FicWad

Hope and Light: Silver Star Story

“I don’t remember when it started exactly, but the dream of having a fantastic adventure and far off places, grabbed my heart early on and has yet to let go. You see, my hero is Dragonmaster Dyne. Outside my village, there’s a monument made in his honor. His adventures were the most fantastic of all. Fighting evil, risking death, protecting the Goddess Althena. It all so…so…exciting!One day, I want to have adventures like that. But, adventure like that is a long way from Burg.”




The opening speech was spoken by Alex, at the very beginning of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

Episode One: The Beginning

The city of Tokyo; a city that has seen much turmoil within its long life. It has seen peace and war during the last several years, as supernatural forces have mounted countless attacks, and have almost succeeded in destroying it, and the rest of the world.

The key word there is almost. They have always failed.

For Tokyo is home to the Sailor Scouts, a team of heroes that fight to protect all that they hold dear. Wielding the powers of their respective planets, they are an unstoppable force that has been able defeat every evil being that have come their way.

But they are not alone.

Tokyo is also home to the Digi-Destined, the protectors of the Digital World. Their allies, creatures capable of Digi-volving into powerful beings, helped them as their friends and allies. They were the most powerful group in the Digital World, and friends to all.

Both groups are legends, and have earned the peace that they fought so hard to obtain. Both have tried to live normal lives as well, as they deserve to have.

The key word there is tried.

For strange, and sometimes, terrible things have always happened around those two groups.

They will happen again.

It is only inevitable.

----

A glimmer of light begins to emerge from the darkness, and then the observers see a pair of hands, cupping as if to hold something small. The light starts to grow brighter, and then they see someone shouting into the distance. They can’t make out the words though. Then they see where they are. They are on some type of structure, and then a person, shielding his eyes from a blazing glow in front of them. The observers do so as well, as it is almost blinding.

The light grows brighter, and more insistent, and then they see a man’s face, a face that looks sad, but determined. Green eyes, the color of a forest, stares at something below him. The observers hold their breaths, knowing what will come next.

Sure enough, as the light grows ever brighter, they see the clearest picture, a blue-haired baby, crying as she draws her first breaths of life.

Then the light overpowers them…

…and on two different worlds, six people wake up at the same time, once again at a loss to understand what they were seeing…

----

Gasping for breath, Kari Kamiya, the Keeper of Light, glanced wildly around, thinking all sorts of weird things, trying to get her bearings, until she took in her surroundings. ‘Mine and Tai’s bedroom,’ she thought in relief, latching onto the fact like a dying man to a glass of water./ ‘Just our bedroom.’/

Gripping her head painfully in her hands, she tried to regain her equilibrium without crying out. She didn’t want to wake everyone up because of some stupid dream. They needed their sleep.

Grimacing as she felt a new wave of pain go through her head, she tried to breathe slowly as she was taught to do. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. She did this for several minutes until she had calmed down. The last thing she needed to do was become hysterical over something beyond her control.

After she had brought her breathing under control, she sat there, unable to believe it. It had come to her…again! After everything she had tried, it still came. And it was stronger, /clearer/, than before. ‘Not that dream. Not that dream again. Just leave me alone!’ But she knew that that wasn’t going to happen.

Ever since returning to the real world, Kari had believed that it was over. The Digi-Destined could now live out their lives out in peace. They would never have to fight again. For that, Kari and the others were grateful. After all, they all had lives they wanted to get back to.

Tai and Sora soon became the star soccer players in their respective leagues, unbeatable in the eyes of their peers. They were even partners in gym class during their soccer unit. Needless to say, they didn’t even try their hardest there, just so they could give their fellow classmates a chance to win… or at least the appearance of a chance.

Matt continued to be interested in music, and even began to think about pursuing a career as a rock star. He had a group of friends who agreed with him, and had already started to make plans for high school. Their music teachers feared for that day, to say the least.

Mimi had changed through her experiences in the Digital World, as she put more time with her friends then with herself. She still shopped like mad at the local fashion stores, and had even managed to find another hat like the one she had lost in the Digital World, though she rarely wore it. But other than that, she found time to join her friends in games, sleepovers, and simple conversation, revealing a somewhat different woman from before. She even seemed to grow closer to Izzy, which surprised a number of them to no end. Izzy, it seemed, didn’t mind too much.

Joe spent most of his free time studying to become a doctor. He had calmed down considerably due to his adventures in the Digital World, but his drive to become a doctor had not been dampened, and had in fact increased. No one complained about this, as he was the only one who had any medical knowledge at all. He was invaluable as their friend, and as their ally.

Izzy still spent most of his time on the computer, but not as much as he used to. He spent more time with his friends, as well as his adopted family, and had taken up archery as a hobby. Of all of them, he was the only one who was still in contact with Gennai and the Digimon. That fact made everyone happier, knowing that their digital buddies were just an e-mail away.

As for herself and T.K., they figured that they would talk to each other on the telephone, learn new things in school, and basically live like little kids. And for a few days, that’s exactly what happened. Kari was almost beloved by to the other kids in her school. T.K. was considered a pleasure to be around, as he always had a smile on his face.

Then the dreams started to come to her; images that she had never seen before invading her mind. They were weak and infrequent at first, but had grown clearer and more frequent with each passing month. Now she was having almost every night after she had had about three hours of sleep. Now she was forcing herself to be cheerful almost every day, and she rarely laughed as loud as she used to. That was the part that scared her the most.

As she thought about all of her misfortunes, a sudden thirst come over her, and she got out of bed, almost, but not quite, grumbling to herself. Shuffling out of the bedroom, she padded down the hallway to the kitchen, tiptoeing by her parent’s bedroom door quietly, so as not to disturb them.

Reaching her destination, she grabbed for the stepstool instinctively, moving it soundlessly across the floor. Steadying it in front of the sink, she climbed to arm’s reach of the cupboard, reaching for her glass. Sticking it under the tap, she turned the faucet on.

As the glass filled up with water, Kari’s mind drifted back to her dream, as it usually did these days. The haunting images that were in it disturbed her to no end, and they coming in finer and finer detail. She could now remember her dream with frightening ease. And it almost seemed like she had been there before. Like it was something she had seen before.

‘What does this dream mean?’ she wondered. ‘Could it be some bad Digimon we missed…no it couldn’t be. Gennai said that all the bad Digimon were sent back to the Digital World. What if a bad person is giving them to me? What if that person…no it can’t be that either. Geez, I’m thirsty.’

That thought snapped her out of her somewhat dazed state, and she focused on her glass once again. She found to her amazement that it was overflowing, and had been doing so for quite a while. While it amazed her, it didn’t surprise her in the least. It had happened almost every time she had the dream.

Shutting off the tap, she stared at the cup for a good minute before drinking the water. After that, she stared at for a few moments more, still preoccupied with her dream, before she remembered to put it back where she had found it. Getting off the stepstool, she returned it to its original spot. She didn’t want anyone to trip over it, or know that she had been in the kitchen. They would ask too many questions, and she didn’t have any answers for them.

Walking quietly back to her bedroom, Kari fought the urge to try and wake Tai up. She didn’t want to bug him with it.

Then she thought of something. It was so simple, she almost smacked herself for not thinking of it sooner. ‘Maybe I’ll talk to T.K. tomorrow. After all, he and his mommy are coming over for dinner, and then T.K. is going to sleep over. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.’

Just the thought of her best friend gave Kari a feeling of peace, and as she climbed back into bed, she felt a flutter of genuine happiness come over her. With a smile on her face, she went back to sleep.

----

“Today’s a beautiful day!” Sora Takanouchi stated, breathing the fresh air. If there was one thing she loved more than soccer, it was being out on a wonderful day. “The sun’s shining, the birds are singing. The temperature’s just right-,” She didn’t get a chance to say anything else.

“And it’s the perfect day to shop!” Mimi Tachekawa’s mind was already figuring out what she would buy in terms of clothes. This would have worried Sora, considering Mimi’s reputation as something of a flake.

Sora nearly face-faulted in surprise, though she didn’t know why. After all, Mimi was the consummate mall rat. “How did you know I was going to say that?”

“I didn’t, but that’s what I’d do on a day like this.” The honey blond girl thought for a moment. “I also looove soaking in a nice bubble bath, and oh yeah,” she said, with an indifferent wave in her wave, the tone with it, though the mirth seen in her eyes belayed it, “spending time with my friends.”

Sora laughed, knowing Mimi loved being with her friends more than anything in the world. It had become a bit of a joke between the two of them, something that confused Tai and the other boys to no end. She opened her mouth and was about to complete the joke, when they bumped into something, with enough force to stagger them.

Or rather, someone.

Startled, Sora and Mimi started to stutter apologies to the person they bumped into, but the person just chuckled and said, “Sorry about that, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Then again, neither were you, so I can safely say we all have part of the blame.”

Sora giggled, before she and Mimi looked at the person they had bumped into. Both went into shock when they saw him.

He was about their height, a few inches taller at least. He was wearing a blue sweater and a pair of black pants, and he was smiling. His hair was brown, and combed neatly. But his most interesting feature was his eyes. Azure colored eyes, making him look older than he actually was, and he looked like he had seen things that most people never want to see. /‘He’s so handsome,’ /Mimi thought. Apparently, she had a thing for exceedingly intelligent people.

“My name is Greg Urawa,” the stranger said, stretching out his hand. “And you are-?”

Sora stood dumb for a second, before snapping out of it. She also quickly recalled her manners, and took the proffered hand. “My name is Sora Takanouchi. And this is-.”

“Mimi Tachekawa. Nice to meet you.” Mimi quickly shook Greg’s hand, blushing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet both of you,” he stated, “You know, Inever really tested the theory of motion to such a startling degree, or without prior warning. It felt like I was getting hit by a bull, or a truck!” The merriment in his eyes belied his anguished face, though.

Sora laughed, glad that he was able to find humor in a somewhat embarrassing situation. She had met her fair share of people who weren’t like that, and had had to defend herself on a few occasions. ‘Thankfully, this is not one of those times.’

She was about to tell him that even combined, they didn’t weigh that much, when she checked her watch. “Oh no,” she moaned, noticing the time. “We’re going to be late, Mimi!Let’s get going!” With that, she grabbed Mimi’s hand and started to run to Tai’s apartment, dragging Mimi behind her. Before she was out of earshot, she looked over her shoulder and yelled, “Nice to have met you!”

The reason they were heading for Tai’s apartment was for the bimonthly Digi-Destined sleepover. It was their way of keeping in contact with each other, as they all lived in separate areas of the city. Phones could only do so much, and they wanted to be prepared in case of an emergency.

Greg watched them go, smiling at their antics. When they were out of sight though, his smile faded, and he sagged wearily against a nearby lamppost, eyes closed. “I have gotten a lot better at hiding my feelings,” he muttered to himself. “And those Digi-Destined have no idea what is going to happen.” He paused.“Then again, neither do I.”

That was the part that worried him most of all.

Greg’s dreams were… haunting, to say the least. His ability to foresee the future had not dimmed in the least over the months, and had served him well. They were clear, and a great deal more accurate than regular divination. It was also a heck of a lot easier to hide. More importantly, he discovered that he could access the power by simply willing it, and it had never failed him. He had taken Amy’s advice to heart, and he didn’t let the power control him.

