotten stronger?" Merlin hissed 
through his clenched teeth, trying to catch his breath. At the rate 
this was going, he'd use up all his strength in a few more minutes.
     The Man With No Name's body slowly descended back to the ground. 
"She doesn't just sample magik from her enemies, Merlin. She absorbs a 
part of it, making her more powerful. The last magik that became a 
part of her was from Elfhame. It's heightened her abilities now."
     "Shit." That word coming from the usually composed Ancient 
sounded almost contrary to his entire nature. But Merlin was right: 
they were in trouble. "I'm open to some suggestions."
     "You can duck," the Man With No Name said, abruptly dropping to 
the ground.
     Merlin's eyes immediately went to scanning the garden, his mind 
registering too late what was being said. He only saw Sailor Uranus' 
form careening towards him a split second before the two collided, 
both knocked painfully into another trellis. Roses and black rose 
petals scattered into the air.
     The Man With No Name got back up, shaking his head at Merlin. 
Stormfed eyes focused their attention back on the Dark Messiah. 
     He charged.
     She patiently waited, her glaive lowered.
     Without mercy he threw forward a clenched fist meant to go 
through her face. Mistress 9 caught it with one of her hands, holding 
the Man With No Name at bay. His entire arm was shaking as he tried to 
force his way through. The Dark Messiah merely smiled.
     And then suddenly his fist became stone, granite veins creeping 
along his forearm and spreading the hideous enchantment. Eyes of 
lightening widened and he tried to pull back. But not before Mistress 
9 wrenched his hand, tearing it apart from the rest of his body just 
below the wrist.
     With a cry of agony the Man With No Name stumbled backwards, 
gripping his forearm just beneath the stump. The granite veins ceased to exist--and 
so did his severed hand. The Dark Messiah crushed it to dust in her fist, letting 
the grey powder be scattered in the winds.
     "Bitch," he growled. "That was uncalled for."
     "I know," she answered with a wicked grin. "But it was fun."
     The two enemies glared at each other.
     Aroth roared and came between them.
     A Dead Scream followed after the demon.
     Out from the Dead Scream emerged Mistress 9, driving the curved 
blade of her Silence Glaive into the Man With No Name's thigh. He 
screamed as the weapon sank into his flesh, its tip punching through 
the back of his leg. He collapsed amidst rivers of blood flowing down 
his thigh, his hands desperately trying to stop her from pushing it in 
even deeper.
     Mistress 9 savagely pulled the glaive out, a crimson cloud 
spraying from his leg in its wake. 
     He grunted and bit down on the pain, clutching at the gaping 
wound. Then he became aware of the Silence Glaive now poised over his 
head for the final blow. The Man With No Name stared up at her, 
stormfed eyes showing no fear. No anger. No emotion even now when his 
life was about to end.
     At least now the Grail would no longer be in danger.
     "So much for guardian angels," the Dark Messiah stated. Her 
muscles tensed as she prepared to finish the hellish task.
     Abruptly the distant sound of windchimes echoed across the 
garden. Ghostly, beautiful music being carried over and through the 
sounds of war waged around them. It was the sound of a forest. The 
song of Elfhame.
     A melody whose source came from a pale, blonde girl.
     Mistress 9 froze, her glaive a few inches from cleaving the Man 
With No Name's head in half. "Serenity," she whispered, looking down 
the corridor where Serenity had fled.
     Half-enchanted. Half-possessed.
     Violet eyes widened in maniacal glee.
     In that moment she almost resembled the slain Uranian soldier, 
Cait Sith.
     Suddenly she was gone, her shadows moving down the corridor 
after Serenity. The Man With No Name glanced around the rose garden, 
and much to his surprise found himself still alive. The Outers were 
still trying to fight their way past the Aroth demon. Now it seemed 
Merlin had gotten caught up in the fracas.
     That meant Serenity was alone.
     Unprotected.
     The Man With No Name silently pulled himself to his feet, and 
then began to limp down the corridor. If he had to protect Serenity 
alone, then it would be alone. But he would protect her.
     He wanted to see her magik awaken.
     He wanted to hear her speak her name.
     To speak his name.
     To summon the Grail.


     Serenity was running.
     Behind her followed a wave of dread and death, reaching out with 
icy tendrils to run down her spine and soak her dress with blood. She 
could sense the power radiating from that woman, Mistress 9--the 
spectre haunting her dreams and now her very own shadow.
     The fact that she didn't know where she was going was but a 
forgotten one lost in the back of her mind, pushed away by the driving 
emotions of fear, sadness, and unexpected adrenaline as the 
metamorphosis took hold within her.
     Awaken....
     She had never been anywhere in Vlatmere Castle save for the rose 
garden. She could recall nothing of its interior mazes of corridors 
and chambers; only the delicate fragrance of roses that had hung in 
the air of the garden. Now she ran aimlessly through this labyrinth of 
beautiful architecture and art she could only dare to even glimpse, 
trying to stay one step ahead of the cold chill flowing through the 
air behind her.
     Outside, beyond the walls of this hallway, came the dull howls 
and sounds of battle. Serenity momentarily closed her eyes, praying 
that the soldiers outside were fighting valiantly. That they would not 
all die like Kakkyou and the Elven race had perished. She wanted no 
more death, no more fear, no more sadness.
     These Messiah Wars had brought her nothing but pain.
     Pain she felt herself drowning in once more, that cut her deep 
into the soul and left her amidst a desert of dried tears. Serenity 
clutched at the teardrop pendant around her neck, silently crying out 
for Kakkyou to help her.
     Awaken....
     Whenever he had been around, there had been no reason to stay 
afraid. Now he was gone and everything was falling apart. She was 
running, and a creature haunting her dreams was now chasing her in the 
waking hours.
     Suddenly she collided with someone, and as she screamed in 
surprise and tried to struggle, warm caring hands came to rest upon 
her shoulders. Serenity opened her eyes, listened to the concerned 
voice ask her, "Are you all right?"
     "I remember you," she whispered in recognition.
     Katherine Endymion's eyes shone as she looked down at the blonde 
girl. "And I you, Serenity. It's good to see you're awake." Her eyes 
then scanned the depths of the corridor behind Serenity. "What are you 
running from?"
     The Queen Mother had felt the rumblings and upheavals of the 
castle. She knew well enough of the war raging around these very 
walls. Now her concern laid in wondering if the war had now spilled 
through the walls and into these treasured sanctuaries.
     "Please," Serenity said, her mind racing faster than her gasps 
for air. "We can't stay. She's coming. He told me to run. I can't stop 
her, I don't think he could either. Something has to awaken first."
     Katherine placed a fingertip on Serenity's lips, quieting her. 
Her eyes remained locked on the shadows far behind Serenity. "She's 
already here."
     A cascade of silken garments flowed around Serenity as Katherine 
swooped out in front of the blonde girl. Just as the Man With No Name 
had done, she was now acting as a guardian for the Messiah of Light.
     There was unnatural silence awaiting them. But Serenity could 
hear the darkest of magiks echo with each footstep. Someone was 
approaching. All too quickly, out from the shadows of the far end of 
the corridor, appeared the Dark Messiah. Most of her body remained 
cloaked in shadow, pale skin playing with what little rays of light 
touched her form. Violet eyes penetrated the darkness, piercing the 
black with their eerie glow.
     Unhurried, she moved down the hall.
     The lowered blade of the Silence Glaive dripped blood onto the 
carpet.
     Katherine tensed, her eyes narrowing. "Mistress Nine, I 
presume."
     The Dark Messiah looked questioningly at Katherine, but said 
nothing. Violet eyes did all the probing, led the silent 
interrogation.
     "My son, you already know," Katherine stated, not afraid of the 
words she spoke. Yet Serenity could feel the Queen Mother's body 
trembling in fear. 
     No matter how brave any human soul was, all feared losing their 
lives. Only those who had lost the ability to feel in sense and 
emotion knew no fear of losing their life, and only because they had 
nothing left to live for.
     Mistress 9's lips curled into a smile. "Ah...Aroth's mommy."
     That name and title made Katherine scowl. Aroth was only distant 
rumour and nightmarish myth to her. She knew nothing about the armour 
worn by Magellan, nothing about the demon who'd forgotten it was once 
a living, breathing and gentle human.
     "It would do me great pleasure to kill you," the Dark Messiah 
said. "But alas, he's no longer human; the pain he'd suffer of seeing 
your corpse is no more."
     Katherine's body began tremble even more, not out of fear but 
out of anger. Making her furious, willing to sacrifice her life if it 
meant even the remotest chance to lash out and strike down Mistress 9.
     Serenity looked from one woman to another.
     The hatred and pain were escalating with the tension.
     And now she could feel not only her own, but theirs as well. 
Katherine was desperately trying to hold on to the hope that her son 
was alive, that Magellan would marry Myung and let her play with a 
grandchild. And Mistress 9...Serenity suddenly heard a tiny, subdued 
voice cry out: "Please, free me."
     The young raven-haired girl from her dreams.
     Everyone was suffering from this war.
     All she wanted was an end.
     AWAKEN.
     Serenity's heart nearly imploded with an intense beat, an 
electric charge jolting her entire body. Something was stirring--and 
she knew it. She had felt this once before.
     A reptilian demon.
     GlenHawke.
     Kakkyou and Halefyne.
     Maya.
     Serenity no longer held onto Katherine, her form straightening 
out as the surge of magik began to move throughout her body. She was 
beginning to gain an understanding. To see with eyes beyond a mere 
crystal blue colour. A crescent moon began to flicker into golden 
existence upon her forehead.
     Mistress 9's violet eyes snapped to attention, staring right at 
Serenity. "So at last you've understood and accepted your power." She 
licked her lips. "And now I can steal it."
     And then a hand soaked in scarlet emerged from the darkness 
behind the Dark Messiah, firmly grasping the pole of the glaive right 
above Mistress 9's hand. Maelstrom orbs crackled with momentary 
lightning as the Man With No Name's face appeared out of the shadows, 
his lips so close to her ear.
     "Have you forgotten about me already?" he whispered with cruel 
compassion. "Even now as my blood decorates your lips?"
     Mistress 9 showed no change of expression. Her smile remained as 
malevolent as always. "Then I shall see to it your blood also 
decorates this hall."


