Hi all,

This is in the same continuity as, and can be considered a sequel to,
Minako: Warrior Princess Sidekick (revised version). Having read the
previous fic would of course be helpful (especially the epilogue) but is
not essential.  MWPS is available on A Sailor Moon Romance or at:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mredding/minako/m-index.html

This is the hopefully final version of this, so any comments you have
would be appreciated, though I would prefer they not be in the form of a
MST. There was no response to the first part, but I'm sending the second
to help you get a better feel for where the story's going. If there's no
feedback after this, I won't bother posting the further segments here.

        Mythic Sailor Moon

        Episode Two

        The Moon Kingdom, Mythic Era
        Sixteen years since the awakening of Sailor Saturn

Earthlight, luminous blue and green, shone down on the white marble
halls of the palace of Selene, ruler of the moon. The sky high above was
a deep velvet black, and the stars in the sky blazed like a thousand
thousand burning diamonds. Unfiltered by a complete atmosphere, the
light of the sun shone down somewhat ruddily, casting a multicolored,
double shadow of Xena as she walked down the main arcade toward the
palace. She stopped in the middle of the arcade and strode forward to
look off the side, toward the full Earth before her, leaning one hand on
the stone pillar. Faint sounds of inhabitation reached her ears; the
survivors of the Amazon village that Dahok had destroyed when they'd
fought him two years ago. Ephiny and her centaur son were there now.
Xena smiled. Her own son, Solan, at long last reunited with her. He had
grown into a fine young man. He'd almost died at the hands of Dahok's
daughter, Phobia, but he'd been saved by --

"Sailor Mars," she said aloud.  A moment passed. Callista emerged from
behind a pillar eight positions back from where Xena stood. The sixteen
year-old sulked.

"Darnit Xena, how could you have heard me? I was SOO QUIET!" she wailed.
Xena smiled wickedly as she turned to address her protege.

"Practice," she said sternly. "And complete blind luck at speaking out
loud," she thought to herself and grinned more.  Callista's curly blond
locks bounced as she scrunched up her face in disgust and stomped past
Xena toward the palace. She still had more than a touch of baby fat to
her face and didn't really bear too much resemblance to the icy,
raven-like beauty she had once been before Xena had returned her to
infancy.

Xena smiled indulgently as the girl stalked toward the moon palace. High
above her, violet streamers of energy formed out of the ether. She
blinked and began to look around as she immediately sensed the
disturbance. Except . . . it wasn't the start of a disturbance, but the
conclusion; not something being displaced, but being restored.

A ribbon of the power of Silence snaked down out of the sky and suddenly
wrapped around Xena. She went breathless at the sudden influx of power
and then gasped for air a moment later after the swell of power had
subsided. Then she quietly crumpled to the ground.

Callista turned around just in time to see the latter . . . to see the
woman who'd raised her as a mother fall to the ground. "XENA!!" she
screamed and ran towards her.


[Roll Credits]
You�re Still the One, "Lucy Lawless version"
(written by Shania Twain & Jeff "Mutt" Lange,
originally recorded by Shania Twain)


(humming in tune to the opening of the song...)
 [Night falls and the lights of the city begin to dim]

Looks like we made it
 [Crystal Tokyo lights up! A glittering fairyland!] (The images fade
softly, each into the next fairly quickly)

Look how far we've come my baby
 [Neo-Queen Serenity places her hand into King Endymion�s grasp]

We mighta took the long way
 [Image pans by, of Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako on the day they
graduated from High School]

We knew we'd get there someday
 [In turn, the adult Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus turn
around and smile to the camera; Venus also  flashes a V-sign and winks.]

They said, "I bet, they'll never make it..."
 [Image of Haruna-sensei holding her head and shaking it while tutoring
Usagi very late after school.]

But just look at us holding on
 [Image of Osaka Naru and Umino Gurio on their Western-style wedding
day, Usagi and Yamagi as bridesmaids; the inner senshi are sitting far
back and gushing.]

We're still together still going strong
 [Scene of Tsukino Kenji and Tsukino Ikukko smiling and  hugging outside
a church; they are also wearing formal  clothes and the girls are
wearing familiar bridesmaid  dresses and look a few years older.]

