If you're reading this, you probably already know of the Sailor Scouts of Tokyo from what has been told by the television and comic book series based on their exploits. What you may not know is that there is another band of warriors fighting the Negaverse from the other side of the planet. This group, based in Miami, Florida, is known as the Star Soldiers. This is our story.
My name is Tim. I was the first. I was discovered in much the same way as Serena of the Sailor Scouts. One night, I awoke in a cold sweat after a nightmare. I was floating in space, but I wasn't just floating. I was moving-- fast! I looked behind me and saw a ringed planet. It was beautiful, all golden and covered with shimmering cities that were so large, I could see them even from that great distance. Suddenly, in a great flash of light accompanied by a loud scream ringing in my head as from billions of voices, the planet was gone, and I woke up. It was the same dream that had kept me awake for years when I was little, and it had come back to haunt me. Reluctantly, I drifted back into a fitful, uneasy sleep.
The next morning, on my way to school, I almost stepped on a silver fox that jumped out of nowhere. "Shoo, boy! Go home!" I said, but to no avail. It just stared at me with haunting, yet familiar, eyes. I stepped around and continued on to school, thoroughly creeped out.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful: just a normal school day, really. After the final bell rang, though, all that changed. Nothing would ever be normal again. On my way home, I saw the fox again. I stepped around it again. After I had walked a little ways, I looked over my shoulder, and the fox was staring at me strangely, like it wanted something from me. I decided to ignore it and, setting my eyes forward, continued home. Not more than a few yards down the sidewalk, I looked over my shoulder again. How could I resist? This fox was really disturbing me. There it was, sitting in exactly the same position, but just as far behind me as the last time. I walked a little more and looked back again. There it was, but closer this time. I started walking faster, looking over my shoulder every now and then to find that the fox was indeed chasing me. I then broke into a full run.
Finally, after three minutes of running from that strange fox, I ran into the lobby of my apartment building. I calmed down and got on the elevator where I caught my breath. I got off on the fourth floor and walked down the hall to my parents' apartment. I unlocked the door, threw my backpack on the floor and went to my room. In there, I heard something out on the balcony. I stepped out and almost stepped on that stupid fox.
My eyes wide in astonishment, I asked, "How did you get up here?" as if I expected an answer, and an answer is what I got.
"I jumped. How else would I get up here?"
I almost screamed, but instead, I replied, "You talk."
"Of course I talk."
"But you're an animal."
"Yep."
"What do you want? Why are you following me?"
"I'm looking for someone."
"Who?"
"You, I think. I'm not sure."
"Well, how will you know?"
"The time has come."
"What?"
"Never mind. Have you been having strange dreams lately?"
"Yeah, but when I was eight, the doctors said it was just because of my adoption."
"You bought that?"
"Well, no, not really."
"Good."
"So, what was it?"
"A memory."
"A memory of what?"
"Of the destruction of your home planet."
At this, I just stared.
"Don't try to deny it," said the fox, as if it knew my thoughts. "You are the protector of Saturn, one of the Star Soldiers of the Golden Empire of Outer Planets."
"Yeah, right! A talking fox is telling me I'm an alien. I thought the other dream was weird."
"Excuse me? I'm afraid you couldn't possibly dream me up. I'm simply too wonderful." The fox was slightly vain.
"Oh, yeah? Prove it."
"Don't mind if I do," said the fox, just as it did a backflip and a necklace fell onto the floor from nowhere. He motioned to the necklace and said, "Put it on."
I laughed. "You think that can convince me I'm not dreaming?"
"Just put it on."
I figured I had nothing to lose, since it was a dream anyway; so, I knelt down and picked up the necklace. It was a beautiful golden chain with a sparkling diamond on it. I put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. There was an odd, albeit familiar, warmth emanating from the crystal.
"Okay, now what?" I asked the fox.
"Now," the fox said with a smirk, [author's note: I'm still not sure how a fox can smirk.] "it's time for the mind meld."
"The what?!" I managed to spurt out before a beam of light came out of a strange mark on the fox's forehead and connected with mine.
Memories came flooding in. Things I had tried so hard to forget were now overwhelming me. My dream finally made sense. Ages ago, in a time known as the Silver Millenium, there were ten planets in our star system, all of them inhabited. These ten worlds were divided into three kingdoms: the Moon Kingdom, the Golden Empire, and Nemesis. I was from Saturn, the capital planet of the Empire. I was Saturn's Star Soldier. Together with the other Soldiers, I was the only line of defense in an Empire with no armies. We didn't need armies. It was a time of great peace. If an outside force did threaten our system, we had the Star Soldiers and the Sailor Scouts to fend them off. We were the most powerful warriors in all of our ten planets. We found out we weren't enough.
