The Moonlight Densetsu Chronicles
A Waking Nightmare!
Willow's Trip Through The Looking Glass

by SithLordWiccan

Copyright (c) 2010

decepticons_4_ever@hotmail.com

Rating: R (for violence and gore)
Uber-Setting: Sailor Moon
Disclaimer: Willow, Tara and other Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, UPN, 20th Century Fox and others. Sailor Moon concepts and characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
Through the Looking-glass
Feedback: Much appreciated and much requested. It helps nourish the soul.
Spoilers: None
Author's Notes: For more information about Sailor Moon, check out its entry on Wikipedia.
Pairing: Willow/Tara

Chapter 1    Chapter 2    Chapter 3

Six Hours Earlier

"I'd really like to know what it was you were thinking when you decided to betray your friends."

Standing on the floor in front of the chair Anya was sitting in, Artemis looked up at her with an expression of disappointment. To be honest, Anya could understand why, but that didn't mean she had to take that accusation lying down. "I didn't betray them. I was...doing what needed to be done."

"I can understand why you would want to do that," Artemis sympathized, though some of the edge in his voice remained. "But what did you hope to avoid by going over to the enemy?"

Anya let out a sigh and looked out the window. "What's already happened; prevent the Princess from awakening." She turned her gaze back to Artemis. "You know what she was like. And now with Tara gone, it's only going to get worse. If Willow loses control of her new power, the Princess will wake up again, and nothing will stop her from getting what she wants." A continuation of her retort was halted by a wave of dizziness, and she brought her hand up and shut her eyes, trying to stop her sudden feelings of nausea.

Artemis leapt up onto the table beside the chair, concern for his charge's welfare rising. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

"Not a lot of time left for me," came the reply. "I went to the Doctor after...the battle. He says my condition's getting worse, no doubt due to the stress and overexertion I'm putting myself under. He says I'm likely to be dead inside the month if I don't stop."

"Then maybe you should."

Anya looked towards Artemis, surprised that the one who had trained her, her guardian and, for lack of a better term, best friend, could have said that. Of all the people she had expected that sort of thing from, he was the absolute last. "What?"

"You've done enough to help the others understand the dangers of what they face and get them prepared to deal with it. You don't have to keep going on like this. Take some time to rest, savour what time you have left and let the weight of the world fall on the shoulders of someone else."

Anya got up and turned to look at Artemis. "How can you say that? How...how can you even think that? I can't just go on the sidelines and leave my friends alone, especially now." Her dizziness came back then, and she moved to sit back down. "In any case, who really cares if I work myself to death? After what's happened, I doubt anyone would really care if I just upped and died tomorrow."

A pregnant silence followed, broken a few moments later by Artemis' whispered, "I would."

Anya's eyebrows raised in surprise as she turned around to look at the feline. "What?"

Artemis cleared his throat. "Anya, I've been by your side for a long time, and I'd like to think that we've come to know each other as more than partners. I'd like to think that we're...friends. But I only know you as Sailor Venus, the Soldier of Love and Beauty, leader of the Sailor Soldiers, guardians of Princess Serenity. I'd...I'd like to know Anya Jenkins a little better. What's her favourite color? What did she want to be when she was growing up?"

Anya smiled, moving to wipe away the tears that were running down her cheek, and gave Artemis a good rub on the head, coming to a decision right then and there. "I'm...I think I'm going to have that operation I told Cordelia about. I owe it to the others...especially Cordelia."

Thinking of her brunette companion gave her pause to think of how she had treated her during their last battle. At the time, she hadn't cared enough to feel anything about breaking her heart. Now, of course, she felt differently. They had bonded so much, and she had to try to fix that bridge before it collapsed.

And, if nothing else, Anya was a fighter. She moved to pick up her cell phone, then paused, realizing that she had no reason to believe that Cordelia would have held onto her own. So, after grabbing the phone book from underneath the coffee table and looking through it for her house phone number, she dialled it instead. After two rings, she got the following message.

"I'm sorry. You're number cannot be completed as dialled."

***

Twelve Hours Later

Cordelia ran though the open field, the folds of her expensive dress billowing in the breeze behind her. The freshness of the air penetrated her lungs, making her steps as light and bouncy as her elaborately done up hair. She fell to the ground and giggled like a schoolgirl, rolling along the grass, enjoying the simple pleasure it brought to her.

"Cordy!"

