[• ROSALIND M. SCOTT.]

Things had moved quickly after Chloe had left the Coles’ house. The rest of the girls had followed her to the country house in Herefordshire within a day or so and then Rosalind had finalized her own plans to move out as well. Moving to Herefordshire might not have been necessary for her, but staying with the Coles hadn’t seemed like the smartest idea either. So, she and Jack had picked out an apartment for her to move into in his building and then they had done all the necessary paperwork to transfer Jack’s lease from his own apartment to Rosalind’s new one. The whole process had been admittedly pretty exciting and she had moved into her new home a few days prior. It was a little big for her—two bedrooms and one bath along with the kitchen and living room—but the realtor who dealt with the building’s apartments had unfortunately explained to them that all the single bedroom apartments were currently occupied. That was fine though. She was just happy to be so close to Jack. She might have been ready to live on her own, but having Jack so close gave her the peace of mind she needed as well. The only problem with the apartment was that Rosalind didn’t have anything to furnish it with yet. Jack had helped her order the basics online already, but it would still be a few days until they arrived. Until then, Rosie was camping out on the floor of her living room each night and eating take out at Aiden’s apartment with Jack.

The camping out part of having nothing in her apartment was fun. Rosalind got a kick out snuggling down into her sleeping bag each night and waking up in the big, empty room each morning. But the rest of the day was often mind numbingly boring. With nothing in the apartment, the girls away, and no job to go to, there really wasn’t much for her to do. She spent a lot of time hanging out with Jack who was under even more of a house arrest than she was. It was great to be able to spend such quality time with her future father and in the past few days she had felt closer to him than she had in years. But there was only a certain amount of time she could stand being inside and sitting around playing video games or talking before she had to take a long walk around the city to keep herself from going insane. Rosalind had always enjoyed an active lifestyle and recent events couldn’t change that about her. She needed to be able to see the sky and move from time to time during the day or else she just wasn’t happy. Unfortunately for Rosalind, there was only so much time you could spend wandering around the city before you started to appear suspicious—something that she was trying desperately to avoid what with trying to stay inconspicuous. So Rosalind had spent the brunt of her past few days surfing the internet and texting the girls back and forth. It was during an exchange with one of them that Rosalind realized that she had missed a very important piece of information—Natalie was back from the dead.

Rosalind’s instant reaction had been shock. What?! When? How? If Chloe hadn’t managed to bring the Martian senshi back to life, who could?! It was a good question, one best answered by the girl in question. Natalie. She had to see Natalie! Rosalind had shoved her phone into her purse and then hurried out the door towards the older girl’s apartment. There was no promise that she would be there. According to what she had just learned, Nat had been back for a few days and no one had bothered to tell her until now. But there really wasn’t anywhere else that Rosalind could think of to check. So twenty minutes later, Rosalind was outside Natalie’s door, ringing the bell. She was overflowing with excitement and anticipation at seeing her long lost friend, but there was also apprehension mixed in there as well. She had failed to keep Nat safe in the past like she had promised to and that was something she would never be able to live down. And how exactly did you greet a friend who had just come back from the dead?


((sorry! crappy post!)

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

Coming back to life hadn't been as cheerful as Natalie had thought it would be. Don't get her wrong - she was happy to be alive and very happy to be reunited once again with the love of her life. She was happy to see her friends all doing well. The problem was the situation on the earth. Her friends couldn't be happy because the people of earth were not happy with the senshi. The senshi were being hunted down and the group could not do anything about it unless they wanted to cause some sort of intergalactic war. It was ridiculous to think that these things were happening in this day and age. Natalie could not believe that Gaia had taken her hatred this far and was punishing them all for things of the past. However, times were dire and the only reason Natalie got away with it was because she had been deceased. Everyone had known that Sailor Mars had perished months ago and nobody had known her true identity. It was easy to hide when nobody had any suspicions about her having an alter ego. The only problem for Natalie was her own connection with Prime Minister Marshall and Alex.

