*Shard 1*

The Alignment

...

It was 7:36am on a relatively nondescript Tuesday morning. These two combining factors meant but one thing...

Usagi Tsukino was late for school.

The girl in question, as could be easily seen by anyone who cared enough to watch, was currently tearing town the not-so-crowded early-morning streets. "Stupid... alarm... clock..." she gasped between breaths to herself. "What good is it if it doesn't even ring when I tell it to!?"

She continued her charge down the sidewalk and by some stroke of otherworldly luck, did she manage to catch the green light at the corner. Her stride unbroken, she plundered into the street and just there in her very immediate path, was a small black cat. "Yikes!" Usagi vaulted over the small creature and stuck a somewhat awkward landing, the skirt of her school uniform flaring up just a little bit higher than she would have otherwise liked out here in public.

Still in a crouch, did she turn back to stare at the marauding feline. "Hey, you, that could have ended badly for both of us you know."

"Mroww," was the response from the cat.

The little cat had sauntered up to Usagi now, and seemed to be attempting to win her affection by coiling itself around her leg. "Aw, aren't you pretty," Usagi cooed. She stroked the cat's arching back as it purred it's appreciation. "You must be a people cat; a stray wouldn't anyone pet them like this." The cat mewed again, as though in agreement. "Sorry I can't stay, I'm really late for school and I gotta get going. Bye now!" She gave the little cat a final pat on the head and departed at high speed.

And but mere minutes from there, (something of a record for Usagi as the girl usually gassed out on this mad morning run) did she arrive at the school building, just in time for the first bell of the morning.

"Not late after all," she gasped. She clenched a fist to celebrate her minute victory. And there, just inside the gates to this place was one of Usagi's best friends.

Her name was Ami Mizuno. She was a rather meek girl, as intelligent as she was shy. The girl didn't have many friends, not because she was unlikable by any means; she, much unlike Usagi herself, was somewhat awkward and reserved in her social interactions. Reason being, most couldn't relate to Ami's advanced level of verbal coordination; even short conversations with her would leave their heads spinning. It was something of a school mystery how the flaky airhead Usagi managed to befriend one of the smartest people in the region.

"Good morning, Usagi," was Ami's greeting.

"Hey," was all Usagi could muster, as she was still slightly winded from the run.

Ami cocked her head a bit. "You are perspiring. Then again that is hardly a surprise." Ami checked her slim wristwatch, which she wore with the face turned to the inside of her left wrist. "You arrived but a mere six seconds before the tardiness threshold. That's a new record for you!" The last part was said as a joke, which achieved it's desired effect as Usagi giggled. and from there, did they make their way up the courtyard.

As they walked, Ami asked, "Usagi, may I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course," was Usagi's answer. "As long as it doesn't involve any more running. My feet are already killing me in these kitten heels..."

"Well, running may or may not be involved," Ami said back. Usagi shot her a quizzical look. "As it happens, I require your assistance in an endeavor I am pursuing. Said task is about on it's final leg, so your input should be relatively minimal."

By some bizarre mental biometric or another, Usagi, who under any other circumstance was incredibly easy to confuse, was never really mystified or baffled at Ami's speech pattern, as so many others often were. There was just something about the way her words flowed and their contextual delivery that seemed to settle naturally in Usagi's brain, although she had no hope of responding in kind.

"Okay, sure. What kind of help do you need?"

"I need you to escort me just a little ways up past The Angel's Grove."

"That's a little ways away. What for?" Usagi asked.

"Because that happens to be where my project resides," was Ami's answer. "I can drive my father's van to the location."

"Hmm, okay. I'll come with you then."

"Splendid!" Ami responded jubilantly. "I shall arrive at your residence tonight at six pm."

"It's a date," Usagi confirmed.

...

The heat from the fire was intense, as any fire's heat would be were you to sit this close to it. Rei Hino stared as deep into the mystic dancing flames as her mortal eyes would allow. Her stare was steady, even trance-like. And despite the steely stillness of her face, her hands were anything but idle. They were currently dancing with a practiced and ritualistic rhythm over a deck of astral tarot cards just at her knees in front of her. Her right hand now paused over the deck, and with a single deft movement, did she draw a single card from the top. She looked to it. "The Moon..." she said aloud. She drew the next card. "Venus..." and she continued to draw. "Mercury...Mars...Jupiter..."

