Authors Note: HELLO!!! this is my first Sailor Moon fanfiction on Fanfiction.net. It's only the first part out of four, so I hope you enjoy what I have finished. Give me reviews, k? Arigatou!!! :)
~Lordess
When I was young, I was told many stories about how grand the Earth was. How the sky was magnificent shades of blue, the golden sun would hang in the sky and illuminate the clouds and the creatures below. And the crystal palace stood at the center of all happiness, the sun's rays dancing off it's glass surface... And that was just by day...
From the stories, the night was even more magnificent than the day. The white moon would shine from it's resting place among the blanket of stars that filled the night's sky. The crystal palace was illuminated by lights and seemed to glow from within, letting all the people know that as long as the palace stood, there would always be hope.
But that was all many years ago... Now everything has changed... The grass is no longer green, but a dead yellow and brown. The trees are black and wrench in pain. The city is destroyed, no traces of life anywhere... The sun and moon are always hidden by a sky filled with dismal gray clouds and it is usually raining... And the palace...
It does not glow with the same intensity as it used to... In fact... it is not there at all... The crystal palace, home to the noble Queen Serenity, savior of our world, has been smashed... Now only lies shattered pieces of glass all over the city... And where it used to stand, now is a dangerous place to go... Because that's where the darkness arose to build it's own castle of black...
The royal family, rulers of this world, have been killed, trying to protect the very hope of the people. But when the crystal palace shattered, along with the silver imperial crystal, the hopes of the people were cracked as well...
The four guardians stayed to try and defend what was left of the city, but were destroyed with it... The mighty outer guardians came as well, all but the guardian of time, and all failed miserably... Earth was destroyed...
Yet as I stand alone on the ground that used to be my home, I can't help but find my own hope among the rumble. The dark winds splatter the rain drops harshly against my pale skin and dampen my purple hair that feel loosely from it's high ponytail. My deep blue eyes watched the darkening skies and I knew that night was slowly approaching.
It had finally come... the moment that all of us, the ladies of the court and I, had been waiting for... We were finally going to defeat the darkness that had invaded my planet... But perhaps I should start far previous to this day... Yes... at the beginning... that is always a good place to start...
*Sailor Senshi Next Generation Part 1: Surfacing*
"I understand this will be a hard task to undertake..."
"I am ready..."
"But are you willing?"
"Of course... It is my planet that needs saving... I will do anything to make sure it lives on..."
"What news of your father's disappearance?"
"None... and I fear there will be none..."
"Forgive me for asking such an impertinent question... I know it must anger you..."
"It does not..."
The guardian of time looked at me carefully, her deep crimson eyes searching my own blue ones for any sign of falter and got only pure strength in return. Her dark emerald hair feel loosely behind her, draping itself across her deep crimson dress that wrapped around her body. A symbol, burned into her forehead seemed to glow with the same intensity as her eyes.
"You know what you must do now...?" she asked, forming it as a question. I gave a slow nod, my long bangs falling into my face as I did so.
"I presume I must gather the next generation..." I replied, holding my strength not only in my stance, but voice as well. Though I appeared strong, my body, covered with blue and green leather seemed to shake with the uneasiness that lie within...
The guardian gave a nod herself. "As you know, the civilizations of the planetary system have been reborn again... The kingdoms that existed during the Silver Millennium are thriving once more..." she said, speaking through her ruby red lips. "You must re-unite the princess' of the planets and revive the Sailor Senshi once again..."
"And what of the moon princess?"
"I am afraid that there is no successor to the moon kingdom..." Her voice strained to find suitable words to make it easier for my already weary heart to bear. I gave a heavy sigh.
"I believed so..." I replied, feeling my strength and pride begin to slowly decrease from the worry that I carried on my shoulders. Such a heavy burden... "The silver imperial crystal was shattered during the battle... and the entire royal family was killed..."
"Do not loose hope, guardian of earth..." the time guardian said, trying to bring back the hope I had lost so many years ago. "Once you re-unit the Senshi of the Next Generation, and collect the shattered pieces, the silver crystal shall find itself a new holder..."
"How would it be possible to find all the shattered pieces?" Anger rose in my voice, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it, the strain was well heard. After a moment of silence, I lowered my head, ashamed of my actions. "Forgive me Lady Pluto..."
"No need for forgiveness..." the guardian replied. "I understand that you've been through much more than I'll be able to imagine..."
"Thank you for understanding my sorrow Guardian of Time... But I still find it hard to believe that I'll be able to find all the pieces of the silver crystal... They were scattered during the battle..."
"You have a large piece of the crystal already, do you not?"
I remained silent, watching the Lady Pluto carefully.
"And what of the crystal your mother gave you...? The crystal of the representative of earth?"
For a moment, I did not reply. My hand reached into my pocket, feeling over two objects. A frown formed over my face as I pulled the two objects out and let my fingers trace over them, as if memorizing ever crack, ever indentation...
One was a rather small piece of crystal, dull and faded, looking as if it were dead as the earth was now. The other object was a golden locket that had been given to me as a small child. A golden ribbon hung from it, tied neatly into a perfect bow, and etched across the locket's lid, the circle symbol with the cross in it... The symbol of earth... Inside, I knew, lay the crystal that had been my mother's before mine...
The guardian of time shifted in the silence, resting herself slightly against the time staff she held in her hand. "Both these items will help you to locate the other pieces of the broken silver imperial crystal..." Lady Pluto explained. "And then, with the help of the Senshi of the Next Generation, you will be able to defeat the darkness and banish them away from Earth once and for all..."
"But beware..." the Lady warned, her eyes growing slim with anger. "Should your enemies get a hold of the crystal, they will be able to use it for their own... Only then is hope truly lost..."
I took a deep breath and bowed before the Lady Pluto. "I thank you for your council... and your advice..." I said before rising. "But before I leave, I must ask you an impertinent question, Setsuna..."
The Lady Pluto winced, not exactly expecting me to use such an informal name to address her by. A smile spread across her face, amused at the sound of her own name. "Ask away Riana..." she said simply.
"What of your successor?"
I could tell I had caught her off guard... It amused me to see the Lady Pluto blush lightly from slight embarrassment. She cleared her throat before answering... "I have no successor... I am still in position of the Senshi of Pluto... and I shall join you later in your quest..."
"Oh? I have the pleasure of fighting beside the legendary soldier of Pluto?" There was a hint of mockery in my voice, and a wide smirk on my lips.
"Don't push it Riana..." the guardian of time warned, trying to frown, but amused at my mockery, even if it was towards her. "For now I have business to attend to dealing with the Time Space..."
"Understood Lady Pluto..." This time I spoke with honest sincerity, bowing once more before the Lady of Pluto. "I shall send word once I have retrieved the new planetary senshi..."
The guardian of time nodded in agreement, and I took hint that now was a good time to leave the Lady Pluto to her business. I turned silently and left the room where Lady Pluto stood. "Till next time Setsuna... Sailor Pluto..." I said before walking through the doors of her chambers.
"Keep safe, Riana..." Lady Pluto replied. "Sailor Earth..."
And the doors of her chambers closed...
I would have to say, the palace of Pluto, where I held my meeting with Lady Pluto, was large considering the size of the planet itself... It was as large, if not larger, than the Crystal Palace of Earth... And twice as easy to get lost in...
"I can't believe it..." I muttered to myself as I continued to walk aimlessly through the hallways of the marble palace draped with deep crimson and black tapestries. "I get lost in the palace on the smallest planet of the solar system! How the hell am I going to cope with Jupiter?!"
A servant girl rushed past me, holding some papers in her hand and I called out to stop her. "Excuse me, but where's the dock area?" I asked. The girl turned and smiled a pleasant smile. She looked young, no older than 14 with long golden tresses and sparkling sky blue eyes.
"It's two halls back on the right side," she replied with a sprightly tone. "Then continue down that hall and take the fourth left. It's down that hall, you should be able to see the entryway to the hanger..."
I nodded my thanks and sprinted down the hall, following her directions precisely while the girl went back on her own way to deliver the papers. I took a sharp right at the turn and continued running at top speed, searching for a way out of this maze of a castle...
"Two halls back on the right... Fourth left..." I muttered her directions carefully, making certain I got them right. My run came to a halt as I entered the designated hallway and slowly began my walk through it. My eyes darted from one door to another, and finally fell upon a metallic door. I paused and looked up at it curiously.
'HANGER'
it read... "Well..." I muttered, smiling slightly. "Looks like my adventure has officially begun..." I placed my hand on the handle and twisted it lightly, opening the door quickly and entering, shutting the door behind me.
Darkness...
BAM!
"OW!"
I opened the metallic door again and walked back out, rubbing my head. I turned sharply back to the room and frowned. "That was cruel... mean and cruel..." I muttered, narrowing my eyes. I reached into the doorway and pulled out a single object... a 'hanger'....
"Eh... really bad joke..." I muttered, returning my gaze to the hall closet. "Hanger... eh heh... Not funny..." I returned the hanger back to it's origin and closed the door, mumbling under my breath. "Well... now would be a proper time to write 'sucker' on my forehead..."
I spun around to face the other side of the hallway and looked up at the two large metallic doors on that side, reading the inscription on the top.
'DOCKING AREA'
"Damn it..."
