Heart of the Sun
The Silver Millennium, very few people now of its existence, and fewer still know the full story. What is known was that during this time period, all the planets in the solar system were home to their own unique kingdoms. Even the sun itself was populated. The leaders of these kingdoms answered to the royal family of the moon kingdom, ruled by Queen Serenity. But, as prosperous as it was, the silver millennium wasn't without those who would see it either destroyed or dominated in their name.
Knowing this, the Queen took every single precaution she could think of to protect herself, her kingdom, and her daughter, Princess Serena. She had alliances with all the other planets except Earth, had the other planets princesses trained as warriors, and had her royal guards sent through rigorous training regiments. One day, she was approached by the kingdoms of the Earth and the Sun, offering their young princes services in exchange for an alliance. She accepted them both, and assigned them with different duties.
Endymion, the prince of Earth, was to be Serena's future husband, while Solaris, the Sun prince, was to be her personal bodyguard. But something happened that no one, not even the Queen herself, had expected. As the years went by, Serena and her bodyguards, dubbed by the kingdoms as the Sailor Scouts, had each become infatuated with Solaris. At first, Solaris thought it was just a joke, blinded by both skepticism and his personal sense of duty. But, one day, during a formal tournament held by the royal family, a series of events was set into motion that would change the course of history. And it all started with a simple dare between a princess and her bodyguard.
"Surely, you can't be serious your majesty. Expecting me to enter this tournament, and knowing full well that the winner is to be your future husband. I was sent here to protect you, Endymion is supposed to fill the role of husband. Besides, look at me, no matter how hard I train or how often I work out, I never seem to lose any weight. What girl in her right mind would possibly want someone like me?" Seeing that this approach was going nowhere, Serena switched tactics. "Solaris, as Princess of the moon and your superior, I hereby order you to enter and win this tournament. Failure to do so will result in your immediate banishment from this kingdom." Although he was initially shocked that Serena would say such a thing, he reluctantly complied, not wanting to bring shame to his family or be forced to leave his home of the past 8 years. He turned and left, and then Serena turned to her other friends. The princess of Mars decided to speak the words on everyone's mind.
"Don't you think that was a bit harsh, your majesty?" Serena simply giggled and said, "Nonsense, Mars. Besides, aren't we all after the same thing?" All the Scouts blushed at her statement. "Oh, don't play dumb. I know you all love him just as much as me, so I say why not share him?" The Princess of Mercury spoke next. "But, what if he doesn't win?" "He'll win. He won't risk the chance of being kicked out of the palace." So, he did enter, and round after round he somehow came out on top, using his strategic mind, incredible physical prowess, and powerful elemental magic spells mixed with a bit of his own personal trademark, powerful alchemy.
The final round came with thunderous cheer, as Solaris, going under the alias of "The Masked Star", stood on the field facing his opponent, Prince Endymion. No words were said between the two, only the sound of the roaring crowd and the sliding of metal as Endymion drew his sword. Solaris, too, drew his weapon, an 8 foot bow-staff covered in alchemical symbols and magic runes. The fight was long and intense, both combatants fighting with everything they had until, with one final clash that kicked up a vast cloud of dust, a victor was decided. When the dust settled, standing there covered in dried blood, scratches, and bruises, stood Solaris, leaning on his staff for support over an equally wounded yet defeated Endymion. The crowd cheered as Serena let out a breath of relief she didn't realize she was holding.
The Queen stood from her seat, raised her hand to quiet the crowd, and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the winner of the tournament, the dark horse Masked Star." Sadly before more could be said, Beryl, commander of the evil negaverse, chose to make her presence known. The chaos that followed has been shrouded in mystery, but one thing remains true, the battle that followed marked the end of the Silver Millennium. To protect her daughter and her subjects, using the power of the silver crystal, a source of immense power, Queen Serenity sent there spirits to be reborn on earth, but Solaris wasn't so lucky. In an effort to buy the queen some time, he stood before the massive, twisted hoard of the negaverse, blocking the way and slaughtering any monster that got too close. Despite his efforts, the strain from the tournament finally caught up with him, and a fatal blow was struck whilst he tried to recover.
