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Chikyuu no Senshi
Part Three
A Sailormoon Alternate Reality Story
By Sefilin (aka Lei)
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Mamoru watched as Reika and Motoki fed their lunches to
each other with their fingers, listening to the easy,
affectionate teasing that filled the air between them. He sighed
and looked out over the small lake they were sitting beside.
He didn't know why he was torturing himself by staying when
he was obviously not needed, but he seriously couldn't think of
anything to do.
It was a weekend and there were no classes, all his
assignments and homework had been completed the night before when
he had nothing better to do. And now Mamoru was bored enough to
sit here and watch his best friend and his girlfriend feed each
other. It was enough to make him wish he had a test on Monday he
could study for. He liked the both of them a lot, maybe even
loved them, but when they were together they could be...
sickeningly mushy.
Mamoru hoped he would never ever end up in a situation like
that.
Not that it was likely to happen since he was already in
love with the Princess and yet didn't even know if she existed.
And there was no way he was going to act like that with anyone
else.
"Mamoru-san? Are you okay?"
Turning back to the happy couple, Mamoru allowed a small
smile to appear on his lips before answering, "I'm fine, Reika-
san. Just thinking."
Motoki eyed him for a moment and his eyebrows lifted in
query, "About what? Anything interesting?"
It was about then that Mamoru realised just how well his
friend could read him. There was a compassionate light in the
blonde's eyes that indicated he knew Mamoru was thinking about
his Princess.
"Aa," Mamoru's smile widened as he murmured an affirmative.
Motoki nodded, returning his smile while Reika watched and
tried to read them both.
"What is it?"
Motoki faced his girlfriend again and placed a finger
gently against her lips, "Nothing."
And Reika listened to the underlying message and refrained
from any further comments.
Mamoru went back to staring at nothing and sat listening
with half an ear to Motoki and Reika's conversation when a jolt
ran through him.
Straightening, he scanned the area and saw nothing, but
within his chest a tiny flame was burning uncomfortably. It
tugged on his heart and urged him to move. He shivered and tried
to ignore the summons while analysing the sensation.
A second jolt, more imperative than the first tugged him in
a certain direction and he stood. The tugging increased in
strength and Mamoru turned to face his friends, "I... have to
go."
He looked at Motoki and saw he understood. Another faint
smile touched his lips, "Ja," and he walked away, heading
_somewhere_.
After a few minutes, in which he managed to refrain from
running, the summons stopped. Confused and disoriented, Mamoru
stopped cold and didn't feel it when the girl who had been
walking behind him crashed into his back.
Purple eyes glared at him, ready to start complaining, when
she caught a glance of his face, with it's brow furrowed and eyes
dazed. The brunette tossed her long black hair back over her
shoulder and stared at him unabashedly as she moved past him.
==========
Rei turned away from the ebony-haired young man she'd just
crashed into and continued on her way to Minako's house where a
Senshi meeting had been called.
She had to admit the guy was cute, but it was the look in
his eyes that had caught her attention. He'd looked so lost.
For a second she'd thought he'd been high, but that look was not
drug-induced.
Pushing her unruly hair behind her ears, Rei continued
walking, her thoughts still on the man she'd just passed. She
hated men, thanks to her father, but something about him struck
her as special. It was similar to the vibes she got from the
Sailor Senshi, a combination of Power and Alien that was
unmistakable.
And, together with that expression, it had swallowed the
hate and replaced it with curiosity. She wondered who and what
he was. Was he involved in all of _this_?
The thought of her, their, situation bought her back to the
thoughts that had been running through her mind for any number of
months.
The Princess.
Why did Venus continue to insist they needed her when they
were doing fine by themselves? They were defending Tokyo and the
world, with a little help from the Outers and the StarLights
maybe, but they were doing it.
What was so special about this one person, who was going to
be as fallible as they were, that they were to give up their
lives to search for her?
Rei didn't know.
Maybe if their memories of their past lives were intact
she'd understand, but they weren't. None of them had memories
that were anywhere near complete, not even Artemis who knew more
than the rest of them. Granted, it came in fits and starts but
it was still more than she had.
Rei hated being in any situation where she was not in
control and this was beginning to feel like one.
The miko sighed, telling herself that lying wasn't going to
get her anywhere.
She hadn't been in control of anything for a long time and
that was unlikely to change in the near future with the way
things were going.
Rei opened the gate that led to Minako's house and knocked
on the door, allowing her thoughts to rest while she waited for
someone to answer.
She followed Minako up to the blonde's room and greeted Ami
and Makoto quietly before settling against the desk that was
crowded with cute figures and toys the way the rest of Minako's
room was.
"So, what was it you wanted to discuss?" she asked, not
overly thrilled to be there.
Surprisingly, it was Makoto that answered, "There's a new
Senshi fighting against the daimons and Farce's."
Rei resisted the urge to sigh, "Like that's unusual?
Senshi have been turning up periodically since we became them
ourselves."
"Maybe," Makoto glared at her, "But this one's different.
She's... nice. None of the rest of us get along, but she
introduced herself, smiled and... and said she was pleased to
meet us." Then Makoto went red, realising how stupid that
sounded.
Rei snorted, "Which probably means she wants to get you to
like her so it's easier for her to get rid of us."
Makoto looked hurt and Rei almost wished she could take the
statement back.
Despite the fact that she came across as cold, mean and
uncaring, she had no desire to hurt her... comrades. If she was
totally honest with herself, she could even admit she liked them
and occasionally thought of them as friends. But now it was
habit to show this face to the world and it would take more
strength than she had to break through the conditioning.
"No... I don't think she's like that, Rei. I think, I
think maybe she's what the Princess is like."
The Princess. Why did everything always have to come back
to _Her_?
Rei snorted again and tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear, "The Princess."
The other three Inner Senshi waited for her continue, all
of them aware of her views and even sharing them to some degree.
But she didn't and the silence became uneasy, as any silence
between the four of them always did.
So they attempted to talk about inconsequential things like
the weather and when that didn't work they tried discussing
possible tactics. Then Rei finally got tired of it all and, with
an abrupt goodbye, left, her mind still travelling in the same
circles.
==========
Haruka and Michiru wandered out of the concert hall, where
Michiru had just finished practising for her concert that
evening, and headed for somewhere to relax.
They arrived at the Crown Fruit Parlour and found
themselves a booth set in an out-of-the-way corner and took seats
across from one another.
They were joined shortly after by a waitress who smiled at
them and asked for their order.
Haruka raised an eyebrow, "You're new here?"
The blonde nodded, "Yeah. I've been here about a week."
"Ah. Well can we have some green tea, please."
"Sure, I'll be back, with it, in a moment."
The two Outer Senshi looked at each other and smiled at the
enthusiasm and zest the waitress had. They were agreed, she was
cute.
But neither of them were there to check out the waitresses
so they turned their eyes to each other and got down to the
serious business of discussing the new turn in events.
"So there's a new Senshi," Haruka stated, beginning the
conversation.
"Not to mention that guy who also claims to be one," both
girls were still rather upset that he had claimed the title of
Senshi of Earth, even if he had refuted to be a Sailor that time
they'd managed to delay him enough to ask. There were _no_ male
Senshi. They were certain of that. The very idea was enough to
make both of them snarl, much as they had the first time they'd
met him as Senshi Earth.
"Yes," Haruka hissed. "But this Sailor Moon, there's
something different about her. Even beyond that _man_, there is
something not quite right about her. I get the feeling there's
much more to her than we've seen."
Michiru nodded in agreement, "Even if she acts like a new
Senshi, that... light she has..."
"It will blind us if we are not careful. She has already
captured the StarLights, especially StarFighter. She is
infatuated with Sailor Moon. They have even begun to work
together!"
The green-haired girl blinked blue eyes, "She _is_ nice
enough to win them all, isn't she?" A small smile graced her
lips as she thought of the Moon Senshi, a smile Haruka didn't
like.
"Be careful, Michiru, we don't know what her motivation is
or who she's working for."
Michiru nodded, "Yes. But if she's working with the
StarLights..."
She broke off as the blonde waitress swept up to their
table and deposited a steaming teapot and two cups there, "Here
you are. I hope you enjoy it."
"Usagi-chan!"
Before the blonde had a chance to turn a tiny black-haired
girl was at her side, smiling up at the blonde.
"Hello, Hotaru-chan."
The two girls walked off, chatting together and the two
left behind went back to their conversation.
"Cute."
"Yes."
"There's still no sign of the Talisman's."
Haruka nodded, pouring tea for the two of them, "And we're
the only one's looking for them now."
"Which has made things worse with the Inners," Michiru
sighed, remembering the fights that had taken place since the two
Outers had, themselves, begun retrieving heart crystals from the
citizens of Tokyo. Before that there had only been brief, half-
hearted skirmishes.
Not that Michiru could blame them, it was something she
didn't like doing, but they had to have the Talismans before the
Silence. There was no way to stand against it otherwise.
"At least the StarLights are too busy looking for the
Princess to annoy us," Haruka laughed shortly. "They'd be a lot
harder to deal with."
"They _are_ stronger than the Inners, aren't they?" the
green-haired girl murmured into her teacup, steam wreathing
around her face.
"They're also from outside of the Silver Millennium. We're
meant to guard against them as much as against the Silence."
Michiru sighed, "Yes. But we haven't been guarding against
anything but that. The disadvantages of our incomplete memories.
We learn more of our past everyday and still it isn't fast
enough."
"There is so much we need to know, so much we should know.
Something is missing beyond the Princess. I think, feel, that
there were more of us, more of the Outer Senshi."
"Saturn and Pluto. Yes. Darkness and Vision."
Haruka laughed again, her voice still harsh, "As we are
Strength and Elegance? I do not understand this, Mi-chan. And I
hate that I don't, that I _can't_ understand." The handsome
blonde's voice broke and she bowed her head over her teacup.
Michiru reached across the table and laid her hand atop her
lover's, "And yet we must endure." She smiled gently, sadly,
"Things can only get better, koi, hold onto that."
The couple sat in silence until they finished their tea
and, after paying, made their way back to the concert hall,
hearts heavy with duty and hopelessness.
==========
Galaxia dropped into her throne with a sigh and tipped
back, rubbing the bridge of her nose to ward off the headache
that threatened to make the day even worse.
It had started out with Iron Crow failing in her task to
find a star crystal, thanks to Sailors Mars and Mercury. From
there Eudial had also failed, this time at the hands of Uranus
and Neptune. Then Professor Tomoe had destroyed his lab, having
briefly lost his control on top of his sanity. After so many
years of working towards a great goal, he was getting frustrated
with their lack of successes.
Every daimon and Sailor daimon he had created had been
taken apart by the local Sailor Senshi and now Galaxia was
killing off members of the Witches 5 for the same reasons she'd
killed off most of the Sailor Anima-mates. They had failed.
So beyond his own failure to construct something strong
enough to survive a fight with the Senshi, he had the fear of
moving beyond Sailor Galaxia's tolerance levels.
Galaxia had, in fact, considered dismembering him, or
something equally fun a number of times. The only thing that had
stopped her was the potential she had seen in the experiment that
was his daughter. It was the single thing that was going right
on this miserable little planet, apart from the shoes, and it
wasn't even part of the original plan.
Little Hotaru was coming along quite nicely and it wouldn't
be long before she reached the point of evolution.
No one else knew that Hotaru was, herself, a Sailor Senshi
except for Galaxia. The potential they had recognised in her was
merely an abstract, something that had happened by accident.
Perhaps as a result of her mother's death.
The golden woman snorted, polishing the smokey crystal that
made up her throne. A puff of breath then around in circles with
the cloth she always kept available. There was nothing else to
do in this barren plane of existence.
The evolution that would transform an extraordinarily
strong Sailor Senshi into something more was something Galaxia
was looking forward to. She'd only ever heard of two other
Senshi achieving the last stage of Power growth and one of them
had died from drawing too much energy the day after.
And then there was herself, currently the only Senshi in
existence to have reached her full potential.
So this tiny, dark Senshi could possibly be her equal.
And that... that would be most interesting.
==========
Usagi, Hotaru and Makoto were on a picnic at the blonde
girl's suggestion. She'd claimed it was too nice a day to spend
inside and had infected Makoto with enthusiasm before going off
to call on her small friend.
Usagi had been surprised when Kaori, Hotaru's father's
assistant had told her Hotaru wasn't in and even if she was
didn't want to see anyone. She was well aware that her friend
had no others and that she always jumped at the chance to spend
time with Usagi.
Fortunately, Hotaru had been gazing out her window when she
had walked up to the mansion and the little girl came down to
meet her. She'd happily accepted, in spite of Kaori's obvious
disapproval, and the two girls had picked Makoto and her cooking
up from their apartment to take with them.
Usagi was glad that Hotaru and Makoto, both who had quickly
become her closest friends, got along. Makoto had taken one look
at the thin, sickly girl and decided to fatten her up.
Now, whenever Usagi had planned to spend time with Hotaru,
Makoto insisted on her taking along a small gift of food for the
younger girl.
The three girls were relaxing in the autumn sunshine,
enjoying each others company and talking about very little of
importance. Nothing had arrived to distract any of them from
their laziness and each were hoping the day would draw to a quiet
close, spent in the company of good friends.
It surprised none of them when the distraction did come.
