Author's Note: DON'T KILL ME! I know this is a little late for getting this out, but there's been 'issues' for me to deal with here at home and at school. Not social issues or anything really interesting, just balancing school work and fun. Now that I've gained an hour, how about an hour of writing!
P.S. SAN2, love the new name.
"Ayeka!" Ayeka turned and smiled. Her best friend in the whole wide world, Serena Luna, was waving from the stairs. Ayeka gasped as Serena missed a step and fell forward. Out of seemingly nowhere, a tall young man jumped forward to catch her. Ayeka let out a relieved sigh and started towards the couple.
"Nice catch, Damien," Ayeka said. The young man in the tuxedo smiled. Then Ayeka looked at a blushing Serena and said, "You know you have to be careful going down these steps, Sere."
Serena sighed. "Yes, I know, but I haven't seen you in so long!" Serena and Ayeka hugged and when they stepped back, Damien had vanished. "You know, he does that a lot."
Ayeka grinned at her friend. "I was getting a definite soul vibe from you two just now, what's going on? Hmm?" Serena began to blush a bit again. Ayeka clapped her hands. "Ha! I knew it!"
"Hey you two, care to share the good news?" Ayeka and Serena turned to see Odin, the eldest son of the recently former President of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation(ESUN, not ESPN which has something to do with TV I think).
Serena poked Ayeka in the ribs and Ayeka felt her cheeks grow slightly warm. It wasn't fair that every time she had to speak to Odin Serena was around to tease her. The usual result was Odin walking away as the two girls started an argument. This time Ayeka settled it early on by stepping back on Serena's foot. Serena made a small whimpering noise and stepped back.
"Hi, Odin, I just found out Serena has a boyfriend," Ayeka said calmly.
His blue eyes flickered over Ayeka's shoulder to look at the blushing Serena. "Well, I hope I have a chance to meet him so I can warn him about all those times you—OW!" He jumped back after Serena kicked him in the shin. Odin glared at her through his light brown hair. "I didn't mean it!"
Serena crossed her arms and said, "Sure, but if Damien ever finds out—"
Ayeka patted her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Odin won't tell, will you?" She added a little sharpness to her tone and gave Odin a look which meant he'd better agree.
Odin nodded and rubbed his shin. "Won't tell a soul, you said his name is Damien?"
Serena nodded. "If my parents find out they probably won't be too happy, he's already in college." Odin nodded grimly. "Will you please not tell anyone?" She looked up at him with her big, blue eyes.
Odin blinked and looked away. "I can keep my mouth closed." Then he saw something and said, "I'll talk to you guys later." Ayeka looked at where he was going and noticed her father and Mr. Yuy talking about something. She looked around the rest of the room and sighed. This party was being hosted by Mr. And Mrs. Luna, Serena's parents, and all the most influential people were present.
It was a rather odd political scene, but if you lived on Earth you usually depended on the Luna's company for your livelihood. If you lived in space you believed, heart and soul, in whatever Relena Yuy said or did. Anyone with a connection to the Gundam pilots was treated like nobility wherever they went, and for the pilots themselves…it was caviar and champagne.
Ayeka looked around again and spotted a friendly face. She turned to Serena and said, "Come on, I see Washu!" The two girls rushed through the crowd until they had reached the circle that included Ayeka's 'older sister', Washu. When they got there, they also saw Mr. And Mrs. Yuy's second child, Clara; the three eldest of the Winner brood, Kiro, Moriro and Yora; and a stranger. The stranger was a teen girl about Serena and Ayeka's age, with black hair that went down to her thighs.
Washu smiled and said to the new girl, "This is my cousin, Ayeka, and Serena Luna. You'll learn quickly that they are inseparable." Washu looked at Ayeka and Serena and said, "This is Rei Hino, she's here with her father, a senator from L2."
Serena gave the new girl a big hug and said, "It's nice to meet you!"
Ayeka was a bit more reserved in her welcome, but no less warm. Then the party grew quiet and the young folk looked around trying to find the cause. Ayeka gasped and pointed. There was a gray spider-like creature on the ceiling. No, not a spider, it had a face and hands. Was that a man? No. Gaaaaah! "What is it?" Ayeka asked.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" shouted a voice. The crowd turned just in time to see a young woman in a strange sailor fuku shoot an arrow of fire at the thing on the ceiling. The creature shrieked and then dissolved into ash. When people looked back at the railing of the steps where the girl had been, she was gone.
