Title: Anew
Author: Helene
e-mail: aishiteru@nightmail.ru
Rating: PG13
Teaser: 'May the force be with me' said Serena to her Crystal.
Now, how could the artifact defy the request?
Timeline: First Season
Disclaimer: "Star Wars", "Sailor Moon", "Silence of Lambs", or
other masterpieces, starting with an 'S', do not belong to me.

Chapter I

The curtains were draped; a full bowl of popcorn stood on the floor near
a cozy sofa with dozen soft pillows; the lights were turned off; a cute
guy recited words of commitment to salvage a world from the TV-screen in front
of the sofa. A relaxation-friendly set up, that's how yours truly would call
it, and the black cat, sprawled on the sofa's end, would have adhered, had
she not been a product of imagination, and fast asleep at that.

The other end of the sofa was occupied by a small teenage girl. She was curled
up with her knees drawn to her chest, her fair hair poured freely around her
slim figure, and her face was taut. Her tiny hands were absently toying with a
pentagon shaped trinket.

"At least Luke's friends were alive, and cheered for him," she whispered
wistfully, "and I am left all alone. Even Luna is asleep. He had his battle-ship,
and missiles, and a computer. I fight with a jewel. It's not that I under-appreciate
the Crystal, but I wish I had something else, if I can't have my friends. I wish
the force were with me," she signed with a whimsical pout. In a few moments, though,
a delightfully ridiculous idea lit up her drawn features.

"Yea," she giggled, springing to her feet, and raising her joined hands to the
ceiling, "may the force be with me!"

Ivory brilliance erupted from her hands, momentarily hindering her vision, and
hampering her balance. She staggered, and fell back; her head and shoulders ended
up on the sofa, and her bottom half impacted the floor. The oddest thing about
the whole ordeal was the fact that she felt an additional weight pressing into
her thighs.

She blinked, and tentatively peered down. A gasp and a shriek later,
the weight was shoved off, and she was standing on the sofa, frantically
perusing the room to locate the Crystal.

"Who on Earth are you? Who sent you? What are you doing here
in my room? How did you get here? What do you want from me? Do
you know that I have a black belt?" she yelled, attempting to stall
for time. For there, on her unblemished carpet, was lying a young
male intruder with rainbow colored hair that reached his shoulders.
And, lo, behold, marvel, and boggle, for the man was wearing a white
dress.

"Stop hollering, and step down, Serenity," he demanded, his
low reverberant voice proving her guess about his masculinity,
previously based on his build, height, and quite hairy legs, to
be accurate, "you're acting as if you were not aware that I was
going to make an appearance. You did summon me, didn't you?"
"Summon you?" she screeched incredulously, not moving from her
previous position. "I don't know who you are, why would I want
to summon a strange guy into my living room?"

The unwelcome guest stood up, and raised his head to regard her
with disturbingly hyaline eyes.

"Because your Highness is bored by her usual courtiers," he volunteered
casually, "and wishes to make acquaintance of an exceptionally fine
gentleman that resides beyond her conventional realm."
"Don't call me 'your Highness'," she said absently. His poised manner
was soothing, and his taunting had put her at ease as to his alleged
animosity.
"Are you implying that I was right, Serenity?"

Serena snorted, and jumped to stand on the floor.

"What makes you think I consider you an exceptionally fine gentleman?"
"The fact that you've been ogling me ever since I got here, my dear.
But if you truly do not approve of my humble appearance," he articulated
haughtily, halting the speech to perform an elaborate bow, "I shall
modify it to accommodate your refined sense of beauty."

A black cape materialized from the air, cloaking his bent form. Then he
straightened his back, and a jolt of unbearable yearning shook Serena,
causing her to sway and sink to the couch.

In front of her stood a grinning raven-haired youth, wearing medieval
attire made of black silk. But what distressed her were his mischievously
twinkling indigo orbs that reminded her of another pair that had held nothing
but disdain for her that morning.

"Change back," she bid hollowly.
"What's wrong, I assumed that this is the ultimate type you're attracted
to..."
"Almost..."
"So why, pray tell, do you object to me donning this guise?"
"You're not him."

He inspected the downcast girl, attempting to discern the cause of
her anguish. It did not help that his natural perception had been
thwarted by human sight. Normally, he would have reached out to entwine
with the intricate patterns of her senses, breeze through the cobwebs
of her memories, and feel her thoughts. Being confined within the frail
body was already proving a handicap, yet his vast experience and profound
knowledge afforded him the answer.

"He is the only one you want," he stated. "But why? Right now I am just
like him. Why won't you have me? I could provide you the comfort..."
"I don't want comfort," she exploded. "I do not wish to be consoled, I
do not need a
substitute. I wouldn't know what to do with the substitute."
"I could teach you," he drawled suggestively, looking her over with a
lascivious smirk. Not that he was keen on making lewd comments, but people
seemed to laugh at them, and he wanted her to laugh. Her desolate demeanor
was already giving him a headache.

Had the guy been better acquainted with the Crystal's new mistress,
he would have known that his answer would cause them both additional
grief.

