Rose sat among her toys and stuffed animals, hugging a doll as she talked to her father.

“Where’re Uncle Aegis and Uncle Xin and Uncle Sikari?” she asked, anxiously braiding the doll’s long, dark hair.  Riordan pulled his daughter onto his lap, running his hands through her crimson locks.

“They’ve left us, I’m afraid…”

“Why?” Rose’s lower lip trembled.

“They simply strayed away… It’s only us two now, my darling,” he said, stroking her tummy gently.  Outside, rain pattered against the roof.  The sound soothed Riordan’s heart, and he leaned against the headboard of Rose’s bed as he listened.

“Oh… Okay, daddy,” she said, snuggling in his lap.  He turned her chin up, his eyes softening as he saw her smile.  The purification of the world could wait.  Today, he wished only to preserve the happiness on Rose’s face.

“Is this what that psychopath slipped you?” Jada said, picking up the crystal piece.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Rana said, as Jada ran her thumb along the crystal’s edge. “It makes me feel calm when I hold it.”

A sense of peace had settled over Jada’s mind, and she frowned, wondering if it was due to this strange crystal.

“Well, it doesn’t seem dangerous…” she mused.

“Are you gonna give it back now?”

“I think I might take it with me to Kaitlyn’s…” Jada began, cut off by Rana clutching at her arm.

“No!  It’s mine,” she insisted, reaching for it.  Her fingers pushed against the crystal’s jagged edge, opening a small, red wound on her skin.

“Rana!” Jada dropped the crystal and moved for her sister, but the little girl had already snatched back her present.  She held it in her hands, and Jada gasped, watching as the cut on her thumb dried and then healed in a matter of seconds.

“Amazing..that thing has the power to heal instantly,” she said stupidly, staring.

“Humans have such a knack for the blindingly obvious,” Fuu trotted in, his tail perked up behind him arrogantly.

“Kitty ferret!” Rana squealed, grabbing Fuu’s midsection.  He screeched, squirming violently in her arms.

“Pretty kitty ferret,” Rana cooed, holding him in a hug of death.

“Help me,” Fuu choked.

“It’s really your fault for coming in here,” Jada said, gently prying Fuu from her sister’s grasp.

“Aww, I just wanted to play with him,” Rana pouted.

“Last time we ‘played’, you put little ribbons in my fur and made me refer to myself as ‘Miss Muffy’,” Fuu said bitterly.

“Eheh.  Anyway.  Come on, Fuu, meeting time," Jada said, quickly.

“Dude, all you guys do is meet…you need to stop talking and start kicking some ass,” Fuu complained as Jada carried him out the door.

“Another word and I think I’ll kick yours,” she responded, pinching his tail.  He mewled, crawling onto her shoulder and nibbling on a lock of her hair.  “That huurt…”

“It’s hard to kick ass when you don’t even know why you’re fighting or what you’re fighting for…” she set him on the backseat of the family car and returned to the house, calling inside for her mother.

“I need to learn how to drive…”

“However, it was I who gathered you here today,” he continued, sitting up on Kaitlyn’s table and crossing one leg over the other.

“Some of you,” and here he looked pointedly at Jada, “may be wondering exactly why you are fighting and why you have these powers.  In order to explain, we must examine your previous lives.”

“Previous lives?” Etienne said, playing with his obsidian cross necklace. “I sense a lot of flashback scenes coming on…”

“Yes…why don’t we start with you, Etienne,” Omnes said.  Their scenery suddenly shifted from the interior of Kaitlyn’s apartment to what appeared to be the interior of a large castle.  Torches shone on the stone, water-stained walls and the sounds of people talking and boots hitting hard floor echoed in their ears.  The scents of cooking food and unwashed bodies mingled in the air, and Roan scrunched up her nose as she breathed it in.

“Trippy,” she said disdainfully.

“This is the castle of Tasnica,” Omnes said.  “The signing of a war treaty with their enemy, the kingdom of Lorima, has just been completed.  Tasnica emerged the victor, but unfortunately at a great loss.”

The group trekked down the castle’s corridor as various people walked past, ignoring them as if they were ghosts.  They came to a halt outside a room with gilded doors, and they stood, listening.

“The King was executed at Lorima, Prince.  You must succeed him.”

“I…I can’t!  I’m… t…t-too young…too weak…”

A tearful, young voice moaned against its cold, authoritative counterpart.

“Stop crying.”

The sound of a hand slapping against skin filtered through the gold on the door’s paneling.  Etienne trembled slightly, recalling his recent nightmare.  Could this be…?

