Prequel to Light Fantastic: Foreshadowing
This is set just before the events of Light Fantastic, in an effort to explain why the Shitennou are back, and to shed some light on their characters, their relationships with each other and Mamoru, and to show case the Senshi a bit. No one really gets together in this, so don't expect much romance or fluff (except maybe between Usagi and Mamoru, of course), mostly this will be a funny, action centered fic. (I hope.)
As always – I don't own Sailor Moon.
Chapter One:
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Hino Rei, violet eyes beginning to send warning flares, stood with her hands across her chest, staring unbelievingly at a tall, tanned woman with very dark emerald hair and garnet colored eyes.
The other woman sighed, and addressed the entire group assembled before her, which included three blondes - one with oddly shaped pig tails, one with a large red bow, and the last dressed in a pant suit with short hair; a blue-haired girl with glasses, a tall brunette with an apron, and finally an elegant, turquoise haired woman holding a baby with sad eyes in her arms.
"The new age is coming," the garnet eyed woman spoke, "every day it's getting closer. That's why there has been a drop in enemy activity recently. But I'm telling you now that, in order to usher in the new era, we have to deal with the old one. You have to go back in time and fix it."
"Can you be any more specific?" Mina, the blonde with the bow, asked.
"Due to Queen Serenity's foresight we now have the entire original court assembled, just as it was a millennium ago, ready to begin the Crystal age that was interrupted by Metallia the first time. All of you are here in order to create Crystal Tokyo, but we are missing something that was there the first time and without it we cannot continue."
"Well," Makoto, wiping her hands on her apron, said, "What is it? What's so important?"
"Yes," Ami pointed out, ticking off on her fingers: "You said everything has to be restored to its original order, but Usagi and Mamoru are together, their wedding date is fixed for six months from now; and with the addition of Hotaru, we now have all the original Senshi. What more do we need?"
"We don't need anything," Setsuna countered, "But Crystal Tokyo does."
She stood up and waved her orb almost carelessly – a large hole like thing appeared next to her.
"I'll give you until tonight," she warned, "When you go to sleep tonight you will not wake up in the present, so prepare yourselves to face your past. We're depending on you four to unravel it. If you think you need back up, ask Haruka or Michiru to accompany you, but someone needs to stay behind to guard Usagi, Mamoru and Hotaru."
"It'll take more than one person to do all of that," Haruka commented wryly.
"What?" she grunted as four pairs of eyes stared at her, unamused, "It's the truth. And anyway, you're all big girls, you can handle it."
"Gee, thanks," Makoto muttered.
"Haruka's right," Michiru put in firmly, "This is something you need to do by yourselves."
"You guys are so supportive," Rei commented sarcastically.
"We know," Michiru smiled. Haruka smirked.
"Oh, one more thing," Setsuna said before she disappeared.
"Make sure you ask Mamoru about the stones. You might want to take them with you."
The younger Senshi glanced at one another in puzzlement.
"Hey, what stones -" Mako called, but Setsuna was already gone.
"I hate it when she does that." Mako grumbled.
"Stones?" Mamoru looked baffled as he faced the four Senshi, standing on the threshold of his apartment. He was dressed for the cold weather as he and Usagi were going skating at the outdoor rink in the park.
"I'm sorry," he scratched his head, "I'm not exactly sure – unless," he stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
"Um, there is something," he admitted, "but, I don't know if I should show you."
Rei's eyes narrowed as well.
"Anything that could help us," Mina said warily, "we have almost nothing to go on, and we'll leave tonight."
He looked at them for a short moment, then sighed.
"Alright, come on," he led them to his bedroom, "but, you have to promise that you won't freak out."
"What does that mean?" Rei asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, what do you have in here?" Mako quipped, "A dead body?"
"Something like that," Mamoru muttered, to her astonishment.
The four stood beside his bed as he went to his desk and pulled open the top drawer. He then picked something up in his hands, closing the drawer with his hip.
They watched, baffled, as he placed four distinct stones on his bed.
"I don't get it," Mina commented, after a moment, "how are rocks going to help us?"
"Just watch," Mamoru whispered. Suddenly the stones began to glow, then to flash, and then with a shimmer of light, four men stood in the room, their forms hazy and translucent like ghosts.
"What the hell!?" Mako yelled. Rei was starting to transform, when Mamoru shouted desperately:
"Calm down!"
"Senshi!" Mina commanded, everyone stopped, tense, staring at the apparitions hovering over Mamoru's bed.
"Now," she said calmly, "tell us, as clearly as you can, why you have what appears to be the ghosts of four Dark Kingdom servants?"
"They're not ghosts," Ami commented, she had already transformed completely and was scanning them with her computer, "they're almost like a residue of..."
"Soul?" Rei supplied, trying to read them.
"Something like that," Ami agreed, frowning.
"Isn't that what a ghost is?" Mako mumbled sourly.
"These are my guardians," Mamoru said, "Well, what's left of them anyway."
