Trumpets blew deafeningly through the air, clouds of multicoloured confetti swirled about them, as numerous as the stars that hung in the sky. The cheer of thousands of expectant fans assaulted the ears of the eleven people assembled in the center of the marble white coliseum, and the excitement that hung like an overpowering aroma in the air was hard to avoid.
The stadium was a perfect circle, almost a thousand feet wide, and hundreds of marble bleachers lined the sides, swimming with the vibrant colours of those who inhabited the Moon Kingdom, not a square inch of space between them. As the confetti settled around them, the oldest woman in the center of the arena, a woman clothed in a flowing, snowy white dress with long lavender hair and sparkling lilac eyes stepped forwards, spreading her pale arms wide, a silent call for silence, which fell immediately.
"Welcome!" called Queen Serenity, her voice magically magnified so that everyone in the stadium could hear her. "Welcome to the Tournament of the Sacred Ten!"
Cheers rent the ringing silence that had fallen upon them, thunderous, bordering on deafening. The smallest of the group of warriors assembled in the center of the stadium, Sailor Mini Moon, elbowed the girl standing beside her in the stomach, causing her to gasp in pain.
"Just think," whispered Mini Moon, tugging hard on the long blonde pigtails of Sailor Moon to yank her head down to her level. "All of these people will be cheering for me!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Rini," hissed Serena, pulling her hair out of her daughter's gloved hand. "You aren't going to win! You shouldn't even be allowed to compete!"
Childishly, Mini Moon stuck her tongue out at her, though to be fair, she was a child. Serena however, was sixteen, and clearly not above returning such an action. The brawl that would have followed was interrupted, however, by Queen Serenity raising her palms above her head, signalling for silence once more.
"In celebration of the Moon Kingdom's four thousandth birthday, I have arranged for this tournament, consisting of the ten guardians of the Solar System, to be held, celebrating the union of all planets!" Serenity announced, and though there was applause, it was more polite now than before. The queen turned, her mysterious smile still playing about her lips, and gestured towards the ten warriors assembled behind her. "I give you...Sailor Moon!"
Serena turned away from her daughter to stare slightly bewilderedly at the fans that surrounded her from every side, fans that were screaming and cheering and stamping her feet at her introduction. A slight blush crept into her cheeks at the applause, embarrassed at her own fame.
"Sailor Mini Moon!" called Serenity, and the applause increased in volume, prompting Rini to skip forwards in a graceful bow, while she looked under her arm to wink mockingly at Serena.
"Sailor Mercury!" announced the queen, and Mercury stepped forwards, always modest, waving politely at the crowd before them.
"Sailor Mars!"
The applause exceeded that of even Mini Moon, and the Soldier of Fire stepped forwards, a wide smile upon her face as she waved enthusiastically at her fans.
"Sailor Jupiter!" cried Serenity, and Jupiter stepped forwards, beaming hugely as she bowed theatrically.
"Sailor Venus!"
Hundreds of wolf-whistles mingled with the applause that thundered for Venus, who danced forwards and blew a mischievous kiss towards the crowd.
"Sailors Uranus and Neptune!" declared Serenity, and the whistles promptly died out, in its place deafening applause that shook the sandy floor beneath them very slightly. Unlike the other Sailor Soldiers, Uranus did not step forwards and wave, preferring to stand stoically beside Venus, her custom frown upon her face as she stared at the cloud through slightly narrowed eyes, while Neptune took a step forwards and waved happily at the crowd.
"Sailor Pluto!" Serenity had to shout over the noise, and though the applause was deafening, Pluto, like Uranus, did not step forwards and wave at the crowd. Her dark red eyes, haunted by an ancient sorrow, were fixed upon Serenity, silently conveying her disdain for the proceedings towards the Queen. Serenity, refusing to be cowed, shook her head slightly and cried, "Sailor Saturn!"
The applause was slightly less thunderous for Saturn, the second youngest of the group, who smiled sadly and merely nodded her head in acknowledgement to the fan's approval; not one of the members of the audience was oblivious to the deadly power the Messiah of Silence wielded, and the majority of them were rather afraid of her, hence the departure from rowdiness.
Queen Serenity turned back to the crowd, raising her hands for silence once more, which fell as quickly as it took for an argument between Sailors Moon and Mars to spring up. "Though I'm sure some of you are sceptical as to the safety of the tournament," called the queen, solomness lacing her voice now. "There is nothing to be afraid of; any harm that may come to the contestants will be healed almost instantly, and the combatants have been warned," she cast a half-glance at Serena, who stared back at her mother with deceptive innocence, betraying herself slightly by allowing her eyes to flicker towards Mini Moon. "to be careful with each other.
