14. Pillars

Saturnalius watched from a distance as Serenity rose her staff to the sky. The staff was the one she had used as Trinity Sailor Moon, long and silver with a golden sun at the head eclipsed by white wings and pearls. As she rose it, she offered words of comfort and peace to the audience, officially drawing Girls' Day to a close.

Serenity had Sailor Sun by her side, while Endymion, though he stood behind her, had his entourage, the four generals. Since the battle with the Dark Kingdom last millennium, Mamoru had kept the four stones with him at all times. He called upon his past guardians for advice but not once had they been able to retain a mortal form, always returning to stone. It was a sad existence, truly. Sailor Moon always had her senshi with her, yet Tuxedo Kamen never had his generals by his side.

At advent of Crystal Tokyo, the burst of white moonlight courtesy of the silver crystal had changed things for the better. The crystal heard their wishes, and the generals regained their mortal human forms. They returned to Endymion's side at the advent of Crystal Tokyo as his personal guard. Like the senshi, the generals carried on a civilian life outside the palace with their own names and own paths at the request of Endymion. This time, they swore, they wouldn't fall to the lure of darkness. They would stay by their king's side for eternity.

The royal entourage retreated into the confines of the castle, and the crowd returned home with new hope and energy. Sun glanced at Saturnalius as she passed, continuing on with Serenity to the far reaches of the castle.

Saturnalius continued to stand in the grand hallway lined with crystal walls and windows with beautiful views of the city sparkling in the sunset. She folded her arms, her mind completely preoccupied with the events of the past week. She understood the look Sun had given her. They could only cover for Naru's absence for so long before Serenity would realize something was amiss. Serenity was still Usagi underneath, but she still had that knack of sensing something was wrong. Naru was her best friend. Her absence was highly unusual.

For the past few days, Serenity seemed preoccupied with something, though she wouldn't speak of it. Saturnalius idly wondered if she knew already and simply hadn't said anything. She had a habit of not wishing for anyone to worry about her yet still wearing her heart on her elegant sleeve.

"I've known you long enough to know something is going on. I can see it in your face."

Saturnalius looked up, looking over her new company. Kunzite had left the entourage, wearing the standard uniform of Endymion's guard. His jacket was white with deep blue accents, three gold pipes running up the center to meet a mandarin collar. He had two blue stripes around his wrists, indicating his rank. Three belts wrapped around his waist, crossing over one another. One belt sat low on his waist, holding his long broadsword in its sheath. He wore silver greaves over his gray pants. His long dark gray cape with blue lining inside flowed as he approached Saturnalius.

"Don't you have a date with the Venusian or something, Kun-kun?" she frowned at him.

"It's Saito Kun, and no," he shot back quickly. It wasn't his original name, not that he could actually remember what it was in the past. It was simply Kunzite rearranged and misspelled slightly. "She's off on a 'date' with some girl from Kansai. Something about shiny boys."

She always had a way of picking on his name. It was a rare thing for her, as Saturnalius rarely used personal names or names at all, generally leaning towards titles or nicknames. Being the leader of the Shitennou, Endymion's personal guard, Kunzite spent a large amount of time within the Crystal Palace walls despite Endymion urging him to get out and live a little. Only in the last century or so had he created the identity Saito Kun.

With all the time within the walls, he'd come to know Saturnalius, the stable pillar of Serenity's royal guard and commander of the Crystal Guardians. She was always there, watching over everyone and ensuring their safety. It seemed like a rather lonely existence, but it was one she apparently chose. At some point, Kunzite and Saturnalius began talking. They shared a lot in common, both living out the desire of a past life and a new desire in the present. She shared with him the origins of the Eclipse, and he shared the tales of the Silver Millennium and ultimately his fate with her in return. He made her promise that if he fell to the lure of darkness once again, she'd be the one to end his life.

And in the last week, Kunzite had noticed something amiss, particularly when she'd left the castle. "But enough of that. I do know something's wrong. I heard about the park incident."

Saturnalius paused. Some things were difficult to keep hushed in such a tightly knit system. While much of the security business filtered through Saturnalius, the bulk majority of her work involved managing the Crystal Guardian network, the expansive force of senshi living throughout the galaxy. Other security information filtered through Sun and Kunzite alike. While Saturnalius had hushed the attack in the park within the network, it had still reached Sun. Ultimately Kunzite would've heard the information as well. "So you heard of that."

