Disclaimer: They are the property of Takeuchi Naoko, except when they aren't, and then they're mine. But I assure everyone and anyone who gives a damn that I ain't making any money on this...
A/N: Well, we needed to wrap things up on Kinmoku before we could move on, so here's the wrap up. Thank you's go out to Sabrina (what is up with that attack? that has always bugged me, that and their skanky uniforms...gotta have spoons for the pudding, you know ;-P) Aphrodite's Kiss (well, this should answer your first question, and as for reactions when the Starlights get to Earth...that would be telling) Bin82501 (even Setsuna gets thrown off balance when being chased by other Senshi) twilightm00n (Seiya may be protective of Usagi, but it isn't exactly her place, and we're taking the action down for a little bit, but it'll be coming back in my next update) Lysia Croft (they think much after "Galaxia. Kill. Kill." they didn't even really notice Setsuna at first) mlkoolc86 (I tried to make it both exciting and funny, glad you thought it was...) Lalaitha Yamainu (Haruka's got a couple ideas of what we can do with the Starlights) astra-kelly (everyone jumped on the idea of Setsuna running around the galaxy with pudding cups, so I ran with it, and it just worked out so funny) sailorashes (Kakyuu mentioned a lover she had lost in the manga, so when everyone came back to life, Fubuki was born in my mind, not Pluto's man, but I swear he's coming) Girl Who Writes (I wish I could write it faster, believe me, and I just love the idea of Pluto and Galaxia racing about together, thank the gods fanfiction let's us explore these crazy ideas) Artemis-chan of Redwing (I was going for the giggles, I'm glad you liked it) Sunwritten (ah, you make me blush! I got kicked back into gear, and I hope I stay there, because we're rolling along so well, and I want to keep going to the end) Through Darkness (who doesn't love the pudding? the worst part is, you're supposed to be confused right now, but next update should clarify a lot) If you're reading and not reviewing, thank you, too! And here we go...
After more than an hour of being chased around a strange Palace, it felt wonderful to sit still, sip the wine that Princess Kakyuu had fetched to the room along with the water, and take a moment to breathe. Unfortunately, Setsuna and Galaxia, having shed their Sailor Senshi garb and returned to civilian form, found little time for relaxation. As soon as the servants baring food left the room, the questions began.
"What's happened to Usagi?" Seiya asked seconds after the door closed. "Galaxia cut off suddenly. Is she alright? Is she hurt? What's happened?"
"Calm down, Seiya. If Usaig were hurt, I am sure our friends would not appear so at ease. Will you please sit down?"
Kakyuu's voice floated out to them from a side door which remained slightly ajar, with Fubuki standing before it. Setsuna's one glance into this little room told her it was a dressing room, for she had glimpsed a vanity and an impressive wardrobe. Yaten slipped with her Princess into the dressing room, Taiki sat playing with the end of her ponytail thoughtfully, and Seiya stood on the other side of the table from Setsuna and Galaxia and demanded answers.
Raising her hand to quiet the other woman, Setsuna shook her head slightly. The Starlights had also chosen to return to their more mundane forms, and it was strange to see Seiya, usually dressed as mannish as Haruka, in a simple long white skirt and black vest. Taiki, lounging at her side, wore pants almost like hakama, but the color of the dark wine they enjoyed, and a long sleeve, pale pink shirt that plunged impressively and revealed much. Both women went without shoes, making Setsuna suddenly conscious of her own footwear.
Should I take off my shoes? Is this rude? What would have been the proper thing to do in the Moon Palace?
As Setsuna pondered interplanetary decorum, Galaxia answered Seiya's impetuous questions.
"Usagi is...fine. She is just dealing with some things, and she sent Setsuna and myself to handle the gathering of Sailor Soldiers," the eldest Senshi explained smoothly. "We are in danger."
"Define the term 'we', my lady," Fubuki interrupted, his ice cold eyes narrowed, not suspicious, but thoughtful. Setsuna guessed if he could protect Kakyuu at the cost of the rest of Creation, he would. She found this strangely moving, and a twinge of envy had to be thrust away.
"When we say 'we', Captain Fubuki, we mean the galaxy, or perhaps the universe, as a whole," Setsuna said, meeting those blue eyes without fear. She understood the fanatical loyalty to duty, and she would use it to make him do what was needed. "But first and foremost, our enemy will probably strike out at the Sailor Senshi, such as us, such as the Starlights, and such as your Princess."
