Chapter 1
By deDanaan
The End of Tranquility
The portal swirled, dark and menacing, in the centre of the room. The druid studied it and nodded to himself. It was time. He raised a hand to signal the guard posted at the door.
"It is time to fetch the Travellers." he told the bowing soldier. He didn't turn to watch as the man hurried out of the room, content to gaze into the spiralling patterns of the vortex, a strange light in his eyes.
The five came into the room with a swish of cloak and stopped short at the sight that greeted them. The druid, Kalpernus, turned and greeted them with a tight smile.
"Gentlemen, the time is nigh. The moment that you have all been trained for is finally here."
The five men bowed, and Kalpernus gestured to the portal. "There is no need to prolong the moment as we are fully confident in your abilities, and do not doubt your training. Good luck." He stepped back and watched as the five stepped into the portal one by one and disappeared. He waited a few minutes and banished the inter-dimensional doorway, which was using up a great amount of power, before moving into another room that ran off the chamber the Travellers had just vacated.
"Nothing left to do for a while but sit back and enjoy the show." he said to himself. He moved to a large pool in the centre of the room and waved a hand over it. The surface stilled and a scene appeared of a sunlit park. The view was unlike any seen here, in a world bathed in perpetual twilight.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An alarm clock sang out, and a hand reached up to silence it. "Okay, okay! I'm up." A tussled blonde head surfaced from underneath the blankets and a young woman stumbled to where a dressing gown hung from the back of the room door. "Shingo better not be hogging the bathroom again....Just because his hormones finally kicked in....I was almost late for the first time in months yesterday because of him." the young woman mumbled to herself as she left the room. A black cat disentangled itself from the wreckage of the bed and moved to the floor to await the girl's return.
Towel drying her hair, the young woman came back into the room, singing softly to herself. She didn't notice the cat at her feet and accidentally stepped on a paw.
"Yeowww!" The cat almost jumped into the girl's arms. "Usagi! Do you ever watch where you are going?" The girl stopped and shook herself out of her daydream.
"Gomen nasai, Luna. I didn't expect you to sit right there." Her apology was real, and Luna nodded that it had been accepted.
"Artemis has called a meeting today, and he wants everyone to meet at the temple after school is over. He'd like Mamoru to attend too." Luna stopped speaking and started to lick the paw Usagi had stepped on.
"I can call on him on my way to school, Luna. Since I made that bet with Rei at the beginning of the year, I'm amazed at the amount of free time I have. It's unreal how much of your life detention can take up."
"Yes," answered Luna, "I am amazed at how one bet could make you pull your socks up so much. And a definite honours candidate this year. It's almost too much for one cat to bear!"
"Cut it out, Luna." Usagi shook her head, and moved over to the vanity to brush her hair.
"You know this is my senior year and I had promised my parents that I wouldn't screw it up. The bet with Rei just makes it easier to stick to my guns. I really want to show them all that I can do it. Especially Rei Hino, as she promised to pay for an evening on the town for all of the scouts and any escorts they may bring....I get to pick the place, so she had better have started saving for it." She lapsed into her soft song again as she finished her hair, and turned to get her clothes out of the closet.
Five minutes later, she had scooped up her homework and schoolbag and was on her way out the door. She ran all the way to Mamoru's building and caught her breath in the elevator. She could have breakfast with him and still be at school on time. Why did I waste so much time sleeping in? she asked herself. She knocked on the door of his apartment and stood looking off down the hallway as she awaited an answer.
"Hello?...oh, hi Usako." Mamoru said as he opened the door. On hearing his voice, she looked around and smiled. As she raised a hand to caress his cheek, he leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead.
"Hello, Mamo-chan. Do you think we can share breakfast? I have some news for you." The dark-haired man nodded and stepped back, motioning for her to go inside.
As they sat eating he marvelled for the thousandth time about Usagi's appetite. It had not diminished one bit since they had first met, more than four years ago. Then he noticed for the first time that she was wearing a hat, and hadn't bothered to remove it when she sat down to eat.
"Usako?" he asked. "Aren't you going to take off your hat?" He watched her start guiltily. Oh oh! She hadn't gone and done something stupid like get a Mohawk, had she? Usagi slowly lifted one hand to the hat and pulled it off her head. Mamoru stared. She had changed her hairstyle but not her hair. He gave a small sigh of relief and noticed that she was blushing furiously. "Are you okay? What's the matter, don't you like it?" He stared at her new style, soft and free, spilling like molten gold around her shoulders. He had an urge to go over and bury his hands and face in it, and moved to where she sat and got down on his knees, he looked deeply into her liquid blue eyes and stroked a hand through her hair.
"If it makes you feel any better, I think you suit your hair like this. It makes you look older than eighteen. If you're not sure how you feel about it you should wear it like this for a few days so you'll have a better idea of what you and the others think." He leaned in and kissed her passionately, then, leaving her breathless in her chair, he returned to his and winked rakishly at her. She smiled at him as she finished her breakfast and he continued. "Now what is it you have to tell me? You said you had some news when I answered the door."