Solaris looked to the skies, seeing the spirits of so many people drift towards Earth. He felt the eyes of the princess and the scouts upon him as they drifted away, watching him as he died and their hearts wept greatly for him. He then realized that their love for him wasn't a joke, and with the last of his strength, shouted to the heavens. "PRINCESSES, I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING UNABLE TO RETURN YOUR LOVE. I WILL FIND YOU ALL AGAIN, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES THE WHEEL OF REINCARNATION MUST TURN, NO MATTER HOW MANY LIFETIMES IT TAKES, AND I WILL SEE TO IT THAT YOUR LOVE IS RETURNED A THOUSAND TIMES OVER. ON MY HONOR AND THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS WITHIN MY VIENS I SWEAR IT!" Then, with one last shout, he started to glow gold before a massive explosion propelled his spirit towards Earth and engulfed a vast portion of the negaverse army, and with that he saw no more.
We now jump ahead to the present, where we see a fourteen year old boy in the office of a psychologist discussing his most recent problems. Since he was five he's been having a series of vivid dreams. His parents, both presidents of two multi-billion dollar industries, were growing worried. At first they were dismissed as the imagination of a young boy, but they continued and started to affect his daily life. It got so bad that he was seeing images of various monsters and passing out in school. His most resent addition to his growing list of problems was his mysterious obsession with a recently emerged super heroine named Sailor V, stating that he somehow knew her in a very close manner. Prior to this visit, he had recently heard a rumor that Sailor V was heading to Japan, more specifically the Juuban district of Tokyo.
"And that was when I woke up, covered in a cold sweat and feeling sore all over. I tried to go back to sleep, but all I could do was toss and turn, somehow feeling that I had to find Sailor V. Between the dreams, the hallucinations, the bouts of unconsciousness and now this, I feel like I'm going bat shit insane." The boy, who was named Thedon, started to break down in tears as he finished. As he lay there, trying to collect himself, his parents and doctor discussed a possible course of action, but no matter what they thought of, it all went back to one thought, going to Juuban and confronting Sailor V. So that's what they decided to do.
After making the necessary arrangements, they packed up and flew to Tokyo, first class. A few days later, everyone was settling in and learning the lay of the land. Thedon took this opportunity to have a stroll around the local shopping district. Looking around, he saw a group of kids tormenting a cat. He was about to step in and stop them when a girl about his age with blonde hair in what the locals called an odango style did so. Seeing this, he smiled to himself and was about to walk off when she started panicking about being late to school, which caused him to sweat drop. Moving on, he continued his walk until he came to a café. He sat down, ordered some food, and ran all that happened so far through his head. His thoughts eventually came back to that girl he saw.
'I wonder what she's doing right now.' As he thought that, she came into view, accompanied be another girl with red hair. He watched them as they want into a jewelry store that seemed to be having a very good business day. As they went in, his food came and he started eating. As he ate, he thought to himself, 'I don't know what it is, but there's something about that girl that seems familiar.' He finished, paid his check, and made his way over to the jewelry store. 'Hmm, there's something about this place that seems, off. I don't know why, but I feel like whatever is happening in there isn't kosher.'
His thoughts were interrupted as a ball of paper hit his head. Seeing the blonde girl he assumed it belonged to her. "Hey, you." She turned around. "Yes, you. Watch here you're throwing your trash." On a whim, he un-crumbled the paper and saw that it was a test, and a pretty poor one if the grade was right. She dashed over and made a grab for the paper, yanking it out of her hands. "Don't go looking at things that don't belong to you." She said like a spoiled child. "I wouldn't be caught dead in my grave with such a low score. Are you stupid or just plain lazy?" She then responded with, "That's none of your business." and stormed off. He stood there as she left, thinking to himself. 'I don't know why, but there's something about her that I just can't ignore.' He absently noted a black cat following her, then turned and left.
He continued to wander aimlessly without fear of getting lost, yet he still couldn't get his mind of that girl, Serena Tsukino if he read the name right. He looked over and saw Serena admiring a poster advertising the latest Sailor V video game. 'Odd, not very often you come across a girl that enjoys video games.' He watched as she seemed to monologue to herself before sulking and leaving. When she was gone, Thedon checked his watch. Seeing that it was getting late, he made his way back home, only to stop a see something strange as all the customers in the jewelry store started fainting one after the other. He watched as the red head approached an older woman, presumably her mother, only to see her back away as her face morphed into a malicious grin.
"Mom, what's going on, what's happening?"
