Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Sailor Moon, her universe, or her
history. The characters were created
and owned by some Japanese animation company that I do not know the name of. The characters of Marisa and Zeus are
property of Enterprise 1701_D, a free-lance fan fiction and short story Internet
writer. If he or someone he knows does
not wish for me to publish this character in this fashion, then please tell him
to contact me at my e-mail address, and I will immediately remove this
story. I hope you enjoy what little is
written.
(Sailor Moon S)S (After & Before)
Prologue:
Just for the record,
this is the missing adventure of the Sailor Soldiers, after they had defeated
the evil Heart-Snatchers, yet before Rini (Little Serina) met Pegasus. This is primarily from Serena's point of
view, but when it is not, it will be from Rini's, or Sailor Mini-Moon's. Because in this lost adventure, so many
Sailor Soldiers will be mentioned, I'll give the history up till now. It ofcourse began with Luna finding Sailor
Moon, also known as Serena, reborn daughter of Queen Serenity. Throughout her adventures, she re-met, all
having been reborn as well, her Royal Court, the Sailor Scouts of the inner
planets; Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. She also remembered her true love, Prince
Darien of Earth, who had been reborn into the secret identity of Tuxedo
Mask. (From here it includes a
possibility that I had read in another Fanfic, written on the site of
"Enterprise1701_D") After a time,
Serena's parents took in a young woman who had been on the streets since her
parents had died when she was 4. She
was very much a loner, and definitely knew how to take care of herself. She took time to adjusting to living in
doors, with a possibility of a real future.
Her name was Marisa Tsukino. She
had taken the name of the people she was living with after a very rough time,
during which she lost someone very special to her that had helped her to
survive on the streets. She also came
to know here true destiny from this time.
A black street cat, which she still to this day refers to as "Cat,"
approached her one-day. Like Luna and
Artemis, this cat had an up-turned crescent moon design on its forehead. Yet instead of gold like the two royal advisors,
it was just white fur. His name was
Zeus, and he was the advisor and semi-guardian of Sailor Earth, who was
Marisa. Like the others, she was a
Princess to her respective star planet.
Meaning that Darien was her older brother. Somehow she had runaway from the orphanage where they were
staying, and his amnesia did not allow him to remember her until she showed up
as Sailor Earth one day. Since they
were blood family, for a time she moved in with him, but for whatever reason,
she soon returned to the Tsukino's, Serena's family, who were now her
family. Sometime, quite a while
actually, like 2 months, after Marisa became part of the team, Rini showed up
on Serena's doorstep, claiming to be a cousin, yet was actually her daughter
from the future. They did not discover
this until after much trouble, but after helping to save their future, and Rini
after the Dark Moon had taken her, the scout's lives more or less returned to
normal. Until the Heart Snatchers came
to town. Due to the nature of their new
enemy's powers, Sailor Moon had to upgrade her own powers, yet again. With her love's help, they manifested the
Spiral Heart Scepter, an instrument of great power, and called upon with great
love. Shortly after, Rini returned,
this time as a Sailor Scout herself, using the future Silver Moon Crystal that
was bonded to her. Since in that
timeline there was already a Sailor Moon, she became Sailor Mini-Moon. Then the other Sailor Soldiers started
appearing, the outer Sailor Scouts; Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor
Pluto, and sadly the first and only appearance of Sailor Saturn. Because of their bond, Hotaru, also Sailor
Saturn, would know Rini in the future, after Rini was born, and became the
Sailor Moon of her time. They would
gladly welcome her, after knowing her as well they knew Rini. Yet that is tomorrow, and this is today,
just after Sailor Moon saved baby Hotaru, gave up her claim to the Purity
Chalice, and the mysterious disappearance of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Though they would return. Now, it's summer break, Serena's favorite
time of the year.
Chapter 1:
"Give that back you little brat! Give it BAAACK!!" Serena yelled at the pink
pigtailed rug rat holding on to the other end of the comic book she had just
picked up.
"NO!
I saw it first, and I'm going to read it before you hog it for the whole
DAY! Now YOU let go!!" the young Serina
yelled at her future mother. Despite
being named the same, and even having the same hair, personality, destiny, and
lineage, the two girls always seemed to end up fighting. Maybe it was because of those things,
or maybe it was because they didn't like each other and preferred it if Rini
were back home with her older mother.
Maybe that was just the way they got along.
They stood, glaring and giving each
other mean looks, until finally Serena's mother, Ikuko, (or Mother), calmly
walked up, grabbed both ends of the worn comic book, took it from the girls,
and put it in the waste basket.
Immediately the longhaired pigtailed blond dove after. Rini, no longer interested, just stormed
off.
Marisa, who was outside as she usually
was, heard the entire thing and secretly smiled at the way the mother/daughter
duo got along, when they were only less than a few years apart in biological
age. However, she rarely let any of her
inner emotions come to the surface, rarely even when she was alone. It had been a rule she learned on the
streets, show no weakness, never let them see how they got you, but
always show you know how you got them.
It was a peaceful day. After the long battles with the Heart
Snatchers and Rini's crisis at losing her best friend Hotaru, all of the Scouts
needed a break from things. Though
Marisa, as the Black agent Sailor Earth, was not involved in the direct
fighting, she had helped in many ways during the conflict. For one, she knew long before the other
Scouts who Uranus and Neptune really were, but was forced to hold that in wait
until they revealed it themselves.
She also knew that despite being very
powerful herself, as Sailor Earth, that her powers were not quite as strong as
the Outer Soldiers, especially not Sailor Saturn's. It had surprised her, that Hotaru, Rini's quiet friend could be
the Solar System's most powerful warrior and protector. Something else that had been bothering her
was how she had let Rini get hurt the way that she had.
It wasn't that she was blaming
herself, after all in the end it turned out all right, but she should have been
able to do something to stop Kayorinite. What's past is past, and she would not fail in her mission a
second time. Her duty was to protect
the future queen of the Moon Kingdom, and despite all doubts that was Serena.
Inside, Serena was laughing away in
her room at the new comic that Rei had let her "borrow". As she finished, she went downstairs and
whined, just a little, to her mother asking what was for dinner.
"Oh, I'd thought I'd experiment a
little, and try some American food tonight.
How does 'Green Bean casserole and Corn on the Cob' sound?" Mother
asked.
At the mere mention of any food,
whether junk, health-nut, candy, and especially desert, Serena's mouth just
watered. "Sound's great Mom! When's it going to be ready?"
"Later tonight, after I go to the
store to pick the corn and green beans up.
Which gives you plenty of time to go over to your friend's house and
study for your High School Entrance Exam." Mother told her.
"But Moo-OOOOMMM! I'm hungry now!" Serena whined. But her mother just walked out the door,
getting her shoes and bag and purse and stepped out the door to head toward the
store. Serena could hear her say 'bye
to Marisa while she went. Though Marisa
was just a year or so younger than Serena and the other girls, since she had
started so late in school, she was a grade or so behind them, so she had a
little more time before she had to begin getting ready for her High School
Entrance Exam. That didn't mean that
she didn't come with her own study materials on some days.
Serena, having nothing much better to
do, and having already made a commitment to study at Rei's temple with the
other girls, grudgingly grabbed her books and shoes as she headed out the
door. Rini had already gone off, most
likely to hang with her friends or do something else really cool, while Serena
got stuffed indoors with stuffy old books.
Not that she didn't enjoy her time
spent with her best friends, but she would much rather spend it either at the
Arcade, or maybe in the park. Heck,
even going downtown, as long as Marisa went with them, would have been better
than studying.
She saw Marisa and Zeus hanging around
on the back veranda, Zeus sleeping and Marisa looking off into space. Serena had developed a special relationship
with her "Black agent" since first meeting the girl. Marisa had jet-black hair that hung down in loose curls around
her pale face, and her green eyes held such sorrow and coldness that at times
you couldn't help but well up with tears yourself. Other times they could hold anger so fierce that you would flinch
in fear just from the sight of them in your direction. Serena knew of at least two boys at school,
and maybe another half dozen on the streets who knew to stay on Marisa's good
side, or else she might start counting.
As she walked past the two solitary
figures, Serena interrupted Marisa's thoughts by asking, "Hey, Marisa, you want
to come with me to Rei's temple? We've
got another boring study session planned, and another person to keep Amy off my
back would be a big relief. How about
it?"
Marisa kept looking off into the
distance for a moment or two, and then turned to Serena, "Sure, just let me get
your books. You left them in your room,
after you said you were going to study last night." Marisa pointed out. Serena looked to see that she was absolutely
right. She wondered why the pack seemed
so much lighter than usual.
"Hah, hah, hah," Serena laughed at her
own absentmindedness, and immediately raced back upstairs, got the books, a
jacket for herself and Marisa, then raced back downstairs. It was summer so the dress code was far more
liberal than it was for the rest of the year, but there were still windy days,
and it always helped to be prepared.