I gave a long exasperated sigh, embarrassed slightly by my own folly. "I am such an idiot..." I muttered walking sluggishly across the hallway to the other set of doors. I placed my hand wearily on the scanner and the ray of light inspected my fingerprints for identification.
~Identification Name Please...~ the electronic male voice said, echoing throughout the hallway.
"Raina Saverse Invan..." I said, building up my own pride to clear the voice test.
~Searching...~
"..."
~Searching...~
"...taking a while..."
~Searching...~
"Damn..."
~Search Complete... Welcome To Pluto's Docking Area Raina Saverse Invan...~
The two metal doors slid open and I was greeted by a huge room filled with an assortment of different space travel ships. Curiously I walked out onto the balcony of the railway to look out at each ship carefully. Some were rouge ships... travelers of the universe that sought out supplies and sold them to the inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy... There were two that were members of the other planets. As far as I could tell, one from the planet of Mercury and the other from the neighbor of Pluto, Neptune.
Probably vacationers...
It ticked me off inside that people could be going on vacations while Earth, one of, if not, THE main society in the galaxy, was being annihilated. If Earth went, the other planets of the galaxy would fall as well... But that's humanity for you... Only concentrate on what's important to you... Like getting a perfect, yet safe sun tan...
I shrugged it off with a small, exasperated sigh. Sometimes I felt like I was fighting for nothing at all... Humanity was greedy, selfish and foolish... Yet... I'm human... and I'm probably the same way... Greedy.... selfish... and foolish...
My eyes drifted to one of the largest ships in the dock. It's shape resembled that of an animal's... what animal was beyond me... The entire surface was of a green base with blue streaks running across it's surface, going from it's rear to it's head. It was truly magnificent... And lucky me... It was mine...
I couldn't help but smile. I was proud of the ship, Earth's Wings... that's what it was called... My father worked for the space corporation and it had belonged to him before his sudden disappearance. I remember him telling me that it was to be used for the original Sailor Senshi if there was disturbance among the solar system, and since the originals were gone, it was to be used for the Senshi of the Next Generation.
I gave a proud smile and walked a few feet over to the metal ladder that led down to the main floor. I swung myself around and began my slow descent. Once I was only about five feet from the ground, I boosted myself off of the ladder and landed neatly on the ground.
"Raina Invan, is it?"
My eyes turned to a figure who stood next to the ladder, smirking and leaning against a wall, arms crossed across his chest. His black hair fell slightly into his face and his dark blue eyes watched me carefully. His well built body shifted as he un-crossed his arms and stood upright, his black and white uniform falling back into it's perfect fit place.
I smiled myself. "If it isn't Kyle Greywind..." I replied, watching him as he walked over to me. "The planetary knight... how's it going?"
"Miserable... as usual..." he muttered, giving a playful frown. "I've been stuck here for the past month doing nothing but charity work... Do you know how boring that is?"
I eyed him carefully, frowning deeply myself. "Then I take it you haven't heard about Earth's current situation..." I said, trying to suppress my rising anger towards the guy. Without another word I turned and began walking over to the Earth's Wings. Kyle followed.
"Actually I've heard all about it..." he replied gravely. I gave him a sidelong glare.
"You're doing a whole lot to help..." I said sarcastically, trying my best not to get angry at the poor guy, but getting even angrier.
"The Solar System's council doesn't want me to interfere..."
I stopped suddenly, turning to glare at him. "What to you mean by they don't want you to interfere?!" I asked, my rage growing. Kyle stopped and looked down at me, taking my shoulders lightly and looking straight into my own blue eyes.
"Calm down Raina..." he said sternly. His hands lifted from my shoulders as I did as I was told, my anger slowly fading. "They claimed what was happening there was something that the earth needed to deal with... If you ask me they just didn't want to get on the earth's enemies' bad side..."
I gave an aggravated sigh before turning back to my walking, Kyle tagging along behind. "You're probably right... Just to save their own asses..." I muttered. "I'm wondering if the council will approve of my going to collect the Senshi of the Next Generation..."
Kyle gave a nod of agreement. "Well you've got the Lady Pluto backing you up... I'm sure she'll be able to convince the council to let you get the Senshi... I'm going to try and talk with her later to see if she can convince 'em to let me help out as well..."
"She'll probably agree to that..." I couldn't help but smile. I had known the guy since I was nine... Ten long years... We had spent the first few years teasing each other during our training and playing nasty pranks on one another... But I grew to like the guy as a good friend... Kyle was funny, lovable, and trustworthy... And cute...
A smile spread across Kyle's face as well. Damn he looked good when he smiled... "It certainly will be an adventure to fight with you!" he said. He swung the closet arm around my shoulders and proceeded to give me a nuggie...
"HEY! Stop that!" I cried, trying to pull myself out of his strong grasp. Did I forget to mention how annoying he could get?
He smiled innocently and gave a shrug. "What'd I do?"
"You know I hate that!" I chided him, stopping my pace as I crossed my arms and gave him a cold glare. He gave a laugh.
"Loosen up! I'm only messin' with ya!" he said in protest. I gave an exasperated sigh and turned to look directly upwards. The two of us now stood directly under the Earth's Wings, close to the entry hatch.
"Gennom!" I shouted. Kyle blinked at me in confusion, wondering why I had called such a name. His answer to the unspoken question came.
~Yes Raina?~ a voice, computer generated, but sounding very normal, said from the ship.
"Open the entry hatch and let down the ramp," I instructed.
~Yes ma'am...~
With that, the somewhat large hatch slide open and from within the ship extended a long, steel ramp and reached down and contacted with the ground right before my feet. Kyle blinked, still confused at the situation.
"Gennom..." he started. "Is the main computer network?"
I nodded before starting my way up the ramp. "That's what we call him..." I replied, pausing my stride to look down at him. "You coming or what?"
"I don't think the guys will like it if I do..." he said, smiling nervously and placing his hand behind his head.
"What guys?"
"The surveillance team that's supposed to be watching me at all times... The Solar System's council didn't trust me enough to let me be alone, so they got a whole group of people watching me... They thought I would try and sneak off and go to Earth! Imagine that!"
I laughed at the sarcasm in his voice as he tried to play innocent. "They have good reason for that..." I replied. He blinked and frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I don't follow orders?"
"No of course not!" Sarcasm played over my voice as well. Kyle was about to say something more when Gennom spoke up again.
~We do not have lift-off clearance yet. The Earth's Wings is not allowed to leave the dock area...~ he said emotionlessly as if he was board.
"What he said..." I replied, smiling. "We aren't leaving till tomorrow morning... I still have to get a lot of supplies and what not..."
Kyle paused, considering his options, then smiled and started jogging up the ramp to catch up to me. "I don't think they'll mind if I have a little idle conversation..." he said. "And I don't have my next shift for a few hours..."
I frowned curiously before continuing my way up into the ship. "Just what do you do here on Pluto? The trouble rate isn't very high..." I mused. Kyle smiled nervously.
"I'm one of the council men's body guard... For now..."
"Your lying..."
My feet stepped onto the ship's metallic floor and began walking down the hallway to the main control room, or the pilot's area. Kyle followed closely behind, and once his feet touched the main floor, the ramp behind him slid quickly back into the ship and the entry hatch slammed shut.
"I'm not lying..." he said, trying to sound convincing.
"The council men don't like having body guards... most of them anyway..." I said, a smirk playing on my lips and I stopped at the control room's door, waiting for it to slid open before entering the spacious room.
"Well this one does!"
"Your lying, Kyle... I can tell... What are you really doing?"
"Well..." I could tell he was slightly embarrassed. "I am acting as a body guard..."
"For whom?" I hopped into the pilot's seat and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, trying to bring up a program I had been working on recently.
"One of the council men's daughter..."
My eyes practically bugged out as I stifled a laugh. "Kyle... I only know one council man who has a daughter..."
"There is only one who has a daughter..."
"Daughter... is Cassandra...?"
"Yup..."
"Cassandra... is five years old..."
"I know..."
I could hold it no longer. I erupted in loud laughter, spinning my seat around to look at Kyle as his face turned a bright red. "You're on BABYSITTING DUTY!" I cried, finding it as funny as hell that Kyle, the planetary knight who fought countless monsters from the outside regions of the galaxy was stuck babysitting a spoiled five year old girl!
"It's not funny Raina!" he snapped, his face so red that it could compete with an beet's color! "It's a very important assignment!"
"Right! Right! He heh... Whatever you say..." I muttered, before exploding with another onslaught of laughter.
"Hey you've done worse!"
My laughter came to a halt, my eyebrow twitching slightly as I turned away from him, hiding my sudden anger. "No I haven't..." I said, lying through my teeth. "I don't recall having to do anything as stupid as babysitting..."
~If I may...~ Gennom said, his voice patters playing on a screen on the far right side of the closed window screen. ~I believe Kyle Greywind is referring to the time you got stuck cleaning all the toilets in the royal palace...~
Kyle began laughing from behind me and my anger was redirected towards Gennom. "Thanks Gennom... you're so kind to remind me of that incident..."
~You're welcome Raina...~ I could tell there was amusement in the computer's voice... Damn... why did my dad have to program it so much like a human?
"Hey Gennom!" Kyle said, after recovering from his laugh attack. "Can I get a drink?"
