Author's Note: Ta da! Another chapter, and the longest yet, I think. I had a LOT of fun writing this one, and will probably start on the next right away.
Thank-you Juni Juni, Rimneral Ayasugi, and Solus Nox! I luv oo!
Deirdre woke up feeling more than just a little groggy. Her head and limbs were unusually heavy, and her eyes refused to focus on anything except abstract shapes. She took a deep breath and tried to sit up. A hand came out of nowhere and shoved her back down. It didn't take much to stop her ascent, and she fell back. "Where am I?"
A deep voice she sort of recognized said, "We thought it would be best if you woke up with someone you recognized, so you're in my apartment on Glass Road near 35th."
Something in the background moved and a second shadow appeared over her. "When your wounds started to heal up in front of our eyes we decided it was probably not a good idea to check you into a hospital. You've still got quite a bit of blood on you, though." This voice she didn't recognize.
"Who are you? I can't see really well…"
There was a chuckle. "I'm Aaron, the guy next to me is Armand, whom you met at dinner." A gentle hand brushed her bangs aside. "You should probably continue to rest, unless you regain lost blood as fast as flesh."
Deirdre shook her head slowly. She didn't know that she could survive that kind of attack. It had to be her Senshi powers. "I have no…idea…" She drifted off to sleep.
------dreamscape------
Deirdre looked around. She was at a party, and the other Senshi were nearby. Everything was perfect, like a fairy tale. Then someone tapped her shoulder and she turned to see who. "May I have this dance?" asked a phantom voice. Deirdre had no idea who this guy was, she couldn't see his face very clearly.
"Of course," she answered, smiling. Deirdre then realized she was just reliving her memories from her past life. She followed her partner around the floor, noticing how smooth his steps were. "You dance very well."
"Thank-you, Lady Pluto, I am flattered. It is said that you are not free with your praise." It was such a dangerously seductive voice. Deirdre shuddered inside Setsuna's mind and waited to hear the reply.
"True." Wow, not much of a talker, Deirdre thought bitterly. Then there was a flash of light outside and everyone turned towards the garden.
-------end dreamscape-------
Cyrus smiled at the young women and tried to look calm as if this kind of thing happened every day. He and Aaron had come to Deirdre's apartment to drop her off and had been met at the door by a swarm of beautiful women. The girls had taken Deirdre and led her into a bedroom, then shoved Aaron and Cyrus onto the coach and set themselves about the room. The one with blond hair done up in two pigtails was glaring at them as if she were accusing them of hurting Deirdre.
It was the brunette, Esta, who said, "We would like to know what happened."
Cyrus did his best to keep his voice and body language neutral. "The other night my team and I were mysteriously invited to a dinner party at the Unian Embassy. Your friend, Deirdre was also there. When she got up to leave, a strange creature attacked her. We got the thing off of her, but she was the one who turned it to dust in the end."
Aaron, the team's wannabe doctor, motioned towards his neck. "The monster bit her neck and caused her to lose a lot of blood. The wounds healed up in a few hours, but she's still weak from blood loss."
Anisa stood. "Thank-you for doing so much to help our friend," she said. Cyrus and Aaron took this as their signal to leave and got to their feet. Anisa led them into the entryway, a small room that linked the kitchen and living and was within sight of the bedroom door. For this reason, Deirdre was able to see Anisa escorting the young men to the door.
"Wait!" she cried, rushing to the door. The sudden movement hadn't been a smart idea on her part, and she clung to the doorframe to her room as she caught her breath and tried to clear her vision of stars.
Anisa leapt to her friend's aid. "You shouldn't get up yet," Anisa said quietly, protective concern in her dark blue eyes.
Deirdre smiled and patted Anisa's shoulder. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy." She looked at Cyrus and Aaron and waved them back towards the living room. "Please sit down, I need to explain a few things." Cyrus and Aaron traded looks and returned to the living room. Anisa helped Deirdre to the couch and everyone waited.
Shining, red eyes looked around the room and Deirdre took a couple deep breaths. "Cyrus, Aaron, once there were nine Senshi who became the rulers of the Solar system. Eight of them were the guardians of the ninth, a princess of the moon, tsuki no hime. They were killed when their kingdom on the moon was destroyed and reincarnated on Earth many years later. They founded Crystal Tokyo and the Silver Millennium. Now they have been reincarnated as us. However, there are supposed to be nine champions for the queens this time. If your team received invitations through the gate of time, then that's who you are.
"I must admit, finding all of you at once is a lot better than tracking you each down like I had to for the Senshi." The girls found the floor and light fixtures amazingly interesting.
Aaron stroked his chin. "So you're saying we're destined to fight for these ladies?" Several of the 'ladies' sat up straighter.
Deirdre paused. "I guess so. While we have inherited our previous appearances, our memories have been less…er…forthcoming."
Cyrus studied the young women and tried to put it all together in his mind. He had a hazy memory of what the first court of Crystal Tokyo looked like, and these girls certainly fit. He turned to Deirdre and said, "So we are not reincarnated? We're just destined to protect?" She nodded slowly. He leaned back and said, "Then there's a problem, because there's only seven of us on team Twilight."
