Act I - Continued
"Of course you can go, Usako." Empress Selene Serenity smiled at her eager daughter. "You have been working hard at diplomacy and etiquette...surely your instructors will let you have a small break."
"Yes! I'm going to Earth!" Serenity hopped around her mothers' gilded chamber. The Queen continued on blithely, well aware her daughter was only half listening. "Unfortunately, the Outer Princesses could not make it, being tied up in matters of state...but Princess Hino Rei of Mars and Mizuno Ami of Mercury will be attending your luncheon. Since we attack tonight, the other planetary rulers and I have business to accomplish...organizing our troops and such. Now go and pack, child, and pray don't run into anything again...the floors have just been shined."
Serenity looked up, her slender form sprawled on the waxed marble. "Agh...too late."
Standing up and stretching, the princess stifled a yawn. The transport to Earth had taken nearly nine galactic hours - and she was very hungry. It would have been alot faster if I only knew how to travel via moonbeam...her mind grumbled along with her stomach. Stepping out on the landing platform, what she saw took her breath away.
Endless skies of azure blue gleamed over rolling fields of gold, smudged with the darker imprints of forests. Her gaping stare caught a flicker of movement; a broad stream ran through the field. She breathed deeply and choked...the air on Earth was much thicker than on the moon; fuller, somehow, heavier with scent and stirred by vagrant breezes.
"Over here, Serenity!"
The princesses of Mars and Mercury were sitting on a grassy field not too far away from the shuttle. They squinted up as it took off, its twin prism combuster engines roaring. Serenity hop skipped her way, falling a few times in the process. Even the gravity here was different, it pulled her down, unlike the moon. Panting from the effort, she rolled over the sunwarmed grass. "When do we eat? I'm starving!" Serenity flopped over to Ami. Quietly setting out polished wooden bowls and chopsticks, the Mercurian slapped the Moon Princess's hand. "Wait, Serenity! I just have to heat it up a bit." Pulling dried seaweed and sukiyaki beef strips from her basket, Ami dropped them into a boiling pot of water. "Hey, how did the water get hot so fast?" pondered Serenity.
Whooosh! Fire licked around her pale cream kirtle, crackling around her unicorn skin slippers. Screeching in fear, she rolled over in the grass, out of the fire. Someone laughed heartily.
Serenity turned, flustered, only to see Rei. The Martian princess was chuckling, a few violets falling from their wreath onto her black lined crimson kirtle. Holding up her hands, the Moon Princess was astonished to see flame flickering around them. "It's part of being royalty from Mars, Serenity. I can control fire, create it, banish it, make it do my bidding." Fire swirled around her arms, twining up her wrists like some flaming serpent. Serenity watched, fascinated, as glowing embers like so many rubies spattered onto Rei's kirtle. Beckoning to the fire, Rei rolled it all up in her hand, a single gleaming jewel. With a pop, it vanished into thin air. She grinned smugly at their open mouths.
"There's nothing to it. Of course, it helps to have flame coursing through your blood."
Serenity sucked on burnt fingers. "Excuse me if I decline the invite."
Rei laughed. "Your sarcasm is tangible..."
"Whatever does that mean?"
"You're a butthead."
Ami shook her head despairingly at the two girls, who now proceeded to stick their tongues out and wiggle them at one another. I can tell this will be a lively trip with those two together... swiping her dark blue hair from her cerulean eyes, Ami tugged at one of Serenity's odango, the other being wrenched from her head by Rei's hands.
"For those who care, the food is ready."
"Yummy! I can't wait!"
Sprawled on the grass, Serenity burped. "Princess, that's rude. Surely you've learned better mannerisms than that." Admonished Ami with her eyes closed. Serenity rolled over, hiccupping quietly. "A girl needs food to grow up..." she muttered. Rei picked at a violet entwined in her hair. "Huh, that must mean you're middle aged."
"What did you say?"
"You're a fat squishy bunny, Usagi. Look," she prodded her rounded stomach with a crimson nail. "Even your bunny tummy is fat."
"Is not! And don't call me Usagi...that's my formal name!"
"Is too, Usagi."
"Is not times infinity!" Throwing all decorum out the window, the Moon Princess hurled herself upon her Martian counterpart, slapping and biting. "Shinde, you psych-o-pyro!"
Rei gave back as good as she got, her eyes alight with battlefire. "Hah...then what are you, Usa-chan?"
Serenity's azure eyes became catty slits. "Someone who doesn't dance the whole ball with a certain general someone..." Rei blushed scarlet, her teeth grinding audibly. Ami looked up, barely concealing amusement as she cleared up the dishes. "Now, what certain someone are we talking about, Rei? It is very rude to keep us in suspense...tell us!"
"I already know! Wah hah hah hah!"
