Author's Note: This work is not meant to be read as fanfiction, at least not in the traditional sense. I write this story not only as a sequel to the original Sailor Moon, but also as a reimagining of the general concept. I loved the idea and the characters of the original anime, and when I thought of writing about Senshi who oversaw dwarf planets, my mind ran wild as to how the new Senshi would fight and how they would act twenty years on. This, in my mind is a deconstruction of sorts of the ideas Sailor Moon had, but also a modernized take on the idea and a test at creating new characters. Reading the story this way, I feel I have accomplished that goal. Enjoy!
Concept art for the Kuiper Senshi here: art/The-Lesser-Senshi-588911910
Chapter I: Haumea's Fire
One year after I embarked on my journey, I have been asked to tell a story for any future heroes who may someday be inspired to assume my position by my words. Some of the details may not be accurate and many events and locations are blurred in my mind, but on behalf of my partners and my mentor, I shall try my best to accurately relay them to you.
My story began when I woke up to the sound of my alarm in late August of last year. First day, I thought. What's there to torture me in my new home today?
I was born in Hawaii, but moved to New Mexico close to my fifteenth birthday. My father had been offered a business startup in Santa Fe, so the family just had to accept it because his salary would double if he did. The thought of moving this far from the ocean and the tropics and volcanoes made me cringe. I had a home. I liked looking at the Pacific Ocean from my window. Volcanoes fascinated me and I never worried when one erupted. The one near my house, Kilauea, had been active forever. Whenever I saw its red lava flow, it felt like a message from the Earth. I was able to feel the essence of a living being, and the notion of new land being created and warmth coming to the soil comforted me. But that was in the past. Now, I had to make do with the stale air and Rocky Mountains of the Southwest.
I had already lived in New Mexico for about a month before school started, so there was time for adjustment and acclimatization to the high altitudes. But since school had not started, I still didn't know anyone my age.
As I lay idle in my bed for a while, I began to contemplate what I was getting myself into. I got dressed thirty minutes after my alarm. I put on what my Hawaiian friends called my "signature style": red zip-hoodie, grey sweats, and black fur boots. The hoodie was put over a T-shirt for my favorite TV show, Sailor Moon. An avid fan since I was six, I had kept my love going well into my teen years. Usagi and her friends were my idols and gave me something to aspire to during my transition. I thought it would be cool to be a Magical Girl and escape my mindless routine of everyday life. If Sailor Moon could survive an alien invasion, I could handle moving to a new state. To make a good impression, I zipped my hoodie all the way so nobody would know I was such a nerd.
"All set, Lani!" I heard my mom call from downstairs.
"Yeah," I groaned back. It was going to be a long day.
Throughout my middle and high school years, the first day always felt weird because of those darn icebreakers the teachers had to offer. I hated those because I was naturally shy and hated talking to people. But every year, like clockwork, they would find new ways to embarrass me.
This time, my first class of the day was AP Lit. My dad had often pressured me to do higher level classes, but at the same time I was a decent student and didn't mind them. Literature was one of my better subjects because I already liked reading and overanalyzing literature was my favorite part of the process. So why not?
I walked into class and rushed to pick a window seat. I always pick window seats because they give me extra light to do work by. And I am not the center of attention on a window seat. Teachers always looked away from the lights. The desks were arranged table style, two units by two units, implying a heavily conversational class.
Soon, a girl with dark red hair tied in a ponytail wearing thick glasses danced into the room. She sat down in the seat diagonal to mine, knocking over a few posters from the filing cabinet as a result. After she sat down, she tilted her head in my direction, and let out a big toothy smile as she gazed.
"Wow! I never saw you before. I know everyone in tenth grade but I never saw you. You must be new, then. Who are you?" she inquired.
She was affront and enthusiastic in her greeting. It seemed like she was excited to see an outsider pervade her previously static high school class. As for me, my throat clenched at the mere thought of talking to a stranger, so I said nothing.
