AUTHOR: JediSenshi aka
MinaP ainominako@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Meiyo and
other characters are mine. MINEMINEMINEMINEMINE! :)
READ ME: I used the Japanese names, so dub. people should
get aquatinted with those, tried to be accurate, email me if you have any
comments. ANY!
Chapter 2
"We managed to plant the seed undetected Sire, but something
was able to destroy it in the final stage," A man with black hair, dressed in
all brown knelt before a throne with it's back turned to him.
"So you were not successful in destroying the ginzuisho? You
know what the price of failure is," a raspy voice came.
"Sire, it all worked perfectly-"
"Yet you failed!"
"Another crystal intervened!"
"WHAT!?" the throne spun around as the raspy voice roared.
The man in brown pressed his forehead deeper into the rich, blood red carpet out
of fear more than respect for his Overlord.
"I believe it was the Sun Crystal Sire. It is the only thing
that could have stopped me."
The walls and floor shook and from nowhere, lightning
struck, charring the man in brown, "The Sun Crystal has been dormant for years.
Why would it have awakened now?"
***
As Meiyo slept, the
crystal pendant around her bedpost glowed.
"Did you hear that Luna?" a white cat with a yellow
crescent moon on its forehead jumped from a low balcony down to a path in some
tranquil garden. Meiyo recognized him as Artemis, the cat she'd been introduced
to that morning. Artemis was joined by Luna, black with a crescent moon on her
own forehead.
"Hear what?" Luna asked.
"The Queen, she's giving birth to
twins!"
"Oh Artemis," Luna sounded exasperated, like she'd given
the lecture before, "You should know better than to spread rumors. Next you'll
be telling me the people of the Star Kingdom are negotiating a truce with Queen
Serenity!"
"Well, I did see some odd people headed for the
conference room. And they WERE dressed in black."
"Artemis, there are many people on this moon who wear
black."
Several serving women dressed in the navy blue livery of
the palace huddled around each other on the balcony above sharing gossip. "Did
you hear? Queen Serenity really IS having twins!"
"Really? I wonder what she is going to do about the
Kingdom!"
"See," Artemis whispered to Luna as the two cats, well
within hearing distance, eavesdropped, "I told you."
"I don't believe it! How will we be able to tell the
oldest from the youngest? Which one will rule?"
"Does this mean that the power will be spread out and we
will have a weak ruler?"
Another serving woman came running up to the others,
"The Queen she almost had a miss-carriage! She's lost one of the
twins!"
"What?!" the serving women all gathered around the
newcomer to force the details out of her.
The two cats exchanged glances, "The Queen had a
check-up yesterday, she and the baby, babies were in perfect health!" Luna
protested.
"I think this is more than it seems
Luna."
Time
jumped.
Queen Serenity cried
out. Sweat was pouring down her face and her hair was disheveled. It was the
only time anyone other than her husband had ever seen the Queen other than
utterly composed. She was giving birth to Princess Serenity- and her twin
sister.
When it was over, Serenity was allowed to hold her
daughters. "It's better this way," her husband choked out through tears, "the
youngest doesn't have any of the power. She would only create conflict. With
this, they will both live in peace."
Queen Serenity cradled Princess Serenity fiercely as her
husband took the youngest to a private garden that few knew about, and even
fewer were allowed to enter. There, in fine black robes, stood a man and woman,
obviously of noble blood.
The man had sun bleached blonde hair, and the woman
fiery red hair. Doing his best not to cry, Serenity's husband gently handed the
baby to the woman.
"Take care of my baby girl," he said, then bowed to the
visitors, "I must see to my wife now."
"Do not worry, we will love her as if she were our own,"
the woman said with a kind smile. The King nodded thanks and left as the two
visitors admired their new baby girl. A part of a truce between peoples long at
war, the Moon Kingdom and the Sun Kingdom.
"Do they realize the prize they give away?" the man,
King of the Sun Throne, asked his wife.
"Yes," she replied, not taking her eyes off the crying
newborn, "but not in the way you think. They cannot sense our power, as we
cannot sense theirs. This will be a prosperous treaty."
Meiyo looked over her shoulder to
see if she was being followed. She had a feeling that if any of her cousins, or
Arashi-chan were to find out exactly where she was going, they would be less
than pleased.
