Hello everyone. Here is my great second chapter. I apologize for leaving you with a cliffhanger, but well, I felt evil. HEHE! Anywho, here's chapter two for your approval.
Disclaimer: I own not Sailor Moon or related subjects. All disclaimers are retroactive and proactive.
Chapter Two
The group has finally entered the antechamber of the Gates of Time. It was a massive room with high ceilings and walls, decorated in a gothic style. High arches were barely visible in the gloom. One might mistake it for an abandoned cathedral. Directly ahead were the Gates. The Gates weren't very impressive. They were only about eight-foot tall and made of metal. There were some figures on the doors, but it was too dim to distinguish them. Sufficient to say, the room was quite dark. No, dark would be inaccurate. The room was enshrouded in gloom.
Rob and Sakura were in their Angelic forms, with Li, Meiling, Tomoyo, and Eriol behind them. They were prepared to enter the Gates, but a shadowy figure in a dark robe blocked their path. It repeated its question to them.
"I demand to know by what right you have come here! What gives you reason to disturb this sacred ground and awake me from my slumber?" the figure demanded with slight anger in her voice.
"Is that a-a-a-a... g-ghost?" Sakura asked and half-hid herself behind Shinigami.
"No, Sakura, that is the Gates' Guardian. That is Princess Meioh Setsuna," he replied.
"I await your reply," the figure rasped at them angrily.
Shinigami stepped forward and pulled Sakura to stand beside him. He declared, "I am the God of Death, taker of souls. That gives me full right."
He poked Sakura and she spoke up, "And I am the Goddess of Life, giver of life. By that I claim right to enter."
Syaoran began to step forward to announce himself as well, but Shinigami gestured for him to stay back and keep quiet.
"HAHA! She cannot be the Goddess of life. She died nearly a millennia ago," the Guardian called.
"Aye, but she is the Goddess of which I speak," Shinigami asserted. (By the way, when Rob turns into his Angelic form, I'll call him Shinigami, in case you were a bit confused.)
"Then prove it," the figure challenged.
Suddenly, she jumped back and took up a protective position in front of the Gates. He threw her cloak aside and revealed herself to be a woman, apparently in her late twenties. She had long green hair that went past her butt and garnet red eyes. They were the same color as Shinigami's, but not nearly as intense. She wore what seemed to be a modified sailor costume. A white leotard with a dark skirt and a large, dark red bow. The skirt was very short, and she also sported a pair of white gloves that went past her elbows. Everyone except for the gods thought she was stunningly beautiful. The gods were simply too focused in their current state to notice that. Pluto drew from nowhere a large key staff. It was an ivory color with keyed protrusions on the bottom and a heart-like shape at the top. In the center of the heart was a sphere of garnet. She took a battle stance, and then suddenly pointed the garnet end of the staff at Shinigami.
She yelled, "Dead scream!" and a ball of energy formed at the end of her staff. That energy was soon fired and aimed at Shinigami.
"Sakura, this can be your first live fire exercise," Shinigami commented and stepped out of the way. Now the energy was headed for Sakura.
"WHAT!" she yelled in surprise as she braced herself to block the shot.
Sakura crossed her arms in front of her to protect her head, just as Rob had taught her, and let the beam hit her. She was thrown back onto her back and she skidded back several feet before the energy dissipated. Sakura flipped back onto her feet and drew her sword.
"I am Princess Meioh Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, and I will not allow you to pass easily" Setsuna called and took another battle stance.
Sakura lowered herself slightly to get better footing and prepare to dodge as Setsuna charged again. She brought her staff down on Sakura, but her sword blocked it. Sakura just smiled up at Setsuna, realizing that she truly was little match for a goddess. Sakura pushed her back and swung her sword. Setsuna nimbly jumped out of the way and sent another energy blast Setsuna's way. Instead of blocking or dodging it, though, Sakura sheathed her sword and caught the energy in her hands. Setsuna was very surprised be her rival's bold move, but leaned more energy into the blast.
