by Makura Koneko
Big Thanks to:
Tuxedo Starr, the best beta reader there is!!!!
Achicagoil (Hey, I promise the only interference the Senshi will make of the Serena/Legolas relationship will be of the humorous sort! Or at least I'll try to make it humorous… I am not a Senshi hater, in fact I believe that the Senshi are a part of Serena. I'm not going to have them drag Serena back to their time. I believe that the Senshi are there to ultimately support and follow Serena, whatever her decision may be, and I plan to reinforce that belief in my fic.)
tohru-kun
solarmistress17 (I sometimes post a chapter, then catch a blooper/plot hole/typo/misspelling and I go back, fix it, then repost it. That's probably what happened.)
CrazyJ
Clear
Liquid Ice
Mats Forsen
Linauri
SquirrelnoShi
highqueenofthegods
Final-Fan (Yes, Gandalf still becomes the White sometime in my story. Regarding the rest of your review, I addressed that at the bottom with my other author's notes. Thanks for the tips!)
Spooky Fyre
Tsuki no Tenshi
SerenityLNguyen
Aredhel (Thank you soooooooo much for giving me the correct spelling to Khazad-dum! I went back and corrected that and reposted the chapter. ^^ Thanks!)
Crazygurl70
Celes
Be'Jammin (*slaps forehead* Y'know, I completely forgot about Glamdring…I'll have to wait for an appropriate time to bring it back into play, cuz I liked that sword.)
umi (Glad people are noticing the little things I'm doing with Serena/Legolas! And, actually, the parts where Seiya is, that was originally Darien, but when people requested Legolas/Serena instead, and I went back and killed him, I put Seiya in his place. I always wanted to bring Seiya in for a lil debut anywayz, tho…)
sailorruss
Shannan
Lily_Cat (Love your screename!)
Blue Angel (More Legolas/Serena action, eh? Heh…will do, have no fear! And THANK YOU for understanding my attempt to use the little sweet things to build up to the romance.)
saturnpyroprincess
Some Things Should Not Be Forget, So Let Us Remember; Onward to Continue the Legend…
"You shouldn't be out here," A voice said softly, and a blanket was placed around her shoulders. Serena, startled at both voice and touch, barely managed to stifle a shriek as she whirled around.
"Legolas!" She hissed with a squeak of a voice, her heart pounding. "Don't do that! You scared me!"
"My apologies," He said, looking -from what she could see of his face in the dim moonlight- genuinely sorry. "But I must insist," He continued quietly. "That you come back into the cave. It's not safe out here."
"Aw, c'mon!" Serena pouted, clutching the blanket around her; it was chilly. "I've got the dagger Boromir lent me!" She pulled the aforementioned weapon out of her belt and held it up. "See?"
"A simple dagger will not do you much good against a werewolf or an orc." He told her, putting his hand over hers and making her lower the dagger-holding fist. She sighed and put it back in her belt. "Plus, you didn't even hear me come up behind me, did you?"
"N-no…" Serena frowned. "But you're an elf!" She said defiantly. "Aren't you guys supposed to be naturally all stealthy?"
"I wasn't trying to be 'stealthy' and you still didn't hear me." He said, giving he a pointed look that clearly stated 'you're not going to win this argument so don't even try.'
Serena sighed, taking the hint, and looked away.
"I just wanted to see the Moon," She mumbled. She looked up at the bright silver orb, and silence reigned between them for a minute. "I miss them, Legolas. I wonder if they even realize I'm gone…maybe they just think I sleep-walked away or something…" She sniffed, and Legolas realized tears were running down her face. Taking the initiative and doing something most would believe rather unlike him, he stepped forward and took the sobbing girl into his arms. She leaned into him gratefully, sniffling and failing at her attempts to not get his tunic wet.
"If you are all as closely bonded as you say, I am quite sure they have noticed your absence," He told her, absently tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "After all, I have known you for but a few mere days and I noticed your absence even in my slumber. You are not an easy person to miss, Serena."
"Really?" Serena pulled away just far enough to search his face for sincerity. When she found it in the way he nodded his head, her face blossomed into a wide smile and she dived into his arms again, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Thank you!" She sniffed, hugging him tight. Legolas couldn't help but smile as he gently returned the embrace before pulling away. Wrapping the blanket more securely around her shoulders, he guided her back towards the shrubbery-tunnel that lead back into the cavern.