"Your...guardians?" Mina asked. All the Senshi stared at the figures of their former enemies in bewilderment.
"You see," Mamoru explained, sitting on his desk chair, "As far as I can figure, and from what I remember and what they've told me -"
"They talk!?"
"Yes," a thin voice said. The Senshi let out muffled shrieks and turned back to face the specters.
The tall one, the one that looked like Kunzite, was staring at them stolidly. It appeared that he had spoken.
"I'm really creeped out right now," Mako volunteered.
"Don't worry," Mamoru reassured them, "They won't hurt you, in fact they couldn't even if they wanted to."
"And we don't want to," the smallest one, Zoisite's ghost, said.
"Right," Mina commented, her eyes flicking nervously between them.
"Anyway," Mamoru continued, "Just as you four guarded Usagi in the past, these were my four guards...and friends," he added a little wistfully.
"This is..." Mina faltered.
"Excellent," Ami exclaimed. They turned to her in surprise.
"Don't you see?" she asked excitedly, "This is what Setsuna was talking about when she said that the entire court needed to be restored. These men are the missing link."
"Let me get this straight, and, bear with me Ami, my brain doesn't work as fast as yours," Mina remarked, "but are you saying that in order for everything to be complete, we have to somehow restore these...people?"
"But, we're the ones who killed them," Mako argued, "it doesn't seem to make sense to undo that."
"I want to know why they were our enemies in the first place, when they were supposed to be protecting you, Mamoru." Rei interjected.
"I think they can tell you better than I can," Mamoru answered with a gesture at the men.
The Senshi looked expectantly at the ghosts, who looked apprehensively at their leader.
"As far as I am able to understand," Kunzite's voice echoed eerily, making the Senshi shiver, "when Metallia attacked the Moon Kingdom, she had already captured the four of us, and, with her dark power she cursed us."
"When we were reborn in this life," Jedite offered, "we followed the first urge we had, which was to find Endymion-sama and protect him but -"
"But that witch got to us first." Nephrite's voice spat, if a ghost could spit.
"Which is how we ended up as shells of ourselves, practically the living dead, imbibed with her evil spirit to do her bidding." Zoicite finished hollowly.
"And now -" Mina urged.
"And now, our spirits, released by our deaths," Kunzite nodded at the Senshi, "have returned to Endymion-sama, where we endeavor to fulfill our duty still."
"That's...really sad," Mako said.
"If it's true," Rei commented.
"It all fits together," Ami spoke up, "it makes sense that, if Usagi has us, Mamoru must have someone that guards him. And since we have to continue Queen Serenity's plan, then..."
"Then we have to find a way to bring them back to life." Mina finished.
The ghosts flickered suddenly, as if in anxiety.
"No," Kunzite replied, they looked at him, startled.
"You can't bring us back," he answered.
"In the first place it isn't scientifically possible," Zoisite proffered, "not even the Crystal can restore life without a body for that life to live in."
"And in the second place," Jedite added softly, "we don't want to come back."
"I don't understand," Mina said, her brow furrowed, "why wouldn't you want to live again? You could protect Mamoru much better with bodies than you can now, surely?"
"That may or may not be true," Kunzite answered, looking at her oddly, "you see, there is no guarantee that the curse wouldn't remain, that we wouldn't still be tainted."
"And, this is the fate we deserve for our betrayal." Jedite mumbled.
"Now that's ridiculous," Rei snapped, shocking the Shitennou, "that's a stupid way to talk. So what if you deserve to stay like this forever? You have a duty and that comes before anything else."
"She's right, you know," Mina agreed cheerfully, "and besides, we need you to help us rebuild Crystal Tokyo."
The four ghosts were silent, as though communicating with each other.
Finally Kunzite said, "If it really is for the sake of the kingdom, we will do whatever we can to help you restore us."
"Even though it isn't possible," Zoisite reminded them.
"It may not be possible to restore you to life in your present shape," Ami countered him, "but if we can supply you with bodies your restoration may not be very difficult at all."
"Are you going to make bodies out of thin air?" he asked incredulously.
"No," Mina replied, a determined smile on her face that the others knew well, "you are going to help us capture your old bodies. Right, Ami-chan?"
"I think so," Ami nodded, smiling, "That must be what Setsuna has in mind. She'll send us back to when we last battled all of you."
"But, uh, didn't we die last time we went up against these guys?" Mako asked.
"That's true," Mina frowned, "We are pretty evenly matched, and they won't be as compliant in the past."
"But," Rei said suddenly, "we'll have an advantage."
"What's that?"
"You'll have us." Jedite answered, and almost smiled.
"That's true," Ami and Zoisite answered simultaneously, then stopped, looking at each other awkwardly.
"I mean," Ami replied, "if we take them with us they can give us information about themselves we didn't have last time."
"Weaknesses!" Mako exclaimed, "I've got it. It'll still be hard, though," she said doubtfully, "and won't we run the risk of meeting ourselves in the past?"
