Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity in a life occupied with studying and working. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.
A.N.: So I'm gonna need to explain some of my headcanon, as I like to mix elements from the anime and manga. Regarding the Stars arc and the final confrontation with Galaxia, I like to think that what happened was the following: the Inners sacrificed themselves to save Sailor Moon and the Starlights in a first confrontation on Earth (like in the anime), while the Outers were hunted down and killed by Galaxia in their castles (like in the manga) and afterwards Sailor Moon went with Kakyuu and the Starlights to the Galaxy Cauldron to confront Galaxia and Chaos (like in the manga). Okay? Okay. :)
Starlight Destiny
Chapter Fourteen: Strife Among Us
"Usa? What's wrong?" Luna frowned in concern as she saw the rapidly approaching future Earthen Princess.
"Sorry, guys! Can't talk now," she threw over her shoulder as she ran past Luna and Artemis, her pink tresses flowing after her.
Usa ran down the hallways of Tankei Castle, ignoring curious looks from the staff and questions that were thrown after her. She wished she could stop and talk to the cats, but Kakyuu's message had seemed very urgent so she kept on her way. Presently she reached the official cabinet of the Queen, and she stood for a moment before the biometrical scan and the door instantly disappeared to let her in.
"Kakyuu," she said rather breathlessly, walking in and up to her desk, where the Kinmokunian sovereign was sitting, watching something on a hologram-monitor. Akihiko stood beside her, also watching the monitor with a frown of concern. "What happened?"
The redhead looked up with troubled red eyes and beckoned her over. "Come, see for yourself," she gestured over and the monitor rotated and expanded in the air so she could watch the footage as well.
Usa's eyes widened in shock at what she saw. The monitor showed a live feed of the main avenue in the commercial district of Tankei City, and it was currently taken over with thousands of people. A Police blockade was keeping the middle part empty and they seemed to be acting as buffer for the two large mobs of people. Many in those groups were carrying clubs or long sticks and some sort of handgun.
"This is the fourth straight day of protests in our Kingdom, yet this just started less than an hour ago," Akihiko explained, his voice quiet and serious. "The Police are telling us that there are two opposing groups and they are about to come to blows. Only the Public Safety's Intelligence caught up to this before it actually happened and dispatched a great part of our Police Force to intervene."
"But they don't know how long they can keep this up. It's only a matter of time before an all-out conflict develops," Kakyuu added, looking up to the young Princess.
"But what happened?" Usa questioned in bafflement, her own red eyes going round and wide. "Why are your people going to the streets for armed conflict?"
"They are diverging on their opinion," Akihiko explained. "One group wants us to get you Earthen Senshi out of here, while the other stands by our decision to help you."
"What?! That's insane," Usa exclaimed in response. "Why would they get into armed conflict over this?"
"I don't know," Kakyuu replied, anguish evident in her voice. "This is unprecedented, Usa. Our people always trusted us, even after Galaxia destroyed everything and we rebuilt. We haven't been in complete peace ever since, we fought a few menaces over the last decade, but our people always stood by us and they trusted us. Always!"
Usa listened to this all and grew anguished as well, but after a moment her face cleared and a determined look took over. "I can help," she said, confidence in her voice. "I can use my powers to calm everyone down. They can take a breather and stop their emotions from taking over before anybody gets hurt."
"It's worth a shot," Akihiko nodded back, as he looked over at Kakyuu. While his wife had powerful healing abilities, she couldn't soothe others like Sailor Moon could.
"Yes, that might work," the redheaded Queen replied, getting up from her chair and reaching for the communication system. "How close to them do you need to be?"
"As close as I can get," the young Princess said. "I'll call Mars to come with me; she'll be able to sense any threats. Is that ok?"
"Of course. Take Fighter with you as well," Akihiko nodded at her.
"Get them and go to the aerial-pad," Kakyuu said, punching some codes into the system. "I'll have an emergency jet ready for you."