She lay the cards in a symmetrically perfect horizontal line. Rei then relaxed her tensed muscles as she expelled a breath. "That makes eleven days in row now," she mused to herself. "But what could it mean...?" In her daily tarot ritual, Rei had indeed been drawing this exact same sequence of astral bodies. The meaning behind their alignment however, was something that escaped her.

Before she had time to ponder any further. There was something of a disturbance at the door to this place. "Rei?" It was the voice of her friend and volunteer coworker at this temple, Yuuichirou.

"Yes, Yuu, what is it?"

"Oh, I didn't know if you were done or not..." the young man said meekly.

Rei stood up as she dusted off the knees of her robes. "I am quite finished, yes," she said.

Yuuichirou waffled about rather nervously. "Uh, thing is, it's your turn to gather firewood tonight..."

Rei smiled with a pleasant roll of her eyes. "I'm quite aware, thank you."

Yuuichirou smiled in return. "Should be a little easier for you this time. I cut and stacked a pile of prime lumber round about the usual place in The Angel's Grove. Can't guarantee anyone hasn't made off with it though..."

"I understand," Rei said. "I'll head to The Angel's Grove on tonight's eve."

With the matter of tinder gathering settled, Rei made from the room. Her itinerary, a cool shower.

...

Mako, I wish you would talk to me...

"I am talking to you," Makoto said into her phone. "This is a conversation we're having; discourse. You talk, then I talk. That's how it works."

But you don't just talk. You-

"Chide? Nitpick? Bully? You can take either or, or all of the above. If it applies, check the box."

You know, I heard somewhere that sarcasm is a vessel for intelligence. but you seem intent only on practicing the former.

"Why the hell are you talking to me anyway? Wouldn't you much rather be talking to him?"

...He's out right now. So I thought-"

"This could be a prime opportunity to call up good old Makoto and ask her what time she'll be coming home tonight?"

Well this is the only way I can get a hold of you! You're practically never home anymore and you worry me sick! Just where are you anyway?

"What the hell does it matter where I am? I'll just say that I'm in my element, which is any place but where he is."

Makoto, sweetheart-

"Goodbye, mother." And with a beep, the conversation was ended there.

Most would say that Makoto Kino was a troubled child. And they would be right. Said trouble though was something she hardly asked for. Her life was just fine until her mother moved that absolute slug she called a boyfriend into their home. He was an absolute sleazeball as far as Makoto was concerned. Although she never told her mother about it, he had made more than one unwanted advance on her, even going so far as touching her in places she'd rather not mention. Makoto cured him of that habit quite quickly though; a swift kick to the groin would do that.

And ever since then, Makoto had been coming here, on the edge if a hillside that overlooked The Angel's Grove.

Makoto was never quite sure why they called it The Angel's Grove, as firstly, this collection of trees was far too large to be considered a grove, the trees went on for miles, it could have easily been called 'The Angel's Forest'. And secondly, she didn't really see anything too angelic about this big patch of wood and leaves...they were just trees for fuck's sake.

What Makoto did like about this place was the quiet it provided. The sounds of urban civilization didn't reach out here. There was only the echo of birdsong and the rustle of wind in the trees. Out here, she could retreat to her most private of thought processes. 'Someday...I'll leave this place behind' she thought. 'I don't need her, him,anyone...' Makoto chewed on the inside of her cheek. 'I don't need any friends, no kind of team or some shit like that. All I need is me...'

This last thought resounded most vibrantly with her. "All I need is me..." she said aloud.

...

"Hey, you, back in line, don't wander off! Put that down, heaven knows where it came from it's probably covered in germs- don't put it in your mouth!"