The doors swung open, and a group of soldiers marched out.  A little boy sat on the floor, his black hair clinging to his face with sweat, tears falling down his cheeks in a cascade.

“It is,” he thought, a strangled noise surfacing in his throat.

“Yes…” Omnes said darkly. “The young crown prince, Etienne Delacroix.”

“Negaboy’s a prince?!” Jada said, turning to look at him. “Well, jeez.  Wonders never cease.”

“Shut up,” he said lamely, locking his eyes on his necklace.

“Check it out…that boy’s wearing the same cross necklace Etienne’s got,” Lani said, pointing.

“Isn’t that conviieeennieent,” Roan smirked.  The little boy pulled himself up, breathing raggedly as he struggled into his bed.  Once there he collapsed, clutching his pillow as he sobbed.

“Oh, Etienne…” Kaitlyn said sympathetically.  She kissed his cheek, and he blushed slightly, gripping his necklace.

“Man, you were pathetic…” Jada said, and then added, as if it were an afterthought, “Well, slightly more pathetic than you are now, anyway…”

Etienne simmered, but instead of dignifying her with a response, he spoke to Omnes.

“What happened to the Queen?” he asked quietly.

“She died in childbirth, I’m afraid,” Omnes replied.  “Let’s fast forward, shall we?”

Their environs shifted as he spoke, and soon they were standing on a vast expanse of island.  The line of an ocean sparkled in the distance.

“I feel as though I’ve been here before,” Kaitlyn whispered, starting to walk.  The others glanced at Omnes, who remained silent.  An ancient, ornate building came into view as they followed her. Cups that were as tall as the pillars in the building’s entrance stood around the perimeter, with green flames dancing inside them.  Small ponds brimming with water as pure as the blues of the sky above them decorated the path up to the temple.  Kaitlyn pressed her hands against the thick, heavy doors, which opened at her touch.  She entered, followed closely by the procession of the others.  Her sense of direction led her to a room filled with the same large cups she had seen outside.  A stage constructed of platforms that shrunk in size as they ascended stood in the middle of the room.  On top of the stage floated what appeared to be an enormous seed.  A young man and woman were resting on the stage’s steps, holding each other’s hands as they talked.

“I think that’s us, Kaitlyn,” Etienne blinked.  Xin and Aegis both masked their disappointment.

“I…I remember,” Kaitlyn said.  She closed her eyes, putting her hands over her chest.  The ground beneath them shuddered, and they heard the temple’s great door’s opening.

“Priestess!”  a guard, his clothes and skin torn and bloody, stumbled into the stage room. “Monsters..all around the temple…got to.. escape…the pure land…”

He wheezed, hitting the stem of one of the cups as he collapsed. “The gods have shown their anger…it’s all over for us…”

The scene suddenly faded, and Kaitlyn trembled, glaring at Omnes.

“What’s happening?” Azura asked.

“That was the beginning of the Mana War,” Omnes said.  An image formed in front of them, as if they were watching a slideshow.  The picture showed an elaborate fortress, fully fortified with weapons and covered in green armor.

“This is the Mana Fortress.  Scientists of Fa’Diel created this as the ultimate weapon, with power enough to rival their gods.  Incensed, the gods sent down their nightmare creatures.  War ensued.”

“Should we be taking notes?” Jada poked the transparent picture in front of her. Omnes rolled his eyes.  The picture changed, showing a field littered with nine bodies.  Azura noted the beautiful crystal pendant that lay near what appeared to be Kaitlyn's corpse.

“H..hey..that’s us!” Lani said, taken aback.

“And me,” Etienne said, staring at his bloody corpse.

“No…these are your past selves.  All of you were killed throughout the course of the war,” Omnes said patiently.

“Who are the two others?” Kiera asked.  A girl with long, silver hair and a boy with rich brown hair lay next to one another, apart from the group.

“You needn’t worry about those two,” Omnes answered.  Kiera’s expression soured with dissatisfaction, but she remained silent.

“The great spirits within the Mana Tree took pity on your poor souls,” Omnes continued as the bodies on the screen shimmered, glowing pure white as they crystallized into gems.  “Your animus crystals were sent to the future on Earth, save for Prince Delacroix.  His, by some cosmic accident, was sent to the Negaverse.”

“Or possibly by a twisted Fate,” Etienne grumbled bitterly.  Omnes smiled.

“What was that pendant near Kaitlyn?  Was that the Exitium Heart?” Azura said.

“So full of questions…but yes.  It was shattered after the crystals were sent off, and its shards disappeared.  It would have taken some strong magic to figure that they were in animus crystals…”

“Riordan’s magic is very strong,” Xin said meekly.