Serena awoke, blinking in the darkness of the cave, to sensations that she gasped, nearly bursting into tears with joy at feeling once more.
Her Senshi!
They were near, and they had transformed!
Or at least four of them…
Managing to barely put a stopper on her sky-high excitement, Serena shut her eyes tight and concentrating as Luna had taught her, she felt around the sensations, slowly distinguishing each one… Uranus…Mars…Saturn…now Mercury… They were here!
Legolas had been right!
Hastily, forgetting that she lay by a fire and was surrounded by some of the planet's best fighters, Serena sat up, tossed her thin blanket aside, and dashed towards the exit of the cave, leaping over Legolas in the process. She ducked out, tripped over a large root arching up out of the ground. She scrambled to her feet, for once not noticing the frightening shadows that the gnarled overhead branches of nearby trees made. She stumbled through the prickly bush tunnel, and burst out into the open air of the path she and the others had been following earlier. She spotted a small clearing a ways off the trail, the air above it clear of branches so that you could well see, against a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop of a full moon, glittering stars, and indigo blue, white-capped mountains were flashes of multicolored light in the distance.
Whether or not she could see the lights because their creators were in tune with her, or because they were rather large, she didn't know and didn't care as she dashed towards the clearing.
She stumbled into the moonlight, surrounded by a ring of closely-growing, huge trees. She was breathing thickly, as she stared with joy in her eyes at the aurora-like lights that flashed across the moon each time an attack was made. She had to help them! If she could transform, she could fly to where they were, help them, protect them… As she looked up, Serena suddenly gasped as she realized that she could only see the lights within the sphere of light that was the moon. The moon, she realized, was acting as a mirror to show her what was happening…those flashes of lights…they weren't radiating from her friends, they were her friends, each time they made an attack…
As she watched, the images in the moon cleared, and after a few seconds Serena may as well have been looking through a keyhole to see what was happening in a room. As she watched, a tall woman with short, sandy colored hair sliced off the head of a hideous monster that came up behind her.
"Uranus!" Serena gasped under her breath. Indeed, it was Uranus, but her fuku was different…
A strip of sallow yellow cloth around her bosom, edged in indigo blue, and transparent indigo blue, fitted pants that flared out at the knees. A wide slit went from her ankles up to her knees, and the hem and edges of the slits were edged in the same sallow yellow as her top. At the top of the strip wrapped around her bosom were two strings. Each string went to either side of her neck and tied at the back of her throat, the ends of the strings flying out behind her a good three feet. Where the two strings met in the center of the top of her chest-binding was a golden-yellow, star shaped crystal with the symbol of Uranus inside it in dark blue. On her forehead, in the same sallow yellow as her outfit, the mark of Uranus shone under the starlight, matching the identical symbols on the outside of the gauntlets on her wrists. From her back sprouted transparent, pale yellow faerie wings sprinkled with sky blue speckles.
Serena took in this new ensemble all in a glance, and then her eyes went from Sailor Uranus to Sailors Mercury, Mars, and then Saturn; they were all clad in something reminiscent of Senshi's fuku, but all unique, and different from the pleated short school girl skirts and bows…
A hand on her elbow made Serena jump and whirl as she opened her mouth to scream. A second hand clamped down over her mouth and the hand on her elbow moved to encircle her waist and bring her against the strong chest of someone tall.
"Quiet, now!" Legolas told her, whispering into her ear firmly. "It's only me!" He let her go, and Serena whirled, then, in an almost panicky way, pointed to the moon.
"Look!" She said, happiness all over her face. "They're here! They're okay!" She looked to the moon again just in time to see Sailor Mars duck under the swing of another monster's sword, summoning to her hand one of her fire arrows and plunging it into it; the creature it burst into flame.
"I see only the Moon," Legolas told her, taking her elbow gently. "There's nothing up there, Serena."
"Yes there is!" Serena argued. She bit her lip and looked at the Moon again. "I guess I'm the only one that can see it, but-" She gasped. "Hotaru, look out!" Serena screamed as, in the Moon, she could see the image of Sailor Saturn fending off one monster while another came up behind her, ax raised… Serena screamed.
