New Beginnings
The Guardsman Chronicles, Chapter Two
by Rick Federle
Sailor Venus clung tighter to the brown and white armored
Guardsman as he stopped stroking her hair so he could draw the
edges of his brown cape about her.
He took the left edge and drew it as far around as he could
manage, resting his hands on top of each other in the small of her
back, while he lowered his head to press his lips to the top of her
head and kissed her gently, lovingly. He turned his head as he
pulled his lips away and rested his right cheek on the top of her
head, and closed his eyes as he inhaled the smell of her hair. Her
sobbing began to still as she realized that he had no intention of
letting go of her.
The others exchanged a worried glance and Artemis
frowned as they watched. "That's enough." He said after a
moment.
The two raised their heads and Venus turned her tear-streaked face toward Artemis. "Just leave us be." She pleaded
before burying her face back in the Guardsman's chest. He lowered
his cheek back on top of her head. Artemis' frown deepened as he
looked at them, but he didn't press the issue for the moment.
"What's going on?" The Guardsman asked quietly, being
careful not to disturb Venus anymore than necessary. "What
happened while I was gone?"
"Welcome to Earth, Guardsman." Pluto began carefully.
"The war between the Negaverse and the Moon Kingdom is over.
The Moon Kingdom, except for the Earth, was destroyed about a
thousand years ago."
The Guardsman looked up sharply at her first comment then
buried his face in Venus' hair as Pluto went on. They saw the
beginnings of a tear in his eye before his face disappeared. He
looked back up a minute later. "All of it, gone?" He asked in a
subdued voice after taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, but yes." Pluto told him. The Guardsman
closed his eyes for a moment, clinging tighter to Sailor Venus.
"We've started over here on Earth." Sailor Moon told him.
"You're not alone."
"Thank you, Princess." The Guardsman said quietly.
"Sailor Moon is fine." Sailor Moon waved off the title and
he nodded in agreement. He lowered his cheek back on Venus'
head and closed his eyes.
The Scouts turned in surprise as a new figure popped into
view near the newly reunited couple. "Nancy Bhargest. Daily
Surpri-yi-yi-ze!" The reporter's eyes focused on the edge of the
Silence Glaive hovering only an inch or so in front of her face.
Saturn had used the edge of the Silence Glaive to slice her camera
in half before the reporter could finish her sentence. The remains of
the camera clattered to the floor in the sudden silence.
"I'd be careful." Pluto warned. "She's a tad bit
unpredictable."
Saturn smiled sweetly and with an audible gulp, the reporter
disappeared to wherever she had come from.
"Saturn." Uranus said sternly.
"Yes, poppa?"
"Be nice."
"Yes, poppa."
"Umm . . . " Sailor Moon began. "Now what?"
"We'd better get out of here before anyone else comes
nosing around." Luna advised.
"Right." Sailor Moon agreed. "Venus?"
Venus turned her head toward her. "Yes?" She asked in a
subdued voice.
"Time to go."
"All right." Venus reluctantly stepped out of the circle of
the Guardsman's arms and took his left hand in her right, interlacing
his fingers with hers. Mercury and Jupiter retrieved Luna and
Artemis respectively, then everyone crouched and leaped into
concealment.
The Scouts, along with the Guardsman, Luna, and Artemis,
had managed to return to and sneak into the Cherry Hill Temple
without being seen. They went to the spot behind the main temple
where the shadows were longest this time of day and offered both
the best concealment and some privacy. The Guardsman stood in
the middle of the group, his eyes intent, with a content looking
Venus back in his arms, his hands resting lightly over her stomach,
as they both looked toward Sailor Moon. Venus stood with her
eyes closed, leaning back against him, her hands resting over his, a
small smile playing on her lips. The others were gathered in a circle
around them.
"We're going to have to do something about him." Mercury
observed.
"Don't you dare!" Venus disagreed, her eyes popping open.
"I like him just the way he is."
"I didn't mean like that." Mercury added hastily. "I meant
his armor."
