Coming of Age

The King of Myrkr carried the baby girl into his garden. She was tiny in his arms. He'd left Justen and Nyssa inside the palace beaming like the proud parents they were. And although their hearts were full of joy for their new child, the King saw something in her blue eyes – so much like Justen's – that even they couldn't imagine. Myrkr would soon be plunged into darkness, and later, uncharted numbness; but this child would be his brilliant light.

The flower sunk until it was within the Prince's reach. "Now take the flower," the King said, reaching one hand under the baby so the Prince could hold the flower, too. "Careful. Now pin it to her dress. It's okay, it doesn't need a real pin. There you go!"

Chikako was wandering around the Jedi Temple half way looking for RE-4b, muttering about how Kirana's droid didn't seem to disappear so often, when she heard a familiar electric babbling around the next corner. The next sound was the telltale giggling of Yoshiko and Peetie. She almost didn't want to know what they were doing – those two were rather creative (to say the least) when it came to finding ways to entertain themselves. Chikako imagined they'd grown bored of tying spoons to Pinku's tail.

"I bet Ajani never intended this when he gave me Ari," she mumbled as she went into rescue mission mode, then paused for a second. "Ajani… what a sweetheart," she sighed. "What an incredibly cute sweetheart…"

Too bad he lives on TATOOINE!

Chikako groaned but couldn't hide the smile in her voice. "Hi, Master Koumi-chan," she said and squeezed her eyes shut before turning to face the girl who had just spoken through the Force. "And… somebody else," the amateur Jedi strained to identify the other. "Yuki! Were you hiding your presence?" she asked the grinning girl after spinning around to face her two friends.

"A little," Yukiko admitted.

You can always use the practice, Koumi admonished.

"Yeah, I guess." Chikako rolled her eyes. "So what's up?"

"We were just wondering what you're doing tomorrow," Yukiko said.

"I'm turning twenty!" Chikako answered.

"Are you turning twenty at any particular venue?"

"Not to my knowledge…" Chikako said, eyeing the pair suspiciously.

"Great! Meet me at my room after lunch." She and Koumi waved and left Chikako standing alone in the hallway again.

A Jedi Master named Cyrus watched the exchange from a crosswalk two stories up. His long silvery hair fanned out over his back as he leaned out over the safety guard. He used the Force to bring the girls' voices to his mind, even the silent one. He'd seen a lot of this silent one lately, but not for her own sake. Still, Cyrus thought she might be worth considering for the next time around. He remembered her when she had been a misfit student at the Temple, picking fights with anyone who would so much as look at her. She would make a formidable target – but not for him, not yet.

The other – the Hoth child – had a good bit of strength, he realized as he listened to them talk. But he'd been told to stay away from her. Sometimes, he'd learned, Sith could be very territorial.

That didn't matter, though. It was the third child that interested Cyrus primarily, and she was all his.

Chikako shivered. She gave up on the droid search and ran to catch up with Yukiko and Koumi.

"Master." A tall young man with pale blonde hair approached Cyrus. "I finished the meditation exercises."

"Good," Cyrus said and turned from the overlook to face his Padawan learner. "Why don't you attend Master Adi Gallia's lecture in the Great Hall this afternoon?"

"Yes, Master." The young man turned to go.

"Xanthus, come to the Room of a Thousand Waterfalls when you finish. I'd like you to meet someone."

Xanthus turned around. "Master, with all due respect, I don't see why I should have anything to do with this."

"I don't ask you to understand," Cyrus replied. "I ask you to do as you're told."

The young man's shoulders slumped a little and he turned to go again. "Yes, Master."

"Besides, you may have nothing to do with this affair after all. You are only Plan B." Cyrus watched Xanthus disappear, then again looked down to where the girl had stood.

It wasn't because Chikako was pretty – although she was, if you paid enough attention. It wasn't because of the inherent joy that carried her through the worst of circumstances. It wasn't because she was strong – that, too, was buried deep inside. So deep, in fact, that she didn't know it was there. Cyrus saw it, though. And if she discovered it before his work was done, things would be a lot more difficult for him.

Priire was sitting on the floor with Nagareboshi, teaching her how to play a Sabacc variation popular around the Hapes Cluster. Chikako was sitting on the couch, apparently reading a thesaurus. Ippin came in and set an aluminum bowl of cookies on the coffee table. "Has anyone picked up a newspaper today?" she wondered.

"Newspaper?" Chikako repeated, jumping off the couch, but not before grabbing a handful of cookies. "As in the Coruscant Times?"

"Uh… That'll work, I suppose."

"Okay, I'll go get it!"

"Actually," Nagareboshi said, looking up from her hand of cards, "I think Nom already got –"

"Sh!" Chikako dropped the thesaurus and stuffed a cookie into Boshi's mouth. "I'm going to get a paper, and that's the end of it."

"She has a crush on the paper boy," Priire explained, rolling her eyes.

"I do not," Chikako said, using the reflection in the aluminum cookie bowl to fix her hair.

"Yes you do," Ippin said and took the now-empty bowl back to the kitchen, picking up the thesaurus along her way.

As soon as Chikako left, Ippin returned with another bowl of cookies. "So," she grinned, kneeling next to the coffee table. "Everybody ready to party tomorrow?"

"Party?" Boshi said absentmindedly. She frowned at her sabacc cards.

"Chikako's turning twenty, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," Boshi said. She threw down her cards and turned to look at Ippin. "I even got a new dress to wear to the Crystal Star. I've never been there before!"

"It's wonderful," Ippin gushed. "They have the best food on the planet, I swear! And the music, and the-"

"I suppose they check blasters?" Priire frowned.

Ippin raised an eyebrow. "Has that ever stopped you before?"

Her sister flashed a grinned before assuming an innocent look. She stood up. "This reminds me – I have a little errand to run." She produced a silver lightsaber handle, twirled it, and slipped it back into a pocket. "I'll see you two later."

Chikako munched on one of Ippin's cookies as she ran through the Temple. She wasn't paying a lot of attention to her surroundings, and she wasn't expecting to be stopped by a middle-aged Jedi with gold streaks in his hair.

"You're Chikako, right?"

