Several people although they had already either witnessed or participated in the birthing process, were turning green. Everyone was giving Ami and Kasumi room as they helped Kamala. Gaia sat behind her, letting Kamala rest her head in her lap.

A bright glow emitted from Gaia’s clasped hands as she held a crystal, and a sense of calm and peace washed over Kamala and the pain died away.

"Here’s it head," Ami said.

Someone in the room fainted after glancing over to watch.

Gaia kept her concentration on helping Kamala. No one was supposed to be hurt. She wanted as little bloodshed as possible this night.

The minutes ticked by as the room waited in anticipation.

"It’s a girl!" Kasumi shouted, accompanied by the child’s screams.

As Ami helped Kamala and Kasumi wrapped the baby in Kamala’s sari, Gaia felt her hands suddenly heavy.

She looked down. In her hand was a third crystal. She had to keep it hidden. Even though it was the child’s birthright, she had to keep it secret, at least for now. It could be the child’s innocent blood on her hands if she let them know.

Gaia indicated to Govinda to hold his wife and stood up. She retreated away from the mother and father, making sure no one was paying attention.

"I’ll give it back when I’m done," she whispered, half to herself and half to someone else as a hole, literally one in the space of the universe, appeared. She reached through, and took what she wanted. It was for the greater good.

………………….

The hand grabbed at Sirius’s jewel. She grabbed at it, but the hand pulled it right out of her grasp.

"No!" she yelled.

Stella grabbed Satet close, but refused to cry. They’d make it trough this. They had to. Good princesses got to live happily ever after. She was sure she was promised that somewhere.

Sirius, despite her usually demeanor didn’t think that way. She knew things weren’t over, but were just beginning. And now they were far worse with that crystal gone and her father still in danger.

……………..

Gaia contemplated leaving the transformation at he Golden Key. Somewhere deep in the Library, she’d studied the legends from Selestia’s time. If one added the Golden Crystal to the Golden Key they’d have the power to change fate. Selestia had thought that the power of the Golden key was enough for that. There were no records of what exactly happened when this happened, just the name…

It had to be worth it. Anything was better than seeing Shizuki, someone whom Gaia and Rhea had treated as a sister, almost a triplet, the way she was, thinking the way she did…

She let the four jewels in her hand combine. The Black Onyx Prism split apart, leaving behind the Tau Ceti’s Stone of Shadows as it merged with the other three, creating a glowing web of chains. From the center the links alternated silver and gold, crosswise in a spiral the links alternated silver and copper.

Although the glowing web floating in mid-air amazed Gaia, no one else noticed, enticed by the child just brought into the world.

A world that would undergo a revolution in the powers that controlled it…

"Metallica Arachne…" Gaia whispered. No one heard her. She barely heard herself. She placed her hand on the center of the web. "…Change fate…" She whispered.

…………………

From that grandiose attempt, that wish of wishes, her misguided attempt to save all she held dear but herself, she closed the gate on the fate the world had, and opened it anew.

The stream of time took a new course, and the Metallica Arachne worked its magic. Good and bad no longer existed, and would not until the universe had awoken form the anarchy created out of hidden motivations of the heart.

…………………

Time stopped, Space had no meaning. Everyone stood frozen, sensing nothing, as the Metallica Arachne exploded in all directions, striking through every body on the grounds of the palace.

Fate had changed.

A new tale had begun.

Everyone was sent to the depths of sleep, a depth where not even dreams could reach as the magic web, now spun, now having caught all around it, shattered each peace a key, unlocking a the doors to a destiny not yet written.

………………………

Aaron awoke, his eyes adjusting to the darkness and his head adjusting to the situation.

He lifted his head from the wet grass he was lying on and looked up. In the hand of his outstretched arm, something was glowing. He grasped it and turned it. It was a mirror he’d never seen before, even in pictures, but he felt he had owned it all his life. He tilted it. The surfaced flashed with light and for a moment he saw a face—like his, only a softer jawline and shorter hair—then the image disappeared and it was too dark to see the reflection.

His attention drifted from mirror as the realization that there were others around him hit him like a brick to the back of the head.

He turned his head and saw Desdemona lying crumpled on the ground at his side. Something blue was glowing on her forehead, indistinguishable from behind her short bangs.

Irrational fear hit him. He grabbed her shoulder and shook her, calling her name. She awoke, calm but confused, just as he had. "Wha…?" she asked, the glow dying as her eyes opened.

He smiled. He’d been stupid. It may have been a mystery as to what knocked them out, but she was a tough rugby player, and there hadn’t been a scratch on her.

"What is it?" he asked, as a confused look passed over her face. She sat up and opened her right hand. She had been clutching something resembling a thick pen. It was decorated in gold and blue, on top was ringed planet with the symbol of the planet Uranus on it.

Aaron looked at the hand that had held the mirror. The strange mirror had been replaced by a similar stick of blue and green with the symbol of the planet Neptune on it.

They heard a noise and turned to see Liu was having a harder time waking up than they had. They noticed held another stick, which was very different from theirs.

The two looked at each other and shrugged. They decided to help the others up and go to the palace to see if anyone could explain the mystery to them.

………………………………………

Shun and Yao looked up. Since when were they on the floor? Had something hit them? They didn’t feel any pain from any injury. A spell? No, even Gaia was on the floor, unconscious.

Had someone else done anything? Why would they?

The two looked around the room looking for answers. They found none.

