Sailor Earth
by Tuxedo Starr
Part Seven: _Encounter_
Note: Seiya, Yaten and Taiki are guys, like in the anime, but Kakyuu has her own Senshi form, like in the manga. Manga Kakyuu = prettier than anime Kakyuu too, imo. *grins*
_Encounter_
Something cool and damp touched Usagi's forehead, breaking through the darkness that shrouded her in its icy, numbing cloak, so cold that it burned. The blonde girl moaned softly in her sleep and shifted away from the cloth as sweat beaded on her forehead, porcelain skin marble white against the sheets of her bed.
Chibiusa looked on anxiously, pressing the washcloth tenderly against her future mother's forehead as she stirred restlessly. Her red eyes glanced up warily to the figure standing at the door, who looked back at her with an equal amount of skepticism-as well as curiosity. Awkward silence lingered in the bedroom, broken by the soft whimpering sounds of the blonde girl on the bed. Chibiusa glanced at her friend with concern, wiping the moisture from her face with infinite care.
"So..you're Seiya."
The figure at the door nodded. "And you must be Chibiusa."
Red eyes glanced up at blue. "Yes."
Silence again.
The pink-haired teenager looked back to her task of tending to the feverish girl, feeling somewhat skittish under the probing gaze of the boy..girl...whatever..that had tried to steal her mother's heart. The princess had questioned her mother about the Sailor Wars after her return from the past the last time, and the Neo Queen had tentatively explained what had happened, blushing slightly at the mention of Sailor Starfighter. Small Lady, having had experience of watching her mother in the past fall head over heels for boys (despite her being practically engaged to her soul mate of one thousand years), knew immediately that something of romantic unsettlement had occurred. Taking the prerogative, the princess immediately inquired of Venus as to the situation between Sailormoon and Starfighter. The goddess of love, living up to her name, loved to gossip about any relationships that had occurred, up to and including events of the past and present, especially those that involved their beloved Queen, and spilled all, including the time that the gang had discovered Seiya sitting in a suggestive manner on top of Usagi when he had tripped and fallen.
The princess of the future glanced up again at the boy standing in the doorway. Seiya seemed slightly..uncomfortable. Slightly sad, even.Chibiusa shook her head, looking down at Usagi, who was now sleeping peacefully, blonde hair matted to her forehead. Of course. Her very existence proved that Usagi would never-*could* never-return Seiya's love. They had never met each other, but Chibiusa had been mentioned to the Star Light. Coming here again, he was naturally hoping against hope that he still had a chance with Usagi. Now, the pink-haired girl was living proof that they could never be together.
*His problem, not mine.*
Chibiusa started. Had that snide thought really come from *her* mind? She would _never_ think of saying anything like that.
"Is she alright?"
Seiya's cool, controlled voice tinged with concern for the blonde girl as he knelt by the bed. Chibiusa blinked. She was so involved with her own thoughts that she hadn't seen or heard him walk into the room to the side of the bed to gaze at the angel sleeping on the white sheets beneath the white comforter. She stared at the pony-tailed visitor, slightly amused at the tender way he stroked the sweaty bangs back from Usagi's face. "I think she'll be fine now."
Seiya looked at her and smiled slightly. "Good."
The teenager found herself returning the smile, and then thought of business. "What exactly happened again? I don't think I got the whole story." She laughed slightly, embarrassed. "Seeing as you four just burst into the house..thank Kami-sama that Ikuko-mama or Kenji-papa were here, much less Shingo..I don't know how well they would have handled it."
The former pop singer sighed, sitting back on his heels and gazing off into space as he remembered what happened. "*I'm* not even sure what happened. What I last remember was being on Kinmoku, attending the crowning ceremony for the Princess.and just as the Vizier was about to set the Ruling Crown on her head, everything blurred, and there was this.rushing feeling. Like I was suddenly falling. And there were streaks of silver light all around, like shooting stars. It was beautiful. And I felt her presence," he nodded at the sleeping girl, "all around us.
"And the next thing I know, I'm floating above the shrine with Healer, Maker, and the Princess-we had all transformed, somehow, into our Senshi forms-and looking down on these demons about to devour Sailormoon and some other girl who was there."