"You got it," Usa nodded at them and quickly took off at a run, engaging the communicator on her wrist. "Rei, Seiya, do you copy? I need you two stat; meet me at the aerial-pad."
Kakyuu and Akihiko just heard the two of them responding before Usa disappeared out the door. Once more the future pink-haired Princess was running down the corridors of Tankei Castle, unmindful of the curious looks and questions directed at her.
In a few short minutes, she reached the aerial-pad just as Rei and Seiya got there. Usa quickly got them up to speed on what was happening.
"Okay, then let's go," Seiya said with a nod once he understood the situation and their plan.
"Who's going to fly the jet?" Rei questioned, looking around for a pilot.
"I am," Seiya replied, winking at her as he walked towards the jet. "Best pilot of Tankei Kingdom, right here."
"Oh you better not let Haruka hear that," Usa said with a smile, as she and Rei followed him inside the jet. "She'll definitely want a match."
"Yes, let's save all competitive issues for after we've dealt with all of this," Rei seconded that with a serious frown on her face.
"Yes, ma'am. Now if you'll please take a seat, we'll be on our way," Seiya said, getting into the pilot's seat and buckling in. Rei took the co-pilot seat beside him yet Usa declined and just grabbed onto a support above her head.
"Don't worry, I've flown in these before," the future Princess said at Seiya's concerned expression. "We have pretty similar jets in Crystal Tokyo. I know the drill." She could actually pilot it herself, but she thought it would be better that Seiya did it, as he was more familiarized with the territory and local protocols.
"Okay," he said, firing up the jet and tapping all sorts of commands for take-off.
They were instantly up in the air and maneuvering towards the commercial district's main avenue. Seiya turned on the jet's stealth mode so it wouldn't be detected on arrival and possibly cause a commotion—with the already excited mood of the crowds they didn't think the people would have a good reaction if they saw one of the Palace's jets arriving at the scene.
"How do you want to do this?" Seiya asked, looking up at Usa.
"Land us on top of that building," the pink-haired teenager said, pointing at the tallest building that stood at about midway down the avenue. "If we land in stealth mode they won't notice us getting there, right?"
"That's right," Seiya said, complying with her commands.
"Rei and I will get out, she'll keep a lookout and I'll do my thing," Usa then elaborated. "You stay with the jet. Is that okay?"
Seiya nodded back at her as he safely and smoothly landed on the aerial-pad of the building, and thankfully they didn't attract anyone's attention.
"We should transform before going out," Rei pointed out.
"Right," Usa nodded, and got the brooch she carried with her at all times.
"Moon Prism Power, Make up!"
"Mars Crystal Power, Make up!"
"Fighter Star Power, Make up!"
In a few moments their transformations were completed and they stood in their Senshi personas. Fighter opened up the ramp leading out onto the aerial-pad and kept a lookout from inside the jet. Sailor Moon walked out with Mars, who stood just beside her, surveying the agitated crowds below them.
With the Moon Stick in hands, the young Sailor Moon took a deep, calming breath before she opened up her red eyes and concentrated. Waving the Stick in a wide circle, she said, "Moon Healing Escalation!" And she prayed that her powers would do what she willed them to.
A misty, shimmering silver light emanated from the crescent moon-shaped scepter and bathed the whole area below them. In a few seconds, Sailor Moon saw with great joy and relief that her powers were working! The people in the mobs were calming down, some sighing contentedly, as their faces cleared of the angry glares and their arms holding the weapons grew slack by their sides.
"Kakyuu, it's working!" Fighter reported over her communicator. The Queen and King were observing their actions all through the security system that watched over their city and they also sighed in relief.
Sailor Moon kept on releasing the healing, calming energy until she'd managed to reach every single person in that avenue. A few minutes later she ceased her attack and stumbled slightly on her feet as she took a step back.
"I'm okay," she said when Mars supported her with a concerned look. "I think we got everyone."
Fighter could see in the surveillance monitors inside the jet how the Police were regaining control of the situation, dispersing the mobs from the area. Most of the people were still under Sailor Moon's effects and complied willingly, surrendering their weapons and leaving the area, and only a minority that resisted had to be handled.
