Title: Crystalline Revelations Part I: The Corruption of Galaxia
Chapter Two: Many Meetings
Author: KissThis
Rating: PG-13 (as of now)
Pairing: Usagi/Galaxia
Summary: The true events of the Silver Millennium are bitter and harsh. They also become the base of Galaxia's corruption when Queen Selenity refuses to acknowledge their love and demands that Serenity marry Endymion; going so far as to blame Galaxia for kidnapping the Moon Princess! Part I of III in the Crystalline Revelations story-arc.
Disclaimer: I own nothing -- it's all Naoko's...[sigh] WAIT! The plot is mine! Tee hee!
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"The Golden Senshi, Sailor Galaxia -- ambassador of Alpha Senshi."
The last note echoed around the metal confines of the colossal leviathan hovering passively in the section of the Lunarian Docks reserved for the most important of guests. After the introduction, delivered in a monotonous tone, the ship's shuttle bay doors thundered to life and opened, just wide enough for a small cruiser to sail through, then closed again.
It wasn't a big showy affair like the other ships docked around it -- bedecked in chrome and painted a violent array of clashing colors. It was small and streamlined and painted a dull black. In fact, there was nothing impressive about it...save for the young woman standing tall and proud at its helm.
Her long hair was unbound and it fluttered behind her in the wind -- a mass of shining curls. It was akin to flames - burning to a fiery crimson from golden embers. When it was not being blown about by playful winds the flames of her hair reached her knees; flickering waves that only fueled the heavenly illusion of fire rippling down her back. When the cruiser landed smoothly upon polished marble the woman was the first of her crew to set foot on the moon. A perfectly sculpted...perfectly bare foot.
I don't know why, but this seemed to annoy the Queen in the oddest sense. I suppose she took it as disrespect -- this lack of footwear -- which most likely led her off on an endless tirade to her daughter on the decline of the new generation. It also became the starting point, as I remember, of the Queen's animosity towards Galaxia.
I thought she was beautiful.
Now, what you need to know about Galaxia is that she did not sport the trademark sailor uniform -- because she didn't need it. She positively radiated power and confidence. Her command and authority as a senshi was unquestionable -- even without a fuku.
Instead, she was always seen in a simple, flowing gown in a color indistinguishable from white or pale yellow. No adornments, no jewelry, and no shoes. Perfect.
"I am honored to welcome you to the Moon, our most honored guest, Ambassador Galaxia."
Sailor Galaxia had to look down to make eye contact with the young girl who stepped politely forward to stand graciously several feet in front of her. Ruby eyes swept over the smaller girl's figure taking note of certain details.
The silvery-gold color of her hair and the odd style in which it was arranged.
The stiffness in her posture.
The slender hands clasped tightly in front of her.
The way her alabaster skin seemed to almost glow.
"Please allow me to humbly introduce myself -- I am Princess Serenity; daughter of Selenity, Queen of the Moon and its marble kingdom." Her voice was warm and she had often been told it was pleasing to listen to.
Though the entire meeting was completely formal a rather un-political smile tugged at the ambassador's lips. "I must remember to thank Her Majesty for sending such a mannerly and beautiful daughter to play hostess to an "un-civilized rouge" such as myself."
Pink tinged Serenity's cheeks. Those ruby eyes sparked in interest as their owner's comment took affect.
"Your compliments are too kind, my lady." Serenity stammered.
Galaxia gave her a small smile before the rest of the landing party surrounded them.
Serenity curtsied low to the ground. The seemingly impossible angle had the visitors gaping in awed admiration and her nose almost touching the smooth, marble stones before she gracefully straightened again. "A feast has been prepared for your arrival and a ball is being held this evening for your enjoyment; to be attended at your leisure."
Galaxia nodded.
Serenity turned slightly and the many skirts and petticoats she was wearing beneath her royal gown rustled. Giving a graceful gesture she pointed up to the palace looming over them. It completely dwarfed the cities and towns with its size and proximity giving the travelers from Alpha Senshi no idea of what lay beyond.
