Disclaimer: Characters owned by Naoko Takeuchi.
This was a Christmas gift I wrote for Jet Wolf over on tumblr, and with her permission I've been posting it in other websites.
This was my attempt to explore at life before Queen Serenity, like, my attempt to expand on some of the ideas the SM fandom has regarding Senshi who're based off the moons of other planets in the Solar System. I also want to mention that one of the characters in this story had a design inspired from PlanetXiN on DeviantArt.
This isn't a happy story.
So cruel...
You're so cruel... to leave me for a world of your own...
...
Long before Queen Serenity...
She clutched at the gash in her side, the blood staining her torn white fuku a dark, ugly red, and she limped her way through the desolate waste and rubbish. Her powers weren't working properly, or else she may have withstood the onslaught with fewer injuries. Then again, she wasn't a very strong soldier. She'd given it her all, or rather, she'd given too much, and so conversely, the agony was too much as well.
Her vision was blurring, she'd suffered third degree burns on her left arm and it hung limply by her side. She was sure that she had a concussion, but knew if she allowed herself to pass out she would surely die. The thing was, she knew she was going to die anyway, regardless if she was awake or asleep. Doomed no matter what. And here she was trying to stay awake. If she had been anyone else, she would've thought this was funny, in a sick and twisted way. But that's all this was, sick and twisted.
The night sky was stained a cruel scarlet color from the flames and the destruction, mixed with clouds of smoke and dust from the numerous explosions that littered the city. The air was tainted with the sounds of swords clashing, energy being dispelled, and people screaming. That last part never went on for very long, as it was always accompanied by an immediate silence before someone else began screaming. If they were lucky, they didn't have time to scream. What chilled her more was that she now considered this a blessing, and she shivered.
Sailor Trinculo, the Soldier of Mirth, had nothing left to laugh about. The war had stolen that from her. No, no that wasn't entirely true. She had given it the war. Given it gladly. Given it for the chance to be a proud Sailor Soldier of the Uranian Kingdom, to stand tall with her comrades equally instead of being limited by the fact that she came from a poor, third-rate satellite. She wanted to be a good soldier and laugh about vanquishing evil with her fellow Uranian Sailors, but had no idea what that truly meant until it was too late.
She found herself at the steps of what was once a grand Earth library, a place of education and enrichment, before the war. Now it was just another freshly birthed ruin, pages scattered and burned, once inscribed black with ink now also stained with blood, and the smell of burning paper and leather mingled with the scent of burning flesh.
Trinculo slumped onto the first few stone steps. The smell of smoke was briefly overpowering, and she began violently coughing. She clutched at the brooch on her chest and began to take several deep breaths after nearly choking. She'd held on to her brooch so tightly she was afraid she might've broken it. She unfastened the brooch, formed in the shape of a laughing mask of comedy, from her moss red bow, and opened it. Trinculo studied the jewel, a red crystal similar to the Eudialyte gem in her tiara. The shine had started to grow dull, and matched her worn out feelings of fatigue.
It had come from beneath the Earth, the enemy.
A demon. A poison. A trap. It was called Tartarus. It had seeped into their minds and turned them.
It corrupted several Soldiers.
Sailor Aura. Sailor Inyx. Sailor Enyo. Sailor Praxidike. Sailor Calypso. Sailor Setebos. Sailor Proteus. And Sailor Hydra.
A Soldier for every planet, except Earth.
The madness of Tartarus ate their minds away, hollowed out their souls out and sewn seeds for destruction. The corruption spread among the Sailors and the kingdoms. The eight Senshi spoke of war and conquest, enticing their leaders and allies with promises of glory and the holiest of power, the Silver Moon Crystal. The greatest heavenly crystal, destined to rest in the hands of the Moon Queens, whose latest inheritor would be the princess Leto.
The unrest simmered for several months, and then war broke out when Sailor Aura, in a fit of madness, unleashed her power in a chain reaction that led to the mutual destruction of the Venusian moons. Sailor Inyx retaliated, and so far the death toll had already exceeded into an incomprehensible scale. It was only then that Tartarus revealed itself, because even at the height of their power, there was no way Aura or Inyx would've been capable of destroying multiple satellites.
Some spoke for reason, and they died for it. Others were followers, others were scared, and others reveled in the carnage. Trinculo was part of the first two. She didn't know what to do but follow orders. She was lost. Without her.
Trinculo didn't speak as she walked up the steps into the library. If she said a word, she might alert the presence of a hostile Sailor Soldier in the vicinity. Now, all she could do was hide. She had nothing left to give. No more power. No more will to fight. The only thing she could think to do was hide until the carnage ended, and take whatever humiliation was handed to soldiers who gave up.
It was clear that there had been fighting in this building, but the battle seemed to have ended a while ago. Book cases toppled, tomes of literature and history spilled everywhere. Trinculo didn't know what they said. She couldn't read Earth language. Above, chunks of the ceiling had been obliterated, and Trinculo could see the smoky night sky. Hopefully, whoever had made this damage left so Trinculo could find an alcove to hide-
"-ello?"
What was that?
