Windwalker Chronicles

Prologue

Alan Thomas was running for his life.

The smell of smoke had woken him from a sound sleep half an hour before. His first thought was he'd accidentally left the small campfire burning, but the fire pit was cold and wet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flickering light coming from somewhere in the valley. He looked down the trail he'd come up earlier in the evening, and his heart jumped up into his throat.

Below, he could see the small valley he'd traveled through during the day. He'd thought it to be a nice, peaceful place at the time. Right now, it was anything but. A large section of the valley was burning. From the light breeze on his face, he could tell it was moving towards him, consuming everything in its path. And it was between him and the small ranger station in the valley. Even now, the closest parts of the inferno were only a couple of hundred meters away.

"Oh, Damn," he hissed, "there goes the neighborhood." Fighting a sense of panic, he hurriedly gathered his camping gear and started up the trail at a brisk walk, his flashlight pointing the way. With a little luck, he could reach the lake on the other side of the ridge in forty-five minutes. As he moved, he thought the fire picked up speed and began to move in his direction, but dismissed it as an optical trick in the darkness.

Now, he was beginning to think that reaching the lake in anything less then two hours was going to be difficult, at best. Despite his best efforts, the fire was gaining on him. Embers from the fire drifted over him, beginning new fires in the dry vegetation in front of him. Several times, he had to change direction to avoid an area that was burning fiercely. Twice, he managed to avoid falling trees that came close to hitting him, the burning limbs sending embers in every direction and starting more fires.

The trail was becoming thick with dirty gray-white smoke that threatened to choke him and made his eyes water. He was covered in sweat, the hot air adding to his discomfort. He thought of removing his flannel shirt, to allow his skin to breath, but a glance at the burns that ran up and down his sleeves changed his mind. Behind him, he could hear the crackling of the main mass of fire as it continued to chase him up the steep hill like a hungry animal chasing food. The light from the fires threw weird shadows all around him, made the entire scene surreal.

He glanced up to see how far he was from the summit. Not far now, he thought. At least it'll be downhill. He was tired, the result of little sleep, a full day of hiking, and setting a fast pace to stay ahead of the fire. All he wanted to do was to lie down and take a nap, but the fire kept him moving, trying to stay out of its reach.

The Fire. He glanced back, and saw it had gained on him slightly. Like the stupid thing wants me. Better push on before it gets a chance. Forcing his legs to press on, he continued to climb the trail.

The air was getting worse, becoming choked with smoke and bits of burning timber. He felt his panic begin to build inside him, and tried to choke it down as best he could, but it wouldn't stay there. He increased his pace even more, his fear lending him new strength.

He kept glancing back to check on the fire's progress. What he saw only increased his pace. The fire seemed to increase in speed, sounding like a freight train as it got closer and closer. It was only fifty meters behind him now, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

Suddenly, he broke free of the smoke and staggered to the top of the ridge. He inhaled deeply, greatful for the almost smoke free air. After several breaths, he looked at the trail before him, looking for the quickest way down.

The sight of what laid ahead broke the last of his resolve.

The entire ridge slope, from the lake shore to a spot less then a hundred meters below the ridge top, was aflame. A solid sheet of fire was slowly advancing towards him, cutting off any hope of reaching the lake. He looked to his left, then his right, but neither way offered any hope of escape.

He felt the panic well up again, and he let it go.

"Imdeadimdeadimdeadim-Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Something cold flared on his chest, cold enough to be painful on his hot skin. He stopped wailing and felt dizzy for several seconds. Slowly, he reached inside his shirt for the source of this sudden cold. As soon as his fingers touched the icy surface of the medallion, he remembered he was wearing it. He pulled it out and stared at it.

The medallion was one of the few things his parents had left him when they'd died. 'An old family heirloom,' was how his father had described one time. He worn it in remembrance of his parents, and he'd grown use to its presence around his neck to the point that he'd forgotten it. It was disc shaped, about five centimeters in diameter, and made out of a granite-like substance. On its face, a symbol had been engraved. One time, out of curiosity, Alan had looked up the symbol, and found it to be the planetary symbol for Pluto.

How ironic, he thought grimly, Pluto, lord of the dead. And I'm about to become his newest subject. It was then he realized that his panic was gone. What a time to become cool, calm, and collective.

Just then, words sprang into his mind, words that made no sense to him, but somehow seemed natural. He gripped that medallion in both hands and shouted, "Winds of Time, I invoke thee! Winds of Time, I call thee! Move this mortal form to the safety of the future in the place where it stands!"

For a second, there was nothing. Alan looked at the fire as it burned closer and closer. I've gone off the deep end at last. I - Then, a gust of wind struck him, and he disappeared. A minute later, the two fires merged into one at the spot when Alan had been standing.

Emeraude materialized in the Nemesian's base in Crystal Tokyo looking a little worse for wear. She stalked down the stairs leading from the dais, removing a bracelet as she did so, and glared at the Nemesian technician on duty behind a console.

"Something wrong, Lady Emeraude?" asked the technician carefully, fearful of the answer.

Still glaring, she slammed down the bracelet down on the console. "Get this fixed," she hissed.

"What's wrong with the temporal anchor, Lady Emeraude?"

"How do I know what's wrong with it?" she snapped. "I want it fixed!"

The technician looked at the bracelet. "Why do you think there's something wrong with it?"

"Are you questioning my word?" she hissed.

"No, Lady Emeraude. But it might be something else beyond the scope of the anchor."

Emeraude sighed. Temporal physics was beyond her understanding, or interest. "This last trip back was...different."

"In what way, Lady Emeraude?"

"Like I was carrying another person along with me!" she snapped, her anger flaring at the insistent questioning. "Just fixed that thing, and have it done before I go back!" With that, she turned and stalked out of the chamber, leaving a puzzled looking technician alone with her anchor.

Pluto watched Emeraude move back up the timeline to her own era. Excellent. The timeline is still intact. Only a couple of more of Emeraude's trips to watch before the Senshi's younger selves make their own way to the Time Gate.

As she completed the thought, she felt the first stirring of a breeze gently touch her face. Alarmed, she looked up. The Time Winds!

The mists surrounding the Time Gate shifted, leaving a space around the ornate doors. The wind got stronger quickly, becoming a gale. Pluto, used to the infrequent occurrences, braced herself and prepared to ride out the winds. She was immune to the winds, but there was a small possibility that the winds could disrupt the timestream she had watched so carefully. And this could not happen at a worst time! Not when the timestream is so fragile!

Through the winds, she saw something tumbling in its grasp. No, it was someone, a man with dark hair and plain features. From the way he was dressed, she guessed he was from the last half of the twentieth century, a camper or woodsman. But how could he have been caught in the Time Winds?

Then she saw the medallion hanging around his neck.

Could it be.... Before she could finish the thought, the man was past her. The doors to the Time Gate opened and the man tumbled through. As soon as he passed through, the Gate closed, and wind suddenly stopped.

Pluto straightened, her expression worried. First, I will have to check to insure the timestream is intact. Then, I must track down that man and find out how he got the Medallion of the Time Winds. This could be either a boom or curse for the future. I'm just not sure which one yet.

Part 1 - "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...."

Journal entry #1

Nala Sather was a pleasant, plain-faced woman who truly enjoyed her job as a security guard inside the Crystal Palace. For the last two years, she had patrolled the top three floors of the central core of the palace, from nine to five. Her beat included several guest suites, storerooms, several display rooms, and libraries. In all that time, nothing serious or strange happened during her patrols.

That would change today.

It started changing when she entered the main hallway on the thirty-fifth floor, connecting the eastern and western wings of the central core. She had taken two steps down the hall when she saw someone lying in the middle of the corridor, not more then five meters away from her.

She stopped, puzzled. The body was lying on his stomach (she could see it was a male), dressed in a red-and-black flannel shirt, blue jeans, and ankle high hiking boots. He had dark hair, plain features, and looked pale. An ugly green backpack was sitting high on his back. Even at this distance, she could smell the smoke, and see the dark patches on the man's clothes. She looked around for any signs of fire, but there were none. He seemed to be breathing normally, as if he'd decided to suddenly fall asleep in the middle of the hall.

Best not to take any chances. She tapped a button on a broad band encircling her left wrist. "Sather to Central. I have a situation on the thirty-fifth floor, Eastern wing. I need a security team and medical team, ASAP."

"Understood, Sather," replied the cool, calm voice of Central. "Teams are on their way. What is the situation?"

"I've found an unknown person in the Main hallway, apparently unconscious. He looks like he's been in some sort of fire."

"Any signs of fire?"

"Negative, Central. There's nothing but him."

"Understood. Stand By." There was silence for a minute, then Central came back. "Sailor Mars has been monitoring the situation and is on her way to take charge. Sailor Jupiter and Venus are also on their way. Don't touch the body unless you have to. No telling what's going on."

"Understood, Central. You won't get an argument here." She looked up as the man groaned, and began to move slowly. "You'd better hurry - it looks like he's beginning to come around...."

The first real memory Alan had in this time and place was waking up slowly on a cold floor. He was lying on his stomach, his head pounding with the intensity of a jackhammer. His mouth felt dry and bloated, like someone had stuffed a sock into his mouth.

Groaning loudly, he rolled onto his back. He heard the backpack protest the sudden shift in weight, but he ignored it. As his vision cleared, he found himself staring up at a glass like ceiling. "If I was a drinking man," he said slowly and deliberately, his voice sounding like a whispering frog's, "I would say I had a hangover. Except, I don't drink."

He lifted his head slowly, fully aware of the effort it was taking, and looked around. He was lying in a corridor, brightly lit, and looking like no place he'd seen before. Each end of the corridor opened out into another hall running perpendicular to it. The walls looked to be made of some type of crystal, as was the floor.

"All right, I'll bite," he said slowly, his voice a bit louder and firmer then before. "Where the hell am I?"

He laid there and waited for an answer, but none came. "Wonderful," he muttered, as his mind tried to pull together the last few things he could remember. His head still hurt, but he was almost sure it wasn't going to fall off anytime soon.

"Camping trip," he said aloud. "I was on a camping trip." He looked down, and noticed he was wearing a tee shirt under a red-and-black flannel shirt, blue jeans, and ankle high hiking boots. "Either that, or I'm a Lumberjack." He put his head down, and began singing, "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I work...." His singing trailed off. "Damm," he muttered. "I forgot the rest."

He sat up slowly. Several muscles protested, but he managed to complete the simple task. "I hurt," he said. He looked at his shirt and cautiously sniffed a sleeve. "I smell too."

"Hold it right there!" someone shouted from behind him. Alan turned his head slowly, not trusting his neck to do the job quickly. He caught sight of the person standing maybe five meters away, out of his field of vision until now.