The most precarious situation at this point was obviously her relationship with Jadeite. The people of the earth clearly recognized the shitennou of the east and they greeted him whenever he was present. Natalie had to be careful of being seen too much with Alex because it would draw unwanted attention. People would ask whom she was and they would get curious about the lady that Jadeite was dating. The other girls thought that Natalie was lucky to stay behind but she was going through her own share of problems. She lived with Alex and did whatever she wanted with him behind closed doors. The problem was that she couldn't be out in public with him. Nat thought that she would be okay with that but it was incredibly frustrating when the two of them were outgoing and they liked to do things together that didn't include being stuck in their condo for hours on end. They were both restless by nature and they had snuck out together a couple of times already. Natalie just didn't like feeling too restricted but it was what she had to deal with for the time being until things were under control. She just wished that months didn't go by before their world was back to normal.

It was a few days since her talk with the others and she knew that there was business to tend to. Already Natalie had started having visions about things that were supposed to come and things that she had already seen. Shit was going to get crazier and she could not imagine having to explain all of this to the other girls. She had woken up that morning, as she usually did, with a smile on her face. Of course she was happy to be alive! She had managed to convince Alex that he could go back to work now. The man had refused to go anywhere for a few days since her return, almost as if he was scared that she disappeared if he turned away for one second. It had taken a lot of work but she had finally managed to persuade her boyfriend into having his own life again with the promise that she would make it up to him. Of course she would. Natalie wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her days in his presence but knew it was impossible. She couldn't steal Alex just because she was alive again, even if she wanted to. It was critical that he act as normal as possible in lieu of the senshi situation and Jadeite needed to support his prince at the moment.

She had spent her day lounging around her condo until she had received a ridiculous text message from Chloe later on in that day. Sometimes she just didn't get the princess of the moon. Why was their charge so immature? Natalie immediately had responded with a few choice words before she had tossed her phone on the couch in annoyance and disappeared into her bedroom to ignore Chloe's dumbassery. Natalie had laid down in bed and started watching a show, beginning to doze off about twenty minutes later, when the doorbell rang. For a minute there Natalie thought it was Chloe there to annoy her. UGH! If Chloe had left her house and walked outside in this situation she was going to kill her! Dressed in sweats and a casual t-shirt, something very unlike Natalie - but to her credit she was home and going nowhere! - she went to open the door. Pulling the door open she was surprised to see the person on the other side: Rosalind. Natalie had heard from Jackson that she had returned from the future but it was still shocking to actually see her there. It just meant that things were much worse than she had anticipated. So without thinking Natalie did the only thing she felt was appropriate at the moment - she pulled Rosalind in for a tight hug. "Rosie....I can't believe you're here." She found herself murmuring as she embraced her friend, taking in her smell. "It's so good to see you."

[• ROSALIND M. SCOTT.]

Nat’s been back for a while, so you should visit her.

That had been the text that Rosalind had received, informing her that Natalie was miraculously back from the dead. It hadn’t been a heads up or even a message sent expressly for the purpose of telling her that Natalie was alive again. Instead, it had simply been a suggestion of what to do with her time now that she was no longer working and all her friends were in Herefordshire. Rosalind’s first reaction had been shock. How could Natalie possibly be back?! She had died at the hands of Martian Doom months ago because Rosalind had failed her and even Chloe hadn’t been able to bring her back with the crystal! The news seemed impossible to believe, yet Rosalind had wanted it to be true so badly that she had run out of her apartment the moment she had read the text, the information not even fully processed in her brain yet. Natalie was back and if that was true, she had to see her friend for herself. Was she alright? Had she changed in anyway? It wasn’t until Rosalind was a block away that she realized that the other girls must have known about Natalie for a while for them to have sent her such a casual text on the subject. Just when had Natalie gotten back? And why hadn’t anyone told her when it had happened? Had Natalie asked them not to for some reason? Was she mad at her for not being about to prevent her death?

Even with those thoughts in her head, she kept running. She could deal with Natalie being mad with her. Heck, she had convinced herself long ago that she deserved it. But she had to make sure that what she had heard was really true. She had to see that Natalie was alright. It was kind of a surprise that the doorman at Natalie’s apartment still remembered her, but he let Rosalind in without a problem and she had gone straight up to Natalie’s apartment. It was then that the true nerves had begun, waiting for the door to open the door. Rosalind was about to see a friend who had been dead for nearly four months. She had never expected to see her again, but here Rosalind was, waiting to be let into the apartment. And what if Natalie was mad with her? She had let her die because she had been more preoccupied with being cold in the park that night than wondering why Natalie hadn’t gotten to the meeting in time. If Rosalind had just been a little bit more conscious of someone besides herself, she very well might have been able to protect Natalie from the death the older woman had seen for herself. And she had sworn to try her best to keep Natalie from her fate. That was a promise she had broken.