The voice was followed by a thunderclap that shattered the cheerful sunny day around Cordelia into a thousand shards of tinkling glass, causing her to slip into a freefall towards a bottomless pit of darkness. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged.

"Sweetie, are you awake?"

***

"Sweetie, are you awake?"

Cordelia's eyes fluttered open as she bolted upright, the sheets of her bed wrapped around herself and, much like her pyjamas, covered in cold sweat. It had obviously been a terrible nightmare she had just went through, until she recalled her current state of affairs and realized two things: her nightmare was very real, and her experience of it was far from over.

"Sweetie, are you OK?"

Cordelia swallowed, trying to calm her jackhammer beating heart, and responded to the voice. "Come in, Mom."

The door opened, and her mother walked into the room. "Are you OK, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine, Mom," she lied in response, apparently not as convincingly as she had hoped, as her mother crossed her arms over her chest, and gave her a knowing stare. Deflated, she let out a sigh. "OK, I'm not."

"I know, sweetie," her mother replied. "It's hard for all of us." A faint smile appeared on her face. "I have to admit, however, that I'm impressed at how well you're handling the situation. There was a time when you would have thrown a temper tantrum at the slightest provocation unless you got your way. Now you're looking at the situation around you and dealing with it like a strong young woman would." She sniffled, and Cordelia could see repressed tears in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you, honey." Without another word, she got up and walked out of the room.

Cordelia sat on the bed for a few seconds, contemplated what she had just been told. Her life had indeed taken a great deal of twists and turns; a member of Sunnydale's elite, yet treated like a pariah because of her supposed visions, then learning that said visions were a part of her former life; a superhero with a destiny she had once wanted no part of, but now had a strong conviction towards. The life of her best friend was in danger; in comparison, any problems she might have seemed pitiful by comparison.

Fighting back the urge to cry, she got up, moved to pick up her bathrobe, and headed for the washroom.

***

"So you broke up?"

"I had to. It...it was the right decision."

"Forgive me, Buffy, but if you were as confident about that as you say you are, you wouldn't be here to see me, would you?"

"I...I guess not, Mr. Wood."

Buffy sat across from Robin Wood, the school's counsellor, giving away her nervousness by randomly crisscrossing her legs. The events of the past day had gnawed away at her, and she had an overwhelming urge to talk to someone about it. Seeing as though the only person she could talk to in these particular circumstances, however, was someone likely to declare her crazy, she felt she had to embellish the truth slightly.

"Why not?"

Buffy fidgeted. "I don't know. I mean, I like Riley a whole lot. I really do. But...anytime I get a little happiness in my life, it gets taken away from me."

"And you feel that if you stay with this guy, you'll lose him through means you can't control?"

Buffy nodded in agreement. "Sounds silly, I know."

Robin shrugged. "I don't know. Sounds more like a teenage girl in love." He leaned forward to pick up his coffee mug. "And to be honest, I can't really help you out with that."

"How come?" Buffy asked, her voice crossing the border from disappointed to whiny without ever coming close to sad.

Robin smiled. "Because when it comes to love, there are no easy answers."

***

"I can fight evil monsters and save the world, but I can't handle being in love?"

Buffy left the office with that question on her mind, the building starting to fill up with her fellow students as the bell signalled the start of a new school day. As she moved to go to her homeroom, she felt a hand on her shoulder. On reflex, she slammed her elbow into the person's stomach.

"Ow!"

Buffy spun around to face her assailant to find Amy bent over backward, her books on the floor and her arm over her stomach. Instantly apologetic, Buffy quickly moved to help Amy catch her breath and pick up her dropped schoolwork.

"Sorry."

Amy let out a pained cough in response, catching her breath in order to give a short "It's OK" in reply. Handing over her Math book, Buffy asked, "So...what's up, Amy?"

"I...I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Willow."

"What about her?"

Amy shifted uncomfortably on one foot, and Buffy immediately detected a change in the air around her. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that Amy was becoming...confrontational.

"Well, you've hung around her a lot lately, and since she doesn't really talk to me anymore, I have no way of finding out if there's anything wrong with her. I'd go to her mother, but I suppose I'd have better luck trying to talk to her bedroom wall. In any case, I wanted to ask if you noticed anything...strange about her."

Buffy hesitated, not entirely sure how to respond to the question. She did indeed know more about the situation than she really wanted to let on, but didn't think it was a good idea to actually discuss it in present company. On the other hand, Amy was clearly concerned about her best friend, especially since it was obvious how much they had drifted apart, and was clearly not going to leave her alone unless she got an answer.