"Hello," he said quietly, giving her a half wave. "I'm Alan Thomas. Can you please tell me where I am?"

The person, a thin woman wearing a uniform of some sort, had a surprised look on her face. Instead of answering his question, she responded by speaking into something attached to her wrist. "Sather to Central. He's awake and sitting up. He's also speaking to me. Orders?" She listened for several seconds, then replied "Understood."

"Look," Alan said slowly, climbing to his unsteady feet. He pulled off the backpack and leaned it against the wall. "Just point me in the right direction, and I'm out of here."

The woman, he guessed her name was Sather, looked at him, and he could see some fear in her eyes. "I suggest you stay where you are until the security and medical teams arrive."

He took two steps towards her, and she stepped back an equal number. "Stay where you are!" she shouted.

Alan stared at her in disbelief. "What did I do?" he asked.

"Just stay there!"

Alan sighed. "All right, all right," he muttered. "Can I get something out of my backpack?"

"NO!"

He put his hands behind his back and started to pace, slowly at first, using the width of the hallway. "Great, just great," he said loudly. "I must of stumbled into some sort of government installation." He looked at Sather. "Right?"

Sather didn't say anything. Alan sighed, and continued to pace. He stopped a moment, looked confused, then looked at Sather again. "Something screwy here. What language were we just speaking?"

It was Sather's turn to looked puzzled. "Japanese."

"Japanese?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

"Ah." Alan began to pace again. "We're speaking Japanese," he continued, his voice louder then before. "A language that the last time I looked, I had ABSOLUTELY no bloody idea how to speak, let alone carry on a conversation." He looked at the guard again. "You can understand what I'm saying with no problem?"

"Your accent is strange, but I can understand you."

"Ah. Wonderful. Another question that needs an answer...."

He rubbed his forehead. "Let me guess. I'm in Japan, right?"

"Yes."

"Makes sense. Where else would they speak Japanese? Don't answer that, I'm just being...confused."

Just then, Alan heard the sounds of people approaching. He stopped pacing and watched the newcomers arrive. The first of the newcomers came into view, he stopped in mid-pace, and his jaw dropped.

His first thought was the newcomer was a cheerleader. Only this one wasn't carrying pompons, and she was looking at him like he was some sort of lowlife. She stopped next to Sather, hand on hips, glaring at him.

He judged she was in her early twenties, half a head shorter then him, with long black hair that flowed down her back. Her face would have been called pretty if it wasn't glaring at him.

He took a closer look at what she was wearing. She was wearing a white bodysuit with a red bow just below her neck, a short red skirt, and red high heel shoes. In short, the outfit was about as practical as a clown suit at a nunnery.

"OK," he said slowly. "Let me guess.... You're not a cheerleader, right?"

She glared at him. "Who are you, and how did you get here?" she demanded.

"Well," he said slowly. "I'm Alan Cornwell Thomas, and I have no idea how I got here, because I have absolutely no idea where I am."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, I'm sorry, Lady."

"That's Sailor Mars to you."

Alan sighed. "Look, Sailor Mars, I'm tired. I have a headache you wouldn't believe. I need a bath and clean clothes. Will you knock off the interrogation?"

Her eyes widen, but before she could respond, a half dozen hard faced men in stark white military type uniforms appeared and clustered behind Sailor Mars. They appeared to be armed with nothing more then short batons attached to their belts, but to Alan, they looked like they were use to handling people like him. Mars pointed at him. "Seize him for questioning," she said with an air of command.

The soldiers moved around Mars and the first guard and advanced slowly towards Alan. He backed away from them, giving them a weak smile. "Can we talk this out?"

They waited until they were within couple of meters before they rushed him. Alan held up his hands in a pleading gesture."Wait a minute!" he bleated.

Then things started to get REALLY weird.

No sooner then the words `wait a minute' left his mouth, then the air suddenly swirled around him. In a span of seconds, the wind became stronger, picking up speed and strength every second. The soldiers stopped at the sight and started backing away while trying to keep their balance in the sudden windstorm. Even Mars looked startled at what was happening. "Out of the way!" she shouted at the soldiers.

Alan looked down at his hands, and saw they were beginning to glow. As he watched, the radiance began to spread down his arms, until his entire body was aglow. His eyes widen in fear.

"Stop right now!" yelled Mars, her voice almost lost in the howling wind. "Or I will use force!"

"I don't know how to stop this!" screamed back Alan, putting his hands out to show her.

A wave of air shot from his hands, and plowed into the soldiers. The entire group, with the exception of Mars, went flying out of the hallway and crashed into the wall of the intersecting corridor. Mars was leaning into the now gale strength wind, somehow managing to looked shocked and angry at the same time.

Then, just as suddenly the wind was gone. It didn't fade, or die away, it just simply stopped. Alan watched the glow fade from his body, and looked up at the scene of chaos before him. Mars glared at him. "What are you?" she gasped.

Alan looked at his hands, looked at her, then back at his hands. "Did I do that?" he asked weakly.

Her eyes narrowed and she said, "Let's see how you like THIS!" She pressed her hands together, extended her index fingers, closed her eyes, and shouted "Fire Soul!"

"Waitaminute!" Alan's jaw dropped again as fire burst from her fingertips and shot across the distance between them. He just had enough time to put up his hands and close his eyes, before the fire hit him.

After several seconds of not feeling any pain, Alan opened his eyes again, surprised that he felt no searing heat. He blinked twice at the sight before him, and chills went up and down his spine.

The fire was still there, raging just beyond his outstretched hands. A faint blue glow had formed between his hands and the fire, shielding him from the angry red and yellow flames. Despite its closeness, Alan felt only a small amount of heat from the fire, like warm sunlight. After several more seconds, the fire faded away. Beyond the fire, Mars stood there, her glare replaced by surprise and amazement.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Alan yelled at her. He kept my hands up, not wanting to do anything that might rob him of whatever was protecting him. "And who the hell are you?"

The glare came back again, and she snarled, "I am Sailor Mars, one of the defenders of Crystal Tokyo, and your worst nightmare!"

"Sorry, Babe," he snapped back. Meanwhile, his mind was chewing on the `Crystal Tokyo' bit of her statement. Where the heck is Crystal Tokyo? "But I don't remember any pyromaniac women in my dreams, especially one that looks like you!"

Her eyes narrowed and she said, "All right. You had your chance to surrender. Now, pay the price!"

"Hold on!" Alan shouted, pushing his hands out to accent his words. As he did so, the glow returned to his hands. As his arms extended, a sphere of distorted air shot from his hands.

Mars reacted quickly, throwing herself forward to avoid the attack. The ball shot through the space where she'd been standing. She rolled to her feet and shouted, "Flame - ugh!"

Instead of crashing into the wall behind her, the sphere had simply bounced off, like a large rubber ball. It gained speed as it bounced off the floor and slammed into the back of Mars' head. The blow dazed her, and she staggered, her next attack forgotten. The sphere, redirected by her head, gained even more speed as it bounced off the ceiling, then flew directly at Alan.

Alan gave out a bleat of surprise at the sudden redirection of the sphere. He thought he could the sphere whistle through the air as it closed on him. In blind panic, he cringed, raising his arms to protect his face. As he did so, his body began to glow again, forming itself around him like an aura.

The sphere slammed into Alan at better then three hundred kilometers an hour. In theory, the sphere should have shattered both his arms and removed his head from his shoulders. But it didn't.

The aura absorbed most of the sphere's momentum, but not all of it. With a yelp of surprise, Alan was knocked off his feet and sent flying. He hit the floor hard, cracking his head off the unyielding surface. Stars floated across his vision and he felt sick.

He didn't see the sphere bounce away and hit the still groggy Mars in the stomach. With an "Oomph!," she folded over and fell. Her head struck the floor, and she was out. The Sphere, its energy expended, faded away in midair.

For several seconds there was silence. Alan sat up and held his head. "Oh, great," he muttered to himself. "This has to be a Monday. I could never get a handle on Mondays."

Alan looked around, trying to figure out what happened. He stood up slowly and cautiously approached the large number of bodies.

All the soldiers were out cold, but they didn't seem to be seriously injured. He walked over to Mars, knelt beside her, and checked for a pulse. Like the guards, she was unconscious, but alive. The anger was gone from her face, and she looked peaceful in unconsciousness.

Sounds of running footsteps made Alan look up. Two more girls ran out of a side corridor, and came to a step ten meters away. He stood up slowly, and gave them a weak smile. "I can explain everything," He said weakly, backing up slowly and feeling like things had just gotten worse. "At least, I think I can...."

They quickly sized up the scene, decided he was trouble, then charged him. They were both dressed like Mars, only one had a green skirt and trim, while the other wore a yellow skirt and trim.

The one trimmed in green shouted, "Mars!" She was half a head taller then Alan, long brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, and better then average looking. She also looked more then able to pound him into a small package, and she was sizing him up to do just that.

The other girl was blonde, attractive, and she looked mad enough to finish what the other girl left. "Let's show this intruder not to tangle with the Senshi!" she shouted.

"Right!" shouted the taller one. "Let's see how you like this!"

"Er...right." Alan didn't stand there to see what they were going to throw at him next, but took off running in the direction Mars and the guards had appeared from. As he ran, he heard one of the newcomers shout "Supreme Thunder!," followed by something that cracked past his left ear. He smelted burnt ozone and the flash of light told him all he needed to know.

"OhDammwhatdidIeverdotodeservethis?" Alan reached the end of the corridor, made a hard right at the intersection, and crashed into someone running in the other direction. He caught a glimpse of black hair with blue highlights, and a pair of very surprised looking blue eyes.

She was knocked over by the collision, and Alan came close to joining her on the floor. He managed to stay on his feet, shouted "Sorry!" at her, then continued running in the direction she'd come from.

He heard footsteps behind me, the blonde shouting "Ami! Are you all right?," followed by "Crescent Beam!"

Something bright and hot passed by his right ear, shot down the corridor, and seared a small section of the wall. Alan didn't bother to say anything, but put his head down and continued to run as fast as he could. This is not good....

He shot around another corner, narrowly avoiding a large group of people who had been standing in the middle of the corridor. Part of Alan's mind noted that most of the people had cameras, and looked like a bunch of tourists. Several flashes popped as cameras went off, either by accident or on purpose. Alan dodged around a couple of suprised-looking uniformed types, then broke clear of the group and dashed down the corridor.

I must be in a Japanese amusement park! He thought.

Where's the exit out of here?

Just then, he heard the tall brunette shout, "Halt intrud - *oomph*!" There was the sounds of bodies falling along with grunts, yells, cries, and a few curses.

