*Guardians of the Underworld*
Part 3

*****************************************************************************

Deep in the infinite darkness, a soft illumination glowed. It was the only
warmth in the chill that was the Underworld. The nearer a person traveled
to the object, the brighter the space became. But that day, it was hazy.
The glow wasn't there.

The ginzuishou levitated above a white stone podium. Crafted of the finest
marble, it's beauty was nothing compared to that of it's keeper. A neutral
look on the woman's face, she sighed. All around her, there was nothing.
Just empty space. No one was even allowed access to the far reaches of the
4th dimension, except for her mentor.

"Pluto.." the silver haired princess whispered. She looked with a sad gaze
into the light of the silver crystal. More and more these days she was
wondering if she even had a purpose. Even though the Guardian of the Gates
had trained her to fight, the need never arose. And so she had been sitting
there, for years, always alert. Always waiting...for someone to take her
away from this. She wasn't aware of how long it had exactly been since she
had seen the mysterious senshi. There was no real concept of time where she
existed.

The crystal reflected her mood. That's why it was fading ever so slightly
day by day. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts about her past and her
future. Serenity shook her head. She couldn't even remember her past. But she
recalled what had happened. Her home being destroyed, her family killed by
unknown attackers.

It was strange, she mused. Why they had destroyed everything else in the
galaxy but not Earth. They retreated, right after the Moon Kingdom fell.
Right after her mother had died..

A delicate finger twirled her hair. She could only bearly picture her mother
anymore. She had been taught that she was a gentle ruler, never giving way
to the opposing forces. Always trying to talk things out with words.
Princess Serenity's eyes started to tear. She had always felt the Queen's
comforting presence surrounding her. Giving her the love and strength to
survive one more day in her isolated little world. But some days it just
wasn't enough.

The first droplet fell from beneath her eyelashes. The ginzuishou dimmed
ever so slightly. Her head finally fell into her waiting hands, her long
hair draping over her face. The only memory of her past was of the last
moments of her Kingdom. She was watching out the large balcony with the
other princesses. Gosh, she didn't even know what happened to them. All of
them were crying mercifully as they watched glittering stars fly into the
heavens in a flurry of golden lights. But suddenly a silver light had
stopped it.

Serenity knew it was the Silver Crystal. After all, she had that power
literally within her grasp. But she didn't know what happened after that.
She just recalled looking into a pair of magenta eyes a while later and
never seeing the true light of the sun again.


** Don't worry, Sere! I'll protect you! **


A small voice chided through her head. Yes, that was one of her memories
too. That voice had always brought her back to the destruction. To whom it
belonged, she didn't know. But she knew that it gave her some sense of being
cared for. It was dear to her heart. Like she was some how being protected.
But those were just silly thoughts. She was alone...

********************************

Near the glowing gates of time and space, a woman with long green hair stood.
Her eyes looked out into the nothingness, it was familiar to her. But even
though she hadn't even spoke to anyone in years, she thought about Serenity.

Sailor Pluto had watched the little princess grow up. Right from her
childhood, to her awkward teens, to becoming the graceful adult that she now
was. The woman beamed. She had loved taking care of her. It was always day
after day of endless surprises raising her. Nothing like the dull happenings
of being a senshi. She wanted to go check up on Serenity again, but she
couldn't take the chance of some thing happening while she wasn't there. She
felt a tremendous negative energy coming closer. It was almost deja-vu.
Someone had once remarked that history was nothing but a repetence of wars.

And now even she was beginning to to believe that was true.

She secretly hoped that it was. Maybe one day the universe would collapse on
itself, or something would come along and destroy it, freeing her from this
fate. But when she saw Serenity and her carefree ways, it gave her a new
outlook. Perhaps this wasn't so bad. After all, she knew herself life wasn't
going to end anytime soon. Time wasn't that forgiving.

Spinning her Garnet Rod on it's base, she tried to fight boredom. Generation
followed by generation of the same thing wasn't all that interesting. She
sighed heavily and blew her dark bangs out of her face. That was the one
moment when she turned her back. And she would forever regret it.

The silent dimension was interrupted by a shattering scream. Blown to the
ground by a pulse of golden light, Sailor Pluto pulled herself up. And came
face to face with another person.

"Oh.." the woman with short hair cooed. "The legendary Guardian of the
Underworld isn't as tough as I'd heard. Too bad. I was expecting a
spectacular fight."

"Dare da?!" the senshi demanding as the woman took a small step back. A
smirk crossed her lips.

"Now where would the fun be in that if I told you?" Levitating off the
ground, she threw a ball of shinning golden light. And then disappeared.

************************************************

In less than a second, a powerful storm blew through the Fourth Dimension.
The wind whipped Princess Serenity's hair in all directions as she
desperately tried to reach for the ginzuishou. Her blue eyes were wide as
just when she touched it, a white light flooded into the darkness. She
gasped as the crystal vanished from sight, and she fell onto her back.