"I think we're good," Fighter called out to the two of them. "We should head back to the Castle."
As Sailor Moon and Mars got back inside the jet, the latter said, "There's something wrong here."
"What do you mean? We got everyone, didn't we?" Sailor Moon asked with a worried frown.
"You did, but when you used your powers, I could feel there was something wrong," the red-suited Senshi explained. "Your attack acted as if it were cleansing the people off something that was contaminating their hearts, their souls. You weren't merely calming them down, you were actually healing them."
As Mars explained it, Sailor Moon thought it over and agreed with her. "You're right. I was so concentrated on what I had to do that at first I didn't realize, but it's true. This must be the enemy's doing."
"What the hell are they trying to do?" Fighter exclaimed, rather outraged. "Cause an internal war? Put our people against us?"
"Maybe," Mars nodded gravely. "It would be harder for you to keep on harboring us if your people are against it. If this keeps up, we'll be in a state of civil war before we know."
The three of them exchanged worried looks. "Kakyuu, did you copy that?" Fighter asked, pressing a finger on her earpiece.
"I did," the Queen replied over the communication system. "And there's more. We need you back here. Right now."
While Usa had been meeting with Kakyuu and Akihiko, Taiki was roaming through the hallways of the Hospital Ward. He was looking for the Director of said Hospital Ward, but he'd been rather unsuccessful so far. He checked inside Hina's lab on the back of her office, but he only found Mizuno Ami there instead.
"Mizuno-san," he called out to her and she looked up from the microscope. "Hello. Is Hina around here?"
"She just left," the dark-haired doctor replied. "Hikari came by and said she needed her for something."
"Do you know what it was about?" He asked with a frown. "Was it the protests?"
"I'm not sure," Ami replied with a small frown on her forehead as well. "Is there trouble? Are the protests still happening?"
"Unfortunately," Taiki sighed in reply. "The people are growing restless. We're worried they might become violent." He was about to excuse himself and keep on after Hina when he paused and said, "I'm very sorry for all of this."
"What for?" Ami was rather surprised with the sudden apology.
"The way our people are acting," he elaborated. "Blaming us and blaming you for what's happened."
"It's okay. Maybe the people are right," Ami said quietly, her eyes focused back on the touchscreen connected to the microscope.
"What do you mean?" Taiki questioned, his brow furrowing with concern at what she said.
"They are technically right," she replied, raising her blue eyes to face him. "We did bring all this trouble over and your people shouldn't have to suffer for it."
"We owe you," Taiki replied easily. "It's the exact same situation that happened ten years ago. You provided a safe harbor for us, now it's our turn."
"But your people are suffering for it," Ami retorted readily. "It's not fair to them. Nothing like this ever happened on Earth when you were over there. Yes, there were attacks, but we always handled them and Usagi managed to take the final battle with Galaxia away from Earth. But this enemy, it doesn't discriminate. They caused mass destruction and many lives were lost. All I'm saying is, maybe your people are right and we should leave."
"How? And go where, exactly?" The tall man countered, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
"Iphigenia could help us, and there are other places we could go. Mau or Coronis, for instance. They'd welcome us and help us," Ami insisted, setting her jaw.
"Right, so Iphigenia takes you all out of here," Taiki said. "What happens when the enemy follows you over to Mau or Coronis? Do you think they'd have any qualms about attacking them?"
"We can cover our tracks and prepare for it," the dark-haired woman said, also crossing her arms defiantly. "We brought nothing but trouble and even though Kakyuu has powerful healing abilities, Usagi, Mamoru and Hotaru are still in the same sleep-coma ever since we first arrived. We should reevaluate our options as the current situation is rather fruitless for all involved."
"And why do you conclude the enemy will leave us alone once you're gone?" He countered. "Ami, you're not being logical, you're letting your emotions take over."