Rosalind’s breath caught as the door finally opened and Natalie appeared. She really was back! And at least from first appearances, she didn’t look any different from the last time she had seen her. She looked healthy and happy (granted a little surprised to see the redhead on the other side of the door, but that was beyond the point), just like Rosalind had hoped. She hugged Natalie back tightly as the girl pulled her into an embrace. It felt so good to be able to hug her again and just be in her presence in general. She was alive! “I can’t believe I’m here either!” The present, Natalie’s apartment; even Rosalind didn’t really know which one she was referring to. “And you’re back! I’m so happy!” Happy didn’t cover what she was feeling at the moment. Life had been hard for everyone lately between the riots and then Chloe’s failed wedding. It was still difficult to believe that the girls had been forced into hiding due to the very people they had sworn to protect. But hearing that Natalie was alive and well again, just like knowing that Helios was back for the time being, was a light in the fog that she had very much needed. The more friends and allies they all had, the better off they would be. “What happened?” She struggled to word her question in a way that made her sound like she was unhappy to see Natalie. Because that was the furthest thing she was feeling at the moment. “I mean, how did you manage to come back?”

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

It was a shock for Natalie to see Rosie standing there on the other side of her door. Rosie was supposed to be in her own timeline right about now. The princess should have been home with her parents, her people, the ones that she had grown up with. Seeing Rosie in the present only meant that there was trouble on the horizon. Natalie was glad to see her, don't get her wrong, but she would have preferred to see baby Rosie, the one that was supposed to be born in this era. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask and she was sure the same could probably be said for Rosie. From what Natalie had understood, Raven had been defeated. It was only obvious since the senshi were fighting civilians now instead of the villain that had taken her life. She did not know of the details but she was aware of what the girls had done and applauded them for holding on strong despite the fact that she had died. She had never expected otherwise but with Chloe one never knew how she would react. Natalie was glad that she hadn't died anywhere near the senshi. Those last moments would have been bad for all of them to take, including herself.

Natalie smiled at Rosie's reaction, pulling back from the hug a few moments afterwards. Natalie had been referring to Rosie's presence here in the past but it really didn't matter. In any case she was still surprised to see Rosie. She nodded, "Yes, I am back. In the flesh!" She commented with a soft giggle and motioned for Rosalind to come inside of the empty condo. Her boyfriend was at work so the two of them would have plenty of time to talk without being interrupted by Alex. Closing the door behind Rosalind, Natalie then padded over to the couch and sat down, knowing that Rosalind was probably going to ask her so many questions. It would only be fair considering what had happened, how she had died, and how she had come back to life. It had been a mystery that she had kept back from the other senshi. They had all individually asked her when she had appeared before them but Natalie had opted to remain silent on the matter. She was not trying to be cryptic by any stretch of the imagination but she didn't want to tell the same story so many times. She had already divulged the information to Alex, naturally, but the senshi was a different matter. It didn't surprise Nat at all when the first question out of Rosie's mouth was about her new found life.

The brunette didn't react to the question at first. She was silent as she gazed over at Rosalind, her mind swirling with many options. She could remain quiet and tell Rosalind that she would explain it when she was with the rest of the girls or Natalie could tell her now. Rosalind had been different from the rest of the girls because of the time that she came from. Whatever Natalie had to say now probably didn't affect her future. Hell, Rosalind might be aware of what Natalie had to tell her. Besides, Natalie knew that Rosie could keep secrets. After all, she had been the one she had come to when she knew of her own death. Rosie had been a champ to keep such difficult knowledge to herself and Natalie would forever be grateful to her. To this day no one, except Crispy, knew that Natalie was aware of her own fate and she loved the two of them so much for keeping the secret. Natalie sighed and pushed stray hair away from her face, crossing her legs as she got comfortable. It was going to be an interesting story to say the least. "I haven't told the rest of the girls because of the implications....and I wanted to get all of them together in that moment...but you're different Rosalind so I guess I can tell you what happened..." She paused, taking a deep breath to collect her wits.

