The Sorrow of the Lone Worrior

[Sailor Haruka]

A young girl sat in her room. Her head was spinning. She could never forget the day her mother had told her about her father. She knew her mother loved her very much, but she knew that she was a giant mistake. She shook her head and let her face fall into her hands as large sobs wracked her body. When her tears passed, the blonde looked to her window and knew what she had to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex Tenko was a quiet girl that didn't say much, or have many friends. She was normally found alone, feeling out of place in a gathering of friends around her. She was only 13, but was smart for her age.

Currently the young blonde sat up in a tree watching the others of the Neo Crystal Palace walk by below. She turned her head slightly when she heard a man's voice call up to her.

"Alex, come down here. I have a gread joke for you today." a platinum blonde man said motioning for her to come down.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Yaten standing below the tree and nodded to him. She slowly shimmied down the tree, loosing her grip just a few feet above the man's head. Quick as ever, the man was there to catch her in an instant.

"Be careful, next time I might not be here to catch you." Yaten said gentely as he hugged her.

Alex hugged him back, but when he released her, she looked down at the ground, her voice barely above a whisper, "I don't have a father, nad my mother..."

Yaten shushed her and bounced her in his arms gently, "You still have Taiki and myself. We will be here for you, even if your father isn't."

Alex smiled as she was finally set down. She looked up at the man as a smile crept onto his face.

"So, what is the joke, Yaten-papa?"

He looked down at her and grined, "I was thinking we could rearrange the books in the library again."

Alex looked up at him, a skeptical loook replacing her smile, "Oh, please. Ami-san's book ordering system would put them away correctly the minute we changed out the books."

Yaten laughed and gently messed up her hair, "I see I can't fool you that easily. Alright, come with me. I have something special for you."

The young blonde looked up questioningly, but didn't say anything as she was led into the palace. They entered into one of the many side entrance halls, the were big enough to be the main entrance, but not big enough. She was led up the grand stair case and motioned to the left. Following Yaten's guidance, they came to a brightly decorated room. She couldn't help but gawk at the balloons and decorations in the room. What caught her attention last was a covered plater set on top of a table with white linen.

"What is this?" Alex asked confused.

She saw the man smiling down at her when she looked up at him. He motioned to the table and started toward it himself.

"Come on, Alex, it wont bite you." Yaten said with a laugh.

She moved toward the table, stopping when a chair moved a little. A muffled "shhh" came from under the table and the blonde laughed. She leaned down slightly and lifted the table linner. All eight of the people under the table looked at her startled.

Everyone crawled out from under the table, a bit embarrassed at being caught. They stood for a moment before looking at each other and shouted a belated "supprise".

"Thank you, everyone." the blonde said to the group of gathered friends as she looked to the floor.

"Happy birthday, Alexis." Haruka sad as she moved forward to give her daughter a hug.

The young girl smiled as everyone came to congragulate her. They lit the candles on the cake that was covered on the plater. Makoto had made the cake herself. Everyone waited for the blonde to blow out her candles, cheering when they were blown out and moved off to let the tall chef cut the cake.

"Heya, kiddo." Makoto said with a wink when she looked down at Alex, "You look a little bummed out. Penny for your thoughts?"

Alex sighed and looked down, speaking so only the tall brunette could hear her, "I can's stand the thought of my dad not wanting to see me," she blurted, then looked back up at the tall woman.

Makoto finished what she was doing and knelt infront of the girl, "You have friends and family here. We all love you. Yaten and Taiki take care of you like you were their daughter, and you know that your mother would give up her life for you."

Alex nodded, starting when the young princess came to her and hugged her.

"Happy birthday, Alex." Princess Serenity said when she released the blonde.

"Thank you, Princess, but you do me too much honor." Alex stated with a bow to the pink haired young woman.

The princess shook her head, smiling as she took the blonde's hand in her own and placed her Time Key into her palm, "My gift for the birthday girl. It helped me once, I think it could help you as well."

The blonde's eyes went wide when seh saw what her princess had given her, "No, Your Highness.... I coul-"

Princess Serenity put her finger to the blonde's lips to quiet her. She winked at hte blonde before turning and heading over to talk to Haruka.

