And The Stars Were Silent...

The twilight hours were still and quiet like only the instant before a storm could be. On a blue-cloaked plain a huge cat froze, one white paw suspended over the gassy land. It was white, somehow seeming to be the shadow of a tiger superimposed over the silent landscape. Scenting another animal nearby, the solitary being pondered for a moment on engaging it, then decided against that course of action and faded softly into the shadows to wait.

Another animal's sharp eye caught the twitch of the tiger's creamy white tail. Perched on a tree limb high above the plain, the cream and brown bird spread its wings to take off. The hawk let its eye follow the plain's contours until it saw the tiger in the deepest shadows. The avian screamed, the harsh sound breaking the silence and lifting the tiger to its feet.

The tiger reared on its back legs to meet the hawk with claws slicing the air. The hawk screamed again and turned its talons to the tiger... the bird broke off its attack, and the tiger fell back to the ground as both scented a new presence. Human, their animal minds told them. Hunter.

Both animals took to the shadows. The hunter must have seen the tiger's white coat, because the hunter's weapon leapt for the huge cat. Seeing the danger to the tiger, the hawk threw itself in the weapon's path and deflected it. There was little damage to the hawk, and none to the tiger. Both lived to hunt again.

Together.

Ariel yawned and flipped a decicredit in the air. It was a slower day than she liked to have, but it was a good day. She had her Pawn by her side again... Asteroid would be putty in her hands when she came to reclaim what she'd lost. And it would be to Asteroid's detriment. Ariel smiled. "Tashita..." she called, almost sweetly. "Let's go have a little fun on Coruscant."

Asteroid had no idea what she was in for. Perhaps that Sith-in-a-Senshi's body thought she had saved one Sith. Wonderful. That one Sith had been replaced... with something twice as valuable.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Priire muttered under her breath. She nonchalantly reached for a hydrospanner with her bare hands. The blonde had been working on the Black Fire Legendmaker's controls when Ippin and Kyoko walked up. There was something in the way that the pair moved that made Priire unsure as to whether she was going to be kicked out or given a new task. Closing one eye, she tried to think of anything she'd done lately that could be considered less than legal. It had to be the little tiny no-one-would-notice bit of shimmersilk that had somehow gotten into the Dreamer's hanger bay. Priire smiled at her twin sister and Kyoko. "Hi guys!"

"Priire," Kyoko said her voice serious and her eyes staring right at the blonde. "Your Redemption Crystal can save people from the Dark Side, right?"

A confused look spread over Priire's face as she nodded. "Yes."

This time it was Ippin who spoke. "I think you ought to go after Tashita and bring her back."

Priire gave the two a funny look and propped her chin up on her hand. Usually she was strongly discouraged from going off on her own and getting herself into unpleasant situations. This time she was being encouraged... Priire shrugged. "When?"

"As soon as possible!" Kyoko told her. "Ariel is wrecking the Coruscant Mall!" Kyoko paused and put her hand on Priire's shoulder. "Tashita's with her."

Instead of arguing, Priire nodded and turned back to her tools, setting the hydrospanner down. As they started to walk out, Ippin leaned over to Priire. "You've got grease on your chin."

Priire got a devilish look on her face and raised her hands like she was going to rub grease all over Ippin... who promptly squealed and rushed for the door. Kyoko had to leap out of the way.

There was the sickeningly sweet smell of burning flesh in the air. Sailor Eclipse recognized it and wrinkled her nose. That was a less than pleasant smell, she decided. Next to her, Ayameru was involved in making more of the smell by liberally spreading black fire all over the general area.

Over the multi-voiced screams of pain came a new and stronger sound. "I am the starbred senshi of redemption! I've come to reclaim a lost senshi... and kick some Sithing butt while I'm at it," Asteroid shouted, posing with both hands on her Redemption Crystal.

An almost feline look came over Ariel's face. It was the kind of look that made used landspeeder salesmen look honest. Asteroid was immediately on her guard. Ariel slide one arm around Sailor Eclipse's shoulder. "But we were just getting started," Ariel purred. "Care to join us?"

Asteroid spitted her with a glare. "I've had my fill of the Dark Side, thank you."

Sailor Eclipse turned and blasted a set of civilians, making her motions over-defined to annoy Asteroid. It worked.