"I met my father," She murmured softly. Some people might have thought she was crazy. She met her father? Well, obviously! She had known Michael Marshall since forever it seemed and everyone knew that she had a horrible relationship with the man. However, he wasn't the father that Natalie was referring to and in case Rosalind was confused on the matter Natalie quickly clarified. "Ares. Rhea's original father from the Silver Millennium," she said, allowing that to sink in to Rosalind before she continued. "Honestly, it was the last thing I ever expected to happen...I mean...I was dying...I was on my last breath after Martian doom had stabbed me..." She shuddered at the thought, remembering the night that she had been killed all too well. "And he was there, urging me to come with him...it was the most terrifying moment in my life Rosie." And she had been alone. Utterly alone. "But he made everything better....I just...it's all too confusing to put into words."

[• ROSALIND M. SCOTT.]

Rosalind felt a mix of emotions as she stood there, looking at the friend she had thought she would never see again. Most of the emotion was made up of joy, relief, amazement, disbelief and everything else that would obviously come with seeing someone who you thought was dead. Natalie was standing in front of her, seemingly just as healthy and happy as she had been the last time she had seen her. It was a miracle! An unexpected gift from the universe. But at the same time, Rosalind was just a tad apprehensive. She had spent the past months building up the guilt she felt for not being able to save her friend. And now that friend was standing in front of her. Was Natalie as angry as Rosalind felt she should be? Surprisingly, she didn’t seem angry. On the contrary, the hug Natalie had enveloped her in the moment she had seen the redhead had spoken to the opposite. But there was no way that Natalie could have entirely forgiven her right? The Martian senshi had a hot temper and wasn’t exactly the sort of person who was quick to forgive. Coming back from the dead could probably change your perspective on life, but Rosalind doubted it could change your personality.

Making her way into the condo, Rosalind followed Natalie over to the couch and sat down next to her. It had been months since she had last been here, but yet now that she was sitting with Natalie, it felt like no time had gone by at all. Things almost felt normal. Sure, the people of earth still hated the senshi, but that felt like less of an immediate problem at the moment with all her attention focused on her long lost friend. Natalie was the important thing here right now. The rest of the world could wait for a moment. Rosalind really didn’t know what kind of answer she was going to get when she asked how Natalie had come back from the dead. After all, if the Silver Crystal couldn’t do it, what could? Natalie’s admission to not telling the other girls yet only heightened her curiosity. Rosalind couldn’t think of a reason why Natalie wouldn’t tell the other girls. And what implications was she talking about? If everyone already knew she was back, what was the point of not telling them how it had come about? Rosalind nodded slowly as Natalie said she could tell her because Rosalind was different. She was, she supposed. Although no one had ever seen her coming from the future as a reason to share a secret before. Everything about this situation was so strange. What exactly had happened to Natalie to bring her back? “You know you can tell me anything,” Rosalind could take a secret to her grave. She just hoped that this wouldn’t turn into another secret that would eat her alive because she could never share it.

Still, even without any expectations about what Natalie was about to tell her, Rosalind was taken completely off guard by the story that she finally told. Natalie had met her father from her former life?! King Ares himself had saved her?! Rosalind knew that the old king was still alive. Not only that, but she also knew that every kingdom from the Silver Millennium besides the Moon’s was still thriving. Crystal London’s astronomers had discovered that not long before Raven’s attack on the future. But for Natalie to know that now… The future was changing. First the shitennou, then the destruction, and now information that shouldn’t have been rediscovered for over a thousand years. “But how did he save you?” Even if Rosalind was aware of the kingdoms’ existences, that didn’t mean she understood the power that their rulers possessed. Clearly Ares was a very powerful man if he could locate his lost daughter (he hadn’t even known she was on earth in the future!) and pull her out of death’s grasp. “Have you been on Mars then?” Aunt Nat had been so happy when she had brought her to her planet all that time ago. If that was where Natalie had been since her death, then Rosalind couldn’t quite understand why she had ever decided to return at all. Not that she wasn’t happy to see her of course. But if Natalie had been home…

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

How could Natalie possibly be angry with Rosalind when the girl hadn’t been responsible for her death? Rosalind had nothing to do with her death and she wasn’t supposed to suffer those consequences. Natalie had told Rosalind about her vision because she needed to tell something. She dreams had been eating at her since they had begun and they would have driven her crazy if she didn’t have anyone to talk to about them. The girl was as innocent as everyone else. Natalie would never put that burden upon her and she wouldn’t blame Rosie for something that none of them couldn’t control. She couldn’t control Marsian doom and she couldn’t control her fortune. It wasn’t important any more, however. Why dwell on the matter when she was alive again and able to help the team with the fight that would soon be thrust upon them. The brunette knew that the senshi were going to have a hard fight ahead of them with the Earthlings and she knew that they couldn’t how the people perceived them. The profiles on television proved to Natalie that the people hated the senshi and didn’t trust them or their power. It was wise that the senshi were hiding for the moment but for how long?