But it did surprise them that the distraction wasn't a
daimon or Sailor Farce, but Hotaru.
In the middle of eating a rice ball, the brunette had,
without warning, fallen onto her side and lay, unmoving while
Usagi and Makoto tried to figure out what had happened and what
to do about it.
They fairly quickly decided on the hospital and quickly and
neatly packed away the remains of their meal before taking a taxi
to the closest hospital.
They waited anxiously for word of Hotaru after she'd been
taken away by doctor's, though when it did come they weren't sure
what to make of it. They had found nothing wrong with the little
girl. Even sunstroke and dehydration had been ruled out.
The doctor's didn't seem very worried about it, especially
since the fainting spells had never been witnessed by Usagi or
Makoto before. They handed Hotaru, conscious again, back to them
and told them to make contact if it happened again.
So they walked out into the dusk and began to walk Hotaru
home.
"Are you okay, Hotaru-chan?" Usagi asked, her blue eyes
worried and watching for any sign of a repeat performance.
"Hai," came the quiet reply.
"Are you sure? Cause if you're not, I don't mind giving
you a piggy-back ride."
The younger girl grinned at that and nodded, "I'm fine,
Mako-chan. I'm sorry for spoiling the picnic."
The two older girls bent severe gazes on Hotaru, who
flinched away from them.
"You didn't spoil the picnic. And we're just glad you're
okay."
Makoto nodded in agreement and the trio gave each other
smiles and went back to peacefully enjoying each other's
company.
==========
Hotaru hadn't been entirely truthful when she'd told the
doctor's she didn't know what was wrong with her. She did, she
just didn't like saying because she knew her father wouldn't want
her to tell. And she knew the doctors would disagree with what
her father was doing.
But Hotaru trusted him when he told her he was trying to
make sure she was never sick again. He'd never lied to her
before and even if she felt worse as the treatments continued,
she was sure that in the end everything would work out exactly
like her father said.
The only thing she regretted was that Usagi and Makoto had
been there when she'd collapsed this time. The two girls were
the only people who didn't think she was a freak, even though
they knew she could heal small wounds.
Hotaru smiled in confusion and affection as she recalled
how Usagi had reacted when she has healed the older girl's cut at
their first meeting. No one had ever thought it was neat before,
except her father.
She was so glad she'd met Usagi. The blonde was enough to
make up for all the friends she'd never had. And when she'd
bought Makoto along for the ride, Hotaru had trouble deciding
what to do with her.
She waved goodbye to her friends from the front door of her
mansion and watched until they were out of sight, before
entering.
She found Kaori waiting for her.
"Where have you been?" the redhead hissed.
"I-I went on a picnic with Usagi."
"The Professor has been looking for you, you're late for
your medicine. Go quickly."
Hotaru hurried off to the room that had been set aside for
her treatments, not wanting to keep her father waiting.
She climbed up onto the padded table and lay down at the
Professor's instruction and calmed her breathing as she had been
taught. She let her thoughts wander and relaxed as much as she
could.
Then her father was standing over her with a loving smile.
He brushed her hair gently back and softly kissed her forehead.
"We're almost done, Hotaru-chan, and you'll be better. It
won't be long now."
Hotaru smiled and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the
uncomfortable sensation of cold metal against her temples and
brainstem until it was warmed by her body heat. It seemed to
take longer now to reach body heat than when they'd first begun
the treatments, but the small girl tolerated it. It made her
father happy and when it was finished, she'd never be sick again.
==========
Galaxia stood in the shadows of the treatment room,
unnoticed by it's two occupants. According to her calculations
this should be the final treatment before the evolution of young
Hotaru.
Professor Tomoe moved across the room until he was standing
in front of a desk that held a computer, the screen going a long
way towards creating the correct atmosphere for a mad scientist's
experimentation's. Galaxia had to smile at the association,
knowing she watched too much television.
With a flick of his finger, Tomoe began the process,
indications of brain and spirit activity splashing the computer
screen with colour.
Next to the door, Kaori flicked the lights off, the better
to see the readouts and any visible spiritual energy from the
tiny ebony-haired girl on the table. It was all so wonderfully
atmospheric, Galaxia thought again.
It was interesting that this project was the only one Tomoe
had not given up when she'd arrived. And it had more to do with
the Sailor Senshi than anything else he'd been involved in.
For all his wanting to resurrect Pharaoh Ninety, the
Professor had become mighty quiescent to her wishes. That was,
in part, why she'd made a point of keeping an eye on both Kaori
and Tomoe.
A precaution that looked like it was going to pay off.
This Senshi was going to be an impressive addition to her
collection and an interesting challenge to make so.
Galaxia watched the slow build-up of spiritual energy as
indicated by the growing purple aura surrounding young Hotaru.
For an hour she measured the energy levels, both through her own
senses and the computer monitors and they showed no evidence of
slowing down.
Then there was a brief flash of brighter light as the
clothes Hotaru was wearing transformed and Sailor Saturn lay on
the metal table. The crystals set on the ribbon at her throat
and the bow on her chest glittered, pulsing with the tiny flares
that began to move throughout the aura she was generating.
Then something else started reacting to the power build-up,
something both within Galaxia and without. Something linked to
her could feel what was happening, using her mind and body to
find out what it was.
Galaxia tugged at the link that joined her and this other
thing and felt a jolt of familiarity. It had the feel of
something she had been missing for almost longer than she could
remember.
Then it came to her.
The Star of Hope.
Her soul, no, Sailor Galaxia's soul, from before she had
become Queen Galaxia.
Sienna eyes narrowing, the woman who was more than a
Senshi, sent a tiny probe of power along the almost non-existent
link that remained between her and the Star. She had a flash of
bright red-pink hair and blue eyes set in a child's face before a
flash of panic caused the far-seeing to break.
Coming back to herself, Galaxia stared unseeingly at the
now bright aura surrounding Sailor Saturn.
The Star of Hope, that... yes, that was what she had come
here to find, beyond the urge to conquer and destroy the
StarLights. The Star held the only StarSeed that truly mattered,
and Galaxia wanted it. Such a thing as Hope could be damaging to
her plans; if someone was to ally themselves with it, someone
like Saturn, then there was the possibility that the perseverance
that would result could lead to her downfall. Unlikely, but the
possibility was there.
Especially since, over and above engendering hope in
others, the Star had a measure of Power that would also aid it's
bearer.
Taking a brief glance at what was happening with Saturn,
Galaxia sent a mental message to each of her subordinates to
obtain the Star of Hope that was currently masquerading as a
girl-child.
Then, her mind set at rest, she watched the build-up again.
It was another hour before the slight twisting of the
universe around the girl indicated something was happening. She
watched for Tomoe and Kaori's reactions and huffed disgustedly
when none was detected. They couldn't feel it, as disconnected
from the universe as most people were.
Expecting Saturn to wake with the realisation of her new
status, Galaxia frowned when she remained unmoving and Tomoe
began to fiddle with the computer.
The universe _lurched_ and where once had been a tiny woman
in a Sailor fuku, now lay a woman fully as tall as Galaxia
herself with ebony hair that pooled on the floor around the
table.
The frown still in place, Galaxia also took in the tight,
low-cut bodice the other woman wore, the dark blue decorated only
by a few silver beads. The flowing skirt rippled lightly in the
wake of the change, revealing slender ankles. Her aura had also
darkened, though it's strength remained as it had been.
Indigo eyes opened without warning and the woman sat up,
moving gracefully, her hair lifting partly off the floor and
falling gently against her back. She glanced dismissively at
Tomoe and Kaori and turned her attention to the corner where
Galaxia was still standing. An elegant brow rose and lips
quirked as those eyes found hers unerringly in the dark.
And Galaxia found herself wondering if it had been a bad
idea to let things go this far.
==========
Motoki leaned casually against the video game Mamoru was
playing, talking to his best friend in a quiet voice. Neither of
them wanted to be overheard and the noise of the video parlour
effectively cloaked their conversation.
"So, have you found out what it is yet?"
Mamoru blew away a few of the lizard-like creatures that
moved to attack his character and glanced shortly up at the
blonde, "No. It always stops before I get to wherever it calls
me."
"Any ideas about what it could be?"
"I suppose it could be one of the Sailor Senshi or some
sort of object. The golden crystal would have that effect on me
if I didn't already have it."
Motoki nodded slowly, "The Princess?"
Mamoru's head dropped forwards and he sighed, "I... I don't
know. It could be, I want it to be, but I..."
"You don't want to be disappointed if it isn't," it was a
statement and Mamoru smiled.
Motoki knew him too well.
"I guess. I've been looking for her for so long, I don't
know what to do if I find her."
Motoki grinned, "May I suggest walking up to her and giving
her a kiss? You're so far gone on her it's what you'll most want
to do, so why not get it over and done with?"
Almost failing to survive the next wave of monsters due to
his friend's suggestion, Mamoru was silent for a few moments
while he got the game back under control. Then he glared at the
blonde, who laughed.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
"No, but it's a good idea all the same."
No answer.
"At least think about it."
"Motoki, you spend too much time reading Reika's shoujo
manga."
Flushing, Motoki took a half-hearted swipe at Mamoru.
Blue eyes widened and Mamoru gaped at his friend, "You
mean...?" and he started laughing, whole-heartedly as Motoki
hadn't heard for a long time.
The blonde blushed harder and decided to go and actually do
some work.
He walked through the doorway into the Crown Fruit Parlour,
almost crashing into another blonde who was coming the other way.
"Hey, Usagi-chan. You finished for the day?"
Usagi smiled at her colleague and nodded, "Yep. Now I've
just got all my homework to do."
"Well, good luck."
"Thanks."
The two continued on their way, Motoki to work and Usagi to
home.
Mamoru almost decided to see what the new waitress that
Motoki had told him about looked like, but he was so close to
finishing the level, he left it for another day.
He managed to finish both that level and the next before
the tingling that presaged the summons passed through his body.
It was something he was getting used to after weeks of having it
jump on him from nowhere and he was determined to find out why it
happened sometime soon.
Tonight would be good.
So he left the arcade, leaving his character to die and,
once he reached the street, began running in the direction he was
being called.
After a certain distance he began to hear the sounds that
denoted a battle of the magical girl sort.
He spun into a nearby shadowed nook between buildings and
called up his identity as Senshi Earth. The darkness of armour
and cloak folded about him and he was off, running faster than
when he had been just Mamoru. He placed a hand on the hilt of
his sword to stop it from getting tangled up in his legs and
smiled at the sensation of his cloak flying out behind him.
This outfit was more darkly dramatic than the tuxedo and
wasn't quite so stupid looking. It also made him more powerful.
The only thing it didn't have was a decent-sounding name to go
with it, although 'Senshi Earth' _was_ a little better than
'Tuxedo Kamen'.
He knew, he just _knew_ it had been a female who'd made up
those names.
And then he was on the scene, watching mana-energy flying
across the street in front of his face. Stopping on the edges of
the fight, he took note of the players in this game and what each
of their actions were.
It was rather a large group, consisting of six Sailor
Senshi, the Witches 5 twins, three of the new-style Sailor
Farces, a single Sailor Anima-mate, a daimon and a tiny cherry-
haired girl smiling happily at the chaos.
Blinking, Senshi Earth noted that all the action was
centred around the girl. The Sailor Senshi were trying to stop
the Witches and Anima-mates from getting to the girl whilst
avoiding the attacks of the Sailor Daimons.
So, he mused, if the bad guys want the girl...
Grinning in elation at having something dangerous to do,
Earth took off, running between the few bodies between him and
the girl. He swept her up and jumped as far and as high as he
could, landing on the roof of a building on the other side of the
street from where he'd been.
Behind him there were sounds of frustration and anger, then
the sounds of pursuit.
He was so involved in his flight that he didn't notice the
summons had died to a tiny ache in the vicinity of his heart.
And he didn't notice the wide, surprised look the newest Sailor
Senshi sent his way or the slight smile that appeared on her lips
shortly afterwards.
==========
"Chibi chibi."
The words floated back to where Sailor Venus was running
after the tall dark-haired man and the tiny cherry-headed girl.
She almost smiled, having heard that phrase many times in the
past few weeks while Chibi-chibi, the girl, had been staying with
her and her family.
Then she frowned, wondering what the Sailor Anima-mates
wanted with her little sister. Chibi-chibi was harmless, so
innocent and adorable, how could anyone want to harm her?
And what did Senshi Earth want with her that he would take
her like that?
Still, she supposed - hoped - that it was preferable to her
being taken by the Anima-mates.
Unfortunately it looked like they might end up with Chibi-
chibi instead.
Sailor Tin Nyanko, with her pointy cat ears and annoying
bells, was catching up to the fleeing Earth and his small burden.
Somehow, despite Earth's speed, she was managing to keep up and
gain on the man.
Venus put on a burst of speed, thanking her athletic
training, and headed out in front of the others where she was
joined shortly afterwards by Mars and StarFighter.
The three of them managed to be there when Tin Nyanko made
an attack. Venus managed to knock the black-clad Sailor Senshi
out of the way, her attack missing the target. She then took a
ready stance between Tin Nyanko and Earth, her hand held ready
for attack.
Mars joined her, abandoning her indifference in the wake of
danger to a child.
By the time any further action could be taken, everyone
else had arrived. StarFighter broke off from Mars and Venus to
join her fellow StarLights going up against Witch and Witch.