"Stop it," Asteroid growled, pointing her Redemption Crystal in Eclipse's general direction. Because the blonde was so intent on Eclipse, she uncharacteristically missed Ayameru's attack. The Sailor Jedi grunted as the blast seared her flesh, and wrapped her hand around her singed forearm. She gritted her teeth, knowing the last thing that Asteroid wanted to do was transform into her Guardian form in front of Ayameru despite the fact that it would help her defeat the two. Talk about improving an already wonderful mood...

The Redemption Crystal that had been flung from Asteroid's hand disappeared in a lightning-infused shimmer, going back to wherever Asteroid had called it from. At the time, she didn't really care about it because she was busy shooting a fiery glare at Ayameru from her green eyes.

Flipping her short red ponytail behind her shoulder, Ayameru leaned down, placing her face close to Asteroid's. "Don't try anything," Ayameru warned as Asteroid prepared to throw herself at the Sith. "Or I'll kill your daughter."

Ippin rubbed the back of her neck. She'd had the funniest feeling a minute ago... like someone was trying to warn her of something. She was pretty sure it wasn't a warning that Nom was cheating. Nom didn't need to cheat, Ippin thought ruefully as she glanced at Nom's pile. Sabacc was Priire's forte, not Ippin's.

The two girls were sitting in the library of the Black Fire Legendmaker facing the huge viewpoint that was normally filled with stars. Today it only held a side view of the Crystal Prism and the nose of the Silver Swan. Ippin sighed again and flipped her long fire-red hair over her shoulder. "Nom...I'm out of Kersey bars. Will you take L&L's?"

Nom raised one eyebrow. "This is ridiculous."

The stern visage behind colorful piles of candy and candy wrappers made Ippin giggle. "Okay... but just a little bit!"

Ippin decided to throw in the towel before she lost the rest of Priire's candy stash to Nom. As the girl stood and ran her hands over various volumes that filled the spacious library, she frowned. "What? Priire saved this stupid book?" she growled as she pointed to the book entitled Legends of the Rise.

A shudder passed through Nom, shaking her warrior braids so that they flared out around her. "Horrible. And the author did not take criticism well."

Before Ippin could expound on the awful nature of the book - unloved by all Senshi - another feeling that something was wrong tickled the back of her neck. "Nom... I have this funny feeling that something is wrong."

The other senshi wrinkled her forehead and put a hand on Ippin's shoulder. "Whatever it is, it has passed, has it not?"

Ippin shrugged, her hair rippling like the fire it so closely resembled. "I get this feeling that something evil came into this time, did whatever it came to do, then left again." The time guardian turned her brown eyes upward in frustration. "It was something deeply evil... murderous... nothing good can come of it."

"You are waxing poetic."

Laughter spilled from Ippin's mouth. "Sorry!"

"Does it present a danger to us now?" Nom questioned, her black eyes intently searching Ippin's face. "Are the Senshi in danger?" As if to ward off whatever evil Ippin spoke of, Nom put her hand on her hip like she was reaching for a blaster.

A negative shake of Ippin's head made Nom relax. However, Ippin's next words made the warrior witch tense up again. "At least... not all of the Senshi."

Sailor Asteroid stared at Ayameru. "Excuse me?"

With malice that was so deliberate it made even the fake trees in the mall wither, Ayameru spoke again. "Do whatever I tell you... or I will kill your daughter. Slowly and painfully."

Asteroid pushed herself to her feet and put her left hand up as if blocking Ayameru. "I don't have a daughter. I'm not even married. Don't try any of your Sithspawn lies on me."

Taking a step back without giving any ground, Ayameru laughed as the beam from the spotlight that was focused on the tree behind her hit Asteroid and shone in the blonde's eyes. "No, pretty angel. Would I lie to the darkest sailor?" As if in response, Asteroid put her left hand to shield her face. "What's this?" Ayameru mused, holding out her red-gloved hand.

"Give that back!" Asteroid yelled, letting anger infuse her green eyes as she tried to grab the ring that Ayameru had slipped off her finger.

"Pretty," the Sailor Sith commented, holding the ring up to the light. As she turned it in the spotlight, the hematite set in the middle gleamed while the two silvers stars set in white gold around it glittered. Ayameru brought the ring closer, letting the hematite catch a reflection of the fire in her eyes. "I think I'll keep it."

Sailor Asteroid said something that wilted the poor trees ever further. "That's my ring!" the green-eyed girl growled. Her eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits, and she gave Ayameru a glare that would have crushed any normal person. "Give it back."