But the dreams he was currently being assaulted with were unclear, hazy, and pretty much incomplete. The only thing he could see clearly was the image of a blue-haired baby, crying out. That was all he knew about it. That was enough to tell him that this was no ordinary divination. It was something else entirely.

And he had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t the only one having them. Every time he had the dream, he always felt five other minds in there with him, observing the very same dream. In fact, one the minds felt familiar to him. It felt like Amy’s.

‘That’s it,’ he suddenly thought, inspiration striking him. ‘I’ll go talk to Amy. She’ll know what to do.’ With that in mind, he went off in search for the one that he cared for most in the world.

He only prayed that it was the right decision.

----

As Sora and Mimi raced into Tai’s apartment with seconds to spare on their self-imposed time, Amy Mizuno went through her usual afternoon ritual; check the answering machine for any messages, grab something to eat, then crack open a book and read. It was the same ritual she did every single day during vacation. And Amy enjoyed it, considerably. Though she no longer did it all afternoon, thanks to other obligations.

However, Amy found herself unable to concentrate on the book in front of her today, her mind preoccupied. That in on itself would have been enough to worry her friends, as she was never preoccupied.

For Amy Mizuno was Sailor Mercury, reincarnated Princess of Mercury, and a member of the Moon Princess’s royal court. The tactical and medical expert of the team, her skills were absolutely essential. She was also known for her laser sharp focus, and her attention to detail. So if she wasn’t paying attention, either at school or at home, then something monumental was bothering her.

‘I’m beginning to understand why Serena doesn’t want to be a Sailor Scout,’ she thought gloomily. ‘After a while, your mind starts to go weird on you. You start to get paranoid on everybody, and then you start to have really weird-.’

She halted that thought immediately, knowing that it was useless to think about it. She could no more not be a Sailor Scout, and Serena’s closest friend, as she could not breathe. It was just who she was, and she wouldn’t trade that for the world. ‘Back to reading now, if I had even started to,’ she thought, returning her attention to her book. She opened the cover, and leafed to where she had left of the night before.

Before she could start though, the doorbell rang. “Of all the times-,” she grumbled to herself. She treasured her reading time, as much as she treasured her friends, and a little bit more than her study time. But the last two weren’t needed. She just needed some peace and quiet after a long, hard day.

Getting up, she walked over to the door, and opening, got ready to tell the poor soul that she would rather like to be alone-

-and stared, wide-eyed, at who she saw. It was, quite literally, the last person she had expected to see.

“Greg!” she finally exclaimed, after getting over the initial shock of seeing him at her doorway. She felt happy for the first time in months, and it was Greg, so she could bend her schedule a bit.

Greg smiled warmly, if a little nervously. He always seemed to be like that around her. “Is it all right if I come in, or do I have to stand outside all night?”

“Oh, of course! Come in!” Amy stepped back so Greg could come in. When she had closed the door, she turned around and enveloped him in a bear hug. “Oh Greg, it’s so good to see you.” She looked at his sweater in nervousness. “How have you been? When did you get back in?”

“I got back in a couple of hours ago. I just finished seeing my aunt and uncle,” he answered. “As for how I am, well, it’s the same old, same old.”

“Well, what have you foreseen?” Amy asked, a small part of her illogically hoping that they were about her.

“Ummm… it’s hard to explain, but I have been having these really strange dreams lately...”

Her head shot up like a cannon. “Strange dreams?” she asked. She was surprised that /Greg /of all people would be using the term strange. For others, strange was in the eye of the beholder. For him and the Sailor Scouts, it was rather normal.

Greg saw something close to comprehension in her eyes. “Yeah. It is very out of focus in terms of dreams. One thing that is always clear though, is a-,”

“-blue haired baby,” Amy finished, an intense look in her eyes. She stared at Greg with all the concentration of a predator.

“Yeah.” Greg was surprised that she had known. “How’d you know?” he asked.

“Because,” a feeling of weariness suddenly seized her, “believe it or not, I have been having the exact same dream. And it started during last summer.”

Greg, at long last, realized that he had been correct. It had been Amy he has sensed. And, judging by the way she was acting, she was no closer to figuring out the meaning behind it.

“I think,” he began after a long pause, “that we need to talk to Rei about this.”

----

The deceptive peace of the Kamiya Residence was shattered by the ringing of the doorbell. “I’ll get it!” Mrs. Kamiya said, walking to the door, looking around to see if the apartment was clean. ‘/Looks like I got everything.’ /She thought happily. She opened the door.

“Come in, Janet!” she stated, ushering them in. “Hello, T.K.”

“Hi, Mrs. Kamiya,” T.K. replied, smiling at Tai’s and Kari’s mom. He honestly liked her, because she loved kids. Fungus cookies, liver shakes, and other foods and drinks, on the other hand, were something he didn’t like, and couldn’t understand. Why she couldn’t cook normal food was something that was beyond him.

Obviously, his mom thought the same way, as she had come prepared. “As we are guests, we have decided to exercise our right to bring dinner, Shuzika.” She punctuated this remark by showing the boxes of pizza she had in her bags.

“Oh.” Mrs. Kamiya looked disappointed at this. “Well-,”

“Hey,” a voice said, “what smells so good?” A few seconds later, Tai, Sora, and Mimi came out to the kitchen, following their noses, as Toucan Sam would say. And like any person who loves pizza, not mention the fact they had just missed a bullet, all three kids pretty much started to grovel at Mrs. Takashi’s feet.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Tai said, a look of adoration on his face.

Sora added, a grin on her face, “If we had to eat that food again, we would’ve died from food poisoning!”

“All right, all right. I get the message!” Tai’s mom exclaimed, exasperation in her voice. Why no one loved her cooking was beyond /her/.

T.K. laughed at the group’s antics, while he looked around for one person to talk too. One person who he could understand better than the other kids. One person who-.

“Hey, T.K.!”

The voice in question cut through his thoughts. Looking for the source of the voice, he looked to the hallway. “Kari!”

Moving quickly, Kari went straight at T.K., tackling him with a hug. Laughing, the two kids fell to ground in each other’s arms.

After a moment, T.K. helped Kari up. “It’s great to see you, Kari,” he said cheerfully. “How’ve you been?”

“Pretty good,” she replied, but a distant look came into her eyes, and she seemed to be almost… weary. “Actually, I really need to talk to you about something.” She paused for a moment. “In private.”

T.K. was, needless to say, a little surprised with that. ‘Kari wants to talk in private. And without Tai. Must be important.’Outwardly, he simply asked, “Is that all right, Mom?”

“Sure. But the two of you stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Okay,” they replied in unison, then turned and went to the kid’s bedroom.

----

The minute the door closed, Kari sagged, as if all the weariness had come back, and in force. She felt her body slip down the door, then T.K. catching her, and holding her up. She drew strength from his presence, and quickly stood under her own power. “Thanks, T.K.,” she said quietly.

“Don’t mention it, Kari.” T.K. was understandably mystified at this.“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“No, just tired.” She knew why T.K. asked this. After that one time in the Digital World, when she had almost died, Kari didn’t want to be sick again either. “Actually, that’s what Iwanted to talk to you about.”

“Really. What is it, Kari? What’s goin’ on?”

At this, Kari hesitated, unsure that she had made the right choice. She didn’t want anyone to think she was making it all up. And she didn’t want to be called a scaredy cat either. Then she looked into T.K.’s eyes, and somehow, she knew that she had. “Well, I’ve been having strange dreams about a little baby, and they’re starting to scare me.”

“You too?” he said in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t the only one having them.

She saw comprehension dawn in his eyes, and knew, just knew, he knew what she was talking about. “You’ve been having them too?” she asked quietly. T.K. simply nodded in response. “When?”

“I started having them after we got back from the Digital World. Is that-.”

“Yep, that’s when I started to have them.” Kari was relieved when she said that. She wasn’t the only one who was having the dreams, and that someone could sympathize with her. She smiled at T.K., the first smile she had naturally in months.

Then her mood soured. “Why,” she asked, finally giving voice to all the questions they had both wanted to ask for a long time.“Why us? And who’s doing it?”

His own brow furrowed as he thought about it, not having any of the answers either. It was one of those things that irritated him to no end. “I don’t know, but I think we need to tell the others tomorrow. They’ll know what to do.”

“You know, I think you’re right.” Kari was happy that T.K. was her best friend. He always seemed to know how to cheer her up, or had that one bit of advice that could make everything seem less… complicated. ‘I knew that talking to T.K. was a good idea. He’s such a good friend. And he’s kinda cute…where did that come from?’ She couldn’t really deny it, though.

The two children stared at each other for a moment. Both realized what they were doing and blushed crimson, but didn’t stop. They didn’t even know why they were doing it. For some reason, it just felt… right. Slowly, their faces inched closer to each other, until they were only an inch apart, then half-an-inch, then-

“Kids, better come out and get some pizza before Tai eats it all!” Mrs. Kamiya called through the door, and the two backed away from each other, relieved, and yet, oddly disappointed. “Let’s go, Kari,” T.K. said. Kari nodded, and they went to the door.

Before they opened it, T.K. simply said, “And don’t worry Kari. I’ll always protect you.” Kari smiled. She knew he would.

----

“…And that’s all I remember,” Patamon said, looking at the assembled group of Digimon. They were silent, mulling over what they had just heard from him, testing its plausibility. ‘I just hope they don’t think I’m crazy.’

After the final battle with Apoclamon, the Digimon who had partnered with the eight chosen children had dispersed all over the Digital World to help stabilize the four continents. Agumon and Tentomon had gone to the continent of Server helping the Digimon there get used to not fearing for their lives against the likes of Myotismon and Etemon. They had done a fairly good job at it, and were considered to have aformidable one-two rookie punch.

Biyomon and Palmon had gone to Computer Island, the only part of the Digital World that had something resembling an earth city. They had opened up a Mother Nature flower shop in the heart of the city, giving the Guardromon and Mekanorimon something different. It was a huge success in their eyes.

Gabumon had gone to the factory where Andromon had been found. He helped him repair the old equipment so they could actually finish developing the stuff that was in the works. One of those, when Gabumon wrote to the others, was called a D-terminal, for instant e-mail messages, and actually audio communication between two points. They had already made eight of them and had dispensed the majority of them to the other guys.

Gomamon had returned to the ocean, and made many new friends with the underwater Digimon. He had even made peace with Metalseadramon, though eh ahd done that was a mystery to all of them. He was presently making an underground network with the ultimate-level Digimon that would inform Gennai and the others of a potential threat. So far, it was working rather well.

All the Digimon got back together once a month, to tell each other what they were doing, what they had planned, and basically to reaffirm their friendship. Then they would say good-bye, and return to their individual lives… except for two.

Patamon and Gatomon stayed together, remaining on File Island alongside Gabumon, calling it their home. They lived in the Primary Village, helping Elecmon with the Digi-eggs, and helping the young through their developing moments. It was something they loved doing, and something they felt they had to do. Gatomon felt that especially, though they didn’t have to worry, they were extremely loved by the Digimon around them. Elecmon had even taken it upon himself to be their trainer and mentor.

Then the dreams had come to both of them; images of people they had never even met before, a blue-haired baby that seemed hauntingly familiar, and a light that grew increasingly brighter. They grew so strong that at one point, Gatomon had digi-volved into Angewomon in her sleep!She didn’t even get enough rest anymore, and that was starting to make her cranky.

At the moment, she was taking a nap, and it was advantageous if she continued to do so. Woe be to the one who woke her up.

