Author's Note: Sorry that this took so long to come, but my connection was out. Without further ado, or complaint about my responsibilities, I will start the fic!

            Ayeka looked at Sasami through her mask. An honorary member of the Jurai royal family, Sasami had accidentally merged with their most powerful tree, Tsunami. She was Misaki's only daughter, and a sweet little thing, but this was a formal occasion. Azaka had told Ayeka and Rini to stand at the doors to the room where Sasami had been waiting to make her entrance. Now the adopted princess was standing just within Ayeka's field of vision. So others couldn't see how young the two female bodyguards assigned to the princess were, Ayeka and Rini wore special masks that attached to their faces without strings and made them look like blank slates without hampering their senses. Azaka said a former student had designed them.

            Sasami smiled at the assembled courtiers. Rini and Ayeka closed the double doors in almost perfect sync. Sasami opened her mouth and said, "I'm honored that you all have come to help celebrate my birthday, Tsunami bless you all." People bowed their heads and made room for Sasami to enter the crowd. Ayeka and Rini followed, Juraian staves in one hand, read to block people who came in too close. Azaka had stressed the fact that religious maniacs occasionally got in and made a scene. They were to not hesitate.

            In private, the two had mused about how Rini, an heir to an important throne, was helping to protect another princess. They had had their laughs, now they were had to be serious. Azaka had taught them well during the past year, but Ayeka had yet to transform while Rini had never revealed her true powers to their host. It seemed best that way.

            For almost half an hour, they didn't have to do a thing except walk behind the princess. Sasami was their age, about fifteen, and she had greeted them openly. Rini and Sasami had quickly become friends, dragging the slightly less perky Ayeka into their crew. Suddenly, someone shoved their way out of the crowd of people and reached out towards Sasami. Ayeka didn't hesitate, so fast that her move was practically undetectable, she shoved her staff head in the individual's way. The man glared at her with dark eyes, she wasn't sure what color, and she didn't like the madness she saw in him.

            "Back off, Sir," she said. He continued to glare. "Please step away," Ayeka said. The man reached out a hand and grabbed her staff to push her out of the way. Ayeka tensed her muscles and the staff didn't move. He stared. "I warned you," she said, and the man's eyes went wide as he was sucked into the blue jewel on Azaka's staff from behind. Azaka nodded to Ayeka, who nodded back and took up her position again.

            As the party drew to a close, Sasami started to meander back to her room. Rini shared a purpose with Ayeka, to get the princess out of the crowd as soon as possible. Sasami stopped to talk to anyone who approached her out of kindness, but she was dead tired, and Ayeka and Rini could see this. Finally, they reached the steps in front of the anteroom Sasami had entered from, and took up guard positions on either side as she thanked her guests for coming. Ayeka and Rini opened the double doors for her, and followed her in.

            Sasami went straight to her room. Ayeka nodded to Rini, who followed Sasami in while Ayeka remained outside on watch. The party had been rather boring, now all that was left was stand guard until regular soldiers arrived and Ayeka could stumble off to bed. She was so tired…Ayeka snapped awake. It wouldn't do for her to fall asleep! Later, she promised herself, but her body wanted sleep now! Slowly, Ayeka began to nod off again.

            Footsteps down the hall woke her up and she peered down the hall through the corner of her eyes. It was coming from the right, but then it stopped and didn't resume. Where'd they gone? Ayeka heard a clack sound and ran into the princess' rooms.

            The man from before was fighting Rini with a glowing sword like the Emperor used. Ayeka didn't hesitate. She jumped in to protect her future queen, and knocked him back. He glared at her and threw an energy blast at her. Ayeka barely managed to deflect it with her staff. Who was this guy? He was using royal Juraian powers.

            Ayeka and Rini dove forward as one to cross their staffs across the intruder's neck. Sasami came up to stand over his head and look down at him with concern in her eyes. "If you didn't try to kill me, this wouldn't have happened. Why did you attack me?"