"You don't deserve it," Ayameru said nonchalantly, tossing the ring up in the air, then catching it. As the ring hit Ayameru's hand, it dissipated.

The glare Asteroid had been directing in Ayameru's direction turned into dismayed horror. "Starfire...!" the blonde started to yell.

Ayameru wiggled her finger back and forth. "No, no. Remember, I have you daughter in my grasp."

"I don't have a daughter!" Asteroid shouted, holding her left hand. "If I did, she'd be with us!"

"What if," Ayameru asked, her voice softly dripping with malice, "she's only your daughter... not his?"

The dismay in Asteroid's face grew stronger. "Not his daughter...?" she whispered, horrified. "How..."

Ayameru smiled as Asteroid questioned her faithfulness. As a final touch, she clenched her fist shut and forced a memory into Asteroid's already Force-scarred mind. The blonde herself and a man with dark blue hair and hungry eyes. The man twirled a braid of Asteroid's hair around his finger and whipsered something in her ear...

Of course, Ayameru didn't let Asteroid see how that memory ended. It wouldn't do to have the Sith's prey becoming stronger. Asteroid didn't need to know that she had shot the man a few seconds later. What Ayameru wanted right now was for Asteroid to be in pain. Horrible pain.

"Blame it on me," Ayameru said, licking her lips. She loved seeing any Senshi in exquisite pain... it was a potent brew. "I suppose, in a way, she's really my daughter."

Asteroid put a hand to her forehead. This couldn't be happening... she wouldn't be unfaithful to Kousotsu... would she? The blonde ached for a blaster and the strength to use it, despite the consequences. "Make up your mind, Ayameru."

The Sailor Sith's shrug rippled her black cape. "Fine. She's your daughter. I only created her, raised her, and gave her purpose in life. Now she's come from the future..." Ayameru gestured at Sailor Eclipse. "...to be with me."

"No..." Asteroid groaned. In the deepest recesses of her heart, she wanted to have a daughter, or someone from the future to assure her that she did get married and have children... but this was not what she had in mind. "What do you mean... created her?"

Ayameru shrugged. "I have your daughter in my grasp, little hawk. Be careful what you do, or there won't be any daughter to rescue!"

By this time, Sailor Eclipse had walked back up, standing beside Sailor Sith Ayameru. The brunette smiled cruelly at Sailor Asteroid's hurt countenance. "Go away, Asteroid," Eclipse said, waving her hand. "Away."

Asteroid looked from Ayameru to Eclipse, opening her mouth as if to say something.

With a smile that was untouched by love or humor, Ayameru put her arm around Eclipse. "You heard the lady, Asteroid. Go away."

Still stunned, Asteroid almost tripped as she walked backwards keeping her green eyes focused on the pair. She kept her eyes locked on the door they used even after they were gone. Boltholes weren't "available," as Ippin put it, for use by the Sith anymore, leading them to "acquire" - steal - new modes of transportation. It was unlike Asteroid to let them get away with stealing a landspeeder, but the Sailor Jedi had too much on her mind to care.

How could she!

Geri was a dog. Specifically, a little brown puppy with fluffy ears.

None of the Sith were sure what had possessed the insane Sith to turn herself into an animal... truth be known, none of the Sith knew why Geri did anything. Tashita grinned at the Geri-puppy and tossed a stick for her to retrieve.

After a few minutes of the game, Geri tired of it and turned herself into a larger, fire-breathing version of Kirana's dragon. Tashita decided that now was not the time to be in the same room - make that system - as Geri.

"My Queen," she heard from another room. Stepping closer to the door, Tashita listened to what Ariel was saying.

"I have in my hands the perfect way to destroy the Senshi."

Tashita couldn't see her but imagined Ariel's hand motions as she described the latest delicious plan to destroy the Sailor Jedi.

"One of the daughters of the Senshi was sent from the future to Earth. She's since been brought to this galaxy."

A grin covered Tashita's face. Wonderful! One of the little Chibi senshi would be the perfect tool to manipulate the older Sailors!

"This senshi is..." Ariel must have been savoring the dramatic pause "...Sailor Asteroid's daughter!"

Chibi Asteroid? Tashita tried the name out on her tongue. Destroying Sailor Asteroid seemed strange to her. Wrong, evil, dark.

"My future self communicated to me that this senshi was... would be..." Ariel sounded frustrated. "Will be created by myself from Asteroid's genes. I harvested them from her a long time ago."

Tashita's eyes went wide with surprise. Ariel was so wonderfully crafty! Was there any form of any plan that Ariel had not thought of?

