This next adventure for many of the current Sailor Scouts should be quite challenging for them, and they may even meet a lot of people they never would think they'd ever meet in their respective lives. For many, if not all, of them, they might even find themselves traveling through time for the first time in their lives, in fact.
Who's going to find themselves involved in this adventure and who's going to stay behind on the Moon of the AD 980's? To find out, you'll all just have to wait and see, of course, folks.
But I will say this, at least. This story will start with a couple of discussions about at least one or two strange dreams, if not more, that Serena has been having for a while before it opens. For more information, however, you'll all just have to read on, in any case.
With no further ado, then, folks, I shall now start this tale that's been written out completely for more than fifteen years, in fact, called Time Vortex One. I really hope that you come to enjoy it, at least for the most part, by the time I'm finally able to finish posting it up here to this site, of course, for sure. But if you don't, then so be it. TUS out.
Time Vortex One
A The Chrysanthemum Chronicles Series Story
Inside Serena's Chambers In The Crystal Palace
Moon City, Moon Kingdom, Moon
June 10, 987
It was a bright late spring morning, as Serena was getting ready to train as a Scout again elsewhere on the Crystal Palace's grounds in Moon City. Her mother's cat Luna was now with her, at least for a while. Little did she know that within a week, at most, if not just a few hours or days, that she and other members of her current crowd would find themselves another adventure. The exact nature of that adventure wasn't yet known. But if it was enough like one or more of the adventures she'd already had in her life, Serena and many members of her own crowd might learn it soon enough. Even her twin sisters Destiny and Bethany, if not others as well, might learn the exact nature of that adventure in the near future. Whether or not they really wanted to learn it.
Of all the adventures that Serena and other members of her current crowd had ever had in their lives, none of them were anything like the adventure that might come their ways soon enough, if not right away. True, many of them had also been brought to another galaxy in the known Universe at least once before. But even that adventure hadn't been a lot like the one that'd probably be coming their way in the very near future, if not immediately.
For it'd likely be taking them where they least expected it to, and bringing them in contact with people they might not ever expect to meet while they were in the middle of it. People who might even be ancestors of their own, or descendants, or contemporaries, or not any of those things at all. Which it'd be for any people they might encounter during that adventure wasn't yet known, if it'd ever be by all the concerned members of Serena's current crowd.
Serena was talking to Luna, as she was getting ready for her next training session. Luna had just asked her, "Serena, what do you think will happen for us when our next adventure comes to us all?" It was now about 7:15 am local time, if not later.
Serena said, "I don't know, Luna. But I have this strange feeling that it might be like no other adventure we've yet had in our lives."
"Why's that?"
"Because I saw several other Scouts that we've never met before with us in a weird dream last night."
"I see. Could you probably tell me who they were, by any chance?"
"I can't be sure, at least not yet. But it seemed to me that Sailors Calypso, Chrysalis, Skyhorse, and Peppermint might have been in my dream."
"Which Sailor Skyhorse, if she was actually in your dream?"
"Not the Sailor Skyhorse that we all know and love, I think. But as I said, I can't be sure that she's one of the Sailors I saw last night in my dreams, Luna."
"Anyone else?"
"I can't really be sure, at least among any others that we've never met before, who might have been in my dream. That's because all the others I'm not yet all that familiar with in my life, if I'll ever be familiar enough with them in it, seemed to often be surrounded by a whole lot of fog, Luna."
"I see. Do you think that we should tell your siblings and your parents, at least, about this particular dream of yours from last night?"
"I don't know, Luna. I just don't know. If I would, how am I to know that this won't force Dad away from us, and ultimately cause him to die at the hands of our Negaverse enemies?"
"Serena, I'm sure that your mother would want you to tell her about that dream of yours, no matter how scary it might seem to you. And I'm sure that your twin sisters and your Dad, at least, would feel the same way about you telling or not telling about it. And you know the rest of your crowd, like Raye, for example, might want you to tell them about it as well, Serena."