Rei grabbed the wound up hair buns of Serenity's odango, drawing her close. "Indeed you do, Serenity. Now look straight at me and pretend that I'm threatening you. There is someone behind me in the trees, watching us. Don't make any sudden movements! Pretend that we don't know they are there." Releasing her, Rei nonchalantly picked blades of grass from her raven hair. Serenity sat up and tried to fix her own tresses with shaky fingers. Her heart was pounding as adrenaline pumped through her limbs.
"Uh, Ami, do you have a comb in that basket of yours? Ami?"
She was unable to answer, her mouth covered by a black gloved hand. Swiftly moving figures darted from the trees, quickly blocking off all chances of escape. "Run for it, Serenity and Ami! They look like assassins!" Rei threw herself atop a ninja who had been stalking the Moon Princess. Scrambling to her feet, she gripped a nearby branch of an elm and pulled down hard. It snapped off with a loud crack. Wielding the knobby branch as a crude staff, Rei belabored the oncoming attackers, shrieking insults all the while.
Ami struggled in the assassins's strong arms, her teeth clamping down on the hand. The ninja gave a decidedly feminine scream, and backed off cradling her bleeding fingers. Praying Serenity had steady hands, she dug into her pack, deftly throwing a pair of numchucks in her direction. "Catch, Serenity!"
"Ouch! That hurt!"
She sighed. It was too much to hope for. "Sorry, princess."
"Run you louse ridden cowards! I was born in the dark of an eclipse, deep in the bowels of a volcano! Fear the daughter of Kasei...surrender or die!" Her nostrils were flared, dark eyes narrowed into twin crescents of flame. The ninja took one look at Rei and fled for their lives. Having broken her branch minutes ago she sent jets of flame spiraling about her, scorching their black behinds.
Anger tightened Ami's features, the cold steely gleam oft found in her mother's eyes now burned in her own. Deep blue hair flying about her pale face, the Mercurian shot freezing water from her hands, her face a grim mask of determination. "Run, Serenity!" She yelled over the deafening din of battle. "Run far away while you still can! We'll catch up!"
Gasping in the heavy air, the princess fought desperately, knowing her life depended on it. They grew in confidence and numbers, more and more of the black clad figures materializing from the forest. Serenity winded a would-be attacker with a swift punch, then looked at her friends.
Rei was being taken down, shrieking, by countless ninja. Flailing the numchucks Serenity had been hit with, the Martian gave one last war cry as she went under the seething mob. Gasping in shock, she knocked a ninja silly as she looked around desparately for Ami.
Bzap! An ice cold wind chilled the spring air as the Princess of Mercury froze all offending ninja into inanimate blocks. She started in shock, a dark red spot welling on her back. "Nooo!" Serenity screamed. A tall ninja, bearing the stripes of leadership on her obi, had sent an arc of black lightning into the air, into Ami. "I'm coming!"
"No, you're not!"
Rei suddenly appeared, looking tired but blisteringly furious. "If you die, all hopes for the future are gone," she gritted her teeth. Grabbing Serenity's arms, she forcefully threw the princess down, gravity rolling her down the hilly slope with a thin wail.
Panting, Rei bent over with sudden exhaustion. Sorry, but you left me no choice.
"Unh!" Twigs snapped and bushes whispered as the Moon Princess was brought to her rolling halt by a tree. "Owww..." she grumbled, feeling the delicate skin of her face and arms lacerated and oozing silvery moon blood. "This trip is just getting worse and worse."
"There she is! After her!" Small troops of ninja were running towards Serenity, the leader at the front yelling savagely. Turning on her heel, Serenity fled into the forest, grimacing in pain as thorns dug into her soft slippers. Threading her way through the looming trees, she dodged and ducked bolts of dark energy. Her ragged breaths and hurried footfalls were the only sounds in the silent sylvan copse.
She looked back only once. They were gaining on her, readying blasts to stun and knock her out...for what purpose she could only fear. The sound of running water dimly reached her ears. The stream...perhaps she could lose them there. Putting on a burst of speed, she wrenched her unicorn skin slippers off in midair, no longer any use as they were shredded and holed up. More agile than a wild rabbit, she shot forth like a moonbeam running from the sun.
Serenity never saw one of the runners pause. The ninja, panting, balled up some energy and hurled it fiercely at the princess. It whistled just past Serenity's right ear, startling her. Tripping on a gnarled treeroot, she fell heavily. Thud! With a sickening crack, her head smacked a jutting rock. Momentum tossed her limp body down a slight depression, where she lay beneath an overhanging weeping willow, half in and out of the stream.
"Split up and search, you dogs! Diamond will have our heads if we don't find the princess now!" barked the leader, hands on hips. "You, search the trail she left...I think I saw her dart to the right down the gully! You, go to the stream and check!"
Silently they slipped off, sharp eyes searching. One assassin separated herself from the others, noticing a slight difference in the earthen trail she followed. Her night black hair whipped in the wind, strong limbs pumping as she scanned the area. Bending over, the mask she wore creased in a smile.