Meiyo anxiously pressed the button and waited for the
elevator to reach the lobby. She stepped into the elevator and chose her floor;
impatiently tapping her food as she rode. At the designated floor, Meiyo got out
and went to stand in front of the door, debating a second or two before she
knocked.
"Mamo-ani?" she called in quietly, so as not to disturb the
other residents of the building. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, but that
was still no reason to be rude.
Mamoru proved he hadn't changed much by answering the door
promptly, neatly dressed as ever. Meiyo was willing to bet he'd been up since at
least seven thirty in the morning, "Meiyo, I wasn't sure you'd want to come back
here after yesterday. Come in."
"Arigatou," Meiyo stepped in, and then as Mamoru shut the
door, she grinned at him, "Mamo-ani, wild, rabid, Canadian-dogs couldn't keep me
away." Meiyo glanced around at Mamoru's spotless apartment. "Mamo-ani,
yesterday..." she trailed off.
Mamoru sighed and scratched the back of his head. He looked
torn between something, "Meiyo, it's not my secret to tell. Not all of it
anyway," Meiyo nodded. She wouldn't press him, it wouldn't do any
good.
"How's Usagi-chan?" she asked.
"Fine. Usako is strong," Mamoru smiled grateful and motioned
for her to take a seat. "She woke up a little after you left."
Meiyo nodded, unconsciously playing with the crystal around
her neck, "Good."
"Meiyo-chan, what is it? There's more I can tell," Mamoru
put a hand on Meiyo's shoulder. She looked up at him gratefully, he'd always
been able to read her emotions, and he'd always been able to help.
Usagi skipped along on her way to see Mamoru. Her mom had
just finished baking some cookies and she was bringing them over to share with
her beloved Mamo-chan. On her way over, she saw a confused looking
Arashi.
"Arashi-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked him. Arashi
jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around. he looked a tad disappointed
to see her.
"Usagi-san," he sighed, "I was looking for Meiyo-chan. Her
mother said she'd gone to a friend's house. I caught site of her heading this
way, but I lost her. Honestly I don't know who she knows around here, and she
would never have lied to her mother."
Usagi frowned, "Well, Mamo-chan lives just a block or so
from here," Arashi frowned as well. "Come on," Usagi volunteered, "Let's
go."
"-and the worst part, I think the baby was me," Meiyo was
shaking by the time she finished explaining her dream to Mamoru. "I know they
mean something but... Why did she give me up? The woman who took me in the
dream, I'm sure she was the one who first gave me my pendant. The same woman
who," tears started leaking out the corners of Meiyo's eyes, "who abandoned
me."
Mamoru, sitting beside Meiyo on the couch wiped her face
with his sleeve and pulled her into a hug, rocking her back and forth like a
child. They remained like this for a while, until Meiyo's sobs subsided and she
had herself under control. She took a deep, calming breath and pulled away
enough so she could see Mamoru's face.
"Arigatou," she whispered, then sniffled, "you could always
make things better."
"I'll always be here for you Meiyo," he told her assuringly.
They remained like this, Meiyo drinking in Mamoru's strength, when Usagi and
Arashi walked into the apartment. Usagi's cookie bundle hitting the floor
alerted Mamoru and Meiyo to their presence. Mamoru stood to welcome Usagi as
Meiyo turned to see who was there.
"Usako!" Mamoru walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the
cheek. Then he bent down and picked up the bundle she'd dropped, "Mmm, cookies.
Did you make them?"
Usagi glanced over her shoulder, Arashi was gone, "I-
Ikoku-mama made them for us," she managed. Where had Arashi disappeared to?
Meiyo came up and hugged Usagi. Usagi hesitated, then hugged the girl
back.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" she sounded
sincere.
"Usako, daijobu?" Mamoru put his warm hand to her cheek and
looked into her eyes. His blue ones were filled with worry and love. Usagi
chucked with relief. This was her Mamoru, what was she thinking?
"Daijobu," she nodded, giving Mamoru a hug, then she took
the bundle from him, "Come on! Ikokku-mama said that the cookies were chocolate
chip!" she walked over to the couch and put the bundle on the table. She opened
the pink cloth covered in bunnies and crescent moons and handed Mamoru and Meiyo
each a cookie, then took one herself. Mamoru sat beside Usagi, and Meiyo sat
across from the couple.
"Meiyo-chan," Mamoru started after commenting on how yummy
the cookies were. Meiyo stiffened visibly when he said her name, she recognized
the seriousness of the tone, "I think you should tell Usagi about what you saw
when you cleansed the ginzuisho, and your dreams."