"Not you too," wailed a terrified Serena. "I refuse to have another
teacher! I have more than I can handle already!"
"By troth, child, you change moods like other people do boots," he
grumbled.
"'Gloves', not 'boots'!"
"Well, 'gloves' do not rhyme with 'moods'. About teachers, though, what
on earth have you done to Luna to have her sleeping through this ruckus?"
"What have I done to Luna!" hollered Serena indignantly. "What has
LUNA done to ME! She takes my life away and makes me absolutely miserable,
restoring my memories, and you ask what have I done to her! Why you..."
"Stop that rant," demanded the guest brashly. "I haven't realized that
your foster family was doing such a poor job at bringing you up properly."
He sighed. "Maybe I should have picked other people..."
"How dare you insult my family that way!"

Serena was adamant. An agent of the Negaverse or not, the stranger
went way overboard with his rude insinuations, and she didn't intend
to swallow it even though the guy did resemble the love of her life at
the moment. Which reminded her...

"And haven't I told you to change back?" she yelled.
"Your wish is my command," he grinned, repeating the process of
bowing and hiding beneath the cape. "But I'll never be able to mingle
in your society looking like that."
"I don't want you to mingle in my society."
"Unfortunately, the choice is not yours to make, princess. I am
not aware how I arrived in this realm, but I do realize that since
I am already here I need to make your acquaintance."
"What do you mean?" asked Serena. By that time she was thoroughly
confused, not knowing whether to try to boot her guest out of the
house or wait until she had more information on his reasons for being
there in the first place. After all, he had appeared after she
had pretended to use the Crystal, and his words implied that he had a
connection to the Moon Kingdom.
"Why don't we take a look at your advisor, and then I'll tell you
everything."

He stepped closer to the couch, examining Luna. Nothing seemed to be
wrong with the cat, but he couldn't rely on the limited sight perception,
so he extended an arm to touch the animal.

"No," said Serena anxiously. "I don't really trust you yet," she added
with an apologetic smile.

A princess not trusting him. That was novel, and not much was novel
for him anymore. The novelty, however, felt rather disconcerting, and
he wasn't sure that he enjoyed the tingly sinking sensations that had
come with it. They were quite distracting, though, which could
prove detrimental to the task at hand.

"It's all right. What did you say she had been doing before she had
fallen asleep?"
"First, she restored my memories, then told me to fight the monster,
and then we went home..."

He squinted at the black feline, attempting to stretch his senses,
and only at the appearance of a dull ache around his eyelids he realized
the futility of that endeavor. Yet again he had to resort to his memories,
and even they turned out to be harder to access.

The answer came with an uncomfortable jolt, as if his mind had been
suddenly sucked into the maelstrom of insight, and immediately hurled
away before he could grasp anything else.

"She used up too much energy," he concluded wryly, not entirely
over the experience of exercising the human mind. "Come sit down."

What was it with the guy, thought Serena darkly. One moment he is
impertinently mischievous, then sympathetic, and in the end he waxes
patronizing and overbearing. Who does he think he is anyway?

"Who are you?" she queried, voicing the last question.
"The Force," told the stranger offhandedly. "Pleased to finally meet you?"
"Finally?"
"Yes, finally. A moon heir is to meet me before she or he starts learning
how to use the Crystal. In fact, I am the one who is to endorse any
candidate to the moon throne before they get to the
Crystal."
"Really?" Serena's eyes widened at the revelation. Was it possible...
"Do you mean that I'm not the designated heir?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't have to be Sailor Moon?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, princess, but, to quote your famous musician,
'it ain't necessarily so'. I mean that I haven't met you since you had
not began using the Crystal on the Moon, and there had been nobody to
summon me and introduce us on Earth until today."
"Maybe you can still disown me?"
"I can if I choose to do so."
"What do I do?"

Was it the faulty upbringing that had turned her against the duties
the moon queens used to embrace freely and gladly, he wondered. Or was
it her education in the ways of democracy? The feelings of loneliness she
seemed to harbor? Well, he had enough time to solve that mystery as well
as change her heart.

"Nothing," he said aloud for her benefit. "I just need to get to know
you. Would you really object to having me as a friend?"
"No. Of course not," gushed the girl, and he had to smile at her earnest
mug and imploring gaze.
"Don't you want to know where I come from first?"
"Oh, yes, where do you come from? I mean you didn't fall from the sky, or
there would have been a hole in the roof."
"Well, I came from the Crystal?"
"The Crystal? You don't live there do you? It must be so uncomfortable!"

Again he had to smile at both her naivete and empathy.