For there were her torn unicorn-skin slippers, that could belong to none but a Lunarian of incredibly high rank. Royalty. Chuckling with fiendish delight, the ninja never noticed the soft tread of bare feet behind her. All her hidden intrigues were frozen into oblivion by a pair of soft hands. Wincing as the cold ice burned in her open wounds, Ami walked away from the macabre icicle she had created. I really must remember to attack from a distance, she thought cynically. Choosing her path, the Mercurian walked further into the gully and towards the canyon. In the opposite direction of the stream.
"Her Highness the Empress Selene will see you now."
Moving as one, the Inner Queens of the Planetary Alliance were joined by their Outer counterparts. With one difference. For behind each Outer Empress walked her daughter. "Dosei and her daughter couldn't make it," Empress Kai'ou whispered to her daughter, Michiru. "They were detained by some troubles on Saturn. I wonder if Serenity will notice..."
Tears glistening in the corners of her green eyes, Mokusei hugged the Queen of Venus. Both wore serious expressions, tempered with infinite sadness. "Our daughters will be fine, Kinsei." Quietly they all bowed deeply as the Empress of the Moon ascended her throne.
She was in mourning for the loss of her daughter, being garbed in solemn silvery gray robes. Mother of pearl crescent moons were looped in chains around her slender wrists and waist. Pushing her long silky white hair over one shoulder, the Empress of all Worlds grimly smiled. "Plans have changed, as you all are well aware of. Our attack strategy will be delayed, we will not send in the fleets tonight. Instead," Her eyes swept the faces of her subjects and fellow rulers.
"We will get to the root of this problem. Two princesses are now missing. Two planets, both integral to the well being of our kingdom, are in uproar and under attack. My own daughter, our dear princess is missing, possibly dead and most likely captured by some unknown force."
The Queen wiped something from her eye. "I have a feeling that the ninja who attacked our daughters are somehow connected with this unrest going on lately. There have even been reports of fighting on Earth about subterfuge and fraud by the Moon Kingdom, if all this is not bad enough. However, I have come up with a solution to our problem. If you please, my dear friend."
Pausing in her speech, her silvery eyes scanned the princesses, finally resting on the royals of Pluto. Princess Mei'ou Setsuna did not make appearances frequently, often being too busy with unknown matters to attend balls and celebrations. Yet it was Setsuna that Queen Serenity's piercing gaze rested upon. The other royals looked on impassively as she walked to the front, then stood quietly before them.
Tall and reserved, Setsuna had the dark skin akin to Plutonians...often compared to the Earthian spice cinnamon. Polished loops of garnets were looped round her neck and wrists, tinkling as their delicate silver links touched. Her serious liquid garnet eyes, matching the stones she wore in their intensity and beauty, were trained upon her Queen. She bowed deeply to all, then stood watching. The royalty shifted uncomfortably. Finally she moved, her dark eyes fixed upon the two princesses of Mars and Mercury, who looked very small in the company of these Junoesque goddesses. Their heads held high, Rei and Ami prepared themselves for a firm lecture.
"I have a mission for you two, a mission that could determine the future of our existence." Their heads perked up in surprise. Smiling at their wide eyes, she replied, as if she could read their astonished thoughts. "No, you are not in trouble. Instead, I would like to explain this plan that Queen Serenity and I have come up with...our last resort against this malevolent evil. Will you listen?"
Their heads nodded eagerly. The varied Empresses looked at each other and shrugged. Setsuna began to pace the hall, eyes closed. "Ah yes. Eons ago, there were a gathering of warriors in this solar system. Each was of royal blood, a practitioner of magic, usually having the expertise of a single element. They were known as the Sailor Senshi. Yes, the elite soldiers of our own planets from ancient legend."
The Plutonian paused, hearing murmurs of protest. "Ah...ahah!" She waggled a finger under the nose of Rei, startling her. "But listen! Most of you are shaking your heads. Good, you think they are simply myth, nothing more than a childish legend..."
Setsuna's dark eyes began to burn with an unearthly light.
"What would you think if I proved that the Sailor Senshi exist, hmmm?"
Queen Ten'ou begant to laugh. All eyes fastened upon her as the Empress of Uranus doubled over with unbridled humor. "S-Sailor Senshi? Alive and existing?!? Where's a historian when you need one?" Haruka joined her mother, chuckling helplessly. "Setsuna, the Sailor Senshi have been extinct for millennia upon millennia. There's no way a person could live that long...even if she traveled in space for light years she would die of old age!"
Setsuna watched the display for a moment, eyes narrowed.
"Hah...well, am I wrong?"
"Pluto Planet Power!"
Reaching up, the princess was bathed in opaque greenish mist. Spinning elegantly, Setsuna embraced the sparkling light bathing her bare dark body. All the royalty leaned on one another for support, open mouthed in shock as a brilliant flash of light blinded them all. Princess Kai'ou Michiru blinked, stars exploding in her vision. She turned, only to see her cousin Haruka gaping at the woman walking towards them, dark eyes blazing.
She wore a jet black fuku, with tall ebony tipped boots and garnet earrings. Her talisman, the garnet orb, rested passively on its staff, pulsing with innate magic.