"Hotaru!!!"
"Hotaru! Look out! Hotaru!!!"
"Serenity-hime?" Sailor Saturn gasped, her eyes widening in shock and surprise. Too late she actually comprehended the warning as she plunged her glaive into the chest of her opponent. Another shout went up, and SailorSaturn turned…slowly…too slowly…to see another Orc, his ax raised…coming down…
As if in slow motion, Sailor Saturn saw her death coming for her -how ironic; she the Senshi of Death, about to die- and at the same time saw another figure move towards her, out of the corner of her eye…
Time resumed it's normal pace, and Sailor Saturn felt the wind knocked out of her as she was shoved out of the way of the down-sweeping ax. She heard a grunt as steel hit wood. Saturn was on her feet in a flash, snatching her Glaive as she did so. She whirled to see Gandalf with his staff held horizontally before him with both hands -what had happened to the sword he'd had earlier, at Khazad-dum?- the Orc's Ax imbedded in it, but having not gone all the way through; that was some wood! Lita would be proud!
"You leave him alone!" Sailor Saturn yelled. "Silent Blast!" Where the new attack phrase came from, she had no idea. All she knew was that it worked. One minute the Orc was there, the next he was surrounded in a pillar of glowing purple light that streamed for her outstretched hands, and then he was gone. Simply gone…his armor and weapons and clothing fell to the ground, no longer having a body to hold them up.
"Thank you, Hotaru," Gandalf told her, hands on his knees as he sank to the ground. Sailor Saturn smiled at him before looking to where the last power phrase was screamed out. She saw the last Orc engulfed in a tornado ridden with bits of something hard and sharp; crystals of some sort. The creature was torn to a bloody shred before the bits of something with in the tornado began glowing sky blue and sunset yellow; he exploded into a puff of dust to be blown away, and was no more.
A few yards away, with her hands held out and the last bit of the same sky blue and sunset yellow light around her hands that had been in the wind, fading away, with a self-satisfied smirk on her face, was Sailor Uranus.
"That's a new one. Very nice." Sailor Mars commented on Sailor Uranus's powers as the light faded from around the sandy-haired woman's hands. Sailor Mars shoved a dead Orc off her, where it had fallen on her before she could jump out of the way after shooting him at close range with one of her arrows.
"Speak for yourself," Sailor Uranus snorted, hiding her pleasure at the compliment. "Since when can you summon and fire your arrows without calling out your attack phrase?"
Sailor Mars, with a slightly surprised look on her face, realized that indeed she had summoned and fired her weapon without saying a word. She had also been able to use just the arrow as a sort of mini spear when need be…no, not even that. Looking back, Sailor Mars remembered when one of her arrows, at her brief wish, had become a full sized spear.
"Seems we all got an upgrade on the attack front," Sailor Saturn said, glancing at Sailor Mercury, who was still looking from her hands, to the frozen Orc statues, then back to her hands, which were still surrounded by a floating, sparkling ice mist. She blinked, walked up to one of the frozen Orcs, and touched it…
The frozen Orc statue shattered, so cold it was. Sailor Mercury jumped back, then, grinning, summoned to her hand a whip of ice. She lashed out with it, and all six Orcs that had been caught in her freeze blast shattered to little more than frost.
Mercury shook herself, the whip disappeared, leaving only the misty glow before she closed her fists and lowered them. With this action, the mist faded and disappeared.
"As grateful as I am for not being the only magically equipped person in this group," Gandalf said, leaning heavily on his cracked staff. "I must admit I am loath to go any longer without inquiring as to just who you ladies are, and how it is that you are able control the Elements, to be able to summon them at your will and use them as weapons. I believe I speak for the Hobbits as well when I ask this." He winked at Frodo, who was on the ground not far from him, simply staring.
"Er, talent?" Sailor Saturn flushed. Sailor Uranus laughed.
"That and the right bloodline." Sailor Mars smirked.
"Pardon?" Asked Sam, dusting himself off as he gave Frodo a hand up from the ground, both with bloodstained swords in hand.
"We shall explain," Sailor Mercury promised. "But I'm afraid for now we have a pressing mission, and have only the time to provide our names." She took advantage of the cloak-like article that was her skirt, and took ahold of the two flaps that was either side of the slit that went from the top of the skirt all the way to the bottom, so that, in the front, they were not connected at all. She swept them aside and curtseyed. "I am Mercury."