"Right," Meiyo nodded, then she took a deep breath, "but
this time I expect some answers. And ones I haven't already figured out for
myself."
***
Arashi saw Meiyo and
Mamoru on the couch, turned around and left. It was either that, or start a
fight- and it just wasn't polite to start a fight with someone in their own
home. He was certain that Meiyo would be very upset if he did. Arashi stormed
down the street. He didn't know what to do. He'd had this thing for Meiyo for
years now, but was too chicken to do anything about it. He angrily kicked at a
rock, it bounced along and hit someone in the ankle.
"Gomen nasai!" he bowed as he apologized.
"It was an accident, it's alright," the woman had graying
hair and soft brown eyes, "what did she do?"
"Huh?" Arashi looked up at the woman in shock.
"I can tell why you're troubled, it's clear on your face,"
she smiled kindly, "How did your girlfriend get you so upset?"
Arashi sighed wistfully, "she's not my
girlfriend."
"Ah," the woman nodded, "Perhaps I can help you. I'm Meiyono
Hoshi. Dozo yoroshiku."
***
"I'll have to talk to
Luna about all this. That crystal and you, are somehow related to the senshi and
the Moon Kingdom."
"You're going to make me explain everything again
aren't you Usagi-chan?" Meiyo asked with a resigned sigh.
Mamoru chuckled, "Would some ice cream help?" Both Usagi and
Meiyo lit up at the words ice cream. Mamoru grinned at the girls' identical
expressions. Twins reincarnated might explain a bit, and Mamoru had seen
stranger things.
As the three of them left the house, Usagi's sailor
communicator started beeping. On the other end was a slightly disheveled Sailor
Venus, "We have a situation outside Tokyo Tower that requires your, uh...
skills. Usagi-chan, get here quick!" then the transmission ended. Usagi and
Mamoru exchanged quick glances, then ran to the empty elevator that was just
opening. Just as Meiyo was catching up to them, Usagi pressed the button for the
doors to close and she shut Meiyo out with a quick "Gomen Meiyo-chan, too
dangerous."
Meiyo grimaced at the doors for a half second, then with a
determined look, she headed for the stairs.
***
"Love and beauty shock!"
Venus attacked, and the monster dodged easily. Too easily, Venus thought to
herself.
"Oak evolution!" Jupiter, the fastest of the inner senshi,
missed as well, although not my much, "Shimatta!"
"It's so fast!" Mars commented. The three inners faced off
against the youma. It had once been a bush by the Tokyo Tower but once the sun
touched it- the bush had become a youma and it had started attacking people
screaming for the senshi to appear.
"What's taking Mercury and Moon?" Venus muttered to the
others, "Okay, here's the plan, Mars, you attack left, Jupiter, right. I'll try
and trap it with my chain."
"Got it," Jupiter said as Mars nodded. Venus steeled herself
for the attack. She was quickly adjusting to the fact that once Usagi became the
Neo Queen Serenity, she would lead the senshi.
"Go!"
"Flame Sniper!"
"Oak Evolution!"
"Venus love me chain!" it worked. The chain encircled the
waist and arms of the youma. Its eyes flashed golden and the youma opened its
mouth. A beam of golden energy shot at Venus. She dodged, but wasn't fast
enough, and the beam clipped her left shoulder. Venus cried out in
pain.
Jupiter and Mars grabbed Venus' chain as well and the three
of them barely prevented the youma from dragging them through the
dirt.
"Starlight honeymoon therapy kiss!" the youma was fast, but
not smart enough to change directions and Eternal Sailor Moon's attack destroyed
it. The youma screamed as it went out in a burst of light and reverted to the
form of a bush.
Venus, Mars and Jupiter fell back in a heap. They looked
over to where the attack had come from, and there stood Moon, Mercury and Tuxedo
Kamen.
"Gomen for being late minna!" Moon smiled as she went to
help her friends up.
"With you it's no surprise, but Sailor Mercury," Mars
muttered as she picked herself up, "What happened?"
"I had to finish cram school," Mercury blushed.
"Who sent that youma?" Tuxedo Kamen asked, all business as
usual.
"I did," the inner senshi turned to see a man in dark green
pants and a matching green tunic. He also had green eyes, but he had dark brown
hair.
"Who are you?" Moon asked as she and her friends went into
fighting stance.
