Disclaimer:I cannot possibly own Sailor Moon or any of it's characters. There are a few OCs in here though that I do own, some based off of mythology and others based off of characters in my personal world which have been modified for this one and have no further connection to it. So no ownership or money is being made on this fanfic, just doing it for fun. The OCs though are mine and I will tear you apart if you use them without my consent. Happy Valentines day!
Yeah not Valentines day but it's still February. And I said I'd get the next book started posting in February. So here it is! The prologue to Warriors of Earth! I've had this part done since before the last chapter of Child of Earth (Please read if you haven't, otherwise you won't be able to get all the references in this one) was posted, but haven't gotten very far with this. I have written out the outline for it, but it's severely lacking with the villain's parts right now. :/ So it's gonna be a bit before I post more chapters. I think I may post chapter 1 soon so I can ask for ideas (thinking through this a little bit ago, I think I've figured out one problem but not the rest) but other than that, I've got nada to show for the month, except a new 2DS and game playing *sheepishly looks away*.
So yeah, without further ado, book 2 of the Earth's Court Saga has begun! Enjoy!
Warriors of Earth
Prologue
"They think the Ginzuishou is the most powerful force in the universe." The toothy smile could not be contained as the voice spoke to its followers. "The Silver Moon Kingdom is shortsighted. Only the power of the Kinchikyuu no Hooseki as the power we desire. Power over life itself. The very creation of it! Earth's Golden Kingdom will rise again in time, and we must be ready for it. And King Aethlius will not be there to prevent our rise when it returns."
"How are you certain?" One follower spoke up where others denied questioning anyone. This one was likely to survive in the new world. The war and their reputation made the world harsh against them. "The life cycle does not end. He will be born again."
"Prince Endymion will be reborn. Aethlius will not. My curse assures it." It laughed to itself, gleeful over its success. That vile man would never walk this world again. "Endymion will be too concerned with Chaos and his Moon Princess to know what to do with us. I have foreseen it all.
"The prince will be lost, searching for answers. We will have them. If each of you play your part, we will finally have out place in the world. We will spread. We will grow. We will be the masters of the Earth and all its powers!"
Cheers in the darkness mixed together into something of a nightmare. These things living there were meant to stay there, but they would find their way to the light if their plans succeeded.
Sadly only fate saw them, heard their plans and their cheers. Time was on their side. They just had to be patient, wait until the prince returned and his powers unsealed. Then they could move. Then they could change their fates forever.
(+)
Darkness and shadows surrounded them, and yet he was alone. The ground shook and rocks fell and flew around, gravity picking and choosing which ones to affect. The roaring of the building collapsing surrounded them, and yet her cackle could be heard over everything. Her laugh and her words.
"Endymion! Remember the prophecy given at your birth! Every member of your court will betray you! The Earth's court will never survive so long as you reign! Take my curse with you! To your grave!"
Before his eyes the withered hag dissolved into dust, joining the darkness around them. Heartbeats roaring in his ears, he turned to run away, but couldn't really find the ground under his feet. Off in the distance he could see a light, a real one, but the more he ran forward, the further away it became. More sounds came from the darkness, bringing back events in the shadows he never wanted to repeat.
"Endymion! Endymion!" Sweet sweet Serenity screaming for his lost life…
"Master." Kunzite's feeble attempt to save him from Beryl's clutches…
"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" "Prince!" The senshi crying out as Nehelenia's power dissolved them nearly out of existence…
"Mamochan…" Usagi's voice while he was under Galaxia's control…
"Ren!" A friend calling out to him amidst a battle he couldn't fight…
"Papa…" Chibi Usa crying in her sleep…
"Be… brave… my son… Forgive… mama's… weak… ness… We… will… al… ways… love… you… Ma…mo…"
His mother's last words.