"This storm appeared out of nowhere!" she yelled. Bringing herself onto her
knees, she saw something in the vast reaches. The same light that haunted
her dreams. Two golden lights were barreling toward her..

"Serenity!!"

...But before they could hit her, a painful cry tore through her senses. She
looked up and saw a motionless Sailor Pluto, with a golden blossom on her
forehead. It spread it's glittering petals and it uncovered a magenta star.

A figure came into her vision as her mouth fell open in horror. A woman was
glowing in the same light that had attacked her mere moments before. The
woman tilted her head back and laughed.

"Another to add to my collection!" But she turned her hard gaze to the
quivering princess. "But there's still one more that I need.."

Just as the enemy pulled her wrists together, the fallen senshi shouted out
in as loud a voice as she could muster. "Stop! Not..her..." she whispered
through staggered breathing. Her grasp on life was becoming thinner.

"Pluto!" Serenity tried to hold her friend as the green haired princess was
slowly becoming transparent. "Don't do this to me!"

A smile crossed her lips. "Protect yourself..like I taught you..Use the
ginzuishou..."

Her cresent moon insignia glowed in response. She tried to blink back the
tears, but it wasn't working. Things weren't supposed to be like this. She
was just supposed to sit in the same spot for all eternity..

"I..can't.." Serenity cried. "It's gone! And I don't know where!" Pluto's
eyes widened. The power was gone? It couldn't be!

"Serenity..." she said with disbelief. The crystal had been protected since
it's creation by the Gods. Always watched over by a Lunarian, and always
there. But the princess's words seemed so surreal, that it couldn't be true..

"I DON'T KNOW WHERE!!" the girl's silver hair flashed around her as the
gusts of wind had increased their speed. The order that had been kept intact
by the Guardians had been broken. But just when things couldn't possibly get
worse, the golden woman attacked.

Her metallic uniform shone as power was released towards the senshi. It
pulsated in the same light, the evil glitter that was in her ruby eyes. It
brought only destruction, nothing more. The flames shot at the tormented
companions with malice. Serenity didn't seem to notice, nor care. Her duty
to protect the silver crystal was over. Because it was gone. She had no
purpose and no will to live. So it might as well just finish it's job.

"Serenity!" Pluto exclaimed as the princess collapsed sobbing. Her cheeks
were pale.

"Iie.." she sobbed. "IIE!!" Serenity threw her hands down and an intense
light was being emitted from her body. Her gaze directed at the enemy was
fierce. As the power surrounding her continued to grow brighter, the golden
fire was blown away. She could see the woman lift her arms to shield her
face from the glow. Once it died down, her astonishment was deeply noticed.

The woman's amber locks of hair where thrown back as she cackled. Sailor
Pluto continued to fade ever more as her life force was drained to oblivion.
But when an object materialized in the woman's outstretched palm, the senshi
remained the same.

"Maaa*..such surprising energy!" she purred. "Looks like there WILL be a
fight! I'll give you this back then..such a weak star isn't needed by my
forces yet. Hora*!"

The sparkling jewel like element floated over to Pluto's ailing body. But
once again, the blossom appeared. It gladly reclaimed its contents and
faded away into nothing. Serenity's blue eyes opened to see that her
protector was not simply the spirit thin person she had been. The green
haired princess was a whole being again.

"Pluto.." Serenity whispered again as the familiar magenta eyes of her
childhood met her own. Her tired form was noticed, but she managed a smile.

"Princess.."

They both looked badly beaten. The dark fuku that the senshi wore was torn
and dirty. Her hair was disheveled. The smile on her cherry lips didn't
match the scene. But it showed her emotion perfectly. She was happy that her
princess had made it through. Even though the powerful ginzuishou was
missing, at least they had it's keeper.

The silver hair on the Lunarian's head was tangled and brought down from
it's formal style. She fondly recalled the day that Pluto had taught her to
do her own hair. She was so excited. The Guardian had told her that her
mother had always worn her hair the same. In a way, it made her feel closer
spiritually to her family and ancestors. Like they were watching over her
and making sure she was lead down the right paths in life. The paths that an
heir of the Moon Kingdom should take. But today it wasn't her ancestors that
took care of her. It was the closest family she had ever known. Sailor Pluto.

A voice boomed over the reunion. "Guardians of the Underworld! Do you accept
my challenge? To possibly save the pitiful galaxy that you hold so dear.."

"Sou yo!*" Serenity shouted as she returned the enemy's glare. "I'll do
whatever it takes!" Pluto looked down sadly as she heard those words.

"We'll see...Until we meet again, Princess. You'll know where to find me.."
And with that, the woman retreated. Her hateful presence no longer there.

*****************************************

*'Maaa' is sorta like saying 'Wellll'
*'Hora' is like offering something. As in 'Here.'
*'Sou yo!' means 'Right!' or 'Of course!'

