Part 3: During Which Luna
encounters a pink-haired princess, a floating cathead, a lamp collector, &
the time guardian.
Minako
winked at Luna before scooping up Artemis.
"Come on,
Artemis," Minako urged, "Say "sayonara" to your girlfriend."
Artemis
perched himself on Minako's shoulder as he blushed slightly and said,
"See you
around, pussycat!"
Luna waved
back, feeling giddy and a little embarrassed.
"Sayonara
Luna," Minako waved, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Artemis will see you again!"
Luna
nodded and meowed back to the princess. Once Artemis and Minako were departing
down the hallway, Luna decided to follow Artemis' prior instructions to get to
the guardian registration and 'try-outs'.
Finally,
Luna stopped in front of a tall door. It was a beautiful silver color, with a
pretty light blue outlining it. Two light blue crescent moons each decorated
one of the middle of the two doors. Two silver knobs allowed a person to enter,
but not a small cat like Luna. Luckily, the doors were cracked open slightly,
as if someone had gone in and carelessly shut the door, not worried about
privacy. She was sure this was the guardian auditioning room, so it obviously
would have been open to the public. Luna slowly popped her head in the crack,
and even more slowly opened them enough for her slim feline figure to slip
through.
As soon as
she took her first step on the soft carpenting that covered the cool crystal
floor tiles, something about her height, maybe bigger, rammed her into the hard
marble door.
She tried
looking at whatever had abused her body, but she couldn't. Her whole head hurt
badly, as well as the rest of her body. 'Two injuries in one day,' she
thought grimly. Feeling very frightened, confused and in pain, she slowly began
to black out.
When she
recovered from the black out, her head still ached badly, and her vision was a
bit blurred. Luna was unsure of her location. She was no longer near the door,
yet somewhere in the palace. She had been resting between two pink pillows,
which felt extremely soft and fluffy. She purred lightly as she rubbed against
them. The bed was fairly large, but not like a queen or king sized bed. She
guessed it belongs to a child, mainly because it was all pink, and the room had
white rabbits jumping over moons as the repeated wall pattern. The walls
themselves were either purple or pink; then again, Luna didn't really care
about the walls. She just wanted to know if anyone was in the room with her.
Her
question was answered as an energetic child with bubblegum pink hair in an
unusual style strode over to the bed. She was dragging behind her a girl who
looked only a few years older than the pink haired princess, and had
purple-black shoulder-length hair, and a gentle smile on her face. The pink
haired girl, whom Luna had already predicted was a princess, carefully ran her
hand over the black cat's side. Luna weakly smiled (as much as a cat can to a
human), and purred once again. The young girl with dark hair giggled softly.
"See,
Hotaru?" the princess smiled, "I told you I found another pretty kitty. She's
perfect!"
'Hotaru'
smiled back and nodded, "She's very cute, Chibi-Usa, I like her a lot."
She
examined the cat as Chibi-Usa drew back. "How did she get these injuries? They
look serious…"
Chibi-Usa
sighed, and revealed what looked from Luna's perspective a cathead with a large
smile and an antenna on its head.
'Ack!'
Luna thought, 'what did that cat do to deserve that punishment? Someone cut
off its poor head! Where's its body?! The princess must be a vicious girl that
torments animals…'
She meowed
nervously, making both Hotaru and Chibi-Usa turn to look at her again.
"I guess
she recognizes the thing that rammed her," Chibi-Usa commented with a shrug.
"I'll heal
her now," Hotaru nodded, "It shouldn't take long."
Chibi-Usa
agreed, "Yeah, she seems like she's in a lot of pain…"
'You
bet,' Luna thought, 'Thanks to your obviously
abused cat friend there.'
Luna felt
Hotaru's cold yet gentle hands touch her on her revealed side. A brief purple
light glowed over Luna, and as Hotaru lifted her hands, Luna's pains and aches
had disappeared. Her head cleared, bruises disappeared, and eyes no longer
strained as she tried to see. Luna meowed cheerfully as thanks to Hotaru.
"Oh? You
can't speak, kitty?" Hotaru asked, looking disappointed.
Luna
wished she could speak the human language, but she couldn't. She could only
speak to other cats, and understood only most of what humans said. When
she tried speaking, only 'meows' came out of her mouth.
Chibi-Usa
glanced at Hotaru. "She's the wrong cat? I thought they could all talk."
Hotaru
replied, "Maybe she isn't one of the guardians. But we haven't seen any other
cats today. She seems like a good guardian anyway. Give her the speech spell.
