Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystalline
Episode One: The New Feline and the Full Moon's Light
It was an unusually warm spring night, as the young girl, after tossing and turning in her bed, gave in and opened the window to the world outside. The sound of traffic was dulled as her window faced the backyard but she could hear the animals outside, the distant howls of the neighbor's dog, the sound of various bird calls.
She rolled back into the bed, picking on the thin sheet to cover herself with her face buried in her fluffy pillow. She gave a sigh as she began to tread into darkness, welcoming sleep as she lay still.
It was a strange sound, of something that didn't quite make sense. The girl tried to open her eyes but felt them glued. She was struggling, not in the physical sense, but out of her body, falling away as she looked down at herself and began to panic as something lifted her away and upward through the roof of her home and into the night skies. She zoomed past an airplane, soon by stars, and finally was quickly approaching the moon with no slowing down.
"Oh, dear Gods! I'm going to die!" She screamed as the scene reverted itself, instead of her heading headfirst, she was falling feet first upon the cold soil of the Moon.
And in the ruins of some sort of palace.
"Where am I? What kind of dream is this?" The girl pulled on her cornsilk-colored hair, wispy around her head with a slight bed-head look. Her aero eyes were wide and tried to take in everything as she spun on her bare heels.
She turned hard and her knee hit a strange pedestal that she swore wasn't there before.
"Ow, ow, ow!" She was hopping up and down, wincing as the pedestal light up from under and its beam moved upward to reveal a pixilated woman with fairy wings.
"What in the world did I eat to get this dream?!" She lowered her leg, looking at the floating woman as she attempted to poke her. She fazed in and out before her lips moved.
But the girl heard nothing as the woman seemed to be tearing up, looking unbelievably happy as she spoke garbled nonsense.
"…Felicity…"
The girl felt a sudden and rude tug along her back as she was torn away once more and thrown backwards, faster than before, too fast to notice anything but the sensation of movement and the speed of light to be thrown into her body as she awoke with a shout.
She was coated in sweat, her body heated up to an unbelievable high temperature. She pushed to get to the window for air only to stop to look at the cat sitting on the windowsill.
It was moderately large for a cat, with short golden brown hair and big, bright orange eyes. The strange part was how human it seemed, the stranger part was that it bore a nude, golden moon crescent shape upon its brow.
"Uh… hello, kitty. I don't have any food for you," She said finally, shooing at it.
"I'm not hungry… but thanks for thinking of me."
The girl stared at him blankly before collapsing into a faint.
"Yea, should've expected that." He turned to look at the full moon. "Suppose she wasn't told anything. Great! Just great! Start completely new. Where is my brother when I need him?"
Elsewhere, Artemis was with Luna at the Game Grown, deep within the basement, as he sneezed hard. "Ow!"
"Mina must be talking about you in her sleep again." Luna informed him.
"I told you that in confidence! Not to repeat it, even to me!"
"So she treats you like a cat. I get the same thing, Artemis."
Artemis made a face as Luna typed. "It's strange to be without Chibiusa."
"A little. Usagi really misses her, even if she won't say it."
"Strange.. To see someone from the future. Wouldn't it be even more interesting to see people from the past?"
"We already have," Luna said dryly, reflecting upon the Dark Kingdom.
"Yea, but someone good!"
"Like who?"
Artemis thought of orange eyes but nothing procured in his head so he just shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I forgot someone."
"Like Mina forgets to feed you?"
"You know what, you want to keep picking on me, I might as well as leave!"
"Oh, Arty, don't be such a pill!"
Artemis growled as he stalked away with a upright tail, its tip thrashing angrily.
The sound of morning came as a voice rose from below.
"Hirome, time to wake up! Breakfast is ready!"
"Mmm…" She stirred weakly. "What..?" She found herself on the ground, awkwardly covered by a blanket. "How did I get here?"
She stood up and suddenly looked to the window. She paused heavily. "No, it wasn't real. Couldn't be. Cats can't talk.."
She bit her thumbnail anxiously as her father's voice came again. "Hirome! Hurry up before it all goes cold!"
Kougetsu-papa was a single parent. With stark green hair, deep brown eyes, he was a solid build of a man, with broad shoulders, narrow hips, long legs, and was quite the intimidating figure. Strangely enough for a man who looked like he could've been a bodyguard, he was actually a elementary teacher who taught mathematics to fourth graders.
He had been widowed ever since his wife, Kougetsu-mama, had died by being struck by a drunk driver. That had been nearly ten years ago and he had faithfully worked to be the best father.