Whatever he was running on gave way at last, casting him screaming into the abyss below. Tendrils covered his body, dragging him further into the darkness. There was no escape it, yet he screamed with every fiber of his being, begging for the power to escape the darkness. There had to be a way to leave this… this…
"AAHH!" With a jerk, Mamoru pulled himself upright, gasping for breath. Darkness still surrounded him for a moment before a light ball appeared in the air, pure gold from his own energy. It lit up the room quite well, giving him a chance to fully wake up. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind of the images and voices still soaring through his mind. From the accident to his first death to their battles, it was impossible for him to not be jarred by that nightmare. Knowing full well his only protection was his girlfriend and his newfound powers didn't help him sleep much at night under these conditions, making him wish that prophecy wasn't real.
Groaning the man looked around the room and mentally kicked himself. The bonsai Rei gave him doubled in size since he fell asleep, and there were several varieties of flowers around the room, rootless. His powers, which once only created roses whenever he needed them and repaired any minor injury in the past, recently increased to making plants appear and grow any time he became upset. Though he could make light balls now with a mere thought, having his other abilities activate when he stubbed his toe or was surprised was not a way to live.
"Master." Without his bidding, the apparition of Kunzite appeared in his room, clearly concerned. "Are you well?"
"Just a nightmare Kunzite," he tried to reassure him. "Nothing more."
"What of?" His old guard didn't return to his resting place as he did before when dismissed, but instead sat at the foot of his bed.
Another change with his growth of power was how easily the Shitennou interacted with him now. It used to take a large amount of concentration to draw them out. Now Tanzanite (known to the Dark Kingdom as Zoicite) appeared and read over his shoulder on occasion, Jadeite and Nephrite gave commentary on what he watched on TV, and Kunzite greeted him when he came home and gave advice freely. There were limits of course to how long they were out of course, but it wasn't as difficult as before.
Some days Mamoru wished it was back to the way it was before his abduction six months ago, before his powers grew so strong. At that moment though, he was a little glad. "A lot of things… Kunzite… do you remember anything about the prophecy given at my birth? As Endymion?"
Kunzite's face became still as stone before nodding. "Of course. Carnus' words haunted King Aethlius for years. He wanted to surround you with men who were loyal to him in case it came true. At the very least, they would uphold his reign."
"As if I'd ever let that happen." Though the man was no longer his father, he remembered well enough the ways of the previous king of Elysian. This was the same man who sealed away the Kinchikyuu no Hooseki, the Golden Crystal, within his heir and ensured his powers remained locked way through his death, who condemned the Silver Moon Kingdom and agreed with Metalia and Beryl in their vain war against them, all because he wished to always be the most powerful man on the planet. He feared what Endymion would do his entire life.
Not to say he was a bad king, but he wasn't the best either. If King Aethius had a choice, he would have selected entirely different Shitennou for him. Thankfully they were picked by forces outside that man's control, outside any mortal's control really. His generals were loyal only to Endymion, in any of his forms, and not the king before him… at least until Beryl and Metalia turned everyone against him.
Sighing, Mamoru looked bitterly at his good friend and mentor. "Do you think it's over and done with? Is there a chance I can make a new court?"
Kunzite raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that what concerns you so deeply?"
He looked away. Now that he said it, it did seem stupid. "I just keep remembering what Iphanessa said. Between her, you guys serving the Dark Kingdom, and Helios' mistake with the Black Moon Circus, wouldn't you say everyone's betrayed me enough?"
Slowly the apparition sighed without breath. "Endymion… Mamoru… Prophecy is a fickle power. An image or word in one time will mean something entirely different in another. It may very well be fulfilled, or be waiting for you in the future. It could also be a lie meant to trouble you. My advice is to live your life the way you see best. You usually can only see the fulfillment of prophecy only after it happens, often years later.
"As it is, put the thought out of your mind and focus on the present." Kunzite attempted a comforting smile but it really wasn't his strong suit. There was too much pain and guilt behind his eyes. "Your school program is tiring enough as is. Don't add to it by worrying over a dying hag and crazy old man's words."
Somewhat comforted, Mamoru nodded and laid back down, forcing his body to relax once again. The light he made dimmed slowly, almost like its own setting sun, making Kunzite's form seem more solid for a time. The general stayed at his bedside until his breathing slowed into an easy slumber before disappearing, returning to his resting place until the next time he was needed.