"I'm not your mother, little girl." The woman then started choking the girl as she changed into a monster that resembled an old hag in a black dress and a scar on her forehead. "Sweet mother of all that's holy, what the hell is happening around here?" Thedon whispered to himself. He debated within himself as to whether or not to interfere, but he knew that he would never be able to live with himself if he just let this happen. So, he screwed up his courage, charged forward and blew through the doors, plowing head long into the monster.
Morga was getting tired of this planet. She only came here to collect life energy from these pathetic humans to take back to here master. Her plan was to siphon the energy out of a vast number of people by absorbing it with special jewelry, which they were only too happy to have. Then, this annoying little girl starts interfering, and now she has another problem. She was about to finish off the girl when something heavy slammed into her from the side. Landing hard on the ground, she looked up to see a human boy lying on top of her.
"I don't know who you are, but you just made a big mistake." She said with a voice laced with malice.
"And I don't care WHAT you are, but I'm not letting you kill this girl for whatever reason you may have in your disgusting, misshapen head." The boy finished by hocking a lugi in her face. Thedon braced himself as the monster threw him off of her, slamming his back into a wall as the abomination before him charged at him.
"I was going to save you for later, but now I've changed my mind. You will be the first to die at the hands of the negaverse, and your body shall serve as the paving stone to the destruction of your race and this planet."
Morga then started to choke him while laughing in triumph until another voice made itself heard.
"Let him go," Morga's head turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face the new comer. "I said let him go."
"And who are you to tell me what to do?"
"I'm Sailor Moon, champion of justice, and on behalf of the moon, I vow to right wrong and triumph over evil, and that means you."
Thedon could feel his heart racing as he saw this girl, as if he was in love with her. Morga released him and turned away, allowing him to take cover behind a checkout counter. 'This, this is insane. People fainting in broad daylight, women turning into murdering monsters, and now this girl who looks just like the one in my dreams shows up, if this is a nightmare please someone just wake me up and end this madness' He then looked down and saw the same black cat that followed Serena looking up at him. "You, what are you doing here? Get out of here now before that monster turns you into dog meat."
"I most certainly will not."
Thedon could feel and hear the gears in his head grinding to a halt and springs snapping as he tried to process the fact that he had just heard a cat talk. "Okay, note to self: Tell Mom and Dad to back off on the sleeping medicine."
The cat then spoke again. "This is certainly not a dream and you aren't going crazy. That girl out there is Sailor Moon, and she will need your help."
"What help could I possibly give, I'm just a normal human with a weight problem. I can't fight something that clearly shouldn't exist."
"No, you are anything but normal. I can sense it; there is a vast power that sleeps within you. You must use it to protect Sailor Moon. Like it or not, your destinies are linked."
Thedon felt like he was having a panic attack. He was in a shop, with a monster that had no qualms about killing, a supposed super-hero that he had to protect, and a talking cat that says he has incredible power within himself. If he wasn't so paralyzed with fear right now, he would start laughing in madness. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Sailor Moons voice.
"I don't want to play this game anymore. I want to go home." She then started crying, which seemed to set something of within him, and somehow found himself charging through the zombie-like crowd to her side. He stood protectively in front of her, rage burning in his eyes like a roaring inferno. Morga was momentarily stunned by this. "So, you think you can protect her, a crybaby of a hero who can't fight being protected by a weakling of a human?" The last part full of amusement.
"Shut your garbage spewing mouth you shrew. You enslaved innocent people, attempted to kill a girl, and made this beautiful young woman cry." Serena blushed lightly at the last part. "The wheel of life in the sky has come full circle. For eons I have slumbered in the either of the abyss, awaiting my chance to rise again. And like a glorious phoenix I shall rise and ensure that love is fulfilled." Morga started laughing as he finished.
"A very passionate speech, but useless all the same. When Queen Beryl finally wakes, all life on this planet and the entire universe shall cease to exist, and you shall be nothing but dust."
"Not in this life or the next, not while blood still runs through my veins and my lungs still draw breath. RISE O HEART OF THE SUN, AND CLEANSE THIS SHADOW FROM THIS MORTAL PLAIN!"
A brilliant flash of golden light filled the eyes of all present, and when it cleared, Thedon stood there in shining blood red Spartan style armor with an 8 foot bow-staff in his right hand. "I am the guarding light, the beacon in the night that guides those lost in the darkness. My spirit is a shield, my heart is a sword, my mind is the spear that pierces ignorance, I am the Masked Star, and you shall not touch her again."