"The winner of the tournament," continued Serenity, and the attentiveness of the Sailor Soldiers increased by tenfold. "is a new senshipen. This will allow the winner to transform into their ultimate form, a fitting reward for the display of their powers.
"Now, I must ask you all to be patient, for we must determine the match-ups for the first round!" At this, any restrain the audience members had was shattered, and bomb-like explosion of sound rent the silence apart, hooting and roaring and cheers and calls of support all clambering for the attention of the ones in the middle, whose attention was fixed solely upon Queen Serenity.
"Come," she said, her voice returned to its usual volume and barely audible over the din. "We have work to do." And with that, she turned in a graceful swish of her dress and led the line of Sailor Soldiers towards one of the two black gaps in the ground level, her gait proud, graceful...the walk of a queen.
While most of the Soldier beamed and waved at the crowd, three of them disentangled themselves from the line to catch up with Serenity; Uranus, looking moody and determined, Pluto, her normally sorrowful eyes glowing with frustration, and Serena, a desperate, pleading look upon her face.
"This is ridiculous!" objected Uranus, her low voice blazing with exasperation. "There is absolutely no point in fighting each other! This is just a complete waste of time!"
"I only leave the Space-Time Door during times of crisis," Pluto murmured, her reclusive voice firm, angry. "And this is not a crisis. Do you have any idea how unprotected the outer regions of the solar system are right now? All the Outer Guardians are here, competing in this ridiculous competition!"
"Mother!" wailed Serena, tripping slightly in her haste to catch up with the queen. "No good can come from fighting each other! Why can't you just give it to one of us? Why don't you give new transformation pens to each of us and call this off?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Serena," scoffed Serenity, leading them through the portal at the edge of the coliseum and beginning the climb up the massive spiral staircase that would lead to the participant's balcony. "These people came here expecting to see a tournament. What am I supposed to tell them? Perhaps that I've caved at my daughter's insistence?"
"You still haven't answered us, Serenity," Uranus pointed out, and it was plain by her voice that she was determined to get an answer.
"You are being paranoid," Serenity murmured, apparently thinking she was reassuring Uranus and Pluto. "I know that each of you has placed extra protection around your planets to ensure the safety of the outer regions. And anyhow, how could external forces have known that you four have left your posts?"
There was a beat of exasperated silence, and then Pluto, her voice dripping with sarcasm, said, "I don't know, could it be that you sent a universal invitation out to everyone in the Solar System telling them about the competition?"
"Enough," snapped Serenity, and Serena shrank back slightly, sensing that Pluto had crossed some sort of invisible line. "You can withdraw your names from the competition if you wish, but please don't insult me, Pluto; I am not oblivious to your discomfort and you have made your disdain for the tournament perfectly clear." The queen halted on the third landing of staircase, turning to face Uranus, Pluto and Serena with an angry expression upon her face. "Uranus, Pluto, if you wish to leave, I will not stop you."
The icy silence that fell around them was absolute, and the surprised gazes of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune , Saturn and Mini Moon bored into the backs of the heads of the offenders like daggers. When neither Uranus nor Pluto nor Serena moved, Serenity closed her eyes and, without another word, turned and strode off towards the ornate marble balcony, leaving an icy silence behind her. There was a brief pause, during which everyone cast embarrassed looks at one another, and then they unfroze, dividing into twos and threes as they set out towards the various chairs and couches spaced around the room.
The participants' level was very technologically advanced, constructed of stainless silver steel, and a floor-to-ceiling window covered every inch of wall that was facing the arena. It was completely soundproof and stocked with enough food to last them a week. Several monitors hung from the ceiling, miniatures of the vast screen that hovered unsupported above the stadium, displaying flashing profiles of each Sailor Soldier.
Serena broke away from the rest of her friends, walking towards her mother, eyes bright with anxiety. "Mother," she whispered, her voice soft, pleading. "I...I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Didn't I tell you that no one will be in any danger?" Serenity asked her, without turning around.
Serena swallowed nervously, afraid that her mother might snap at her like she did at Uranus and Pluto. "Also...about Rini...well, she's just a kid, and I...well, do you really think it's a good idea for her to be in this tournament?"
"You really do sound concerned about her," Serenity said, a slight smile in her voice as she turned to face her daughter, lilac eyes dancing mischievously. "Almost like a real mother. Well then, I suppose what you're trying to say is that you don't want Rini to have to face off with any of your fellow Soldiers?"
"Yes," Serena said, her voice full of relief at how quickly her mother had caught on, forgetting to factor in the mysterious of the mischief sparkling in the queen's eyes.