"Come on, let's go!" Serena exclaimed
as she threw Marisa the jacket and raced to the end of the block before she
noticed anything wrong. Marisa, however
had not moved, as Serena had tossed her Rini's jacket. Marisa looked at Zeus, who looked back and
gave the cat's version of a shrug and went back to sleep. She quickly went inside, got her own jacket,
and then had to run as hard as she could to catch up with Serena.
Serena meanwhile was still jogging
along. Despite that she ate like
squirrel in fall all year long, it never showed on her petite frame. Mostly because she always overslept and had
to race, no run, six blocks to school almost every morning. Since it was summer and she didn't have to
get up as early and run to school, she needed to keep up her exercise, so she
ran to Rei's almost daily, and sometimes to Darien's, which was another three blocks
past the school.
Rei's temple, which was actually the
raven-haired girl's grandfather's temple, was only four blocks from Serena's
house. So while she didn't get the same
distance, she was always running to get there.
As she was running past the mall-strip that "just happened" to be on the
way to Rei's, Serena stopped briefly to look in at the arcade, where the new
Sailor V video game was about to come out.
She could hardly wait.
As she looked around her, Serena
didn't see Marisa. She got worried, then
remembered that she had picked up the wrong jacket, and she had raced out of
there before Marisa had time to get hers.
She felt so stupid and clumsy at times like these. She quickly resolved to go back and find
Marisa and apologize to her.
As she turned a corner into a long
alley that was usually well lit during the day, a cloud passed over the
sun. Halfway down the alley, it was
suddenly almost pitch black. Serena got
a little scared, despite having faced worse evils than a shadow, she was still afraid
of what lurked in shadows. Suddenly,
there was a golden glowing behind her.
She whipped around to see what it was,
but no matter how many times, or how quickly the golden light stayed just
behind her or just out of her sight.
Finally she heard something.
It…it sounded like…her name. "Serena…Ser…Serena…
you…must…help… Serena…please…help me…Serena!" It was very faint, and sounded like it was being whispered from a
long way away, but the words were unmistakable. The strange voice asked for help several more times, each time
the glow and the voice got a little stronger.
"Who are you?" she shouted. "Why do you need my help? Can you answer me? Please, I want to help, but who are you?"
The whisper just kept repeating itself
over and over, but finally it changed.
"Serena… I need…your help…it will…be…the most dangerous thing that
you have ever done, but it must be done, or else all…that will exist will
perish. Your kingdom is in great
jeopardy. I need your help to
save it. Without you, all hope, all
life on this planet will perish.
Please… I need…your …hellllllp
."
The voice slowly faded, and the glow
stopped all together, and then the cloud that had been over the sun let up and
it was once again light in the alley.
Serena was scared. Whatever that
had been knew that she was the Moon Princess, and kept asking for help. She didn't know what for, but she wasn't
about to turn away a plea for help.
Especially when it was her kingdom at stake. She had to tell the Scouts.
Two seconds later, Marisa appeared at
the other end of the alley. Seeing
Serena relieved her, but it was short lived as she got close enough to see the
scared and worried expression on Serena's face.
"Serena! What is it, what happened?" She asked as she got close enough.
"Marisa!" Serena started as the girl
came up to here. "Oh, I'm so sorry for
leaving you back there! I wasn't
thinking straight, giving you Rini's jacket and then not waiting while you had
to go and get yours. Oh, I'm so
sorry. Can you ever forgive me? Please say you'll forgive me."
Marisa quickly waved off the entire
incident, "Never mind, it was nothing.
I felt like running anyway. Now,
what happened? I saw your face when I
walked up, what happened? Did somebody
attack you?"
"No, nothing like that." Serena said
quickly, seeing the angry mask starting to form on Marisa's face. "But something did happen. A shadow covered the alley, then this weird
glow started and a voice, a whispery voice kept asking for my help. It said that my kingdom was in jeopardy! I don't know what it was, but I do know
we've got to help it. Let's get to the
other scouts right away!"
"Right!"
Marisa called as she fell in beside Serena.
The two of them, both great contenders in the "race to school" were
almost neck and neck the whole rest of the way to Rei's. Marisa might have been holding back some,
but she didn't want to lose Serena.
The
girls made it in record time, less than five minutes, and the other Scouts,
including Rini were all there, and when everybody saw the expressions on the
other two, they immediately were worried.
Serena described, after a moments rest to catch her breath, everything
that had happened in the alley, and her belief that it was indeed a true call
for help, and was willing to go along with it.
The
others, which consisted of Rei (Sailor Mars), Amy (Sailor Mercury), Mina
(Sailor Venus), and Lita (Sailor Jupiter), were considerably more
skeptical. Amy, "the brains" wanted to
go to the alley to scan it with her mini-computer, and Rei went to discuss the
future with the sacred flame, while Mina and Lita just asked Serena over and
over if what she heard was really a call for help, and not some trick by the
dark forces. Again and again, Serena
said that she believed it to be real.
The only ones not involved in the discussion were Rini and Marisa, who
both believed her to be telling the truth, and were also willing to help,
whoever or whatever had asked for it.
Rei
came back an hour or so later, as the "conversation" was just heating up
again. Serena wanted to know if there
was anything, anything at all that they could do. Amy refuted it with pure logic.
Lita and Mina pretty much agreed that it was a bad idea. Then Rei spoke.
"I
don't know what it was, but I do know that it came from the future. Your future Serena. I can't say when, what, who, or why. All the Sacred flame would tell me is that
it involves your future." Rei said quite seriously.
"You
see. The voice, or whatever it was said
that my kingdom was in jeopardy. That
would mean my future, wouldn't it? We
have to help it, no matter the risk!" Serena said emotionally. She needed her friends to believe in
her. She was nothing without them.
Rei
looked at her friend of five years, as clumsy and forgetful as she was, she was
always, always a good friend and a good person. Whatever this whisper from the future was,
she was willing to support Serena in helping it. "I'm with you Serena. You
oughta know that by now Meatball head!"
Serena
smiled at the support. Next Amy looked
at her. Despite all of the blonde's
faults and how well she fit the stereotype of blonds, Amy still loved her. As with Rei, she could never turn down her
friend. "I'm with you too, Serena." She
said in her quiet voice.
Lita
and Mina looked at each other. So far
they had made the most noise about how this thing could be a dark force trick
or something. The tall brunette who had
been thrown out of her old school for fighting, with the reputation following
to this one, Serena and her friends had been the only ones to accept her, no
matter what. She was in.
Mina,
the first Scout to actually be a Scout again, had been in the public as Sailor
V for a while before meeting up with Serena.
Therefore, whenever she tried to fit in at a new school, everyone
thought she was a snob with a major attitude, especially with her uncanny
resemblance to Sailor V. When she
joined the Sailor Scouts, she and Serena were instant friends. They even had the same interests; shopping,
eating, video games, and boys! Wherever
Serena went, she was sure to follow.
"We're
with you," both Lita and Mina said together.
Serena
just had to look at Rini's and Marisa's faces to know that they supported her
as well. Serena's eyes were watering
up, as they often did. "Oh, you guys,
you're the best!" They all hugged, and
when they settled back down, Amy said since there was nothing to do until the
voice contacted Serena, or maybe even Rini, there was nothing they could do.
Then
about four or five minutes after the hug, it happened again. Everything got real dark, it was as though
the entire room, her friends included, had disappeared. The glow!
It was a soft radiant glow that somehow lit up the place, but there was
nothing to reflect the light. Then the
voice came again.
"Serena! Serena, thank the crystal I was able to get
to you. I can't really explain like
this, and there is little time enough, but I'll do my best. The way that I am communicating to you is
through a device called the "Soul Reflector". It basically allows somebody to see past incarnations of his or
her souls. I'm communicating through it
because, of a sort we are soul mates.
This is a one-way transmission.
Sort of like E-mail, except I can only know if you got my message, not
your reactions to it. My name is
Seraphim, and I am sort of your great, great, great, great, great, great,
great, great, great, great grandchild.
I am a direct lineage of the Moon Kingdom. My time period is roughly about 5 thousand years ahead of the one
you are currently in. I don't have time
to explain everything, but I have managed to rig up something to let you ask me
a couple of questions. I'll answer them
when next I contact you. From the
moment I say NOW begin your questions.
Your window will have passed when I begin speaking again. Choose wisely, because I am seriously short
on time from my standpoint, though from yours you have about 5 millennia. OK, got your questions? Better have. NOW!"
Once
Amy suggested getting out the books, everybody pretty much knew the excitement
was over. They all pulled out their
various subjects that would be covered, and opened the same books to the same
chapter, all except for Serena, Rini, and Marisa. The last two were just there because it was time with friends,
and the chance to learn something, and everybody knew Serena hated studying.