Alan risked a glance over his shoulder. Both the blonde and the brunette has crashed full tilt into the surprised tour group, sending a large number of the luckless tourists sprawling. Both girls had also fallen in the tangle of limbs and bodies, and were trying to get up. Bedlam broke out as everyone talked at once. Some of the tourists were helping their less fortunate breathen back to their feet, while other had to be calm down. A few of the others started snapping pictures of the two angry-looking girls, the camera flashes not helping any.

Just what I needed - Something to make them even madder. They'll probably blame me for the tour group showing up like that. Alan spotted a flight of stairs off to his left, leading down. Without hesitating, he started down the stairs, three at a time.

Sailor Pluto strode down the hall towards the throne room, her staff striking the floor every stride making the only audible sound. She looked worried, an unusual look for the Senshi known for being the least emotional.

The doors to the throne room opened as she approached them, and she walked into the heart of Crystal Palace.

There were several people already in the room. Three of the Guardians, Calcite, Azurite, and Chrysolite, were clustered in a small group near the throne. The three were dressed in their Guardian uniforms, talking quietly amongst themselves. All three of them glanced at Pluto as she entered, then went back to their discussion.

Titanite was talking to King Endymion off to one side. Ti, looking like a high fashion model in a stylish business suit, gave Pluto a warm smile that faded somewhat as she saw the expression on the older Senshi's face. Endymion, his expression more guarded, watched Pluto's entrance and moved towards the throne.

Queen Serenity was sitting on the throne, her eyes flickering between the two conversations. Luna was curled up on her lap, the cat's eyes also watching the conversations. They both looked up as Pluto entered and Serenity's normally serene smile became a frown as she saw the look on Pluto's face.

Pluto knelt in front of Serenity. "My Queen," She said in a quiet voice. "Are you aware of the intruder alert on the thirty-fifth floor?"

All other conversation stopped. Pluto became aware that everyone was looking at her, but she continued to look at Serenity.

"We are aware of the alert," replied the Queen carefully. "I would have thought a simple intruder was beneath your notice."

"Not this intruder."

"Is it an enemy?" asked Chrysolite.

"No. If anything, he is an ally. At worse, an innocent."

Calcite didn't look convinced. "Your 'Innocent' has managed to overcome half a dozen guards and Rei. He's currently being pursued by Minako, Minkoto, Rei, Ami, and a dozen Palace guards. According to Pyrite, he's managing to confound the palace's security system, so we can't track him on a consistent basis. For an innocent person, his actions are highly suspicious."

Pluto looked at Calcite. "Has anyone been injured?"

"Not seriously. But the intruder has shown unusual powers, and unless he is captured, there's no telling what will happen next."

Pluto gave him a small smile, then turned back to Serenity. "With your permission, I would like to try and speak to this intruder before someone is killed or serious injured."

"Permission granted."

Calcite stepped forward. "Your Highness, may I accompany Pluto on this matter?"

Serenity looked from Calcite to Pluto, then back to Calcite.

"If she has no objections?"

"I have none. In fact, if Lord Calcite will use his teleporting powers, we will save precious time."

Calcite moved to stand next to Pluto. "I have no objections. The last report we had was the intruder was on the thirty-first floor. If we teleport to the twenty-ninth, we can work our way up. Fair enough?"

Pluto nodded. Calcite turned to the other two Guardians. "I want you two to stay with the King and Queen. Azure, call Pyrite and tell him to forget the security system for now, and have him meet Pluto and me on the twenty-ninth floor." He looked at his sister. "Ti, stay here, and be ready for anything."

She nodded and reached for her transforming pen. By the time she shouted "Sailor Polaris Make Up!," Both Calcite and Pluto had teleported away.

The chase was moving quicker then the people in the throne room thought.

The twenty-ninth floor was busier then the thirty-fifth, as several departments had offices located on this floor. So, there were plenty of people to see something that had never happened before - a real out-and-out chase though the halls of the Crystal Palace.

"OUT OF THE WAY! SORRY! COMING THROUGH! SORRY! CLEAR THE DECKS!"

The people, startled by the shouts, turn in the direction of the person shouting to see what was so important. The person shouting was a man in his mid twenties, dressed in a red-and-black flannel shirt, blue jeans, and ankle high hiking boots. He had dark hair, plain features, and looked scared. As he passed the spectators, they caught a whiff of wood smoke.

Running full out, he managed to weave his way through the stream of people with the ease that comes from sheer focused panic. Those who were either too slow, or tried to slow him down were knocked off their feet with a loud "SORRY!" Several times, palace guards came flying out of the crowd to cut off their quarry, only to either miss the elusive target completely, or receive a textbook example of a straight arm.

"HALT INTRUDER!"

Another shout made the spectators turn back in the direction the man had come from. When the workers saw the Senshi racing after the young man, they prudently stepped out of the way. Sailors Jupiter and Venus were running as fast as they could. The run-in with the tour group hadn't help the pair's anger any, and they were determined to catch this guy. But, despite their best efforts, they couldn't gain any ground on their quarry. What was even more frustrating was the presence of people made any of their attacks impossible.

Several meters behind the two Senshis, Mars followed, her face a mask of rage. She still felt some effects of the intruder's attack, and she was not going to let him get away if she could help it. Right on her heels, a dozen palace guards with the same thoughts as their chief kept pace.

Ami trailed the others. Unlike the other three Senshis involved in the chase, she hadn't transformed into Sailor Mercury, as she had responded as a medical doctor, not a Senshi. She stopped at everyone who'd been knocked down during the chase to make sure they weren't seriously hurt. She almost managed to keep the others in sight, despite the large medical case slung over her shoulder.

She looked up from her latest patient in time to see the intruder stop and speak to an older man for a second. He received a reply from the man, then race away before Jupiter and Venus gain much ground on him. The intruder ran into the middle of an intersection, stopped, took his bearings, then dashed down a side corridor and out of sight.

More intent on their quarry, the Senshi and the guards continued the chase, ignoring the man the intruder had spoken to. Puzzled by the intruder's actions, Ami worked her way through the crowd, and ran up to the man. She recognized the man as one of the Palace's senior accountants, and he knew her. He gave her a short bow. "Lady Mercury," he said with a small smile. "A pleasure to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Mr. Jaques," Ami said politely. "What did that man say to you?"

"Would you believe he politely asked me where the nearest stairwell was?"

Ami's eyes widen in surprise. "And what did you tell him?"

"The truth." He pointed in the direction that the chase has gone. "There's an auxiliary staircase two corridors over."

"Did he said anything else?"

Jaques nodded. "He said 'thank you,' then ran off. I was so surprised, I didn't even think of grabbing him."

Ami nodded. "Thank you, sir." She glanced back at a couple of guards who had been knocked down by the intruder. They were getting to their feet, shaken but unhurt. "Under the circumstances, not grabbing him was probably the wisest course of action."

The accountant sighed. "I hope the young man is not in too much trouble. He seemed like a nice man."

"I don't know. We have to catch him first." She readjusted the medical case. "I'd better go after them. Thank you again."

"My pleasure."

Ami dashed off, her thoughts focused on the polite intruder.

Pluto and Calcite teleported to a small alcove specially built for the purpose. They stepped out into the corridor. Calcite looked at the Senshi. "Which direction?"

Pluto considered for a moment, then pointed with her staff.

"That way. There's a auxiliary staircase we can use."

They started jogging in that direction, the few people in the corridor moving out of the way quickly. As they ran, Calcite asked, "How do you know this intruder isn't some assassin, or worse?"

Pluto was silent for several seconds. "Because I know him, or I should say, I know what he will become."

"What he will become? What do you -"

Just then, a figure wearing a red-and-black flannel shirt, blue jeans, and ankle high hiking boots came flying out of a side corridor. He stopped at the sight of the pair jogging towards him, yelled something that sounded like, "Ohdammmoreofthem! WhatdidIdotodeservethis?", then dashed off in the opposite direction. He raced around the corner and was gone.

Calcite looked at Pluto. "I take it that's our intruder?"

Pluto nodded. "We need to talk to him."

"We have to catch him first."

They reached the intersection at the same time as Jupiter and Venus. They slowed at the sight of Pluto and Calcite. Pluto stepped forward, blocking the progress of the other two Senshi.

"What are you doing?" cried Jupiter. "We still have an intruder to capture!"

Pluto's face was impassive. "I must ask you to stay here until I talk to him."

"Out of the way!" yelled Mars, running up with a large number of the palace guards behind her. "That intruder is dangerous!"

"That intruder is more of a danger to himself -"

From the direction that the intruder had taken there was a shout, "LOOK OUT!" That was followed by a large crash, then the hollow sound of metal containers bouncing off a hard object. The sound died away slowly, echoing through the corridor. For several seconds, there was silence.

"- Then to anyone else," finished Pluto, looking slightly irritated.

Ami ran up, looking concerned. "What was that?"

"I think out intruder ran into something he couldn't handle," replied Mars, with satisfaction in her voice.

"I suggest we find out," said Calcite.

As a group, they ran towards the sound. They rounded the corner and stopped at the sight before them.

Venus summed it up far all of them. "What a mess," she muttered.

The intruder had run headlong into a cleaning cart, knocking the heavy cart onto its side, Buckets, mops, and other items were scattered along the corridor. The member of the Palace cleaning crew who had been pushing the cart stared at the mess in shock.

Amongst the remains of the cleaning supplies, the intruder lay sprawled on his back, eyes closed, his breathing shallow. Ami made her way through the assembled crowd and knelt next to the intruder. Mars turned to the guards and started issuing orders to secure the area. Venus and Jupiter stood and watched Ami check the intruder.

Calcite drew Pluto aside and asked her bluntly, "What's going on here? Who is this guy?"

Pluto's expression was neutral. "I need to speak to him first," she said quietly, but firmly. "There are things I need to know from him before I can fully explain why he is here." She looked at Ami. "How is he?"

"He has a concussion," replied Ami. "He's also has a broken right arm, and he's in shock. I need him moved to the hospital wing immediately."

Mars turned away from the guards. "I want him in a secured room," she snapped.

"Agreed," said Calcite. He turned to look at Pluto. "This isn't over."

"No, it isn't. It's a beginning." She turned and walked away.

"What do you mean? the Beginning of what?"

She stopped, and turned to look at him. "That depends on our guest." She walked away, leaving Calcite standing there with more questions then he had answers for.

Part 2 - "He followed us home. Can we keep him?"

Journal entry #2

Several hours after the intruder had been captured, the senior leadership of Crystal Tokyo met in the conference room next to the throne room. Serenity sat at the head of the table, Endymion standing behind her, and both Artemis and Luna sitting on the table near the Queen. Most of the others were scattered around the table, talking among themselves. The only person not in the room was Sailor Pluto, who had disappeared after the intruder's capture.

