Author's note: I'm messing with the re-awakening order just a bit in this chapter and the next, mostly to keep things closer to the average Winx canon age when a fairy gets her powers. After this, though, it will follow the usual Sailor Moon canon for Senshi re-awakening.
Again, I don't own any characters mentioned in this chapter.
The Senshi Fairy Chronicles
Chapter 3: Bound for More; Roxy's Tale
Over that summer, Princess Roxana—aided by six fairies from other realms—managed to free the fairies of Tir Na nOg from their imprisonment and save the planet from her mother's wrath. Now, with Morgana stepping down to reconnect with her husband, Nebula became the queen and shared with Morgana the responsibility of molding Roxana into a proper royal.
Things weren't going at all as planned on that front, forcing Setsuna to take valuable time away from guarding the Time Gate and training Mina to intervene. Mina could be a bit flighty and seemingly unintelligent at times, but the young blonde Senshi made great strides forward in her training. Even at the most basic fairy form her attacks were stronger than those of some fully-trained fairies—a definitive identifier of a Senshi. Still, she needed a lot of work to get to where she should be, and Setsuna would much rather spend her precious time dealing with a ditzy Mina than a stubborn Nebula.
Nebula's dark eyes widened with shock when the green-haired Senshi of Time teleported smack-dab in the middle of the throne room. Obviously the anti-teleportation wards hadn't been re-activated yet, something she would need to rectify swiftly. Morgana, now acting in the capacity of an advisor rather than a monarch, stood close to the throne. The two sisters had been in a private meeting, as Setsuna knew they would be "Who are you?!" Nebula demanded, not bothering to hide her outrage.
"You know very well who I am, Nebula." Setsuna responded calmly as Morgana's eyes widened. Clearly the former queen remembered her. "I am she who saved the life of your niece. A life you almost ended with your lust for vengeance." Garnet eyes narrowed at the Fairy of War and Peace. "Roxana needs to be trained."
"Roxy is going to boarding school in another realm. She will receive her training there." Morgana answered calmly, noting that the fully-transformed Time Guardian looked as regal and imposing as ever. A floor-length black sari with silver trim and shimmering garnet embroidery wrapped around the dark fairy's lithe frame, contrasting nicely with the silver sandals—adorned with tiny garnet and black opal stones—that wrapped around her feet. Half of her long hair had been pulled into a knotted bun with tiny garnet and silver clips holding it in place, allowing the rest of it to fall freely down her back. Her large black-trimmed wings had veins of garnet and silver running through them, accenting the key-shaped Garnet Staff in her hands nicely.
"To be a proper fairy, perhaps, but not to rule her people and restore her ancestral home." Setsuna remarked. "She is destined to revive the Moon Kingdom and return it to its former glory. The Princess must be taught how to be a leader and that won't happen at Alfea." Roxy was a Lunarian by blood and despite the unusual power source would be the Senshi able to wield the Ginzhuishou—the legendary Silver Crystal—if anyone knew where to find it. It was lost in the final battle centuries prior and no one had seen it since.
"Roxy's education is Morgana's department. If you feel so strongly about this, perhaps you should train the young princess, Time Guardian?" Nebula taunted, treating the taller fairy like one of her subjects.
Dark energy crackled around Setsuna. "You DARE address a fellow royal in such a contemptuous manner?" She hissed, a magical shockwave knocking Nebula off her feet and onto her throne. "I am Queen Setsuna of Pluto, Senshi of Time and the Underworld, and you will treat me with the proper respect!" That was the difference between Nebula and herself. Nebula never bothered to learn proper decorum, while Setsuna studied it from an early age. Queen Igraine—Nebula and Morgana's mother—was likely the one to blame for that shortcoming.
"I have taught her what I could, Queen Setsuna." Morgana spoke calmly as her brash younger sibling collected herself. "The final weeks of summer vacation are a rather short time to teach her everything she needs to know about ruling a kingdom. She begins her formal education in two weeks."
"Perhaps, but it will not be dependent on Alfea's schedule." The last Plutonian Senshi spoke. "Venus came into her powers a month before Roxana in order to protect her. Two of the other Senshi, Outer Senshi, have begun to show signs of magic over the last few weeks." Leave it to those two love-birds to find their powers before the rest of the Inner Senshi… "They all need training to be proper warriors, Morgana, not simply guardians."
"Perhaps we can reach a compromise?" The former ruler of Tir Na nOg offered. "Earth has been excluded from the magical dimension for five hundred years. Our young Senshi will need to interact with nobles of other planets for this restoration plan to work, unless I am very much mistaken. Enroll them at Alfea and work there as a teacher. The headmistress—Glinda Faragonda—seems like the kind of woman who would allow you to do with the Senshi as you see fit after hours, and I doubt she would keep you from seeking out new ones as they awaken."
It was logical reasoning like this that made Morgana such a good ruler. The Senshi felt more than a little envious; she should have thought of that on her own. "Very well, but I would like a word with the young princess before we leave for Alfea; I may need her help convincing our two new Senshi to come with us."
"It will be arranged, Setsuna." Morgana bowed.
Roxy's life took an abrupt turn toward the surreal at precisely 1 PM. It was at that moment her mother introduced her to Setsuna, a powerful fairy supposedly from Pluto. The dark fairy boasted more raw power than Bloom, however, so the claim that the woman was a Warrior-Queen on her home world and guardian of the Time Gate seemed highly plausible. Both Setsuna and Morgana insisted that Roxy needed additional training that only the green-haired woman could provide and it was high time for her to meet the brave fairy who'd been pretending to be her for the last several months.