“I suppose it must have been, to transport all of you to the future,” Omnes replied.

“Th..the future?” Lani blinked. “You’re from the past?”

“Yes…” Xin said.  The scene melted into that of  the front yard of a small, comfortable house as Xin spoke.  A young boy with pale green hair sat on the front porch, petting and nuzzling the fur of a wolf.  He spoke into the wolf’s ear, running his hands along the animal’s back as he did so.

“D’you really understand what that wolf is thinking?” a little girl with almost blond green hair came up behind the boy.  Her short curls bounced at her sides as she leaned over him, gazing into the wolf’s eyes.

“I…I think I do,” he answered uneasily.

“Can you tell me how to do it, too?” the little girl asked hopefully.

“I don’t know,” the boy said.  The girl perched on the step above him, laying her head on his hair.

“How does the wolf feel right now?”

“She’s worried,” he answered, stroking the wolf’s throat.  Before the girl could respond, a tall, red-haired man joined them.

“I wonder why that is…” he mused.  Startled, the boy clung to the wolf as it glared at the man with a growl in its throat.

“Hi, mister, who are you?” the girl asked.

“Go inside now, Anya,” the boy said quickly.

“Aww…”

“Please, Anya.  Go check on supper…”

“Oh, okay..but I’ll be back in a minute!” Anya stuck  out her tongue and skittered into the house.

“Isn’t she precious,” the man smiled. “It would be a shame if I had to kill her.”

“What are you saying?  Who are you?” the boy dug his fingers into the wolf’s fur.

“Come with me, Xin.  I can make use of your…talents,” the man said, ignoring Xin’s questions.

“Wh..what?!”

“I seek the purification of the world.  You can help me…or rather, you will help me…” he kneeled on Xin’s steps, speaking in his ear.

“If you do not, then I will bathe this ground in the blood of your family..”

Terrified, Xin stumbled backwards, releasing the wolf.  It howled and jumped for the man’s throat, its long teeth bared.  The man snapped his fingers and the wolf’s motion stopped in midair.

“What did you do to her?” Xin gasped.

“Simply slowed the internal motion of her molecules to a stop.  I’ll start them again when I have your answer,” the man said calmly, stepping out of the wolf’s range.

“I don’t s-suppose I have a ch-choice,” Xin stammered.

“No, not really,” the man agreed.  He grasped Xin’s wrist just as the events being played out before them stopped abruptly. Xin shook, burying his face in Aegis’s arm.

“Stop it.. they don’t need to see that,” Aegis snapped.

“Shall I show them YOUR first meeting with Riordan, then?” Omnes said.  Kaitlyn’s apartment surrounded them once again.  Aegis’s face hardened, but he did not reply.

“I didn’t think so.”

“So..you’re saying that you’re actually from like.. a really long time ago?” Lani interrupted.

“Yes…” Aegis said. “Riordan transcended time to bring us here.  Though I have only experienced twenty some odd years of existence, I am, on a technicality, much older.. as are Xin and Riordan.”

“And as Sikari was…” Azura mumbled.

“Back to the Exitium Heart.. as you know, its purpose is to destroy the world.  The reason for your battles lies there—if you don’t, you and everything you know will be annihilated.  But you also fight because of what I have just shown you—you are all priestesses.  It was once your duty to protect your planet, Fa’Diel..but now Earth is your planet,” Omnes said. “I assume that Xin and Aegis still recall the location of their little hideout…”

Aegis nodded, though he still seemed annoyed over Omnes’s previous question.

“Good then. You’ll take them there tomorrow.  It’s time to finish this,” he said.

“What!?  No..no, we’re not ready!” Kaitlyn cried.

“Speak for yourself,” Roan said.  “I’d go right now, if I didn’t think it would worry Reiko…”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re ready or not.  You have to.  Right now, it’s more important to eliminate him.  Then we can worry about reforming the Exitium Heart,” Omnes said.  “You’ve got to do it as soon as possible.”

“I..I can’t…” Kaitlyn said. “He’s too strong..”

“You’ll never get anywhere thinking like that, darling,” Omnes said.

“Maybe we should go…”  Lani said. “I think we all need to think about this..”

“What’s to think about?” Jada said excitedly. “We’re finally going to get kick some ass!”

She shook Fuu, who had been sleeping in her lap for most of Omnes’s flashbacks.

“You hear that?”

“Mmm.. yeah, yeah…when’s dinner..”

“Little brat,” she muttered.

“I would have to agree with Jada..though perhaps in not so many coarse words…” Kiera said. “The more we delay the inevitable, the more painful it is when we finally have to face up to it…”

Azura looked torn.