Chibiusa raised an eyebrow. "Some other girl? Who was it?"
"I can't really remember..everything was going so fast in the battle and she left so quickly afterward..she had green hair, was wearing a sailor fuku.." The boy glanced curiously at Chibiusa. "You know, she looked somewhat like you."
"A new Senshi," the pink-haired princess whispered, a hand going to her mouth.
Seiya smiled slightly. "You look exactly like your mother. You know that?"
Chibiusa nodded. "I've been told that often."
The boy's grin grew wider. "It's true, you know. Your mother is very beautiful, and so are you."
"Um...so what happened then?"
"Oh, of course. Well, we were immediately caught up into the battle..I can't even remember exactly what happened..I know that it ended when Usagi let loose a blast of power from her crescent moon mark and obliterated all the monsters to dust..and then she collapsed, exhausted, and dehenshined."
"What about the other girl?" Chibiusa inquired. She could feel that there was something so crucial about this other Senshi who had appeared. Her instincts were screaming at her, a gut feeling that once they found this person, they could figure out just what the hell was going on. Why Chibiusa had come to the past, where the Outers-and for that matter, the Inners-were. Seiya hadn't mentioned them being at the shrine, and she knew they wouldn't avoid a battle.But...something deep in her subconscious was just itching to surface. Chibiusa had an inexplicable sinking feeling in her stomach that she already knew who the girl was, but couldn't put her finger on it.
Seiya shrugged. "She stayed around long enough after the battle to make sure Usagi was safe, and then high-tailed it out of there. I don't even know what her title was.."
The pit in Chibiusa's gut opened wider, and her mouth opened to form words she didn't even intend to say. "Sailor.Earth?"
Again, the pony-tailed boy's shoulders rose and fell in that damnably frustrating gesture of uncertainty. "Could've been. Her attack phrase had something to do with Earth, so that'd be my guess."
Chibiusa's heart dropped into the pit. She had a very, very bad feeling about this. "But there is no Sailorearth. Mamo-chan's the guardian of this planet."
Seiya looked at her pointedly. "But you're the new guardian of the moon in the future, right? Maybe there has to be another guardian of Earth in your time. I wouldn't know."
Seiya's brow furrowed in concern as Chibiusa's face suddenly went a ghastly pale white and sweat beaded out on her forehead. "Are you alright, Chibiusa-san?" he asked worriedly, reaching a hand to her forehead.
The pink-haired girl pulled back, eyes as big as a frightened rabbit, clutching the wet washcloth to her chest. "I.I'm fine..I just..I just need some air.."
The neo princess stumbled backward to her feet, still clutching the washrag in a death grip. Water from the rag, now ice-cold, ran down her fingers, splattering on the carpet with soft plops. Chibiusa barely registered Seiya's look of horror at the distant look in her eyes as she barreled out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. All she knew was that something was very, very wrong.
*~*
Yaten and Taiki, with Kakyuu behind them, were just coming up the stairs as they saw Chibiusa rush into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The three shared a look.
"You go on to Serenity-sama," Kakyuu whispered softly to her guardians. "I shall check up on her."
The boys nodded and headed down the hall to their right.
The red-clad princess went to the door directly across the stairs and knocked quietly. "Chibiusa-san? Are you quite alright?"
"I'm fine!" a high-pitched, shaking voice shrieked from the other side of the door. "Don't worry about me!"
"Are you sure?" Kakyuu called, her hand reaching for knob. "May I come in?"
"NO!"
There was a thud and the door vibrated as though Chibiusa had thrown herself against the door. Kakyuu jumped back in surprise, staring at the door in dismay as she heard the unmistakable sound of the deadbolt locking into place.
"All right. Just remember, I'm here if you need me," the Kinmoku princess said softly, trying to comfort the obviously frayed nerves of the teenager.
"Yeah! Sure! Thanks!" Chibiusa squeaked out. "I'll keep that in mind! Now please, just go!"
Kakyuu frowned worriedly and continued down the hall.