"This senshi is as powerful as her mother but more easily controlled."

She wasn't able to hear Kendra's reply, but Tashita thought that it must be a question as to who the senshi was. The senshi of calmness was unnaturally excited at the prospect of finding out who the senshi that was at the center of the plan was.

"Her name? Sailor Eclipse... we already have Asteroid's offspring in our grasps. We'll be able to control her easier than a fish is taken from a hawk's talons!"

Tashita's eyes were wide. She was Sailor Eclipse... that meant she was Asteroid's daughter! It also meant that Ariel planned to use her to manipulate... her mother.

The thought was foreign to Tashita. She knew nothing about her past. It was almost as if her memory had been wiped clean before she found herself on Earth. The brown-haired girl massaged her temples as she walked down the hall. What she really needed was a place she could think and ponder what she had overheard about her past.

Asteroid... her mother?

"Anyone seen Aster?" Ippin yelled, waving her arms to get the attention of the room full of Sailor Jedi.

Starr put her cold little nose on Ippin's leg and purred. "I t'in' she's in he' 'oom!"

Grabbing the kitten and plopping her on Niji's head, Ippin snorted. "Cat, your nose is cold!" Starr giggled and buried her nose in Niji's hair.

Ippin whistled to herself and grabbed a handful of cookies. Priire seemed a little disturbed when she'd blown into the Room Behind the Waterfall - alone - a few hours ago. Being her little sister, Ippin felt that she ought to go see what was wrong.

The redhead bit off some of her cookie and decided to save the other ones for Priire. Nothing could be wrong with her that a few cookies couldn't fix!

"Priire?" Ippin asked, banging on her twin's door with her elbow. When the other girl didn't answer, Ippin sighed and shifted the cookies to her other hand so she could open the door.

Before reaching for the doorknob on the curiously old-fashioned door, Ippin rubbed the crumbs off her hands. "Pri..." she started to say as she opened the door. What Ippin saw in the room made her back up and let the door slam shut. The redhead hit the wall on the other side of the hall and slid down it. In her shock she didn't even notice Numako walk past and slip the uneaten cookie out of her hand.

Chikako paused in front of Ippin, holding her pile of BanthaBeat magazines in one arm while pushing her flower-bedecked locks behind her ear with the other. "Ippin?" she asked quietly, glancing around to see what had shocked the other girl so. As she turned her head this way and that, a little purple flower fell from her hair and landed on Ippin's nose.

It seemed to alleviate Ippin's shock enough that the other girl could describe what was bothering her so. "Priire..."

In that one word, Ippin conveyed equal amounts of distress, horror, surprise, and all the other elements of a nervous breakdown.

Chikako looked worried. "Watch over Lance-" She put the BanthaBeat featuring him on top of the pile of things she sat next to Ippin. "-while I go see what's wrong with Priire."

Shouldering the backpack, Tashita gave the Sith lair a last glance. In true dark form, Tashita had only taken what she needed some food, her drawing supplies, and a candlestick - just in case.

As the girl walked out, she almost stepped on Geri. "What are you doing?" Tashita growled, trying her best to sound purely evil.

"Playing with this riiiiiiiing..." Geri giggled as she balanced it on her nose. "It's prrrrreeeeetty!"

"Whose is it?" Tashita asked, frowning. It glinted beautifully in the warm glow from the lamp. "Where did you get it?"

Geri shrugged. "Ariel stoooole it. From Asteroid - Guardian of the Stars!" The insane Sith let the ring fall as she leapt up, pretending to be Asteroid. "I'll punish you for the stars! Heheheeeee!"

Tashita caught the ring with one hand as she watched Geri run headlong down the hall. By the time the Sith was out of sight, Tashita had slid the ring onto a chain and hung it around her neck. Her mother's ring... it was a strange thought to her. But was it true?

"Oh no... Priire, what's wrong?" Chikako wasn't quite sure what to do. She'd never seen Priire like this. Oh sure, she'd seen her angry, annoyed, happy, vengeful, loving, getting ready to go Hawkbat on some poor person... but never, ever, ever seen her in tears. From her twin's stunned reaction, Chikako gathered that it was a rare occurrence only brought on by severe trama. Or something.

Chikako fidgeted for a minute, then she sat down on the bed next to where Priire was sprawled out sobbing. The brown-haired girl didn't really know how to comfort a former mercenary any more than Priire knew how to express her feelings. Priire didn't react to Chikako's comfortingly rubbing her back, except to sob a little quieter.