     Uranus blinked as she painfully got up from the debris of a 
garden trellis, wincing as she felt damaged nerve impulses shoot up 
the entire length of her back.
     "That wasn't so bad," she muttered, having expected at least a 
broken arm from the crash. Aroth had moved too fast for her that time.
     "Speak for yourself," Merlin rasped, coughing bitterly as he 
pulled himself out from beneath wooden shrapnel. 
     Uranus helped him to his feet, both looking away from the 
intense of light of Pluto's Dead Scream. Even that intense attack 
seemed to have no effect on Aroth; the demon simply dodged the attack 
or else emerged from the blast only a little more battered than 
before. At this rate it would take a hundred Dead Screams alone to 
finally subdue Aroth.
     Merlin looked around the broken ruins of the rose garden, worry 
appearing on his face. "What happened to Mistress Nine and the 
nameless one?"
     Aroth howled again, trying to slice Sailor Neptune apart.
     "Let's hope they're trying to do each other in," Uranus stated 
grimly. "And that he's having better luck than we are."
     The two rejoined the melee.
     Venus was trying to get close enough to Aroth to find where 
Magellan was buried deep within. But the demon was too much an 
infuriated being, thrashing and jumping amidst a flurry of attacks. 
She would barely stumble two steps forward before getting sent another 
two steps back as magik continued to pound and decimate the once 
beautiful rose garden.
     An archway over their heads collapsed, Merlin teleporting 
himself out of the way as immense stone blocks tumbled down and 
shattered on the ground. He reappeared in behind Aroth, striking out 
with his hand. The touch of his skin against the demon's armoured body 
was like lightning, an intense burst of exploding from Merlin's palm.
     Aroth bellowed and convulsed, but lashed out with its tail, 
knocking Merlin across the garden. It then lunged for Neptune, who 
tried to slow Aroth down with a Deep Submerge. Aroth clawed its way 
through the surge of saltwater, punching through right in front of a 
stunned Sailor Pluto.
     She was nearly ripped apart by Aroth's claws, suffering only 
minor cuts across her back as she frantically threw herself aside. 
Aroth gave chase--and was suddenly bodychecked by Uranus. With all the 
strength she could gather, the blonde Outer Senshi forced the demon 
sideways and into the nearest stone column. Aroth was throwing its 
arms and legs and wings in every direction as she pinned it against 
the pillar.
     "Pluto!" she shouted.
     Sailor Pluto was already turning around, the garnet orb of her 
key-shaped staff aimed at Aroth. Her eyes closed for the brief instant 
it took her to whisper, "Dead Scream."
     From the other side of the garden, Merlin unleashed his own gale 
force of magik, letting it smash through the pillar from the opposite 
side, colliding in the middle with Pluto's Dead Scream. Uranus dove 
out of the way at the last possible second, one of her arms singed 
from the edge of the attacks.
     Caught in the middle, Aroth was crushed.
     A black silhouette lost in the frenzy of magiks, the demon 
vanished. It reappeared once the initial burst of light and raw power 
faded away. The broken remains of dirt and cobblestone littered the 
floor, burned and black rose petals still daring to try and float in 
the haunting winds.
     It seemed almost as if Aroth was gone.
     "M-Magellan?" Venus called out, her voice strained in fear.
     Yet Aroth had survived, and was lying there on its side in the 
centre of the debris. One of its immense wings was folded over most of 
its body, the wing now tattered and shredded, a gory shadow of what it 
had once been.
     "Aroth used his wings to shield himself from the worst of the 
attacks," Merlin stated.
     Uranus moved towards Aroth, the scabbard of her Space Sword 
tossed aside. "That still won't matter."
     The demon showed no signs of regaining consciousness as she drew 
closer. Its burning crimson eyes remained sealed, its chest rising and 
falling with uneven breaths.
     "Is it right doing this?" Neptune asked quietly.
     Uranus shook her head. "I can't think of another way." 
     Venus looked from the shining blade of the Talisman to the 
crumpled form of the beast who had once been her lover. "No...Haruka, 
please. Magellan's still in there!" She tried to move closer to Aroth, 
but tripped over the shrapnel lying on the ground. Her body gave off 
new sensations of pain, causing her to stifle a cry.
     Suddenly Merlin was at her side, helping her up and cradling her 
weakened form next to his. "Myung," he said quietly. "Every last 
person who ever wore that armour lost control and became Aroth. And 
the only way they were ever stopped from destroying everything was 
found in their death."
     Aroth stirred a little in sensing Uranus approach.
     One of its eyes groggily opened, blood trickling out of it like 
a scarlet tear. It saw her, but the demon did nothing in response.
     Uranus raised the Space Sword over her head, ready to plunge it 
through Aroth's chestpiece and into the demon's heart. "It ends here," 
she murmured, asking absolution for what she was about to do. But for 
as much as she wanted to see it, there was no trace of Magellan in 
Aroth's eyes.
     To protect the future, they would have to sacrifice him.
     Aroth was as much a threat to Serenity as the Dark Messiah.
     "NO!!" Venus shouted, breaking free from Merlin's a grip and 
stumbling forward.
     The distraction caused Uranus to hesitate for only a second. A 
second was all Aroth required, bringing up its arm and then ramming 
one of its blades into Uranus's ribcage. Uranus let out a strangled 
cry, her voice choked out of her throat in a tide of blood flowing 
over her lips and down her chin.
     Neptune screamed as she watched Aroth retract its blade from 
Uranus' body, shoving the now limp soldier aside. "Haruka! Haruka!!" 
     Merlin and Pluto were already racing towards Aroth, priming 
their own attacks. Neptune had forgotten about everything--the war, 
the demon--and was running to her lover's side. The next few moments 
seemed to pass by in a blur of eternity, slowed down by adrenaline.
     Aroth had found its second wind, and whipped out its tail, 
catching Pluto's legs. The end of the tail wrapped around her foot and 
then flung her through the air. The Outer Senshi was barely able to 
right her tumbling body before she crashed with her shoulder into the 
nearest wall.
     Venus' eyes were wide in horror as she watched Pluto fall to the 
ground.
     Merlin dodged the tail, and then was put in a stranglehold. 
Aroth's hand clamped around the Ancient's neck, hoisting Merlin off 
the ground and threatening to squeeze his head off like a champagne 
cork.
     "Merlin!" Venus screamed, tears flowing down her face. 
Everything was falling apart and she felt as if it were her fault. 
Uranus might be dead and now Merlin could join her. And all because 
she didn't want to see Aroth--and Magellan with it--die.
     "It's not going to be that easy with me," Merlin spat, his legs 
kicking furiously in the air. He clapped both his palms against 
Aroth's bulging forearm, and unleashed a surge of magik that burned 
both of them. Flesh sizzled as smoke rose, green sparks soaring into 
the air with the contact.
     Aroth howled and released Merlin, stumbling back as it gingerly 
gripped its wounded arm. 
     Amidst the lungfuls of air he gulped down, Merlin chanced in 
seeing the two Outers. Neptune was at her lover's side, trying to seal 
the wound but overwhelmed by all the blood that was staining Uranus' 
white fuku. Uranus' eyes were open, fading but tenacious life held 
there as she tried to caress Neptune's cheek.
     "You can't leave yet," Neptune pleaded with her. "Haruka, I love 
you. You can't leave me."
     The sound of Aroth' impending approach didn't faze Neptune. 
Still cradling Uranus, she turned her head and watched the towering 
demon stalk towards her. She would not run and leave Uranus behind. 
Just as they had lived together, loved together, so too would they die 
together.
     Venus forced herself to run towards Aroth as she saw the demon 
ready its twin blades, her disorientation causing her to stumble into 
the broken stump of a pillar. "Magellan, no!"
     Inhuman eyes of crimson widened upon hearing that name.
     Aroth turned around, frozen in surprise as it stared at her.
     It growled a response.
     "M-y...un..."
     And then Merlin was right behind Aroth, slapping his palms 
against Aroth's armoured skin once more. His hands continued to grip 
the demon's sides, no matter how much he was battered by the thrashing 
of Aroth's wings. Magik churned through his palms, delivering 
agonizing shocks into Aroth's body. Aroth was bellowing as it 
convulsed, blood starting to seep out from the corners of its mouth.
     Pluto's eyes flickered open as she returned to the world of the 
waking. Magenta orbs beheld the scene in front of her: Merlin was 
performing a suicidal attempt to destroy Aroth...and now Sailor Venus 
was limping closer and closer to the raging demon. A few more steps 
and she would be cut down by its wildly-swinging claws, and neither 
Aroth nor Magellan would know.
     "Shimatta," she whispered, slamming a fist onto the ground.
     She wouldn't be able to make it in time, not with the way her 
body was. They'd all die. Just like Khai and the rest of Aurora had 
died. Just as Camelot had fallen. As Kakkyou and Elfhame had perished. 
It was happening all over again, and she was helpless to stop it. 
     Helpless to do anything.
     Her fumbling hands came to rest upon the Timestaff.
     A stray shimmer reflected in the garnet orb caught Pluto's eye. 
For a crazy, unbelieving instant she thought she'd seen the Raithe 
staring out at her. And then his words suddenly returned to her.
     'The rules about guarding the gate are more guidelines. You 
won't actually be killed if you break them--so long as you have good 
cause to.'
     Pluto's eyes widened.
     There was a way to save the others--all of them.
     'There is no definitive and absolute law governing us should we 
break them. I myself have stopped time on more than one occasion--and 
yet, here I am alive.'
     Her fingers gripped the key-shaped staff tighter, and she prayed 
that what she was about to do would be considered one of those good 
causes. If not, it would be the last thing she ever did. She was about 
to break one of the rules. Pain screaming through every nerve and 
muscle in her arm, she lifted the garnet orb end off the ground, 
aiming it directly at Aroth.
     Magenta eyes closed.
     And she stopped time.


