"No, young lady! You will stop this now!" Serenity fought to rein in her temper. How could her daughter be so stupid and blind? "How many times to I have to tell you!?"
"But Mom, we were so careful! We really were!"
"No. If I find out that you're doing this again, I-I'll-I'll lock you in one of my dungeons!"
Serenity instantly regretted her hasty words as ripples of gossip spread through the tables in the royal dining room. She cursed under her breath. She had to control her temper-airing the family laundry in front of almost a hundred luncheon guests wasn't a very wise thing to do. If only this news hadn't come out during one of the most important social gatherings of the year. She looked over at the four princesses and scowled. They'd known about this. They'd almost have to. No doubt they'd helped her engineer these little expeditions to Earth. If Serenity had been sneaking off to Earth for over two years now, there was no way she could have kept it secret from them. And what about Luna and Artemis? Would they have allowed this sort of thing to "slip through" their attention, or were they truly oblivious?
She slammed her knife down into the table, and it shattered on the heavy marble.
Damn!
She'd been carefully smoothing things over with Gaia, slowly gaining her trust and assuring her of protection if she told Serenity what was going on. She'd been on the verge of asking Gaia outright what was happening, the negotiations had been going so well. Then a very irate Gaia had called, accusing Serenity of using her daughter's teleporting ability to spy on her and her family.
Damn!
She'd been this close. And now that fool boy and her own stupid daughter were whining about true love and other such rubbish as an excuse for their inexcusable behavior.
Damn!
Pain intruded on her angry thoughts, and she blinked red-hazed eyes and looked up. Everyone at the table was frozen, looking at her with surprise and fear. For the first time she noticed the broken knife, and the plates that littered the floor near her. Her hands hurt. Had she gotten some splinters in them? She looked forward and noticed that she was bending her fork in half with tense and angry fingers, and the tines had begun to draw blood, she held them so tight. With conscious effort she let go of the fork and pushed back from the table. Almost a year of careful diplomatic negotiations, undone in one day.
Damn!
She leveled a forefinger at her daughter's frightened face, and noticed her hand was shaking with repressed rage. "I want to see you in one hour in my office." Her eyes turned to the four princesses who watched her as if she were a poisonous viper. "And I want to see all of you in two." She turned and stalked out of the room. She had to calm before she could hand out punishment. Right now she was angry enough to wring her daughter's neck!
Damn!
*****
"But you were in love with Dad! I'm telling you, this is the same thing! We were meant for each other!" Her daughter was on the verge of tears, and trying desperately to hold them in. "You can't keep us apart! If you do, I-I'll die!"
Serenity had managed to calm down after snatching one of her guard's swords straight out of his hands and going to the practice ground to methodically hack apart each dummy target. When she'd finished she'd stood alone in a pile of splinters, her hair hanging loose in sweat soaked strands and her dress an absolute disaster. And she'd felt much better. Serene, almost. Of course, the sword was unsalvageable. It was advisable to use axes when hacking at wood, not swords. She'd shrugged, handed the useless sword back to it's owner with the promise of getting him a new one, and gone to her bedroom suite to clean up. Now she held desperately to that sense of calm. "No, dear, you won't die."
"I will!!" Serenity searched her mother's face for understanding, and, finding none, sat back in her chair to pout. "You don't understand. You couldn't. You're too old." She sniffed pitifully.
Serenity folded her hands together, weaving her fingers carefully around each other. Calm. Serene. Composed. And not old, dammit!
Tranquil. . .
She took a deep breath. "Honey, I just don't understand! You've been doing so well, lately. You've raised your grades substantially. Luna is absolutely amazed at your progress in relativistic physics and chaos theory, and she says your grasp of genetic sequencing is almost as good as Mercury's! You're doing better in arms practice, your ice-skating is breathtaking to behold! You've worked so hard to be graceful, and your control of Ginzuishou is exquisite! And now you pull this!" Serenity put her head in her hands. "I was so proud of you. How could you do this to me?"
"You don't understand." Her daughter tossed her head in a fit of pique and Serenity sighed.
"What don't I understand? Try to explain to your thick mother, dear."
"I didn't work so hard to improve myself at everything and then suddenly decide to go back to Earth! I've been going there for years! Ever since the first time! The only reason I've worked so hard is because I had to to impress Endymion." The princess's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Oh, Mom, he's perfect! He's smart, and sweet, and a great fighter. And I'm terrible at everything. I-I had to show him I'm not some stupid little bimbo." She was looking down at the ground, shame evident in her voice, but as she finished she jerked her head back up to pin her mother down with a tear-laden glare. "So if you like what I've worked so hard to become-educated, graceful, skilled, and hard-working-then you have no one to thank but Endymion!"