"I am the guardian of the Space-Time Gates, Sailor Pluto! The Soldier of Change, protected by the Shadow Planet!"
Queen Serenity's mouth turned upward in sly amusement at her friends' stunned expressions. Empress Ten'ou consciously shut her mouth.
"If circumstances were not as they are now; it would be forbidden for any of you...save Serenity...to even know that I exist. But times have changed...."
"There is a sailor for every planet in this solar system. While the Senshi may die, the spirits of the planets, the senshi themselves, and most importantly; each planets star seed, the hearts of our worlds, will live on. Forever. Your mission, Ami and Rei, is to find each Inner Sailor Senshi and bring them to power. You will know what to do when you meet that person. The Outer soldiers will be taken care of...well, with the exception of one." Pluto shot a glance at the Outer Empresses. Ten'ou had recovered from her fit of bemusement, and stared back. A look passed between the two. She nodded, almost imperceptibly.
The Time Senshi continued. "But that is not all. I have yet more to say to you. As there is a sailor for each planet, for each sailor there is a guardian. Even more shrouded in legend, the guardians have great powers, in some ways more powerful than even the Sailors themselves. They came from the stars in the beginning of the creation of worlds; they are the souls of the lost moons of our planets. Their mission is to protect the soldier of their planet, to keep them from harm, and if required sacrifice even their very lives. You must also find these incredibly vital Guardians."
"I suggest," Empress Suisei's voice was uncommonly warm as she looked at her daughter Ami with pride. "That you start from the innermost planets, then work your way outward. From Mercury, then to Mars and Venus, henceforth."
"Quite correct. Thank you." smiled Sailor Pluto. "Oh, there is one more thing I think you should know. You can tell if a person is a Sailor Senshi or a Guardian Senshi if they carry the symbol of their planet on their foreheads. It is an either/or situation. Sometimes the sign may not appear for a while...be patient. We will give you the finest in transportation and supplies. It is time, Kai'ou and Ten'ou." Sailor Pluto turned, facing them.
The room became very quiet. A quiet humming pervaded the air, gradually increasing in volume until the very floor vibrated. The Senshi of Time held out her garnet rod. It was a beautiful thing, wrought with purest silver, the round Garnet Orb a rich deep crimson hue. Pluto removed it from its staff, them held it out to the Outer Queens.
Ten'ou hesitated, then reached into her midnight blue gown and pulled out a sword, its balanced hilt of dark rich gold. The blade seemed to shimmer in the muted light, sparkling gems embedded in its blood runnel. While not very long altogether, when Ten'ou sliced the air, the blade magically lengthened. It was the talisman of Uranus, the space sword.
As the Queen of Uranus held out the talisman, Kai'ou from Neptune nodded sadly, reached into thin air...and withdrew a mirror. Its rims and reflecting surface seemed to be a molten mixture of pale gold and silver. The back of it was clouded aquamarine, a teal color in which was engraved the trident symbol of Neptune. She thrust out the mirror, light beginning to gleam upon its surface.
Light refracted from the three talismans, gathering into a brilliant ball. A ringing noise filled the air, strains of war cries, past battles, and victory marches floated through the air. The two princesses stepped forward. Ten'ou Haruka strode to where her mother stood, ash blonde hair blowing wildly in an unseen wind. The symbol of Uranus gleamed dark navy blue on her forehead, and her eyes lit up. Queen Ten'ou swung the keen blade, making it sing as it sliced the air, then brought it down with a roar on her daughter's head. Immediately a brilliant light burst once more in the room, blinding all in it once again.
"Uranus Planet Power!"
Kai'ou Michiru faced her mother. A brilliant teal light lit up her symbol of Neptune. Pale sea green shadows rippled from the mirror...the depths of the oceanic planet brought to surface in a tranquil reality. Michiru's eyes glowed aquamarine, the mirror reflected in her pupils. Her hair flowed and rippled gently, as if teased by underwater currents. A crashing wave of tidal seawater showered the room in another brilliant flash.
"Neptune Planet Power!"
In a magnificent display of lights, violin music, and glitter, the young women transformed. Haruka smiled in fierce joy as raging winds of her desert planet enfolded her, starfire forming a midnight blue and dark gold fuku. Michiru embraced the tides which held her submerged; forcefully pushing out her hands as foaming waves flowed over her limbs, turning into a dark teal fuku.
Sailor Pluto simply smiled. It is good to see them awakened again.
"Invited by a new age, I am the magnificent Sailor Uranus, the Soldier of Flight!"
"Also invited by a new age, I am the elegant Sailor Neptune, the Soldier of Embrace!"
"And I am Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Time Gates, the Soldier of Change!"
Far away, on that distant planet of silence, a young girl screamed in horror; shadows writhing around her slim body, keening through her night black hair. A violet sigil appeared on her forehead, gleaming with an almost wicked light that instantly vaporized the shadows. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Her cries went unnoticed.