"This enemy knows about Sailor Senshi, then," Taiki murmured. "That is interesting. What is this danger?"
"It is...it is evil, personified," Setsuna said. "Long ago, so long that the only ones who remember are planets and stars, someone tried to build a prison for evil. They wanted to cleanse all of Creation, and make things peaceful and good always. It worked to an extent, in that they managed to syphon a great amount of darkness away from the rest of Creation, but things went wrong, terribly wrong, and now all this evil is built up, and it has been trying to escape it's prison."
"So, is it an army of evil?" Taiki asked. "A legion of enemies?"
"Iie. The evil has melded, and become a single entity. It is not mindless; it thinks, it speaks, it wants, and it will stop at nothing to break free. If it does, it will wash over everything, and it will devour everything, and then there will be no way to stop it." Setsuna stared hard into Fubuki's eyes, and felt her millennia of existence fill her gaze, and willed him to understand, to truly comprehend, the level of destruction the Abyss could wreak. "I've seen what this thing can do with just a tiny pinprick into a world. One whisper can drive people mad, can make lovers hate each other, can turn mothers against their children, can...can turn a Senshi against her duty. It can turn us against our own kind. It can turn us against our Princess."
The whole room stared at her, and Setsuna pushed back against the devastating memory of Usagi crumpled on the pavement, blood on her forehead, blood on her lips, her chest unmoved by breath, and the echo of Pluto's own planet attack still hanging in the air.
"Did you...do something to Usagi?" Seiya asked slowly.
"If I tell you it's a long story, that doesn't even begin to explain it," Setsuna muttered on a little laugh. "The Abyss plays with your mind, and preys on your fears. That's bad enough, but if it can pull you into its jaws, it will devour you, completely, body, heart, and soul. The only person who seems immune is Usagi herself."
Taiki stared at her through expressionless brown eyes for a moment, then shook her head. "Perhaps you were weak enough to fall to this thing. We would not."
"And why is that?" Galaxia asked, a spoon of chocolate pudding hovering in front of her lips. "Are you without weakness? If so, I wish you would tell me how you do it."
"We never forget our duty," Yaten announced as she appeared in the dressing room door, clad in a straight white dress of Grecian lines. "Our loyalty to our Princess would never be swayed."
Galaxia lowered her spoon, and sat up straighter, fixing the other Senshi with a gaze of as much heat as Fubuki's eyes were cold. "You dare to claim you are more dedicated to your duty than Sailor Pluto? Have you ever guarded a lonely post, without friends, without lovers, without family, never swaying from your duty? No, because you wouldn't survive more than a few months alone. She knows what duty is. If the Abyss can twist her from her duty, then you would do well to fear for your very souls."
"That may well be true, Galaxia, but let's just take a deep breath and calm down," Setsuna advised. She met Galaxia's eyes, and gave her a soft smile. "Arigatou."
"I merely spoke the truth, my dear."
"I think she did."
Kakyuu appeared, pushing Fubuki gently aside so she could reenter her chambers. She looked as Setsuna remembered her, her beautiful hair looped behind her head but left to fall in two tails around her face, and her body encased in a crimson silk gown, with a skirt like lotus petals flaring in a breeze, and long trailing sleeves in the same gold as Fubuki's armor. She paused, her fingers fumbling with her long ribbon necklace. With a sigh, she turned to Fubuki, who melted from the forbidding ice soldier to take the ribbon and tie it into a bow. Setsuna hid a smile as he fussed about it, making certain all four loops were perfect, and that the little gold ornament was exactly centered.
Also not wearing shoes, Kakyuu rose up on her toes to kiss him thank you. Setsuna heard Galaxia catch herself on a giggle as a blush started in his cheeks.
"Princess," he muttered reprovingly, "we are not alone."
"I'm sure Sailor Pluto has seen her own Princess kissing her lover."
"Frequently," Setsuna assured him with a smile.
"Yes, well, that doesn't apply to...for the sake of policy...as the Princess...you shouldn't do that!" he hissed, and moved back to attention.
"Of course, Fubuki. I am sorry."
The merry twinkle in her eyes as Kakyuu turned to the other women in the room gave the lie to her meek words.
"As for Sailor Pluto's dedication to her duty, Taiki, Yaten, you are not to be the judge of that. Her own Princess entrusted her with the mission of ambassador, and that should tell you how deep her faith in her Senshi is."