"Sometimes I wish I didn't have all these dreams and visions I've had for practically all my life, Luna."
"Maybe so, but at least for now, you do."
"I don't want to see them, if I don't have to. I just want to have a nice and peaceful life, and not have to worry about other beings trying to destroy everyone and everything that we care for in our lives, Luna. Is that so wrong?"
"No, of course it's not, Serena. But maybe somebody's trying to teach you how to be responsible enough in your life."
"Maybe they are. But sometimes, it seems like they think that we're just cosmic jokes, of at least one sort, here in God's Universe."
"You don't think God is trying to play such jokes on us, do you, Serena?" asked Luna.
"No, of course not, Luna. He created everything and everyone in this Universe. Or at least He might have inspired everyone and everything in it," answered Serena.
"Even the Negaversers who seek to destroy us?"
"Yes, I believe so. But I also believe that if He did, someone of quite an evil nature eventually seduced all the current Negaversers' respective ancestors, and got them to turn bad in their lives. And they taught their descendants to do the same thing, I think. Over time, even more of their descendants turned bad. And now we have Negaversers controlling much, if not all, of Earth's continental landmass of South America, Luna. Or at least I think that's how the Negaversers got to be who they are now."
"So do you think that the Negaversers consider all their enemies in the Universe to be just cosmic jokes of at least one sort?"
"I wouldn't be very surprised if they did, Luna."
"And if we are, I suppose that they might consider themselves to be our so-called cosmic jokes' respective punchlines, if I follow your logic accurately enough, Serena."
"Perhaps, Luna. Perhaps. But if so, I hope that they're all wrong, for all the obvious reasons, of course."
Only a few moments later, then, they both exited Serena's chambers. And they both headed toward the Sailor Scout Garden so that they could meet up with other members of Serena's current crowd. They went there together, but not directly. For Serena briefly detoured to the main dining hall for at least a few minutes, if not even longer than that, to get herself, at least, if not also Luna, some food and drink. Of course, Luna followed Serena wherever she went, so that she'd not lose track of Serena too soon. Serena and Luna went to the main dining hall together because Serena hadn't yet been able to have herself some breakfast. That was due to the fact that she'd been summoned for her next training session no more than about twenty or thirty minutes before 7 in the morning, local time.
On the way to the Sailor Scout Garden, by way of the main dining hall, Serena soon said to Luna, "I really don't like these early morning training sessions, Luna."
"Maybe not. But if we train in the daytime, whenever possible, it might be harder for the Negaversers in their Zone of Darkness back on Earth to see us do so. While if we do so at night, and this side of the Moon is facing either toward Earth or toward their portal that's allowing them access to Earth, they might see us quite a bit earlier than if we train where it's day on the Moon."
"Because they'd have a dark background to make us stand out more, whenever we'd train at night?"
"Yes, I believe so. A keen-eyed Negaverser might see the light from our activities easier against a dark background than a light one, Serena. A lot of light often seems to show whenever you're training as Scouts. And if we train where that light might be more visible to them, then we essentially may give away our positions to our enemies before we want to, if we ever do want to give away our positions to them. So we have to try training where they won't find that light as easily as they might if we didn't."
Eventually, Serena and Luna both arrived in the Sailor Scout Garden. When they did, they were met there by several other girls, and at least one woman. Not the least of them being Destiny and Bethany, who were now just about to turn eight years old, almost twenty days before their sister Serena's next birthday, which'd be her eleventh, if she was somehow able to survive at least that long in her life.
One of the girls there said, "I see the Moon Princess has finally showed up here in this garden again, after having been summoned to this place here just about an hour or so ago."
Serena said, "Raye, I came just as soon as I could. You know I had to eat before I trained again, I hope."
"Just how much stuff exactly did you just put away, Serena?" asked a Martian girl with mostly waist-length black hair, and who Serena had just talked to.
"Enough to not make me hungry for at least as long as we're training again, Raye, as a matter of fact."
"One session only, or more than one?" asked Raye.
"At least until lunchtime, if you really must know, but certainly not past suppertime, Raye."