Inside the porcelain-white bathroom, Chibiusa leaned against the door as her body trembled violently, right hand clenching the door bolt in a bloodless vice. The frightened girl pressed her other hand to her mouth, trying to keep from screaming out or bursting into uncontrollable crying. What was wrong with her?!?
/you know what's wrong with you./
The pink-haired girl whipped around, pressing her back to the door as the soundless voice vibrated in her mind. Her scared red eyes flashed back and forth wildly, searching for the source of the voice, her knees shaking as they threatened to give out on her. Somehow, that bad feeling in her stomach had escalated into ice-cold mortal fear. "Who's there?!!?" she screamed, eyes wild in terror.
/oh, chibiusa. don't worry. it's not time for them to know who i am yet./
"WHO ARE YOU!?!?!?" Chibiusa screamed, tears of confusion and horror streaming down her reddened cheeks as she doubled over, the fear threatening to consume her. Her left hand clutched her stomach, where that incredibly bad feeling still lingered. Her right hand clutched at the air wildly, searching for something-anything-to defend herself with. Her fingers found the metal towel rack bolted into the wall behind her next to the doorknob, and with a strength she barely recognized as her own, she tore it out of the wall. Screws flew through the air, landing with soft pings in the tub to her left, as well as hitting the toiled that also stood to her left, against the opposite wall. One slashed across her right cheekbone, and a tiny line of blood welled up on the delicate skin, the red fluid mingling with her tears.
Shouts of concern rose up on the other side of the door from the Kinmoku natives. Someone pounded on the door. Chibiusa guessed it was Seiya, but she was too busy to care. She clutched her makeshift weapon in both fists like a baseball bat, sobbing, on the verge of fainting. She felt so helpless and alone, unable to transform and lost without her friends and mentors. And this Sailorearth..Sailorearth...and this voice..
"Who are you?!? What do you want with me?!?!" The screams tore from her throat wild and hoarse. The voice spoke again, gentle and pitying, yet somewhat mocking in tone.
/look in the mirror, chibiusa-chan. look in the mirror./
Shaking violently and terrified beyond words, the teenager ever so slowly brought her eyes to gaze directly in front of her, at the plain rectangular mirror that hung over the porcelain sink above the strip of pink carpet on the linoleum floor. She froze.
In the mirror, superimposed over Chibiusa's own frightened image, was a girl. A girl with bright green hair done in conical odango and red eyes that that were chillingly similar to her own. She wore a white blouse with light pink frills that went down the front of the shirt and around the neck, with a light pink stripe of the same color running down the side of the sleeves, as well as a pink skirt and matching pink socks.
Which is exactly what Chibiusa was wearing.
The girl's arms were crossed, and she had a pitying yet smug look on her face that was half smile, half smirk.
Something heavy pounded against the door as Seiya attempted to body-slam it open.
Chibiusa's eyes opened wide at the vision in the sheet of silver, and she screamed. Screamed and screamed and screamed as she stared at the girl, and she drew back her right hand, metal towel rod clenched tightly, and threw it with all her might at the mirror.
The mirror fairly exploded as the rod connected, pieces of silver flying everywhere as the girl's haunting image shattered and flew to the corners of the room. The rod clattered into the sink, the sound ringing in Chibiusa's ears, as did the frightened cries of her name coming through the door. Pain exploded behind Chibiusa's eyes and she clutched at her temples, letting loose one final scream as her legs finally gave way and she fell forward onto the shard-covered floor. The strip of carpet rushed up to greet her as she started to slip into unconsciousness. As she blacked out, a haunting laugh echoed through her head.
End Part Seven
Oh, wow, people. I'm so sorry that this has taken *forever* to get out. School's been hell and I hardly thought of this at all, but then I learned about NaNoWriMo and I have the weekend to myself *bats away homework* and inspiration just flooded me. This is nowhere near like the chapter I was going to write (hence the title change.o.O), and I love where I'm going with this, personally. It's a lot more serious than what I had in mind, I'm excited. I have a feeling that we'll be reaching the climax of the story soon.