Patamon had handled the dreams better, and therefore was in far better spirits about it. When he figured that the dream was a message of sorts, he had immediately gone to Gabumon, who had distributed the D-terminals around, and asked him to get the others to Primary Village. He would have done it himself, but between the Digi-eggs, the baby Digimon, and helping Gatomon, he had his hands full. When they had arrived, he told him what the dream was. Now he awaited their theories.

“Well,” Gabumon said, “the dream could mean anything. It could be amessage for you two. It could be a vision, or it could just be something in the air that the two of you affected by.”

“Oh yeah, before I forget. Can I see what types of food you eat? Maybe Ican have strange dreams too.” It was obvious to all that Gomamon was joking. It was also obvious that he still sucked at it.

“Now’s not the time for levity Gomamon,” Agumon said.

“Yeah,” Palmon agreed. “This is serious.”

Tentomon buzzed around their heads “I could’ve told you that. Izzy and the others could be in danger!”

“And we’re here, unable to help them!” Biyomon wailed, concern for Sora plain on her face. As they were all worried about their individual partners.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be okay. Those Sailor Scout people that they told us about can protect them. And if we’re needed, Gennai can find a way to get to the real world.” Patamon turned. “And I don’t think we’re in that much trouble yet.”

Agumon stood up, already falling into ‘leader mode’, as the kids would call it. “Regardless, let’s all stay together until their dreams blow over, or something else happens.” He looked around. “Let’s also fortify Primary Villages defenses.”

“Right.”

The rest of the group replied, separating to various parts. Agumon, Gabumon and Tentomon went to where Elecmon was to discuss the fortification of the Village defenses. Biyomon and Palmon went to where the young were currently playing a very stimulating game of hide-and seek. Gomamon went to get lunch for everybody, seeing as how it was near noon.

Patamon just stayed where he was, stewing. He was trying to remain optimistic for their sakes, but he knew better, somehow. He had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be enough.

“You didn’t tell them everything, did you?” a sleepy voice said behind him. He recognized it as Gatomon’s. “You didn’t tell them your suspicions.”

Patamon didn’t turn around. “If only they knew what we knew, we wouldn’t be here. We would be at Gennai’s, trying to find a way to Earth.”

“Hey, don’t worry too much. We could just be chasing our tail around in circles on this one, like a bunch of scared kitties.”

“Then again, we might not. Besides, I don’t think that we are the only ones having these dreams.”

Gatomon’s eyes widened. “You mean, T.K. and Kari?”

Patamon just nodded. “If we learn anymore through our dreams, we’ll tell the others. Okay?”

“Okay.”

----

Morning fell on Tokyo, the city awaking from its deep slumber to meet the new day. The world continued to move, proving once and for all that it was superior to all evil.

It was on this day that the Sailor Scouts congregated to the Cherry Hill Temple, home to their fiercest member, to discuss the events that had brought them all together.

“All right,” Rei Hino said, looking at Amy through narrowed eyes.“Let me see if I got this right. You want me to probe your subconscious mind, try to find this elusive dream, and try to make sense of it, right?”

“That’s right, Rei,” Amy replied. “You have to understand, Ihaven’t had a decent night’s sleep since last summer. I’m desperate here. I am on the verge of a mental breakdown. I can’t live like this anymore! I have to know what the hell is going on!”

“Calm down, Amy,” Luna said, scratching the underside of her head for a moment. “If you keep up the histrionics, you’ll turn into Serena!”

“Yeah Ames…/Hey!/” Serena Tsukino shrieked. “I’m not that bad!”










“Oh I don’t know about that,” Rini Endyimon spoke up. She looked at her mother from the future through red eyes. “Ya know meatball head, you could grow up just a little bit.”

“Who asked you, spore? Listen Amy, maybe it’s just something you ate.”

“Come on, Serena,” Greg replied. “Several months ago? I’ve been having them too, remember? Is that coincidence?” He stared at her for a moment.” I don’t think so.”

Minako Aino, the most experienced of them, raised her hand, hoping to drive the conversation back in the direction they needed. “Okay, let’s say that it is a dream about the past? It could just be Amy’s birth you’re both witnessing. There aren’t many blue haired girls born, even in one thousand years.”

“And if it was someone who wanted to defeat the Sailor Scouts,” Lita Kino added, “don’t you think that they would’ve hit Sailor Moon first, and then you? Take the leader out first, then the tactical genius? I mean, if you’re both out of the picture, we’ll have effectively lost our heart and our backbone.”

“All I know,” Amy said, “is that I want to have a decent nights sleep for once, without dreaming the same thing over and over again! Is that too much to ask?”

“Okay, okay, Amy,” Artemis called, noting how desperate Amy was feeling. “We get the point!” He turned to the priestess, hoping for some positive news. “Do you think it’s a good idea, Rei?”

Rei was silent for a good while, thinking about it. The silence lengthened to an uncomfortable level, as she went through every pro and con of such an undertaking. Also, in the aftermath of the Doom Phantom’s assault on their world, they were still reasonably paranoid. Everyone was watching her carefully, even Serena, who had been looking for a new comic book to read. Amy was awaiting the answer more than any of the others, Greg staying close by.

Finally Rei looked up, having made her decision. “Yeah, it’s agood idea,” she said. “We’ll do it in one hour. Is that all right for the two of you?

“Yes, it is. Thank you, Rei,” Greg replied.

“In the meantime, Luna, Artemis, contact Sailor Pluto. I’m going to need her help for this.”

Artemis jumped down from his perch. “We’ll do that. Just… be ready. I get the feeling we’re only getting one shot at this.”

----

For the past several minutes, T.K. and Kari told everyone present, with the exception of Izzy, who was on speaker phone, everything they knew about the dream. They had even called Matt and Joe, asking them to meet at Tai’s residence for an impromptu meeting, telling them that it was urgent.

“/Well,”/Izzy said, his voicing slightly filled with static from his end of the line, “my theory is that these are dreams specifically created to tell you both something extremely important. Perhaps it is a facsimile of someone being born in the past, and they are trying to call for help.”

“That’s what I thought,” Matt said, “Maybe we’re all thinking the same thing. But what if someone is calling for help?”

“Is it the Digital World?” Mimi asked. They all heard the worry in her voice.

Apparently, so was Tai’s. “If it is, then Gennai will find a way to get us back into the Digi-World to help.”

Joe asked a question that made them worry more. “But what if it isn’t a threat to the Digital World? I mean, what if it’s a parallel world? How are we going to help it if we can’t reach it?”

“Joe’s got a good point,” Sora stated. “If it’s from aparallel world, then we’re stuck. Even if we can get there, our Digimon won’t with us.”

“And that makes us defenseless! Damn it!” Tai emphasized his last remark by kicking a nearby pillow. It flew through the air, only to be caught by Kari.

“Don’t worry Tai,” she said quietly, setting the pillow down on her bed, “The dreams aren’t killing me, so what’s to worry about? No one bad is coming. That much I know.”

“How can you be sure, Kari?” Matt asked. “How can you be sure that evil isn’t coming?”

T.K. finally decided to get involved in the conversation. Up until now, he had remained silent. “Because neither of us got the impression that whatever’s happening is dangerous. It’s almost like…we’re witnessing a change in something.”

But you don’t know that, T.K.,” Matt stated. “We have no idea-,”

“No, we don’t. But I’d rather be optimistic about this then worry about something out of my control. It’ll save me some of my time. I’m the crest of Hope, remember?”

You’re right, T.K..” Sora looked to everyone else. “We’ve gotta hope that that is all it is.”

“Right, Sora,” Joe and Mimi said at once. Hope was the only thing that they could have sometimes. T.K. was their reminder of that.

“Well,” Tai said, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice, “you’ll have to forgive Matt and myself if we remain a little pessimistic. Idon’t want any of us getting caught unprepared should anything happen.” He looked at the others. “Is that all right with you guys?”

“Wouldn’t expect any less from you two.” Izzy grinned. “After all, you two are leader and second-in-command, as well as their elder siblings. If that is your decision, then we’ll go with it.”

“Thank you, Izzy. That’s why you’re the big brains of our group. So, we’ll all keep our eyes open.”

“Big time.”

“You know it.”

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

“In the meantime,” Matt said, “let’s get something to eat. I’m starving!”

“So am I. My tummy’s making growling noises.” As if to emphasize Kari’s point, her stomach made its opinion known of how it liked being empty. Everyone laughed.

“Come on guys,” Tai called, “Let’s get lunch made before Mom does! Izzy, come on over. Plenty of baloney and Tofu to go around.”

----

“Prodigious. I’ll be there in ten minutes, seeing as how I’m in the park next to your apartment building. Bye!” Izzy shut off the cell phone, then practically sprinted to the building-

-until he collided with someone.

Izzy hit with such force that both he and the person he ran into fell on their butts. “Should’ve watched where I was going,” he moaned, sitting up.

“Yes, you should’ve. But I won’t call the police if you don’t.”

Izzy looked up, and his jaw dropped in amazement.

“Sorry about that Izzy,” Darien Endyimon said, helping the kid up to his feet. “I wasn’t watching where I was going either, so it’s my fault as well.”

Izzy grinned. “Don’t worry about it Mr. Endyimon. I believe that Newton’s theory of relativity has just been proven, though.”

“Yep, I think you’re right, and I hope we never have to prove it again. Well, I’ve got to run. See you around.”

“Good day,” Izzy replied, and walked the rest of the way to the apartments.

Darien watched Izzy go, his smile widening by the minute. ‘That kid has changed so much since last summer,’ he thought to himself. ‘He used to spend all his time on his computer. Now he has friends who he can be with. Speaking of which, I better get to my group of friends before they sic Lita and Rei on me.’

With that in mind, he continued to the Cherry Hill Temple, his thoughts already focused on the problem before him.

----

Darien had just made it to the entrance of Cherry Hill, when Sailor Pluto winked into existence a mere two inches in front of him. He stepped back in surprise, then said, “You know, it’s impolite to almost step on a person’s foot.”

Pluto bowed. "My apologies, Prince Darien. But I am here at Rei’s request. Apparently, she wants my help for a matter of some importance.”

It seemed that all hands were needed on deck today. “You too, huh?Small world. I got the same message thirty minutes ago. Imagine that.”

“It does seem strange. I assume that you were told what is going on.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yep. Well, let’s go see if we can’t figure out what their dreams are trying to tell them.”

“Let’s.” The two of them walked into the shrine, ready for anything.

Pluto walked into the main room of the shrine; disturbed that one of the Scouts would be in the same predicament that Greg was in every day. She was even more disturbed that it would be Amy, /Amy /of all people, who would be having them.

Of course, the impossible always seemed to follow Amy Mizuno, no matter where she went. First, her return to the fold as Sailor Mercury, then her meeting of Greg. The battle that ended the Negaverse’s only chance of creating an invincible shadow warrior had further cemented her reputation as one of the fastest rising Senshi in the galaxy. And then, in a repeat of the Silver Millennium, Sailor Mercury had gone on to challenge Queen Beryl herself. As Sailor Moon utilized the powers of the entire team to defeat Metellus, Amy, without her powers, took on the Negaforce’s greatest disciple, and sent her back to the Negaverse, beaten. So, the fact that she was having visions was not very surprising.

No, the strangest thing about it was that Pluto herself hadn’t sensed it, from either of one of them. It was almost as if, a power greater than her had had a hand in their dreams. And that thought was what made her afraid.

