Prince of the Universe Chapter 1:

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, late, late LATE!" came the panicked cry of a teenage girl rushing to get to school. People ducked out of the way or were shoved aside, many of whom sighed at just how common an occurrence this explosion of havoc was.

Well it seemed that nothing could slow the crazy teen down... right up until she heard a yowl of pain and a chorus of laughter. And so Usagi Tsukino skidded to a halt next to a part where a bunch of younger children were torturing a cat. Now anyone who knew Usagi could rattle off a long list of flaws: She was often lazy, whiney, selfish, gluttonous, irresponsible, and so on and so forth but for all her faults she was a decent person and would not stand for someone tormenting a poor animal right in front of her.

"Leave that cat alone!" Usagi shouted at brats, striding forward and picking the cat up and glaring at the tormentors.

Seeing the gig was up the kids scattered, heading different directions. Usagi turned her attention to the cat in her arms checking it for injuries.

"You see okay, little kitty. A few bumps but nothing looks serious." Usagi paused looking at the adhesive bandage on the cat's forehead, half hanging off.
"I don't think this will do you much good" She said removing the bandage reveal a strange crescent mark. While she stared at it the can jumped out of her arms onto a nearby railing and looked at Usagi as if studying her. Usage was about to comment on the weird look the cat was giving when she caught sight of her watch. "EEEP I AM SO LATE! GOTTA RUN!" before speeding off again.

"Welcome back to Japan, Gilgamesh. It has been quite a while since you graced my country with your presence."

Gilgamesh looked across the table to the man he had come here to meet. "Polite as always Kojiro, it's nice to see you again."

"I take it you are here for more than just a vacation or else you would not have requested to speak to me." Sasaki Kojiro said with a bemused smile.

While the two immortals got along well enough they were hardly close friends. The immortal Japanese swordsman unlike most immortals tended to dress in more traditional clothing of his nation but for this lunch with the First of the Immortals, he had dressed in a business suit, not as expensive looking as the one Gilgamesh wore but trying to outdo the King of Heroes in shows of wealth was an exercise in futility.

"So do I need to warn the Emperor about anything specific or just the general 'Gilgamesh is in town, have people start practicing disaster response drills' I usually give?"

Gilgamesh chuckled "I'm not sure yet. Remember the seal I told you about, from before I became immortal."

Kojiro frowned, "I do remember things about my first life you know. And you gave me the complete run down of everything I missed that night on account of being dead."

Gilgamesh winced, that night was never an enjoyable topic for either of them "Well I think it's weakening. I can feel the old evil stirring as though seeking a weak point in this part of the world. It could be nothing or it could be what I have been expecting to occur for a long time. I ask you to keep alert for strange happenings. I figured it would be best if I investigated things myself before spreading the news to all of the immortals. Feel free to pass on information to your emperor, the Imperial family of this nation has been a reliable ally to us." Gilgamesh said, his eyes betraying a mix of concern and anticipation.

Kojiro considered this for a moment, "Alright, I should be able to make things easier for you from my end. Provided you don't do anything careless the authorities and government should not be a hindrance. Oh and a word of warning, the Hound is in town."

Gilgamesh groaned, "That could be annoying. But at least it isn't the backward-aging brat from Avalon or HIM."

"The Hound and I meet up for drinks and Karaoke on Fridays if you're interested" Kojiro said, smiling as he remembered just how much fun drinking with the Irishman could be.

"I'll keep that in mind" Gilgamesh said in a deadpan voice.

-
Usagi was the picture of teenage misery. Not only had she been late for class but her score on her last test had been abysmal, the latest in a series of terrible grades. Her teacher had royally chewed out Usagi for her behaviour, poor grades, and general failings as a student. So now that it was lunch hour Usagi did what she did best, bawl like a small child and stuff her face with food.

Her best friend Naru sighed, torn between the desire to scold Usagi for the constant slacking off and immature behaviour that led to this predicament, and comfort her best friend which had the added bonus of lessening the assault on the eardrums of everyone within twenty meters of the crying Blonde. "Calm down Usagi, yes it's bad but it isn't the end of the world. Crying isn't going to help matters."