Sakura was starting to lose ground. She was being pushed back slowly by the energy, but somehow she found her footing and stopped. She pushed some of her own energy into the blast and managed to throw it back at Setsuna, several times stronger. Setsuna's eyes were wide with panic and she barely dodged the full blast. The blast still splashed and that sent Setsuna sprawling on the ground. She quickly flipped onto one hand, grabbing her staff, and performed a handspring onto her feet. It was just in time, too, as Sakura was about to stab her.
Setsuna was not in good condition. She was breathing hard in a tired stance. She could also see that Sakura had yet to break a sweat. This was very bad. She held her staff and concentrated as the garnet orb in her staff began to glow. The glow caused the tails of the bow on her back (oops, forgot to mention that one) to lengthen. She also grew a set of short, but transparent sleeves. She had become Super Sailor Pluto with the help of her Garnet Orb. (I have no idea what the orb normally does, so I'm using my love of transformations to make something up.)
Setsuna attacked again, twice as strong as she was before. Sakura barely noticed the increase, though. They traded attacks and Setsuna decided to use Dead Scream again. She fired the beam of energy at Sakura, but Sakura had grown tired and decided to end the fight. She concentrated her energy and fired a more powerful energy into hers. The two beams briefly fought each other, but Sakura's was far more powerful. Her beam quickly overtook Setsuna's Dead Scream and hit her HARD. Setsuna fell to the ground, slightly burned. Shinigami returned to his base form momentarily to heal Setsuna. After a few minutes, Setsuna finally got up shakily.
"So, Rob, she's the new Goddess of Life?" Setsuna questioned.
"Yep. She's my girlfriend, too," Rob informed.
"You've dated two goddesses, you're quite lucky," she said chuckling.
"So, long time no see, eh?" he asked her.
"Yes!" she said as she hugged him tightly, "It's been far too long."
Rob hugged back as he chuckled, "It's only been 200 years."
"Um, excuse me, but what's going on?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How terribly rude of me," Rob apologized. "Sakura, this is my oldest friend Setsuna. Setsuna, this my girlfriend Sakura."
Setsuna extended a hand and chirped, "Pleased to meet you!"
Sakura cautiously shook her hand and returned the sentiment.
"And these are my friends," Rob indicated the four who had stayed back, "Li Meiling, Li Syaoran, Daidouji Tomoyo, and Hiiragizawa Eriol."
The four came over to greet the Guardian.
"Would you all like some tea or dinner? I'm sure that Rob over here has starved you while you made the trip," Setsuna offered.
"Thank you Setsuna. We would have required to stop and prepare for our next trip anyway," Rob replied.
"Ok then! If you'll all follow me..." Setsuna traced a quick circle in the air with her staff and stepped through. Rob followed her. The rest simply shrugged and followed after them.
Setsuna's Castle (hehe, Rob, Eriol, and Tomoyo have mansions. She gets a CASTLE!! Haha!)
The princess led them all to a large dining room where a large meal had been laid out for them. Sakura and Rob ate ravenously, being drained of energy from the trip.
"So, Setsuna, how long have you been guarding that Gate?" Meiling asked.
"Oh, about... two thousand years," she answered, and then turned back to her plate.
Everyone except for Rob and Sakura gaped at her for that comment. They realized that she was probably old, but not that old!
"T-t-two Thousand years?" Tomoyo asked, shocked.
"That isn't THAT long..." Setsuna defended.
"Oh, sorry. I'm sure that my girlfriend didn't mean to insult you," Eriol said as he poked Tomoyo in the ribs.
"No need to apologize. I get that a lot," Setsuna sighed.
"Don't worry Setsuna, I still love you!" Rob said cheering her up.
"Thanks my God!" She teased.
They continued to talk and eat for another twenty minutes. Afterward, they all took an hour and rested, as Rob assured them that they would need time to adapt to the longer D'ni day. After their naps and whatnot, they returned to the gate.
Gate Room
They met up in the Gate Room to embark on their voyage through time. Setsuna began the process of allowing them through and announced that they had about ten minutes before they could leave because of how many were going through.
"Ok, before we leave, we should change clothes," Rob announced and a curtain appeared for the girls to change behind.
Tomoyo passed out articles of D'ni clothing and the girls went behind the curtain. The men dressed where they stood. Sakura went to help the girls and the curtain was in front of the gate so the girls were all separated from the boys. They emerged a few moments later dressed in casual D'ni clothing.