"Be careful, my ladies," Fubuki added suddenly, directing his gaze at the startled Starlights, "for your over confidence in your dedication could be the very weaknesses this Abyss is waiting to prey on. Know your strength, but know your weakness as well."
"And what is your weakness, Fubuki?" Seiya asked haughtily. "Do you admit to any?"
"I am not a Sailor Senshi. I do not have the power to protect Kakyuu as I would like. So, perhaps, envy of your power would be my weakness."
The women all blinked at him, surprised by his forthcoming speech. Seiya stared particularly hard, her mouth opening and closing several times as she tried to find a response. He had left her with none, so she turned back to Galaxia and Setsuna to renew her attack.
"What is it, exactly, that Usagi is dealing with?"
"It's personal," Setsuna answered shortly. "Can we please focus on the Abyss? That is what is most likely to kill us all, you know."
"But what-?"
"Seiya!" Kakyuu interrupted. "Enough. If it is personal, I think it is a matter for Sailor Moon, her Senshi, and her Prince."
"Her fiancee, if you want to be completely correct," Setsuna said. "And it is a matter between them, more so than it involves her Senshi."
Taiki sat up suddenly, her eyes wide. "You mean...of course! That's it!"
"Nani?" Setsuna cried in shock, and she looked quickly to Galaxia. Eyes as scarlet as her own blinked back, almost frightened. Setsuna had told her new partner all she could remember from Amaterasu, including the discussion of Usagi grappling with new and dangerous powers. It seemed impossible Taiki could have come to such a conclusion, so she chose to move cautiously. "What is it you think we mean?"
"Usagi is pregnant, isn't she?"
Both the other Starlights' jaws nearly hit the ground. Kakyuu, slightly more composed, turned swiftly to look at Setsuna and Galaxia with questioning eyes. The two guests exchanged another look, uncertain whether to laugh or groan.
"Usagi is most certainly not pregnant," Setsuna assured them through gritted teeth. "Usagi is seventeen, and not ready to be a mother. Usagi is fine. Can. We. Focus. On. The. Abyss?!? Please!"
"I agree with Sailor Pluto," Fubuki said. "I do not know Usagi, and though my Princess has told me she is a kind and lovely Soldier, I really could not care less if she were pregnant. However, the destruction of Creation concerns me greatly. Your Princess sent you to reach out to other Sailor Senshi, did she not?"
"Hai, she did."
"Why?"
"What?" Galaxia asked.
"Did you come merely to tell us of our danger, or do you want something from us?"
Setsuna shook her head again, and raised her eyebrows at Seiya.
"It is often said around the Palace," Seiya said with a little smile, "that Captain Fubuki is about as subtle as a punch to the face. However, he has a point. Why are you here?"
"Throughout the ages," Galaxia began slowly, "the Sailor Senshi have remained with our planets and stars, and we have fought evil. But we have done so apart from one another. However, remember how Chaos was finally defeated."
"When Sailor Moon nearly ran you through with a sword?" Taiki mused, touching her forefinger to her lips.
"When two sets of Sailor Soldiers came together, and worked together," Setsuna corrected her with a stern look. "If you had not been there after your Princess fell, after we were no longer there to help Sailor Moon...that possibility is too horrifying for my mind to comprehend, honestly.
"The Abyss had a taste of freedom, when it managed to push open a tiny portal to Earth, and it wants more. It took the strength of a star to close that portal, and even then its shadow remains. It has haunted and hounded Usagi ever since. It is mostly in dreams, but those dreams can leave very real wounds."
"It's getting worse," Galaxia added. "I went to Earth to speak with Sailor Moon, and when I got there, she was under attack from the Abyss in a dream. An entire roomful of people were wounded during that attack."
Setsuna noted silently that Galaxia left out the very simple detail of just how that roomful of people were wounded.
Kakyuu sank down into the chair beside Taiki, and there was now no laughter in her eyes. She looked grave and serious, clenching her hands tightly together on the table top. "I must go before my Council in the next hour. I woke them in the middle of the night. They will be frightened, and worried, and probably a little angry. What am I going to tell them?"
"You are going to tell them," Galaxia murmured, leaning over to lay her hand on top of Kakyuu's, "as much of the truth as you deem necessary. They need to know how serious this threat is...so that they will allow you to travel to Earth."
"No!" Fubuki snapped, coming suddenly to life. "At a time of emergency, the Princess needs to be here!"
