Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Victory
Chapter 5: Memories of a Forgotten Past
By Jennifer Cleary
Liz sat on her bed fuming over how Jen became the first to get an Oracle Stone. "I can't believe it was her! Of all the people it just HAD to be her!"
"Live with it. She is the leader of our team after all…"
"That shouldn't always be the case! Something is going to happen to that rock I know it. She's so irresponsible and apathetic and claims to be so responsible that I think she might leave it in her pocket when she takes her leather jacket or something to the dry cleaners. Somebody could swipe it, and that thief could run into the enemy and then it might disappear forever!"
"You really think of all that?" Rachel raised an eyebrow at her sister from the barre. "You really need a hobby or something to do because I think you spend way too much time alone thinking and possibly talking to yourself." She put her head to her knees as she said this, watching her sister intently.
"Just leave me alone and get back to your precious dancing routine…" Liz scoffed and rolled to the floor, making a loud thud as she landed.
"Oof!" Liz grunted when she hit the ground. Rachel ignored her and continued to stretch at the barre. Liz sat there on the blue rug for a few moments staring into space. The telephone began to ring but Liz was too depressed to answer it, despite it was ringing in her right ear. Frustrated, Rachel had to step away from the barre, jump over her sister and answer the caller.
"Yes?" Rachel greeted to the person on the other end.
"Rachel?" a familiar voice asked anxiously.
"Oh…mother…how wonderful to hear from you so soon after we arrive in Tokyo. How are things at home?" Rachel asked casually.
"I need to speak with your sister, is she there?"
Rachel looked at her sister staring into space on the blue rug and nudged her. Liz didn't react and Rachel almost kicked her, but only told their mother that Liz was indisposed at the moment. "Mother? What happened? Is nana sick? If something bad has happened, please tell me and we'll come home right away!"
"Nothing is wrong, I just need to speak with her. Where is she?"
"On the floor moping about something that happened to one of our friends, that's all." Rachel replied.
"Who is on the phone?" Liz asked, staring at a cigar box beneath her bed.
"Mother." Rachel replied to her sister and then returned her attention to her mother. "Mother, please whatever you can tell Liz about you can tell me. We both know that we can handle anything that you can throw at us."
"I know, but I wish to tell your sister first. I'll call later and talk to her. I love you."
"Me too. Bye." Rachel told her mother and hung up the phone.
"So what did mother dearest had to say?" Liz growled from the floor.
"She wanted to talk to you, that's all."
"About what?" asked Liz.
"Dunno, she wouldn't tell me."
"Well….." Liz started. "Do you have ANY idea what it's about?"
"Nope." Rachel blurted and returned to the barre for more stretches.
"Dammit." Liz snarled and sat up, pulling cigar box from the dust bunnies below the bed. A knock on their apartment door indicated that someone was there.
"I'll get the door, you stay and don't try and kill yourself?" Rachel said and answered the door—it was Shouni, Mei, Fumito and Jen.
"Hi hi!" Jen greeted with a big grin on her face and walked in. "Nice place, but its not as spiffy as mine."
"Oh do come in…" Rachel remarked sarcastically. Jen bounded into the twins' room to find Liz shifting through the cigar box.
"Whatcha got? Stogies?" Jen bounded on Liz's bed energetically.
"No, just some old pictures and a weird necklace." Liz replied flatly, tossing the necklace to Jen, who examined it.
"Hmmm, looks familiar…" Jen held it up to her amethyst, which glowed very brightly when she held the gem of the necklace close. "You guys! Come here for a minute! I gotta show ya something!" Jen shouted to the other girls, and in Liz's ears as well.
Fumito and Shouni came dashing into the room and looked at Jen. Slowly Rachel and Mei walked in and peeked over Fumito and Shouni with much difficultly.
"What is it? Did you find a stash of chocolates or something?" Shouni asked licking her lips.
"Nah," Jen replied, "This is weird. Take a look." She held the necklace gem up to her amethyst again and it glowed brighter, making the girl's eyes grow wide with fascination.
"Whoa. Do you think that might be…?" Mei asked in wonder.
"Maybe." Jen said quickly. "We should consult Luna, Cresta and Aurora about this…I don't know what to think…"
"Dammit, why do you always have to do that?" Liz snapped.
"Do what?" Mei asked.
"This doesn't concern you Mei, so back off." Liz snarled, "Your days as leader will come to a close soon enough, watch your back, you might not see the next day the way you act…"
"How do I act that might mean my doom?" Jen inquired, offended at how Liz was acting towards her.