Candles flickered as Chikako sat wordlessly comforting Priire. After a few moments, Priire pushed herself up on her elbows and rubbed at her eyes. Chikako silently produced a flowered handkerchief that Priire used to wipe some of the tears from her face.

"I'm sorry," Priire sniffled. The red-rimmed eyes seemed foreign to Priire's face seeing as the blonde never cried. At least, she hadn't cried for a very long time.

"What happened?" Chikako responded, looking Priire over as the other sat up. As Priire used her left hand to rub a tear away, Chikako noticed a sparkle missing from her hand. It took the flower senshi a moment to remember exactly what Priire was missing. When she did remember, she had to struggle to keep a horrified look off her face. The promise ring Kousotsu had given her was gone.

"Oh Priire..."

A vile curse that would have turned the heads of several smugglers escaped Ariel's lips. "Where did she go?" the Sith bellowed. "I need that girl!"

Geri shrugged. "I dunno. She took that silly ring."

If Ariel became any angrier, she was likely to explode. "What do you mean, she took the ring!"

"I mean that she took it. Stole it." Geri pouted. "I was playing with it." The Sailor Sith crossed her arms and glared at Ariel. "It was mine!"

The other Sailor Sith glared at her companion. "No, you fool. It was Asteroid's. Another point of leverage... leave it to you to lose both!"

Geri stuck her tongue out at Ariel. "Fine then!"

Ariel wasn't paying any attention to her. "I've got to get them back. Asteroid's stupid daughter is going to ruin everything."

Tashita sighed heavily and collapsed onto the park bench. She tried to get comfortable on the hard wood but couldn't seem to. With a sigh, the brunette picked herself up and found a spot underneath a big shady tree. Settling herself into the grass, Tashita drew one of her darker pencils across the white surface of her sketchpad. She moved the paper a little to put it fully into the sun. Shadows covered the rest of her body, with only her lap and the sketchpad thrown into the sunlight.

The line she'd drawn was diagonal and had a slight curve. She frowned for a moment wondering what drawing it could end up as. Oh... if she just added another line here and there...

A few minutes later, Tashita held her drawing up and scrutinized it. It was of an Earth hawk with wings outspread in a powerful display of avian might. The girl drew another line under the hawk. It slowly formed into a face that had haunted Tashita for a long time. Priire's face looked suspiciously upward with the hawk's wings sweeping the space above her.

Tashita set her drawing tools down and reached for the necklace she was wearing. She toyed with the ring for a moment and watched the few shafts of sunlight that filtered through the tree play upon it. It was so pretty. She wondered if Asteroid missed it.

Whatever Apollo was complaining about, he sure was complaining about it loudly. Souru guessed it had something to do with Starr and UsaNeko tying pink bows around his tail. The man shook his head and sighed. He would have warned the cat against sleeping in Starr's favorite chair - not like that would have helped, as her favorite chair changed from day to day - except he turned the corner to find Ippin sprawled amid a pile of BanthaBeat magazines. "Ippin?"

The fire-hair senshi didn't even blink.

"Um, Ippin?" Souru tried again. "Ippin, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Apollo picked himself up from where he'd landed after Souru's sudden stop. "Humans," the cat growled before stalking off.

Souru made a mental note to make up to the cat later. He knelt down beside Ippin. "Did Priire shoot Riku again?"

"Again?" Ippin asked him, looking like she was in the process of having a mental meltdown.

The blonde man grinned. "Welcome back."

Ippin sat up straight suddenly. "I think the world is coming to an end!" she declared. As her worried eyes met his confused eyes, Ippin felt she should explain. "Priire's crying."

He looked confused.

"You don't understand... I've never seen her cry."

Souru frowned. "Really? You mean she hasn't ever cried? Not even when she gets badly hurt? Or when she's sad?"

The girl's shrug rippled her fiery hair. "Never." Ippin's mouth quirked up in a half grin. "Then again, I've never seen her in love either." A realization dawned in Ippin's eyes. "Where's Kousotsu?"

"He's gone with Ben on some mission," Souru informed her, backing up slightly. He supposed that it was a good thing Kousotsu was gone. Ippin had the look of someone very willing to commit homicide.

"I'm so sorry..."

The emotion pooling in Priire's eyes didn't seem to be directed at Chikako. The brown-haired girl frowned slightly. "Priire," she asked gently. "What happened? Did you and Kousotsu...?" She couldn't finish the sentence.