Minako Aino brought up the rear of a line of people that consisted of exactly ten camp counselors (including herself) and twenty elementary-school-aged children. As it was, Minako worked part time at The Crystal Seminar Youth Retreat. And today just so happened to be their long-anticipated camping trip; up in the wilderness of The Angel's Grove. They had been hiking in this orderly single-file fashion for near twenty minutes, and the children were already becoming restless, despite being in constant walking stride.

It was quite a shame, Minako thought, that they were far too young to appreciate the true beauty of nature's splendor. The trees here in The Angel's Grove were some of the tallest and healthiest-looking she had seen in some time. She loved how the rays from The Sun filtered and flitted through gaps in tree's canopies, creating dancing patterns of light and shadow. And even amongst all that, there was just something...greater that she sensed about this place; one of those incommunicable human nuances that people often felt; things they knew, but could never explain why.

"Alright everyone!" was the call from the front of the line; the head counselor. "We'll set up our tents here in this clearing, then we'll all go swimming in the pond. sound good?"

"Yayyyy!" was the collective cry from the children.

The clearing was soon filled with activity as the space was terraformed with canvas tents and tiny plastic chairs. Two of Minako's fellow counselors seemed to be in deep conversation, one that she could hear easily. "Swimming eh? Sounds like a good deal. Imagine seeing Minako-chan in a swimsuit!"

"My nose is already bleeding," said his comrade.

Minako walked up behind the two, and clapping a hand on each of their shoulders, poked her head between each of their own. "Sorry, not today, boys," she taunted playfully. "I'm not scheduled for life guard duty. You'll have to find something else to fap to tonight!"

"Oh, fate is so cruel!" Was the despaired response to this.

Minako poked about the camp, assisting where she was needed, and eventually found niche setting up the snack table with two of her fellow female counselors. "Oh, Lord, this is exactly what the children don't need. Chocolate chip cookies and grape soda; it's practically nitrous in their bellies," said one of them. "I offered to pack some perfectly lovely carrot sticks, but no..."

Minako laughed. "Carrot sticks? You may as well try to feed them dirt! Every eight-year-old's diet consists of nothing but pure sugar. Let them enjoy it while they're young."

"I suppose..." her comrade said rather dejectedly.

Minako clapped her hands to signal everyone's attention. "Whoooooo's Hungry! We've got cookies and soda for everybody!" And their position was instantly rushed by dozens of tiny little hands grabbing whatever paper plate they could reach. And not too long from there..."Oh no, we're all out!" Minako cried dramatically. The cookie-less stranglers at the back of the line cried their protest. "Fear not, my pretties, I shall retrieve more from the store!" And she ran off to the supply tent. She laughed mentally to herself. 'today is going to be so much fun' "Nothing out of the ordinary at all," she said.

...

Immediately after dinner, Usagi raced up to her room to get ready for her and Ami's arranged meeting. She remembered Ami mentioning something about "input" and "assistance" so she decided to dress in a more utilitarian manner, slim blue denim overalls over a long-sleeved shirt and low-top pink boots. She grabbed her bunny-cased cell phone from atop her dresser and made downstairs. "Goin' out for a bit bit, Mom. Love you, bye!" She made haste out the front door and took up station on the front porch.

"Now hold on just a minute, Usagi," her mother said, pursuing the girl to the porch. "I don't remember you mentioning going anywhere; especially on a school night."

"Umm...I...welll..." Usagi waffled on the spot as she tried to come up with an explanation. She was spared from doing so as just at that moment, Ami happened to pull in front of the house in a white mini van. She rolled down the window and waved at Usagi.

Usagi's mother blinked a few times as she took in the sight. "Isn't that Mizuno, the genius girl that goes to your school?"

Usagi pounced on the opportunity. "Uh...yeah! she's my...study partner! Yeah, that's it! We're going to the library to...study! Haha..."

Her mother's eyes lit up. "Well, with her as your partner your grades should absolutely skyrocket!" She waved merrily back at Ami. "Have fun studying you two! Be sure to work hard!"

Usagi scrambled up to the curb and clambered into the passenger seat of the van. Upon her entry, Ami gave her a somewhat confused look. "She thinks we're going to go study?"

"She does now," was Usagi's response. "I kinda wanna keep it that way."