She shook that last thought out. If there was a more powerful force in the time stream than her, she would have sensed it almost immediately. As it was, the thirtieth century had been quiet. Soon, it would even be time for Rini to return to Crystal Tokyo.

Before that could happen though, there was one thing to do. Pluto and Darien walked into the fire reading room in the back, only to see Greg, the Scouts, and their familiars having a serious conversation. Even Serena was in it, which dictated how serious it was to the Scouts.

The minute they stepped through the door, Serena and Rini detached from the group, attaching themselves around Darien’s torso and Pluto’s neck. Both found their only method of getting oxygen cut for a few seconds. ‘What is it with the Serenity line, and their ability to kill with friendship?’ Pluto thought rhetorically.

Serena finally released Darien. “Thanks for coming. Amy’s at her wit’s end about this.”

“Don’t worry about it, meatball head,” Darien replied warmly. He stared over at the other male human occupant in the room. “Greg.” Greg just nodded back, his eyes conveying his exhaustion.

“Luna P!” Rini’s happy voice traveled throughout the shrine, making Serena look at her with pride. Despite all the bickering that the two had, theirs was a strong relationship, and it would only get stronger with time.

Rei spoke up. “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Pluto. Are you ready?” Her eyes told that she had prepared herself for the attempt as well as she could.

“Yes, I am, Mars,” Pluto replied. She stared at the two in question.“Are you two set for what will happen?”

“Yes,” they both answered emphatically. Pluto nodded as she and Rei moved in front of them. She noted wryly that Greg sat up a little straighter, in respect of the one that his powers circumvented almost everyday. She gave a slight nod of respect in return.

When she was just in front of him, Pluto brought the Garnet orb gently down to the top of Greg’s head, letting it touch his brow. She closed her eyes, and started to chant silently. Next to her, she felt Rei place her hands within an inch of Amy’s head, then start forming acomplex pattern, chanting an ancient Shinto chant in the process. Pluto returned to her chant, one so ancient that it predated the Silver Millennia.

As one, the two Scouts entered their respective targets minds, flowing through their pathways, avoiding the areas that contained personal memories. As they did this, they searched for the subconscious part of their minds, the part where all their dreams and instinctive drives were.

After what seemed like a lifetime, but was only a matter of minutes, Pluto reached the subconscious mind of Greg Urawa…and stared, amazed at what she saw.

Greg’s subconscious mind was pulsating, with a power that she had never seen before. It radiated with as much, if not more, power then her. And her power was considerable.

PLUTO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? Rei’s mind telepathically called out.

Pluto replied, still shaken, YES, I CAN HEAR YOU, REI. WHAT IS IT THAT YOU SEE?

I’M SEEING SOMETHING HERE THAT IS COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE! IS IT THE SAME IN GREG'S MIND?

…YES. THE POWER I AM FEELING HERE IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. IT’S MORE POWERFUL THAN THE COMBINED MIGHT OF THE WHOLE SAILOR SCOUT TEAM COMBINED, INCLUDING ME!

Rei was silent for a moment, as she went through the implications of what they had learned. WE MUST TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT THIS POWER IS, she finally stated. ARE YOU READY TO TRY AND MELD WITH IT?

LET’S GIVE IT A TRY, BUT BE CAREFUL. WE’RE TREADING ON VERY VOLITILE GROUND HERE.

As one they reached out mentally, gently touching the energy in front of them-

-and with the mental equivalent of a nuclear explosion, Sailor Scouts Pluto and Mars were hurled back at hurricane force, slamming into the wall with enough force to knock it down.

“Rei!Pluto!” Everyone else shouted, running to them, as the two of them slowly got up, shaking their heads.

“What power! I don’t think even the Dark Crystal had that much power!” Pluto said, almost in shock, as she looked at them. “In fact, I don’t think two Silver Crystals had the power even one of them has!”

Serena was about to inquire, but two shrieks caught their attention. Amy and Greg were both holding their heads in agony, their bodies arching off the mats below them. They were in such pain, that Pluto was concerned that they would snap in half.

Suddenly, a bright white light came out of nowhere, bathing them with its power. They only had enough time to shield their eyes… before vanishing into the ether of reality.

----

In the Digital World, the Digimon had just finished putting up the last of the defenses, and were discussing the next day’s events, when a powerful white light came out of nowhere. It settled over the Digimon like a tarp, growing brighter. Elecmon shielded his eyes from it, but still seared his retina.

Finally, it subsided, and the world reasserted itself. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, Elecmon stated, “Wow, what a weird light,” as he turned around. What he saw though, was surprising, in its own way.

He was the only one there. The others were gone.

“Guys?Come on, this isn’t funny.” He looked around for a bit, thinking they were doing this just to try and frighten him. Well, it was succeeding. He was frightened. “Guys?”

There was no answer.

----

In Tokyo, the Cherry Hill Temple wasn’t the only place to get hit by the white light. The Digi-Destined had decided to have a last minute ice-cream cone with their parents before separating again. But it never happened.

The light came over them, blinding them with its luminance. Kari managed to cry out, as their parents tried to get to them.

A second later, they were gone.

Unknown Realm




“Inter-dimensional shift from the Big Ten!”

“Identify!”

“It’s artificial in nature! The Digital World and Earth! I’ve also detected six energy signatures! Hope and Light, Angelic, and Solar System! The same powers they had!”

“But all of them are either dead, or in stasis. …Keep an eye on this, and see if Alania sensed something that she shouldn’t have sensed.”

“… Sir, do you think this is all related?”

“If I’m right, then all Hell is going to break loose very soon.”

Lunar, Burg




In the realm of space, whole galaxies move past each other without ever touching. They each have their own planets, suns, and solar systems. And they are all filled with stars.

In one of these galaxies, a planet floated around its sun peacefully. It was truly magnificent, if one got over the fact that it was acompletely barren, icy wasteland. It was completely blue, thought some of the blue was nearer to white because of blizzards that raged on through eternity. The darker blue represented the oceans, the only part of the planet that had not been frozen. It was totally uninhabitable. Therefore, nothing should be alive in that solar system.

So it was surprising to see a small celestial body orbiting it that seemed to defy this logic.

The small satellite was green and blue, with wreathes of clouds constantly moving, making it just as beautiful as the planet it orbited, though for entirely different reasons. It held a great ecosystem of plants and animals, living harmoniously with each other. To many other beings, it might not seem like much. To the inhabitants, it was home.

It had a name, a name that in another dimension would have meant moon. But on this small body, it meant Silver Star.

It was called Lunar.

On Lunar, there were, like on Earth, towns and cities doting the rich planet. Its largest city was located near the ocean, and was the only port city in the world. Its smallest settlement on the other hand, was isolated from the rest of civilization by a forest.

It is in this village that our story truly begins. For in this town, there are those who enjoy the peace and tranquility of their lives. Then there are those who, to put it bluntly, don’t.

One of these people was thinking about something that had nothing to do with farming or chores. In fact, he was standing on a lonely hilltop on the outskirts of town, staring at something. His mind was miles away.

When females looked at him, they saw only his light brown hair, or his handsome features, or his deep green eyes. When he trained without ashirt, they swooned at his muscular torso, or his graceful movements with a sword. They didn’t see the thoughts that went through his head every day. He would always think at that spot, staring at something in the distance.

His reverie this morning however, was shattered by a high-pitched voice.“Aleeeex. Oh Alllleeeeex…Where are you?”

Alex turned around, green eyes twinkling. He had been waiting for the little one to find him. “Oh, hello Nall.”

Nall flew up to him, his feathered wings beating rapidly. He was an oddity, even in a world full of magical creatures, with the body of acat and the wings of a bird. He had been with Alex for as long as both could remember, and went with him everywhere. They were inseparable.

“Alex, couldn’t you hear me?” he complained, his own red eyes showing his exhaustion. “I’ve been flying all over for the past half hour, calling for you.” He looked at what Alex had been looking at, understanding. “But, I should’ve known you would be here.”

“Oh, Nall.” Alex grinned as Nall landed on his shoulder. “Where else would I be? There isn’t anywhere else to go here.”

The very thing they were talking about was a monument. It was simply abunch of rocks piled up into a fair approximation of a grave marker.

There were two differences that set this monument apart from a grave marker, though. There was no body buried underneath it, for starters. And one of the rocks held a plaque, a sword wedged right above it. It wasn’t much, but in Alex’s mind, it was the greatest thing anyone could have done.

“In honor of the great Dragonmaster, Dyne,” Nall read, the words already engraved in both of their minds. “I know that Dyne was probably the greatest of the Four Heroes Alex, but I’m amazed that you never get tired of coming to stare at his dull monument.”

“It’s because he’s an inspiration,” Alex replied, his eyes never leaving the monument. “I mean, he’s from our village, Nall, and it make’s me think that I can do the same thing.”

Nall was about to retaliate with the same debate, that he should get off his butt and do something about it, but then remembered something.“Oh, shoot.”

Alex finally tearing his gaze away to stare at him. He suddenly remembered that his friend had come here for a reason. “What is it, Nall?”

“I just remembered, we better go meet Luna to practice singing. If we’re late, she’ll be upset.”

Alex shuddered, remembering the last time he and Nall had been late getting home. He also berated himself for forgetting about practice.“Once is enough for me. How long did it take us to clean those sheets again?”

“Five hours, and that was by hand.” Nall winced as he looked back on that day. They hadn’t been late home since, hoping to avoid another incident. “We better get moving. Luna’s patience with us will only stretch so far. Let’s not test the limit.”

“You’re right.” Taking one last glance at the cairn of rocks, Alex and Nall went down the mountain path to the village.

Just as they reached it, the ground started to shake moderately.

"Whoa!” Nall was in the air in an instant. Alex quickly braced himself, feet planted firmly on the ground, spread out slightly as he rode it like the last one. Both stared at each other, tension thick in the air as they waited for it to increase.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, the tremors thankfully stopped. Alex and Nall both breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing. “No different than the last one,” Alex said.

“Another Earthquake…that’s the third one this week!” Nall exclaimed, now genuinely irritated. Then his gaze became thoughtful.“But…what could be causing them?”

“I don’t know Nall. It’s a strange occurrence, to be sure.” He turned back to the village. “Come on, we better get going. Otherwise, earthquakes will be the least of our worries.”

Before they could get far, Alex saw someone running in their direction. He recognized who it was, and marveled at the speed he was capable of moving at, even though he weighted over two hundred pounds. “Hello, Ramus,” he said in suspicion.

“Hey Alex,” Ramus's massive girth trembled with barely contained excitement, which could be disturbing if one watched for too long. “I figured you might be here. Now that the warm weather has melted the ice near the dragon’s cave, there isn’t any time to waste getting started on our big adventure. If we hurry, we may be able to sneak in without waking the dragon. Then we can get fantastically huge diamond worth thousands and thousands of silver, making us filthy stinking rich and very popular in the process!”

Alex stared at Ramus in delight, though for entirely different reasons. After all, wealth was something he never aspired to. ‘Finally, my dream is coming true. Ramus will finally get the Dragon Diamond he wants, and I’ll finally get to meet the White Dragon.’He almost started to tremble in excitement himself, but he reined it in. He wasn’t Ramus, after all.

Nall was not convinced, however. “The Dragon Diamond huh?” His voice practically dripped with skepticism, and for good reason. He didn’t really believe that the Dragon Diamond existed, or that it was worth the effort.