"Yeah," she replied. "I have."

Amy glared at Buffy, her change in attitude now readily apparent. "So what have you done about it?"

Even though she had been expecting it, the tone of voice in which the accusation had been flung at her caught her off guard. "Excuse me?"

Amy glared daggers at Buffy. "Ever since you got here, Willow's been acting all strangely; staying out all night, lying about where she's been, becoming moody and depressed for no reason, and treating her real friends like the crap she would scrape off her shoe. And while I've been trying to figure out what's been going on, you've known this whole time, and chose to...I don't know, play cheerleader and screw around with your boyfriend?"

Already on edge with Amy, Buffy felt her self control go when Rilely was mentioned. And despite knowing full well that, with a history as sordid as hers, she could likely get expelled for what she was about to do, she couldn't let Amy get away with treating her like that. Thankfully, a new voice interjected, saving her the trouble.

"Leave her alone!"

Buffy turned to see Fred standing behind her, hands on her hips and with an expression she had not seen on her face since her brief time as Dark Mercury. "I mean it, Amy. Leave Buffy alone. She's done nothing to you."

Amy was clearly not impressed by Fred's attempt to stand up for Buffy. "Back off, brainie. I don't know why Willow would want to hang around with her, but it's obvious where she got her bad attitude. And being around you obviously didn't better. Now she thinks she's smarter than the rest of us, and doesn't feel it worth her time to hang around with the intellectually challenged." It was clear that Amy still had some fight in her, but it was equally clear to her that she was outnumbered, so she gathered up her wits and walked off without another word.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Buffy turned and headed towards Fred, visibly thankful that the embarrassing incident that was about to happen had been avoided. "Thanks."

The pair headed off to class, but stopped next to the doorway. "Have you heard from Willow?" Fred asked.

"Not since last night," Buffy admitted. "I got the impression that she didn't want to be disturbed, so after we brought her home, I just headed home myself. You?"

"Likewise," Fred answered, looking into the classroom, then back towards Buffy. "So how come she's not here?"

Buffy likewise stuck her head inside the classroom, failing to find Willow seated at any of the desks. "What? Where is she?"

Fred pulled Buffy away from the door and dragged her down the hallway away from the classroom. "I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this."

"You don't think...that Faith got her too, do you?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Fred said after a moment's hesitation. "I don't think any of us would be here now if she did."

"But that doesn't make it easier to answer the question about where she is right now," Buffy pointed out.

"She's probably at home still," Fred conjectured. "She probably convinced her mother to phone the school and say she was sick. I wouldn't blame her, really."

"We should go check on her," Buffy suggested. Fred's eyes widened at that. "What?"

"I mean...we should cut class."

"Again?"

"Why not? It worked before, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but that was because we had outside help. I don't think we can get away with it now."

"How come?"

"Because you've had the lack of smarts to announce doing so in front of a teacher."

Buffy and Fred spun around to find Miss Calendar standing behind them, the expression on her face one of utter disappointment. "I expected better from the two of you." She shifted her attention to Fred. "Especially you, Miss Burkle. You were once one of my best students. But lately your work's been slipping, not to mention that period where you displayed very serious antisocial behaviours."

"But Miss Calendar..."

Miss Calendar raised her hand. "Please, Elizabeth. You're already in enough trouble as it is. Don't make things worse for yourself. You're both to have detention with me after class. Be thankful I don't report this to Principal Snyder. Now get to class."

Buffy and Fred visibly deflated at that, knowing that they had been defeated. Following Miss Calendar back to the classroom, they moved to sit down at their desks, resigned to the fact that, while their concern for Willow was still evident, at least she was likely to be in a better position than they were.

Chapter 2
I Don't Think We're In Sunnydale Anymore

Willow wandered down the deserted street, the only sound aside from the random flashes of thunder and lightening and the blowing wind being her own footfalls. Every time the thunder cracked, she flinched, sudden loud noises in a nearly silent environment doing little to calm her down. At least she managed to find humor in the fact that the situation made her recall a snippet of information she had recalled her psychology teacher say as a joke. It was offbeat, but she had to admit that it was also amusing. It was also her only means of maintaining calm in a situation rapidly losing any semblance of a credible reason for her to do so.

Walking up to an abandoned house, her steps began to falter. Something in the back of her mind was telling her not to go inside, lest she find herself in danger. Then she recalled than in this strange backwards world, danger was around every corner. And in any case, she had faced down much worse horrors in the past few months in her role as Sailor Moon. Nothing in that house could frighten her.