~Do I have permission to give Kyle Greywind a drink?~ Gennom asked, his question directed towards me. I waved my hand indolently.
"Sure... Wouldn't hurt..." I muttered, turning back to my the keyboard and started typing, bringing up a program screen on the window. I could guess that Kyle was smiling.
"Pepsi if you will, Gennom!" he said, his eyes looking at the ceiling which is where the main computer's voice emanated from. I glanced idly behind me to watch as a small square of the metallic floor slid away and from it raised a tiny tray attached to a long pole extend upward with an old fashioned glass bottle of Pepsi on it.
Kyle smiled presently and took the Pepsi from the tray and watched as it sunk back down into the floor and the square piece slid back into place, looking as if it hadn't moved. "Thanks Gennom!" he said cheerfully as he popped the bottle open and moved over to the co-pilot's seat next to mine and propped his feet on the control panel.
~Please don't place your feet there...~ Gennom muttered, slight annoyance being picked up. Kyle gave a small, nervous smile and pulled his feet back down to the floor before taking a sip of the Pepsi in his hand.
"Sorry Gennom..."
~You are forgiven...~
Kyle's attention was drawn back to me as I continued to type furiously on the keyboard, opening eight separate screens under the titles 'New Crew Members', each screen having a blank profile. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, curiously.
"I'm setting up the profiles for the new Senshi... For a while they will be members if this ship..." I muttered, concentrating more on my task than Kyle. I looked up at the screen on the right of the window where Gennom's voice patters were shown. "Gennom. Bring up the files for the listed Senshi of the Next Generation. All except for my own, the moon's heir, and the Lady Pluto..."
~Please wait...~ Gennom replied, the green line of his voice patters flickering up and down as he spoke. Eight separate screens appeared above the eight that were already there. These eight were completely filled out profiles of the next generation, having names, appearances, slight backgrounds and what not... The seven varied in age, from thirteen to two years younger than me, seventeen... No pictures though...
"Copy each into the provided crew member profiles and save, entering each into the computer system as our new members..." I instructed. Kyle sipped at his drink again.
~I can't do that Raina...~
"Why not?!"
~Voice tests and finger prints are required...~
"Can't you do those later?!"
~Voice tests and finger prints must be done when entering new members... I cannot do it otherwise...~
I heard Kyle give a stifled laugh and my gaze turned to the man, glaring slightly. "You know..." he said, smirking and taking another swallow or Pepsi. "If you can't get a ship to do what you want, how do you expect to get a bunch of spoiled teenage girls to do what you say?"
My glare grew so cold that it could've frozen hell over. "You do know I can eject your seat at any time..." I muttered with a threatening tone. I saw Kyle's eyes grow the slightest bit wider as he took another sip, practically chocking on his pop.
"Is that so...?" he asked, slightly nervous though trying to conceal it with pride.
"Would you like me to demonstrate?"
"No that's okay..."
"You sure? Because I really feel like doing so..."
"I'll shut up..."
"Good..."
"Let's see... I'll need four plasma packs... A miniature psycho-sonic generator, Loik brand of course... One jumbo bin of turbo jet fuel and... oh yes! A package of peanuts please!"
"You don't expect me to carry all this stuff around... do you?"
"No..."
"Good..."
"I'll rent you a push cart so you can push all this stuff around..."
Kyle gave a long groan while I smirked and patted him on the back. "Come on Kyle! Think of this as extra training! Be a man!" I said, as the bearded man behind the counter went to the store room to fetch the supplies I had asked for. "You're the one who wanted to come along with me to do my shopping..."
"I came along to spend some quality time with you!" he complained, frowning deeply, looking at me with a steady, infuriated gaze. "I didn't think I'd be your slave for a day! I get enough of that with Cassandra!"
I smiled again. "You should know me better than that..." I replied, leaning against the counter and crossing my arms. "Don't you remember? I've always bossed you around!"
"Well we haven't seen each other for a year now... I thought that you had finally..." he trailed off, giving a nervous pause. "...changed..?"
My smirk disappeared and was replaced by a cold glare. "That's not what you were originally going to say..."
"What do you mean? Yes it is... was..."
I could detect the uncertainty in his voice... The same uncertainty I had heard earlier that day when he was telling me about his job... in other words... he was lying... "Kyle...." I said his name nice and slow, emphasizing it deeply. "What were you going to say...?"
"Um... eh..." I could tell he was at a loss for words as he gave a uneasy smile accompanied by a similar laugh.
"You thought I had finally..." I started for him, urging him to say what was on his mind, ready to slam something against his head if it was something offensive...
"Grown up?"
...Too bad I didn't have anything to slam against his head... hmm... well... Have to go with old fashioned fist...
"OW!"
"HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT ME!"
"I'M SORRY!"
"YOU HAD BETTER BE!"
It was around then that the store's owner came back, lugging a handful of items. The bulk, yet slightly overweight man set them down, kind of roughly against the counter, before reaching in a case under the counter and bringing out a bag of peanuts. "Here are the items you asked for..." he said moving over to the cash-register and typing it all in, repeating the items to make sure he had gotten the right ones.
"Four plasma packs, Loik brand mini psycho-sonic generator, jumbo bin of turbo jet fuel, that I'm having brought out to the front... and a bag of peanuts..." he said, turning his green eyes to me to make clearance. I nodded, subsiding my anger to get to business. I pulled out my wallet from my back pocket.
"How much?"
"Seven thousand eight hundred fifty three..."
My eyes practically jumped out of my head as I looked down at the dollar bills I was going through. "Things certainly have gotten pricey these days..." I muttered frowning, looking up, slightly worried. "Are these items really that rare?" The man gave a rough laugh.
"I'm joking! It costs fifty five dollars and seventy two cents!" he said, getting a good laugh at my expense. I gave a huge sigh of relief before smiling myself as I heard Kyle give a laugh as well, no matter how much pain he was in at the moment.
I pulled out sixty dollars and handed it to the man, waiting patiently for my change. "Oh, before I forget... I'd like to rent a push cart so my friend here doesn't have to carry these..." I said, sending Kyle a cold glare to remind him that he was still in major trouble. His smile faded and the edginess returned.
The store owner laughed. "Your traveling and you don't have a push cart for the supplies on your ship?" he asked. I frowned with thought.
"Well my ship's got a crane... but that's only for close loading... and my ship is docked in the palace docking area and that's a mile away from here..." I answered. He looked at me curiously.
"A crane, eh? Must be a pretty big ship..."
"It's the Earth's Wings..." Kyle said, almost as if he were proud that he was friends with the owner of one of the most legendary ships among the galaxy. The man behind the counter's face lit up, and his smile grew wider with fascination.
"The Earth's Wings?" he asked. "You mean the ship of the Sailor Senshi?"
"The one and the same..." I answered, glad that I was getting some well deserved, yet amazingly rare, attention.
"Well then! I'll let you have the push cart for free!" he said, smiling as he gave me my change, then added a ten dollar bill to it. I blinked. "And a small donation! It ain't much, I know."
I smiled softly, a bit amazed that he would do such a thing. No one's ever done that... most of them ask for more money sometimes, for everyone knows that anyone who owns a ship that large has got to have a good source of income... me being the only exception to that rule... "Thank you..." I said, almost jumping and hugging the man for his generosity.
"No problem!" he said, running a hand through his slightly spiked brown hair. "I actually helped work on the beginning frame the Earth's Wings before I got transferred here. If you ever need any work to keep the ship maintained just ask and I'll do whatever's necessary!"
"Now that's generous..." Kyle said, giving a small smirk. The store owner extended his hand to me and smiled.
"The name's Leonard Krogens!" he said proudly. I took his hand and gave it a shake.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Krogens-"
"Please, just Leonard..."
"My name is Raina Saverse Invan..." I said, smiling as my hand left his and I motioned back to Kyle. "I'm sure you know him... Kyle Greywind."
"The planetary knight, is it?" he asked, extending his hand again, shaking Kyle's this time.
"That would be me..."
"Aren't you babysitting lil' Cassandra now?"
Kyle's eyes nearly jumped from his head in surprise and I stifled a laugh as he chocked out a 'yes' in reply. Leonard laughed a little himself and stroked his short beard. "She isn't the most patient of people, is the little girl?"
"Impatient is an understatement..." Kyle said, with a grim tone. "There's only one person who's got more of an attitude that little Cassandra..."
"Who would that be?" the store owner asked curiously. I knew at once that Kyle had pointed at me, though never even looked... For Leonard's gaze turned slightly to me before he gave another laugh. Kyle is really asking for a pulverizing...
"Well as much as I'd like to stay and chat... I've got one more stop to make before I get clearance for tomorrow's leave..." I said, trying to suppress my ever rising anger.
"Another stop?" the black haired boy asked, his blue eyes filled with dismay. "Don't you have enough supplies?"
"Take it easy... I need to stop off at the weapon's shop to pick up the sword I ordered before I got here..."
"Sword?" he asked inquisitively.
"Yes sword... fighting evil isn't easy... especially when the other side doesn't fight fair..." I muttered slowly, trying to explain it so it would get through his thick skull. I turned back to Leonard with a smile and shook his hand again as I watched Kyle struggle to pick up the plasma packs and miniature generator. "It was nice to meet you Leonard. I might take up your offer on the maintenance of my ship..."