That officially ended the evening. Instead of following the adults to the door to the driveway, the group of teenagers went to the garden. The sun was just barely set, and some light remained. After a moment or two they all went in with the exception of Serena and Ayeka.
They were going down a hedge-lined path when Ayeka said, "I feel rather sleepy…" Serena turned just in time to catch Ayeka as she dropped. Lowering her friend to the cold stones, Serena felt for a pulse.
"She's fine, we just need to talk to you in private," said a stern voice. Serena turned and gasped. It was the mysterious young woman from before, but there were others with her.
Serena looked at the one who'd addressed her and said, "You killed that thing, how? Why? What did it do?"
The young woman looked rather surprised. One or two shared nervous looks, but the one in red came forward and said, "It was a youma, like an orc or a minion. They're mindless machines programmed only to fulfill their mission. In this case, it was to kill someone at that party. Probably you."
Serena's breath caught and she started to tremble. "Why would anyone want to kill me?"
One of the others, wearing light blue and with short blue hair said, "Because you're destined to be our queen, you have the power of the Imperial Silver Crystal."
Suddenly Serena felt dizzy. She shook her head and looked up at the girls with haunted eyes. "You mean the ginzuishou." They shared worried looks.
One with extremely short light hair stepped forward and said, "You know who you are?"
Serena took a step back. "I-I-I don't know! Why are you doing this? Wake Ayeka up right now!" She sat down hard on the path beside Ayeka as tears came down her cheeks. "I don't want to remember!"
A cool hand rested itself on Serena's shoulder and she looked up. Eyes as red as Ayeka's looked at her from a face bordered with deep green hair. Of them all, this woman was older, more mature. She stepped back and Serena saw she held a staff. "Please, Selenity (her mother is Serenity, she is Selenity, to keep from confusing you) guide us and take up your powers. Fate saw fit to give you this life and these powers."
Serena sniffed and said, "What powers?"
A girl, little more than a child, came up to her and said, "You have the unifying leadership qualities of your mother, and the power of the Luna family name. That is what this life has granted you. In the past you were a queen of Crystal Tokyo, but your future was cut short. Now the dream of the silver millennium will be realized. You have the ginzuishou?"
Serena shook her head. "I don't have it." The others sighed.
"How will she transform?" asked one in green with brown hair.
"She'll just have to use her old pen like the rest of you," Pluto said. She handed Serena a short wand-like pen with a crescent on top. "Stand up and say, 'Moon Star Power!'" (Apologies to those who know the original transformation, it's been a while since I saw them transform.)
Serena shakily got to her feet and raised the pen above her head. "Moon Star power!" She was bathed in light and came out clad in a sailor outfit similar to her companions, but there was rainbow stripes on her skirt and she had a crescent moon where the others had jewels. Sailor Moon looked at herself and said, "Wow, Mom and Dad would never let me out of the house like this."
The others she now could identify as Sailors Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, and Venus. Sailor Saturn carried her glaive in one hand as she stepped up and looked Sailor Moon from head to toe. "Hmm, I guess I remember you like this."
Pluto tapped her staff on the path and said, "We cannot wait long, Sailor Moon. With you our group is nearly complete, and next we must find your consort."
Sailor Moon gulped. "My consort?"
Sailor Mars rolled her eyes. "Tuxedo Mask! He's Earth's representative."
"Oh. Where is he?"
Pluto smiled. "Not so very far, eh, Damien?" Suddenly a young man fell out of the shrubs. Sailor Moon stared.
"Damien?"
"Uh," he said as he picked himself up off the floor. She threw herself at him and gave him a big hug.
"I knew it was you!" she said. He smiled and hugged her back.
The group moved off to talk, but Serena halted and said, "What about Ayeka? I can't leave her out here!"
Saturn tossed up her glaive and it vanished. "I'll take her back in to her room. The others won't admit it, but we were pretty much split over which of you was Sailor Moon. Your friend has much the same energy signature as we do." She smiled and walked back down the path. When she got there, Ayeka was gone.