Piano Man

"Souru?"

The handsome knight turned and smiled at the boy behind him. "Yes?"

A smile lit the boy's face as he flipped his black ponytail over his shoulder. He seemed to be a teenager, but that was only evidence of his being in knight form. "How did that move go you showed me last night?" He held up his hands in defense. "Don't do it to me! Show me!"

Obligingly, Souru unsheathed his sword. "Like this, Falcon."

"Don't you dare!" The female who belonged to the voice strode into view and put a hand on Souru's shoulder. "He's leaving soon."

Souru looked at the woman. "Hey... you cut your hair!"

The blonde smiled and twirled in place, swishing her shoulder-length hair around her face. "Yup."

"Looks good. Where's Falcon going?"

"Back." Even though the woman gestured over her shoulder, Souru knew she meant somewhere else. He waited expectantly.

"He's going back," the woman said again, slower, "to the past."

Souru raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. But everyone else seems to think it is. And... he's got his talents to help him."

Souru nodded and put a hand on the black-haired boy's shoulder. "Say hi to myself."

That cracked the woman up. She was still laughing as Sailor Yavin opened the Time Gates. Then, the blonde woman became serious. She put her hands on the boy's shoulder and stared into his green eyes. "Be good. Wash behind your ears. And... watch what you tell people. You'll have a slight Force-block that won't let you tell some things, but I know that you could get past it if you wanted. Don't." There was desperation in her last word. "If you tell the things that happened to your father or myself... they won't happen. People will die, and the past will be changed. Don't let that happen, Falcon."

The boy nodded and looked over at Souru. He gave the man a huge smile and stepped into the time portal.

"He idolizes you," the woman chuckled.

"Could be worse," Souru informed her, turning from the spot where the boy had disappeared. He walked slowly away, letting the woman be alone.

"Falcon..." she said, quietly. She continued, her quiet voice singing out a lullaby. "Fly straight to my heart, never depart, I'll give you the moon, and promise your stars, everything from my heart..."

"Solar Beam!" Kashyyyk shouted, sending the ray of light from her tiara.

With a yawn, Sailor Sith Ayameru brushed the attack off. "Is that all you've got?" the Sith laughed.

"Guys, I could use some help," Kashyyyk hissed into her comm-unit. "This isn't supposed to be a one-woman act!"

"We're trying!" Annika complained. "It's just the traffic!"

Kashyyyk screamed as Ayameru's attack caught her off guard. There wasn't anyway she could avoid it. The woman put an arm up to protect herself.

She blinked after a long moment. Nothing had happened. "Guys?" Kashyyyk called, supposing her friends had finally arrived.

Instead of sailor-suited superheroes, Kashyyyk saw a man. He was dressed in a tuxedo, complete with top hat and mask. His cape was a rich, satiny blue. "It's not nice," the man said, grunting, "to hit ladies. And I know this girl is a princess in the future! So keep your hands off!"

'"Who are you?" Kashyyyk asked, getting stars in her eyes. As he turned back to face the blonde, Kashyyyk almost fainted. He had gorgeous green eyes that glimmered like crystal. And the smile he shot her would have melted the hardest of hearts.

The boy flipped his black ponytail behind his shoulder and smiled. "I'm Tuxedo Starlight, knight of stars and emotion."

Kashyyyk raised an eyebrow. "That's not going to make Asteroid happy. She's already the senshi of the stars. How can you..." The blonde blinked. What had she been saying? Suddenly, she couldn't remember. "Are you a Sailor Jedi?" Before he answered, she called the other girls and told them they weren't needed.

He nodded. "I've been sent to the past by the senshi of the future to get some training before the Darkness." The handsome boy held out his arm for Kashyyyk to take.

"You're a gentleman," she giggled. Bishounen, she added to herself. "Are you the son of one of the sen..."

Tuxedo Starlight looked at her and smiled again. Kashyyyk shook her head, looking confused. She felt happy inside suddenly. Shrugging, she suggested they head back to the Room Behind the Waterfall.

"Actually... I'm not sure what'll happen."

Yukiko looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked Tuxedo Starlight.

"Well..." he grinned sheepishly. "In the future, I'm fifteen when I'm in knight form... but whenever I'm my normal self, I'm about five."

Yukiko snickered at Mori's shocked expression. "Try it."