Serenity tapped her hand on the tabletop to bring the meeting to order. She waited until the conversation died away."Thank you," she said quietly. "Now, what do we have on our guest?"

Rei made a face at the Queen's use of 'guest' rather then 'intruder' to describe the man lying in a secured hospital room, but said nothing. "I think Ami should start."

Ami adjusted her glasses and looked down at the paper in front of her. "The intru-"

"Guest," said Serenity calmly. "He's a guest until such a time he proves otherwise."

"Guest, then. He's a human male, one hundred seventy centimeters tall, weight eighty kilograms. He has black hair, brown eyes, and has no other identifying marks. Outside of his injuries, he's in excellent physical shape. His injuries range from concussion and a broken right arm, to several first degree burns on his hands and face, and a mild case of smoke inhalation. He's under sedation right now, and he should recover with no problems."

"Smoke inhalation?" asked Ti. "Where did he get that from?"

"I would guest the same place he got the burns from." Minako looked at Rei.

"Don't look at me," Rei said defensively. "He blocked my only attack with some sort of magical shield. He slugged me with a bouncing energy sphere before I could attack him again."

"The burns are not from Rei's attack," said Ami slowly. "He was in some type of fire before Rei saw him."

"Thank you, Ami," replied Serenity. "Guardian Pyrite, did you manage to solve the magic our guest seem to have used?"

Pyrite looked up quickly from the book he'd been leafing through, and blinked twice. While he was distracted, Azurite reached over and slid the book away from her husband.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I got a bit distracted."

"I can see why," replied Serenity, with a smile. "Its a Star Trek Novel, isn't it?"

Pyrite nodded. "It was among our guest's possessions, and it's one I haven't read before...." He managed to look embarrassed at all the stares he was receiving. "You wanted to know about his magic, right?"

Serenity's smile grew warmer. "Rei said he shown signs of strong magic, but outside of the altercation with security, he didn't use any."

"I examined his aura, and he has a strong magical aura, one of the strongest I've seen in a human in a while. But, there are a couple of unusual things about it."

"Which are?"

"The first is the aura, while strong, has no signs of being extensively used. To put it simply, his aura doesn't have the signs of a trained magic user. There are a few echoes of magic, most likely from the encounter with Rei, but nothing like any one of my senior students. The next unusual thing is the type of magic our guest can use."

"What type of Magic?" asked Luna.

"I would guess that, with very few exceptions, our guest can only use wind, or air based magic."

Azurite raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt.

"Air magic," murmured the cat. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"How unusual is to have such a disposition to one form of magic?" asked Titanite.

"Among humans? Very rare. Most magic using humans may differ in skill and ability, but all can choose from a wide field of magic. Our guest, while being somewhat limited in what magic he can use, could be fairly powerful in time."

Serenity nodded in understanding. She then looked at Calcite. "What about his belongings?"

"Pyrite and I examined the backpack he left behind. There's nothing but what you would expect to find in a backpack of a camper - change of clothes, camping equipment, freeze dried food, and a few personal belongings."

The queen caught the hesitation in his voice. "But?" she prompted.

"But the signs all point to our...guest being from the twentieth century."

As if on cue, Pluto entered the room. All conversation stopped at the Senshi's sudden appearance. Her expression was grim and she said nothing. She bowed her head to Serenity and nodded to everyone else before she sat down at the other end of the table from Serenity.

"What make you think he's from the twentieth century?" asked Endymion quickly.

"His clothes and other equipment are consistent for that era, as was his personal belongings. The food he had in the pack is from that era, and is still eatable." Calcite picked up a wallet that had been lying in front of him. "The contents of this leave little doubt." He pulled out a small card. "A driver's license for the State of California," he said slowly, "made out to an Alan Cornwell Thomas. It expired in 1995."

He placed the license on the table and pulled out several credit cards. "These are also made out to Alan Cornwell Thomas. None of these cards were any good after 1996." He opened the billfold and pulled out a small pile of American dollars. "Forty three dollars in genuine American currency. Not one of these bills is more recent then 1993."

He passed the items around the table. While the others examined the items, Calcite held up the wallet. "There are other things in here, all dated about the same time as the driver's license, credit cards, and money."

"Lastly," Calcite added with a look at the silent Senshi, "Sailor Pluto picks today to make one of her infrequent visits."

With a hint of sardonic amusement Pluto commented, "I was unaware I was regarded as a harbinger of doom."

Calcite paused to consider his words. "It's nothing personal but everything seems to point to time travel being involved and to say that complicates things is a definite understatement. Whenever that happens the fabric of reality winds up hanging by a thread. Based on prior experience you're about to tell us everything hinges on our visitor from the past."

Pluto shook her head slightly. "I can see that you would find that troubling but you need not worry. We are not approaching a temporal paradox. Our guest's destiny does not impact what was and has been, only what could be and might happen. Which is as true for you as for all who live in this time."

She had everyone's attention but said no more. After a while Rei realized she had said all she would for the present and got the meeting back on track. There was something the intruder... their guest(!) had been carrying that Pluto needed to explain.

"But," said Rei slowly, "there's no signs of age on any of these items. My people checked everything the intruder -"

"Guest," reminded Serenity.

"Guest," amended Rei through clenched teeth, "had on him. Everything he had on him fit in with him being from the late twentieth century. Everything but this." She held up a medallion hanging on a fine silver chain.

Everyone stopped and looked at the medallion. It was disc shaped, five centimeters in diameter, and the color of granite. On its face, a symbol had been engraved. A familiar symbol.

"It's the one thing we found on him that doesn't make sense," Pyrite said, his expression quizzical. "It has the symbol for Pluto engraved on it. It's very old and is made of an unfamiliar type of stone."

Ami looked at Pluto. "Do you know what this is? It has your symbol on it."

Everyone looked at the silent Pluto. She shifted slightly in her chair. "May I see it?' she asked quietly.

Rei got out of the chair and walked down to Pluto. She gave the medallion to the outer Senshi. Pluto carefully took the item, and looked at it. She looked up at Serenity. "May I test it?' she asked.

"Test it?" asked the Queen in puzzlement.

Pluto nodded. "If it is what I believe it to be, it will react to this test. It's not dangerous."

"Very well. You can test it."

Pluto stood slowly. She held the amulet cupped in both hands. "Winds of Time, I invoke thee," she whispered. "Winds of Time, I call thee. Show me your true nature."

The medallion began to glow with a soft blue light. It remained glowing for several seconds, then the light increased. Slowly, the medallion's stonelike surface cracked, then fell away in small pieces. When the last bit of stone fell away, a softly glowing medallion laid in Pluto's hands. Slowly, the glow died, revealing a bluish metal disk with a intricate pattern weaved into it.

Everyone else looked at the medallion in surprise. Pyrite was the first one to speak. "Fascinating," he said slowly. "I didn't detect any strong magical energy when I examine that Medallion."

"There's very little energy left in it. It's been used several times over the centuries, and there's been no way to recharge its mana until now."

"What is it?" asked Minako, her eyes wide.

"Its the Medallion of the Time Winds," replied Pluto, placing the item on the table in front of her. "A relic from the Silver Millennium."

"And what's its function?" asked Serenity.

"It allows the user to ride the Time Winds without being destroyed."

"What are the Time Winds?" asked Calcite, his eyes never leaving the medallion.

"They are part of the timestream, a natural phenomena consisting of small pockets of chaos. They travel in a random manner, but to be caught in a pocket without something like this medallion is a horrible way to die."

There was silence in the room, everyone looking at the medallion on the table. After several seconds, Pyrite broke the silence. "Very strange," he muttered. "I thought Nemesis was the planet associated with wind, not Pluto."

"Not this type of wind."

Rei asked, "And how did it end up in the hands of our...guest?"

"I'm not certain, but it is because of this relic we have a guest from the twentieth century."

"Your certain he's from the twentieth century? That he's not some sort of spy planted on us?"

"He is what he appears to be - a person who has been catapulted a thousand years into his future."

Serenity's eyes narrowed. "What are you hiding, Pluto? You told Calcite that you knew him, or you know what he will become."

The outer Senshi exhaled deeply. "I must speak to him before I can tell you anything. I have suspicions, but not much more."

"Very well," said Serenity, standing slowly. "I think we should adjourn until Pluto can speak to our guest. Fair enough?"

With Serenity leading the way, the meeting broke up. Rei stayed when she'd been standing, and watched everyone else but Pluto leaves the room. When they had all left, she looked at Pluto, who was still sitting. "Can you tell me if this man's a threat to the city?"

Pluto shook her head. "He isn't an enemy." She looked up at Mars. "What is wrong?" she asked softly. "You're more on edge then you usually are. You don't usually answer intruder alerts personally, nor do you make it a habit of allowing anger to over rule your reason, despite what some people think."

"Nothing," replied Rei, her eyes shifting to the medallion.

"You've never been good at lying, Rei," said Pluto in the same soft voice. "And I've been around long enough to know the difference."

Rei glared at the outer Senshi, but before she could deny the charge, Pluto continued. "You can tell me. Something is bothering you."

"Yes," replied Rei through clenched teeth.

"And if it was something solid, or identifiable, you would have already taken it to the Queen."

Rei just nodded.

"What is it?"

Rei was silent for several seconds. "I'm having visions again," she said in a low voice, "but they're vague and I can't make sense out them."

"What are these visions like?"

"They're just fragments - Flashes of images for a split second, then they're gone."

"Such as?"

"A dark shadow looming over the Palace, a man with two faces, and a man calmly floating inside a tornado."

Pluto said nothing, but motioned Rei to continue. "I also saw Fire, Water, Earth, and Air twisting around in a vortex, each element trying to destroy the others. There was a...stench of corruption there in most of the images." She shook her head. "It's really hard to describe. I haven't have visions like this since before the Black Moon War."

"Don't try to. I suspect that the closer the event, the clearer the visions will become."

Rei nodded and picked up the medallion. "I'll take this to a secure box."

"Leave it."

"But -"

"Leave it. I can put in a safer place then you can possibly imagine. With the spell shell gone, it is too dangerous an item to leave lying around."

Rei replaced the medallion on the table. "What about our guest? You said you were going to talk to him. About what?"

Pluto looked up at her, and Rei could see the coldness in her eyes. "I would like your help in testing a theory of mine concerning our guest."

"What do you need?"

"Some of your people, and several of your mages...."

Alan woke up in the same position he'd found himself in when he awoke the last time; on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He still felt the same way with the headache and dry mouth, and he muttered, "That's it. I'm NEVER getting drunk."