"Artemis has called a meeting of the Senshi today at the temple. Luna said he wants Rei to read the fire and that he also wanted me to get you to come." She paused, "I know you don't usually attend our meetings, but he must have something big to talk about." She looked at her watch and raised her eyebrows. She snagged one last pastry off the table and scooped up her stuff with her free hand. "Bye, Mamo-chan...gotta run!" She managed to plant a kiss on his forehead on the way out the door.
"Can I give you a ride?" he called after her.
"No thanks! If I don't arrive by my own steam, all bets are off." He came to the door in time to see her step into the elevator. "See you later!" she called with a backward wave.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Makoto was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She had slept in and was running half an hour behind schedule. She had decided to cut through the park to save two blocks and was halfway across the green space when the wind suddenly picked up and she heard a rumbling behind her. She pulled up and stopped, panting deeply for a few seconds until she caught her breath. At the same time she was catching her breath, she felt fear at what she might find behind her there. They had enjoyed six months of peace and quiet since their last battle and she wasn't sure she wanted to face anything else so soon. She had wanted to get this year over with as little incidents as possible so she would be free to do what she wished. Then there was a flash of light that slightly dazed her even though she was facing away from its source. The light and wind faded and Mako turned to see what had just happened. There, in a scorched area, five figures lay prone, cloaks covering their faces.
Were they dead? She wondered to herself. I don't like this whole scene. She thought as she looked around to make sure no-one was around. When she was sure she was alone she held up her wand and shouted.
"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!"
In a matter of seconds Makoto was gone, replaced by the Senshi, Sailor Jupiter. She moved forward and felt for a pulse on the closest figure. There was one, albeit faint. She moved around to the others and found they were alive too, just stunned. She pulled out her communicator and sent out a call to the others.
Sailor moon arrived first, as she had just been entering the park when Jupiter's call came through.
"Hey, Jupiter. We're gonna land detention today for sure!"
"We sure are!" she replied. "Okay, here's what happened. I was running through the park because I was behind schedule and didn't want to land detention." Both scouts smiled at that, knowing detention was inevitable now--they'd never get back to school on time. Jupiter continued. "Then a wind started up behind me and it was accompanied by a rumbling and a flash of light. When I turned around, I found these five lying on this scorched section of earth." She gestured behind her at the unconscious forms. Sailor Mars, Mercury, and Venus came to the scene just as Jupiter was finishing, and Luna and Artemis trailed in a few seconds later.
"Do you sense anything, Mars? Are they from the Negaverse?" Sailor Moon asked. Mars held up a hand to silence her and concentrated on the five figures lying in front of her.
"I can't sense anything that feels like Nega energy, but their energy is not the same as ours. I can tell you they are not from this time or place, but nothing about their intentions as I cannot read their souls."
"This is why I had called the meeting." Artemis spoke up. I had monitored some strange readings over the past few days. I thought at first that it might just be a random blip, or just a ghost reading of something else, but it never went away and just grew in intensity. I knew it was in this park, but when I came to check it out yesterday, I couldn't see or feel anything wrong."
Jupiter butted in, always impatient. "What about them?" She cocked her head in the direction of the strangers. "We should do something-- Don't you think we should try to help these guys now we know they're not from the Negaverse? Maybe get them to a hospital or something and figure out who they are and what they want later." Everyone came back to the situation at hand and Mercury replied.
"My mother is working the day shift this month. We could take them to her hospital and say that her daughter was on the scene and recommended her." She looked around at the others. "I am always visiting her at work, so I will be able to keep tabs on our friends surreptitiously."
"They will be too heavy and cumbersome to carry to the hospital, so I suggest you use the Sailor Teleport." Luna advised them. As they moved to place all of the figures together in one small spot they nodded in agreement. Each girl noticed that her charge wore a veil like cloth over their face so that only their eyes were visible. Sailor moon barely resisted the urge to peek underneath one. They formed a circle around the figures they had just gathered together and joined hands.
"MOON COSMIC POWER!"
"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER!"
"MARS CRYSTAL POWER!"
"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER!"
"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!"
"SAILOR TELEPORT!" They called in unison, and a fraction of a second later they blinked out of Luna and Artemis's presence.
"They're getting powerful, aren't they?" Artemis commented as soon as the Senshi had vanished.
"Yes they are." Luna agreed. "They could barely manage themselves two years ago. To think they have come so far in their training fairly warms my heart." Both Moon Cats laughed.
"Let's get back and see what other readings have been recorded for us to decipher while we were gone." The two guardians moved quickly off through the park.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Kalpernus threw back his head and laughed. He had watched the portal materializing in that other world and the five Travellers fall down stunned by the force of being wrenched from one dimension to another. He was ecstatic. It worked. He thought to himself. We knew it wouldn't kill them to go through it. I just hope they retain all their memories. That had been a worry, as they had no way to test it beforehand, and it wasn't their usual way of coming to earth. He stared at the pool harder, as if trying to see something microscopic, and watched as a young woman with auburn-brown hair caught up in a pony tail came into view. She seemed to be inspecting the scene, and then she looked around as if suddenly realizing she was doing something wrong and didn't want to have anyone see her. He watched as she held a wand into the air and said something. He couldn't tell what it was though, as he was only receiving visual relay of the arrival point. The feed shimmered and then there was someone else standing in place of the girl. He drew a sharp hissing breath as he realized what she was. "Wake up you fools!" He hissed at the pool. "She is one of them. Wake up, Agate Sadar, and bond her." He watched as others like her joined the green clad girl and they discussed some things, their heads close together. He watched as the five young women dragged the Travellers into a small circle and surrounded them, clasping hands. They called something in unison and the whole party blinked out, leaving behind two cats, one white and one black. The image of the arrival point disappeared at that moment, leaving the pool a murky green.
