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Diamohns are Forever	By : SailorSol Category: Sailor Moon > General Views: 22490 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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THIRD SEPARATION

Aster stood on the rooftop deck of Chiba House with Haruka, Minako, and Usagi. The four of them looked toward the looming Chaos zone, a roiling black and red cloud that looked like it was contained in a fishbowl. All four of them took a deep breath, and then released it slowly.

�I never want to go in there again,� Usagi said quietly. Haruka reached out and put an arm around the other girl�s shoulders.

�You�re not going in alone, nekko-chan,� she said quietly. �We�re all going in with you.�

�Actually,� Aster said. �We don�t have to go in. We can use the Sailor box and shrink the Chaos zone, until we can get to the source of the problem. I only wish I could tell the Shitennou.�

�Did you try?� Minako asked, looking at her friends with a worried expression.

�Yes,� Aster said. �No results. Either they are ignoring me, the message isn�t getting through, or they�re busy.�

�In a lot of ways, it�s the opposite of our world, right?� Minako asked. �Maybe Chaos is causing problems there, as well.�

�Maybe,� Aster said. �In any case, we have a job to do. Let�s get the others together and do it.�

�After the Plutos take ChibiUsa away,� Usagi said. �I don�t want her here.�

�Agreed,� Aster said. She tore her eyes away from the Chaos field and turned to smile at Usagi.

�Relax,� she said. �She�s still here. That means that we win.�

Aster stepped away from the other three Senshi and looked up at the sky.

�Pluto!� she called out. �Sailor Pluto, the Warleader calls!�

A swirl of purplish smoke began in midair, and grew into a swirling column. When it cleared, Sailor Pluto stood before them, immaculate as always: every hair in place, and a neutral expression on her face.

�I answer your summons, Warleader,� she said. �What is it you wish?�

�Take the little princess home,� Aster said. �She is not needed for the work that is to come, and we will be better able to concentrate, knowing she is safe.�

�I will, of course, follow your orders, Warleader,� Pluto said. Unexpectedly, she smiled at Aster.

�I�ll get ChibiUsa,� Usagi said. She turned and left the roof, wondering what was going on. Pluto seemed to be warmer, and less distant than she had before.

When Usagi came back with Chibi-Usa, Aster, Minako, and Haruka were studying the dome again, talking softly. She led Chibi-Usa over to Sailor Pluto and looked at the Senshi of Time.

�I will summon my partner,� Pluto said. �We will take the Small Lady back to Crystal Tokyo.�

�NO!� Chibi-Usa exploded, glaring up at Usagi. �I�m not going!�

�You are going,� Usagi said. �Aster and I agreed on it. Your presence here could put our entire future in danger. You go back to Crystal Tokyo until this emergency is over.�

�Then I can come back?� Chibi-Usa asked, studying Usagi closely.

�I promise,� Usagi said.

�Okay,� Chibi-Usa growled. She walked over to Sailor Pluto, now accompanied by Kishi Pluto.

�Let�s go, Puu,� she said. �The sooner I go, the sooner I can come back.�

�Don�t you like it in Crystal Tokyo with your parents, Small Lady?� Sailor Pluto asked her.

�It�s no fun there,� Chibi-Usa declared. �Everybody�s asleep or away. There�s nobody to play with.�

�Then we will bring you back when the danger is past,� Kishi Pluto promised. �Besides, this is your opportunity to show my partner the room under the palace.�

�Let�s go,� Chibi-Usa said. Kishi Pluto put a hand on her shoulder, and the two of them watched while Sailor Pluto drew down the mists and opened the time gate.

The four of them went back downstairs, sobered by what they had observed, and by what they had just done.

Hotaru was the first one to notice that someone was missing.

�Where�s Chibi-Usa?� she asked.

�We sent her home,� Usagi said. �She isn�t needed for the fight, and I think we will all be able to concentrate better if she�s not here.�

�And if we lose,� Lucinda said softly. �She will never know.�

~*~*~*~

The Senshi and Kishi jumped across town until they were equally distributed around the perimeter of the Chaos zone. At Sailor Moon�s signal, they all raised their hands

This time, they arranged themselves so that partners were opposite one another. Sailor Sol and Kishi Neptune clasped wrists and reached towards the closest warriors to them: Kishi Mercury on her side, and Sailor Uranus on hers. The combined energies of the Sailor Box sprang up between outstretched hands, and they once again started to move forward, intent on shrinking the power that was destroying their city.

