There was a crisp chill in the air tonight. Just enough so anyone who was out and about better have brought a jacket and possibly even a scarf. Winter was here and it wanted to make sure everyone who dared to be out in it knew who was master of the time.

But Delilah wasn’t watching the weather. She had something else on her mind. Something that didn’t care if it was colder than the arctic or hotter than hell.

Ruby red eyes were cast high in the sky as she gazed at the rising moon. Tonight it was full. Tonight was her chance. Tonight….her journey would begin.

Standing alone in a park near campus, Delilah had chosen this spot after careful observation and much consideration. Very few people, if any, came this way once night fell so she would not need to worry about being seen. What was even better was that as she came to the center of the park, she could gaze straight up to the sky for a perfect view of the moon. Unless a plane happened to pass over or the space station was floating by, nothing was in her way now.

”This is it Delilah. What you have been wanting. What you have been waiting for. But don’t get your hopes up.” Delilah spoke softly to herself as she walked forward, her hand shaking as it reached into the pocket of her winter coat and pulled out a pen. Not just any pen but the pen that changed her life. The device was cold to the touch but it didn’t stop her as she lifted it high and called out in a strong, determined voice

Phact Power, Make UP!”

With those words, there was a flash of light and an unknown wind stirred the surrounding trees. When it cleared, there stood the Senshi of Doves holding no longer a pen but a phone with a small, glowing orb on the end. She was gazing down at it with a soft smile of joy. Bringing the phone to her chest, holding it close, and lifting her head up towards the glowing moon, Sailor Phact said a soft prayer and let go.

Had anyone been watching, they would have seen a woman in white close her ruby red eyes and begin to hover above the ground, wind coming up around her body. Light pulsed out from the orb in her hands to surround her form and then….she was gone.

Not a heartbeat later, Phact opened her eyes to a sight before her was nothing that she could have been prepared for.

Slowly, her hands rose up to her face and covered the expression of shock she was wearing. The land was nearly nothing but rubble. She could see out to a world that might have been. A world that could have been. A land that was now nothing more than grey stone to match the images she had seen in science class. The moon looked forgotten...

...Lifeless...

That was what the scientist had always called the rock like satellite. A lifeless void that orbits the Earth every 28 days.

And yet, Phact’s eyes could see what once was. What a part of her was positive used to be greatness. It was a part of her that she did not even know existed until that very moment. ”How could anyone do this…” Her voice shook but not as much as the tears in her eyes. Phact thought she had prepared herself for anything but nothing could have made her feel lonely as she was now.

And yet, something behind her made her turn. Slowly, feeling the rubble around her feet, the senshi of doves turned her gaze over her shoulder onto the remains of what she had come searching for.

The Moon Castle.

Slowly stepping forward, Phact stopped just a moment when she felt her foot send a rock rolling. It rolled a small distance, causing a trail in the dust that covered this place, and then halted once more. That instant of sound made her realize something. Outside of her own breathing and the beating of her heart in her chest, there was no sound, no movement on this moon. Everything was eerily still. Phact couldn’t help but wonder what had caused this…

”Idiot, it was the Negaverse.” She told herself, speaking aloud to break the silence as she again dared walk. ”The better question to ask is how.” She spoke again, her pace starting to pick up as she walked towards the castle. By the time she finally found the courage to walk at a normal speed, Phact found herself standing in what she had to assume used to be one heck of a grand entrance way. The size and the remains of walls made that part clear. ”I wonder if the Moon Kingdom was like those of the Earth. Did they hold grand parties and fill these quiet voids with music and laughter.”

Her thoughts were wandering. Classical piano music played in the back of her mind as she imagined people in dresses of all shapes and colors filing into this room, hoping for a chance to speak to the Queen.

”The Queen….” Phact said as she felt herself snap back to the reality that was this cold place. The Moon Queen. The woman she had heard so little about except that she had opened the moon for the senshi and that, from what Phact had gathered, she was the mother of the famous princess that played Juliet in this tale of woe. ”What would she think of her kingdom now. Was her daughter’s love worth all this?” Phact mumbled as she placed her hand against a fallen wall. ”What is it about this place…”

Her hand slowly dropped from the wall as her body turned towards one of the hallways that lead away from the entrance. She walked down unknown path, her eyes turning this way and that until she noticed something, a pull and yet a push from one direction. Turning her attention towards it, her body followed the aura down the center of hallway. It was just as she walked under a beautifully decorated arch that Phact saw the first thing that truly threw her.

”What the…” Her eyes narrowed, as if trying to visually examine the flowing current of beautiful, pure light that separated her world from that beyond it. ”Is that, a barrier?” Phact whispered as she came mere inches from the edge of the forcefield. Reaching upward, the senshi placed her gloved hand forward and felt the force pushing it back.

