Lilia ran off down the street.  "I should never have gone to that meeting today!" she thought.  "I’m going to be late for chorus at the church!"
 She dashed around the corner and ran straight into a young man.  He had dark blue hair and was wearing a suit of the same color.  "Oh!  Excuse me," she said.
 "That’s all right," the man said, helping her up.  "In a hurry?  You sure looked like you were…"
 "Yes," Lilia said.  "On my way to church.  Sorry about that, sir."
 "No problem," the man said.  Lilia smiled gratefully and ran off down the street again.
 "She should be my next target," he said, watching her.  Then, a woman wearing gold appeared behind him.
 "Your next target, eh?" she asked.  The blue-haired man spun around to face the other woman.
 "Astatine!  Stay out of this!" he threatened.  "This is my mission.  Cleopatra 90 said so."
 "Cleopatra 90 said so, did she?" Astatine repeated.  "Honestly, Xenos.  Is every word that she speaks like a Holy Bible to you?  I mean, you shouldn’t believe everything she says.  If you always depend on Cleopatra 90 to answer your questions, you may soon find that you’re coming up with incorrect answers."
 "Is that to say you don’t trust her?" Xenos demanded.
 "Not completely, that much is true," Astatine answered.
 Xenos looked angry for a moment, then the expression of anger changed to one of arrogance.  "Well," he sniffed, "I really don’t care what you say.  This mission is, after all, mine.  Which roughly translates to stay out of this!"
 "Are you threatening me?" Astatine asked, amused.  "You know, as much as you hate to admit it I am more powerful than you.  Even being a female.  I don’t suggest you threaten me unless you want trouble."
 "Now it’s you who is threatening me," Xenos observed.  "Anyway, why is this your business anyway?  Because it’s—"
 "Your mission, right?" Astatine finished his sentence.  "Dream on, blue guy."  She ran off down the streets ahead of him, the sidewalk that Lilia had run down a moment earlier.  "See you back at the headquarters!"
 "Astatine!" Xenos chased after her.  "Astatine stop!"
 

 "Hello, Mrs. Waters!" Lilia greeted the director of the church chorus.  "Sorry I’m late."
 "That’s the second time this month," Mrs. Waters said.  "Are you all right, Lilia?"
 "Yes, ma’am, I’m fine," Lilia replied.  She took her seat with the other altos, next to Kaylie.  "Hi, Kay," she said.  "What’s up?"
 Kaylie was about to answer, but Mrs. Waters interrupted.  "Girls, please don’t talk.  We’re here to sing, not converse."
 "Yes, ma’am," Lilia and Kaylie replied.
 "All right, everyone," Mrs. Waters said.  "Open your hymnals to page 103, and we’ll begin."
 They were about to start singing when there was a knock on the door to the chorus room.  Mrs. Waters opened it, and it was Xenos standing at the door.
 "Hey!" Lilia exclaimed.  "That’s the guy I ran into today on the way here.  I wonder what he’s doing…"
 "Yes, may I help you?" Mrs. Waters asked.
 Xenos surveyed the room until he found the girl that had run into him today: Lilia.  "But there are all these people here, how am I going to get her?"  "Yes, I’m here to see someone," he said aloud to Mrs. Waters.
 "Oh?" Mrs. Waters asked, suspicious.  "Who is it?"
 "What the heck, I might as well just take all of them," he thought.  "You’ll find out," he said to the chorus.  He ripped off the suit that he was wearing, revealing his Periodics uniform underneath, with the heart crystal gun strapped to his belt.  He grabbed the gun and pointed it at the chorus director, who moved away.
 "Um, sir…" she stammered.  "Someone call the police!" she shrieked.
 "I think not," Xenos replied.  Without another word, he fired the gun.  Some of the girls in the chorus screamed, with the shock of seeing this man shooting their teacher.
 But not Lilia.  When she had seen Xenos’s uniform and realized who she was, she managed to sneak out of the room and into the hall.  After contacting the others telepathically, she pulled out her transformation pen, making sure no one was around to see her.  "Vega Astral Star Power!"  And Sailor Vega went back into the room.
 "Okay, mister, I don’t know what you’re doing," Vega said, upon entering the room.  "But I don’t like it.  So you better stop before I…what?"  Taking a closer look at the scene, she realized that Xenos had shot most of the members of the chorus, including Kaylie.  Their heart crystals were floating above them, and they were mostly unconscious.  The second thing she noticed was that there was another woman there with Xenos.  This one had long golden hair and was dressed in a gold dress similar to the red one that Antimonia had worn.
 "And who is this?" the woman asked.  "I believe we have company, do we Xenos?"