"I'll be here!" he said cheerfully. "Good luck Raina!" And with that, he turned to walk into the back room. I smiled to myself. It was good to have allies... I turned abruptly towards Kyle and frowned as I saw he was having a hard time with the stuff.
"Here... let me lighten that load a bit..." I said as I plucked out the bag of peanuts from his grasp. "There... that better?"
"Not really..."
"Glad to hear it..." I said, turning and beginning to walk towards the door. "The push cart is outside with the jet fuel... so don't worry... It isn't that far..."
"You wouldn't say that if you were carrying these..."
As I walked outside I smiled as I saw the bin of turbo jet fuel that was close to the size of a tall man. It sat upon a flat metal slab on wheels with a handle bar on one side. Kyle groaned as he saw this and walked slowly over, having to stand on his toes to get the plasma and generator on top of the tub. "And I have to push this around?" he asked, frowning.
"Yup..."
I said not a word as I turned around and began walking through the crowded streets that lined the main part of Pluto's kingdom, the market place. I heard Kyle scramble to get behind the huge cart and begin pushing it forward. I paused, looking back as he made his slow progress before opening the bag of peanuts and eating a few. "How's it going back there?" I asked.
"Oh just fine..." Sarcasm... pure and simple sarcasm...
"That's good... glad to hear you don't need my help!" I said, completely serious in my tone as I popped a few more peanuts into my mouth with a laugh. "It's only two stores down..."
A sigh of relief from behind the pushcart.
Moments later (longer for Kyle because of his complaining and struggle with the load) I was inside the weapon's shop, talking to the salesman on duty. Kyle was waiting outside, too exhausted to move. I did feel sorry for the poor guy...
"I'm here to pick up my weapon..." I said simply, walking up to the counter of the small shop.
"Name?" the man asked.
"Raina Saverse Invan..."
The man, looking more like a boy than a man, gave a small nod bent down to go through the storage of waiting swords. Moment's later he came back up and handed me a long slender box. "You've already been paid for..." he said simply. I blinked.
"I have? By whom?"
"The Lady Pluto heard you had purchased a sword and paid for it herself."
"Oh..." I gave a smile to myself. "If you ever have a chance to speak with her, tell her I said thanks..." I set down the box and lifted the top off and my mouth dropped. "Extra thanks... cause I ordered a much simpler version..."
The boy smiled. "Yeah... she didn't think that the version you ordered was strong enough..." he said. "Enjoy your sword..." He picked up a cleaning rag from a peg on the wall and moved to clean some of the swords on display.
I couldn't get over the pure shock. I lifted the sheathed sword from the box and felt over the handle, amazed at it's beauty. The handle was a brilliantly designed dragon, it's green body twisting and turning to fit around a person's hand, the head slightly covered by the sword's holder, but would look as if it was eating the actual steel.
The dragon's eyes were made of sapphires and cuts of emerald sprawled over the dragon's body creating a scale-like effect. At the end of the sword, part of the dragon's tail was wrapped around a golden symbol... the symbol of earth.
The holder was just as elegant, the exterior designed with black velvet and blue edgings, green reaching across it creating a similar dragon. This tail too was wrapped around the symbol of Earth. A blue ribbon hung off the top to attach it to a belt.
I smiled and took a tight hold of the handle and pulled it out some to look at the blade.
"The blade's made of glass!" I said as I looked right through the crystalline blade. Sure it was pretty, but wouldn't it break? The boy looked up from is work at my outburst and shook his head slightly.
"No... not glass... diamond..."
Again, my eyes practically jumped from my skull. "Diamond?!"
"That sword is made so sharply that it can cut through anything and is nearly indestructible..." the boy explained. "It even cut through the first two holders. We had to make a holder that was encrusted with diamonds on the inside as well just to keep the sword in. The diamond structure also is able to take on powers of it's own."
"Eh...?" I blinked. "You lost me... What do you mean it can take on powers?"
"You can feed it powers and the sword will take them, making it more powerful..."
"Wow..." I said, turning back to the diamond blade before sliding it back in. "That's pretty cool... I guess Lady Pluto knows what I like..." A smile spread across my face. "And now I got a cooler sword that Kyle..."
The boy gave a quizzical look, and I failed to feed his curious hunger. I slid the sword back in and took the ribbon in my hand and was about to tie it to my green belt when the boy stopped me.
"Wait! I forgot! Lady Pluto also ordered you a belt!" he said, dropping the rag on a display case and jogging over to another and opening it. I blinked, again, slightly confused.
"She went all out... remind me to write her a very long thank you letter..." I mused.
The boy came back from the case and held out the belt to me with both hands, cradling it as if his life depended on it's safety. I set the sword down on the counter and took it from his hands, cradling it the same way as I looked it over. A black base color, again with a dragon, this one of gold color, and in the center, a golden symbol of Earth again.
I gave a small laugh. "She really went all out with the dragons... Either she's commending my strength, or making fun of my attitude..." I muttered with a smirk as I unhooked the belt and pulled it around my waist, snapping the clasp together. It was a bit large, but that's the way I liked it, hanging off my hips slightly. I took the sword again and took the ribbon and tied it to the side of the new belt.
I turned back to the boy, who smiled. "It looks very becoming... Are you from Earth?"
"That I am... Thank you for being so patient... with both me and Lady Pluto..." I said, giving a small smirk. He shook his head.
"No need to thank me... It's the owner who made it... he says it's one of his best works..." he boy said. I smiled again.
"Well tell the owner that I love it!" I said happily. "I'll leave you to your work..." I gave a nod to the boy and turned to walk out of the sword. My feelings seemed to have skyrocketed, feeling the click of the sword as it swayed at my side.
As I walked out of the shop, Kyle looked up from his sitting place on the push cart. He blinked in surprise. "Pretty fancy sword and belt," he said. I could tell there was slight jealousy.
"Yes..." I said, confirming his thoughts. "I do have a better sword than you..."
"How's it coming Gennom?"
~All systems are a go...~
"No problems?"
~None...~
"You sure?"
~Yes...~
"Positive?"
~Raina.. I'm the ship's main computer... I would know if something was wrong...~
I sat back in my seat and gave a small smirk. "Wow... I've never had a lift off go this smoothly..." I said. "Maybe this is my lucky day..."
~Please stay at attention Raina... so maybe your luck will stay this time...~ the computer replied, it's voice pattern's flickering up and down on the screen.
"Alright then..." I said, giving a smirk as I cracked my knuckles, gave my arms a good stretch and rolled my neck.
CRACK!
"Owe..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck as a pain shot through it. "Why does that always happen when I roll my neck?"
~Perhaps you shouldn't jerk it backwards so fast...~
"Like you would know the problems of the human neck, Gennom... you're not even human..." I said, giving a small frown as I leaned over and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard before my fingers.
~Perhaps not... But I have been programmed with all of your physical records as the records of many other humans... Not to mention the data on how to fix problems with the body's functions... Therefore-~
"Gennom..." I muttered warningly to shut the computer up. "Save it for another day..."
~Whatever you wish Raina...~ there was annoyance in the computer's voice.
It was now the next day. Kyle and I had made our goodbye's... well sort of... he thought goodbye was too permanent so I settled with a 'see you soon'. Now I was on my way, everything loaded and ready, and my permission to leave the dock had been granted. The Earth's Wings and I were going to start on our way...
"Start the engines... Warm up the thrusters... set course to planet Neptune..." I instructed.
~Engines started... Thrusters are de-cooling... course set...~ Gennom replied calmly as I heard the engines roar to life, sounding more like a wild animal than a machine. ~Aren't you forgetting something Raina?~
"What?"
~The screen...~
I gave a nervous laugh. "That would help..." I said, reaching over and pressing a small green button. The huge window before me opened it's hatch and showed me the area of the hanger in front of the ship. To the sides, monitors showed different parts of the ship, more or less showing the blocks that were attacked to my ship to prevent leaving before approval. For now, all blockings were still in place.
"Set up link with control tower..." I told Gennom. A small window flickered onto the screen and a member of Pluto's control tower came onto the window. "The Earth's Wings is requesting permission to leave the dock area..."
"Permission granted... exit through gate 5a..." the girl, whom I recognized as the girl I had run into in the hallway... the servant girl... she worked at the tower?
"There's different gates?" I asked quizzically. The girl laughed.
"The one right in front of you..."
"That makes sense..." I mused. The connection was cut off and I waited patiently as each of the blockings were released and my ship further prepared for takeoff. Announcements went off in the dock to announce my departure.
I closed my eyes and said a short prayer, asking God to help me through this...
~Thrusters have completed warm-up stage,~ Gennom announced as the gate in front of my ship began to open.
"Manual controls if you will Gennom..." I said, pressing a few more buttons. At my command, two grooved handles were brought out to my fingertips. I took a tight hold of them and smiled.
~Please don't run us into anything like you did when we were landing...~ he said with a pleading tone.
"Funny Gennom..." I muttered angrily through my teeth.
~I'm not kidding...~
And that is how my story began...
Authors Note:
I know... kinda... well... odd and doesn't really go anywhere... The second part is better! Trust me!!! I just kinda... gotta... finish it... ~.~* :::laughs nervously::: hope you enjoyed! and be ready for the second part, k?