"She needs to be where she can do the most good," Galaxia shot back. She rose and turned to face him, so tall she nearly looked him in the eye. "Every planet and every star is in danger, Fubuki. The Sailor Senshi need to gather, to combine their powers."
"Why can't they gather here?" Fubuki demanded. Setsuna slid to the edge of her seat as his hand tightened on his weapon, and he took a menacing step forward. "Why do I hear betrayal in your words? Perhaps the Sailor Senshi gather on Earth. How do we know you will not strike then, and take them all at once?"
"You are seriously overestimating my abilities," Galaxia told him flatly. "Even with Chaos, if there had been a gathering of Sailor Senshi as we are talking about, I would never have stood a chance. It will not be possible to collect every Senshi...there are thousands, millions, as there are millions of stars. But this is not a wave of darkness. This is a tsunami, Fubuki, and we must have our own storm to fight back, or we will lose!"
"I am going."
Fubuki fell silent as Kakyuu stood, her voice firm, almost a command. She walked past her Starlights and Galaxia, and stopped directly in front of the Captain of her Palace Guards. One hand rose, and lay against the metal of his armor, directly over his heart. The other touched his weapon, merely with her fingertips, and pushed it gently away.
"This is not a trap, nor a betrayal, and you know it. You warned the Starlights to beware of their own fears and weaknesses. This is yours, my Fubuki, and you are letting it win without the help of the Abyss."
His free arm wrapped around her, and crushed her to his chest. Setsuna winced in sympathy, but though the armor surely bruised through the silk gown, Kakyuu merely clung to him, and turned her face into the side of his neck. He dipped his head until he could touch his lips to her hair.
"Yes, this is my fear. That you will be taken from me. That I will fail you. I...I cannot bear it, Kakyuu. I cannot see you bleed. I will not see you hurt again. Not if I can do anything to stop it. If you go, I go with you."
"Are you implying that we can't protect the Princess?" Yaten asked, but there was no heat in her words. In fact, Setsuna thought she might be smiling. Taiki and Seiya most certainly were.
"You can go to hell, Sailor Star Healer, with my compliments," Fubuki said without raising his head. "If Kakyuu goes, I go with her. There is no other option. I will bar the door and allow no one in or out if you try to make me stay."
"That is...really over the top," Taiki told him, rising from her chair. "But sweet, no less. Very well, Sailor Galaxia, Sailor Pluto. We will go to Earth, and we will join your scrappy band of fighters. Who will we find there?"
"Only our own Senshi," Setsuna admitted. "You are our first stop."
"Well, doesn't that make us feel special," Seiya muttered with a smirk. "Or are we more like a practice run?"
"Where precisely will we be going, once we arrive on Earth?" Fubuki asked over her. "As Kakyuu explained it, you do not have a Palace. We will need to sleep somewhere, and at some point we will probably want food."
"You can go..." Setsuna trailed off, and thought quickly. In the anxiety to begin their journey, she and Galaxia had missed this rather important step. A glance to her partner showed an equally desperate look. Only one possibility came to mind, and while Setsuna did not like it, she saw nothing else she could do. "You can go to my house. You will be guests of my...my sisters, Haruka and Michiru."
"You," Yaten had to stop to choke down a laugh, "you want us to stay with Uranus and Neptune?"
Taiki raised a finger for emphasis. "More precisely, you want Uranus and Seiya to reside in the same house for more than a matter of moments? You are very trusting. Or perhaps you do not like this house very much."
"It is a very nice house," Setsuna told them all defensively, "and I like it very much, and I would prefer, Sailor Star Fighter, that it remain in the shape in which I left it. The last one was blown up, and I don't want that to happen to this one."
"Your house was blown up?" Seiya gasped. "How-?"
"However, I don't think we can put a bunch of Sailor Senshi in a hotel. There are just too many things that could go wrong. So I guess our house is the only place I can send you. I can't send you to Mamoru's place, because Seiya and Mamoru would definitely kill each other, and there are already four other men living there. But when Hotaru and Small Lady and the Quartet return...oh, dear."
"We will give you the address to find Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus, and they will make you most welcome, I am sure," Galaxia said quickly. "Kakyuu, what else will we need before we face your Council?"