That belief was immediately shattered upon seeing the carnage evident inside the house. No. That wasn't correct. "Carnage" didn't even begin to describe how to describe the scene she saw inside.

The entryway was strewn with dead bodies in various poses and states of decomposition, all of them expressing on their faces extreme fear and terror; the entire group quite literally scared to death. At the far end of the room, Willow recognized someone. Eyes widening, she made her way over to the body as quickly and carefully as she could and knelt down beside the young woman's glazed eyes.

"Oh, Amy," she said, moving to close her eyes. "What happened to you? What happened to all of you?"

A bloodcurdling cackle filled the room, almost in response to the question. Willow followed it to the backyard of the house, looking up at the sundeck attached to the house's second floor to find a familiar figure perched upon it like a vulture.

"Buffy?"

Buffy cocked her head at the question. "Look at the little birdie bird. Making noise, but no one home to hear you."

Willow's heart began to beat faster in proportion to her growing fear. "Buffy, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

In response to her query, Buffy leaped off the railing to the ground, shoulder rolling towards Willow as she did so and, in one fluid motion, delivered a roundhouse kick to Willow's head, sending her flying through the air into the fence nearby. The rotted wood broke instantly, causing the redhead's body to fly into the next yard.

Willow brought herself to her feet in time to see Buffy step through the hole in the fence, a lecherous grin on her face. At this point, Willow was way past worry and into full blown wig mode.

"Stupid little chickie, crawling out of your nest all by yourself."

Any sort of response from Willow was stymied by the sound of an approaching car and, several seconds later, a series of gunshots. Willow turned towards the commotion, then turned back to find Buffy leaping over the fence on the opposite side of the yard and take off at a sprinting run down the street. Her strength failed her then, and she lapsed into unconsciousness.

***

"Is she alright?"

"She's lucid. We should be grateful for that. We're lucky to have found her before any serious harm could have come to her."

"We're glad that Jupiter didn't have the chance to do her any permanent harm. She was always the most hotheaded of us."

Willow was aware of the conversation, she couldn't put faces to the voices. It concerned her, however, that they were talking about the Sailor Soldiers openly, and referring to Buffy by her Soldier name. Hadn't Luna made it clear to them the importance of keeping their lives as Soldiers a secret from anyone who might use that knowledge inappropriately?

She opened her eyes to find herself on a stretcher, hooked up to some makeshift medical equipment that beeped in slow steady rhythms, clearly showing her status as among the living, even if her body clearly didn't feel the same way.

"She's awake."

Willow quickly found herself besieged by a trio of individuals: a mid twenties balding African American male, a slightly younger male in doctor's scrubs and a mid thirties woman with all the standard police attachments, who was, at this very moment staring down at her with thinly disguised anger.

"You're lucky to be alive, Willow," the female said. "You should have known better than to wander out beyond our protective shield." Willow's silence clearly annoyed her. "I can't believe how foolish you were."

"Calm down, Kate," the African American said. "No harm was done. We got Willow back safe and sound, and Jenny's already reinforced our mystical barrier. There's no chance of an attack now. Everything's worked out all right in the end.

Kate's expression didn't falter, and she moved to leave the room. "She still should have known better."

The African American watched her leave, then turned to his companion. "OK, Ben. Help me get her up."

The pair unhooked Willow from the machine and helped her to her feet. After Ben left to deal with the other patients in the room, the African American took Willow's hand. "You had us all worried, Willow. I might not agree with Kate's attitude, but she does have a point. You never should have gone out on your own."

Willow was clearly flustered, and had no qualms about making it known. "What do you mean? What's going on here? Who are you?"

The man's expression softened slightly. "Jupiter must have roughened you up more than we thought." He held out his other hand. "Charles Gunn."

Willow took the offered hand and shook it. "So...what's going on here? Where are we?"

Gunn's expression darkened. "You really don't have any idea, Willow?"

Willow shook her head, and Gunn led her out of the room and onto a gangplank overlooking a vast cavern, filled with a large assortment of people; most of them were malnourished and in poor health. Those few who appeared relatively healthy still bore marks of being part of a conflict, from deep wounds to missing limbs.

And mingling among them...no, it couldn't be.