Just as they thought of getting up and rousing the others, two people slowly faded into view. One had a dark fuku of blue-black with a purple skirt with a green stripe. On her bosom was a purple and green ouroboros. Leather bands decorated her arms and she wore matching black stilettos. The hair in front of her ears was tied back in a white ribbon. What the two noticed most about her was her eyes, which seemed to change color as they watched and were always several colors in a beautiful pattern.

The other person was a girl that looked familiar, but neither remembered her. Her short hair was a pale ivory, her eyes were bright green and blank—she had no pupils and looked blind. She wore an Egyptian sheath dress that exposed her breasts and had simple beading halfway up. The strange woman was barefoot and seemed not to be looking at anything specific.

"Who are you?" Yao asked.

"I am Sailoreris," the first woman answered. Her companion seemed oblivious to everything going on. "You’ve been awakened, like the others."

"Awakened?" Shun asked.

"Look down," Sailoreris said.

They looked at the floor in front of them and noticed two strange looking pens. They looked like a henshin pen out of the Star Moon mangas they owned.

"The others will soon be awake. It is not safe for you to be here. You are meant to take sides when you choose. Until then, I will take care of you."

"We won’t end up like her, will we?" Yao asked, indicating to the strange girl next to her.

"She is Nephthys," Sailoreris said. "She is no senshi. I am keeping her innocent of these matters. You will not be like her, no. You will have a choice to make, but you are meant to make it when the time comes."

"When will that be?" Shun asked.

"I cannot say. Fate has been changed. I have been chosen to be the Sailor of occurrence. I cannot take a side, I can merely help bring destiny to its zenith as the new order is decided. I am not supposed to be involved, but neither are you. I came here to save your lives."

"You promise you’re not lying?"

"I promise. You will see that I’m telling the truth very soon."

The two looked at each other. They’d never in their life thought anything short of a few family deaths would make them senshi. Even so, they had no ideas of the politics that went on with senshi, which might have had something to do with the attack. Besides… she was warning them that they might get killed.

They turned back to her and nodded, it was the best thing to do. She promised them they’d take sides later, maybe then they’d no what to do. For now, go with the flow…

………………………..

"Nnng," Chiharu mumbled. Someone was yelling at her, probably to wake up.

There they went again. Someone else was talking too.

"Don’ wanna get up…" she mumbled. OW!" she hollered as she was kicked in the ribs. "That hurt!" she yelled, waking up and glaring at the person who had done it.

She found herself staring at an annoyed Shizuki.

Chiharu said nothing and wiped the drool off her cheek. "What happened?" she asked.

"That’s what I’m going to find out," Shizuki said. "Get up."

Shizuki turned away from Chiharu as she stood up. The outer and inner scouts were gathered in a circle, joined by Rhea and Gaia, as well as Stella’s family and the two new star senshi—who had discovered their names as Beltaine and Samhain, the two seasonal celebrations on opposite ends of the year.

"I want to know what happened," Shizuki demanded. The inner senshi looked at each other and shrugged.

"We don’t really know," Minako said. "But Yao and Shun appear to be missing, as well as Gunhilda."

"What about Lorelei?" Shizuki asked.

Minako shook her head. "We couldn’t’ find her either. Everyone else is accounted for."

Shizuki looked to the outer senshi. "I just heard a strange noise and followed Hitomi," Tommy said.

"I just woke up," Chiharu said.

Liu, Desdemona, and Aaron looked at their sticks, as if hoping the things would speak up. They didn’t.

"Wait, Gaia came in to watch the others for me," Chiharu said. "She said she found another route inside."

Everyone turned to Gaia.

"Hey, you’re the one we saw, right before… right before the… big thing with teeth," Beltaine--the one in cerise--said.

"You’re amazing memory strikes again," Samhain muttered.

"Oh, fuck you," Beltaine said, more teasingly than threateningly.

Gaia, despite the accusation, smiled innocently.

"Well?" Shizuki demanded.

"Well what?" Gaia asked. "Are you asking me if I did, or why?"

"Don’t play games with me!" Shizuki screamed. "I don’t care why. You…you’re a traitor! You… You… You are going to pay for putting people in trouble a threatening this kingdom."

"There was no threat," Gaia said, calmly.

"Oh, you’re telling me," Beltaine said. "I was almost eaten."

"Did it actually attack you?" Gaia asked.

"Well…no." Beltaine said sheepishly. "But it almost did."

"It was made to seek out a crystal, just like yours, Shizuki," Gaia said. "Rhea gave me hers, so it’d only go after you. Or, more precisely, your crystal. No one was to get hurt, not even you."

Shizuki covered her crystal protectively with her hands and glared at her aunt. She had grown up with Gaia. They had had their childhood together, always together… why?

Gaia must have deceived her. That was it. Gaia had deceived her for twenty years. She was not going to tolerate traitors.

Shizuki shot a hateful look at Rhea, who backed away. "You knew?" Shizuki spat. "You knew and you sided with her against me! You want my crystal. You want my throne. You’re collaborating against me, aren’t you? Both of you!"

"Leave Rhea out of this," Gaia said. "She did it to be safe. She didn’t want to be hurt, you can’t fault her on that."

"But I can fault her on the fact that she kept it from me," Shizuki said.

"I was scared," Rhea spoke up. "I was scared for you, but I was scared for Gaia if you found out and I was scared… for myself. I don’t want to be in the middle of this, please Shizuki."

"All you have to do is take off that flower," Gaia said. "Take off the flower you hold the crystal in, just for a second."

"Or what?" Shizuki said, gripping the crystal so tightly her knuckles turned white. She never noticed the fact that the lily wasn’t damaged in the slightest.

"Enough talk. I want to know where you all stand, and then… we see who’s left standing."