Alex remained standing in the same place, staring at the key in her hand. A gentle hand landed on her shoulder and she heard Taiki's words.

"You are strong, Alex, and you are old enough to do what you think is right," the soft spoken light told her, "That isn't a toy you have there. It is a key to time itself."

The girl looked to the chocolate haired light, "How do I use it?"

He smiled at her, "To find the answer to that, you have to talk to Setsuna."

"But... but..." Alex stuttered, hearing the name of her father's wife.

"Horses neigh, goats butt, and frogs leap." Yaten said moving to kneel next to Alex, "Did the Princess give you that?"

Alex nodded as she turned to the platinum blonde haired man on her other side, "Yes, it's my birthday gift from the Princess. I think I should give it back to her mother. I don't deserve this."

Yaten gently hugged the girl, his words soft, "You deserve it, what you don't deserve is how your father has treated you."

Alex sighed looking back at the key in her hand, "I can't blame him, I shouldn't even be here. I was just a big mistake."

"Don't say that Alexis," Taiki stated warningly, "You may not be willing to see it, but even if your father doesn't aknowlage you, you still have plenty of friends here that love you. Just don't do anything rash."

Taiki hugged the girl as she started to cry, her sobs were silent and her arms seemed to tighten around the man's neck. His hand gently rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Alex, what's wrong with you?" Yaten's voice spoke teasinly, "This is your birthday. You should be happy on this one day at least."

The blonde released Taiki and looked to the platinum blonde. She nodded as she dried her tears. The two men stood, Yaten gently taking Alex's hand.

"Let's go have a little bit of fun." Yaten said, a smile forming on his face that seemed to be contagious.

The man's smile made the others smile as well as he led them out of hte room and down the hallway. The blonde recognized the hallway, it led to one of the four indoor water parks.

The rest of the day had been wonderful, Alex swimming with Yaten and Taiki most of the rest of the night. Thoughts of her father long gone from her head while she enjoyed the company of her, for lack of a better word, uncles.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex sat in her room, the Time Key in her hand, her forehead gently touching the end of the key. After her birthday the previous day, she was more determined thatn ever to go back and fix the wrong that had been done so many years ago.

[Sailor Haruka]

The blonde awoke in a park. Sitting up with a jolt from the unfamiliar scenery, she looked around to survey the area.

'What happened? When did I fall asleep?' Alex thought to herself.

She slowly stood up. She was cold and scared. She never really cared much for the darkness. Limitations of her sight causing her to jump at little movements. She wasnt blind by any means, but every human has some trouble seeing in the dark, and she was no exception.

Looking down into her hand, she noticed that she still held the Time Key and that it was glowing slightly. She just about woke the entire neighborhood with a shout that she managed to surpress. She knew what had happened, but now she didn't know if she really wanted to to through with it at this point. She had no idea what she would say.

The blonde looked around the park, realizing that she didn't know where she was or where to find one of the other sailors. Deciding not to do anything till the sun was up, the blonde layed back down on the play ground equipment to sleep. A voice right above her made her jump up and look around until she saw a young woman looking down at her.

Alex started to get up to run when she heard the woman talk from right behind her.

"Hey, don't go. Why are you out so late? Your mother must be worried sick about you." the woman said gently, "My name is Cassandra, what's yours?"

"It doesn't matter, in a couple of days I wont even exist anymore." the bonde said, then sprinted away from the woman.

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, out of the park and to the street. She found a yard that was secluded adn even had a child's play house in the right hand corner, farthest from the house. She melded herself into the shadows and quietly made her way to the small house.

Opening the small front door, Alex entered the play house, supprised to find a bed just big enough for her to use. She layed down, finding comfortable position to lay in after some fumbling around.

The morning was bright and warm. Dew covering the small windows making it hard for the blonde to see out. She made sure to put the bed the way she had found it, or at least close to it. She listened before she opened the door to make sure no one was in the yard. Quickly moving to the side of the larger house, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the back door open and a pair of young voices boince out to play in the small play house.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the door close again a couple seconds later and made her way out to the side walk. Not really knowing where to go, the blonde turned and walked downthe street, towards the outer edge of town. She stopped at the base of a large set of stairs leading up under a large red arch just at the top. Curious, Alex walked up the steps and was supprised to find a temple. She walked up to the outdoor alter and rant the bells, bowing her head in prayer. When she was done, she pulled on the string again to ring the bells a second time to signal she was finished.

