“Hello?” The street Sailor Geb stood on was dark. “Is anyone here?” She heard a noise behind her that made her gasp and turn. She saw two figures running into an alley. “Daichi! Nebula!” she shouted, running after them. She turned into the alley, but it wasn’t an alley anymore. She was in a room. There were four beds, and in each bed was Anog Ite, Ixtab, Tucana, and Hikari. They looked like they were sleeping, but they tossed and turned. Geb turned to run in fright, but ran into Mei.

“It’s all your fault!” Mei shouted, but it wasn’t her voice. Mei’s form melted into that of Sailor Mercurius, in the bloody condition she had been after the Senshi had killed her. “No, it’s my fault: I chose the wrong leader.” Geb turned back around to run, but she had to stop, as she was suddenly on the edge of the roof where she had chased the Collector. She steadied and looked down. Then, she felt like someone was watching her. She turned, and saw the Collector lunging at her. She screamed and felt herself fall. Then she hit the ground.

Or rather, she hit the floor. Tale yelled and struggled with the blanket she had so cocooned herself in. She got on her hands and knees, gasping and looking around frantically. It took a moment, but she remembered where she was. She sighed, then realized that a cat was sitting right in front of her, staring at her. “Good morning, Demeter,” Tale said in in one breath that tapered into a sigh.

“Good morning indeed,” Demeter said as she watched Tale pick herself up. “It’s a wonder you don’t wake up Ryuu with all that noise.”

“You are exaggerating,” Tale said as she folded the blanket.

“I am not,” Demeter said as she jumped onto the couch. “You cry and yell, moan and groan in distress, and you kick as well. This is cause for concern.”

“If it is, then it is not you who should be concerned,” Tale said. “You should concern yourself with Ryuu and the others, but not me.” Tale turned and headed to the bathroom.

“But I should,” Demeter continued as she followed. “If you are really dedicated to protecting Draco’s flute and stopping this ‘Collector,’ then I should be concerned for you just as much as the others.”

“Whatever,” Tale said as she closed the bathroom door in the cat’s face. Demeter shook her head and went in to wake Ryuu. Tale sighed and, placing her hands on the sink, leaned in toward the mirror. She closed her eyes and focused on Daichi and Nebula’s faces. She focused then on the city, and tried to see their faces in the city. It was no use. She couldn’t find them, yet again. It was all she did all day as she shadowed Ryuu at school, masquerading as a Juuban student. Yet no mater how many times she tried to focus, she couldn’t find them. “It’s all my fault,” she whispered as she opened her eyes to look at her reflection. She then turned and reached for the Juuban uniform Ryuu was loaning to her. “All my fault…”

--

“Konnichi wa, Usagi-san. Konnichi wa, minna-san.”

“Konnichi wa!”

“Sorry it took me so long…” The usual chatter continued, just as it had the past three days now. And as usual, Tale was standing a short distance away. It was enough to not intrude, but close enough to still hear them. It was nice, listening to their group. They were all such good friends that it made Tale happy, but also sad. She had never had friends on her planet, Geb.

Tale sighed and looked up at the trees. She then closed her eyes and tried again. First Daichi and Nebula’s face, then the city… then nothing. She hung her head, uncrossing her arms and wrapping them around it. “Why?” she asked herself. “Why can’t I see them? What is wrong with me? Why?” She took a few moments to wonder why, and then unwrapped her head and looked back over to the group. Some of them were laughing. The black-haired one seemed to be the focal point. She remembered that it was Sailor Star Fighter, the one who had lost her weapon in the previous dimension. She couldn’t remember the name of the male version of Star Fighter, and frankly she couldn’t care less. It was day four since they had arrived, since the Collector had knocked out four Senshi, since they had lost track of Daichi and Nebula, and all Tale could think of was finding those missing Senshi and making the Collector pay for what he had done.

“The Collector,” Tale murmured. Had he attacked Daichi and Nebula? He could have, since they still had weapons. Had he captured them? Tale had to wonder. Daichi was strong and both were good Senshi, but Daichi had been in pain, undoubtedly ill, the last time they’d seen her. She groaned and crouched down, holding her head in her hands. She was stirred from her thoughts by the ring of the bell. It was time for Tale to disappear again, since she couldn’t just join the Senshi in their classes. She stood and watched them walk away. All of them except for Sailor Venus. She had been walking with the others, but she had turned and seen Tale standing alone.

“I’ll be right back!” Minako told the others as she ran toward Tale. Tale didn’t know whether to run or stay. She ended up staying. “Ne, Tale-chan,” Minako said, taking Tale’s arm. “You should have joined us!”

“I would have been intruding,” Tale said quietly.

“Nonsense!” Minako said as she pulled Tale toward the building.

“Wait, I shouldn’t-”

“Nonsense!” Minako said again. “No one will notice you! You shouldn’t have to stay out here all alone!”

“No, really,” Tale said, pulling herself away. “I’m fine.” She then turned and walked away.

“Well, you’re definitely coming to the picnic!” Minako yelled before running to the building.

“Picnic?” Tale turned and watched Minako run away. “What is a ‘picnic?’”

--

“Okay, now I’m worried,” Daichi sighed as she lounged under a tree. “We should have found SOMEONE by now.”