“You heard right, Nall,” Ramus answered, oblivious to the slightly scathing tone. Of course, he could have been and simply shrugged it off. “C’mon, Alex! You always dreamt about going on a big adventure. Let this be our first! And besides,” he added, “I don’t want your plans to go to pot.”

“I know, I know. Speaking of plans…” The young man suddenly remembered acertain person’s volatile temper. “Listen, Ramus, I have to get going. I’m late for practice with Luna. I want to be ready for the Goddess festival, and I really don't want to anger her so close to it. Could I think about it for a few minutes?”

“Well... while you’re deciding, I'll stop by my house to grab some snacks for the trip. C’ya!” With that, he ran back to the village, making gestures in the air.

Nall pivoted in the air, turning to Alex. “Oh Alex,” he gushed, “You know we have to do this! It could be the adventure of alifetime!” He paused for a second, as something came to mind.“I just hope that Ramus doesn’t turn into a baby at the first sign of monsters!”

“That’s my hope too, Nall. I mean, how embarrassing would that be? He’d be clinging to my leg!”

“But, you know that Luna is going to be upset…she doesn’t like you putting yourself in danger.” Nall looked at him seriously. “How are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t know yet, Nall. I think that I’ll wait until after practice to tell her. And I am not going to spring it out on her, or blurt it out!” He emphasized that last point.

Nall understood what it meant, though he knew that he was probably going to do just that.“I’ll try to keep my mouth shut.”

They went into the village in silence.

----

All around the village of Burg, people were preparing for the annual Goddess Festival. Already there were streamers, balloons, tables, kegs of drinks, alcoholic and otherwise, and a stage set up around the village statue in the middle of town. At the entrance of the village, there was a well worn, but still readable, banner saying,‘BURGS ANNUAL GODDESS FESTIVAL. COME JOIN THE CELEBRATION ONE AND ALL’.

Every festival was done differently, with different events and different foods. There was one constant though; the best singer, and the best player in the village would perform at the end of the festival.

For the Goddess Festival was celebrated by drinking, singing, playing, and basically having fun. It was a time to set aside one’s dull, dismal life, and let loose. And Alex and Luna were the stars of the show. They were considered the best duo the ever had, and both worked diligently at it.

Alex and Nall moved along, taking in their surroundings. Even though they had lived in Burg all their lives, they somehow remained in awe at how the village always awoke to celebrate a holiday. And this one had even more meaning to the villagers.

Those who had been born within the last fifteen years had heard stories of how the Goddess Althena herself had come to Burg to attend every Goddess Festival up until that time. She was not greeted with worship, as she was in every other town, but instead as one would greet an old friend, with open arms and hearts. She was considered aguest of honor, as this was the holiday that she herself was to be thanked. She and her Guardians, who had fought to protect the world from evil, showed everyone that they were grateful, and truly joyful of their hospitality. And Althena always had the best time. Alex heard that she had done certain tricks with the children, playing hide-and-seek, and that she always left with a smile on her face. Those stories were among Alex’s favorites.

His thoughts were disrupted by a soft voice, melodic and beautiful. He recognized it immediately, smiling as he did so. It was as familiar to him as his mother’s.

And judging the look on Nall’s face, he recognized it too. “Do you hear that Alex?” he asked. “It sounds like…singing. Luna must already be waiting for us at the spring!” His face fell. “I bet she’ll be singing a different tune when you show up late…/again/!”

“I know Nall,” Alex said gloomily, “But better late than never…right?”

Nall simply snorted as they walked toward the spring.

Alex and Luna had claimed the spring as their practice ground two years ago, when they had signed up for the singing contest, and their bodies underwent the growth acceleration that hits most Lunarians at thirteen. It was the best place to practice because it was extremely quiet there, with no noise penetrating through the thick pine trees. It was also relatively isolated, as no one ever entered, except to purify the lake… among other things.

As they approached, the sound of Luna’s singing grew steadily more pronounced. Nall finally said, “That’s Luna, alright! I bet you’re in for it now Alex! She hates it when you’re late.”

“Will you stop reminding me already? I’ve heard the last hundred warnings!” Calming down, Alex pulled out his ocarina. Taking adeep breath, he started to walk in Luna’s direction again.

Alex would never admit it to anyone, not even Nall, but he was madly in love with Luna. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, and never let go. But, he didn’t think that she felt the same, so he kept it to himself. He also was afraid, afraid to tell her because of what might happen. He didn’t want to lose her friendship.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, picking up the pace.

----

Luna sat peacefully, her blue hair glinting in the sunshine. She sat on astone chair that had been made about thirty years before she had been born, and it was truly a masterpiece... well, if you could call something that was just a glorified boulder a masterpiece. A tender smile graced her lips, one that spoke of untainted innocence. She sang a song that was an expression of that innocence. Letting her shoulders relax, she looked out to the water.

All around her, peace reigned. The birds were chirping around her feet, eating the birdseed that she had put there an hour ago. The dragon-shaped fountain continued to pour fresh water into the spring, and the sun made a pattern through the trees that was simply beautiful.

In short, it was a wonderful day, and the conditions were perfect to for her to practice her singing. What would have made it even better was if Alex would show up on time. It wasn’t that big of a deal, even though she did make them wonder what she was going to do to them, but it would have been nice if he would be on time for achange.

Just as she thought this, her musing was interrupted by a melody, played on a wind instrument. She recognized the tune, as well as the instrument. ‘/Speak of the devil, he’s here,’/she thought, giggling to herself. She never could stay mad at him for long, if ever, and he knew how to apologize. He had the cutest puppy eyes she had ever seen!

Getting to her feet and twirling around, she said, “Alex, you’re late again silly. Were you whittling the day away at Dyne’s monument again? Or were you planning more make-believe adventures with Ramus?” She had noted something was off, but she didn’t know what.

Alex was amazed, but not as much as some people would think. Luna did know him so well. After all, he did do both activities every chance he got.

Apparently, Nall was impressed as well, and let Luna know it. “Hey, you’re good! He was at Dyne’s monument planning an adventure with Ramus. You’re right on both accounts!” His smile grew even wider. “I can’t wait to see the inside of the Dragon Cave!”

Luna’s face went from a look of happiness to a look of surprise within asecond. Alex went from happy to annoyed in that same time span, and he turned to shoot a death glare at Nall.

Nall noticed this, and he flapped back from Alex reach. “Um…right…A-Alex?” he asked hesitatingly, knowing that he was in trouble.

“Nall!” Alex hissed, but it was too late. His plan to tell her what they were going to do, ruined.

“The White Dragon Cave, Alex?” Luna asked, still surprised. Then her mood went from surprised to annoyed. She knew something had been wrong. “I knew there was something wrong with your playing! And I always know when you’re keeping secrets from me!”

‘She’s good,’ he thought. ‘And now it’s lecture time.’

“Alex, why would you travel to such a dangerous place?” Her tone stated she wanted an answer, and had better like what she heard.

Alex started to answer, hoping to explain why he was doing this, but apowerful roar stopped him before he could open his mouth. It echoed all the way around the village, causing the water to vibrate. It was enough to frighten an ungodly number of people.

“Yikes,” Nall shouted, already shooting into the air. Alex and Luna tensed once again, preparing to bolt. But their readiness proved unnecessary, as the roar died down, being replaced with a strange calm. All of them sighed with relief and relaxed.

Nall fluttered back down to Alex’s shoulder, sagging slightly in relief. “Man, was that loud!”

Luna frowned slightly, thinking hard about what they had just heard. Something about it seemed so familiar. “It sounded like a… roar? But I’ve never heard a creature like that before.” Her thoughts were troubled though.

“Neither have I,” Alex said soothingly, letting her know that she wasn’t the only one who had a clue about the identity of the creature with whom that roar originated from. He had a pretty healthy guess what it was, though.

“You know, I bet it was the White Dragon!” Nall's tone became as thoughtful as Luna’s. “What Ramus said is true…”

“Gee, Nall,” Alex said sarcastically, “thanks for pointing out the painfully obvious!” He was irritated that Nall had to tell them something they already suspected.

“Sorry, Alex.”

Alex didn’t reply, instead turning around and heading back to the village.

Luna wasn’t done with him though, and focused her attention on him again. “Alex! Where are you going?”

Nall answered, knowing that Alex was already going to turn him into a bath rug when this was over. It was bound to happen eventually. “We’re going to go explore the Dragon Cave along with Ramus! That was the great adventure that Alex and Ramus were talking about the monument!”

Alex could have slapped Nall out of the sky, but that would have been hard to explain to his parents why both of the fur ball’s wings were bruised. Sometimes, he just hated being Burg’s proverbial Poster Boy.

At the mention of what they were planning to do, Luna’s mood soured once again. “Didn't you hear me? You could be hurt, or worse!”

“I’m very much aware of this,” Alex replied, taking another slow step. “It wouldn’t really be an adventure if there wasn’t any risk.”

“But what about your parents? They’ll be beside themselves with worry.”

Alex was silent this time around, knowing full well that if he opened his mouth, he was going to agree with her, even if he thought otherwise.‘She’s trying to guilt-trip me, just like last time. Well, it’s not going to work. I've waited years for this!’

“I’ve never been able to stop you from doing what you wanted to do Alex,” Luna continued quietly, almost as if she were considering her words carefully, “And I know that your dream is to embark on great adventures, just like Dyne.” She smiled, her eyes twinkling.“So, I suppose that all I can do is come along and keep you out of trouble.” Her happiness started to reassert itself. “Perhaps this will even be fun!”

“Whaa?” Alex whirled around, unable to believe what he had just heard. Luna/wanted to go? Did the world end without him knowing it?‘/Alright, who are you and where is Luna?’

Luna’s merriment at her friend shock grew. “And to think, you were going without me!” She almost laughed at the stupefied look on Alex's face. She so loved doing that to him sometimes!

Alex was dumbfounded, to say the least. And that was an understatement.“But…erm…uh,” he managed to stutter out.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s get going!” Luna said, completely cheerful, and looking at Alex with eyes as blue as the lake behind them. It took a lot of effort not to let him know how funny he looked, shocked beyond all measure.

“Erm…uh…” To say his vocal cords were frozen would have been an understatement.‘Real smooth Alex. Can’t even put coherent sentences together.’

Nall flew up to him. “Why do you even try saying ‘NO’ to Luna? She plays you like an ocarina!” He grinned at this. “So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started on our big adventure!”

“Just a moment, Nall.” Luna fell into ‘big sister’ mode, as everyone was keen on calling it. “I know you’re excited and anxious to start the adventure, but we really need to tell Alex’s parents where we are going. We can’t let them worry about us. Besides, we might be able to find some things around the house to help us on the trip.”

“You know,” Nall said, admiration in his voice, “I like how you think,” He settled on Alex’s shoulder. “This is gonna be great Alex!”

“I know, Nall,” Alex stated, looking at Luna with a small smile on his own face, deciding to spare his little friend’s life for one more day. “We better get back to the house.”

“Yeah!It’s almost lunch time anyway. I want to eat!”

“You’re always hungry. I’m surprised you haven’t eaten Mon and Dad out of house and home yet.”

“I’m jut waiting for the skies to open up and deliver something incredible to us.”

“WHAAAAAA!”