(You're still the one)
 [Superimposed against the backdrop of Crystal Tokyo a  handsome,
sandy-haired young man in a guard�s formal  uniform looks up and smiles]

You're still the one I run to
 [Chibi-usa runs toward her parents the King and Queen]

The one that I belong to
 [Artemis and Luna snuggle, with their kitten Diana]

You're the one I want for life
 [Makoto in street clothes getting hearts in her eyes  after some cute
guy; Rei and Minako look on, Rei  sweatdropping, Minako encouraging. Amy
walks up and  shows her diamond engagement ring, practically shoves  it
in their faces, causing severe facefaults]

(You're still the one)
 [In front of the Fountain of Trevi in Rome, Michiru  throws a coin in
and Haruka embraces her from behind,  both of them smiling]

You're still the one that I love
 [Happy people are walking around downtown Crystal  Tokyo. Rei bumps
into very well-groomed Yuuichriu in a  snappy suit, and frowns. He opens
his mouth as he is  about to say something, a horde of screaming
teenage  girls run up and drag him off. Rei looks relieved.]

The only one I dream of
 [Someone jostles Makoto as she leaves the store and she  drops some
groceries - a handsome blond guy stops to  help her pick them up and
there�s something about the  way they look at each other...]

You're still the one I kiss good night
 [An adult Usagi and Mamoru having dinner with her  parents]


Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
 [Flashback to all the senshi reassembling after the  defeat of Galaxia]

I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'
 [Setsuna is standing at a podium in a college gown. Her  tassels mark
her as valedictorian of the graduating  class, and all the senshi, still
wearing High School  outfits, are sitting in the audience applauding
along  with the rest of the audience at her speech]

They said, "I bet, they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
 [Professor Tomoe and a stunning adult Hotaru waving  goodbye as their
cruise ship departs Tokyo Harbor]

We're still together still going strong
 [Images of the adult senshi helping people out of  underground
shelters. Around them, Crystal Tokyo looks  a bit battered but not too
bad.]

(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're the one I want for life
 [In Paris, with the Eifel tower visible not too far  away, a door on a
balcony opens. A striking girl with  long greenish-blond hair walks out
proudly. A guy with  a resemblance to Rubious, except with hot paink
hair  follows after her; then twins with red and brown/blond hair.  They
smile evilly and the sign of the Dark Moon  appears on all their
foreheads.]

(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night
 [An image of Planet Nemesis; in the royal hallway a  handsome blond man
man wearing an ornate military  uniform receives a shocking message. He
turns and  dashes away.]

I'm so glad we made it
 [In the shadows of ancient greek ruins, two red eyes  gleam ferally
from the shadows and darkness grows]
Look how far we've come my baby
 [Wistfully smiling, Minako looks out off a balcony and  thinks of her
absent friend Xena; the final image has  her face appearing next to
Minako�s.]



        TITLE SCREEN:

The Seal is Broken! Revival of Evil at the End of Time


        The Moon Kingdom, Mythic Era.
    Inside the throne room of Queen Selene.


Xena stood before the throne of the Titan Selene. Callista stood just
behind her on the right; her son Solan, a tall, slender youth with long
sunny blond hair, just behind her on the left. Sailors Mercury and
Jupiter were standing on the left side of the room, just in front of the
throne; Sailors Venus and Pluto were standing on the right, facing them.
Princess Serenity stood on the throne's dias, at her mother's right
hand. "I have bad news, Queen Selene," Xena said without preamble. "The
power I used to Seal Ares has returned to me."

Selene's eyebrows raised. "So, the treacherous war-god is free once
more? I did not feel him slip the bonds we placed on him Xena."

Xena shook her head. "He hasn't. Not yet. He will though."

Pluto fixed her with a level gaze. "Your power returned to you through
Time," she commented. Xena nodded.

"I got brief glimpses, images, carried to me. Apparently, there is no
Sailor Saturn in the time Ares is freed in. I think that some descendant
of mine might have released him. Someone who has some potential along
the lines of my power, but who isn't a senshi. I can't think of any
other way the seal could be broken," she continued. "I just got a brief
flash of a pale-skinned girl with violet eyes, and hair similar to
mine."