Noting my hesitance, my classmate took a different approach. "I'm Steffi. You?"
My heart raced. An actual human was talking to me! What should I do?
"Well…" I began. "I'm…Lani. And I just moved from…Hawaii." The words were barely audible as my voice dropped to a low-level whisper.
"Oh, that's fine. What do you like to do?"
"I…write journal articles for my Wordpress sometimes. Often book reviews, sometimes random thoughts. I also play guitar and can cook Japanese-style."
"Cool! I mostly draw. My main style is manga."
"Manga, you say!" Suddenly, I felt calmer. We had a common bond, so I felt a surge of confidence rush from my heart. I unzipped to show her my Sailor Moon tee to illustrate my common interest.
She smiled. "Good taste," she said.
Suddenly, a medium-tall boy, about a foot taller than myself, burst into the room and slouched in the seat next to mine. He was fairly well-dressed, with a button-down shirt and black slacks. Though his hair was matted and he wore a pair of sunglasses on his forehead above his normal glasses.
I tried to talk to him, but he was already conversing with some of his classmates standing over him. I only overheard one part towards the end.
"So that earthquake we had that year. That really sidetracked me and everyone in my house panicked."
"Oh, you," I blurted out. "Where I'm from, earthquakes are pretty normal."
Why did I do that? What was my fascination with him? I seized up talking to Steffi and now I was striking up a conversation with a clear stud. Had I been possessed or something?
Be it divine intervention or general curiosity, the boy acknowledged me. "Where are you from?"
"Hawaii."
"Wow! Pretty far."
"Yeah," I giggled. What? Was that the best I could do? I was an even bigger dork than I thought!
I picked up my pencil and began twirling it a bit in anxiety. The boy glanced over at me.
"Left-handed, huh?" he noticed.
I stifled a minor chuckle. "Yeah. One of those little things about me."
"I think it's cool. I only saw one or two other lefties last year."
We sat in awkward silence for a bit. "Nice to see you here," he said. "I'm Roy". He offered me his hand.
"Lani." We shook.
It felt strange. Like I was shaking the hand of someone who had subnormal body heat. Though that may have been my own heart rate overtaking his. And also, shaking. I had made contact with another person who offered me his own hand first. I had two new friends without even trying. Was New Mexico cursed or something?
The bell rang and the teacher walked in. The in-class television delivered a message for the new school year. "Good day, Central. This is Principal Robert Wright and I am here to welcome you all back to another glorious year at the greatest school in Santa Fe. To those of you new here, Central is a loving, welcoming environment for all students in all walks of life. I am so fortunate to have one of the kindest student bodies at any school I've ever worked. We are going to make you feel right at home with the club announcements posted in the main hall and student activities office located in the freshman locker bay. Homecoming is a bit late this year, being the last week of October, but please submit your Spirit Day ideas as soon as you can. With that said, let's all stand for the pledge and minute of silence to start another glorious year in Central High. Go Mustangs!"
The principal led the standard Pledge of Allegiance, and then sat us down for the "minute of silence". I had never done one before, but I got the gist through the title and by observing how the class behaved during it. For sixty seconds, one could do whatever they wanted in their heads as long as they didn't talk. I thought some would be in prayer or writing or planning their day, but I chose to use this time to think of what I could do later today. Can Steffi and Roy possibly be my friends? What sorts of things could I do with them to overcome my fear of other students? All this raced through me, but I didn't blurt anything out in adherence to the "minute of silence" practice.
After the moment had passed, the teacher introduced himself. "Hello, everyone. I am Mr. Stanislav. Check your schedules for the right AP Lit instructor and period. If you came to the wrong place, I'll have to kick you out." A funny guy. At least the funny ones I had were more tolerable back home.
"Here in AP Lit, we discuss books. I will go over the syllabus later, but I feel this is a good day to discuss…ourselves." He pulled out an apple-shaped stress ball from his pocket and placed it on his desk. "Since this is the first day, we'll start with a few icebreakers."