"That's true," Ami frowned, "That would definitely present a potential for causality violation."
"A what?"
"She means we'd mess up the future," Rei explained with a sigh.
"Well, when is Setsuna sending us back?" Mako asked.
"I believe that's up to us," Ami explained, "but perhaps there's another way."
She looked up at the Shitennou questioningly.
"Do you remember your last moments, before death, I mean?" she asked.
They were silent for a moment, then Jedite offered:
"I lost consciousness quite a while before my body disappeared."
"That's because Beryl put you all in some kind of case, they held your bodies but you never revived and I believe they were destroyed when the Senshi defeated Metallia." Kunzite explained.
"Ah, I'm not exactly sure how I died, all I remember is a flash of light...and...a cat?" Zosite said.
Mina giggled at this but did not care to elaborate on the joke.
"Do you have an idea, Ames?" she queried hopefully.
The petite Senshi didn't disappoint.
"Instead of attempting to capture them and creating a causality violation or disrupting the space-time continuum, I suggest that we each pick the point just before death and, in effect – er..."
"Rescue the Shitennou?" Mako asked gleefully.
"Yes," Ami answered.
"Brilliant as always," Mina pronounced, "Alright then, Senshi, choose your damsel and we'll plan a rescue tonight."
"I don't know how I feel about this," Zoisite remarked nervously, "what if something goes wrong? What if you get hurt?" he addressed Ami particularly, "I can't protect you, swe-"
He cut off suddenly in the middle of this interesting speech, leaving the Senshi somewhat confused about his meaning.
You can't let them know about that part of the past. Zoisite bowed his head at his leader's harsh reminder.
I understand.
Kunzite continued to glare at Zoisite warningly but said, "He means to say that we are, naturally, concerned that we might be responsible for the Senshi's lives, should it come to that."
"Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves," Mako laughed, "We're used to being on our own."
"Very good," Kunzite remarked coldly, "Then we are anxious to be of service to you."
Do you think they'll choose true to form? he heard Nephrite's thoughts whisper to Jedite.
They don't remember anything. I guess we'll see.
"I think," Mina considered, "that leaders should stick together, especially since I have a feeling that you'll be the hardest to rescue," she giggled, "what do you say?"
"I will abide by your decision," Kunzite replied without emotion.
"Perfect," Mina declared, "Girls, pick your dead guardians, figure out where - er - when we're going first and get some sleep."
With this she scooped up the pink rock and slipped it in her pocket.
"Goodnight," she called.
The other Senshi stood facing the Shitennou's ghosts with mingled looks of apprehension, reticence and wariness.
"Um, I think I was the one who fried you," Mako offered awkwardly, "but how about we team up?"
Nephrite glowed brighter for a moment before hard looks from his companions dimmed him.
"Whatever you want," he answered and faded out as Mako put him in her pocket. She felt relieved, having made her choice, and bustled out of the room with a wave to the other two.
"Uh, I really don't care, Ami," Rei sighed, "just pick one and let's go, I'm tired."
"I don't know who to pick," Ami said shyly, she didn't want to hurt either of the ghosts' feelings.
Rei rolled her eyes.
"You," she said, pointing to Jedite, "I killed you, didn't I?"
"Well, technically -"
"Whatever," Rei snapped, "I owe you one anyway, so we'll call it even." She plucked him up off the bed and stored the rock in her purse.
"Oh, well, um, I'm going to pick you up now," Ami warned the last Shitennou.
"OK," he replied, smiling for some reason as he vanished.
Ami clutched the rock in her fist and glanced at Mamoru, who'd dozed off quite a while ago. She called Usagi to let her know where her fiance was, covered him with a blanket and left the key to his apartment under the door where Usagi would find it later.
That night, Mako lay in bed with the glowing rock in her hand, fully transformed and ready for Setsuna's power to send her into the past. She had a fairly good idea of when Nephrite's death occurred and what she should be on the lookout for. He had briefed her well, even letting her know about certain things to watch for in the manner and nature of his own attacks. She let out a long sigh and tried to go to sleep. In her hand the rock glowed faintly.
How is everything? Kunzite's voice wavered in Nephrite's 'mind'.
She's sleeping, she looks so...peaceful. he answered softly.
That wasn't what I asked, his leader snapped, You need to focus on the mission at hand. It is your responsibility to guide her through this safely.
And then? Jedite's voice echoed. What happens when we are restored? What will we do?
We will do our duty and protect Endymion-sama.
That's not what I meant. Jedite countered.
I know what you meant. Kunzite's voice sighed in their heads. You must all put the past behind you.
It's not that easy. Zoisite's voice reverberated thinly.
I know.
As she lay on her bed, Rei frowned in the darkness at her ceiling. She could see the stone pulsing by her side with a faint glow. She shook her head in frustration - nothing about this mission seemed right. Enemies as allies? Saving the men they'd helped to kill? Something felt wrong - she was missing some piece of the puzzle.
"I have a bad feeling about this." she whispered and closed her eyes.