Willow was surprised to find four older women among the injured, walking among them distributing food, medicine and good wishes. All four of them wore the uniform of the Sailor Soldiers; one an ethereal thin woman holding a forked staff with a skirt and bow in purple and boots trimmed in black, another an well muscled African American with short dark hair holding the arm of a platinum blonde and who appeared to be their leader, a woman whose uniform, like her hair, was trimmed in dark green. She was holding an ornate staff with a gem at the top, which Willow could feel was giving off tremendous power, but at the same time causing the strength of the woman who wielded it to sag every so often, resorting to using it as a walking stick.

Though Willow did not know the others, it was this one she recognized immediately. "Miss Calendar?"

"Say hello, Willow," Gunn's voice came from behind her. "Say hello to the last of humanity."

***

The rain began to come down as she had left, but Buffy didn't let it bother her. Few things did since her change. One of them was failure. The Empress did not enjoy failure in her subjects, especially those in whom she had placed a great deal of her trust. And in a court composed of a majority of backstabbers seeking to attain and maintain their level of standing by any means necessary, the Empress favored her most of all for her honesty and brutality.

She soon arrived at the fortress that the Dark Kingdom had made in the town of Sunnydale shortly after the Empress had made her escape from her imprisonment, a large part of the city walled off with its nucleus the remains of the former high school. Many of the creatures she passed along the way had once been human, their humanity and souls burned away and now twisted into the motley army serving the Empress in all things.

Making her way to the Empress' throne room, she tried to calm her nerves, not wanting to appear flustered in the presence of her mistress. Arriving in the room, she saw a number of her leader's chosen warriors in conference. And on the throne at the end of the room, the powerful figure of Metallia, Queen of the Dark Kingdom and Empress of Earth.

She brought her head up and smiled faintly. "Ah, Elizabeth. How nice of you to return to us. I trust your mission was a success?"

"Not...exactly."

The warriors discussing their business fell silent, and Metallia got to her feet, her hand extended towards Buffy. An invisible hand closed around her throat as the words left them. Metallia's face, once kind and pleasant, had now twisted into a snarling rage, made more fearful by the whiteness of her skin and the deadness of her eyes, eyes which now shone a dark crimson. "I tell you, Elizabeth. If you have allowed that coven to join the insurgency..."

"No, my lady," Buffy choked out. "The coven has been slaughtered. But.."

Metallia lowered her hand, and Buffy found herself hitting the floor. "But?"

Buffy gasped for air, and then described in detail to Metallia her encounter with Willow, and by the time she had finished, the demon queen was incensed. "And you, the most ruthless of you converts, you, who pride yourself a huntress without equal, allowed yourself to run in fear from these people? You could not defeat a simple group of rabble infesting our great kingdom like a cancer?"

Buffy stammered for an explanation. "I...I thought the advantages of retreat were more advantageous. There is an opportunity to re-evaluate and reorganize..."

Buffy's words came to a half as Metallia once again raised her hand, only this time blue arcs of lightning emerged form her fingertips, coursing all over the small blonde's body. She howled in pain. "Please...my lady! Have pity!"

"Pity?" Metallia spat, her face clouded in anger. "Pity is for the weak, my dear Elizabeth. Pity is for the emotionally crippled." She continued her assault, failing to relent in her attack. Buffy's howls soon slipped to sharp cries, then to moans, then to whimpers and finally, she fell silent, her body twitching in reflex as the last of the lightning played over her now charred body.

"You are both, and I am neither."

Lowering her arm, she turned to those discussing matters some distance away. "Let that be a lesson to you. I do not tolerate failure in my men. By the next sunset, the insurgency will fall, or you will all join her." She moved to sit down on her throne, all pretense of continuing the discussion over.

"Leave me now. And take that with you."

Chapter 3
Revelations

It was ironic, Cordelia realized, for her to be finding solace from her woes in the company of the one person in the universe she trusted the least. But despite everything that had happened, Anya was the only one she felt comfortable talking to. She couldn't risk going to Willow about this, since she had her own problems to deal with at the moment, and the last thing she really wanted was to overburden her best friend. What led her to the decision to go to Anya instead? She didn't really know, though it might have something to do with the fact that, like with Willow, she had developed a bond with her over the past few months, and it was a testament to that bond that she was here now; friendship truly was something that transcended all barriers.

"And that's pretty much it," she finished. "We're going to have to move away."

Anya entered the living room and put a plate of cookies down on the coffee table. "I'm...I don't know what to say. I want to say that I'm sorry, but..."