     The world ceased to move.
     Everything was still. 
     Time came to a grinding halt.
     Vlatmere Castle remained the same as it always had, yet the 
vibrant and natural colours were now just shades of grey. The faces of 
the soldiers fighting on the outer walls were ones etched in fear, 
anger, and tenacious determination. But they and the demon beasts they 
fought were now motionless. Spurts and clouds of blood were frozen in 
midair, attacking weapons and claws pausing with unnatural stillness.
     Movement stirred within the world, within the castle.
     And with it vibrant life and colour.
     Serenity stepped out from behind a grey and unmoving Katherine 
Endymion. The Man With No Name's long black coat was shrugged off her 
shoulders, falling to the floor in a crumpled, discarded heap. Crystal 
blue eyes opened, the magik gathering itself once more. The memories 
of Kakkyou's kisses were upon her lips as she felt her entire body on 
edge with a purifying light.
     A crescent moon burned brightly upon her forehead.
     Her dress, bearing the cuts and stains of the war in the rose 
garden, fluttered in a wind that could not have been present in such 
an immobile world. Starlights flickered around the edges of her dress, 
the simple design suddenly changing and growing to become flowing, 
long and snow white. The tresses of long blonde hair running down past 
her back went from blonde to purest silver.
     And then the elegant dress changed once more. 
     Reshaped itself, and became a sailor battle fuku.
     Serenity stared with piercing eyes down the corridor, where 
Mistress 9 and the Man With No Name watched with different reactions. 
Neither one had been affected by the stopping of time, both also 
possessing the raw magik to bypass the will of time's guardress.
     "Well well," the Man With No Name whispered with savage glee 
into Mistress 9's ear. "Look who's decided to join the Messiah Wars."
     Mistress 9 glared at Serenity with unbelieving defiance. There 
could be no mistaking the power flowing down this hall, moving past 
them, radiating out from the blonde girl now adorned in the uniform of 
the sailor soldier. "Then she'll die right after you," she hissed.
     Serenity slowly, majestically, began to walk towards them. Her 
movements were as controlled as her magik.
     She knew why the magik had named her Serenity.
     She knew what her destiny was.
     The Messiah of Light had fully awakened.
     Serenity stretched out an arm, beckoning to the Man With No 
Name. "My knight...come to me. It is time to end this war." Her gaze 
fell upon the Dark Messiah, and narrowed. "And purge this world of the 
evil poisoning it."
     The Man With No Name's lethal grip upon Mistress 9 loosened, and 
he drew back into the shadows surrounding her. His voice lingered as 
he prepared to reveal to Serenity the Grail. "Sayonara, Mistress 
Nine."
     With an enraged roar, the Dark Messiah lashed out and swung her 
Silence Glaive into the shadows behind her. The wickedly curved blade 
cut nothing, and only served to fuel her frenzy even further. Mistress 
9 whirled, her hatred focusing on a single soul.
     The Dark Messiah charged, moving through the stillness of the 
corridor towards Serenity with incredible speed. She arced the glaive 
out before her, letting the blade level itself with Serenity's chest. 
She would kill this Messiah of Light once and for all.
     If she couldn't have the Grail, no one would.
     The Man With No Name suddenly appeared in front of her, letting 
his body stand between the two Messiahs. Serenity pulled back in 
surprise with his appearance, all her focus having been on meeting 
Mistress 9's attack. She was not expecting this.
     And so she cried out when the Dark Messiah rammed her glaive 
straight through the Man With No Name, pushing him a step back from 
the sheer force of the impact. Blood sprayed out his front, running in 
thick crimson rivers down his black garments. A heartbeat later the 
tip of the blade punched through his back, sending out more blood as 
the shimmering metal was stained red.
     With a sickening sound of breaking bones and flesh, the glaive 
was pushed through even more. And then it stopped, quivering violently 
in front of Serenity. The Man With No Name's hands were gripping the 
pole just beneath the blade. Even though he was dying, even though he 
was already dead, he continued to hold the glaive at bay from pushing 
any further and impaling Serenity too. 
     Serenity's fingers touched blood on her cheek, feeling the warm, 
wet droplets that had spattered across her face. She stared in shock 
at the sacrifice he had made for her. 
     "No...."
     The Man With No Name managed to look over his shoulder, grinning 
despite the blood running down his cheek. "It's okay, Serenity. This 
was the way it was meant to end for me. At least I could let it end 
protecting you."
     Hearing those words drove the Dark Messiah even further into an 
insane rage. "Die!!" she exclaimed, jerking the glaive upwards. 
     The Man With No Name's eyes bulged out and he coughed up 
lungfuls of blood, letting it pour down his shirt.
     Mistress 9 wrenched the glaive to the side, flinging the Man 
With No Name along with it. The inertia caused him to slide off the 
blade, his back colliding with the wall. The Man With No Name dropped 
to the floor, lying there as still as time, a pool of blood gathering 
around him.
     "No!" Serenity screamed, first horrified then enraged. She 
turned her head to the Dark Messiah, her eyes flashing with a 
brilliant light. 
     The air around them rippled like waves of water, smashing into 
Mistress 9 and mercilessly catapulting her down the hallway. She 
crashed into the shadows, the Silence Glaive torn from her hands and 
tumbling across the floor.
     The Dark Messiah was quickly forgotten.
     Serenity raced to the Man With No Name and knelt down beside his 
bloodied form, quietly weeping for the life that was slowly fading 
away.
     In that moment of silence, the world returned to itself. The 
realm of grey shadows and frozen souls faded away. Soldiers shouted 
and fought and died. Demons howled and were torn apart. Katherine 
Endymion straightened up with a start, realizing that suddenly the 
battle had occurred without her knowing it.
     But that didn't matter to Serenity.
     The tears flowed as she cradled the Man With No Name's head in 
her hands, just as he had done when she had been lost after watching 
Elfhame burn.


     Time froze within the rose garden.
     Its ruins were now hauntingly silent.
     Michiru was still, clutching at her lover. Both Outer Senshi 
remained immobile, like beautiful and tragic statues awaiting the 
final workings of death. 
     Like them, Merlin was standing still--something Pluto found very 
strange. She'd thought an Ancient was one who held the power to move 
beyond the limitations of time, especially when time ceased by a will 
not of its own. Yet there Merlin was: frozen where he stood, his hands 
and arms twisted in a way around Aroth's waist that kept the demon 
imprisoned.
     Aroth howled and roared, kicked and twisting its body and 
flapping its tattered wings. Yet it could not free itself from the 
Ancient's hold, reinforced by time standing still. Crimson eyes 
narrowed and widened at random intervals, the demon spurned on to 
struggle by blind rage alone.
     Yet it was not the only soul let untouched by time.
     There was another Setsuna had granted the chance to walk when 
all else had stopped. "Come on," the guardress of time muttered, 
slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position. "It's up to you, 
Myung."
     Magenta eyes focused on the Senshi with long blonde hair; 
despite her wounds, Sailor Venus continued limping towards Aroth. That 
the world around her had ceased to move, faded to shades of grey, did 
not register in Venus' mind. Her blue eyes stayed with the only thing 
moving. With the only thing that mattered to her in those moments.
     "M-Magellan," she whispered, wincing as spasms of pain racked 
her entire body. It hurt to speak, hurt to breathe, but she could not 
remain silent as she stared at the demon her lover had become.
     Aroth stopped its maddened attempt to escape.
     The demon's immense and terrifying limbs slowly lowered to its 
sides. Its wings folded back as much as they would be allowed with 
Merlin in the way. The tip of Aroth's barbed tail twitched, curled and 
poised to strike if Venus got to close.
     Scarlet eyes the colour of blood watched her approach.
     They looked so much like Magellan's eyes.
     Yet there was still no trace of Magellan in them.
     "Magellan," she said, clutching her side. Crimson was starting 
to soak through her uniform, staining her gloves. "Hear me. Listen to 
my voice."
     The demon stared down at her. 
     A growl moved from its mouth, and turned into a snarl.
     It still did not recognize her. It only saw her as a nemesis. 
But a part of Aroth recognized her voice; Magellan still had to be 
there somewhere, buried deep in a darkness from which he could not 
struggle free.
     The sailor battle fuku danced in winds unseen, winds that could 
not have existed naturally within this frozen time. Venus willed the 
fuku to disappear, willed the magik that made her a soldier to 
retract.
     Before Aroth's animal eyes, she became Myung once more.
     Her long blonde hair draped down around her face, her elegant 
dress fluttering around her body. Its beautiful colours began to run 
with the colour of her blood. The added endurance and strength she 
possessed when actively a Senshi was suddenly gone, and by herself 
Myung was unable to stand. She collapsed to her knees before the 
towering form of Aroth.
     The demon watched her fall.
     Myung let out a squeak as she hit the floor, gently holding a 
hand over her wound. With trembling tear-filled eyes she looked up at 
the beast who had once been the man she wanted to stay with forever, 
desperate to have Magellan back.
     Aroth growled once more.
     One of its clawed hands reached forward, fingers drawing closer 
to Myung's face. She made no movement to try and escape. As much as 
she wanted Magellan back, she had no more energy to move even if she 
desired to.
     Sailor Pluto, now slowly making her way across the garden, held 
her breath as she watched. Bracing herself for what could be Myung's 
death if Aroth took control once more. If that happened, she had no 
choice: she'd kill Aroth herself.
     Yet death never came.
     Aroth's fingers carefully ran along Myung's cheek, and then the 
demon caressed the side of her face with its palm. A loving touch. A 
human touch. Myung stared up at the creature before her, daring to 
believe in what she saw.
     Its eyes were no longer crimson, but a familiar shade of ocean 
blue. 
     The raw, unseeing fury that had given rebirth to Aroth was 
rediscovering its purpose. A sliver of humanity remembered what 
Magellan had sworn to protect before three intense magiks had 
unwittingly conspired against him.
     Salvaging what strength she had, Myung fumbled with a chain 
around her neck and drew out from beneath her dress what looked like a 
small pendant. Yet for the two souls who understood the jewel and 
shared in its beauty, it was more than just a mere ornament or 
decoration.
     A silver engagement ring. 
     And held within it, a Star Sapphire.
     "Please," she whispered, on the verge of losing consciousness 
completely. "Magellan, don't leave me."
     She tried to say, "I love you" but was barely able to stay 
awake. Her eyes slowly closed, and Myung pitched forward.
     And with a roar, Aroth found itself banished back to the darkest 
recesses of its armour-bearer. The demon's plated body broke apart and 
crumbled like desert earth. Its face cracked and fell, arms being torn 
in half as from somewhere within the hellish exoskeleton Magellan 
fought to free himself. 
     He punched through the armoured flesh of Aroth, which was now 
lifeless and dead and brittle. His skin was covered with the black 
lifeforce that had driven the demon onwards to its violent insanity, 
dripping off his body and glistening in the moonbeams shining down 
through the broken ruins of the rose garden.
     Myung's name was upon his lips as he surged forth, cracking 
through Aroth's ribcage and finding himself mobile once more. Magellan 
pushed himself forward, falling to the floor. With one final act he 
drove his hands free of the black claws and hands of Aroth, and 
reached out to catch Myung.
     The two tumbled face-down in a tangled mass of black and white, 
the Aroth essence covering Magellan now staining Myung's face, hair 
and dress. But that still didn't matter to Magellan. She was still 
breathing, albeit in shallow gasps.
     And he was alive and breathing...and himself again.
     Magellan held her fragile body as tightly as he dared, one hand 
closing around the silver ring and its Star Sapphire. "Myung," he said 
quietly, not caring whether or not she could hear him. "I heard you. 
You brought me back. I won't leave you ever again...so don't leave me 
now. Stay alive. Stay with me."
     The shades of grey that painted everyone and everything else 
began to melt away, washed into brilliant colours. The sounds of the 
war all around them returned with its screams and roars of intensity.
     Time resumed its normal course and pace.
     Pluto sighed in deep relief as she leaned against her Timestaff 
for support. It was so frighteningly easy to stop time; no wonder the 
Raithe had warned her about doing it only when justifiably necessary. 
But the others were alive, and so was she. Her Onee-san, it seemed, 
considered this a worthwhile violation of the general rule.
     Merlin immediately released his grip from the hollow shell of 
Aroth, letting it crumble to dust and debris. He moved as if he had 
already known about Magellan's return to humanity, that he had been 
watching despite having been isolated and frozen with time.
     "So this is your power," he remarked, looking at Pluto.
     "And you allowed yourself to stand still along with time," she 
said quietly.
     Merlin nodded, staring at his palm. "My power's diminishing; if 
I remained mobile Aroth would have wrenched itself free of my hold and 
killed Myung. Letting my grip become as impervious as frozen time was 
the only chance we had in restoring Magellan."
     Pluto couldn't help but smile, exhausted but satisfied with the 
outcome of a dangerous choice she'd made. Maybe the Raithe had trained 
her well after all. "How did you know I was hoping to pin Aroth down 
long enough for Myung to bring back Magellan?"
     "I guessed at what you were doing, Setsuna," Merlin stated. "And 
I'm glad I guessed right."
     "That makes two of us," she agreed.
     The tired smile on Merlin's face abruptly faded, and he quickly 
looked around the ruins of the rose garden. "Serenity's gone. And so 
is Mistress Nine."
     "And the man without a name too," Pluto continued, a burst of 
fear flooding her system again. To have survived one battle, only to 
discover that the three key players in deciding the outcome of the 
entire Messiah Wars were off fighting on their own.
     Pluto tried to suppress the sinking feeling in her stomach.
     Both of them looked back at the others, searching for anyone who 
still had the strength to move fast enough. Neptune wasn't going 
anywhere, not when there was a definite chance Uranus might die in her 
arms. Venus had no more strength left to fight, and neither did 
Magellan.
     Merlin and Pluto met each other's gaze.
     It was only the two of them now.
     "We'd better move," he stated before vanishing down the 
corridor. 
     Sailor Pluto gave one final glance back at the fallen Senshi, 
and then raced after him.
     

