Dawn it was, or would have been, but the the sun was obscured by a layer of clouds bleeding rain onto the world below. Dim light painted the world in monochrome, a thousand shades of gray between black and white.

A single figure sat behind a desk in an unlit room. Unlit by choice, it seemed, for like every other room in the cavernous building, the ceiling was lined with fluorescents. The darkness was not needed to hide the figure’s identity, as a well-wound veil already served that purpose, hiding even gender from the observer, if there were one.

There was one.

There were two.

They stood in the doorway, not entering the room. Two strangers, one taller, one shorter, their faces lost in the darkness. It was for these two that the still figure at the desk waited.

“They have awakened,” said the taller stranger.

“So I gathered,” said the figure. “And their powers are intact?”

“They have begun to make use of them,” the shorter stranger confirmed.

The voice was passionless, made appealing by the Indian accent. “Then I will make contact with Ishana’s minions.”

“Wait,” said the taller. “Not yet. Give us a chance to study them in action.”

The shorter disagreed. “There’s no time for sentimentality. We must do this now, or we may not have time to change our plans.”

“I agree,” said the figure behind the desk. “Better they should die now than later. We must know where all the players stand.”

“Speaking of knowing the players,” said the shorter stranger. “Don’t you think it’s time?”

Dry amusement. “If you wish.”

The swift movement of her arms triggered the motion-sensitive lights, letting loose a blinding flare of illumination. When the two at the door could see again, the woman at the desk had thrown back her veil, revealing light brown skin, exotically shaped features, and hair like the midnight sky, blue gleaming on black.

“Satisfied?” said Mehal.

Shaye lay awake, on Terry's bed, with her still-sleeping partner snuggled up against her. They had shared a bed before, of course, for purposes other than sleeping, and even dozed in the same space that night when Shaye had been ill, but never before had they had the opportunity to really sleep together for the fun of it, and to sleep in the morning after. No classes: it was Saturday. No impending classes or classwork: it was Spring Break. No rush to wake up, and they could truly relax for the first time in their relationship.

And so the sensation of a warm, trusting head nestled snugly between her breasts was something new. Just cuddling wasn't the same. Asleep, Terry felt smaller, softer, and infinitely precious. The pale skin of her neck was deliciously inviting, as well, but Shaye couldn't bring herself to kiss it and risk waking her up. Instead, she used a cautious hand to push aside the window's curtain just enough to peek outside.

It was raining, a gentle rain that colored the skies gray and the tree trunks black, but that darkness made the colors and light that stood out even more beautiful. The green spoke of leaves waking from winter. The white of the dogwood blossoms seemed to glow. Shaye extended her senses, eager to taste the spring. She could almost feel the patter of raindrops against her skin, the soft breezes…

alive alive alive alive alive alive alive alive

With a shiver, Shaye came back to herself. Terry stirred, murmuring, and clutched at the fabric of Shaye's nightshirt like a child. Shaye's heart ached. Resisting the urge to tear up and cry, she instead kissed her partner's cheek, enjoying the soft sensation. One taste led to another, and Shaye made her way across Terry’s face before homing in on her target. A soft press of lip against lip and Terry, like a fairy tale princess, fluttered into wakefulness.

"Mmm," Terry sighed. "Morning, beautiful."

“I am not beautiful in the morning,” Shaye teased. “And I probably don’t taste that good, either.”

Another kiss. “Tastes okay to me.” Terry relaxed her hold and rolled away slightly, the closest she could get to finding her own side of the bed.

"Careful, don't fall off," Shaye said, only half-kidding. "Maybe you should keep hold of me for safety's sake."

"Oh, I intend to hold onto you," Terry smiled. "Replacements are hard to come by." She yawned, trying to stretch in place and, indeed, nearly rolling off. "You're right, though, this bed really is too narrow for the both of us."

Shaye caught her breath. Was that a rejection or an invitation? Hesitantly, "If we're going to do this often, maybe we ought to buy you a bigger bed."

"Hrm," Terry said intelligently. Buying furniture together? Sharing a double-sized bed on a regular basis? That sounded awfully like… being married. A concept she was not at all comfortable with, even if it were legally possible. On the other hand, this lazy morning cuddling was very nice. Finally, she said, "If we wait ‘til the end of the semester, then people moving away are usually selling used stuff cheap." And, a bitter little internal voice added, if they didn't last until the end of the semester, then no money was wasted.

"Okay," Shaye agreed. She reached out to trace the warm curves of Terry's neck, the fragile covering of skin over collarbone.