Normally, being stopped by a stranger would've startled her, but she suddenly felt much calmer than normal. She looked down at his hand on her arm and up into his shining, pale blue eyes. They were pretty. But hadn't somebody told her… something? About trust, or not trust, or… That couldn't be right. He had such a warm smile. "Yes," she said. "I'm Chikako."

"I'm Cyrus. We met once before in the main hallway."

"I remember," Chikako said. The memory was fuzzy. Who had been with her? Peetie? No, it wasn't Peetie… Koumi? No, not her either. Xanthus? Wait, who was Xanthus? Why was it so hard to think?

"Do you have dinner plans?" the tall man asked.

"I – no," Chikako said, not even sure.

"Please join my padawan learner and me. He is very curious about the Sailor Jedi."

"Sailor Jedi?"

"We would be honored if you ate with us. I'm going to meet him right now." Cyrus began to lead her back towards the Room of a Thousand Waterfalls. Chikako followed him reluctantly, though she wasn't sure where the reluctance came from. Wasn't she supposed to be doing something? She closed her eyes and went where the Jedi's strong arm led her. She tried to concentrate on something, anything. Why did it feel like the Force was suffocating her?

She opened her eyes and stopped walking. Cyrus stopped in his tracks; he looked disturbed.

Chikako blinked. Cyrus! Xarae told me to stay away from him. And I'm supposed to be getting the paper! What happened?

She's not even a real Jedi! he thought, trying not to panic. Where did she learn to block the Force?

She turned around to run away, but when she turned, found herself facing a light-haired boy with big green eyes. He took her hand and flashed a friendly grin.

"I'm Xanthus Sloane," he said. "You must be Chikako."

"Yes, I am," Chikako said.

Cyrus stood there, still horrified. Things had been going so well at first! He hadn't even imagined a turn of events that factored out the Force itself…

"So you're going to be a Jedi?" Chikako asked in spite of herself. There was a voice in her head telling her to run, but her legs wouldn't listen. The Force was gone; this boy's bright green eyes, however…

Of course, she was the Soldier of Myrkr – but he never imagined that would mean this. The sudden Forcelessness had knocked the wind out of Cyrus, like an unexpected blow to his back. But now as he started breathing again, he could see that all had not been lost. At least this little talent had been disclosed while the stakes were still low…

"Yeah," Xanthus said. "I'll be facing the Trials soon."

"Wow! Have you been here a long time?" she asked. Why am I making conversation?

"Yeah… almost my whole life. And it hasn't been easy," the Padawan grinned, "but I bet it's nothing compared to what you guys go through!"

Cyrus relaxed his shoulders slightly. Thank the Force Xanthus had shown up – and stayed cool enough – just in time to keep the girl from running. But still, he would have to think of another way to get Chikako where he needed her…

"Us guys?"

"The Sailor Jedi, I mean."

In a semi-public place, such a casual reference to her "secret identity" made Chikako blush. The comment left her speechless, too, as she tried to push away an image of Annika, Minae, and Ciel lounging on the couch fighting over fudge.

"I really admire you all," Xanthus continued. "It must be so hard to suddenly be thrown into the role of Protectors of the Galaxy. And yet, you're doing such a good job at it; it's almost unbelievable."

A smile crept onto the Jedi Master's face as he watched Xanthus charm the little Senshi. Perhaps Plan B would work better than he thought.

"I'm so hungry… could we continue this over dinner?" Xanthus suggested.

"Actually… I have to go," Chikako finally sputtered.

"Oh."

"Maybe another time?" she added, trying to bite her tongue but not succeeding. Xanthus brightened, though, and a weird warm feeling zipped through Chikako's stomach and up into her heart. She smiled her good-bye and walked away fast, not trusting herself to obey Xarae's admonition for another second.

"I tried," Xanthus said bitterly to his Master.

"Thank you. You did well."

"Where the Sith is the Force?"

"Wait."

Chikako rounded a corner, and the familiar sense returned to the two men. Never in their lives had they been without it. "You didn't tell me she could do that. That's scary, Cyrus."

"It didn't seem to affect you much."

Xanthus shook his head and walked away.

Things were busy back in the Room Behind the Waterfall. Chikako wanted to talk to someone – particularly Xarae – about her encounter with Cyrus, but the Force-attuned woman was no where to be found. In fact, the only person who seemed to be available was Aliha.

The mysterious little girl was sitting quietly on a wide swing in the Senshi's garden when Chikako found her. "Hi," Chikako said.

"Hi Chika," she smiled and moved over so the older girl could sit. The two had become fairly close since Aliha's arrival and often shared ice cream in the nearby park. Chikako was relieved to notice that Aliha seemed fairly happy today, if bored.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for Boshi to come back from shopping," the little girl said, tugging on two of her six braids. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," Chikako said. "I met a strange man today. But come to think of it, I'm not sure what was strange about him… but I hope I don't see him again."

Aliha thought about that. "I hope not too," she finally said. They sat quietly on the swing for a bit. "Do you want to play Globes?" she asked suddenly, pulling out a small pouch of glimmering, fiery marbles in green, red, blue, and silver. She dumped the globes onto the smooth pathway and set them up for the popular children's game.

Chikako grinned. "I would love to."

The rest of the day passed without incident, and Chikako climbed into bed long before midnight. She realized, as she turned off her lamp, that Ari was still missing, but it didn't trouble her. The way Cyrus has mystified her into following him, however, did. Several rounds of Globes had got her mind off the Jedi and his Padawan, but now all her anxiety rushed back.

"I have a bad feeling about all this," she whispered, blinking at the ceiling.

She'd fallen asleep by the time Ari rolled into her room, very late that night. Chikako opened her eyes when the door slid open; the droid was beeping softly and inexplicably trailing silver ribbons behind him. She flipped over her pillow, pulled her blanket up around her neck, and slipped into sleep again.

Sometime later, Chikako opened her eyes a second time. A glow like candlelight filled her room, coming from nowhere in particular. Her hand was on her necklace, as if she were going to transform into Sailor Myrkr; except that she was not clutching her Henshin flower petal, but the tiny silver ring it hung from. She stared at the wall for a minute, wondering what time it was, and why she was awake. Was something special happening today? As the confusing ideas left over from dreams finally began to give way to more logical thought patterns, Chikako realized she wasn't alone.