The Negaverse attacked with no warning. Queen Beryl's troops swept in and ruthlessly obliterated all in their path. Most of the fighting was contained within the Golden Empire. They drove much of the populace to the relative safety of the Moon Kingdom and drained the energy from what was left. They finally reached Saturn. The Emperor, the other Star Soldiers, and I barely escaped with our lives and fled to Queen Serenity's Palace on the Moon.
With Nemesis and the Empire gone, there was nothing to keep the Negaverse out of the Moon Kingdom. Because their defenses were even worse than ours were, it wasn't long before the Negaverse launched its final attack on the Moon itself. The Sailor Scouts and the Star Soldiers stood locked in a stalemate with Beryl's minions for what seemed an eternity. For most of this battle, I was in the Palace beside the Emperor, watching him die from the injuries he sustained while escaping our own planet. After he was gone and I had done my fair share of mourning, Queen Serenity rushed in and said, "Saturn Soldier, we need your help. People are dying out there."
I just nodded and ran out to where the fighting was. Most of our warriors had already fallen, and the enemy was pressing in. I fought alongside the few of us that were left, but it was all for nothing. As I lay on the ground, bleeding, helpless, and at the mercy of the attackers, it stopped. Queen Serenity had used the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal to lock Beryl's armies back in the Negaverse. Knowing her spell wouldn't last forever, Serenity preserved the spirits of the Sailor Scouts and the Star Soldiers. We were to be reborn in time for Beryl's return. That time was now.
"No! No!" I shouted, my thoughts returning to the present. "Chronos," (the fox's name was one of my regained memories) "why did you do this? I didn't want to remember any of this. If I had been out there fighting, instead of with the Emperor, we might have stood a chance." I broke down crying.
"No, it's not your fault," Chronos said, sympathetically. "You were where you needed to be. You would have just been delaying the inevitable. Besides, now is your chance to make up for it. Queen Beryl and the Negaverse have been set free."
I sniffled and wiped the tears running down my face. "What do I have to do?"
"You must use the power of the Saturn Diamond to hold Beryl's minions at bay while I find the other Star Soldiers."
"Okay, how exactly am I supposed to do that?"
"I've been in touch with Sailor Moon's guardian cat, Luna, in Japan, and she tells me that the Negaverse has changed its tactics. Instead of a full-scale invasion, they have been sending a single attacker at a time to gather energy. They're probably planning on using this energy to widen the gates to this universe in order to send an army. A new gate has recently opened up here in Miami. You must destroy these monsters as they come to prevent them from stealing too much energy."
"And just how do I know when of these monsters is here?"
Just then, as if on cue, we heard a scream from down the beach.
"Well, that's one clue," said Chronos, "Shout 'Saturn Diamond Power,' now!"
I did so, and beams of light shot out of the diamond around my neck. The beams swirled and wrapped around my body until they solidified into gleaming armor. There was a breastplate with intricate, dragon-like carvings etched into it and blade-like shoulder guards, a belt with a short, curved sword, and a short cape, all pure white.
After a few moments of my staring down at my new outfit, Chronos shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get down there!"
Feeling a surge of power, I leapt from the balcony and landed, on my feet, unscathed, four stories to the sidewalk below. Without wasting a breath, I ran down to the beach and saw a scaly creature, slightly taller than a large human, with a cobra's head ready to sink its teeth into a young lady's neck.
"Stop right there!" I shouted. "I am the Saturn Soldier, and unless you unhand that girl and go back to the scum you crawled out of, I'll give you some pain you'll never forget." I was shocked by my own boldness
He dropped her and looked over at me. "SSSaturn SSSoldier?" He said with a hissing, snake-like voice, "Back from the grave? You died back in the SSSilver Millenium!"
"Think again! I'm back, and you can go tell your Queen that I'm quite alive and well."
"Beryl would be interesssted in thisss newsss. Perhapsss I could be promoted. I'll sssee you later!" With that, he vanished back to the Negaverse.
After making sure all the people on the scene were all right, I went back to my apartment and jumped back up to the balcony, where Chronos was still sitting. My armor turned back into light and faded into my normal clothes.
"You're back. How'd it go?" asked the fox.
"He got away. Beryl knows I'm back," I answered
"This might not be good. We'd better get to work on finding those other Soldiers."
"Yeah, tomorrow, though," I yawned. It was already dark. It had been a weird day, and I needed to get some sleep. "You'd better stay outside for tonight. I can't legally keep an unlicensed fox inside. Before we go looking for the others tomorrow, we'll go down to the license place."
"Good thinking. Now go to bed."
