Rain... A never-ending river of rain...
"Arashi-sama?" a fall of pale-blue hair broke the monotony of the grey sky. Arashi blinked: Maiko was leaning over her, smiling, "A coin for you thouhgts!" the girl laughed.
Arashi didn't reply, she limited herself to press the chin on her knees and tried to pay attention to Selene's words. Phoenix swept away from his eyes, a strand of his blue hair. He glanced Arashi thoughtfully, then turned back again to the parakeet, who was desperately trying to recall the general attention.
Maiko sat on the sofa, near Phoenix, grumbling something against Selene. Arashi realised that everything was very distant from her... She saw the images, but didn't hear words. Outside, the rain was almost hypnotic. The rippling water was creating thousands of circles, one into the other, infinitely...  Arashi shook and, involuntarily, she closed her eyes.
"Arashi-sama, are you listening to me?" Selene asked,
"Shut up, you VULTURE!" Maiko exclaimed, "She's sleeping!" it heard some steps' sound... They were leaving her alone... "Phoenix-san?" Maiko whispered, "Don't you come?",
"Immediately!" he ensured. Arashi heard the door to close, the man to approach her and then... Warmth... A warm embrace...

<... Queen Serenity withdrew from the warm embrace in which she had held Princess Vulcan. It was more than clear that the beauty gold-haired princess hadn't appreciated it.
"Welcome to the Moon Kingdom" the young queen had smiled, "I wish you to consider this palace as your new home".
Vulcan's eyes had moved around: the white palace was marvellous, completely different from hers. And Queen Serenity, too, was completely different from her. Why Princess Vulcan had decided to ally the rulers of the Moon? Rulers who were expanding their domain on the whole galaxy? Who were menacing her same authority on Vulcan?
There it was  a very good reason for this: Chaos was menacing the Solar System, and it was a too big problem for being solved only by herself. The Silver Millennium owned a huge army and, overall, a great mysterious power.
"Welcome" who had talked now, was the young King Emeron: his shoulder-lenght hair were deep blue and his eyes were purple. Princess Vulcan knew that, that man, was a brave, a great leader and a good-hearted man, "I want to express you my deepest gratitude for offering us your support, Princess Vulcan".
Vulcan had looked at them two, at both their smiling faces, then, her eyes had shifted over them, one the candid colonnade of the palace. Serenity had smiled as she had understood something,
"Would you like to visit our Palace?" she had asked. Princess Vulcan had shook her head, but she couldn't move her eyes away from that beautiful building. Queen Serenity got Vulcan's hand and gently pulled her towards the entrance.
"Visit our Palace" said King Emeron, smiling...>

Arashi's eyes bursted open. The warmth she had felt was due to a jacket that, someone, had put on her shoulders. The young woman took off the jacket and scanned it. It was to...
"... Phoenix" she murmured.
* I haven't forgotten about you... *
What did it mean? Had she already seen him before? Maybe yes, afterall his face wasn't completely unknown to her. "Visit our palace..." Arashi repeated sounding absent-minded. She stood up and daintily put down the jacket. Suddenly her eyes turned clear, "The palace!" she spelled.

"On the MOON?!" Selene exclaimed perplexed,
"Why, Arashi-sama?" Maiko asked,
"We must go on the Moon. We must go to the Palace of King Emeron and Queen Serenity!" Arashi sharply replied,
"We can't waste our time! Our future is going to change radically and we must find out immediately the Eight Talisman!" Selene harshly spoke, Arashi moved away her eyes from the parakeet. Maiko gave the woman a worried look: she feared Arashi to close again in herself, and Maiko didn't want it. Also if she was away from home, alone, in a present in which her Era was running the risk to be destroyed forever, Maiko felt really happy with Arashi and Phoenix. But, on the other hand, Selene was right... She was there, making nothing, while her family, her friends and her world were going to disappeare.
"I believe in Arashi" Maiko exorded, Arashi raised her eyes on the girl. "If Arashi-sama says that we must go on the Moon, so it be".
"Do you wanna be the responsible of the death of our Queen?" Selene asked again, Maiko closed her eyes,
"I..." she stammered, "... no" she concluded helplessly, "But the Queen told us to find out Sailor Vulcan, and that, together, we had known by ourself what to do".
Selene sighed,
"However, you have not enough energy for the Sailor Teleport" she finally said.
"If what do you need is only energy, I can provide it" Phoenix said entering the room,
"You spied us!" Arashi accused him, but Maiko completely ignored her mate and rushed to hug Phoenix,
"Truly?!" she exclaimed with a childish enthusiasm that made Phoenix to smile, "Thank you, Fushikou-san! THANK YOU!!!",
"MAIKO!" Selene yelled, flying around the two.
In front of the two embraced, Arashi's rage vanished in less than a second. For a moment she felt empty: it was like an hole, right under her stomach, had sucked away all her feelings. Maiko turned to the blond with a radiant smile,
"Have you heard, Arashi-sama? We will fly to the Moon!",
"Yeah..." she replied blankly, "What I wanted".
 

Prince Actaeon silently leaned on the crystal cob in which the blond Chibi-Usa was sleeping,
"Our daughter..." he murmured. He felt deeply sad, deeply weary. He grasped the forehead of the girl and Chibi-Usa widened her eyes in fear: the resemblance the girl had with Serenity, united to that expression of fear, painfully hurt Actaeon. "Why are you scared by me?" the prince asked: but he actually wasn't asking it to Chibi-Usa. He was asking it to Serenity.
"Dad" the child smiled sweetly, gone was the fear from her face, "I don't fear you". Actaeon slightly smiled back,
<Our daughter... My daughter. She's not Serenity's child. I created this girl for her, because I wished her to think no-more to Endymion. Because I wished Serenity to think to me only. Why can't you think to me, only?"
"Chibi-Usa?" Serenity appeared on the threshold of the child's bedroom. And there she remained. "Actaeon" she said. Usagi couldn't understand why Actaeon was shunning her, why he left her alone for so much time.
"Did you sleep well?" the prince asked, his voice was expressing no particular interest for the topic in question, Usagi timidly moved a step towards him,
"Yes" she replied, "And you?"
"Of course" was his answer.
Usagi was holding back the tears. The prince slowly walked towards the door, he was going to exit when,
"Actaeon, why?" Usagi asked with choke voice. The man petrified, "Why do you always leave me alone? Why are you angry with me? I... I'm not a good wife?" she stammered.
"I'm sorry, Serenity" Actaeon said, sounding as more distant as he could, "But I've been extremely busy..."
"Busy?" the sound or her voice, make the prince to turn around and his face fell, seeing Usagi's eyes glassy with tears, "I'm an egoist, I know..." the woman added, "... but I wish you to think to me, only..."
Actaeon thought his heart could explode: he had wanted that woman for centuries and now, she was there with him, and she was simply asking to be loved and Actaeon had nothing to do but to hug her. But Serenity wasn't to him. She wouldn't be to him, neither forcing the destiny and modifying time... All the things he had made, all the things he was doing, couldn't give him the woman he had always loved. Chibi-Usa embraced one of Usagi's legs and glanced at Actaeon. The prince closed his eyelids and gave his back to them two.

Prince Actaeon sat on his throne and,
"Myhannan!" he called. The capped man appeared in a spring of water,
"Your Majesty" the man bowed before the prince, "Our plan for the conquer of the planet has began. Things could go faster, if your Majesty would use the Ginzouishou...". Actaeon looked at the man for long moment, then, automatically opened his hand and the Silver Crystal materialised on it. The glowing jewel, harmoniously spun on itself, releasing a gentle white aura all around. Actaeon's eyes - fixed on the crystal - were completely hollow. Myhannan gazed the crystal with excitement, but as it had appeared, the Ginzouishou vanished.
"You have another mission to fulfil, Myhannan" the prince finally said, "Do you remember?". Myhannan killed a birthing leapt of rage,
"YES, your Majesty" he hissed and his body sunk in the water that had appeared under his knees. The Prince hurled his head back,
"What I've to do?" he asked himself...
 

"97... 98... 99... 100!" shouted Maiko and with a last leapt, she jumped on the last step towards the Hikawa Jinjia's stair. "Hurry up, snails!" the girl cried to Arashi and Phoenix who were only few steps back to her. A bullet of white and pale blue feathers, flew on Maiko's face,
"SHUT UP!" Selene yelled madly, "Wanna woke up everyone?" Maiko gave her parakeet a cold glance,
"You're making MUCH MORE NOISE than me!" the girl yelled back. The two exchanged each other a burning look, then Selene added
"Why did you chosen this place?", Maiko crossed her arms and winked,
"The original Sailor Senshi had always made it there, and I've always wished to make like them! It'll be REALLY cool!" the girl concluded enthusiastically. Phoenix was the second one to finish the stair, Maiko smiled him joyfully. He liked that spontaneous and warm-hearted girl, he loved her like a younger sister. Then, the man heard the step of Arashi behind him, she too had just finished the stair and now was looking around, without any particular expression.
"What's now?" Phoenix asked, Maiko pulled out her henshin brook,
"Now we have to transform" she explained. Said this, she remained hanging the brook in mid-air, looking at the youth doubtfully, "What about you?" she asked. Selene sweat-dropped,
"Maiko, obviously he CAN'T turn into a Sailor soldier" Phoenix grimaced.
"Just present yourself in the form in which you can give out more energy than you can" Arashi mumbled, pulling out nonchalantly her wand.
Phoenix glanced her, then
"It's really sufficient?" he asked, Selene nodded. "Very well" the man said, in his hand it appeared a little flame, his clothes shone of a golden light till he regained his old golden and white suit. The fire died in his ringed hand, "I'm ready". Maiko nodded,
"Arashi-sama..." she began,
"I KWON what I've to do" the other coldly replied, "Vulcan Power..."
Maiko shrugged
"Persephone Guardian Deity..."
and then, they both said,
"MAKE-UP!" and soon they were transformed.
"Now let's form a circle, holding by our hands" Sailor Persephone said widening her arms and showing her hands to the other two. Sailor Vulcan and Phoenix turned to each other simultaneously, but they didn't move. "So?" the pale blue-haired girl asked, "What's up? Come on!" Persephone urged, while Selene was grinning. Phoenix approached Maiko, got the girl's hand and then gave the other one to Sailor Vulcan. Arashi took a breath and then, held both hands tensed towards her.
"Hold tight" Selene recommended. Arashi felt Phoenix to squeeze gently her fingers, "Now, give your powers!" the parakeet finally ordered.
"PERSEPHONE POWER!" Maiko shouted, her body emitted a snow-white aura,
"VULCAN POWER!" the blood-red energy blazed like a flame from Arashi's body. Phoenix simply closed his eyes, bowed his head and his golden aura joined the other two.
"SAILOR TELEPORT!" Sailor Persephone screamed.
And a blinding light they were gone.
 

They were floating trough the space, free and light... surrounded by a sphere of energy. The Earth became a beautiful crystal ball, hanged in the nothing, while the Moon, which looked like a pearl, was approaching quickly.
Sailor Persephone moved her eyes away from the white mass of the Moon, and shifted them on Arashi's face: the woman's eyes were full of sorrow and incredulity.
"Where are we directed to?" Maiko asked,
"To the Serenitatis Sea. The Sea of Serenity" Phoenix replied,
"How do you know it?" Selene questioned,
"Me too, I've deeply loved this place..." the youth replied melancholically. The sphere of energy disappeared when the trio landed on a white and tormented ground.
Sailor Vulcan silently looked around: everything was...
"Desolation" she murmured, and she bowed to take a bit of that ivory-coloured sand . It was all so strange, just few weeks before, that place had been marvellous, now, it looked lifeless from millennia. Sailor Vulcan stood up: they had passed millennia, for the rest of the world it had passed 12,000 years. But not for her...
"It's beautiful" Sailor Persephone gasped, admiring the sea of sand which was in front of her,
"Once it REALLY was beautiful" Sailor Vulcan corrected her.
"It still is beautiful" a voice harshly said, "I LOVE ruins",
"Myhannan!" Phoenix quickly glanced around,
"Right me" the capped had a small ragefull laughter, "I've a new friend for you", his figure split up in four,
"Ekatonkiros..." Phoenix murmured,
"Eka-what?" Sailor Persephone asked,
"Another of the Beasts" the man replied,
"Exaclty, and this time you won't beat it!" Myhannan exclaimed,
"We will see it!" Sailor Persephone shouted, "POLAR BLIZZARD!" her sphere of energy rushed to the five figures, and its explosion, blinded all the presents.

* Visit our palace... *

"To the Moon Palace! RUN!" Sailor Vulcan ordered, spriging towards the silver ruins, trough the Serenitatis Sea. Selene, Sailor Persephone and Phoenix immediately followed her.
"You can't escape, this time" Myhannan snapped. His three clones melted with the white sand. For a moment, it's mantle shook, as it has raised an improbable wind...

Ancient ruins bathed in a weak light: a colonnade, few steps, a broken tower... Here it was what remained of the beautiful Silver Millennium.
Sailor Vulcan stopped dead in her track: what she was seeing was terrific. It was aching her heart.
"What's the matter with you, Vulcan-sama?" Maiko asked, stopping she too. Arashi didn't reply, all of a sudden, her attention was caught by the whirling of the white sand, near her feet.
"Wind?" she asked herself, Phoenix swallowed,
"LOOK OUT!" he yelled all of the sudden. The little whirl became a twister of sand and wind, "This storm is caused by Myhannan!" the youth coughed, putting his mantle over his face.
"I can't see ANYTHING!" exclaimed Sailor Persephone, one second later, the wind had hurled her away,
"Maiko!" called Phoenix,
"Persephone!" shouted Sailor Vulcan, adding then "Damn!" and she ran away, following the flying girl.
The sand under Phoenix's feet crumbled and one of Myhannan's clone jumped our, grabbing the young man by his neck. Phoenix gurgled something, while the stone fingers were closing stronger and stronger on his throat.
 

The wind quit, suddenly as it had come. Sailor Vulcan, stopped panting: she was standing before the colonnade, now... The blond soldier compared the images of her memory with the actual image and had a shiver.
Then she saw Persephone.
She was lying on the steps of the Palace.
"Persephone..." Arashi murmured, leaning oh the pale blue-haired girl and raising her head up, "Talk to me, Persephone" she shook her lightly. Maiko's hand fell on the white sand. "M... Maiko" Arashi called again, "Maiko-kun..."
No response.
Sailor Vulcan's hands trembled,
"Myhannan, you chikushoume!!!!!!!!" she growled, putting gently Maiko down, "FIGHT ME NOW!!!". The sand wrapped around Arashi's pins and it brought her down. "You won't have me..." Arashi spat the white solid rain, which was going to bury her, "EVER!". Her hands flashed of blood energy and the Vulcan Warhammer appeared, then, the woman disappeared completely in the Sea.
A third Myhannan, silently walked out of the colunnade. He approached Sailor Persephone's body and smirked,
"You're friend was wrong, you're still alive" the being said, "But don't fear, girlie from the Future. You'll soon be dead...",
"NO!" Selene flew on the face of the capped's clone, scratching and pecking him. "Maiko, please, wake up!! WAKE UP!!". Sailor Persephone's slowly raised her eyelids...
 

Phoenix tried to concentrate all his energy in his hands...
He had to destroy the Beast at any cost! Myhannan's clone laughed,
"Your rebellion to the Black Sun of the Earth had been a tragic mistake",
"Y-you... are..." Phoenix coughed.
Suddenly, the ground under the clone's feet and the clone itself, exploded in a bloody energy. Coughing, Sailor Vulcan came out from the glassy crater created by her attack, while Phoenix folded forward, with pain in his neck.
"Great sense of timing" he smiled panting, Arashi moved her eyes on him and Phoenix's smile melted in a serious look. Here it was that glance, again... Those magnetic eyes filled with a secret which was going to be revealed her.
* I haven't forgotten about you... *
"Vulcan, I..." Phoenix's cold fingers, landed gently on Arashi's lips. That contact amazed her so much, that she kept immobile while, those same fingers slipped down the skin of her face, to her shoulder, where they became a firm grip. And then, a new sudden contact: of her lips on his lips. Arashi was in total confusion. Slowly, the hands that had pushed her body on him, pushed her away. When she realised that her lips were no-more pressing against Phoenix's, Arashi couldn't refrain her eyes to look again for that masculine mouth, and she saw it spelling,
"Ai shiteru (I love you)"
What was that? What... What did it mean??
Arashi had never felt so much confused in her whole life. She couldn't understand what it was happening to her. What she had to do?
Phoenix kept on gazing her,
"I chased you back for so much time, that now, it seams impossible for me telling you what I've always felt for you" he continued. And every word was like a drop which fell in the lake of Arashi's heart, producing ripples to the infinite. "For you... From the first time I saw you... Many, many millennia ago..."
The fury of the battle and the fear before the enemy... There it hadn't ever been something that had made Arashi's heart to beat now. Now that Phoenix had kissed her.
"Vulcan-sama!" the voice of Selene saved Arashi from the bashing embarass of that moment, "Maiko is in danger!"

[to be continued ]
 

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NOTES:

Ah! Finally an episode with some romance! ** sigh and starry eyes **

We decided to follow the suggestion of Sailoraurus and, beginning from this one, all the episodes of our fanfics, will be posted in .html format. Thank you, Sailoraurus ** wink **

Okay, okay, okay! After of the kiss, Phoenix says "Ai shiteru" - I love you. What's strange, you ask? Well, usually it's used the form "Suki da yo", which means 'I love you' but also 'I like you very much'.
'Ai Shiteru' expresses an extreme form of love, extremely emotional. Maybe, this is a mistake from our part, but our intention was to show that, Phoenix's love for Arashi/Vulcan is very deep and intense... And then, 'Ai shiteru' sounds MUCH sweeter than 'suki da yo'. Oh well...
** sigh **

'chikushoume' -> Arashi says "Myhannan, you son of a b..."

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