Told you so.
"If you look at the second part of the syllabus, it says a few impromptu test arrangements will be given to test various reading, writing, and communicating skills over the course of the year. This one is to test your speaking skills. We will do this again at some point, but you won't be graded on it until later in the year. I call it 'Like...Um'. I will throw the apple at you, and if you catch it, you have to state your name, one event that happened to you over the summer, and the most important thing you learned thus far in life. Then, you throw it to a classmate and they pick up from there. For a challenge, do not say 'Like' or 'Um' when you are grasping for words. Ready…Go!"
He threw the apple up in the air, and three students reached for it. One was Roy. He bobbed and tossed the apple until he lost its grip. As it fell down, I had my hands clasped to my chest, trying to avoid embarrassment again. Just as I tried to tuck into a ball, the apple fell on my head and plopped on my outstretched hands. I heard a few snickers, but most people were staring at me. This was worst case scenario and I was right in the middle of it.
"Would you mind introducing yourself, Miss?" Mr. Stanislav asked.
I almost cried, but I took a deep breath before I started. "Hi, my name is Leilani Kane. But you can call me Lani. Everyone does." I tried to fake a smile to get people on my better side. Judging by nobody pointing and laughing, it seemed to work.
"Good, Lani. Anything interesting to share about yourself from over the break."
"I just moved here from Hawaii. My dad works for a tech startup called FeCorp. They program Android apps and I learned that you just have to keep moving because when you stop, then you definitely fail."
"Cool," Mr. Stanislav said. "And great advice for all of us here. Anything to add about FeCorp?"
"We're working on apps for use in geology. Back in Hawaii we had a lot of volcanoes. And Dad wanted an app to analyze soil fertility in relation to volcanic lava." Mr. Stanislav nodded in approval, signaling me that my time was up. I got rid of the apple as soon as I could, chucking it in the direction of a larger boy across the classroom.
This was basically how the rest of my day went. It was all introductions and syllabus signing. The real test had yet to begin.
I called my mom after school and told her to meet me at the front entrance. While I was standing outside, something rolled at my feet.
I closely examined the object. It resembled a microphone, but was solid red with gold trim. There was nothing explaining to me what it was, but there was a small switch near the center, practically invisible to the untrained eye.
I looked at the bottom to find the brightest ruby I had ever seen. It was only about an inch and a half in diameter, but it shone so brightly in my face, I had to turn it away to avoid going blind. As soon as I did, the glow ceased.
I looked around to see if anyone else was watching. Nobody seemed to take note as they were all moving about the lot and nobody looked in my direction. I immediately tucked the rod in the back pocket of my backpack, only barely visible hanging from an opening.
My mom pulled up about ten minutes later and I got in the car. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."
"Oh, no. It wasn't that bad."
The drive home was fine. I only lived five minutes away, so we decided it was not too much difficulty driving me every day. About two minutes of this was silence, and I avoided eye contact so as to not discuss anything that happened today, or potentially giving away my secret. Then, Mom dropped the dreaded question.
"How'd your first day in New Mexico go?" She always badgers me into talking about these things. Most of the time I really have nothing to say, but I tried to come up with a good story this time.
"Uh…fine. We have to sign a few things when we get home, but my homework this time is pretty light at least. We did this weird activity where you had to tell a story without adding 'Like' or 'Um', to make us sound more professional."
"That's great. It will help you out in job interviews, I can tell you that much. Meet any new people?"
"Two or three. This one girl, Steffi, wants to start a reading group for AP Lit. So I might stay with her on weekends. And this other guy, Roy, he seemed very nice. He noticed I was a leftie and actually taught the class about our first work being read. We're covering Doctor Faustus and he went on and on about Marlowe and how Elizabethan Drama was reflected through the themes of the work."
She smiled a bit at Roy. She seemed to be soaking in the fact some boy had finally taken notice of me; something that had almost never happened before.
She finally said, "That's nice. Sounds like you're off to a good start."