~Lordess
~Lordess
When I was young, I was told many stories about how grand the Earth was. How the sky was magnificent shades of blue, the golden sun would hang in the sky and illuminate the clouds and the creatures below. And the crystal palace stood at the center of all happiness, the sun's rays dancing off it's glass surface... And that was just by day...
From the stories, the night was even more magnificent than the day. The white moon would shine from it's resting place among the blanket of stars that filled the night's sky. The crystal palace was illuminated by lights and seemed to glow from within, letting all the people know that as long as the palace stood, there would always be hope.
But that was all many years ago... Now everything has changed... The grass is no longer green, but a dead yellow and brown. The trees are black and wrench in pain. The city is destroyed, no traces of life anywhere... The sun and moon are always hidden by a sky filled with dismal gray clouds and it is usually raining... And the palace...
It does not glow with the same intensity as it used to... In fact... it is not there at all... The crystal palace, home to the noble Queen Serenity, savior of our world, has been smashed... Now only lies shattered pieces of glass all over the city... And where it used to stand, now is a dangerous place to go... Because that's where the darkness arose to build it's own castle of black...
The royal family, rulers of this world, have been killed, trying to protect the very hope of the people. But when the crystal palace shattered, along with the silver imperial crystal, the hopes of the people were cracked as well...
The four guardians stayed to try and defend what was left of the city, but were destroyed with it... The mighty outer guardians came as well, all but the guardian of time, and all failed miserably... Earth was destroyed...
Yet as I stand alone on the ground that used to be my home, I can't help but find my own hope among the rumble. The dark winds splatter the rain drops harshly against my pale skin and dampen my purple hair that feel loosely from it's high ponytail. My deep blue eyes watched the darkening skies and I knew that night was slowly approaching.
It had finally come... the moment that all of us, the ladies of the court and I, had been waiting for... We were finally going to defeat the darkness that had invaded my planet... But perhaps I should start far previous to this day... Yes... at the beginning... that is always a good place to start...
*Sailor Senshi Next Generation Part 1: Surfacing*
"I understand this will be a hard task to undertake..."
"I am ready..."
"But are you willing?"
"Of course... It is my planet that needs saving... I will do anything to make sure it lives on..."
"What news of your father's disappearance?"
"None... and I fear there will be none..."
"Forgive me for asking such an impertinent question... I know it must anger you..."
"It does not..."
The guardian of time looked at me carefully, her deep crimson eyes searching my own blue ones for any sign of falter and got only pure strength in return. Her dark emerald hair feel loosely behind her, draping itself across her deep crimson dress that wrapped around her body. A symbol, burned into her forehead seemed to glow with the same intensity as her eyes.
"You know what you must do now...?" she asked, forming it as a question. I gave a slow nod, my long bangs falling into my face as I did so.
"I presume I must gather the next generation..." I replied, holding my strength not only in my stance, but voice as well. Though I appeared strong, my body, covered with blue and green leather seemed to shake with the uneasiness that lie within...
The guardian gave a nod herself. "As you know, the civilizations of the planetary system have been reborn again... The kingdoms that existed during the Silver Millennium are thriving once more..." she said, speaking through her ruby red lips. "You must re-unite the princess' of the planets and revive the Sailor Senshi once again..."
"And what of the moon princess?"
"I am afraid that there is no successor to the moon kingdom..." Her voice strained to find suitable words to make it easier for my already weary heart to bear. I gave a heavy sigh.
"I believed so..." I replied, feeling my strength and pride begin to slowly decrease from the worry that I carried on my shoulders. Such a heavy burden... "The silver imperial crystal was shattered during the battle... and the entire royal family was killed..."
"Do not loose hope, guardian of earth..." the time guardian said, trying to bring back the hope I had lost so many years ago. "Once you re-unit the Senshi of the Next Generation, and collect the shattered pieces, the silver crystal shall find itself a new holder..."
"How would it be possible to find all the shattered pieces?" Anger rose in my voice, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it, the strain was well heard. After a moment of silence, I lowered my head, ashamed of my actions. "Forgive me Lady Pluto..."
"No need for forgiveness..." the guardian replied. "I understand that you've been through much more than I'll be able to imagine..."
"Thank you for understanding my sorrow Guardian of Time... But I still find it hard to believe that I'll be able to find all the pieces of the silver crystal... They were scattered during the battle..."
"You have a large piece of the crystal already, do you not?"
I remained silent, watching the Lady Pluto carefully.
"And what of the crystal your mother gave you...? The crystal of the representative of earth?"
For a moment, I did not reply. My hand reached into my pocket, feeling over two objects. A frown formed over my face as I pulled the two objects out and let my fingers trace over them, as if memorizing ever crack, ever indentation...
One was a rather small piece of crystal, dull and faded, looking as if it were dead as the earth was now. The other object was a golden locket that had been given to me as a small child. A golden ribbon hung from it, tied neatly into a perfect bow, and etched across the locket's lid, the circle symbol with the cross in it... The symbol of earth... Inside, I knew, lay the crystal that had been my mother's before mine...
The guardian of time shifted in the silence, resting herself slightly against the time staff she held in her hand. "Both these items will help you to locate the other pieces of the broken silver imperial crystal..." Lady Pluto explained. "And then, with the help of the Senshi of the Next Generation, you will be able to defeat the darkness and banish them away from Earth once and for all..."
"But beware..." the Lady warned, her eyes growing slim with anger. "Should your enemies get a hold of the crystal, they will be able to use it for their own... Only then is hope truly lost..."
I took a deep breath and bowed before the Lady Pluto. "I thank you for your council... and your advice..." I said before rising. "But before I leave, I must ask you an impertinent question, Setsuna..."
The Lady Pluto winced, not exactly expecting me to use such an informal name to address her by. A smile spread across her face, amused at the sound of her own name. "Ask away Riana..." she said simply.
"What of your successor?"
I could tell I had caught her off guard... It amused me to see the Lady Pluto blush lightly from slight embarrassment. She cleared her throat before answering... "I have no successor... I am still in position of the Senshi of Pluto... and I shall join you later in your quest..."
"Oh? I have the pleasure of fighting beside the legendary soldier of Pluto?" There was a hint of mockery in my voice, and a wide smirk on my lips.
"Don't push it Riana..." the guardian of time warned, trying to frown, but amused at my mockery, even if it was towards her. "For now I have business to attend to dealing with the Time Space..."
"Understood Lady Pluto..." This time I spoke with honest sincerity, bowing once more before the Lady of Pluto. "I shall send word once I have retrieved the new planetary senshi..."
The guardian of time nodded in agreement, and I took hint that now was a good time to leave the Lady Pluto to her business. I turned silently and left the room where Lady Pluto stood. "Till next time Setsuna... Sailor Pluto..." I said before walking through the doors of her chambers.
"Keep safe, Riana..." Lady Pluto replied. "Sailor Earth..."
And the doors of her chambers closed...
I would have to say, the palace of Pluto, where I held my meeting with Lady Pluto, was large considering the size of the planet itself... It was as large, if not larger, than the Crystal Palace of Earth... And twice as easy to get lost in...
"I can't believe it..." I muttered to myself as I continued to walk aimlessly through the hallways of the marble palace draped with deep crimson and black tapestries. "I get lost in the palace on the smallest planet of the solar system! How the hell am I going to cope with Jupiter?!"
A servant girl rushed past me, holding some papers in her hand and I called out to stop her. "Excuse me, but where's the dock area?" I asked. The girl turned and smiled a pleasant smile. She looked young, no older than 14 with long golden tresses and sparkling sky blue eyes.
"It's two halls back on the right side," she replied with a sprightly tone. "Then continue down that hall and take the fourth left. It's down that hall, you should be able to see the entryway to the hanger..."
I nodded my thanks and sprinted down the hall, following her directions precisely while the girl went back on her own way to deliver the papers. I took a sharp right at the turn and continued running at top speed, searching for a way out of this maze of a castle...
"Two halls back on the right... Fourth left..." I muttered her directions carefully, making certain I got them right. My run came to a halt as I entered the designated hallway and slowly began my walk through it. My eyes darted from one door to another, and finally fell upon a metallic door. I paused and looked up at it curiously.
'HANGER'
it read... "Well..." I muttered, smiling slightly. "Looks like my adventure has officially begun..." I placed my hand on the handle and twisted it lightly, opening the door quickly and entering, shutting the door behind me.
Darkness...
BAM!
"OW!"
I opened the metallic door again and walked back out, rubbing my head. I turned sharply back to the room and frowned. "That was cruel... mean and cruel..." I muttered, narrowing my eyes. I reached into the doorway and pulled out a single object... a 'hanger'....
"Eh... really bad joke..." I muttered, returning my gaze to the hall closet. "Hanger... eh heh... Not funny..." I returned the hanger back to it's origin and closed the door, mumbling under my breath. "Well... now would be a proper time to write 'sucker' on my forehead..."
I spun around to face the other side of the hallway and looked up at the two large metallic doors on that side, reading the inscription on the top.
'DOCKING AREA'
"Damn it..."