            He didn't speak. Ayeka applied pressure with her staff. His eyes snapped to hers, or really her blank mask. "Cowards, not showing your faces to your foes," he spat.

            Rini reached up to remove her mask, but Ayeka grabbed her hand to stop her. "No, don't." She looked back down at their captive. "I'll have to summon Azaka—"

            "No need," said a voice. Sasami looked up and smiled. Ayeka turned her head so she could look at the newcomer while keeping an eye on the intruder. It was a young man, tall, strong, with red hair and eyes, and a master's staff. He was a knight, she realized. Until now she'd only met Azaka, this must be his young partner and former apprentice, Kamidake.

            Kamidake came forward and pointed his staff at the unfortunate. The man cried out as he was sucked into the glowing red orb on the knight's staff. It pulsed and Kamidake frowned. "He has Jurai powers," he said.

            Ayeka and Rini brought their staves back to their sides and Kamidake smiled down at them. "Very good work, you two. When Azaka said he'd found a couple of promising students I wasn't sure if I believed him or not. I guess he has." Ayeka and Rini bowed in acceptance of this story. When Ayeka straightened, she found an odd look on Kamidake's face. "Why do you wear those masks? I meant for them to be used in the courtroom."

            The girls shared looks and removed their masks. Kamidake blinked. Sasami laughed and said, "They're sisters! This one is Ayeka, with the long purple hair, and this is her younger sister Rini with the pink hair." The two "sisters" bowed again, this time in greeting.

            Kamidake nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you, interesting eyes." Ayeka stiffened. She could feel the suspicion in his voice and eyes. Sasami put a hand on Rini's shoulder.

            "Why don't you guys go to bed now, Kamidake will report to Father, yes?" Kamidake nodded and turned to leave. Rini and Ayeka moved to follow, but Sasami's hand restrained Rini. She leaned forward and whispered something in the other girl's ear. Rini nodded gravely and followed Ayeka out.

            "Wha—" Ayeka started to say to Rini behind her, but Kamidake's staff was suddenly at her throat. She froze and looked at him. His face was grave.

            "You are not just any bodyguard," he said tightly. Ayeka nodded. "Then who are you?"

            Rini placed a hand on Kamidake's staff and looked him in the eye. "Leave her alone, our mother's sent us here to train with an old friend, Azaka." Kamidake's eyes were switching from Rini to Ayeka and back.

            "Old friend?"

            Rini didn't flinch. "Ayeka's mother, Setsuna." Kamidake didn't move.

            "What's this all about? Kamidake?" Azaka said as he came around the corner. Kamidake lowered his staff and looked at his former master.

            "These girls are—" Kamidake started.

            Azaka held up a hand. "Wait. I failed to explain the whole situation because I didn't think it would be necessary. I guess I trained you too well, so let's find a quiet place to talk. You girls may go to bed, now. Misaki was beginning to fuss." The girls ran off, and Azaka took Kamidake to the stadium for some quality time.

            Ayeka and Rini became Sasami's temporary personal guards. Kamidake stopped treating them like intruders, but didn't relax around them either. Talking to him was like a game of inquisition in which the first person to give up some information lost. Ayeka began to despise him, Rini couldn't hate anybody if she tried.

            One afternoon, Rini and Ayeka were practicing when Sasami came in and said, "Father has decided I should go on a tour of the other planets in our local system. I asked if you two could be my companions and he said yes!" Rini and Ayeka felt a bit of relief. That meant time away from Kamidake and his glares.

            "Who is coming with us?" Ayeka asked.

            Sasami blinked. "It's just us, me and my guardians." Guardians, Ayeka and Rini were struck by the meaning of that word. Sasami gave them each a big hug. "Azaka said he'd taught you two everything he could and were able to be guardians. Kamidake threw a bit of a tantrum, but he agreed."

