I'm feeling kind this week, so here's another chapter.
"Alright," Kaede said, walking into a barren room. It was pure white, from the floor to the ceiling, absent of any furniture. "Just take a seat on the floor somewhere, and we'll get started."
"This room neutralizes all of our powers," Jurou added in. "If there's ever an attack here, get your attacker locked in this room while you stay the hell out."
"We generally use this room for training," Shingo went on. "Physical stuff, in case the shitennou can't use their powers for whatever reason in battle."
Minako looked wary as she sat cross-legged on the carpet. "Why do we have to be in a room where our powers don't work if we're just getting our memories back?" she asked anxiously.
Usagi frowned and replied, "It will hurt. Just try to remember to breathe." She reached into a small pouch on her hip, pulling out a small handful of silver dust. The blonde took a deep breath and blew the dust over her protectors and would-be lover.
A blonde seven-year-old stood in the courtyard, nervously twirling a sword around at a ridiculously slow rate. Her eyes remained locked on the blade, even as four more girls her age and her mother walked up behind her.
"Serenity," he mother said sweetly, though she still managed to take the blonde by surprise.
The girl gasped, the sword slipping out of her hand and clattering to the marble walkway. She spun around, looking incredibly guilty, a blush crossing her pale features. "Mother, what- what are you doing here?" she asked, playing innocent.
Queen Serenity chuckled lightly and approached her daughter, squatting down to her height. "You won't have to train anymore, Serenity," she said. "You don't need to be a senshi. Athena, Aphrodite, Enyo, and Diônê will be your guards now."
The young princess looked past her mother to her friends. "They're going to be my guards?" Serenity whispered, glancing back to the tall woman. "But they're my friends."
"They can still be your friends, Serenity," the queen promised. "They'll just be your protectors as well."
The girl glanced back and forth between her mother and the girls a few times before a smile spread across her face. "Okay," she nodded.
Gradually, as the girls grew up, they formed a bond. Their bond stuck strong, past all that came between them. They would be together at all times, playing or studying, and Serenity often joined them for training, though hers was, of course, minor in comparison to the training her guards received.
Yes, the girls remained very close… until Serenity turned thirteen.
"Where did she go?" Aphrodite, Sailor Venus, demanded.
Diônê, Sailor Jupiter, shook her head worriedly. "She ran off into the teleportation room… She's on Earth."
Enyo, Sailor Mars, felt the color drain from her face. "WHAT?" she yelled. "You never thought to follow her?"
"Of course I followed her!" Diônê insisted. "She kept on running, and I lost her. Unfortunately…"
Athena, the youngest senshi, Sailor Mercury, winced. "Unfortunately what?" she asked.
Diônê was slow answering, but she finally confessed, "She was near the Palace of Terre. I came back so we could all go there together and find her before she gets herself killed."
"I can't believe this," Mars grumbled. "She is so dead when we find her."
A low laugh behind them caused the four senshi to turn around, immediately taking up defensive stances. They were all able to recognize the shitennou, but their leader was the one to speak next. "You can only kill her if someone didn't beat you to it."
"What did you do to her?" Venus demanded, sneering at the men.
Kunzite scoffed. "Calm down, she's fine," he assured the girls. He turned, leading the group through a hedge maze. Finally making it out the other side, the eight were faced with a shocking sight.
Little Princess Serenity, only thirteen-years-old, lay with her body curled up against a man's. He was probably about ten years her senior and absolutely gorgeous. They seemed to fit together like a couple of puzzle pieces, she drawing little circles on his chest while he gently rubbed his hand up and down her side, petting her hair occasionally.
Mars and Jupiter were on site in an instant, pulling the blonde away from her lover. At least she was still clothed.
"What is going on?" Venus yelled, she and Mercury following their brash comrades.
Kunzite shook his head, walking into the clearing with the other shitennou at his heels. "They've been at this for at least two months," he stated, looking out towards the lake. "However, I'm going to guess more by how spacey Endymion has been."
The twenty-three-year-old prince shot to his feet, rushing over to Serenity and pulling her back from her senshi.
Needless to say, that one action started a rivalry between the two groups, though that rivalry slowly turned to love, each senshi falling for one of the shitennou.
And then came the war.
The loss.
And the fall.
Minako opened her eyes with a gasp, putting a hand on her heart in a pathetic attempt to slow its speeding. The other senshi and Mamoru were not much better off.
Each senshi was being held by their respective shitennou, but Mamoru pulled himself away from the group, standing in the corner and just watching. "Where's Serenity?" he asked, noticing that she wasn't in the room.
Usagi let out a nervous breath, straightening her white dress. It reached her knees, and paired with the navy blazer she wore and the matching clutch bag, she looked very grown up. She stared up at the large building before her and let out a nervous breath.
"I can do this," she told herself. With that, she walked into the office building for Aera Magazine, keeping her head down in an attempt to avoid anyone recognizing her as the girl on the missing posters spread throughout the building by the editor, Kenji Tsukino.
She made her way into the elevator without being noticed, pressing the button for the top floor. Her heart hammered in her chest, despite her best attempts to calm it.
As the doors opened, she realized. This was the moment. After eight years, she would finally get to see her father again.
Dee deedee deedee. Sorry for leaving you with that as your little mini-cliffie until next week! Still, check out my profile for my poll and my web site:
lunarrising. weebly. com