"That tickles!" Terry wriggled.

Shaye grinned. "No, this tickles!" And followed up the threat with wiggling fingers over Terry's ribs.

Terry shrieked and flailed around, managing to accidentally whap Shaye across the face before tumbling off the bed. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry."

"Should be."

"Kiss it better?"

"Okay."

There was much giggling.

Sometime later, her arms securely wrapped around Shaye again, Terry smiled. "This is nice."

"Yeah. Nice and quiet and just us."

There was a faint clicking sound in the distance, and then the muted blare of conversation that could only be coming from Terry's outdated television.

Terry groaned. "I'm going to kill that cat."

"You're the one who taught Luna how to turn on the TV," Shaye winked. "And at least she's amusing herself out there and not trying to interrupt us…"

"I could have done without being reminded we had an audience," Terry grumbled.

Shaye laughed. "I wonder if she ever overheard us back then."

"On the moon?" Terry disentangled herself from her partner and sat up. "You don't remember?"

"I don't remember *everything* about back then. Why, *did* she walk in on us or something?"

"Not that I know of." Terry frowned. "How much do you remember, anyway?"

Shaye sat up, running fingers through her blonde tangles. "I dunno. Not much about growing up or anything. I just remember being with you, in the palace."

Terry bit her lip. "Do you remember how it all ended?"

She frowned. "No, I don't. I guess we died." She tucked her hair behind her ears. "I guess we would have had to. I never really thought about it. Do you know?"

"There was a war," Terry said carefully.

"We were at war? Who were we fighting?"

"I'm not sure. I thought you might know."

Shaye's brow furrowed. "I remember arguing with you, something about a fight. I wanted to go out and… lead people. You wanted me to stay where I was safe. Do you think I snuck out and got killed?"

"No," Terry said, thinking fast. Chantrea had tried to get involved in the fighting? Could that have been the reason for her traumatised, lifeless eyes, there in the end: seeing the horror of the battlefield? "I'm fairly sure you were alive right up to the end of it all."

"And then the silver crystal sends us to the future," Shaye added.

Terry blinked. "I thought you said you didn't remember anything about it."

"I don't, I'm just guessing. That's what happens in Sailor Moon." Shaye blushed. "Well, Luna said the back story for the cartoon was based on the truth. So I suppose we were at war with Earth and we were losing and then my mother sent us all away, like in the story."

"Yeah, that's basically it." Terry scratched her head. "Maybe I should watch that show."

"Oh, I watch it enough for both of us."

Terry stood and walked over to her closet, rooting around for clean clothes. "I can't imagine they show Mars and Moon having a relationship on a kiddie cartoon."

"They don't. Sailor Moon is going out with this guy called Tuxedo Mask."

"Oh." Terry pulled a light blue t-shirt over her head. "Why don't you go get dressed so we can figure out what to do with our day? If your chaperone will let us."

"Okay." Shaye left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Terry stepped into a pair of shorts and pulled them into place. In her mind, she could still hear Shaye's cheerful little voice going on about the world on the moon.

"So I suppose we were at war with Earth and we were losing and then my mother sent us all away…"

"We were at war with Earth…."

Ishana!

Shaye returned to the main area from her room, comfortably dressed in t-shirt and shorts, to find Terry and Luna on the couch in front of the television, arguing over the sociological merits of the Smurfs.

"Those mushrooms are not an accident," Terry insisted.

Luna scoffed. "Not every children's cartoon has to have a deeper meaning."

Shaye leaned over the couch, letting her long hair tickle past Terry's cheek. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Terry smiled and tilted her head back for a quick kiss. "You ready to go out?"

"Sure. Where're we going?"

Luna climbed up onto Terry's lap to make herself look taller. "Now that you have some uninterrupted time to focus, I think you ought to start doing your research. If you're going to be ruling the world one day, you need to know who the current world leaders are and what issues they're facing. Then we can start working on your political portfolio..."

"Whoa, hold on." Shaye held up a hand. "Rule the *world*?"

"From the Moon Palace," Luna said serenely. "After we've rebuilt it, of course."

"You expect me to just wander up to President Clinton and say 'Hi, I'm Sailor Moon, hand over your country'?"

"Of course not. That's why it will require careful study and preparation." Luna's smile was as smug as only a cat's could be. "I have the ultimate confidence that you will live up to your mother's dying wish and restore her kingdom to greatness."

Shaye's mouth opened and closed like a beached fish's.