Serenity started forward and the envoys found themselves being led through the garden entrance, which easily captivated those who had never before been on the Moon or seen such exotic and exquisite plant life in all their galactic travels.
In addition to its incomparable beauty, everything on the Moon seemed to have a faint, luminous glow about it; the plants...the palace...even the people. And especially the princess -- Serenity's every fiber appeared to pulsate with pure white light. As they walked, Galaxia found their guide to be far more captivating than any "enchanted" garden.
As Serenity's adopted posture slipped away, Galaxia was amazed at the way her young body interacted with the blooming fertility of the gardens. Every step the young princess took seemed to be a small part of some hidden dance. Every expression that crossed her face was laced with an ethereal and dreamlike quality that turned her smooth face into an entrancing mask of serenity and innocence.
Unaware of the eyes upon her, Serenity began to hum. A slow and alluring melody that seemed to make the drooping flowers lining the path pick up their petals and turn their faces towards her as they would the rising sun.
As they got nearer the palace a single white lily seemed particularly withered -- almost as if it had been skipped over by its caretaker. Her song came to a strong note and she held it there drawing the flower upward with the power of her voice. A simple graze of her fingers and the petals burst forth anew looking as healthy and vibrant as a freshly bloomed seedling.
Gasps of wonder and amazement fell from the crew's lips as they crowded around the restored flower. Galaxia stood at the front, her eyes transfixed on the lily. Each petal was perfectly placed and the entire blossom was unblemished by any foul craft. It looked more to be made of stone than of living things -- as if the Goddess herself had sculpted it from the rock of the earth and placed it here, in these gardens, so that all who came to her beloved Moon could see and marvel at its beauty. This made any thought Galaxia had of picking it vanish immediately from her mind as if the simple act of thinking such thoughts would make her a sinner in Her eyes.
Appearing completely oblivious to their bewilderment, or even to the fact that they had stopped walking, Serenity continued up the path, her song continuing it's own rhythmic course as well -- luring her followers on like some pied piper. But Galaxia caught the gentle smile that pulled at the princess' lips.
Pushing through her frozen comrades, Galaxia picked up her pace until she was traveling at a very undiplomatic jog. She had just laid her hand on Serenity's shoulder when the story-high doors of the palace shuddered to life and opened inward.
"Presenting Her Majesty, the Great Queen Selenity of the Moon Kingdom."
The same monotonous voice that had publicized her own arrival buzzed annoyingly in Galaxia ear.
Queen Selenity stepped gracefully forward and Galaxia had no problem recognizing her as Serenity's mother. The Queen's moonlit hair was a reflection of what Usagi's would become -- held back in the same style. The unusually pale skin marked them both as part of the Lunarian royal line and their eyes both held that same sapphiric hue. But that was where the resemblance ended.
Her movement held no mystic dance as she walked regally towards the party, and the lines of her face were hard and stern without a trace of her daughter's retained innocence. Her eyes were cold and without mercy.
Galaxia felt those chilling eyes sweep over her and she repressed a shudder. She forced her eyes to remain open and she met the Queen's own with reflected steel. The Queen's lips pursed and a feeling in her gut told Galaxia something was wrong. Uneasy, ruby orbs darted around to either side of her -- all, save for her and her comrades, were on their knees and with eyes meeting nothing but the cracks in the marble floor.
Turning back, Galaxia watched the Queen's eyes fall down to her bare feet and then travel up to stop on the hand still resting upon Serenity's shoulder. Of a will other than her own, Galaxia's hand fell back to her side.
Those sharp eyes now turned to her own daughter and the princess immediately dropped into a low sweeping curtsy from which she did not rise. "Milady..." Serenity uttered reverently.
The crew of L.H. Tieress shifted their weight uncomfortably between feet. They looked to their captain for a course of action, but found their leader to be as still as stone -- staring down the Queen.