Now there was a need to speak, again, and Rosalind had been her chosen one. She could have easily told any of the girls when she had seen them separately but Natalie didn’t deem it wise. Instead of telling them one by one she wanted to tell them all at once. She wanted to have them all in the same room so that she could answer the questions without any lingering expectations. The reason she could tell Rosie was because Rosie was from the future and perhaps her findings were relevant in her timeline. ”I know and that’s what I intend on doing. The information that I have is sensitive and I don’t want to further damage the timeline….” Which probably didn’t matter at this point considering everything that had happened between Rosie’s first visit to the past and now. She sighed as she leaned back in her seat so that she could somehow find a way to tell Rosalind what had happened and how she had managed to come back to life. It truly was a miracle because if she were not magical this would not even be possible. Natalie wanted to ask Rosie many things about her timeline as well. She wanted to ask Rosie what she was doing here. She wanted Rosie to explain what had happened in the future. She wanted confirmation that the king and queen, along with the senshi, were okay. But first she had to tell Rosie about her own path and this was not going to be a short conversation.

Natalie sighed as Rosalind asked her how she had been saved. The Marsian glanced at the red headed princess. ”There’s no way that I could possibly explain how this happened. I don’t even properly remember what had gone on. I just know that he rescued me. I saw him in the light and he pulled me back with him. It was the strangest thing…” Natalie paused and a thoughtful expression crossed her features as Rosalind asked if she had been on Mars. ”Yes,” she confirmed before continuing on with her statement, I was on Mars for the past couple of weeks. Rosie….you have no idea how life changing this discovery has been. My home planet is alive and well…the people, the culture….everything is there like it used to be. And my father Rosie…my father, Rhea’s father, I got to spend time with him. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life. But it also brought credence to the fact that the other planets are okay. After Beryl, the only place that suffered major destruction was the moon. Everyone else never suffered from her wrath.” She ran a hand through her hair. ”Was this ever discovered in the future? Were we supposed to know or is this a new discovery that changed along with the shitennou being alive?”

[• ROSALIND M. SCOTT.]

Rosalind was a girl who took her words seriously. As the princess, the power that her speech held had been impressed on her since as far as she could remember. When she was queen and she said something, it was her responsibility to follow through. If she didn’t, she would be letting her people down. Rosalind loved her people and she never wanted to let them down. So when she said she would do something, she meant it, whether that was keeping someone’s secret safe or saving her friend’s life. During that night that Natalie had confided in her, Rosalind had promised that she would do anything she could to keep her safe. Granted, sometime after the death in an attempt to justify her guilt more, she might have forgotten that Natalie had never asked for that promise… But that was beyond the point. She had made a promise to a friend and she hadn’t been able to follow through. It would have been one thing if she had realized something had been wrong and arrived on the scene too late to do anything—It still would have been a tragedy, but at least then she could have said she had tried. But she hadn’t even done that. She had been trying to keep herself warm in the park, while vaguely wondering why Natalie hadn’t shown up on time. Because unlike her future mother, the fire senshi was [i]never/i] late. In hindsight, the warning signs were blaring. But she still hadn’t suspected anything. She had gotten too comfortable in the thought that there was no danger, and had let her guard down. This was exactly what happened when senshi stopped paying attention—people died.

But somehow, Natalie was back. It was a miracle and Rosalind couldn’t wait to hear everything her friend had to say. Still, she couldn’t help but frown slightly as Natalie brought up the timeline. It was good that she was thinking about it, but at this point, Rosalind wasn’t sure if there was much anyone could do to damage it any more than it already was. As usual when the future came up, she felt the need to clam up and monitor what she said. But there was no point in it now. She had already told the other girls why she was back and what was happening in the future. There was no reason at all to keep it from Natalie too. With that said though, this was still Natalie’s time. She knew that the Martian senshi would want to hear everything that had led to Rosalind’s return, but for now, it could wait. The future’s problems weren’t going anywhere. It was Natalie’s turn to speak. “I wouldn’t worry about that too much right now,” Rosalind knew how daunting her words probably sounded, but what else could she say without letting Natalie think that everything was fine? Obviously they weren’t if she was still here in the present. As much as she loved being here with the friends she had made so long ago, she would have given anything to go home after being away for so long and the rest of the girls probably knew it. She missed her family.