Priire shook her head, flinging her braids around her face. "It's not him..." she sniffled. Priire sounded broken. "I'm sure I didn't mean to... I'm sorry..."

Chikako was getting more and more curious. "What, Priire? What are you sorry for?"

Locking her troubled green eyes with Chikako's worried blue ones, Priire quietly whispered, "For my daughter."

The other girl looked puzzled. "But shouldn't you be happy? I mean, you have a daughter." Chikako's smile faltered after seeing the hurt in Priire's face.

"But... she's not his." Priire looked away like she was deeply ashamed of something.

Chikako winced, slightly understanding. "Ouch."

Priire nodded. "And... Ayameru stole my ring..."

The other girl frowned. "That wasn't very nice of her."

"I don't deserve it anyway," Priire said softly, tucking her knees to her chin. "Some senshi I am. Can't even keep my future hands to myself."

It took a moment for Priire's meaning to sink in. "You've got to be kidding."

The blonde shook her head. "Ayameru showed me the future... I hate myself. Why do I always have to be so dark? I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve Kou..." her voice choked. "Kousotsu or being a senshi. I'm not..."

Chikako put her hand on Priire chin and made the other girl look her in the face. "Priire. No matter what happens in the future - near or far - you've got to be faithful to your friends. And to your daughter. You might not like whatever's going to happen in the future, but the fact is, it will happen and you will have a daughter. Right now... she needs you."

"But..." Priire looked up at her helplessly. The whole ordeal had made her hurt more than she could ever remember. She had worked so hard to overcome what she'd been before becoming a Sailor Jedi. What Ayameru had shown her proved that no matter how hard she worked, she'd never be good. She would always let her friends down and those who trusted in her. She'd never... never be... innocent.

Priire's eyes threatened to brimmed over into tears again.

"No buts," Chikako glared at her. "Go and find her. Love her and cherish her. Whatever you did in the future... Kousotsu'll forgive you. I promise."

Tipping her shades back over her head, Ariel glared at the world around her. This was not good. Tashita - her pawn - wasn't anywhere. At this rate, Asteroid would find her and convince the foolish girl to go with her. They were all fools. Was she the only one with an ounce of sense?!

Ariel's anger burned hotter in her eyes than ever. Maybe she would destroy Tashita in front of Asteroid. Make that one go crazy... the Sith licked her lips. That was incredibly pleasant to think about. Destroying her mind. Ariel tucked the idea away as a backup plan. But first she had to find the Sithspawn girl.

She carefully opened the door just enough for one brown eye to peek in. There Priire was, and there was Chikako, too. Ippin opened the door the rest of the way and slipped in. "Priire?" she asked quietly.

Chikako looked up and brushed brown hair from her face. Priire's head was still down; her blonde braids creating a shield around her head. Suddenly, Priire stood up. "I'm going to find her. By myself."

Ippin frowned, confused, as her sister marched out the door. Chikako watched the blonde leave before taking pity on Ippin's confusion. "She found out she had a daughter," the brunette explained.

Ippin's eyes went wide. "You mean... I have a niece?" she squealed. "How hoth!"

The sad statement on Chikako's face confused Ippin. "This isn't a good thing?"

"No," Chikako shook her head. "She's not Kousotsu's daughter... just Priire's."

Ippin's forehead creased. "They don't get married?" Chikako winced. Ippin frowned, puzzled. It took a minute for the implications to set in. Priire? Go stepping out on Kousotsu? "No way. No way. My sister would never... she just wouldn't! Trust me!"

"But Ayameru said that Ayameru's future self told her that she would!" Chikako looked sad.

It took Ippin a few moments to sort it out. When she finally figured out what Chikako was trying to say, the redhead stuck her head out Priire's door and yelled down the hallway, "Ayameru is a lying witch!"

Priire hadn't gotten very far down the hall so she was able to hear Ippin's words. The blonde turned around and winked at her sister.

Tashita sighed. Now she really was confused. Priire was so good, and Ayameru was so evil. She had some of each of the two inside of her, and it felt like they were fighting. On one hand, she thought she ought to be good and fight for light. But sometimes the Dark Side of the Force was more in the right than the Light Side.

Calmly, she assessed the two alternatives. They both came with power, although the Dark Side was freer with its power. But the Dark Side lived only to hurt people, while the Light Side strove to help.