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Trinculo stopped.
"Please. Tell me who's there."
It was coming from around a large bookcase that had remained upright. Above was an aforementioned section of destroyed ceiling, with bits of stone hanging precariously off the jagged edges.
Trinculo stopped to really listen to this voice, trying to tell if it was an enemy, maybe a Sailor she knew. But, the voice sounded weak. Well, not entirely weak, but getting weaker. Maybe someone left behind to die, because the Sailor they were fighting with didn't have the will to finish the job. Or maybe they just wanted to watch them squirm.
"Please, whoever you are. Talk to me."
Trinculo gasped.
"Perdita?!"
Somehow managing to forget her pain, Trinculo ran to where the voice was coming from.
"Hello, Trinculo... how, how lovely to see you..." Sailor Perdita said.
Trinculo's heart sank to the bottom of the stomach.
Why?
Why did she have to say it like that?
Perdita was missing an eye.
A horrible, bloody gash covered the right side of her face, and she'd lost one of her beautiful, silver eyes. Her auburn colored hair matted with blood, the Soldier of Questing was trapped under a heavy slab of the stone ceiling. Her normally dark skin looked pale and sallow. Despite this, she looked happy. So, so very happy to see Trinculo.
"Who?"
"What?"
"Who did this to you?" Trinculo cried.
"I, I think it was Sailor Sycorax. Fighting with Sailor Ariel. I came in at the wrong time. I don't know where they went." Perdita coughed.
"I-I'll get help. I'll find someone." Trinculo turned to leave before Perdita grabbed at her ankle. Her grip was astonishingly strong despite massive blood loss.
"D-don't." Perdita ask. "It won't do any good."
"Then I'll try." Trinculo said, and foolishly attempted to move the slab off her friend.
"Please, Trinculo. Stop," Perdita asked. "It won't matter. My legs, I, I can't feel them."
"Oh God, oh God please-" Trinculo begged.
"You're too hurt. Save your strength."
"I have to do something!" Trinculo cried.
"Stay with me?"
Trinculo stopped struggling and looked at Perdita.
"Is it wrong of me to ask that? Oh, what am I s-saying," she coughed again, "Look at you. Go, go find aid. Someone. I think, maybe Sailor Juliet has healing powers. Find her."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I killed her."
"...oh."
And so Sailor Trinculo kneeled by Sailor Perdita's side.
"I didn't mean to." Trinculo started to cry.
"It's okay."
"But she was fighting Sailor Umbriel and Sailor Stephano. She was going to kill them. I had to do something."
"Is that where you got those burns?" Perdita asked.
"I don't know. It's all a blur."
They were silent for a little while.
"How long?" Trinculo asked.
"How long what?"
"How long have we been fighting?"
"Since the war started?"
"You know what I mean."
"I honestly don't know."
They were silent once more. Trinculo gently attempted lift Perdita's head so she could rest it on her lap. Perdita let out a little grunt of pain, and before Trinculo asked if she'd hurt her more, a reassuring glance from Perdita's good eye calmed her. Trinculo began to calmly stroke Perdita's head.
It was a little unlikely that they'd become friends in the first place, but they say true friendship happens by chance. But is it really chance if they were all going to the same place? The meeting for all the Uranian Soldiers. She saw her. Sailor Perdita. Standing with the other Soldiers from the Inner Moons. Like the others, she got three attacks. Trinculo, from a minor moon, only had one. Trinculo Surprise. How vague is that for an energy attack? She thought she looked nice in her navy blue and moss red fuku, but then she realized most of the others were navy blue. And a lot of them had varying shades of blond hair.
Perdita, though, she stood out. Dark skin and auburn hair, her fuku in black and white. A Phenakite gem. There was more originality in the Inner Sanctum. They didn't try to copy the Uranian Princess.
"Do you remember?"
"What?"
"What I said to you, that first time?" Perdita asked.
Trinculo blinked.
"You asked-"
What color is that?
Huh?
Your fuku. Not the blue parts. This.
It's red.
I know, but what kind of red? I've never seen anything like it.
Oh, it's moss red.
Moss red? I never knew there was such a thing. It looks nice.
Really?
Very unique.
Thank you. :)
It was kind of generic, but from there the two had hit it off. Perdita was very smart and very refined, but had a sense of contained eagerness, if that makes sense. She always wanted to know more and do more. Restless. She made Trinculo feel like an actual princess. She always laughed at Trinculo's jokes, even though they weren't really that funny. Trinculo knew this, but they made Perdita smile, so she didn't care.
They talked about their hopes and why they had chosen to become Sailor Soldiers. That warm day by the lake, even though it had just rained. That was where they had talked about it. That was where it happened.
Trinculo wanted to make people smile. She wanted to make them laugh. She'd heard about Sailor Soldiers were people who made others happy, who fought for love and life. She thought if she became a Sailor Soldier, she could make people smile.
Perdita was lost. She hadn't known what she wanted. A family? Friends? A lover? A career? Truth? It sounded ridiculous, yes, but. She was searching. She thought if she became a Sailor Soldier she could find what she was looking for.