"Oh," Venus said. "That's fine then." She closed her eyes
and snuggled a little further back into the circle of the Guardsman's
arms.
"We can use a power pen, but it'd have to be activated
first." Luna suggested.
"What would that take?" Mars asked.
"Sailor Moon would have to use the Imperium Silver
Crystal to charge it." Luna explained. She leaped up into the air,
turning in a circle to release the power pen from whatever pocket
Queen Serenity had stored everything in. It popped into existence,
and Luna caught it in her teeth as she landed. With a turn of her
head, she tossed it to Sailor Moon. Pluto snagged it out of the air
with her free hand as Sailor Moon fumbled it.
"Here." Pluto offered, handing it back to her.
"Thanks." Sailor Moon said, firmly taking it in her fingers.
"I don't like this idea." Artemis commented.
"You're just being overprotective." Luna said as she turned
to face Artemis.
Artemis began sputtering. "I am not."
"Yes, you are." Luna disagreed. "You can't accept the fact
that Mina's starting to grow up."
"That has nothing to do with it." Artemis sputtered.
"Yes it does, Artemis." Luna glared at him. "That's exactly
what this is about."
"She's still in high school, Luna."
"And she'll be out next year. You ought to be happy for her
instead of trying to convince her that what she's doing is wrong."
"What she's doing IS wrong, Luna. We don't even know
who this guy really is."
"She trusts him and so we should give him the benefit of the
doubt."
"Well, I don't."
"I do." Sailor Moon interrupted, drawing everyone's
attention away from the cat's argument. Venus opened one eye to
look at her friend. "Venus trusts him and so do I."
"I don't." Jupiter stated.
"Neither do I." Mars echoed. "There's something strange
about him."
"Well, I do." Mercury disagreed.
"So do I." Pluto commented.
"I don't." Uranus said.
"And neither do I." Neptune agreed. "His appearance was
too convenient."
Several eyes turned to look at Saturn. "I do." She said
quietly.
Luna nodded and looked back at Sailor Moon. "It's your
decision, Sailor Moon. We'll abide by it." The others nodded in
agreement, some more reluctantly.
Sailor Moon nodded, passing the power pen back and forth
absently between her hands as she thought about it. Everyone eyed
her nervously for various reasons of their own, and Venus closed
her eyes again, trusting her friend. The Guardsman smiled slightly
and kissed the top of her head.
"I say we trust him." Sailor Moon said finally, touching the
power pen to her locket and the locket flare brightly as the Crystal
charged the power pen. Sailor Moon offered the charged power
pen to the Guardsman. With a sober nod, he reached out and took
it. He wrapped his fingers firmly around it and it vanished,
becoming part of the armor.
"Good." Luna said after a moment. "Now that that's
settled, you can transform back. No need to be any more
conspicuous than necessary."
With nearly simultaneous nods, the Scouts and the
Guardsman shimmered back to their human or in the Guardsman's
case, lunarian form. Eyes turned to examine William. He had a
short sleeved white shirt and brown slacks with white athletic
shoes. Mina snuggled back against him, resting her head against his
left shoulder.
"All I need now is a place to stay." William commented.
"Well, you're not going to stay here." Raye put in firmly.
Several sets of eyes looked toward Alexandra and Michelle.
"Forget it." Alexandra remarked. "I'm not going to have him."
"Susan?" Luna asked.
"Sorry." Susan smiled apologetically. "I've got relatives in
town."
"Then where?" Mina asked. "He can't just live on the
street, you know."
"Sounds like a good idea to me." Lita disagreed.
Mina opened her mouth, but William clamped his hand over
it. "Never mind, love." He said and she nodded in agreement.
William put his hand back around her waist. Silence filled the air as
everyone thought it over.
"What about Darien's?" Amy suggested finally. "He's not
in town."
"It might work." Luna juggled the idea. "As long as Serena
didn't lose her key."
"Of course not." Serena crossed her arms. "I've got it
here." She began checking her pockets. "Somewhere."
Everyone rolled their eyes and William gave Mina an
inquiring look. "I'll explain later, love." She promised and he
nodded.