All was quiet. Not even the songbirds that made their beautiful nests in the flowering trees of the gardens dared utter a sound.
Then the Queen smiled. It was a sickly smile that made Galaxia's insides sour. The Queen's image made her flash back to a story of Earth she had once heard. Sirens, they were called -- who lured sailors to their home with sweet, enchanting songs and then crashed the sailors' ships upon the rocks.
She set her jaw. No eerie smile of false welcome was going to trick her.
This was the first sign Galaxia would have that all was not as it was told to be -- that something darker...and sinister was going on in the Sol System's supposedly "perfect Utopia".
"Welcome," Queen Selenity's voice was as sickly sweet as her smile but the tone underneath it was crisp and harsh. "If you'll follow me into the main hall my own Royal Senshi will show you to your rooms."
Bodies pressed against her bare back and Galaxia was forced out of her stony rut and up the gentle sloping stairs. The crew jostled her forward and she had to crane her neck around to look back. She only managed a few glances through the gaps of crowding bodies, but she was able to find that, without her noticing it, Serenity had stolen from her side and slipped into the shadows.
The darkness did not suit her. It shrouded her features and smothered her ethereal glow. She was pressed so close to the marble wall Galaxia feared that she would sink into it at any moment. Her head remained bowed and Queen Selenity didn't even spare her a look as she swept past in all her jewel-bedecked splendor.
Galaxia, herself, had never known her mother. But she had grown up in the heart of Alpha Senshi's capital and she had never seen such a lack of "emotion" between any mother and daughter like she was seeing now. Of course, none of the families she had been in contact with had been "dynastic rulers". Maybe it was different for royalty -- maybe it was just a façade for the public. She certainly knew of kings and queens who would do anything to hide their weaknesses from becoming common knowledge among their kingdoms.
I'll think about it later...
She had no choice but to give up on her train of curious thoughts and focus instead on keeping up with the, surprisingly fast, Queen as she wove in and out of corridors and through ceiling-high arches. She had only to glance left and she would have seen the shadows lining the wall waver and shift as Princess Serenity followed alongside them -- silent as a ghost. Not even her pearl-lined slippers made so much as a rustle against the stone.
No one even knew she was there.
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Selenity led them into the main hall and took a step aside so they could all file into the cavernous chamber. Eight women stood as still as statues; six with their gloved hands clasped behind their backs and two holding mighty staffs. Galaxia found a familiar stony face and a part of her mounting stress melted away. Her eyes danced showing the hidden smile she dared not show in the presence of the hawk-eyed Queen.
"I give you the mighty Eight Senshi of the Sol System." Queen Selenity gestured majestically to the frozen women with naught but a wave of her arm.
Then one of the staffs banged thrice upon the floor and the sound echoed far across the near-empty hall. Taking their given cue, all eight senshi turned in formation to face the Queen. One foot stamped the ground as they executed their turn and they saluted stiffly.
"Please, help our guests to their rooms. They shall all be staying in the Onyx Wing."
"Yes, Milady." Was the coordinated reply.
One by one the woman peeled off from the base line and joined the person they were to be guiding. Galaxia had to refrain from laughing as the stoic Sailor Saturn met her second in command. Her sub-commander watched uneasily as the petite woman fingered the blade of her Glaive before leading her off to the opposite side of the hall.
"Sailor Pluto."
The second staff-wielding woman stepped out of line and bowed to the Queen. Loose emerald locks grazed the floor and then she straightened again readjusting the grip she held on her weapon.
"I want you to assist Ambassador Galaxia to her room -- and anywhere else she may wish to go." She ordered in a tone that left no room for argument.
Sailor Pluto accepted this with all the grace and dignity that had been drilled into her consciousness since birth. She responded with another bow and a simple: "Of course, Milady."