D'ni clothing focused on being comfortable, yet able to handle any condition. The cloth was a pale, sandy yellow with a dark brown cloak over it. The pants matched the yellow and tightened near the ankles. Leather boots replaced the shoes that they wore. The boots were hard leather and made to be strong, but were designed to be very comfortable. Tomoyo thought they were more comfy than most of her sneakers. They all thought that the colors didn't go together and were a bit ugly, but Rob assured them that the colors were beautiful under D'ni light. They decided to trust him and proceeded to the gate.
"Oh, Eriol! One last thing!" Rob called.
"The translation spell!" Eriol suddenly remembered.
"Ok, everyone in a circle!" Rob ordered. Everyone except for Eriol and Rob formed a circle.
Eriol concentrated on the spell and Rob placed his hand on his back, giving him the necessary energy and knowledge to complete the spell. The problem with this spell was that Eriol needed to know the language so that he could recite it in the language he needed them to know, so Rob gave him the knowledge temporarily so that he could speak the words. (I would make up a spell, but my D'ni isn't good enough.)
Soon, a ball of energy encircled them and it's magic entered their minds. The energy subsided and they all tried out their new language.
"So, we can speak D'ni now?" Tomoyo asked in fluent D'ni.
"Cool! We can speak in D'ni!" Sakura said.
"This is quite an interesting language," Eriol commented.
"Will we be able to read and write D'ni as well?" Syaoran asked.
Rob held up a piece of paper with D'ni on it and commanded, "Read this."
"The Great Tree of Probably have infinite branches, yet the Maker knows them all," Syaoran recited the old proverb on the paper.
"Cool! This is such a pretty language, too!" Meiling said.
"Yes, it is. The D'ni pride themselves on their language, so take care not to rush in speaking unless you must," Rob explained.
"The Gate is ready!" Setsuna called in Japanese.
"Alright everyone, let's go!" Sakura said and walked toward the Gates.
"Okay, everyone join hands and hold on! Shinigami-sama should be able to guide you through without any problem," Setsuna told them.
Everyone joined hands, with Rob and Sakura on the ends, and stepped into the Gate. They disappeared into the gloom beyond the Doors.
Corridor of Time
They found themselves in a swirling mass of energy. They could see shapes and figures whirl by and soon they felt Rob start to pull them deep into the tunnel. As they descended, they could see time pass. They saw events take place at an alarming rate, but in reverse. They saw decomposed animals suddenly jump up restored and become smaller and smaller. They saw dying stars suddenly expand to their normal size, grow bright, then dim again as they dispersed into dust. They thought that perhaps he had taken them too far, but Rob knew that the corridor followed little rhyme or reason. The only organization it had was of a celestial sort. An organization that only gods and angels could understand.
After what seemed like an eternity, in more ways than one, the group finally felt Rob stop them. He had found the proper coordinates. He was worried that his sense of direction was unreliable, but he had found his mark perfectly. Rob made sure that he hadn't lost anyone, and then went through to the world that he'd left over 800 years before.
???
Sakura opened her eyes to darkness. It was dark, but soon her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Soon, she found herself on en island with her friends. The ocean, no, the lake that surrounded them was the first thing she noticed. It was a rich orange and was glowing a soft orange light. The light felt soothing to her eyes as she gazed across the lake. First, she saw nothing. Then, she turned around to face the main city. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.
The city was amazing! It was divided into districts and levels. About ten levels and she would later learn that there were five districts. Each level was built about 25 feet above the one below it. The streets, the houses, even the lights were all made of stone. Fire marbles lighted the dimmer areas of the city where lake light was inadequate.
Her eyes swirled pink as she focused on the buildings. They were made of exquisitely beautiful stone. It was dark in color with swirls and stripes of greens and reds and blues. She noticed that everyone was looking and gaping at the sight.
Suddenly, Rob stepped in front of them and announced, "Welcome to D'ni!"
Fin Chapter Two
Well, there we are! We're in the great city of D'ni. The city that was home to an empire that spanned hundreds of worlds. What can we expect here? Will the gang be welcomed or shunned for being different? Well, we'll see soon enough!