“Or they should have found us,” Nebula said as she braided some long grasses. “You can’t walk far, there can’t be any expectation that we will find them, especially since we haven‘t left this… park, is it? Besides, Geb has the power of sight and Anog Ite the power of sound. Either one should have found us.” Daichi nodded and closed her eyes. Despite the shade, the light was making her headache worse.

“How many days has it been?” Daichi asked.

“I can’t remember,” Nebula said. “This planet is so different from Dohisei. Our days are so long and nights so short, I’m still not used to the change.”

“You know, I was born on Dohisei,” Daichi said. Nebula gasped and looked over at her companion.

“You were?!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, the Dohisei of my dimension,” Daichi added. “I was later relocated to a planet called Maygo, and then to Sol, and finally to Tal, where we met the Collector.”

“Wow,” Nebula whispered. “Tell me, what is your Dohisei like?” Daichi didn’t reply. “Daichi?” Nebula crawled over to her and looked at her. Daichi’s mouth was slightly hung open, and there was a soft snore coming from her. “Ne, sleep well, Daichi,” Nebula whispered. “You need all you can get.”

--

It was so awkward… Tale sat sort of next to Ryuu. There was a fair amount of space between them, but Tale had done that on purpose. She eyed the unfamiliar Earth foods, resigning herself to the food Ryuu had brought. The Starlights arrived and Tale moved a little more after Star Maker had sat next to Ryuu. There was talk of past enemies, and one caught her attention.

“Galaxia?” Tale questioned. “You’ve already defeated her?” The others looked at her in confusion.

“Wait, what?” Usagi said with a mouthful of potato chips.

“Well, in the dimension I was just in, you were still fighting Galaxia,” Tale explained. “But, you say you’ve already faced her, and clearly you’ve won.”

“Perhaps time passes quickly as you go from one dimension to another,” Ami suggested.

“Or, maybe we know no time limit,” Tale said quietly. “Perhaps we can pass through time as easily as dimensions.” She sighed. “There is so little we know. I wish…” She sighed again and shook her head.

“Tale!” Tale gasped and whipped her head around. In the distance was Nebula, waving both her arms in excitement. “Tale!!”

“Nebula!” Tale shouted, jumping to her feet. “Where-”

“Transform!” Nebula shouted. “Hurry! There’s trouble!” As though queued, screams could be heard from the far end of the park. There were screams of a monster attacking children.

“Minna, henshin yo!” Usagi shouted once the people were gone. The others transformed as Tale ran at Nebula.

“Nebula, where is Daichi?” she yelled.

“She’s back on her feet,” Nebula said, “And she’s already gone after the monster!”

“Follow her!” Geb said. “I need to stay by Sailor Draco!” Nebula nodded and ran. Geb held up her hand. “Geb Pantheon, Make-Up!”

--

“Earth Quake!” Daichi shouted as she cracked her whip on the ground. The ground cracked, running toward the monster. It jumped out of the way.

“Let me try something!” Daichi heard Venus shouted. Daichi jumped out of the way as Venus shouted, “Venus Love Me Chain!” Venus’ attack wrapped around the monster, what Draco had called a chimera, and stopped it in its tracked. The monster struggled, and then the chains snapped. It turned angrily on Venus.

“Draco Harmony Blast!” Draco shouted, stopping it in its tracks.

“Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!” Sailor Moon shouted. The monster was hit and turned back into a stuffed lion, a plastic snake, and a stuffed goat.

“I wish we could figure out why we’re being attacked by these things,” Star Fighter mused. “It-” Before Star Fighter could finish, everyone was blown away by a great gust of wind.

“Another one?!” Draco shouted as she picked herself back up.

“Guess again,” said a voice. Draco turned and was met with another gust of wind. She flew into the arms of Sailor Star Maker, and when she straightened up she realized her flute was gone.

“The Collector!” Nebula shouted.

“Correction, the victor!” the Collector shouted, holding Draco’s flute in the air. In his other hand was the jeweled bottle.

“No, stop!” Geb shouted, pointing her staff at the Collector. “Earthly Strike!” She stabbed the ground, sending a shockwave at the Collector. He jumped into the air to avoid it as the bottle glowed. Daichi ran forward, cracking her whip at the Collector in hopes of snaring him. The end of the whip disappeared as the Collector disappeared into a blinding light. Daichi yelled as she was suddenly pulled forward. She hit the ground as she lost her grip on her whip. The light then vanished, along with Daichi’s whip.

--

“I swear to you, we will recover your flute,” Geb said. “I promise we will.” Draco could only nod, her hands clasped tightly under her chin. “I… I’m sorry I failed to prevent this.”

“It is okay,” Ixtab said, putting her hand on her younger leader’s shoulder. “I promise we will recover it AND we will not let him gain another inch.”

“Please do,” Draco said as she looked at the gaunt Senshi before her. She then looked at Anog Ite, who looked equally gaunt. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. If I weren’t needed here, I would join you in your mission.”

“There’s a bit of a crowd anyway,” Hikari said as cheerful as usual. Of the four, she seemed to have best recovered from the previous attack. “And like you said, you’re needed here, but don’t worry, we’ll get your flute and Daichi’s whip and everything else back pronto, you’ll see!”

“I hope you’re right,” Sailor Star Fighter said. The other Senshi nodded.

“We’d better get going,” Daichi said quietly from the back. The others nodded and Ixtab lifted her hand. In an instant, they were gone.

“Good luck,” Draco said.

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