"You think you're invincible! Irresponsible and lazy! You don't care about the rest of us senshi! Ever since that guy who swore to defend you with his life showed up, you've been acting like you're unstoppable. Those three sisters as well, why did you side with them? They're the enemy!" Liz paused for a breath and continued. "You're also immature! The way you came bounding in her like a six-year-old was disgraceful! I never even wanted to come here in the first place! I only came here because Rachel said that she was going and I didn't want her to feel left out!" As Liz plead her case, tears began to make salty tracks down her face. Jen tried to give her a tissue, but Liz only shoved it away. "That is what I also want to point out! You play as a compassionate person on the outside, but on the inside, you only feed your ego even more!" Liz stormed out of the apartment and ran to Tokyo Tower where she could be alone to think.
"Miss, are you all right?" An older woman asked, offering Liz her handkerchief.
"Not really." Liz grumbled and took the handkerchief.
"For somebody your age, you certainly seem really melancholy." The woman commented and Liz looked at the woman's face. She was tall with very long sky blue and pink hair. She had a scar on her face, but it was very faded. "What' s your name, sweetie?" the woman asked Liz warmly.
"Elizabeth…but most people call me Liz."
"I'm Mia." The woman stuck out her hand for Liz to shake it. Liz took it and smiled faintly.
"I can see lots of great things for you Liz." Mia said, "You seem to be held back by some kind of force you can't contend with."
"Well…yes…" Liz was going to explain it to the woman, but thought of what the consequences would be if Mia knew if Liz was a sailor senshi.
"I can help you greatly," Mia assured Liz and the two went to get some coffee and discuss how Liz could be great.
"I'm worried about her…" Luna pondered aloud when she was told of Liz's outburst in the apartment.
"She's very unsure of what she is doing and it aches to see her sister be happy and content. It sounds a lot like me when I became a senshi for the first time." Usagi said and set down her coffee cup.
"Maybe she should take a break from fighting a while and meditate on her thoughts and feelings." Mei suggested. Jen had been sitting on the rug with Fumito and Shouni, thinking deeply.
"She's jealous of me. I know it." Jen growled, "What does she have to be jealous about?"
"You have a guardian." Fumito pointed out.
"You have an Oracle Stone." Shouni chimed in, counting the advantages that Jen's leadership of the senshi gave over Liz's influence.
"W e obey your every word and command." Fumito counted.
"Not all the time though." Rachel contradicted, sipping on some coffee.
"Maybe this has to do with that necklace you two have." Aurora noted.
"And the senshi that…"
"The senshi that what?" Usagi and Jen asked simultaneously. Cresta had been preening her feathers on Fumito's shoulder and the then shook.
"Aurora, please don't bring that up again, it gives me the dreads." Cresta quivered and stretched her wings.
"I have to know!" Rachel pounded her fists on the coffee table, making some of the cups jump around.
"All right…I'll tell it. But you aren't going to like it very well." Aurora cleared her throat as her captive audience waited. "Long ago, when the Silver Millennium was at its peak of prosperity, there was a senshi from a double star. She was quite powerful, coming in only second only to the senshi of the goddesses and of the inner and outer solar system."
"Wow." Jen was impressed by the power of this priestess.
"I'm not finished!" the Siamese cat extended her claws at Jen, who pulled back immediately.
"All right! All right! I'll be good!" Jen yelped once she saw Aurora's glimmering claws.
"As I was saying," Aurora again cleared her throat and continued, "She was quite powerful. One day, the girl had a strange phenomenon happen to her. She was struck by lightning and was separated into two separate girls. Sadly, both died and were, to my belief, reincarnated in this era, as Sailors Star Destroyer and Sailor Star Keeper."
"WHAT?!" all the girls fell over from the shock.
"You mean that Liz is my other half?!" Rachel sat up quickly and glared at Aurora in shock.
"I'm not quite sure of it…but it is possible." Aurora warned.
"Well…that must explain that…necklace!"
"It is said that Sailor Chiron, that was struck, had an Oracle stone in her possession before getting struck. She was close to the priestess of Fabel." The cat slinked over to Jen and hopped on her shoulder and then onto the coffee table.
"Fabel's stone was the one of Justice." Cresta added, shaking, "She did suffer a cruel fate, but not just."
"I see…but…what is going to happen?" Rachel bowed her head and swirled her coffee around.
"What do you mean?" Fumito asked.
"Fabel…she was struck and became me and Liz. What is going to happen to us?"
"You'll become one again. Like you were all those millennia ago." Jen's voice changed into something more regal and divine.