This managed to stop the dreaded wailing which caused various students to remove various earplugs and headphones that had been shielding their ears with and others to return to seats they had abandoned to escape the din, most offering small prayers of thanks for the existence of Naru Osaka, saviour of eardrums.

"There, there, Usagi. It'll be okay. Things will look up." Naru said with a small smile.

Usagi nodded, "Thanks Naru, what would I ever do without you?"

'Drive everyone into a murderous rage' Naru thought but didn't say.

This was the time when several of Naru and Usagi's classmates resumed their interrupted conversation. "So did you hear about the recent Jewel store robbery?" One of the girls asked.

"Yeah I heard about that" Said another, "It was the latest of a series of similar robberies over the last few months."

The first girl nodded, "Yeah they nearly got away with thousands of dollars in jewels and jewellery as well as a lot of money."

"But they were stopped by Riastrad!" interrupted the class otaku, Umino.

Usagi tilted her head in confusion, "What's a Ree-as-trad?" She asked mangling the foreign word.

This was all Umino needed to go into full fanboy nerdrage mode. "What! You've never heard of Riastrad, the Blue Lancer! He's only the greatest crime fighting hero to ever grace Tokyo! He appeared in the last year and started busting up criminal operations all over Japan. They say he can out run a mag-train and leap a skyscraper. He's so cool!"

Naru shook her head, "Really, superheroes Umino? Sounds like an Urban legend. Even if this guy is out there fighting crime, superpowers are hard to accept."

Usagi nodded, "Weren't you going on about some superheroes in England last week."

Umino huffed, "I believe in Sailor V and the Knight of Victory."

The others shrugged, Naru broke the awkward pause, "I can totally understand why they'd be targeting Jewellery stores though, I mean my mom's store has quite a lot of merchandise that is very valuable. My mom mentioned we're supposed to be having a sale soon, hopefully we don't have to worry about thugs like that trying to rob our store."

Usagi perked up at this "A sale, of all those pretty gems and jewellery? I so want to check that out!"

Naru smiled, "Why don't you all come to the store after school then. Mom's always happy for potential business."

-

After school Usagi and Naru were amazed at just how much business the OSA-P Jewellers was getting with this sale.

Usagi stared wide-eyed at the sheer number of girls and women in the store, along with a few male customers trying to grab nice gifts for their significant others while the prices were reasonable.

Naru was similarly surprised "Wow, Mom went all out on this sale. I've never seen the place so packed."

Usagi turned her attention to the Jewellery on display, before a sudden realization hit her. "Oh no, I have hardly any money and there's no way my parents will be giving me spending money or buying me stuff with these tests scores." She stared forlornly at the shiny baubles for a while longer before heading to the door. "Bye Naru, see you tomorrow. I need to go be depressed somewhere else."

As she left the store Usagi took the test out of her bag and glared at it as if she could intimidate a better grade out of it. When this failed to accomplish anything she angrily crumpled the test and threw it over her shoulder.

"Hey Dumpling head, Watch where you're throwing your junk!"

Usagi turned to see a young man several years older than her holding her crumpled test in her hand. He slowly opened the wad of paper and let out a long whistle. "Wow, with a test score like this I can see why you'd throw this away. I'd recommend burning it so your shame and stupidity are not passed on to other people through close contact."

"Give me that!" Usagi growled snatching the test paper out of his hands. "And mind your own business you creep!" before stalking off.

Completely unnoticed, a familiar black cat with a crescent mark on its forehead shadowed Usagi every step of the way.

-

Gilgamesh had begun his investigative work. While the mundane resources he had employed had just begun to gather data he had consulted a few mystical sources as well. While most of the mystics he had consulted had been unable to offer much assistance, Kojiro had called with a tip from a mystic source that Gilgamesh thought worth investigating.

It was this that brought Gilgamesh to the Azabu-Juuban district of Tokyo's Minato Ward. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for but kept alert for magical phenomena and other unusual occurrences. Despite this he was caught unawares when he literally tripped over an unconscious girl.

After recovering from the stumble Gilgamesh examined the girl to ensure she was alright. This led to two major discoveries. First that the girl was still alive and stable despite his inability to rouse her, and second that she was wearing some form of enchanted necklace. Now if there was one thing that Gilgamesh was qualified to appraise it was magical items, his treasure and armoury was filled with them and he had come to see many of them used over the millennia. Taking the necklace in his hand he could feel it trying to siphon energy from him, while his strong magical heritage meant the drain barely affected him, on a normal human ... well the results spoke for themselves.