Serenity stared at her daughter in shock. The girl was only fourteen! Where had all of this steel suddenly come from? She put her fingers to her temples and began to massage them. This was really too much in one day.
"You've been going for years? Ever since you were nine?"
Younger Serenity nodded. "How would you feel if after you first met father your mother said you shouldn't have anything to do with him? She would have-she didn't want to stop Chaos. Would you have listened to her?"
Elder Serenity smiled ruefully. "Point taken. No, I wouldn't have. But dear, are you sure this isn't just infatuation?"
Her daughter gave her a look of scorn that only a teenager could summon. "A five year long infatuation?"
"No. I didn't think so." Serenity paused. "Do you plan to marry him?"
"Of course! Oh, you have to meet him, Mother! I'll bring you down to Earth and you can get to know him. You'll love him, Mother! Truly you will!"
"Take me down to Earth? Can you?"
Her daughter nodded eagerly. "Of course I can. I have been-" She coughed uncomfortably. "The other girls found out about us a few years ago-"
"When?"
"Oh, when I was eleven. After they found out they insisted that at least two of them go with me at all times in case anything happened. I can manage you, Mother." Serenity's eyes widened at her daughter's casual acknowledgment of her power. "Say you'll come. I just know you'll grow to love him almost as much as I do!"
Serenity sighed and looked down. "What about the problems Gaia's been having. I've picked up enough to know that the Earth is very volatile right now."
Her daughter sighed. "Actually, Mother, it would have been nice if I could have talked to you a while ago. I know what's going on."
"WHAT?!" Calm. . .tranquil. . .damn that girl!
Serene. . .
Her daughter winced at her scream. "Uh-well, I didn't want to get in trouble. The problem is that Metallia has a bunch of the natives loyal to her, and she's had control of most of the high technology weapons for a while now, so none of our people will dare fight her. She wants to force Endymion to marry her daughter, Beryl, so she can rule Earth through her daughter."
Serenity shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. Doesn't she rule the Earth already?"
Her daughter shook her head. "Not legitimately." She looked down at her hands. "Endymion thinks she wants to force all of you to accept her and her daughter. Right now she can't have obvious power because if she just took over she knows you'd go to war with her. She's not ready for that yet, so she let's Gaia do some things that she really doesn't want her to do." She looked up, her brow furrowed with worry.
Serenity was silent as she thought through this new information. If Metallia gained complete control of Earth she would have an unending food supply. While the Moon was in good shape food wise, the other planets still struggled to grow enough to meet the needs of their growing populations. If Metallia wanted, she could make it very difficult for everyone. Why hadn't Gaia come to her for help before things got this bad? <No, that's unfair of me. I saw Metallia with those natives on that trip to Earth so long ago-if Metallia threatened to use her allies to kill Endymion. . .If she'd threatened to kill my daughter, I'm not sure what I would have done either.> "So now what?" she asked, resigned to the fact that events were moving too quickly for her to waste time chewing her daughter out any longer.
The younger Serenity sat up straighter and smiled faintly in relief at the resignation in her mother's tone. "If we start pulling Metallia's hostages out, we can go to war with Earth and not worry about killing our allies."
The older Serenity smiled and said with a small bite of sarcasm in her tones, "And I suppose Endymion should stay here on the Moon with us, hmm?" Her daughter didn't answer, but the blush that stained her cheeks bright pink was confirmation enough. "Well, even though there are hidden motives behind you plan, I agree with the essential elements of it." She raised an eyebrow at her daughter, secretly pleased at the way she'd tried to maneuver things. Her little girl-no, she had to stop thinking of her that way. She may be young, but she'd matured greatly in the last few years, and if that truly was because of Endymion's influence, maybe she should be grateful to the boy after all. Her young lady constantly surprised her. She remembered that night so long ago when Venus had said something to that effect and she shook her head ruefully. She should have listened more closely, it seemed.
She pushed herself up from her seat behind her desk and her daughter hastily rose as well. "Let's go talk to the inners about this. If you're right, we'll have to move quickly."
"What about the outers? Wouldn't Neptune and Uranus be useful in a fight like this?"