Tuxedo Starlight smiled and closed his eyes. In a warm glow of light, the knight became a normal fifteen-year-old. He grinned and flipped his ponytail over his shoulder. The boy had on a tight black shirt and jeans that fit him very well. Around his neck was a necklace made of wooden beads that finished off his look perfectly. The green-eyed bishounen held out his hand. "My name's Kou..." He coughed as if something had caught in his throat. "Excuse me. My name's Falcon."

"I'm Yukiko, and this is Mori," Yuki said, introducing herself and the blonde. "Glad to have you on the team! Whose son are...?" Yuki frowned at him. Something had made her abandon her train of thought. Now she couldn't remember what she was going to ask.

"Where is everyone?" Falcon queried, looking around. "Aren't there supposed to be tons of Senshi?"

Yuki nodded. "A lot of them are off shopping. And some of them are stuck in traffic."

Falcon nodded. He walked over to the couch and collapsed on it. "This thing is a lot more comfortable in this time period."

Yuki laughed. "Kleppa! Stop!" she shouted suddenly. Yuki had been left at home to watch the littler senshi... and there was an All-Access N*aboo program coming on...

Oddly enough, Mori suddenly felt wary of the little girl. She couldn't think exactly why she was wary of Kleppa, but she felt as if Kleppa had done something to her. The pretty blonde glanced over at Falcon. The boy's green eyes were narrowed into slits and he didn't look happy. "Falcon... what's wrong?"

The boy blinked and shook his head as if he'd just remembered something. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that." His smile came back, and Mori felt happy again.

Having seen and felt this entire transaction while she was prying Kleppa's off of Link's latest "shiny thingy", Yuki decided she needed to talk to this newcomer privately. Before she could suggest this, Zarathustra floated in.

Falcon's jaw dropped. "Zar!"

Zarathustra turned to the boy and had a similar reaction. Had he been physical, Zar would have slammed into the wall. As it was, he merely floated halfway through it. Because she was so strong in the Force, Yuki felt the burst that Zarathustra received. She knew that Zar somehow knew everything through the Force, but could only tell selected parts of his knowledge. Whatever the Force had told him about Falcon, it was stunning.

Tell me one thing -
Just tell me how
You can be here
Without disturbing now!

Zar's eyes were angry as he kept speaking.

What fool took this chance
To send you back?
When with one slip our future
Could be ruined, just like that?

Falcon held up his arms in defense. "Zar... I..." The angry pegasus touched his nose to Falcon's outstretched hand. After a moment, the equine backed off and nodded.

"Mori... why don't you take Kleppa and go play with her." Yuki's words were a statement rather than a request. "I need to talk with Falcon."

A puzzled look came over Falcon's face. "Why?"

Yuki waited until Mori and Kleppa were gone to answer him. "Who are you?"

Falcon slapped a huge smile on his face and didn't answer. Yuki could feel him reaching out with the Force. "What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes hardening.

"Umm..." he stuttered. "I..." He shook his head and composed himself. "You might have guessed from what Zar said that with one misplaced word, I could kind of destroy the future."

" 'Kind of' destroy the future?"

Falcon grinned. "Something like that. Things happen to certain people... and if those certain people knew what was going to happen, they would do everything in their power to prevent it." Yuki didn't look convinced. "Like the Darkness. Couldn't you Earthborns stop it if you wanted? Just mention Ani's fall..."

Yuki was shaking her head. "We couldn't. The future as we know it would..." She smiled. "I see what you're saying. So what can you tell me?"

"Actually -" The boy frowned, as if he was trying to remember something. "I have to tell you, Ben, and Xarae." Falcon smiled. "At least, I think that's right."

"You aren't sure?" Yuki raised an eyebrow. "From what you've told me, destiny could rest on it, and you're not sure?"

Falcon blushed. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant I wasn't sure what their names are. A lot of things change in the future." His eyes darkened, and the room seemed to get colder.

"What are you doing?"

Falcon looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Shaking off the feeling of confusion that suddenly settled around her, Yuki said, "You did it again."

"Oh!" Falcon brightened. "I'm sorry. I..." He didn't have time to finish his explanation, because Zarathustra ushered Xarae and Ben into the room. With one last warning glare at Falcon, the pegasus left.

Falcon smiled at everyone. "Hi," he said. Then with a look of concentration, he kept speaking. "My name is Kousotsu Falcon Renjiro. I'm from the future."