Rosalind listened quietly as Natalie explained how her father from a past life had saved her. It certainly seemed like the strangest thing! Rosalind had gone through a lot of strange things during her life, but she couldn’t even imagine what it might have been like to be on death’s door and then be brought back by a person who she hadn’t even known was still alive. A person from a past life! It was even more shocking to hear that Nat had been living on Mars for the past few weeks. It made sense, seeing as Ares had been the one to save his daughter, but that didn’t make it any less unbelievable. Rosalind smiled a little as Natalie described Mars. Of course she knew that the other planets were alive and well. She had even been to Mars for a brief, eventful time. Still, none of the contact Crystal London had had with the planets had been nearly enough for anyone to move back to their home planets, even for a short time. To hear Natalie say that she had been living there for weeks… Rosalind considered the possibilities as Natalie asked her if they knew about the planets in the future. Part of her wanted to lie and preserve the secrets that kept her home safe. But once again, there was not much point in doing that anymore when everything was already destroyed. “We discovered it right before I was sent back last year,” she finally admitted. "If you stayed on Mars that long though, things will change." How could she tell Natalie that Neo Queen Serenity hadn't wanted any contact with the other planets? It hadn't made sense when she had first heard it, and it still didn't make sense now.

[• NATALIE A. MARSHALL.]

There were many things that Natalie would never be able to explain even if she tried to Rosalind. There was nothing she could do about the fact that things had been amiss for so long now. When she had been living on Mars, with everything on the line, Natalie had learned so much. She had spent her time remembering much more about the silver millennium and the laws that held everything together. Her father had been a great influence, re-teaching Natalie the ways of Mars and their culture. It had been fulfilling for her to be on her home planet again, especially after she had forgotten how they lived so long ago. Rhea had gone to live on the moon for a while and she had not forgotten her culture but it had gone unused in the midst of the other planetary princesses. With Ares Natalie had learned the language, learned their customs, and had been taught to do things the right way. She was still the heir to the Marsian throne and she was still the one that would inherit everything from the planet. However, Natalie was unsure of how that was supposed to work. Ares made it clear that she was supposed to return one day to her planet and take the reigns from him. But how was she supposed to do that when she belonged here with Alex? With Chloe? With her friends? She had seen a future that no longer mattered. She had seen a future that had been destroyed by the decisions they had made ages ago. Natalie had no clue how any of this was going to affect the timeline but she would do the best she could before things got a bit dicey.

Natalie definitely was worried when Rosalind told her that she shouldn't worry much about the future. Hm. Natalie felt uneasy as she heard it. How could Rosie possibly expect her to not worry about that when the princess of the future was here? Was there something that she should know? Natalie wanted to pry but she knew that she would have plenty of time to get to that later. She knew that Rosie would answer all of the questions that she had and then some. If she was here something terrible had happened and once Natalie was done speaking about her tale then perhaps Rosalind would be comfortable telling her what had happened. The woman sighed as she rubbed her forehead, knowing that there was still much to explain. It didn't seem like Rosalind had many questions for Natalie which was good. Then again, Natalie was suspicious that there was something Rosalind wasn't revealing to her. She didn't seem all that surprised that there was life on Mars, let alone the other planets. There had to be something that Natalie was missing and it was confirmed when Rosalind told her that they had discovered the planets last year. Seriously?! Wow. Natalie was definitely surprised by that news. So the future was aware of their neighboring planets still harboring life. Wasn't that good news?! "Are you kidding me?!" Natalie exclaimed and now it would be difficult to get her off of this topic. "So the senshi know that there is life on the planets?! Is it like the silver millennium again? Except with the Earth being part of the alliance?" She just had to know! History just couldn't repeat itself, could it?