"I see. And I hope you left enough for the rest of us later on."
"Of course I did. I don't always pig out on food and drink, Raye."
"Enough, girls. I think you all need to train again. But we can't do it on the other side of the Moon, for the Negaversers' portal is currently trying to see if any of us are training on that side of the Moon," interjected a mostly white-haired woman in her early forties. That woman was Serena, Destiny, and Bethany's mother, of course. And she was Queen Serenity, as well.
Serenity had turned 42 during the previous February. And she was also a rather new mother of quintuplets, by her dear husband of many years, Prince Daniel. She currently was the ruler of the Moon Kingdom on the Moon. She had six daughters and two sons, with the five quintuplets just mentioned being three girls and two boys. Serena was her and Daniel's oldest daughter, while Destiny and Bethany were her and Daniel's second and third daughters, respectively. Her fourth, seventh, and eighth children were also daughters for her and Daniel, while their two sons were her fifth and sixth children, by logical extension. She'd had the quintuplets about six weeks before. Her twin daughters would turn eight the following day, about twenty days before Serena herself became eleven years old.
Now with her, Serena, Destiny, Bethany, and Luna, in the Sailor Scout Garden were several other young girls, as well as one cat that also belonged to her. That cat was called Artemis, and that cat was a male cat. In fact, he was currently the only male in that garden.
Besides Serenity, her cats, and her three present daughters, other girls in the garden included Raye, of course. At least one girl now in the garden was from each of the planets in the Milky Way Galaxy's Sol solar system, with the exception of Earth, which wasn't actually a member of the Moon Kingdom. Though they did have at least a few friends in their lives from Earth, those friends were not currently present in the Sailor Scout Garden. Whether they'd see any, or all, of those friends from Earth, however, wasn't yet known, if it'd ever be, at least during their next adventure as Scouts.
Serenity and all her current companions, except for the cats Luna and Artemis, were secretly Sailor Scouts in the Moon Kingdom. Amy Anderson, who was a Mercurian girl, was now standing near Destiny and Bethany in the garden. Destiny and Bethany Moon were currently linked together by a cord tied to one of each of their wrists. For Destiny was normally blind, and Bethany was normally deaf. Raye Hino was standing between Bethany's right side and Serenity's left side. On Serenity's right side, Artemis was sitting on a stone table situated to the left of a blonde Venusian girl named Mina Abernathy. To Mina's right, and to Serena's left, as Serena and Luna were both now facing Serenity, was an auburn-haired Jupiterian girl, a tall girl named Lita McKinley. On the other side of Serena, as Luna sat on Serena's right shoulder, stood a girl about eight months older than Serena, a black-haired Plutonian girl named Susan Meyers. To Susan's right, in what appeared to be an arch formation somewhere in the garden, an aqua green-haired Neptunian girl named Michelle Gallenski stood. To Michelle's right, a girl about five months older than Serena stood. This girl to Michelle's right was a Uranusian girl with short blonde hair. And she had the name of Alexis Herschel. And just across the formation from Amy's current position in it, there stood a black-haired Saturnian girl with the name of Hannah Tompkins.
Currently, they were the only females in the garden. But they weren't the only Scouts who were from their respective planets' mini-systems anywhere in the Moon Kingdom of the Milky Way Galaxy's Sol solar system. Other Scouts were otherwise occupied. But they might or might not join up with Serena and the rest of her current companions in the very near future. Only time would tell, however, if and when that ever became true.
At the moment, Serenity had her current companions with her in the Sailor Scout Garden. For she wanted to make sure all the necessary girls were now present and accounted for, before she'd want them to train again with each other and herself. Yes, herself, for she too was a Scout. And she was the current leader of the Scouts, as a matter of fact, whether she was in her Royal Sailor Serenity state or her Sentinel Serenity state as a Scout.