Phact jerked her hand back and glanced from the wall to her unharmed fingers and back to the wall. ”Interesting. So, even you don’t trust us completely.” There was a feeling of a weak smile forming on her lips as she pondered this possibility.

Stepping back, Phact took a forceful stance and then, shoving with her back foot, pushed her entire body towards the light.

In the next instant, Phact felt herself go flying backwards with the same force she had just applied. ”Eeee!” She screamed, dropping to the ground with a fleshy thud. She was stopped from rolling by a small pile of rubble but she still felt disheveled as she rose to her knees. Phact brushed her black hair from her eyes and stared at the unphased light. ”Alright, you made your point. Light means do no enter.” The senshi groaned and pulled a young child move by sticking her tongue out at it.

Taking another moment, Phact watched the wall. The longer she did, the more she had to wonder. ”A wall is meant to do one of two things. Keep something out or keep something in.” She stated, rising to her feet and crossing her arms in front of her chest. ”But which are you? This castle was opened as a safe haven to the senshi from all over space and yet, either there is something back there you don’t want us to find or something that could destroy us. Interesting.” Phact said as she walked forward again, her hand resting against the barrier. ”I have a feeling you and I will get to know each other well. Until then.”

Finally turning away from the wall, Phact walked back the way she came. This time, she turned to the right and walked down a hallway that appeared much more open. Room upon room of open, inviting space. Each room Phact saw painted a picture of a place that was once full of life and activity. ”How many people could this place hold at one time?” Phact found herself asking, a smile on her face as she came to one room that caught her attention.

”Oh wow.” Her breath caught as she gazed forward at the nearly endless collection of books. Now this was a library. This was unexpected. This was…

”Unbelievable.” Phact walked into the room and crossed quickly to the walls of books, her hands running along their spines. ”After all this time, they are still in such wonderful condition.” She smiled finally pulling one out and flipping it open.

Her heart sank.

It should not have been a surprise that the text wasn’t English, let alone anything that had ever been recorded on Earth. This was an entirely different world from a completely different time. She couldn’t read this which meant, she most likely would never be able to read any of them. A waste. ”The secrets you hold…” She nearly felt herself cry as her fingers let the pages slip through them as the book closed.

It was just as the cover was moving that Phact caught it. An image, a visual clue stopped her in her tracks.

Flipping the pages once more, Phact found herself staring into the green eyes of a white cat. On its forehead was a crescent moon and it appeared to be smiling. Under the image was some sort of text but she did not pay attention to it as she felt her heart lift slightly. Maybe these books could unlock something….in time.

Closing the book, Phact slipped it back onto the shelf and smiled to herself as she tapped the spine once more. ”This is going to be interesting.” She smiled, taking in the library. Something told her that these books would one day become very used to her fingers going through them.

It was then her eyes caught the windows on the back wall. In the center, was a sight that took her breath away.

The Earth.

The orb that she called home now.

The planet of water and life.

The kingdom of the Romeo in this story.

It was breath taking.

”Maybe…” She whispered walking towards the window her hand touching it softly. It felt cold but she didn’t mind as she watched the planet before her. ”Is that what you wanted so much you would give anything for?” she whispered, feeling small. It was a reminder to Phact about how much she really mattered to the grand scheme of things. She was a small piece of the puzzle. A small element that could just as easily disappear. ”That’s what we are fighting to protect…” Phact felt herself say as she turned from the window.

She had spent too much time her. Her last sight of the Earth had shown her that the sun was starting to rise. She had to get back.

”Don’t worry.” She told the walls as she walked back to the entrance of the castle and the openness of space. ”You will see me again soon.”

With that, Phact pulled out her senshi phone, turned to face the Earth and shut her eyes.

Standing in the park she had left several hours before, Delilah White was watching the sun rise over the trees. Lord knew she was going to need coffee if she didn’t get a nap in but that didn’t matter right now. At the moment, the woman was far to excited about what had just happened!

”I did. I went to the moon.” She cooed, feeling her pockets for her phone. ”Oh I have to call Hannah. Wait until she…”

Delilah stopped. Her eyes caught the green blinking light that said she had a voicemail. She knew she didn’t have one before she left. There were only two people who would call her so late at night and both would have just as easy sent a text.

Turning on the screen, Delilah saw the number and paled. Bringing the phone to her ear, she listened.

Delilah? Delilah is Hannah with you? Oh Please Delilah pick up. She isn’t ansering her phone and no one has seen her….Delilah, where is our daughter. Please, if you know anything….

The phone went dead in her hand.