"Hmm," mused Solan. "My descendant you think Mother?" His eyes flickered
towad Callista. Xena frowned. "It's not good to speculate. It might have
been one of your uncle's descendants as well," she said.

He seemed _slightly_ crestfallen, and merely shrugged. She smiled wryly
and returned her attention to the queen. "Regardless of the cause, the
effect remains: Ares is free and there is no Saturn to oppose him."

"You think this is our responsibility to deal with?" asked Selene.
"Another time, when assuredly there are other Sailor Senshi, perhaps a
descendant of Ours upon the throne?" she said, her eyes drifting over
her own daughter as she said it.

"I think . . . that I wouldn't leave dealing with Ares to just anyone,"
said Xena, as she looked pointedly at Sailor Pluto.

Serenity nodded in acknowledgement. "Pluto, your assessment?"

"I would like to go to Olympus and use the power of the Great Portal to
sound the point in time from whence the Saturn Power returned. I have an
intuition that there is something gravely amiss, but I do not know what
it could be. I'm afraid . . . that Ares might have broken free during
the Dark Age we know will eventually descend upon the Earth and that
there might NOT be senshi to oppose him."

The others, save Selene and Xena, gasped. Selene fixed the time guardian
with her piercing gaze and nodded. Pluto raised her staff and her
magenta aura formed about her. A moment later, she vanished with a
radiant pulse of light.

"Handy trick, that," Sailor Venus commented.

"We should practice our Sailor Teleport more," replied Sailor Jupiter.

"She may be able to teleport by herself because she's the daughter of a
God, but I think we could all learn to do it," said Sailor Mercury.

"Sometimes, I almost feel like I can," Sailor Mars said wistfully. The
Inner Senshi exchanged a look between themselves and then glanced at
Callista. Xena put a hand on her adopted daughter's shoulder and smiled
encouragingly.

"Hey, wait," said Sailor Venus. "The time after the Dark Age. . ."

"What?" inquired Sailor Mercury.

"Isn't that when Minako was from?"

Xena blanched and turned to Eri�, her eyes wide with concern. "Was it??"

"Who's Minako?" asked Solan and Callista in unison.

Planet Nemesis, Crystal Era.
Inside the Royal Citadel

Sailor Mercury was flattened to an ornate carving, her shoulders
squeezed tightly together in the hopes of blocking any onlooker in the
gallery far below from seeing so much as an inch of her, as she
manipulated her palmtop computer.  There was definitely something going
on here among the "defeated" people of Planet Nemesis. Topaz' abrupt
departure with Rei was very suspicious behavior, in her considered
opinion, and she was certain that there was a lot going on that the
Nemesite hadn't said.

Mercury had a list of questions a mile long. Some of the highlights
included: How could a dead world like Nemesis support a fairly large
human population? How could it even have a breathable earth-like
atmosphere? How had Nemesian technology have progressed so rapidly from
the point of a primitive warp drive to the titanic crystal ships that
had besiged Earth? How many more of them had developed powers? That last
question was VERY disturbing. Suddenly it sounded like most of their
noble families had a few members with paranormal abilities.  She frowned
at the mere thought even as the display on her palmtop flashed once to
indicate it had completed scanning the area.

There was an energy source somewhere below the royal palace. And it
wasn't "dark power" or anything magical, either. No, looking at these
readings Mercury figured she was picking up a controlled quantum
singularity. Like a matter/anti-matter reactor. A big one.

She turned her head slightly and looked over her left shoulder. Her
visor was set to a low level of light amplification. At least three long
flat cargo platforms had glide into the tunnel doorway in the base of
the citadel's foundation wall. A final group of six citadel guards fell
in behind it in formation. Once they were out of sight, two guards took
hold of each door and swung the panels while another eight stood at
attention.

It appeared that the doors would lock like vault doors if they were
allowed to close. With the quickest flick of her right thumb, a life
signs scan was run and came up with only the dozen below. She peeled
away from the carved column and tucked away her palmtop as she leapt
over the balcony. Power flowed through her as she crossed her arms and
spread them wide.