It
was Rini who noticed it first. Serena
hadn't even moved from her position, kneeling on the floor several feet in
front of the table. When she looked at
her blond counterpart, Rini became very concerned. Actually terrified would be a better word. "Se-Serena?"
When
Rini brought attention to Serena, everybody looked up to see what was the
matter. When they did, they were just
as concerned as Rini. Because while seeing
Serena just sitting staring straight ahead with her eyes glazed was nothing new
to the study sessions, seeing her do it while sitting perfectly straight
was. That wasn't all though. Her Moon crest, the one that labeled her and
her family as the royal family of the Moon Kingdom, was showing. And it was glowing a soft gold light all
around the room.
Halfway
across Tokyo, Darien was just walking into his apartment building from work,
when he felt an unusual, yet familiar tingle in the back of his neck. His heart started to beat faster, and he
felt a unique strength coursing throughout his body. He raced to his apartment, and put his stuff away before jumping
out onto his roof.
There
was a gust of wind, a piece of paper flew across the street below. Tuxedo Mask looked out across the city, and
he felt his heart beating even faster.
This meant only one thing, Serena, his one true love was in danger! The caped figure leapt from building to
building, at a speed and agility that would boggle the normal observer.
His
heart led him faithfully towards the temple where Serena and her friends often
studied. He felt real dread. It wouldn't be the first time that a
creature of the dark forces had attacked there. He worried, as every time that he would be too late. He flew even faster, praying to make it in
time.
"Why
do you need my help?" Serena called out into the darkness. "Why is my kingdom in danger? What about the Sailor Scouts of your
time? Aren't they strong enough to
protect the world from any danger of the dark forces? What about the Silver Moon Crystal? What about Tuxedo Mask?
Why do you need my help?
What can I do to help?
What can any of us do? We are
all willing to help, but we need to know how, and I need to know, if you're in
the future, why come to me? Surely
Neo-Queen Serenity is more powerful than I am, she should be able to help you
more…"
"I'm
sorry, that's all the time I can give you.
I will contact you again in two of your hours. Please, I just realized how close you are to you're royal
court. Please, do not tell the Sailor
Soldiers any more than you already have.
It is all right for you to tell Serina, and even Darien, but I must ask
you to not tell any of the Sailors…"
Suddenly the voice cut out, the glowing dimmed, and everything seemed to
come back all at once.
She
was surprised that she didn't have to blink at the brightness, but she was more
surprised to see Rei shaking her, and then Tuxedo Mask come in behind her. "Reeiiii-ei! Stop it! What is wrong
with you? What are you doing?" Serena
screeched as she came out of her trance.
Rei
suddenly stopped shaking the blonde, and turned to see Tuxedo Mask, looking
drastically out of place, and deeply embarrassed about it. Serena went straight to "Darien" mode
though.
"Tuxedo
Mask! What are you doing here? Hmm?
Have you come to rescue your Moon Princess from this horrible studying? Hey!
I know, how about let's go shopping, we'll make a day of it. Then you can come home and have dinner,
Mom's making Corn on the cob, and green bean casserole, doesn't that sound
delicious?" She spoke to her tall well-dressed "hero" as she clutched onto his
arm and led him out of the house, putting on her shoes as she went.
Once
they were outside, Serena wanted to be as far from the Scouts as possible, so
once she and Tuxedo were out of sight, she ran with him to a grove of trees
where she should be hidden. Then she
took out her heart shaped locket, raised it above her head and shouted, though
not loud enough for the Scouts to hear, "Cosmic Moon Power!". The next minute, during her transformation,
Serena felt warmth and energy all around her as she always did. The second she was Sailor Moon, she felt a
familiar strength return to her body.
Then taking a bewildered looking Tuxedo Mask by the arm, they leapt to
the top of the temple, and from there, the nearest building.
When
they were far enough away that she felt it was safe to talk, and they would see
if any of the other Sailor Scouts had followed them, Sailor Moon turned to
Tuxedo Mask and fell into his arms.
"What
is it Sailor Moon? What is so wrong
that you can't tell the other Sailor Scouts?" Tuxedo Mask asked his beloved.
Sailor
Moon looked up into his eyes, through his mask, and saw the warm compassionate
man that she loved deeply.
No
matter how much she would want to, she could never hide anything from this
man. Then she turned out of his grasp,
concentrated, and she felt the warmth over her body again, and saw the pink
ribbons of her costume disappear as she transformed back to regular old
Serena. She looked at Tuxedo Mask, who
with a gust of wind was suddenly just plain old Darien, her 19-year-old
boyfriend.
She
then proceeded to tell him about the incident in the alley, and how she told
the other Sailor Scouts, but she paused before telling him anything else.
"What
is it? Did it happen again? What did the voice say?" Darien asked,
whole-heartedly believing her.
"His
name is Seraphim. He is one of our
descendants. He lives in a time period
5000 years from now. He couldn't tell
me that much, just that he was communicating to me through something called the
"Soul Reflector" and that we were soul mates, sort of. He also told me that I couldn't tell the
other Sailor Scouts. He didn't have a
chance to explain why, I think Rei had cut it short or something, but I believe
him. I don't know why, and I don't know
for sure, but I know that I can't tell the Scouts whom it's from. He said it was OK to tell you, and even
Rini. Maybe because you two are family,
but I'm not sure that Rini would tell the others or not, but…I do trust
you. Will you keep this secret,
Darien?" she asked.
Darien
looked at her and considered. If the
Scouts asked him directly if she had told him anything, he might be able to
lie, but not if something happened to her because of it, he just couldn't live
with it. He looked lovingly into
Serena's, his true love's, his soul mate's eyes and saw the truth there. He would keep her secret. If she got hurt because of it, then he would
damn himself and do everything in his power to save her. He had chanced losing her too many times
already.
An
hour later, Serena, with Darien, not Tuxedo Mask, returned to the temple. She was doing her best to show that
everything was completely normal, and doing a very good job. Darien was trying to keep his amused grin,
but it kept slipping into a worried frown.
Rini
was playing with Chad, the local grounds keeper and Rei's boyfriend, and Rei's
grandfather, while the other Scouts were still inside studying. Marisa was outside, speaking quietly to Luna
and Artemis and Zeus.
Zeus
did not often get along with the two royal cats. He was a street cat that had grown up rough, and while both of
the other cats had had several tastes of street life, it was well known that
they preferred the in-doors and owners opposed to what Zeus and Marisa called
"comfortable living". However, when it
came down to Sailor business, the cats were all business.
When
the four saw Serena and Darien walking up to the entrance of the temple, they
quickly stopped talking and pretended to be interested in a bird, tree, rock,
or bug on the ground. "Hey guys, what
ya doin' ?" Serena asked as she and Darien came up the way, arm in arm.
Luna,
as her cat, answered her first. Luna's
voice was much like that of an old English nannies' voice that made her sound
much older than she really was. "Marisa
was just filling us in on the incident earlier. We were discussing it, wondering what it could be. She also mentioned the you "blacked out" for
a minute afterward, and your Moon crest shown.
Serena, what is happening?"
Serena
just looked confused at her talking cat, though the mention of her crest
glowing did catch her attention, and simply said, "Oh, it was probably just the
princess in me being bored with the studying as much as I am. But I wish I knew more about what that voice
wanted. I'm sorry that I can't tell you
anymore." She meant that last part to
all of them.
Then
Zeus spoke up. His voice was kind of
like Keanu Reeves' voice, soft yet very intense. "Marisa also mentioned, Darien, that Tuxedo Mask showed up. Doesn't he usually show up, only when Sailor
Moon is in trouble? Not when Serena
wants to get out of studying?"
Darien
looked kind of trapped for a minute, then he apparently came up with an answer
as he calmed down. Turns out, it was a
distraction that came up. Rini came
running up, and threw herself into Darien's arms. She and Serena were both very possessive of Darien's time with
both of them.
Serena,
however out of character did not seem to mind that Darien was paying close
attention to Rini, instead of her. In
fact she seemed to be looking at Rini in a certain way that no one had ever
seen her look at her before. She even
lifted one of her hands to stroke Rini's cheek. However appropriate, it was very far out of character for Serena
the teenager.
Marisa
and the cats stared at the picture of the young family, almost wide-eyed and
amazed. Then Serena made a decision,
and it was obvious in her eyes. She knew
that she couldn't face her friends and lie to them. She tugged Rini's ear lightly, getting the younger girl's
attention, "Come on squirt, I'll go buy you some ice cream, this studying is
too boring. Let's go get some ice
cream. And maybe even some donuts!"
The
way she said it sounded like the usual Serena, always hungry, and always up for
junk food, but the look on her face told Rini, Marisa, and Luna that something
was up. Rini, despite being as stubborn
and possessive of Darien as her "mom" quickly agreed, seeing that Serena needed
to talk to her alone, and Darien needed time alone. Or rather without a moon princess in his face.