"Very well." Ami honked twice and pulled off into the street.

As they drove, Usagi cast a look into the spacious back seat of the van. There she saw a somewhat awesome variety of tools and other heavy-duty looking objects and devices; canvas bags that clicked and clanked as their contents shifted; and a large die-cast trunk. "What is all that stuff, Ami?" She asked.

"My digging equipment." was the girl's plain answer.

"Digging?" Usagi whined. "You didn't say anything about manual labor!"

"The labor is far from manual, I can assure you," Ami said. Once we are properly set up, the task then becomes largely automatic."

"Mmm..."

Not too long from there, Ami turned into the great park that was erected around The Angel's Grove. She brought the van around to the parking lot and settled in to one of the spaces closest to the base of the small mountain that overlooked the grove. By now, twilight was falling over the world and the sky had faded to a velvety pink. Ami climbed out of the driver' seat and opened the van' rear door. And right there did she put a canvas pack on her back; slide thick leather gloves onto her hands; and drape a pair of safety goggles around her neck. She grabbed the handle on the side of the great metal trunk and gave a mighty pull. It slid to the ground where it landed with a thud. "Usagi, could you please handle the opposite end of the trunk?"

"I, uh..."

"Oh, don't worry, it's much lighter than it looks."

Usagi complied as grasped the trunk's handle, and as promised, the two girls were easily able to haul the thing aloft.

"We must make our way up the designated nature trail that winds up the mountain. About halfway up, we must abandon the path and continue west to reach our destination."

"Alright then, let's go." Usagi said.

And so they began the longish journey up the side of the mountain. The going was relatively easy, there weren't many people about to ask them any weird questions, and the smooth pavement of the trail made for bump-free navigation. However, as light as the trunk had seemed initially, the thing now seemed to be getting heavier as they walked. Usagi found herself constantly switching her carrying stance; giving one arm a rest as the other grasped the handle. Ami looked to be having no trouble at all; her grip on the case was steady, and her hands hadn't shifted even shifted once.

"Here's where we make the turn," Ami said.

Usagi stared out into the snarl of tree branches and underbrush. "Are you sure, it's really dark now and that looks kind of...rough."

"I will take the lead in that case. I know the path by heart," Ami said back.

So they swiveled themselves around so that Ami was facing the front, and without hesitation did she troop backwards into the brush. Along this rather impromptu path, Usagi found herself suffering more than a few scrapes and scratches as thin whip-like branches lashed at her from seemingly every direction. Ami seemed largely un-bothered. "Um, how much further, Ami?" Usagi was beginning to ache all over from this effort.

"Just over this incline here." Was the answer

They broke the tree line and found themselves at what was considered to be the halfway point of the mountain. Ami lowered her end of the case and Usagi followed suit. "Phew!" Was her relieved cry. Usagi stretched her back in an inverse arch to sort of un-bend her vertebra after being hunched over for so long. "This is the place?"

"Yes," Ami said. She had popped the lid of the trunk and busied herself emptying its contents on the ground around it. There were all sorts of instruments and objects that Usagi didn't recognize, but the last of which, she did. It looked to be a simple halogen floodlight. Ami pointed it at the face of the mountain and powered it on. And there, Ami's "project" was revealed.

The light illuminated what looked to be the entrance to an enormous cave. It looked to be more than fifty feet in diameter, and it was carved right out of the face of the mountain. "Ami, that's unbelievable!" Usagi said. "You dug this out all by your self?"

"I did, yes," Ami said. She placed a hard hat on her head and buckled the strap under her chin. "Tonight I make the final breakthrough."

Usagi tilted her head. "Breakthrough to what? Why exactly have you been digging into the mountain like this?"

Ami stopped as she pursed her lips in thought. "I cannot really say why," she started. "There are just some things you do simply because you are compelled to do them. I'm not sure what it is that is driving me to do this but I feel I'm close to...something." Ami looked Usagi in the eye. "Do you not feel it, standing here as we are?"

Usagi took in her surroundings. "I don't know..." she said. "What should I be feeling for?"