Till next time! Ja, everybody! And be sure to watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon! Jupiter appeared this week! WOoT!!! :)
by Tuxedo Starr
Part Seven: _Encounter_
Note: Seiya, Yaten and Taiki are guys, like in the anime, but Kakyuu has her own Senshi form, like in the manga. Manga Kakyuu = prettier than anime Kakyuu too, imo. *grins*
_Encounter_
Something cool and damp touched Usagi's forehead, breaking through the darkness that shrouded her in its icy, numbing cloak, so cold that it burned. The blonde girl moaned softly in her sleep and shifted away from the cloth as sweat beaded on her forehead, porcelain skin marble white against the sheets of her bed.
Chibiusa looked on anxiously, pressing the washcloth tenderly against her future mother's forehead as she stirred restlessly. Her red eyes glanced up warily to the figure standing at the door, who looked back at her with an equal amount of skepticism-as well as curiosity. Awkward silence lingered in the bedroom, broken by the soft whimpering sounds of the blonde girl on the bed. Chibiusa glanced at her friend with concern, wiping the moisture from her face with infinite care.
"So..you're Seiya."
The figure at the door nodded. "And you must be Chibiusa."
Red eyes glanced up at blue. "Yes."
Silence again.
The pink-haired teenager looked back to her task of tending to the feverish girl, feeling somewhat skittish under the probing gaze of the boy..girl...whatever..that had tried to steal her mother's heart. The princess had questioned her mother about the Sailor Wars after her return from the past the last time, and the Neo Queen had tentatively explained what had happened, blushing slightly at the mention of Sailor Starfighter. Small Lady, having had experience of watching her mother in the past fall head over heels for boys (despite her being practically engaged to her soul mate of one thousand years), knew immediately that something of romantic unsettlement had occurred. Taking the prerogative, the princess immediately inquired of Venus as to the situation between Sailormoon and Starfighter. The goddess of love, living up to her name, loved to gossip about any relationships that had occurred, up to and including events of the past and present, especially those that involved their beloved Queen, and spilled all, including the time that the gang had discovered Seiya sitting in a suggestive manner on top of Usagi when he had tripped and fallen.
The princess of the future glanced up again at the boy standing in the doorway. Seiya seemed slightly..uncomfortable. Slightly sad, even.Chibiusa shook her head, looking down at Usagi, who was now sleeping peacefully, blonde hair matted to her forehead. Of course. Her very existence proved that Usagi would never-*could* never-return Seiya's love. They had never met each other, but Chibiusa had been mentioned to the Star Light. Coming here again, he was naturally hoping against hope that he still had a chance with Usagi. Now, the pink-haired girl was living proof that they could never be together.
*His problem, not mine.*
Chibiusa started. Had that snide thought really come from *her* mind? She would _never_ think of saying anything like that.
"Is she alright?"
Seiya's cool, controlled voice tinged with concern for the blonde girl as he knelt by the bed. Chibiusa blinked. She was so involved with her own thoughts that she hadn't seen or heard him walk into the room to the side of the bed to gaze at the angel sleeping on the white sheets beneath the white comforter. She stared at the pony-tailed visitor, slightly amused at the tender way he stroked the sweaty bangs back from Usagi's face. "I think she'll be fine now."
Seiya looked at her and smiled slightly. "Good."
The teenager found herself returning the smile, and then thought of business. "What exactly happened again? I don't think I got the whole story." She laughed slightly, embarrassed. "Seeing as you four just burst into the house..thank Kami-sama that Ikuko-mama or Kenji-papa were here, much less Shingo..I don't know how well they would have handled it."
The former pop singer sighed, sitting back on his heels and gazing off into space as he remembered what happened. "*I'm* not even sure what happened. What I last remember was being on Kinmoku, attending the crowning ceremony for the Princess.and just as the Vizier was about to set the Ruling Crown on her head, everything blurred, and there was this.rushing feeling. Like I was suddenly falling. And there were streaks of silver light all around, like shooting stars. It was beautiful. And I felt her presence," he nodded at the sleeping girl, "all around us.
"And the next thing I know, I'm floating above the shrine with Healer, Maker, and the Princess-we had all transformed, somehow, into our Senshi forms-and looking down on these demons about to devour Sailormoon and some other girl who was there."
