Destiny Reborn
(*Disclaimer: The copyright for Sailor Moon is held by Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, DiC, Kodansha, Bandai, etc. The characters and events of the Sailor Moon original story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Any characters and events not in the original story were created by me.) Also, I am aware of the fact that not all of the attacks etc. coincide chronologically, so please do not feel the need to correct me on this ~_^. I do however own Fushou Karei and her aliases, Kouken, the Knight of Eternity, the Dark Elements, and this version of the creation of the Ginzuishou.
Chapter 1: Strange HappeningsThe shadowed figure stood in the moonlight. It was a young woman in a flowing silver gown. I could make out no more detail than her shadow. Help me, she pleaded. Save us. Protect our fate and our destinies. The peace we had can be restored…
The figure began to fade into the background. "No wait, please! Don't go! Who are you, and how can I help?" I cried out, running towards the figure. But she was gone. I fell to my knees, exhausted and weeping.
"Karei…WAKE UP!"
"GWAAAA!" I exclaimed, startled, as I fell out of bed. "DON'T DO THAT!"
"It's time to get up, Karei! You're going to be late for your gymnastics meet if you don't get moving now!
I shot out of bed. "My meet…oh no! I'm going to be late! I began running around the room rushing to get ready, my dream still haunting me. I stood in front of my mirror, pulling up my long hair. I'm going to be soooo late! I thought to myself, staring in the mirror. I have to look perfect; today's an important day.
Help us, please. The figure appeared in the mirror. I blinked, convinced that I was hallucinating. "I don't know how," I said desperately. "I don't know if I can. I don't know what to do. Tell me wha-…"
"KAREI! Are you ready?"
The trance-like state I had been in was broken and the girl disappeared again. I looked into the mirror for a few moments, wondering if the image would reappear. "What's going on?" I wondered aloud.
"KAREI! You're going to miss your floor routine!"
"I'm coming Momma!" I called as I grabbed my gym bag and bounded down the stairs. I rushed out the front door to the car, where my parents were already waiting for me. I slid into the backseat. Who are you? I thought as the image of the girl in the moonlight appeared in my mind.
When we arrived at the meet, I dashed inside. "Excellent, you're just in time, Karei," my coach greeted me. "We were beginning to worry." I took a deep breath of relief. I hadn't blown my chance. Of all my meets, I really couldn't afford to miss this one. I had the opportunity of going onto the finals if I scored high enough today. I followed the coach to the warm up room. "You have about half an hour to warm up, I'll come in and get you for your routine." I nodded.
The coach left the room and I began warming up with a few simple stretches. After a few minutes, I had the feeling that I was being watched. The hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. I stopped what I was doing and began to look around. A dark-haired young man retreated into the shadows as I caught sight of him. I gasped, wondering what he was doing in one of the warm up rooms and how he had managed to get in. I don't have time for this. I reminded myself quickly, and began to rehearse my routine. As I rehearsed, I kept shifting my gaze to the shadows. The young man was still there, and after several minutes, I was convinced that he was just a spectator who had happened to wander in unseen. My instincts told me that he was harmless enough, and eventually I forgot that I was being watched. As I worked, I couldn't help but feel that there was SOMETHING I wasn't doing right. There was no way that I was going to get the scores I needed to rank in the top three today. I never did well on floor routine.
"Karei, you're next" my coach said as he entered the warm-up room. "You have about five minutes before you go on, but I don't want you to be rushed. I looked over into the shadows, worried that my coach might see the dark-haired guy who had been watching me, but he was gone. I took a deep breath. Okay Karei, this is it. You can do it.
I followed my coach out to the main room. Another girl was in the middle of her routine, and she was doing remarkably well. I sighed. I don't stand a chance. I looked around, waving to my parents when I saw them in the crowd. I tried to take my mind off the stress and the pressure.
"The next competitor is Fushou Karei, a 16 year old student at Mugen High. Fushou Karei, you may now take the floor for evaluation."
I took a deep breath and headed out onto the floor as the music started. Knowing that the floor routine was always my worst, I tried to stay focused and concentrate on the counts, but eventually I couldn't help but get lost in the music. It always felt like such a part of me. The image of the girl returned. The peace we had can be restored…
I had no idea what the girl meant by that, but it filled me with determination. Finally I hit the last count. My head thrown back, my arms spread, and down on one knee, I caught my breath as I awaited my scores. I watched with disbelief as I scored perfect 10's across the board. I had never gotten a perfect score on any kind of routine, let alone the floor.
I relaxed and left the floor in happy tears. As I turned I saw that same young man from the warm up room, carefully watching me. When our eyes met, he smiled slightly. I wiped the tears from my eyes and took a seat with momma and papa, quietly watching the rest of the routines. At the end of the meet, an announcer came on to announce the winners of the floor competition. I tied with another girl for the first place in the floor routine. Then came what I had been waiting for. I watched the announcer as she began to announce the top three gymnasts of the season. My name was called, announcing that I had placed first for the entire season. I got up and stepped onto the floor with the other two top scorers. My mind was a-buzz with so many thoughts that I barely heard the announcer as she went on to tell the crowd that we three would be participating in a national meet, to be held in a month here in Tokyo. My stomach filled with butterflies at the thought. Me? Compete nationally? It's going to be so much harder, competing with the best in Japan.