“What the-?” was all Nall was able to get out before he was drenched with water from the spring. Alex and Luna managed to get out of the way, and thus were spared the same fate. For a bizarre moment, Alex actually believed that the Goddess had heard Nall, and decided to deliver.

Nall however, looked like a drowned, flying rat. And he was a little annoyed because of it. This wasn’t how he envisioned receiving boons from Althena.

When the water subsided, they all went over to the edge, looking into the lake.

Luna was amazed.

Alex was surprised.

Nall was upset.

----

All around them, there was nothing but a myriad of colors, blending into one another, always shifting. There was no noise, but the silence of it all deafened them. The light wasn’t bright, but they were blinded all the same.

Twenty-six beings, a combination of humans, Digimon, and two felines hurled through the dimensional void, passing other times, other places, catching only glimpses of some of those times. In one realm, three men, two wearing wrap-around tunics and pants, the other wearing clothing so black he looked like a dark knight, clashed with energy swords, in a contest to prove their prowess. In another realm, acube-shaped vessel destroys a fleet of ships, until a starship, fittingly named Enterprise enters the fray. Then everything blurs again.

Unable to stop, unable to fight, the Digi-Destined and the Sailor Scouts, who were completely unaware of each other, fell through eternity, afall even Sailor Pluto was powerless to stop.

Until they entered one backwater realm…

…and reappeared.

Sixteen of them were promptly drenched.

----

“WHAA!”

With a splash, Izzy fell into a pool of water that, up until that moment, had not existed. He was surprised, as he wasn't expecting to land into a lake.

And he reflected on how he shouldn't be surprised.

He managed to sit up, shaking his head to clear it. After doing so, he looked around, taking in his immediate surroundings. “Hmmm… I appear to be in a reservoir of some sort,” he muttered, his mind making a mental map of everything, “I am in a clearing, and the water is coming from a tap of some kind. Tentomon is sitting right in front of me, and there are everglades in a circular formation…TENTOMON?”

If Tentomon could blink, he would have done so. Out of everything he had expected, seeing his human partner was at the very bottom of the list. “Izzy… IZZY!” The two hugged as best they could. “I can’t believe it! How’ve you been, Izzy?”

“I have been doing astronomically well. And how have you been doing, buddy?”

“Well, other than someone trying to hit me with bug spray, I’m fine. I’m assuming we’re in the real world.”

“Actually, I thought we were in the Digital World. I’m guessing that’s not the case though.”

“Nope,” a voice said behind him. He turned to see the other Digi-Destined and their Digital partners having a happy reunion. After all, it had been almost a year since they had last seen each other. He turned to the one who had said it. ‘/Gomamon,’ /he thought.

“Everyone’s here,” the little aquatic Digimon said, currently trying to get out of Joe’s hands. “And we thought this was Earth.”

“Looks like we were all wrong,” Joe piped. “I think my question was right on the bat. And your fear was ungrounded, Sora. Now, can we please get out of this water? I don’t want to catch a cold at the moment!”

“You get out if you want, Joe. I’ll stay in here.”

Everyone laughed at those two bickering, which was something they had missed, until something made them stop.

“Excuse me,” a curious voice inquired. The Digi-Destined turned, their surprise evident.

On the shoreline, or what passed as a shoreline, two people, a boy and agirl, stood on the bank, looking at them. With them was a cat-like creature that looked like it got drenched. ‘Probably from all of us hitting the water,’ Izzy thought, when arealization struck him. ‘/That was what I heard talking.’/

For a moment, the two groups stared at each other, each group trying to figure out each other out, and whether or not they were friendly. Not one of them moved an inch for what seemed forever, until…

“Hi!” Kari said with her customary openness in full force. “Nice to meet you.” She wadded to shore, not a small feat for a little girl, and managed to get out. “My name’s Kari. This is Gatomon.”

“Hello,” Gatomon said, more cheerful than she was before. Say hello to two girls who liked to meet new people.

The blue-haired girl smiled. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Kari, as well as you, Gatomon.”

Emboldened, because they knew Kari would never say anything to anyone she didn’t trust instinctively, got out of the pool of water as well, with the exception of Gomamon. He just went to the edge. They all started to introduce themselves.

“My names Tai,” the leader of the Digi-Destined said.

“And I’m Agumon.”

“I’m Matt. Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Gabumon.”

“My name is Sora, and it is an honor to meet you.” Sora shook the girl’s hand. “Nice dress,” she observed

“Thank you. Pleasure to meet you.”

“My name is Biyomon. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Izzy. It’s an utmost pleasure to meet you all.” Izzy turned to the flying fur ball. "My apologies for soaking you. It was purely by accident.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been drenched so many times, that it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Oh…um…okay.” He decided that he didn’t want to know how those had come about. Seemed safer that way.

“I’m Tentomon. Nice to meet all of you. You don’t use any bug spray around here, do you?

“What’s bug spray?” Luna asked.

“I’m Mimi,” Mimi said enthusiastically. “Can I get the maker of your dress?”

“Mimi!” Every one else groaned.

“I’m Palmon. You’ve got very fresh water.” She looked at Mimi.“Why’d you ask that Mimi?”

“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” was the only reply Palmon got. She sighed. ‘/Mimi will never change.’/

Joe stuck his hand our. “Nice to meet all of you. I’m Joe. That’s Gomamon.”

“Hi. I’ll agree with Palmon, but for different reasons. This water is fresh. Perfect for swimming.”

Matt shook his head in exasperation. The aquatic one really needed to learn to not tell people that.

T.K. shook hands with the boy. “Hi, my name is T.K.”

“Hello there, T.K. My name is Alex, and this is Nall. You’re pretty mature for one of your age.”

“Thanks…I think. This is Patamon.”

“Hi!” Nall said enthusiastically. Patamon nodded in return.

“Well,” Alex began, as introductions were completed. “I don’t know how you got here, but I’m sure you all need dry clothes, and some hot chocolate to warm up.”

“Great idea!” Agumon turned to the others. “Come on guys, let’s get going.”

“Wait a minute!” Sora shouted. Everyone stopped moving. She turned to their three new acquaintances. “I’m sorry but, can you tell us where we are?”

Luna looked at her in surprise, not really grasping the question. “You’re in the village of Burg, at the center of Caldor Isle,” she said, as if it were completely obvious. “You didn’t know?”

Izzy figured it out at that moment. “Our position has definitely changed in the dimensional vortex. We appear to be in an alternate universe, where the laws of physics are about the same, but there are subtle differences."

“Um…” Alex, Luna, Nall, and the Digi-Destined and their Digimon looked at each other, then at Izzy, and finally back at each other. They came to a conclusion; none of them knew what Izzy had just said.

Except for Mimi apparently. “He means,” she said, “that we’re on another world. It isn’t Earth, and it sure isn’t the Digital World.”

Everyone stared at her in shock. “You…understood what Izzy was saying?” Sora asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Didn’t you? Hey, why are you all staring at me like that? In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t unprecedented.”

The question snapped Tai out of his stupor. She was right, of course. This wasn’t the first time they had gone to a new world. So he turned his gaze back to Alex and his little group. “Do you know where we could dry ourselves off?”

“Oh!Yes, please follow me.” With those words, Luna turned and walked down the forest path, Alex and Nall not far behind her. The Digi-Destined stared after them.

“Do you think we can trust them?” Gabumon asked

Matt shrugged. “We don’t have a choice. After all, none of us know our way around this world, so we’re going to need a guide. Besides, they seem trustworthy enough.”

“Well,” Joe stated, starting to walk in their direction, “I want to be dry at this particular moment. So let’s just follow them.”

They all agreed with him, and with reluctant Palmon and Gomamon in tow, followed Luna into the village of Burg.

----

“…This place is called…Lunar,” Izzy asked, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. “And a fundamental form of magic exists here?Truly bizarre.”

“Not as bizarre as the story you told us,” Nall shot back. “I mean, two worlds intertwined with one another, digital monsters. Come on.”

“Well, we’re living proof,” Agumon stated. “And we are here.”

“Good point.”

“So,” Alex’s father, a man named Noah, asked. “What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

Tai sighed, checking his goggles over. “Well, we don’t know. I just remember a bright flash of light, then falling, and finally landing in water.” He looked over at his clothes, which were drying over at the oven. “I really didn’t need a bath.” He paused after saying that, as something else occurred to him. “And I think I fell on top of-” He cut himself off quickly, blushing a little bit. Sora also went beet red, turning around so no one could see it.

Alex’s mom, whose name was Angelina, saw this little display, and smiled.‘If they are from another dimension, then some things never change,’ she thought, smiling a bit. Out loud, she said,“Perhaps you were sent here by the Goddess.”

Kari looked puzzled. “The Goddess?” she asked, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. ‘Why does that sound familiar?’

“The Goddess Althena,” Luna explained. “She is the protector and creator of this world, and watches over all of us. She loves all, and holds no prejudice to any creature.”

“Althena is also considered a living, breathing person, just like all of us.” Noah shot Izzy a glance. He guessed that the young man was ascientist of some kind, and needed to see something to believe that it was real. “She assumes human form every several years, to see if there is anything she can do to help us. She usually assumes human form for the Goddess Festival, though.”

“Goddess festival? Is that like a carnival?” Palmon asked.

“It’s something like that. We basically reaffirm our belief in Althena’s teachings, and give our thanks.” Angelina smiled. "We also have a little more fun than usual."

“Most of us, anyway,” Alex muttered, shooting a look at Nall. Nall simply shrugged.

T.K. frowned for a second, his face scrunching up. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Goddess Festival is celebrated by drinking, playing games, and singing, right? And most people do it to reaffirm their belief in… Althena? … Which is probably the only part of the whole thing she doesn’t care for.”

Alex looked at him for a second, surprised that he had managed to figure that all out. “Yeah. How did you…know that?”

“I…don’t…know.” T.K. was surprised that even he knew that, like he had been to aGoddess Festival before. ‘How’d I know that? I’m only eight years old, and I’ve never been here before. Wait aminute. Did I just act all grownup?’

Unbeknownst to T.K., Patamon, Gatomon, and Kari were watching him discreetly. They had all been ready to say the same exact thing, but he had beaten them to it. “Told ya,” Patamon whispered. Gatomon just nodded, as she had believed him from the start.

Matt was also watching his younger brother, only with concern on his face. The fact that he had managed to give the rest of them an explanation was nothing short of amazing. ‘T.K.’s not acting like himself, and he knows things that he shouldn’t. And what about everything that he told us before we were sent here? Is there aconnection?’

Noah stared at the young boy for a moment, a suspicious thought occurring to him. /‘Could he be one of them?’ /he thought for a moment. ‘No, they would have been here as mortals. But still…’

The somber moment was broken when Alex remembered something. “Oh, yeah! Sorry if I sound impersonal guys, but it’s kind of important.”

“Sure. Mimi and I are just going to go get back into our clothes,” Sora replied. “Our clothes should be dry enough by now.” She turned to Luna. “Is it all right if we use your room?" Luna nodded. “Thanks.”

As soon as the two female Digi-Destined had closed the door, Alex said,“Dad, Luna, myself, and Nall are going to the White Dragon Cave.”

“What?” Noah was surprised, to say the least. He hadn’t expected that so soon. He had been hoping for another two years. “You want to travel to the White Dragon’s Cave… by yourselves?”

Matt looked over at Gabumon. /White Dragon Cave? /He mouthed.

Gabumon shrugged. /No idea/.