She held her breath and tried to identify the other presence. It was vaguely familiar, but… so mysterious. She slowly turned over, hoping she wouldn't find herself facing the barrel of a blaster.

She didn't. The intruder was sitting on the edge of her bed; he'd been waiting for her to notice him. "Hi, Chikako," he said softly.

She looked past the messy wisps of sandy blonde hair into his brown eyes. "Who are you?" she asked. The scent from the hyacinth in her nightstand vase suddenly seemed stronger.

He didn't answer. "I have something for you," he said. He reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out a small silver pillbox.

"That's already mine," Chikako said. "I bought it from an antique salesman."

"I know," the young man smiled. He turned it over and furrowed his eyebrow, looking for a way to open it. A wave of sounds and smells from the Coruscant Market passed over Chikako's senses. "Aha," the boy said, snapping Chikako back to the present. The pillbox popped open, and he dumped out a pair of tiny silver earrings she had put in there just so it wouldn't be empty. He closed it again and took Chikako's hand, placing the empty box in her palm. He covered it with his own hand. She looked down curiously.

The stranger took his hand away, and when she looked up, he was gone. The soft light that had filled the room was also gone. Chikako reached over and switched on the lamp. The old pillbox the boy had given her was gone too; in its place was a silver locket, adorned with the crystalline purple Symbol of Myrkr.

Chikako opened her eyes to Ari's annoying "Yes, I also function as an alarm clock" pattern of beeps. She didn't know what time it was and couldn't guess, since her room didn't have any windows, much to her dismay. But the air had a morning-ish feel to it, so she used her arms to pull herself up to sitting position. Ari kept beeping.

"Shut up!" Chikako yelled weakly. She was not a morning person. "Ari," she groaned, taking her pillow and flinging it at him when he didn't obey.

This less-than-affectionate gesture revealed the treasure she'd hid under her pillow the night before. She hadn't even been sure whether she was dreaming or not. "I guess I wasn't," she whispered and picked up the locket. She flipped it open and found a simple design on the inside, like a single flower with seven petals. Other than that, it was empty.

She pushed off her blanket and jumped out of bed. Without contemplating her choice much, she pulled on a soft cotton dress and gray hiking boots. She grabbed the locket and left.

Kairiku was sitting on the couch that least matched the rest of the furniture, giggling away. Chikako climbed over an armrest and pushed a green-and-purple-striped throw pillow onto the floor to sit next to her.

"Morning," Kairiku said through giggles. Chikako craned her neck to see the cover of the book.

"Oh, you're reading Legends of the Rise! Can I borrow it when you're done?"

"But nobody would ever see it again," Kairiku said.

"What?!"

Kairiku's eyes went wide. "I mean… um…. Priire. It's hers. Ask her. It's not mine. If it was, sure – but it's not. It's Priire's."

"Okay," Chikako shrugged. "Look what I got!"

"What is it?" Kairiku set down her book and Chikako handed her the locket. "Pretty," she said. "Where did you get it?"

"Uhmm… what do you think it does?"

"I don't know," Kairiku said and flipped it open. "It's empty."

"Yup."

"You could put a picture in here. Or a cookie."

Chikako laughed. "A cookie?"

"Why not?" Kairiku grinned and picked up her book again. "Oh!" she cried a second later. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks!"

Priire slipped into Chikako's room with a tightly wrapped package from a leather worker's shop in one hand. She returned the precious lightsaber into a drawer next to the blaster Chikako had picked up somewhere or other. Priire looked around. She would just try it out…

"What is that noise?" Hisui wondered as she pulled a big sheet of cookies out of the oven and set them on the table to cool.

"Priire's shooting something," Minae said absentmindedly, then spotted the cookies. "Ooh, can I have one?"

"No," Hisui said, picking up the cookie sheet to find a new place for them to cool. "These are for Chikako."

"Why?" Minae whined.

"Because it's her birthday." Hisui smiled sardonically. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"No!" Minae said, reaching into her bag for proof. She pulled out a package wrapped in lilac-printed paper. "Earrings," she grinned. She reached further into the bag and pulled out a lump of tissue paper. She unwrapped it to reveal a purse with a pretty flower pattern and long shoulder straps.

"Nice," Hisui said nonchalantly and turned back to the cookies.

Minae rolled her eyes and put her purchases away. "Chikako will like it. Don't you think so, Koumi?"

The other girl had appeared silently in the doorway. She'll love it, Minae, she assured her, smiling slightly. A new round of blaster fire broke out, and her smile disappeared. A second later, Koumi disappeared again.

She marched into the ship dock a few moments later. ENOUGH, Priire! she "shouted" through the Force. Half the Temple must think a war has broken out!

Priire looked away from the slab of soft steel she had been putting holes in. She shot Koumi an annoyed look and muttered something about ruining all her fun. She aimed the blaster again, and finished off the round - and the steel slab, for that matter.

Koumi stood watching with her arms crossed, and Priire finally set down the blaster. Koumi easily called it to her hand. "Happy now?" Priire said sullenly.

Is this even yours? Koumi wondered, turning the gun over in her hand. Priire shrugged and suddenly became rather interested in a bit of dust on the hull of Annika's ship. Priire...

"I was just borrowing it!" Priire exclaimed, still annoyed at being told to stop shooting stuff. "It's Chikako's."

Is it? Koumi said. You know, I don't think she's the original owner, anyway… and now that she has a lightsaber she doesn't really need it…

"So I can have it?" Priire brightened.

Koumi looked surprised. Yes, just what you need!

Priire frowned. "What are you talking about, then?"

She smiled. You'll see!

Meanwhile, Chikako was knocking on Yuki's bedroom door. "Come in!" she called cheerfully from the other side, while someone else giggled. Chikako opened the door and found Yuki and Miyuki playing with Yuki's pet, Riko.

Yuki stood up. "Happy Birthday, Chikako!" she said.

"Yeah!" Miyuki, added.

"Thanks! So what's up?"

"Well…" Yuki grinned some more. "I have a surprise for you!"