"Of course you can go, Usako." Empress Selene Serenity smiled at her eager daughter. "You have been working hard at diplomacy and etiquette...surely your instructors will let you have a small break."
"Yes! I'm going to Earth!" Serenity hopped around her mothers' gilded chamber. The Queen continued on blithely, well aware her daughter was only half listening. "Unfortunately, the Outer Princesses could not make it, being tied up in matters of state...but Princess Hino Rei of Mars and Mizuno Ami of Mercury will be attending your luncheon. Since we attack tonight, the other planetary rulers and I have business to accomplish...organizing our troops and such. Now go and pack, child, and pray don't run into anything again...the floors have just been shined."
Serenity looked up, her slender form sprawled on the waxed marble. "Agh...too late."
Standing up and stretching, the princess stifled a yawn. The transport to Earth had taken nearly nine galactic hours - and she was very hungry. It would have been alot faster if I only knew how to travel via moonbeam...her mind grumbled along with her stomach. Stepping out on the landing platform, what she saw took her breath away.
Endless skies of azure blue gleamed over rolling fields of gold, smudged with the darker imprints of forests. Her gaping stare caught a flicker of movement; a broad stream ran through the field. She breathed deeply and choked...the air on Earth was much thicker than on the moon; fuller, somehow, heavier with scent and stirred by vagrant breezes.
"Over here, Serenity!"
The princesses of Mars and Mercury were sitting on a grassy field not too far away from the shuttle. They squinted up as it took off, its twin prism combuster engines roaring. Serenity hop skipped her way, falling a few times in the process. Even the gravity here was different, it pulled her down, unlike the moon. Panting from the effort, she rolled over the sunwarmed grass. "When do we eat? I'm starving!" Serenity flopped over to Ami. Quietly setting out polished wooden bowls and chopsticks, the Mercurian slapped the Moon Princess's hand. "Wait, Serenity! I just have to heat it up a bit." Pulling dried seaweed and sukiyaki beef strips from her basket, Ami dropped them into a boiling pot of water. "Hey, how did the water get hot so fast?" pondered Serenity.
Whooosh! Fire licked around her pale cream kirtle, crackling around her unicorn skin slippers. Screeching in fear, she rolled over in the grass, out of the fire. Someone laughed heartily.
Serenity turned, flustered, only to see Rei. The Martian princess was chuckling, a few violets falling from their wreath onto her black lined crimson kirtle. Holding up her hands, the Moon Princess was astonished to see flame flickering around them. "It's part of being royalty from Mars, Serenity. I can control fire, create it, banish it, make it do my bidding." Fire swirled around her arms, twining up her wrists like some flaming serpent. Serenity watched, fascinated, as glowing embers like so many rubies spattered onto Rei's kirtle. Beckoning to the fire, Rei rolled it all up in her hand, a single gleaming jewel. With a pop, it vanished into thin air. She grinned smugly at their open mouths.
"There's nothing to it. Of course, it helps to have flame coursing through your blood."
Serenity sucked on burnt fingers. "Excuse me if I decline the invite."
Rei laughed. "Your sarcasm is tangible..."
"Whatever does that mean?"
"You're a butthead."
Ami shook her head despairingly at the two girls, who now proceeded to stick their tongues out and wiggle them at one another. I can tell this will be a lively trip with those two together... swiping her dark blue hair from her cerulean eyes, Ami tugged at one of Serenity's odango, the other being wrenched from her head by Rei's hands.
"For those who care, the food is ready."
"Yummy! I can't wait!"
Sprawled on the grass, Serenity burped. "Princess, that's rude. Surely you've learned better mannerisms than that." Admonished Ami with her eyes closed. Serenity rolled over, hiccupping quietly. "A girl needs food to grow up..." she muttered. Rei picked at a violet entwined in her hair. "Huh, that must mean you're middle aged."
"What did you say?"
"You're a fat squishy bunny, Usagi. Look," she prodded her rounded stomach with a crimson nail. "Even your bunny tummy is fat."
"Is not! And don't call me Usagi...that's my formal name!"
"Is too, Usagi."
"Is not times infinity!" Throwing all decorum out the window, the Moon Princess hurled herself upon her Martian counterpart, slapping and biting. "Shinde, you psych-o-pyro!"
Rei gave back as good as she got, her eyes alight with battlefire. "Hah...then what are you, Usa-chan?"
Serenity's azure eyes became catty slits. "Someone who doesn't dance the whole ball with a certain general someone..." Rei blushed scarlet, her teeth grinding audibly. Ami looked up, barely concealing amusement as she cleared up the dishes. "Now, what certain someone are we talking about, Rei? It is very rude to keep us in suspense...tell us!"
"I already know! Wah hah hah hah!"
Rei grabbed the wound up hair buns of Serenity's odango, drawing her close. "Indeed you do, Serenity. Now look straight at me and pretend that I'm threatening you. There is someone behind me in the trees, watching us. Don't make any sudden movements! Pretend that we don't know they are there." Releasing her, Rei nonchalantly picked blades of grass from her raven hair. Serenity sat up and tried to fix her own tresses with shaky fingers. Her heart was pounding as adrenaline pumped through her limbs.