Serenity's smile widened, displaying even white teeth. "Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind facing off with her in the first round!" she cried, clasping her hands beneath her chin. Sailor Moon's eyes widened in shock and she staggered backwards as though struck, her mouth a perfect 'o' of horror, while the other Soldiers, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, laughed at her, Uranus' and Mars' loudest of all.
Mini Moon elbowed her way to the front of the group of Soldiers, a mocking smile upon her face. "Aww, Serena," she began, her lower lip drooping, mocking a pitying child. "Are you afraid I might beat you?"
"Argh!" cried Serena, a vein in her temple pulsing, and she ran forwards, her arms outstretched, glaring angrily at her daughter. "Why you little -!"
Jupiter and Pluto jumped forwards, restraining her by grabbing onto her arms, while Rini folded her arms across her chest and stuck her tongue out at her.
"Serena, Rini, that's enough," Serenity said sternly, and Sailor Moon immediately froze, prompting Jupiter and Pluto to release her in favour of turning around to face the queen. Though an amused smile was playing about her lips, her tone was firm when she said, "I have determined the match-ups for the first round. Please direct your attention to the monitors."
Everyone turned to look at the various screens spaced strategically around the room, while Serenity turned and walked out onto the marble balcony. "Ladies and gentlemen," she called, her voice magically magnified once more, spreading her arms wide as she addressed the crowd, which fell silent almost immediately. "Please direct your attention to the screen above you."
In a single, rippling motion, every head was raised to stare up at the massive screen hovering above them all. The monitor, which had gone black, turned a crystalline blue, while bright white words appeared upon them, reading, "Round 1".
"The match ups for Round One are as follows," declared Serenity and the tension that had swelled inside the stadium was almost tangible. "Sailor Mercury versus Sailor Saturn-" she paused for a moment, allowing applause to ring deafening throughout the stadium, while Mercury cast Saturn an apprehensive look and the names of the first two Soldiers appeared beneath the words 'Round One'. "Sailor Mars versus Sailor Pluto-" as their names appeared upon the monitor, Mars turned to Pluto and winked, "Sure you can handle the heat, Pluto?"
"You probably shouldn't have asked that," Pluto responded, an expectant smile spreading across her face.
"Sailor Venus versus Sailor Neptune, Sailor Jupiter versus Sailor Uranus and finally, Sailor Moon versus Sailor Mini Moon!" Serenity lifted the pairings off without pausing in between, while the volume of the cheers that thundered throughout bordered on deafening. As the audience roared, Serenity turned to look over her shoulder, her arms still raised, and smiled at the Soldiers who were grinning expectantly at each other.
"Ready for the first match-up?" she asked them, a steely glint in her eyes. Without waiting for a response, she waved her right hand through the air, causing currents of bright white light to run down the forms of two of the Soldiers, and their cries of surprise were cut off as their heads vanished, replaced by clouds of tiny, glowing green spheres of light.
While the others exchanged sarcastic looks and continued exchanging macho banter, Serenity turned back towards the crowd, a wide smile upon her face, and cried, "Please direct your attention to ground level; the first battle is about to begin!"
Round 1 A
Sailor Moon could barely contain her outrage; not only had her mother pitted her against her annoyance for a daughter, she had chosen the two of them as the first pair to fight. As she made her way down the metallic blue hallway that marked the passageway between the stadium and the battlefield, she listened to the information her mother was shouting to the roaring crowd.
"Our first fighter, on the east side of the stadium, is Sailor Mini Moon!" declared Serenity, and, judging by the way the roar of the crowd went from loud to deafening, Rini had just entered the stadium.
Stupid brat, Serena thought, clenching her fists as she hovered at the entrance to the stadium. I bet she's just lapping this up right now.
"And on the west side of the stadium we have...Sailor Moon!" cried Serenity, and to her delight, Serena found that her applause exceeded that of Mini Moon's, the thunderous approval of thousands of screaming fans who had come from every planet in the solar system to watch the tournament ringing in her ears, and as she stepped out of the darkness that was the underground passageway and beamed at the crowd, waving enthusiastically at her fans, she forgot to be complaining and disapproving about the tournament.
She made her way towards the center of the battlefield, where Mini Moon was waiting for her. She could see the tapping toe of her daughter's bright pink boot, see the expectant smirk upon her face. Her robotic cat head, Luna-P, hovered at her side, circling around her slowly, its pupilless blue eyes flashing excitedly.
That thing is really creepy, Sailor Moon thought as she drew closer to her daughter. Luna-P, she knew, was not just a robot, but the only means of communication that Rini had to the 30th century, and, at times, it had served as a link between her and Sailor Pluto.