"I am being logical," she insisted, and although her voice remained levelled, there was a certain edge to it now. "There's nothing to gain by staying here, nothing for your planet. Why do you still defend us? Your people have suffered greatly with this new enemy, and now this state of near civil war with all the protests is making the situation worse. You should be telling us to leave, but instead you're going against what your people want in order to protect us."
"Because we know better," Taiki countered, his voice rising, as he was growing frustrated with this argument. "None of us would be here if it weren't for you, so we are not about to abandon you right now, no matter what the people in our planet think. And we also know that working together is our best chance of defeating this new enemy, as we know that if they defeat you somehow then this whole Galaxy is doomed."
"You put too much blind faith in us," Ami whispered, shaking her head and looking away from him.
"You've never failed us before," he said, shaking his head as well.
"We did!" She nearly shouted at him then, getting up from her seat and her blue eyes riveted to his violet ones as she gestured angrily with her hands. "Last week, when the enemy attacked and the people in your City died! We failed you then!"
Normally, after such an outburst Ami would immediately regret raising her voice and possibly upsetting someone. Right now, she didn't care. She knew she was right, she felt very strongly about it. And she felt an underlying sizzling energy running through her veins, something that fueled her on, something almost like… rage. She could almost feel that it wasn't right, but she couldn't avoid it.
"You can't blame yourself for that," Taiki countered, his voice now as loud as hers. "If you do that, it would be the same as blaming us for all the planets Galaxia destroyed ten years ago and all the lives that were lost. It doesn't make sense!"
"It does make sense," Ami insisted. "You're the one who's blind to the situation. I don't understand how you can abide something like this. Your people are right and you are wrong!"
"I'm not wrong; you're the one who's being completely unreasonable!"
A few moments later, when Hina walked into the lab with Hikari by her side she was very surprised to find Ami and Taiki in the middle of a shouting match, and it didn't seem either of them were hearing the other.
"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Hina cried out over the two of them, her eyes wide in bewilderment. "What is going on? Why are you two fighting?"
"Stay out of this, Hina," Taiki replied harshly, with an angry glare. "This doesn't concern you."
"Excuse me?" The petite redhead retorted, narrowing her dark green eyes at this. "You're shouting inside my Hospital, in the middle of my lab. This is literally my business!"
In an instant Hina was sucked into the discussion and became nearly as incensed as the two of them, and if asked she would not even know why. Hikari just stood and watched as it all unfolded before her very eyes. She was about to interfere, when her communicator rang and she moved out of the noisy room to answer it.
"Yoko? What is it?" Hikari questioned as she answered the call.
"You have to go to the training dome ASAP," her girlfriend was quick to reply. "The alert system is on and something's happening over there. I'm heading over with your brother, Kakyuu and Akihiko."
"The training dome?" Hikari repeated, frowning at this. "Who is over there?"
"Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto," Yoko replied. "And from the energy readings I'm getting they don't seem to be merely training."
"Ok, I'll be right over," Hikari said, and went back into Hina's lab, where the three of them were now arguing with each other. "Guys. Guys! GUYS!"
Hina, Ami and Taiki blinked up at her and stopped arguing for a moment, yet their countenances still carried angry glares.
"We need to head over to the training dome. Something's going on. Now!" Hikari also glared at them as she conveyed the information, and didn't wait for them to follow her as she exited the room.
Sailor Moon, Mars and Fighter arrived at the entrance to the Senshi training dome just as Kakyuu, Akihiko, Yaten and Yoko. The two groups met and stopped for a moment before going inside.
"What is going on?" Fighter asked, a frown of concern on her face.
"We don't know exactly yet," Akihiko replied. "We registered unusual energy readings inside the training dome."
As they were about to get inside, Hina, Hikari, Ami and Taiki ran down the hallway towards them. They all just nodded at each other and Kakyuu pressed a button on the wall and the door leading into the training dome de-materialized to let them in.