After the meet, momma and papa took me out to eat. After dinner, they went home while I headed into the shopping area of town. I wanted to find the perfect costume for the new routine that I had been learning, the routine that I was now apparently going to have to perform in front of all of Japan. It will be the perfect routine; it will definitely meet the criteria. I just need the perfect costume for it.
As I walked down the street, I saw it in the window of a costume shop. It was a lilac bodysuit with a sky blue net like skirt. A matching sky blue sash in the back formed a beautiful bow. I stood in the window admiring it. That's it! That's the one I want!
"You did a really good job today. You're very talented."
"AHHHH!" I jumped. Turning around I came face to face with the young man who had been watching me so closely at the meet. "What are you doing?!? Why are you following me?!?"
His expression grew dark. "I WASN'T following you. I was actually heading home. I recognized you from the meet and thought I'd congratulate you. Obviously you don't take compliments well," he said angrily, turning away.
"Please wait! I'm sorry, it's just…it's just been such a long day and it seems I've seen you everywhere I look today." I sighed, lowering my head as I leaned my back against the building. "I'm just really emotionally drained."
He stopped and turned around. "It's okay." He smiled. "I have to get going anyway. I'll see you around, Kiki." He said with a wave as he walked away.
"Huh-my name is Karei!" I called after him. Kiki? Where did THAT come from? Why does that sound so familiar? I closed my eyes and heard children's laughter. Awww…come on Kiki, don't be mad. It was just a joke; I didn't mean to make you angry. Here, I'll fix it for you. Was it possible that I had known this guy when I was younger? I shook my head. No way. Impossible. If I had known him, why would he suddenly be showing up now? And why wouldn't he have just said so? It makes no sense. After staring longingly into the window for a few more moments, I decided to go home. I would tell momma about the costume, surely she would agree that I needed something special for this meet.
When I got home I began to get ready for bed. Karei… I dropped my hairbrush and looked around. Karei, don't dismiss him so quickly… I continued looking around, expecting to see the girl in the moonlight again. But it was my own voice that I had heard, not hers.
"What's going on?" I said in a whisper. I closed my eyes and wept. A hand lightly touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was no longer in my room, but instead in a large garden in front of a palace. It was a beautiful, star-filled night. The air was full of the smell of roses.
"I have been waiting for you… I knew you would come." I turned and saw a young woman about my age standing behind me. Her long blonde hair trailed down her back in two odango. She was beautiful. "Who are you?" I demanded. "And why am I here? I want to know what's going on!"
She nodded her head slightly. Her every movement was graceful. "I understand. You are confused. A lot has happened to you today. I will tell you as much as I can…" She stared off into space. "Come with me," she said as she headed into the garden. We took a seat on a bench inside the maze of flowers. She stared longingly into the sky for a few moments, and then turned to me with a heartbreaking sigh as she began her story.
"I am Princess Serenity. My mother is Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, and my father is King Helius, ruler of the sun. This is the Moon Kingdom, all that you see around you. In life, my mother ruled during the Silver Millennium, an era of peace throughout the universe. This was a thousand years before what you refer to as the present. An evil queen from another galaxy, Metallia, came in and overtook the Earth. As a result of this, the Earth was put at odds with the rest of this galaxy, including the moon.
"The Moon Kingdom became heavily guarded and as a general rule, the people of Earth were not allowed to enter. Metallia overpowered several important people from Earth. The king and queen were destroyed and the great sage Beryl came into alliance with Metallia when she was promised power and her heart's desire. Shortly after, Metallia, Beryl and their followers invaded the moon and destroyed us. My mother sacrificed her life and used the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal to trap them all and send her people to the future on Earth to live normal lives." She sighed heavily.
I blinked and looked around in disbelief. "Destroyed? But everything here is so beautiful and full of life, why wasn't it all left in ruins? And why are the flowers so alive?" I paused. "And why are you here? Shouldn't you be on Earth then?"
"The kingdom IS in ruins," she said simply. "What you are seeing is merely the result of our memory. And hai, you are correct, Princess Serenity was sent to the future. But I am she, or, more appropriately, I am a manifestation of her, a temporary creation of her memories, to serve this very purpose."
"So none of this is real?" I asked, plucking a flower from the garden. "It smells very real, it feels very real." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "You are warm, you feel real. How can this just be an illusion? And what purpose do you mean? You were created for the purpose of talking to me?"
She nodded. "Created for the purpose of helping you find your way." She looked up at the sky longingly again. This time I followed her gaze and saw that she was staring at the Earth. "And it isn't an illusion, it is a memory. Your memories are stronger than you realize…"
I heard the alarm go off. I jumped out of bed and got dressed. "It was only a dream," I told my reflection. Your memories are stronger than you realize… I closed my eyes. "What does that mean? Why would I remember that place? Have I been there before?" I grabbed my books and headed out the door to school. I became lost in my thoughts, trying to make myself remember anything about the princess that I possibly could.