Sailor Moon joined Earth, smiling at the little girl in his arms.
Venus turned her attention back to Tin Nyanko just in time
to dodge the next attack. Mars retaliated and the fight was
joined in earnest.
"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"
A string of golden hearts twined as well as they could
around the Cat Senshi and Venus pulled the chain tight as Mars
powered up an attack to use against the Senshi.
Neither of them expected her to be strong enough to yank
Venus towards her, sending the blonde flying through the air.
Venus dropped the Love-Me Chain and twisted, reorienting
herself to the ground. A wall of flame, released a split-second
before, roared through the empty space where Tin Nyanko had been
and brushed past Venus.
Blinking at the near miss, the blonde took a quick look
around the area, making sure to note where everyone was.
Mars came up beside her, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Didn't even get singed."
Mars smiled in relief, her gaze still focussed on the
Sailor Anima-mate, looking for any movement that would indicate
action on her part.
Venus noted the smile and returned it, knowing Mars would
see it out of the corner of her eye.
Then Tin Nyanko was in front of them, sending two bolts of
golden light spinning towards them, deciding to kill two birds
with one shot by stealing their StarSeeds to get them out of the
fight.
Having the experience they did with the Sailor Anima-mates
and their methods, the two Senshi leaped out of the way. Once
when they came rushing straight for them and again when the two
spheres arced behind them and came flying back.
==========
Elsewhere, Sailor StarFighter stepped back from his own
fight with Cyprine and Ptitol, wiping a hand across her brow and
taking a few deep breaths. She watched as StarHealer and
StarMaker led the two on a dance of pairs, working together as
effectively as the twins.
Then, curious, he looked around at everything else that was
going on. Venus and Mars had just managed to avoid an attack by
Sailor Tin Nyanko and were currently in the process of
retaliating. And beyond them Sailor Moon had joined Senshi Earth
and the two were easily taking on the remaining Sailor daimons
and daimons.
They were also doing a good job of protecting Chibi-chibi
in between keeping her out of trouble and throwing intense looks
at each other.
StarFighter frowned as she noted this and wondered what was
going on with the two of them.
He was distracted by the arrival of Mercury, Neptune and
Uranus joining in. She smiled, it was the first time they'd ever
worked together, he wondered why everyone had decided to fight.
But their arrival definitely made a difference to the tide
of the fight. Mercury joined her two fellow Inners, freezing Tin
Nyanko to the street and joining Mars and Venus in an attack that
destroyed the cat-like Senshi.
Neptune and Uranus distracted Cyprine and Ptitol with their
attack and left an opening for the three StarLights to get in a
good enough shot to send the two through one of the buildings
lining the street. Then Uranus and Neptune sent a second attack
flying at the two, separating the two of them.
Following that, the two seemed disoriented and the final
moment, when it came, was ended with an anguished glance between
the two twins.
StarFighter flung his long ponytail behind him and turned
to the only fight remaining in time to see Senshi Earth run the
last daimon through while Sailor Moon cradled Chibi-chibi in her
arms.
StarFighter smiled and gathering her sisters walked towards
the Senshi who had become a friend in the short time they'd known
one another.
Everyone else did the same.
"So why were they after Chibi-chibi?" Mars asked.
Venus shrugged, "I don't get it. She's harmless." The
blonde smiled at the little girl and reached out to take her from
Sailor Moon who handed her over with reluctance.
Chibi-chibi glanced between the two Senshi in indecision
before settling in Venus' arms and cooing quietly.
"Chibi-chibi."
No one was quite sure exactly what happened next. One
moment they were all standing around Sailor Moon and the next
they were scattered across the road, sprawled where they had
landed after being flung outwards by... something.
She pushed herself up from where she had fallen and looked
around, noting the crater that now occupied the place they had
been standing. She ran her eyes around the area and found
StarHealer and StarMaker, her silver-haired sister stirring. She
headed for StarMaker and dropped into a crouch next to her,
checking for any signs of life.
A pair of high-heeled golden sandals that wrapped around
shapely thighs drew to a halt across from her and she looked up
into familiar sienna eyes.
Falling back onto her hands, StarFighter gasped, "Galaxia!"
She jumped to her feet and tried to find somewhere she could
stand that was far enough from the other woman yet close enough
so she could protect StarMaker.
Then she had nothing more to worry about as a golden beam
of Galaxia's power pierced StarMaker's heart, leaving her dead
and StarFighter stunned.
Then she was caught by the eyes of the woman who had killed
her Princess and then there was nothing.
==========
Senshi Earth pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced
around, taking in the forms of various Senshi lying in various
uncomfortable positions throughout the immediate area. Then he
winced, lifting a hand to his forehead and feeling a sticky
wetness that indicated injury.
Sure enough, when he bought his hand back down to eye
level, it was smeared with fresh blood.
Then an echo of pain that didn't belong to him flashed
through his nerve endings and his gaze fell on Sailor Moon. The
blonde Senshi was lying, curled protectively around Chibi-chibi,
blood oozing from a wound on her arm and gathering beneath her
leg.
An ache tugged at his heart and he stumbled to his feet,
heading in her direction. He placed his hand on her shoulder
and gasped as a wave of warmth washed through him, replacing
weariness with strength.
The blonde head rose and bright blue eyes caught his and
smiled, "Hi," she whispered.
"Hi," he replied just as quietly, captivated. The summons
that had been pulling at him since earlier died, leaving him
alone with a beautiful blonde who had the bluest eyes he'd ever
seen.
Sailor Moon twisted herself into a sitting position,
setting Chibi-chibi in her lap and brushing a few strands back
from the child's face. Senshi Earth's hand fell away from her
shoulder as he sat back, relaxing into the encounter.
"What happened?"
Earth blinked and shook his head, "I don't know.
Something..."
He remembered the positions he'd seen the other Senshi in
and looked around in time to see Galaxia spear Jupiter and
Mercury with beams of golden light, leaving the two lying there
before turning her attention to the two Outer Senshi.
"Ah, there you are, Galaxia," a dark, velvet voice sounded
from behind him and a woman whose black hair swept the ground
behind her stepped towards the golden woman.
"Do you realise that you have destroyed all my plans? It
will be years until I manage to gather enough power to call
Pharaoh Ninety and all because _you_ had to borrow _my_ people
for your own ends," the voice continued casually as she walked
steadily towards Galaxia. "I believe I am rather annoyed."
Galaxia watched the dark woman draw closer and shrugged,
"It's not my problem your people were too incompetent to finish
things before I arrived. You, Mistress Nine, should have planned
things better."
Dark purple eyes flashed, "My plans were perfect until you
came along. You are not supposed to be here." Without warning,
her hair writhed and silken black strands waved across the
ground, encircling the golden Senshi who began to glow.
The hair dropped away then reformed into a cocoon that
surrounded Galaxia, rays of the golden light seeping from between
the strands. Then it exploded and Galaxia was free to retaliate.
Over the next few minutes, Earth was witness to the
exchange of more energy than he had ever seen in use before. The
nearby buildings were the first things to go and he and the other
Senshi decided on moving out of the way of the stray beams of
light, fronds of dark hair and other miscellaneous bursts of
energy.
But there was a need to monitor what was going on, so they
stayed within view, watching the fight from various positions
around the area. He and Sailor Moon had remained together and
took turns protecting one another from falling concrete and
cascades of glittering glass that fell from the buildings.
Then a gas main blew up, sending flames into the darkness
of the night sky and billows of thick smoke obscured the scene
behind it, heat waves distorting everything further. And in the
hellish light of the fire Mistress Nine and Galaxia continued to
fight.
Senshi Earth dived out from behind the rubble he and Sailor
Moon had been hiding in as ice encrusted the ground in a trail
that led straight to them. A blast of icy-cold air hit him and
he shivered, continuing to move as the iced over area expanded,
stopping only when it began to compete with the flames of the
still-burning gas main.
"No..." Sailor Moon whispered from ahead of him. He
followed the direction of her stricken gaze to where a young
woman and child were lying, half-lying underneath a sizeable slab
of concrete. A fraction of a steel beam could be seen extending
from it, the ends melted and still glowing orange where it had
been sheared out of a building. Fragments of glass were
scattered across the ground around the two people and embedded in
their flesh, glistening with fresh red blood.
Earth froze as he looked at them, both quite obviously
dead. Then he remembered StarMaker, StarHealer, Mercury and
Jupiter and everything caught up with him all at once.
Things weren't meant to happen like this. What was the
point of having special powers if you couldn't save innocent
people like these?
He watched as Sailor Moon knelt next to the woman, brushing
stray bits of glass out of her hair and smoothing it back from
her face. She straightened the woman's clothes as much as she
could and then turned her attention to the child.
Chibi-chibi brushed tiny palms across the woman's face and
together she and Sailor Moon grieved.
Crystal tears that ran down Sailor Moon's face splashed
onto the child's and suddenly Earth had had enough. They
couldn't be the only two innocents to have been caught like this,
not with the amount of destruction that had been circling
Mistress Nine and Galaxia.
As if reading his thoughts one of Galaxia's energy blasts
shot towards them, brushing close to Sailor Moon and Chibi-chibi
where they knelt and Earth turned to face the two women. His
vision blurred red and his fists clenched as he closed his eyes
to the spectacle of gold and black battling each other. He
reached for the void he had known in his dream and jumped into
it, knowing that he could stop this, that Earth would give him
the power to do so.
~Flash~
//Falling...//
~Flash~
And the Power was there, filling him and blazing through
the crystal embedded in the blade of his sword. In agony and
ecstasy at the shear volume and weight of Power, Earth threw his
head back, his face drawn tight in lines that displayed exactly
what he was experiencing.
A blaze of light shot from the ground beneath his feet,
running up his body until it left him, being thrown into the air
where it disappeared into the haze of atmosphere.
When he had grown as accustomed to the pleasure-pain as he
ever would, he bent his head towards the two women who had
stopped their fight and were watching him warily.
With a graceful sweep of his arm he drew the blade that
held the golden crystal and raised it towards Mistress Nine and
Galaxia.
"tHIS iS _mY_ pLANET. lEAVE oR dIE."
The two woman continued to watch him, neither making a move
as Senshi Earth stepped towards them, slowly and deliberately. A
presence came up next to him and, out of the corner of his eyes,
he saw Sailor Moon, still holding Chibi-chibi, marching with him.
Her blue eyes were determined and Earth felt a curious sense of
deja vu as he refocussed on the other two women.
"lEAVE oR dIE," he repeated and his voice was still
resonant with Power and the weight of the Earth's authority,
granted to him.
When the pair of combatants once more remained still, Earth
moved. Swiftly and in silence, his sword extending in a whip of
energy that moved with a speed beyond what anyone could hope to
avoid. Mistress Nine cried out in pain as the whip ripped
through the defence of her hair and touched her lightly on the
arm. Yet just the single tap was enough for her to be thrown
back and back until she had broken through a wall, then two and
three.
Galaxia, also, was caught as Earth closed in, the energy-
whip still moving. It cut through her arms, leaving red stains
running in tiny rivers down her hands and dripping to the ground
where she stood.
Her eyes widened, stunned, as she glanced at her arm,
noticing the damage done to her and then she glanced at Earth
furiously. Sienna eyes blazed red and when Earth was close
enough for him to use the blade-proper of his sword, Galaxia was
ready for it.
Catching the blade in a single hand she hissed at the pain
of burning flesh and allowed her power to blaze through her
bracelets, and through the sword. Earth held on, still gathering
energy from beneath his feet and from the golden crystal and
pumping it through the blade that connected him and Galaxia.
Galaxia returned the favour and soon an inferno of
incandescent light raged in the centre of the destruction as each
sought to burn the other out.
Then it was over and Earth fell, his hand dropping from the
hilt and tipping backwards all life and colour draining from his
eyes.
The Power of Earth could not compete with the Power of
Galaxies.
==========
Brushing the tears off her cheeks, Sailor Moon lifted her
head and looked around, her eyes searching out the broken people
she had missed while she was running and dodging.
...A hand stretched out from beneath rubble, a man lay in
the middle of the road, his chest gaping open, a child hung, half
embedded in a wall, head dangling limply...
Everywhere she looked there were more people. Over there,
StarFighter and StarMaker lay and a little beyond them, Jupiter
and Mercury. A flash of familiar red and she saw Mars' eyes
staring unseeing into the smoky night sky. Uranus was bent over
the still body of her partner and Venus and StarHealer were
standing, watching the two combatants for a chance at revenge.
Fresh tears welled in her eyes at the devastation that
surrounded her.
This... this wasn't right.
Standing, she noticed that Earth had turned his attention to
Galaxia and Mistress Nine and took a step towards him.
"Chibi-chibi!"
Sailor Moon looked at the girl she had been looking after
for so long and at the strangely adult light in her eyes as she
held out her tiny arms, demanding to be picked up. Hesitating,
Sailor Moon swiftly bent and picked her up, swinging Chibi-chibi
onto her hip and swinging back around just in time to see Earth
explode with power.
The incandescent golden-white light shot in a column to the
heavens and Earth advanced.
Sailor Moon moved in beside him, ready to back him up in
any way necessary. They couldn't let these two women take this
planet that was their home.
