Just for starters, I do not own Sailor Moon. I do however, own this story. Enjoy.

Chapter 1 – Stretched Thin

It had been a long day for everyone. The only thing which could be

worse was it getting longer, which was about to happen. Four women took their respective seats in the large room, each one with their emotions playing clearly across their eyes. The first, the leader with that trademark red bow in her hair, now full of debris and filth had the look of disappointment across her face. The disappointment was internal in this case, although clearly it leaked through to her normally flawless features. She blamed herself for the events of the past few hours. A better leader would have executed actions quicker, been better prepared and not return with several body bags in tow.

The second woman, who sat rather rigidly had fire in her eyes. She

wasn't happy, that was apparent. Replaying the events in her mind

procedures were analyzed and tweaked. The flaws were apparent now and it greatly disappointed the being of premonition and foresight that she couldn't see this coming.

The third woman, the tallest of them all was the most calm. Over time

she learned to turn herself off when death approached. Perhaps it was in result of a lifetime past, however mentally she was already planning

her next training event in which she hoped would offer different results should the occasion rise yet again. In the past she would have been more furious than any of the other three. If there was one thing she learned over time it was anger and rage did nothing but get in the way.

The fourth and final woman sat quietly and neatly. The thought process

of the aqua-haired woman was so magnificent at the time, you could walk by her and feel the energy. Statistics were her specialty in battle

and they failed her this time. Certainly one would find her late the

coming evening in the library studying and extensively testing herself.

Failure was not an option for any of the four, but she took it personally.

No matter how they all looked and collectively felt, none could be

measured against that of their queen, who had been absent until now. As she entered quickly and quietly gown flowing behind, the women rose and bowed their heads. It was customary in the presence of their queen,

however this time around it was more in guilt, or in a few cases anger.

"Well, at least you're all well enough to be present." Serenity looked

at her soldiers, although the usual tone of playfulness was missing,

leaving her to be quite serious.

"Serenity what happened earlier..."

Blue eyes rose to meet blue eyes, though cold.

"Quiet, Sailor Venus. This is a briefing, not a Q and A session."

The voice boomed throughout the room, echoing in everyone's ears. Once

she was satisfied there would no longer be any interruptions, Serenity

took her seat which was lifted few inches from the floor giving the

desired effect of royalty and respect. The four women continued to stand with their heads bowed, their shadows cast upon each other as the sun was beginning to set. Serenity looked to her left, glancing at her

husband's throne, which was empty. Touching the arm of the chair gently with her fingertips, Serenity's gesture nearly brought everyone to their knees. Instead, they settled for slumped shoulders and in some cases, clenched fists.

"What happened today...was nothing short of a disaster. Four lives were

lost, which in turn will change four families forever. Let us all be

thankful that number isn't five..."

Serenity's throat suddenly developed a lump causing her to stop

speaking. The man who had been missing from the throne room was being held in the infirmary of the crystal palace, his wounds being tended to by the best physicians, second only to Sailor Mercury herself. He had been injured in the attack.

Flashback - Earlier that day...

"The perimeter is secure and security sweeps are still in progress.

Everything looks good so far."

Sailor Mars eyed the man who continued to provide her with details of

the security aspect of the day. It was an impulse decision of the king

and queen to walk through the city to visit several shops and take a

late lunch at a local bistro. For the time, however, the couple chose to split and go into separate shops, Serenity followed by an undercover

Sailor Jupiter and Endymion by three agents, two who were already present inside and one following behind. These impulse decisions which came a few times a month helped the people of Crystal Tokyo connect with the royal family and the scouts. It showed they didn't see themselves as above the rest seeing as how the food, clothing, entertainment and culture was good enough for them. It was a peaceful time; however there were instances of crime and violence. As fate would have it, one of the instances would impact not only several security force members, but the royal family itself.

"...and we've secured the eatery with hidden agents as well."

"Very good. Let's keep on our toes though, shall we? Just because we've

been perfect so far let's not lose sight and potentially miss

something."

As if Sailor Mars were casting a spell upon the current events, at the

precise moment there was a scream and a sudden commotion of people

outside the building Sailor Mars was in. Without a hesitation she was out the door and rushing to the area the scream came from. The sight was horrifying. Endymion lay on the ground, head on Serenity's lap as his hand covered a darkened area of the suit he wore. Blood pooled around the stab wound, although it was a gentle trickle. As quickly as Mars had arrives, Mercury did so as well, moving to the royals' side quickly.

"We need to get him to the infirmary. The wound isn't deep but he

needs medical attention and tests immediately."

Mercury looked toward Sailor Venus who had just arrived.

"I need the weapon to for examination."

Without a single word Sailor Venus nodded and glanced toward Jupiter

and Mars. As soon as the king, queen and Mercury transported back to the palace ground via emergency transponder Mercury had developed and been testing for several years, the three remaining women went in different directions in search of the man who dared take a knife to the king.

In no more than a few hours the highly-trained scouts had found the

would-be assassin. Unfortunately, he had taken the lives of three agents who attempted to stop him. It was Sailor Venus who took him down wrestling him to the ground and the weapon from his hand.

Present Time

Serenity stood suddenly, a new determination burning in her eyes. She

looked upon each of the soldiers who had given their lives for her in

the past, her friends who in time turned into her sisters. She felt their collective pain. The scouts never enjoyed losing innocent lives and now that their job of protecting the royal family was against other

humans, their tactics changed to preserve every life possible. Stepping down toward them, four pairs of eyes rose to meet her own.

"This has been a difficult and trying day for us all. I feel the task

of protecting both the king and I is stretching you thin. I have been

considering other options and will discuss this with Endymion once he's

feeling up to it. Until then there will be no outings for myself or any of you. Should you need something you cannot acquire here use a third party."

The queen took steps toward the exit before abruptly stopping, directly

beside Sailor Venus.

"This is not your fault. Don't condemn yourselves for something you had

no control over."

The door closed.

"I should get to the infirmary. There are additional tests I need to

run."

Sailor Mercury relieved herself of the transformation at that point and

went on her way while the three remaining women stood in silence for a

few minutes before Sailor Mars stood forward.

"I will be in the security center. I'd like to piece a few things

together before I hand over my official report to you, Venus."

The door closed for the third time leaving a quiet Sailor Venus and

Sailor Jupiter.

"She's right. It isn't our fault, but I still can't help but feel

responsible. We should have been able to stop him before any of it happened.

Lives were lost today and..."

"Sailor Jupiter. I think we need to figure out what went wrong, remedy

the situation as best as we can and move on. If we let this eat us up

we'll be no good in the future and that could potentially cost us more civilian lives, or even worse the lives of the king, queen or our own."

Sailor Venus could see the difference in Jupiter's eyes. The gentle pep

talk was enough to snap her out of the current mode she was in. As the

leader of the group, it was her job to keep morale high and spirits

strong, even when her own weren't so optimistic. It was never a job she

regretted having, except for the few times Venus felt she needed her own jolt. Ever the leader, Venus put on the best sincere smile she could muster and placed a somewhat dirty gloved hand upon her friend's

shoulder.

"We should get some rest, hm? There will be much to do in the coming

days and I know I'll need you at full strength. Now go take some time for yourself to clear your mind."

- - -

So there it is, Chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me some feedback if you will, letting me know how what you think about it. I already have the next three chapters written up, so if they haven't been posted yet they will be soon.