"All you need to know is that I am the man who will kill
you, unless of course, you want to hand over the ginzuisho," he replied
threateningly.
"How did I know that was coming?" Venus rolled her eyes.
Everyone was always after the ginzuisho.
"You planted the dark seed in the crystal, didn't you?"
Mercury was the first to put the attack the other day together with this
one.
"No, that was my brother," he said bitterly, "and I will
succeed where he has failed," he extended his left hand and vines shot from it.
The senshi scattered but Mars, Mercury and Jupiter were caught. The vines grew
around them and plunged into the ground, anchoring there as they lost their
attachment to the man. The leaves of the vines turned towards the sun and
visibly gained energy from it. They then used that energy to send electric
currents through the senshi until the fell unconscious.
"Three down," he grinned, "and no Sun Crystal in sight.
There's no way you can win! he laughed maniacally.
"Venus love and beauty shock!" Venus
retaliated, trying to gain some of the ground the senshi had lost when that man
attacked them. Meiyo watched, hidden behind a bush. He'd said something about a
Sun Crystal, the name struck a chord with Meiyo.
Venus screamed as her own attack was volleyed back at her.
Her shoulder, which must have already been injured, started bleeding, and Venus
fell to her knees. Meiyo looked away. she couldn't watch her friends being
injured like this. If only there was something she could do!
At that moment, a golden glow from her silver pendant caught
her eye. She put her hand around the pendant to bring it closer and yet more
memories flowed into her mind.
"Here you are my sunshine," the
warm loving woman, with fiery red hair -the same woman to whom the King had
given his daughter- had just put the pendant around her two year old neck. "This
will always protect you."
The woman straightened, "Are you sure this is wise?" her
husband -the fair haired man from her dream- asked, "Giving her the pendant so
young? Let alone before she has been given her memories."
The woman looked over at her husband. He was a man of
great power and importance, his posture shouted it. It seemed his wife had a bit
more power, "This way their powers will grow together. She needs the strength to
help the others."
The man sighed, "the time really has come, hasn't it?
She has been reborn, and we will lose our daughter of over a thousand
years to duty."
The two grown ups looked over at Meiyo, who had been
contentedly staring at the pretty sparkly they'd given her, "See, she recognizes
the Sun Crystal already."
Meiyo blinked as she relived another
moment from her past in less than a second. This was the Sun Crystal. The two
adults had been her parents, for a thousand years, but who was the reborn girl?
Meiyo flinched as she heard another scream. No time for analyzation, she could
recall the memory at will, now was the time for action. She searched for a
phrase, something to transform with. She stared into the crystal, and the words
came. "Sun crystal power, make-up!" the rays from the crystal enveloped her in a
warm light.
Meiyo finished her transformation and looked herself over.
She had on black knee-high boots with a golden band on the top, her pleated
skirt was golden, the ribbon-bow at the back white. The bodice of her fuku was
jet black, and sleeveless. The bib attached to it was the same golden as her
skirt and her gloves were black with a band of gold to match her boots. Her
earrings, golden studs in the shape of suns, her tiara had a fire opal set in it
and her black choker had a golden sun on it to match her earrings. Her Sun
Crystal rested in the middle of a white set of wings that doubled for a
bow.
Meiyo wasted no time, she ran out onto the plaza. Venus was
unconscious now, although the other senshi were stirring. A battered Tuxedo
Kamen was protecting a crying Sailor Moon.
"How DARE you attack Mamo-ani and my friends!?" Meiyo
shouted, "You evil beings are entirely too arrogant. I'm gonna teach you some
manners!" Meiyo looked over at the enemy. Frightened recognition showed on his
face. He then disappeared.
Sailor Moon looked over at the newly transformed Meiyo in
surprise. Meiyo rushed over to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen, "Are you guys
alright?"
"Me-Meiyo-chan?" Moon stuttered, "What? Who?
Huh?!"
"I guess we should have seen this coming," Tuxedo Kamen
sighed. He got up from his knees. "We should go check on the others."
Tuxedo Kamen, half-leaning on Eternal Sailor Moon, went over
to where Jupiter, Mars and Mercury were trying to untangle themselves, and Meiyo
went over to Venus. Tuxedo Kamen and Moon quickly freed the three trapped senshi
and went to see Venus.
"I think she's hurt pretty badly," Meiyo
reported.
"Let's get her to my house," Jupiter said, "Mercury can look
over here there."