Oh, one more thing. I might throw a lemon in there later on. Please review and tell me if that would be a Yea or a Neigh.
Disclaimer: I own not Sailor Moon or related subjects. All disclaimers are retroactive and proactive.
Chapter Two
The group has finally entered the antechamber of the Gates of Time. It was a massive room with high ceilings and walls, decorated in a gothic style. High arches were barely visible in the gloom. One might mistake it for an abandoned cathedral. Directly ahead were the Gates. The Gates weren't very impressive. They were only about eight-foot tall and made of metal. There were some figures on the doors, but it was too dim to distinguish them. Sufficient to say, the room was quite dark. No, dark would be inaccurate. The room was enshrouded in gloom.
Rob and Sakura were in their Angelic forms, with Li, Meiling, Tomoyo, and Eriol behind them. They were prepared to enter the Gates, but a shadowy figure in a dark robe blocked their path. It repeated its question to them.
"I demand to know by what right you have come here! What gives you reason to disturb this sacred ground and awake me from my slumber?" the figure demanded with slight anger in her voice.
"Is that a-a-a-a... g-ghost?" Sakura asked and half-hid herself behind Shinigami.
"No, Sakura, that is the Gates' Guardian. That is Princess Meioh Setsuna," he replied.
"I await your reply," the figure rasped at them angrily.
Shinigami stepped forward and pulled Sakura to stand beside him. He declared, "I am the God of Death, taker of souls. That gives me full right."
He poked Sakura and she spoke up, "And I am the Goddess of Life, giver of life. By that I claim right to enter."
Syaoran began to step forward to announce himself as well, but Shinigami gestured for him to stay back and keep quiet.
"HAHA! She cannot be the Goddess of life. She died nearly a millennia ago," the Guardian called.
"Aye, but she is the Goddess of which I speak," Shinigami asserted. (By the way, when Rob turns into his Angelic form, I'll call him Shinigami, in case you were a bit confused.)
"Then prove it," the figure challenged.
Suddenly, she jumped back and took up a protective position in front of the Gates. He threw her cloak aside and revealed herself to be a woman, apparently in her late twenties. She had long green hair that went past her butt and garnet red eyes. They were the same color as Shinigami's, but not nearly as intense. She wore what seemed to be a modified sailor costume. A white leotard with a dark skirt and a large, dark red bow. The skirt was very short, and she also sported a pair of white gloves that went past her elbows. Everyone except for the gods thought she was stunningly beautiful. The gods were simply too focused in their current state to notice that. Pluto drew from nowhere a large key staff. It was an ivory color with keyed protrusions on the bottom and a heart-like shape at the top. In the center of the heart was a sphere of garnet. She took a battle stance, and then suddenly pointed the garnet end of the staff at Shinigami.
She yelled, "Dead scream!" and a ball of energy formed at the end of her staff. That energy was soon fired and aimed at Shinigami.
"Sakura, this can be your first live fire exercise," Shinigami commented and stepped out of the way. Now the energy was headed for Sakura.
"WHAT!" she yelled in surprise as she braced herself to block the shot.
Sakura crossed her arms in front of her to protect her head, just as Rob had taught her, and let the beam hit her. She was thrown back onto her back and she skidded back several feet before the energy dissipated. Sakura flipped back onto her feet and drew her sword.
"I am Princess Meioh Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, and I will not allow you to pass easily" Setsuna called and took another battle stance.
Sakura lowered herself slightly to get better footing and prepare to dodge as Setsuna charged again. She brought her staff down on Sakura, but her sword blocked it. Sakura just smiled up at Setsuna, realizing that she truly was little match for a goddess. Sakura pushed her back and swung her sword. Setsuna nimbly jumped out of the way and sent another energy blast Setsuna's way. Instead of blocking or dodging it, though, Sakura sheathed her sword and caught the energy in her hands. Setsuna was very surprised be her rival's bold move, but leaned more energy into the blast.
Sakura was starting to lose ground. She was being pushed back slowly by the energy, but somehow she found her footing and stopped. She pushed some of her own energy into the blast and managed to throw it back at Setsuna, several times stronger. Setsuna's eyes were wide with panic and she barely dodged the full blast. The blast still splashed and that sent Setsuna sprawling on the ground. She quickly flipped onto one hand, grabbing her staff, and performed a handspring onto her feet. It was just in time, too, as Sakura was about to stab her.
