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Act 0 – Dearly Beloved
"They are dangerous."
How did we not see this coming?
"These Sailor Guardians have brought nothing but destruction and peril to this city, this country. They must be held accountable for what they have done."
How did I not see this coming?
"Because of them, our homes once again lay in ruins. Because of them, our streets are filled with inexplicable crime."
Despite the endless camera flashes, the well-dressed man stood behind the podium comfortably. His sorrowful expression and passionate words, both flawlessly calculated and executed, would undoubtedly gain him votes for his latest campaign.
"Because of them, today I had to bury my daughter."
The incarceration of the Sailor Guardians.
A sob shattered our silence, pressing play to the lives we inadvertently paused. I refused to look at the fallen princess, whose inconsolable wails muted the others that soon joined. Behind me, Jupiter snarled and marched toward the television, shutting it off with such force that it almost tipped over.
"Using his daughter's death a political ploy, why am I not surprised?"
The girl's shoulders shook, from anger or despair I could not tell.
Uranus must have noticed too, since she was quick to reach her. I expected Jupiter to struggle against her fellow scout, challenge the pain and emptiness she felt with rage. But she softly fell against awaiting arms, her exhaustion too great.
My gaze shifted from the pair to a framed photograph. I felt a dull ache hammer away in my chest.
I took the photo on her eighteenth birthday. She was sitting in front of a cake, its candlelight casting a golden glow on her pale skin. Her features were soft, her attention not on the camera but on the owner of arms that wrapped her from behind. Bright blue eyes stared at the lens unapologetically, full of excitement and happiness. In contrast, Mars' pair of violet were intimate, soft, drinking Venus in. The subtle blush on Venus' cheeks told the camera it wasn't the only thing that caught the passionate gaze.
The two had fooled no one.
"Where is Minako?" asked Neptune, her usually smooth voice thick and hoarse.
The princess's cries grew louder still and her prince simply held her tighter.
"She's still there," Mercury whispered. "She wouldn't leave her side."
The black cat in her arms mewed but all noise was interrupted by the sound of an old man's cries echoing from further inside the shrine.
Beneath a numbing guilt, within me grew an insurmountable fear. The future we sacrificed everything for had disappeared and only darkness could be seen.
I was blinded.
As worry began to seep across my face, my eyes finally fell on the princess. Suddenly, before doubt could surface, words I had almost forgotten returned with startling clarity.
"Have faith in her… She has the power to create miracles. Miracles are what will save us all."
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