After several seconds of laying there, he realized there were some differences from the last time. First, from the feel of softness, he was lying in a bed. Second, he was wearing an outfit that felt like silk, and became aware of the blanket someone had pulled up to his chin. And third, the ceiling was off white in color, and seemingly normal.

Alan slowly turned his head and took in the rest of the room. It was a hospital room, a light and airy chamber that seemed determined to be cheerful despite what the patient was suffering from. He was its only occupant, and there were no clue to where he was.

There were two doors, one on the left side of his bed, the other to the right. Before him, a series of large windows comprised almost the entire wall, showing a bright sunny day with a blue sky with wisps of clouds here and there. He couldn't see any other buildings from his vantage point.

He tried to sit up, only to find his right arm strapped across his chest. It began to throb, adding another layer to his misery. After several seconds of looking like a beached fish, he managed to sit up and decided to take a good look around.

Before he could, the door off to his left opened, and a woman in a lab coat entered the room. The sight of black hair with blue highlights and blue eyes triggered a vague memory in him. "Uh-oh," he muttered, as he started to scramble out of bed.

"Stay right in that bed," she said in a low cold voice that would have frozen boiling water. "Or I will have you strapped into it, clear?"

Alan scrambled back into bed twice as fast as he'd tried to get out. A thin haze cut across his vision, and he blinked hard to clear it. "Er...Hi?" he asked carefully.

"Good afternoon," she replied. "Get comfortable in that bed, you're going to be it for several days." She walked over to the bed and looked up at something on the wall above Alan's bed. Alan glanced up and noticed a monitor of some type attached to the wall above the headboard. Just like Star Trek, he thought.

"I recommend you don't try to leave this room," the woman said, still looking at the display. "There's a large number of guards stationed out in the hallway, with orders to use lethal force if needed."

"Lethal force...."

She glanced up just Alan looked towards the window. "I also recommend not trying to leave by the window. For one thing, we're about thirty stories above the ground. For another, there's another large group of guards below with the same orders as the ones outside the door."

Alan converted stories to feet in his head, and winced at the large figure he came up with. "I think I'll stay in bed."

"Wise decision."

"You don't mind if I asked some questions, do you?"

"As long as they don't violate security," she replied with a small smile. She looked at him, and Alan noticed that she had nice eyes.

"Let's start with something simple. I have no idea where I am, so I'll start there. Where am I?"

"You are in the city of Crystal Tokyo."

He looked at her blankly. "Come again?"

She on the edge of the bed and looked at him closely. "The city of Crystal Tokyo is built on the old site of the city of Tokyo, in the country known as Japan."

Alan's mind wasn't making sense of what she was saying.

"Old site of Tokyo? What year is this?"

"The nine hundred and eighty seventh year of Neo-queen Serenity."

"Never heard of her, so that's no help."

She looked closer at him, as if trying to gauge his reaction. "What's the last year you remember?"

"1994, why do you ask?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "In your time frame, this is the first third of the thirty-first century. 3002, to be exact."

"Ah...er...OK," he managed to stammer. He blinked several times, and ran a gambit of expressions in rapid succession.

"Are you all right?"

"No," Alan replied, waving his free arm to accent his words."Either I've slid over the edge of madness, and I'm in a padded cell somewhere, in a straitjacket, while men in white coats poke and prod me. Or, This is all real, and everything I know is gone, friends, my career, music, Television, AOL..., well, maybe not AOL..."

"You're babbling."

"I do that whenever I think I'm going mad....By the way, what is your name?"

"Dr.... Ami Mizuo."

"Alan Cornwell Thomas. Alan to my friends, if I have any.

Did I run into you before?"

"You did."

"You were the..."

"I was."

"Oh. Sorry about that. Did I hurt you?"

She shrugged. "Just my pride. It's been a long time since I've been surprised by something, or someone."

"Think how I feel. Surprise don't quite cover what I'm feeling."

"Well, you seem to be reacting well so far."

"Give me ten minutes to let it all sink in, and I'll go to pieces faster then an used Yugo, complete with teeth gnashing, head banging and more screaming and crying then you've seen in a very long time...."

Just then, the door open, and the woman who tried to burn Alan in the hall stormed into the room. Alan saw her at once, gave a cry of panic, and tried to leap from the bed. However, he got tangled up in the sheet, and manage to land, face first, on the tile floor. His vision went fuzzy again, then cleared to the point where he could see a pair of red spiked heeled shoes standing several inches away from his face. He groaned, "What did I do to deserve this?" and put his head down.

"On your feet!" Mars snarled.

"I prefer to stay down here," he replied, not looking up.

"It safer, plus I don't have so far to fall when you belt me."

"Enough, Rei!" shouted Ami. "He's my patient!"

"I need him to answer some questions!" Rei shouted back.

While there were yelling at each other, Alan crawled under the bed. It took them several seconds to realize that the object of their argument had vanished. From the safety of his shelter, Alan watched the two sets of legs as they looked around for another second or two. Then, Ami laid down on the floor and looked at him. "Comfortable?" she asked.

"Not really." He pulled in the rest of the sheets, and wrapped them around himself. "But I think it's safer then allowing Red there to browbeat me into admitting that I'm responsible for global warming, New Coke, Geraldo Rivera, or anything else that's gone wrong in the last thousand years."

Ami gave him a small smile, then stood up. "As you can see, he still suffering from his sudden shift in time. He's irrational, and I doubt you'll get anything useful out of him right now."

"Or ever," Alan called out from under the bed.

He heard Rei expel a deep breath, then she said, "Call me when he's stable - if ever." He could feel her glaring at him, despite the face she couldn't see him. He glanced around the underside of the bed, looking for any signs of smoke. "Until then," she continued. "He's not to leave this room for any reason. My men will continue to guard the door, and their orders still stand."

"What orders?" he yelled out. "The same ones you follow - Shoot first, and think about asking questions later?"

The only thing that saved Alan from the wrath of Mars immediately was Ami. Somehow, she managed to push Rei out of the room, and close the door behind her. She then came over and laid on the floor again. "She's gone. It's safe to come out."

"Can't I stay here?"

She shook her head. "And before you decide to stay there, I must tell you that if you do not come out, I will send for Sailor Jupiter, and she's not as pleasant as Mars was."

He stuck out his head and looked at her. "Er...Jupiter wouldn't happen to be taller then me, brown hair, looks strong enough to twist steel bars into pretzels, and gives the impression she's looking for someone to pound on, would she?"

"You remember," said Ami dryly. "You saw her in the corridor, just before you ran me over."

Alan was back in bed before she finished speaking. "No need to bother the Lady Jupiter now," he said quickly, smoothing out the sheets. "Just keep that pyro Mars away from me, OK?"

She looked at me coolly. "Her name is Rei. She really isn't that bad a person. But, she has a difficult job."

"Doing what?"

"She's head of internal security for Crystal Tokyo."

"Really?" Alan said with mock cheerfulness. "With that bubbling personalty, she's not the welcome wagon hostess?"

The cool look Ami gave him went into deep freeze stare. He tried to outstare her, but after several seconds of that cold glare, he sighed and put his hands up. "Alright, Doc, I'm sorry. I know Rei is trying to her job, but she's so...." He groped for the right word to describe her.

"Focused?"

He thought about it, then nodded. "It fits her. What's with the outfit she was wearing anyway? I would think that power armor and thirty megawatt lasers would be more her style. Or are the criminals in Crystal Tokyo that easily distracted by a great figure?"

"She's a Sailor Senshi, one of Neo-queen Serenity's guardians."

"Uh-oh." Alan managed not to look confused. "And the these 'Senshi' are named after planets, right?"

"Yes. You've met Sailor Mars, and managed to outrun Sailors Jupiter and Venus."

"That's three. Which one are you?"

Ami raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Sailor Mercury. How did you know I was a Senshi?"

Alan shrugged his free shoulder. "Wild guess. I can't see Rei backing down from a simple Doctor."

"Then why are you so hostile to her?"

"Because I'm scared of her. I'm also scared of myself. I can't answer the questions she wants to ask me."

Ami relaxed and walked over to stand near him. She picked up his left arm and started taking his pulse. "What questions?"

"How did I get here? Who sent me? How did I manage to stop the security people and her without any weapons? How did I shield myself against her fire attack? Why did Star Trek: The Next Generation last as long as it did?"

She looked up sharply at the last question, but he just grinned back at her. She sighed dramatically, muttered something like, "Just what Crystal Tokyo needs, another superpowered Trekkie" and pulled out a famillar device from her coat pocket. "Hold still, please."

Alan looked at the device in her hand. "Isn't it that a

Tricor-"

"No it isn't," she replied sharply. "It's a medical scanner, nothing more." She muttered something under her breath about 'lawsuits and copyrights', but Alan didn't catch everything she muttered.

For the next ten minutes, Alan was given a through exam by a very competent Doctor, despite the fact she looked too young to be even in Med School. He started to ask her how old she REALLY was, but before he could say anything, she held the device close to his head and told him to stay quiet.

Just then, the door opened, and another woman walked into the room. She was dressed similarly to the Mars and the others Alan had seen, only her skirt and bow were purple. She looked be older then Ami, but not by much, but there was something about her that Alan couldn't place. She was tall, willowery, with dark hair with green highlights and eyes. In her left hand, she was holding a staff with an orb at one end.

Then Alan made a mistake - he looked into her eyes. There was more in those eyes than he thought possible, great age and wisdom. He felt a chill go through me as he recognized her from the hallway, just before he'd plowed into a cleaning cart and knocked himself out.

"Hello, Pluto," said Ami cheerfully, thought Alan thought he heard a slight coolness in the greeting. She put the medical scanner back into her pocket and faced the newcommer.

"Mercury," replied Pluto formally. "I wish to speak to your patient."

Alan groaned. "Sailor Pluto, right?" he muttered.

Pluto looked at him, and he felt like he was on a dissection table. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

Ami nodded. "Rei was just in here, trying to ask him some questions. I just manage to coax him out from under the bed.

"Ah. That is not my reason for being here. Security of the city is her mission, mine's the security of Time."

"You're A Time Lord?" Alan blurted, only to be gazed at again.

"No, I am not," she said. "Though I have spoken to them on occasion."

"You wouldn't happen to know a guy with a long scarf, goes around the universe in a...blue...box...." Alan found himself without words as Pluto kicked the gaze into overdrive. There was no malice in her expression, but there wasn't much warmth there either.

"Can you please get out of bed?" she asked quietly.

"NO!" shouted Ami, her face taking on a shocked look."Pluto, what are you doing?"

"Testing him."

"For what?"

Alan got out of bed slowly and stood for several seconds, allowing his body to get use to standing again. "OK," he said. "Now what?"