"Okay…"

Yuki picked up a garment bag from her bed. "On Earth, in Japan, your twentieth birthday is very important. It's when you become a legal adult. Most people have public celebrations and get all dressed up in traditional kimonos. And since you're twenty today…" She unzipped the garment bag and carefully lifted out a beautiful violet-colored kimono, detailed with tiny flowers and the closest imitations Coruscant had to traditional Japanese patterns.

Chikako's hand went to her mouth. "Is that for me?!" she gasped.

Yuki giggled. "Happy birthday!"

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Chikako exclaimed, coming closer and running her fingers down the sash. "Where will I wear it?"

"To the Crystal Star," Miyuki said.

Chikako laughed. "Oh yeah, I go there every weekend!" she said sarcastically.

The girls laughed and exchanged glances. "Actually," Yuki said, "you're going tonight!"

Anakin Skywalker leaned into a waterfall and splashed his face. Practice with Master Kenobi had been exhausting this morning.

"Tired?" Obi-Wan asked, leaning against the rocky barricade around the fall's pool.

"No," Anakin said. Obi-Wan laughed.

"You haven't got plans tonight, have you?"

"I do! I'm going with the girls to the Crystal Star for Chikako's birthday -" Anakin stopped. "Um, I'm sure you're invited too! I'll go ask Ka -"

"It's okay, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, swirling his hand in the pool. "If Annika wanted me there, I'm sure she would've found a way to let me know."

Anakin frowned. He needed to change the subject, fast.

"Good day, Anakin!" someone across the fountain said.

"Hi Cyrus!" he called back, relieved. "Hey Xanthus!"

The older padawan waved back. "How you doing there, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "You?"

"Fantastic," Xanthus answered.

"Facing your trials soon?"

"Hope to."

"What are the trials like?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan. He hid a grin as Obi-Wan launched into a rather detailed explanation. Subject change successful.

On the other side of the pool, Cyrus smiled. "You better get yourself a birthday present, Xanthus."

"What?"

"Weren't you listening?" he nodded his silver-tressed head in the direction of the other two young men. "Skywalker did us a little favor."

"You don't mean we're going to the Crystal Star, do you?"

Cyrus nodded. "Sounds like the perfect venue to finish what was started so long ago…" he smiled bitterly. "And on her birthday, too!"

Xanthus narrowed his eyes. "Look, I don't care what you do. Go tonight; kill her; kill all her friends if it'll make you feel better. But this is your vendetta. I don't want to go."

"Xanthus, you are my padawan learner -"

"You have broken every Jedi Code in existence!" Xanthus exclaimed in a fierce whisper. "Why should I obey you as a Jedi Master?"

There was tense silence for some time. Cyrus saw Kenobi and his padawan leave out of the corner of his eye. The Sailor Jedi called Sutaru took their place and began writing in an orange book. Skywalker's girlfriend walked out from behind a nearby waterfall and joined her. "If you don't do as I say," Cyrus finally said deliberately, "you will be useless to me."

Xanthus waited.

"And if you are useless… I'll dispose of you." With that, the Jedi Master walked back to his quarters, leaving Xanthus next to the waterfall with what felt like a bucket of ice in his stomach.

"It fits so perfectly!" Chikako said, looking her kimonoed reflection up and down. She tied a silvery purple ribbon in her hair.

"Yup – remember when we took you to be fitted for a – ahem – 'standard Jedi Temple robe'?" Yuki said.

"That was for this?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Wow!"

"Are you guys ready?" Miyuki asked, quickly braiding her usual ponytail and fastening it with a turquoise ribbon. She and Yuki had their own kimonos and were as decked out as Chikako to go to the Crystal Star.

"I'm ready!"

"Me too!"

The three girls walked through the now-empty Room Behind the Waterfall and out into the more crowded Room of A Thousand Waterfalls. "Everyone else is meeting us there," Yuki explained as they walked.

As they left the Waterfall room, a well-dressed young man with light hair and emerald eyes cut them off. "Evening, ladies!"

"Evening!" Yuki and Miyuki said in unison, blinking at the stranger who had stepped in front of them.

"And happy birthday," he said to Chikako, taking her hand and kissing it lightly, turning her face deep crimson in the process. The "twin" cousins' faces went from mild "who's this?" surprise to shocked grins and raised eyebrows. Miyuki covered her mouth to stifle giggles. "Might I escort you to dinner?"

"Um, I think we can escort ourselves," Chikako said weakly, trying to sustain the silent threats to have her committed she was receiving from her friends.

"Oh, I don't doubt you can," Xanthus answered. "But it would be an honor for me."

"Of course you can walk us to dinner!" Yuki insisted, stepping forward.

"Yeah," Miyuki agreed, nodding. "She's just being shy." She waved lazily in Chikako's direction and started walking again, this time with Xanthus on one arm.

"Do you know him?!" Yuki whispered before pushing Chikako forward to his other arm.

"Sort of," Chikako answered. "His name's Xanthus. He's a padawan. But –"

"But? But he's incredibly cute and he likes you?"

"No… But –"

"But he's not selling newspapers or popsicles or something on the side of the street?"

"Yuki! I'd think you of all people would be more sympathetic –"

Yuki just smiled and pushed Chikako forward to link arms with Xanthus, winking when the birthday girl shot a nervous smile over her shoulder.

"Wow!" Chikako sighed as they walked through the front doors of the Crystal Star. First of all, it was huge. Second of all, now she understood why the food was rumored to be so expensive. Everything in the restaurant was made of beautiful crystal from exotic planets. It was like a palace, almost. And the third thing she noticed was the dance floor – couples in elegant gowns, robes, and jewels twirled gracefully or stood on the side listening to the melodic strains of the twelve-piece band on the stage.

And then, as Xanthus, Yuki, and Miyuki led her to the wing of the restaurant occupied by the Senshi and friends, she was greeted by the most impressive view of all: all of her friends, dressed in shimmering silks, deep velvets, and other elegant garments, sitting at tables beautifully decorated in shining purple and covered in gifts. And, of course, a birthday cake of epic proportions.

"That's for after dinner," Kyoko said as she pulled Aisu back to the table after the little girl came fairly close to diving into it.

"I cannot believe you guys did this!" Chikako said. "It must have cost the entire temple treasury!"