 "I am Sailor Vega!" Vega said.  "I am here to defend these innocent people so they don’t get hurt by evil forces, such as you.  Now that you know me, who are you?"
 "I am Astatine," the woman said.  She held her hand out and a golden star-shaped ball of energy began to collect in her hand.  "I suggest you tell me where the Dead Crystal is or I’m going to have to hurt you.  And I really wouldn’t like to do that."  The energy star got bigger as she spoke.  "So where is it, kid?"
 "Dead Crystal?" Vega repeated.  "What’re you talking about?  What’s the Dead Crystal?  And moreover, why do you think I know where it is if I don’t even know _what_ it is?"
 "Liar," Astatine said.  "Gold Star Blast!"  The star, now about a foot high, soared towards Vega.
 Vega threw her hands up, yelling "Bloom Safety Wall!"  A giant rosebud formed around her, protecting her from Astatine’s golden attack.
 "She appears to be strong defensively," Xenos commented, watching Vega sustain her protective wall.
 "But she has to say her phrase in order to do anything," Astatine noted.  "I think that’s her main weak spot."
 "So let’s hit her there!" Xenos said.
 Vega withdrew her defensive attack.  "Was that all you can do?" she asked of Astatine.  "Or was that your strongest attack?  Either way I still think you’re pretty pathetic."
 "Oh do you?" Astatine asked.  "You won’t think so after this."  Astatine lowered her hands, palms facing the ground, and whispered "Silent Curse…"  She looked up at Vega, smirking triumphantly.  "Okay Xenos, go ahead."
 "Illusive Flash!" Xenos yelled, directing a beam of energy light at Vega.  Vega was about to use another defense, but found herself unable to speak and thus unable to use her attack.  "Got you now, kid," Xenos mocked.
Vega tried to dodge the beam, but it struck her full force, throwing her against a wall near where Kaylie was lying, still partially conscious.  Kaylie looked at Vega, whispering, "Lilia…?  Is that…you?  Why’re you wearing that costume?"  But Vega was unable to answer.
"Hold it right there!"  Xenos and Astatine turned to see Sailors Zephyr and Nebula in the doorway.  "What are you doing, you freaks?"  Zephyr demanded.
"More annoying Sailors," Xenos said.  "Oh well, easily eliminated."
"I doubt that," Nebula said.  "Nebula Comet Fireworks!"
Her attack caught Astatine off guard, but she quickly regained contol and whispered, "Silent Curse."  Zephyr tried to attack her, but found herself without her voice, as Vega had.
"What happened?" Nebula mouthed, as that was her only means of communication without her voice.
"It was that witch!" Zephyr mouthed back.  At least that’s what Nebula thought she was trying to say, she couldn’t tell.
"Good!" Astatine cheered.  "More heart crystals!"
"Not if I can help it!" Sailor Spica had appeared, and was now standing on top of one of the music stands.  But she lost her balance and the music stand came crashing down to the floor.
Xenos laughed aloud.  "I suppose you call yourself a Sailor Astro too?" he asked.  "Okay, Astatine, get her too."
Astatine nodded and was about to whisper, "Silence Curse" again, but Spica jumped up and held her sword to her neck.  "Don’t you dare," she threatened.  "If you do, I swear to God I won’t waste any time in killing you."
"A bit aggressive, are we?" Xenos asked.  He was about to advance on Spica when he felt another sword being held against his own neck.  Though this sword wasn’t a real sword, it was one made of electrical light energy, held by Sailor Orion.
"Not at all," Orion said.  "Nope, this is how she usually is."
Spica glared at him, but then turned her attention back to Astatine.  "Okay, here’s the deal," she said.  "You call off the silence spell, I spare you, and you can go about your miserable life.  You do anything else, and I’ll make you shorter by a head, if you know what I mean, ‘kay?"
"Same goes for me," Orion said.
"Ohh, such threats coming from people so young," Astatine mocked, trying to hide her fear.  "I’m terrified."
"And rightly so," Orion replied.  "So what’s it gonna be?  You call off your spells, or we use the swords?"
Astatine sighed, deciding to drop her false arrogance act.  "Call off the spells," she decided.  "Voice Restoration," she said resignedly.
"Good choice," Spica said.  "Now get out.  Now!"  Astatine and Xenos obeyed readily, teleporting out.
"I have my voice back…" Nebula murmured.
"Thanks, guys!" Vega said, detransforming.  "Now Mrs. Waters won’t be mad when I can’t sing!"
"Any time, Lil," Spica said, as she and the rest left.
Once they were gone, Lilia said, "I thought I told her not to call me Lil."  But she was smiling even as she said that.