"They're great warriors, dear, but they protect us from outside threats. This is something we have to take care of on our own." She swept down the hall to the com room. Artemis was there fiddling with the controls. He turned with surprise as both Serenitys swept into the room.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing, Artemis." She watched his face turn a bit red as he realized what sort of tone he'd taken with his queen and he looked down.
"Sorry about that. It seems the man on duty in here decided this job was too dull and took the day off without informing anyone." He pointed to one glowing screen. "We don't know how long it's been on, but we're receiving a distress call."
"From who?" Serenity felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. Surely it couldn't be. . .
Artemis shook his head in frustration as concentration and worry made him forget his embarrassment. "I just got in here a second ago. I don't know yet, the computer's finding the coordinates. . .there!" His mouth dropped open with shock as he watched numbers flow across the screen.
"What is it? Artemis? Artemis!" He didn't answer, his mouth opening and closing silently. Her daughter shoved him aside and he fell against her, still doing a good impression of a suffocating fish. She watched her daughter take on a business like air as she studied the information, and couldn't quite supress a completely inappropriate glow of pride at her efficiency. Then her daughter raised her eyes from the screen to look at her mother, and the fear in her eyes made Serenity clutch her hands to her chest. Suddenly she knew what it was. She closed her eyes and slowly sank to the floor.
"I-I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't tell you soon enough."
"Who? Who is it? Do we have time to warn the others?"
Her daughter shook her head. "It's already too late. For all of them." Serenity watched her daughter turn her head away and take a deep breath. "All of them have been transmitting for days. All of the signals except Aphrodite's have stopped. We could send someone to Venus' planet to see if her mother made it, but the others-the others almost have to be dead by now."
Serenity's mind raced. "Days? How long has this post been empty?" A horrible thought overcame her. "Does Metallia's arm extend even here?"
Artemis finally began to shake off his shock. "Metallia? Who's that?"
"The woman that's been causing such difficulties on Earth." Serenity took a deep breath and began to struggle to stand. Her daughter gave her a hand up. First things first. She had to find a way to save Aphrodite. But how, if she couldn't telep-
"Princess Serenity!" Her daughter raised her head in surprise. "I need you to get together your team, and I need you to teleport to Venus to rescue Aphrodite!"
"Venus! Mother! Do you know how far that is?"
"I can lend you some strength from Ginzuishou. If we wait for a ship to arrive she'll surely be dead, and no one else has the ability you have. How many can you take?"
Her daughter firmed her shoulders in determination. "I can take all five of us. I'm certain of it."
Serenity nodded. "Good. Get them together. Only. . .try to break it gently to Venus. And the others. . ." Her daughter nodded and ran off, leaving Serenity to stumble out of the communication room. She stumbled to the first empty room she came to and slumped against the door frame, her shoulders shaking as she struggled to hold back sobs of pain. Bright, eccentric Hermes, as quick with a joke as he was with his mind. Fiercely loyal Zeus, so proud of his strength. Ares, wise and strong. All three of them were dead. And what if she lost Aphrodite too? And all their people. . .all dead. She was a failure as a queen. She couldn't even keep her best friends alive.
A puff of air blew across her skin and she looked up with sudden fear. Could Metallia already be here?
A cloud of mist obscured her vision, then it cleared as suddenly as it had appeared and she gasped as she saw who it was. "Pluto! What are you doing here?"
Pluto smiled sadly and bowed low. "Your Majesty, didn't I promise you that I'd see you later? I've come back."
"But why-why now? Why only after everyone but Aphrodite-"
"Everyone, your Majesty."
"What?" Serenity asked in confusion, momentarily lost by Pluto's cryptic interruption.
"Everyone is dead, your Majesty. I came to keep you from sending your daughter and her four guardians to Venus. There is a reason the distress beacon is still on, there."
Serenity felt her world crumbling to pieces and she was slightly surprised the palace wasn't crashing down around her ears. She struggled to shove her emotions back far enough so that she could think. "A reason?" Her next thought washed away her grief in a cold wave of dread. "A trap? On Venus?"
"Yes, your Majesty. As soon as Metallia found out about your daughter's trips to Earth, and her disturbing ability to teleport so far, she knew she had to move quickly. She killed the other nobles and now she hopes to kill your daughter and ruin your chances of saving Earth. If she can keep you neutralized and demoralized here. . ." Pluto looked down. ". . .she's won."
"Why didn't you warn me earlier? When it would have done more good?" Serenity felt anger creep through her. She was desperately searching for someone to blame, and Pluto made a very tempting target right now. . .