Setsuna was not in good condition. She was breathing hard in a tired stance. She could also see that Sakura had yet to break a sweat. This was very bad. She held her staff and concentrated as the garnet orb in her staff began to glow. The glow caused the tails of the bow on her back (oops, forgot to mention that one) to lengthen. She also grew a set of short, but transparent sleeves. She had become Super Sailor Pluto with the help of her Garnet Orb. (I have no idea what the orb normally does, so I'm using my love of transformations to make something up.)
Setsuna attacked again, twice as strong as she was before. Sakura barely noticed the increase, though. They traded attacks and Setsuna decided to use Dead Scream again. She fired the beam of energy at Sakura, but Sakura had grown tired and decided to end the fight. She concentrated her energy and fired a more powerful energy into hers. The two beams briefly fought each other, but Sakura's was far more powerful. Her beam quickly overtook Setsuna's Dead Scream and hit her HARD. Setsuna fell to the ground, slightly burned. Shinigami returned to his base form momentarily to heal Setsuna. After a few minutes, Setsuna finally got up shakily.
"So, Rob, she's the new Goddess of Life?" Setsuna questioned.
"Yep. She's my girlfriend, too," Rob informed.
"You've dated two goddesses, you're quite lucky," she said chuckling.
"So, long time no see, eh?" he asked her.
"Yes!" she said as she hugged him tightly, "It's been far too long."
Rob hugged back as he chuckled, "It's only been 200 years."
"Um, excuse me, but what's going on?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded.
"Oh, I'm sorry. How terribly rude of me," Rob apologized. "Sakura, this is my oldest friend Setsuna. Setsuna, this my girlfriend Sakura."
Setsuna extended a hand and chirped, "Pleased to meet you!"
Sakura cautiously shook her hand and returned the sentiment.
"And these are my friends," Rob indicated the four who had stayed back, "Li Meiling, Li Syaoran, Daidouji Tomoyo, and Hiiragizawa Eriol."
The four came over to greet the Guardian.
"Would you all like some tea or dinner? I'm sure that Rob over here has starved you while you made the trip," Setsuna offered.
"Thank you Setsuna. We would have required to stop and prepare for our next trip anyway," Rob replied.
"Ok then! If you'll all follow me..." Setsuna traced a quick circle in the air with her staff and stepped through. Rob followed her. The rest simply shrugged and followed after them.
Setsuna's Castle (hehe, Rob, Eriol, and Tomoyo have mansions. She gets a CASTLE!! Haha!)
The princess led them all to a large dining room where a large meal had been laid out for them. Sakura and Rob ate ravenously, being drained of energy from the trip.
"So, Setsuna, how long have you been guarding that Gate?" Meiling asked.
"Oh, about... two thousand years," she answered, and then turned back to her plate.
Everyone except for Rob and Sakura gaped at her for that comment. They realized that she was probably old, but not that old!
"T-t-two Thousand years?" Tomoyo asked, shocked.
"That isn't THAT long..." Setsuna defended.
"Oh, sorry. I'm sure that my girlfriend didn't mean to insult you," Eriol said as he poked Tomoyo in the ribs.
"No need to apologize. I get that a lot," Setsuna sighed.
"Don't worry Setsuna, I still love you!" Rob said cheering her up.
"Thanks my God!" She teased.
They continued to talk and eat for another twenty minutes. Afterward, they all took an hour and rested, as Rob assured them that they would need time to adapt to the longer D'ni day. After their naps and whatnot, they returned to the gate.
Gate Room
They met up in the Gate Room to embark on their voyage through time. Setsuna began the process of allowing them through and announced that they had about ten minutes before they could leave because of how many were going through.
"Ok, before we leave, we should change clothes," Rob announced and a curtain appeared for the girls to change behind.
Tomoyo passed out articles of D'ni clothing and the girls went behind the curtain. The men dressed where they stood. Sakura went to help the girls and the curtain was in front of the gate so the girls were all separated from the boys. They emerged a few moments later dressed in casual D'ni clothing.
