In the Moon, it was late afternoon, and the fear was easy to notice in Lady Mercury's eyes. She didn't want the night to come, for it would imply a never-ending escape. However, when her friends told her how nervous they were about the party, she managed to smile openly. She heard them make bets on who would dance with more guys, and listened with pain in her heart as Jupiter said that she would surely make a boyfriend tonight, echoed by Venus.

Ever so slowly, she saw the sun setting, leaving the moon is almost total darkness. The lights were turned on, and the palace shone like if it was the sun itself. Her heart was beating quickly, and a shiver ran through her spine. Just as the sun disappeared in the horizon, the party started. Being the Princesses of the Inner planets, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Serenity and Mars went to the door to receive the Princesses of the Outer planets.

An announcer went to the front of the crowd, and started speaking, as the door of the spaceship opened: "The Princess of Uranus, Senshi of the wind and sky, Lady Uranus."

Haruka leaped (literally) off the ship, and walked gracefully towards Serenity and the others. She was wearing a white, almost brownish dress, with no sleeves. It was so shocking, that everyone was left without a word. Lady Uranus was well known for being a dress hater. She always wore trousers, and in parties, tuxedos. Many women had mistaken her for a man, but she seemed to like it.

Uranus chuckled, and said: "Hello, it's me!"

The speaker managed to regain composure, and continued: "The princess of Neptune, Senshi of the deep waters, Lady Neptune."

A green haired beauty appeared in the door's frame, and walked slowly (through the platform) towards the Inner princesses. She was wearing a dress very similar to Uranus', except her's was light green. Haruka, seeing the amazed looks she was receiving from the Moon court, turned around to talk to her companion, and pouted: "See Neptune. I told you I looked ugly in this frilly thing. I am still in time to go back and change to a tuxedo," she finished, making a movement towards the spaceship.

However, Michiru stopped her, and replied: "Uranus, I don't think they are like that because you are looking ugly. I think it's because they had never seen you in a dress."

Haruka looked at them again, and saw not horror at her "ugliness," but surprise. Sighing, she said: "Hey, girls, could you please close your mouths? I think that hurts." The inner princesses seemed to awake from a dream, and apologized for their shock. They welcomed Uranus and Neptune with hugs, kisses and screams of joy. Then, the first two princesses moved to the side, and waited for the rest to arrive.

The speaker made his job again, and said: "The Princess of Pluto, Senshi of time, Lady Pluto." Everything seemed to calm down as a beautiful figure left the spacecraft. She had knee-long dark green hair, and was wearing a similar dress to the others, but this one was light gray. As always, an atmosphere of mystery surrounded her, and everyone quieted as she approached. She walked slowly, and bowed as she reached Princess Serenity. Very formally, Pluto said: "Always a pleasure to see you, Princess."

The blonde nodded, and answered: "Nice to see you too, Pluto-san." Then she bowed to the rest of the princesses, moved to Neptune's side, and waited for the last princess to arrive.

The same voice echoed through the air, saying: "The princess of Saturn, Senshi of destruction, Lady Saturn." Unnoticed to the rest of the princesses, Mercury stirred a bit as she heard the home planet of Hotaru. Then a girl, about 13 years old left the ship, and walked towards them. She had short purple hair, matching her eyes. Her dress was similar to the rest, but not quite the same. Apart from being light purple, it was adjusted to her frame, and looked really cute on her. The princesses welcomed her with happiness, and the ceremony finished. The next guests were the people of Earth, but Mercury's mind was no longer in there, 'cause she had seen Ren, at the edge of the crowd, smiling at her.

A few minutes later, a pat in the shoulder made her wake up, and saw Haruka looking at her strangely: "Are you Ok, Mercury?" The young princess was surprised, but nodded: "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

The boyish-looking girl wasn't fooled, but said nothing. She told her: "If you say so; come on, the party is about to start."

Mercury followed her, her feet no longer obeying her brain. She was about to enter the ballroom, when someone came beside her, and spoke: "Mercury, I need to talk to you."

She was so scared, that didn't move, and slowly turned around, expecting to see black hair and a pair of purple eyes, but what she saw was a gentle face, full of maturity. "Pluto." She whispered, "you scared me."

The older of the senshi shrugged, and said: "Follow me. We need to talk." Mercury knew that Setsuna-san was serious, and kept herself quiet. They walked into a balcony and Pluto moved to the edge. Looking into the stars, she said: "I know what happened to you yesterday, Mercury."

The princess of the smaller inner planet in the galaxy felt her heart stop and replied: "You do?"

Lady Pluto smiled faintly, and answered: "I'm not called the senshi of time for nothing. Listen to me, Ami of Mercury, for this may change your destiny." She nodded, and listened carefully. "Ren will try again tonight. You must avoid him at any cost. If he gets you, the future of the Silver Millenium will be endangered. Do you understand me?"

The younger girl moved her head again, and turning towards the stars, she said: "I understand, but I don't know if I can manage to avoid him all the night, you know with all those people in there, he could be in front of me and I wouldn't notice." She faced Setsuna, and heard her whisper: "You must not let him get you. It is more important than you think. If you get caught, it won't only destroy the Moon Kingdom, but all the future as well."

Mercury gasped, and closed her eyes, trying to figure out how such a little event (compared to the time continuance) would provoke a paradox. Her fast mind couldn't come with an answer, so she opened her eyes to ask Pluto. However, as she opened them, only the light breeze was still with her. Her hair moved slightly, and knew that Setsuna had already left. Then, she re-entered the party, with a pain in her heart. Slowly, she gracefully walked towards her friends, who were standing in a group in the other side of the room...