They fought forward, as they had before. It seemed to be a bit easier than before, with planet power balancing the Box. They shrank the sickly black dome until it was down to the size of a city block. Everything that had been covered by the dome was twisted and destroyed.

They only peripherally noticed, however, because something strange started happening. The dome parted, and it melted away to reveal the same humanoid figure as before. It ignored Sailor Sol this time, and instead it turned towards Sailor Moon. It took a step towards her, and reached out as if to take hold of her.

Sailor Moon took a step backwards, breaking the contact with Endymion and Kishi Venus, and breaking the Sailor Box.

�Sailor Moon!� Sol cried out. �Get back in place! Reform the box!�

Sailor Moon did not hear her, though. Her entire attention was on the creature in front of her, approaching her.

Kishi Mars stepped between them, his sling whirling in his hand. On the other side of Sailor Moon, Prince Endymion stepped forward, his sword drawn and a pair of mystic roses in the other hand.

The creature looked at Endymion, and its eyes narrowed in irritation. It held up the hand it had been extending to Sailor Moon, and a ball of energy appeared. It regarded the energy ball for a moment, and then threw it at Endymion. It split just before touching him and sped around the dome so that it hit Sailor Terra. They both disappeared in a flash of light.

Sailor Sol felt a frisson of terror run through her. She, Sailor Uranus, and Sailor Venus all stepped forward at the same time. The creature produced and threw two more balls and Uranus and Venus vanished, along with their partners.

�Scatter!� Sol ordered, her thoughts on keeping him from sending anyone else away, and getting the missing people back.

Faster than they could get away, it threw more energy balls, and each pair disappeared as they were touched by one of the balls.

The creature turned towards Sailor Sol with one final energy ball in its hands, and neither of them bothered to dodge when it flung the power at them.

***** *****

Sailor Sol woke to a heavy weight on her, and a rough, icy cold surface under her. She shivered as she tried to sit up, feeling chillingly cold winds whipping around her as she did.

The weight on her shifted and groaned, and then Kishi Sol rolled off of her and then looked around him in confusion.

�Where the heck are we, honey?� he asked.

�Somewhere I�ve been before,� she said, climbing to her feet. She shivered and rubbed her bare arms. Not for the first time, she envied the inner Senshi their elbow length gloves. She envied Sailor Terra and her long gloves even more.

She jumped in surprise as something brushed against her arms, and she realized that it was her own hair. She pulled the weight of it over one shoulder, and looked up at her partner in surprise when she realized that the tumble of curls fell down to her knees, where they had only reached to her hips, before.

�What do we do?� he asked her, rising off of the ground. �What happened to you?�

�We find the little shelter I made,� she said. �Terra improved on it by making an underground room. We should be more comfortable there. I just wish there were blankets and firewood there, as well. As for what happened to me, who knows? It happened to you, you know. Your hair used to only brush your shoulders.�

�You can�t have what you wish for, honey,� he said, looking around while his gauntleted hand tested the new length of his hair. �Which way?�

�That way, I believe,� she said, gesturing in one direction. �There seems to be more light in that direction. I seem to remember that Uranus came out of the darker side of the sky.�

The two solar warriors started walking in the direction that Sailor Sol had indicated, hoping beyond all hope that they would be able to find the shield of ice that she had created when she had been briefly banished from their native plane of existence.

They knew that if they did find it, they would also find the underground space that Sailor Terra had created when she and Uranus had been briefly banished in the recent past.

Neither of them spoke of their most serious thoughts to the other. They both knew that the method of escape that had served so well in the past would not work this time. Kishi Sol was the most powerful of the Kishi, but even he did not possess the power of the weakest of the planetary Senshi. They could not use Sailor Teleport to escape.

After what seemed an eternity of staggering through snow-laden winds, they found the barrier that Sol had created, and the sloping tunnel that Terra had created, leading to an underground space where the wind did not blow.

To their absolute shock, there were several folded blankets waiting for them, and some neatly stacked wood, split for use in a fire.

Neither of them remembered how long they stood there, staring at the unexpected items, waiting for them to disappear and prove themselves a mirage. When it didn�t happen, Sailor Sol hesitantly stepped forward and laid one cold, gloved hand on the firewood.

It stayed where it was: visible, solid, and smelling faintly of pine.

She turned to her partner, her golden eyes wide, and her face pale.

�It�s real,� she said. �Somehow, what I wished for is here.�

�Then let�s not waste any time,� he said, stepping forward. �Even the illusion of warmth would be welcome, at this point.�

With as much dispatch as possible, he assembled wood. He started talking about using two sticks to make a fire while he worked, and both of them heard something metallic clatter to the ground, followed by another item that sounded like a rock.

