When Ami awoke, she sprung up off the cot in her office, feeling energized. Today was the day. A return to the life she once knew was imminent. Ensuring that her office door was indeed locked, she entered her secret laboratory to check on her patients.

After administering Rei’s morning sedative, she monitored Minako’s condition. The girl didn’t show much sign of improvement other than her flushed skin beginning to peel. Ami planned to try a new treatment using a device she had created but testing it would have to wait for now. Her priority was ensuring everything was ready for tonight.

Strolling over to her computer station and its massive screen, she pulled up the planetary diagram that would tell her when the time was right. In the bottom-left corner, a countdown clock ticked down the seconds until seven o’clock, when the Earth and its moon would line up perfectly with Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus.

Uranus wasn’t important, of course. Technically, neither were Venus or Jupiter for that matter, but the alignment of the moon with the planets represented by all four inner soldiers did have symbolic meaning. The only celestial objects essential to Ami’s plan were Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, but alignments like this didn’t occur every day. Especially not ones that coincided with a lunar eclipse, just like the one that had occurred the night Usagi was taken from them.

It would be a very long time until she got another opportunity as serendipitous as tonight’s, so Ami had to get it right. She spent the morning double and triple checking that her equipment was in good order, that Rei was in good health, and that Usagi’s cryogenic chamber was running smoothly.

The last thing on her list, more out of anxiety than necessity, was a wall safe hidden behind a landscape her father had once painted for her. After entering a code—Usagi’s birthday—she pulled open its heavy door and confirmed that the Silver Crystal was safely residing inside.

Once she seemed satisfied, Ami closed the safe and finally sat down at her desk with a sigh. Feeling restless but certain she had accounted for everything; she turned her attention to the countdown display. Nothing was going to go wrong. She wouldn’t let it.

Unfortunately for Ami, fate had other ideas.

King Tanzan stormed across the old castle that housed the Blood Moon Alliance, his white cloak flowing behind him. “Are our people ready?” he asked as he entered the medical laboratory, seeing that several new treatment tables had been added.

“Yes, My Lord, our people are prepared to receive the wounded,” Alexandri replied.

“What about Vardas and Desperre’s men?”

“They’re preparing to depart now.”

“Good,” said the king with an approving nod. “What’s your assessment of them?”

Alexandri adopted a pensive expression. “There are ten Raptilian warriors including sub-commander Corg. They seem eager to fight, and if they are anything like Zarg, they will be capable enough in battle. Then there are the eight Umbris Clan Malanorians. One among them is Desperre’s second man but with their matching hoods, who knows which is which, or how they’re feeling about the attack. What I do know, is that they’re hungry.”

“Energy seems to be all they think about.”

“Indeed. I don’t know what Morgan did with our energy reserves, but they’ve been wiped out along with her Youma. The only thing left in her rooms is the collection of high-energy humans, and harvesting more from them will take time. That’s time the Umbris don’t have, so you could say that they’re incentivized to fight.”

The king pulled his best warrior to one side, and said in an undertone, “I want you to go too, Alexandri. Don’t engage. Just observe.”

The gray-haired man hesitated before stating, “Our allies weren’t pleased when I accompanied Zarg without his knowledge, My Lord.”

“Screw our allies!” Tanzan spat. “If the attack draws out the crystal’s protector as planned, and you’re right about her limited powers, it will be the opportunity we’ve been waiting for! Vardas and his lizards are one thing, but after what Desperre did to Jadeite yesterday, we can’t allow one of his people to get their scabby hands on the Silver Crystal either! I don’t trust either one of them. They’re only agreeing to let us focus on healing to increase the chance of one of their men securing the crystal.

“I would go myself, but the other leaders will see it as a sign of betrayal. So, as one of the few Argentians capable of using our Light offensively, I’m entrusting you with this task, Alexandri. Hide your presence, bide your time, and bring me the crystal. With it, I’ll eliminate the others, restore this once great castle to its former glory, and return our people to their ancestral home! The revival of the Moon Kingdom is in your hands.”

Alexandri covered his heart with his fist in salute to the king, and promised, “I won’t fail you, My Lord.” He then pulled a portal crystal from his pocket and departed for Earth.

Once the warrior’s portal disappeared, the King entered a room next to the lab. “How is she doing today?” he asked the healer inside, who was tending to the single, sleeping patient that occupied the private room.

“She’s doing well, My Lord,” replied a kind-faced Argentian woman.

“Good,” said the king. “Leave us.”

The female healer left the room with a bow, and the king sat down on the edge of the bed. He lovingly stroked his pretty, slumbering daughter’s excessively long hair, which was as silver as his own.

“Soon, Natsuki,” Tanzan said. “Soon, I’ll have the Silver Crystal, and with it, I’ll wake you and usher in a new Silver Millennium. Before you take your first look at this world and the Earth below, I’ll restore them to how they were before Queen Serenity banished our people, before Metaria and the humans destroyed them. You’ll see. It will be as if no time has passed. Our time is coming!”

Still watching the seconds count down on her giant display, Ami was startled by the sudden and noisy sound of an alarm. She launched out of her chair and ran to her computer. As its screen changed to a basic map of Tokyo, numerous red lights spread across it, each of them the location of a portal incursion. They were everywhere, perhaps as many as twenty energy signatures. The Blood Moon Alliance was attacking.