"Yeah,
sure, let's go. See you guys
later! Thanks for the game Chad! Bye!" the then mother/daughter pair ran out
of there like every monster in the Negaverse was on their tails. One can run very fast when properly
motivated.
A few minutes later, just outside the
arcade, Serena and Rini were sitting on a bench, Serena looking nervous and
wondering what exactly she should say.
Finally Rini fixed that problem, sort of.
"Serena, just tell me what the problem
is. If it's got you and Darien so
worked up that you can't tell me in front of the other Scouts, then it must be
pretty big. Did it have anything to do
with that voice asking for your help?
The one that said your kingdom was in danger?" she asked.
Serena gulped a final time, and then
nodded to her insightful daughter. "His
name is Seraphim. He was, like Amy
thought, from the future. And earlier
at the temple, when everyone said my Moon crest glowed? That was when he contacted me again, and
told me all of this."
"OK, did he say what kind of trouble
the Moon Kingdom is in? Maybe the other
Scouts can help." the naïve young princess suggested.
"NO!" Serena practically shouted. "I'm sorry, I mean, no the other Scouts
cannot know anything more than what I have already said. It was something he warned me against. He said that I could tell you and Darien,
but only because you two are family. He
said that the other Scouts could not know.
He didn't have time to tell me why, or what the trouble was, but he did
say he was one of our line Rini. He is
a moonchild, like us. Our great, great,
grand-something or other. He lives five
thousand years in the future, and he kept saying he needed our help."
"Well, how can we reach him? How can we help him if he's in the future
and we're…" Suddenly Rini's face just lit up with inspiration. "The Time Key! I still have my Time Key!
You, Darien and me could use it to travel to the future and help him
out! What do you think Serena?"
Serena sat for a moment in thought,
something she hadn't ever thought of was using Rini as a Time machine. She had completely forgotten about it. But, maybe…
"I don't know Rini. It's a good idea, and I'm sure that we could
use it some point, but there's something else." Serena said.
"What?" Rini asked, dreading another
problem, or something, if possible, worse.
"He told me, since he was so short on
time that I could ask him questions that he would answer the next time he
contacted me, which he said would be in two hours."
"Great, so when is he going to call
you again. Wait, in two hours from now,
or two hours from the last time he called you?
That would have been when your crest was glowing, and that was almost…"
Rini blanched.
"Two hours ago." Serena, looking very
calm, answered for her. Serena looked
at her watch for the fifth time. She
decided that she didn't want to be in public if her Moon crest started to glow
again, like before.
"Come on, let's get home." Serena said
quietly. She didn't quite know how to
handle this. Usually when dealing with
a crisis, the Scouts have almost a dozen big meetings and an extra training
session before they prepare for a "final showdown" with whoever is controlling
the monsters they'd been fighting most recent.
Now, with only a little over 2 hours notice, Serena was being called on
to help, alone, and there was a threat to her kingdom that she knew nothing about. Yet, anyway.
Almost as soon as they stepped onto
the front porch step, Serena knew time was up.
It was starting to get dark, like sunset or a cloud over the low hanging
sun. "Hurry Rini!" Serena called as she
raced as fast as she could inside, quickly throwing off her shoes and running up
the stairs as the darkness seemed to hold for a moment.
Once in her and Marisa's room, Rini
had a bedroom upstairs being prepared for her, Serena collapsed in relief as
she said, "We made it."
"I'm glad to see that you did."
A voice said to her.
It was absolute darkness, no
room. The glow was there, as it had
been, but that was not all. Where
Serena had thought Rini was, stood a flickering image. The flickering image seemed almost human in
shape, and it had several colors running through it.
Serena stood, and faced the
image. "Seraphim?" Serena asked. "Yes.
I'm actually surprised that I've got this good of a connection. You must have Rini with you." The voice
seemed to emanate from everywhere, but Serena kept her focus on the flickering
image.
"What does Rini have to do with any of
this?" Serena asked.
"Well, not as much as you do, but
for the moment, I'll try and explain what is going on, and how the device that
I'm using works. OK?"
"OK, but what about my questions from
earlier?"
"Oh, don't worry. Since you've got Rini with you, we could
talk all night long, though it wouldn't really be all night for you. I'll explain, and then I'll answer any
questions you still have, ok? So, here
goes. The device I'm communicating to
you with, I've said is called the Soul Reflector. What the Reflector does, basically,
is it shows whoever looks into it, the path of their souls. In short, it shows you your past lives. I've found a way though that allows me, or
people in general, to communicate with other souls that have at least once
known their own soul. I'll try and
explain better." Seraphim said, seeing the confused look on Serena's
face. The flickering image was becoming
more and more clear as Serena got closer to him. She could now see that he had blond hair, like hers, but it was
cut like Darien's hairstyle. She also
saw the beginnings of a sort of royal uniform.
"OK, you and Darien. You two are soul mates, through and
through. There has not been a single
life when the two of you have not been together, and I mean together. A good example of a past life was your lives
on the Moon Kingdom at the end of the Silver Millennium age. Though that's not how it is normally
supposed to work, but all of you were reborn on earth, and that's what reincarnation
is. Anyway, if you wanted to, with the
modifications that I have made, you could talk with the original Prince Darien,
even if your Darien was still in the room with you. And I do believe I mentioned, earlier, that we were, of a sort,
soul mates. And that is basically how I
am communicating with you."
"What exactly does this have to do
with Rini?" Serena asked.
"I'm getting to that. I was Rini.
Well, my soul was. And that's why
I can have a complete conversation with you when she's in the room. Actually, after my last transmission I was
hoping that you would tell Rini about this and have her there with you. I'm also sure that you've told Darien?"
"Well, yes, but why can't I tell the
Sailor Scouts, and what do you mean you were Rini?" Serena asked.
"My soul. In my, or one of my past lives, I was Rini. From your standpoint, Rini's soul will one
day be reincarnated into me. Actually I've
discovered an interesting loop of both of our paths, but that will have to
wait. While you've got almost unlimited
time to speak, I'm kind of on a limited time schedule, so I'll get to your
questions from earlier."
"Why do I need your help? That might take a while. All right, here goes. I need you specifically because, to put it
quite simply, you are the purest, most beautiful incarnation of your soul. Believe me, I've looked. And despite your physical attractiveness is
quite much, what I mean by beautiful is the beauty of your soul. Your acts of kindness and friendship, the
faith you have in everyone around you, and even the unknown powers of your own
Heart (crystal if you need to refer to it as such). And in order for you to defeat this enemy, I need the purest
incarnation to fight it. You're it."
"Second question: Why is your kingdom in danger? Well I think my words were supposed to be
the Moon Kingdom is in jeopardy, but that is only because the enemy that I need
you to fight is in my past, but your future. That also answers the question of why you can't tell the
Scouts. If they had any clue about what
I'm asking you to fight, then chances are, things might not happen as they are
supposed to, or as I need them to. What
about the Sailor Scouts of my time?
Well, the Scouts of my time are about 2-8 years old in the
timeline that this enemy is in.
Therefore can't really do that much.
As for the Scouts of that timeline, I'll explain later."
"As for the Silver Moon Crystal and
Tuxedo Mask, I also can't answer just right now, but I will, I promise. Why do I need you specifically, as opposed
to Neo-Queen Serenity, your future self, or maybe even your past incarnation,
the Moon Princess Serena? Quite simply,
because you're the only one available.
In both of their lives, they are far too busy to go missing for any more
than an hour or two. I need you to be
gone from your home time for at least two weeks. Because I'm going to bring you, and you alone to this future, in
the hopes that you might be able to save mine.
In my time, and the time that I need you to be, there is no Sailor
Moon. The royal court of the Sol System
Soldiers is all there, but I can't just explain everything yet. I need to get everything prepared. Leave your locket with Darien or Rini, but
do not, and I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT tell ANYONE about what I have
asked you to help me with. This has to
do with the whole don't screw up the future thing, so please, don't tell anyone
where your going, nor when, just ask them to cover for you while you are. Please, Serena, I need your help. This is the soul reincarnation of your only
daughter, your future descendant. I
won't have a future if you don't help me, so I am begging you, please, don't
tell anyone, and I should be ready in under an hour. Make all preparations so that you won't be missed that much. I'm sorrrrr…" Suddenly the image started to fade and lose its
clarity. Then it was just Rini, staring
at Serena in her room.
"Serena, are you all right? You said 'We made it,' then stood up, and
have just been staring at me. Are you
all right Serena? Should I call the
girls?" Rini asked, growing concerned.
"No, I'm all right Rini. I'm just…I'm just very…very…" Serena
suddenly looked very weak, and her eyes were watering up. Just before she collapsed to the floor in
tears, she finished with, "…frightened."