Morga was about to attack again when a rose caught everyone's attention. She looked over and demanded, "Now just who might you be?" A young man in a tuxedo, black cape, top hat, and a white mask made himself known. "I am Tuxedo Mask. Masked Star, you know you can't always coddle her. She must fight her own battles; learn to find the warrior within her heart."
"Do not lecture me, tuxedo boy. Her battles are my battles, and I will not fail her again!" Thedon charged at Morga with a speed that seemed out of place for someone like him and started attacking with all the rage he could muster. Morga was now on the defensive, dodging or blocking as much as possible and attacking just as often.
"Is that all you can do, wave that stick around like some monkey? You will die and your energy shall fuel the rise of the negaverse."
Thedon jumped away and rummaged around in a pouch tied to his waste. "Not even close, Youma scum. FIRE COIN ATTACK!" He threw what looked like a handful of change at her, which then burst into flames, burning Morga but not the building. Thedon then turned to Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon, as much as I would like to finish this battle I cannot, for that is your place. Look deep within yourself, find the strength the sleeps within your heart, and unleash the warrior inside." He then turned back to continue his battle with Morga.
"He is right, Sailor Moon. It is your duty to defeat the forces of evil that threaten the universe." Serena then looked at Luna the cat. "But I don't want to be a warrior." She started crying loudly, which not only spurred Thedon on, but released a powerful sound wave that knocked out the hypnotized people and stunned Morga.
"Aaaahhhhh, stop that hideous crying." "Hold your rotting tongue before I rip it out and shove it down your throat."
Luna then said, "Quick, while she's distracted throw your tiara at her and say 'Moon Tiara Magic'."
"But what good will that do?" "Just do it!" "Okay, here goes. MOON TIARA MAGIC!" Her tiara became a glow disc of light which she hurled towards Morga. Thedon simply smiled and said, "Looks like the reaper has come for you." He jumped aside as the disc hit Morga who screamed in pain before saying, "I shall return!" before she fell and became a pile of dust.
In the negaverse, a place of hatred and darkness, a man with short blonde hair watched in dismay as the growing orb of life energy in his hands suddenly disappeared. "What? The energy! Someone will pay dearly for this."
Back on Earth, Serena stared in wonder as she thought, 'Did I do that?' whilst Morga disintegrated. The voice of Tuxedo Mask drew here attention, "Well done Sailor Moon. Mollies Mother and the other women are freed. Others will test you but do not be afraid. I shall fight with you." And like that, he was gone. "Sailor Moon," said Masked Star, "though you may not remember it now I took a vow to keep you safe, and come hell or high water that I shall do. Know that I am always watching you protecting you from the shadows. Even if you cannot see me, know that I am your shield." And he too was gone, only this time in a flash of gold light. Sailor Moon just stood there, staring at the spot where Masked Star stood one second ago with a blush on her face.
Getting concerned, Luna approached her and asked, "Sailor Moon, what happened? Is everything alright?" She responded with, "What a dreamy guy."
The next morning, Serena was in class trying to take a nap. I say trying because her friend Molly was talking with some other girls about last night, only they thought it was a dream. This want on for several more minutes before their teacher came in. "Alright everyone, sit down please. Now, today we have a new student joining us. He's new to Tokyo and is the son of two well known families, but due to some unforeseen complications, he was held back for a few years." Everyone, including Serena was paying close attention now. "I want all to make him feel welcome while he settles in. Class, please say hello to Thedon Giscard."
Thedon walked in and introduced himself. "Hi, as you all know I'm Thedon Giscard. I hope to get along with everyone in the coming months." He paused and gave a quick bow. "Nice to have you with us Mister Giscard. Now let's have you sit….next to Miss Tsukino. Hopefully your presence will help her get ahead in my class." Serena raised her head at the mention of her name.
"Say, you're the girl that threw that garbage test at me." Serena stiffened at the accusation, afraid of what might happen next. "It's so nice to finally make your acquaintance in person, rather then reading it off of a piece of paper. You really should pay attention where you throw your trash. I look forward to knowing you better." Something about his words scared and comforted her at the same time for some reason. She was happy knowing that a cute guy was sitting next to her, but she was scared that she had made another powerful enemy besides the negaverse.