"Sailor Mercury," Sailor Mars added for her. Mercury blinked.
"No," She said after a moment. "Not like this." She touched the silver circles on either side of her Mercury symbol. "I'm not 'Sailor' anything. I'm Mercury. Period. Feel it, you guys. This isn't the Senshi Planet Power coursing through our veins, its Planet Power, raw and pure."
Shocked expressions of realization donned on all of their faces as, for the first time since transforming, they took serious note of their new fukus.
"Blue's right," Uranus murmured. "I'm Uranus. Period. Almost as if I were the planet itself…"
"Or darn close," Mars murmured. She sighed. "Well, in any case," She gave a curt nod to Gandalf, Frodo, and Sam. "I'm Mars."
"I already told Gandalf my name is Hotaru, but when I'm like this," She gripped the flaps of the skirt that was similar to Mercury's in that in the front there was nothing to hide the knee high purple, laced up boots and black leotard. "I am Saturn." She curtseyed slightly using the overlapping, tiered, petal shaped material that matched her sleeves, which had stayed the same as her sleeves as Sailor Saturn.
"Who are the shorties that came along after you, Blue?" Uranus addressed Mercury, referring to the Hobbits. Sam shook himself, but continued to stare unabashed at the lovely warrior goddesses before him before joining Frodo gaping at Gandalf.
"M-Mr. G-Gandalf s-s-sir…" Sam breathed, wide eyed.
"We meet again, Samwise Gamgee," Gandalf lifted his wizard's hat -which had somehow stay on his head, reminding the Senshi, with a sad twinge in their hearts, of Tuxedo Mask- and bowed to the Hobbit, bright amusement and happiness in his eyes.
"Gandalf…" Frodo choked. Gandalf smiled at him warmly.
"Yes, 'tis me, Frodo," He said. "You don't think I'd go and be the first Gray wizard to defeat a Belrog and then die before I could gloat over it, did you?"
"You'd never gloat." Frodo said with complete conviction.
"Alas, I cannot fool even you," Gandalf teased. He held out his arms as he knelt, and with a sob that he was not ashamed of in the least, Frodo threw himself at his old friend, and Sam soon joined in.
"As touching as this is," Uranus cut into their reunion sourly. "In case anyone's forgotten, we're right smack dab in the middle of a place twice as evil as the Dark Kingdom, and we have yet to locate the Princess, or even find out if she still lives."
"Oh, she's alive, I know that!" Saturn spoke up as Frodo and Sam and even Gandalf collected themselves, and tuned back into the conversation as the seven of them unconsciously formed a loose ring so as to see everyone else at once.
"How?" Mars demanded.
"I heard her!" Saturn said. "Just before Gandalf pushed me out of the way, I heard Serenity-hime's voice! She said, 'Hotaru, look out!'"
"You heard her?" Mercury asked, surprised.
"She heard me?" Serena breathed as she saw Saturn's eyes widen as she took down her opponent with her glaive.
"Serenity-hime?" Saturn breathed in a whispy voice that, down on Earth, Serena *felt* rather than heard as she continued to watch the images in the Moon.
"Oh, look behind you!" Serena cried out, taking a step forward. Legolas's hand on her arm tightened, keeping her close. Serena gave a sudden cry of delight as a tall, white haired, white bearded man pushed Saturn out of the way… Serena, clapping for joy, ignoring the two warriors behind her and the one at her side, looking at her with concern. Legolas's hand moved up to her shoulder as she stared unblinkingly up at the Moon.
"She heard me, she heard me, she heard me!" Serena cheered.
"*We* certainly did!" Gimli growled as he ran up to stand beside her with a huff.
"Ssh." Aragorn told him sharply, eyeing the Moon before glancing back down at the golden haired girl. Boromir stepped up to her, placing a hand on her other shoulder as he came around to her left to look at her face with concern. His eyes widened when he saw her golden, upturned crescent moon. Since she had transformed into the angel moon warrior not even two days ago, it had never completely faded. Now it was there, bold as could be, and glowing faintly to match the faint light that eminated from the locket restingin the small of her throat. The tears in her eyes glittered, reflecting the moonlight.