     The Man With No Name watched with darkened eyes and electric 
lightning as crimson rivers flowed down his robes, pooling beneath his 
fallen form. A vague smile crept onto his face, and he decided to use 
what little breath remained to laugh.
     Everything was all so clear now.
     Only one last thing remained to be done, and then it would be 
finished.
     He looked up to Serenity, dressed in her sailor battle fuku, a 
golden crescent moon blazing upon her forehead. She was crying again, 
frantically calling to him to hang on. Her long silver hair was so 
beautiful, and he reached out to caress it. His gentle touch and 
fingertips left scarlet trails along her silver strands.
     "There's no need to cry, Serenity," he murmured dreamily, 
accepting the strangely warm comfort of death. "This was how it was 
meant to be. I don't matter; my passing will bring only peace."
     Serenity vehemently shook her head, her hot tears falling down 
her face and striking his cheeks. Even in those tears the Man With No 
Name could sense the magik now saturated within her body. 
     She truly was the Messiah of Light.
     "You do matter," she sobbed. "You matter to me. I don't want you 
to go. I don't want to be alone."
     He shook his head. "You're never truly alone. Just like Kakkyou 
will always be with you, so shall I."
     The Man With No Name's smile began to fade, and his eyes 
narrowed. He tipped his head forward, staring out down the corridor. 
There in the shadows the Dark Messiah was rising from the floor, the 
Silence Glaive spinning into her hand with but a silent command.
     "It's almost time, Serenity. You'll have to face her without 
me." His eyes closed for the last time, his breaths shallow and almost 
non-existent. "Let me rest here in your embrace a little longer, a 
nameless stranger who found purpose in your magik."
     Serenity shook her head. "You're my friend," she whispered. "You 
deserve a name."
     No longer would he be a stranger.
     She leaned down, and gave him a new name.
     "Gabriel...."
     He smiled weakly, yet proudly, at her compassion. "And that," he 
said. "is why you were meant for me."
     And there he died.
     A heartbeat later Vlatmere Castle was rocked by an explosive 
burst of magik. Serenity was blown backwards as Gabriel's body was 
lost in a tremendous surge of intense light, sparks and pulses and 
raging tides of magik swarming through the air around him. His limp 
form was taken and lifted off the ground, the blood dripping off his 
clothes and skin changed from scarlet to gold.
     Stormfed eyes were thrown open.
     And within them appeared the reflection of the Holy Grail.
     Serenity was unable to register what was happening as the walls 
of the corridor around them buckled and then shattered. She abruptly 
felt Katherine's surprisingly strong grip pulling her away as the 
tides of magik swept past them.
     The arched ceiling over their heads shuddered and twisted 
violently before breaking apart. Tiles and buttresses were ripped to 
shreds and cast in every direction, the radiant full moon suddenly 
given opportunity to shine down upon them. The walls crumbled all 
around them, scattered to the ends of the world. 
     Standing there in a broken doorframe, Sailor Pluto and Merlin 
watched the world get thrown into chaotic uproar and upheaval. Both 
shielded their eyes as they stood defiantly against the gales sweeping 
past them.
     "What's happening?!" Pluto shouted over the winds.
     "Someone just unlocked the Grail's hiding place!" the Ancient 
shouted back. He stared up at the sky, and his jaw dropped. "Look!"
     Night had become day.
     And still the full moon shone brighter than the purest of magiks 
that were swarming around Gabriel's body. He became no more than a 
human silhouette amidst the myriad of colours and bursts of magik. And 
then that too was gone. In its place appeared the unmistakable shape 
of a large chalice.
     The Grail had been found.
     Serenity rose to her feet, fighting against the winds that 
howled past her form, sending her long silver dancing wildly behind 
her. Somehow, defying all she knew, she understood what had happened. 
The key had always been accessible to both Messiahs. And yet, rigged 
so that only the Messiah of Light could open the lock. The lock had 
been the Man With No Name. In giving him a name, she had opened the 
lock.
     But not like this.
     Not with the Dark Messiah so close.
     Eyes of crystal blue fixed upon the shadow of Mistress 9, who 
was lost in seeming rapture as she tasted the winds of purest magik 
churning around the Grail. 
     Mistress 9 began to laugh, her face glowing in hellish glee. 
This was the power she had been searching for, the power that man upon 
the moon had told her about. All she required was her StarChamber to 
act as the gateway and Pharaoh 90 would descend to Earth. 
     She reached out one of her hands, watching airstreams of magik 
flow and fall through her fingers like shimmering sands. This pure 
magik was beyond anything she could have imagined. The Dark Messiah 
licked her lips. And out from the floor burst the six-pointed shape of 
a star, the elaborate platform decorated with strange runes and 
etchings. Each point would pool their power and let it be drawn to an 
epicentre...and from there engage the teleportation.
     Serenity's eyes saw the StarChamber, and then saw the Grail in 
the middle acting as the amplifier for opening the portal. For the 
life of her she didn't know what it all meant--but she knew that 
unless she stopped Mistress 9, something terrible would happen.
     She had to claim the Grail.
     Her eyes closed long enough to stir the magik she could now feel 
flowing through her body. Her sailor uniform rippled and changed 
again, two immense angel wings unfurling at her back. A flurry of 
white feathers were scattered across the air, ushering with them a 
burst of unbridled energy.
     Mistress 9's head snapped up as she sensed the Messiah of 
Light's magik begin to manifest itself again. Violet eyes narrowed, 
and she gripped the glaive tighter. "The Grail," she snarled. "is 
mine!"
     Serenity's eyes still held her compassion--but also a fierce 
determination. There were still people she could save. There was still 
a world she would protect. To end this war, to end this pain, she 
would give everything she had.
     With a shout she leapt forward, stretching out her hand to grasp 
the sacred chalice. Mistress 9 lunged across from her side, her weapon 
poised to strike down Serenity just as it had brought down a Man With 
No Name.
     The two Messiah converged upon the sacred cup.
     Each one reached forth and grasped one of its handles.
     And suddenly they were lost in a shaft of light as the Grail 
reacted to their touch, and the StarChamber was triggered. The portal 
to the dark nebula where Pharaoh 90 resided was thrown wide open.


     Darkness.
     A vast emptiness of space countered with the brilliant lives of 
a thousand stars. Shimmering lives all reflected within a seemingly 
endless display of the cosmos. Galaxies unfolded all around it, 
nebulae and clusters defying a shadowy realm that still unrelentingly 
clutched to as much of the universe as it could.
     Here in both the unknown depths of darkness and the beauty of 
the flickering light, it existed. Essence was a part of it yet not as 
we would call essence. Form was an arbitrary thing, and it grasped 
this quite well. It could change its form. It could alter its essence.
     Yet it had no reason to.
     Here, locked within an outer reach of space, it existed. In a 
place it would have called home...had it understood what such a word 
might mean. But now it did understand. It knew a fraction of what it 
meant to be home. To have home. To love home.
     Home was happiness.
     Happiness was good or evil.
     Yet this was but a fraction of what it felt certain of knowing. 
There were still so many confusing thoughts pinging around. It felt 
confused. But remained patient. The time would come for all 
understanding. For home and happiness.
     Pharaoh 90 shifted once more. 
     Essence changed forms and properties.
     And then a beam of light and magik stabbed through the heart of 
cosmic darkness, engulfing the entity. At first Pharaoh 90 recoiled 
and churned and contorted into something impossible. But then it saw. 
It caught glimpses.
     This was not only light.
     It could see down this shaft, like a tunnel. And somewhere 
there, lurking on the other side, was an image it had plucked from its 
visitor's mind not so long ago. And Pharaoh 90 understood. 
     This was the portal.
     The star-eyed man had kept his promise. The daimon had done her 
job, worked her power. It wondered what form its daimon child had 
chosen. Integration, the star-eyed man said, was key.
     Home.
     A place to exist.
     Pharaoh 90 was going to Earth.