The princess of Mars nodded. Yes, things were definitely going to change now that Natalie had been on the planet. There was nothing Natalie could do about that because it had been out of her control. Just like her death had been and she was sure that it changed a few things as well. There was nothing Natalie wanted more than to share this information and start building a better future. The shitennou were back and now to hear that the planets were alive....it was the change that they had all been waiting for all along! This was their chance to rectify something that had happened a millennium ago. The brunette was happy to have this chance, happy that they could make a better tomorrow. But Natalie was not going to be too idealistic. She knew that things weren't as bright as she was making it out to be in her head. "This is great news. You have no idea how hard it was for us back in the silver millennium and now we have a chance to make things right." Even if the Earth was not in the alliance in the future it didn't matter. Serenity was the queen and she could unify the planets, couldn't she? The other planets had to understand her position as the queen of Earth and accept it, right?

[• ROSALIND M. SCOTT.]

It was obvious from the look on Natalie’s face that she knew perfectly well something was amiss and Rosalind wasn’t telling her. But that was fine. It wasn’t like Rosalind was trying to hide anything. She just wanted to push the topic to the side for a bit until after they had discussed what was on Natalie’s mind. Then they could talk all they wanted about what had become of the future. It seemed to work well enough though because the dark haired girl did not pursue the conversation further, instead moving on to the next topic at hand; the knowledge of the other planets in the future. Unfortunately for Rosalind, it wasn’t something she really wanted to talk about either. After years of time travelling, she had grown accustomed to her need to be tight lipped about her home. Sure, she shared a fact or two about it here and there, but it was never anything big or important. Generally, it was personal thoughts and problems that wouldn’t change anything if they were discovered a thousand or so years early. Natalie’s questions would be bringing up something very important information though, things that Rosalind had learned were better left unspoken. However, how much harm could it do to talk about a future that no longer existed? Rosalind would never let go of the hope that things would change and she’d be able to go back to her peaceful home like nothing had ever happened. But what if that was an impossibility?...

“Yes,” she said a bit unsurely, answering Natalie’s first question a bit reluctantly with a nod. There was no point in denying that if she had already admitted to it. Besides, if Natalie had been to Mars and seen that it was doing fine, she’d soon tell the rest of the girls about their own planets as well. That bit of future had already been unlocked. Natalie’s next question though… “It—” Even if the future Rosalind knew never came to be and it was okay for her to talk about these things, how would Natalie take it when she heard that Neo Queen Serenity had forbidden contact with the rest of the planets? Rosalind herself had been furious with her mother when she had heard the news, happily accepting Aunt Nat’s offer to disobey the queen and travel to Mars when it had arisen. But now with the future in the state it was, she didn’t have the heart to be mad at her mother anymore and she desperately wanted to prevent anyone from becoming mad at her as well. Look what had happened when Aunt Nat had brought her to the planet! Things had turned out horribly! Maybe the queen really had made the right decision to forbid contact with the other planets. Even after thousands of years, their old hatred of the earth remained and no one seemed willing to accept that the moon princess had married the earth prince. Rosalind really didn’t know… She wanted the other planets to live in peace with the earth and the only way they could do that was to make contact. But making contact might only make war… No matter what though, Rosalind doubted that Natalie would want to hear any reason for staying away from the other planets. She hadn’t brought Rosalind to Mars yet and she had just spent months on the planet. Mars was her home. Any of the girls would be angry with the queen when they heard what she had decreed. It was understandable. But Rosalind just couldn’t face the idea of saying anything negative about her mother at the moment.

“I can’t say, Nat,” Rosalind finally finished, pleading with Nat with a look. It was the safest to keep quiet. It would keep the future safe if things went back to normal, and if not… Natalie wouldn’t think badly of Queen Serenity. Natalie seemed so excited about the planets now, talking happily about how things could change for the better. Rosalind nodded, allowing herself to smile at the thought. This was a different time and the circumstances were completely different now. After their trip to Mars, reconciliation had seemed nearly impossible. But now it almost seemed like a possibility. There was nothing Rosalind wanted to see more (besides her home safe and sound of course) besides something that resembled the Silver Millennium she had spent her whole life hearing about. If the other planets could find peace with the earth, well, that would be amazing! “Did you mention you were reborn on earth while you were at Mars?” That would be the real test of how things might work out and Rosalind couldn’t see how the discussion wouldn’t have come up at least at some point. Ares had been furious when he had learned his daughter had been on earth in the future. But now? She had to find out.