“Well, not by ourselves. We’ll be with Ramus. Is it all right with you?” Alex knew what he wanted to do, but if his dad thought it was too dangerous to attempt, then Luna was right; it wasn’t worth worrying them about.

Noah was silent for a couple of minutes, as he thought about it. “It’s your time, isn’t it?” he finally said, smiling. “Of course you can go, Alex.”

‘Yes!’Alex thought triumphantly.

“Here, take this,” Noah continued, holding something up. Alex saw that it was a dagger, complete with strap on sheathe. He took it wordlessly.

“And this might be easier for you to use, Luna,” He handed her asling and rock pouch. “We can’t let the two of you go inside the cave without weapons.”

“Good point, Dad.” Alex couldn’t believe that his dad was helping him. Wasn’t it the parent’s job to try and dissuade their children from doing potentially dangerous things?

“Oh, and I almost forgot!” Noah dug into his pocket, and pulled something out. “Take this ring.” He tossed the item to Alex. "You never know when you might need it.”

“Thanks, Dad. I... I guess I owe you one.” Alex turned to leave, when adiscreet cough reminded them that they had guests. “Sorry about that, guys.”

“Don’t worry. You’re very excited about this.” Kari looked back at the rest of her friends. “Actually, I was wondering if Icould ask you something.”

“Sure. What is it?” Alex was intrigued.

“Can we…Can we…come with you guys?”

Everyone stared at her in amazement, except, once again, T.K., Patamon, and Gatomon. They had been ready to ask that question themselves.

“You’re sure you want to?” Luna asked, a little surprised.

“Well, yeah.” Initially caught off guard by Kari’s question, Tai started grinning. “I mean it can’t be anymore dangerous than the Digital World. And we need to find a way to get back to our world anyways. Besides, I get the feeling that we’re going to be stuck here for a while, so we might as well do something. Count us in!”

Everyone nodded enthusiastically at this. Gatomon looked almost cheerful, and Patamon was about ready to make cartwheels in the air.

“You can count us in too,” Sora said, coming out in the clothes that she had worn in the Digital World. Mimi, in her pink dress, her trademark hat in place on her head, was looking fresher than she did a few minutes before. “We may even be able to find a way back to our world as well.”

“All right,” Nall exclaimed. “Now I can learn more about you guys!” Turning back to Noah, he asked, “Is there anything else?”

“Anything else...” Noah pondered for a moment. “There are a few things in the basement chests you might need.”

“Thanks again, Dad,” Alex said. “Do you have any idea of where the Dragon Cave is?”

“It’s about a few days journey. To reach the cave, you must travel north of Burg, then travel east around the mountain range.”

“Thank you, sir,” Biyomon and Sora said at once, Sora bowing to him.

“You’re welcome. Promise me you’ll be careful, all of you.”

“We promise!” Eleven voices chorused.

----

“This is gonna be great!” Nall gushed, flying ahead of the others. His eyes held a twinkle that could only be described as merriment. After Alex had given the Digi-Destined a tour of their relatively small house, they had gotten what was in the chests, which turned out to be an herb, an angel tear, and what Noah called a dragonfly wing, which could teleport them to the entrance of any dungeon they were in. “It would prove extremely useful,” he had said.

“So the herb is for healing bodily wounds,” Tentomon recounted, going over the impromptu lesson they had all just had, “the Starlight is for refreshing ones magic power, and the Angel Tears is in the extreme case that one of us knocked out. Does that sound about right?”

“You’ve got a good memory. On our way to the Dragon Cave, we’ll tell you as much as we know about Lunar. You can tell us everything about your world.”

“All right, you’ve got yourself a deal,” Biyomon stated. “It will be a promising start for a friendship at least.”

As they approached the entrance, several girls nearly swooned when Alex nodded to them, prompting the Digi-destined to laugh, the Digimon to be confused, and Luna to glare at the girls. Mimi saw this, and kept a giggle to herself.

When they reached the entrance, Patamon asked, “Is there anyone else coming with us? Or is this all?”

Luna frowned, looking around. “Well...there is one other person…”

“Hey, Alex!”

“…and there he is,” she finished lamely.

Ramus came running up to them, panting as if he had run a marathon. “Sorry to keep you waiting!” He finally caught his breath."Everything’s all set…so let’s get going, Alex!”

“All right,” Alex replied. “By the way, there are a few more people coming with us than originally assumed. Luna for instance.”

“What?Luna is coming with us?” Ramus looked surprised at this, but then smiled. “Well, that’s okay… I guess.”

Luna looked at him pleadingly. “I want to see the white dragon, too!Please don’t leave me out of this, Ramus!”

Ramus looked at Alex, his smile broadening. “If it’s fine with Alex,” he stated, “then it's fine with me.” He turned to the others. “And…you are…?”

Introductions were quickly made, as none of them wanted to wait any longer. Ramus punctuated it by saying, “I’ll learn more about you guys on our way there. Meanwhile,” and with that remark, he made awide sweeping gesture with his hand, “let’s go find the White Dragon!”

“Yeah!” Tai said, and together, they walked out of Burg.

If only they knew what was going to happen.

----

The trees at the outskirts of town rustled for a second, as if someone or something had been there, watching them.

Then all was silent again.

----

For what seemed like a lifetime, though it was only a few minutes, Amy Mizuno and the other Sailor Scouts fell through what seemed like eternity. All of them saw images that were entirely unknown to them, some extremely vivid, other’s only in passing. The rest of it was only a myriad of colors.

Finally though, the Scouts could see again. Unfortunately, what they saw made them wish that they were still blind, as what they saw was the ground coming up fast! Thankfully, none of them were too shocked at this, as they had dealt with weirder in their short lives.

Reacting quickly, Amy twisted in midair so her feet were facing the ground, pulling her transformation pen out and shouting “Mercury Star Power!” in one motion. She had fully transformed by the time she reached the ground. That way, when she hit, all she felt was a minor discomfort well through her legs. Her landing caused aslight shockwave to occur as the impact created a small crater.

Mina, Lita, and Rei had also transformed, but they landed far more gracefully, and with no shockwave to account for it. They had always been more skilled in the more acrobatic aspect of their respective discipline. Pluto, her powers now back under her complete control, teleported down to the ground the second she had her sight back. Rini, Luna and Artemis floated down to Earth, encased in a pink bubble Rini had created quickly. Serena was spared her usual falling flat on her face, as she was cradled in Tuxedo Mask’s arms.

Greg, who had no special powers like the rest of them, nor the training necessary to prepare himself, did it the old fashion way. He hit face first; hard and with extreme prejudice.

“Greg!Are you all right?” Mercury cried out, running to where he had landed. She prayed that he wasn’t seriously hurt.

Greg simply waved a hand in her direction, slowly getting up. When he was finally back on his feet, he gave himself a once over, taking note of all of the dirt. He had just gotten those clothes clean the other day too. The indignity of it all.

Other than that, he was fine, which confused him to no end. He wasn’t about to look another gift horse in the mouth though, so he filed it in his mental ‘check another day when I am not in mortal danger’ file. “I’m fine, Amy,” he said, checking to see if his vocal cords were working, and being surprised that they were. Considering the fact that he had landed flat on his face, literally, the fact he could speak at all without spitting out all of his teeth was a miracle.

Now that everyone was accounted for, and had everything attached, Sailor Mars looked around, taking in her surroundings. “Where in the name of the moon are we?” Everyone knew that she was asking Mercury, who could figure out just about anything. Of course, she wasn’t expecting an answer, either.

“Do I look like I know?” Mercury shot back irritably. She was extremely edgy, and for the first time in her life, spoiling for afight. The others noticed this, and started backing away quickly. Mars tensed subtly, waiting for her to attack. An angry Amy was an Amy you treaded carefully around, regardless of who you were…unless you were a meatball-head girl who was fearless when it came to dealing with her friends.

“Whoa, Ames!” Serena quickly moved in between them before they could even think about hurting each other. Sailor Mercury was a very dangerous woman in her own right when she was mad, as she proved against both Beryl and the Negamoon family. “She just asked aquestion, and it’s a perfectly simple one! And we know you don’t know! So please, don’t hurt anyone!”

Mercury began to take deep breaths, trying to keep her emotions in check. She had never felt so angry before in her life. ‘Probably from the lack of sleep, and not knowing what is going on.’ But thankfully, she had been angry before, and knew how to deal with it. And Serena was right, all Rei did was ask a question. She had no right to take her frustrations out on her.

When she had calmed down significantly, she turned to Mars and said, “I’m sorry, Rei. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m just…tired.”

Mars just smiled, grateful to have her head still attached. “Don’t worry about it, Ames. It’s just that you have never yelled at anyone like that before.” She looked around. “So now what do we do now?”

“Well, we can’t stay here,” Jupiter replied, looking around with just a touch of paranoia. “How bout we try and find some civilization before we get attacked?”

Greg was now next to Mercury. “Good idea. And strangely enough, I’ve got a feeling that it’s this way.” He pointed in one direction.

Mercury’s computer and visor were out almost immediately, and she scanned in the direction that Greg was pointing. She blinked, astonished.“You’re right,” she said. And the funny thing was that she was right too. She had been ready to scan in that direction anyway. “There is a structure near the base of mountain, about ten miles distance.”

“If there’s a town or something there, then let’s get going. Maybe we can get some answers as to where we are.”

Serena started walking after he had said that, Darien right behind her. Mercury watched them go, and shrugged. “Guess we’ll figure it out later,” she muttered to Greg. Greg nodded in agreement, smiling weakly. They followed them, having no other option.

As they walked, the Scouts observed that the air was not only breathable, but fresh. Not fresh as in, it was not stale. Fresh as in the absence of automobile and factory smoke fresh. They found it awelcome change of pace, even though they weren’t used to it. And, for some strange reason, Mercury and Greg found the land they were walking on comfortably…familiar. They didn’t know why though.

Rini stared at the two with a look of concern on her face. She wanted to know what Luna P and Rei meant when they said that one of those two had more power than two Silver Crystals combined. No force could be more powerful than the Silver Crystal. Her mommy had taught her that when she was old enough to know. So having the weakest of the Sailor Scouts, a fact even Amy had stated to them all, and a person who was a Rainbow Crystal Carrier having more power than the entire Sailor Scout team combined was…weird, in her eight year old mind’s opinion.

But at the same time, she knew that no one could answer those questions yet. Not until they had more information. Information that was not going to be forthcoming for quite a while. And she was more concerned about Amy and Greg than she was of that mystery.

“I’m worried about them,” she said, talking to Luna. “I mean, Luna P couldn’t even find out what that power was, Amy and Greg aren’t getting a lot of sleep these days, and it’s starting to make them grouchy.”

“We know Rini,” Artemis sighed, “but with Greg, that’s normal. He can work around it with little difficulty. It’s Amy I’m more concerned about. She doesn’t have any experience at all in this kind of matter. It’s already starting to exact atoll on her.”

“Now we’re in this strange place, and I have a feeling there is aconnection between their dreams, and this place.” Rini continued to stare at the ground in thought. “And I know that there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

Luna looked at her with a bit of pride. Her attention to detail was atribute she was going to get from her father, it seemed. “You will make a formidable Sailor Scout in the future,” she told the Crystal Tokyo princess, “because I had the same thought as well.”