"Oh, you would make a fine apprentice. You look strong enough to lift an ox." an older man with a cheshire grin said after popping out of nowhere.

Alex sweatdroped and started to step away when the next voice she heard stopped her in her tracks.

"Grandpa, she's not going to work here. She just came to say a prayer." a raven tressed young woman stated, making the old man laugh and leave.

The blonde turned to the priestess and confirmed what she had already thought. Rei stood on the walk way, just a few feet away from the alter. The traditional red and white garment moving slightly with the slight breeze.

"Sorry about him, he seems to take a liking to any girl that comes by here lately," the young woman stated as she walked up to Alex, "So, what's your name? I don't believe I have seen you around here at all."

Alex bowed, "My name is Tenko Alex. I... just recently moved here."

Rei smiled down at the girl, "It is nice to meet you Alex-chan. I hope to see you more often around here. My name is Hino Rei."

The blonde felt guilty about lying to the young woman standing in front of her. She felt herself bow again, looking up into the woman's violet eyes. She knew the young woman had known something about her coming here. She wouldn't know where she was from unless the blonde herself told her, but she would have been able to ask the sacred fire to help her.see her coming. A quick flash of knowing seemed to flit through Rei's eyes, then disappeared as she stepped away slightly.

"Is there anything I can help you find?" the young woman asked gently.

Alex thought for a minute before responding, "There wouldn't happen to be a racing track around here would there?"

Rei smiled an nodded, "There is actually, I can take you there, if you like. It isn't that far away from the edge of town."

The blonde nodded slightly as she watched the young priestess move away then stop, "You can come in the housem, I want to change my clothes. I'm done for the day and I don't normally wear this around the city."

Alex followed the raven haired woman to small sitting area. She waited while Rei went through another door, possibly to her room, to change. a few minutes later, Rei reappeared wearing a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top. She smiled at the blonde when she closed the door again.

"Well, are you ready to go now?" the raven haired priestess asked.

The blonde girl nodded and stood from where she had been sitting. The two of them moved to get their shoes on and then went out the front door. On their way to the steps, a young man stopped them to talk to Rei before she left.

"Rei-san, where you heading off to?" the man asked with a wide grin on his face, his hair not totally covering his flushed face.

"Hey, Yuchiro-chan. I am taking her to the race track. She had asked about it so I thought I could show her." the raven haired woman explaied.

"Oh..." the man said as he thought about something then looked at the priestess again, "Could I go with you? I am done with my chores for today."

Alex smiled, the young man was head over heals for the fire senshi and she happened to act oblivious to it. She had noticed his blush and felt sorry for him as she saw it darken when the raven haired young woman spoke again.

"I don't see why you can't come alonge. Would you mind if we added a third person to our group, Alex?" Rei asked, turning to the blonde next to her.

The girl shook her head, "I have no problem with it."

The young man smiled down at Alex, "Alright, I have to change. I have been waiting a while to be able to see a race."

Rei laughed, "I doubt there will be a race today."

"There might be an outside chance that there is one though," Alex said quietly as she looked towards the stairs.

Yuchiro smiled at the blonde, "I bet you want to meet the great female racer, too, Tenoh Haruka."

Alex nodded and looked up at the nice man when he mentioned his mother's name, "Yes, she is somewhat of an idol to me."

"Then let's not just stand here talking about it, let's go." the mop haired young man said as he urged Alex and Rei ahead of him.

"Wait a minute, didn't you just want to change?" Rei asked the young man.

Her question brought him up short, he stopped and looked down at his temple clothes that he still wore. His face flushed from embarassment and he started away.

"I'll be right back."

Rei laughed at Yuchiro and looked down to Alex, "He's a big goof."

(There is still more to come, so if u like how it is so far, check back later, I might have more for you ^^)