Rini immediately rushed to comfort
her, but Serena only looked sorrowfully at her, and began to cry harder. After a spell, Rini managed to get to a
phone and called Darien over from the temple, reminding him not to tell the
Scouts. That was ofcourse very
difficult to do with them looking directly at him while he was on the
phone. So they came over with him as
they all ran to Serena's house.
As soon as Serena saw almost every
single Sailor staring at her from the door of her room, she knew that they
would want to know everything, and she was sworn to secrecy, sworn by the
safety of her kingdom and the future of her daughter's soul. She told them everything.
"Serena! What is wrong? What
happened? Was it the voice? Was it a dark force trick, like we thought?"
Marisa began asking rapid-fire questions.
The others asked a variety of these same questions.
Serena waited for all of the girls'
commotion to be quieted down before answering their questions. "No, Marisa, it isn't a Nega-verse
trick. It is a plea for help, from one
of my descendants 5000 years in the future.
His name is Seraphim. He needs
my help to defeat some enemy in his past, our future."
Serena was still on the floor, and she
broke out in fresh tears as she told them the next part. "He asked me to not tell any of you because
he thought it might endanger the future that he's hoping will happen. But I don't care about that. I can never keep something from you, from
any of you! I'm sorry that I lied
earlier, but when you said my crest was glowing, Seraphim sent me a message,
explaining whom he was, and asking me not to tell any of you anymore than I
already had. That's why I ran out of
there with Darien and why he stayed while I talked with Rini."
"Why could you tell them and not us?"
Amy asked.
Serena smiled and looked at Amy. "Because their family." "By family you mean part of the Royal Family
of the Moon Kingdom?" Amy asked. Serena
nodded through her tears.
Then there were a bunch of hugs, and
support from everyone saying that they weren't angry and fully supported Serena
no matter what. "That's not all." She
said, interrupting the emotional outpouring.
"What else is there Serena? That was all you told me." Rini said.
Serena just looked at her and teared
up one more time. After a minute, she
managed to get up the courage.
"Seraphim is the reincarnated soul of Rini. He said that the way he communicated with me was because we were
soul mates of a sort. Not as much as
Darien and I are soul mates, but enough that he was my daughter. And if I do not help him, alone, then his
future will either be ruined, or destroyed."
Several gasped at that, Rini just
looked at Serena the same way Serena was looking at her. Darien just moved closer to the crying
blonde. They stayed like that until
Serena whispered to Darien. "He needs
me to go to the timeline, by myself. He
couldn't say why, but I believe him when he said that he needed my help, and if
I don't fix our future, his past, then he won't have a future. He's the same as Rini, Darien. Do you understand?"
"I do." Darien nodded, holding back
tears himself.
"Good. Because she has to leave now." Rini said in a distant voice. Everyone stared at the young pink haired girl. Her red eyes were alive and wide, but she
was standing as still as a statue. Oh
yeah, and her Moon crest was glowing very bright.
"Hello everyone. You may not believe this, but I recognize
almost every one of you. The
interesting thing about the Soul Reflector is that when you travel
through it to a past incarnation, you see the souls of the people you know, as
the people you know, rather than what they might've looked like." The body of
Rini said.
"Sera-Seraphim?" Serena
stuttered. Rini's body turned toward
Serena, and then something strange happened.
The room darkened, the same way it had, but only for the briefest of
moments. Then Serena's crest was also
glowing, and she was looking at "Moon Princess Rini" standing right next to a
young blond man, her exact height, and was wearing a white suit that had gold
trim around the cuffs, neck, and belt area.
He also had an identical Moon crest that was also glowing.
"Hi Serena," both said at the exact
same moment. The blonde sat confused
for a moment.
"Serena?" the blond man said. "Have you been crying? Don't worry. If everything goes as it, well did, then you will return in less
than a week. If things take a slight
turn for the not so good, then I can guarantee your safe return on the outside
of 2 weeks."
To everyone else, this was Rini
talking. So to Seraphim and most of the
others, it wasn't a surprise when Mina asked, "Rini what are you talking
about?"
To Serena's surprise, she saw Rini
answer her. "Oh, don't worry Mina. Seraphim has it all figured out. Well, for the most part. Basically, Seraphim and I are sharing the
same body. Since we're both the same
soul, then it is possible for both of our souls to inhabit the same body. As long as we don't fight for control. It's actually kind of cool."
This answer surprised just about
everybody, especially when it was Seraphim that spoke next. "Well, I am working on a Co-unification of
the souls, so that the secondary, or "visiting soul" would be able to control the
body, but with the memory of the primary, or "Soul inhabitant" of the
body. But never mind. Right now, it's time to go Serena. You all will be sure to cover for her, and
I'm sorry that you're being rushed, but I seriously do not have much
time. So, Serena, if you'll just come
over here."
Serena got up, wiped some tears from
her face, and knelt in front of Rini.
Then Rini's body, but to Serena it was just Seraphim, took Serena's face
on either side, and then touched his crest to hers.
Serena felt a sudden warmth overtake her. It felt similar to when she transformed, but
far more powerful. Serena had already
left her locket, which held the Silver Moon Crystal in it, with Darien as
Seraphim had asked. Then she felt a
pulling sensation that started in her gut, and pulled the rest of her
along. She seemed to be going into
Seraphim, and it was getting dark, unlike before, and more like the darkness of
sleep.
To everyone else, the room was
suddenly just flooded with golden light as Rini's and Serena's Moon crests
touched. Then it was almost as if
Serena was just sucked right into Rini's crest. Then she was gone, which left Rini, looking a little confused and
flustered, yet completely normal. But
Serena was gone.
Chapter
2:
"Serena? Serena, are you all right?" a voice asked. Serena didn't quite recognize it, but she
was still sleeping and didn't want to get up and go to school.
"Go away, I'm sleeping." She grumbled
in her half-sleep.
"Serena? Serena wake up! Serena!"
the voice yelled. Finally Serena
grumbled and whined, but slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She opened her mouth to yawn, and left it
open when she realized that she was in a place that was not her home.
She closed her mouth and took a quick
look around. The room almost seemed to
be made of crystal yet there was very little light, but what illumination there
was reflected off of the curved ceiling and walls. There was a door or a hatch in one corner of the small room. In size it was almost as big as her bedroom,
minus the clutter, and very clean.
"Where am I?" she asked aloud. It sounded very loud in the quiet of the
small space.
"Serena?" She heard a distant voice call her
name. Then she remembered everything,
Seraphim, saving Rini's soul, traveling to the future…was that where she was
now? "Seraphim? Where are you?" she called out.
"Serena?" the voice was a bit
louder, yet still distant. When it
spoke again, Serena tried to listen as hard as she could.
"Serena? I can barely get through.
I need you to calm down so I can get a clear connection. Serena?
Can you hear me?" Seraphim was asking.
"I can hear you Seraphim." Serena said
aloud.
"I'm still not getting anything,
but I'm sure that you can hear me. Try
thinking a response at me, maybe that will work. I mean that is what I'm doing." Seraphim said.
'OK, I'll give it a try,' Serena
thought. 'Seraphim? I can hear you. Where are you? Where am I?'
"YES! It worked! OK, I'm
actually in my own time, which is about 20 years further in the future than you
are. You are in the year 7107 AD, or
2012 A.F, or After Freeze, which is 2000 + years after Neo-Queen Serenity
thawed the Earth with the Silver Crystal."
'Why?
I thought I was going to your time to help you fight something that was
going to kill you.' Serena thought at the boy from the future.
"Not quite. My life is in danger, but that is not
all. I am in the most danger of never
being born. My mother and father are
the Royal King and Queen of Earth. I'm
sure that you can guess whose souls they are."
Serena took the guess that it was her
and Darien's souls that were Seraphim's parents, which meant that there was a
chance that she and Darien, in this time, were on the brink of breaking up, or
forgetting about having children. She
had contemplated that a good many times when Rini got on her bad side. But she almost always took it back, and at
times when she saw Rini sleeping, or in an emotional moment, she could hardly
wait to have the girl as her daughter rather than her "cousin".
"Anyway, while you have a moment,
I'll see if I can tell you the whole story." Seraphim continued. "I'm sure that you remember, the first
adventure you had with Rini, she somehow was taken prisoner of the Dark Moon,
and the Wiseman somehow turned her into "Dark Lady." With the help of two Silver Crystals, Serina was returned to
normal, and the Dark Moon defeated.
However, she was not fully cleansed.
Don't worry, she'll never turn into Dark Lady ever again, but she is
part of the Moon Kingdom bloodline.
When Serina becomes the next Serenity, and has her own daughter in the
future, (no I won't tell you with who, Serena) her time under the Dark Moon's
influence introduced a…a piece of evil into the bloodline of the Moon
Kingdom. Nothing obvious, or dangerous,
at first. Yet with each generation of
Serena and Serenity, that piece of evil was continuously bombarded, or touched
by the evils that each Sailor Moon fought.
So it sort of grew, slowly.