"Super Shabon Spray -- FREEZING!" she hissed as she flew through the
air. The guards didn't have a chance to make a sound before they were
encased in hardened snow and ice.  The doors remained a scant eighteen
inches wide. Ami smiled to herself as she hopped over the frozen guards
and slid into the darkened passage beyond. She may not have been Naru
Gurio but she did all right at this sort of thing now too.

        The Free City of Paris, Crystal Era
        Club After Dark

The music was grinding like a steel beast gnashing its teeth together.
As usual. Peri tossed her hair as she sipped the glass of wine at hand.
The whole place was barbarously organic, but she had to admit the wine
and food were excellent. Far more palatable than the various food-types
that made up the staples of Nemesian diet.

She sensed someone behind her, saw a pale hint of reflection in the
darkened window which she faced.  A voice asked, in near-perfect French
accent, "Miss, would you care to walk along the bank of the Seine with
me? Perhaps go somewhere dark and . . . intimate?"  She pushed her lips
into an eager smile and had to exert some will to keep the sneer from
her eyes, replacing the look with one of wide-eyed innocence before she
turned to the speaker.

"Oui, m--CITRINE!" she spluttered as she recognized her compatriot.
"What have you done to your hair?" she demanded. Citrine's normal hair
color was a brilliant pink that had him the laughingstock (but only
behind his back) of most of the royal court. Except that he'd now dyed
it black and was sporting a pair of stylish narrow black sunglasses. It
changed his look totally, improving it measurably. Her gaze swept down.
A well-cut black casual suit hugged his slender form; the fabric had a
hint of a metallic sheen to it. Under it he wore a black dress shirt
with the oversized collar wings that were the new height of male
sartorial splendour. A deep green tie, again, semi-metallic and a black
onyx tie-tack -- with the black moon of Nemesis on it no less! --
completed the look. He stood there smirking. He looked good and he knew
it. But then again, he was something of an empath and he was probably
quite literally getting a thrill out of this.

Peri scowled. "Is that some kind of a disguise?" Citrine nodded,
grinning. The man was going to be insufferable about the response she
had to him. Next he'd be growing a pencil-thin moustache like some of
the Frenchmen. She sighed. It was a shame the low quality of help she
had to work with, really. The Ayakashi sisters would have been better.

No, check that. Not them. Too much prissy backstabbing. At least she and
Citrine both had taste. The man was just insufferable, that was all. And
the worst part was that he . . . ! It was SO unfair!  She broke off the
train of though as his grin widened even further.  He was worse than a
mind-reader and she'd sworn not to let her thoughts wander so unguarded
again! That was what made Citrine such a deadly player at court
rivalries. He lulled you into loosening up and that was all he needed.
He'd done it to her before and plucked her biggest secret from her.
Thank the Forerunners he'd chosen to throw his lot in with her than with
her sister Esmerodo!

She sighed deeply, forcing the thoughts and the feelings to all drain
away from her. "You're very handsome tonight, _Tristan_," she said with
emphasis on his cover name. "I bet Jase and Cynthia would be impressed,"
she added, using Jacinth and Hyacinth's cover names as well. He smiled
and shrugged.

Far across the room, Umino Naru (nee Osaka) sat at the bar sipping white
wine. Maturity had turned a freckle-faced young girl into a smouldering,
bronzed sun goddess with eyes like the deepest blue of the heaven above.
Flaming hair held back with one glittering sapphire-studded hairclip
cascaded down over her left shoulder and onto an off-the-shoulder dress
in a deep blue silk that also matched her eyes.
Naru Umino. Top operative of the Crystal Tokyo External Security Force.
On the hunt after Dark Moon conspirators in war-torn Europe.

She didn't have a clue what she was about to go up against.

Neither did they.

She got up, holding her wineglass languidly, and made for the dance
floor through a circuitous route that let her check out most of the
room. Her dress was more formal than most people's clothing here, and
she reeked of money; but then, that was her disguise. A rich woman of
society "slumming" at a club that straddled the borderline of trendy and
sleazy.  As she walked past the table where the green-haired woman she
was observing sat, the dark-haired man who was seated with her turned
and looked at her and met her gaze for just a second. She felt a pang of
sympathy. Would he be the next man to "disappear" in the clutches of
this mysterious seductress? Her eyes caught on his tie tack.  Probably
not.