Ami gave a shake of her head and continued her work. She began unwinding a length of thin cable from a metallic spool. She connected one end of the cable to a electronic box she held in her hand, and snaked the other end up towards the mouth of the cave she had dug out. There was much clicking and snipping as she fastened things into place. Then she returned to her original position beside Usagi. "You may want to put these on," She said, handing Usagi a pair of goggles and a hard hat.

"Safety first!" Usagi sung as she accepted the gear.

"Now we must clear the blast zone."

"B-Blast zone!?" Usagi shrieked. "Are you going to blow something up!?"

"Oh yes," Ami answered calmly. "The remaining rock covering my discovery can be easily cleared with a single blast."

"Oh dear..." Usagi hunkered behind a rather conveniently placed rock as Ami began the final preparations.

"All systems check." She flipped several switches on the box, each responding with a beep. She then began her countdown. "Three...two...one... fire in the-"

"-Hey!"

It was a feminine voice that echoed down around them. A very angry feminine voice. Both Ami and Usagi looked up to see a tall brown-haired girl in a pullover hoodie and jeans standing near the top of the cave. "What the hell are you doing?" she called down.

"Well," Ami began. "We are-"

"This is an active dig sight, or can you not read?" The girl plundered on as she pointed to a sign that confirmed her exclamation.

"I know," Ami said. "I have been digging here for some time. and I am almost finished." She looked over her detonator box again. "Now, if you would be so kind as to remove yourself from your current position; you are sure to be caught in the blast if you remain where you are."

"In the blast...?" the girl said incredulously. "Alright, that's it." And from right there on the spot, did the girl jump from her perch. Usagi gasped as she plummeted to the ground, but upon landing, did the girl pitch her bodily momentum forward into a tuck and roll, mitigating any and all damage she would have otherwise incurred.

"That was impressive." Ami said, her eyebrows raised.

"Listen here, you are not blowing anything up, not while I'm around."

"What are you so afraid of?" Ami asked. "Are you not supposed to be here?"

"None of are, genius!" The girl shouted. "I'm kind of up here on the down-low, and I sure as hell don't need you literally blowing my stakeout. So clear off, got it?"

Ami seemed to have left off listening. She was currently glancing back and forth between the imposing presence of this girl, and her position in relation to the cave's entrance. Almost like she was judging her distance from it...

And without warning, did she shout, "Fire in the hole!"

Usagi ducked behind the rock again as the other girl's eyes widened. "Don't you fucking-"

KABOOOM!

...

As Rei made the familiar headway into the increasingly dark reaches of The Angel's Grove, she began to feel the nagging regret of not having made this trip earlier; sure she knew the way, but she had not anticipated it becoming dark so soon. And upon stepping on a rather thick fallen branch, she also began to regret wearing her flat slipper shoes as opposed to much more substantial footwear, like her hiking boots.

After just a bit more trekking along the beaten path, did she arrive in the small clearing where she and Yuuichirou usually gathered their firewood. she immediately looked about for the promised stack of pre-cut logs, but there were none to be found. "Looks like someone got to them after all..." she sighed. There was nothing left then but to cut her own.

From the hollow of a dead tree, did Rei retrieve the small axe they kept hidden here for the purpose. And, after setting a small log on the stump of a dead tree did she cleave it cleanly in two. Despite the deceiving slightness of her figure, Rei possessed a rather uncanny upper-body strength, thanks to her years of Kendo training and her log-cutting duties. Rei lined up a second log on the stump and raised the axe above her head, poised to strike. Her muscles had just tensed for the stroke when-

KABOOOM!

She dropped the axe entirely as her head whipped around towards the source of the sound. "What on Earth...?" She breathed. As any human being would be, Rei was naturally compelled to the sound. She broke the tree line and cast her view towards the mountain. And there, was the unmistakable curling of black smoke into the inky night sky. "That's the old mining site..." she mused. "By the gods, there could be miners trapped up there!" Rei rationalized that such a sound from such a place would soon attract the presence of of the authorities, but he saw no flashing red and blue lights or their telltale whine of sirens anywhere. "They need help," she lamented. "But what can I do...?" She gave a shake of her head and decided that there was nothing else for it, and took off up the mountain.