"Uh, Ami, do you have a comb in that basket of yours? Ami?"
She was unable to answer, her mouth covered by a black gloved hand. Swiftly moving figures darted from the trees, quickly blocking off all chances of escape. "Run for it, Serenity and Ami! They look like assassins!" Rei threw herself atop a ninja who had been stalking the Moon Princess. Scrambling to her feet, she gripped a nearby branch of an elm and pulled down hard. It snapped off with a loud crack. Wielding the knobby branch as a crude staff, Rei belabored the oncoming attackers, shrieking insults all the while.
Ami struggled in the assassins's strong arms, her teeth clamping down on the hand. The ninja gave a decidedly feminine scream, and backed off cradling her bleeding fingers. Praying Serenity had steady hands, she dug into her pack, deftly throwing a pair of numchucks in her direction. "Catch, Serenity!"
"Ouch! That hurt!"
She sighed. It was too much to hope for. "Sorry, princess."
"Run you louse ridden cowards! I was born in the dark of an eclipse, deep in the bowels of a volcano! Fear the daughter of Kasei...surrender or die!" Her nostrils were flared, dark eyes narrowed into twin crescents of flame. The ninja took one look at Rei and fled for their lives. Having broken her branch minutes ago she sent jets of flame spiraling about her, scorching their black behinds.
Anger tightened Ami's features, the cold steely gleam oft found in her mother's eyes now burned in her own. Deep blue hair flying about her pale face, the Mercurian shot freezing water from her hands, her face a grim mask of determination. "Run, Serenity!" She yelled over the deafening din of battle. "Run far away while you still can! We'll catch up!"
Gasping in the heavy air, the princess fought desperately, knowing her life depended on it. They grew in confidence and numbers, more and more of the black clad figures materializing from the forest. Serenity winded a would-be attacker with a swift punch, then looked at her friends.
Rei was being taken down, shrieking, by countless ninja. Flailing the numchucks Serenity had been hit with, the Martian gave one last war cry as she went under the seething mob. Gasping in shock, she knocked a ninja silly as she looked around desparately for Ami.
Bzap! An ice cold wind chilled the spring air as the Princess of Mercury froze all offending ninja into inanimate blocks. She started in shock, a dark red spot welling on her back. "Nooo!" Serenity screamed. A tall ninja, bearing the stripes of leadership on her obi, had sent an arc of black lightning into the air, into Ami. "I'm coming!"
"No, you're not!"
Rei suddenly appeared, looking tired but blisteringly furious. "If you die, all hopes for the future are gone," she gritted her teeth. Grabbing Serenity's arms, she forcefully threw the princess down, gravity rolling her down the hilly slope with a thin wail.
Panting, Rei bent over with sudden exhaustion. Sorry, but you left me no choice.
"Unh!" Twigs snapped and bushes whispered as the Moon Princess was brought to her rolling halt by a tree. "Owww..." she grumbled, feeling the delicate skin of her face and arms lacerated and oozing silvery moon blood. "This trip is just getting worse and worse."
"There she is! After her!" Small troops of ninja were running towards Serenity, the leader at the front yelling savagely. Turning on her heel, Serenity fled into the forest, grimacing in pain as thorns dug into her soft slippers. Threading her way through the looming trees, she dodged and ducked bolts of dark energy. Her ragged breaths and hurried footfalls were the only sounds in the silent sylvan copse.
She looked back only once. They were gaining on her, readying blasts to stun and knock her out...for what purpose she could only fear. The sound of running water dimly reached her ears. The stream...perhaps she could lose them there. Putting on a burst of speed, she wrenched her unicorn skin slippers off in midair, no longer any use as they were shredded and holed up. More agile than a wild rabbit, she shot forth like a moonbeam running from the sun.
Serenity never saw one of the runners pause. The ninja, panting, balled up some energy and hurled it fiercely at the princess. It whistled just past Serenity's right ear, startling her. Tripping on a gnarled treeroot, she fell heavily. Thud! With a sickening crack, her head smacked a jutting rock. Momentum tossed her limp body down a slight depression, where she lay beneath an overhanging weeping willow, half in and out of the stream.
"Split up and search, you dogs! Diamond will have our heads if we don't find the princess now!" barked the leader, hands on hips. "You, search the trail she left...I think I saw her dart to the right down the gully! You, go to the stream and check!"
Silently they slipped off, sharp eyes searching. One assassin separated herself from the others, noticing a slight difference in the earthen trail she followed. Her night black hair whipped in the wind, strong limbs pumping as she scanned the area. Bending over, the mask she wore creased in a smile.