But she wasn't the actual founder of the Sailor Scouts. For the Scouts had been founded in the now-distant past by one of the former rulers either of the Moon Kingdom, or of a prior government anywhere on the Moon. Which it was for sure, not many people in the Moon Kingdom currently knew, if any people at all in it knew which it was for sure. They often did know, though, that it was founded by the beginning of the current Silver Millennium that Serenity was now ruling the Moon Kingdom in.
Currently, all the girls with her now were Princesses from their respective Moon Kingdom worlds, with Serena being the highest-ranking of all of those girls. This was due to the fact that she was the current Moon Princess because of her current position in her family. Serenity had earlier chosen Serena as her intended successor to the Moon Kingdom's throne, if possible. But she and many other sentient beings in the Moon Kingdom suspected such a thing might not ever come to pass. Or that it might not come to pass for at least a millennium, if not even longer than that, in God's very own Universe. That was if it ever might come to pass in the future. Those sentient beings also included Serena, of course.
Serenity had all her current non-feline companions sign, or sound off. And do so as the case might be for each of them, one girl at a time, starting with Serena. She soon accounted for all of them. Then she said, "Girls, I want all of you girls in the main ballroom within one hour after I dismiss you all from here again, at most. I want you all to pack rather light, if possible. I want you to bring only your most necessary items there by then. We've got to pack rather light, most likely. For we may need to move fast, girls, at any time. It seems that some rather strange things have been happening of late near Crescent. And I don't think they have anything at all to do with any of our eight Peruvian friends, at least not yet. We'll probably not have much free time on our next mission, whatever that mission might be. So you girls should probably leave all your non-essential items here in Moon City. I don't know exactly where we're going on the Moon. But I do know that I have a very strange feeling that something's not quite as it should be. I don't know what's causing those strange things. But I have a few ideas in mind about who or what might possibly be causing them. I don't think that we'll all have much free time to enjoy ourselves wherever we're going to go on the Moon. But I think that we'll all often be quite busy, wherever we all happen to go on it."
"How light would you like us all to pack, Mother?" asked Serena.
"Not more than fifteen percent of your own body weights for any, or all, of you girls, in any case. At least whenever you're not in your own Scout states, no matter how strong each of you may be in your own lives. I'll be carrying no more than twenty percent of my own body weight. For I'll have to carry all the necessary things for Luna and Artemis, of course. I don't want you girls to bring more than about 200 pounds of weight, in any case, and probably not more than about 150 or so pounds of weight, overall."
"What about our clothes, Mother?"
"You all should bring at least one cold-weather outfit apiece with you. For we may find ourselves in mountain ranges or in either of the Moon's polar regions, Serena. And at least one warm-weather and one hot-weather outfit apiece, for we may go where such outfits are necessary wear for each of us. You'll all need to make sure that only your most essential items get packed, girls. For if anything gets in that isn't essential for us to use on our next mission, it could pose serious problems for us on it, whatever kind of mission it might be."
"So we shouldn't pack more than two tiaras, for instance, probably?"
"Correct, Serena. I don't expect you girls to bring any scrolls with you. And I hope you girls don't pack any. For if you do, something else may not be able to be included which is more essential than them on the mission, girls. If you have any things that are very important to you all in your life, at least here in the Crystal Palace, I hope you won't pack them. I'll be checking your things before we depart, so that I can be as sure as I can that you've all packed sufficiently well before then. So don't try to sneak anything by me at all."
Not very long afterward, Serenity dismissed all her current companions for a while. After doing that, she soon checked on all five of the quintuplets for at least a few minutes. After she did that, she quite hastily and quite efficiently packed all the most essential items in her things.
While she was doing the necessary packing, her husband Prince Daniel asked her, "Niti, do you feel it's really necessary for you and others to go away again?"
"I'm afraid so, darling. I wish I didn't have to, of course. But it seems that I and others have to investigate the rather strange things that seem to be happening of late in the Crescent area of the Moon."
"But don't you think the quintuplets will need you here more?"
"Probably so, Daniel. But I wonder if these strange things have anything at all to do with them, just the same. For all I know, not investigating these things might cause me to lose you eventually."