Gilgamesh quickly noticed two other girls with similar jewellery unconscious nearby. After removing the jewels from the girls, Gilgamesh took out the cell phone that Kojiro had given him as a direct means of contact and called one of the numbers the Japanese immortal had given him. As soon as some medical assistance arrived Gilgamesh planned on finding the source of these parasitic trinkets and personally expressed his disapproval to those responsible. He figured a sword through a kneecap was a good way to start.

-

A few hours had passed since leaving the Jewellery store and Usagi's mood and situation had not improved. She had come home to find her mother waiting for her to ask about her test results. Upon viewing said test results Ikuko Tsukino had booted her daughter out of the house. Usagi had then been subjected to the mockery of her younger brother Shingo, who had then run inside and slammed the door in Usagi's face to escape her violent retribution leaving her with a hurt foot.

This had prompted another round of weeping from Usagi. Eventually Usagi had been let back in the house which led her to move her weeping to her room. Now she had exhausted herself from crying and was dozing off when something sharp dug into the skin of her leg forcing her to remove her face from where it had been buried in her pillow to see what it was.

She was surprised to see the same cat with the crescent hairless mark on its forehead she had seen this morning sitting on the end of her bed. "What are you doing here, bald kitty?"

Claws dug back into her leg again "I am not bald!" the cat shouted back in an angry yet aristocratic voice. Not that Usagi was in any state to notice these details beyond freaking out that the Cat was talking.

The Cat winced as Usagi shrieked, withdrew her claws and smacked the hysterical girl across the cheek with a paw. "Pull yourself together young lady or I'll use the claws next time."

Usagi managed to stop shrieking but was still panicking and breathing heavily for another couple minutes. "Okay...talking Cat. I have a talking Cat in my room. This isn't a dream because the claws and smack hurt. So I'm either crazy or there's an actual talking cat in my room."

The Cat stared at Usagi "have you finished panicking yet?"

Usagi replied, "I think so, mostly. So assuming I'm not crazy, why are you in my room talking cat?"

-

Shingo Tsukino had a fairly normal relationship with his older sister in that the two were constantly fighting and doing generally mean things to each other while still caring for each other. Not that either of these two would admit to the latter.

However it had been Shingo's suggestion to their mother that Usagi would bother the neighbours that convinced Ikuko to let Usagi back into the house.

Shingo probably knew his sister better than most people, which was why while he tuned out most of her crying, her shriek drew his attention. Curious he sneaked out of room and opened the door a crack so he could watch and listen.

-
The Cat looked at the Usagi and said: "My name is Luna and I am no ordinary cat. I have a mission and you have been chosen by destiny to help me with it." Luna then pulled a broach from nowhere and placed it in front of the confused girl. Usagi picked up the trinket enchanted by its beauty and general sparkly qualities.

Luna continued "An ancient and terrible evil is returning to the world and you have been chosen to serve as a warrior of justice against it. That broach will give you the power to combat this evil and protect the world. Simply say 'Moon Prism power, Make Up' to activate it."

Usagi looked at the broach for a moment, hesitant due to the weight of what she was being told. But something about the broach in her hand just felt right so she steeled herself and said "Moon Prism Power, Make Up!"

There was a flash of light, as the power embraced Usagi

Within the span of an instant she was now in an outfit resembling a Sailor Fuku with a great deal of extra ribbons and accessories. With the transformation came a feeling of power and strength, and surprisingly good hearing as she could suddenly hear a scream from far off.
And So Sailor Moon slipped out her window to spread love and justice.

-

Shingo was mentally debating whether he needed to claw out his eyes or not. He didn't understand a lot of what was going on. "Who would pick my idiot sister to be a superhero?"

but this was to distract him to the elephant in the room. He'd watched the transformation sequence. And even though it happened instantaneously for some reason he had seen EVERYTHING. He was in little brother hell at the moment.

"Never mention that I saw that, Usage will murder me." Shingo said as he went to his room and grabbed a few things. Mental scarring or not, he was not going to miss out on watching a real superhero in action, even if it was his sister.