"Nah," Yuki said. "The owner owed us a favor."

"It pays off to be a superhero!" Miyuki added before the rest of the Senshi swarmed around Chikako with birthday wishes and hugs.

"Who are you?" Priire bluntly asked Xanthus while waiting for the "hugginess" to clear away so she could wish Chikako happy birthday in a more preferable way.

"I'm Xanthus. I'm with her." He motioned in Chikako's direction.

Priire raised an eyebrow and grinned slightly. "Is that so? Hey Coru!" she shouted, leaving Xanthus where he was and a bit amused. "Annika! Kairi-chan!" They leaned in while Priire relayed the brief conversation, looked at an oblivious Chikako, at a slightly smiling Xanthus, and then burst into mischievous giggles.

The Senshi made their way to the tables as waiters began flooding the room with platters of gourmet meals. "Quite tolerable," Nom commented amidst "oohs" and "ahhs".

Chikako made the mistake of trying to sit between Koumi and Kairiku. "What are you doing?!" Annika squealed.

"Yeah, don't you want to sit by your date?" Priire interjected.

"Oh, I'll move!" Kairiku said loudly and jumped away as Ippin pushed Xanthus into her seat.

Koumi's pale face - pale with pain, probably, since Chikako was clutching her hand so tightly - was a stark contrast to the extreme pink Chikako had turned with embarrassed horror. "You guys," Minae laughed. "Be nice! It's her birthday!"

"Oh, we are being nice!" Annika assured her.

"Very nice," Ippin nodded vigorously, grinning. "This is for her own good!"

After dinner, it was time to open presents. "Oh, Miyuki!" she exclaimed as she pulled a shimmery pink dress out of one package.

"There's more," Miyuki grinned. Chikako dug deeper into the layers of tissue paper and found matching heels, a purse, a headband, and a necklace.

"I love it!" she cried, hugging Miyuki across the table. "Where will I wear it to?!"

"Dinner with me tomorrow?" Xanthus suggested quietly, casually gazing in the direction of the dance floor. Chikako, wide-eyed, said nothing and immediately picked up the next gift.

"This one's from Koumi," she announced as she tore it open. She lifted out a small black box made from some glossy, smooth metal. The surface glittered with a detailed design far too intricate to have been carved with any tool, including flowers of course, and words in a script Chikako had never seen.

It's part of a poem in found in a book from the Temple library, Koumi said when she noticed Chikako fingering the delicate lettering. It's an ancient Alderaanian script. The part I put on here says, 'The sun is out and up and down again. I know I'll make it, love can last forever.' She shrugged. I don't know why, but it just made me think of you.

Chikako looked at her friend and teacher with amazement. "You made this?"

I used the Force, she said as if that explained it away. Open it.

She carefully lifted the top, which hinged at the back. As soon as it reached a right angle, it activated a short holovid within the box. Chikako smiled as flickering three-dimensional images of herself and Koumi appeared. Koumi turned on her bright blue lightsaber and Chikako her purple one, and the pair began sparring. They'd recorded the session for training purposes, to review later. Chikako closed the box slowly and grinned at Koumi. They both knew the spar was followed by a rather silly reenactment of several scenes from an Earth movie Ippin had brought back on one of her trips. The last thing Chikako wanted was for Xanthus and everyone else to hear her saying "Hello. My name is Inigo Mantoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"Wait a minute," Priire said indignantly, looking from the box to Koumi. "Is that her blaster?"

Chikako laughed and held the box up to the light. "This is – was – my blaster?"

Koumi smiled. Priire shook her head. "You coulda given it to me if you didn't need it anymore."

Chikako shrugged. "I didn't know I gave it to anybody!"

"I guess it's my fault anyway," Priire sighed, and didn't elaborate for the expectant gazes she was receiving. "Here's my gift!" She tossed the package up, and it landed lightly in Chikako's hands. She tore it open. Under the paper was a box from a well-known Coruscant leather maker.

"What could this be?" she mumbled and opened the box. Inside was a silver-clasped leather belt that matched her lightsaber perfectly, down to the details of the vines connecting the flowers, with a clip for her weapon and a few little pouches and that sort of thing. Each hole in the belt was a tiny flower shape, also connected by a thin vine pattern. "Priire!" she exclaimed. "Priire! This is… this is… this is HOTH!!"

Priire smiled and looked almost embarrassed. Next, Hisui thrust a thinly-disguised plate of cookies into Chikako's lap. "Guard those with your life," she admonished, eyeing several individual senshi suspiciously.

"This too," Ben said from the other direction, handing Chikako a rectangular package. "It's from both Mom and me." It was a charm bracelet, which she put on right away.

"Help her, Xanthus," Kirana said, punching his arm. He complied, and she received one of the dirtiest looks Chikako had ever given.

The next present was from Tenchi, who had to lean over Miyuki, Mika, Yoshiko, and Peetie in order to get close enough to hand it to her. "It's a bracelet," he said.

Chikako laughed. "Thanks! I'll unwrap it now!" That one she put on right away, too. It was golden, with the crescent and diamond of the symbold of Myrkr. Minae's was next – a flowery purse and some crystal flower petal earrings.

"Minae, I LOVE them!" Chikako exclaimed.

"Told you," Minae said to Hisui, who rolled her eyes.

Annika then set a flowerpot on the table in front of Chikako. It had a pearly pink ribbon wrapped around it, and inside was growing a single plant with one bloom. The flower was deep purple, with seven wide petals.

"I don't even know what it's called," Annika said, looking down and tracing hearts on the table cloth. "Some kind of hybrid something. It's rare I think – I could only find one seed." She glanced up.

Chikako's blue eyes were sparkling. "It's just like… it's just like my flower!" she said, although only a few of the senshi – the ones with whom she'd had "life story"-sharing sessions – knew what she meant by that.

Xarae's present was next – a beautiful flowered tapestry for Chikako's room. Chikako was speechless as she held it up. "You wove that, didn't you?" Annika said enviously. Xarae nodded.

"It has exactly one thousand flowers on it, if you ever care to count," she said, smiling at Chikako's reaction.

"Wow!" she finally breathed. "I can't even sew buttons!"