We can decide later."
Chibi-Usa
nodded and took out a small, fragile looking crystal. It glimmered pink, and
cast light prisms on the walls of the room. Concentrating hard, Chibi-Usa
guided her powers of the crystal to the bewildered feline. She mumbled a short
phrase under her breath as a small glittering light flowed into Luna.
Various
phrases and languages flooded her mind, making her feel a bit overwhelmed. She
sat there awing her new power.
"I'm
Hotaru," Hotaru greeted, "What's your name, kitty?"
Luna
slowly pronounced her name, "Luna."
"That's
pretty," Chibi-Usa commented, "Like the moon. How coincidental!"
"That's a
sign, right?" Chibi-Usa asked Hotaru, "Puu said there'd be a way to tell if
they're a destined guardian."
"Yes,
their name ends up being a moon, or something linking to 'moon'." Hotaru
responded.
After a
brief 'interview' with Luna, the girls were becoming fond of her and stroked
her lean back often, resulting in a content purr or two from Luna. They both
agreed that Luna was guardian material, and that they definitely wanted her
around.
"Can she
be guardian now?" Chibi-Usa asked, "Mark her and everything? I think I can do
it…"
"We need
permission first," Hotaru considered, "From one of the older senshi. Like the
queen maybe? We can't just announce her guardian, we must be completely sure
this is the right decision."
"She's
busy, I bet," Chibi-Usa commented, scooping up Luna in her arms, "Let's visit
Puu."
"Puu?"
Hotaru asked, dumbfounded.
"Pluto!"
Chibi-Usa giggled before running down the halls, Luna-P & Hotaru trailing after
her, towards Setsuna's chambers.
Setsuna
was Sailor Pluto, ruler of Pluto, who guarded the gates of time. There were
times, however, when she would temporarily leave her post for meetings and
other important duties that she had to attend to. She was a close friend of
Chibi-Usa, and therefore she calls Chibi-Usa "Small Lady", and Chibi-Usa calls
Setsuna "Puu".
~~~Later~~~
The girls
walked down the long corridors, the muffled sound of their princess slippers
echoing among the crystal walls. Luna was being pampered. The girl Hotaru was
surrounding me the cat in her arms comfortably, and gently smoothing her fur.
"There!"
Chibi-Usa suddenly exclaimed with a giggle, making Luna's ears twitch.
A large,
dark silver door stood in their path. There was a design of moons on it; Luna
realized they must be the phases of the moon. Chibi-Usa pushed against the
heavy door as it slowly gave way.
The door
was suddenly opened as a dark figure stepped in the doorway.
"Small
Lady…Hotaru…" the figure greeted, smiling.
"Hello,
Setsuna!" Hotaru smiled.
"Puu!"
Chibi-Usa cried, hugging Setsuna.
Setsuna's
eyes drifted towards the cat.
"And who
is this?" she asked as she scratched Luna gently under the chin.
Luna was
at a loss of words, so Chibi-Usa exclaimed,
"Guardian
to-be, Luna!"
"Really?"
Setsuna asked. She winked at Luna, which made the cat jump.
"Have you
consulted with the king and queen?"
"No…"
Hotaru replied, "We decided that you could nominate her. We know your decision
will be correct."
Setsuna
blushed slightly.
"You can
see into the future, so it has to be correct!" Chibi-Usa agreed.
"Alright
then, come with me…" Setsuna backed away from the girls and cat, in order for
them to walk through the door.
Inside the
door was a type of portal, with a slight layer of fog surrounding the area.
Hotaru set
Luna down carefully, allowing the cat to explore the new surroundings.
"This is
amazing…" Luna murmured, "So dark and quiet…solitary and vivid. I've never even
thought of the time portal. It didn't seem real."
"Oh, but
it is," Setsuna replied, a small hint of sorrow in her voice, "And I guard this
place, for it is my duty."
On a
lighter note, she said, "But when it gets lonely, Small Lady and Hotaru cheer
me up."
"That's
right!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed, smiling, "Puu is one of my best friends!"
Hotaru
nodded, and then began, "About Luna…"
"Of
course," Pluto said, kneeling so she could look at Luna. "Just close your
eyes…I'll need to search through your mind." She held up what reminded Luna of
a giant key. Towards the top, it was adorned with a large garnet orb. Luna
tried to relax as the time guardian built of her power to look into the future…
Meanwhile…
"Minako…"
a muffled whine came from under Princess Venus' chair. "Please…?"