     The world was not what Serenity had expected to see when the 
flash of light abruptly faded. The Grail that had been in her grasp 
was no longer there. The shattered remains of a corridor in Vlatmere 
Castle were gone.
     Instead, she found herself staring up at the skies, only to see 
the world below. She was standing upon an upside-down battleground 
which hung suspended from a seemingly endless cloudline. Far below her 
were the lofty towers and spires of a palace she could never have 
imagined even in her dreams.
     The height and disorientation of standing where gravity seemed 
to be reversed only made Serenity feel dizzy. She turned her head and 
looked away from the castle below. And in doing so, her blue eyes 
caught sight of another soul standing here upon this rounded platform.
     She was not alone.
     There, on the opposite side of this arena, was Hotaru.
     The young girl was mournfully pressing her body against the 
battered, fallen remains of her iron dragon. Its metal body laid still 
and unmoving. One of its eyes dripped with black oil and fluids, no 
longer a visible sentient soul housed within it.
     Serenity approached Hotaru, saying nothing.
     She understood that at times, words were but a waste.
     Silence said so much more than what people gave it credit for.
     Winds blew at Hotaru's ravenwing hair, and she cast her violet 
eyes down at the castle. In her hands was a single flower whose name 
Serenity did not know or even recognize. Yet it was a beautiful 
silver. Hotaru released the flower, watching it get caught by the 
winds and falling upwards...downwards...to where Aurora's palace 
waited below.
     "He was but a memory," she whispered, wiping away the tears from 
her cheeks. "A beautiful memory from my childhood on Aurora...and she 
twisted the memory with her magik. Now he's gone."
     Hotaru looked down to the Auroran palace, her violet eyes 
reflecting a mix of emotions. Sadness. Anger. A vow to see it all end. 
"This war has stolen so much already," she stated. "I don't want to 
lose anything else."
     She turned her head, and acknowledged Serenity's presence in her 
expression. A faint smile dared to manifest itself on her pale face as 
she pushed some bangs of her black hair away from her eyes.
     "Thank you for the memories," Serenity said quietly. "They 
helped bring me back. And with them I was able to awaken."
     "Then you have become the Messiah."
     At that, Serenity was forced to shake her head. "Not the 
Messiah. A Messiah. There's another woman, one who has killed you in 
my dreams. She wants the Grail...and I fear the consequences if she 
gains control of it."
     "Mistress Nine," Hotaru stated grimly, hating herself for not 
being strong enough to repel the creature's onslaught. One hand still 
against the fallen iron dragon, as if her touch might somehow warm its 
mechanical heart and cause it to beat once more, she watched the 
lights of this memory of Aurora. "You called me here, Serenity. You've 
been calling to me ever since I became enslaved to Mistress Nine, even 
if you only realized it a few days ago. What is it that you want of 
me?"
     Serenity let one of her hands touch Hotaru's shoulder, sliding 
along the raven-haired girl's skin and then drifting up her neck. 
Serenity's palm gently cupped Hotaru's cheek, and drew their eyes back 
to each other.
     "Hotaru," she said. "There's something else about you that has 
drawn us both here."
     Hotaru blinked, unable to see the nexus that bound them 
together. At first she mistook it for something romantic--how long had 
it been since she'd seen Helios?--but then in gazing into those 
crystal blue eyes, Hotaru realized that Serenity was talking about 
something else.
     Something totally different.
     Something of magik.
     "Even though I've only been awake as the Messiah of Light for 
but a few minutes, I know," Serenity whispered, drawing closer to 
Hotaru. She let her palm slowly move, her fingertips lightly across 
Hotaru's forehead.
     And in their wake, the sigil of Saturn appeared.
     Hotaru's violet eyes as she felt a rush of power inside of 
herself suddenly become known and unleashed. The robes of the Auroran 
samurai melted away, becoming that of a sailor battle fuku adorned in 
highlights of purple to match the colour of her eyes.
     "You are one of the chosen, Hotaru," Serenity said, unable to 
hide her joy in sharing this discovery. "You have been given a power 
that can help protect our Solis System--though at a terrible cost. I 
would be honoured if you served my cause."
     Hotaru was staring at Serenity in surprise and newfound hope. 
"Serenity...."
     Serenity placed her forehead against Hotaru's, their respective 
sigils sparkling from the physical contact. "Fight her, Hotaru. Fight 
her from within, as I fight her from outside. We can still win this 
war. And then no one will have to suffer anymore. No one will have to 
lose anything else."
     Hotaru smiled, and nodded. 
     "Arigato, Serenity. I hope we can meet again."
     "We will. But first, we have save this planet."


     The momentary burst of light faded away, leaving in its place a 
solid pillar of magik that continued to reach out into the celestial 
heavens beyond the skies, stretching out to the distant and darkened 
cosmos of Pharaoh 90.
     Pluto lowered her arm from her eyes, squinting into the heart of 
the portal. The ghostly silhouettes of two women could be seen inside, 
fighting for control over the Grail.
     "What do we do now?" Merlin asked.
     She pursed her lips, her gaze fixed upon the portal's single 
beam into the heavens. "Nothing. It's between them."
     Neither of them said anything else.
     They knew full well that Mistress 9 walking out the victor was a 
definite possibility. But even the two of them couldn't hope to stand 
against her. The only one capable of combating the Messiah of Silence 
was the Messiah of Light. All their hopes, all their futures, rested 
with Serenity.
     And inside the portal, Serenity found herself returned to the 
battlefield. The upside-down Auroran duelling arena vanished into a 
seemingly distant memory, carrying Hotaru off with it. The edges of 
her sailor fuku were thrashing madly in the gale forces, her gloved 
hand still clutching one of the Holy Grail's handles.
     There came a vicious yank from Mistress 9, who tried to pull the 
chalice into her total dominion. The Dark Messiah's hair was blowing 
around them both, ravendark looking almost gold in the shimmering 
array of lights swirling all around them.
     "The Grail is mine!" Mistress 9 snarled. Her other hand shot 
forward, fingers wrapping tightly around Serenity's throat. She began 
to squeeze the life out of the Messiah of Light. "You will never take 
this power from me, not when it's in my grasp."
     Serenity's eyes never focused on the Grail. 
     In this moment, in this battle, it meant nothing. She didn't 
care about the power, or the magik. All she cared about was freeing a 
friend and fellow soldier.
     "Release her!" Serenity shouted. "Give Hotaru back to me!"
     Mistress 9 spat at Serenity, trying to crush her windpipe even 
more. "The girl is my container. I will never give her up!"
     Serenity could feel everything going blurred and faded. The 
stranglehold was incredible and suffocating, threatening to choke her 
to death in mere seconds if her neck didn't snap first. But she 
refused to give in, fighting the burning of her lungs.
     "You've betrayed her," she stated angrily. "In stealing Hotaru 
from us, you've betrayed the Senshi."
     For a fraction of a second, the hold around her throat went 
slack.
     Mistress 9's eyes widened. "What?"
     "You've betrayed Saturn," Serenity answered hotly, feeling a 
surge of magik feed her strength. Giving her the words to speak. 
"Anata ha senshi wo uragi tsu ni! You've betrayed the Senshi!"
     The Dark Messiah screamed, her grip around Serenity's throat 
intensifying and choking the next words from Serenity's mouth. She 
forgot about the Grail, released the chalice and then put both hands 
to Serenity's neck. Violet eyes were lost in hatred and frenzied 
possession. 
     "Shin'ne!" 
     Serenity let out a frantic squeak as she felt her windpipe on 
the verge of collapsing completely. Even with the Grail solely in her 
grasp, she couldn't do anything. No power could be summoned when she 
was desperately trying to hang on to her own life. Trying to hang on 
to give another soul one last chance.
     "Ho...ta...ru," she gasped hoarsely.
     A heartbeat of subdued magik pulsed within Mistress 9.
     The Dark Messiah's eyes flew open, wide and disbelieving. Her 
arms were starting to shake, but the vicious grip upon Serenity's neck 
began to loosen. She could sense the soul and power of her container 
begin to stir.
     "No...impossible," she hissed. "You're just a child. A slave! 
You cannot fight against me!"
     Hotaru was waging war.
     The black star upon Mistress 9's head suddenly cracked, 
splintering like glass. The Messiah of Silence shrieked, her hands 
leaving Serenity's throat and now pressing against the temples of her 
own head.
     Serenity gasped and sputtered as she gulped down welcome 
lungfuls of air. She gingerly rubbed her sore neck with one hand, 
momentarily forgetting about Mistress 9.
     Another furious scream raged from Mistress 9's lips and she 
stumbled backwards, clutching her head. Her eyes were twitching 
wildly, and Serenity could see the black star cracking apart even more 
between the Dark Messiah's fingers. Mistress 9's smile turned half-
malevolent, half-crazed, and she was giggling in a tone of voice that 
made Serenity shiver. 
     "I cannot lose...to a weakling human."
     And then echoing in the air and magik around both Messiahs came 
Hotaru's unmistakable voice. "I am a Senshi: Sailor Saturn!"
     With one final scream Mistress 9 convulsed as Hotaru retook her 
own body, forcing the daimon into submission. The mature, inhuman eyes 
visibly changed, and Hotaru turned to the Messiah of Light. 
"Serenity!"
     Intuitively Serenity knew what she had to do.
     She grasped the Grail with both hands, holding the chalice out 
before Hotaru. Crystal blue eyes flashed with the silent invocation of 
magik, an armada spectral butterflies suddenly dancing in the air 
around them. The lid of the Grail opened up, and unleashed its 
unbridled power.
     The magik swept through the portal with the force of a 
cataclysmic storm, a tidal wave of energy shaking the foundations of 
Vlatmere Castle. Serenity leapt to her feet and stretched one of her 
hands out, searching for Hotaru.
     She touched the hand of the Dark Messiah, and felt a surge of 
Sailor Saturn's power. Both women became consumed by a radiant golden 
light that flowed from Serenity to Hotaru, the Grail's power now 
aligned with the magik of Serenity. The daimon entity known as 
Mistress 9 howled as it was purged from Hotaru's body, the egg and its 
contents catapulted through the portal back to its master.
     Somewhere between sleep and awake, between death and life, 
between magik and everything else, Hotaru and Serenity floated there 
together, holding hands and smiling.
     "Thank you," Hotaru said, returned to her youthful form.
     Serenity pulled Hotaru forward and wrapped the raven-haired girl 
in a warm embrace. "Welcome back, Hotaru."
     The Messiah Wars reached their end.
     And the future would be protected, for the Messiah of Light had 
won the war.