Once all the presents were opened, the partygoers spread all over the restaurant, mostly to the dance floor. After such an excellent dinner, they decided to wait a bit for the cake, very much to the displeasure of Aisu and the other youngest senshi, and a few older ones.

Chikako was having a conversation with Kumoko and Mika about whether Peetie would get on stage and sing if the band let him. They'd just started making their way to the music director to ask when Xanthus gently grabbed Chikako's hand and held her back. Kumoko and Mika didn't protest -in fact, they giggled and sighed - and continued on their quest.

"Let's dance!" he said and pulled her onto the floor. Before she could protest, he twirled her to the part of the room thickest with dancers, right near the band. Chikako felt herself blushing furiously just dancing with him. He was Cyrus's padawan, and Xarae had told her to stay away from Cyrus… did that mean she should also stay away from Xanthus? She looked over his shoulder as they danced and found Xarae near the cake, playing games with Aisu and Niji-chan to distract them from the confectionary masterpiece before them. She didn't seem too worried – nor did any of the other senshi who'd been practically pushing her into his arms since he arrived. Even if she ought to stay away… it wasn't like she'd been the one encouraging him! Openly, anyway, she thought reluctantly. Chikako, terminally uncertain and utterly thrilled, resigned herself to his firm arms – for a song, anyway.

As soon as the song ended, Chikako excused herself almost automatically. She went the first place she thought of – the ladies' restroom.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was empty. Chikako stared, uninterested, at her reflection and fixed a few out of place strands of brown hair. There was a flower in a vase on the sink; she plucked it out and worked it into her hair ribbon without really contemplating the action. This day had been so crazy. Crazy-good, she hoped. Almost on its own, her hand went through the folds of her brand new kimono and pulled out the silver locket she hadn't parted with since she received it. The symbol on it shimmered in the soft peachy light of the rest room. She opened it and traced her finger over the seven petal-shaped grooves. There was something about this locket that made her feel different…

The restroom door opened, and Chikako snapped the locket shut like a powder compact. A woman with violet hair came in and smiled politely. Chikako returned the smile, hid the locket, and left.

"There you are," Xanthus waved and excused himself from a conversation with Kairiku and Minae. Chikako blushed. It was funny to have someone always looking for her. It made her stomach jump, which wasn't particularly unpleasant.

"H-hi," she stuttered. Minae and Kairiku giggled.

"Let's go outside," Xanthus whispered. "I haven't given you my gift yet."

Chikako blushed deeper and followed in spite of herself – or at least she liked to think it was in spite of herself.

It was raining outside the restaurant, so the pair stood close to the building under the awning. A speeder zipped by as Xanthus pulled out a small square box wrapped in shiny green paper. Chikako took it uncertainly. "Do you want me to open it now?"

"Sure," he said. Water dripped into his platinum-blonde hair from a leak in the awning. Chikako began to carefully unwrap the package. "Here, let's get away from this leak," he said, brushing the water out of his hair. They moved further away from the door, and Chikako finished unwrapping.

"Oh, Xanthus," she said softly, picking up a delicate silver ring dotted with miniature iridescent beads. He slid it onto her pinky finger. "I love it!"

He grinned and reached his arm around her back, pulling her closer. His bright green eyes sparkled, but Chikako looked away. A wave of dread passed over her and she stepped back. "What's wrong?" Xanthus asked, loosening his embrace.

Chikako shook her head. "Nothing," she said, but another sickening wave of dread washed over her heart. She knew this feeling. "Run, Xanthus!" she whispered and pulled herself out of her arms, pushing him towards the restaurant. She herself ran in the opposite direction. Xanthus watched her run, awkward in the formal kimono. As he turned, Cyrus caught his eye through a restaurant window and nodded. Xanthus smiled weakly, holding his connection with the intense light eyes for only a second before his gaze slid down to the dirty windowsill and eventually rested on a bubbling gray puddle. He sighed and returned to the music and light inside.

When Chikako rounded the corner she saw, unfortunately, exactly what she'd expected: Sith.

Sailor Sith Ayameru stood alone in the rain. Chikako tried to step backwards around the corner so she wouldn't see her, but at the last minute, the Sith girl caught her eye and winked. Chikako sprinted back in the direction of the restaurant, deadly balls of black fire singeing her feet. One hand was on her lightsaber, the other reaching for her communicator – but it wasn't there. Nausea gripped her stomach; it was probably the one thing she hadn't hidden in the folds of that kimono. Help! she called through the Force, not bothering to focus on any particular Senshi.

Inside, Koumi stopped a bite of soufflé half way to her mouth. She looked at Xarae, who narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and looked like she was straining to hear something.

Chikako reached beneath the folds of the formal Japanese dress for her necklace. Finally, her hand closed around the precious Henshin flower petal. "Myrkr Power Make-Up!" she cried, holding it towards the sky. The petal sailed out of her hand, along a sweet breeze that was not of that planet. A spiral of soft flowers enveloped her as she transformed. For an instant, she was transported to spring in some other world, a place where the evenings were soft and filled with orange sunlight and the sky was bright like feathers or crystal before the moon came out against the deepening blue.

One final flash of pink light, and she again felt the wet cement under her feet, the cold pleats of her skirt against her thighs, her tiara heavy on her forehead.

Chikako went back around the corner as Sailor Myrkr, now endowed with a bit of magic and a little more confidence. She walked into the street towards the waiting Sith, praying she was not walking into her death. "Okay, Ayameru. What are you up to?"

Ayameru smiled sweetly. "Just wanted to say Happy Birthday."

"Right."

The Sith shrugged and walked away.

Sailor Myrkr didn't move. What was that supposed to mean? Ayameru would never walk away from a fight – especially when someone like Sailor Myrkr was solo. True, there wasn't much the Sith could do against her Force Shield, but she could only keep it up for so long. After that, she'd be easy prey.

Still expecting Ayameru to reappear, Sailor Myrkr began to back away. Whether the Sith returned or not, she had to get to the other Senshi. She was going to start running when she reached the sidewalk, but turned around just in time to see the watery head of a tall grayish youma. The monster hurled a flood of gravelly mud at the lone Senshi, washing her into a rain gutter.

