Prelude

The rain began to fall again. It was harder than it had been as a figure pulled the hood of a coat over their head. The hood pulled close to their face as they ducked into the subway for shelter.

Several people lined the station as they went about in hurried manners and barely taking notice to the figure. They managed to blend in with the masses perfectly. No more than the next person, seated upon a bench with a hood over their face, did a hand reach out to grab the figure's arm as they went to pass by. Their eyes narrowed to the figure and their initial reaction was to pull their arm from their grasp.

Blue eyes met with a face shrouded in shadow as their arm was still grasped within the other's grip. The figure underneath seemed to look up before they spoke.

"Even now I can sense you. The power of stars will always be close by no matter where I go, no matter what comes of the future." A deep female voice began.

Their arm was released but the figure did not move away. Instead their attention was drawn to the other like a moth to the flame. Curiosity filled their being as they continued to hold their gaze narrowed to the one who just spoke. There was something very eerie and very familiar about this person. A sudden chill ran up their spine as they drew their arm to their side.

"You speak so freely of such things to some one who's a stranger to you."

"Are we all really so distant from one another? Or is it that all life in this place is connected some how? I wonder." A passing thought not really meant to be rhetorical. The figure raised standing a bit taller than the one they were addressing.

"Who are you?" The question escaped even though they had a sinking feeling they already knew the answer.

"Are you asking because you do not know, or is it because you do not wish to admit to yourself the answer?"

"You're speaking in riddles like someone I once knew a life time ago."

Their figure paced about the form of Seiya in an idle manner. "Has it been that long, Starlight?" The figure pulled the hood back from her face revealing a beautiful woman with crimson eyes. Her gaze set upon the figure.

Seiya's eyes widened in horror seeing light shed upon her suspicions. Their face was identical to the person the Starlight didn't want to run into at such a time. This time, she had a feeling it wasn't a dream.

"You look surprised somehow." An unamused expression retorted. "What's wrong? Do you plan to run away again?"

She began to back away before suddenly stopping in place. Her initial reaction was to run, but something inside told her to stay. To stand up to her and not be afraid. Her eyes steadied on her holding her stance unwavering. So many times has this person plagued her dreams -- coming to her in nightmares and here she stands before her, her eyes sure not to deceive her. She would find out what purpose she had being here, and if she was indeed a threat she would be sure to settle this once and for all.

"What do you want?"

A smirk would form as she pulled the hood back over her face. The crowds began to increase as her figure quickly became lost among them. Seiya made an attempt to chase after her but the crowds had became far too thick to get to her. If she didn't know any better she could swear she had disappeared completely. Maybe the others were right and she should have just stayed home. A sigh escaped as she made her way through the masses back onto the streets. The rain had let up a bit and she began her walk home.

- Catching Up With The Past (part 1) -

The lights that lined the streets began to heavily dim as the crowds of people became less and less around her. It was strange but she could swear a darkness suddenly swept over the area around. Her attention was sharply diverted by a great disturbance not too far ahead.

It was what appeared to be two figures; one whom had fallen to the ground and the other who had a strange aura coming from it. A hooded figure reached out to the other as if to attack. There was a part that told her to just walk away. It would be easier to just walk away but the other part of her couldn't feel right doing such a thing. Perhaps the influence of her encounter with Sailor Moon during her last visit changed her perspective of things around here. She had a power, something she swore to use to protect others from wrong doing. The duty she had as a soldier took over as she clenched the transformation device in her grasp. Holding it up proud she called the words that would reveal her true self.

In the boyish figure's place stood a proud figure unmistakably female. The uniform of a Sailor Starlight, the leader of the trio, Sailor Star Fighter.

She felt her figure rush into view as her feet pounded furiously against the pavement below. When she arrived she was surprised to find herself slightly out of breath, something that wouldn't normally happen. Perhaps it wasn't a wise decision going head first into a fight in the state she was in but she wasn't the type to simply stand idle while injustice was being done.

Her figure stood proud despite how she was feeling all over. Eyes of a dark sapphire hardened to the attacker as she pit her figure between the two. The Star Yell was gripped tightly in her right hand as she raised it above her head. Energy began to collect around it.

"STAR SERIOUS..." She felt as if her power was about to be maxed out. "LASER!" The energy came rushing out of the device toward the figure at full speed.

The figure let out a yell. Whether it was truly injured or not was not clear but it warded off the attacker for the time being. It was hard to tell of the figure's expression. Their face remained shrouded under the hood of a dark cloak. She could swear she felt a heavy glare in her direction before the figure disappeared completely.

Fighter's figure collapsed to the ground as if nearly drained of her energy. She fought against her discomfort forcing herself to kneel beside the fallen figure with more effort than she should have had to invest.

"It's gone..." A pause between breaths as her view remained to the ground. "Are you alright?" She put a hand to her knee to hold up her figure. Her eyes drew compassion looking to the figure with concern at first with lingering breaths between her speech.

The other's head was down as they wearily brought them self to one knee. A head of light colored hair trailed to the floor. The bottom half trailed to a darker color, though it was difficult to tell the true color in the poor lighting in the area. Their attire was that of a light colored dress, once again difficult to point out an exact color.

"You have made a grave mistake..." A deep female voice trailed weakly though it was obvious they too were trying to mask their true state from the other. "...Starlight." Their voice ended bitterly. At that very moment their tone grew dark as their head lifted to look to the other with their eyes narrowed.

It was then Fighter fully saw who she had just saved. The former compassion quickly turned to a combination of fear and anger. She couldn't believe the person she saw as so vulnerable initially turned out to be none other than the essence of a being of such immense power; a person who would never in a million years present them self in such a way. However, before she could respond the woman's form would collapse to the ground without warning. This caused a sudden surprise to cross the Starlight's expression. Apparently things were worse off than she had anticipated and now a new dilemma had arose. What to do now that the very person who had previously destroyed their lives had collapsed and appeared to be unconscious.

Once again she was left to wonder what was going on without time for an answer. This bothered her more than she should have let it. She was suddenly torn. Of course she naturally disliked this person and didn't care about their well being, but another part saw them so vulnerable -- A being who could obviously not hold her own at this point in time. She was hesitant to leave her because of this very fact. What was that thing that was attacking her and what if it came back? What did it have planned for her? She wanted answers and she supposed the only way to find out was from the one who witnessed it all.

She proceeded with caution never once taking her eyes off of the other. This person was clearly not moving but she didn't sense their shine go out. She actually didn't sense much of a shine at all. Fighter slowly moved closer to see if she was still breathing, which unsure whether to consider it a good thing or not, she was but barely. Something was very strange and unsettling about this situation.

Letting out a sigh she decided she shouldn't let her out of her sight but they couldn't stay here. She was barely able to regain her own strength let alone attempt to take on another being. Fighter was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She didn't have a choice at this point and forced herself to a stand.

"Damn you!" She cursed to the figure unsure whether she could even hear what she was saying. Regardless, the woman remained unmoving. Either way she would have to find a way to get them both out of here.

Leaning her figure over again a gloved hand reached down to grab the woman's arm to wrap around her neck. She began to pull her figure up and leaned the body over her shoulder for support. For the moment she managed to put aside her own discomfort letting anger and frustration fuel her being. This was already starting to become a long night, and by the looks of it, was about to get even longer. Fighter had only one thought for now and that was whether she was going to regret this more than she already did.