He picked up both items, and then showed them to his partner.

�That�s flint and steel,� she said quietly. �I know Uranus and Terra didn�t leave them here. How did they get here?�

�I ain�t lookin� a gift horse in the mouth,� he said. �Let�s get this fire started.�

Sailor Sol picked up one of the blankets and ripped a corner from it. She shredded it and put the resulting tangle of threads into a hollow area between several pieces of wood.

Kishi Sol slammed two pieces of wood together until he had a collection of splinters of varying sizes. He put the smaller ones with his partner�s threads, and then picked up the flint and steel.

It took him over an hour and sweat was pouring down his face before he got a flame going. She knelt next to him and fed it successively larger splinters until it started burning the wood around it. Then the two of them criss-crossed a few more pieces of wood over the flames.

Kishi Sol shed his armor, and the two of them spread one of the blankets on the floor and wrapped the remaining blankets around them, sharing body warmth. Exhausted, they dozed off and fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

�We gotta get outta here,� Kishi Sol said unnecessarily while they watched the fire. They had fallen asleep and woken seven times. They figured that at least a few days had gone by.

At their first awakening, they had both blushed in embarrassment when their stomachs had growled. An expressed wish for food had produced a picnic basket full of food. Now, they had nothing to concentrate on but getting out.

�You aren�t telling me anything I don�t know,� she said softly. �We have to find a way to raise power.�

�That ain�t gonna help,� he replied. �We can�t Sailor Teleport when we got one Senshi and one Kishi. Next idea.�

�I don�t know,� she said, tightening her grip on her blanket. �I�m going back to sleep.�

~*~*~*~

Many sleep and wake cycles later, Sailor Sol started pacing the dimensions of their cave, looking around and touching the walls at different intervals, as if she were trying to find a way out. In between testing the walls, she would look at the entrance to the cave.

Kishi Sol watched her for a while. He was becoming concerned. Somehow, he could feel that she was starting to panic. He got up from where he was cocooned in the blankets and walked over to where she was.

�Honey,� he said. �You been over these walls lotsa times. You ain�t gonna find a way out.�

�We�ve been here for a month!� she said, turning to him with a desperate look on her face. �We�ve got to get out of here! Can you imagine what�s happening at home?�

�It�s been three weeks, Sunshine,� he corrected her gently. �We�ve been tryin� to think of a way to get back.�

�I�m tired of this!� she cried out, nearly screaming at him. �I�m cold, and I�m tired, and I wish we could just walk through a door and get home!�

He took a tight grip on her and turned around to take her back to the fire, where it was warmer.

On the cave wall opposite to where they were standing was a door.

The two of them stared at it for a long moment, and then looked at one another.

�It can�t be that simple,� he said finally.

�The blankets and the wood were here,� she said. �Maybe it is.�

He left her to walk over to his discarded armor and put it back on.

�I ain�t takin� chances,� he said .�What if we walk through that door an� into somethin� worse?�

//It can�t be worse than freezing.//

�Of course it can,� he snapped.

The two of them looked up at one another when they realized that Sailor Sol had not spoken aloud.

//Well, that�s interestin�// he thought.

//I heard that,// she thought back.

//This�ll make it easier to communicate,// he pointed out.

//I wonder if the others will be doing this too,// she mused.

When Kishi Sol was finished putting his armor back on, he joined her at the door, staring at the portal as though it would disappear.

Finally, shaking, Sailor Sol reached forward with one gloved hand and turned the handle. They heard a click as the latch disengaged, and the door swung towards them, showing them what lay beyond.

Her eyes wide and her face pale, Sailor Sol took a step forward to the threshold of the door, and then stepped beyond it.

Fearful of being left behind, Kishi Sol followed her. He heard the door close and latch behind him.

They found themselves on the rooftop deck of Chiba House.

They looked around in shock at the deck and rails, the chaise lounges, the round table and chairs with an umbrella to cast shade. Beyond the railings, the back yard looked exactly as they expected, bright with fall foliage. The solarium below them was fogged in the early morning light.

Lastly, they turned their attention the faint light of dawn, and the sliver of the rising sun.

�Well, it�s about time you arrived,� a gravelly male voice said. The two of them whirled around to see two golden Akitas sitting on either side of the door that led to the house.

Sailor Sol stared at them, and then cautiously walked forward. Without thinking, Kishi Sol went with her. Neither of them noticed that they were holding hands.