I gave a long exasperated sigh, embarrassed slightly by my own folly. "I am such an idiot..." I muttered walking sluggishly across the hallway to the other set of doors. I placed my hand wearily on the scanner and the ray of light inspected my fingerprints for identification.
~Identification Name Please...~ the electronic male voice said, echoing throughout the hallway.
"Raina Saverse Invan..." I said, building up my own pride to clear the voice test.
~Searching...~
"..."
~Searching...~
"...taking a while..."
~Searching...~
"Damn..."
~Search Complete... Welcome To Pluto's Docking Area Raina Saverse Invan...~
The two metal doors slid open and I was greeted by a huge room filled with an assortment of different space travel ships. Curiously I walked out onto the balcony of the railway to look out at each ship carefully. Some were rouge ships... travelers of the universe that sought out supplies and sold them to the inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy... There were two that were members of the other planets. As far as I could tell, one from the planet of Mercury and the other from the neighbor of Pluto, Neptune.
Probably vacationers...
It ticked me off inside that people could be going on vacations while Earth, one of, if not, THE main society in the galaxy, was being annihilated. If Earth went, the other planets of the galaxy would fall as well... But that's humanity for you... Only concentrate on what's important to you... Like getting a perfect, yet safe sun tan...
I shrugged it off with a small, exasperated sigh. Sometimes I felt like I was fighting for nothing at all... Humanity was greedy, selfish and foolish... Yet... I'm human... and I'm probably the same way... Greedy.... selfish... and foolish...
My eyes drifted to one of the largest ships in the dock. It's shape resembled that of an animal's... what animal was beyond me... The entire surface was of a green base with blue streaks running across it's surface, going from it's rear to it's head. It was truly magnificent... And lucky me... It was mine...
I couldn't help but smile. I was proud of the ship, Earth's Wings... that's what it was called... My father worked for the space corporation and it had belonged to him before his sudden disappearance. I remember him telling me that it was to be used for the original Sailor Senshi if there was disturbance among the solar system, and since the originals were gone, it was to be used for the Senshi of the Next Generation.
I gave a proud smile and walked a few feet over to the metal ladder that led down to the main floor. I swung myself around and began my slow descent. Once I was only about five feet from the ground, I boosted myself off of the ladder and landed neatly on the ground.
"Raina Invan, is it?"
My eyes turned to a figure who stood next to the ladder, smirking and leaning against a wall, arms crossed across his chest. His black hair fell slightly into his face and his dark blue eyes watched me carefully. His well built body shifted as he un-crossed his arms and stood upright, his black and white uniform falling back into it's perfect fit place.
I smiled myself. "If it isn't Kyle Greywind..." I replied, watching him as he walked over to me. "The planetary knight... how's it going?"
"Miserable... as usual..." he muttered, giving a playful frown. "I've been stuck here for the past month doing nothing but charity work... Do you know how boring that is?"
I eyed him carefully, frowning deeply myself. "Then I take it you haven't heard about Earth's current situation..." I said, trying to suppress my rising anger towards the guy. Without another word I turned and began walking over to the Earth's Wings. Kyle followed.
"Actually I've heard all about it..." he replied gravely. I gave him a sidelong glare.
"You're doing a whole lot to help..." I said sarcastically, trying my best not to get angry at the poor guy, but getting even angrier.
"The Solar System's council doesn't want me to interfere..."
I stopped suddenly, turning to glare at him. "What to you mean by they don't want you to interfere?!" I asked, my rage growing. Kyle stopped and looked down at me, taking my shoulders lightly and looking straight into my own blue eyes.
"Calm down Raina..." he said sternly. His hands lifted from my shoulders as I did as I was told, my anger slowly fading. "They claimed what was happening there was something that the earth needed to deal with... If you ask me they just didn't want to get on the earth's enemies' bad side..."
I gave an aggravated sigh before turning back to my walking, Kyle tagging along behind. "You're probably right... Just to save their own asses..." I muttered. "I'm wondering if the council will approve of my going to collect the Senshi of the Next Generation..."
Kyle gave a nod of agreement. "Well you've got the Lady Pluto backing you up... I'm sure she'll be able to convince the council to let you get the Senshi... I'm going to try and talk with her later to see if she can convince 'em to let me help out as well..."
"She'll probably agree to that..." I couldn't help but smile. I had known the guy since I was nine... Ten long years... We had spent the first few years teasing each other during our training and playing nasty pranks on one another... But I grew to like the guy as a good friend... Kyle was funny, lovable, and trustworthy... And cute...
A smile spread across Kyle's face as well. Damn he looked good when he smiled... "It certainly will be an adventure to fight with you!" he said. He swung the closet arm around my shoulders and proceeded to give me a nuggie...
"HEY! Stop that!" I cried, trying to pull myself out of his strong grasp. Did I forget to mention how annoying he could get?
He smiled innocently and gave a shrug. "What'd I do?"
"You know I hate that!" I chided him, stopping my pace as I crossed my arms and gave him a cold glare. He gave a laugh.
"Loosen up! I'm only messin' with ya!" he said in protest. I gave an exasperated sigh and turned to look directly upwards. The two of us now stood directly under the Earth's Wings, close to the entry hatch.
"Gennom!" I shouted. Kyle blinked at me in confusion, wondering why I had called such a name. His answer to the unspoken question came.
~Yes Raina?~ a voice, computer generated, but sounding very normal, said from the ship.
"Open the entry hatch and let down the ramp," I instructed.
~Yes ma'am...~
With that, the somewhat large hatch slide open and from within the ship extended a long, steel ramp and reached down and contacted with the ground right before my feet. Kyle blinked, still confused at the situation.
"Gennom..." he started. "Is the main computer network?"
I nodded before starting my way up the ramp. "That's what we call him..." I replied, pausing my stride to look down at him. "You coming or what?"
"I don't think the guys will like it if I do..." he said, smiling nervously and placing his hand behind his head.
"What guys?"
"The surveillance team that's supposed to be watching me at all times... The Solar System's council didn't trust me enough to let me be alone, so they got a whole group of people watching me... They thought I would try and sneak off and go to Earth! Imagine that!"
I laughed at the sarcasm in his voice as he tried to play innocent. "They have good reason for that..." I replied. He blinked and frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I don't follow orders?"
"No of course not!" Sarcasm played over my voice as well. Kyle was about to say something more when Gennom spoke up again.
~We do not have lift-off clearance yet. The Earth's Wings is not allowed to leave the dock area...~ he said emotionlessly as if he was board.
"What he said..." I replied, smiling. "We aren't leaving till tomorrow morning... I still have to get a lot of supplies and what not..."
Kyle paused, considering his options, then smiled and started jogging up the ramp to catch up to me. "I don't think they'll mind if I have a little idle conversation..." he said. "And I don't have my next shift for a few hours..."
I frowned curiously before continuing my way up into the ship. "Just what do you do here on Pluto? The trouble rate isn't very high..." I mused. Kyle smiled nervously.
"I'm one of the council men's body guard... For now..."
"Your lying..."
My feet stepped onto the ship's metallic floor and began walking down the hallway to the main control room, or the pilot's area. Kyle followed closely behind, and once his feet touched the main floor, the ramp behind him slid quickly back into the ship and the entry hatch slammed shut.
"I'm not lying..." he said, trying to sound convincing.
"The council men don't like having body guards... most of them anyway..." I said, a smirk playing on my lips and I stopped at the control room's door, waiting for it to slid open before entering the spacious room.
"Well this one does!"
"Your lying, Kyle... I can tell... What are you really doing?"
"Well..." I could tell he was slightly embarrassed. "I am acting as a body guard..."
"For whom?" I hopped into the pilot's seat and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, trying to bring up a program I had been working on recently.
"One of the council men's daughter..."
My eyes practically bugged out as I stifled a laugh. "Kyle... I only know one council man who has a daughter..."
"There is only one who has a daughter..."
"Daughter... is Cassandra...?"
"Yup..."
"Cassandra... is five years old..."
"I know..."
I could hold it no longer. I erupted in loud laughter, spinning my seat around to look at Kyle as his face turned a bright red. "You're on BABYSITTING DUTY!" I cried, finding it as funny as hell that Kyle, the planetary knight who fought countless monsters from the outside regions of the galaxy was stuck babysitting a spoiled five year old girl!
"It's not funny Raina!" he snapped, his face so red that it could compete with an beet's color! "It's a very important assignment!"
"Right! Right! He heh... Whatever you say..." I muttered, before exploding with another onslaught of laughter.
"Hey you've done worse!"
My laughter came to a halt, my eyebrow twitching slightly as I turned away from him, hiding my sudden anger. "No I haven't..." I said, lying through my teeth. "I don't recall having to do anything as stupid as babysitting..."
~If I may...~ Gennom said, his voice patters playing on a screen on the far right side of the closed window screen. ~I believe Kyle Greywind is referring to the time you got stuck cleaning all the toilets in the royal palace...~
Kyle began laughing from behind me and my anger was redirected towards Gennom. "Thanks Gennom... you're so kind to remind me of that incident..."
~You're welcome Raina...~ I could tell there was amusement in the computer's voice... Damn... why did my dad have to program it so much like a human?
"Hey Gennom!" Kyle said, after recovering from his laugh attack. "Can I get a drink?"
~Do I have permission to give Kyle Greywind a drink?~ Gennom asked, his question directed towards me. I waved my hand indolently.