"What do you see?" Boromir asked her. Serena swallowed, blinked back her tears, and sniffled.
"They're here…" She whispered. "At least four of them… They…they've all got new attack weapons!" She cried with childish delight. "And they're with those two Hobbits you told me about… Samwise Gamgee, that old guy called him,and another one; he's got a ring on a chain around his neck…" She squinted up at the Moon. "And they just hugged a tall old guy as if they thought he was dead…"
"What did they call him?" Legolas asked her gently. She glanced at him as he gave her shoulder the briefest, lightest squeezed. She turned her head to smiled at him just as briefly in thanks, when their eyes locked for the most brief of moments, and something passed between their eyes… Serena yanked her eyes away and turned her gaze back to the Moon.
"Gandalf," She said. "They called him Gand-"
"What?" Aragorn recoiled slightly.
"You heard me," Serena pouted. "Gandalf."
"That frustratingly cheerful magic poofter is *alive*?" Gimli exclaimed.
"Sam and that other shortie with the Ring -Frodo, Gandalf called him- both called him 'Gandalf.'" Serena told them firmly, without looking at them, so she had no way of knowing the completely awestruck looks on their faces. "And he called himself the first Gray Wizard to defeat a Belrog…he said something funny…" She giggled, then sighed. "Haruka-chan's being insensitive again…wonder why they didn't bring Michi-chan along to keep her in line… Why aren't all my Senshi there?" She frowned. "I only see Uranus, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn…"
"If they come from the future, mayhap they left some behind to protect your time, should anyone try to invade whilst they are away." Legolas pointed out.
"Sounds like a plan Luna or Setsuna would have come up with," Serena mussed and sniffed again. "Their fukus are different too…" She rubbed her eyes and sniffed once more. "They came for me!" She said softly as she looked up at the Moon again. She grinned.
"Uranus is on one of her rants again…she's saying how they should 'get the hell out of that place and quit with the pleasantries and start looking for me.'" She frowned, wringing her hands out before her. "But I'm right here!" She wailed. "I'm watching you!" But even as she said it, the image in the Moon began to fade…
"No!" Serena took two quick steps forward before Boromir and Legolas both gripped an arm and kept her from going any further. "No, no, no! Let me see my friends again!" She shouted at the Moon. "Let me see them!" She fell to her knees, sniffling and sobbing loudly as she pounded the ground with her fists. Boromir knelt beside her, every bit a concerned big brother, and pulled her into his arms. Gimli and Agagorn glanced up at the moon, while Legolas's eyes remained on the distraught young girl as he knelt on one knee as well and brushed a strand of her hair off her forehead and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
The human and the elf exchanged glances over the still shaking form of the lunarian girl, both having the same thoughts; Why this girl? Why did she have to bear so much? But they both knew the answer; she was forced to endure through things that no one should have to for the same reason a hobbit was forced to become responsible for destroying the most evil article in the universe.
Fate was a cruel, cruel thing.
Despite their weariness after the battle, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Frodo, Sam, and the wizard Gandalf headed immediately away from the remains of the Orc camp, going as quietly and stealthy as they could, not saying a word. Soon enough they found a cave that lead into a cavern that wasn't deep enough to promote the possibility of any ogre, troll, or goblins anywhere near, but not high enough that the light from the fire they erected would be seen.
"Guess it's story time, eh?" Mars spoke up once they were all settled around the fire. Mercury began sifting through the packs they had grabbed, the ones that had still been semi-intact, and began passing around portions of what little food there was.
"I suppose that would be the rational thing to do at this moment," Gandalf said, accepting the foil encased bar of freeze dried potatoes, ham, gravy, and peas. "But first," Said the Wizard, looking over the object. "Would one of you care to explain how we are to eat this?" The Senshi exchanged looks; his tone and raised eyebrow were too much, and they laughed, then the laughter was redoubled when they took in both Frodo and Sam's bewildered expressions as well.
"It's a…specially prepared food from…our homeland, made so that it will stay fresh for several years." Mercury explained as Saturn took Gandalf's freeze dried delicacy and tore off the top of the package and handed it back to him after pushing up the crunchy-looking bar so it was visible. Raye did the same for the Hobbits. They each took a tentative taste, surprise overcoming their features before they thanked the Senshi warmly, whom were all still transformed.