She glanced at Earth out of the corner of her eye and
couldn't help but smile. There was something so right about
standing beside this man supporting his actions and ready to
fight with him. It was a familiar feeling and it was with
satisfaction and pride that she watched as Mistress Nine was
thrown backwards.
As Earth turned to deal with Galaxia, Sailor Moon decided
she'd keep Mistress Nine occupied. She and Earth were a team and
each had their part to play.
A tiny smirk played on her lips as she watched Mistress
Nine rise from where she had been thrown and make her way back
through the walls that had slowed and finally stopped her flight.
A thin line of red ran from her lips to her chin and her dark
eyes blazed with anger that was focussed on Earth.
The dark woman pushed tangled strands of hair out of her
face and drew herself to her full height, extending her hand
towards Senshi Earth where he stood, locked in a struggle with
Galaxia.
Sailor Moon stepped between them, throwing her head back,
the smile still in place, "Two against one isn't exactly fair,
you know."
Mistress Nine paused then matched Sailor Moon's smile with
one of her own, "No, I guess not. One against one on the other
hand..."
Sailor Moon dodged the first half-expected strike, feeling
the rush of air past her face as sharp black strands attempted to
decapitate her. Then her hand flashed up and caught the mass of
hair, wincing as it dug into her palms, but holding on. Wrapping
it more firmly around her fist, Sailor Moon let loose a burst of
energy that flashed along the strands and reached the other
woman.
White-silver lightening arced across her body as Mistress
Nine's body tensed in pain. She hissed and let the hair fall,
detaching it from the rest of the mass where it became normal
hair.
Thankful for all the training she'd done, with and without
Luna, Sailor Moon dropped the hair and leapt forwards, snatching
the tiara from her forehead and snapping it out into a whip, much
like the one that had extended from Earth's sword earlier.
Using it to parry Mistress Nine's attacks, she drew near
enough to snap a spin-kick into the other woman's face. She
followed through with a second kick to her midriff and moved
back, allowing her tiara to dissolve back to it's original form
then into the disk of glowing light that had been her first
attack. Infusing it with far more energy than it had had the
first time, she sent it flying towards Mistress Nine.
Striking the dark-haired woman in the stomach, the energy
disk exploded, wrapping golden strands of light around her and
pulling tight.
Mistress Nine screamed and began to struggle wildly as
Sailor Moon, not wanting to underestimate her opponent, changed
the structure of the energy that bound the other woman and began
drawing off her energy to fuel the prison.
A soundless scream ripped through her consciousness and her
head whipped around, searching...
The light that had surrounded Senshi Earth and Galaxia
since she had begun to fight Mistress Nine had finished and Earth
was falling backwards.
Abandoning Mistress Nine to the mercies of her tiara,
Sailor Moon ran, sliding in behind Earth just before he hit the
ground and lowering him the rest of the way gently. She cradled
his head against her chest supporting his upper body in a semi-
upright position.
Stroking the hair back from Earth's face, Sailor Moon
noticed the blank sightlessness of his eyes and felt something
within her break, opening a flood of memories.
~Flash~
//Laughing with Endymion while Venus watched in the
background, unwilling to spoil their time together.
Sneaking down to Earth at night, loving the moonlight and
the rose-scented air and Endymion above all things...//
//The fear in Endymion's face as he told her of the unrest
amongst his people...//
//Mars and Jupiter urging her not to go to Earth, knowing
there would be danger to their Princess. Queen Serenity,
her mother, forbidding her to return to Earth and her
beloved's side and ordering the Inner Senshi to make sure
she remained...//
//Managing to get past her guardians in time to see the
first waves of the people of Earth arriving on the moon,
anger and fear glowing in their eyes. The Four Generals
who had been her friends standing with the Witch, Beryl, as
the Moon Palace burned while her mother searched for
her...//
//A hand grabbing her arm as Endymion whispered in her ear
and left to do battle. Running after him and being caught
up in the whirlwind of bloodlust until Endymion fell...//
//Endymion's sword piercing her side as she slid it home,
unwilling to live without him, knowing they would meet
again...//
~Flash~
Tears ran once more down her cheeks as she came back to
herself, Senshi Earth, Endymion, clutched to her in desperation.
Not again.
This couldn't happen, she'd just found him and he had
already been taken away. She wouldn't let it happen.
She wouldn't.
The next tear that fell from her eyes contained all of her
determination, fear, pain, loneliness, love and anger. It
flashed with a rainbow of colours and solidified, becoming
something familiar and beloved. It had hovered in the back of
each memory that had swept through her mind and she _knew_ it,
beyond her knowing of Endymion, herself and the rest of the
Silver Millennium.
A hand fisted around the small silver crystal and Sailor
Moon stood up. This time she was going to make them pay for
taking Endymion away from her.
He was hers.
Her Sailor fuku bloomed into a flowing white gown, her
tiara into a crescent moon that glinted on her brow. Her hair
bleached to white and she stood, lying Earth on the ground.
"You..." she whispered to Galaxia and everything
disappeared in a soundless explosion of white.
==========
Mistress Nine glanced up from her struggles as her prison
loosened from about her body and began to fall away.
The annoying Senshi that had been standing in front of her,
keeping her here, the supposed amateur was no longer there. It
didn't take long to find her again though, she was kneeling on the
ground in front of Galaxia, holding Senshi Earth to her chest.
Mistress Nine smirked, so the Moon Senshi was in love with
the Earth. That was useful iformation, she thought, preparing to
attack while Sailor Moon was open and vulnerable to attack. Then
the blonde's head bent over Earth even further, her short hair
falling forward and obscuring her face. A strange stillness
settled around her and began to move outwards.
As it reached her, Mistress Nine shivered, a sense of
foreboding forcing her to stay her hand and just watch instead.
Tears began to fall from Sailor Moon's face, splashing
against Earth's face until one of them caught the light and became
something more. A fist closed around the newly formed crystal and
the blonde Senshi stood, her head coming up to glare at Galaxia.
Mistress Nine watched as Sailor Moon's fuku spun away, a
white gown appearing in it's place. Behind her, Earth's armour
also changed, altering slightly into something less ornamental and
more elegant. But he didn't stir, which almost surprised the
woman watching.
Then Sailor Moon whispered a word that spread in ripples,
the menace within the single word enough to increase the
foreboding Mistress Nine had been feeling and she decided she did
not want to be there. This woman had far too much Power.
A brief thought later, Mistress Nine was no longer in the
vicinity.
==========
Venus watched as Sailor Moon became a figure of dreams.
Her dreams.
She gasped as the knowledge flowed over her with certainty.
The Princess, Sailor Moon was the Princess.
This was the Princess.
And as light bloomed from the slight figure standing in the
centre of the mess, she felt complete for the first time in this
life. She was everything Venus knew she would be and more.
No one could stand before her Princess, she whispered to
herself, and to prove it Galaxia was washed away, dissolved,
cleansed. Then she was no longer there and the waves of
Serenity's power continued outwards.
Venus smiled as the tsunami of white light rolled over her,
letting herself fall into it as she had been wanting to do
forever.
==========
StarFighter stirred and carefully blinked open her eyes,
expecting a pain that never came. A frown pulled at her brow as
she took in the clear grey sky, framed by rooves and trees around
the clean area of city where she lay. She pushed herself to her
elbows and looked around, a sense of unreality making her blink
frequently.
Around her lay all the Senshi who had fought against
Galaxia. Her sisters, the Outers, the Inners, Earth and Sailor
Moon, all of them were there and none of them seemed to be hurt.
That seemed wrong to StarFighter.
She tried to recall the last thing that happened to her and
a pair of sienna eyes appeared in her mind, a hand raising then
nothing. Galaxia killing StarMaker then her.
Jerking the rest of the way into a sitting position, she
stared at StarMaker who was breathing gently next to her. She
turned and felt for a pulse, just in case and exhaled a deep
breath as she felt it beating steadily beneath her palm.
The touch woke her sister and StarFighter smiled into
bewildered blue eyes before looking to everyone else.
Uranus had woken and was looking with confusion at the
sword that lay against her chest. She ran a finger up the blade,
eyes widening, then she smiled and turned, opening her mouth to
speak. Seeing her partner, lying still beside her, a mirror
cradled in her hands, she panicked. Memory dawned behind her
eyes and she shook Neptune frantically, sighing with relief when
the other girl moaned softly and turned into the touch.
Jupiter and Mars had also woken, observing everything in
much the same way as StarFighter was. Neither seemed to know
what had happened and were busy looking themselves over for
evidence of injuries they knew had been there.
Then, almost at the same moment, Earth and Venus woke.
Senshi Earth scrambled next to Sailor Moon, checking her
for signs of life, followed shortly after by Venus who seemed to
be holding her breath waiting for Earth's verdict.
When Earth sighed in relief, a brilliant smile dawned on
Venus' face and tears gathered in her eyes, though they didn't
fall.
Earth scooped Sailor Moon into his arms and bent over her,
whispering in her ear then just watching her.
"Princess..." a voice behind StarFighter breathed
reverently and she turned to look, seeing StarHealer staring in
the direction of Earth, Moon and Venus. The awe in her voice was
plain on her face and StarFighter watched as she also rose and
went to Sailor Moon.
Venus smiled at StarHealer as she came to stand beside her
and they stood in a harmony of understanding, watching Sailor
Moon with the same intensity, though different emotion, as Senshi
Earth.
Curious, each of the other Senshi slowly gathered around
the unconscious blonde Senshi and it slowly dawned on each of
them as the watched her that here lay the Princess. It was
whispered by each in acknowledgement as they formed a circle
around her and waited patiently for her awakening.
==========
In limbo, Serenity, Princess of the Moon, floated
peacefully, tears still drying on her face though she couldn't
remember why they were there.
Curling into a foetal position, she clutched the crystal to
her chest, shutting everything out of this place.
This place, she knew she'd been here before. It reminded
her of her mother, but it wasn't. She frowned as she tried to
recall where she'd last felt like this then her mind let the
question spin away into nothingness and she floated.
She didn't know how long she was there, floating, avoiding
thought and emotion, but slowly, very slowly, something began to
intrude on her peace.
Despair.
Emptiness.
Something that even the warm peacefulness couldn't fill.
Endymion...
And Princess Serenity uncurled herself, looking off into
the soft, featureless white light that surrounded her and cried.
~/Are you sad, Princess?/~
Serenity looked up, searching for the mouth that had spoken
the question, but nothing had changed, nothing was here.
"Yes."
~/Why?/~
"Endymion, beloved... he's dead."
~/You don't want him to be?/~
"No."
~/Then wake up, Princess, and so shall he./~
So Princess Serenity woke up...
==========
...And looked into familiar blue-grey eyes that watched her
with concern. Warm arms cradled her carefully and the lips broke
into a smile when she blinked. Beyond him, smiles broke out on
the faces of the other Senshi that surrounded them.
Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune,
StarFighter, StarMaker, StarHealer... all of them were there.
"Princess," whispered Venus and curtsied deeply, eyes
glowing.
Each of the others, in turn, did the same, until each of
them were bent towards her.
And behind them, Serenity noticed that they were still in
the area where they had fought Galaxia, but it was whole. Each
of the buildings was unharmed and the road was intact.
"Wha...?"
"You healed everything, Princess," StarFighter told her
quietly, the awe in her dark blue eyes mirrored on the faces of
the others.
Serenity looked, again, at the man holding her.
The eyes and lips of Senshi Earth, Endymion, continued
smiling as he looked at the other Senshi also. Then he turned
back to her and the intensity in his eyes doubled as his smile
softened.
"I remember, Princess," he whispered and also bowed his
head, briefly, to her.
Then something, a memory, flashed through his eyes and he
bent his head and gently kissed her, lips lingering on hers for a
long moment as her eyes fell shut.
When he lifted his head again she was smiling and the sun
burst from above the rooftops, bathing the area in the first
golden light of day.
==========
Sailor Pluto watched, relieved, as the Prince and Princess
kissed for the first time, seeing that the love still remained.
She shifted her gaze along the timeline a thousand years
and found, to her delight, that Crystal Tokyo stood in greater
glory than she'd ever seen it.
And she laughed in delight before lifting her voice to
address someone unseen.
"And still She wins! You cannot defeat Her, not so long as
He also exists. They have won!" The laughter rang once again
through the misty space that was all the only thing that existed
outside the timeline. "They have WON!"
The Senshi of Time looked down at the golden bracelets that
bound her to the chair where she had been sitting for so long and
smiled, the slightest touch of madness in her eyes.
Her voice sounded again in a whisper, "Princess. Prince.
Queen. King. Even without me, even then... Ah, I chose well
when I chose your mother, your father, your blood. I love you
dearly my Queen, my King. And I always shall. I love you..."
And she giggled, unconsciously twisting her wrists within
their bindings.
Elsewhere within the mists of Non-Time another pair of eyes
watched the same scene and heard Sailor Pluto's manic laughter.
The watcher's eyes turned thoughtful, "They have won?
Perhaps, my beloved Pluto, perhaps they have. But this is not
over yet. It never will be... not until one of us no longer
exists..."
==Owari==
Song: Nagareboshi He(Shooting Star)from the SM Stars Best
Collection. Lyrics found at Lyric Moon.
The lyrics are ordered a little differently for convenience.
