Moonlight Rhapsody

By: Xhibit B

Chapter One

.i do not own sailor moon.

The blast jarred her from her bed, her hand flying to her chest as she glanced out of her bedroom window. On her stomach, the black cat she'd rescued several months before sat up as well at the sudden movement of her master. It had been quiet for so long; she wasn't expecting anything else to happen. Usagi, or rather, Princess Serenity, had defeated Beryl, Metalia and the Dark Kingdom, freeing the Shitennou as well as herself and the others from the long drawn out war that had been plaguing the universe for centuries over a month ago. Luna had hoped that this was just some random coincidence, she and Artemis had agreed that they wouldn't drag the girls back into being Guardians again unless it was necessary. And she honestly hoped that this incident wouldn't call for her to bring Usagi or any of the others back into the fold of what was going on. Especially since they were so close to graduation. Usagi had been working very hard and with only six weeks of school left before she officially graduated and went on to University, Luna wanted this time to be as stress free as it possibly could be for her.

"What was that, an earthquake," Usagi murmured as she slipped from her bed and ducked her head out of the window. When she didn't see anything, she pulled herself back in and glanced over at the cat. "I'm going to go check it out, Luna. Stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

Luna meowed, almost as if she were giving the blonde an answer. Honestly, she was, but Usagi wouldn't know that. She hadn't revealed to her that she could talk since she'd come back, memories wiped clean of what happened during the last few months, all leading up to the final battle.

She watched as Usagi slipped into a pair of dark washed skinny jeans, a black v-neck tee shirt and a heavy winter coat, before grabbing her boots, making her bed, pulling her hair into the twin buns she always wore and leaving the house quietly so not to wake her family. She ran towards the centre of the Juban City District where everyone had gathered, stopping when she caught sight of the crater that had been formed after something crash landed. It was pulsating green, almost like it was alive.

"What on earth is that," she heard someone say that stood to the side of her.

Usagi turned her head, surprised to see Ami standing there. Over the last few months, the two had gotten to know one another and had formed a close friendship with each other as well as several other girls. Besides Motoki, Ami had been very helpful when it came to explaining and helping Usagi with her homework and preparing for tests. Because of the two of them, her grades were higher than they'd ever been before. She smiled when she saw the blue haired girl, relieved that she wasn't out there alone. "Hi Ami, I guess you heard the blast too, huh?"

"Usagi," Ami said, stunned to see the blonde standing there. There was a small giggle that laced her voice as she took in her friend's appearance. While Usagi had gotten fully dressed, her hair had been haphazardly pulled into her signature pigtails before she'd left the house. "Yes, I did. I assume you weren't awake when it happened? You look like you just rolled out of bed."

"Yeah, it woke me up out of my sleep," Usagi admitted. "I was curious, so I came here. I didn't bother too much with my hair though."

"Guess I'm not the only one that was curious after all," a new voice said, causing both girls to turn and look at her. "Hey guys, fancy running into the two of you here."

"Mako," Usagi chimed with a wide smile as she hugged the taller teen. "What are you doing here? Don't you have your internship later today at the restaurant? I don't want you to be tired."

"Nah, Chef Takashi is actually out of the country for the next two weeks, so he gave me time off," Makoto answered. "I still get paid for the time, and I could technically go in if I wanted to. But, seeing as how I'm up at five in the morning to check out whatever this is, I doubt I'll be going in. Especially not as early as I normally do every Sunday."

"And I doubt I'll be able to complete all of my duties at the temple in the morning without more sleep than I got before this happened," another voice said.

"And I'm planning to sleep in all day," said another.

The three girls turned, taking in the sight of their other two friends that were smiling at them. Usagi, Makoto and Ami greeted Rei and Minako with a hug as they circled around one another, looking down into the crater again. "Do you think it's just a regular meteor?"

"I doubt it," Ami said. "At least, it doesn't look like any meteor I've ever seen before. Most of them aren't green and pulsating."

"Point taken," Minako said as she folded her arms across her chest. "I wonder what it could possibly be?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out in a week or two," Rei said, holding her finger up. "They've already called for a science team to come out and take samples. They'll probably run some tests and then when they find out what it is, they'll probably hold some big press conference to announce it."

"Probably," Makoto agreed.

She'd opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off by a male voice speaking out to the group.

"Shouldn't you girls be at home," a male voice asked, making all five of them turn to look at him. "It's way too early, don't you all usually sleep in on a Sunday? Especially you, Odango Atama."

"Mamoru-baka," Usagi whined as she turned to look at him, glaring dangerously at the dark-haired male. "Why must you always come around and pick on us, me most of all, at the most inopportune times? Besides, shouldn't you be at home, too? It is five in the morning. And last I checked; you have a job that you likely have a shift for in the next few hours."

"Now how would you know when I do and don't have a shift at work, Odango Atama," Mamoru asked, irking a brow at her. "Are you stalking me?"

"You wish," Usagi grumbled, turning her nose up in the air. "Honestly, it feels like you're stalking me, if we're talking about someone following someone around. You pop up everywhere I am."

Mamoru merely chuckled, shaking his head as he turned to walk away. It was too early in the morning to go back and forth with the blonde. "Whatever you say, Odango Atama. See you around."

"I hope not," Usagi grumbled before her attention was turned back to the crater when she heard the people gasp. Her eyes grew wide when she and the others glanced down again. "What in the world? Where'd the meteor go?"

