A Tale of Two Soldiers
A/N: I don't own Sailor Moon, I'm not making any money off this. Please don't sue me. kthx.
Centuries have passed since Sailor Moon was the soldier of justice. Her daughter, Chibiusa, has ruled Crystal Tokyo for a thousand years. The Sailor Senshi that protected Sailor Moon have all passed on, and the Asteroid Senshi are too old to fight now. The very names of the planets have changed as language has evolved, and a new set of girls hold the Sailor Crystals of the Sol System. Chibiusa has had a daughter of her own, a daughter who will soon be queen...
Deep in the heart of the Crystal Palace, Princess Hypatia slept restlessly. Her mother, Queen Serenity II, had not been well lately. Ever since the death of King Helios, her mother's health had gone downhill. It had pained the princess to see her mother looking so pale and wan...and so old. Her mother's pink hair was now more white than pink, and her reddish eyes were dull. Hypatia had thought that the Ginzuishou's powers would keep her mother young and lovely even at the hour of her death.
Will I look that old and grey after I have reigned for a thousand years? Hypatia thought. Her mind raced again to the thought of her mother, and then to the grandmother she had never known. Hypatia knew all about her grandmother, though. Everyone in Crystal Tokyo, and, indeed, all the galaxy knew about her.
Hypatia's grandmother had been Neo-Queen Serenity, the fabled soldier of the Moon who had saved the galaxy from Chaos and brought about a lasting peace. If Hypatia recalled correctly, Neo-Queen Serenity had not even ruled for a thousand years. After her mother, Princess Lady Serenity got married to Helios, Neo-Queen Serenity handed her the Ginzuishou and departed for the Galaxy Cauldron. No one ever saw her again. She hadn't even said good-bye to her daughter.
At least I'll be able to tell my mother good-bye, Hypatia thought. She sat up and ran her fingers through her long, champagne-blonde hair. She was simply unable to sleep. Climbing out of bed, she wrapped herself up in her favorite mauve silk robe, and took a seat at the elegant glass doors that led to to the balcony. It was too cold to go outside now. The full moon was visible tonight. It seemed to be hovering just outside.
The moon was a comfort to Hypatia. Maybe it was because the blood of the moon flowed within her veins. Or maybe it was because the moon gave her strength. She could look at it and feel the courage of her mother, and her grandmother, and even her great-grandmother. While she gazed at the moon, she saw a small bird fly past the window. It fluttered around for a bit and perched on the balcony railing. It was a small, blue bird with a white belly and reddish orange sides. Hypatia knew that songbirds like that didn't come out at night, so what was that bird doing? It seemed to be staring at her. This made Hypatia uncomfortable. The bird tilted its head, blinked once, and flew away.
Hypatia shook her head and went back to staring at the moon. The bird was probably sick, or confused. It wasn't staring at her. Birds don't stare at people, she thought.
Suddenly, she heard a hard, insistent knocking on her door. She froze.
"Princess Hypatia?"
The princess didn't answer.
"Princess Hypatia?"
The voice was familiar to her. It was the voice of one of the new Senshi, but she couldn't place which one it was. She didn't know them well enough, yet. Most of them had just completed their training.
"Who is it?"
"It's Ixchel. It's important. Please answer the door."
Hypatia hurried to the door and opened it. Standing in front of her was the senshi of the planet which had once been called Venus, but now was called Turan. Ixchel was a beautiful woman with dark skin, full, sensuous lips, and big, dark brown eyes. She was elegantly dressed, maybe even overdressed, in a brown and red gown that vaguely resembled a Victorian riding gown. She wore a matching hat with a fishnet veil, and a pair of tinted glasses. Her curly, black hair was put up, except for the few strands which hung in her face. Hypatia was surprised by Ixchel's choice of dress, normally, she wore much more revealing clothing so she could show off her numerous tattoos.
"It's your mother," Ixchel said quietly, cutting off any commentary that Hypatia may have been about to make about her choice of attire. "She wants to see you."
That was all Ixchel needed to say. Hypatia pushed past her and ran down the hallway to her mother's bedroom. As she ran, memories of her mother ran through her head. She could recall a time when she was a small girl, running through this very hallway, with her mother chasing her...playing with her. She could clearly hear her mother's bell-like laugh, and her father's voice...
How soon all of that disappeared! Hypatia thought. She found herself wanting to be a child again. She wanted the certainty she had that her mother and father would always be there to look after her...
When she reached her mother's room, she pushed the double-doors open with all of her strength. They crashed against the wall, and the healer who had been tending the Queen looked up. She was a very young, very slight-looking woman with long, hunter-green hair and red eyes. She smiled slightly when she saw the princess, and walked over to her.
"Princess Hypatia." She bowed deeply.
"Lady Chiron," Hypatia said quietly, "How...how is my mother? Did she really ask for me?"