That had been a very interesting conversation. Though still unconvinced that the other fairy was really older than seven-hundred or that her body-double was the reborn form of a past fairy, Roxy did concede that as the heir apparent to Tir Na nOg, it was her duty to see that the newly-awakening fairies of Earth were transitioning smoothly into their new lives. Setsuna knew of one confirmed fairy and two potentials who were a few years older than Roxy, something it could have taken months or years for her to discover on her own. If working with the ever-cryptic 'Senshi' helped her help new fairies, Roxy would go along with it.
Being dragged through the fabric of time itself, however, was not an activity Roxy wanted to repeat. Everything here appeared distorted and sluggish, as if viewed through fogged-up glass. And it was dark, darker than she felt comfortable with. It was hard to pick Setsuna out from the scenery in this place, which made a lot of sense if the older woman protected the area from invaders. It would be hard for intruders to attack what they could not see.
Up ahead was an orange-tinted light. Though faint, it stood out against the harsh muted landscape and beckoned her forward. She walked toward it, dimly aware that Setsuna kept pace somewhere beside her. All that mattered right now was finding the source of the glow, whoever and whatever it might be.
"I see she's practicing." Setsuna murmured in a voice so soft Roxy almost didn't hear it. One of the advantages of being the Fairy of Animals was the heightened sense that came with her transformation. She could hear, see, and smell much better than the average person, even the average fairy, while in this form of incomplete Believix.
"She?" Roxy asked, continuing her forward motion. "That light is the other Senshi?" Setsuna nodded. "Is she a Believix fairy too?"
"No, Roxana, she is not. She has only unlocked her basic fairy form, something we will force you to do, in the coming days." The older fairy remarked, gaze locked onto her travelling companion. "You cannot achieve a full Believix form until you gain the third basic form, which I believe is called Enchantix these days. You cannot gain that without unlocking your basic fairy form, which you won't be able to do unless your ability to access Believix is bound. Do you understand?"
"I do." Faragonda had told her the same thing when she went in for her pre-enrollment evaluation. It sucked, but she would deal with it as there was no other way for her to earn a full-fledged Believix form. "But if she's not at my level, how is she putting off that much light?"
"Her aura is stronger than yours, princess, but with training and meditation you should reach that output level quickly. Lunarian Senshi, though rare, always display strong auras." Setsuna looked at the younger fairy. "I suspect that so many years of interbreeding with the warriors of Earth produced your unusual power source."
Sighing, Roxy focused her attention on the ever-nearing light. She could now make out the form of a young blonde woman in an orange outfit. The strange girl was sitting cross-legged in front of a large gate, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. As they drew closer, Roxy could make out the navy blue and gold accents on her base form and her heart-shaped wings. Her gold-silk colored hair fell to the middle of her back, just like Roxy's hair, only she had bangs in the front like Stella. A navy blue bow kept some of her hair pinned away from her face. Without warning, the stranger's eyes snapped open, sky blue orbs regarding the pair carefully.
"Is she the girl you were telling me about, Pluto?" The teenager inquired, gracefully rising to her feet. Roxy felt a wave of shame and jealousy wash over her. She might have been born a princess, but she was far from graceful.
Setsuna nodded. "Mina, this is Roxana Klaus, Princess of the Earth Fairies. Roxy, meet Mina Allen, Senshi of Venus."
"Charmed." Mina nodded, studying the Roxy carefully. "You know, I thought that since I was your designated body-double that we'd look a little more alike…"
This was true. Mina's eyes were round and expressive, lips perfectly shaped, and nose perky and cute. Roxy had narrower almond-shaped eyes, a plain nose, and pouty lips that looked big on her heart-shaped face. The other Senshi also had a substantial advantage in the boob department. Mina looked more like a storybook fairy princess than she did! "I didn't even realize I had a body double until about an hour ago, but you have a valid point. We don't even have similar fairy forms."
"Or faces for that matter, but such is life." Mina shrugged, supremely unconcerned about the body-double thing. It was over and done with now. "I'm kinda happy I can run around in my fairy form and not be mistaken for anyone else now." She paused, tilting her head slightly to the left. "What does your fairy form look like, anyway?"
"Well, my Believix—which is incomplete, according to Setsuna—is a green top and short set, but I don't know about my base form." She felt distinctly curious about it, but also apprehensive about being stuck in a glittery miniskirt. Flashing people down below wasn't considered appropriate behavior for a princess.
"We will find out, once your Believix form is blocked." Setsuna remarked. "In fact, I feel that should be done before we go to retrieve the next two Senshi."
"Are you sure?" Mina frowned. "What if they get attacked like I was?" Setsuna smirked.
"Those two are perfectly capable of handling themselves in a fight. They were two of the best warriors in the entire Sol System." A longing for something faraway appeared in the woman's eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it emerged. She stopped staring into space and focused her crimson gaze on Roxy. "Hold still, Princess. It might feel a bit…unpleasant, but it shouldn't be painful."
Setsuna chanted in a language Roxy didn't understand or recognize as power swirled around them. The sensation of scratchy yarn against her skin made it hard not to squirm. It was unpleasant, certainly, but definitely not painful. It subsided once the chanting stopped, leaving her with an empty feeling. Like something was now missing. She brushed the feeling off, knowing that she'd be able to access her full powers at a later time. "And you're sure you want to take me along?" She asked timidly. "They don't know me, and I can't transform."
"But you need to be there to prove to these two that you are worth their trust and respect." Setsuna replied calmly. "I trust you two own appropriate beachwear?" They nodded. "Good. I will take you back to your homes so you can change before we leave. We will be more likely to find them at the beach than anywhere else. Come closer now, girls. I can only take you with me if you are in direct contact." The two teens inched closer to Setsuna and joined hands with her. The older Senshi focused her energy and Roxy soon found herself vanishing in a flash of light.