     There was, however, one very real and very dangerous problem 
remaining. The only two who were alive and alert enough to notice it 
were Sailor Pluto and Merlin. They watched the churning pillar of 
light continue to reach out from the StarChamber's platform into the 
midnight sky.
     "The portal's still open; Pharaoh Ninety can still come to 
Earth," Pluto said, glancing over to Merlin. "I don't know how to shut 
it down. Do you?"
     The Ancient shook his head. "No. This could be a problem."
     But then he began to calmly walk towards the StarChamber 
platform. Moving as if he had an idea, a purpose to now fulfil. 
Setsuna ran a few steps forward, lowering her Timestaff in front of 
him.
     "Merlin, what are you doing?" she demanded.
     The Ancient's almost timeless eyes surveyed the shaft of magik 
extending into the darkened realms above them. "I still have enough 
strength left for one last spell. If I can unleash it within the 
portal, then perhaps I can tear it apart from the inside out."
     Yet Pluto shook her head, the initial rise of hope brought 
plummeting down with the implications of such a tactic. "Merlin, 
that's suicide! It you cause the portal to explode or implode or 
whatever it'll do, then you'll be caught up in it. You could be taken 
to Pharaoh Ninety's domain, or get yourself killed."
     "I've heard that one before," Merlin said quietly, a strange 
smile on his face. So the Raithe had been right after all in 
predicting how they would leave this world. He placed a hand 
underneath the key-shaped staff and raised it so he could pass. "The 
Age of the Ancients is at its end, Setsuna. Where we were once the 
guardians of the Solis System, you Sailor Senshi have risen up to take 
our place."
     His eyes glanced back and gave Pluto a somber, penetrating look. 
"Don't make me regret this changing of the guard."
     Pluto solemnly nodded. "You have my word," she vowed.
     Merlin stepped forward without any further resistance, making 
his way to the StarChamber. When he reached the shaft of light, he 
took a deep breath and steeled himself for this final, sacrificial 
act. In many ways, an atonement for the things he was unable to 
prevent during this war.
     The Ancient crossed over, moving through the intense light and 
magik like it was nothing more than an illusionist's wall of smoke. 
Inside, he was aware of sense and sensations, his body nearly 
overloaded from the saturation of magik. The two Messiahs were lost 
somewhere in here, but searching for them wasn't his concern.
     Merlin lifted his eyes upwards as he heard a distant, chilling 
bellow from somewhere beyond the stars.
     Pharaoh 90 was coming.
     "Not today, you bastard," Merlin stated darkly, summoning his 
powers. "And not on my watch."


     In the days, years and even decades following the end of the 
Messiah Wars, Setsuna puzzled over what might have happened there 
inside the StarChamber between Pharaoh 90 and Merlin. But for as many 
theories as she rolled through her mind, she was left with nothing 
less than a complete mystery.
     One second Merlin was standing outside the portal.
     The next second he was engulfed by its raw magik.
     A few more seconds passed.
     And then the portal exploded somewhere high up in the heavens. 
Setsuna recoiled when the pillar of magik shattered, looking away as 
an intense ring of light rippled out from the epicentre somewhere 
beyond the Solis System yet epic enough to be seen upon the Earth.
     At Vlatmere Castle, no sound was heard.
     But the sight was nothing short of breath-taking.
     It was like watching fireflies scatter in the dead of night, 
thousands if not millions of particles and shimmers of light & energy 
shooting off in every direction. In their wake were left faint wisps 
and trails of strange colours Setsuna had never seen before.
     Severed somewhere around the halfway mark, the portal quickly 
unravelled itself, the dissolution spreading to both ends. Setsuna 
watched as the portal became undone in the atmosphere, and then at 
last broke apart and fizzled into oblivion at the StarChamber 
platform.
     Where the light was no more, there Serenity was.
     Her sailor battle fuku was torn and ripped and stained in 
countless places, and her body showed the signs of the beating she had 
taken against Mistress 9. Yet she was alive, and cradling a sleeping 
Hotaru in her arms.
     Clad in her Sailor Saturn uniform, Hotaru was smiling as she 
dreamed. In one of her hands lightly rested the Silence Glaive, now 
being wielded by its rightful owner once more.
     "Serenity!" Setsuna called out, moving as fast as her own 
exhausted body would allow her. She dropped to her knees before the 
two young women. Fellow Senshi. And one of them a Messiah.
     Magenta eyes beheld the wounds Serenity bore. "Are you all 
right?"
     Serenity nodded slightly, her eyes drooping shut. "I'm fine, 
Setsuna," she mumbled quietly, letting her head come to rest on the 
platform's floor. "I just need to rest...."
     Setsuna couldn't help but laugh as she nodded. "Hai hai. Rest 
for as long as you want."
     It was over. This brutal, hellish war was finally over.
     The future was protected.
     And in a very selfish way, the wish Setsuna had wanted most of 
all was granted. Setsuna stroked Hotaru's pale face, and began to weep 
in motherly joy. "Thank you, Serenity," she whispered as the tears 
held back for so long were at last given a single, quiet moment to 
fall. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me."


     An alien form pulsated and rippled, essence changing form and 
collapsing upon itself once more only to give way to a new shape.
     Pharaoh 90 was confused.
     It found itself back in the dark nebula.
     Where it had begun its journey.
     Something had broken the connection. Severed the link.
     No sooner had it unexpectedly received the daimon egg bearing 
the intact essence of Mistress 9, than the portal had decided it did 
not want to be a portal anymore. And so Pharaoh 90 found itself 
somewhat violently expelled and spat back to where it had always been 
for centuries on end.
     Not that here wasn't interesting.
     But it wanted to be there: on Earth.
     This was, however, but a minor setback.
     It now knew of a planet called Earth. It also knew that its 
loyal child, Mistress 9, was worth keeping. One day it would find a 
way to return to this place called Earth. One day it would find the 
child who bore the sigil and power of Saturn, and make her the 
container for Mistress 9 once again. It had worked once already; a 
second time would no doubt assure success.
     But how to return?
     Pharaoh 90 thought of the star-eyed man again.
     Good and evil. Both were happy.
     It still did not fully understand.
     Unsure of the integration it should choose, Pharaoh 90 consulted 
with its daimon child. Mistress 9 informed it of her actions, of her 
emotions, of the curious and irritating chain of events that had led 
to her container rejecting her. Yet Mistress 9 had been happy when she 
was the Dark Messiah.
     Through her, Pharaoh 90 saw the happiness in evil.
     Evil was happy.
     I am evil therefore I am happy.
     Home was happy.
     It would make its home on Earth. Try again a second time.
     And to be happy, Pharaoh 90 would be evil.


     In the days following the last battle, the Solis System found 
itself lost in celebration. The Dark Messiah had fallen, and Aurora 
was avenged. The other planets stood down from amassing their own 
armies to protect themselves. Envoys were sent to Earth to help with 
the rebuilding. The rulers of each planet also showed up in person 
(albeit heavily guarded) to pay their respects to King Arthur at a 
private funeral. 
     Camelot, it was decided, should not be rebuilt. For as much-
loved a symbol as it was, the castle remained with the Golden Empire. 
And that was now unanimously considered to have ended. The natural 
political confusion that manifested in the aftermath was subdued, no 
one wishing to set into motion another war as potentially devastating 
as the Messiah Wars.
     The Pendragon was dead.
     And now all eyes were looking to Serenity.
     For the time being, she had declined from any answer as to 
whether or not she would take her place as the rightful successor to 
Arthur's position of power. Most were assuming she would sooner or 
later become Queen, and establish a new empire even grander than the 
Golden one. Some were already voicing their complaints and objections 
against such a possibility, desiring their own independence.
     Yet they could not escape that Serenity was the Messiah of 
Light, one who held more power than anyone else in the Solis System. 
The Ancients and Aurora, and with them the greatest concentrations of 
magik ever, were gone. No one remained to challenge her authority. 
Only Serenity alone could use the magik of the Holy Grail. 
     And loyally serving her were five Sailor Senshi.
     In time they would create a new future.
     Soon, but not quite yet.


     The ever-constant smell of antiseptics roused her from sleep. 
Myung's blue eyes slowly opened, and she found herself staring up at 
the same whitewashed ceiling that she had been waking up to for days 
on end. Instinctively her fingers carefully probed the tensor 
wrappings and tender areas of her chest, where two of her ribs bad 
been broken and a kidney ruptured.
     She winced slightly at the dull throbs of pain.   
     Ever since awakening as Sailor Venus, she'd discovered that her 
threshold for tolerating pain had dramatically increased. Likewise, 
her body's healing rate had doubled. Magik was at work--but even magik 
had its limitations. It would accelerate her healing to a significant 
degree, and left the rest of the mending up to her body.
     Being the active youth she was, Myung disliked being trapped 
here in a bed. Unable to do anything but lay like a porcelain doll. 
All dressed up and immobilized. But she would be out of here in due 
time. Life was not something to take for granted; Myung cherished the 
fact that she still had it, despite the beating she had taken.
     The Venusian princess, now the sailor soldier of Venus, looked 
around her private room. Just beyond the closed door was the general 
medical area, and that was filled with the wounded and recovering 
soldiers who had risked their very lives and survived the war of 
Vlatmere. Some would never walk again. Some would never work a sword 
again. Some escaped with just mild cuts and bruises.
     Yet they were all survivors.
     It was nothing short of a miracle that Vlatmere castle infirmary 
had survived the brutal war that had claimed many of the chambers and 
wings around it. Yet it was still standing strong and dependable, 
needed now more than ever. Other parts of the castle had been cleared 
out to make room for triages and recovery wards. But the infirmary 
still remained at the heart.
     Someone stirred at the edge of her bed.
     Myung lowered her eyes, smiling as she saw Magellan there, 
asleep at her side, his head pillowed on his arms and resting upon a 
small edge of her mattress. He was at her bed so long as she was awake 
each day and night, sometimes letting her fall asleep while holding 
his hand. Other times she let him fall asleep while she held his hand.
     It never really mattered so long as they were still together. In 
that final hour of the Messiah Wars, she had nearly lost Magellan for 
good, his heart and mind and soul swallowed up by his dark thoughts. 
His hatred. His bloodlust. The Aroth Armour had given him the power to 
turn any emotion into a weapon; to think even he had fallen prey to 
letting his worst feelings shape him into a remorseless demon.
     Myung stretched out her arm, trying not to lean forward and put 
unwanted strain on her chest. Her hand drifted along his skin with a 
lover's caress, fingers lacing together. Magellan shifted a little, 
but didn't wake up.
     He held only vague recollections of what had happened when he 
had let his darker emotions take over and bring forth the demon, 
Aroth. Setsuna and the others told him of their battle--but left 
certain facts out. He felt guilty enough as it was without needing to 
know of the true extent of the damage he'd inflicted.
     It tore Myung's heart to see him still haunted by Aroth's 
shadow. But he had conquered Aroth regardless. And she held little 
doubt that in the years to come, this memory of weakness would further 
serve to make him vigilant of the power he still wielded.
     The armour and Excalibur with it had never been recovered from 
the sea of black essence where Aroth had been defeated. When she had 
asked, Magellan had only looked away and given a cryptic answer: 
"They're no longer here...but not lost either. I can still feel them 
inside of me."
     She held onto his hand a little tighter.
     There was nothing left for them to say to each other. Yet 
everything that needed to be said had already been spoken. She had 
pled that he would not leave her. And he had answered her by coming 
back to her. By promising to never leave her again.
     It was not as explicit as "I love you."
     But it meant the same thing.
     And yet meant so much more.
     Myung shifted her gaze as there was a polite knock on her door. 
Frederic hobbled in moments later, his body propped up on a pair of 
crutches, the right leg of his pants cut away to show the immense 
layering of bandages wrapped around his thigh. A demon had managed to 
impale its savage claw into his leg just as he had rammed a barbed 
arrow into its eye.
     That claw now rested in his private chambers: a sleek, black and 
vicious two foot-long reminder of what he had fought against. There 
was no other trace of the beast, or any other youma for that matter. 
When Mistress 9 had been vanquished from Hotaru's body, the demon-
creatures she controlled lost all their power. The youma melted away 
into their original human selves...and died instantly from the 
poisonous blak magik they had allowed into their bodies.
     "I'm not interrupting, am I?" Frederic asked in a hushed tone as 
he noticed Magellan still asleep. His voice was tired, weary from 
fighting and weary from having to contend with his wound. But the 
Messiah Wars had been unable to steal away Frederic's smile and sense 
of humour. For all that had changed about him, that had changed them 
all, he was still the same old Frederic.
     Myung shook her head, and silently bade him to join her at the 
bedside. Frederic stopped at the foot of her infirmary bed, glancing 
again at Magellan.
     "How long has he been sleeping?"
     "I'm not sure," Myung answered quietly. "I just woke up myself."
     Frederic nodded, letting out a sigh. "Well, when he regains 
consciousness, tell him that the ambassadors from Neptune are here. No 
need for him to rush; they're just being shown to their tents before I 
give them the grand tour of our half-demolished castle."
     A look of concern registered on Myung's face, her gaze falling 
to the bandages on Frederic's leg. He just laughed when he realized 
what she was thinking. "Aw, don't worry about me," he said, wiggling 
his eyebrows at her. "Some of the nursemaids love to coddle over my 
war wound. It's my badge of honour."
     Myung chuckled, "It's your latest tactic to get a date."
     "That too."
     Frederic departed as quietly as he had entered, giving them the 
chance to be alone again. He met the Queen Mother just outside the 
door. "How are they?" Katherine asked.
     After a moment of thought, Frederic nodded his head. "They're 
going to be just fine. And so long as I don't have to limp my way up 
the damned aisle as best man, their wedding's going to be even 
better."


