Author's Note: Hi all! This is the sequel to 'Sailors of the Elements,' so if you haven't read that I would suggest reading it before this, as you will be very confused if you do not. Again, it focuses mainly on the Elementals (I can't help it, I fall in love with the characters I create) - so if you're a Serena/Darien fic fan or a Haruka/Michiru fan etc etc, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Thank you so much for reading this nonsense! Oh, and before I forget, two things: 1) Disclaimer: of course I don't own anything about Sailor Moon or Sailor Moon related except for my own characters. I would be honored if you wrote a fic using my characters, just drop me a line at clarabeara87@aol.com before you do. and 2) I'm looking for a beta reader. I do Sailor Moon, Labyrinth, Harry Potter, and freelance stories. Any takers?? Please say yes. Thanks again! Read it, review it, and most importantly, enjoy it!
~Teller

"Rise of the Elements"

Prologue: The Beginning

I smiled gently down into the bubbly foam of the sea wave tenatively licking the toes of my boots. I raised the end of my staff so it would not get wet from the incoming tide and gazed up at the moon that hung full and glittering in the sky, silently thanking Queen Serenity for everything. And everything was a lot, especially as of late. I glanced up to the rolling dunes that lay at the foot of Tokyo, and saw a familiar figure staring avidly at me. I debated waving to her, but decided against it, and as she turned to the small feline figure beside her, I leapt to the top of a nearby building. She looked back to shore, and the cat stared at her worriedly. Shaking her head, she turned away and headed back to the parking lot of the beach. I smiled, and watched a feather drift down from the sky to land on the beach where I had just been standing. My new life was beginning . . .

* * * *

~Avaris~

The next day I awoke feeling strangely at peace. After the recent events, peace was the last on a very very very long list of things I had expected to feel, but nevertheless, a strange emotion akin to bliss seemed to have taken up residence within me.

As I mechanically went through my morning routine - showering (Where was the soap??), getting dressed (My skirt isn't ironed!), finding my school books (Math book! Math book!) and hunting down that one shoe that always winds up in my little brothers bed room (Coincidence? Ha!), my thoughts drifted to the future . . . something I had not been thinking of for a while, considering that during the recent events I had been mostly concerned with the present - as in, the I-am-gonna-die-right-now present. Now that the battles with Leander were over, what would happen next? Would my, Mamesa's, Halimeda's, and Arianna's roles in the Senshi life drift into the background with no reason to protect? Peace was surely at hand, but for how long? As horrible as it sounds, I knew I would miss the rush of adrenaline that thrilled through my veins when I called up my transformation.

Pensively, I picked up my glass of orange juice and rolled the citrus sweetness around my mouth. Whatever was to happen, I would be ready, I decided as I clipped my Crystal around my neck and headed out the door to another grueling day of school. . .

* * * *

~Mamesa~

I felt the warm rays of the dawning sun roll across my face like melted butter. Drowsily, I curled up on my futon, squeezing my eyes shut against the invading sunlight. I did not want to go to school today . . . I sighed, then tensed instantly as I felt someone standing by me. Someone was crouching by my bed, careful not to disturb my sleep.

*Yuki*

My sister's silky hair spilled across her pillow like black satin. It twinkled red in the light, and was practically screaming at me to twist my tiny fingers in it and pull hard. I'm just a baby, how am I supposed to know I shouldn't pull hair? I reached out to it, but then . . . her necklace glittered in the sunlight, ruby red against the pale skin of her collar bone. It twinkled invitingly, more so than her shiny hair. I reached a chubby hand out to touch it gently. Just as my fingers brushed against it's surface, I felt a rush of heat well up from inside it . . . fire! My hand was on fire!

*Mamesa*

Someone grabbed my necklace, and before I could react, the crystal's built-in 'burglar alarm' sent mental flames at the intruder. My eyes flew open and I reflexively grabbed the fingers that had inclosed around my charm.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I sighed and rolled my eyes. It was only my baby sister of two years, Yuki. So much for sleeping in: this was going to be a very, very long day.

"Yuki . . ." I moaned. "Did you touch Mame's necklace?" I tried to speak in a reprimanding tone. She nodded through her tears, and I sighed again. "Never touch Mame's necklace . . . it, um . . . doesn't like to be touched," I said. "Let me see your hands." She held them up to me. They were unmarked by fire or heat of any kind. "You're fine," I said gently. "See? You aren't burned at all." She held her hand up to her face in wonder, and promptly went cross-eyed looking for the burns she knew were there, somewhere. She had felt her hands get burned, now where was the evidence? Maybe hiding in one of the rolls of baby fat . . . I'm sorry, but my sister is one fat baby( I probably was, too).

"Mame, hot," she said, pointing at my necklace. I sighed. How could I explain something like the Fire Crystal to a two year old?