-

Ever since this afternoon Naru had thought that he mother seemed to be acting strangely. She seemed a bit too into the sale, and the prices were so low Naru wasn't sure how this sale was supposed to turn a profit.

With evening now settling on the city Naru had gone to check on her mother again to find her mother talking to herself about energy stealing crystals. Naru had been worried and afraid when she'd been noticed and suddenly her mother had grabbed her and hoisted her up with one hand. As she looked into the older woman's eyes Naru came to a sudden realization, whatever this think was it was not her mother.

So she screamed. A scream that got louder as the thing wearing her mother's face began to change revealing a ghoulish visage. "Well now, it looks like I have one more victim to drain tonight. We can't have a little girl like you spreading word of our operations."

"Let her go!" called a defiant voice from behind.

The monster twisted its head around 180 degrees to stare behind it to see the girl standing at the entrance to the store. "Who are you? And how dare you try to give me orders?"

Usagi hesitated a bit not sure what to say before going with what came naturally. "I am the Pretty Sailor-suited Senshi, Sailor Moon, Champion of justice, and in the name of the moon I shall punish you!"

"Bah never heard of you. You're just some little girl trying to play hero." The monster said in reply, "Minions, arise and serve your master Morga. Dispose of this pest!"

In response a number of customers that had not left the store before succumbing to the draining effect of the crystals rose from where they had lain unconscious and moved like a horde of mindless zombies towards Sailor Moon.

Not having any training or practice in a fight the best Sailor Moon could do was dodge and run. Luna ran beside Sailor moon "You've got to turn and fight, running isn't going to help."

"What am I supposed to do? I've never really fought someone before and even if I could what am I going to do with these mind-controlled bystanders?"

Morga cackled, "And you thought you could oppose an agent of the Dark Kingdom. Pathetic, I wonder if you'll last long enough for me to toy with once I'm done draining this girl. Minions Kill her!"

"WAAAAAAAAA I DON'T WANT TO DIE WAAAAAAAAA" Sailor Moon whined when suddenly her hair ornaments amplified and directed the sound at the brainwashed horde smashing them aside with a sonic wave.

Morga stared at this, stunned. So did Naru, Luna, Sailor Moon, and the various other concealed observers.

Morga said, "Okay seriously, what by Metallia's black bosom was that? Who the hell has attacks based on crying?" Which pretty much summed up everyone else's thoughts.

Sailor Moon's Eyes started to tear up and Morga's demonic eyes widened. "No you don't!" the youma rushed forward and grabbed Sailor Moon's throat with her free hand. "I am not letting you use that again."

And as Sailor Moon struggled against the monster's grip two objects sped through the air. A rose embedded itself into the arm that held Sailor Moon while a sword cleaved through the one that held Naru.
Two men were about to say something, talking over each other for a moment before turning to glare at each other. The Man in golden armour sighed and gestured for the other man to go first.

The other man, dressed in an elaborate tuxedo, cape, top hat, and domino mask said dramatically, "fear not, I Tuxedo Mask will lend you aid in your hour of need. Any warrior of justice is an ally of mine." He said swirling his cape with a flourish as Sailor Moon looked on in awe.

Gilgamesh groaned, "Gods I cannot believe this; a cry baby and a drama queen. These are the champions she expected to defeat the old foe and bring back that blasted kingdom. If she wasn't already dead for eons I would punch her in the face."

He strode forth into the Jewellery store, contemptuously knocking aside any of the brainwashed customers with an armoured backhand as he approached the Youma who was cradling its stump.

"Who the hell are you?" Morga shrieked

"Quiet dog, I'll deal with your filth after I'm done chastising the other two." The golden figure snapped.

Morga felt the full force of this shining demi-god's force of personality and froze.

"Better." Gilgamesh said. "First you, Mr. Fancy Pants. I approve of your fashion sense, it's very tasteful and elegant attire but it does not belong on a battle field. Have you ever tried to get blood and Youma dust stains out? It is a nightmare. But for all the sins you commit putting dramatic effect over functionality you seem relatively competent, so I'll save the scything commentary for later."