But none of this matters right now, Serena told herself sternly, stopping her advance when she was five feet away from Mini Moon. That's not going to help me win.
"Ready, Sailor Moon?" Rini asked mockingly, and Luna-P nodded at her side. "I'm sure it'll only take the others a couple years to forget about how badly I beat you."
Though the last thing Serena felt like doing was taking the adult approach to this conversation, she folded her arms across her chest and stared disdainfully down at her daughter. "Come on Rini; you can't really think that I'm going to try. I mean, you might be an annoying squirt and all, but you are my daughter, and I -"
"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!" shouted Rini, producing her Moon Rod from out of nowhere. Her pink Silver Crystal glowed magenta for a moment, and then a stream bright pink hearts shot forwards, a continuous, annoying stream of something infuriatingly like a slaps struck Serena squarely in the face.
"Ooh!" she growled angrily, her eyes clenched shut, crossing her arms in front of her face in an effort to protect herself. "Rini – stop it – this is ridiculous – OUCH!"
The final slap was slightly harder than the others, and it was powerful enough to cause her to stagger backwards. Slightly disoriented, Sailor Moon felt light, fluttering pressures being applied to her stomach, and she moved her arms away from her face to see Mini Moon punching her furiously in the gut, explaining the light pressure.
"Take that – and that!" huffed the girl, sweating slightly with the effort of her attacks.
"Ooooh – why you little - " Serena, too annoyed to form a proper sentence, seized her daughter by the scruff of the neck and hoisted her off of the ground, where the girl writhed and struggled, her legs treading air so fast they appeared blurred.
"Lemme down!" shouted Mini Moon, and Serena increased the distance between them to arm's length when her daughter attempted to slap her. "This isn't fair – you're bigger than me!"
"Serves you right!" snarled Serena, dropping Rini contemptuously on the ground and folding her arms across her chest. Suddenly, without knowing how she got there, she was pinned against the ground, having apparently been tackled by Rini, who was punching and kicking every inch of her she could reach, and though each blow individually was not all that damaging, they were numerous enough to cause her body to throb angrily.
With an outraged cry, she rolled over, pinning Rini against the ground with her body weight, using her arms to shield herself from the flurry of lightning-fast punches Mini Moon continued to unleash upon her. "That's enough!" she shouted, catching her daughter's wrist with one hand, and, with uncanny speed, she flipped her daughter over so that she was lying face-down in the sand, with her arm twisted behind her back police-to-fugitive style. Serena used her other hand to press Rini's face into the sand, momentarily fuelled by her rage, growling, "And stay that way!"
"Ow! Serena – you're hurting me!" came Rini's muffled shout of objection, and Sailor Moon immediately returned to herself, thinking of how ludicrous it was for a sixteen-year old to be doing this to a child.
"Oops," she said, removing her hand from the back of her daughter's head and loosening her grip on her arm somewhat. "Sorry Rini, I-"
"PINK SUGAR HEART ATTACK!" Mini Moon shouted again, twisting around and pointing her Moon Rod at her face. The proximity of the rod and the force of the attack was enough to blast Sailor Moon off Rini, her form being pummelled by a seemingly endless stream of hearts. She could feel angry bruises pounding upon her face, and as she landed heavily upon the ground some twenty feet away from her daughter in a crumpled heap, she momentarily forgot who she was fighting against, fuelled by her outraged desire for a counter attack-
"MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" she shouted, producing her own Moon Rod from out of nowhere. She twirled and danced, so graceful that it would have broken a ballerina's heart, and suddenly, her Silver Crystal flashed white, and a blinding mass of twisting, spiralling magenta hearts rocketed towards Mini Moon, capable of vanquishing a demon sent by the Death Busters and certainly capable of incapacitating an eight-year old.
Mini Moon gave a tortured scream as she was blasted off her feet, her form cackling with violent pink energy, writhing and twisting itself into grotesque displays of pain, and as Sailor Moon returned to sanity, horror rising up inside of her at what she had done, she imagined that the crowd had gone silently, holding its breath, horrified that she had just brutally attacked her daughter.
"MINI MOON!" she screamed, tossing her Moon Rod into the air and causing it to be swallowed in a crack of silver light, tripping and stumbling as she sprinted towards her daughter, her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears, eyes fixed upon Rini's unmoving form, surrendering herself to horror.
How could I have just attack her? She asked herself over and over again, self-disgust threatening to plunge her into unconsciousness. I don't care how annoying she is, she's my daughter, the heir to the throne...this is exactly why I didn't want to be in this competition, Sailor Soldiers aren't meant to attack one another-
"Rini?" she whispered, a weak, croaking sound as she knelt at her daughter's side, trembling gloved hands reaching out to roll her daughter onto her back. "Are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry!"