The whole
court of Serenity had stopped to draw their attention to Princess Venus and her
guardian.
"No!
Artemis…!" came the reply.
Minako
bent down to look under the table at her white cat guardian, Artemis.
"Artemis!
This meet is important! You're my guardian, you're supposed to back me up on
stuff like this!" Minako scolded in a harsh whisper.
"But
Minako, I have to leave! She needs me…"
"AND I
NEED YOU TO STAY HERE!!!!"
The court
suddenly got quiet, excluding the few coughs of the other members in the room.
"Eh,"
Minako said nervously as she sat up to face the other princesses, "Excuse me
for that little interruption," she slammed her foot into Artemis, and a 'yowl!'
was heard, "And I assure you it WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN."
Artemis
groaned.
How could
he stay stuck under a bratty princess' chair when he could be rescuing that hot
little kitty that he was so attracted to? He couldn't let this one get away.
Not because of his job. Love is more important than that, he thought, and
lil' miss goddess o' love should understand that. But, then again, he could
see why Minako was doing this. After him bugging her about his various
"attractions"…(special ones came to mind, such as Cupcake, the longhair,
Beauty, the Siamese, Diane, the pink cat…meooow *Artemis suddenly
realizes he is drooling*) and always getting turned down for one reason or
another, it must have driven her crazy trying to play matchmaker 24/7. Still,
that black kitty with the huge innocent eyes looked like a steal. She could
fall for him. Easily, he thought, cleansing his snow white paws, 'cause
she's a beginner. She's never experienced the touch of a god cat, a handsome
cat like me. "She will fall under the spell of Artemis, the irresistible,
godly cat! Oh yes, she will be MINE! Muwahahaha!"
As more
diabolical kitty laughs where heard from under Minako's chair, the court stared
blankly at her. Sweatdrops appeared on many heads.
"Another
interruption then, eh, Minako?" Rei asked, sipping her hot ginseng tea.
"Huh?"
Makoto asked, "Why's he laughing like that?"
"Oh,"
Minako said, rolling her eyes, "Poor Artemis has a problem, eh,"
More
diabolical laughter…
"He, uh,
just had brain surgery, see, and I just gave him his antibiotic…see, it
causes…dizziness, and um, stuff."
More
sweatdrops appear on the princesses' heads.
"Maybe he
needs to go…?" Makoto asked, clueless. Plants were her thing, not pets.
"Oh, yes,
good idea!" Minako said nervously, before dismissing herself under the table.
"Artemis! What the hell is wrong with you?!
You're making me look like a clueless ditz!"
"Eh?"
Artemis asked, "Minako, can I leave now, and follow my love ambitions?"
"FINE!"
Minako yelled, and gave the guardian a cold shoulder, "I see you don't care
about me anymore…after all I've done for you…you heartless cat!"
"Um,
Minako, who are you talking to?!" came Usagi's voice from the other side of the
huge table.
"Nani?!"
Minako asked, looking around, to see that her cat was missing.
"That
little-!" Minako cried, fists clenched, "I'll make sure this is his worst
relationship ever! Matchbreaker Minako goes to work to make sure he
never gets a date!"
"And
Mamochan said I had problems…" Usagi mumbled, watching and listening a
Minako who seemed to be talking to no one in particular.
~**~~***~~~****~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~~****~~~***~~**~
A relieved
Artemis carelessly strolled through the crystal halls, which seemed to go on
forever, as each hall looked exactly like another. He hoped desperately to see
Luna again, and use his charming personality to 'guide' her, while he actually
would flirt with her. He passed the various chambers he had memorized and
studied in training for his important job as guardian. He was practicing how he
would approach his newest love when he spotted some powerful energy coming from
the door to the time passage.
"What
the-" he breathed as he began to enter the room.
He paused
suddenly, and the whole world seemed to have been muted as quickly as a
television is. He had been instructed never to go into the passage unless a
noble ordered him, or chaos was loose. But he was curious about the power, and
wondering if in fact it was urgent…
~~~~~**~~~~~
To be
continued in part 4 of The Story Of Luna!
Author's
Notes: ^_^ so how did you like that? I am SO SORRY I haven't written in so
long! ^^; I know, I really suck at keeping this up… T_T But now that summer vacation is on its way,
I'll be writing more often. You can expect the other parts of my other fanfics
soon, but a kinda hit a writer's block in "strongest of the senshi". Okay, well please review! I like to know
what you think! Cya ppl! ^_-