            Ayeka felt very surprised. Kamidake had agreed they were ready to take up positions as guardians? Peculiar, but maybe the stiff was actually able to recognize skill when it was thrown in his face. He certainly didn't seem about to realize that Ayeka and Rini posed no threat to his home and Emperor.

            Rini wiped her face off with a towel and said, "Isn't there some kind of ceremony for us to become guardians?" she asked.

            Sasami nodded. "It's just a small thing. Father will have to take a look at you, but he's amazingly perceptive and he'll see you two are perfect." As Sasami left, Azaka came in.

            "I don't have to tell you that Emperor Yosho has agreed to let you become guardians, so I'll just go over the ceremony." He sat down with them and explained the kind of clothes they should wear, how to walk, how to answer the Emperor's questions. It was all rather showy, but necessary. At the end, the Emperor would give them their staffs and they would be guardians, knights.

            The princess wanted to get going, so the ceremony was arranged for the next day. Ayeka and Rini entered the throne room side by side, wearing simple white clothes and the masks they'd donned when they became Sasami's protectors. Courtiers whispered, because the knighting of new guardians was a rare thing, and these two were girls. Azaka and Kamidake stood at the Emperor's two sides. A mature woman with black hair and a kind face stood to the left and a younger dark-hared woman stood to the right. The elder was the Emperor's mother, Funaho. The other was his wife.

            Emperor Yosho was youthful for his advanced age of over a thousand. He looked not much older than Kamidake, but Ayeka felt the guardian ruined his good looks by scowling at her constantly. Yosho rose and the girls knelt. "Ayeka and Rini, how do you wish to defend this family?"

            "With all our heart and power," they chimed.

            "How do you wish to defend this people?"

            "With all our heart and power."

            "In the name of what planet do you come to be knighted?"

            "Earth."

            Yosho didn't hesitate, he placed a hand on each of their heads and the girls were enveloped in a pearly light that rustled their hair and clothes like strong winds. With a sudden flash, they were clothed in the same armor as Azaka and Kamidake, each holding a staff. Ayeka's held a mysterious crystal, as did Rini's. The Emperor frowned and courtiers whispered like busy bees. The stones were supposed to be red and blue, right?

            "Yosho," said a feminine voice from the platform where the throne stood. He turned and looked up at his mother. She looked grim. "Ask them why they wanted to be knighted in the name of Earth." Instantly, the girls knew this woman knew what Earth was.

            Yosho turned and Ayeka and Rini removed their masks. Those who could se drew back, they weren't expecting such beauty and youth on warrior's faces, but those eyes! They were the eyes of the royal family, and while a few had them because of distant ties, they weren't nearly this bright. Rini spoke for herself and Ayeka. "We are from the planet Earth."

            Funaho slowly descended the stairs. "Last time we checked, that planet was a wasteland, how did it sprout the technology to join our empire in only five hundred years?"

            "Our parents went to sleep after they defeated the Dark Moon Kingdom and everyone woke up not long ago. My mother whished for me to come to Jurai to train so I may better protect our home from the forces which constantly wish to destroy it," Ayeka said.

            The woman smiled in understanding. "I see, so your people weren't dead, but asleep. Since I am also a native of Earth, this brings me comfort as well." She looked at the staffs and said, "I still don't see how you got the Jurai Light Jewel, but then I can't recognize this other jewel."

            Rini looked at the crystal and bit her lip. "It's the ginzuishou, from home, but Mother is supposed to have it!" She felt panic rise in her and she turned to Ayeka. "What's she going to do without it? Without the ginzuishou she can't—"

            "She's fine, Small Lady," said a hard voice. Ayeka and Rini gaped and spun around. A man with pale hair and a black crescent on his forehead stood in front of a group of courtiers. Ayeka immediately put herself between Rini and this Black Moon menace. He chuckled. "So you know me? Trying to protect your princess, Ayeka? Pitiful, all of you." The man threw a ball of black energy and it paused when it hit Ayeka's staff. The jewel flashed, then disappeared. To everyone's horror, the staff broke in two and the energy hit Ayeka. She flew several feet and fell to the floor. Rini braced herself.

