The party had been Minako's idea.  There had been a quiet period 
recently, after Galaxia's defeat, and they hadn't been able to see each 
other as much as they'd like.  Minako was naturally a social animal, and 
hated to think that they would drift apart if there weren't any enemies 
to fight.  So she asked her parents if it would be all right to hold a 
small get-together, and they'd agreed, promising to take the afternoon 
off so that they wouldn't get in the way.
     It was turning out to be quite a success, too.  Despite Minako's 
arguments to the contrary, Makoto had brought food anyway, and now was 
giggling as she tried to prevent Usagi from eating it all, with Mamoru 
laughing by her side.  Rei and Ami were discussing something about 
classwork, using weird hand gestures that implied math, so Minako 
avoided them.  Instead, she walked over to the door, waiting for four 
more guests that she suspected weren't coming.  
     Since Galaxia, the inner senshi and the outers seemed to have 
gone their separate ways.  With Chibi-Usa back in her own time, 
there wasn't much of a reason for Hotaru to come visit, and the other 
three had never socialized with them much in the first place.  She'd 
only seen Haruka and Michiru twice, and then it was only passing on the 
streets, a 'how are you doing' type thing.  To tell the truth, she'd 
only sent out invitations to be polite.
     There was a knock on the door, startling Minako out of her reverie.  
She threw it open.  "You came!"
     Haruka blinked, and smiled wryly.  "You did invite us."
     "Well, yes, but...I mean...come, in, come in!" Minako stuttered, 
trying to hide her flushed face.  "Everyone else is here!"
     After that embarrassing moment, the party got back under way again, 
with Haruka and Michiru filling the others in on what they had been 
doing the past few months, with Hotaru occasionally chiming in.
     Setsuna leaned against one of the walls, sipping her tea and 
remaining silent.  Minako didn't trust that silence.  She didn't want 
her party interrupted by any rampaging monsters of power-hungry women.
     She sidled up to her, trying to look normal.  "Setsuna, how are you 
feeling?  You haven't spoken a word since you got here?"
     Setsuna looked at Minako for a moment, but still remained silent.  
Minako was starting to get worried.  Though they'd never been close, 
there had been a few times when they'd been forced to fight together, 
and Minako had a good idea of when Setsuna was brooding.  "Is there 
something going to happen soon?"
     Setsuna sighed, and rubbed her temples.  "I don't know," she said 
in a low voice.
     Minako blinked.  "I thought you knew everything.  Can't you see 
into the future?"
     "Minako, if I knew everything that was going to happen, why did I 
allow all of us to be killed by Galaxia?  Do you think I would be 
callous enough to do that deliberately?"
     This was getting complicated.  Minako furrowed her brow.  "Wait, I 
remember reading something about this.  You had to preserve the sanctity 
of the timestream, because otherwise it would unravel into a tangled web 
of time, and mankind would end up like a string of sausages, all the 
same!"  She looked at Setsuna's puzzled face.  "Um...or something like 
that."
     To her relief, Setsuna chuckled, and seemed to relax a bit.  "It's 
not quite as bad as that.  But you're right, I can see to a certain 
extent what might happen and should happen.  That's why I'm bothered 
these past few days."
     "Because you can't anymore?"  Minako was starting to worry.  If 
Pluto was losing her powers, would the rest of them as well?  Being 
Sailor Venus was a large part of what made Minako who she was.  She 
didn't want to give it up.
     "No, because I can all too well.  I'm seeing too many alternatives 
these days, too many futures.  My power as Pluto normally allows me to 
narrow these to three or four most likely, but...I can't do that.  I 
don't dare transform to Pluto when I'm like this.  I might end up 
unconscious or worse."
     Minako was about to respond when Usagi shouted from across the 
room.  "Minako-chaaaaaan!  Phone!"
     Annoyed, Minako held up a hand towards Setsuna.  "I'll be right 
back."

***

     Setsuna watched with veiled amusement as Minako stomped over to the 
phone.  The young blonde sometimes thought of herself as a counselor, 
and Setsuna was not looking forward to her theory of what was wrong.
     Not that Minako would be able to figure out what was wrong.  
Setsuna wasn't able to do that herself.  All she knew was that her sight 
of Crystal Tokyo in the future was getting fainter and fainter.  It 
upset her more than she would like.  In spite of attempts to repress 
them, she did possess emotions.  The thought of that shining future, 
ruled by a caring and compassionate woman and possessing someone as full 
of life as Small Lady...
     She needed to find out what was wrong.  It was simply unacceptable 
that this would happen.  Things were going to go as planned.  Galaxia 
was defeated, the last major enemy before the Great Ice.  In two years 
the senshi's identities would be made public, helping Usagi to gain the 
experience needed to present herself as Queen Serenity later on.  They 
would eventually defeat the enemy, and found Crystal Tokyo, a city that 
would last hundreds of years.  A utopia on Earth.
     It would happen.  It had to.  Setsuna closed her eyes and held on 
to that certainty.
     "Minako, what's wrong?"
     Setsuna looked back up.  Minako was looking quite upset, clutching 
the phone in her hand.  After a moment she shook herself and went back 
to the phone, speaking English.
     "They didn't find a body?  Well, yes, I know, but...I'm sorry, 
Kenny-kun, I didn't mean to upset you.  I just...it's hard to imagine 
her as dead.  You'd think death wouldn't have had the courage to take 
her."  The voice on the other line could briefly be heard, making a 
sound that could have been either a laugh or a sob.  "I'm sorry, I 
shouldn't have said that..."  A long pause, which saw Minako nodding, a 
tear coming to her eye.  "Thank you for telling me, Kenny-kun.  Do you 
know how Spike is taking it?"  Another pause.  "I see.  Well, tell them 
I hope they'll be all right, and...I'm sorry, Kenny-kun.  She shouldn't 
have died."
     The others were silent now, watching Minako struggling to control 
her emotions while talking to the obviously stricken young man on the 
phone.  Rei, Makoto and Usagi couldn't understand all the conversation, 
but got enough to know that someone was dead.
     After a few more moments of goodbyes Minako hung up the phone.  For 
a few moments no one said anything as she sat there staring at it.
     "Was she a friend of yours, Minako?" Michiru asked quietly.
     Minako started to nod and then apparently thought better of it.  
"Well, actually, we always argued...but I got to know Lynda and her 
friends very well when I was in England.  I needed to get some sort of 
publicity without revealing who I was, and she was the editor of a 
school newspaper.  It was a good cover..."
     Setsuna shot up, marching over to Minako and grabbing her by the 
shoulders.  "Lynda DAY?!?!"
     "You know her, Setsuna-san?"  Minako looked confused, she hadn't 
thought Setsuna had ever been to England...
     Setsuna stepped back, a stricken look on her face.  "This must be 
part of it...what's happening?"
     "Setsuna-mama, what's wrong?" Hotaru asked.
     "The woman who was just killed, Hotaru-chan, is the one who will 
reveal the identities of the senshi to the public in two years time.  
Which in turn will lead to the eventual acceptance of Usagi as Serenity 
and the creation of Crystal Tokyo."
     She looked up, trying not to pale.  "Lynda Day was instrumental to 
the future of all of us.  And now she's dead."

***

"Our Top Story Tonight..."

A Press Gang/Sailor Moon crossover

By Sean Gaffney

coming whenever