"Damn it all!" Kalpernus yelled, scaring the guard who was standing sleepily at his post by the door. "I lost my fix on them with that teleport. It could take me weeks to pinpoint them again." He slammed a fist into the wall next to where he was sitting. He was not impressed, and neither would the High-King be.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The scouts arrival in the emergency room where Dr. Mizuno was working, caused a great stir, and the girls felt a bit sheepish at the attention. Sailor Moon explained to Ami's mother that her daughter had been on the scene of an accident not far from school. She had suggested that they bring them here. Dr. Mizuno accepted responsibility for the five people now lying unconscious in the middle of the ER floor. The Senshi then took their leave and teleported out from the hospital to the temple grounds. Each of them were thoroughly drained. They looked wearily at each other after they had reverted to their normal forms.
"Hey, when did you get your hair done, Usagi-chan?" asked Mina, noticing the usual odango were missing.
"I just felt like making a change for a little while. When I woke up this morning I wanted to try something different. So what do you think?" Usagi asked them.
"I like it!" chorused Ami and Mako in unison.
"We really look like sisters now, except I have a ribbon in my hair." chimed Mina.
"You would have to go and spoil my fun, Usagi." said Rei. "Now how can I call you odango-atama?" This started a fierce tongue sticking contest between the two of them. The others groaned.
"So, shall we take the rest of the day off or should we go in late and just sleep in detention later? It's inevitable we'll be there today as we've missed the first period completely." said Mako as she leaned against a nearby tree for support.
"We have to go in, I don't think any of us can con our relatives into thinking we got sick on the way to school, and if we don't have a reason for not coming in at all that's worth a week of detention. I should know." Usagi answered. "And anyway, sleeping in class will be like reliving the good old times." She grinned at them all.
"Oh, Usagi-chan!" The others mock scolded her, but they knew they would just have to go and face the consequences.
"I'll meet you guys back at the temple after detention, then." said Rei as she walked off in the opposite direction of the other four scouts. Because she was a Shinto priestess, she needed a different education from the rest of them and was enrolled in a private school. The other girls retrieved their backpacks from their dimensional pockets and headed off to Jubaan High.
After school and detention--where they were able to catch up on a little sleep--Rei, Usagi and Mina were met back at the temple by Mamoru, Luna, and Artemis. Ami and Mako had made a detour to the hospital as popping in to see Dr. Mizuno would be the perfect cover for checking up on the five mysteries they had brought in earlier. The girls filled Mamoru in on all the day's events as they waited for Ami and Mako.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Dr. Mizuno was having a very strange day. First, those Super-Heroes, the Sailor Senshi had shown up in the middle of the emergency room toting five unconscious figures. Ami was supposed to have been on the scene of some sort of accident, and that worried her. Then the Senshi had ported out as suddenly as they had arrived, leaving her standing in the midst of the slumped forms. She motioned for others to come and help her get them into examination rooms. Two of the men had concussions, but the others seemed fine, just drained. Strange? She thought to herself. It had been about six or seven months since she had seen anything like it. She shook her head and went about her duties.. When she had come back to check on them at three o'clock, three were gone from their rooms. The two who had suffered concussions remained, and still showed no signs of waking. As security searched the hospital for the three missing John Does, Dr. Mizuno was filling out a report at the nurses station. She looked up as Ami called her name.
"Okaasan! What's going on?" Ami was looking around at all the activity. "Did the Sailor Senshi show up earlier with some guys?"
"Hello Ami, hello Makoto. Yes, they did show up with five unconscious men in tow, and that's what all the commotion is about right now. We seem to have lost three of them." Ami and Mako looked at each other and back at Dr. Mizuno.
"How could the hospital have lost three of them?" gasped Mako.
"The three who are missing were not really hurt. They just seemed drained. The other two seem to have suffered blows to the head, and still haven't regained consciousness." replied Ami's mother.
"Could we see them, Okaasan?" Ami asked. "I feel kind of bad because I was there when they got hurt."
"I'm sorry, I can't let you see them. I have enough trouble on my hands as it is." A page came over the PA system for Dr. Mizuno to report to trauma room three. She hugged Ami. "I have to get back to work so I'll see you tonight, dear. We'll talk then. I want to know what happened this morning." She looked meaningfully at her daughter. Ami's spirits fell, her mother was no fool and would not rest until she knew what had happened. "Goodbye, girls." Ami and Mako sprinted out of the hospital and ran all the way back to the temple with their news.