"I will need you to accompany me, to help me explain all this. Seiya will essemble the honor guard. We will make this as official as possible. Yaten, Taiki, I need you to fetch Kaen. As my successor, she will have to act as regent in my stead. She is young, but the Council can guide her. Bring her here quickly, so I can give her some warning, and she will come with us to the State Rooms."
Yaten and Taiki bobbed quick bows, then turned and raced for the door. As it began to close, Kakyuu yelled one more warning after them.
"Make certain she is dressed properly! That means a dress!"
"Kaen...Kakyuu, are you certain?" Fubuki asked, finally allowing her to leave the circle of his arms. "She is..."
"She is my cousin, of royal blood, and my heir. She will do fine," Kakyuu assured him. "She may be young, she may be...impetuous, but her heart is good, and her will is strong. Her only concern will be the safety of our home."
Fubuki closed his lips, but his stony silence spoke volumes of his uncertainty.
"Sailor Pluto, perhaps it would be best for you to return to your Sailor uniform. Sailor Galaxia..."
"Perhaps my uniform would be the worst idea at this moment," Galaxia finished with a little sigh. "It might lead to fullblown panic. I understand, Princess."
Kakyuu smiled in appreciation, then touched the flower birthmark on her forehead as she thought. "What else? Slippers, yes, and the Starlights should return to their uniforms, and Fubuki will need his cape back, and...what am I forgetting?"
"Your crown?" Fubuki suggested.
"Ah! My crown! Blessed Kinmoku, I'll be forgetting my head next!"
She fled back into her dressing room, followed by both Seiya and Fubuki. Setsuna took the moment to seize Galaxia by the wrist and yank her back into her chair. The other woman fell into her seat hard, and nearly slipped into Setsuna's lap.
"What?"
"We're just going to send them to Haruka and Michiru without any warning?" Setsuna whispered. "She's a Princess, which makes her a...a visiting dignitary, or something like that. And there are going to be lots of them, if we're lucky! They can't all stay in my house!"
"They might have to. Earth is the first target on the Abyss's list, so that is where we will have to make our stand. Unfortunately, as you said, we can't just send a bunch of offworlders to a hotel, and entrust them to the staff there! So what are our options?" Galaxia asked helplessly.
"But...what are they going to do with all of them?" Setsuna wailed softly with a wild gesture to the half-open dressing room door.
"I don't know! We're doing the hard part, this is just going to have to be the job of everyone who stayed behind!" Galaxia snapped. She seemed more distressed than angry, though, as she seized a lock of hair and began to tug nervously. "Michiru is very good at organizing, and Kunzite was the General of Earth's Army, or so you said, they should be able to figure something out."
Setsuna nodded and had to smile. "I'm sure they'll make it work, but I'll probably be the one sleeping on the floor when we get home. Okay. We go and talk to Kakyuu's Council, and see her and the Starlights, and apparently Fubuki, off to Earth, and then where do we go next?"
"Next? We could try Coronis, they tend to like birds a bit there. Or Mau, that's where Sailor Tin Nyanko stole her Sailor Crystal from. But maybe we should next go to Geshur, while we still have some energy and ingenuity."
"'Ingenuity'?" Setsuna repeated uncertainly. "What's so special about Geshur?"
"They follow the Sailor Senshi Code, which means that Sailor Senshi have active roles in the ruling of this system. However, the Sailor Crystal of Geshur, the ruling planet of the system, is at this time held by a man."
"A...a man? A man with Senshi powers? That's...that's not possible!" Setsuna cried, stunned. "Is he a usurper? How could he have gotten his hands on a Sailor Crystal?!?"
"I don't know, and as it made it very easy to steal before, I didn't ask a lot of questions," Galaxia admitted with a little shrug. "Besides, your Prince has a sort of Sailor Crystal. I should know, I was given a chance to study it rather closely."
"That's...unusual."
"That's putting it mildly. But the ease with which I took the Geshur Crystal made me wonder...There is something off about the situation in Geshur."
Setsuna lifted her hand to her mouth, and bit down on one fingernail without thinking. "Hai, perhaps that should be our next stop. Geshur made need our help in other ways than just the Abyss...oh, Kronos help us, what else is coming?"
"I don't know, sweetheart," Galaxia murmured. She glanced to the table, then lifted her crystal wine goblet once more. "There's nothing for it but to continue on."
She held out the glass to Setsuna. After a moment, Setsuna raised her own glass, and clinked it against Galaxia's.
Both drank, and tried to let the warmth of the sweet wine chase away their fears.