Queen Selenity's eyes narrowed, "Don't disappoint me." Her hissed warning went unheard by the rest of the room.
"Yes, Milady."
Completing an about-turn, the tall senshi of Pluto marched smartly over to where Galaxia had been left standing. "If you'll follow me, Ambassador -- I've been appointed, though it is my honor, to be your guide during your stay on the Moon. I am Sailor Pluto of the Cold Planet -- Guardian of the Gates of Time."
Galaxia nodded her acknowledgment. "Thank you for such a flattering welcome, Pluto, but I must say it is entirely my honor to be escorted by one of the legendary Sol Senshi."
Galaxia's forced tone made Pluto's lips twitch slightly, though for what reason one could only guess. "Right this way, Ambassador."
Crossing the threshold of the chamber Galaxia felt the Queen's penetrating gaze following her, but she forced herself to concentrate on the steady tap of Pluto's staff against the marble.
As soon as they made it to the hallway that would take them to the Onyx Wing Galaxia let out a long breath of air she'd been holding in. Pluto rolled her eyes, but slowed her pace.
"Honestly, Gal, why they ever made someone like you an ambassador is beyond me." She told her through tight-lips.
Galaxia laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah, well look at you! A Sol Senshi and everything..." She taunted. She gave the black fuku a teasing tug.
The princess of Pluto remained unfazed. "Not to mention the General of War, heir to the Gates of Time, and the Queen's Second Royal Advisor."
Galaxia opened her mouth, most likely to give a witty remark, but Pluto gave her a deadpan look that stopped her mid-action.
"Why do you have to be so damn difficult, Gal? You've already upset the Queen and you've been here less than a day!" Garnet eyes immediately dropped down the Galaxia's feet and the Sol Senshi sighed. "Couldn't you at least have worn shoes?"
Galaxia's expression of disgust was enough for Pluto and she held up a hand stemming any words that might have spilled from her mouth. "You need to start acting more like an ambassador and less like when we were children. You can start by conversing with me in the formal and proper manner."
"Oh come on, Pluto. Has it been so long that you don't remember what your life on Alpha Senshi was like? The great floating citadels...the golden fields...beautiful blue skies every day..."
A soft light came to Galaxia's face and her features lost some of their edge as she basked in sweet reminiscence of her home planet. "God, I miss it."
Pluto shook her head. The stiffness was back in her stance and her face was tight and lean. "My place is here. Alpha Senshi is only a childish dream that lives on in memory alone. Stop living in memories, Galaxia."
"Surely, you're joking?" The raw disbelief in her eyes would have cut any other to shreds, but Pluto only turned an emotionless face towards her.
"We were almost sisters -- oh how my father doted on your mother. Don't you remember all those nights when they would disappear on my father's winged chariot and we'd amuse ourselves by fantasizing about all the wonderful things we'd do together once became sisters?"
Nothing -- She wasn't even looking at her.
"Those were the best years of my life and you're telling me they meant nothing to you? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you've never once, in all your time locked up in this stifling system, dreamed of the Celestial Fields or wished that you could look just one last time upon the glittering Ruby Towers?"
"No......I can't." Pluto said softly, "I do dream...but then I wake up and see what the world is really like. My "perfect" childhood died a long time ago. I had to grow up and fast."
Pluto flung her arms out around her and her feelings flickered briefly, un-checked across her face. "Take a look around you! What do you see?...certainly nothing close to perfection. This is where I am now -- I'm stuck!"
Her voice sounded raw as if she were on the verge of tears. Galaxia had never known her friend to cry and just the thought that it may even be possible scared her.
"I'm stuck...and I can't get out. In this world, Alpha Senshi will only ever be...a dream."
"Not to me..." Galaxia whispered. "Not to those who still believe in dreams..."
Pluto stopped walking and gestured to the door. "There's your room."
Galaxia made no move of entering it. They stared at each other. Galaxia did the best she could to soothe the waves of stress and pain that radiated off of Pluto, but even in her efforts to help make things right, Pluto pushed her away.