"Maybe so. And maybe not. But don't you think that it'd be best for you to stay here in Moon City for a time, until we know for sure why those things might be happening now in Crescent's area of the Moon?"
"It might be, Daniel. But have you ever known me to not want to investigate things that seem rather strange in their respective natures? I don't think so. And if they're being caused by what I think they are, then I, at least, if nobody else as well, have to be where they're taking place now."
"Because you're the leader of our Moon Kingdom?"
"Perhaps so, Daniel. Believe me, there's nothing I'd really love more right now than to stay in Moon City with you and the quints. But as long as some things may possibly be happening that could easily cause major trouble for us here in the Moon Kingdom, anywhere here on the Moon, I have to do what I can to try to find out as much as I can about such things. Whether I may like it or not."
Just then, before Daniel would have commented again, a few knocks were heard on Serenity's door. Queen Serenity asked the knocker, a few seconds later, "Who's there?"
"Mother, it's Serena. I think I need to talk to you two, at the very least, if at all possible."
Serenity asked, "Serena, is this important?"
"I think so, Mother."
"How important?"
"I can't say for sure, Mother, but it seems rather important. Do you two mind if I come in for a while?"
"Are you packed yet?"
"Yes. My things are now being guarded in the main ballroom by Destiny and Bethany, as we now speak."
Serenity briefly conversed with Daniel, and then she said, "Very well, Serena. I'll let you in. But if this isn't very important, I'll not be all that happy, of course."
Serenity went to the door of her chambers, and let Serena into them, in very short order. That done, Serena sat down on a nearby chair in them, once her mother let her do so.
As soon as both her parents had done the same, and were comfortable enough in other chairs near her own, Serena said, "Mom, I had this quite weird dream last night. And I think you need to hear about it. So did Luna, when I discussed it with her not long after you rang me."
"I suppose you feel that we need to discuss it. For you're obviously here, Serena," said Serenity.
"Yes, of course I do."
"Then tell us about it, Serena."
"All right, I will, Mother. I'll start by asking you a question, then, Mother."
"Oh, Serena?"
"When was the last time that you actually saw Grandma as a Sailor Scout?"
"My mother or your Dad's mother, Serena?"
"Your mother, Mom."
"Just before she left here aboard the M.K.S. Crescent, Serena."
"I see. Well, it seems I saw her in my dream last night, though I'm not sure enough yet if I actually did see her in it last night."
"Why?"
"Because if she was actually in my dream, she was in the middle of a whole lot of fog, it seems. She and at least three other Scouts from at least a while ago, if not even earlier than that, in our Moon Kingdom's own history, Mother, as a matter of fact, were in the middle of a whole lot of fog in my dream."
"You mean to say you might have seen Sailor Peppermint?"
"Possibly, though I can't be sure enough yet, I believe, Mom."
Daniel asked, "Who else do you think you might have seen and heard in your dream from last night, Serena?"
"Sailors Chrysalis, Calypso, and Skyhorse, at least, I think, Dad."
"Which Sailor Skyhorse?" asked Serenity.
"The Moon-born Skyhorse, Mom."
"So you think you might have seen Queen Anne IV in your dream last night, Serena?"
"It's possible, I think. But if so, she seemed to be from a time before she ever became Queen of our Moon Kingdom. Like when she was still Jostara Wallace, if I remember enough things about her easily enough, Mother. I don't think the Sailor Skyhorse I may have seen in my dream was more than about twenty or so years old, though I could be wrong, for all the obvious reasons."
"So you think that she was from a time about a hundred or so years ago, Serena?"
"I think so, if not even more than that, Mother."
"I see. Well, if you saw Sailor Peppermint, she had to have been from no later than about twenty to thirty years ago, for she was lost to us in AD 965, Serena, when the M.K.S. Crescent blew up."
"True, Mother."
"As for Sailors Chrysalis and Calypso, they were both lost to us about nine or so centuries ago, if I remember our Moon Kingdom's history well enough, Serena."