"Sure... Wouldn't hurt..." I muttered, turning back to my the keyboard and started typing, bringing up a program screen on the window. I could guess that Kyle was smiling.
"Pepsi if you will, Gennom!" he said, his eyes looking at the ceiling which is where the main computer's voice emanated from. I glanced idly behind me to watch as a small square of the metallic floor slid away and from it raised a tiny tray attached to a long pole extend upward with an old fashioned glass bottle of Pepsi on it.
Kyle smiled presently and took the Pepsi from the tray and watched as it sunk back down into the floor and the square piece slid back into place, looking as if it hadn't moved. "Thanks Gennom!" he said cheerfully as he popped the bottle open and moved over to the co-pilot's seat next to mine and propped his feet on the control panel.
~Please don't place your feet there...~ Gennom muttered, slight annoyance being picked up. Kyle gave a small, nervous smile and pulled his feet back down to the floor before taking a sip of the Pepsi in his hand.
"Sorry Gennom..."
~You are forgiven...~
Kyle's attention was drawn back to me as I continued to type furiously on the keyboard, opening eight separate screens under the titles 'New Crew Members', each screen having a blank profile. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, curiously.
"I'm setting up the profiles for the new Senshi... For a while they will be members if this ship..." I muttered, concentrating more on my task than Kyle. I looked up at the screen on the right of the window where Gennom's voice patters were shown. "Gennom. Bring up the files for the listed Senshi of the Next Generation. All except for my own, the moon's heir, and the Lady Pluto..."
~Please wait...~ Gennom replied, the green line of his voice patters flickering up and down as he spoke. Eight separate screens appeared above the eight that were already there. These eight were completely filled out profiles of the next generation, having names, appearances, slight backgrounds and what not... The seven varied in age, from thirteen to two years younger than me, seventeen... No pictures though...
"Copy each into the provided crew member profiles and save, entering each into the computer system as our new members..." I instructed. Kyle sipped at his drink again.
~I can't do that Raina...~
"Why not?!"
~Voice tests and finger prints are required...~
"Can't you do those later?!"
~Voice tests and finger prints must be done when entering new members... I cannot do it otherwise...~
I heard Kyle give a stifled laugh and my gaze turned to the man, glaring slightly. "You know..." he said, smirking and taking another swallow or Pepsi. "If you can't get a ship to do what you want, how do you expect to get a bunch of spoiled teenage girls to do what you say?"
My glare grew so cold that it could've frozen hell over. "You do know I can eject your seat at any time..." I muttered with a threatening tone. I saw Kyle's eyes grow the slightest bit wider as he took another sip, practically chocking on his pop.
"Is that so...?" he asked, slightly nervous though trying to conceal it with pride.
"Would you like me to demonstrate?"
"No that's okay..."
"You sure? Because I really feel like doing so..."
"I'll shut up..."
"Good..."
"Let's see... I'll need four plasma packs... A miniature psycho-sonic generator, Loik brand of course... One jumbo bin of turbo jet fuel and... oh yes! A package of peanuts please!"
"You don't expect me to carry all this stuff around... do you?"
"No..."
"Good..."
"I'll rent you a push cart so you can push all this stuff around..."
Kyle gave a long groan while I smirked and patted him on the back. "Come on Kyle! Think of this as extra training! Be a man!" I said, as the bearded man behind the counter went to the store room to fetch the supplies I had asked for. "You're the one who wanted to come along with me to do my shopping..."
"I came along to spend some quality time with you!" he complained, frowning deeply, looking at me with a steady, infuriated gaze. "I didn't think I'd be your slave for a day! I get enough of that with Cassandra!"
I smiled again. "You should know me better than that..." I replied, leaning against the counter and crossing my arms. "Don't you remember? I've always bossed you around!"
"Well we haven't seen each other for a year now... I thought that you had finally..." he trailed off, giving a nervous pause. "...changed..?"
My smirk disappeared and was replaced by a cold glare. "That's not what you were originally going to say..."
"What do you mean? Yes it is... was..."
I could detect the uncertainty in his voice... The same uncertainty I had heard earlier that day when he was telling me about his job... in other words... he was lying... "Kyle...." I said his name nice and slow, emphasizing it deeply. "What were you going to say...?"
"Um... eh..." I could tell he was at a loss for words as he gave a uneasy smile accompanied by a similar laugh.
"You thought I had finally..." I started for him, urging him to say what was on his mind, ready to slam something against his head if it was something offensive...
"Grown up?"
...Too bad I didn't have anything to slam against his head... hmm... well... Have to go with old fashioned fist...
"OW!"
"HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOUT ME!"
"I'M SORRY!"
"YOU HAD BETTER BE!"
It was around then that the store's owner came back, lugging a handful of items. The bulk, yet slightly overweight man set them down, kind of roughly against the counter, before reaching in a case under the counter and bringing out a bag of peanuts. "Here are the items you asked for..." he said moving over to the cash-register and typing it all in, repeating the items to make sure he had gotten the right ones.
"Four plasma packs, Loik brand mini psycho-sonic generator, jumbo bin of turbo jet fuel, that I'm having brought out to the front... and a bag of peanuts..." he said, turning his green eyes to me to make clearance. I nodded, subsiding my anger to get to business. I pulled out my wallet from my back pocket.
"How much?"
"Seven thousand eight hundred fifty three..."
My eyes practically jumped out of my head as I looked down at the dollar bills I was going through. "Things certainly have gotten pricey these days..." I muttered frowning, looking up, slightly worried. "Are these items really that rare?" The man gave a rough laugh.
"I'm joking! It costs fifty five dollars and seventy two cents!" he said, getting a good laugh at my expense. I gave a huge sigh of relief before smiling myself as I heard Kyle give a laugh as well, no matter how much pain he was in at the moment.
I pulled out sixty dollars and handed it to the man, waiting patiently for my change. "Oh, before I forget... I'd like to rent a push cart so my friend here doesn't have to carry these..." I said, sending Kyle a cold glare to remind him that he was still in major trouble. His smile faded and the edginess returned.
The store owner laughed. "Your traveling and you don't have a push cart for the supplies on your ship?" he asked. I frowned with thought.
"Well my ship's got a crane... but that's only for close loading... and my ship is docked in the palace docking area and that's a mile away from here..." I answered. He looked at me curiously.
"A crane, eh? Must be a pretty big ship..."
"It's the Earth's Wings..." Kyle said, almost as if he were proud that he was friends with the owner of one of the most legendary ships among the galaxy. The man behind the counter's face lit up, and his smile grew wider with fascination.
"The Earth's Wings?" he asked. "You mean the ship of the Sailor Senshi?"
"The one and the same..." I answered, glad that I was getting some well deserved, yet amazingly rare, attention.
"Well then! I'll let you have the push cart for free!" he said, smiling as he gave me my change, then added a ten dollar bill to it. I blinked. "And a small donation! It ain't much, I know."
I smiled softly, a bit amazed that he would do such a thing. No one's ever done that... most of them ask for more money sometimes, for everyone knows that anyone who owns a ship that large has got to have a good source of income... me being the only exception to that rule... "Thank you..." I said, almost jumping and hugging the man for his generosity.
"No problem!" he said, running a hand through his slightly spiked brown hair. "I actually helped work on the beginning frame the Earth's Wings before I got transferred here. If you ever need any work to keep the ship maintained just ask and I'll do whatever's necessary!"
"Now that's generous..." Kyle said, giving a small smirk. The store owner extended his hand to me and smiled.
"The name's Leonard Krogens!" he said proudly. I took his hand and gave it a shake.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Krogens-"
"Please, just Leonard..."
"My name is Raina Saverse Invan..." I said, smiling as my hand left his and I motioned back to Kyle. "I'm sure you know him... Kyle Greywind."
"The planetary knight, is it?" he asked, extending his hand again, shaking Kyle's this time.
"That would be me..."
"Aren't you babysitting lil' Cassandra now?"
Kyle's eyes nearly jumped from his head in surprise and I stifled a laugh as he chocked out a 'yes' in reply. Leonard laughed a little himself and stroked his short beard. "She isn't the most patient of people, is the little girl?"
"Impatient is an understatement..." Kyle said, with a grim tone. "There's only one person who's got more of an attitude that little Cassandra..."
"Who would that be?" the store owner asked curiously. I knew at once that Kyle had pointed at me, though never even looked... For Leonard's gaze turned slightly to me before he gave another laugh. Kyle is really asking for a pulverizing...
"Well as much as I'd like to stay and chat... I've got one more stop to make before I get clearance for tomorrow's leave..." I said, trying to suppress my ever rising anger.
"Another stop?" the black haired boy asked, his blue eyes filled with dismay. "Don't you have enough supplies?"
"Take it easy... I need to stop off at the weapon's shop to pick up the sword I ordered before I got here..."
"Sword?" he asked inquisitively.
"Yes sword... fighting evil isn't easy... especially when the other side doesn't fight fair..." I muttered slowly, trying to explain it so it would get through his thick skull. I turned back to Leonard with a smile and shook his hand again as I watched Kyle struggle to pick up the plasma packs and miniature generator. "It was nice to meet you Leonard. I might take up your offer on the maintenance of my ship..."