Until now, it was nothing but a slight change in the King and Queen's
views, usually when it was my soul as the queen. However, in this time period, the time you are currently in, the
Queen has been…absorbed by this cancerous evil. It is not her fault, and it is not Rini's fault, but it is
something dangerous."
'What do you mean?' Serena asked. She was with him so far. Luna had told her of the traditions of her
family name, and how each daughter learned from the mother how to use the
Silver Moon Crystal. Apparently, in the
future, Sailor Mini-moon would one day become Sailor Moon. Serena was happy at that.
"The Queen of this…that era that
you are in, Queen Serenity, has turned evil, sort of. She has become anxious, even desperate for more power. She long ago abandoned the Silver Crystal,
and now seeks to control a new power crystal.
She believes that she can succeed in her deluded plans by possessing the
"Black Jade Time Crystal". It
has been said that that crystal is the nexus for all Time/space. If a human could ever control it,
then indeed, they would become the most powerful in all of existence. They would be able to control time, the flow
of it, the passage of it, even the mere existence of it. If the Queen gets a hold of it, then she will
make herself immortal, and A, not have me, and B, destroy the world, and therefore
the Moon Kingdom." Seraphim finished.
'I don't understand, if you already
are born, then why do you need me to be here?
It must have already worked out, right?' Serena asked.
Seraphim stayed quiet for a time, then
he finally answered with something that confused Serena even more. "It's a time paradox. Basically, I have to exist in the first
place to call you to change the course of time so that I can be born. If I wasn't doing this, or if we somehow screw
this up, then everything is going to change.
I really don't like running that risk.
I'm even doing this in secret so that my parents don't know about
it. I heard stories from the Senior
Sailor Soldiers about this time, but they would never tell me that much. I don't think anybody knew that it was, well
me, that sent the first Sailor Moon an…to the future, or their past. So that is rule #1, do not mention my name
aloud, and do not tell anyone about me."
'There are rules?' Serena asked,
almost whining even in thought. "Yeah"
came the reply. "Look in your
pocket." Seraphim told her. It was
then that Serena noticed that her clothing was very different from the outfit
she had been wearing, to her, just a few minutes ago. It was a loose and comfortable outfit. Pants, with soft comfortable shoes, and a tunic-like shirt with
several pockets. Serena checked each
one, and finally found something in one of the pants pockets. It was a heart-shaped locket, similar, but
at the same time very different from her locket that she used in the past.
'Seraphim? It's a locket that looks kind of like mine. What is it?' Serena asked.
"It is the "modern-day" Silver
Crystal locket. Like I said, the
current Queen abandoned it long ago, and now, it is yours, until you return
home. As you have upgraded the power of
Sailor Moon in your time as Sailor Moon, so have other Sailor Moons. This is the current form. You might want to keep it hidden while you
are in the royal palace. It will
undoubtedly be recognized, and you might get arrested. To activate it, or transform into Sailor
Moon, just say aloud in a clear voice, "Galactic Moon Supreme Transform
Power!" Seraphim explained.
"Oh, and your weapon isn't a wand
anymore. It is called the "Rose
Saber" after the fact that Tuxedo Mask used roses, and how there isn't one
in this day and age. I'll explain that
in a minute."
"To call upon it, you need to open
the locket, you'll know how, then just summon the saber, and if it works right,
you'll know how to use it. It should only
be used in self-defense or maybe it can be used to destroy any monsters that
may be there. I don't quite know what
happened, so I'm just as much in the dark about this as you are. Oh, one last thing, we can't always be able
to communicate, and when we will be able to, it will have to be like this. If you really need my help for something,
just think my name and I'll get to you as soon as I possibly can. Good luck!" Seraphim was about to "sign
off", but Serena stopped him.
'Seraphim wait!' she called. "What is it?" 'First of all, where am I? Am I in the Royal Palace? What has crystal walls and ceilings?' she
asked.
"No, you aren't in the palace. At least I hope you aren't. And just about everything has crystal walls
and ceilings, but the room that I hope you're in is inside of a run down
warehouse just downtown of Old Crystal Tokyo." He answered.
'Now what did you mean that there
isn't a Tuxedo Mask? Darien is alive in
this time isn't he?' Serena almost became hysterical.
"No. Your Darien is alive in the 20th Century. But, yes, this timeline's incarnation of
Darien's soul, believe it or not is named Darian, is alive. He is not well though. Ever since he was a child he has had some
unknown disease, and several major medical problems. He is currently about 35 years old or so. Queen Serenity is almost 26. Her birthday is coming up in the next
week. They married as soon as she was
16, the youngest a person can be before being considered an adult, and
therefore legal to get married. She still
had the crystal then, and was therefore somewhat protected from the evil in her
heart. She only became Sailor Moon
once, and not for very long. Therefore
there was never any need for Tuxedo Mask, and he was hardly in any condition to
be one."
'Will he…do I…will he recognize me?'
Serena asked. "Maybe. For one, you and the Black Queen look very
different. But maybe the soul mate
thing might register with him."
'Black Queen?' Serena asked. "Oops.
I hadn't wanted to tell you.
Since she began her quest for a more powerful crystal, the Queen has
been getting herself into…less than Royal areas of her kingdom. Among these…crowds, she has been calling
herself 'The Black Queen' in an effort to hide her true identity, and make it
look like she's trying to overthrow the current government."
'Why?' Serena asked, completely
baffled that a Queen of the Moon kingdom would ever give up the Silver Moon
Crystal, and then become a crime boss of the future. Apparently so was Seraphim, but he only knew that that was what
happened, not why or anything.
"I honestly can't say. Right now, the best you can do is find
these…crowds, and get the Queen to know you are out here as Sailor Moon. I would advise against going against her
right now. While she is indeed behind
the curtain, she is also the crowned Queen of Earth, and it would not be a good
idea to claim that she is evil, and that you are the…never mind." Seraphim broke off before he finished the
sentence.
'That I am what? Seraphim, I need you to tell me. What about the Sailor Scouts of this era,
would they help me? As me being Sailor
Moon?' Serena asked.
"I can't say at this point. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,
I guess."
'Seraphim, answer the question. What am I here?'
"Sailor Moon, I thought that was…"
'Seraphim!'
"…obvious. Oh, all right. That you are the purest incarnation of the current Queen, that
you are the first Sailor Moon, brought to the future by the current Queen's yet
to be conceived son. And that you are
here to transform the Queen by defeating her evil plans, and using the Silver
Crystal, which to them has been stolen, to heal her by destroying the evil
cancer that has grown within the bloodline since the 20th
Century. Don't ever tell anyone, any of
that." He spoke it all very
quickly, almost all at once.
'Oh.' Was the only response.
"Any other questions?" the boy
of the future asked.
'No, I guess not. I just think your name, like this; 'SERAPHIM!!'
and you'll answer?'
"Whoa! Not quite that loud. More
like a brief mention, and add on, 'I really need to talk to you' or something
of the like, and I will answer as soon as possible. It might be a minute or so for you, but don't worry, I'll always
answer." He said this just before
he "Signed off."
Serena almost felt the link between
them close. Now that she was alone,
everything that she was doing, all the fear, anxiety, and confusion, came upon
her all at once. She put the Locket in her
tunic pocket, then curled up on the floor of the room and began to cry. The crying soon turned into wailing, which
later transformed into an outright bawling.
A bawling that grabbed the attention of two 14-year-old children that
were walking past the warehouse outside.
Molly Summers and her best "boy"
friend, Melvin Tanake, were walking past the old rundown, and supposedly empty
food storage warehouse on the corner of Matrix Path, when they heard at more or
less the same time, a strange wailing sound coming from within.
"M-Molly, what is that?" Melvin
asked. He sounded scared, and his whiny
voice cracked as he said it. The young
boy had curly brown hair, and stood about 5'3". He also had very small, dark brown eyes. Doctors had said when he was younger that he
might have needed rather large glasses, yet with advance technology, he had
perfect 20/20 vision.
"I don't know Melvin. It sounds like it could be a ghost!" Molly
said in a frightened voice. However,
she was not scared in the least. She
was just trying to get Melvin to jump.
Molly had a clear adolescent voice that was almost a perfect alto. She had curly auburn hair that hung down to
her neck. She often decorated it with a
bow or something, bringing it up in the back slightly. She stood taller than Melvin by about two
inches at 5'6", and her eyes were a very pretty color of blue. She used to tease Melvin when they were
younger, and he always tried to get her to go on a date with him, but when they
got to high school level, Molly stopped teasing, Melvin stopped asking, and both
just started liking each other.
Though it would be unusual for 14 year
olds to be juniors in high school for the 20th and 30th
centuries, today, in the advanced world, and especially in Tokyo, they were
actually a little behind. While Melvin
was a computer whiz, and Molly knew more about biology and government that some
of her teachers did, they always seemed to be a bit behind. Even when they helped each other study.