C&C welcome, questions answered
sefilin@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/sefilin/
Chikyuu no Senshi
Part Three
A Sailormoon Alternate Reality Story
By Sefilin (aka Lei)
===========================================================
Mamoru watched as Reika and Motoki fed their lunches to
each other with their fingers, listening to the easy,
affectionate teasing that filled the air between them. He sighed
and looked out over the small lake they were sitting beside.
He didn't know why he was torturing himself by staying when
he was obviously not needed, but he seriously couldn't think of
anything to do.
It was a weekend and there were no classes, all his
assignments and homework had been completed the night before when
he had nothing better to do. And now Mamoru was bored enough to
sit here and watch his best friend and his girlfriend feed each
other. It was enough to make him wish he had a test on Monday he
could study for. He liked the both of them a lot, maybe even
loved them, but when they were together they could be...
sickeningly mushy.
Mamoru hoped he would never ever end up in a situation like
that.
Not that it was likely to happen since he was already in
love with the Princess and yet didn't even know if she existed.
And there was no way he was going to act like that with anyone
else.
"Mamoru-san? Are you okay?"
Turning back to the happy couple, Mamoru allowed a small
smile to appear on his lips before answering, "I'm fine, Reika-
san. Just thinking."
Motoki eyed him for a moment and his eyebrows lifted in
query, "About what? Anything interesting?"
It was about then that Mamoru realised just how well his
friend could read him. There was a compassionate light in the
blonde's eyes that indicated he knew Mamoru was thinking about
his Princess.
"Aa," Mamoru's smile widened as he murmured an affirmative.
Motoki nodded, returning his smile while Reika watched and
tried to read them both.
"What is it?"
Motoki faced his girlfriend again and placed a finger
gently against her lips, "Nothing."
And Reika listened to the underlying message and refrained
from any further comments.
Mamoru went back to staring at nothing and sat listening
with half an ear to Motoki and Reika's conversation when a jolt
ran through him.
Straightening, he scanned the area and saw nothing, but
within his chest a tiny flame was burning uncomfortably. It
tugged on his heart and urged him to move. He shivered and tried
to ignore the summons while analysing the sensation.
A second jolt, more imperative than the first tugged him in
a certain direction and he stood. The tugging increased in
strength and Mamoru turned to face his friends, "I... have to
go."
He looked at Motoki and saw he understood. Another faint
smile touched his lips, "Ja," and he walked away, heading
_somewhere_.
After a few minutes, in which he managed to refrain from
running, the summons stopped. Confused and disoriented, Mamoru
stopped cold and didn't feel it when the girl who had been
walking behind him crashed into his back.
Purple eyes glared at him, ready to start complaining, when
she caught a glance of his face, with it's brow furrowed and eyes
dazed. The brunette tossed her long black hair back over her
shoulder and stared at him unabashedly as she moved past him.
==========
Rei turned away from the ebony-haired young man she'd just
crashed into and continued on her way to Minako's house where a
Senshi meeting had been called.
She had to admit the guy was cute, but it was the look in
his eyes that had caught her attention. He'd looked so lost.
For a second she'd thought he'd been high, but that look was not
drug-induced.
Pushing her unruly hair behind her ears, Rei continued
walking, her thoughts still on the man she'd just passed. She
hated men, thanks to her father, but something about him struck
her as special. It was similar to the vibes she got from the
Sailor Senshi, a combination of Power and Alien that was
unmistakable.
And, together with that expression, it had swallowed the
hate and replaced it with curiosity. She wondered who and what
he was. Was he involved in all of _this_?
The thought of her, their, situation bought her back to the
thoughts that had been running through her mind for any number of
months.
The Princess.
Why did Venus continue to insist they needed her when they
were doing fine by themselves? They were defending Tokyo and the
world, with a little help from the Outers and the StarLights
maybe, but they were doing it.
What was so special about this one person, who was going to
be as fallible as they were, that they were to give up their
lives to search for her?
Rei didn't know.
Maybe if their memories of their past lives were intact
she'd understand, but they weren't. None of them had memories
that were anywhere near complete, not even Artemis who knew more
than the rest of them. Granted, it came in fits and starts but
it was still more than she had.
Rei hated being in any situation where she was not in
control and this was beginning to feel like one.
The miko sighed, telling herself that lying wasn't going to
get her anywhere.
She hadn't been in control of anything for a long time and
that was unlikely to change in the near future with the way
things were going.
Rei opened the gate that led to Minako's house and knocked
on the door, allowing her thoughts to rest while she waited for
someone to answer.
She followed Minako up to the blonde's room and greeted Ami
and Makoto quietly before settling against the desk that was
crowded with cute figures and toys the way the rest of Minako's
room was.
"So, what was it you wanted to discuss?" she asked, not
overly thrilled to be there.
Surprisingly, it was Makoto that answered, "There's a new
Senshi fighting against the daimons and Farce's."
Rei resisted the urge to sigh, "Like that's unusual?
Senshi have been turning up periodically since we became them
ourselves."
"Maybe," Makoto glared at her, "But this one's different.
She's... nice. None of the rest of us get along, but she
introduced herself, smiled and... and said she was pleased to
meet us." Then Makoto went red, realising how stupid that
sounded.
Rei snorted, "Which probably means she wants to get you to
like her so it's easier for her to get rid of us."
Makoto looked hurt and Rei almost wished she could take the
statement back.
Despite the fact that she came across as cold, mean and
uncaring, she had no desire to hurt her... comrades. If she was
totally honest with herself, she could even admit she liked them
and occasionally thought of them as friends. But now it was
habit to show this face to the world and it would take more
strength than she had to break through the conditioning.
"No... I don't think she's like that, Rei. I think, I
think maybe she's what the Princess is like."
The Princess. Why did everything always have to come back
to _Her_?
Rei snorted again and tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear, "The Princess."
The other three Inner Senshi waited for her continue, all
of them aware of her views and even sharing them to some degree.
But she didn't and the silence became uneasy, as any silence
between the four of them always did.
So they attempted to talk about inconsequential things like
the weather and when that didn't work they tried discussing
possible tactics. Then Rei finally got tired of it all and, with
an abrupt goodbye, left, her mind still travelling in the same
circles.
==========
Haruka and Michiru wandered out of the concert hall, where
Michiru had just finished practising for her concert that
evening, and headed for somewhere to relax.
They arrived at the Crown Fruit Parlour and found
themselves a booth set in an out-of-the-way corner and took seats
across from one another.
They were joined shortly after by a waitress who smiled at
them and asked for their order.
Haruka raised an eyebrow, "You're new here?"
The blonde nodded, "Yeah. I've been here about a week."
"Ah. Well can we have some green tea, please."
"Sure, I'll be back, with it, in a moment."
The two Outer Senshi looked at each other and smiled at the
enthusiasm and zest the waitress had. They were agreed, she was
cute.
But neither of them were there to check out the waitresses
so they turned their eyes to each other and got down to the
serious business of discussing the new turn in events.
"So there's a new Senshi," Haruka stated, beginning the
conversation.
"Not to mention that guy who also claims to be one," both
girls were still rather upset that he had claimed the title of
Senshi of Earth, even if he had refuted to be a Sailor that time
they'd managed to delay him enough to ask. There were _no_ male
Senshi. They were certain of that. The very idea was enough to
make both of them snarl, much as they had the first time they'd
met him as Senshi Earth.
"Yes," Haruka hissed. "But this Sailor Moon, there's
something different about her. Even beyond that _man_, there is
something not quite right about her. I get the feeling there's
much more to her than we've seen."
Michiru nodded in agreement, "Even if she acts like a new
Senshi, that... light she has..."
"It will blind us if we are not careful. She has already
captured the StarLights, especially StarFighter. She is
infatuated with Sailor Moon. They have even begun to work
together!"
The green-haired girl blinked blue eyes, "She _is_ nice
enough to win them all, isn't she?" A small smile graced her
lips as she thought of the Moon Senshi, a smile Haruka didn't
like.
"Be careful, Michiru, we don't know what her motivation is
or who she's working for."
Michiru nodded, "Yes. But if she's working with the
StarLights..."
She broke off as the blonde waitress swept up to their
table and deposited a steaming teapot and two cups there, "Here
you are. I hope you enjoy it."
"Usagi-chan!"
Before the blonde had a chance to turn a tiny black-haired
girl was at her side, smiling up at the blonde.
"Hello, Hotaru-chan."
The two girls walked off, chatting together and the two
left behind went back to their conversation.
"Cute."
"Yes."
"There's still no sign of the Talisman's."
Haruka nodded, pouring tea for the two of them, "And we're
the only one's looking for them now."
"Which has made things worse with the Inners," Michiru
sighed, remembering the fights that had taken place since the two
Outers had, themselves, begun retrieving heart crystals from the
citizens of Tokyo. Before that there had only been brief, half-
hearted skirmishes.
Not that Michiru could blame them, it was something she
didn't like doing, but they had to have the Talismans before the
Silence. There was no way to stand against it otherwise.
"At least the StarLights are too busy looking for the
Princess to annoy us," Haruka laughed shortly. "They'd be a lot
harder to deal with."
"They _are_ stronger than the Inners, aren't they?" the
green-haired girl murmured into her teacup, steam wreathing
around her face.
"They're also from outside of the Silver Millennium. We're
meant to guard against them as much as against the Silence."
Michiru sighed, "Yes. But we haven't been guarding against
anything but that. The disadvantages of our incomplete memories.
We learn more of our past everyday and still it isn't fast
enough."
"There is so much we need to know, so much we should know.
Something is missing beyond the Princess. I think, feel, that
there were more of us, more of the Outer Senshi."
"Saturn and Pluto. Yes. Darkness and Vision."
Haruka laughed again, her voice still harsh, "As we are
Strength and Elegance? I do not understand this, Mi-chan. And I
hate that I don't, that I _can't_ understand." The handsome
blonde's voice broke and she bowed her head over her teacup.
Michiru reached across the table and laid her hand atop her
lover's, "And yet we must endure." She smiled gently, sadly,
"Things can only get better, koi, hold onto that."
The couple sat in silence until they finished their tea
and, after paying, made their way back to the concert hall,
hearts heavy with duty and hopelessness.
==========
Galaxia dropped into her throne with a sigh and tipped
back, rubbing the bridge of her nose to ward off the headache
that threatened to make the day even worse.
It had started out with Iron Crow failing in her task to
find a star crystal, thanks to Sailors Mars and Mercury. From
there Eudial had also failed, this time at the hands of Uranus
and Neptune. Then Professor Tomoe had destroyed his lab, having
briefly lost his control on top of his sanity. After so many
years of working towards a great goal, he was getting frustrated
with their lack of successes.
Every daimon and Sailor daimon he had created had been
taken apart by the local Sailor Senshi and now Galaxia was
killing off members of the Witches 5 for the same reasons she'd
killed off most of the Sailor Anima-mates. They had failed.
So beyond his own failure to construct something strong
enough to survive a fight with the Senshi, he had the fear of
moving beyond Sailor Galaxia's tolerance levels.
Galaxia had, in fact, considered dismembering him, or
something equally fun a number of times. The only thing that had
stopped her was the potential she had seen in the experiment that
was his daughter. It was the single thing that was going right
on this miserable little planet, apart from the shoes, and it
wasn't even part of the original plan.
Little Hotaru was coming along quite nicely and it wouldn't
be long before she reached the point of evolution.
No one else knew that Hotaru was, herself, a Sailor Senshi
except for Galaxia. The potential they had recognised in her was
merely an abstract, something that had happened by accident.
Perhaps as a result of her mother's death.
The golden woman snorted, polishing the smokey crystal that
made up her throne. A puff of breath then around in circles with
the cloth she always kept available. There was nothing else to
do in this barren plane of existence.
The evolution that would transform an extraordinarily
strong Sailor Senshi into something more was something Galaxia
was looking forward to. She'd only ever heard of two other
Senshi achieving the last stage of Power growth and one of them
had died from drawing too much energy the day after.
And then there was herself, currently the only Senshi in
existence to have reached her full potential.
So this tiny, dark Senshi could possibly be her equal.
And that... that would be most interesting.
==========
Usagi, Hotaru and Makoto were on a picnic at the blonde
girl's suggestion. She'd claimed it was too nice a day to spend
inside and had infected Makoto with enthusiasm before going off
to call on her small friend.
Usagi had been surprised when Kaori, Hotaru's father's
assistant had told her Hotaru wasn't in and even if she was
didn't want to see anyone. She was well aware that her friend
had no others and that she always jumped at the chance to spend
time with Usagi.
Fortunately, Hotaru had been gazing out her window when she
had walked up to the mansion and the little girl came down to
meet her. She'd happily accepted, in spite of Kaori's obvious
disapproval, and the two girls had picked Makoto and her cooking
up from their apartment to take with them.
Usagi was glad that Hotaru and Makoto, both who had quickly
become her closest friends, got along. Makoto had taken one look
at the thin, sickly girl and decided to fatten her up.
Now, whenever Usagi had planned to spend time with Hotaru,
Makoto insisted on her taking along a small gift of food for the
younger girl.
The three girls were relaxing in the autumn sunshine,
enjoying each others company and talking about very little of
importance. Nothing had arrived to distract any of them from
their laziness and each were hoping the day would draw to a quiet
close, spent in the company of good friends.
It surprised none of them when the distraction did come.