I slid the door open, went inside, and grabbed something to eat before I went to bed. Later, as I was falling asleep, I couldn't help thinking of the day's events. Once I did manage to doze off, my dreams were quite a bit sweeter now that I knew another chance.
My name is Tim. I was the first. I was discovered in much the same way as Serena of the Sailor Scouts. One night, I awoke in a cold sweat after a nightmare. I was floating in space, but I wasn't just floating. I was moving-- fast! I looked behind me and saw a ringed planet. It was beautiful, all golden and covered with shimmering cities that were so large, I could see them even from that great distance. Suddenly, in a great flash of light accompanied by a loud scream ringing in my head as from billions of voices, the planet was gone, and I woke up. It was the same dream that had kept me awake for years when I was little, and it had come back to haunt me. Reluctantly, I drifted back into a fitful, uneasy sleep.
The next morning, on my way to school, I almost stepped on a silver fox that jumped out of nowhere. "Shoo, boy! Go home!" I said, but to no avail. It just stared at me with haunting, yet familiar, eyes. I stepped around and continued on to school, thoroughly creeped out.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful: just a normal school day, really. After the final bell rang, though, all that changed. Nothing would ever be normal again. On my way home, I saw the fox again. I stepped around it again. After I had walked a little ways, I looked over my shoulder, and the fox was staring at me strangely, like it wanted something from me. I decided to ignore it and, setting my eyes forward, continued home. Not more than a few yards down the sidewalk, I looked over my shoulder again. How could I resist? This fox was really disturbing me. There it was, sitting in exactly the same position, but just as far behind me as the last time. I walked a little more and looked back again. There it was, but closer this time. I started walking faster, looking over my shoulder every now and then to find that the fox was indeed chasing me. I then broke into a full run.
Finally, after three minutes of running from that strange fox, I ran into the lobby of my apartment building. I calmed down and got on the elevator where I caught my breath. I got off on the fourth floor and walked down the hall to my parents' apartment. I unlocked the door, threw my backpack on the floor and went to my room. In there, I heard something out on the balcony. I stepped out and almost stepped on that stupid fox.
My eyes wide in astonishment, I asked, "How did you get up here?" as if I expected an answer, and an answer is what I got.
"I jumped. How else would I get up here?"
I almost screamed, but instead, I replied, "You talk."
"Of course I talk."
"But you're an animal."
"Yep."
"What do you want? Why are you following me?"
"I'm looking for someone."
"Who?"
"You, I think. I'm not sure."
"Well, how will you know?"
"The time has come."
"What?"
"Never mind. Have you been having strange dreams lately?"
"Yeah, but when I was eight, the doctors said it was just because of my adoption."
"You bought that?"
"Well, no, not really."
"Good."
"So, what was it?"
"A memory."
"A memory of what?"
"Of the destruction of your home planet."
At this, I just stared.
"Don't try to deny it," said the fox, as if it knew my thoughts. "You are the protector of Saturn, one of the Star Soldiers of the Golden Empire of Outer Planets."
"Yeah, right! A talking fox is telling me I'm an alien. I thought the other dream was weird."
"Excuse me? I'm afraid you couldn't possibly dream me up. I'm simply too wonderful." The fox was slightly vain.
"Oh, yeah? Prove it."
"Don't mind if I do," said the fox, just as it did a backflip and a necklace fell onto the floor from nowhere. He motioned to the necklace and said, "Put it on."
I laughed. "You think that can convince me I'm not dreaming?"
"Just put it on."
I figured I had nothing to lose, since it was a dream anyway; so, I knelt down and picked up the necklace. It was a beautiful golden chain with a sparkling diamond on it. I put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. There was an odd, albeit familiar, warmth emanating from the crystal.
"Okay, now what?" I asked the fox.
"Now," the fox said with a smirk, [author's note: I'm still not sure how a fox can smirk.] "it's time for the mind meld."
"The what?!" I managed to spurt out before a beam of light came out of a strange mark on the fox's forehead and connected with mine.
Memories came flooding in. Things I had tried so hard to forget were now overwhelming me. My dream finally made sense. Ages ago, in a time known as the Silver Millenium, there were ten planets in our star system, all of them inhabited. These ten worlds were divided into three kingdoms: the Moon Kingdom, the Golden Empire, and Nemesis. I was from Saturn, the capital planet of the Empire. I was Saturn's Star Soldier. Together with the other Soldiers, I was the only line of defense in an Empire with no armies. We didn't need armies. It was a time of great peace. If an outside force did threaten our system, we had the Star Soldiers and the Sailor Scouts to fend them off. We were the most powerful warriors in all of our ten planets. We found out we weren't enough.