Ippin jumped. "What's wrong?" Priire asked, stirring a cherry in the bottom of her drink. Annika asked if she could have it.

The red-haired guardian looked at her sister, and then past her to the girls at the next table. She noticed Sutaru; the young Jedi seemed suddenly disturbed and leaned over to whisper in Kirana's ear.

Outside, Ayameru's birthday present to Chikako zipped around the street as fast as the raindrops fell from the sky. Sailor Myrkr got to her knees. They were scraped and it hurt, but it was better than lying in the mud.

"I thought one hit would be enough," Cyrus muttered, watching through the window as the young soldier struggled to her feet. He glanced around the restaurant. Chikako's friends seemed oblivious enough – oh, no. There was that Hoth child standing up, sliding her hand down Miyuki's braided ponytail, flipping it as she walked past. Sure enough, Miyuki stood up and followed her. Cyrus watched several other incognitos subtly make their way towards the door.

"Can I get you another drink?" the waitress asked, twirling a strand of dark red hair.

"Yes," Cyrus said. "You can. Now, please."

The waitress smiled, but it was more like a snarl. "Coming right up!"

Sailor Myrkr got to her feet just in time to dive into the cement as another attack came her way. Most of it missed her, but what didn't wasn't exactly soothing. She pulled herself up again.

"You still here?" The youma's gushy voice echoed off the buildings. "You're stronger than they thought you were."

"Maybe," she said weakly, wiping mud off her lip. She jumped to avoid another attack, coming from her left. Myrkr Force Shield would only exhaust her – this enemy was too fast to get caught inside. And A Thousand Flower Spiral never really did much… but she had to try something.

She flipped her dripping wet hair out of her face as she spun around, trying to keep an eye on the flying rain demon. "A Thousand…!" she powered up the attack, spinning again to follow the monster. "Flower…!"

"Sailor Myrkr!" Sailors Hoth, Aquaris, and Centrali came around the corner.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Sailor Myrkr cried. "Watch out!"

The three new arrivals jumped in three different directions to avoid the onslaught of mud and rocks. Sailor Hoth got to her feet first. "Hoth Blizzard Blast!" she shouted.

"A Thousand Flower Spiral!" Sailor Myrkr said, finishing what she started. Her attack met Hoth's barrage of icy snow in the air, but the double attack went to waste. Ayameru's creature was already a ways up the street, laughing maniacally.

It zipped right back, though, to fan an attack at all four Senshi.

Sailor Aquaris responded with Aquaris Ice Waves Surround, and Sailor Centrali backed her up with her Violet Current. Both missed. "This thing's fast," Sailor Hoth observed and dodged another attack. She didn't even have time to wonder what was keeping the other Senshi.

"I'm sorry; I can't let you go out there," the waitress said, wedging herself into the doorway.

"What do you mean, you can't let us?" Nagareboshi frowned. "We should be able to leave when we want!"

"I'm sorry – it's a police order." The waitress shrugged and produced a document. "The Galactic Republic Police Force on Coruscant hereby declare Corion Path formally quarantined until further notice," she began reading. "All current occupants are to remain within the buildings they occupied at the time of this Police Order. All persons who were on the street at the time of this Police Order are to seek occupancy in the nearest public building…"

Sailor Myrkr watched helplessly as the monster left her alone long enough to pummel her friends with bits of cement and rocks and rainwater. This wouldn't do.

"Myrkr Force Shield!" she cried suddenly. The demon was gone before the translucent purple shield ever got to it. The senshi could see it waiting up the street for Sailor Myrkr to run out of energy.

It was strangely silent inside the Forceless bubble. Sailor Myrkr could hear her friends struggling to catch their breath and struggling to climb to their feet after withstanding those attacks. A moment later, she felt Sailor Hoth's hand on her shoulder, followed by Aquaris's and Centrali's, lending what energy they could to Sailor Myrkr as she held up the shield.

"The other Senshi should be here soon," Centrali said quietly. The four stood, waiting. Nobody said that the other Senshi should've been there already, but all of them knew it. The youma flew threateningly over the purple dome as it shrunk. The girls were well inside, but the fiend knew it wouldn't hold for much longer.

Sailor Aquaris' hand slipped off Myrkr's shoulder first, followed almost immediately by Centrali's and Hoth's as they gave up the energy to remain standing. A guilty tear escaped from Sailor Myrkr's eye.

"Please," Sailor Hoth whispered to the sky, calling to the Sailor Jedi she'd left in the restaurant. "Where are you?" Her plea went unheard, echoing against the vibrant walls of the Force shield.

Sailor Myrkr shivered in the silence of her attack, knowing that her friends were lying behind her on the wet pavement and that the nightmare outside was swirling through the air, waiting for her to fall, too. The others had to come. Now. Her vision got a little blurry as she held up the shield longer than she ever had. She felt like she was falling asleep.

Footsteps woke her up – footsteps within her shield. But who could get inside? And yet, there they were, echoing in the silence… Sailor Myrkr was afraid. She didn't turn from the invisible anti-force her hands pushed forward. It was pushing back, hard, ready to return to its tiny, silent place within her bosom. She resisted – the Sailor Jedi would come soon. They had to!

The footsteps stopped and spoke, sweetly accented. "Sailor Myrkr."

She wasn't afraid anymore. She turned to look at the voice, pushing still against her shield as it tried to return to her. It was a boy. Not Xanthus Sloane. The boy had a robe… but he was blurry. Everything was blurry. The blurry boy stood over Sailor Aquaris' boots. Or were they Sailor Centrali's?

"I haven't given you my gift yet," the blurry boy said. He took Sailor Myrkr's hand. The shield shrunk till it was just above his head, but he didn't seem to care. He put something in her hand. It felt like something she already had.

The boy was gone, and Sailor Myrkr didn't even see how he left. She squinted at his gift in the palm of her hand. She could see it: a shimmering flower petal, exactly like the one she wore on her necklace. It had power in it.

Justen plucked one petal from the flower the Small Sailor wore and closed it into his book. The rest of the flower he held out the window till the wind caught it, and he watched it divide and float away. In time, she would find them all.