"Jen?" Shouni waved her hand in front of Jen's face. Jen blinked and focused on the room again.
"Whoa…what just happened?" Jen sat back on her hands.
"Your past self is emerging." Cresta said and flapped her wings a few times.
"My past self is emerging…" Jen contemplated aloud. "This could be to our advantage against the enemy,"
"Because as more and more Callisto emerges, the more of her powers Jen will be able to use." Mei added, before sipping some coffee. "The more power she can use, the better senshi she'll become. The better senshi she becomes, the better off the world becomes, and the future will be more and more stable."
"Will you stop showing off your telepathy?" Jen grumbled and settled down on the floor, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. Suddenly, Rachel jumped and looked around frantically.
"What happened?" Fumito put her hand on Rachel's arm, who brushed it off and scrambled out the door.
"What's gotten into her?" Shouni wondered springing to the window. A deep pink light flashed in the street and Sailor Star Keeper rushed in the direction of Downtown Tokyo.
"All right, where is it?" Mia had pinned Liz to a brick wall in a dark alley, away from the lights of the street.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mia." Liz cringed and was slapped by Mia.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Sailor Star Destroyer!" Mia shouted and her clothing had changed from that of a common citizen to one of the Shadow Moon. "Hand over the emerald and I might let you live." She sneered, bringing her clawed fingernails to Liz's face.
"I wouldn't let some piece of Shadow Moon trash have anything, not even my smelly gym socks!" Liz spat accurately in Marina's eye.
"You certainly have a strong spirit, for a part of a meaningless cause." Marina smeared the saliva from her eye and then moved her hands toward Liz's neck. "Now, are you going to give me the emerald or do I have to kill you to get it?"
"She's not the one who has it." Sailor Star Keeper casually dangled the emerald pendant and chain from her hands. "You looking for this? You landfill runoff?"
"So…" Marina hissed, "I had the wrong twin." She tightened her hands around Liz's neck so she would lose consciousness, and watched her slide down the wall and onto the wet cement. "That takes care of one." She cracked a grin and then stood in front of Sailor Star Keeper some distance.
"What are you waiting for?" Sailor Star Keeper tossed up the necklace and caught it in her hands deftly.
"For one of your clever speeches, what else?" Marina took a step forward, Star Keeper held her ground, carefully eyeing every movement Marina made, down to the steady rise and fall of her chest, looking for a moment to strike.
"Fresh out. I have one of the others writing up some new material." The senshi shrugged and once again dangled the pendant from her fingers.
"Oh, you think you can outsmart me, you little brat? I show you what I can do…" Marina said and began to weave her hands intricately, weaving a web of blue and pink.
"Look out!" Liz had regained consciousness and saw the intent of the web, aimed at her sister. She struggled to get up, but Marina saw what Liz had been doing and kicked her in the stomach.
"Don't interfere, if you know what is good for the both of you." Marina threatened and then turned around to see Sailor Star Keeper beginning an attack.
"I call upon the power of my name, power of the stars, I summon thee…Star Exploding Bomb!" the senshi cried and released a plethora of pink spheres, which fell short and landed at Marina's feet.
"You're pathetic, these little marbles aren't going to do anything," Marina raised her foot to stomp them out.
"Detonate now!" the soldier ordered the tiny marbles, which then cracked open and shot Marina, sending her crashing into some trash cans.
"Impressive…" Marina felt her cheek and wiped the small trickle of blood from her lip, "But I can say this much, your attacks alone cannot defeat me."
"Of course not…" Liz listened to the rolling thunder that was overhead and looked at the emerald, which had begun to glow in a strange light. What is the emerald reacting to? Could it be me, Liz and the storm? Sailor Star Keeper thought, her thoughts then were interrupted by a flash of blue light as her sister turned into her senshi form.
"Star Keeper…" Sailor Star Destroyer acknowledged her sister's presence and then turned her face toward Marina.
"Poor Miss Marina…" cooed a small voice from the shadows, "Your time is slowly fading, and your fate will arrive."
"Let me do my work, Triune!" Marina got to her knees and then turned to the direction the voice came from.
"Why are you even bothering with this?" another voice called from above. Marina looked up to see the owner of the voice, floating above her, her torn kimono flapped in the gentle wind.
"Too bad, you three on the ground there are doomed." Corsica laughed wickedly.
"Can I claw their eyes out and then grab the emerald?" Triune crawled from the shadows as a cat and then morphed into a young woman with cat ears and a tail.