“I..I want to fight.. but I’m afraid…”

“As you well should be,” Omnes said cheerfully.

“What if we lose?” she said.

“You can’t lose, silly, good always wins out over evil in Sailormoon,” Omnes petted her hair.

“Okay..what if we experience vast amounts of horrible pain and torture?”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about that…”

“Maybe we should go now,” she sweatdropped and inched towards the door.

“Alright…goodbye, everyone,” Kaitlyn rubbed her head as they began to file out, talking amongst themselves. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ah, come on..you’ve been in plenty of battles,” Umi said lightheartedly.

“More like watched plenty of battles… I hardly ever fight…I don’t have the experience for this,” she moaned. “I could die tomorrow, Umi…and you don’t even care.”

“I wish everyone would stop saying that,” he said bitterly. “How do you people know how I feel?  When did you suddenly get psychic?”

Kaitlyn bit her lip, blinking.

“Well..I.. I mean..”

“For your information,” he went on, as if he didn’t hear her, “I do care about you.  I just..christ, I’m a FISH, okay?  I’m kind of BITTER most of the time.”

“Oh..Umi..I’m sorry…” Kaitlyn squeezed the pillow. “I mean.. I’d hug you..if you..”

“Yeah, yeah.. if I weren’t a tiny sea creature at the moment,” he mumbled.

“You are SO selfish,” Omnes interrupted, appearing at the foot of Kaitlyn’s bed. “The fate of the world and Kaitlyn’s life, as well as the lives of all her friends, are at stake.  And all you can think about is your own pathetic predicament, which you wouldn’t even BE in if you weren’t such an ass.”

“Shut up,” Umi said morosely.

“It’s okay, Omnes.. I do sort of make judgements on how he feels…” Kaitlyn said quietly.

“I think you need a lesson on how to grow a spinal cord, my dear,” Omnes said, reclining on her bed.

“Don’t you have some other life to screw up?” Umi snapped.

“Hmm, not at the moment,” Omnes answered, rolling onto his stomach.  Kaitlyn sighed.

“Um.. Omnes..could we maybe be alone?”

“Sure, baby,” He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Liked that kiss more than you let on, huh?”

Umi swore, and Kaitlyn scooted away from Omnes, blushing.

“I..I meant, me and Umi..”

“Oh fiiiinee,” Omnes said. “You don’t know what you’re missing, though..”

“Come off it,” Umi muttered.

“Sigh.. no fun at all,” Omnes disappeared.  Kaitlyn coughed.

“Anyway.. Umi.. I’m sorry I judged your feelings..”

“Forget it.  Omnes is right.. I am selfish.  If I really cared about you I wouldn’t be talking about my own situation, I guess…” he said. “I mean.. I’m pretty sure I care about you.. I just.. I don’t know.  I’m not very good at this.”

“It’s okay,” she said, dropping a few flakes of food into his bowl. “I believe you.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Kaitlyn..” he said as she crawled into her bed and turned her lamp on.

“Why’s that?” she yawned.

“You’re so.. so.. “ he fumbled for the right word, but found himself unable to grasp it. “Nice.”

“Lots of people are nice, Umi,” she said.

“But you’re like.. toxically nice.  And you’re all idealistic and stuff.  I didn’t even know people like you could exist in a world like this.”

“Uh..thanks, I think,” Kaitlyn laid on her back, stretching. “I think I’m going to try and sleep now, okay?  I’m getting the feeling that tomorrow is going to be a long day…”

Umi was unresponsive for a few minutes.

“Alright…goodnight…” he said finally. “Um..sweet dreams and stuff.”

“Heh,” she grinned into her pillow. “You too.”
 
 

One more chapter to go.. o.o I realize this was pretty short.. sorry if it seemed kind of rushed..maybe I'll go back and add more later..^^;; I hope you all liked it anyway :D Mail meeee.. =p

Um, some notes for those of you unfamiliar with SoM...

Tasnica was a kingdom that was essentially just a really big fortified castle.  It's very isolated and stuff. ^^; I have no idea as to where Lorima is, but in the game a war between  them and I'm pretty sure it was Tasnica was mentioned..^^; ::needed an enemy kingdom and wasn't going to use Pandora =p::  The temple is the Dryad/Mana temple, which is actually on its own continent.  Nothing is on said continent save for the temple and lots of grass. ^^;;;  The Pure Land is the place where the Mana Tree grows.  It's inside a  dormant volcano, believe it or not. ^^;

Oh, and the brown haired boy is not Charon. ^^;;  So you know. ^_^