For there were her torn unicorn-skin slippers, that could belong to none but a Lunarian of incredibly high rank. Royalty. Chuckling with fiendish delight, the ninja never noticed the soft tread of bare feet behind her. All her hidden intrigues were frozen into oblivion by a pair of soft hands. Wincing as the cold ice burned in her open wounds, Ami walked away from the macabre icicle she had created. I really must remember to attack from a distance, she thought cynically. Choosing her path, the Mercurian walked further into the gully and towards the canyon. In the opposite direction of the stream.
"Her Highness the Empress Selene will see you now."
Moving as one, the Inner Queens of the Planetary Alliance were joined by their Outer counterparts. With one difference. For behind each Outer Empress walked her daughter. "Dosei and her daughter couldn't make it," Empress Kai'ou whispered to her daughter, Michiru. "They were detained by some troubles on Saturn. I wonder if Serenity will notice..."
Tears glistening in the corners of her green eyes, Mokusei hugged the Queen of Venus. Both wore serious expressions, tempered with infinite sadness. "Our daughters will be fine, Kinsei." Quietly they all bowed deeply as the Empress of the Moon ascended her throne.
She was in mourning for the loss of her daughter, being garbed in solemn silvery gray robes. Mother of pearl crescent moons were looped in chains around her slender wrists and waist. Pushing her long silky white hair over one shoulder, the Empress of all Worlds grimly smiled. "Plans have changed, as you all are well aware of. Our attack strategy will be delayed, we will not send in the fleets tonight. Instead," Her eyes swept the faces of her subjects and fellow rulers.
"We will get to the root of this problem. Two princesses are now missing. Two planets, both integral to the well being of our kingdom, are in uproar and under attack. My own daughter, our dear princess is missing, possibly dead and most likely captured by some unknown force."
The Queen wiped something from her eye. "I have a feeling that the ninja who attacked our daughters are somehow connected with this unrest going on lately. There have even been reports of fighting on Earth about subterfuge and fraud by the Moon Kingdom, if all this is not bad enough. However, I have come up with a solution to our problem. If you please, my dear friend."
Pausing in her speech, her silvery eyes scanned the princesses, finally resting on the royals of Pluto. Princess Mei'ou Setsuna did not make appearances frequently, often being too busy with unknown matters to attend balls and celebrations. Yet it was Setsuna that Queen Serenity's piercing gaze rested upon. The other royals looked on impassively as she walked to the front, then stood quietly before them.
Tall and reserved, Setsuna had the dark skin akin to Plutonians...often compared to the Earthian spice cinnamon. Polished loops of garnets were looped round her neck and wrists, tinkling as their delicate silver links touched. Her serious liquid garnet eyes, matching the stones she wore in their intensity and beauty, were trained upon her Queen. She bowed deeply to all, then stood watching. The royalty shifted uncomfortably. Finally she moved, her dark eyes fixed upon the two princesses of Mars and Mercury, who looked very small in the company of these Junoesque goddesses. Their heads held high, Rei and Ami prepared themselves for a firm lecture.
"I have a mission for you two, a mission that could determine the future of our existence." Their heads perked up in surprise. Smiling at their wide eyes, she replied, as if she could read their astonished thoughts. "No, you are not in trouble. Instead, I would like to explain this plan that Queen Serenity and I have come up with...our last resort against this malevolent evil. Will you listen?"
Their heads nodded eagerly. The varied Empresses looked at each other and shrugged. Setsuna began to pace the hall, eyes closed. "Ah yes. Eons ago, there were a gathering of warriors in this solar system. Each was of royal blood, a practitioner of magic, usually having the expertise of a single element. They were known as the Sailor Senshi. Yes, the elite soldiers of our own planets from ancient legend."
The Plutonian paused, hearing murmurs of protest. "Ah...ahah!" She waggled a finger under the nose of Rei, startling her. "But listen! Most of you are shaking your heads. Good, you think they are simply myth, nothing more than a childish legend..."
Setsuna's dark eyes began to burn with an unearthly light.
"What would you think if I proved that the Sailor Senshi exist, hmmm?"
Queen Ten'ou begant to laugh. All eyes fastened upon her as the Empress of Uranus doubled over with unbridled humor. "S-Sailor Senshi? Alive and existing?!? Where's a historian when you need one?" Haruka joined her mother, chuckling helplessly. "Setsuna, the Sailor Senshi have been extinct for millennia upon millennia. There's no way a person could live that long...even if she traveled in space for light years she would die of old age!"
Setsuna watched the display for a moment, eyes narrowed.
"Hah...well, am I wrong?"
"Pluto Planet Power!"
Reaching up, the princess was bathed in opaque greenish mist. Spinning elegantly, Setsuna embraced the sparkling light bathing her bare dark body. All the royalty leaned on one another for support, open mouthed in shock as a brilliant flash of light blinded them all. Princess Kai'ou Michiru blinked, stars exploding in her vision. She turned, only to see her cousin Haruka gaping at the woman walking towards them, dark eyes blazing.
She wore a jet black fuku, with tall ebony tipped boots and garnet earrings. Her talisman, the garnet orb, rested passively on its staff, pulsing with innate magic.