The Negaverse attacked with no warning. Queen Beryl's troops swept in and ruthlessly obliterated all in their path. Most of the fighting was contained within the Golden Empire. They drove much of the populace to the relative safety of the Moon Kingdom and drained the energy from what was left. They finally reached Saturn. The Emperor, the other Star Soldiers, and I barely escaped with our lives and fled to Queen Serenity's Palace on the Moon.
With Nemesis and the Empire gone, there was nothing to keep the Negaverse out of the Moon Kingdom. Because their defenses were even worse than ours were, it wasn't long before the Negaverse launched its final attack on the Moon itself. The Sailor Scouts and the Star Soldiers stood locked in a stalemate with Beryl's minions for what seemed an eternity. For most of this battle, I was in the Palace beside the Emperor, watching him die from the injuries he sustained while escaping our own planet. After he was gone and I had done my fair share of mourning, Queen Serenity rushed in and said, "Saturn Soldier, we need your help. People are dying out there."
I just nodded and ran out to where the fighting was. Most of our warriors had already fallen, and the enemy was pressing in. I fought alongside the few of us that were left, but it was all for nothing. As I lay on the ground, bleeding, helpless, and at the mercy of the attackers, it stopped. Queen Serenity had used the power of the Imperium Silver Crystal to lock Beryl's armies back in the Negaverse. Knowing her spell wouldn't last forever, Serenity preserved the spirits of the Sailor Scouts and the Star Soldiers. We were to be reborn in time for Beryl's return. That time was now.
"No! No!" I shouted, my thoughts returning to the present. "Chronos," (the fox's name was one of my regained memories) "why did you do this? I didn't want to remember any of this. If I had been out there fighting, instead of with the Emperor, we might have stood a chance." I broke down crying.
"No, it's not your fault," Chronos said, sympathetically. "You were where you needed to be. You would have just been delaying the inevitable. Besides, now is your chance to make up for it. Queen Beryl and the Negaverse have been set free."
I sniffled and wiped the tears running down my face. "What do I have to do?"
"You must use the power of the Saturn Diamond to hold Beryl's minions at bay while I find the other Star Soldiers."
"Okay, how exactly am I supposed to do that?"
"I've been in touch with Sailor Moon's guardian cat, Luna, in Japan, and she tells me that the Negaverse has changed its tactics. Instead of a full-scale invasion, they have been sending a single attacker at a time to gather energy. They're probably planning on using this energy to widen the gates to this universe in order to send an army. A new gate has recently opened up here in Miami. You must destroy these monsters as they come to prevent them from stealing too much energy."
"And just how do I know when of these monsters is here?"
Just then, as if on cue, we heard a scream from down the beach.
"Well, that's one clue," said Chronos, "Shout 'Saturn Diamond Power,' now!"
I did so, and beams of light shot out of the diamond around my neck. The beams swirled and wrapped around my body until they solidified into gleaming armor. There was a breastplate with intricate, dragon-like carvings etched into it and blade-like shoulder guards, a belt with a short, curved sword, and a short cape, all pure white.
After a few moments of my staring down at my new outfit, Chronos shouted, "What are you waiting for? Get down there!"
Feeling a surge of power, I leapt from the balcony and landed, on my feet, unscathed, four stories to the sidewalk below. Without wasting a breath, I ran down to the beach and saw a scaly creature, slightly taller than a large human, with a cobra's head ready to sink its teeth into a young lady's neck.
"Stop right there!" I shouted. "I am the Saturn Soldier, and unless you unhand that girl and go back to the scum you crawled out of, I'll give you some pain you'll never forget." I was shocked by my own boldness
He dropped her and looked over at me. "SSSaturn SSSoldier?" He said with a hissing, snake-like voice, "Back from the grave? You died back in the SSSilver Millenium!"
"Think again! I'm back, and you can go tell your Queen that I'm quite alive and well."
"Beryl would be interesssted in thisss newsss. Perhapsss I could be promoted. I'll sssee you later!" With that, he vanished back to the Negaverse.
After making sure all the people on the scene were all right, I went back to my apartment and jumped back up to the balcony, where Chronos was still sitting. My armor turned back into light and faded into my normal clothes.
"You're back. How'd it go?" asked the fox.
"He got away. Beryl knows I'm back," I answered
"This might not be good. We'd better get to work on finding those other Soldiers."
"Yeah, tomorrow, though," I yawned. It was already dark. It had been a weird day, and I needed to get some sleep. "You'd better stay outside for tonight. I can't legally keep an unlicensed fox inside. Before we go looking for the others tomorrow, we'll go down to the license place."
"Good thinking. Now go to bed."
I slid the door open, went inside, and grabbed something to eat before I went to bed. Later, as I was falling asleep, I couldn't help thinking of the day's events. Once I did manage to doze off, my dreams were quite a bit sweeter now that I knew another chance.