"There were seven petals on that flower," Sailor Myrkr said to herself as she remembered the vision of the past Nuri had shown her. "Seven," she gasped and pulled out the mysterious empty locket. She flipped it open. The simple flower design on the inside was not a design at all, she realized as she pressed the petal into one of the teardrop-shaped grooves. There was a bright flash of pink light; when she looked again, the petal had become a part of the locket, like an embedded jewel.

She was kneeling close to the ground now, squeezing between Sailors Hoth and Aquaris as the bubble closed in on them. She tore the flower petal off the center of her bow. Another flash of light, and the locket now had two purple petal-jewels fixed in the silver.

The Force shield disappeared through the palms of Sailor Myrkr's hands where it had originated. The youma shrieked gleefully. Sailor Myrkr put up the hand holding the locket. She used her last bit of energy to force out a battle cry she'd never before heard: "Super Myrkr Heart Power!!"

For a terrible second or two, Sailor Myrkr lay there and watched the monster dart curiously around the street. Nothing happened. She had expected…

The street disappeared. The youma, the buildings, the sky, and her friends disappeared. One might even venture to say that Coruscant itself disappeared.

Sailor Myrkr was standing – she thought – on nothing. It was silent, twenty times more silent than it had been inside her Force shield. The air was still, if it was there at all. She could see herself: her torn and untied bow, her skirt hanging limply, her wet hair in her face, the locket in her hand, her strappy shoes. She couldn't see anything else – or maybe there wasn't anything else. It wasn't exactly dark, but there wasn't any light. Just a vague purpleness.

The place seemed to last forever, but really it was less than a fraction of a second before she was blasted by a white pink wind, or maybe a light, or maybe an explosion in the Force itself.

Her skirt twisted around her and shredded into a million strips; her torn bow tore more and stretched to somewhere beyond her line of vision. And then she couldn't feel anything, until the jewel on her tiara burst - and suddenly, she was back on Coruscant.

Cyrus pushed over his drink and his chair. Xanthus! he called into the Force. He pushed past Ariel and the frustrated girls she held - whose hands, many of them, had wandered toward blasters, lightsabers, henshin sticks, and other such devices by this point - out into the street where Ariel's monster was supposed to have destroyed Sailor Myrkr.

But there she was, standing even taller than before. Three Senshi had fallen behind her, but Cyrus sensed that, unfortunately, they were not dead. Xanthus appeared behind him. "What's this?" he asked gruffly.

"Something happened," Cyrus said. He turned to face him. "Her energy was nearly gone a minute ago. I hope you didn't have anything to do with –"

"No!" Xanthus snapped. "I did what you asked. It's true I didn't want to, but I did my part, and if something else goes wrong, that's your problem."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes at the back of his apprentice as the young man disappeared into the rain and the night. Later. There was a more troubling issue at hand.

The girl who was supposed to be dead raised her arms. The wind rifled through the folds of her double skirt and the long pink ribbons extending behind her. A shining silver locket was secured on her chest, like a warrior's badge of honor. "I am Super Sailor Myrkr," she announced. "And you will not defeat me. Vornskr Force Attack!"

The words sent a column of sharp teeth spinning viciously in the direction of the monster. It giggled, unimpressed, and easily dodged the attack. Was this all the challenge Super Sailor Myrkr had to offer? But as soon as the youma had paused long enough to see what the pathetic little Soldier would come up with next, the Vornskr teeth snapped mercilessly at its watery form. It zipped away again, but the first attack still followed, hunting its evil prey through the Force.

The Senshi who'd been freed by Cyrus' angry exit rushed around the corner. "Wow!" Sailor Bakura cried. "She's Super Sailor Myrkr!"

"That's frickin' hoth," Sailor Chibi Tatooine added.

Sailor Myrkr smiled at their arrival. "Salior Vjun!" she cried.

"Hai!" The red-haired senshi stepped forward and reached up with her right hand. "Kienzen Halo Blade!" she shouted. The attack shot through the air towards the fleeing monster. Sailor Vjun guided the blade with her hand so that it joined Super Sailor Myrkr's Vornskr in overtaking the youma. The Coruscant Knight stepped next to his mother and joined his Kienzen of Fire with the Halo Blade and the Vornskr Attack. The three attacks with the power to chase united. In one bright white flash, they caught the youma and destroyed it.

Cyrus clenched his fists as the Senshi cheered. He turned on his heel and walked back to the restaurant. Most of the people inside had no idea what had just happened. Ariel, the red-haired "waitress," was nowhere to be found. "Coward," he spat. This was her fault. "No more Sith," he grumbled. They weren't worth the trouble.

Next time, he would destroy Sailor Myrkr – solo. "Well," he added with a bitter grin, "almost solo."

"How did you become Super Sailor Myrkr?" Sailor Honoghr exclaimed.

"A boy came and gave me a flower petal!"

Sailor Asteroid scrunched up her face. "That makes sense," she said.

"Oh, quiet, Aster," Sailor Yavin said. "She's tired."

"Actually, she's probably just suffering from severe lack of birthday cake," Sailor Bakura said as she helped Sailor Centrali to her feet.

"That must be it," Sailor Honoghr agreed. "Somebody get this girl some cake!"

"I think we could all use some cake," Sailor Hoth said, resting on Sailor Yavin IV's shoulder.

"Wonderful," Super Sailor Myrkr said, powering down. "Let's take it to go!"

Back in the Room Behind the Waterfall, the Senshi and Knights and Peetie ate the Crystal Star's delicious birthday cake until they were too full to get up and go to bed.

"So how was your twentieth birthday, Chikako?" Chouko asked.

She answered truthfully. "It was weird."

Several girls giggled. Xarae smiled and pushed her plate away, not quite empty. "I have a feeling this entire year is going to be a rather interesting one for you," she said.

"Interesting…" Chikako repeated thoughtfully. "You know, on Myrkr, it's considered a curse to say, 'May you live in interesting times.' "

Yoshiko, having been raised on Earth, thought immediately of the movies, and what she knew the next few decades held. " 'Interesting'… that's one way to describe the times we'll soon be living in," she said.

"Oh, so we're already cursed! I feel better!" Chikako laughed.

"Hey," Peetie said and held up a hand, grinning at the array of Senshi and Knights. "At least we're cursed together!"