     "What are you thinking about?" Haruka asked her Neptuni lover. 
She laid sprawled out on her back, staring up at nothing in 
particular. 
     "That it's a shame I can't do anything more than spongebathe 
you," Michiru sighed as she laid out on her stomach beside Haruka, a 
mischievous gleam in her aquagreen eyes. "We don't want to rupture 
your stitches now, do we?"
     Haruka smirked. "Hai hai. But that means we can't make up for 
lost time in a few weeks."
     She had proven harder to kill than first thought. Despite her 
injuries, she was recovering even faster than Myung. Two days ago 
Haruka had been cleared from having to remain in one of the 
infirmary's private rooms (adjacent to Myung's) and was now permitted 
to recover in one of the guest chambers of the castle.
     And Michiru showed infinite patience whenever Haruka sulked 
about how she was perfectly fine and didn't need to sit in bed all day 
long like some feeble old man. On the other hand, Haruka didn't mind 
being spoonfed by Michiru. The fact that she was being catered to by 
her lover made being so physically limited all the more tolerable. 
     But in a few days she'd be able to start hobbling around on 
crutches, with Michiru constantly at her side for support. That 
brightened Haruka's day almost as much as seeing her lover smile again 
like the way she used to before they had been caught up in the Messiah 
Wars.
     "We can't go back, can we?" Michiru said.
     Haruka shook her head, adjusting the way her head was propped up 
on some pillows. "As much as I would love to return to a time where I 
could steal away to your underwater suite and make love to you, I 
don't think we can do it anymore."
     "Make love in general, or just doing it in that one location?" 
Michiru teased.
     "You know what I mean," Haruka replied with a smirk. "I've been 
thinking a lot about that, actually. We can't go back to our old 
lives, lovers in secret as our royal families bicker with each other. 
We're Senshi now...and we have a Messiah to serve and protect. 
Wherever she goes, we will follow.
     "But at the same time, I think we may have more freedom now than 
ever before. We're soldiers of legend now, not just the princesses of 
this generation. Both our parents have accepted that our destiny 
doesn't belong on our homeworlds. It's like we've discovered our 
independence."
     Michiru smiled and moved next to Haruka, one of her arms gently 
draped over the tall sandy-blonde's breasts. "And here I thought only 
Neptuni had such eloquent ways with words."


     The awakening of Sailor Saturn left with it certain 
complications. Not all of them negative. Setsuna found herself 
contemplating both the good and the bad as she stared down at her 
reflection in the cup of tea held between her hands. A woman with 
tanned skin, long dark hair and magenta eyes looked back. 
     How much time had passed since this all began?
     Sixteen years of almost nothing. Sixteen years of quiet lull. 
And then within but a few days, the Messiah Wars had broken out along 
with every last level of hell. Those few weeks of war felt to have 
lasted longer than the sixteen years of calm.
     But now what?
     "Setsuna?"
     Setsuna blinked out of her dreaming reveries as she heard her 
name, and looked up from her tea. Sitting across on one of the 
elegantly carved and decorated couches was Hotaru, the young raven-
haired girl dressed in casual Auroran attire. The best that Charon had 
been able to replicate for her.
     It felt odd having Hotaru call her by that, by her true name. A 
memory, one that seemed so long ago, brought back stirrings of images 
and voices, of Hotaru calling her Lady Kaori. But now all guises had 
been dropped. Now she could allow herself to be called Setsuna, Sailor 
Pluto.
     And yet...Setsuna knew she could never hear the word she so 
desperately yearned for: momma. But that secret was one Setsuna felt 
almost certain she was forbidden to tell, no matter how much pain it 
caused her inside to see Hotaru without any real parents now. 
     There was always the hope to be a surrogate mother, though.
     But even that seemed a dying hope now.
     Hotaru set her teacup back on its saucer, and set the two on the 
glass surface of the coffee table between them. After her defeat of 
Mistress Nine, she had come to Castle Charon and lived with Setsuna 
while Earth began its restoration process. Now in having seen the 
beautiful architecture Charon had to offer, she was anxious to see her 
own castle.
     Charon was elated to no end at finding another floating castle 
in the stars like himself. The castle for Saturn had uncloaked itself 
in the immediate hours following the outcome of the Messiah Wars. 
Presumably, the castles for Uranus and Neptune would be making their 
own appearances soon enough.
     Hotaru put those thoughts aside, her violet eyes focusing on 
Setsuna. Of the two of them, Setsuna had been the quietest over the 
past few days.
     "Setsuna," she said again. "What's wrong?"
     Setsuna's first impulse was to lie, to deny that there was a 
problem. But she knew it was impossible to deceive those eyes looking 
expectantly at her. With a deep breath she set down her own teacup. 
"Hotaru, are you sure about this?"
     Hotaru nodded, looking incredibly adult even though she still 
appeared so young. "Saturn is the soldier of death and rebirth. 
Mistress Nine gained incredible power by using my magik...but even 
though she is gone, my power is not."
     A shadow of sadness passed over her.
     Memories of what Mistress 9 had done to Khai, to Aurora. Friends 
and family she could never bring back. Hotaru still didn't know 
whether or not Helios had survived. Whenever she asked, Charon 
remained ambiguous at best in voicing a response. And in a roundabout 
way, she knew she was responsible for it all.
     Sleepless nights and hours spent crying in her bed had already 
been lost. Such was the grieving process. But she was recovering; 
Serenity visited her often, the blonde Messiah teleporting over to 
Charon on an almost daily basis. The love and acceptance she received 
from Serenity had already done so much for Hotaru. Now more than ever 
she was willing to serve as one of Serenity's soldiers.
     But her service as Saturn would be one entirely different from 
everyone else's. That's what made Setsuna feel so bittersweet about 
these last few days together with Hotaru. That's what Hotaru was 
sensing now from the guardress of time.
     Hotaru got up from her couch, and sat down next to Setsuna, her 
arms drawing her fellow Senshi closer. "Daijobu, Setsuna," she said 
with a reassuring smile. "You're only letting me sleep. If the 
situation arises that you need my power, all you have to do is call on 
me. And then we can be reunited."
     Such great responsibility on her shoulders.
     It seemed too much a burden for a 16 year-old.
     Yet Setsuna had watched Hotaru grow up with the Auroran samurai. 
The raven-haired youth more than anyone understood the deeper meanings 
of duty. Honour. Sacrifice.
     Setsuna found herself on the verge of crying again. She didn't 
want to do this in front of Hotaru. She didn't want her daughter to 
see this. But it was too late to conceal the tears welling up in her 
eyes. Hotaru just held her there, tightly and refusing to let go, 
giving Setsuna silent permission to cry. 
     As Serenity had been there for her, so too would she be there 
for Setsuna.
     Charon unexpectedly made his presence known, his disembodied 
voice suddenly announcing, "Just to inform you, ladies: the pool has 
been filled. You can go swimming anytime now."
     Setsuna drew away from Hotaru at the interruption, wiping her 
eyes. She might have cried for longer--but this had already been good 
for her.
     From wherever his sensors were hidden, Charon seemed to have 
noted what he walked in on. "Oh...I've ruined the mood, haven't I?"
     Hotaru laughed, already picturing Charon berating his 
programming for its lack of tact. But Charon meant well, which made 
him all the more endearing a friend. Not many could say they were good 
friends with a castle's soul...or whatever exactly Charon was.
     "Daijobu, Charon," she said, lifting her violet eyes to the sea 
of stars overhead. This was perhaps what she loved the most about 
Charon's design: the open ceiling concept. It made her feel so close 
to the heavens and their beauty. "We were just finishing anyways. 
Thanks for the update."
     Charon let out an audible sigh of relief over the speaker 
systems.
     Setsuna found herself pulled off the couch with Hotaru's help, 
the raven-haired girl's smile dangerously infectious. Even if they 
only had a few more days together, Setsuna would treasure them all. 
Her precious time with her daughter would not go wasted.
     "It's been a long time since I've gone skinny-dipping," Hotaru 
said with an impish grin as she walked down the grand hall. She then 
looked up at the ceiling and added playfully, "No peeking."
     "......" was Charon's response.