“As did I,” Artemis added, looking at Greg’s back with athoughtful stare. “But we need to find out where we are first, before we find any connection between here and that white light that brought us here. That way, we’ll be one step closer to figuring out what Pluto and Mars saw in their minds. You will need to hold on to your curiosity until then.”

“Oh, okay Artemis.”

They managed to walk for several hours without running into any problems. They did see a great deal of wildlife. Serena and Mina were particularly taken by the rabbits, while Mercury found it odd that there would be creatures indigenous to Earth on this planet. Then she had looked up.

When she had seen the Earth above them though, she was not surprised. What surprised her was that she was not surprised. It was if she had viewed it many times before like this. She noted that Greg was having the same reaction, and decided to talk to him about it later. First though... “Pluto, do you think it’s possible that we are on moon, during the time of the Moon Kingdom?” she asked, as she heard Serena and the others gasp, or meow in shock as they looked up.

Pluto thought about it long and hard. “No,” she finally stated, looking very worried. “The Moon Kingdom had a breathable atmosphere, but its sky was predominately night. It never had a blue sky at all.”

“Well, that blows that theory,” Amy began calming the rest of the girls down before they started panicking. She succeeded in bringing their histrionics to a bearable level.

Finally, after the group therapy session, Serena stomach began to grumble. It was a signal of danger, as Serena was a complete menace if she wasn’t fed. Amy and the others knew this from personal experience. Even Rini began to start looking around for anything, a carrot, a piece of broccoli. ‘My kingdom for a place with food,’ Amy pleaded. ‘Hell, I’d give my kingdom for a carrot right about now!’

As if to answer her prayers, she saw something over the horizon that looked like a building. Getting her computer and visor out of their sub-space pocket, she scanned the structure. Her earlier thoughts were confirmed. It was a building of some kind. What was amazing about it was that it was built right into the mountain. Not carved./Built./ She could worry about that later, as they had a more pressing situation on their hands. “Hey guys!” she called out, getting even Serena’s attention. “I think I found some shelter about three kilometers to our right! Maybe they’ll have some food for us.”

“That would be nice,” Serena moaned, her hands already clutching her stomach in hunger.

As they approached, they noted that the structure was made of a material similar to marble, and boasting an impression of a female wearing atoga. “Reminds me of a Greek Temple I once saw,” Mina whispered to Lita. Lita nodded, too impressed to answer.

Serena wasn’t staring at the temple, like everyone else. Instead, she was starting to become sluggish. “Does it have food in there?” she asked dumbly, already starting to foam at the mouth, figuratively speaking.

“I don’t know,” Mercury groaned, her own appetite making her edgier than she already was. It was all she could do not to shriek in frustration. She was definitely on the verge of a total breakdown.

Pluto noticed this, and moved nearer to Greg. “I don’t think that Serena is the only one who needs nourishment at the moment,” she murmured to him.

Greg looked at her and replied, “Well I know how she feels like, because that’s what I’m feeling right now.” Greg turned his gaze back to the temple. “I also feel like I’ve been here before.”

“Where do you think you have been somewhere like this before?”

“No I mean I feel like I’ve been here before,” Greg emphasized. “/This/ temple. This mountain.” Agrowling interrupted his explanation. “This hunger,” he finished jokingly.

“I was more on the lines of Mercury’s current attitude,” Pluto stated wryly. “It isn’t how she usually acts. On the moon, Queen Serenity once said that Mercury’s emotional temperate made her seem like a Goddess. I don’t think she ever saw this level of worry.”

Greg thought about it before answering. “For starters, we’re not on the moon anymore. Amy is not really a princess anymore. Twentieth Century life is considerably more dangerous right now than the Silver Millennium ever was. And again, I know how she feels. I’m just a lot better at hiding my feelings than she is.” Greg’s gaze shifted to Serena, who was now drooling like a tap. “I just hope there is food in there, otherwise Serena’s going to go ballistic.”

“I agree.”

As it turned out, the place did have food, as it helped road weary travelers who were low on provisions and needed a place to stay for the night. A young woman named Jessica met them at the door, greeting them and then ushering them in without any suspicion in her stance. And as Amy watched Serena mow through the food like she was awrestler, she was glad that the woman did. A few more minutes, and the moon princess would have begun biting off one of her own legs… or one of theirs.

While they ate, the majority of them, minus Serena for obvious reasons, began to question the priests and priestesses as to where they were. The answers they obtained, though, gave Amy and Greg more questions. Questions that no one had the answers to.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jessica replied. She had introduced herself to them while she had handing out plates. “We get a lot of people with big appetites around here. It’s usually the norm.”

“Yeah, kinda like you Jess,” one of the other apprentices spoke up, her voice filled with good humor.

Jessica looked a little put off by this. “Hey, I’m half beast man! I can’t help it if I have a big appetite!” she protested. The others laughed at this.

Mina was the first to calm down. “I have a question, Jessica. I have a fascination in temples. Could you tell me who this temple was erected for?” she asked.

The entire order of people there stopped moving around to turn and stare at Mina as if she had grown a second head, or something. “You’re joking…right?” Jessica asked, as if where they were was obvious to every last one of them.

“Ummmmmm…no?”

Thankfully, Amy managed to come to the rescue before a major diplomatic incident could happen. Now that her stomach was full, she was more capable of playing peacekeeper. “What my friend means,” she said hastily, “is that she was wondering the name of the temple is.” She ignored Mina’s confused gaze, keeping her eyes on Jessica. The last thing they needed was to be tossed out on their asses because of a little misunderstanding.

Jessica looked relieved. “Oh! Well, we call it the Goddess Tower. It’s the primary place of worship for our religion, as well as the home of Althena, our Goddess.”

“Do you know if there are any settlements around here?” Darien asked, his tone that of a man wishing to learn everything there was to know about his current surroundings. “You see, we’re somewhat new to this neck of the woods.”

Jessica thought about it long and hard. “Well,” she said,“there’s my hometown, Meribia, which is just a week’s journey from here. We can give you food and some money for spending purposes.”

Amy perked up a bit. At long last something good had come of this.“Thanks for the help.” She bowed graciously to their new acquaintance, thinking of something else. “There is one thing Iwant to ask though.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Jessica replied, looking curious.

“Is it all right for Serena and Rini to stay here, until we get back?” Amy looked over at her friend, ignoring Rini’s sudden death glare. “It will allow us to reach Meribia, and keep her safe.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who says we’re staying here?” Serena shouted, looking extremely shocked at this. She stared at Amy with an expression of dismay. Rini just glared at her for a moment longer before returning back to her meal.

Greg spoke up before the situation escalated to a dangerous level. “No offense Serena, but you have less impulse control, in terms of eating, than Mike Tyson. Also we kinda need to keep you two safe. It/is/ the girl’s duty, after all.”

Serena looked rather strangely at their rainbow crystal carrier companion.“Uh…right. And where pray tell are you all going?” she asked.

“Well, Greg and myself will head in the general direction of Meribia,” Amy stated, then asked, “Is there anywhere else we can try?”

Another priest spoke up. “The magic floating city of Vane. It circles the Goddess Tower into an eternal shield of protection.” He started to look around for something, found it, and unrolled it. Amy noticed that it was a map of Lunar. “There is a transmission spring that’s just a three day journey from here.”

“That’s it?” Rei asked, her curiosity piqued. As a Shinto priestess, she had learned some very powerful spells, some helpful, some very dangerous. Many a criminal had learned that the hard way never to try and rob from her Grandfather’s temple.

“Okay. Can you give us the application please? That way, we can get into the city legally.” Rei stretched her arms out to work some kinks out of her body.

“Sure.” Jessica handed the applications over to them. “You need anything else?”

“Well, we need some currency, as well as food for the journey, which you are already giving us.’ Amy thought some more. “We also need a map of the area. So we don’t get lost.”

An older priest looked around for a moment. “Ah! Here we are,” he exclaimed, pulling out a map that not only seemed like it had just been freshly made, but had a metallic sheen to it. Amy noted that it seemed to shimmer in the light.

The priest handed it over to Amy. “I hope this will suffice,” was all he said.

Amy looked at it long and hard. “I think it will.”

After a collective number of good-byes, minus the cats, both who had elected to stay with Serena, the other Scouts began their journey to Meribia. Darien was understandably saddened about leaving Serena and Rini behind, but his beloved assured them that they would be all right. Now, with backpacks laden with food, as well as money pouches now tied around their waists, they began walking.

For three days they walked, meeting up with several other groups along the way, all who were very kind to them. Through them, they learned alittle bit about the world they had landed on. It proved very advantageous.

When they reached the Transmission Spring, Amy and the others hugged each other goodbye. “You show them what magic is all about,” Greg had added, much to the amusement of Jupiter. Then Amy and Greg continued on their way.

As they did, they talked about their lives, dreams, fears, just anything that came to them. Greg was not surprised that Amy’s dream was becoming a doctor. Amy was not surprised that Greg wanted to become abusinessman. Both had a fear of the unknown, and both apparently loved to fly.

“Boy, I must be the luckiest girl in these parts,” Amy stated after alengthily pause on the last day of their journey. "I have the cutest guy in the whole of Lunar."

Greg looked at her, surprised. She had loosened up considerably since they had started on their journey, and it showed.

Amy winked at him. Now that she had been in presence a great deal, she had relaxed, and was enjoying the chance to be with him. “I’ve been enjoying this little journey of ours immensely. Being able to simply walk around without worrying whether or not I’m going to be late for something is… quite invigorating.”

“It's strange. Apparently we’re discovering parts of ourselves that we have never even noticed before. I never thought that I'd hear those words out of your mouth.” Greg immediately realized something. “It’s kind of like our dreams.”

Amy looked at him, that same look realization on her face. “You’re right, Greg. It does seem like that.” She grinned. "Oh well. I'm enjoying this. I mean, we've never really just... talked before."

“It’s interesting, but then again, we’ve never really had the chance to.”

For the rest of the day, they continued to walk, stopping only to have aquick lunch. They both had a lot on their minds, and both were silent as they walked. Finally though, Amy had to speak. “Those dreams…” she began.

“I know. They don’t make any sense,” Greg finished for her.“But we’ll soon be in Meribia. Maybe we’ll find some answers when we get there. And I have a feeling that we’re not the only ones looking for answers. Do you think you can remain calm until then?”

Amy turned her gaze to him. “How can you remain calm?” she asked, allowing her frustration to bleed into her tone. At long last, she could express her worries without judgment, and she wasn’t going to pass the opportunity up. “I’m about ready to fall to pieces, and you’re walking like you don’t have acare in world! What in the Goddess’s name is your secret?” She immediately wondered why she had said goddess in that sentence, but she didn’t continue on that train of thought.

“A lifetime of having dreams of the future,” was his simple reply.“I’ve never had dreams like these before, but the basic principle is the same. I just simply take them at face value, then Ifigure out which is dreams, and which is real. It saves me a whole lot of trouble.”
She gazed at him, understanding dawning in her mind. “You’re right,” she finally said, sighing softly. “I’ll try to remain calm. It’s just that I don’t like knowing anything.”

“You know what, Ames? Neither do I.” He turned his gaze to stare into her eyes. They were still watching each other as they entered the port city of Meribia. Somehow, they knew that they were going to get some answers soon.

Okay, I have finally done it. I have finally completed grammar corrections to Season One of my first story ever. It only took me several months to do it. Now, right at the moment, it's pretty tame for this season. The relationships will be slow in developing. Just let me know how it is.