"I don't know, it was there one minute and the next it was gone," Ami answered, just as confused as everyone else. "No one touched anything, at least I don't think they did. The science team that was dispatched to check it out hasn't even made it here yet to try and figure out what it is."

"This is way beyond weird," Usagi said as she turned to look back at her friends. "But since it's gone, I think we should probably head back home. It's late… or early. Whichever one you prefer to call it. And I'm starting to get sleepy all over again. I think this was a little too much excitement for me."

"Same old Usagi," Makoto laughed, hooking her arm in Usagi's. "But I agree. We should definitely head back and get some more rest. My place is closer if you guys want to crash there. Especially since we don't have school because it's Sunday."

"I'm siding with Mako on this one," Usagi said, grinning. "I want to get back to sleep as soon as possible. I'll call my parents when I wake up later and let them know where I am so that they don't worry. Especially since it's so unlike me to be up and gone before the sun rises on a Sunday."

"Same old Usagi," Rei laughed as the girls turned to make their way back to Makoto's apartment that was just a few blocks away.

…

"Do you think the girls have awakened once more," Kunzite asked, glancing over at his fellow knights. "I know after the final battle with Beryl, their powers were sealed away so that they could lead their lives as normal girls again. But as you all know, there will eventually come a time where they need to be awakened once more and I have a feeling that, that time is coming, very soon."

"We could always take a trip to Juban and see," Zoisite offered, picking up his cup of tea to take a sip. He swallowed before continuing. "It wouldn't hurt to do so. And if they have reawakened, then perhaps we can aid them in their mission to keep the world safe this time. If they will let us, that is. We weren't exactly playing on the same side of things before, even if it wasn't by choice."

"I wouldn't be opposed to doing so," Nephrite said with a slight smile on his lips. "Besides, being in Jupiter's presence on a constant basis would be a treat. We will have to tread lightly for a time, though, as Zoisite is right. We weren't exactly on the same side previously."

"Mars as well, she's definitely a firecracker when she's set off. And I get the feeling that her being set off is going to happen more often than not until we can gain their trust again," Jadeite chuckled. "Now that I think about it, we're going to have to deal with them all being set off every now and again. The Princess wasn't always the nicest person when she was crossed. The same with Mercury and Jupiter if memory serves me correctly."

"And Venus has one hell of a temper as well," Kunzite chuckled as he brushed his hair out of his face recalling memories from a lifetime ago. "I've been on the receiving end of it more often than I care to acknowledge. I can still feel the sting of that chain when she used it against me several times before during the Silver Millennium and more recently when we faced off with one another."

"Jupiter's thunder isn't exactly pleasant, either," Nephrite chimed in. "I am surprised I do not still have burns from being hit with it so frequently. Even when we were just training and she dialed the ferocity of her attacks back, I still sustained injuries."

"You think Jupiter's thunder is bad, you should be on the receiving end of Mars' fire," Jadeite pointed out. "I recall there was a time during the Silver Millennium when she became angry with me and singed all of my hair off. It took quite some time for it to grow back."

Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite burst into full bouts of laughter as they recalled the memory. Jadeite had done something stupid, as was his usual, and had pissed the fire Senshi off so badly, she'd set his hair aflame. It had taken half a year for his hair to grow back to the length it had been before. And for a month and a half, he had sported a marvelously bald head; making him the brunt of quite a few jokes between the Shitennou. Something he did not appreciate in the least.

"Yeah, laugh it up you guys," Jadeite said rolling his eyes. "If I recall correctly, Zoisite, Mercury practically froze you to death when you crossed her the first and only time you'd dared to do so. I thought that we would have been down a brother in arms until it was all said and done."

"I do recall this as well," Nephrite said, crossing one leg over the other. "I was going to start looking into potential candidates to take your place, Zoisite. We couldn't leave the Prince even slightly unprotected. But then when she decided to spare your life after an apology, I figured I could put off the search."

"Oh, very funny," Zoisite said, rolling his eyes as his arms came to rest across his chest. "We all had near death run-ins with the Guardians. Jadeite and I are not the only ones. Nephrite, Jupiter almost killed you once when she thought you were going to attack the Prince and Princess. Kunzite, Venus nearly killed you with her "Love Me" chain when she thought that you were cheating on her with that girl that worked in the Palace that had a sweet spot for you."

Kunzite could feel his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment. He'd forgotten about that. Of course, it was a lifetime ago, so it wasn't a surprise that he'd forgotten. And he wondered, honestly, if Venus had reawakened and remembered that incident herself. He cleared his throat, changing the subject. "In any case, we should prepare for the journey to Juban District. It is an eight-hour train ride from here, after all. And I would like to get going as soon as possible."

"Missing Venus already," Nephrite teased, only to have a spoon thrown at his face with amazing precision. He scowled as he leaned over to gather the spoon from the floor. "I would appreciate it if you didn't throw things at me because you're having a temper tantrum. If you would like, I could tell Venus about it. You know how she gets when you throw a tantrum."

"Only if you wish to have Jupiter light a spark to your ass in return," Kunzite said as he stood, turning on his heel to leave.

Nephrite said nothing further, he and the remaining two Shitennou immediately getting to their feet to follow their leader. They had to get their affairs in order before making the trip to Juban District. Each anticipated seeing the Senshi, Princess and Prince once again. Though they had not been conscious to what they were doing before, the four men knew that it would take time to win their trust again. If they even remembered to begin with.