But it did surprise them that the distraction wasn't a
daimon or Sailor Farce, but Hotaru.
In the middle of eating a rice ball, the brunette had,
without warning, fallen onto her side and lay, unmoving while
Usagi and Makoto tried to figure out what had happened and what
to do about it.
They fairly quickly decided on the hospital and quickly and
neatly packed away the remains of their meal before taking a taxi
to the closest hospital.
They waited anxiously for word of Hotaru after she'd been
taken away by doctor's, though when it did come they weren't sure
what to make of it. They had found nothing wrong with the little
girl. Even sunstroke and dehydration had been ruled out.
The doctor's didn't seem very worried about it, especially
since the fainting spells had never been witnessed by Usagi or
Makoto before. They handed Hotaru, conscious again, back to them
and told them to make contact if it happened again.
So they walked out into the dusk and began to walk Hotaru
home.
"Are you okay, Hotaru-chan?" Usagi asked, her blue eyes
worried and watching for any sign of a repeat performance.
"Hai," came the quiet reply.
"Are you sure? Cause if you're not, I don't mind giving
you a piggy-back ride."
The younger girl grinned at that and nodded, "I'm fine,
Mako-chan. I'm sorry for spoiling the picnic."
The two older girls bent severe gazes on Hotaru, who
flinched away from them.
"You didn't spoil the picnic. And we're just glad you're
okay."
Makoto nodded in agreement and the trio gave each other
smiles and went back to peacefully enjoying each other's
company.
==========
Hotaru hadn't been entirely truthful when she'd told the
doctor's she didn't know what was wrong with her. She did, she
just didn't like saying because she knew her father wouldn't want
her to tell. And she knew the doctors would disagree with what
her father was doing.
But Hotaru trusted him when he told her he was trying to
make sure she was never sick again. He'd never lied to her
before and even if she felt worse as the treatments continued,
she was sure that in the end everything would work out exactly
like her father said.
The only thing she regretted was that Usagi and Makoto had
been there when she'd collapsed this time. The two girls were
the only people who didn't think she was a freak, even though
they knew she could heal small wounds.
Hotaru smiled in confusion and affection as she recalled
how Usagi had reacted when she has healed the older girl's cut at
their first meeting. No one had ever thought it was neat before,
except her father.
She was so glad she'd met Usagi. The blonde was enough to
make up for all the friends she'd never had. And when she'd
bought Makoto along for the ride, Hotaru had trouble deciding
what to do with her.
She waved goodbye to her friends from the front door of her
mansion and watched until they were out of sight, before
entering.
She found Kaori waiting for her.
"Where have you been?" the redhead hissed.
"I-I went on a picnic with Usagi."
"The Professor has been looking for you, you're late for
your medicine. Go quickly."
Hotaru hurried off to the room that had been set aside for
her treatments, not wanting to keep her father waiting.
She climbed up onto the padded table and lay down at the
Professor's instruction and calmed her breathing as she had been
taught. She let her thoughts wander and relaxed as much as she
could.
Then her father was standing over her with a loving smile.
He brushed her hair gently back and softly kissed her forehead.
"We're almost done, Hotaru-chan, and you'll be better. It
won't be long now."
Hotaru smiled and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the
uncomfortable sensation of cold metal against her temples and
brainstem until it was warmed by her body heat. It seemed to
take longer now to reach body heat than when they'd first begun
the treatments, but the small girl tolerated it. It made her
father happy and when it was finished, she'd never be sick again.
==========
Galaxia stood in the shadows of the treatment room,
unnoticed by it's two occupants. According to her calculations
this should be the final treatment before the evolution of young
Hotaru.
Professor Tomoe moved across the room until he was standing
in front of a desk that held a computer, the screen going a long
way towards creating the correct atmosphere for a mad scientist's
experimentation's. Galaxia had to smile at the association,
knowing she watched too much television.
With a flick of his finger, Tomoe began the process,
indications of brain and spirit activity splashing the computer
screen with colour.
Next to the door, Kaori flicked the lights off, the better
to see the readouts and any visible spiritual energy from the
tiny ebony-haired girl on the table. It was all so wonderfully
atmospheric, Galaxia thought again.
It was interesting that this project was the only one Tomoe
had not given up when she'd arrived. And it had more to do with
the Sailor Senshi than anything else he'd been involved in.
For all his wanting to resurrect Pharaoh Ninety, the
Professor had become mighty quiescent to her wishes. That was,
in part, why she'd made a point of keeping an eye on both Kaori
and Tomoe.
A precaution that looked like it was going to pay off.
This Senshi was going to be an impressive addition to her
collection and an interesting challenge to make so.
Galaxia watched the slow build-up of spiritual energy as
indicated by the growing purple aura surrounding young Hotaru.
For an hour she measured the energy levels, both through her own
senses and the computer monitors and they showed no evidence of
slowing down.
Then there was a brief flash of brighter light as the
clothes Hotaru was wearing transformed and Sailor Saturn lay on
the metal table. The crystals set on the ribbon at her throat
and the bow on her chest glittered, pulsing with the tiny flares
that began to move throughout the aura she was generating.
Then something else started reacting to the power build-up,
something both within Galaxia and without. Something linked to
her could feel what was happening, using her mind and body to
find out what it was.
Galaxia tugged at the link that joined her and this other
thing and felt a jolt of familiarity. It had the feel of
something she had been missing for almost longer than she could
remember.
Then it came to her.
The Star of Hope.
Her soul, no, Sailor Galaxia's soul, from before she had
become Queen Galaxia.
Sienna eyes narrowing, the woman who was more than a
Senshi, sent a tiny probe of power along the almost non-existent
link that remained between her and the Star. She had a flash of
bright red-pink hair and blue eyes set in a child's face before a
flash of panic caused the far-seeing to break.
Coming back to herself, Galaxia stared unseeingly at the
now bright aura surrounding Sailor Saturn.
The Star of Hope, that... yes, that was what she had come
here to find, beyond the urge to conquer and destroy the
StarLights. The Star held the only StarSeed that truly mattered,
and Galaxia wanted it. Such a thing as Hope could be damaging to
her plans; if someone was to ally themselves with it, someone
like Saturn, then there was the possibility that the perseverance
that would result could lead to her downfall. Unlikely, but the
possibility was there.
Especially since, over and above engendering hope in
others, the Star had a measure of Power that would also aid it's
bearer.
Taking a brief glance at what was happening with Saturn,
Galaxia sent a mental message to each of her subordinates to
obtain the Star of Hope that was currently masquerading as a
girl-child.
Then, her mind set at rest, she watched the build-up again.
It was another hour before the slight twisting of the
universe around the girl indicated something was happening. She
watched for Tomoe and Kaori's reactions and huffed disgustedly
when none was detected. They couldn't feel it, as disconnected
from the universe as most people were.
Expecting Saturn to wake with the realisation of her new
status, Galaxia frowned when she remained unmoving and Tomoe
began to fiddle with the computer.
The universe _lurched_ and where once had been a tiny woman
in a Sailor fuku, now lay a woman fully as tall as Galaxia
herself with ebony hair that pooled on the floor around the
table.
The frown still in place, Galaxia also took in the tight,
low-cut bodice the other woman wore, the dark blue decorated only
by a few silver beads. The flowing skirt rippled lightly in the
wake of the change, revealing slender ankles. Her aura had also
darkened, though it's strength remained as it had been.
Indigo eyes opened without warning and the woman sat up,
moving gracefully, her hair lifting partly off the floor and
falling gently against her back. She glanced dismissively at
Tomoe and Kaori and turned her attention to the corner where
Galaxia was still standing. An elegant brow rose and lips
quirked as those eyes found hers unerringly in the dark.
And Galaxia found herself wondering if it had been a bad
idea to let things go this far.
==========
Motoki leaned casually against the video game Mamoru was
playing, talking to his best friend in a quiet voice. Neither of
them wanted to be overheard and the noise of the video parlour
effectively cloaked their conversation.
"So, have you found out what it is yet?"
Mamoru blew away a few of the lizard-like creatures that
moved to attack his character and glanced shortly up at the
blonde, "No. It always stops before I get to wherever it calls
me."
"Any ideas about what it could be?"
"I suppose it could be one of the Sailor Senshi or some
sort of object. The golden crystal would have that effect on me
if I didn't already have it."
Motoki nodded slowly, "The Princess?"
Mamoru's head dropped forwards and he sighed, "I... I don't
know. It could be, I want it to be, but I..."
"You don't want to be disappointed if it isn't," it was a
statement and Mamoru smiled.
Motoki knew him too well.
"I guess. I've been looking for her for so long, I don't
know what to do if I find her."
Motoki grinned, "May I suggest walking up to her and giving
her a kiss? You're so far gone on her it's what you'll most want
to do, so why not get it over and done with?"
Almost failing to survive the next wave of monsters due to
his friend's suggestion, Mamoru was silent for a few moments
while he got the game back under control. Then he glared at the
blonde, who laughed.
"That's not exactly what I meant."
"No, but it's a good idea all the same."
No answer.
"At least think about it."
"Motoki, you spend too much time reading Reika's shoujo
manga."
Flushing, Motoki took a half-hearted swipe at Mamoru.
Blue eyes widened and Mamoru gaped at his friend, "You
mean...?" and he started laughing, whole-heartedly as Motoki
hadn't heard for a long time.
The blonde blushed harder and decided to go and actually do
some work.
He walked through the doorway into the Crown Fruit Parlour,
almost crashing into another blonde who was coming the other way.
"Hey, Usagi-chan. You finished for the day?"
Usagi smiled at her colleague and nodded, "Yep. Now I've
just got all my homework to do."
"Well, good luck."
"Thanks."
The two continued on their way, Motoki to work and Usagi to
home.
Mamoru almost decided to see what the new waitress that
Motoki had told him about looked like, but he was so close to
finishing the level, he left it for another day.
He managed to finish both that level and the next before
the tingling that presaged the summons passed through his body.
It was something he was getting used to after weeks of having it
jump on him from nowhere and he was determined to find out why it
happened sometime soon.
Tonight would be good.
So he left the arcade, leaving his character to die and,
once he reached the street, began running in the direction he was
being called.
After a certain distance he began to hear the sounds that
denoted a battle of the magical girl sort.
He spun into a nearby shadowed nook between buildings and
called up his identity as Senshi Earth. The darkness of armour
and cloak folded about him and he was off, running faster than
when he had been just Mamoru. He placed a hand on the hilt of
his sword to stop it from getting tangled up in his legs and
smiled at the sensation of his cloak flying out behind him.
This outfit was more darkly dramatic than the tuxedo and
wasn't quite so stupid looking. It also made him more powerful.
The only thing it didn't have was a decent-sounding name to go
with it, although 'Senshi Earth' _was_ a little better than
'Tuxedo Kamen'.
He knew, he just _knew_ it had been a female who'd made up
those names.
And then he was on the scene, watching mana-energy flying
across the street in front of his face. Stopping on the edges of
the fight, he took note of the players in this game and what each
of their actions were.
It was rather a large group, consisting of six Sailor
Senshi, the Witches 5 twins, three of the new-style Sailor
Farces, a single Sailor Anima-mate, a daimon and a tiny cherry-
haired girl smiling happily at the chaos.
Blinking, Senshi Earth noted that all the action was
centred around the girl. The Sailor Senshi were trying to stop
the Witches and Anima-mates from getting to the girl whilst
avoiding the attacks of the Sailor Daimons.
So, he mused, if the bad guys want the girl...
Grinning in elation at having something dangerous to do,
Earth took off, running between the few bodies between him and
the girl. He swept her up and jumped as far and as high as he
could, landing on the roof of a building on the other side of the
street from where he'd been.
Behind him there were sounds of frustration and anger, then
the sounds of pursuit.
He was so involved in his flight that he didn't notice the
summons had died to a tiny ache in the vicinity of his heart.
And he didn't notice the wide, surprised look the newest Sailor
Senshi sent his way or the slight smile that appeared on her lips
shortly afterwards.
==========
"Chibi chibi."
The words floated back to where Sailor Venus was running
after the tall dark-haired man and the tiny cherry-headed girl.
She almost smiled, having heard that phrase many times in the
past few weeks while Chibi-chibi, the girl, had been staying with
her and her family.
Then she frowned, wondering what the Sailor Anima-mates
wanted with her little sister. Chibi-chibi was harmless, so
innocent and adorable, how could anyone want to harm her?
And what did Senshi Earth want with her that he would take
her like that?
Still, she supposed - hoped - that it was preferable to her
being taken by the Anima-mates.
Unfortunately it looked like they might end up with Chibi-
chibi instead.
Sailor Tin Nyanko, with her pointy cat ears and annoying
bells, was catching up to the fleeing Earth and his small burden.
Somehow, despite Earth's speed, she was managing to keep up and
gain on the man.
Venus put on a burst of speed, thanking her athletic
training, and headed out in front of the others where she was
joined shortly afterwards by Mars and StarFighter.
The three of them managed to be there when Tin Nyanko made
an attack. Venus managed to knock the black-clad Sailor Senshi
out of the way, her attack missing the target. She then took a
ready stance between Tin Nyanko and Earth, her hand held ready
for attack.
Mars joined her, abandoning her indifference in the wake of
danger to a child.