"It wouldn't seem right?" Cordelia offered, picking up one of the cookies and taking a bite out of it, only to realize that the snack had most likely been in the cupboard since both of them had been in diapers. Politely, she forced herself to finish the morsel she had eaten and took a sip from her drink.

Anya, noting her discomfort, said, "Cordelia, look, I..."

"Don't," Cordelia interjected. "I don't really want to hear any excuses about why you did what you did. I'm sure you have one; otherwise you never would have done what you did. I...I just don't think I want to hear it, you know?"

The pair sat in silence for a few moments after that, neither of them wanting to talk after that. Anya was the first to break the silence.

"I'm going."

Cordelia looked up. "What?"

Anya swallowed. "I'm...I'm going to have that surgery I told you about to cure my...condition."

Cordelia wanted to be happy at hearing that, but all she could think to do at that moment was ask, "Why? What made you change your mind?"

"You did."

Cordelia turned to find Artemis coming into the room. He made his way over to her and leapt onto the table beside her. "She may not have behaved like she did, but she genuinely cares for all of you, especially you. Seeing how you've handled the responsibility put upon you, it makes her very proud. She wanted to thank you by...by doing the one thing that can make sure you can get to know one another better. You know, after we've dealt with the enemy."

Cordelia fought back the urge to cry as she looked back at Anya. "I...I know you've tried your best. And I know I haven't been a very good student."

"Nor I, a great teacher," Anya admitted. "But I'm willing to make an effort to change that." She closed her eyes and brought a hand to her forehead, heaving a deep sigh as she did so.

"Are you OK?" Cordelia asked, worry starting to bubble in the pit of her stomach.

"Yeah," Anya replied. "The headaches happen more often now." She inhaled sharply, and let it out. "But I'll be OK, now."

Cordelia smiled, allowing herself to forget about all of her troubles for the moment and take some comfort in this. "Yeah. Everything will be fine."

***

"This sucks."

Fred had to admit it; Buffy did indeed have a talent of boiling down her responses to incredibly complex situations in simple, matter-of-fact expressions. Still, if there was one thing that they could both agree on, it's that things could have been a lot worse than what they were currently suffering through; Miss Calendar had said that she wouldn't inform either their parents (or, in Buffy's case, the school board) nor Principal Snyder of their actions, meaning that all they had to do was pass the time quietly and not make a scene out of themselves, then they could go and check on Willow. No harm, no foul.

Miss Calendar entered the classroom them, carrying her notebook, which she set down at the desk as she looked towards the two students in her classroom. "Well, I suppose you both know why it is that you're here."

"Yes, Miss Calendar," Fred said in response to her question that wasn't a question. "We're here because you overheard us talking about skipping class."

"And we promise not to do it again," Buffy added in a tone of voice that make it ambiguous as to whether or not she planned to keep that promise.

A faint smile appeared on Miss Calendar's face. "Oh, I wouldn't say that, Jupiter. You had the right idea, of course. Your mistake was announcing it as casually as you did. You should have done so in a more circuitous way, much like Mars had done when she snuck you all away to check on Venus. I must say, that little stunt did impress me."

Buffy nodded absently, then perked her eyebrows up as the enormity of what Miss Calendar had just said registered with her. "Say what now?"

Fred, equally shocked, stuttered, "How...how did you know about..."

"The Soldier of Time knows all, Mercury," Miss Calendar replied, the smile on her face growing wider. She stood up straight and affixed a battle stance.

"Pluto Star Power Makeup."

Before the stunned eyes of Fred and Buffy, Miss Calendar began to change, her form enveloped in a stunning black light that faded after a few moments to show her garbed in the uniform of a Sailor Soldier, her uniform trimmed in black and dark green, a blood red jewel inset into her bow; her once short cropped brunette hair now reached down to her waist and was tinged green. She held in her right hand an ornate looking staff, upon which was fixed a sparkling purple jewel.

It took a few moments for Fred and Buffy to recover the power of speech. "Miss...Miss Calendar?"

"I am Jennifer LaMorte Calendar," the figure intoned, her voice softer and yet, at the same time, containing a power which held back unimaginable power. "Much as you are Winifred Burkle, and you Elizabeth Summers. But as you, Fred, are Sailor Mercury, Soldier of Water and Intelligence, and as you, Elizabeth, are Sailor Jupiter, Soldier of Thunder and Courage, I am also Sailor Pluto, Soldier of Change, Guardian of Space and Time, Past, Present and Future."