When the wailing started again, Melvin
jumped, as Molly had planned, but even she was concerned. It might have been a wounded animal that hid
in there to get away from something chasing it. It certainly was an awful and sad sound though.
Molly
made her decision. "C'mon Melvin, we're
going in. It might be an animal hurt,
or something else like that." She said as she set off at a brisk pace toward
the wailing sound, and therefore the warehouse.
"I
thought you said it was a ghost!" Melvin shouted as he raced to catch up.
"You
are so gullible!" Molly exclaimed as they reached the door. The chain and lock had long ago rusted and
fallen to pieces, so Molly slid the heavy door aside, and stepped inside the
surprisingly dark building. The wailing
was much worse, as that it echoed continuously throughout the empty building.
"Molly,
come on, let's go. If it is an animal, it'll
probably hurt us if we get to near it.
Maybe we should just tell animal services. They'll take care of it." Melvin tried unsuccessfully to convince
his friend.
"No
way Melvin. They'll probably just send
a truck down here to kill it. Besides,
when was the last time you heard of an animal attacking a human?" Molly walked
a little further, and then saw a light coming from somewhere in the back, where
a large, an apparently overturned crystal food canister sat. It also seemed to be the source of the wailing. "C'mon Melvin," Molly said before going
right up to the cracked hatch of the upside down crystal food container.
"H-hello?"
Molly said quietly. "Is anybody in
there? Hello?"
She
tried again, a little louder. Suddenly
the wailing stopped and sniffling could be heard. Animals don't sniffle!
Taking
a breath, and the handle on the hatch, Molly slowly opened small door until it
was completely open. Melvin saw what
was inside first. "Omigawd! Molly, it's a girl! A very pretty girl at that." Melvin and his libido, Molly thought before
taking a look herself.
Melvin
was right about the girl part. Sitting
upright in the middle of the cage, which is what it might have been, was a
young blonde girl who looked like she had been crying. A sniffle and a squinting of her eyes told
Molly that she was still crying. Her
hair was done very interestingly.
Almost in exact fashion of the Royal Queen's style. It also ran to at least the girls' waist,
when she stood up that is.
The
look on the young blonde's face suddenly changed. It went from scared and sad to outright confusion and
surprise. "M-Mol-Molly?" the young girl
stammered. Well, she can listen,
thought Molly, thinking that the girl had learned her name from Melvin's use of
it. She extended a hand into the cage
for the girl to take.
"Yeah,
that's right my name is Molly. What's
yours?" she said, two seconds before the scared thing ran into her arms and
hugged her as though she would never let go.
"Oh,
Molly, I don't know what is going on, I don't know what you're doing here, I'm
just so glad you came, I'm so alone, and I don't know what to do, and…" The
girl spurt out all at once, then pausing for a moment, "What do you mean what's
my name?"
"I
mean, what is your name? My name is
Molly, and this is…" Molly pointed at Melvin.
"MELVIN!!"
The blonde girl shrieked as she stared, for the first time in her life at a
Melvin without glasses or a pocket protector.
In fact even Molly was dressed strangely. They were both wearing loose blue jeans, and very loose and
comfortable looking tunics, Molly's red, Melvin's white. They both had a symbol and design on the
collars. What Serena did not know was
that this was the "school uniform" of the local school.
"Yeah,
how did you know that?" Molly was
beginning to wonder about the logic of coming in here.
"Molly?"
The blonde let go of her, and backed up a bit.
Her voice sounded like she was losing her best friend. "You…you really don't know me?" she asked.
Molly
just shook her head no. The girl looked
to Melvin, who shrugged his shoulders.
Fresh tear started to form at Serena's eyes, but then she thought about
it. She was in the future. If there was a future Darien as Darian, and
a future Serena as Queen Serenity, then maybe there were a future Molly and
Melvin too. But, shouldn't they have
been the same age as the Queen?
Something she'd have to ask Seraphim about later.
Well,
there was nothing quite like starting a friendship over, and if there was
anything that Serena knew above all else, it was how to make friends. She dried her eyes as best she could, then
introduced herself to the future Molly and Melvin.
"Hi,
I'm Serena. I'm sorry about that
wail-session there, but sometimes I just can't stop myself from letting
go. I've been trying to hold back on my
tantrums though." Serena explained. She
bowed in respect to Molly, and then to Melvin.
This
definitely caught the two's surprise.
Nobody bowed anymore.
Maybe like 4000 years ago, but not anymore. Not ever since the whole world had united under the Moon Kingdom
and Order of Planets. Who was this girl
that wailed like a Banshee, knew who both of them were, and bowed instead of spit. (Instead of bowing, or shaking hands, people
spat in front of somebody to offer respect and acknowledgement)
Which
is exactly what both youths did to Serena, after introducing their full
names. Needless to say, Serena was a
bit shocked, yet held back any comment.
She just assumed it was something that kids of the future did, like
spitting into your hand before shaking someone else's.
With
the introductions over, Serena ran out of things to say. So Molly asked, "So, Serena, what are you
doing in here? And why were you
crying?"
That
one stumped the young girl. She put a
hand behind her head, and kind of laughed nervously, knowing that the two could
see sweat on her face. She might not
have been the smartest of the Sailor Scouts, but she knew how to think fast and
lie, though maybe not very well.
Knowing she couldn't give away any of her secrets, or Seraphim's name,
so she came up with something a whole lot worse.
"Oh,
well, I…uh, well, its funny you should ask.
Not funny "hah, hah" but more like funny, "I was just thinking that same
thing" kinda funny. Ya see, funny. Hah, hah, hah!" Serena laughed for a bit,
pitifully I might add, before continuing on with her hastily constructed
"story".
"Well,
uh, my…older…cousin, yeah that's it, my older cousin left me…here. See, he had to leave town really quick. He could barely stay long enough to drop me
off. He didn't even have time to get me
set up anywhere. So, well, that's what
he did. Yeah, that is what he did." She
said lamely.
"Doesn't
sound like a very considerate cousin." Molly said, totally buying the story.
"Yeah,
well…"Serena responded.
"What
was his name?" Melvin suddenly asked.
His eyes were beady little points, staring straight at her. If anybody would even need convincing of who
she was, Melvin would certainly be one of the people. Despite being a major pain in the butt, the Melvin she knew
anyway, Melvin was also very smart, and he could almost always see right
through a fake story. Except ofcourse
when Molly or Serena flashed their eyelashes at him, then he was putty in their
hands.
Serena
decided to lie again, though giving Melvin more eye contact and flirtatious
glances that she normally would have.
"Chad. Chad Mankato. He's a rock musician. But he only plays for small gigs, you know,
not quite very famous. He dropped me
off here…because…it was as close to Crystal Tokyo that he was going."
"Wow!"
Molly said. "Your cousin is a
musician! And a rock
musician? As in Rock and Roll?!!"
"Um,
yeah?" Serena said unsurely, wondering what else she could say.
"Wow! That is the coolest! I didn't know anybody that still knew any
Rock and Roll! Almost all that they
play on the city stations, and concerts anymore is that new age "crystal nell"
stuff. I mean, I know its good for the
soul, and help plants grow, but it can put you to sleep faster than Melvin's
lecture on the basic functions of a Crystal Net analyzer."
"Yeah. Hey!" Melvin agreed before he realized that
he was being insulted.
Serena
began to laugh suddenly. It was a good
laugh. As Molly and Melvin stared at
her, a little confused, it soon became an infectious laugh. Soon all three were giggling hysterically.
Unfortunately,
it was cut short by a sudden explosion.
Or rather the sound of one very nearby.
Then the ground began to quake, and all laughter was forgotten as Molly
and Melvin raced Serena out of the building.
By
the time they were clear of the building, the shaking had stopped, but a huge
pillar of smoke could be seen less than a kilometer away behind some
buildings. Serena, suspecting evil
forces, and letting the Sailor Scout in her take over, she began to run
straight for it.
"Serena!"
Molly called. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"
"I
have to check that out!" she answered, not noticing that both Molly and Melvin
were racing to catch up to her.
It
didn't take long to get to the disturbance, the street almost seemed to head
straight to it. Once she got there, she
saw two things that she expected to see, and one thing she didn't. The first was a large crater that the smoke
was emanating from, and the second was a large inhuman creature with green skin
and disarrayed purple hair. She, or it
really, had a black one-piece leotard on, and one of its arms seemed to be
nothing but a white mechanical contraption that could have been a blaster of
some sort. The other arm was holding a
brown sack full of something that Serena couldn't see what was.
The
one thing that Serena was not prepared to see was the street full of scarred
and still bodies. A glance at some of
them told you that they were dead, or would be very soon. Serena's heart ached at seeing this kind of
violence, and she longed to be able to do something to help.