"I'll be here!" he said cheerfully. "Good luck Raina!" And with that, he turned to walk into the back room. I smiled to myself. It was good to have allies... I turned abruptly towards Kyle and frowned as I saw he was having a hard time with the stuff.
"Here... let me lighten that load a bit..." I said as I plucked out the bag of peanuts from his grasp. "There... that better?"
"Not really..."
"Glad to hear it..." I said, turning and beginning to walk towards the door. "The push cart is outside with the jet fuel... so don't worry... It isn't that far..."
"You wouldn't say that if you were carrying these..."
As I walked outside I smiled as I saw the bin of turbo jet fuel that was close to the size of a tall man. It sat upon a flat metal slab on wheels with a handle bar on one side. Kyle groaned as he saw this and walked slowly over, having to stand on his toes to get the plasma and generator on top of the tub. "And I have to push this around?" he asked, frowning.
"Yup..."
I said not a word as I turned around and began walking through the crowded streets that lined the main part of Pluto's kingdom, the market place. I heard Kyle scramble to get behind the huge cart and begin pushing it forward. I paused, looking back as he made his slow progress before opening the bag of peanuts and eating a few. "How's it going back there?" I asked.
"Oh just fine..." Sarcasm... pure and simple sarcasm...
"That's good... glad to hear you don't need my help!" I said, completely serious in my tone as I popped a few more peanuts into my mouth with a laugh. "It's only two stores down..."
A sigh of relief from behind the pushcart.
Moments later (longer for Kyle because of his complaining and struggle with the load) I was inside the weapon's shop, talking to the salesman on duty. Kyle was waiting outside, too exhausted to move. I did feel sorry for the poor guy...
"I'm here to pick up my weapon..." I said simply, walking up to the counter of the small shop.
"Name?" the man asked.
"Raina Saverse Invan..."
The man, looking more like a boy than a man, gave a small nod bent down to go through the storage of waiting swords. Moment's later he came back up and handed me a long slender box. "You've already been paid for..." he said simply. I blinked.
"I have? By whom?"
"The Lady Pluto heard you had purchased a sword and paid for it herself."
"Oh..." I gave a smile to myself. "If you ever have a chance to speak with her, tell her I said thanks..." I set down the box and lifted the top off and my mouth dropped. "Extra thanks... cause I ordered a much simpler version..."
The boy smiled. "Yeah... she didn't think that the version you ordered was strong enough..." he said. "Enjoy your sword..." He picked up a cleaning rag from a peg on the wall and moved to clean some of the swords on display.
I couldn't get over the pure shock. I lifted the sheathed sword from the box and felt over the handle, amazed at it's beauty. The handle was a brilliantly designed dragon, it's green body twisting and turning to fit around a person's hand, the head slightly covered by the sword's holder, but would look as if it was eating the actual steel.
The dragon's eyes were made of sapphires and cuts of emerald sprawled over the dragon's body creating a scale-like effect. At the end of the sword, part of the dragon's tail was wrapped around a golden symbol... the symbol of earth.
The holder was just as elegant, the exterior designed with black velvet and blue edgings, green reaching across it creating a similar dragon. This tail too was wrapped around the symbol of Earth. A blue ribbon hung off the top to attach it to a belt.
I smiled and took a tight hold of the handle and pulled it out some to look at the blade.
"The blade's made of glass!" I said as I looked right through the crystalline blade. Sure it was pretty, but wouldn't it break? The boy looked up from is work at my outburst and shook his head slightly.
"No... not glass... diamond..."
Again, my eyes practically jumped from my skull. "Diamond?!"
"That sword is made so sharply that it can cut through anything and is nearly indestructible..." the boy explained. "It even cut through the first two holders. We had to make a holder that was encrusted with diamonds on the inside as well just to keep the sword in. The diamond structure also is able to take on powers of it's own."
"Eh...?" I blinked. "You lost me... What do you mean it can take on powers?"
"You can feed it powers and the sword will take them, making it more powerful..."
"Wow..." I said, turning back to the diamond blade before sliding it back in. "That's pretty cool... I guess Lady Pluto knows what I like..." A smile spread across my face. "And now I got a cooler sword that Kyle..."
The boy gave a quizzical look, and I failed to feed his curious hunger. I slid the sword back in and took the ribbon in my hand and was about to tie it to my green belt when the boy stopped me.
"Wait! I forgot! Lady Pluto also ordered you a belt!" he said, dropping the rag on a display case and jogging over to another and opening it. I blinked, again, slightly confused.
"She went all out... remind me to write her a very long thank you letter..." I mused.
The boy came back from the case and held out the belt to me with both hands, cradling it as if his life depended on it's safety. I set the sword down on the counter and took it from his hands, cradling it the same way as I looked it over. A black base color, again with a dragon, this one of gold color, and in the center, a golden symbol of Earth again.
I gave a small laugh. "She really went all out with the dragons... Either she's commending my strength, or making fun of my attitude..." I muttered with a smirk as I unhooked the belt and pulled it around my waist, snapping the clasp together. It was a bit large, but that's the way I liked it, hanging off my hips slightly. I took the sword again and took the ribbon and tied it to the side of the new belt.
I turned back to the boy, who smiled. "It looks very becoming... Are you from Earth?"
"That I am... Thank you for being so patient... with both me and Lady Pluto..." I said, giving a small smirk. He shook his head.
"No need to thank me... It's the owner who made it... he says it's one of his best works..." he boy said. I smiled again.
"Well tell the owner that I love it!" I said happily. "I'll leave you to your work..." I gave a nod to the boy and turned to walk out of the sword. My feelings seemed to have skyrocketed, feeling the click of the sword as it swayed at my side.
As I walked out of the shop, Kyle looked up from his sitting place on the push cart. He blinked in surprise. "Pretty fancy sword and belt," he said. I could tell there was slight jealousy.
"Yes..." I said, confirming his thoughts. "I do have a better sword than you..."
"How's it coming Gennom?"
~All systems are a go...~
"No problems?"
~None...~
"You sure?"
~Yes...~
"Positive?"
~Raina.. I'm the ship's main computer... I would know if something was wrong...~
I sat back in my seat and gave a small smirk. "Wow... I've never had a lift off go this smoothly..." I said. "Maybe this is my lucky day..."
~Please stay at attention Raina... so maybe your luck will stay this time...~ the computer replied, it's voice pattern's flickering up and down on the screen.
"Alright then..." I said, giving a smirk as I cracked my knuckles, gave my arms a good stretch and rolled my neck.
CRACK!
"Owe..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck as a pain shot through it. "Why does that always happen when I roll my neck?"
~Perhaps you shouldn't jerk it backwards so fast...~
"Like you would know the problems of the human neck, Gennom... you're not even human..." I said, giving a small frown as I leaned over and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard before my fingers.
~Perhaps not... But I have been programmed with all of your physical records as the records of many other humans... Not to mention the data on how to fix problems with the body's functions... Therefore-~
"Gennom..." I muttered warningly to shut the computer up. "Save it for another day..."
~Whatever you wish Raina...~ there was annoyance in the computer's voice.
It was now the next day. Kyle and I had made our goodbye's... well sort of... he thought goodbye was too permanent so I settled with a 'see you soon'. Now I was on my way, everything loaded and ready, and my permission to leave the dock had been granted. The Earth's Wings and I were going to start on our way...
"Start the engines... Warm up the thrusters... set course to planet Neptune..." I instructed.
~Engines started... Thrusters are de-cooling... course set...~ Gennom replied calmly as I heard the engines roar to life, sounding more like a wild animal than a machine. ~Aren't you forgetting something Raina?~
"What?"
~The screen...~
I gave a nervous laugh. "That would help..." I said, reaching over and pressing a small green button. The huge window before me opened it's hatch and showed me the area of the hanger in front of the ship. To the sides, monitors showed different parts of the ship, more or less showing the blocks that were attacked to my ship to prevent leaving before approval. For now, all blockings were still in place.
"Set up link with control tower..." I told Gennom. A small window flickered onto the screen and a member of Pluto's control tower came onto the window. "The Earth's Wings is requesting permission to leave the dock area..."
"Permission granted... exit through gate 5a..." the girl, whom I recognized as the girl I had run into in the hallway... the servant girl... she worked at the tower?
"There's different gates?" I asked quizzically. The girl laughed.
"The one right in front of you..."
"That makes sense..." I mused. The connection was cut off and I waited patiently as each of the blockings were released and my ship further prepared for takeoff. Announcements went off in the dock to announce my departure.
I closed my eyes and said a short prayer, asking God to help me through this...
~Thrusters have completed warm-up stage,~ Gennom announced as the gate in front of my ship began to open.
"Manual controls if you will Gennom..." I said, pressing a few more buttons. At my command, two grooved handles were brought out to my fingertips. I took a tight hold of them and smiled.
~Please don't run us into anything like you did when we were landing...~ he said with a pleading tone.
"Funny Gennom..." I muttered angrily through my teeth.
~I'm not kidding...~
And that is how my story began...
Authors Note:
I know... kinda... well... odd and doesn't really go anywhere... The second part is better! Trust me!!! I just kinda... gotta... finish it... ~.~* :::laughs nervously::: hope you enjoyed! and be ready for the second part, k?
~Lordess