*****************************************

The two sat in silence for an unmeasured amount of time. They simply stared
at each other closely, as if trying to decide who was going to speak and vent
their feelings first. Sailor Pluto tore her eyes away. She knew what was
going to happen in the end. In the end...

"What I am going to do..?" the princess said quietly, trying not to draw
attention to her once again watering vision. She looked so helpless at that
moment. Like a lonely little child who's lost her way. Her guardian's eyes
softened.

"Serenity.." Pluto reached into her fuku and brought out 7 pendants. Each
one on a glittering delicate chain and a jewel hanging from it's setting.
Serenity watched with interest. She couldn't comprehend what importance these
held to the situation.

"These will help you on your journey..They'll lead you to them.." she
whispered, putting them into her hands. The jewels seemed to glow in her
possession.

"Who..? Lead me to who?" she echoed, looking at the objects with intensity.

"The others. The princesses of the other planets. They are somewhere on
Earth. Oh, you remember them don't you?" Pluto pleaded, trying to find some
hope for the universe in the young girl's memory.

Recognition ran through her mind, but never fully. All she could remember
was the sorrow, the destruction and the cries for help. It made her travel
back to a dark day in history, when the planets were erased of life. But
the senshi's words brought her out of it.

"Before they could travel to Earth, and to their futures, I took these from
them. They were their mothers' Sailor Crystals." Serenity gasped, but Pluto
continued with a serious tone.

"Those children, all of you, had the power to become Sailor Senshi. But not
on your own. You were not born with the crystals that would have determined
your destiny to that of a fighter. However, with these crystals you would
have. And that's why I took them away.

"Whenever a senshi dies, their Sailor Crystals always get reborn inside of
another. A Sailor Crystal is nothing but a special, powerful Starseed. It
gets sent to a planet, grows with it, and then becomes the life force of the
Guardian of the planet. That's the element of a Sailor Senshi. But they
couldn't be reborn when your mothers' died. Each planet had every living
thing wiped off of it's surface. So your mothers took it upon themselves to
give the powers and fate to you girls." Pluto explained. "I too have a
Sailor Crystal. That was what you just saw. Without it, I would've died."

"Don't talk like that!" Serenity shook her head vigorously. "You weren't
close to death! You'll be here forever!"

Sailor Pluto found the strength to sit up and comfort her. Her green hair
was draped behind her, and her Time Staff was lying on the ground. Putting
an arm around the emotional princess, she reassured her.

"I will be here forever..but you can help. Find the others and defeat the
evil one. She was the attacker who destroyed the Silver Millennium. Only you
can put her away for good."

The silver haired girl sniffed. "You'll help me, won't you?"

Pluto took a breath out. "No. I'm sorry. I have to guard the Gates in case
she decides to come back," Serenity was about to speak up, but she was
silenced. "Your starseed..your *Sailor Crystal* is different, Princess. It's
the most powerful in the Galaxy. If you gather your allies, and unite your
powers, you're invincible. Use it for the forces of love and justice."

Taking her support off Serenity's shoulders, the senshi of time and space
stood. Offering a hand to her loved one, the heir to the throne also pulled
herself up off the ground. The pendants were firmly held in her hand.

"Demo*, the Ginzuishou's gone. I can't defeat her without it," Serenity
mumbled. A soft gloved hand was placed on her cheek and brought it up to
the level of the older woman's face.

"You can't if you don't trust your own power. Here, take this," Off of her
chain link belt, she removed one of the many time keys which were kept on
it**. "When you hold it, think of me. I'll always be there with you. Now,
the Galaxy's depending on you and the others. Go find them."

She gave a nod, and took a step back. Putting the pendants around her own
neck, Serenity paced across the Fourth Dimension. When the two came to the
glowing door, they said their final good-byes.

"I've always loved you as though you were my own daughter," Sailor Pluto
admitted. "And I always will...May the Gods lead you and protect you on
your journey."

Princess Serenity took a step through the door, and then laughed. The bright
light was shadowing her from behind.
"Ja ne, Pluto-chan! I'll be back soon!"

The heavy door closed and a tear slipped down the Guardian's cheek.
"Gambatte, Musume-chan..***"

*******************************************

*'Demo' means "But.."
** In the early manga, Sailor Pluto wears a chain around her waste with
several time keys on it. Like the key Chibiusa uses to get to the past.
It's sorta similar to the love-me chain Venus wore in the early manga too, 
except with keys.
***'Musume-chan' would mean 'Daughter.." or "My daughter.." (;_;)

*******************************************

-There we go! Part 3's done and I'll work on Part 4. But a new school year
just started and even now, I should be doing my homework. I'd better get on
that..^^;

** Disclaimers = I don't own any of the characters in this fanfic. Most are
owned by Takeuchi Naoko, Toei, TV Asahi, Koudansha, and plenty others. Don't
sue. This fanfic is copyright MinaP Aino, September 2001. **

Ja! MinaP http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~holig/

8:08 PM 12/09/01