"It isn't," he assured her. "In fact, a long long time ago I chose to
leave your realm for the realm of the Crystal."
"Why?"
"I was a powerful mage, and people would approach me with their cares,
pleading that I assist them. Some tried to bribe me, others threatened,
and many tricked me into thinking that their cause was a just one. In the
end I tired of them, creating a flawless gem to hide within and observe
the goings of the world. Inside it I learned to direct my perception so
that I could not just the external side of the affairs but also sense people's
thoughts and emotions and their minds. I could look through so many eyes and
feel through so many hearts that returning into the three-dimensional realm
did not appeal to me anymore."
"Did you have someone to love? People to love you?" demanded Serena in dismay.
"I was a mage, Serenity. Back then mages were discovered at the age of three,
and brought to special academies to be trained in their powers. They lived
there till they grew weary of the world and either ended their existence or
transferred their life essences elsewhere. The transformation sticks of your
scouts are examples of such objects."
"So do the girls also have people living inside their sticks?"
"They do not live, not like I do," he explained. "Their conscience is
dormant, and all that is left is their power, the power your scouts use.
They can be startled into a brief awakening by the object wielders, but they
cannot remain awake for longer than granting the wielder's utmost wish."
"And you can?"
"Yes. I'm always awake, but my powers, akin to theirs, are transferred to
the Crystal. That's the price I pay for immortality and perpetual preoccupation
with human affairs. Unlike them I can draw the power from the Crystal."
"Then you can take the Crystal, and I can have a normal life!" cheered
Serena.
"No, rash one, I can't. Haven't I told you that the power is confined to
the Crystal? I choose the Crystal owners, but I cannot become one myself."
"So you're like a genie?"

He chuckled. As far as he was concerned, she was the one, but he had to
persuade her to submit to his choice and send him where he belonged.

"Not at all. I am free. To watch, to ponder, to decide, to do the right
thing. Free from any command and authority, from the compulsion of my own
compassion. Dwelling within the Crystal brought me incomparable comfort and
well-being no genie can experience. Are you through with the interrogation?"
"Just one more question," bid Serena. "How did the Crystal get to the first
moon queen who passed it on to the successors?"
"I gave it to her. I told you that I choose the owner didn't I?"
"Oh. OK. So what do we do now?"
"Well, that depends. What do you usually do at this hour?"
"Go to sleep of course. It's quite late."
"Let's go to sleep then."
"What?" she screeched, scarlet with consternation. "You're not going to sleep
in my house are you?"
"Do you suggest that I venture outside at this quite late hour?" he queried,
arching a brow.
"Why don't you go back into the Crystal?" offered Serena with a pout. She
couldn't have him stay at the house. What if her parents found him there and
had her grounded till she was eighteen? Raye would certainly make use of the
time to snatch Darien, which was unacceptable, and more so than having
millennia old force sleeping in the streets if it didn't wish to go back
where it belonged.

The rainbow headed mage stared at his host with unveiled curiosity. Had
he been home he would have been able to decipher her thoughts but staying
near her had him guessing, which, judging by his previous experience that
night, was not at all pleasant. Going back, however, was not an option.
He had to help the lost princess, and that could only be done through
communication. Still, he couldn't help the itch to learn more about the
intriguing princess.

"Can you send me there?" he inquired, knowing full well that she couldn't.
Communication couldn't be established with him away from her, and the plan
was to convince her to let him stay.
"I can't, but you're the mage..."
"With no powers at the moment."
"But my father would kill me if I let you stay in the house!" she wailed.
"He doesn't have to see me."
"Are you going to become invisible?"
"Woe is me, but that feat is beyond my humble endowment."
"Huh?"
"I can't," he translated ruefully. Sometimes the world population changed
for worse rather than for better, ridding their speech of the most expressive
elements, for one, wasn't to be admired. "I can become smaller, though."
"Great," Serena squealed, springing from the couch to jump around gleefully.
"You can live in my Barbie doll-house! It's been years since anybody occupied
the place!"
"Barbie doll house?" he gasped incredulously. What did I ever do to deserve the
humiliation, he thought.
"It's either that or sleeping in the streets," she threatened, bounding up the
stairs. "Coming?"

*********************************************************************

The curtains were draped; the lights were turned off. A poster of Tuxedo Mask
was flashing his most engaging smile at the prone figure of a small teenage girl,
sprawled on the bed. Her eyes were shut, the corners of her lips curled up in a
relaxed grin, and, for once, the dreamy superhero from the poster
did not occupy her thoughts. Well, occupy her every waking moment he might, but
she was blissfully asleep.

On the table next to the bed and the huge window there stood a dusty dollhouse
with crooked walls and fractured roof. The meager illumination of the moonlight,
mingling with the faint glow of the street lamps, could have allowed a visitor a
glimpse of a weird puppet, fidgeting on the model of a queen-size four-poster,
that took half the room of the doll-loft.

"Why on earth have I stayed here," muttered the puppet under its breath, "trapped
in this poor excuse for a life energy vessel that hasn't ceased giving me grief ever
since I arrived! Sound reasons they should have been, having forced me to abide by
this horizoned world's rules. How do the humans find it in themselves to
engage in mental activities when it takes so much of their minds to master their
bodies, keep their hearts pumping, their lungs expelling the polluted air and all!
I guess it is no wonder that their intelligence is so limited, nice as they might
appear."

The muttering continued for a very long time that seemed to drag even longer
to the irritated puppet. If you were pried away from everything you deemed
dear or just passable, and thrust into a reality long forgotten,
you would have probably behave the same way. But you know that it would have
done you no good, don't you?

*********************************************************************

Erm, so? Do you? Please tell me.