But the Jedi restricted themselves and wouldn't help some people that really needed their help. It wasn't right for them to let people suffer because they didn't think it was "right"!

Tashita sighed. So maybe she wouldn't be a Light Side Warrior or a Dark Side Minion. Maybe she'd just fight for whoever she thought was right. If that was the Sith and not the Jedi, then so be it.

"Be faithful," Priire muttered as she ran towards Coruscant's largest park. "How am I supposed to be faithful when everything tells me I won't be?" The blonde shook her head. She skidded to a stop outside the gates.

Priire didn't have an above average - compared to most of the senshi - talent in the Force; it was just specialized. She could easily use the Force to aim a blaster, direct a throw, or help her jump. It was instinctive, as she'd had very little Force training.

What training she had received enabled her to use a lightsaber and locate people. Like Tashita.

The brunette turned at the sound of Priire's footsteps. "Tashita?"

"Priire?" Tashita asked, tucking the necklace into her shirt as she turned her deep brown eyes to look at Priire. "Uh, Mom?"

Priire winced as she knelt down beside the other girl. "Ayameru told me that you were my daughter. I..." She let the sentence trail off.

Tashita's brow knitted in a frown. "I overheard that she planned to use me to manipulate you. I'm not going to be used like that."

"Good," Priire smiled darkly. "Because if she tried it, I'd kill her. No matter what Annika would say."

The feeling that Tashita got from Priire was that Priire would hate to disappoint Annika, but that Priire would do anything to keep Tashita safe. A rare smile filtered across Tashita's face. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

"How sweet. I do so love family reunions."

The pair turned toward the voice that dripped with sarcasm.

"Ayameru!" Priire growled. "What do you want?"

The Sailor Sith casually flipped her short ponytail behind her shoulder. "I want my little pet back."

"I'm not your pet!" Tashita retorted.

"Of course you are," Ayameru said as she rolled her eyes. "You're my way to destroy the darkest angel." She gestured at Priire.

Priire calmly put a hand to her hematite necklace. "Asteroid Star Force Power!" she shouted, closing her eyes as black space wrapped around her. "I am Sailor Asteroid... and to quote a good friend of mine, you're a 'lying witch'! For that - and many other reasons, I assure you - I'll punish you!"

"I'm so scared," Ayameru laughed. "You can't hurt me. You don't have any power."

Collapsing to her knees, Asteroid realized Ayameru was right. She felt weak, as if she didn't have enough air to breathe. The Dark Sailor looked down and saw that the bugs crawling on the ground under her were fine, promoting her to think that it was something other than a physical lack. She was missing a source of power.

Ayameru watched with dark mirth on her face. "Stars are made of the purest light," she explained with a smirk. "You, my dear starbred, are their purest essence. But if you don't believe in their purity, then," Ayameru's smile grew colder, "you cannot access their power. You'll die." Her laughter was like pins pricking Asteroid's flesh.

The fallen Sailor put her hands over her ears. She was used to a warm feeling in the back of her mind giving her subconscious tips. Like what would happen next, how to make the best of a situation, who was lying to her... but it was gone. Was that what Ayameru meant? It was like being in a room of silence.

"Eclipse Star-Force Power!" Tashita whispered. Her earrings glowed and wrapped her in light. Now, as Sailor Eclipse, she calmly surveyed the scene. Sailor Sith Ayameru laughed cruelly at Sailor Asteroid. Perhaps she'd just let the two fight it out. That would give her a clue as to which side was best to follow.

Desperately, Sailor Asteroid looked for hope... any kind of hope.

"You might not like whatever's going to happen in the future, but the fact is, it will happen and you will have a daughter. Right now... she needs you. Be faithful..."

Chikako's words bounced around in the Dark Sailor's head for a minute. "Be faithful," Asteroid whispered. "Be faithful..."

Ayameru raised an eyebrow as Asteroid raised her head. The faint glow in the Sailor Jedi's eyes made the Sith frown. "And you're planning to what? Stare me into the ground?"

"I've got a better idea," Asteroid growled as she pushed herself to her feet. "Starfire...!"

"Black Fire...!"

Up until this point, Sailor Eclipse had been leaning against a tree, struggling inside herself. One of the two women was going to end up hurt. She didn't know whether she preferred the hurt on to be Asteroid or Ayameru. Both of them seemed like they would very easily kill the other. Killing was wrong, wasn't it? Did that mean both women were wrong? Or was it that there was a deeper purpose that divined right from wrong?