...

Minako and her troop of camp counselors and ensemble of children now sat in a great ring around an expertly-built camp fire (by Minako herself) and now munched on smores and hot cocoa. "Okay everyone, time for one more story, and then it's bedtime," said the head counselor. "And I think Minako should tell it; she has such a great imagination."

Minako smiled and set down her mug. She could feel all the expectant little eyes of the children on her as she cast around her brain for a good tale to tell. And then, a glance up into the night time sky gave Minako her inspiration. "Once upon a time there was a princess-"

"Not another princess story..." groaned one of the young boys.

"Now hold your horses," Minako said. "This is a good one." She started again. "Once upon a time there was a princess. And she was said to be the most beautiful lady in the entire world. But her world was much different than ours, because she lived...up there..." she pointed upwards into the sky.

"On The Moon, you mean?" Asked one of the children.

"Exactly," Minako confirmed.

"Isn't The Moon made of cheese?"

"That's preposterous," Minako laughed. "The Moon is made of rock, but it's the loveliest rock you've ever seen; much different than rock here on Earth. It's smooth and pure white, and reflects any light that touches it. And that's why the princess built her palace out of it.

"It was a marvelous sight; covered in great spires and tall towers, and all gilded with silver."

"Silver?" The children asked.

"Oh yes. It was the most precious resource on The Moon; they even used it as currency." Here, Minako's face darkened theatrically. "But also on The Moon, there lived a nasty, nasty sorceress. She was incredibly jealous of the princesses' beauty, her power, and her stature. So one day she-"

KABOOOM!

Everyone was on their feet in an instant, their collective heads turned towards the echo of the blast.

"W-what was that?!" The children were frightened and on edge.

"Everyone into their tents, now okay?" The head counselor began to round up the kids and herd them into their sleeping tents.

"We're going to have to do something," Minako said. "That's the old dig site up there. and explosions on dig sites are never a good thing." She began to jog in the direction of the mountain.

"Minako, where are you going?" shouted one of her comrades.

"I'm going to check it out. If someone is hurt up there, then I'll call for help." She wagged her cell phone. "Be back in a bit." And she began her climb up the mountain.

...

In the aftermath of Ami's explosion, Usagi found her ears ringing slightly, despite having done her best to plug them with her fingertips. Even in her slightly deafened state, there was no missing the voice of the brown-haired girl that now echoed around them. "Are you out of your freakin' MIND!?" She shouted. Her voice carried as true as the echo of the explosion. Ami seemed to pay her no heed as she began to sift through the rubble of the explosion; clearing away chunks of rock and debris from the mouth of the cave. "The cops are definitely gonna come now..." the girl said. "We gotta get outta here."

"No, we cannot leave," Ami said. "Not when I'm this close."

"Close to what? Do you have any idea what you're even digging for?"

"No," was Ami's answer.

"No!?" Was the girl's exasperated sigh. She turned her bright green eyes on Usagi, who had just worked up the courage to peek over the rock again. "And you!" She snarled. "You let this happen!"

"Uh...don't mind me...ha...ha..." Usagi sank behind the rock again, out of the girl's range of vision.

Just then, there was the rapid approach of footsteps. The girls turned in the direction to see a yet another girl, possibly close to themselves in age, arrive on the scene. Though the girl was dressed somewhat plainly, in a black button-down sleeveless vest, denim capris, and black ballet flats, Usagi couldn't help thinking how beautiful she was. Perhaps it was the almost mystic intensity of her face, or the way her curtain of shimmering raven-black hair caught the Moonlight. The new arrival looked about the scene. "Is everyone alright?" She asked.

"Oh yea," Answered the tall girl. "Everyone's just swell, thanks fer askin'."

"But...the explosion," the girl said worriedly. "Surely-"

"Oh wow, you heard that too?" The brown-haired girl said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's almost like it was freaking explosion!"

The black haired girl looked to Ami, still on her knees clearing rubble from the tunnel. "You there, are you-"

"Absolutely fine," Ami said, her work never ceasing.

