Author's Note: Yes, it's been a while, but I haven't forgotten you. I took a test on A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man on Friday, it was one essay, but the doc makes it count. ::tears run down Ayeka's face as she messages her pour hand:: Still, I will triumph over the darkness and submit to you a new chapter in our epic tale!
Hilde could hardly believe it. She hadn't felt the Terra power return, so she'd assumed the planet had reabsorbed it. Now Ayeka, her one child and heir, stood before her in a shimmering gown with their royal guest from the Moon Kingdom. Hilde smiled and said, "I shouldn't be surprised that you got out on your own, but I am." She rose from her throne and came down the steps of the dais to the large audience chamber floor. "Your Guardians will probably start crying, they've been trying to get you out for years."
Ayeka's lip twitched in an attempt to smile. "Somehow, knowing them…"
A large, pink portal appeared in the middle of the room. Mimi (Mercury) jumped out of the way as four very odd-looking people came in. One just appeared, one slowly materialized, and two stepped out rather normally. The one who had came out of thin air had a dark tail which whipped around behind her as she turned golden eyes on the royalty assembled at the throne. The one who'd seemed to fade in stood on the ground in elaborate robes and had hair as long as Ayeka's. The first to step from the portal was a young man with intense blue eyes and a body that made Kikyo's (Jupiter) jaw drop open. The last to arrive was a girl who looked even younger than the Senshi, with pink hair.
"You're here!" The flying one shouted. She streaked across the room and knocked Ayeka back a step, but the force should've knocked them both over. "You're alive! You're alive!" she repeated over and over.
Ayeka smiled and hugged the newcomer back. "Yes, Ryoko, I'm back to stay." The cyan-hared woman with the tail took a step back and pointed a finger at Ayeka. ( Not THAT one.)
"Why did you finally decide to join us? We've been having a crisis on our hands trying to take care of all this without your help!" Ayeka looked down.
"I'm sorry, Ryoko, but I turned into Terran marble to keep myself alive and have only recently been able to reverse the effect. I tried, I really did, but…the power just wasn't there."
Ryoko stepped back. "Okay, then, but now you have to explain to him." She pointed at the center of the room past the gawking Kikyo to Odin. Ayeka seemed to freeze.
"Odin…" she whispered.
He wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't happened to him. Odin had been sitting at his desk when that chord between himself and Ayeka hummed to life. It had nearly knocked him out of his chair. He'd summoned the other Guardians and they had immediately gone to the throne room where Odin could feel her presence. That initial shock could only have been surpassed by seeing her face again.
There she stood, just as his memory said she should—both lifetimes. On her neck, not her mother's, was the necklace. The stones were rare before, now probably the last of their kind. Moons Tears, the purest of diamonds. They had been created in the explosion at the beginning of the universe with the power of Sailor Terra. All Senshi were her children, she was the garden their seeds had sprouted from. Now he saw the current Senshi of the Solar system standing around looking surprised, shocked, blank, and...why was she looking at him like that?
"Odin…" the sound of her voice whispering his name was as loud as a shout. He looked at her from across the room, unmoving. She also stood still, meeting his eyes. Suddenly they were both moving, and met in the middle of the floor. Odin wrapped his arms around her and began stroking her hair. Ayeka gripped him in arms as strong as steel beams, but her Guardians had been chosen to withstand her strength. She sobbed and buried her face in his shoulder. "Odin…"
"Shh, you're here, with us," he said in a deep and soothing voice. Once she had a handle on her emotions, they walked out into the garden alone, still in one another's arms.
Serenity watched them go and tried to figure out what was going on. She walked up to Queen Hilde and said, "Um, Your Majesty—"
Hilde held up a hand. "I am no longer Queen of Terra, Ayeka holds that power now." Serenity blinked. The woman held her hand out in a gesture of friendship and said, "I can answer some questions, though."
The Senshi gathered around to hear the information straight. "You see, there was once a planet called Terra. Millennia before the Moon Kingdom rose, Terra had a rich and advanced civilization that had been carefully guided by its monarchy. This line was the oldest of all, tracing its blood and power back to the first Sailor Terra, who was born with the universe. She created order out of chaos and decided to settle down on one of the universe's worlds. She then named the planet after herself. One thing led to another, and life came to be on that planet. Her power to organize and rearrange sped up Terra's development."
Mimi gasped. "Just like this Terra formed?"
Hilde paused and nodded. "I guess so, but a bit slower. Eventually, humans came to be. Seeing that they were just like her, Sailor Terra took it upon herself to lead them. She fell in love with one of the Terrans, and died during the birth of their one and only child.
"Each generation of Sailor Terras lived several generations, but the power was too much for a single mortal. The last Sailor Terra, my great-great-aunt, had made plans in her youth to create lesser Senshi all over the universe before it became too big for her power to reach. While she was doing this, she'd need protection. The four Guardians were chosen and bestowed with certain responsibilities during her stasis.
"However, an evil that had stayed small enough for her not to notice, took advantage of the planet's weakness during her stasis. It rose and became a man, a bird, a serpent, any form it chose. Its minions were formless shadows that traveled with the speed of darkness, faster than light. They infiltrated Terra's life and corrupted it from within.
"The Guardians were overpowered without their queen, and killed or sealed away. Terra then destroyed itself, but only because Sailor Terra bid it to. Her niece inherited her necklace of Moons Tears and became a holder of the power. I am her descendent, and Ayeka is her reincarnation."
Author's Note: ::Ayeka is seen bowing up and down:: I'm soooo sorry this is so short and late, but there's been a lot with colleges and district auditions and life. I just wanted you guys to know I'm alive. Now ::yawns:: I'm going to bed. - - ::snores::