Sun had approached Saturnalius earlier that morning, and the purple senshi filled her completely in. It was best she knew. If something were to happen, Sun might well be Serenity's last line of defense. The two had grown incredibly close after the final battle with the Shadow Galaxy, offering everything they had to destroy Pifite. Saturnalius didn't want to see anything happen to Sun, but she knew, like herself, that Sun would give her life to protect the queen.

The next course of action didn't require much thought. "Come," she offered. "I'll tell you everything."

...

"These earth-based senshi are more resilient than I thought, yanno?" Black Hole rubbed the blood off her baseball bat with a damp cloth. While it was certainly the blood was a nice touch, it wasn't exactly her style. Something inside her told her that it needed to go. She tossed the bloody rag aside, letting it fall somewhere beyond the expanse of light in the room. She sat on a wooden chest at the edge of a bed in a dark room, only lit by a single candle. The walls glistened faintly in the candlelight.

"So yeah," Space Gas frowned, "who was that star eclipse or whatever? I hadn't heard about her, kay?" She flopped down next to Black Hole, flipping through a small book of information about the known earth-based guardians, the lunar senshi and the eclipse. The page with Naru's picture on it was X-ed out with a wide-tipped permanent marker, as was a picture of Kasumi in miko robes. "Maybe she's one of those 'elusive' guardians. I'll have to pencil in a head bashing into my schedule."

"What's with you'n schedules?!" Black Hole frowned sharply at her accomplice.

"So yeah, I like schedules," Space Gas shot back, closing the little book in her hands. "Kay?"

"Enough you two!" A third senshi entered the room, nearly slamming the door behind her. She was short, appearing to be around 13 or 14. Her purple hair was pulled up into ponytails then looped around, tied at the bottom with green bands and dandelion fuzz. Her outfit was two pieces with two pink bands on the top of the shirt, crisscrossing in the back. Her collar was aqua with a single pink stripe to match her choker. Around her neck she also wore a pink teardrop-shaped gem. Her front bow was yellow with a fuzzy light blue brooch. Her sleeves, earrings, and tiara gem were all similarly fuzzy. Her gloves reached her elbows, capped with two thick pink bands. Her skirt had a pink waistband with a tricolored skirt, transitioning from yellow to pink to aqua. Her ballet flats were a matching aqua with fuzz anklets.

"Aldebaran!" Space Gas and Black Hole exclaimed together.

"I told you," she fussed in return, "It's Chibi Fuzz now. I've had enough of Aldebaran and their peaceful nonsense. Now you both need to concentrate! We have to find that Key. It's the only way to reach the Core and correct everything that's wrong with this era. Living this long and this peacefully is so annoying!"

"So yeah," Space Gas frowned. "We don't even know what it looks like."

Chibi Fuzz sighed, frustrated. "Look, just keep taking out the targets. The fewer of them, the better chance we have of finding the Key and reaching the Door."

Space Gas glanced at Black Hole and shrugged. Chibi Fuzz always seemed to talk in riddles that neither understood.

"But what 'bout that Sailor Star Silver or whatever?" Black Hole pointed out. "She's not on the list. I've never even heard'a her before."

For once, Black Hole did have a point, as much as Chibi Fuzz didn't want to admit it. That Silver Star was a new problem. "She must be part of what's preventing us from reaching the Core." So they did exist, a senshi team purely dedicated to guarding the Core itself. Her arrival could present a problem, but it could present an opportunity. Slay the Core guardians and the Core was vulnerable. If they couldn't find the Door and the Key, it was a perfectly reasonable alternative.

"We'll deal with her in time, but for now, I need you to finish your task I've given you." Chibi Fuzz reached forward. The pink teardrop gem around her neck began glowing, which caused the deep maroon gem around Black Hole's neck to glow in return.

"There," Chibi Fuzz withdrew her hand and both gems ceased glowing. "Now go play with your new power. Take out the next target."

…

Author's notes

The shitennou's new outfits are based on a drawing in the materials collection, which was seen in the manga only briefly.

Note that the pun on Kunzite's name comes from various Sera Myu. In katakana, Kunzite's name is Kunzaito. Rearranged it is Zaito Kun, but since that sounds funny, it's changed to Saito, which is a real name. In western order, his name is Kun Saito. So his first name is Kun, something even La Reconquista plays on. Sasami is mocking him.

Note that the reference to Saturnalius being a "stable pillar" is a play on her past life's name, Satsu, which means "central pillar in a temple". The chapter is named after this idea and that Kunzite also serves as a pillar, supporting Endymion and leading the Shitennou.