"Then I don't understand why they might have been in my dream last night. Or at least I don't understand why they were in it last night, if I ever will, Mom. Supposing they actually were in it then, of course."
"Nor do I, Serena. But if they were, there must be a reason. For normally, you don't dream of people that we lost quite so long ago, Serena. Normally, you only dream of people you currently know, or you dream of the future, whenever you dream, I believe. And I believe that your visions generally happen for you like your dreams do, Serena. You rarely, if ever, dream of things and people in the past, as far as I know, Serena."
"But do you think we'll find out how come I might have seen and/or heard those Scouts in my dream last night, Dad?"
"I think so, Serena. I don't think God will keep you in the dark about them forever. Sure, He may keep things hidden for a while, for His own reasons. But have you ever actually known Him to play tricks on you with your dreams and visions?"
"No, I can't say that I have ever known Him to do that, Dad. I'm sure that if we're meant to know why I dreamed what I dreamed last night, He'll somehow make it possible for us to know why I dreamed what I dreamed then. It may be a while before He does, or it may not. But only time will tell, of course, Dad."
"But you hope that when we learn why you dreamed what you dreamed, that won't force me to leave you all behind for elsewhere in God's own Universe, don't you?"
"Sure, I do hope that, Dad."
"Well, if it does, then I hope that you'll be able to help your Mom with all your siblings, at least, if nothing else as well in your life, Serena," said her Dad.
"So do I, Dad. But I don't really want to lose you."
"Nor does your mother, Serena. But she realizes that certain things that might relate sufficiently to me might not be quite under our control. And if so, then I may have to leave you all behind, whether or not I want to then."
"But won't that be fair to us, Mom?"
"Serena, we can't control everything that happens to us in our lives, no matter how much we might prefer otherwise. I didn't really want to have to make you all Scouts, but I had to. Our situation about a year ago made it necessary. However, I really tried to put it off for as long as I possibly could put it off, so that you girls had as much of a carefree childhood as possible. I have this rather unpleasant feeling that sometime in January 991 or so, they'll probably come, and they'll come in full force, if they do. When they finally do, we may all have to make very important decisions on a split-second basis, whether we like it or not. If you girls are close enough to me then, I may or may not be able to save you all. But I really don't expect that your Dad will be one of those people I'll somehow be able to save then."
Serena and both her parents talked at least a little bit longer with each other about Serena's dream of the night before. And they did so, at least until Serenity said, "Serena, I think we'd better go to the main ballroom again, before everyone else wonders where we are."
"As you wish, Mother."
Then Serenity let Serena out for a time, and sent her to the main ballroom. After she did so, she said, once she'd shut the door again as needed, "Daniel, I hope that if things are to be as they seemed to be to her, that we're all able to get back here again. And I hope we can all do so easily enough, and safely enough, of course. I don't really want to be away from you and the quints, if I don't have to be. But it looks like I'll have to be away from you all for at least a little while again. I really hope you're not mad that I quite apparently have to go away again."
"Of course I'm not mad at you, at least, if I'm mad at anything at all, dear. I just wish that I and the quints could be with you a lot more than we normally are, Niti."
"If possible, one day, we'll just go away for a while and try to have another honeymoon period, Daniel. But if it isn't possible, then I fully hope to see you upstairs in the Celestial City someday, honey."
Serenity went to her husband and kissed him for a few moments, and let him kiss her too at least a few times. And they embraced for a while too, of course, before Serenity rather reluctantly had to leave him again. When she did, she picked up all her necessary things, and left her chambers behind again. As she was leaving them, she reminded him to lock them quite securely when he left as well. He agreed to do so, and then she left him alone in them for at least a little while.
A lot more is going to happen in this story, and a lot of people you may not expect to appear may appear in it, while others most likely will not. As for whether or not there will be much of anything directly related to the Negaverse present in this story, you'll all just have to read on and find out, of course.
But for now, feel free to speculate and wonder about just what may happen here in this story, given what you know of it to date, if and when you like, folks. Until later, then, I'll close this. TUS out.