All of their eyes went wide, as inside they saw Jupiter and Uranus apparently battling Neptune and Pluto. Jupiter used her lightening and pursued Neptune, who used her Deep Aqua Mirror to throw attacks back at her and Uranus had her Space Sword in hand, clashing it against Pluto's Garnet Rod as the two glared at each other.
"What the hell?" Yaten exclaimed as he watched the scene before him. There were scorch marks on the floor and walls, and some of the paneling on the ceiling was damaged and in danger of falling off.
The four combatants inside the dome didn't notice their arrival, as they carried on with their battle. Neptune's dead center aim found Jupiter, who was thrown back across the room and against the wall with the force of her Submarine Reflection. The tall brunette merely shook it off and followed with a Sparkling Wide Pressure, which Neptune barely managed to avoid as she rolled out of the way. Meanwhile Pluto jumped backwards and somersaulted and the razor sharp blade of Uranus's Space Sword cut off a few strands of her long hair. The next second, World Shaking and Dead Scream collapsed in the middle of the air, creating a huge explosion.
"STOP THIS!" Sailor Moon cried out, her eyes tightly shut as the gem in her tiara started glowing and a sudden wave of silver energy came out of her, washing out the entire room and instantly extinguishing the fire the explosion had created.
The four combatants stopped at this, blinking their eyes and seemingly coming out of a trance. Their combative postures were replaced with relaxed stances and confused looks on their faces.
"Sailor Moon," Pluto whispered as she saw her, her dark red eyes going wide.
"What—What happened?" Uranus asked, her voice rather hoarse.
"What happened?" Fighter exclaimed, an angry glare on her face as she marched up to her. "I'm the one who's asking that! What the hell were you doing?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Neptune replied, her eyes confused as she surveyed the room. "We came over to practice and then…"
"We started arguing," Jupiter continued. "Next thing I knew I threw a punch at Neptune and we were battling."
"Why were you arguing?" Kakyuu asked, a deep frown on her face.
"I don't remember," Pluto said quietly, looking down at the floor.
"You were probably being controlled by the enemy," Mars said as she also walked up to them. "It's the same thing that happened with the protesters. As soon as Sailor Moon used her powers, this dark influence disappeared."
"Not entirely," Artemis said then, as he walked into the dome with Luna and Sailor Venus. "We were running scans of the room, and there's still something here."
Sailor Venus suddenly grabbed hold of the chain around her waist and her Venus Love Me Chain glowed golden in her hand. It raced up in the air, arcing towards the central area of the ceiling. The chain connected with something, and when Venus swung her arm back her chain retracted and an object fell in the middle of the floor. It was a golden apple.
"Is that an apple?" Yaten asked, arching an eyebrow. The others also blinked up at this, as it was rather anticlimactic, somehow.
"It seems like it," Venus replied, as she frowned at it, placing her chain back around her waist.
Ami then transformed into Sailor Mercury, and in an instant she had her mini-computer in hand, analyzing the object as she walked up to it. "It's not a regular apple," Mercury said. "It's emitting some sort of energy pattern."
As soon as she said it, the golden apple started vibrating on the floor and releasing waves of some sort of dark energy that she could clearly trace on her goggles, yet the wave was invisible to the others. Instantly the mood in the room was affected once more, as they all turned aggressive toward each other.
"Of course it isn't a regular apple, you don't need to say that, we can all see that," Yaten said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Excuse me for trying to help," Mercury replied acidly looking askance at him.
"Help? I thought you were only interested in leaving," Taiki said then, and Mercury looked sharply up at him.
"Leaving? Nobody's talking about leaving," Mars interjected with a frown of confusion.
"I want to know what the hell this was doing in our training dome," Yoko said, getting into the argument as she pointed a finger at the golden apple. "Did you put it there?" She turned to the four Earthen Senshi they first found fighting in the room.
"Are you accusing us of causing this?" Uranus narrowed her eyes at what she heard.
"Well, we certainly didn't it put it up ourselves," Fighter retorted, standing by Yoko.
"Are you all blind? Of course this was the enemy's doing," Jupiter said aggressively, gesturing angrily with her hands.