The rest was mostly optimistic silence. I didn't show her my new toy.
After school, I went for my daily cooldown walk. I pledged to walk around Hilo, Hawaii for about forty-five minutes a day. It relieved stress and I performed better because blood circulated to my brain, so I did it every day. When I came to New Mexico, I had to readjust for the climate, but I had lived in Santa Fe long enough to map a walking route for myself. My new route was five blocks down my street. It involved a loop through a small residential crossing, walk through a strip mall in case I was hungry and wanted McDonald's and then five blocks back home.
As I was passing by the residential area, I saw standing in front of me a strange man with a black shirt and an elaborate radio set. He looked only slightly older than me, but was transfixed on his tech gear, which began beeping as an antenna to a remote he was holding pointed right at me. He pointed his head up and looked my way, staring with mild enthusiasm at my backpack. "Excuse me, ma'am. You got something I want to see."
I remembered "Stranger Danger" and prepared to use my bag in self-defense.
"No, no," the man said. "I won't do that. Trust me. I just wanted to see the thing in your bag."
I pulled out the red instrument I had found that day.
He did not take it from me, but he stared it up and down, analyzing its appearance and composition. "Hmm, yes. Interesting it landed here. I thought the first one would take much longer to activate. You got a name?"
"Just call me Lani."
"Alright, Lani. You should know that what you hold in your hand is extremely important. You should only use it when necessary and…"
Suddenly a crash erupted from the main square. A human clad in what looked like white Trojan armor appeared from the wreckage of a car. As people ran screaming, he lifted his sword and sliced a street lamp in two. He lifted his visor to show one red, moving eye. It activated a laser and vaporized a table right in front of me.
"Lani, I have to tell you something. I wanted to save this for a better time, but at the moment I have no choice. My name is Ganymede, and I am a son of Sailor Jupiter and Nephrite".
"No, you can't be." I almost had to stifle laughter. This guy was a bigger nerd than I was.
"I am. And if you know what's good for you, you would flick the on-switch and save us all!"
Now I was beginning to think this guy was legitimately insane. "No way! I should probably call the cops to see if they can figure this…"
"JUST DO AS I SAY! This part is optional due to changes in programming, but for bonus points, shout 'Haumea Power, Make Up' Just like the show."
"Fine," I sighed.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and flicked the switch.
"Haumea Power, Make Up!"
As soon as I did this, I felt as though I had lost control of my body. My flesh and blood burned as I ascended high into the air. I was in agony all through this process, which felt like it lasted several minutes, but Ganymede later told me was mere seconds long. Soon, the pain receded and I felt cold instead of warm, which I guessed at the time was an improvement. I also felt stronger than normal, and more alert to my situation.
When I came down from my mid-air suspension, the pain continued, but I found I had transformed. I looked down at myself, and I appeared to be wearing Sailor Senshi garb, but with a few differences. My costume was solid red, with orange and yellow stripes on the skirt. My sleeves were orange puffs, much like how I remembered the Eternal Senshi wore. My gloves, also bright red, bore darker red gauntlets, and I touched my back to find I also wore a cape that started at my lower shoulder blades. I looked at my reflection in a window. For a girl who felt like she'd nearly been burned to death, I actually looked decent. I had finally become a Magical Girl, but not at all in the way I had in mind.
The soldier-dude noticed and took aim. Using some of my newfound strength, I made an acrobatic dodge most Olympic gymnasts would struggle to replicate.
"Okay, wise guy. Now what?!" I turned to Ganymede, holding my prop in his direction.
"The thing is voice activated. Just say something you want it to do, and it will work."
I thought for a minute about what exactly I wanted it to do. Should I make my own lightsaber? Should I just throw it at him? I was wondering what exactly I wanted to shoot from it if I wanted my own firearm.