"Aren't you cold in those…that…er…those clothes?" Sam asked. "Even with the fire?"
"It's part of our transformation, that we're able to withstand extreme weather," Uranus said briskly. This seemed sufficient an explanation for the time being.
"Back to Miss Mars' statement, I suppose 'tis time for a round of more detailed introductions," Gandalf, handing his empty wrapper to Mercury, who stuffed it in a trash compartment in the bag. "An explanation that includes what children such as yourself, however obviously skilled in defending yourselves, are doing in Mordor."
"Hey, guests first," Uranus said, leaning against a rock and crossing her arms and ankles. The expressions on hers and Mars and even Mercury's face made it abundantly clear that they would not breath a word about their mission till they knew what the wizard and two 'shorties' intentions were.
"Very well," Gandalf said. "Frodo, show them the Ring." Frodo hesitated, then, with a great solemness, pulled something out from under his shirt and over his head. Holding it up to dangle from the chain held tightly in his fist, the firelight glanced off the unnaturally shiny surface of an unmarked gold band. Simple, and yet breathtakingly lovely, as if it held the entire universe within its golden radiance.
"That's no ordinary Ring." Saturn breathed after a moment.
"No crap, Sherlock, want a cookie?" Mars muttered sarcastically. But even her barb wasn't as full-hearted as usual.
"How odd…" Mercury said. "It…it calls to me…" She whispered. Immediately Gandalf moved to tell Frodo to put it away.
"Oh, don't worry," Mars said with a roll of her eyes. "If any of us really wanted it you'd all be dead. We wouldn't be very good Senshi if we couldn't resist the call of Evil. Believe me, we've had much sweeter offers from the side of evil than this little thing is whispering to me."
"What is it made of?" Saturn asked, suddenly looking a bit like the curious child she should be.
"No one knows," Sam shrugged.
"I think I might," Mercury spoke up after a moment of thoughtful silence. She held out her hand. "May I?" Frodo hesitated. Mercury, for a moment, didn't understand, and frowned. "Listen, you heard Mars," She said politely. "I don't-" She stopped, her eyes having locked with Frodo's. She understood. It wasn't that Frodo didn't trust her, it was that he had felt the lull of the Ring for so long, and he didn't want anyone else to be exposed to it as he was, even if he knew she could resist it. Mercury was touched that he should be so thoughtful towards her, a stranger, even though she was sure it would have been a great relief to him to let someone else bear the burden of holding it, even for a few moments.
"Very well," She said. "Just come sit by me, please and hold it up in your hand." Glancing at Gandalf, Frodo obliged, settling himself beside the sapphire haired beauty. Mercury pinched her earlobe, and for moment Sam and Frodo both dismissed it as simply relieving herself of an itch, until, as a result of that act, a sheet of dark blue tinted, arched, curved glass appeared over her eyes. Not only that, but a small, flat, rectangle compact appeared in her hands. She opened it, pressed a button, and a small section within the center of the mark that was on the lid of the compact, the same symbol that was on her forehead, disappeared. A slender blue beam of light shot out of the small hole to shine down on the Ring, giving it an eerie glow.
Holding the compact in one hand, Mercury's other hand began moving rapidly and gracefully over the bottom inside flap of the compact, hitting small squares that sank and rose each time she pressed and released it.
"What sort of bloody contraption is that?" Sam gasped.
"It's my data computer," Mercury said simply. "Don't ask me to explain." She said distractedly as she continued scanning, as the Senshi recognized what she was doing. A few moments later, a beeping sound emitted from the small blue compact, causing Sam to glare at it, Frodo to blink in surprise, and the look of fascination on Gandalf's face to heighten.
"Just as I thought," Mercury said with satisfaction. She turned on Frodo.
"Where did you get this, and who made it?" She demanded in a most un-Ami/Mercury like fashion.
"I thought that was supposed to be my line," Uranus said, amused. Mercury ignored her. Frodo looked to Gandalf, who nodded. Mars frowned. Does the shortie look to that old guy for permission to breathe, too? She thought with annoyance.
"It's a long story," Frodo warned.
"We've got plenty of time," Saturn reassured him, settling herself beside him and giving his hand a brief squeeze before pulling away. Frodo frowned, then, with a sigh, began to tell a tale that sounded, to the Senshi, like something out of a classical best seller novel or trilogy from Europe.