By the time any further action could be taken, everyone
else had arrived. StarFighter broke off from Mars and Venus to
join her fellow StarLights going up against Witch and Witch.
Sailor Moon joined Earth, smiling at the little girl in his arms.
Venus turned her attention back to Tin Nyanko just in time
to dodge the next attack. Mars retaliated and the fight was
joined in earnest.
"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"
A string of golden hearts twined as well as they could
around the Cat Senshi and Venus pulled the chain tight as Mars
powered up an attack to use against the Senshi.
Neither of them expected her to be strong enough to yank
Venus towards her, sending the blonde flying through the air.
Venus dropped the Love-Me Chain and twisted, reorienting
herself to the ground. A wall of flame, released a split-second
before, roared through the empty space where Tin Nyanko had been
and brushed past Venus.
Blinking at the near miss, the blonde took a quick look
around the area, making sure to note where everyone was.
Mars came up beside her, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Didn't even get singed."
Mars smiled in relief, her gaze still focussed on the
Sailor Anima-mate, looking for any movement that would indicate
action on her part.
Venus noted the smile and returned it, knowing Mars would
see it out of the corner of her eye.
Then Tin Nyanko was in front of them, sending two bolts of
golden light spinning towards them, deciding to kill two birds
with one shot by stealing their StarSeeds to get them out of the
fight.
Having the experience they did with the Sailor Anima-mates
and their methods, the two Senshi leaped out of the way. Once
when they came rushing straight for them and again when the two
spheres arced behind them and came flying back.
==========
Elsewhere, Sailor StarFighter stepped back from his own
fight with Cyprine and Ptitol, wiping a hand across her brow and
taking a few deep breaths. She watched as StarHealer and
StarMaker led the two on a dance of pairs, working together as
effectively as the twins.
Then, curious, he looked around at everything else that was
going on. Venus and Mars had just managed to avoid an attack by
Sailor Tin Nyanko and were currently in the process of
retaliating. And beyond them Sailor Moon had joined Senshi Earth
and the two were easily taking on the remaining Sailor daimons
and daimons.
They were also doing a good job of protecting Chibi-chibi
in between keeping her out of trouble and throwing intense looks
at each other.
StarFighter frowned as she noted this and wondered what was
going on with the two of them.
He was distracted by the arrival of Mercury, Neptune and
Uranus joining in. She smiled, it was the first time they'd ever
worked together, he wondered why everyone had decided to fight.
But their arrival definitely made a difference to the tide
of the fight. Mercury joined her two fellow Inners, freezing Tin
Nyanko to the street and joining Mars and Venus in an attack that
destroyed the cat-like Senshi.
Neptune and Uranus distracted Cyprine and Ptitol with their
attack and left an opening for the three StarLights to get in a
good enough shot to send the two through one of the buildings
lining the street. Then Uranus and Neptune sent a second attack
flying at the two, separating the two of them.
Following that, the two seemed disoriented and the final
moment, when it came, was ended with an anguished glance between
the two twins.
StarFighter flung his long ponytail behind him and turned
to the only fight remaining in time to see Senshi Earth run the
last daimon through while Sailor Moon cradled Chibi-chibi in her
arms.
StarFighter smiled and gathering her sisters walked towards
the Senshi who had become a friend in the short time they'd known
one another.
Everyone else did the same.
"So why were they after Chibi-chibi?" Mars asked.
Venus shrugged, "I don't get it. She's harmless." The
blonde smiled at the little girl and reached out to take her from
Sailor Moon who handed her over with reluctance.
Chibi-chibi glanced between the two Senshi in indecision
before settling in Venus' arms and cooing quietly.
"Chibi-chibi."
No one was quite sure exactly what happened next. One
moment they were all standing around Sailor Moon and the next
they were scattered across the road, sprawled where they had
landed after being flung outwards by... something.
She pushed herself up from where she had fallen and looked
around, noting the crater that now occupied the place they had
been standing. She ran her eyes around the area and found
StarHealer and StarMaker, her silver-haired sister stirring. She
headed for StarMaker and dropped into a crouch next to her,
checking for any signs of life.
A pair of high-heeled golden sandals that wrapped around
shapely thighs drew to a halt across from her and she looked up
into familiar sienna eyes.
Falling back onto her hands, StarFighter gasped, "Galaxia!"
She jumped to her feet and tried to find somewhere she could
stand that was far enough from the other woman yet close enough
so she could protect StarMaker.
Then she had nothing more to worry about as a golden beam
of Galaxia's power pierced StarMaker's heart, leaving her dead
and StarFighter stunned.
Then she was caught by the eyes of the woman who had killed
her Princess and then there was nothing.
==========
Senshi Earth pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced
around, taking in the forms of various Senshi lying in various
uncomfortable positions throughout the immediate area. Then he
winced, lifting a hand to his forehead and feeling a sticky
wetness that indicated injury.
Sure enough, when he bought his hand back down to eye
level, it was smeared with fresh blood.
Then an echo of pain that didn't belong to him flashed
through his nerve endings and his gaze fell on Sailor Moon. The
blonde Senshi was lying, curled protectively around Chibi-chibi,
blood oozing from a wound on her arm and gathering beneath her
leg.
An ache tugged at his heart and he stumbled to his feet,
heading in her direction. He placed his hand on her shoulder
and gasped as a wave of warmth washed through him, replacing
weariness with strength.
The blonde head rose and bright blue eyes caught his and
smiled, "Hi," she whispered.
"Hi," he replied just as quietly, captivated. The summons
that had been pulling at him since earlier died, leaving him
alone with a beautiful blonde who had the bluest eyes he'd ever
seen.
Sailor Moon twisted herself into a sitting position,
setting Chibi-chibi in her lap and brushing a few strands back
from the child's face. Senshi Earth's hand fell away from her
shoulder as he sat back, relaxing into the encounter.
"What happened?"
Earth blinked and shook his head, "I don't know.
Something..."
He remembered the positions he'd seen the other Senshi in
and looked around in time to see Galaxia spear Jupiter and
Mercury with beams of golden light, leaving the two lying there
before turning her attention to the two Outer Senshi.
"Ah, there you are, Galaxia," a dark, velvet voice sounded
from behind him and a woman whose black hair swept the ground
behind her stepped towards the golden woman.
"Do you realise that you have destroyed all my plans? It
will be years until I manage to gather enough power to call
Pharaoh Ninety and all because _you_ had to borrow _my_ people
for your own ends," the voice continued casually as she walked
steadily towards Galaxia. "I believe I am rather annoyed."
Galaxia watched the dark woman draw closer and shrugged,
"It's not my problem your people were too incompetent to finish
things before I arrived. You, Mistress Nine, should have planned
things better."
Dark purple eyes flashed, "My plans were perfect until you
came along. You are not supposed to be here." Without warning,
her hair writhed and silken black strands waved across the
ground, encircling the golden Senshi who began to glow.
The hair dropped away then reformed into a cocoon that
surrounded Galaxia, rays of the golden light seeping from between
the strands. Then it exploded and Galaxia was free to retaliate.
Over the next few minutes, Earth was witness to the
exchange of more energy than he had ever seen in use before. The
nearby buildings were the first things to go and he and the other
Senshi decided on moving out of the way of the stray beams of
light, fronds of dark hair and other miscellaneous bursts of
energy.
But there was a need to monitor what was going on, so they
stayed within view, watching the fight from various positions
around the area. He and Sailor Moon had remained together and
took turns protecting one another from falling concrete and
cascades of glittering glass that fell from the buildings.
Then a gas main blew up, sending flames into the darkness
of the night sky and billows of thick smoke obscured the scene
behind it, heat waves distorting everything further. And in the
hellish light of the fire Mistress Nine and Galaxia continued to
fight.
Senshi Earth dived out from behind the rubble he and Sailor
Moon had been hiding in as ice encrusted the ground in a trail
that led straight to them. A blast of icy-cold air hit him and
he shivered, continuing to move as the iced over area expanded,
stopping only when it began to compete with the flames of the
still-burning gas main.
"No..." Sailor Moon whispered from ahead of him. He
followed the direction of her stricken gaze to where a young
woman and child were lying, half-lying underneath a sizeable slab
of concrete. A fraction of a steel beam could be seen extending
from it, the ends melted and still glowing orange where it had
been sheared out of a building. Fragments of glass were
scattered across the ground around the two people and embedded in
their flesh, glistening with fresh red blood.
Earth froze as he looked at them, both quite obviously
dead. Then he remembered StarMaker, StarHealer, Mercury and
Jupiter and everything caught up with him all at once.
Things weren't meant to happen like this. What was the
point of having special powers if you couldn't save innocent
people like these?
He watched as Sailor Moon knelt next to the woman, brushing
stray bits of glass out of her hair and smoothing it back from
her face. She straightened the woman's clothes as much as she
could and then turned her attention to the child.
Chibi-chibi brushed tiny palms across the woman's face and
together she and Sailor Moon grieved.
Crystal tears that ran down Sailor Moon's face splashed
onto the child's and suddenly Earth had had enough. They
couldn't be the only two innocents to have been caught like this,
not with the amount of destruction that had been circling
Mistress Nine and Galaxia.
As if reading his thoughts one of Galaxia's energy blasts
shot towards them, brushing close to Sailor Moon and Chibi-chibi
where they knelt and Earth turned to face the two women. His
vision blurred red and his fists clenched as he closed his eyes
to the spectacle of gold and black battling each other. He
reached for the void he had known in his dream and jumped into
it, knowing that he could stop this, that Earth would give him
the power to do so.
~Flash~
//Falling...//
~Flash~
And the Power was there, filling him and blazing through
the crystal embedded in the blade of his sword. In agony and
ecstasy at the shear volume and weight of Power, Earth threw his
head back, his face drawn tight in lines that displayed exactly
what he was experiencing.
A blaze of light shot from the ground beneath his feet,
running up his body until it left him, being thrown into the air
where it disappeared into the haze of atmosphere.
When he had grown as accustomed to the pleasure-pain as he
ever would, he bent his head towards the two women who had
stopped their fight and were watching him warily.
With a graceful sweep of his arm he drew the blade that
held the golden crystal and raised it towards Mistress Nine and
Galaxia.
"tHIS iS _mY_ pLANET. lEAVE oR dIE."
The two woman continued to watch him, neither making a move
as Senshi Earth stepped towards them, slowly and deliberately. A
presence came up next to him and, out of the corner of his eyes,
he saw Sailor Moon, still holding Chibi-chibi, marching with him.
Her blue eyes were determined and Earth felt a curious sense of
deja vu as he refocussed on the other two women.
"lEAVE oR dIE," he repeated and his voice was still
resonant with Power and the weight of the Earth's authority,
granted to him.
When the pair of combatants once more remained still, Earth
moved. Swiftly and in silence, his sword extending in a whip of
energy that moved with a speed beyond what anyone could hope to
avoid. Mistress Nine cried out in pain as the whip ripped
through the defence of her hair and touched her lightly on the
arm. Yet just the single tap was enough for her to be thrown
back and back until she had broken through a wall, then two and
three.
Galaxia, also, was caught as Earth closed in, the energy-
whip still moving. It cut through her arms, leaving red stains
running in tiny rivers down her hands and dripping to the ground
where she stood.
Her eyes widened, stunned, as she glanced at her arm,
noticing the damage done to her and then she glanced at Earth
furiously. Sienna eyes blazed red and when Earth was close
enough for him to use the blade-proper of his sword, Galaxia was
ready for it.
Catching the blade in a single hand she hissed at the pain
of burning flesh and allowed her power to blaze through her
bracelets, and through the sword. Earth held on, still gathering
energy from beneath his feet and from the golden crystal and
pumping it through the blade that connected him and Galaxia.
Galaxia returned the favour and soon an inferno of
incandescent light raged in the centre of the destruction as each
sought to burn the other out.
Then it was over and Earth fell, his hand dropping from the
hilt and tipping backwards all life and colour draining from his
eyes.
The Power of Earth could not compete with the Power of
Galaxies.
==========
Brushing the tears off her cheeks, Sailor Moon lifted her
head and looked around, her eyes searching out the broken people
she had missed while she was running and dodging.
...A hand stretched out from beneath rubble, a man lay in
the middle of the road, his chest gaping open, a child hung, half
embedded in a wall, head dangling limply...
Everywhere she looked there were more people. Over there,
StarFighter and StarMaker lay and a little beyond them, Jupiter
and Mercury. A flash of familiar red and she saw Mars' eyes
staring unseeing into the smoky night sky. Uranus was bent over
the still body of her partner and Venus and StarHealer were
standing, watching the two combatants for a chance at revenge.
Fresh tears welled in her eyes at the devastation that
surrounded her.
This... this wasn't right.
Standing, she noticed that Earth had turned his attention to
Galaxia and Mistress Nine and took a step towards him.
"Chibi-chibi!"
Sailor Moon looked at the girl she had been looking after
for so long and at the strangely adult light in her eyes as she
held out her tiny arms, demanding to be picked up. Hesitating,
Sailor Moon swiftly bent and picked her up, swinging Chibi-chibi
onto her hip and swinging back around just in time to see Earth
explode with power.
The incandescent golden-white light shot in a column to the
heavens and Earth advanced.
Sailor Moon moved in beside him, ready to back him up in
any way necessary. They couldn't let these two women take this
planet that was their home.