"I am the guardian of the Space-Time Gates, Sailor Pluto! The Soldier of Change, protected by the Shadow Planet!"
Queen Serenity's mouth turned upward in sly amusement at her friends' stunned expressions. Empress Ten'ou consciously shut her mouth.
"If circumstances were not as they are now; it would be forbidden for any of you...save Serenity...to even know that I exist. But times have changed...."
"There is a sailor for every planet in this solar system. While the Senshi may die, the spirits of the planets, the senshi themselves, and most importantly; each planets star seed, the hearts of our worlds, will live on. Forever. Your mission, Ami and Rei, is to find each Inner Sailor Senshi and bring them to power. You will know what to do when you meet that person. The Outer soldiers will be taken care of...well, with the exception of one." Pluto shot a glance at the Outer Empresses. Ten'ou had recovered from her fit of bemusement, and stared back. A look passed between the two. She nodded, almost imperceptibly.
The Time Senshi continued. "But that is not all. I have yet more to say to you. As there is a sailor for each planet, for each sailor there is a guardian. Even more shrouded in legend, the guardians have great powers, in some ways more powerful than even the Sailors themselves. They came from the stars in the beginning of the creation of worlds; they are the souls of the lost moons of our planets. Their mission is to protect the soldier of their planet, to keep them from harm, and if required sacrifice even their very lives. You must also find these incredibly vital Guardians."
"I suggest," Empress Suisei's voice was uncommonly warm as she looked at her daughter Ami with pride. "That you start from the innermost planets, then work your way outward. From Mercury, then to Mars and Venus, henceforth."
"Quite correct. Thank you." smiled Sailor Pluto. "Oh, there is one more thing I think you should know. You can tell if a person is a Sailor Senshi or a Guardian Senshi if they carry the symbol of their planet on their foreheads. It is an either/or situation. Sometimes the sign may not appear for a while...be patient. We will give you the finest in transportation and supplies. It is time, Kai'ou and Ten'ou." Sailor Pluto turned, facing them.
The room became very quiet. A quiet humming pervaded the air, gradually increasing in volume until the very floor vibrated. The Senshi of Time held out her garnet rod. It was a beautiful thing, wrought with purest silver, the round Garnet Orb a rich deep crimson hue. Pluto removed it from its staff, them held it out to the Outer Queens.
Ten'ou hesitated, then reached into her midnight blue gown and pulled out a sword, its balanced hilt of dark rich gold. The blade seemed to shimmer in the muted light, sparkling gems embedded in its blood runnel. While not very long altogether, when Ten'ou sliced the air, the blade magically lengthened. It was the talisman of Uranus, the space sword.
As the Queen of Uranus held out the talisman, Kai'ou from Neptune nodded sadly, reached into thin air...and withdrew a mirror. Its rims and reflecting surface seemed to be a molten mixture of pale gold and silver. The back of it was clouded aquamarine, a teal color in which was engraved the trident symbol of Neptune. She thrust out the mirror, light beginning to gleam upon its surface.
Light refracted from the three talismans, gathering into a brilliant ball. A ringing noise filled the air, strains of war cries, past battles, and victory marches floated through the air. The two princesses stepped forward. Ten'ou Haruka strode to where her mother stood, ash blonde hair blowing wildly in an unseen wind. The symbol of Uranus gleamed dark navy blue on her forehead, and her eyes lit up. Queen Ten'ou swung the keen blade, making it sing as it sliced the air, then brought it down with a roar on her daughter's head. Immediately a brilliant light burst once more in the room, blinding all in it once again.
"Uranus Planet Power!"
Kai'ou Michiru faced her mother. A brilliant teal light lit up her symbol of Neptune. Pale sea green shadows rippled from the mirror...the depths of the oceanic planet brought to surface in a tranquil reality. Michiru's eyes glowed aquamarine, the mirror reflected in her pupils. Her hair flowed and rippled gently, as if teased by underwater currents. A crashing wave of tidal seawater showered the room in another brilliant flash.
"Neptune Planet Power!"
In a magnificent display of lights, violin music, and glitter, the young women transformed. Haruka smiled in fierce joy as raging winds of her desert planet enfolded her, starfire forming a midnight blue and dark gold fuku. Michiru embraced the tides which held her submerged; forcefully pushing out her hands as foaming waves flowed over her limbs, turning into a dark teal fuku.
Sailor Pluto simply smiled. It is good to see them awakened again.
"Invited by a new age, I am the magnificent Sailor Uranus, the Soldier of Flight!"
"Also invited by a new age, I am the elegant Sailor Neptune, the Soldier of Embrace!"
"And I am Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Time Gates, the Soldier of Change!"
Far away, on that distant planet of silence, a young girl screamed in horror; shadows writhing around her slim body, keening through her night black hair. A violet sigil appeared on her forehead, gleaming with an almost wicked light that instantly vaporized the shadows. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
Her cries went unnoticed.