And let's see...
After all that, there was the night of the snow storm...
Sailor Miranda's public falling out with Sailor Prospero...
The boy with the lizard...
General Neptunium...
The cursed music box...
And then the war.
The Inner Moon soldiers were called out on special assignment with Sailor Miranda, and that was the last Trinculo had seen of Perdita for several months. Several months of confusion and havoc. Then Tartarus attacked the Earth and the Moon.
So many Sailor Soldiers fighting one another.
And then, after all those months, this.
"Did you ever get my letters?" Perdita asked.
"Letters?" Trinculo.
"I guess not. I tried to write as often as I could."
"When we get out of here, we'll go look for them, okay?"
"No we won't."
"Don't you say that!" Trinculo cried. "Don't EVER say that!"
"I'm sorry." Perdita sighed.
"We will get out here. We WILL." Trinculo clearly and firmly stated with a sense of conviction that almost had her believing it.
"You know, Sailor Ophelia used to always complain whenever I talked about you." Sailor Perdita said. "She said 'You two make my teeth hurt you're so sweet.' She never liked sweet stuff."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because she was killed by Sailor Mab's Sugar Fairy Fall attack."
"...well, I never liked her."
That made Perdita burst out with laughter so much she shook.
"Ahaha! You always make me laugh. Thank you."
"What? But it wasn't even that funny. Even for me. It figures." And for the first time in ages, Trinculo laughed from a sense of genuine amusement. "Your taste in jokes is as bad as your taste in lovers."
Perdita said nothing.
"Hey, come on. I was actually trying that time."
Nothing.
"Not even a giggle?"
Nothing.
And then she realized Perdita had stopped breathing.
"No. No no no no no no NOOOOOOOO!" Trinculo screamed.
She tried to revive Perdita as she was taught in case of an emergency. She begged and cried and pleaded as she pushed down on Perdita's chest, breathing air in her lungs, screaming at her to wake up.
Nothing.
And then, realizing it was hopeless, Trinculo just stopped crying. Though her face was stained with tears and blood, something inside her went out.
"Cruel... you're so cruel, to leave me for a world of your own..."
Perdita died with a smile on her face, and Trinculo realized that Soldier of Questing was now on a new journey, all by herself.
"You didn't even say 'I love you.'"
She wouldn't be alone for much longer.
...
From that day forward, there would no longer be a Sailor Soldier for each heavenly satellite in the Sol System.
Despite the obliteration of the Mercurial and Venusian satellites, there would still be a Sailor Mariner and a Sailor Magellan to fight for and with the Princesses of Mercury and Venus.
Now, there would only be the following: Sailor Mariner, Sailor Magellan, Sailor Phobos, Sailor Io, Sailor Titan, Sailor Miranda, Sailor Triton, and Sailor Charon. The Soldiers who had vanquished Tartarus, aiding the Earth King and Moon Queen Delia, who sacrificed her life to use the Silver Crystal. They would serve the Princesses of the Solar System as guardians, and when, many years from now, they passed on, the Royal Families built castles in their honor for their bravery.
But eventually, the powers had shifted once more, and the Solar Kingdoms began to dwindle, save for the Earth and Moon. There were eight Soldiers still, but they now carried the names of their home planets, and they dedicated themselves to serving the Moon Kingdom.
The fallen Senshi who had fought bravely for the sake of love and justice had their names honored and memorialized, while the corrupted were less so revered. Princess, now Queen, Leto, was the only one to shed tears for the eight Soldiers poisoned by Tartarus, believing it was not right to blame them for what happened. That was the last time she would shed tears, knowing that, as the new Queen of the Moon, she would have to be strong.
The centuries went by, and Leto had a daughter, who eventually became the new Queen and had a daughter of her own. And the process was repeated several times more, until finally, Queen Serenity had her daughter, and by the birth of this new princess, the Soldiers who died and sacrificed for love were vaguely remembered except for in history books.
The madness of Sailor Aura, whose suicide attack started the Tartarus war.
Sailor Iapetus, forced to publically execute Sailor Praxidike for her crimes against the Jovian Kingdom, as a show of power. She became an alcoholic to ease the guilt, and died years later with a bottle in her hands.
Sailor Nix, who had taken Sailor Hydra into the time stream and were torn apart across centuries by a chronal storm, all to save a young girl with lavender hair. Sailor Pluto, the daughter of Chronos, has never stopped hearing their screams.
And the lovers, Sailor Trinculo and Sailor Perdita, found in a ruined library. Perdita crushed under the collapsed ceiling, Trinculo kneeling beside her, dead from blood loss. A smile on her face.
By Trinculo's side, they found her Sailor Crystal smashed to pieces under her curled fist.
...
Sailor Trinculo
Soldier of Mirth
Attack: Trinculo Surprise
Fuku: Navy blue and moss red (Inspired from PlanetXiN's Sailor Trinculo on DeviantArt)
Jewel: Eudialyte
Sailor Perdita
Soldier of Questing
Attacks: Truth's Sting, Knight Bloom, Light of Reason
Fuku: Black and white
Jewel: Phenakite