�I remember you, you�re Phoebus and Apollo,� she said. She started to kneel between them and then realized that one of her hands was imprisoned in her partner�s. �Taiyono, let me go please.� She shook her hand to emphasize her point.

He looked down at their entwined hands and a startled look crossed his face.

�I can�t,� he said. �I�m tryin� right now, an� I can�t make my hand let go.�

�Maybe if we detransformed,� she said. �Maybe its just because we�ve been empowered for so long.�

He removed his mace from his belt and dropped it to the ground. She reached up and removed her tiara.

Vincent nearly dragged Aster off of her feet when he bent to retrieve his key ring.

�This is ridiculous,� Aster said, as she tried to unclasp her hand. �I can�t let go, either. Let�s get downstairs and call Hana. Maybe they know something about this.�

�While we�re waitin� for them to come over,� Vincent replied. �We�ll fix us some food.�

�Taiyo, we�ve been eating,� she said. �It�s not like we�re starving.�

�Well, I want some crepes and bacon,� he said. �I missed eatin� my cookin�, an� yours, an� �Cinda�s.�

�All right,� she said, opening the door.

Just inside the door, a figure stepped out of the shadows, an unsheathed tanto in his hand.

�You�re alive,� Washino said hoarsely. He stepped into the light, and both of them saw something that they had not seen in this lifetime. Charon, the Death Knight, the cold heartless guard, was crying in relief. He dropped the tanto and moved forward to hesitantly touch Aster�s face before he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

�It�s all right, Kage,� she said into his shoulder. �We�re back, we�re fine. Everything�s going to work out.�

After several long moments, Washino released her, and then looked down at where she and Vincent were still joined at the hands.

�What is this?� he asked.

�It seems to be a side effect of our little side trip into Chaos,� Aster said. �Right now, what we want is some really GOOD food, and then we�ll decide what to do.

�You have a few houseguests,� he said, stepping aside and bending over to pick up the tanto. �They are downstairs in the living room.�

~*~*~*~

At the bottom of the ground floor stairs, they both stopped and stared at the sight that met their eyes.

On the floor in front of the large screen television, surrounded by three couches, was a collection of futons, all occupied.

Closest to them on a couch were Ichiro and Toriko, reminding both Aster and Vincent how much they missed Makoto and reminding Aster of Nephrite. Below them was Sumiko and Eiji, looking so much like Mamoru and Usagi that Aster had to bite her lip to keep from crying out.

On the far couch were Kurano and Midori, reminding Aster forcibly of Rei and Jadeite. Below them were Meiko and Akari, their golden and blue hair tumbled together above them. On the center couch, as if watching over the others, were Joben and Sakura.

Aster looked up at Vincent, and the two of them silently approached the two sleeping men, hoping to surprise them.

Behind them, Phoebus and Apollo bounded down the stairs. The racket of their claws startled everyone out of sleep as they jumped up, prepared to deal with an attack.

Joben stared at Aster, his fan token in his hand, wearing nothing more than a pair of pajama bottoms and his long silver blond hair.

�Hoshiko?� he whispered, as though a full volume inquiry would make her disappear. �is that you?�

Sakura asked no questions. Instead, he climbed over the couch and threw his arms around Vincent�s neck.

�We were so afraid!� he cried, burying his face in Vincent�s neck. �We thought you might never come back!�

Vincent put one arm around the smaller man and kissed his temple.

�Well,� he murmured. �It took us three weeks, but we made it.�

�Three weeks?� Meiko asked. �It hasn�t been three weeks. It�s only been one.�

�One week?� Aster looked at the younger woman in confusion. �I know it was longer than that?�

�If you were in another dimension,� Meiko said. �Maybe time moves differently there.�

�Perhaps,� Aster said. �In the meantime, Vincent and I were thinking of crepes for breakfast.�

�Of course,� Joben said. He stepped over the couch and picked Aster up.

His actions pulled Vincent to one side. Having an arm around Sakura overbalanced Vincent, and all four of them ended up falling onto the floor in a tangle.

�What�s wrong?� Akari asked, her hands busy tying up her hair into odango similar to Usagi�s.

�We can�t let go,� Aster said. �We discovered that this morning, right after we got back.�

�I wonder what caused that,� Midori mused. He came around the couch hub with Ichiro to help the four of them up.

�We don�t know,� Aster said, frowning. �This is going to be annoying, not to mention inconvenient. How are we going to change clothes?�

�Work it out one step at a time,� Meiko said. �For now, you need something to eat, and then you need some rest. You�ve got shadows under your eyes that Charon could hide in.�

�Vincent wants crepes,� Aster said. She shrieked playfully when her partner scooped her over his shoulder and carried her into the kitchen.