"Come over to the window, please. I want to show you something."

"I can not allow this!" Ami snapped, and she stepped in front of the taller woman. "He is my patient, and still under my care."

Pluto stepped around the shorter woman and went over to the window. Alan walked over to the window and looked out. Ami hadn't been kidding when she said they were thirty stories up. Looked like it was a nice area of town too.

"Now what?" he asked, more intent on the view from his window then on the people with him.

Pluto opened a latch on the window and pushed it open. She leaned her staff against the window pane. A slight breeze ruffled her hair. "Look at that down there," she directed, pointing at something on the ground near the base of the building.

Alan leaned out carefully and looked at what the woman was pointing out. "See what? I don't -"

Without warning, Pluto used both hands to grab Alan by the back of his shirt and throw him out the window. Alan managed to give out a squawk of surprise and fear before he disappeared.

Ami screamed and dashed towards the window. Pluto intercepted her. "I suggest you bring along a strong sedative. I don't think Alan's going to be in a good mood."

Ami looked pale. "You just threw him out a thirty story window!" she screamed. "He'll be killed!"

Pluto shrugged. "If I'm wrong, Rei and her people will catch him. If I'm right, He won't need any help. Either way, he's not going to be in a good mood. We had better get down there before someone gets hurt."

Some people say they see their lives flash clearly before their eyes when they see death coming at them. In Alan's case, he couldn't say that. In fact, the only thought he could remember during that entire fall was Now I know how Wile E. Coyote feels. He was also screaming at the top of his lungs at the time. Somewhere in that brief instant of time, something happened.

*Alan!* said a voice inside his head. *Open your mind to me!*

{What the hell....}

*No time for that! Open your mind to me, if you want to live!*

{But how?}

*Imagine a door in your mind opening. Hurry!*

He closed his eyes and imagined a door in his mind opening. Something moved into his mind, making him a spectator in his own body.

When Alan's eyes opened again, there was no fear in them. He watched the onrushing ground with detached interest. As he watched, he released the injured arm from the harness. With quick, precise motions of his hands, he started casting a spell.

The light breeze that had been blowing around the building suddenly increased in strength. As if a giant vacuum had been turned on, the wind converged on the area below the plunging body. Once there, it quickly began to swirl, becoming a funnel cloud, rapidly reaching up towards Alan.

When Alan and the funnel met, thirty meters above the ground, Alan's plummet began to slow. He continued to slow down as he entered the funnel. At a spot five meters from the ground, he stopped completely. He was now surrounded by the tornado, safe from almost all danger.

He looked down through the maelstrom around him. Off to his left, he could see several guards and a familiar Senshi looking up at him. Most of the soldiers had a shocked look on their faces. There was some type of courtyard off to his right, with a fountain and benches clustered around it. With a flick of his wrist, Alan sent the funnel cloud, along with himself, towards the courtyard. He noted, with amusement, the Senshi and the guards chase him with some trepidation. Still, he kept the tornado under firm control, leaving no trace of the whirlwind's passing.

Once he reached the courtyard, he released the wind from the tornado slowly. As the wind decreased, he dropped to the ground. As the last of the wind left the area around him, he stepped onto the ground. A guard patrolling the courtyard was surprised at the entire event that had just unfolded before him. He stood there, a stunned expression on his face as Alan looked at him.

"Where am I?" asked Alan slowly. There was something wrong with his voice, an echo that made the voice more commanding. The guard said nothing, too shocked to speak.

"UNCLE ALISIN! STOP THIS AT ONCE!"

Alan turned towards the person shouting. Pluto, followed by a scared looking Ami, entered the courtyard. Alan glared at them, then cocked his head slightly as he looked at Pluto. "Moment?" he asked in the same hollow voice, though it was gentler.

Pluto exhaled slowly. "Uncle Alisin. It is you."

Alan smiled. "Sort of. Where am I?"

"In the City of Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years in the future of the person you are with."

Alisin looked down at the body he was in. "My descendant," he replied slowly. "My many-times-great grandson." He looked he looked around. "Who rules the city?"

"Neo-queen Serenity, with the able assistance of King Endymion and the Senshi."

Alisin closed his eyes and smiled even more. "It has come to pass, like you said it would!" he whispered excitedly. He opened them again and looked at Pluto. "I had almost lost any hope of ever seeing the day come when I could serve the Queen again. Does she rule well?"

"As well as she can. She has her mother's strength and gentleness, and her advisers give her good advice."

"If her advisers are good and sound, there will be no reason for me to interfere with them. My hands will be filled with just instructing my grandson here on the ways of a Windwalker."

"He's already shown some ability already."

"Has he?" Alisin paused, as if he was thinking of something. He glanced over at Rei and smiled. "Forgive the actions of my grandson, Lady Mars," he said politely. "He unconsciously tapped into the powers of his birthright. I trust you are all right?"

"Er...yes," replied Rei, uncertain if she should pull out a ward or not.

Pluto must have spotted something of that thought in Rei's eyes. "Alisin, take care with Mars. She has more then a little skill in the powers of ghost and demon banishment."

"I see." Alisin bowed to Mars. "I am not a demon, or evil spirit, Lady Mars. I am a man who has finally found his home again."

"I should warn you," said Pluto quietly, "things have change since the Silver Millennium. Some of the old ways have been replaced, and other magic has risen to replace what you knew."

Alisin shrugged. "Magic is magic. It can not have change that much, can it?"

"I think you would be surprised."

"Speaking of surprise, was it really necessary to throw my grandson out a window?"

"I had to be sure he was the one," Pluto said quietly, a look of slight discomfort on her face. "And, I had to sure you were with him."

"If I had not taken control?"

"Mars and her people were standing by to use magic to slow your decent."

He turned to look at Rei and the small knot of guards on the other side of the courtyard, then looked at Pluto again. "You took a great risk, Moment," he said softly. "I was only melded to him so he could use the Medallion of the Time Winds to escape a raging forest fire that had trapped him. Something, or someone latched onto us, and threw us forward in time, to this place. The boy is frightened and unsure of himself."

Pluto nodded. "Can I speak to him?"

He nodded. "I will release control, and discuss this matter with him later." He smiled. "It is good to see you again, Moment."

She smiled back at him. "It is good to...see you again, Uncle."

"I hope you're ready to speak to my grandson. He's very angry right now."

"I'll live."

"Very well. Until later, Moment."

At once, Alan sagged slightly. "What the hell happened?" he said slowly after several seconds. "I feel like someone stuck me into a blender and put it on puree."

Ami was at Alan's side, holding onto his arm. "Are you all right?"

He looked at her, and nodded. He then glared at Pluto. "All right green hair," he snarled. "What's the idea of trying to turn me into road pizza?" He turned to glare at Rei, who was walking slowly towards him. "And you stay away from me!"

Rei arched an eyebrow, but didn't slow her pace.

Realizing that Rei wasn't going to be put off, Alan turned his anger back at the person who'd tried to kill him. He took a step towards Pluto, his fists balled up into fists. "Start talking Lady, or I going to hit you so hard, you won't wake up until the next millennia!"

"Don't get so worked up," replied Pluto. "I had to test my theory."

"THEORY?" screamed Alan, his face reddening in anger. "WHAT THEORY WAS THAT? TO SEE IF I'D BOUNCED? YOU THREW ME OUT A WINDOW THIRTY STORIES UP AND REI WAS THE ONE YOU WERE COUNTING ON TO CATCH ME IF I COULDN'T SAVE MYSELF!"

"She was eager to volunteer for the job."

"I'll bet," said Alan in a strained voice, eyes wide.

"Wouldn't it have been easier just to shoot me?"

"I had to find out if Alisin was with you."

"Lucky this Alisin came through then, or I'd be a stain on the pavement." He looked at Rei. "A LARGE stain."

Rei's voice was cold and hard. "Are you insinuating I wouldn't do my duty?"

Alan felt a large sweatdrop form on the back of his forehead. Before he could snarl back an answer, Ami stepped in front of him and began looking into his eyes with the detachment of a professional doctor. After several seconds, she looked at Pluto. "He's in shock."

Pluto nodded. "Then it's time he returned to his bed. I will report the events to the Queen."

"Wait a minute!" Alan stepped around Ami and stood in front of Pluto. "I want some answers, and I WANT THEM NOW!"

Pluto took a step back, either from fear or prudence. No one watching thought it was fear. "You have a special gift," she said slowly. "One that very few people have."

"DO THESE GIFTS USUALLY TALK BACK?" Alan yelled.

Ami tightened her grip on his free arm. "Alan, Stop this yelling. Think of your blood pressure."

"BLOOD PRESSURE?" he bellowed. He motioned with his head towards Pluto. "If this happily homicidal harpy had been wrong and little miss firebug there had screwed up, I wouldn't even have a blood pressure to worry about!" He looked at Pluto again. "Do you always like gambling with people's lives, or just mine?"

Alan missed the feel of a patch being slapped on his neck, and only became aware that Ami had done something to him after she stepped back. He turned to looked at her, his rage replaced by a puzzled look. She managed to look sorrowful before the sedative hit him. He felt woozy, and knew he was going to fall into the darkness once more. "Oh hell, not again...."

The last thing he heard before the darkness grabbed him was Pluto whispering, "Welcome home, Windwalker."

Serenity managed to look irritated as she addressed Pluto.

"Was throwing Alan out the window necessary?"

The council had returned to the conference room, and had just heard Ami describe the events that had taken place less then an hour ago. Now, they all looked at Pluto.

Unlike the others, Pluto was standing, her staff held in her left hand. She looked calm as she replied, "I admit it was a bit extreme, but it was necessary to shock Alisin out of his trance."

"And who in the Abyss is Alisin?" said Azurite sharply.

"I seem to recall a man by the name of Alisin," said Luna, who was sitting near the Queen. "He was an adviser to Queen Serenity and King Halcyon. I seem to recall a tall thin man with sharp features.... I've got it! Alisin Windwalker. One of the Moon Kingdom's advisers!"

Pluto nodded. "Alisin was the last of the great Air Wizards from the Silver Millennium."

"What's an Air Wizard?" asked Chrysolite.

"Air Wizards were one of the four Orders of Elemental Magic," replied Pluto. "Each Order used magic based on what they saw as one of the four basic elements - Air, Fire, Water, and Earth."

"So Alan is the reborn Alisin?" asked Serenity.

"No. Alan is a descendant of Alisin. Alisin is melded with Alan, but both are independent personalities."

"So, what you're saying is both of them are sharing Alan's body?"

"Yes."

Minako blinked. "Well, I'm confused. Anyone else?"

There was a murmur of agreement to her statement. Serenity looked at Pluto. "I suggest you start at the beginning and tell us everything."