     He wasn't exactly dead.
     He wasn't exactly living, either.
     Humanity tends to classify existence as fitting one of those two 
slots, when in fact there are multitudes of other options. Some in 
between. Others beyond. For one who had lived long enough, learned of 
magik long enough, it came as no surprise to find himself here.
     Inside the strange but beautiful architecture of an ancient 
castle in the heavens, Merlin watched as Serenity walked right past 
him. She never saw him, never sensed him, never noticed his presence. 
Neither did the four Outer Senshi who walked reverently behind her. 
That too came as no surprise to Merlin.
     He was in transition.
     On the verge of journeying to one of those other options of 
existence, one whose final destination even he was not aware of. Yet 
it would be a journey no longer within the Solis System. He would be 
leaving this place, these people, behind. He doubted that he would 
even see this star system again.
     And that saddened a part of his soul.
     But he knew it had to happen.
     Merlin's eyes followed the Senshi as they walked down the grand 
atrium, heading for a chamber he had already visited in this strange 
spectral form. Then his eyes abruptly shifted to his left, to another 
spectral soul standing there next to him.
     "So," Merlin remarked. "All's well?"
     "In a sense," the Raithe answered with his trademark smirk. 
"Care to toll the bell for us, Merlin? The age of the Golden Empire 
has reached its end."
     Merlin shook his head at the memories of what they'd once had, 
and now lost. Such melancholic and disturbing thoughts. "What else is 
left then?"
     "A silver millennium, and momentary peace." Thousand-star eyes 
glanced over at a third shadowy figure listening to their words and 
debates.
     "Peace is always transient," Dante stated, fiery orbs glancing 
at the wonder of a castle even older than them.
     "As is war," the Raithe was quick to point out as well. "But 
they've earned their chance for peace. It would be rude of the future 
to interrupt them with war so quickly." He smiled fondly as he saw his 
daughter again. "A shame we won't be around to see what they make of 
the future."
     Merlin gave a derisive snort. "Somehow I'm betting you already 
know."
     An enigmatic grin moved across the Raithe's face as he began to 
fade away entirely. "You'd be surprised at what I know, Merlin. At 
what I've always known...."


     Serenity stood before a large pair of doors marked with the 
sigil of Saturn. She turned her head and beckoned for Hotaru to step 
forward.
     A single touch from Hotaru's palm against the surface caused the 
doors to shudder, unlocking for the first time in centuries if not 
millennia. They swung back, allowing the Senshi into the inner sanctum 
of Saturn's castle: Titan. The grand halls behind them had not been so 
different from the design of Charon. Evidently both had the same 
creator-designer, but crafted in distinctively unique styles.
     Here the five young women walked into an enormous atrium that 
seemed to be a garden lost within the depths of stars and space. Akin 
to Charon's layout, most of the walls and ceiling were left open to 
the darkness of the cosmos, but here the skeletal framework supporting 
the curious barrier around them was a curving, elaborate design of 
intersecting circles and spires.
     Strange but beautiful balls of light, almost resembling fist-
sized fireflies, danced through the air around the flowers, each one a 
different hue or shade. A number were congregating around some of the 
patio tables and chairs. Even more were active at a long rectangular 
fountain in the centre of the atrium.
     "It's beautiful," Hotaru murmured, entranced.
     Serenity mutely nodded as she followed in behind, allowing for 
Hotaru to lead them forward. Giving Hotaru the opportunity to discover 
this castle, her rightful domain, first.
     "I can't wait to see what ours must look like," Haruka remarked 
to Michiru.
     Michiru smiled as she walked arm in arm with her lover. "If 
there's no large aquarium or pool in mine, I can tell you the first 
thing I install."
     The "soul" of this castle called out to them in a series of 
haunting windchimes as it sensed their presence. Titan's time of 
disuse had resulted in a corruption of one of its verbal 
communications programs; the chiming was currently the best and only 
way it could talk to them, save for using a series of lights to show 
them the way.
     Charon was already running diagnostics on Titan's systems, and 
beforehand had warned the Senshi of this problem. He also hoped to 
have Titan's damaged programs and functions restored within the week.
     "She's been waiting for me for a long time," Hotaru said, unable 
to stop from smiling. She had the expression of someone sharing lives 
and dreams with a kindred spirit.
     "How do you know?" Serenity asked.
     Hotaru looked up to the stars above and around them. "I just 
know. She's been lonely."
     "I hope Charon doesn't talk her to death," Setsuna quipped.
     The firefly-like orbs of light darted around them, playing with 
them, happy to have visitors after so long. They really took to 
Michiru--and had even more fun with Haruka, thinking that her attempts 
to swat them aside was just a game. And for the most part it was.
     The lights also proved to be their escourt, helping show them 
the way they were to go. Hotaru moved up the stairs and through the 
corridors as if she had been here before. There was a connection she 
held with Titan that Setsuna realized she lacked with Charon. However, 
Charon had been active for centuries under the Raithe's watchful eye, 
and to a degree had been influenced by the way the Raithe did things. 
     This was different.
     The end of their journey was marked by a single room with only 
one item inside its walls. A long glass container was laid out in the 
centre of the chamber, awaiting its sleeping occupant. Setsuna tried 
not to think of how it resembled a large, aerodynamic casket. The 
lights were naturally dimmed here, violet and white mixing together. 
Overhead was a breath-taking view of the ringed planet Saturn.
     "Here," Hotaru stated, running her hand along the smooth surface 
of the cryobed. "This is where I'll be sleeping."
     Emotionally-charged eyes looked from one Senshi to the next, to 
the friends who had become her new family. This would be the last time 
she'd see them for who knew how long. It might seem like only minutes 
to her, but could be decades for them. As much as she wanted to stay 
composed, Hotaru was unable to hide her tears as she said her good-
byes.
     She hugged Haruka, and then Michiru.
     They whispered reassuring words to her, that they'd be waiting 
to see her soon. Thanking her for all she had done to help them fight 
the Messiah Wars. Promising to visit both her and Titan on a regular 
basis, even if she had to remain asleep during that time.
     Serenity was next.
     The two held on to each other for a long time, saying nothing as 
they cried. "I'm going to miss you," Hotaru confessed.
     "Not as much as I fear I'm going to miss you," Serenity 
answered. "Take care, Hotaru. We'll see each other again, I promise."
     Very soon, it was Setsuna's turn.
     Her last moments with Hotaru were the longest of anyone's. And 
also the most emotional. "I won't be alone, Setsuna," Hotaru said 
quietly as they embraced one last time. "Titan will be there with me 
when I dream. Neither of us will be lonely."
     Setsuna found the strength to smile, and hugged Hotaru all the 
more. "I love you, Hotaru-chan. Never forget that."
     As she stepped back, Hotaru let her magik change her clothes 
into the sailor fuku of Saturn. A tiara adorned with an amethyst 
gemstone appeared upon her head. She said nothing as she climbed into 
her cryochamber, letting herself be sealed inside. 
     Violet eyes looked at the others with fond affection.
     'See you soon,' she mouthed.
     Whatever Titan did to put Hotaru to sleep, it was fast and 
invisible. Within seconds Hotaru's eyes closed, and she was sleeping 
peacefully.
     "At last," Haruka said, daring to say what they were all now 
thinking. "It's finally over."
     Serenity smiled as she watched Hotaru, and then shook her head. 
"No. This is just the beginning."




         THE WAR IN HEAVEN FALLS TO EARTH.

     CHRONICLES OF THE MESSIAH WARS...ENDS




     She laid a small scarlet rose upon the edge of the cliffs, where 
Elfhame had once stood. The winds drove with them the scent of salt 
and water, and of a memory of magik now lost forever to the world. 
They caused her long blonde hair to dance around her form.
     She knew that about twenty paces back, Haruka and Michiru were 
silently waiting for her. 
     But this was her time.
     Crystal blue eyes looked out the white-capped tides flowing and 
ebbing with the seas, to the beautiful painting of the sky made by the 
setting sun.
     "Good-bye, Kakkyou," Serenity whispered.
     The tears began to fall down her cheeks as she remembered the 
warmth of his touch, the laughter of his wit, the soothing sound of 
his voice, the magik of his smile.
     "I miss you...."



     ...and somewhere far away, someone heard her calling out.
     A feline creature not quite entirely feline let its eyes flutter 
open. The muscles of its iris contracted and formed a thin black slit 
in the centre of each eye. Its fur was silver, and it moved about 
awkwardly on all four paws.
     Such movement was new for it.
     For him.
     The feline creature looked around at his new surroundings, and 
found himself slightly perplexed. This was not the world he had known 
upon going to sleep. Further thought brought the revelation that he 
didn't even know the old world he'd fallen asleep to. But he knew that 
something was changed.
     Different.
     Perhaps it was himself.
     He could not remember that he had once been of Elven blood, or 
that he had fought the Dark Messiah and died to protect the woman he 
loved. He could not recall the final magik that found its way to the 
moon--and then was reshaped and sent into the depths of the heavens by 
the Raithe's shakujyo. He could not remember anything, save for what 
he now was.
     He was a Mau. 
     And he had a name: Zeus.
     His promise to come back to her would be fulfilled.






Eternal Thanks:


     To Naoko Takeuchi, who I'm sure had nothing like this in
     mind when she created the Sailormoon universe.

     To Sailor Skuld, for believing in me in the first place, and
     for being willing to wait 2 years for the Messiah Wars to at
     last reach their completion.

     To Todd Foster, for helping throw ideas my way, for putting
     up with my rampant scene-writing, and always letting me know
     when I started to go astray.

     To Andrea Hui and the ASMR, for letting the Circles of Time
     universe find a place here amidst the hundreds of other
     fanfics. I personally owe her a debt of thanks I fear I may
     never be able to fully repay, but I hope this can act as a
     beginning.

     To Amanda, for always being there to listen to me rant--
     about the Messiah Wars or just anything else in life.

     To blue, who never ceased to write me at least once a month
     and ask, "So just when is that final chapter coming out?" I
     hope this managed to at last satisfy you. ^_-

     To all the Hotaru/Sailor Saturn fans out there, for not
     writing all sorts of evil death threats after reading about
     the colourful demonstrations Mistress 9 gave on how to kill
     someone.



     Okay, people, show's over. Time to hit the showers....