"Ah, ha!" Serena declared triumphantly, holding up a key.
"All right." Mina commented. "Let's get going. We have
so much to catch up on." She stepped out of William's arms and
took his hand again.
"We should have a meeting first." Artemis disagreed.
"It's okay, Artemis." Amy put in. "I've got to go back to
the mall and get the car anyway."
Artemis glared at her, but dropped it. Susan glanced at her
wristwatch. "I've got to leave, too. I've got company tonight and
my apartment needs tiding up."
"Artemis, why don't you go with Amy?" Mina suggested.
"Absolutely not." Artemis disagreed. "You need to be
watched."
"I'm going to be with them." Luna told him.
"That does nothing for my peace of mind."
"It will have to do." Luna told him. "Come on, Serena.
You haven't got your homework done yet."
"But we don't have school tomorrow." Serena whined.
"Exactly why you should do it today." Luna began to
lecture as she lead Serena, Mina, and William toward the temple
exit. "Because you'll lounge around the house all day and do
absolutely nothing."
"Oh, come on, Luna." Serena's voice echoed back. "I'm
not that lazy."
Susan gave the others a shrug and turned and left.
"How did you manage to turn Darien's apartment into this
kind of disaster?" Mina asked in astonishment as the four stood in
the doorway.
Luna sighed rather heavily. "This resembles Serena's
room."
"Oh, come on, Luna." Serena disagreed. "It doesn't look
this bad."
"I know." Luna agreed. "Your mother just made you clean
it."
"Humph." Serena pouted.
"This will take a while." William commented, the first
words he'd spoken since they'd left the temple.
"Well, no time like the present." Mina looked around.
Luna glanced over at the wall clock. "I hate to drop this in
your laps, but Serena has to get home."
"But, Lunaaa . . . " Serena whined.
"Did you want to stay and clean?"
"Not really, no."
"Then you can cover for Mina with her parents. And then
there's all that homework."
"All right." Serena sighed. "Let's go, Luna."
"You've got your key, right?" Luna asked William.
"Yes." William held up the key they'd had made. They'd
made a quick stop on the way over.
"Don't do anything. Artemis thinks I'm watching you."
"Don't worry, Luna." Mina told her. "We'll just be talking.
Promise." Mina said sincerely.
"Then we'll be leaving." Luna said after eyeing her for a
moment. She turned around. "Come along, Serena."
The two could hear Serena's complaints until Mina closed
and locked the door. William brushed aside some boxes that could
have been food containers at one time and plopped down on the
couch.
Mina walked over and picked up the phone, calling home.
She pressed a finger to her lips before tucking the phone behind her
ear. "Mom? Hi. I'm going to stay over with Serena tonight, so
don't worry. Love you, too. Bye."
She put the phone back on the cradle and walked over to
the couch. "First we clean, then we can talk." He nodded in
agreement and the two turned to the task of cleaning the apartment.
They'd stayed up quite late, the cleaning had taken hours.
Once they were finished, they'd settled on the couch. They'd sat
facing one another, holding hands with heads bent close together,
talking about what had happened since they'd seen each other since
that last evening on the Moon.
William had finally turned in and Mina sat on the couch,
thinking. After a while, she got up and walked to the bedroom
door to check on him. He was muttering in his sleep, tossing and
turning. His shoes lay on the floor nearby, but other than that, he
was still fully dressed.
"My poor dear." Mina thought, her eyes contemplating his
face. "He's been through so much." She went over and tucked him
back in. At her touch, his thrashing stilled.
"I'll just lay on top of the covers with him for a few
minutes." Mina thought. "I can sleep on the couch tonight."
Mina toed off her shoes and lowered herself down next to
him, being careful to stay above the sheets. She put her back
against his chest and at her touch, he put his right arm around her
stomach.
"I'll just close my eyes for a minute." Mina promised herself
as she closed her eyes. "Just a minute. Then I'll get back up." She
gave a small sigh of contentment and a minute later was fast asleep.