The man's grin broadened, warmed even.  She brought a coy smile to her
lips, not quite an invitation, not a refusal. A strong 'maybe.' As she
turned her head away and tossed her hair with her left hand, she made
for the dance floor.

Peri gaped at Tristan as the stunning redhead glided toward the dance
floor. "When did YOU start liking WOMEN??" she demanded.  He chuckled
and turned to her with a broad grin on his face.

"She was ravishing, wasn't she?" he said, baiting his partner, who, he
had to admit, was just as good-looking, if something of a water/fire
contrast to her. "And oddly enough, she was paying a LOT of attention to
us. She had definitely formed feelings of concern for me."

Peri stared. "She's one of them?"  He shrugged. She cursed quietly. He
frowned, slightly mockingly.

"I think I would have felt it if she had any real power; but she might
be on to you."

"Then," said Peri winsomely. "Let's put on a show and see who turns up
in the audience." Tristan nodded.

Naru danced by herself on the crowded floor. She rebuffed three men, a
woman, and a couple, who wanted to dance with her.  Two women who she
didn't feel any sexual overtones from ended up dancing near her; one
slender, with immaculately coiffed black hair in a short feathered
style, wearing a nice white blouse and black slacks; the other a bit
shorter with an athletic build and wavy brown hair, wearing a fringed
brown leather jacket, jeans, and lace-up boots. The three of them made
for good casual dance partners, a study in contrasts. Naru had set her
wine aside and picked up her skirt to dance. However, her awareness
never left Peri's booth for more than a few seconds.

After a little bit, Tristan got up and went into the back hallway,
towards the restrooms. He made a call using a calling card and seemed to
yell into the phone a lot. When he hung up, he seemed disturbed and
returned to Peri's table. She seemed upset and he immediately tried to
leave. She tried to follow him, seemed to be trying to drag him out the
back door but he peeled her off him and elbowed his way to the front
door. Peri scowled and headed off toward the bar.

"I don't think you've got a shot, honey," the darker-haired girl dancing
near her said.

"You think?" she laughed in reply.

"Sure, they've been really tight since day one in here together," she
replied. "Considering he's usually scoping out guys. She must not have
liked his new look or something cuz that didn't look like a very
friendly parting to me."

"What? Guys? New look?" Naru whirled around, her attention fully on the
girl, who nodded.

"Right. Every other time loverboy came in here with her his hair was
pink and they scoped out guys together, who she usually picked up."

"Are you SURE it's him?"

"Sure I'm sure, I thought he was cute and hit on him myself once. Since
then I've noticed him in here about one time to ever four of hers. I
have to admit it, I still liked the scenery. Besides, that was a really
wild shade of pink he had. Sort of like the inside of a grapefruit."

Naru cursed.  She'd been made. So much for THOSE plans . . .  "Thanks!
You really saved me some time. I'm Naru."

The woman smiled. "No problem. I'm Alexandra, this is Rhonda. We're
happy to help."

Naru nodded her head and thanked them again before departing.


        The Moon Kingdom, Mythic Era
        Inside the throne room of Queen Selene


Xena stood before the throne of the Titan Selene. Solan stood to the
Queen's left hand side and Ephiny on her right. Behind Xena were all of
the other Sailor God-warriors, or senshi: lovely Eri�, Sailor Venus;
proud and warlike Melissa, Sailor Jupiter;  cool Amica, Sailor Mercury;
Callista, Sailor Mars;  and Moment, Sailor Pluto. Moment cooly met her
gaze and winked briefly. She was older than the other girls and she and
Xena had become close friends.

"I want to go with you mother!" protested Solan. Xena met his gaze
levelly. "Solan, that's just not a good idea. "

"Everyone else is!" he protested. Xena smiled. Young men; you had to
love 'em.

"That's exactly why you have to stay here,"she replied. "You will need
to protect the Queen if anything should go amiss. The powers given to
you by the Golden Crystal of Illusia are perhaps the strongest next to
the Queen's own; I know we can trust you to do this."

"I'm going too," announced Princess Serenity.  Xena whirled in surprise.

"Absolutely not! It's out of the question! You are the heir and your
place is here by your mother's side!"