(AN: Yes, pun intended. *wink*)
Starting with the retelling of what few, vague things were known about the making of the Rings of Power and the Master Ring, all the way to how the Master Ring had, against its will, fallen into the hands of Frodo's uncle, then to Frodo himself. Then to the just-in-time flight from his home to Rivendell, where a quest to destroy the Ring had been set in motion, Frodo volunteering for the task, a team dubbed 'The Fellowship' deployed to assist him.
Saturn sniffled at his retelling of the battle that had took Boromir's life. How Boromir had died, exactly, he did not know, all he knew was that, somehow, he did know the warrior had died. How he didn't know if Merry and Pippin's sacrifice had left them dead, if the rest of the Fellowship was still alive, or not.
Silence reigned for a moment after he'd finished, the fire flickering with the grace of a deadly dance.
"This Master Ring…" Mars started, staring into the fire. "It's the Ring that's in your hand right now, isn't it?" Frodo nodded.
"Does anyone know exactly what it is that gives this Ring the extra 'umph' to be the Master of all other Rings?" Uranus asked. For this question, it was Gandalf that gave the answer.
"The only theory we have is that this Ring was made for Sauron and Sauron alone," Gandalf said wearily. "Whereas the other Rings could generally be used by just about anyone. Without having to waste so much of the Ring's power on making sure any and all could use it, it left up more room for just raw, evil power."
"Mercury?" Frodo noticed the odd look on the blue haired girl's face. Mercury started, then grinned slightly. She looked to Gandalf, then to the Ring.
"As good a theory as that is, Mr. Gandalf," Mercury said in a voice that was eerily soft, sure, and solemn. "That is not either the only nor the main reason for why this Ring is the One Ring."
"Oh?" Gandalf raised an eyebrow.
"Mind letting us in on the party, Sherlock?" Mars growled. Mercury nodded, taking the Ring from Frodo's hand and weighing it. She hissed as an image bombarded her, and she doubled over in the pain that resisting the image brought her…
*I will not bend to your will!* Mercury cried with all her heart at the eye of fire that bore into her heart and soul. *None of us will! Ever! Don't even try! Serenity will defeat you! Be wary, Sauron! Your end is near, I promise you! The secret flaw of your beloved Ring is known. Your trap has failed! Now, release me! Be silent!!!*
With a final whisper promising eternal agony for defying him, the voice and presence of Sauron was gone.
Mercury, gasping, snapped her eyes open as her mind and spirit was yanked back to her body and the real world.
"Ami-chan?" Saturn was beside her, hand on her arm. Frodo was also beside her, having slapped the Ring from her hand. Mercury took in a few gasps of air, then smiled. She looked at Saturn, and the younger girl's eyes widened. They both looked to Mars and Uranus, and, one by one, they all smiled the feral smile of satisfied predators that had just found a back door into their prey's hide out.
"What just happened?" Sam asked. Mars smirked.
"Mercury just gave that big bad fire eye you guys fear so much a boot in the ass, that's what." Mars grinned.
"Not quite, Mars," Mercury whipped her brow, chuckling at the shocked expression on Sam's face. "But I do believe he'll leave us alone for the time being."
"Why did he attack you?" Gandalf asked. "You had not even put the Ring on."
"He knows that I know the one thing that he fears someone would find out," Mercury came precariously close to smirking. Uranus grinned.
"What might that be?" Gandalf demanded. The Senshi grinned, and Mercury picked up the One Ring from where it lay in the dirt. She rubbed it between her fingers, tossed it, then caught it again, grinning.
"Guys," She said, addressing the wizard and the hobbits as well. "I know why this Ring is the Master Ring, and it's not because it had extra memory space to fit in an extra evil file." She grinned, and then laughed outright, before turning to Gandalf and Frodo and Sam. "Gentleman, I believe our quests just became one and the same."
"What do you mean?" Frodo asked breathlessly. Mercury smiled.
"She means, shortie, that she figured out why this Sauron dude let you get as far into Mordor as you have." Uranus snorted. "Think about it. The only way to destroy the Ring is to throw it into the same pit it was made in? I don't think so. If this lava is magic, it's probably evil magic. So did any of you geniuses stop to think that maybe the 'knowledge' that Mount Doom was the only place the Ring could be destroyed was only a rumor? A trap? That maybe throwing it into the same fires it was made in would actually make it stronger?"