Gathering herself together, Sailor Pluto turned and started down the hallway. It was only when she reached the far end that Galaxia found her voice enough to call out.
"If only she hadn't done it."
Pluto paused, "What?" She asked slowly.
"If only she hadn't married Cronus."
Pluto looked back over her shoulder and met her friend's gaze.
"We could have been sisters..." Galaxia whispered. Her voice was reaching out to Pluto -- almost as if it was trying to make light of the situation that had become so rapidly heavy. Pluto had started to turn again, but Galaxia had one thing left.
"Pluto..."
A soft sigh. "Yeah?"
"My memories are all I've got..." Then she turned and disappeared into her quarters.
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This was what Pluto remembered about Alpha Senshi...
She had been born there; to a loving mother and a nonexistent father. She didn't know much about him, save for what her mother, Lady Rhea, had told her. He had been a good man and a good husband, but he was killed shortly before Pluto had been born. Whether this was true or not, it was all Pluto knew of her true father.
Her mother had been beautiful then, in the prime of her life -- still youthful. Her emerald hair was darker than her daughter's and she preferred to leave it completely down -- it suited her. Like all the women in her family before her, Lady Rhea had olive-tinted skin. (Pluto remembered complaining that it made her look different than all the other children.) But on her mother...it made her look exotic -- with a lithe frame and cat-shaped eyes. Oh, her eyes...they were what set her apart from all the rest and were her crowning glory. Brilliant gold they were; shining amber orbs that danced when she laughed and sparkled when she smiled. Every emotion she ever felt was left bare in her eyes for all who looked into them to see. She was beautiful.
Not only was she beautiful, but she was a good Lady and a good mother. Respected and revered in High Society she was always polite and reserved -- her disposition, always calm. She loved her daughter, lavished gifts upon her, and raised her in her image. Pluto never met a greater woman than her mother.
Pluto grew up in Garnet City, just outside the planet's capital, Senshi Prime. (Her mother used to tell her that her eyes were the color they were because she had grown up in the city bearing their namesake -- funny how you remember the silliest things...) Her home had been the largest in the city and the local children would often come to the fence and stare longingly through the bars. They would stand there for hours gazing at the tall stone pillars, and brightly colored, neatly-tended gardens, and dream about what it was like to live inside. Most times, Pluto would stare longingly back at them from out of her window dreaming about what it was like to have friends. She'd never had any.
That was how she had met Galaxia.
After countless days of yearning and longing, she stole into the kitchens and snitched a plate of cookies still warm from baking. Balancing the precariously stacked cookies in one hand she hurried out the front door as fast as her 6-year-old legs could take her.
Some of the children ran, not wanting to admit that they had been there gawking too, but the more curious ones stayed behind eyeing her with a mix of anxiety and wonderment. She set down the plate and climbed up onto the fence to unlock the gate. It swung open slowly with her weight and she hoped down to recover her cookies. She stood shyly in front of them, so nervous that she held tight to the plate and the rim dug painfully into her stomach.
Neither side seemed to want to be the first to make a move, but Galaxia came to save the day. A great tree that had been planted by Pluto's grandfather rustled and shook and dropped out a young girl from its leafy branches. The girl stood up and didn't even bother trying to brush the volumes of dirt from her dress.
"Mmm MMM! Do I smell cookies?"
Without so much as an invitation she bounded over to Pluto who still clutched fearfully to the plate. Bits of leaves and tiny twigs stuck out of her firecracker red hair and dirt smudged her cheeks and nose. She gave Pluto a toothy smile revealing a wide gap in her front teeth.
"Hiyah! My name's Galaxia 'n I'm seven years old."
"My name's Pluto. I'm only six. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Galaxia laughed and eyed the cookies on the tray, "You use some mighty big words for such a little person, don't'cha?"
Pluto smiled softly. "What were you doing up in that tree?"