The outer Senshi nodded. "Very well. The story starts days after the fall of the Moon Kingdom....

Pluto found Alisin standing on a bluff overlooking a raging sea.

The air was still charged with the sudden violence that had shattered the lands and kingdoms of Earth. Strong winds whipped around the tall, lean man standing there, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"Uncle Alisin," Pluto shouted.

The Wizard turned and looked at her. He was middle aged, with short brown hair and beard shot through with gray. His sharp features, which always reminded Pluto of a bird of prey, were streaked with tears. "You haven't called me Uncle since you became a Senshi, Moment."

"We need to talk, Uncle."

He looked out to sea again. "It's over, isn't it?" he said slowly. "Everything is gone."

"Step away from the edge, Uncle."

Alisin turned and took several steps towards her. As he did so, the wind died away. "What should I do?" he shouted at her. "Throw myself on the mercy of Beryl?"

"Beryl has been denied her victory. Serenity saw to that before she died."

Understanding flickered across the Wizard's face. "She used the Ginshousu to destroy them, didn't she?" he said sadly.

Pluto shook her head. "Not destroyed. She exiled them to another dimention."

"Did she have to use the crystal?"

"She had no choice in the matter. Nothing less then the Ginshousu's power could have stopped Beryl and her forces."

"The Mana Wells. I can feel the lack of Mana in the air, and the upheaval here has not been natural. The Queen capped them?"

Pluto nodded. "She had to. A few of Beryl's underlings managed to avoid their leader's exile. With the wells capped, they can do nothing to release Beryl, nor rule in her stead."

"And so the last act of my queen seals an evil away for all time."

"I wish it was that simple."

Alisin looked at her sharply. "That creature and her hoard will be a threat sometime in the future."

"Yes. But the Queen was aware of the future, and she took steps to ensure that Beryl will not succeed."

"You are being evasive, Moment. That's the one thing I have always hated about you."

"Knowledge of the future is a dangerous thing, Uncle."

"And everything you and I knew is gone. And it will never be again."

Pluto smiled for the first time in several days. Alisin looked at her through half-closed eyes. "What are you hiding, Moment?"

"The Queen used the Ginshousu to send the souls of her daughter, the other Senshi, and others into the future. They will be reborn, and through them, another era that will rival the Silver Millennium will arise."

She saw a gleam in Alisin eyes, a ray of hope that had not been there before. "How far into the future?"

"Thousands of years."

"I see." Alisin stood there, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I must find a way to survive the time until then."

Pluto sighed. "I can not council that, Uncle. There will be great changes between the two kingdoms."

"I know, but I must."

"Why?"

"BECAUSE I FAILED MY QUEEN!" shouted the wizard. "I WASN'T THERE WHEN SHE NEEDED ME!"

There was silence for several minutes as the two of them stared at each other. "And what would you have done?" asked Pluto quietly. "Died like the rest?"

"Yes." He turned and looked out at the ocean again. "At least then I wouldn't have to worry about these feelings of failure that gnaw at me."

"The mission the Queen sent you on was important."

"The mission the Queen sent me on was a dismal failure."

"What happened? She didn't tell me exactly what your mission was."

He turned and looked at her. "She wanted me to rally the other Elemental Orders to openly support her against Beryl."

"I see." The Elemental Wizards, as a whole, had stay neutral during the first part of the war. Only the Air Wizards, led by Alisin, had openly declared for either side. "Why was the meeting here on Earth?"

"There was strong opposition among the other Orders to siding with either Serenity or Beryl. To even have a meeting, they demanded that it be held on Earth, the only netural planet inside the astroid belt. The meeting was set up to take place in the Southern Islands, far from Beryl's forces, or so we thought."

"But it was discovered?"

Alisin shook his head. "Worse. Beryl had managed to corrupt a large number of the second and third rank of each order. When we started the meeting, they declared themselves and attack the others." He was silent for a minute. "Not many survived on either side."

He closed his eyes. "I have never seen such a horror before," he whispered, "and I hope I never do so again. Brother against brother, friend against friend. I saw people I'd known for years killing without remorse, with the cruelty I would have thought unthinkable before. I lost many good friends, and my son in the battle."

"Alason dead?" Pluto reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"There was no way you could of known. He fought beside me, and died in my arms." He bowed his head. "His wife and son managed to escape the carnage." He waved a hand towards a small cluster of makeshift tents near the shore. "They are there. They are all I have left."

"Then go to them. They are your future."

Alisin shook his head. "Without my Queen, I have no future."

Pluto sighed. "Are you determined to wait for the new Queen, Uncle?"

"I must."

"I do know a way."

The Wizard looked up at her. "What?"

"I know a way to for you to survive until the rebirth."

"I hear the 'but' in your voice. What must I do to earn this chance?"

"I want you to keep an eye on your descendants. There will be a need for one of them when the rebirth occurs."

"You want me to watch over my descendants? And how am I to protect them?"

"With the help of this." Pluto withdrew a medallion from subspace and handed to Alisin.

Alisin looked at the Medallion closely. "The Medallion of the Time Winds?"

Pluto nodded. "With its own supply of Mana, it will serve the need. But it will be up to you to decide when and where it is used. There's a two step process involved in using the Medallion. The spell shell will prevent an accidental use, unless you use the incantation. Once the incantation is used, a simple telepathic trigger will activate the medallion itself."

"And the spell involved?"

"I will show you how to pass the incantation to bypass the spell shell along when it is absolutely necessary."

The Air Wizard looked at the medallion. "The only winds we Windwalkers cannot control - those of Time itself." He then looked at Pluto. And now I must be dependent on those winds for my future. How ironic." He put the medallion around his neck. "I will do as you say."

"Good. I would like to see your daughter-in-law and Grandson one last time before we depart."

"They will be happy to see you one last time."

They turned and walked slowly towards the tents.

The room was silent for a moment. Then Luna said, "I can see Alisin doing such a thing. His loyalty to the King and Queen was absolute."

"Uncle Alisin?" asked Serenity. "Is he related to you?"

Pluto shook her head. "Not by blood. The story is rather tedious."

"Tedious or not, I think we should know."

Pluto sighed. "Alisin came to Pluto when I was six years old. He'd had just lost his wife, and the only two things that kept him going then were his duty to Queen Serenity and his son, Alason. After his wife's death, he began to push himself harder in the service of his Queen until his health began to fail him.

"The Queen knew that he needed time to adjust to his loss, to grieve his wife properly. But he wouldn't hear of it, insisting he was all right. So, she sent him to Pluto to discuss some trade agreements with my parents."

"Why Pluto?"

The outer Senshi shrugged. "I can't say for certain. Maybe because it was far away from the places that reminded him of his wife. I do know there was some concern with the situation developing on Nemesis at the time, so that might have had something to do with it.

"He came reluctantly to Pluto, with his son." She closed her eyes, and surprised the others by saying quietly. "I can still remember his coming down the gangplank from the ship, Alason held in one arm, a simple bag in the other. I remember the look of sadness on his face as he paid his respects to my parents.

"The agreements, while minor, were time consuming. While not engaged in talks, Alisin would spend time staring out at the landscape, or with Alason, who was about my age. His son and I became playmates, and Alisin would watch us at play. He began showing Alason and myself small tricks with air magic, and I could see the joy he felt when he saw our amazed faces. Over time, he began to lose that sadness, and he became more relaxed around myself and my parents." She opened her eyes and smiled. "I called him 'Uncle Alisin' because he told me to. Somehow, it seemed more fitting than me calling him Windwalker."

"How long did he stay on Pluto?" asked Serenity.

"Two years. By the time he and Alason left, he had come to terms with his wife's death, and was ready to resume his role as an advisor." She leaned forward slightly. "I stayed in contact with him over the years, even visited him a couple of times, but after I became Sailor Pluto, our duties kept us from seeing much of each other."

Serenity nodded. "Thank you for telling us. The story was not tedious at all."

"But you haven't explained how he survive," remarked Chrysolite.

Pluto looked at the Guardian. "Much the same way you did. His spirit entered the Land of Dreams and stayed there. Only you had a body to came back to, while Alisin doesn't."

"Your telling us," said Rei slowly, "that this Alisin has spent all this time in the Land of Dreams?"

"Yes. Helios allowed him to stay, as a favor to me."

"Then, who is Alan?"

"Alan is his direct descendant. Alisin told me that Alan was trapped in a forest fire. To save his descendant, Alisin merged with Alan's mind. Through Alisin, Alan managed to use the Medallion of the Time Winds to escape the fire."

"The Medallion brought him a thousand years into the future?"

Pluto shook her head. "Not by itself. There is some predicability in the Time Winds. At the most, it should have moved him forward in time several days. But, at the exact moment Alan used the Medallion, Emeraude was making a return trip to Crystal Tokyo. It's clear that Alan was caught in Emeraude's temporal wake, and dragged along."

"Then why didn't he end up in the middle of Crystal Tokyo during the Black Moon War?" asked Calcite. "Why here and now?"

"There was a tension in the temporal wake. When Emeraude reentered the timestream, it snapped Alan forward past her point in the timestream, to this point in time."

Pyrite nodded. "Makes sense. The tension in the temporal wake being similar to a rubber band being stretched."

Pluto shrugged. "An accurate description as any."

"So, the question is," said Serenity quietly, "what do we do with our guest?"

Rei looked at Pluto. "You're sure there's nothing he needs to do here? That there's nothing he has to do that's vital."

Giving no hint of foreknowledge Pluto said, "There is much he could do but if you mean anything he alone could do, someone could take his place." Only Ami and Pyrite caught just how ambiguous that really was. Mars just nodded and resumed talking.

"Then surely it would be kinder to return him to his own time where he'll be out of my hair...reunited with his loved ones."

Pluto gave a noncommittal shrug. "I could take him back to his point of origin but from his own testimony we know he was about to die in a forest fire. So it's quite possible he is assumed to have been killed and history went on without him. So if he reappears in the twentieth century he will inevitably change things by his mere presence. Additionally, I remind you that Alisin is awake and bonded with Alan."

Thoughtfully Pyrite speculated, "Mana was poor back then but not nonexistent. Plus everyone with magical abilities was drawn by the synchronistic zone."

Ami nodded in agreement. "Tokyo would draw him, or them, like a moth to flame. Who knows how Alan and Alisin would disrupt our past once they got there?"

Pluto commented, "The only way to make sure he doesn't do that would be to take him back and ensure he dies in the fire as history assumes." That got her some horror-filled looks so she added, "Which I would rather not have to do. While it is my duty to safeguard time there are limits. Particularly as there is a simple solution."

Rei leaned forward. "All right, I know when I'm beaten. Since we seem to be stuck with him....I suggest we allow him to move around freely - for now."