"I think you dreamed it, sweetie," I said.

"No," she said stubbornly. "Hot!"

"Mamesa, darling?" My mother's voice drifted up the stairwell. "Is everything allright?"

"Yes, mother, fine!" I yelled back. "Yuki just had a bad dream!"

"No dream!" Yuki insisted, looking furious that I had told such a falsehood. "Hot!"

"Okay, Yuki, hot," I murmured, not really listening as I rolled up my futon and shoved it against the wall. As I got ready for school, my younger sister toddled out of my room down to the breakfast room below.

I bounced down the stairs, hopping on one foot and still pulling one sock on as I tried vainly to be ready in time for school. Yuki sat at the counter drawing with crayons, and my mother leaned against the table sipping a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Mamesa," she said brightly. Looked like she got some sleep. . . .

"Morning," I mumbled, pulling a brush frantically through my hair. No time now, I'd have to leave it down . . .

"Mame hot," Yuki informed my mother matter-of-factly.

"Hot?" My mom repeated, looking at me worriedly. "Do you have a temperature, Mamesa?"

"Nope. I don't know what she's talking about," I said, as I grabbed a piece of toast, an orange, and headed out the door. "Bye mom!" I slammed the door shut behind me, and let out a huge breath of air. What a nightmare! I don't care how much sleep my mom needs, Yuki is absolutely not sleeping in my room ever again. I brushed a stray strand of hair irratibly out of my face. I hate it when I have to leave my hair down.

As I peeled my orange and strolled down the street, time and school forgotten, I began to think of the battle . . . the final one, where both Celeste and Leander had died. The circular orange reminded me of the webbed cage that their powers had encased them in. What had happened inside that massive sphere? What had Celeste done that was so powerful it destroyed both her enemy . . . and herself? What _could_ she have done?? She must have had a lot more power than I thought she did . . . and now she was gone. I sighed and tossed the rind away. Her death hadn't hit me as hard as it did Avaris, but it still depressed me . . . and I had barely even known her!

"Mamesa!" A familiar voice yelled out from behind me. I whirled around, and saw none other than Rei Hino running up the street to catch up with me! "Wait up!" she yelled. It was all I could do not to stare. Rei Hino, possibly the one person who hated me most in the entire world, was telling me to wait for her? This could not possibly be a good thing.

"Yes?" I asked her. She panted and stopped to catch her breath. When she had rested for a moment, she began walking with me.

"I wanted to talk to you," she began, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

"About what?" It was all I could do not to keep the wariness out of my voice. She stopped and faced me.

"Well, I figured I should clear some things up." She started. I waited for her to continue. "Well, we never really got off on the right foot, and now that we're both Senshi, I figured we should start over . . ." she said hesitantly.

"That sounds great!" I said enthusiastically. She looked surprised.

"Seriously?" She asked. I nodded and stuck out a hand.

"Seriously," I said. She shook it, smiled at me, and we continued to walk to school.

* * * *

~Halimeda~

I felt the cool water thrill around me as I flipped over at the end of the lane and practiced my flip turn. I tensed my muscles and shoved off the wall as hard as I could, and kicked my way to the other end.

Two more laps, I thought. Then I'll stop.

I climbed out of the pool and wrapped a fluffy towel around me, watching the reflections of the water play about on the ceiling. The blue-gold lighting reminded me forcibly of my transformation and gave me a jittery feeling of anticipation.

Turning from the pool, I faced the huge panoramic windows that were situated parallel to the lap pool in my grandfather's house. I was a terrible insomniac, and whenever I couldn't sleep, I came down here to swim a few laps and work out the tension and stress from school. Today I had been here for a few hours, and now I could watch the sun rise over the ocean. I settled into one of the lawn chairs and watched the sky awake. When the sun had finally crept up over the edge of the sea, I pulled myself out of my position - I had almost fallen asleep again - and headed upstairs. After I showered and got dressed, I went to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Manana, abuelo," (Good morning, grandfather) I greeted him. He looked up from his coffee and newspaper.

"Halimeda!" He said in a heavily accented voice. He had been born and raised in Spain, as I had, but in a different region, so his accent was sometimes difficult to understand. "How did you sleep?" he asked. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

"Not well," I said, and twisited my hair into the braid it was famous for. My grandfather eyed me sympathetically.

"You and your mother," He said. I smiled. My mom was an insomniac too, whenever she was home. She was a business woman, and was constantly traveling. My dad had left us when I was four, and he died a few years later in a car accident. Neither my mother nor I mourned the event. My mom traveled constantly, so it was mostly just Abuelo and me in his huge house outside of Tokyo . . .