Xena and Serenity turned towards the queen as one. From her position on
the right, as Lady of the City and Advisor to the Queen, the amazon
Ephiny pursed her lips to avoid smirking; not a good sign, thought Xena.

"Serenity, my daughter," began the Titan of the Moon, "Actually, you
_are_ going."

"Mother I . . . I am going?" Serenity said, non-plussed. Selene nodded.
"Since Hera has managed to get the majority of the Gods to agree with
her, the Great Portal is not available for our use at this time."

Pluto frowned in deep consternation. She felt . . . possessive about the
portal. The Gods had eased their limitations on the Moon Kingdom since
they had defeated Dahok the Destroyer and saved Earth but they could
still be so ungrateful! Clearly as Hades' daughter she was entitled to
_some_ consideration. . .!

She snapped her attention back; Xena had just asked something. "Pluto's
powers will be joined to Sailor Moon's; I will give you a way to light
your path through the corridors of time, through the near-infinite
futures. But you will all have to aid my daughter," Selene inclined her
head at the Inner Senshi, "and Xena, you will have to create a
protective barrier to shield all of you from the damages of the time
winds." She sighed. "I wish there were some other way, but Our
divinations, as well as those of Sailor Pluto, confirm that the Earth is
poised on the brink of destruction in the future. A Final Darkness which
will never be cast off if evil triumphs. And so, I am sending you to the
end of time to fight Ares and whatever evil he has conjured up in the
millenia since his imprisonment." Queen Selene looked deadly serious as
she stood up from her throne and clapped her hands together twice.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a ringing in the air and
a brilliant flash of light and a tall, sealed vessel appeared, floating
in the air in front of the princess. Serenity's eyes widened like
saucers. "The Sacred Chalice!" she gasped.

Xena blinked in surprise. The Sacred Chalice of the Moon was a really
ugly pink trophy cup? Oh well, whatever. It sealed in a reserve of
cosmic light; maybe it needed to look like that for all she knew.

"Xena, Princess Serenity, it's time to transform!" announced Ephiny. The
two women nodded and embraced the power of the Moon and Saturn.  Back to
back, ribbons of pink & white, ribbons of violet and black, the sound
and the silence, the light and the darkness swirled around them, and
then Sailor Moon and Sailor Saturn stood there.

The group shifted positions, Saturn was foremost, kneeling on one knee
with the Silence Glaive laid across it sideways. Pluto stood next, her
own Time Key Staff perfectly upright against the floor. The Inner senshi
formed an arc behind them, and Sailor Moon was in the center.  Xena
winked at her son, and he blushed. The message was clear: she could have
come over there and embarassed him by kissing him goodbye but she
didn't. He waved.

"Daughter, I am giving the Sacred Chalice into your keeping for more
reason than the energy necessary to travel in time. If the situation
should be as grim as the omens say, you may need to use that power."
Serenity gasped at the implications. Her mother nodded levelly, once.

Sailor Moon reached out and touched the Chalice. She gasped as power
began to flow into her and the top of the lid cracked open the merest
bit. Brilliant radiance poured out and surrounded her. "NOW!" she gasped
and Pluto spun her staff and Saturn began to generate a protective
bubble even as Sailor Moon began to link all the senshi through her.
Pluto's portal into the timestream stretched wide and the winds began to
pull their bubble into it. Light blazed forth from Sailor Moon and the
Chalice once again as the Sailor Senshi passed into the timestream.  The
light stretched forward like an arrow and the bubble of Silence followed
after it like a piece of flotsam caught in the wake of a passing ship.

Earth, Crystal Era
The Island of Sanctos, off the coast of Greece

Ares surveyed his handiwork. He had raised this structure out of pure
power and it was the image of the Halls of War that he had once presided
over in the ancient times. Around the world he could feel with his mind
the glowing white power of Crystal Tokyo. He scowled. It was a bump, a
carbuncle. He would excise it from the Earth and then . . .

He turned and seemed to listen.  He felt rather than heard something. If
his awareness had not been expanded at that moment . . . but no matter,
it had been. He felt her coming. Felt _them_ coming.