Chibiusa raised an eyebrow. "Some other girl? Who was it?"
"I can't really remember..everything was going so fast in the battle and she left so quickly afterward..she had green hair, was wearing a sailor fuku.." The boy glanced curiously at Chibiusa. "You know, she looked somewhat like you."
"A new Senshi," the pink-haired princess whispered, a hand going to her mouth.
Seiya smiled slightly. "You look exactly like your mother. You know that?"
Chibiusa nodded. "I've been told that often."
The boy's grin grew wider. "It's true, you know. Your mother is very beautiful, and so are you."
"Um...so what happened then?"
"Oh, of course. Well, we were immediately caught up into the battle..I can't even remember exactly what happened..I know that it ended when Usagi let loose a blast of power from her crescent moon mark and obliterated all the monsters to dust..and then she collapsed, exhausted, and dehenshined."
"What about the other girl?" Chibiusa inquired. She could feel that there was something so crucial about this other Senshi who had appeared. Her instincts were screaming at her, a gut feeling that once they found this person, they could figure out just what the hell was going on. Why Chibiusa had come to the past, where the Outers-and for that matter, the Inners-were. Seiya hadn't mentioned them being at the shrine, and she knew they wouldn't avoid a battle.But...something deep in her subconscious was just itching to surface. Chibiusa had an inexplicable sinking feeling in her stomach that she already knew who the girl was, but couldn't put her finger on it.
Seiya shrugged. "She stayed around long enough after the battle to make sure Usagi was safe, and then high-tailed it out of there. I don't even know what her title was.."
The pit in Chibiusa's gut opened wider, and her mouth opened to form words she didn't even intend to say. "Sailor.Earth?"
Again, the pony-tailed boy's shoulders rose and fell in that damnably frustrating gesture of uncertainty. "Could've been. Her attack phrase had something to do with Earth, so that'd be my guess."
Chibiusa's heart dropped into the pit. She had a very, very bad feeling about this. "But there is no Sailorearth. Mamo-chan's the guardian of this planet."
Seiya looked at her pointedly. "But you're the new guardian of the moon in the future, right? Maybe there has to be another guardian of Earth in your time. I wouldn't know."
Seiya's brow furrowed in concern as Chibiusa's face suddenly went a ghastly pale white and sweat beaded out on her forehead. "Are you alright, Chibiusa-san?" he asked worriedly, reaching a hand to her forehead.
The pink-haired girl pulled back, eyes as big as a frightened rabbit, clutching the wet washcloth to her chest. "I.I'm fine..I just..I just need some air.."
The neo princess stumbled backward to her feet, still clutching the washrag in a death grip. Water from the rag, now ice-cold, ran down her fingers, splattering on the carpet with soft plops. Chibiusa barely registered Seiya's look of horror at the distant look in her eyes as she barreled out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. All she knew was that something was very, very wrong.
*~*
Yaten and Taiki, with Kakyuu behind them, were just coming up the stairs as they saw Chibiusa rush into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. The three shared a look.
"You go on to Serenity-sama," Kakyuu whispered softly to her guardians. "I shall check up on her."
The boys nodded and headed down the hall to their right.
The red-clad princess went to the door directly across the stairs and knocked quietly. "Chibiusa-san? Are you quite alright?"
"I'm fine!" a high-pitched, shaking voice shrieked from the other side of the door. "Don't worry about me!"
"Are you sure?" Kakyuu called, her hand reaching for knob. "May I come in?"
"NO!"
There was a thud and the door vibrated as though Chibiusa had thrown herself against the door. Kakyuu jumped back in surprise, staring at the door in dismay as she heard the unmistakable sound of the deadbolt locking into place.
"All right. Just remember, I'm here if you need me," the Kinmoku princess said softly, trying to comfort the obviously frayed nerves of the teenager.
"Yeah! Sure! Thanks!" Chibiusa squeaked out. "I'll keep that in mind! Now please, just go!"
Kakyuu frowned worriedly and continued down the hall.