Lady Chiron nodded. "Yes. I sent Ixchel to find you because she was the only one of the Inner Senshi who could have reached you in time. I think—no, the Queen thinks, that it is almost time..." Lady Chiron's voice trailed off.
"Isn't there anything you can do for her?" Hypatia asked. Lady Chiron shook her head, and brushed some hair out of her face.
"Everything that I could possibly do for your mother has been done," she said sadly. "She has lived for over a thousand years, Princess Hypatia. The Ginzuishou's powers cannot sustain her any longer. I am truly sorry."
"I understand," Hypatia whispered. "Lady Chiron, could you leave us alone for...for this?"
"Of course," the healer said softly. She walked over to the bed. "Your Majesty, Princess Hypatia has arrived." She bowed to the Queen, then to Hypatia, and wordlessly left the room. As soon as she was gone, and the doors were closed, Hypatia approached the bed.
"Mother..." Hypatia could barely speak. Queen Serenity II looked so fragile and helpless lying there. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she struggled to hold back a sob.
"Please don't cry, Hypatia..." the Queen whispered. "This is a natural part of living. I have lived as long as the Ginzuishou has allowed...I have done my duty. I have been fortunate. I married the love of my life and had a wonderful child..." Serenity sighed deeply. "Go get the Ginzuishou from my jewel box, Hypatia."
Hypatia nodded and quickly retrieved the silver crystal. For a moment, she was mesmerized by its beauty.
"Bring it to me," Serenity said. Hypatia silently obeyed, handing her mother the crystal.
"As you know, the heir to the kingdom must inherit the Ginzuishou. Soon, all of this responsibility and power will be yours...you are my only heir, Hypatia..." For a moment, the Queen looked as though she wanted to say something, but she shook her head. "Use this power well, my darling...the galaxy is in your hands now..." With those words, the Queen laid back on the pillow, closed her eyes, and a took a deep breath...one which she did not exhale.
"Mother?" Hypatia said, cautiously reaching toward the woman, "Mother...?"
The Queen did not stir. Tears filled Hypatia's eyes as she reached for the Ginzuishou. She wasn't ready to call Lady Chiron in, yet. There was nothing the healer could do for the Queen now, anyway.
"Mother, I promise that I will be the best ruler I can, and that I will use the Ginzuishou only for the highest good..." she said as her fingers closed around the crystal. It was oddly cold. Hypatia thought that something which contained the strongest power known to the galaxy would be a little warmer. She held it up to examine it, and, without warning, the Ginzuishou flashed brightly, and of its own volition, flew from Hypatia's hands and out the open window! Hypatia ran to the window and watched it streak across the sky.
"No...no!" She slammed her fist on the windowsill. If the Ginzuishou had flown away from her, then she could not, truly, have been the heir to the Kingdom. But how could this be? Helios and Serenity had had no other children...
Sighing deeply, Hypatia turned on her heel and walked back to the bed. With every semblance of calm, she pulled the sheet over her mother's head, and called for Lady Chiron.
I will tell only my Senshi of this. I will put off my coronation until the Ginzuishou is found!
On the other side of Crystal Tokyo, deep in the slums, a young woman with pale blonde hair done up in a pair of Chinese-style buns sat on the roof of her apartment building, watching the stars. Or, rather, what stars she could see.
"Shizue!" called a man's voice, "Shizue! It's late. Why don't you come down now?"
"In a minute, Dad!" she called back. She sighed, and shook her head. It was aggravating, sometimes, when her father would call her. She was 21, for pete's sake. She wanted peace, and solitude. Not the hustle and bustle of the city below. Not the stress of working two jobs so she could take care of her ailing father. Stargazing on the roof offered her time to herself, something which had become scant lately.
While she watched the sky, she saw a curious white light streak across the sky. That's awfully bright for a shooting star, she thought. While she watched, it zig-zagged around the sky, and finally crash-landed in front of her apartment building. Shizue stared at the smoldering crater in the sidewalk before her curiosity got the better of her. She hurried down every flight of stairs in the apartment building, eager to discover just what she had seen. Part of her also hoped that another tenant wouldn't beat her to it.
Her heart was racing and she'd even worked up a sweat by the time she reached the crater. She got down on her hands and knees and peeked in.
Her jaw dropped when she saw what was in the crater. There was a silver, spherical crystal in the crater. It was beautiful. Shizue found it hard to believe that something so lovely could exist in the slums.
How did this get here? Shizue thought. She carefully reached into the crater and pulled the crystal out. She held it up and examined it. You know, she thought, This crystal looks an awful lot like the Queen's...
As soon as she thought that, the crystal flashed brightly and floated upward. Shizue stared up at it, then watched, mutely, as it floated back down toward her chest. She felt a sharp pain as it started sinking in, and then she fainted.