"Xena," he snarled.  A firm grip on the sword at his belt, he raised his
other hand. Red lightning crackled around him, thunder shook the Halls,
and he hurled a baleful thunderbolt up INTO the heavens through an
opening in the roof. Like a crimson comet rising from the Earth it rose
and vanished.

In the timestream, the bubble of Silence flew after the ray of light
Sailor Moon had released from the Sacred Chalice of the Moon. Around
them the timewinds howeled but Xena, with a serene expression on her
face, held the shield. One hand grasped the haft of the Silence Glaive,
the other half-raised in a gesture akin to the martial arts but actually
learned from Lao Ma, the wise sage who had discovered a philosphy she
called The Way of Life.

Ares' attack came at them out of nowhere and struck Xena's shield,
shattering it like cheap pottery.  There was no time to scream; the
timestream ripped them apart before they could reach for each other.
Power flared around Pluto as she tried to hold the group together with
her own abilities, but the shrieking winds of time pulled them
inexorably apart. As each was drawn apart, she faded into the eddies of
time. Fighting to retain her staff, Pluto was the last to vanish out of
the timestream.

       [Screen fades; end credits roll]

More Than This - peformed by Kino Makoto with guest violin soloist
Kai'oh Michiru.
(Written by Jules Shear, originally recorded by 10,000 Maniacs)

The dark screen fades up, an aqua-haired woman looks over her shoulder,
flashes a smile and spins away as she plays a strain of notes on her
violin; the music swells and a brown-haired woman positions herself in
the left half of the screen. The right becomes a frame in which images
form.

[Makoto smiles as a manga-style image of the Mythic senshi in a casual
group fades into the frame; Pluto is somewhat prominent.]

    I could feel at the time
    There was no way of knowing
[image of Melissa dressed as a girl of Sparta in athletic event clothing
and holding a Javelin passes from the right, then as Mythic Jupiter
bearing her oak leaf sword from the left]

    Fallen leaves in the night
    Who can say where they're blowing
[image of a battered Callista just after surviving the burning of the
village Cirra from the left, then a younger image of her as a confident
Mythic Mars from the right]

    As free as the wind
    And hopefully learning
[image of Amica dressed as a young noblewoman of Rome, holding an abacus
in one hand and a scroll in the other passes from the right, then as
Mythic Mercury, looking over her shoulder and smiling knowlingly from
the left.]

    Why the sea on the tide
    Has no way of turning
[image of Eri� dressed in Athenian clothing, smiling, her hair very
curly as she passes from the left, then as Mythic Venus with straighter
hair from the right, and a more serious expression]

    More than this - you know there's nothing
[Images of Serenity looking pensive in the palace on the Moon]
    More than this - tell me one thing
[Images of a more mature Joxer surveying the door to a hillside shrine]
    More than this - you know there's nothing
[Images of Hades and Aphrodite exchanging meaningful, concerned looks]

    It was fun for a while
    There was no way of knowing

[Moment, with black hair, dressed in her simple village attire moves by
the frame from the left; Sailor Pluto moves by the right]

    Like a dream in the night
    Who can say where we're going

[Image of Xena as a snarling warlord moves by from the right and then as
a calm, cooly smiling heroine holding a glaive from the left]

    No care in the world
    Maybe I'm learning

[Princess Serenity, posed regally but with a hint of surprise passes
from the left; a moment later Mythic Sailor Moon looking earnest and
ready to fight passes from the right]

    Why the sea on the tide
    Has no way of turning

[Makoto looks at the frame to her left approvingly as the various Mythic
Senshi take up their places around Queen Selene, who is holding the
Silver Crystal.]

    More than this - you know there's nothing
[Mokoto faces the screen smiling as she sings; the frame fades]
    More than this - tell me one thing
[Michiru playing the violin appears standing next to her.]
    More than this - you know there's nothing
[As the music fades Haruka appears and puts her hand gently on Michiru's
elbow; Makoto smiles warmly at her old friends and then winks at the
camera as the scene fades out.]


    Next time, on Mythic Sailor Moon:

    "Mission of Mercy! The Return of Haruka & Michiru!"

Image: A gleeful Haruka at the wheel of a jeep that's banging through
nearly impossible terrain, Michiru smiling at her indulgently. And
holding on tight.