The
creature, which was actually a mutant cyborg named Valumon (VUL-u-mon)
that worked for the Underworld agency "Dark Crystal Kingdom", turned
around, about to make its escape, when it saw Serena standing there, looking at
the carnage. The mutant's enhanced
hearing detected two more running down the alley, no doubt to get the strange
blond girl. Yet they were far enough
out of the way that it could kill the blonde and make its getaway before they
rounded the corner. If it
hurried.
The
creature turned towards Serena, and she knew she had been spotted. 'It's now or never,' she thought, taking out
the magic locket. Before it could make
another move, Serena raised it above her head and called out the words Seraphim
had given her, "GALACTIC MOON SUPREME TRANSFORM POWER!"
Instantly,
it was as though time had stopped. The
background seemed to fade into a moving blue star field, and the locket that
Serena held in her hand opened up. The
front cover, which was a red heart with intricate designs flipped up, and then
the two yellow crescent moons moved further outward, and the final cover, a
smaller blue round cover, that looked like the full moon, flipped downward,
finally revealing the Moon Crystal.
Unlike its past "incarnations" the crystal was not heart shaped, red, or
even silver. It had a distinct yellow
glow about it. The Crystal flashed
once, twice, three times, and then a fourth, the transformation began.
Serena
felt the warmth again, and it felt familiar, it felt…right. Above her, a large yellow crescent moon took
shape, and then rotated around as it descended over her body. Once it had run its length down her, she was
already wearing the white portion of her costume, as well as the gloves. Next, Serena brought her hands up to her
face and crossed them in front of her head.
Two smaller yellow crescent moons appeared on the hands, and she brought
them down to her waist. The view
switches to behind her, and we see the two moons intersect, points going
outwards, and then a bright flashing glow, and she is wearing her skirt, and a yellow
bow on the back. Turning back around,
two ribbons fly down and wrap around her legs, creating her blue
boots. Moving up to her head, we see
her moon crest glowing, and with sparkles of power and magic, the collar,
earrings, makeup, feathers, gems (On the Meatballs), and gold tiara
appear. Except instead of a gold moon
crest on the tiara, is a red crystal moon crest. Also her earrings appear to be of the full moon rather
than her usual crescent moon earrings.
As
the transformation comes to a close, Sailor Moon (Supreme) strikes her
pose, and time seems to start up again, with the mutant looking in confusion at
a blonde pigtailed Sailor Soldier that it cannot identify. From top to bottom, Sailor Moon is somewhat
different. The gems in her hair are
still red, and the feathers are still there.
The gold tiara is in the same place, but with a ruby Red Crescent moon
gem instead of just the gold moon. Her
collar is red, but with a blue crescent moon instead of yellow. Her uniforms shoulders are also very
different. Instead of just three rings,
or even that fanned out look when she transforms to Super Sailor Moon, are pink
spherical pads, with golden gossamers fanning out just beneath them. The scarf is now yellow, with blue lines,
and connects with the new broach locket, where a blue bow is. The gloves are still white with red lining,
and her bodice is still white. Her
skirt is sort of a rainbow effect, like when she went Super, yet reversed. The primary color, instead of white is red,
and fades from red, orange, yellow, to yellow, green, primary blue. And her boots are blue, instead of red,
though they are trimmed with yellow, and the crescent moon on the top of each
is red instead of yellow.
All
in all, very primary. And while Serena,
or Sailor Moon, is checking out her new threads, Valumon finally decides to
attack. Sailor Moon, with a screech,
narrowly manages to avoid the attack, and begins to sprint, leap, and jump to
avoid the blasts coming from the monster.
Valumon,
wanting to tease its prey a little stops short, as the blonde girl in a Sailor
Soldier uniform is huddling in a corner.
Despite appearing to be one of the deadly bodyguards of the Queen of the
Earth, this young girl seemed to be nothing more than a crybaby in way over her
head. "What's your name little
girl? I like to keep a list of all the
people I kill." Valumon said in an inhuman voice to Sailor Moon.
Sailor
Moon, seeing her chance to turn the tide, stood up, and set a mask of bravery
and heroism on her face. Then going
through the usual motions of her threatening stance, Sailor Moon says, "I am
Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice. I
right wrongs and defeat evil in the name of the Moon, and that means you!"
"Whatever,"
Valumon says just before it shoots a massive blast of energy straight at Sailor
Moon. Fortunately, she ducks and
scrambles out of the way. They keep
this up for a little bit longer, and Valumon is getting a little frustrated as
it starts trying to hit Sailor Moon, but the wirily little crybaby keeps
getting away.
In
most cases such as this, Tuxedo Mask sometimes comes to her rescue, and keeps
the monster busy with his speech until she can prepare her finishing move. Unfortunately, Serena knows there will be no
Tuxedo Mask, and it is entirely upon her to defeat this creature, alone. The worst part is, she doesn't even know
what her finishing move is, but she does know at least one attack that she can
use.
Leaping
a little further away from the creature, Sailor Moon takes her right hand to
her forehead, concentrates, and shouts, "Moon Tiara Magic!" then throws
her arm forward, and with it a golden disc that was created from her tiara,
without having to take it off. The
tiara disc flies straight at the monster, which easily leaps over it, avoiding
the attack. However, as with all her
past uses of this attack, Sailor Moon can control where the disc goes, and
mentally orders it to fly up where the monster has jumped.
The
monster screams in pain as Sailor Moon feels the disc strike home. Unfortunately, that only weakened the
monster, and caused it to fall back to earth, temporarily paralyzed. Hopefully enough time for her to call on
this 'Rose Saber' that Seraphim told her about. Concentrating, Sailor Moon somehow opens the
locket on her chest, (which opens the exact same way it did with the
transformation) and called out, in her heart and mind for the Rose Saber. She then knew exactly what to do.
Extending
her left hand forward in front of her, and the right to the side, she called
out, "Saber Extend!" and a brilliant yellow radiance shown out from the
Crystal. There is a sparkle of power
and magic, and something began to appear in her outstretched hand. As it coalesced, it shown to be a black
sword, roughly the same length as Tuxedo Masks', but the handle was silver and
at the base was the symbol of Earth.
The hilt was actually a yellow crescent moon about a handbreadth wide,
with the middle where the black blade emerged.
At the tip of the blade, was a red ruby jewel, that when you looked at
it, appeared to be a closed rosebud.
As
soon as Sailor Moon held the weapon in her hands, she knew three things about
it. The name/command of the primary
attack, the things it could do, and the things that it couldn't, or rather
shouldn't do. One of the things it
could do was shoot out a series of roses that created an energy field that
nothing harmful could get through it.
One of the things it couldn't do was kill someone.
Valumon
slowly began to get back up, having been hurt slightly by that surprise
attack. It would make sure to enjoy
ripping the blonde upstart of a Sailor Soldier limb from limb. As it slowly got to its feet, rather
unsteadily, it noticed the girl was now holding a weapon of some sort. Having no idea what it was, or what she
would do now, Valumon just stood there watching her curiously.
Sailor
Moon, noticing the creature standing up, decided to waste no more time, and
began the final attack. Raising the
Saber above her head, her right arm still straight out to the side, the
background seemed to fade to shadow, or nighttime vision of the Crystal Palace
of Crystal Tokyo of the future. Then
the tip of the Saber began to glow, brightly.
Laser like beams of light shown all around Sailor Moon as she
concentrated, and began to move as she somehow knew how to.
She
swished the sword straight down, and then back up on the side in a large
arc. Then she began to twirl herself,
now with both hands on the handle. With
her pigtails streaming out around her, we now focus in on the jeweled tip of
the Saber, and see the "rosebud" suddenly "bloom" until it looks like a full
rose flower. In the center, though, is
a bright white light, just sitting there.
Sailor Moon stops twirling, and faces the monster. She then shouts the attack, knowing,
somehow, exactly what to do.
"Sailor
Senshi Rose Magik!" and then brought the Saber down to straight in front of
her, pointed directly at the monster.
The ball of light that was on the tip of the sword suddenly shoots
forward with a swirl of rose petal streams.
In transit, the ball of light slowly reshaped to a larger yellow
crescent moon, with red sparkles coming off of it (which look characteristically
like rose petal streams). The monster
suddenly sees this as trouble and tries to jump away, but cannot stop looking
at the oncoming energy. Then it is as
though three red lightning strikes happen at once (you know how it looks when
Tuxedo Mask throws his roses), and then the moon starts glowing in front of it
until you can no longer see. Then a
flurry of rose petals, and all that is left is the bag that the creature had
been carrying.
Hearing
Molly and Melvin about to come around the corner, Sailor Moon quickly tries to
return to normal Serena. Fortunately,
the transformation "back" was the same as it had always been. So when Molly and Melvin finally caught up with
Serena, they found her in the middle of a vacated war-zone with the bodies still
bleeding, and the smoke still coming from the crater. Melvin quickly raced over to the nearest phone booth and calls
the future equivalent of 911.