The Guardsman Chronicles, Chapter Two
by Rick Federle
Sailor Venus clung tighter to the brown and white armored
Guardsman as he stopped stroking her hair so he could draw the
edges of his brown cape about her.
He took the left edge and drew it as far around as he could
manage, resting his hands on top of each other in the small of her
back, while he lowered his head to press his lips to the top of her
head and kissed her gently, lovingly. He turned his head as he
pulled his lips away and rested his right cheek on the top of her
head, and closed his eyes as he inhaled the smell of her hair. Her
sobbing began to still as she realized that he had no intention of
letting go of her.
The others exchanged a worried glance and Artemis
frowned as they watched. "That's enough." He said after a
moment.
The two raised their heads and Venus turned her tear-streaked face toward Artemis. "Just leave us be." She pleaded
before burying her face back in the Guardsman's chest. He lowered
his cheek back on top of her head. Artemis' frown deepened as he
looked at them, but he didn't press the issue for the moment.
"What's going on?" The Guardsman asked quietly, being
careful not to disturb Venus anymore than necessary. "What
happened while I was gone?"
"Welcome to Earth, Guardsman." Pluto began carefully.
"The war between the Negaverse and the Moon Kingdom is over.
The Moon Kingdom, except for the Earth, was destroyed about a
thousand years ago."
The Guardsman looked up sharply at her first comment then
buried his face in Venus' hair as Pluto went on. They saw the
beginnings of a tear in his eye before his face disappeared. He
looked back up a minute later. "All of it, gone?" He asked in a
subdued voice after taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, but yes." Pluto told him. The Guardsman
closed his eyes for a moment, clinging tighter to Sailor Venus.
"We've started over here on Earth." Sailor Moon told him.
"You're not alone."
"Thank you, Princess." The Guardsman said quietly.
"Sailor Moon is fine." Sailor Moon waved off the title and
he nodded in agreement. He lowered his cheek back on Venus'
head and closed his eyes.
The Scouts turned in surprise as a new figure popped into
view near the newly reunited couple. "Nancy Bhargest. Daily
Surpri-yi-yi-ze!" The reporter's eyes focused on the edge of the
Silence Glaive hovering only an inch or so in front of her face.
Saturn had used the edge of the Silence Glaive to slice her camera
in half before the reporter could finish her sentence. The remains of
the camera clattered to the floor in the sudden silence.
"I'd be careful." Pluto warned. "She's a tad bit
unpredictable."
Saturn smiled sweetly and with an audible gulp, the reporter
disappeared to wherever she had come from.
"Saturn." Uranus said sternly.
"Yes, poppa?"
"Be nice."
"Yes, poppa."
"Umm . . . " Sailor Moon began. "Now what?"
"We'd better get out of here before anyone else comes
nosing around." Luna advised.
"Right." Sailor Moon agreed. "Venus?"
Venus turned her head toward her. "Yes?" She asked in a
subdued voice.
"Time to go."
"All right." Venus reluctantly stepped out of the circle of
the Guardsman's arms and took his left hand in her right, interlacing
his fingers with hers. Mercury and Jupiter retrieved Luna and
Artemis respectively, then everyone crouched and leaped into
concealment.
The Scouts, along with the Guardsman, Luna, and Artemis,
had managed to return to and sneak into the Cherry Hill Temple
without being seen. They went to the spot behind the main temple
where the shadows were longest this time of day and offered both
the best concealment and some privacy. The Guardsman stood in
the middle of the group, his eyes intent, with a content looking
Venus back in his arms, his hands resting lightly over her stomach,
as they both looked toward Sailor Moon. Venus stood with her
eyes closed, leaning back against him, her hands resting over his, a
small smile playing on her lips. The others were gathered in a circle
around them.
"We're going to have to do something about him." Mercury
observed.
"Don't you dare!" Venus disagreed, her eyes popping open.
"I like him just the way he is."
"I didn't mean like that." Mercury added hastily. "I meant
his armor."