Terry scooped up the protesting black cat with two firm hands under her ribcage. "Look, Luna, it would take more than a library to teach two girls to take over the world on their own. Not to mention that we're on vacation."

Luna squirmed free, scampering up onto the coffee table out of arm's reach. "I do not intend to live out the rest of my life as a common housecat! You *must* fulfill your obligations to the Queen who saved you! Besides," she nibbled at the fur of her shoulder, "there are more than two of you."

That drove Shaye out of her stupor. "That's right! There's Mercury and Venus and... all those other planets! Where are they?" She looked around as if expecting the girls to materialise in the apartment.

"I think you've been watching that Serena girl too much," Terry sighed.

"Where are the others?" Shaye asked, more seriously this time. "Did they all get reborn? Are they around here? Do they remember who they are?"

"I don't know," Luna admitted. "I had to look the whole world over just to find you. It is my hope that the others, even if their past personalities are still submerged, will hear the call of your powers and be drawn here, as I was. That should make the task simpler."

"Will I recognise them when I see them?"

The cat shrugged, as best as a cat could. "I recognised you. But you are much as you were, and I remember you. Do you remember the others well enough to recognise them?"

"We don't have to look for Uranus and Neptune," Terry broke in. "I already know where - and who - they are."

The lightbulb went on over Shaye's head. "Alex and Shannon."

Terry smiled up at her. "Has to be. I've seen them in my dreams. Aura and Melusine were their names, right?" she asked Luna, who nodded. "It's definitely them. They look just the same... Do you think they know?"

Shaye bit her lip. "Shannon must," she admitted. "I'm pretty sure. She's called me Hime - Princess - more than once. And you know how they kept being so helpful while I was sick."

"So at least subconsciously, they must know they're supposed to protect you," Terry mused. "But if they really knew, why didn't they ever tell us?"

Shaye shrugged. "Waiting for us to remember? Didn't think we'd believe them?"

Luna made a noncommittal half-meow. "Melusine and Aura were always a bit... distant, you might say. Given to keeping their own agenda. They were generally on border patrol, discovering and eliminating threats the rest of us might never even hear about. They didn't trust anyone else to have their skill and resolve, so they handled matters themselves as much as possible. If these two you mention do have their complete memories, they may have been keeping it from you on purpose. To protect you, of course."

Shaye laid a hand on Terry's shoulder. "Great, so they're found," she said, a bit too cheerfully. "Now, let's just..."

"You should summon them here, Highness," Luna interrupted. "They owe you a formal report. And then we must discuss their responsibilities as your soldiers."

Terry blinked at the cat. "I thought you were a nursemaid, not a general."

Luna scoffed. "You have never tended children, young lady."

Shaye tightened her grip on her partner. "I really don't think that's such a good idea, Luna. I mean, what if they really don't know for sure and we just bring them in here and start ordering them things, and with a talking cat and all, and it could be an awfully big shock if they don't have their memories, and we should break it to them gently in more friendly surroundings first, isn't that right, Terry?" she babbled, punctuating the request with a firmer squeeze.

Trying not to wince, Terry nodded. "I think she's right. It would be better that way."

The cat flattened herself on the table sulkily. "If you insist."

Shaye let go and stepped away, smiling. "And I know just the place to look for them!"

They stood together, watching the hogfish appearing and disappearing between the decaying planks of the mock shipwreck. The light filtering through the glass and water was a muted green, cool and quiet as the space around them. The aquarium was not the most popular of destinations on a Saturday morning.

"You don't really think we'll find them here, do you?" Terry murmured, taking hold of Shaye's hand.

"Not really," Shaye sighed. "And I really hope not. But she loves the sea, so it sounds believable."

"What was going on back there? Why the big push to get away? Not that I mind spending time with you away from your cat, of course," she smiled.

Shaye shook her head. "Too much, too fast. I'm just learning to deal with our past lives... I hadn't thought about all the consequences. All those other Senshi who're bound to be turning up. And what am I supposed to do with them when they do? Luna expects me to take over the world!" She brushed her hair off of her shoulders. "I couldn't take Shannon on top of that. Not now."

Terry frowned. "What do you mean? What's so difficult about Shannon?"

"We had the strangest conversation on her birthday. It was all about... war, and death, and sacrifice." Shaye leaned her head against Terry's shoulder. "I get the nasty feeling she knows more than I do, about the past and the future... and I don't want to hear it."