She relaxed her stance. "Thank the gods then," she sighed.

And just then there was a call of "Hey!" All heads turned in the direction of the new voice as yet another girl approached the scene. Usagi remarked her flowing blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. "Is everyone-"

"-Yeah, we're fine," the brown-haired girl interjected. "Everyone's still got all ten fingers and toes."

"But that explosion was-"

"-Intentional and perfectly controlled," said Ami, not looking up from her work.

The blonde girl noted the safety gear that Usagi and Ami were wearing. "Are...are you the miners?" she said.

Usagi shook her head. "No, we're just up here, doing..uh...you know...some stuff...ha...ha..."

The blonde girl blinked a few times. "Well...if everyone's alright here then I guess I should be getting back to the kids..."

Brown gave Blonde a very up-and-down look. "Little young for kids aren't you?"

"They're not my kids," Blonde said with a slight blush. "I work at The Crystal Seminar Youth Retreat."

"So what are you, a scout or something?"

"You could say that," Blonde responded. "Sometimes I feel more like a soldier; keeping those kids in line is like a military...is she okay?" She had left off her original sentence and pointed in concern to Ami, who had apparently finished clearing away the debris at the mouth of the cave and simply stood staring into it's depths.

"What is it?" Black said.

Ami simply stared. "I don't know..." she said, the biggest smile forming on her face.

All five girls now stood staring into the mouth of the cave. Illuminated by the floodlight, they could see that the cave looked to play host to a smaller opening. It looked completely circular, and just fit inside the circumference of the cave's mouth. A cave within a cave.

Ami was the first to break the stupor as she approached the opening.

"So...what the hell is it?" Brown asked.

"It may be an entrance to one of the mine shafts," Black offered.

"No, not quite," Ami said.

"What makes you say that?"

From her tool belt, Ami withdrew a small hand-held hammer. She tapped on the mouth of the cave. THUNK THUNK THUNK.

Brown huffed impatiently. "Yeah it's rock, we get it."

Ami then tapped the hammer on the inside of the smaller opening. CLING CLING CLING.

"Whoa...I think you might be on to somethin' there, chief," Brown said.

All five of their respective curiosities were peaked at this point as they formed up closer to the entrance. "This cave is not a natural formation," Ami said. "Someone built it, so it must lead somewhere." And she slowly entered the cave.

"Do be careful," Black said, her voice echoing through the cave. Even with the backdrop of the floodlight, the immediate depths of the cave were still shrouded in complete darkness. After a short time, Ami called, "All of you come here, and bring the light with you!"

Usagi scooped the lamp off the ground and held it front of her as to light her way into the cave.

"Hey, are we sure this is a good idea?" Blonde asked.

"If it isn't, then don't follow us," Brown said back.

The girls carefully picked their way through the opening and in just a few short paces, did they reach Ami's position. "Give me the light," she said.

Usagi obeyed as Ami took the lamp from her and placed it in a strategic position on the ground. Angling the light up and shining it on the wall, was her discovery revealed.

The light now shown on what looked like an ancient tapestry, carved right out of the face of the rock. The earthen mural was brilliantly colored, it reflected the lamp's light with an array of hues; white, green, blue, red, and yellow. And amongst these colors, were shapes; symbols; figures they did not immediately understand.

"What is it?" Blonde asked with wide eyes.

"It's so beautiful..." Usagi breathed in awe.

Ami took a moment to scrutinize the markings on the wall. "Those symbols, they look...possibly Kabbalistic in nature."

"No..." Black said. Her eyes were wide, her mouth just parted open; all the signs of wonderment. She slowly approached the wall, her hands held out before her as though in reverence. "This is it..." she breathed. She ran her hand slowly over the face of the mural "The Moon...Venus...Mercury...Mars...Jupiter." The girl smiled breathlessly. "This is it, by the gods, this is it!"

"This is...what...exactly?" Blonde said, a small note of concern in her voice.

"The answer. This is what they've been trying to tell me; this is what I've been searching for all this time!"

