Chapter I: "Parallel Destinies! Pluto's Dilemma!"
Konban Wa, minna-san! I am Ranchanthananalas, best known from the G Gundam forum. This is my first Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon fic, and it will probably go through many a revision by chapter. Please review, or else Urube-sama will not be happy.
The warm sun shone brilliantly through the multicolored crescent moons that dotted the frilled drapes. Birds sitting on the cherry blossom trees outside the Tsukino residence began to sing as the sun warmed their blood and filled the day with light. All over Tokyo, people awoke to a bright day after the long nightmare that had been Galaxia. Many of the bustling people not only in Tokyo, but also around the world would never remember any of the times that they had come perilously close to destruction; from the Black Moon Kingdom… the Dead Moon Circus… to the DeathBusters and lastly Galaxia and her Animamates. The only ones to remember any of it were the Sailor Senshi of the Sol System, namely Usagi Tsukino alias Sailor Moon.
Unfortunately one thing that Sailor Moon, now a sleeping Usagi, could not remember was to set her alarm for the proper time.
"Usagi-chan!" a voice… Mamo-chan?
Usagi grinned stupidly in her sleep, visions of her beloved Mamoru dancing in her mind. Luna wrinkled her whiskered nose in disdain at seeing her young ward clutch at her pillow and drool on it all the while gurgling happily. The moon-cat sighed and shook her small head; Monday mornings were always a chore as she crept up the sleeping girl's form to sit on her chest.
After nudging her face a few times with her small paw, Luna finally got irritated at her lazy ward.
"USAGI-CHAN!" This time instead of gentle nudging, the cat used her claws for a good swat to the nose. The reaction was instantaneous as the moonchild bolted straight up in her bed, throwing sheets and Luna everywhere. Usagi clasped her nose as she wailed pitifully.
"Mamo-chan! Why did you have to bite me so haaaarrrrdddd!"
Usagi sniffled and looked around, suddenly realizing she was not with her beloved Prince but in her own bedroom bedecked in moons and rabbits. Recognizing her surroundings, she also recognized the reason for her hurting nose… which was now lying on the floor covered in her blanket.
"Luna! Why did you have to go and do that? I was having such a wonderful dream…"
A muffled reply issued from under the thick blanket as the moon-cat struggled to find her way out, but it was enough for Usagi to catch "late" and "school." Usagi groaned as she looked over at her clock and realized that she was more than two hours late for school, as well as two and a half hours late for meeting with her friends. She leaped from her bed and hastily began to make ready, stepping on poor Luna as she ran to and fro across her room gathering first her clothes, then her school supplies.
After a quick stop to make sure she was fully dressed, Usagi ran out her door and down the stairs, calling after her as she snatched up her shoes by the solid oak front door.
"Got-school-can't-talk-gotta-go-right-now-be-back-later-Sayonara!"
With a creak and a slam, the Moon Princess was gone.
Ethereal mists shrouded much of the plane in constant semi-darkness, but she didn't mind. After all, she had been used to it for more than a millennia and would be seeing it for many more to come. Being the Senshi of Time had many rewards, but with each power came untold responsibility and sacrifice that any lesser person probably would not have been able to make.
Yet despite the gloom and silence that surrounded the Gates of Time, Pluto was not one for sharing the same sentiments. Often she would smile to herself as she watched her beloved Small Lady grow from the depths of her ruby-red Garnet Orb's power. Though she was the future Queen, Chibiusa was as dear to her as if she were her own daughter and only for her would she leave the sanctity of her position to lend aid.
Pluto sighed, sliding her gloved fingers down the length of the purple staff at her side. She had not looked into the Garnet Orb since Galaxia's defeat little more than a year ago, and thus far she had felt no reason to do so. Small Lady was back in her proper time, Neo Queen Serenity was far into the rebuilding of Crystal Tokyo after the devastating Black Moon Kingdom's attack, and Usagi and the other Senshi were still residing peacefully on Earth.
"Surely… in such a peaceful time, I could spend a day or two with Small Lady in Crystal Tokyo? Her birthday is coming soon…"
Pluto mused openly, listening as her soft voice wafted through the mist and shadows like ripples along the water's surface. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that the tormented groan startled her.
Pluto cast a worried look at the Gates, but nothing seemed to have changed with the pearl-encrusted double-doors of eternity. Finding no source of the sound there, she turned her gaze to the mists surrounding her. Suddenly, the sound came again as a pale light began to issue forth from the line between the doors. Knowing she had not issued anyone passage through time save for Small Lady, Sailor Pluto stood before the Gates and held her Time Key staff at the ready. No trespasser could enter this sacred realm with evil intentions and get by her unscathed.
The Gates issued another groan as the light brightened, almost as if what was on the other side was straining to get through just as the silver doors strained to keep it in. What seemed like minute after tense minute passed for Pluto as she watched the ancient doors struggle with the unknown entity confined within. She could feel the intense power radiating through the primordial doors, but was disquieted with the fact that the power felt very familiar… almost as though she had felt it before in another place, in another time…
Just as soon as it began, it was over as the Gates burst open with a bright stream of light and the thunderous roar of the Time Tunnel. Pluto's emerald green hair flew wildly about her as she widened her stance to fight against the billowing winds of Time. Pluto blinked, trying to adjust her sight to the sudden light that threatened to engulf the centuries-old mists. A silhouette was framed against the blinding light as the roar of the wind began to die down, quickly drowning out the blazing light with what appeared to be a flowing cape…. a premonition flashed in Pluto's mind as the figure loomed ever closer to entering her domain.
"That's…." choked Pluto, unable to hear her own voice against the din, but knowing how ludicrous it sounded all the same. "Ginzuishou!"
Just as soon as the figure appeared, it was gone in a flash of shadow that cut the now dimming light of the Gates like a knife. Its package delivered, the Gates closed with a slam that rattled the very foundations of time. Alone again in the silent realm, Pluto watched as the darkness closed in around her once more. Purple sparkles of magic fell to her feet as she stood in place, wondering at what she had just seen. The power that had just issued forth here had been tainted by evil, that much she knew, but it was also powerful enough to be used here without being nullified by the realm. Here was a place where time did not necessarily pass, and magic could not function properly once the barrier was crossed between the time of the past on one side of the Gates, and the time of the future through the Tunnel.
Slowly Pluto relaxed, setting her staff on its end to the floor. The Garnet Orb on its top flashed into crimson light, but Pluto already knew that with this new arrival, destiny had once again been altered. The Guardian of Time sat in utter silence for a few more moments, recollecting her thoughts as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.
Eventually she came to the conclusion that since the newcomer had arrived through her sacred post, that it was her duty to warn the other Senshi. As much as it pained her, Small Lady's birthday would simply have to wait… or else it would never come at all.
And so this ends Chapter I. I'm very rusty as far as fanfics go, so please bear with me. I promise it'll get better as time goes. For the record, during the course of this fic I'll be introducing more than just one villain, so be prepared! Reviews, flames, whatever you can throw at me, go right on ahead and do so. Arigatou!
~Ranchanthalas