"I didn't dare. You don't seem to understand my problem, Queen Serenity. I not only live outside of time and have the ability to travel through time, I also have the duty of guarding time. I'm not just following your order, and protecting the time stream. I'm also keeping others from using the Time Door improperly. I don't dare leave it for long."
"Why, what happens if you leave it?"
"There are physical entrances into the realm I protect, my Queen. If I'm not there to guard it against casual entrance, it's entirely possible anyone could walk in there and change history. I wept, your Majesty, as I watched your friends die, but I did not leave. Then I saw your daughter, and their daughters, die, and that future was too much for me to bear. Stop your charges from walking into an ambush, your Majesty. Save their-" Pluto stopped, and a curious look of shame and pain covered her face. "-save their futures."
Serenity thought about all that Pluto had said. She stood up. In light of this new information, she decided to expand her earlier command to Pluto.
"Pluto," she said, "you watch the Time Door. You are the soldier who controls time and space. There are three things you must not do. First, you may not let the time stream be corrupted. Second, you can never leave the Door unless staying will let an enemy destroy everything. And third, you mustn't stop time. You are endowed with the power to move time, but no matter what happens you must never stop time. If you ever violate that law, you will give up your life."
Pluto's eyes glittered at her, unreadable and hard as rubies. "Yes, your Majesty."
Suddenly a new thought struck Serenity. "How long will you be able to guard the gate, Pluto?"
Red eyes, haunted with demons she couldn't even hope to understand, looked into her eyes. "I will guard it as long as I live, your Majesty."
"But how long will you live?"
"I live outside of time, your Majesty. It has no effect on me, if I choose it not to. I will live forever, or until someone stronger than me fights for control of the Time Door."
Serenity's eyes filled with tears as she suddenly understood the weariness in Pluto's eyes. "Oh my god. . .I'm so sorry! I-I've consigned you to this terrible life. . ."
Pluto smiled at her, her lips tight. "It is necessary. I know that." She bowed again, lower this time. "It will always be an honor to serve your family, Serenity-sama. I promise you that."
"Serenity-sama? What does that mean?"
"It's a language that doesn't exist yet. It means I honor you, your Majesty." Pluto looked up from her bow to pin Serenity to the wall with a piercing glare. "One more thing. There will come a time when you will want to send all of the heirs someplace. Please, do not send me, or I will be forced to do as you desire, and I will be unable to guard the Time Door. Remember. Wherever you send the others, do not send me."
Serenity opened her mouth to ask for a better explanation, then quickly closed it again. From the look in Pluto's eyes, she really didn't want to know. Instead she simply nodded her head and tried to pull herself together. "I will remember. And Pluto?" At her words Pluto stopped her turn and looked back at the queen. "Thank you for letting me save my daughter, and my friends' daughters." Pluto smiled that tight smile of pain again, nodded, and then walked down the corridor, her dark hair swinging heavily as she walked away. Serenity sighed and looked down. She had to hurry and stop the girls. When she looked up again Pluto was gone.
She ran out of the little alcove she'd collapsed in and toward her daughter's suite. As she arrived she was surprised to see her daughter walking out with her friends. She'd found them all already, and from the grim looks on their faces, she'd already broken the news. Thank goodness they hadn't left yet.
"Mom? We need Ginzuishou's help to teleport to Venus. We're ready to go."
Serenity stopped in front her determined charges and gasped for breath. When she could, she began to speak. "I'm sorry, dear, but that's impossible. You can't go to Venus."
"What?!" Venus had obviously forgotten she was speaking to her queen. "How can you say that? My mother may still be alive! We have to help her!"
Serenity shook her head. "We can't. It's too late for her too, Venus." She watched tears fill Venus' eyes and took an instinctive step forward to pull the suddenly sobbing girl into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Venus. Your mother was a close friend." She looked up at the other three girls. "All your parents were. But I just found out the distress beacon on Venus is a trap. Metallia is frightened of you, so she hoped to separate you from me so she could destroy you." She watched the girls begin to sob. Mars struggled to keep her face impassive, and her tears fell down cheeks that were as stiff as stone. Mercury sank to the floor and cried silently, hiding her tears from them, as if she was ashamed of her own weakness. Jupiter, tall, strong, and confident, collapsed again her daughter with a wail and pulled her to the ground in sobbing heap.
Serenity had never felt more helpless in her life. Now what?