It wasn�t until he set her down that they realized that they had not been holding hands. His hand had slipped under her pant leg and was pressed into the naked skin of her calf. When she slipped down to stand on the floor, her arms naturally slipped around his neck, skin to skin.

�You let go,� Joben said from behind them.

Vincent turned around, pulling away from Aster. Automatically, their hands sought one another and clasped together again.

�Now you�re connected again,� Sakura observed, sounding more than a little upset.

�This could become embarrassing,� Aster said.

�You ain�t got nothin� I ain�t seen,� Vincent observed.

�What if I want to spend time with Joben?� she asked. �What then?�

�Well, maybe y�all are gonna have to share space with me an� Sakura,� he retorted.

�Your hands went back together when her arms were pulled from your neck,� Joben told Vincent. �Perhaps it has something to do with the type of contact.�

�Skin to skin?� Sakura asked, cocking his head. �That would be easy to experiment with.�

�Sure,� Aster said. She reached over and cupped Vincent�s face with her free hand.

Their clasped hands fell apart as naturally as though there had never been any difficulty.

�So we don�t have to hold hands,� Vincent said. �We jus� have t� touch skin.�

�That is going to make things interesting,� Aster said. �No pullovers for you or me for a while, my dear.�

�I ain�t got hardly any pullovers anyway,� he said. �An� you like wearin� button up shirts, �cause you know that men are waitin� for them buttons to pop.�

�Nothing of the kind, you dirty-minded little boy,� Aster said, shaking her head. �Now, how are we going to make crepes with either only two hands between us, or touching skin somewhere else?�

�I can help,� Sumiko said unexpectedly, stepping into the kitchen. �I�ve been doing a lot of the cooking. I�m really quite good.�

�Can y�all make crepes?� Vincent asked.

�Paper thin and light as air,� she replied. �Joben said you had a secret ingredient.�

�Ah do,� Vincent said. �Well, since Ah can�t very well make crepes like this, Ah�ll jus� have t� let you do the cookin�. Aster an� I�ll set in the breakfast nook an� make the batter an� fillin�s an� stuff.�

�We need to change first, Taiyono,� Aster said. �We both need to be in house kimonos or something, or we won�t have both hands free.�

�Y�all got a point,� he said. �Okay, we�ll be right back. Don� do no cookin� �till we gets back.�

He led the way back upstairs, leading the way to the room he shared with Lucinda, Makoto, and Kojiro.

They found him a happi coat and a pair of shorts. Aster borrowed one of Lucinda�s house kimonos. Aster changed first, with Vincent cupping her face in his hands while she did. She finished quickly and then slipped one slender hand to the back of his neck while he changed clothes.

They came downstairs to the sounds of bacon frying and entered the kitchen to find Ichiro and Toriko at one stove and Toshiro Tochi at the other one. Toriko was cooking rice gruel and watching dumplings steam. Ichiro was watching a pan of frying potatoes and a pan of sausage. Toshiro was cooking the bacon whose smell overpowered everything else.

While they ate, Hana and Toshiro brought them up to date on what was happening. The Chaos field was growing slowly, and sometimes contracting for unknown reasons. Every living thing that went into it came out twisted, and sometimes joined with some kind of machinery. Every thinking being that went in had come out insane.

�We need to do something,� Hana observed. �Our strongest attacks aren�t much use against creatures with no mind to affect.�

�We�ll give it a try,� Aster said. �We�ve got to do something until the others get back.�

�When do you want to go?� Toshiro asked.

�As soon as things are cleaned up here,� Aster said.

�We�ll clean up,� Joben said, rising from the table. �Just come back safe.�

�Count on it,� Aster said. �We�re not getting any closer than we have to.�

Aster and Vincent followed Hana and Toshiro out to the front porch. Hana pulled out her henshin wand and looked at Aster. She looked down to where their hands were once again clasped and smiled a bit.

�At least Toshiro and I didn�t have to do that,� she said. �I wonder why you�re affected like that.�

�Maybe it�s the time in Chaos,� Aster said. �When we were separated before, the stronger the Senshi, the more tightly she clung to her partner when they were reunited.�

//You�re stallin�// Vincent�s voice sounded in her head. //Let�s get this over with. Stop chattin� an� get out your wand.//

�Let�s do it,� Aster said. She pulled out her henshin wand out and she and Vincent transformed simultaneously.

TBC
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Diamohns are Forever