My grandmother had died just before I was born. I had never known her personally, but my grandfather spoke of her so frequently it feels as if I have. Grandfather had been a business man who owned an international bank back in Spain. He retired and handed the bank over to my uncle a few years ago, and moved to Japan, where he had purchased land and a house several years ahead of his retirement. Now he had, as he often said, more money than he knew what to do with, and donated most of it to hospitals and charities. The rest he put into my college fund.

"What time is it?" I asked him, peering into the refrigerator for breakfast.

"Just about six," he said. "School starts at eight, no?"

"Yes," I said, pulling out some yogurt. "I've got a while."

"Maybe you should catch up on your homework?" He suggested, smiling slyly. I supressed a smile. Grandfather was always trying to push me to my limits, although I'm afraid I'll never catch up to Ami, who was the smartest student at Juuban High.

"I've done everything on my syllabus, Grandfather," I said. "I think I'll just walk to school today."

"Will you be there on time?" He asked doubtfully.

"I'm sure I will," I said, leaning over to pick up my bookbag. "I'll probably be there a bit early."

"If you say so," He said, still looking doubtful.

"Abuelo," I kissed him on the cheek. "I will. Hasta luego!" (see you later)

"Hasta luego!" He called after me as I headed out the door.

Once I was out the front gate, I sighed and relaxed a bit. Being inside those high stone walls always made me feel more than a little tense.

I unbraided my hair and ran my fingers through it, trying to encourage it to dry a bit faster. As I walked slowly down the street - fairly busy for such an early hour - I thought about Celeste. I had never known her, and yet she gave her life to save me - and others. She had supplied me with weapons - the Horn of Merlin, as well as a spear - that enabled me and the rest of the Elements to defeat Leander and Lady Darkness. Those few facts were very powerful. Of course, I was to protect and serve Sailor Mars, but had Celeste known she would protect and serve the entire human race - the very world? It was a very unnerving question.

But, if you looked at the big picture, I suppose that I protected and served the entire human race and world through protecting Sailor Mars. She had saved the world many times, with the other Scouts and Sailor Moon alongside her, of course, but still . . .

I sighed, exasperated with my hair, and stopped to pull a brush out of my briefcase. These thoughts were just too complicated for me. I fingered the Crystal that hung at my neck. I would just have to do my job, and do it well, and hope that my destiny never came down to what Celeste's destiny did . . .

* * * *

~Arianna~

I groaned sleepily as I pulled myself out of bed. I stumbled across my room and, after pulling my uniform out of the closet, fell (Literally . . . if the bruise on my thigh is any indication!) into the bathroom. Wiping sleep out of my eyes, I fumbled with the shower knobs and finally persuaded the shower to my desired temperature. As the steaming water ran through my hair and down my body, I began to wake up - slowly, mind you, very slowly, as always.

As I lathered my hands with shampoo and reached up to wash my hair, my fingers got tangled in a very fine chain . . . the chain the Cloud Crystal hung on.

Reality came crashing down on me as I suddenly remembered the events of the past week. I had temporarily forgotten about the Sailor Scouts, the Sailors of the Elements, and even Sailor Sky - me. I was awake faster than I had ever been in my entire life - I almost fell down again, which definitely would not have been good.

How could I have spaced out that I was a senshi?!?! I rolled my eyes, exasperated with myself. I've always been spacy, but this just takes the cake.

Rolling my eyes, I turned off the shower and stepped out of the tub. After toweling myself dry and getting dressed quickly as possible, I hurried to the kitchenette and grabbed my lunch that I had prepared the night before. I was about to make myself some breakfast, but I glanced inadvertently at the clock and realized it was a LOT later than I thought it was.

"Oh NO!" I yelled, and sprinted out the door. I hurried to the elevator, and pummeled the button repeatedly. "Come on, come ON," I said as I watched the light depicting where the elevator was. It was three floors above me. Slowly it moved downwards, and finally arrived with a quiet 'ding!'and the slight grating sound of the doors sliding open. Without even looking to see if anyone was inside, I threw myself through the doors and hit the "Lobby" button.

Or at least, that's what I was planning on doing, but there was a person in the way.

"Watch it!" They said indignantly. I turned to apologize, and my eyes widened.

"Lita?" I said. Her green eyes widened as wide as mine, if not wider.

"Arianna?" She asked in disbelief. "What are you - do you live here?" I nodded.

"Do you?" I asked. She nodded mutely.

"Wh - well - wow," I said. "It's a small world." She nodded again.

"What's your apartment number?" She asked.

"316," I said. "What's yours?"

"Mine's 616!" She said excitedly. (AN: Okay, I know in the anime Lita lives in 216, but that doesn't work for me here, ok?)

"Really? This is too weird," I said.

"Yeah," she agreed, still looking slightly disbelieving. The elevator doors dinged and slid open. We walked mutely out of it, and went our separate ways to school.

~*~End Prologue~*~

Chapter One coming soon, I promise!!