"Climbin'"
"It looked more like you were falling, to me." Pluto voiced in all seriousness.
Galaxia let out a loud burst of laughter and grabbed a cookie off the tray, "You're all right, Puu."
That was the beginning of their friendship. Pluto had invited her into her home to get cleaned up and there she learned of the tooth Galaxia had just lost and all about her favorite kinds of cookies and about her father, the King. It was a hard meeting to forget.
Well, as Pluto and Galaxia became close friends it was inevitable that their parents would have to meet eventually. They were instantly smitten with each other. She a single mother, and Orion a single father. Odd how things can happen that way. Well, whatever Powers That Be that had brought them together had their own way of working, and neither child seemed of ready mind to try and intervene -- they were far too busy planning sisterhood.
Whenever her mother would go out with Orion, Pluto could always be found stretched out in the Celestial Fields or reading beneath the shadow of one of the six Ruby Towers. They were her favorite places to go -- and the ones she deemed most beautiful of Alpha Senshi. The only other place she would go would be the Hall of Stars...and only on rare occasions.
The Hall of Stars was a massive dome building made of onyx and diamond. Upon the ceiling inside would be the entire universe mapped out in a swirling, three-dimensional mass that captivated her young mind for hours. Along the curving wall of the chamber there were computer terminals which held inside them the databases for all Alpha Senshi and its vast stores of knowledge. Anything you wanted to know could be found within their digital pages.
It was on one of these occasions when she had left the mighty building, just as dusk was settling over Senshi Prime, to find Galaxia's father walking slowly past -- alone. She remembered being curious at the time, it was rare to find one of their parents without the other, but she was late and didn't stop to converse with him.
Hurrying home, she got back in record time to find a note taped to the doorway. Even before she pulled it free from the wooden doorway a strange and unfounded feeling rose up in her gut. A bitter taste formed in the back of her throat. It just felt...wrong.
Pluto,
I've gone out and won't be back until late. Don't wait up.
The routinely found note didn't seem as comforting and familiar this time. She remembered the trudging walk of the King as he passed her by outside the Hall of Stars. Where would her mother go out if not with the King? Her seven-year-old mind struggled to comprehend all the thoughts jumping about in her head. Her heart fought to understand the confusing feelings in her stomach.
Pushing the door open she raced up the stairs and barreled into her bedroom. She leapt belly-first onto her maroon-silked bed and pulled from beneath it a metallic, black square. She flipped open the lid and pressed a button.
"Galaxia!"
After a moment, Galaxia's equally troubled face appeared on the screen. They spoke at the same time.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?!"
His name was Cronus.
Galaxia didn't know much. All she knew was that he was here from the Sol System to attend a conference on the Time-Space Continuum. The one her mother was holding.
After that everything happened so fast. She was off the planet in less than a month. She had to watch Alpha Senshi fade slowly away out the window of Cronus' ship as it carried her and her mother light years away to a System on the other side of the galaxy.
"I don't want to go Mommy!"
"What happened to Orion?"
"I thought you loved him..."
"Where is he taking us, Mommy?"
"What about all my friends?"
"I don't understand -- what's happening?"
"Galaxia was supposed to be my sister..."
"Why, Mommy?"
She never did find out.
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Deep in the bowels of the Palace a bell rang out.
It was time for the welcoming feast.
Pluto sighed and brushed her bangs away from her face with the back of her palm. She switched the Garnet Staff to her other hand and started off towards her own lodgings.
The memories of her past weighed down on her...and her steps were made heavy.
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A/N: Yay me! 15 pages! Pretty wicked shit. I know that there hasn't been much Gal/Usa interaction, but I promise there will be some in the next chapter. Sorry for the bulk of the chapter being Gal and Pluto's past...wait.no I'm not. Ya know why? 'Cuz it's MY STORY! And I'll set things up the way I want to. So there!
Review please!
KissThis