"Future?" Buffy asked. "So...what? You know what's going to happen to all of us?"

"I do."

"And...whether or not we're going to defeat the enemy?"

"Yes."

"So..." Fred hesitated, not really wanting to ask that question, but knowing that the answer was too important to keep secret. "Do we?" The pause that followed that gave her room to wonder whether or not she was correct to ask. Pluto's expression darkening didn't help much, either.

"The future is never fixed, Mercury. Many are the directions the tide can take, affected by even the slightest of ripples. Nevertheless, it does not bode well for the Earth. Its guardian has been captured by the forces of darkness. And her one true love, crippled in mind and spirit, cannot muster the strength to go on. I fear the last days of the Earth are truly coming to pass."

"We won't let it happen," Buffy said with firm conviction. "Me and Fred and Cordy, we'll stand together and face whatever we have to in order to get Tara back to Willow and stop the evil bad guys once and for all."

"What about Venus?" Pluto asked innocently. "Of all of you, she has the most experience in combat and dedication to your cause."

"We're not talking to her anymore," Fred said. "She betrayed us to the enemy. We can't...trust her anymore."

Pluto looked at Fred. "You betrayed them, as well."

Fred sulked. "What about it?"

"You performed evil acts in their name against the Princess and your friends. And despite that, the Princess looked into your spirit and found the pure heart that you had, cloaked as it was by the powers of the enemy. She forgave you and saved your life, bringing you back to those who love you, and made them realize that it was not your fault. Can you not do the same for her?"

Fred was struck speechless by that, and Buffy quickly moved to intercede. "Look...Miss Calendar or...Sailor Pluto...or whatever it is you want to call yourself, this is different. She was coerced and manipulated into helping the enemy. Anya chose to do it out of her own free will."

"I see," Pluto stated. "So if this is how you feel, why is Mars with her at the hospital right now? Did she not choose to do this as well ‘out of her own free will'?"

"She what?" Buffy asked. "Why would she do that?"

The black light re-enveloped Pluto, transforming her back to Miss Calendar. "Perhaps she saw the pure heart in Venus though the blackness engulfing her soul. People have the chance to change, my friends. But you must give them a chance to do so." She picked up her notebook. "But come. Let us go and collect our wayward companions."

"And then what?" Buffy asked.

"And then...you shall learn your destiny."

***

Cordelia sat in the waiting room of the hospital, looking down the corridor that the nurse had escorted Anya down a few moments earlier. Look at her as she had walked, head held high and stance straight, it spoke volumes about her courage. Not that she had any doubt about that, but going to the doctor, especially to take part in an operation that she knew to be as life threatening as the disease which she hoped to cure, was enough to scare even the toughest of individuals.

"I couldn't do that," she thought. "I still get nauseous at the sight of blood, and I squirm when I find wasps in the backyard. I know I've done a lot in the past few months, but..." She shook her head, realizing that no matter how hard you tried to be brave, life always managed to find ways to throw you curveballs. And, in some ways, she would always be a scared little girl.

It gave her reason to re-evaluate her life. Not twenty four hours ago, she had seen her entire world come crashing down around her. It frightened her. But here she was, bravely heading on. Yes, she had lost much of who she was, but it made her realize, and appreciate even more, what she still had.

She looked up to see a trio of figures approaching her. Two of them she recognized instantly. She got up and went over to them, giving them each a hug. "Buffy, Fred. Hi. I'm so glad you came, but how did you find out I was here?" She then turned to the stranger. "And who's this?"

Buffy and Fred exchanged glances. "That's going to be a little difficult to explain out here in the open. Think we can go to the Secret Base and discuss it there?"

Cordelia tensed up at the question, realizing that Buffy was talking about Soldier business in front of a complete stranger, a definite no-no as Luna had so often drilled into them. But the older woman did not appear to be concerned at all. And it quickly became obvious that the person, whoever she was, was also aware of what was going on, so the question as to whether or not to bluff her way out of the situation was moot.

"I'd love to," she finally said, choosing to be diplomatic. "I want to stay and give...well, to give our friend some moral support."

"Venus will be fine, Mars," the stranger replied. "But I have much to say in a short amount of time. We must hurry."

"Well, that did it." "What the..."

"As I said," Buffy interrupted. "It's a long story. And maybe we should have it somewhere else?"

Cordelia nodded and walked back to pick up her things. "All right, then. Let's go."