"Eclipse Velvet Darkness!" the brunette yelled, blasting the Sailor Sith and the Sailor Jedi backwards. There. Now she would have a few more minutes to think.

Sailor Sith Ayameru stared in surprise at Sailor Eclipse. The little brat had blaster her... her! She had created Eclipse! Sailor Eclipse belonged to her... fools. She had created, and she would destroy. "Black Fire Engulf!"

The cruel fire burned its way through the air towards Sailor Eclipse. The brown-eyed senshi gasped and held a hand up in front of her face as she closed her eyes and braced for the attack. After a moment, she opened her eyes. Nothing had happened... why? She looked around for the reason.

"Ouch." Sailor Asteroid hissed a curse through her clenched teeth. "Just put me on a stick and call me a marshmallow." The Sailor closed her green eyes.

Sailor Eclipse stared at the two people in front of her. "No one's ever done that for me before."

Ayameru growled deep in her throat. "Self-sacrifice. You senshi are weaker than I thought."

"She's not weak!" Eclipse frowned. "She saved me."

That comment was brushed off. "Fools." Ayameru turned on her heel. "I will have her back."

The comment seemed directed at Asteroid, but the blonde didn't respond. Her green eyes - now open - were locked on Sailor Eclipse's brown ones.

"No one's ever done anything like that for me before," Eclipse whispered. A tear shone in her chocolate eyes as one trickled down her cheek. The girl reached her hand up to her face and wiped the glistening tear off her cheek. She stared at it in amazement for a minute. "I never cry..."

Asteroid sniffled. "Me neither." The girl brushed soot from Ayameru's attack off her skirt. "It's kind of strange."

"What?"

"Finding out I have a daughter..." Asteroid looked comically pained. "And that's she's older than I am."

It took Sailor Eclipse a moment before she started laughing. "Go clean your room. Wash behind your ears..." She grinned.

Asteroid frowned. "Hey! Who's the mom here??"

Arm in arm - and playfully arguing - the pair walked back to the Room Behind the Waterfall. Tashita smiled. She felt like she really belonged. A momentary cloud eclipsed her joyful heart as she wondered how long it would last.

"Umm... black or brown?" Priire asked.

"Black. No... brown!" Tashita wavered a minute before settling on brown. Priire handed her something.

"Now. High-powered or hold-out?"

"Got anything in between?"

"Sure. Here." Priire casually tossed a medium-sized item wrapped in cloth. "Catch! It matches this one."

Tashita held up the blaster that Priire had given her. "Wow! It's awesome! Thanks..." she paused, then grinned. "...Mom."

A strangled sound came from the doorway. Priire turned to see who it was Tashita was tormenting. "Hi, Kousotsu," she said calmly. "Have fun on your trip?"

The tall blackh-aired man smiled. "Sure did. What did she just say?"

"I'm Priire's daughter," Tashita told him matter-of-factly. "Ooo, nice," she commented as she strapped the holster on to her waist and slid the blaster into it.

Kousotsu's jaw dropped. "We had a daughter??"

Looking away, Priire spoke softly. "I wouldn't exactly say 'we'."

Tashita cleared things up for the confused male. "I'm Priire's daughter, but not yours."

"This is not happening..." Kousotsu sighed. He looked at the two for a moment before noticing the ring that Tashita had on her necklace. "May I?" he asked the girl.

Tashita nodded. Kousotsu slid the ring off the chain. Priire hadn't looked at him yet; she kept her face downturned.

Very gently, Kousotsu lifted her left hand and slid the ring on her finger. "Priire," he said very softly. "No matter what you do in the future, I still love you. I always will." He lifted her gloved hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Priire nibbled on her lower lip, trying not to cry.

Tashita didn't understand the exchange between the two lovers, but kept quiet. It was a beautiful moment she didn't want to interrupt.

The dark-haired man put his arms around the blonde and held her. After a moment, he reached out his hand to Tashita and pulled the older girl into the group embrace.

A tear trickled down Tashita's face and Kousotsu wiped it away. No one's ever cared bout me, the girl thought to herself. She loved the feeling of being cared for and belonging.

The two women buried their insecurities - Priire's of her future, and Tashita's of her past - and smiled. The three were a family, despite whatever would come their way.

On a far away plain, a pair of fearsome hawks dove for prey as a serene tiger watched on... neither knew quite what the future would bring, but both were safe in the knowledge that it would come and they would face it together.