"Why give them such a quick death?" Corsica then floated down and smirked at Marina. "I hope you are prepared for a slow and painful death."
"Under whose authority did you get permission to come here?" Marina demanded, re-summoning her blue and pink web.
"Lady Cerridwen's authority, of course, who else?" Triune remarked and took out a string of prayer beads.
"What do you plan on doing with those?" Sailor Star Destroyer stood at Triune defensively.
"Just going to do a little trick…" Triune lead on and snapped the cord of the prayer beads so it hung limply. Corsica teleported over to Triune and took the beads, still suspended on the cord.
"Now for your deaths!" Corsica transformed the prayer beads into a great whip and snapped it, nearly missing Marina's ear. The light rain suddenly turned into a downpour and lightning flashed every which way.
"I don't think so!" a voice cried from an unknown source.
"Who? What?" everyone looked around for the voice. Lightning was striking closer and closer to the scene and the two senshi were becoming enveloped in a green light.
"What the hell is going on?" Corsica demanded, glaring at the two senshi as the green light bathed them both.
"I'm afraid…" Sailor Star Keeper began quietly.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. We are a senshi that became separated long ago. Now is the time for us to be one again." Replied Sailor Star Destroyer, smiling but faintly.
"But…I'll miss working with you…"
"And I you." Star Destroyer smiled a little more, "But I know we'll be better as one. I promise you."
"This is touching…" Triune spat and charged at the two senshi, claws extended, the two looked at their assailant and only smiled faintly again and were completely taken away into the light. A few moments later, the light had finally receded and then disappeared back into the emerald which now hung around the neck of the senshi that stood in the place of Sailors Star Destroyer and Star Keeper.
"Who in bloody hell are you?" Marina finally demanded, as the other two still were astonished at the transformation of the two senshi, becoming one. The senshi still had the light chestnut hair of the twins, but her eyes had gone from a pale blue to a vibrant green. She wore a fuku of green and gold, which glimmered while the lightning flashed.
"I am the lost senshi, forgotten by all but a few. Protector of the innocent, sentencing the guilty, I am a Sailor Senshi." Said the mysterious senshi, smirking a little at the astonishment of her attackers.
"I asked who the bloody hell are you…now tell me!" Marina was getting angrier and angrier as the moments of silence passed between the four women. "Tell me!" Marina then extended her fingernails to make them appear claw-like.
"Do you not know who the lost senshi of Silver Millennium?" the senshi smirked some more and Marina attacked with all her ferocity.
"Blue Tornado!" someone yelled and a violent funnel of water whipped its way through the alley, sending Corsica, Marina and Triune flying into the wall.
"What in the world?" Corsica rubbed her head after being smashed into the brick.
"Don't mess with my friends." A small, but determined voice threatened and the owner of that voice jumped down next to the other senshi.
"Sailor Nerius." The senshi nodded and then looked at their enemies.
"I say we give these three a royal treatment, Shadow Moon style." Sailor Nerius smiled and then the senshi put her hands together in front of her and the wind began to blow a bit stronger.
"Power of the Four Winds, breath of life…I call on your power! Chiron Tempest!" called the senshi, creating a turbulent green tornado to appear in front of her and then sending it at the three women, still recovering from the blow to the wall.
"Oh crap!" Corsica had seen the tempest coming and then clung to the wall as best as she could, but her attempt failed and the three women were flung back to their dimension.
"That was incredible!" Sailor Nerius jumped for joy.
"Why thank you." The senshi blushed and turned away till the blush disappeared.
"I mean it! You are certainly powerful!" Nerius went on. "Who are you?"
"I'm…Sailor Chiron. The lost senshi of Silver Millennium." Chiron started, but then was dragged off by Fumito, who had changed from her senshi form and was also asking a million questions about Chiron's history.
"Is it true that the only way the gods could get some peace was to split you into two senshi?" Fumito asked, her eyes wide and curious.
"No. It was just an unfortunate twist of fate I suppose." Chiron answered.
"I wonder how the disappearance of Elizabeth and Rachel is going to be explained?" Fumito wondered aloud.
"I think the emerald can take care of that." Sailor Chiron smiled and thought about her new position as a full-fledged member of the new senshi team.
"This is unacceptable." Cerridwen looked down on her three servants, her face twisting into her usual disapproving grimace. "I can't believe that three of my servants couldn't take down one measly sailor senshi while she was vulnerable!"
"Cerridwen-sama! Let me explain!" Marina exclaimed, trying to plea her case.