Tuxedo Mask seemed perplexed at this man and was not give time to think of a reply before Gilgamesh moved on. "You little girl, are not getting off so easily."

Sailor Moon winced, "It's my first time! How am I supposed to know how to do all this right away?"

Gilgamesh shook his head, "The fact that you attempted to perform an act of heroism with no real training earns you some points, but frankly you are a disgrace! Too cowardly to fight, forced to resort to weaponizing your whining, and don't get me started on the speeches. So I am going to give you a test. I am going to remove the bystanders from the building. You and Top Hat have until I get back to finish off the Youma. Or I'll put her down myself. Got it?"

Sailor Moon nodded.

Morga finally worked up her nerve again. "How dare you treat me like some kind of nuisance? I am a Youma warrior in the service of Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom! You should tremble before me!"

Gilgamesh looked at the enraged Morga and laughed long and hard. Once more the golden clad immortal let his power shine forth "I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes! And I tremble before no one. Not your Queen, nor your Goddess, and especially not a worm like you."

Gilgamesh bent down and offered his hand to Naru who had crawled out of the way and was staring at the events occurring around her with shocked eyes. "Can you stand young lady?"

Naru hesitantly took the offered hand and stood. "Yes...I think so."

Gilgamesh nodded, "good, now for these other victims... ENKIDU"

Suddenly a chain appeared in Gilgamesh's hand and snaked out ensnaring the brainwashed mob. The gold armoured man began moving towards the exit taking Naru and the other girls with him.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Morga finally over came their shock and began to move. Shrieking the youma summoned the cursed crystals to her forming a replacement arm and coating her with crystalline armour. She slashed out with her claws at the two heroes.

Both dodged out of the way and struck back. Tuxedo Mask struck at Morga's throat with his Cane, while Sailor Moon struck out with a clumsy but powerful kick to the Youma's midsection.

Morga staggered back against a display case before ripping it out of the floor and hurling it. Tuxedo Mask dodged left while Sailor Moon dodged right, leaving the Youma growling in frustration and pain.

-

Gilgamesh reached outside and was surprised to find someone else dragging an unconscious captive to safety. The unconscious woman was being pulled by a much smaller figure. Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow at the child.

Naru on the other hand recognized her mother as the person being dragged. She ran to her mother relieved that while unconscious the monster had not harmed her.

Gilgamesh looked at the short rescuer, "Couldn't get her bonds off, huh?"

Shingo looked at the King of Heroes and shrugged, "Sailor Moon isn't the only one new at hero stuff."

"Fair enough," Gilgamesh summoned another sword and quickly cut away 's bonds. "Shall we check on how the Rookie and Opera Lad are doing?"

-

They were doing rather well actually.

Sailor Moon was finally getting the hang of the speed and physical ability her transformation granted her, while Tuxedo Mask was able to understand and react to his combat partner's movements.

Morga was slowly being worn down and was getting desperate. "DIE DAMN YOU" she shrieked and formed a barrage of crystal spikes to fire at the two.

"Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber!" Tuxedo Mask fired an energy blast from his hand, destroying the spikes and knocking Morga of balance.

Luna shouted, "Use your Tiara, Sailor Moon!"

Sailor Moon took her tiara off her forehead and felt the magic show her what to do.

"Moon Tiara Action!" She called out as she threw the Tiara which had become a glowing disc of light and sliced through the Youma with ease reducing it to a pile of dust.

Tuxedo Mask smiled at Sailor Moon, "Well done, I look forward to our next encounter." Then the masked man jumped to a high window and vanished into the night.

A slow clap echoed through the mostly empty store, "Well done, Moon Brat. You've shown you can learn to do things right." Gilgamesh said with a mocking smile.

"Why are you so being so mean to me? You're acting like everything I do is a personal insult to you." Sailor Moon said sick of being made fun of.

Gilgamesh's smile vanished. "That's a long story and I'll save the history lesson for another day. Suffice to say I have every reason to doubt you, but not enough justification to crush you like an insect. So for now I will let you carry on, while I clean up the mess your predecessor started a long time ago. So until we meet again, Moon Brat, Try to stay alive."

Sailor Moon watched the King of Heroes disappear into the night and sighed, her life had just become a lot more complicated.

-

End of Chapter 1.