(+)
"Crap!"
A figure ran as fast as he could between buildings and awnings in the night, trying to find a dry, well-guarded place to rest for the night, safe from the onslaught of water desperate to eradicate his existence. "Japan has a temperate climate they said. It'll be muggy and cold they said. Expect earthquakes they said. No one talked about the freakin' monsoons!"
On and on he ran in the dark, soaked through and cursing his bad luck. Why hadn't he just cut and run when he was ahead and found shelter before the storm broke out?! There was literally no one mad enough to be out at that hour in that storm! "They weren't kidding! I really am gonna get myself killed one of these days! Dead end!"
Seeing the end of the alleyway, the lad did the only thing he could at his speed; spotting a slim break in the wood near the ground, he skidded into a slide feet first, through the hole almost landing on his side along the way. Nimbly he managed to twist his way upwards from the slide and back into a run through the night. Whoever's yard he ended up with didn't look safe enough to stay put in, so he kept running, straight to another wall, this one without a hole in it. Not stopping, he ran to the side of the building where a trashcan was and leapt from it to the wall and over the fence. The landing was a little more jarring than usual, but he still managed to keep running. Walls, rain, nothing could stop him from running free.
Another dozen obstacles later, the boy managed to find an abandoned corner mart with enough walls and a roof to count as shelter. Grinning, he slipped out a piece of wire, picked a side door lock, and made himself at home, starting by dropping his soaking wet duffle bag. "Whew… if I knew it'd be this tough, I would have asked for a bigger allowance."
Chuckling at his dumb joke, the lad pulled off his oversized, sopping blue hoodie off and slapped it on the ground. Quickly he shook out his dark brown, nearly black, hair out, letting the excess raindrops fall everywhere. A chill went through him, but that wasn't unexpected. Soaked to the bone, in the dark, it was impossible to not be chilled, even with the warm summer rains. He started wringing out his clothes as he looked around for a comfortable, dry, place to sleep. With his bag wet, it was a good bet his bedroll was too. He'd have to improvise, again.
It took a while, but he found a built in desk with a large enough space underneath for him to snuggle into, and a few pieces of cardboard to use as a mattress! Smirking, the boy dragged over his junk and hung up his wet clothes. Thank heavens he was forced to be a boy scout as a kid; some camping habits stuck with him forever, including covering his stuff in plastic bags before putting them in his big bag. Another set of clean, dry clothes waited him and he was able to avoid a cold by a narrow margin.
Hanging the rest of his stuff up to dry overnight on a rope he kept handy, the boy finally sat down in the new cubby hole to rest for the night. He stretched as far as he could before reaching for the small of his back under his shirt, taking out a foot long knife from its holster. He placed it just under the cardboard where his head would be, assuring himself he would be able to grab it and defend himself at a moment's notice. Looking around briefly one last time, he curled up on his side and did his very best to get some rest that night. 'Well at least I can only hear rain this time. Rain is normal. I can sleep through rain.'
His stomach growled loudly. 'Rain and hunger. I can manage that. Goodnight world. I'll see you again tomorrow.'
A/N: So how did you like it? Quick review of some terms: the Kinchikyuu no Hooseki is the Golden Crystal given a cool Japanese name (I think it translates into Earth's golden gem, or something like that), King Aethlius was Endymion's father in Greek mythology, and the prophecy and events spoken of by Mamochan are all from the previous book, Child of Earth. The rest of the new cast is a mystery because they are the new cast and a major part of the conflict. You get special points if you can guess who they all are before I tell you! Oh and that seer Kunzite mentioned is an actual seer in Greek mythology. Some questions from book 1 were answered in this bit here, but not all. They will be explained later.
Oh and this takes place about two months after Child of Earth ends, which is after Stars, Usagi's last year of high school. That's an important detail for future parts of the Saga. CoE took place in the spring leading into summer and covered 4 months. This one... I think I want it to start in the muggy part of Japan's summer and end in late fall.
Anyway, comment, fave, read, follow, do what you like but please do something! I will be posting chap. 1 soon enough and then pause while filling in the villains' part. Until next time! ^^V