Inside the porcelain-white bathroom, Chibiusa leaned against the door as her body trembled violently, right hand clenching the door bolt in a bloodless vice. The frightened girl pressed her other hand to her mouth, trying to keep from screaming out or bursting into uncontrollable crying. What was wrong with her?!?
/you know what's wrong with you./
The pink-haired girl whipped around, pressing her back to the door as the soundless voice vibrated in her mind. Her scared red eyes flashed back and forth wildly, searching for the source of the voice, her knees shaking as they threatened to give out on her. Somehow, that bad feeling in her stomach had escalated into ice-cold mortal fear. "Who's there?!!?" she screamed, eyes wild in terror.
/oh, chibiusa. don't worry. it's not time for them to know who i am yet./
"WHO ARE YOU!?!?!?" Chibiusa screamed, tears of confusion and horror streaming down her reddened cheeks as she doubled over, the fear threatening to consume her. Her left hand clutched her stomach, where that incredibly bad feeling still lingered. Her right hand clutched at the air wildly, searching for something-anything-to defend herself with. Her fingers found the metal towel rack bolted into the wall behind her next to the doorknob, and with a strength she barely recognized as her own, she tore it out of the wall. Screws flew through the air, landing with soft pings in the tub to her left, as well as hitting the toiled that also stood to her left, against the opposite wall. One slashed across her right cheekbone, and a tiny line of blood welled up on the delicate skin, the red fluid mingling with her tears.
Shouts of concern rose up on the other side of the door from the Kinmoku natives. Someone pounded on the door. Chibiusa guessed it was Seiya, but she was too busy to care. She clutched her makeshift weapon in both fists like a baseball bat, sobbing, on the verge of fainting. She felt so helpless and alone, unable to transform and lost without her friends and mentors. And this Sailorearth..Sailorearth...and this voice..
"Who are you?!? What do you want with me?!?!" The screams tore from her throat wild and hoarse. The voice spoke again, gentle and pitying, yet somewhat mocking in tone.
/look in the mirror, chibiusa-chan. look in the mirror./
Shaking violently and terrified beyond words, the teenager ever so slowly brought her eyes to gaze directly in front of her, at the plain rectangular mirror that hung over the porcelain sink above the strip of pink carpet on the linoleum floor. She froze.
In the mirror, superimposed over Chibiusa's own frightened image, was a girl. A girl with bright green hair done in conical odango and red eyes that that were chillingly similar to her own. She wore a white blouse with light pink frills that went down the front of the shirt and around the neck, with a light pink stripe of the same color running down the side of the sleeves, as well as a pink skirt and matching pink socks.
Which is exactly what Chibiusa was wearing.
The girl's arms were crossed, and she had a pitying yet smug look on her face that was half smile, half smirk.
Something heavy pounded against the door as Seiya attempted to body-slam it open.
Chibiusa's eyes opened wide at the vision in the sheet of silver, and she screamed. Screamed and screamed and screamed as she stared at the girl, and she drew back her right hand, metal towel rod clenched tightly, and threw it with all her might at the mirror.
The mirror fairly exploded as the rod connected, pieces of silver flying everywhere as the girl's haunting image shattered and flew to the corners of the room. The rod clattered into the sink, the sound ringing in Chibiusa's ears, as did the frightened cries of her name coming through the door. Pain exploded behind Chibiusa's eyes and she clutched at her temples, letting loose one final scream as her legs finally gave way and she fell forward onto the shard-covered floor. The strip of carpet rushed up to greet her as she started to slip into unconsciousness. As she blacked out, a haunting laugh echoed through her head.
End Part Seven
Oh, wow, people. I'm so sorry that this has taken *forever* to get out. School's been hell and I hardly thought of this at all, but then I learned about NaNoWriMo and I have the weekend to myself *bats away homework* and inspiration just flooded me. This is nowhere near like the chapter I was going to write (hence the title change.o.O), and I love where I'm going with this, personally. It's a lot more serious than what I had in mind, I'm excited. I have a feeling that we'll be reaching the climax of the story soon.
Till next time! Ja, everybody! And be sure to watch Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon! Jupiter appeared this week! WOoT!!! :)