"Oh," Venus said. "That's fine then." She closed her eyes
and snuggled a little further back into the circle of the Guardsman's
arms.
"We can use a power pen, but it'd have to be activated
first." Luna suggested.
"What would that take?" Mars asked.
"Sailor Moon would have to use the Imperium Silver
Crystal to charge it." Luna explained. She leaped up into the air,
turning in a circle to release the power pen from whatever pocket
Queen Serenity had stored everything in. It popped into existence,
and Luna caught it in her teeth as she landed. With a turn of her
head, she tossed it to Sailor Moon. Pluto snagged it out of the air
with her free hand as Sailor Moon fumbled it.
"Here." Pluto offered, handing it back to her.
"Thanks." Sailor Moon said, firmly taking it in her fingers.
"I don't like this idea." Artemis commented.
"You're just being overprotective." Luna said as she turned
to face Artemis.
Artemis began sputtering. "I am not."
"Yes, you are." Luna disagreed. "You can't accept the fact
that Mina's starting to grow up."
"That has nothing to do with it." Artemis sputtered.
"Yes it does, Artemis." Luna glared at him. "That's exactly
what this is about."
"She's still in high school, Luna."
"And she'll be out next year. You ought to be happy for her
instead of trying to convince her that what she's doing is wrong."
"What she's doing IS wrong, Luna. We don't even know
who this guy really is."
"She trusts him and so we should give him the benefit of the
doubt."
"Well, I don't."
"I do." Sailor Moon interrupted, drawing everyone's
attention away from the cat's argument. Venus opened one eye to
look at her friend. "Venus trusts him and so do I."
"I don't." Jupiter stated.
"Neither do I." Mars echoed. "There's something strange
about him."
"Well, I do." Mercury disagreed.
"So do I." Pluto commented.
"I don't." Uranus said.
"And neither do I." Neptune agreed. "His appearance was
too convenient."
Several eyes turned to look at Saturn. "I do." She said
quietly.
Luna nodded and looked back at Sailor Moon. "It's your
decision, Sailor Moon. We'll abide by it." The others nodded in
agreement, some more reluctantly.
Sailor Moon nodded, passing the power pen back and forth
absently between her hands as she thought about it. Everyone eyed
her nervously for various reasons of their own, and Venus closed
her eyes again, trusting her friend. The Guardsman smiled slightly
and kissed the top of her head.
"I say we trust him." Sailor Moon said finally, touching the
power pen to her locket and the locket flare brightly as the Crystal
charged the power pen. Sailor Moon offered the charged power
pen to the Guardsman. With a sober nod, he reached out and took
it. He wrapped his fingers firmly around it and it vanished,
becoming part of the armor.
"Good." Luna said after a moment. "Now that that's
settled, you can transform back. No need to be any more
conspicuous than necessary."
With nearly simultaneous nods, the Scouts and the
Guardsman shimmered back to their human or in the Guardsman's
case, lunarian form. Eyes turned to examine William. He had a
short sleeved white shirt and brown slacks with white athletic
shoes. Mina snuggled back against him, resting her head against his
left shoulder.
"All I need now is a place to stay." William commented.
"Well, you're not going to stay here." Raye put in firmly.
Several sets of eyes looked toward Alexandra and Michelle.
"Forget it." Alexandra remarked. "I'm not going to have him."
"Susan?" Luna asked.
"Sorry." Susan smiled apologetically. "I've got relatives in
town."
"Then where?" Mina asked. "He can't just live on the
street, you know."
"Sounds like a good idea to me." Lita disagreed.
Mina opened her mouth, but William clamped his hand over
it. "Never mind, love." He said and she nodded in agreement.
William put his hand back around her waist. Silence filled the air as
everyone thought it over.
"What about Darien's?" Amy suggested finally. "He's not
in town."
"It might work." Luna juggled the idea. "As long as Serena
didn't lose her key."
"Of course not." Serena crossed her arms. "I've got it
here." She began checking her pockets. "Somewhere."
Everyone rolled their eyes and William gave Mina an
inquiring look. "I'll explain later, love." She promised and he
nodded.