"Think it's worth any money?" Brown said. "We sell this thing to a museum and we are set for life!"

Black cast her a scathing look as she set her hands on the wall, almost protectively. "You will do no such thing," she said. "The answers I have been searching for are right here in front of me, and I will be damned if I let you..." The turned her head back to the wall as her sentence trailed off. "What in the world?"

"What is it?" Usagi asked.

"This wall it's...humming; vibrating."

"Huh, what?" Brown asked.

"Come, feel it for yourselves."

The girls approached the wall. Now in a single horizontal file, were they in range to feel it. "It doesn't even feel like rock..." Blonde whispered as she ran the palm of her hand over the surface.

"It's far too smooth to be so," Ami concurred. "This material..." she thought hard, casting to her knowledge of all known elements and compounds. "...It may not be of this world..."

"What, you think these are some alien hieroglyphics or some shit?" Brown laughed at her. "You are crazier than you look."

"If not that, then what could they be?" Ami said back to her.

Brown was kept from answering by the beginning of a new phenomenon. The five colors cast from the wall suddenly began to glow brighter...and brighter...and brighter. "Whats happening!?" Usagi screamed. The glow from the combined hues overwhelmed even that of the floodlight , as all was lost in their glow. And jut as quickly as it started, the event was over. Their power of sight now returned to them, they could all again look to the mural...or at least where the mural used to be.

"What happened?" Blonde asked. "Where did the thing go?"

There was now nothing more than a face of plain gray rock where the brilliant image once was. Ami looked about the scene, for any potential reasons for the thing's disappearance. And that's when she saw them. "Look there on the ground."

Just at the girls feet, at the base of the wall, were...well, they didn't quite know what they were. They all, rather slowly, retrieved the objects from the ground, one apiece.

"What are these things?" Brown said.

The objects in question were indeed small enough to fit in their hands, but their oblong, rather tubular shape required a firm grip. They each glowed very faintly, with the colors that once shown out of the mysterious pictures on the wall.

"Look here," Black said. "They are topped with the same symbols that were on the picture."

"Mine looks like a '4'" Brown chuckled.

"Usagi, yours looks slightly different," Ami said.

Indeed Usagi's object seemed a small bit grander than the others. Hers was topped not with a planetary marking, but what looked like a carving of the crescent moon itself. It glowed with a lovely paraselene vibrancy.

"So, again, what are they?" Brown asked. "They look like little wands or something..."

"No more like..." Black drew the tip of the thing through the air. "Pens..."

"Just what I needed, more stationary."

And just at that moment, did the ground beneath them begin to tremble. The floodlight toppled over and shorted out, plunging them into darkness.

"Oh my god, it's an earthquake!" Usagi screamed.

"No it's not," Ami said, with a calm that no one else in the group felt.

All five girls turned uniformly to their right. This tunnel apparently went on for a lot longer than any of the initially realized. From what looked to be miles off, there was a pinprick of fierce yellow light at the end of the tunnel. And it looked to be approaching their position...fast.

"What is that?" Black said.

"It's hot," Blonde said. "Whatever it is, I can feel it from here."

Ami then had her verdict. "It's fire," she said.

"RUN!"

All five turned to run, but they were far too late. The rush of yellow flame consumed their bodies whole. They were, all of them, instantly incinerated there on the spot.

They were dead.

...

*End of Shard 1*

...

A/N:

Alright, let me explain. This wasn't planned at all, it just kind of...happened. Thing is, I recently saw the new Power Rangers reboot. This at the same time that I just so happened to be re-watching Sailor Moon Crystal. And, my mind working the way it does, immediately came up with a fusion of the two properties. Sailor Moon X Power Rangers is by no means an original concept, but I think I'm giving it a somewhat original twist...I hope.

On another note, My RWBY fic: Shadows of Light may see an even slower update schedule than usual, which is saying something. In the downtime until volume 5, I'll fill the void with Sailor Moon. Gotta do something to keep from going crazy.

So, I hope you enjoyed this intro chapter, hopefully the story will take on the shape that I'm envisioning. Until then...

-B.D. Skunkworks