***

Tara sat on the foot of the bed, hands gripping the sheets at her side in an increasingly difficult attempt to keep herself from wrapping them around the neck of the room's other occupant, whose singular goal at the moment appeared to be using any means necessary to drive her insane. She wasn't a violent person by nature, but even this was enough to test her limits.

"Razorbacks, Razorbacks, sis, boom, bah! Razorbacks, Razorbacks, rah, rah, rah! Razorbacks, Razorbacks, see the light! Razorbacks, Razorbacks, fight, fight, fight!"

Harmony, dressed in a cheerleader's uniform that left very little to the imagination, was doing an elaborately choreographed dance routine, which served little purpose other than to annoy her, a belief immediately proven by the irritated look she gave at Tara's lack of a meaningful response. "Oh, come on! I can't be that bad!" When that also yielded a lack of response, she sighed, throwing the pompoms she held down. "Well, that sucked. What else am I supposed to do for fun around here?"

"Maybe you should go ask your..." Tara paused, unsure how to refer to Faith, who was, in a biological sense, if not a literal one, Harmony's mother. "...your leader."

"I would," Harmony replied, moving to sit down on the bed. "But she's been really moody lately."

"Moody?" Tara asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh, yeah," Harmony replied offhandedly. "She used to be all about taking over the world and harming your girlfriend and her friends, but that's all stop after you guys fought one on one, when she released the whizzbang special effects on us. I think she may be having second thoughts."

"Second thoughts?"

"Yeah," Harmony admitted. "And I gotta say, it's starting to be a real drag. I mean, I don't feel what she feels, but I do get impressions from her, and it's starting to get sick how often I feel guilty and paranoid. I mean, I'm evil. I should be thinking about the best way to blow things up, not whether or not it's worth it..." She trailed off, remembering where she was. "And it's not like that matters to you, since you're not going to be leaving here, no way. The rest of this crew may be going to the peanut factory, but as long as I'm around, you're still my favourite plaything, and I'm not going to throw you away just yet." She left the room without another word.

Tara flopped backward onto the bed, letting out a small laugh at the thought of Harmony attempting to be evil. It was hard to believe that she could pull it off. The image of her attempting to pull off a fight entered her mind then, and she laughed a little bit, wondering how it was possible that Harmony could have been cast off from the dark side of Faith's mind.

The sober reality of that soon brought her back down to reality, and made her realize that Faith's change in demeanour was the perfect chance for her to effect an escape, if she could only figure out how. Maybe she could reach out to her former guardians; Spike had expressed in interest in helping her, though whether or not that was still true was unknown at present. Angelus was definitely out of the question; his attitude towards her was such that, had it not been for Harmony, she would have been dead within hours of her arrival. And Xander...well, she was recovering memories of her past life with each passing hour, and though she remembered him as being loyal to her, it was clearly obvious that his loyalty was to Faith, no doubt due to the enchantments she had placed upon him. Or maybe it was because he was a young adult, one so easily swayed by Faith's charms that it made him blind to all else.

In any event, she had to find a way to get through to them and get them to help her escape back to Willow before she did something terrible. There were weaknesses in any well built fortress, it was just a matter of time of finding out where they were.

***

"You seem troubled, Faith."

Faith, on one knee in Metallia's chamber, raised her head to look at the Demon Queen. "I am."

"Why?"

Faith tried to get the words out of her mouth, knowing as she did how unnatural they sounded. "Since the confrontation with the Princess, I have begun to grow...concerned." It pained her to admit this, but there was no way she could deny it. Her carefully crafted plan to take control over Metallia's power by means of the Silver Crystal had crumbled around her, and seeing the Princess wield its awesome energies in battle gave her little hope that any attempt to wrest control of it away from her could be attempted.

And then there was this influx of energy that Metallia had been given at roughly the same time. Was it possible that the powers of the Crystal, when used by the Princess, were strengthening the Demon Queen at a pace that would soon make her superfluous?

That last question was somewhat answered when Metallia's inhuman laughter filled the room. "Do not despair, Faith. Once I have regained my full strength, I shall deal with the Princess in my own way. And then no one will stand in my way."

Faith shuddered at that. So it was true. The Mystical Silver Crystal was now in sync with Metallia's life force. The more the Princess used it, the stronger Metallia would become, and soon it would get to the point when she would grow so strong that she would simply wipe away everything in her path, including her.

"I must stop her,"she thought. "I have to find a way to stop her. I MUST find a way to stop her!

"But how?"

To be continued...

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