"Ah, ha!" Serena declared triumphantly, holding up a key.
"All right." Mina commented. "Let's get going. We have
so much to catch up on." She stepped out of William's arms and
took his hand again.
"We should have a meeting first." Artemis disagreed.
"It's okay, Artemis." Amy put in. "I've got to go back to
the mall and get the car anyway."
Artemis glared at her, but dropped it. Susan glanced at her
wristwatch. "I've got to leave, too. I've got company tonight and
my apartment needs tiding up."
"Artemis, why don't you go with Amy?" Mina suggested.
"Absolutely not." Artemis disagreed. "You need to be
watched."
"I'm going to be with them." Luna told him.
"That does nothing for my peace of mind."
"It will have to do." Luna told him. "Come on, Serena.
You haven't got your homework done yet."
"But we don't have school tomorrow." Serena whined.
"Exactly why you should do it today." Luna began to
lecture as she lead Serena, Mina, and William toward the temple
exit. "Because you'll lounge around the house all day and do
absolutely nothing."
"Oh, come on, Luna." Serena's voice echoed back. "I'm
not that lazy."
Susan gave the others a shrug and turned and left.
"How did you manage to turn Darien's apartment into this
kind of disaster?" Mina asked in astonishment as the four stood in
the doorway.
Luna sighed rather heavily. "This resembles Serena's
room."
"Oh, come on, Luna." Serena disagreed. "It doesn't look
this bad."
"I know." Luna agreed. "Your mother just made you clean
it."
"Humph." Serena pouted.
"This will take a while." William commented, the first
words he'd spoken since they'd left the temple.
"Well, no time like the present." Mina looked around.
Luna glanced over at the wall clock. "I hate to drop this in
your laps, but Serena has to get home."
"But, Lunaaa . . . " Serena whined.
"Did you want to stay and clean?"
"Not really, no."
"Then you can cover for Mina with her parents. And then
there's all that homework."
"All right." Serena sighed. "Let's go, Luna."
"You've got your key, right?" Luna asked William.
"Yes." William held up the key they'd had made. They'd
made a quick stop on the way over.
"Don't do anything. Artemis thinks I'm watching you."
"Don't worry, Luna." Mina told her. "We'll just be talking.
Promise." Mina said sincerely.
"Then we'll be leaving." Luna said after eyeing her for a
moment. She turned around. "Come along, Serena."
The two could hear Serena's complaints until Mina closed
and locked the door. William brushed aside some boxes that could
have been food containers at one time and plopped down on the
couch.
Mina walked over and picked up the phone, calling home.
She pressed a finger to her lips before tucking the phone behind her
ear. "Mom? Hi. I'm going to stay over with Serena tonight, so
don't worry. Love you, too. Bye."
She put the phone back on the cradle and walked over to
the couch. "First we clean, then we can talk." He nodded in
agreement and the two turned to the task of cleaning the apartment.
They'd stayed up quite late, the cleaning had taken hours.
Once they were finished, they'd settled on the couch. They'd sat
facing one another, holding hands with heads bent close together,
talking about what had happened since they'd seen each other since
that last evening on the Moon.
William had finally turned in and Mina sat on the couch,
thinking. After a while, she got up and walked to the bedroom
door to check on him. He was muttering in his sleep, tossing and
turning. His shoes lay on the floor nearby, but other than that, he
was still fully dressed.
"My poor dear." Mina thought, her eyes contemplating his
face. "He's been through so much." She went over and tucked him
back in. At her touch, his thrashing stilled.
"I'll just lay on top of the covers with him for a few
minutes." Mina thought. "I can sleep on the couch tonight."
Mina toed off her shoes and lowered herself down next to
him, being careful to stay above the sheets. She put her back
against his chest and at her touch, he put his right arm around her
stomach.
"I'll just close my eyes for a minute." Mina promised herself
as she closed her eyes. "Just a minute. Then I'll get back up." She
gave a small sigh of contentment and a minute later was fast asleep.