"Um…Fire!" I thought at last. It wasn't fire per se that came out, but molten hot Pahoehoe lava came from the top in a massive tidal wave. It emitted minor fumes, but rode directly at the enemy. His face mask melted completely off, but most of his armor was surprisingly unharmed. As he let out a guttural scream, He rolled on the ground to put out any fires on his body, and instantly ran away. As he dashed off, I thought I saw his armor fade away, leaving only a black jumpsuit in its place.
Ganymede pulled me over. "That creature was known as the Pawn-Bearer. You actually beat one on your first try with little assistance! I didn't know what to expect with you, but you did very well considering. Great job, Lani!"
I was a bit woozy from the attack, but could still talk to him. "You have a lot of explaining to do. I don't know how you know so much about me, or why I'm wearing…this." I tugged at my skirt. "Or how I was able to pull off that move so well."
"We'll have time to talk later, but we gotta run now!"
He grabbed me by the arm and we ran.
"So you mean to tell me that Sailor Moon is real?"
We had retreated to the back alley of a pizza place nearby.
"Yep," Ganymede said. "All of it."
"Then why wasn't it global news twenty years ago? You'd think we would all have known if aliens attacked Earth all those years ago."
"The manga author was also their official scribe, a divine being herself. The Senshi blessed her with the gift of storytelling and diplomacy to craft her tale as fantastical as possible. The Japanese press agreed to keep it secret if she published her work as fiction."
"That makes sense," I admitted. "But where are the Senshi now? And why didn't they intervene against the Pawn-Bearer?"
Ganymede sighed. "The Original Senshi retired long ago. They now reside on their home planets."
"But their sons and daughters sensed a threat. Sometime during the intermittent period between then and now, an ultra-powerful being emerged on Earth known as 'The Chessmaster'. Nobody knows how he got his power, but he is credible enough to be a threat to the known universe. He created the Pawn-Bearers from his energy and scattered several other creatures across the galaxy in search of some sort of power core that could grant him immortality."
"The Senshi themselves are in no position to fight at their current age, but at the same time did not have an army to fight the Chessmaster. Later, they discovered beyond Pluto a ring of bodies known as the Kuiper Belt. Since the Moon Princess never saw that planet, no Senshi were created to protect them. So Mercury thought to create some. They sent down a Greater Shard containing their power to create new Senshi to fight the good fight for them. And colonize those new planets."
"The shard split into four separate pieces and dropped in different places across the world. The shards would be attracted to those who radiated the purest aura. They'd be drawn like iron to a magnet if they found the perfect match. And those who received them would know because they would never get rid of them and they would shine a light on the chosen girl."
I turned my rod over and looked at the ruby, holding it just enough away from my face so I could examine it. No way was I that pure. I'd had plenty of faults and was a huge anti-socialite. I often came across as just a people-hater. I could never have the charisma of the Senshi on the show. But, fate never lies. I have to learn to accept these things sometime.
"The descendants of the original five were sent to Earth as a network of spies, radiating off the magic of the past Senshi. Our mission was to observe, protect, and train them into our galaxy's next fighting force."
"So unlike them, I do not have a past life as a Space Princess?" I was a bit disappointed.
"Nope. We decided to expand our services to the newest discovered dwarf planets recently. You are the first leader of the domain of Haumea. We don't know what happens when you colonize them, but you kind of have to earn the princesshood."
Haumea. The name triggered memories of my home in Hawaii. She was the great matriarch. She was a provider, a caregiver, and all the gods sprang from her body. I suddenly realized why my powers seemed to be lava-based. For though lava destroys most life in its path, it creates new land and breeds new life.
"That name could be meaningful. Since you are the first one found, you have to bring into the world a new team of Senshi." He handed me a small badge with a flame emblem. "This makes you the official leader of the Kuiper Senshi."
Police sirens and chopper blades started to approach our general area. Ganymede got restless.
"But we have no time to waste, Lani!"
Ganymede hiked up his backpack and took me by the arm. "Come. Your training begins now!" And we sprinted in the direction of my home.
It was going to be a crazy year. And I had only just started sophomore year of high school!