"Feh…" Cerridwen waved her smoky hand and Marina's spirit was removed from her body and added to the spirit that was within the bottle. "I've had enough failures under my command." She paused and then continued on, looking at Corsica and Triune sternly. "You two disobeyed my command, but you were not on any mission, so I will spare your lives for now."
"Thank you so much, Lady Cerridwen." Corsica and Triune bowed to their mistress.
"Corsica." Cerridwen beckoned for the servant to stand. "You shall fetch the next oracle stone. But be warned: Those senshi now have three while we have none. Three of seven. Do you wish to displease me like Marina and Omega have?"
"No, madam, I will succeed. I can promise this much. I know where the next Oracle Stone is located, the problem is tracking the girl who holds it."
"You're going after the sapphire?" a pair of identical voices chimed in.
"Valiel, Kitana…how kind of you to join us." Cerridwen coaxed the two women out of the shadowy doorway and into the light of her chamber. Valiel and Kitana stepped to Cerridwen and bowed, their white hair sweeping over their shoulders.
"Do you know what kind of advantage we would have if we get the Sapphire of Atheis? All of Earth will have little rain, the rivers and lakes would dry up…" Kitana described.
"The polar ice caps would disappear into the oceans, causing all the coastal cities of the world to be submerged under the salt water…" Valiel continued.
"But, what if we also get the Ruby of Maia? That would be a brilliant scheme indeed! There would be no more fertile soil on Earth! The humans would starve themselves to death! All the crops and food would rot and they would become skeletons!"
"Why don't we aim for something bigger?" Triune conspired, dreaming of what would happened once the Topaz of Helceon came into her clutches. "The Topaz would be most devastating. If we had that Oracle stone…life itself would be erased from earth, the light would disappear and we would be rid of those blasted Sailor Senshi forever!" Triune cackled and a small smile spread on Cerridwen's smoky face.
"You are going to do well young Triune." Cerridwen commented, "But let us not get too ahead of ourselves ladies. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other and over and over again, into our future as the Shadow Moon Empire." Cerridwen then slowly disappeared into her prison.
"So." Jen looked at Sailor Chiron, "Are you gonna change back into a civilian form or not?"
"Oh. Of course." Sailor Chiron looked at her attire and in a flash of green light was in civilian form, she wore a baseball shirt, cut up jeans and a baseball cap.
"So, Miss Avalon," Mei started and looked at the girl questioningly, "That is your name isn't it?"
"Yes. I'm Silvia Avalon."
"But Avalon was the last name of Liz and Rachel wasn't it?" Shouni had raised her hand as if she were still in class.
"Yes." Silvia began, "Elizabeth and Rachel were a part of me. Now any historical and government records of either of them have been replaced with my records, name and memories. So any normal person who knew Elizabeth and Rachel now only remember me." Silvia giggled a little, "Strange isn't it? One day there were two people who were exactly alike, and then they became one person, in body, spirit and permanent records!" Jen couldn't help but giggle a little.
"Fumi-chan, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to help last night…Will had me a little occupied." Jen said and there was a silence. "Not like that!" she exclaimed innocently, "I was kinda sorta helping him clean his apartment, since he helped me clean up the house after you all left yesterday…" Jen trailed off in mid-sentence.
"What now?" Shouni leaned over at Jen, her hair falling over her shoulder.
"I just remembered something…" Jen's voice squeaked.
"Her mom came home today." Mei said to everyone, again reading the thoughts of Jen.
"Oh no…" Fumito was wondering whether to be shocked or happy.
"I wouldn't worry about it." Aurora hopped on Jen's shoulder, "You had better get home anyway, and I don't think she'd like to be left alone for too long with Shinji. Matter of fact, I don't think Shinji would like to be alone with her for a long time either."
"I suppose…" Jen sighed and then bowed, "Silvia, Fumito, Mei, Shouni, you all are my good friends, even if we haven't known each other very long. I'm glad we know each other and I hope we remain friends for a long time."
"I'll see you at school on Monday, Jen." Silvia waved good bye to Jen as she walked home under her umbrella, only because her beetle was going under some major body work.
"We had all better go home." Fumito stretched and yawned, "Cresta had already gone home earlier today to get some rest, she's been awake for days on end. Sleep well everyone." Fumito popped open her umbrella and walked the short distance to her home.
"Good night." Mei said simply and went home, Shouni walked with Mei because they lived near each other and Silvia simply went up to her apartment, formerly Rachel and Liz's home.
"May the world be at peace for one good night's rest." Silvia said to herself as she slipped between the covers and turned out the light.
Continued in Chapter 6