Not necessarily the most patient one sometimes. "Hurry up, Hirome! We don't have all day!"
She came down, hurriedly finishing dressing herself. "Yea, yea, Pop, it's fine!"
"For the last time," He tugged the brush from her fingers and against her protests, began to brush her hair for her. "Either Dad or Papa. None of this 'Pop'. Am I a soda to you?"
"You'd be a lot sweeter," Hirome winced as he caught a knot. "Come on, Dad, I can do my own hair!"
"You need to put it up," Kougetsu-papa pulled up enough to make a bun. "Two buns… like odango.. Cute, right?"
Hirome had a flash memory of that unusually happy woman. She pulled away, righting her hair. "No, Pop, I want it down. Buns are.. Just not for me."
He groaned as he pushed a plate to her. "Just eat."
He was hurrying her along as they ran to the car, her father starting it up as Hirome looked out the passenger's window and right into the eyes of the talking cat.
Her father nearly hit a pole with his daughter's scream echoing in his ears. "Hirome! What was that for?! Trying to kill us?!"
"What.. I.. no, of course not, I just..umm… memory…"
He rolled his eyes as he cautiously started up the car once more. "Just.. Don't do that. It reminds me of.." He trailed off awkwardly, both of them remembering her mother sadly.
The cat was sitting on his haunches, looking irritated. "Great. Just great…"
His nose twitched as he inhaled and blinked with surprise. His whiskers, unusually long for a cat, picked up on a familiar scent.
It was carried on the young girl with buns as she raced down the street. She was trying to chew on her toast, in a full-blown panic as she came upon the golden brown cat.
Only to comically fall forward in a déjà vu as she crashed into the ground with a shriek.
"Usagi!" Luna hadn't seen the other cat as she barreled down, carrying her mistress's lunch bag. "Geez! You're such a klutz in the morning.. Well, actually, all the time but still!"
"Luna? Luna!"
Usagi was long gone, having yanked away her lunch bag as Luna turned to look at the other cat. She stared at him blankly as the cat shifted anxiously.
"Hey.. Hey, it's me, Apollo, remember? The little brat that followed you guys around when we were younger?"
Luna shook her head slowly, thinking hard. The orange eyes were eerily familiar. Not for the color but something about the structure of the eyes reminded her of a certain white cat.
"Apollo…oh, my goodness! Apollo?! What.. How.. What in the world.. How did you get here?"
"Like you guys did, by our beloved Queen Selenity."
"But you were gone! You had gone home."
"No.. I couldn't go home." Apollo sat on his back limbs. "I couldn't bear it, here it was that Artemis was so above us all and I couldn't even get a paw in the door."
"Apollo.." Luna head butted him gently. Memories slowly restored themselves of a much younger black cat, who had just begun her training and partnership with the white haired cat. Apollo hadn't been picked but he had followed Artemis for a very good reason.
He never could do well without his older brother. He wanted to be just like him but he couldn't pass any of the tests given to become a guide to any of the sailor soldiers. It didn't help that there was no repose present. So Apollo had supposedly been sent away.
In truth, he refused to outright leave, even against the Queen's orders. She hadn't the heart to send him away, finding a kinship with the one who didn't have anyone to watch over. So he stayed, hidden and alone, lonely to find his place.
"But.. Why did she send you through in a sleep? Instead of reincarnating you?" Luna asked him.
"There is a star seed that is drawn to the Moon Princess. Queen Selenity told me to find it and protect it." Apollo sat up straighter, looking fierce and elegant at the same time.
"Another star seed?" Luna was baffled.
"Yea, I don't know either but I did find her! It only took me…" He thought hard on it. "Over a year? Maybe two?"
"And why didn't you come looking for us?"
"Because I needed to find the star seed! She is my mistress and I am her guide."
"Just who is she?"
"Uh, um, well, see, we just met last night and she sort of passed out when I talked to her. When she comes back from school, I intend on righting that wrong!"
Luna studied him. "It's been so long.. There are still so many memories I can't remember. Oh, Apollo, Artemis will be so happy to see you again."
"You think so?"
"Absolutely! Come, let's.."
"No!"
Luna stared at him in shock.
"I mean, no, please, not yet. I have yet to prove myself to my mistress and I want to be fully in tune with her before I see Artemis. Then he'll see me as a worthy guide!" Apollo faltered. "You know, instead of the runt of the litter."
Luna didn't want to but at the big, sorrowful eyes of the younger feline, she melted a little and nodded to him. "All right. Where is your home?"