"No, no, NO! This can't be!” she despaired, pounding the machine with her fist. “The last fight should have scared them off for a while. Why would they launch a large attack right after losing one of their leaders? Unless...they know! Jadeite! That fool must have survived Jupiter’s attack, after all, and told them something useful!”

Ami shook her head in frustration. Then, most surprisingly, she burst into hysterics. Leaning on the metallic container holding her friend’s body for support, she asked incredulously while trying to hold back her laughter, “Can you believe this, Usagi? Now that they might finally believe that the Silver Crystal is gone, they’re going to sense its power if I use it to bring you back!”

When Ami finally calmed down, it was time to act. Given how much power she was relying on to make her plan work, there was no chance that the enemy wouldn’t detect it. Therefore, she needed to stall them. Makoto alone wasn’t enough to stand up to almost twenty enemies, though.

There was nothing for it, she would have to wake Minako up early. Her untested regeneration device was her only hope, but she had planned on using the Silver Crystal to power it after Usagi’s revival. How then to make it work?

“Of course!” said Ami, crossing her lab and snatching up Morgan’s red gem from the machine that had been analyzing it. She loaded it into a nearby device that resembled a ray gun on wheels and heaved the metallic object toward Minako’s bed. There, she raised its height, pointed it down at the unconscious girl, and began pushing buttons.

After rumbling ominously for thirty seconds or so, the machine came to life, radiating a wide beam of transparent green light. Ami smiled at the success of her invention and set the regenerator ray to move automatically over Minako’s unconscious body. She consulted her countdown clock. With just hours to go until the alignment, would the device finish its work in time?

“I still can’t believe Artemis just took off without saying goodbye,” said Makoto, stroking Luna’s back in a comforting way as they absentmindedly watched TV. “I hate that we don’t have a way to contact him. What if he gets hurt or something?”

“He’ll be fine. We Moon Cats are tougher than your average feline,” Luna replied, though, not in the most convincing manner. “I’m sure he’ll get in touch once he finds one of the outers.”

“Do you think he will? Find them, that is?”

“Absolutely. Our ability to discern your energy is one of the reasons we were entrusted to watch over you girls, after all. I’m more concerned with what happens after he finds them. It’s been a while since we last heard from Setsuna... As for the others, we haven’t seen them since the funeral. Before that in Haruka’s case. They might not want to return to a life of fighting.”

“I can understand that,” said Makoto pensively. “It was the same for me, but I always felt like something was missing. Now that I’ve overcome my fears, I know what that was. Being a Sailor Soldier isn’t just something we do out of duty or obligation. It’s part of who we are, who we’re meant to be. I just wish I had realized it sooner.”

Luna smiled weakly. “Have you heard from Ren?”

“No. He’s not answering my calls. I guess it’s not exactly surprising after I ditched him at dinner. He must have been hurt, especially after saying all those lovely things… I wish he’d let me explain. Then again, what would I say? I can’t exactly tell him the truth; that I ducked out the bathroom window to go fight the forces of evil!”

“Have you seen this?” said Luna, her attention fixed on the television set as a breaking news story aired.

Makoto turned up the volume. A news reader spoke as a set of disturbing scenes played out on the screen, “Pandemonium reigns as these senseless attacks continue across the city. In addition to the widespread damage caused by the green monsters seen on your screens, we are receiving reports of hooded figures targeting individuals. Lieutenant Higa of the Tokyo police has issued a statement urging citizens to remain inside…”

“Why hasn’t Ami called?” Makoto wondered aloud, moving to her window, where plumes of smoke could be seen on the horizon.

“I don’t know but you better contact her,” said Luna.

Seconds later, Makoto was talking to Ami via her wrist communicator. “Ami, have you seen the news? What’s going on?”

“It’s a full-scale attack,” said Ami. “At least fifteen enemies, maybe more.”

“Right, I’m on my way!”

“No! Stay where you are?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“There’s too many, Makoto—”

“But the city! The people! We have to help!”

“You’re right,” Ami agreed, “but we need Minako.”

“Minako? She can’t have recovered yet, can she?”

“I was able to power the device I told you about using Morgan’s gem. It’s working, but it’s still going to be a while. Three hours at least.”

“Three hours!” Makoto exclaimed. “People need help now!”

“I’m sorry, Mako, I know it’s difficult not to act, but against so many enemies, we need to work together, and we need Minako’s strength. Wait until six forty-five, then head toward the hospital. Me and Minako will rendezvous with you.”

“She’s right, Makoto, there’s no sense in going alone,” said Luna sheepishly. “Together, you can protect each other as well as everyone else.”

With some reluctance, Makoto complied, resigning herself to studying the broadcast for evidence of the enemies’ fighting capabilities. Lizard-men indiscriminately fired off explosive, purple blasts, while heavily cloaked beings seemed more concerned with draining humans of their energy. Police and army responders were having little effect on either. It seemed as though the lizard-men, like the one Minako fought, could heal from bullet wounds, while the hooded foes could teleport short distances in an instant.

For almost three agonizing hours, Makoto waited, watching as the rising panic and destruction unfolded. Innocent people ran through the streets, cars burned, and buildings smoked and crumbled. However, the moment her clock struck six forty-five, Sailor Jupiter headed out to battle.