"I agree," replied Calcite. "But we should keep a close eye on him."

"Might I make a suggestion?" asked Luna.

"Of course," replied Serenity.

"I think we should assign someone to Alan to act as a guide for the first few weeks. Someone who will be able to observe him closely for any problems without arousing his suspicions."

"A good idea. Do you have someone in mind?"

Luna smiled. "I have just the cat in mind. Its about time we got something out of that lazy bag of fur anyway." Artemis looked at her sharply, but didn't say anything.

Serenity looked at the others in turn. "Any objections?"

There were none. Serenity nodded, then turned to Ami. "How long before our guest is ready to be up and about?"

"I would say three days minimum," replied Ami. "That is, assuming there's no more 'questioning' or 'tests' in the meantime." She glared at Rei and Pluto in turn. Neither Rei nor Pluto reacted to her glare.

"I think we should allow our guest that time to rest in peace," replied Serenity. "I don't want anyone near him unless Ami approves. Fair enough?"

Ami nodded. "That's acceptable."

"Anything else?" asked Serenity. No one said anything, and Serenity smiled. "Then we wait for three days, then see what our guest is like."

Part 3 - "The Plot thickens...."

Journal entry #3

Alan opened his eyes slowly. He closed them again, counted to ten silently, then opened his eyes again.

The first thought he had was he was lying on grass. He turned his head slightly, and confirmed his impression. What the hell.... He looked around more and found he was lying on a hillside, with rolling hills as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful place.

He glanced down and found he was dressed the same way as he had been during the fire. "OK, This must be heaven," he muttered, sitting up slowly. "I guess that business with Crystal Tokyo was just a dream."

"On the contrary," said a booming voice from behind him.

"Crystal Tokyo is real. This is a dream."

Alan froze. There hadn't been anyone there when he'd look several seconds ago. "I'm not going to look," he muttered repeatedly.

The voice sighed. "Very well, then." Alan heard the rustle of cloth and he saw the hem of a white robe out of the corner of his eye move until the newcomer stood in front of him. Forced by his curiosity, Alan looked up.

A young man in regal-looking, white robes stood there, smiling at him. "Welcome, Alan Thomas," he said cheerfully. "I am Helcion, and this is my kingdom, Halcyon, the Kingdom of Dreams."

Alan just looked at him. "Am I crazy, or did the world shift a couple of feet to the left when I wasn't looking?"

Helios just smiled. "You are very much sane, and the world has remained where you left it."

"That's what I was afraid you say."

"Cheer up, Alan!" replied Helios with a smile as he held out a hand. "You're here for an important reason."

Alan accepted the hand, and with Helios' help, got to his feet. "What reason?"

"To meet Alisin, of course!"

"Alisin?"

"The person that saved you when Sailor Pluto threw you out the window!"

"Ah." Alan closed his eyes. "Thanks for the reminder."

"No matter. It was all in a good cause."

"Remember that when Green Hair tosses you out a thirty story window."

Helios chuckled. "Come, Alisin wants to speak to you. He has waited for this moment for a very long time."

He led Alan up the slope to the top of the hill. The hilltop was covered with trees, forcing Alan to follow behind Helios. They walked along the top of the hill until they reached a clearing.

The clearing wasn't very large, maybe twice the size of Alan's hospital room, and flat. The grass was short, but lush and rich. With the birds singing and a light breeze blowing, the clearing was very peaceful.

In the center of the clearing, a man stood facing away from them. Helios called out, "Here is Alan, old friend!"

The man turned slowly and bowed to Helios. "I thank you, old friend," he said in a strong voice. "And I thank you again for allowing me to stay here all this time."

"Think nothing of it, friend Alisin."

Alisin straightened. "Greetings, Alan Cornwell Thomas." Alisin was half a head taller then Alan, middle aged, with short brown hair and beard shot through with gray. His sharp features reminded Alan of a bird of prey, and his eyes were deep blue and clear. He was wearing a loose sky blue shirt with trousers of the same color, and a cloak rippled around him like it was alive.

"Er...hi," said Alan carefully. "You're Alisin, right?"

"I am."

"If you two will excuse me," said Helios, "I will leave you two alone. I have other matters I must attend to. Good day, gentlemen." With that, Helios faded into thin air. Alan stared at the spot where the King had been standing, an expression of surprise etched on his face.

"We must talk," said Alisin quickly.

"Er...yes," replied Alan, his eyes lingering on the spot where Helios had simply disappeared from.

"This is the Land of Dreams, and he is king here. That is why he can do that."

"Oookay...."

Alisin smiled slowly. "So, you are my descendent."

Alan turned to look at him. "I am?"

"I am your great grandfather, four hundred and thirty-seven generations removed."

Alan made the calculations and blanched at the result he came up with. "But, that would mean you're over ten thousand years old!"

His grandfather shrugged. "Time has no meaning here."

"You don't understand," said Alan, quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth. "People don't live that long!"

"In a physical body, that would be true." Alisin held his arms out to his side. "But I am not a physical being. When my body died, I came here to start my vigil."

"What vigil?" asked Alan suspiciously. He stepped back, eying the other man carefully. "Who are you? Why am I here in a Jung Junket? I need some answers, and I want them now!"

Alisin frowned at Alan's outburst. "If you want answers, then be silent and listen," he said, allowing some anger to creep into his voice, "I will explain many things. Are you ready to listen?"

"Er...."

"I'll take that as a yes." He waved towards a pair of chairs that hadn't been there an eyeblink before. "Sit and I will explain as much as I can."

Alan gingerly sat down in one of the chairs. Alisin sat down before he started speaking. "Twelve thousand years ago, there was a solar system-wide civilization in place." He looked at the disbelief on Alan's face. "It would take too long to explain how, but each planet, including Earth's moon, was inhabited. With me so far?"

"Yes."

"Fine. During this time, there was a very strong emphasis on what you would call 'Magic'.

"Real magic? Not illusions or slight of hand?"

Alisin shook his head. "Real magic. Also, there were ancient wonders and technology left to us by a race far older then ourselves. It was these wonders that allowed human to live on all the planets in the system. But, I digress. To keep this as short as possible, I will defer my explanations on magic until later."

"Fine by me." Alan thought for a second. "Wait a minute. What happened to this civilization, and why didn't anyone find out about this?"

The older man looked at him. "I'll answer the second part of your question first. Have you ever heard of Atlantis, Arcadia, Avalon, or Mu?"

"Yea, but they're just legends...right?"

"They were much more then legends in my time."

Alan blinked. "So what happened?"

"Unlike the other planets, Earth wasn't a unified planet at the time, but a patchwork of kingdoms that were nominally under the leadership of the most powerful kingdom, the Kingdom of Mu. The queen of Arcadia became consumed with lust for the Prince of Mu, and allied herself with dark powers in order to have the prince for herself."

"Does this dark power have a name?"

"It was called Metallia." Alisin adjusted himself in his chair. "Metallia wanted souls in exchange for this power, and this queen agreed."

"Great, when do the Hobbits show up?"

"This isn't the time to be flippant," said Alisin sharply.

Alan sighed. "Sorry. In the last few days, my entire world has been replaced by a combination of Lord of the Rings and a comic book. I'm not sure what's real anymore."

"This is real. I am real. And the Senshi are real."

"Right. I think you'd better continue your story before something else goes thump."

Alisin arched an eyebrow. "Very well. The Queen of Arcadia, Beryl by name, use her dark powers given to her by Metallia to try and entrap the Prince. But, she was exposed as a demon worshipper. She managed to escape, and started a war."

"Let me guess. Beryl's buddy in the dark side of the Force supplied her with enough firepower to destroy the civilization, right?"

Alisin hesitated for a second, trying to understand what Alan had said. "Partially right. She used her powers to corrupt and twist others to her darkness. Once she had sufficient forces, she conquered most of the Earth in a quick and bloody fight. Then, she attacked the Moon Kingdom, the strongest of the planetary kingdoms."

"What happen to the Prince?"

"The Prince was on the Moon to visit his real love, the Princess Serena. Beryl launched her attack in part to capture the Prince, but also to destroy the woman who had captured the Prince's heart."

"Serena."

Alisin nodded. "What exactly happened when Beryl attack I know only from Moment, who is Sailor Pluto. Nearly everyone was slain, including the Senshi, and Beryl was on the verge of victory. Then, Queen Serenity used the Ginshousu."

"Bless you."

"That wasn't a sneeze."

Alan's face fell and he felt a sweatdrop from on the back of his head. "Oh. Sorry. What's a Ginshousu?"

"The Ginshousu is the most powerful magical item ever to exist during the Silver Millennium. It could recreate reality, under the right circumstances."

"And the Queen used it to fry Metallia, Beryl, and her horde?"

"No. Despite the death and destruction Beryl caused, Serenity wasn't going to sink to her foe's level. She used the Ginshousu to force Metallia, Beryl and her minions into another dimension, then sealed it off from this dimension. She then sent the souls of the Senshi, her daughter, the prince, and the others forward into time, to be reborn free of Beryl's taint. What has happened since then, I do not know."

"From what I've seen, they've managed to do all right for themselves." Alan looked at Alisin. "What happened to the other planets?"

Alisin leaned forward. "Metallia's presence caused massive disruptions throughout the solar system. The magic and wonders that the other planets depended on for life were rendered useless, their Mana disrupted. All life cease to exist on all planets but Earth."

"What happened here?"

Alisin paused. "A few of Beryl's minions managed to escape the banishment. To keep them from using magic to unseal their mistress's prison, and to keep them from seizing power among the survivors, Serenity sealed off the Earth's Mana wells."

"That doesn't sound good." Alan hesitated for a second, then asked, "What's a Mana well?"

"A place where Mana is released from the earth's crust."

"Fine. What's mana?"

"Mana is to magic what breathing is to life. Without Mana, there can be no use of magic."

"Oh." Alan thought for a second. "What were you during the...Silver Millennium?"

"I was, and am, an elemental wizard."

"Great. What's that?"

"An elemental wizard is a user of magic that concentrates on one of the four basic elements - Fire, Water, Earth, and my element, Air."

"I know that the theory about using elements in magic has always been around, but mostly in fantasy novels or third rate sword-and-sorcery movies."

Alisin nodded. "There was several forms of magic in use in my time. One was the Elemental Magic, while there was a strong following of astrological magic among the nobles. Several other forms existed, but I do not know them well enough to comment on."

"Magic, magic...," muttered Alan. He stood up and began pacing in the area between his chair and Alisin's. "Assuming I believe you - and I'm not sure yet - can you tell me if it was magic that dragged me a thousand years into my future and dropped me into the combina