D'ni clothing focused on being comfortable, yet able to handle any condition. The cloth was a pale, sandy yellow with a dark brown cloak over it. The pants matched the yellow and tightened near the ankles. Leather boots replaced the shoes that they wore. The boots were hard leather and made to be strong, but were designed to be very comfortable. Tomoyo thought they were more comfy than most of her sneakers. They all thought that the colors didn't go together and were a bit ugly, but Rob assured them that the colors were beautiful under D'ni light. They decided to trust him and proceeded to the gate.
"Oh, Eriol! One last thing!" Rob called.
"The translation spell!" Eriol suddenly remembered.
"Ok, everyone in a circle!" Rob ordered. Everyone except for Eriol and Rob formed a circle.
Eriol concentrated on the spell and Rob placed his hand on his back, giving him the necessary energy and knowledge to complete the spell. The problem with this spell was that Eriol needed to know the language so that he could recite it in the language he needed them to know, so Rob gave him the knowledge temporarily so that he could speak the words. (I would make up a spell, but my D'ni isn't good enough.)
Soon, a ball of energy encircled them and it's magic entered their minds. The energy subsided and they all tried out their new language.
"So, we can speak D'ni now?" Tomoyo asked in fluent D'ni.
"Cool! We can speak in D'ni!" Sakura said.
"This is quite an interesting language," Eriol commented.
"Will we be able to read and write D'ni as well?" Syaoran asked.
Rob held up a piece of paper with D'ni on it and commanded, "Read this."
"The Great Tree of Probably have infinite branches, yet the Maker knows them all," Syaoran recited the old proverb on the paper.
"Cool! This is such a pretty language, too!" Meiling said.
"Yes, it is. The D'ni pride themselves on their language, so take care not to rush in speaking unless you must," Rob explained.
"The Gate is ready!" Setsuna called in Japanese.
"Alright everyone, let's go!" Sakura said and walked toward the Gates.
"Okay, everyone join hands and hold on! Shinigami-sama should be able to guide you through without any problem," Setsuna told them.
Everyone joined hands, with Rob and Sakura on the ends, and stepped into the Gate. They disappeared into the gloom beyond the Doors.
Corridor of Time
They found themselves in a swirling mass of energy. They could see shapes and figures whirl by and soon they felt Rob start to pull them deep into the tunnel. As they descended, they could see time pass. They saw events take place at an alarming rate, but in reverse. They saw decomposed animals suddenly jump up restored and become smaller and smaller. They saw dying stars suddenly expand to their normal size, grow bright, then dim again as they dispersed into dust. They thought that perhaps he had taken them too far, but Rob knew that the corridor followed little rhyme or reason. The only organization it had was of a celestial sort. An organization that only gods and angels could understand.
After what seemed like an eternity, in more ways than one, the group finally felt Rob stop them. He had found the proper coordinates. He was worried that his sense of direction was unreliable, but he had found his mark perfectly. Rob made sure that he hadn't lost anyone, and then went through to the world that he'd left over 800 years before.
???
Sakura opened her eyes to darkness. It was dark, but soon her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Soon, she found herself on en island with her friends. The ocean, no, the lake that surrounded them was the first thing she noticed. It was a rich orange and was glowing a soft orange light. The light felt soothing to her eyes as she gazed across the lake. First, she saw nothing. Then, she turned around to face the main city. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.
The city was amazing! It was divided into districts and levels. About ten levels and she would later learn that there were five districts. Each level was built about 25 feet above the one below it. The streets, the houses, even the lights were all made of stone. Fire marbles lighted the dimmer areas of the city where lake light was inadequate.
Her eyes swirled pink as she focused on the buildings. They were made of exquisitely beautiful stone. It was dark in color with swirls and stripes of greens and reds and blues. She noticed that everyone was looking and gaping at the sight.
Suddenly, Rob stepped in front of them and announced, "Welcome to D'ni!"
Fin Chapter Two
Well, there we are! We're in the great city of D'ni. The city that was home to an empire that spanned hundreds of worlds. What can we expect here? Will the gang be welcomed or shunned for being different? Well, we'll see soon enough!
Oh, one more thing. I might throw a lemon in there later on. Please review and tell me if that would be a Yea or a Neigh.