At her words, Rini's eyes fluttered open, her breath coming in short, laboured gasps. "S-Serena," she choked out, and Sailor Moon was horrified at how faint her voice was. "C-come...closer..."
"What is it, Rini?" Serena whispered, placing her head beside Rini's, her ear inches from her daughter's lips.
She could feel her daughter's ragged breath on her face, feel the way her lips trembled with the effort of forming words. "Crystal Twinkle Bell!" shouted Mini Moon, and Serena felt something as powerful as a tidal wave slam into her stomach, a hundred years' worth of pain ripping its way through her as she was blasted thirty feet backwards in a blaze of silvery-white light, the roar of both the attack and the crowd deafening her-
She landed in a limp heap upon the unforgiving sandy ground, her whole body screaming in protest to the pain it had just been put through. Her breath came in short, agonized bursts, her vision was naught but swirling colours that had run together, but somehow, she saw that Rini was standing over her, a triumphant smile upon her face.
"See ya around, Serena!" she declared, one hand on her hip, while she wiggled her fingers at her in farewell with her free hand.
"You little -"
But before Serena could finish her sentence, Mini Moon and the stadium had gone, replaced by the cool, sheltered passageway that was the participant's level of the coliseum. The surface beneath her was soft and fabricated, telling her that she was lying on one of the couches. The faces of Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn hovered above her, blocking her surroundings from view.
"BRAT!" shouted Serena, sitting up so fast that she accidentally bashed her head against Mercury's, adding to her list of injuries. "When I get my hands on Rini -"
"Hey, way to go, Serena," Venus applauded her mockingly, bowing theatrically. "You got fooled by a little kid!"
"You try facing off with your daughter in some stupid competition, then tell me how it feels!!" Sailor Moon retorted, shaking her head in anger.
Jupiter shrugged her shoulders. "Wouldn't know. I don't have a daughter."
"Still, it doesn't change the facts; you got beat by a squirt," Uranus pointed out, a slight smile twisting her lips. Everyone laughed, and Serena's rage increased by tenfold as she caught wind of what Serenity was announcing.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Sailor Mini Moon, winner of the first round!" declared the queen to thunderous applause, and the massive monitor hovering above the stadium zoomed in on Mini Moon, who was in the act of blowing a kiss to the audience, while the word 'Winner!' flashed above her head over and over again, each one like a taunting slap in the face to Sailor Moon.
"ARGH!" she cried, leaping to her feet and limping out towards the balcony, where Serenity was turning to come back inside. "You can't be serious! She tricked me!"
Serenity did not respond, choosing instead to point her Moon Wand at her face, the Imperium Silver Crystal glittering at its top. In a flash of white light, Sailor Moon felt all her pain leave her, something she would have grumbled thanks for had she just been defeated by any other opponent, but the moment her vision cleared she launched into speech once more.
"She faked being hurt! That can't be allowed!" Serena objected, storming after her mother, infuriated by the slight smile upon the queen's face. "She's my daughter, what did you expect me to do? I couldn't just leave her there!"
"And that is why you're standing here right now," Serenity noted, turning to face Serena, her lilac eyes sparkling humorously. "Rini played you like a harp, Serena."
"Whose side are you on?" Sailor Moon demanded, actually stamping her foot in anger. "I demand a -"
"Really, Serena," Serenity chided sternly, silencing her daughter in mid-protest. "Rini beat you, it's your own fault you're standing here right now. Yes, it may not have been the cleanest defeat ever, but there will be no rematch." As she studied Serena's manic expression, a slightly pitying look crept into her eyes. "It may seem ridiculous to be the first one out, but half of your friends are about to meet the same fate as you, Serena. Chin up; Rini may very well meet her match in the next round."
Sailor Moon, momentarily out of protests, merely stared at her mother, her mouth slightly open, and Serenity capitalized on her silence by turning to face the assembled Soldiers, who had been discussing Serena and Rini's fight in undertones.
"Is everyone ready? Good," murmured Serenity, scanning the excited faces of the excited Soldiers. "The second battle is about to begin."
"Bring it on," said Jupiter, punching her fist into her hand and cracking her knuckles.
"This had better be better than Serena's fight," muttered Mars, winking roguishly at Sailor Moon, who bit back a growl.
"Let's get this over with," sighed Venus, stretching her arms and yawning fakely, as though she had better things to do."
Serenity smiled slightly, and then waved her hand through the air, causing two of the Soldiers to vanish, leaving nothing but little spheres of glowing green light in their wake.