"Uh.. See that one with the yellow flowers in front?"
"Yes."
"That's the one. Hopefully."
"It'll work out, I know it will. It did for us.." Luna thought of Mina and Artemis." Well, me." She then thought on herself and Usagi. "Kind of."
The day was long and slow for Apollo but for Hirome, she was soon out of the door of her high school, running out as she raced to the waiting bus. "Wait for me, wait for me, please, oh please, wait for me!"
All day, she'd been a little distracted, the cat always flashing back into her mind and making her forget what she was doing at that moment. As she approached her front door with a low sigh, she once more tried to tell herself that it was all just some fantastic dream and there was no such thing as a talking cat.
She entered her home, feeling a little relieved that she was alone as she ran up the stairs to toss up her school bag with a grin. She was nearly dressed in her normal clothing, her school clothes scattered along the ground, when there was a short cough.
"Oh, dear God, no.." She turned to Apollo on the bed, who had puffed up his chest in trying to look, well, not like a scruffy tomcat.
"Hi."
Hirome blinked slowly at him.
"Um… yea, see, I'm… I'm Apollo and I am your guide and you are my mistress. You are a very important person… to which I will one day figure out just how but anyways! You are a sailor warrior.. Uh…what's your name?"
"I'm talking to a cat."
"Pretty sure that's not your name." He waited and then ventured forward hesitantly. "I'm Apollo, at your service."
"Apol…Apollo.. Huh? Oh.. Um, well, I'm Kougetsu Hirome."
"Well, Hirome… I can call you that, right?"
Hirome frowned and then shrugged.
"I have a gift for you!" He jumped up and backwards to land on the bed once more, staring at the front of him, the space empty. "Hold on, let me try that again."
He flipped, this time a brooch forming. It was octagon in shape, with a eight-pointed star pattern on top, colored in harvest gold, with a tiny gold orb in its center and the rest of the octagon brooch gold in color.
It was pretty plain and as she picked it up, very light. She opened it to reveal the hollow inside. "It's missing something."
"Yea, see, that's sort of the problem. You need to find the Kinoushou, the holy relic of the Solar Star and the only thing that will defeat your enemies!"
"I have enemies? But I'm so nice!"
"Not that type of enemy, I mean big, scary, frightening, evil monsters!"
Hirome stared at him as her hands unexpectedly parted, the brooch hitting the ground hard. "Yea. Not interested."
"Wait, wait, wait! You're not alone in this! Besides me, there are the Guardian Warriors and the infamous Sailor Moon!"
"NO WAY!"
Apollo fell off the bed in surprise at the fan girl scream.
"Oh, that'd so awesome! She's so pretty and I love her outfit and…"
"Yea, yea. Look, just take the brooch, will you? When the time comes, we can meet Sailor Moon and the others. Hopefully after we've proven ourselves to my big brother." He added softly to himself.
Said sailor warrior was at home, sitting on her bed and holding her pillow. She was trying not to cry as she clutched the pillow in comfort.
"Hey, Usagi."
"Oh, hey, Luna.." Usagi wiped her eyes hurriedly.
"I know, I miss her too." Luna jumped up to her side. "Um.. Usagi, can I tell you something? A secret?"
"Me, a secret?" Usagi thought on it for all of five seconds. "Absolutely! I won't tell anyone!"
"Especially Minako and Artemis!" Luna added pointedly.
"Sure!"
Luna shuffled. "I.. met someone today.."
"Oh, my goodness, you're not cheating on Artemis, are you?"
"Will you let me finish? No, it's not like that! I met… another talking cat."
"Still sounds like.. Wait, what?"
"I didn't recognize him at first… but.. It's Apollo." Luna shifted and looked up to Usagi. "Apollo is.. Artemis's younger brother. He.. Came with us by hiding himself, he was always a fan of his older brother. But he never passed his tests and we all thought he was sent home but I guess the Queen kept him on the palace grounds."
"Tests?"
"Yes, to prove ourselves as true and willing guides, we needed to bond with our mistresses and become their voice of reason if needed."
"You added that just for me."
"It was necessary."
"So Artemis has a brother? Why aren't we talking to Artemis or Minako?"
"Because Apollo asked me not to tell Arty. He… wants to prove himself as a guide, he says he has a mistress.."
"Is she like us?"
"I.. I don't know. I know where they live though. We can sneak by later this week."
"Wow, Luna. Sneak? I didn't know you knew how to do that!"
Luna glared at the grinning teenager. "Funny."