"I confess none of us have ever considered that." Gandalf granted after a moment.
"What a mistake we almost made…" Frodo breathed.
"Mistake!" Sam gasped. "That's too light a word! We almost 'anded the most powerful object in existence t' the Dark Lord 'imself! We might as well 'ave wrapped it with a bow and everythin'!"
"As interesting a picture that makes, I'd rather not think about it," Frodo was definitely paler than he'd been a moment ago. His eyes widened in horror. "But if the fires of Mount Doom won't destroy it," He took the Ring from Mercury, staring at it, laying so serenely his hand… "Then what will?"
"Again, I say that I believe our two quests have become conjoined," Mercury said with a gentle smile. "I believe the one person that can destroy what you now hold in your hand, Frodo Baggins, is the same person that we are here to find."
"Care to explain?" Gandalf frowned lightly. Mars laughed.
"She's talking about our Princess, Grey," The priestess grinned. "The only one alive that can handle, craft, mold, and destroy what makes your trinket so special."
"I still don't-"
"Moongold, birdbrain," Uranus snapped at Sam. "She scanned the Ring, and it's made of Moongold. She means the thing that makes this Sauron's Ring the Master Ring that it's made of Moongold. And only Princess Serenity can destroy it, because she's the only Lunarian left alive, let alone the only Royal Lunarian heir. And only a Royal Lunarian can wield or destroy Moongold. We may not remember as much as Serenity does from the Silver Millennium but we remember that much. So now you get it?"
Sam nodded vigorously.
"So, I say for the final time," Mercury said in the silence that followed. "I believe our two quests have just become one; find the Princess Serenity."
High atop Mount Doom, deep inside the belly of the fortress that had once been known as Baraduil, now called Bara-dur, an evil stirred. It was stirred by the presence of something familiar…the evil had ignored it, till now, when it had flared too brightly to be ignored any longer.
Evil knew that light… Evil had once possessed that light, in all but spirit. Evil had once been it's master…
With a rumble that echoed throughout the fortress, Evil's bidding was made known, and nine figures of nightmares were unleashed…
To Be Continued…NOTICE:
This chapter is dedicated to Chibi Arwen, who went so far as to start her own Sailor Moon/Lord of the Rings crossover, which she says is inspired by 'Will of the Ring.' *tears* I'm so honored! And take note everyone, that in the very first chapter and in several other parts throughout the story she gave me credit. That makes the difference between my being flattered/giving her eternal hugs (*hugglez Chibi Arwen-chan*) and my flaming from here to the Moon. Thanks, girl!
Second…To Final-Fan, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your review that gave so much valuable information regarding how Gandalf came back in the Two Towers. I was seriously considering going back and rewriting chapter six, but… When I got to thinking about, if I were to go back and replace my version with what really happened in the book, it would give away a major plot twist to those who haven't read the book/seen the movie but plan to in the future. And for those that have read the book, they already know that version, so what would be the point of my duplicating it? This is an Alternate Universe fic. So while I must once again thank you deeply for your insight, I must say that I plan to keep my version of the Gandalf-resurrection the way it is.
Okay, now for the Authors Notes to the rest of you lovely people…
A) Yes, there will be much more Serena/Legolas romance in future chapters, just bear with me; I'm trying to make the relationship believable!
B) Yes, Gandalf still becomes the White.
C) Yes, the Nazgul will be making an appearance shortly.
D) Yes, this fic is Serena-centered and will become more so once all characters are together.
E) I very much doubt I will be bringing any more Senshi to the past; I'm already juggling fourteen main characters, people!
I know this chapter was a bit…boring, mostly talk and not much action, but please remember this is a complicated story I am dealing with, and a lot of explaining will need to be done. And I promise lots of Serena/Legolas romance later on; I love romance! I just find it unrealistic that so practical a person as Legolas would let a relationship begin under such perilous circumstances, so once things calm down, I promise lots of mush and sweetness.
So, with all that said, until next time, minna-chans! Ja ne!
Hope Makes the Universe Shine,
Makura KonekoALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY
