"Arashi-sama!" Selene's voice yelled. Finally, Sailor Vulcan succeeded to drive her attention away from Phoenix's lips, from which it had came the declaration that had shaken her to her soul, and she raised her eyes to the parakeet,
 "Maiko is in danger!".
Arashi felt Phoenix's hands to release the grip on her and to part from her body. For a moment, Arashi felt almost unbalanced,
 "Maiko?!" Phoenix had exclaimed,
 "Hurry up!" Selene pleaded. Although still confused, Sailor Vulcan began to run towards the colonnade.
 

 "AGH!" Sailor Persephone squealed, hung in mid-air by the hands of the beings, that were shut around her throat. It was the end! The end! She couldn’t counter, she couldn't set herself free, she even couldn't breath... She could only writhe...
 "Don't cry" the hateful, low voice of Myhannan resonated in Maiko's ears, kidding one tear which had escaped the girl's half-closed eyelids, "You won't die all alone. Your friends too will soon reach you..."
 "VULCAN EXPLOSIVE LAPILLUS!!" Arashi's voice ripped the unnatural silence of the Moon, and an hail of fire bombs rained in the back of Myhannan's clone. Arching the back for the pain, the monster collapsed behind, letting Sailor Persephone to fall on the fine sand with a gasp.
 "Do you see them?" Myhannan asked mellifluously to Maiko, Sailor Persephone lifted her eyes filled with tears, on Sailor Vulcan and Phoenix. She was frightened. She had never been so scared as in that moment. The girl couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Phoenix gave Maiko a long disconcerted glance and then his body filled with wrath for the one who had caused that pain to the girl,
 "Sailor Vulcan-sama" he said. Hearing him calling her name, Arashi's heart skipped a beat, "destroy Ekatonkiros, while I TAKE care of that bastard..." and his body lighted up with golden energy.
Myhannan didn't lose his composure,
 "Do you see them?" he murmured again in amusement to Sailor Persephone. The girlie widened, on the capped man, her eyes: two vacuous surfaces of terror. "They really are impatient to die with you...".
Quick as lighting, the body of the being exploded, shooting streams of something close to sand on Vulcan, Phoenix and Persephone. The matter engulfed them all. Blocked them. Avoided them to breath, to hear, to call, to see. It buried them alive, in its same body.
Myhannan drew his head back and began to laugh.

 "Arashi-sama! Phoenix-san!" Maiko's lungs felt like burning. She tried to fight, but everything was useless. She desisted, she renounced to live, to breath...
I'm sorry Selene...
I'm sorry Neo-Queen Serenity II...
I'm sorry...
I'm a failure...

 ... rashi-sama...
 Arashi-sama!
There it was a voice calling at her, a faraway fading voice...
Sailor Vulcan could move no-more, what was the sense to pay attention to that voice?

Phoenix tried to escape...
"Your rebellion to the Black Sun of the Earth has been a tragic mistake!"
It was true... He had been wrong, always been wrong. Now it was time for paying the consequences.

The Moon was shining of a pure light. It didn't reflect the light of the Sun, but it was shining of an its own candid radiance.
The Moon was alive!
Arashi opened her eyes: she was lying, face down, on the white lunar sand. All around her there it was only silence. A bashing silence. Monstrous, infinite silence. The woman realised she could stood up. But there it was more than this: her body - reduced to a shining shape of herself - could float on the surface of the satellite and move only thanks to her will.
It was marvellous.
 ... rashi-sama...
That voice again. Arashi turned around to see who was calling her, but then realised that she had heard no sounds. Arashi had heard that voice in her mind. Something was calling her.
It was... another light...
 <Maiko-kun?> Arashi asked and, gracefylly, floated towards it.
But the light wasn't Maiko, it was... a column covered with unintelligible inscriptions.
They were invocations... Advises... Warnings... Prayers that came from the Deepest Heart of the Galaxy, from where King Emeron and Queen Serenity had came, many many millenniums ago.
The column was a priceless treasure...
A treasure which came from the Infinite, lasted eternally and spread to Infinite.
For ever.
And which Created, Kept and Destroyed endlessly.
 "What Breeds, Keeps and Destroys is the Eighth Talisman"
That was the Last Talisman? The weapon that could win their enemies? Arashi swallowed a sad little laughter for she had found it out only now... Now, that it was completely useless... Maiko had hoped and fought for it, to her death...
 <Maiko-kun...> Arashi rested her right hand on the column and bowed her head, in jest of mute resignation, <I wasn't able to save you... And you had all your life before you. You had a future...>
Slowly, the column faded and, raising her eyes, Arashi saw Maiko. Their hands of light, were pressing one on the other.
Maiko looked Arashi and Arashi looked Maiko.
 <Why are we there, we two?> Arashi asked atonally,
 <Because we have been chosen> Maiko replied.
It was true.
A silver fine dust started to dance upon their joined hands.
It wasn't a chance if Maguma Arashi, Princess Vulcan of Vulcan-sei, from the Silver Era had met Okoori Maiko of Persephone-sei, from the Crystal Era.
The silver fine dust began to form an item...

Myhannan's laughter gradually died in his throat.
What it was that vibe? It seamed to come from the Infinite Space and to sink in itself. It was a call which went over Time and Space...

Maiko scanned her hand: she felt no-more Arashi's touch, what she felt was the metal handle of a... long staff. A scythe! Topped by a crescent moon-shaped blade adorned by gems and fixed in a metal circle,
 <The Eighth Talisman!> she exclaimed.
In that moment, a powerful energy washed over her and Arashi's bodies.

In the space of a second, the ground of the Moon lighted up of such a strong light that blinded and scared Myhannan. The body of Ekatonkiros pulsed, then it went riddled by beams of energy which exited directly from inside of itself. A last beam stroke Myhannan who, exasperated by that metallic, redundant recall, was hurled on the ground with a scream of pain.
And finally,  bathed in the same snow-white light emanated by the Moon and the Talisman, Sailor Vulcan and Sailor Persephone appeared, standing side by side, both holding the same venerable-looking weapon. Inexplicably, Myhannan felt scared to death by that thing: it was a moment, a flash and the sensation of a strong pain. The capped moved back, then turned into water and vanished.
At that point, the miraculous radiance of the Moon faded, and as lacking a support, the two Senshi fell on their knees.
Sailor Persephone panted, then, as remembering something of very important, she raised her head and said,
 "Phoenix..." her words stunned her a little, for she still had in her ears, the sound of her preternatural voice, "Where's Phoenix?". Sailor Vulcan darted her eyes around until she heard:
 "Vulcan! Persephone! Are you alright?" Phoenix sprang out of the sand and, after resting a little on his knees, he slowly stood up. The white and gold of his clothes contrasted sharply with the blue velvet of the sky and the dirty white of the colonnade, in the background. Maiko smiled him and nodded, she was happy to see him alive. All of a sudden, Selene's head popped out of the sand,
 "The Last Talisman!" she yelled "We found it! We finally found it!". Maiko and Phoenix giggled, but not Vulcan. Vulcan, who had gazed to Phoenix till that moment, and who finally had recognised him.
In another Time, in another World, in another Life, she had already met him...

Sailor Vulcan silently followed the figure of King Emeron trough the colonnade of the Royal Palace. Vulcan had learnt to admire that man: he a wise king and a brave soldier. In that moment, a familiar rustle made her to turn her head to left. From between the columns, it came our Prince Actaeon. Sailor Vulcan knew the blond prince of the Underground Kingdom, he was one of the trusted men of Emeron. After a brief bow of his head, Actaeon approached Emeron and the two started to speak about something. Of sure something that had to deal with incoming battle against Chaos. Another movement captured the attention of Vulcan: from the colonnade, it had came out also another youth, with long blue hair brushed into three braids. His magnetic blue eyes were locked on her, and they were filled of who knows what secret…
 “Phoenix…” Prince Actaeon quietly called his companion. The blue-haired man turned on himself, driving his penetrating  eyes away from Sailor Vulcan.

Vulcan shook her head in disconcernement...
 "I remember..." she stammered. Phoenix shifted his eyes on her, afraid by the schocked expression painted upon Arashi's face. "You are Phoenix... You were with Emeron... You and Actaeon were...". The young woman stood up and her body waved, "You are a TRAITOR!" Arashi shouted harshly, "You and Actaeon are two traitors!" She gasped, while Phoenix was gazing at her with widen eyes,
 "Arashi, no..." he murmured back. But in Sailor Vulcan's eyes there it was no place for comprehension, there it only was the certitude of his fault and maybe, something else... Grief? "No... Let me to..." Phoenix tried,
 "NO!" Arashi thundered. Did she want to kill him? She could, but he was... He had... Vulcan understood nothing. She rubbed her lips with the back of her fist and Phoenix believed he could die for that jest.
 "You betrayed Emeron! You betrayed Serenity! You betrayed the Silver Millennium" the woman finally screamed, while the man was trying to interrupt her with his weak 'no's. "And you betrayed ME TOO!" Arashi yelled at the end. The two faced each other for what it seamed to be an eternity. Sailor Persephone and Selene were moving their eyes from one to another, astonished.
 "What's going on?" Maiko aksed. Phoenix looked the girl and the talisman in her hands and then, at Vulcan again. Maiko-kun needed Arashi-sama, and Arashi-sama needed Maiko-kun. There it was no place for him, there. He turned his head to the girl and gifted her a weak smile,
 "Maiko-chan, I'm sure that you'll be able to save your future. I'm sure you'll do it", then his body became a fire bird and disappeared.
 "Phoenix-san!" Maiko exclaimed, "Phoenix!". In spite of her exhaustion, Maiko discovered that she still could get angry. "WHY?!" she yelled to Arashi, "Why have you sent him away?!?".

Actaeon closed his eyelids and sighed. He had thought to Serenity and to the future. He wanted Serenity, he wanted her desperately. He would love her and be loved by her.
 "Tomorrow is the 30th of June" the idea entered in his mind by itself,  "I'll make you a beautiful gift for your birthday, Serenity..."
 

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NOTE:

This episode is extrememly short respect the to others. We wanted to post also episode #20, but we couldn't because our computer died with all our files, and we are still trying to recollect our datas... -.-; We will try to post episode 20 in two weeks and episode 21 for the end of the month, please be patient!

We have a message for Sailor Zeus: if you are reading this note, please, could you send us again your pic of Maiko? The computer brought it and your E-mail address in its grave, an we don't know how to contact you! PLEASE!
 

Okie, now some minor things:

Vulcan-sei and Persephone-sei -> They literally mean "Vulcan Planet" or "Vulcan Star" and "Persephone Planet" or "Persephone Star". It sounds prettier than the English version, no?

Serenity's birthday -> It's the 22nd birtday of Usagi. From this moment, it miss exaclty 1 year from the day in which she will become queen of the world.

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