Usagi opened her eyes in wonder. It had worked. Everything was perfect. Galaxia was defeated, Tuxedo Kamen and the Sailor Senshi were alive once more. Nothing could possibly be wrong in the world... Suddenly a terrible pain coursed through her, from her head to her toes. Around her, she could see the Senshi falling to their knees in pain. Then all went black. * "Your Majesty, we have them!" The Queen smiled, and the technicians cheered. She turned to the head technician. "When will they wake up?" He frowned. "Due to the fact the Dark Kingdom put a self destruct into the system, we had to drag them out suddenly. Their minds have probably temporarily retreated from the trauma. They should be up and around in a day at the most, Your Majesty." She nodded. "Senshi Saturn?" A woman in a senshi fuku with long blond hair stepped forward. "Yes, Serenity-sama?" "Please see if you can heal my daughter." The Senshi nodded and walked over to the prone form of Princess Serenity. She lay on a bed, disconnected wires surrounding her. Saturn put her hands to the young Princess's head, and a pink energy flowed from them. In a few moments, she shook her head. "She is physically fine. Her mind is confused. This is a case for my sister." Serenity nodded. "That will have to wait till we get out of this dimension. Is it safe to move them?" The head technician turned around, her red hair bobbing. "I think so... but I would teleport them if I were you." The Queen nodded. "Saturn, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, would you please? I'll take my daughter and her betrothed myself." The blond haired Saturn nodded. "I can carry Princess Mercury and the advisors." Pluto, the green haired senshi, nodded. "I will take Princess Mars." Neptune chuckled. "Well, Setsu, I guess that leaves Princess Venus for us younglings." Uranus Knight nodded. "Typical. Well, blonde, lets go." Her own long black hair spilled uncontrolled down her back. The senshi gathered around the prone forms of their comrades as the technicians walked out to their shuttle. Serenity called out. "On my mark... mark!" The Senshi and their burdens flashed out, white light blinding the last of the techicians. * Queen Serenity sat in her room, fretting. She knew it wouldn't help if she looked over her friend's shoulders, but it would make her feel better. She heard a knock at the door and smiled. "Come in." The door open, and a figure with short dark hair and contrasting silver and black armor. The armor had slight feminine curves, which one could see if they looked close enough. Saturn Knight bowed deeply. "How is my daughter and the others?" The mind healer frowned. "It is worse than the technicians surmised. Serenity-sama, they spent seventeen years in that simulation." Serenity blinked. "But its only been two weeks!" "Time is faster there, I suppose. But my point is this - they are more of that world than this one. They have grown up incredibly, protecting their 'world'." Serenity nodded. "They must be treated as older when they awake, then." Saturn Knight grimaced. "Serenity, I'm not sure that they *want* to wake up. In fact, I'm sure they don't." "But... why?" "May I speak freely?" Serenity chuckled. "As if you don't already." The mind healer shrugged. "Serenity, what wonderful thing is there about being a Senshi of the Moon Kingdom?" Serenity couldn't answer that one. "We have no family but each other, little fun time, no perks for all that we're 'royalty'. The world these guys have grown up in cast them as normal girls. They had families, siblings, boyfriends, ice cream (the Princess liked that, especially), and fun. Even as the Sailor Senshi, they had fun times together as well as bad. What is here for them?" Serenity blinked. "I don't know... do you all feel like that?" Her friend shrugged. "Well, Setsu and I don't, but we like our jobs. The only two minds I have a decent chance of bringing back from that world is Luna and Artemis. I've been scanning the other Senshi - Serenity, they're *jealous*. They want to escape to normal life as well." Serenity frowned. "Tell me about the simulation." Saturn Knight laughed. "That's an awful lot of history. The only really odd thing was the Outer Senshi, but they were brought in by our virus plant to even the odds. Unfortunately, the subroutines took on a life of their own. I think my sister was insulted that she became a sickly twelve year old. Senshi Pluto did say that the tech did an excellent job of portraying her. Oh - there's also Chibi-Usa, Serenity and Endymion's child from the future. She was programmed in by our tech to keep it stable." Serenity blinked. "Oh." * One year later, Serenity sat in a room that contained eight figures lying on beds and jacked into a computer. She watched the viewscreen. Her daughter was giving birth. Things were going well in her little world.