She glanced at Earth out of the corner of her eye and
couldn't help but smile. There was something so right about
standing beside this man supporting his actions and ready to
fight with him. It was a familiar feeling and it was with
satisfaction and pride that she watched as Mistress Nine was
thrown backwards.
As Earth turned to deal with Galaxia, Sailor Moon decided
she'd keep Mistress Nine occupied. She and Earth were a team and
each had their part to play.
A tiny smirk played on her lips as she watched Mistress
Nine rise from where she had been thrown and make her way back
through the walls that had slowed and finally stopped her flight.
A thin line of red ran from her lips to her chin and her dark
eyes blazed with anger that was focussed on Earth.
The dark woman pushed tangled strands of hair out of her
face and drew herself to her full height, extending her hand
towards Senshi Earth where he stood, locked in a struggle with
Galaxia.
Sailor Moon stepped between them, throwing her head back,
the smile still in place, "Two against one isn't exactly fair,
you know."
Mistress Nine paused then matched Sailor Moon's smile with
one of her own, "No, I guess not. One against one on the other
hand..."
Sailor Moon dodged the first half-expected strike, feeling
the rush of air past her face as sharp black strands attempted to
decapitate her. Then her hand flashed up and caught the mass of
hair, wincing as it dug into her palms, but holding on. Wrapping
it more firmly around her fist, Sailor Moon let loose a burst of
energy that flashed along the strands and reached the other
woman.
White-silver lightening arced across her body as Mistress
Nine's body tensed in pain. She hissed and let the hair fall,
detaching it from the rest of the mass where it became normal
hair.
Thankful for all the training she'd done, with and without
Luna, Sailor Moon dropped the hair and leapt forwards, snatching
the tiara from her forehead and snapping it out into a whip, much
like the one that had extended from Earth's sword earlier.
Using it to parry Mistress Nine's attacks, she drew near
enough to snap a spin-kick into the other woman's face. She
followed through with a second kick to her midriff and moved
back, allowing her tiara to dissolve back to it's original form
then into the disk of glowing light that had been her first
attack. Infusing it with far more energy than it had had the
first time, she sent it flying towards Mistress Nine.
Striking the dark-haired woman in the stomach, the energy
disk exploded, wrapping golden strands of light around her and
pulling tight.
Mistress Nine screamed and began to struggle wildly as
Sailor Moon, not wanting to underestimate her opponent, changed
the structure of the energy that bound the other woman and began
drawing off her energy to fuel the prison.
A soundless scream ripped through her consciousness and her
head whipped around, searching...
The light that had surrounded Senshi Earth and Galaxia
since she had begun to fight Mistress Nine had finished and Earth
was falling backwards.
Abandoning Mistress Nine to the mercies of her tiara,
Sailor Moon ran, sliding in behind Earth just before he hit the
ground and lowering him the rest of the way gently. She cradled
his head against her chest supporting his upper body in a semi-
upright position.
Stroking the hair back from Earth's face, Sailor Moon
noticed the blank sightlessness of his eyes and felt something
within her break, opening a flood of memories.
~Flash~
//Laughing with Endymion while Venus watched in the
background, unwilling to spoil their time together.
Sneaking down to Earth at night, loving the moonlight and
the rose-scented air and Endymion above all things...//
//The fear in Endymion's face as he told her of the unrest
amongst his people...//
//Mars and Jupiter urging her not to go to Earth, knowing
there would be danger to their Princess. Queen Serenity,
her mother, forbidding her to return to Earth and her
beloved's side and ordering the Inner Senshi to make sure
she remained...//
//Managing to get past her guardians in time to see the
first waves of the people of Earth arriving on the moon,
anger and fear glowing in their eyes. The Four Generals
who had been her friends standing with the Witch, Beryl, as
the Moon Palace burned while her mother searched for
her...//
//A hand grabbing her arm as Endymion whispered in her ear
and left to do battle. Running after him and being caught
up in the whirlwind of bloodlust until Endymion fell...//
//Endymion's sword piercing her side as she slid it home,
unwilling to live without him, knowing they would meet
again...//
~Flash~
Tears ran once more down her cheeks as she came back to
herself, Senshi Earth, Endymion, clutched to her in desperation.
Not again.
This couldn't happen, she'd just found him and he had
already been taken away. She wouldn't let it happen.
She wouldn't.
The next tear that fell from her eyes contained all of her
determination, fear, pain, loneliness, love and anger. It
flashed with a rainbow of colours and solidified, becoming
something familiar and beloved. It had hovered in the back of
each memory that had swept through her mind and she _knew_ it,
beyond her knowing of Endymion, herself and the rest of the
Silver Millennium.
A hand fisted around the small silver crystal and Sailor
Moon stood up. This time she was going to make them pay for
taking Endymion away from her.
He was hers.
Her Sailor fuku bloomed into a flowing white gown, her
tiara into a crescent moon that glinted on her brow. Her hair
bleached to white and she stood, lying Earth on the ground.
"You..." she whispered to Galaxia and everything
disappeared in a soundless explosion of white.
==========
Mistress Nine glanced up from her struggles as her prison
loosened from about her body and began to fall away.
The annoying Senshi that had been standing in front of her,
keeping her here, the supposed amateur was no longer there. It
didn't take long to find her again though, she was kneeling on the
ground in front of Galaxia, holding Senshi Earth to her chest.
Mistress Nine smirked, so the Moon Senshi was in love with
the Earth. That was useful iformation, she thought, preparing to
attack while Sailor Moon was open and vulnerable to attack. Then
the blonde's head bent over Earth even further, her short hair
falling forward and obscuring her face. A strange stillness
settled around her and began to move outwards.
As it reached her, Mistress Nine shivered, a sense of
foreboding forcing her to stay her hand and just watch instead.
Tears began to fall from Sailor Moon's face, splashing
against Earth's face until one of them caught the light and became
something more. A fist closed around the newly formed crystal and
the blonde Senshi stood, her head coming up to glare at Galaxia.
Mistress Nine watched as Sailor Moon's fuku spun away, a
white gown appearing in it's place. Behind her, Earth's armour
also changed, altering slightly into something less ornamental and
more elegant. But he didn't stir, which almost surprised the
woman watching.
Then Sailor Moon whispered a word that spread in ripples,
the menace within the single word enough to increase the
foreboding Mistress Nine had been feeling and she decided she did
not want to be there. This woman had far too much Power.
A brief thought later, Mistress Nine was no longer in the
vicinity.
==========
Venus watched as Sailor Moon became a figure of dreams.
Her dreams.
She gasped as the knowledge flowed over her with certainty.
The Princess, Sailor Moon was the Princess.
This was the Princess.
And as light bloomed from the slight figure standing in the
centre of the mess, she felt complete for the first time in this
life. She was everything Venus knew she would be and more.
No one could stand before her Princess, she whispered to
herself, and to prove it Galaxia was washed away, dissolved,
cleansed. Then she was no longer there and the waves of
Serenity's power continued outwards.
Venus smiled as the tsunami of white light rolled over her,
letting herself fall into it as she had been wanting to do
forever.
==========
StarFighter stirred and carefully blinked open her eyes,
expecting a pain that never came. A frown pulled at her brow as
she took in the clear grey sky, framed by rooves and trees around
the clean area of city where she lay. She pushed herself to her
elbows and looked around, a sense of unreality making her blink
frequently.
Around her lay all the Senshi who had fought against
Galaxia. Her sisters, the Outers, the Inners, Earth and Sailor
Moon, all of them were there and none of them seemed to be hurt.
That seemed wrong to StarFighter.
She tried to recall the last thing that happened to her and
a pair of sienna eyes appeared in her mind, a hand raising then
nothing. Galaxia killing StarMaker then her.
Jerking the rest of the way into a sitting position, she
stared at StarMaker who was breathing gently next to her. She
turned and felt for a pulse, just in case and exhaled a deep
breath as she felt it beating steadily beneath her palm.
The touch woke her sister and StarFighter smiled into
bewildered blue eyes before looking to everyone else.
Uranus had woken and was looking with confusion at the
sword that lay against her chest. She ran a finger up the blade,
eyes widening, then she smiled and turned, opening her mouth to
speak. Seeing her partner, lying still beside her, a mirror
cradled in her hands, she panicked. Memory dawned behind her
eyes and she shook Neptune frantically, sighing with relief when
the other girl moaned softly and turned into the touch.
Jupiter and Mars had also woken, observing everything in
much the same way as StarFighter was. Neither seemed to know
what had happened and were busy looking themselves over for
evidence of injuries they knew had been there.
Then, almost at the same moment, Earth and Venus woke.
Senshi Earth scrambled next to Sailor Moon, checking her
for signs of life, followed shortly after by Venus who seemed to
be holding her breath waiting for Earth's verdict.
When Earth sighed in relief, a brilliant smile dawned on
Venus' face and tears gathered in her eyes, though they didn't
fall.
Earth scooped Sailor Moon into his arms and bent over her,
whispering in her ear then just watching her.
"Princess..." a voice behind StarFighter breathed
reverently and she turned to look, seeing StarHealer staring in
the direction of Earth, Moon and Venus. The awe in her voice was
plain on her face and StarFighter watched as she also rose and
went to Sailor Moon.
Venus smiled at StarHealer as she came to stand beside her
and they stood in a harmony of understanding, watching Sailor
Moon with the same intensity, though different emotion, as Senshi
Earth.
Curious, each of the other Senshi slowly gathered around
the unconscious blonde Senshi and it slowly dawned on each of
them as the watched her that here lay the Princess. It was
whispered by each in acknowledgement as they formed a circle
around her and waited patiently for her awakening.
==========
In limbo, Serenity, Princess of the Moon, floated
peacefully, tears still drying on her face though she couldn't
remember why they were there.
Curling into a foetal position, she clutched the crystal to
her chest, shutting everything out of this place.
This place, she knew she'd been here before. It reminded
her of her mother, but it wasn't. She frowned as she tried to
recall where she'd last felt like this then her mind let the
question spin away into nothingness and she floated.
She didn't know how long she was there, floating, avoiding
thought and emotion, but slowly, very slowly, something began to
intrude on her peace.
Despair.
Emptiness.
Something that even the warm peacefulness couldn't fill.
Endymion...
And Princess Serenity uncurled herself, looking off into
the soft, featureless white light that surrounded her and cried.
~/Are you sad, Princess?/~
Serenity looked up, searching for the mouth that had spoken
the question, but nothing had changed, nothing was here.
"Yes."
~/Why?/~
"Endymion, beloved... he's dead."
~/You don't want him to be?/~
"No."
~/Then wake up, Princess, and so shall he./~
So Princess Serenity woke up...
==========
...And looked into familiar blue-grey eyes that watched her
with concern. Warm arms cradled her carefully and the lips broke
into a smile when she blinked. Beyond him, smiles broke out on
the faces of the other Senshi that surrounded them.
Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune,
StarFighter, StarMaker, StarHealer... all of them were there.
"Princess," whispered Venus and curtsied deeply, eyes
glowing.
Each of the others, in turn, did the same, until each of
them were bent towards her.
And behind them, Serenity noticed that they were still in
the area where they had fought Galaxia, but it was whole. Each
of the buildings was unharmed and the road was intact.
"Wha...?"
"You healed everything, Princess," StarFighter told her
quietly, the awe in her dark blue eyes mirrored on the faces of
the others.
Serenity looked, again, at the man holding her.
The eyes and lips of Senshi Earth, Endymion, continued
smiling as he looked at the other Senshi also. Then he turned
back to her and the intensity in his eyes doubled as his smile
softened.
"I remember, Princess," he whispered and also bowed his
head, briefly, to her.
Then something, a memory, flashed through his eyes and he
bent his head and gently kissed her, lips lingering on hers for a
long moment as her eyes fell shut.
When he lifted his head again she was smiling and the sun
burst from above the rooftops, bathing the area in the first
golden light of day.
==========
Sailor Pluto watched, relieved, as the Prince and Princess
kissed for the first time, seeing that the love still remained.
She shifted her gaze along the timeline a thousand years
and found, to her delight, that Crystal Tokyo stood in greater
glory than she'd ever seen it.
And she laughed in delight before lifting her voice to
address someone unseen.
"And still She wins! You cannot defeat Her, not so long as
He also exists. They have won!" The laughter rang once again
through the misty space that was all the only thing that existed
outside the timeline. "They have WON!"
The Senshi of Time looked down at the golden bracelets that
bound her to the chair where she had been sitting for so long and
smiled, the slightest touch of madness in her eyes.
Her voice sounded again in a whisper, "Princess. Prince.
Queen. King. Even without me, even then... Ah, I chose well
when I chose your mother, your father, your blood. I love you
dearly my Queen, my King. And I always shall. I love you..."
And she giggled, unconsciously twisting her wrists within
their bindings.
Elsewhere within the mists of Non-Time another pair of eyes
watched the same scene and heard Sailor Pluto's manic laughter.
The watcher's eyes turned thoughtful, "They have won?
Perhaps, my beloved Pluto, perhaps they have. But this is not
over yet. It never will be... not until one of us no longer
exists..."
==Owari==
Song: Nagareboshi He(Shooting Star)from the SM Stars Best
Collection. Lyrics found at Lyric Moon.
The lyrics are ordered a little differently for convenience.
C&C welcome, questions answered
sefilin@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/sefilin/