            "Go away, Diamond, you have no business here. Eventually I'll find out how you got here, but for now it will be enough to get rid of you once and for all!" She reached into a pocket and removed her locket. "Moon Cosmic Power!" Her Juraian armor vanished and was replaced with a strange and extremely short outfit. Her staff was now a long, golden stem with a crescent moon and the jewel on top. "I am Sailor Moon, and in the Moon, I will punish you!"

            He looked unimpressed. "That's the same crock your mother gave me. Oh well," he threw black power at her, and while it forced her back a few feet, she managed to deflect it to the ceiling. It created a new skylight.

            "Enough!" Azaka and Kamidake leapt in front of Sailor Moon to engage the enemy. She raised a hand.

            "No! Don't!" she said, but Diamond was already attacking anew. His energy blast sent the knights into the opposite wall. Sailor Moon felt tears come to her eyes. "Don't get them involved in this!" she shouted.

            Diamond rubbed his nails on his shift and said, "Not my fault they attacked. They're as pathetic as that nobody they sent with you. What's her name? Oh yes, Ayeka Jurai, daughter of the infamous Sailor Pluto who couldn't even save her best friend." He brought his hand back to attack again.

            "STOP!" a powerful blast of green light sent Diamond into the opposite wall as the last of the courtiers got out of his way. Now the only people left in the huge throne room were either Juraian royalty, or warriors. Yosho flew down and struck at Diamond with a glowing green blade like Sasami's assailant. Diamond held up a hand  and a black shield of crackling energy surrounded him. Yosho hacked at the shield, not making a dent.

            Diamond kept one hand up for the shield, then raised the other to send a blast Sailor Moon. She braced herself against it and tried deflecting the energy again. The blast exploded on impact and scorched her sailor fuku. Ayeka stumbled over to her friend and shook her. "Sailor Moon?" she said. No answer, not a twitch. "Sailor Moon! No!" The staff piece in Ayeka's hand began to pulse. She looked at Diamond, who was watching her with amusement.

            "Hahaha! I, Daimond, have succeeded in killing the Princess of Crystal Tokyo!" Yosho stopped and looked over his shoulder at Ayeka who was crouched over Sailor Moon's limp body. There was a strange glow over the purple-hared girl, who slowly rose to her feet and started to march towards Diamond.

            "Diamond! You have met your match!" Ayeka screamed. She raised a hand above her head and shouted, "Saturn Crystal Power!" The staff in her hand turned into a lethal glaive and she spun around. "I am Sailor Saturn, Sailor Scout of Destruction! In the name of the planet Saturn, I will punish you!"

            Diamond looked panicked now. Sailor Saturn advanced on him. She neatly slice open his shield with her glaive as she said, "You didn't think they would let the heir to Crystal Tokyo out of their sight without the best protection, did you?"

            He shrieked and cowered. "I didn't mean it! Honest! I was being controlled—" She didn't hesitate and ran him through with her glaive. Blood dripped off the end as she brought it out of him. Diamond slumped to the floor, blood trickling out of his mouth as his eyes rolled back. Then he died.

            "Sailor Saturn!" The scout turned to see Princess Serenity in her beautiful gown smiling at her. "Please release Ayeka and let us continue our training." The Sailor Scout leaned languidly on her glaive.

            "I am both Ayeka and Sailor Saturn, there is no difference, Princess. I was sent to protect you as only I could with my power of death. You have nothing to fear from me, I am in control." Then she became Ayeka again, standing in her Juraian battle armor. Instead of the triangular marks on her cheeks, she had three much slimmer black slashes. Rini had them as well. Ayeka rushed to her friend's side and said, "Are you Okay?"

            Rini nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go home."