Terry stared at the fish, not wanting to look her partner in the eyes as she remembered the dreams, remembered Aura dead and slung over Melusine's shoulder, remembered the unspoken accusations in Melusine's gaze.

"So," Shaye finished, "I'd rather keep her away from Luna for now. If I put them together, I'm afraid they might start telling me to assassinate world leaders and take over their governments." She shivered.

Terry wrapped a comforting arm around the younger girl. "Don't worry. You're handling everything just fine. And this was a great choice of a place to go."

"You think?"

"Sure. Luna is happy that we're doing her work, and in the meantime, we get a nice romantic day to ourselves." She squeezed her gently. "Plenty of pretty fish to see. And you can even pet the horseshoe crab."

The blonde giggled. "I'm not sure treating me like a kid is properly romantic."

"Does thinking you're adorable count as treating you like a kid?"

"Yes," she laughed.

"Then I'm guilty," Terry bowed, glad to see the sparkle back in her partner's eyes. "Let's go wave at the fishies. And then," she paused for dramatic effect, "we're going bowling!"

It was nearly evening when they found themselves at a picnic bench, snack foods on the table before them. The skies were clear now, but the wood was still wet from the morning's rain. Still, Shaye had insisted on eating outside, so Terry dug an old blanket out of the trunk of her car and laid it across the damp seats. The moisture would still soak through eventually, but for now it was comfortable.

Terry was sipping an iced coffee with an apologetic look on her face as she watched her less-relaxed partner. Shaye was sitting backwards on the bench, one shoe off, rubbing fretfully at her sock-covered foot.

"Ow," Shaye groaned. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Your feet will feel better once you've sat for a while."

"What about my arm?" she whined. "It hurts just to lift a drink."

"Be thankful you don't have to carry books for a week?"

"It's not fair," the blonde mumbled. "I hurt everywhere and I looked like an idiot in front of all those people."

Terry sighed. "Sorry. I guess bowling really isn't your game."

"If I were Moon, they wouldn't have laughed at me," Shaye muttered. "She probably could have actually hit the pins... and not even be sore afterwards."

Terry set her drink down. "You know, you could transform now, if you're really hurting," she suggested. "There's no one to see."

"No."

"Why not? It would be interesting to see if it worked, if that body could get rid of your aches and pains..."

"I..." she wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't want to be Moon right now. You know how we talked about them being sort of separate from us?" Shaye smiled weakly. "Her problems are her problems, and my problems are my problems, like you said. Well, this whole thing with Luna and Shannon is definitely her problem. If I change into her... I'd have to deal with it."

"Oh." Terry looked around for something else to say. "You haven't touched your crackers," she offered lamely.

"Right," Shaye said, and slipped her foot back into her shoe. She smiled again. "I don't want to sound like I'm not enjoying our day out. I do appreciate it, really I do." She turned around to face the table and began peeling open her various snack products. "I love the way the air tastes after the rain. It's all cool and damp and fresh."

"Mmm-hmm," she sipped her coffee. "Like everything is new and you're seeing it for the first time... which in a way, we... that's it!"

"That's what?"

"I..." Terry deflated. "I just thought of something, but you probably don't want to hear it."

Shaye sighed. "Tell me anyway."

"Why Luna's so gung-ho about you. Look at us. We've only just learned about our past lives and we barely remember them, while on the other hand we've got a lifetime of experience right here and now. This is the world we're comfortable in, the world we're used to. The other one seems like only a little more than a fantasy."

"So?"

"So, it isn't like that for Luna. We're not our old selves, we're modern people with a few old memories. But she clearly is her old self, not a modern cat. She doesn't have any sense of fitting in here at all."

Shaye nodded hesitantly. "She said she 'woke up in the body of a cat'."

"Right, so one minute she's your old guardian in a palace that's losing a war, and the next she's a talking cat in a very strange place, and she's spent all her time since then trying to find you. This isn't the real world to her; that world was. So of course her first priority is to bring that old world back as fast as possible... and probably to train you in your powers so you can turn her back into a person."

"I guess that makes sense." Shaye stuffed a cracker into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

"So you don't have to take her too seriously," Terry concluded with a smile. "If we teach her to appreciate the world as it is, she won't be in such a hurry to change it. Especially if you can make her human. You don't have to take over the world."

"It's not that simple."

"It isn't?"

Shaye was silent for long moments. "Terry? Will you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"I want to go to church tomorrow morning. Not my old one. Somewhere else."

"Okay... but why?"

Shaye's face was determined. "I have to find out."