"Guys, what is going on?" Sailor Moon asked around with confused and fearful eyes.
"It's obvious that our allies are starting to doubt us," Luna said from beside her.
"We don't doubt you," Akihiko interjected. "But you have to admit this whole situation is rather suspicious."
As everybody started arguing with each other, Sailor Moon looked around and found the bewildered eyes of Queen Kakyuu. It seemed only the two of them were unaffected by whatever that golden apple was emitting.
"Kakyuu, we need to do something," Sailor Moon said, walking up to her as the others all seemed blind to the situation and kept on arguing, the room growing louder by the second now.
"We do," Kakyuu nodded in reply to that. The next moment, she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, bringing her hands up in front of her chest. She then brought out her Fireball Crystal and the red, translucent gem emitted a glow that caught everyone's attention. They finally stopped arguing and watched her as she walked up to the center of the room, seeking out the foreign object.
Kakyuu concentrated and aimed her Crystal at the golden apple. The red energy pulsed out of her Crystal directly towards the object. It formed a shield of golden light around it and resisted her advances. Sailor Moon stepped up to her then and helped out, using the Moon Stick and her powers. Their combined efforts were successful, as they broke the barrier and destroyed the golden apple, which disintegrated to ashes.
The duo then turned to all the people assembled in the room and aimed their energy on them. Their healing powers overflowed and traveled cross the whole Castle, seeking out all of its inhabitants. They all sighed in unison as the wave washed over them and they were cleansed off the horrible influence they'd been under. In the ensuing silence no one in the training dome knew exactly how to proceed. Kakyuu sighed and returned her Fireball Crystal back to her chest.
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," the Kinmokunian Queen then said. "Mercury," she called out and the blue-haired Senshi looked at her. "You, Taiki and Hina are going to get a sample of whatever it was that we just destroyed and you're going to work together to find out what this is." The three of them nodded back at her after a moment.
"We'll help," Artemis chimed in, and Luna nodded beside him.
"Good," Kakyuu nodded at them, and continued. "Yaten and Fighter, I want you to find out how this was placed here. We had another Security breach and we cannot afford to have another one."
"Yes, Queen Kakyuu," the two of them replied, bowing before her.
"And to all of us," Kakyuu started, but she sighed for a moment before continuing. "Words were said and we can't pretend they weren't. But we need to find ways to move past this and keep on cooperating. We can't let this enemy get to our heads and ruin our friendships and partnerships. I believe you, I believe in all of us and I know we can to this, together."
They all nodded in agreement, some feeling more chastised than others, but Kakyuu's words were warm and encouraging. They knew she was right and that this was the only way they'd survive this.
"I have a suggestion," Sailor Venus said, raising her hand. Kakyuu gestured for her to continue. "We should suspend all training practices, until this newest threat is neutralized. Whoever is doing this is preying and toying with our emotions, so we shouldn't put ourselves in situations that would quickly get out of hand, like what just happened here."
"You're right, and that's a good idea," Akihiko nodded back at her, and the others also agreed. Slowly they all started coming up with ideas of what to do next.
"Well, I'll start repairing the room," Yoko said, as she surveyed the training dome and the damage it'd sustained. "Even if we're not using it in the foreseeable future, I wouldn't like leaving it like this."
"We'll help," Uranus gestured at Neptune, Pluto and Jupiter, who nodded at this. "It's the least we can do."
"Yaten and I will head out to the Security room," Fighter said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the door. "We should go figure out what happened out here."
They all started moving out in groups and heading different ways. The awkwardness that had been in the air was slowly dissolving and things were getting back to normal. Still they'd need to work out to fix some of the trust issues that came up with this latest incident, but they had time. They'd all make it work, somehow.
A.N.: I'm not entirely happy with this one, but it came out rather fast and easily, and I already have part of the next chapter written—it was supposed to be in this chapter, but it was turning out too long and dragging the narrative. Anyway, I hope you liked it!