Rated: G

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Lita’s hands were covering her mouth and her eyes were wide with shock. Sage stared at her with watering eyes. He dropped his sword and looked as though he was about to fall to his knees and cry, but whatever he felt, he was holding it in.

Amy was looking back and forth between Lita and Sage and was just as stunned as everybody else. If she had ever said that to Rowen, she knew it would devastate him. Sage loves Lita as much as Rowen loves her. Rowen put his bow away and de-transformed. The others did the same as he did.

Kento wanted to break the silence but he was scared that if he did, Sage would kill him. He hated awkward moments of silence. At the same time he stared in surprise at Lita. He couldn’t believe she had just told Sage that. Cye closed his eyes and shook his head.

“....Sage, I didn’t...”

“Don’t Lita.” he said quickly. “Please don’t talk. I know how you feel about me now.”

“I didn’t mean it Sage.” she said frantically. “Believe me. I didn’t mean it.”

“Let’s just go home.”

They were all sitting in the living room at Cye’s house. Lita and Sage were on opposite sides of the room. Amy was standing next to Lita. Lita looked at Sage who was talking with Rowen at the time. She made a tiny sob and ran into the kitchen. Amy followed her.

“I’m going to go Amy.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“If I defeat one of the Moon’s, Sage will have to notice me.”

“Lita, they’ll slaughter you.”

“If they do...Sage will have to notice me.”

“Lita it’s not worth that. Sage loves you. Remember? You were the one who said that you hated him.”

“How could I forget Amy? I have to demonstrate to him that I didn’t mean it. I have to get his love back. I can’t stand it when he doesn’t talk to me. I’ve got to go Amy.” She began to walk out of the back door but Amy grabbed her hand.

“What am I going to tell Sage when he asks where you are?”

“He won’t ask. He’s too sickened to even look at me right now. I can’t blame him either. I don’t deserve his love.”

“Lita, you promised him that you wouldn’t leave him.”

“Things have changed Amy. Sage isn’t dependant on me anymore. He doesn’t need me. I need him though. This is the only way that I can think of to keep him. Look, just tell him that I’ve locked myself in the bathroom and I won’t come out. I’ll even lock the door so he can’t come in and check on me. He’ll just think I’m giving him the silent treatment. Promise me that you won’t tell Sage.”

“I won’t guarantee you that. But I’ll try my hardest not to tell him. Be safe Lita.” she gave her friend a quick hug. “It’s only me and you left. I can’t do the Sailor Scout thing by myself now. So, don’t get yourself killed.”

“I’ll never leave a friend alone to fight. But...if I don’t come back, tell Sage that I love him. I hope he loves me.” She locked the bathroom door and shut it. Amy watched one of her best friends leave, and she wasn’t sure if she was ever going to see her again.

Mia was sitting at her computer typing an editorial for the university news paper. She took a sip of her coffee and then the door bell rang. “I’m coming.” she yelled. Mia answered the door and saw four women she had never seen before in her life. “May I help you?”

“I believe you can.” said the tall girl with silvery hair and blue eyes. “May we come in?”

Mia looked at her as if sizing her up. Then she nodded and stepped back so they could come in. “The living room is right this way.” They walked into a big room and sat on the couch. Mia sat in the arm chair. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, we don’t have a lot of time.” said the tallest one. “First I think it would be appropriate if we introduced ourselves to you. My name is Tricia Khan.”

“My name is Elise Regal.”

“My name is Grace Safaid.”

“I’m Ivy Lepiduson.”

“...I’m...”

“We know who you are.” said Grace. “Your story is legend to those who know the stories of different realms.”

“...what?”

“What she means to say is,” Ivy cut in, “that a girl with no extraordinary powers helped to save the planet from the nether realm. Of course, even the people who play behind the scenes roles must be acknowledged when the story is retold.”

“Have you heard of the Sailor Soldiers?” asked Elise.

“Yes, Miss Regal. Who hasn’t heard of the Sailor Soldiers?”

“Please, just Elise. Well, we are part of that group. We are among the moon clan. Most of us here are from the moons of Jupiter and Tricia is from Saturn. Now, there is a soldier for every star and planet, every galaxy, and every asteroid. The most recognized are the inner and outer soldiers. Are you with me so far?”

“Yes. What does this have to do with me?”

“Sailor Venus, Luna, and Mars have died. Sailor Jupiter will soon join them. We can tell when one of our own die. But they weren’t killed by evil forces that are determined to destroy or rule the planet. They were killed by Sailor Soldiers. When we, the moon clan, came to earth we tried to get Serena Tsukino, Sailor Luna, to momentarily give up her throne so she would be out of threat that was posed by the Nefariads.”

“I think I see where this is going. She refused to give it up and half of the moon clan decided to take it by power using whatever means achievable. Am I right?”

“That’s correct.”

“I still don’t see what this has to do with me. I’ve never done research on the Sailor Soldiers. I’ve based my life on studying mystical and ancient armor. The only super human fighting force I’d be able to help you with is the Ronin Warriors. However, they could have superior powers. I haven’t seen them in years. They only lived here for a short time and then moved back so they could be with their families. I don’t even know if they are still alive.”

“They are. To fill you in, the Ronin Warriors have formed strong alliances with the inner soldiers. Very personal alliances. According to secreted records that have just been discovered by the outer soldiers we think that the Ronin Warriors and Sailor Scouts are predestined to be together. In fact, your friend Rowen is about to be a father. That is, if Amy doesn’t get herself killed. Sage’s heart is about to be broken. He is very much in love with Sailor Jupiter. Rowen’s and Sage’s sisters have died. Their sisters also happened to be passionately involved with Ryo, Kento, and Cye.”

“So what do you want to know?”

“There is a legend of Sailors of Justice. There is a certain way to wake them up but that is yet to be discovered. At first we thought it would be a Sailor Scout that would do it, but now, we think it could be a Ronin Warrior.”

“I see now. You want to get all of the information you can about the Ronin Warriors so you can bring order to the chaos.”

“Will you help us?”

“I will.”

Lita had no idea where to look first. There were about one thousand places they could be. Then as though they could sense somebody looking for them they called her name from behind.

“Are you looking for us?” asked Christi sending Demi and Phibi on the other side of Lita.

“Actually, I am looking for you.”

“Why would you be that foolish?” Tracy asked her.

“I’ve got to prove something to somebody.”

“To somebody, or to yourself.” Tracy asked again.

“I don’t think I will answer that. All I know is I’m going to beat one of you.”

“You will die trying?”

Sage had noticed that Lita had been in the bathroom for a long time. Maybe she was sorry about what she had said. He got up and knocked on the door. After about thirty seconds went by he knocked again.

“Lita, sweetheart, will you please come out of there. We need to talk. Come on Lita. I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean it baby. Please, just talk to me Lita.”

Amy watched Sage and felt like crying. He truly was sorry and he had nothing to be sorry for. He wanted to work things out and he might never get the chance. “Sage...she’s not in there.”

“...but didn’t you say?”

“She told me to say that.”

He walked away from the restroom door and gave Amy an angry stare. “Where is she then? She’s still in the house...right?”

“No. She went to go and find one of the Moons. She wanted to defeat one so you would notice her again.”

Sage’s eyes went from angry to unreadable. There was a few seconds where nobody said anything. “You just let her go!? How could you just let her go!? You are supposed to be her friend. I can’t believe you let her go!!” Sage began to pace back and forth and he finally showed an emotion...extreme anxiety.

“Sage, I tried to tell her not to go. Once Lita has something in her mind to do, you can’t stop her. What was I supposed to do, tie her to the chair?”

“I WOULD HAVE!!”