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Darin Cloud looked at the sky and leaned back with his hands beneath his head. Picnics were wonderful, even ones by yourself. It was a gorgeous day, and his boss had given him the day off. A very full shopping bag sat next to him on the blanket, ready to be broken into. Just as he sat up, someone tripped over his outstretched legs and landed on the blanket beside him. "Owie!" she cried.
Darin blinked and rolled the blond over. "Are you…" his question died on his lips. He was looking into the most captivating pair of blue eyes in existence. For a long time they just stayed as they were, looking at each other's soul. Eventually, Darin found his voice. "Excuse me," he said, and he backed up.
The blond sat up and waved her hands. "Oh no! It's my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going and…well you were rather low to the ground." She then set about straightening her blue t-shirt and brushing the dirt off her jeans.
Darin got the impression she was preparing to leave, and he was certain he didn't want that. "What's your name?" he asked.
She smiled. "I'm Ursa, nice to meet you…?"
He held out a hand and gave her a winning smile. "Darin, Darin Cloud." The moment Ursa's fingers touched his, there was a flash and the park was gone. Ursa and Darin stared at the world around them.
"What happened?" Ursa asked.
Darin couldn't keep his eyes off her. She was clothed in a form-fitting white dress with ornamental wings. Her hair was silver and done up in odangos. A crescent moon shone on her forehead, casting feelings of warmth and love. "Um, I can't say. You look gorgeous."
She blushed and looked at her dress before looking him over. "You don't look so bad yourself. Hm, could this be the Moon Kingdom? Or is it Crystal Tokyo?"
"I don't think we're on Earth, because it's down there," Darin said, pointing out the window. Ursa walked over to the balcony and sighed.
"It's so beautiful. And we'll rule it once again."
Darin frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ursa's ears turned bright red and she said quietly, "The first time we were alive, I was a princess of the Moon and you a prince of the Earth. We were killed during an attack on my kingdom and my mother sent us to Earth to be reborn. We met the second time in Japan and founded Crystal Tokyo…" Her eyes met his. "We just met again."
The dream faded and they were in each other's arms, holding on for dear life.
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"We're still missing one, but not too bad," Min Jung observed. She combed her fingers through her hair a few times, a habit she'd picked up in this life, and looked at the starry-eyed Darin and Ursa.
Flora tapped her foot. "If you two could stop gazing lovingly into each others eyes for a minute we could start the meeting." Slowly, Darin and Ursa turned to face the rest of the group. Since the champions had joined them, Deirdre's living room had become too small for everyone and they were now holding their first meeting in the same park where Ursa had 'run into' Darin.
Deirdre smiled at them. "It's wonderful that you've found each other. Not only does it mean another champion has been found, but he's our Queen's soulmate." Then she looked around at the group taking stock. The guys were on one side, the girls on another, with Darin and Ursa linking the two. Worse than school children…Deirdre thought. "In light of the recent attacks that have been popping up in the city, I think it would be prudent of us to set up some kind of schedule for when people are available to keep watch over the city."
"To do what?" Kenneth asked, his arms folded and eyes closed. His shaggy brown hair fell over his forehead and into his eyes, which he now opened and turned on Deirdre. "You weren't handling yourself very well against that creature the other week."
Deirdre blushed a bit and could tell the others weren't very comfortable either. "Um, we don't know where our transformation sticks are. I also don't know what kind of abilities the champions have—yet." She looked down at the grass and brushed the back of her hand against a particularly long leaf, which had missed the mower. "The first time around they weren't necessary, the second time yes, but Artemis and Luna had them. I have no idea where we'd find them now…hold on a minute." Deirdre got an idea and stood up. She walked away from the group into the bushes and brought out the time staff. "Let's try the gate again," she said as she raised the staff and concentrated.
Nothing happened. Deirdre swallowed and tried again. A nervous feeling was building in her stomach and she looked at the staff in her hands. Why wasn't it working? The nervous feeling became almost painful, and then she heard a scream. Deirdre ran through the bushes towards the hysteric cries and broke through in time to see a grey monster holding a young woman up by the neck. It was a bigger and more muscular version of the thing that had attacked her before.
Deirdre gripped the staff tightly and ran forward. "Stop!" she shouted, and she stabbed the creature's side with the lower end of the wand. The creature jerked to the side and lost its hold on the victim. She fell to the ground and bent over gasping. "Run!" Deirdre shouted, keeping her eyes on the creature. The thing lunged forward and she jumped out of the way. It turned back towards its original prey and Deirdre ran in again.
The monster had guessed she'd do that, and swung around to smack her with its fist. As she flew through the air, Deirdre thought of how Kenneth was right. They couldn't fight without transforming, they were useless. She wasn't even able to call the gate of time anymore. She hit the ground and rolled a few times. When she stopped she got to her feet slowly and spun around to face the bushes. Someone was coming.
It was her friends. Deirdre shot them a weak smile and said, "So nice of you to join us!" Ursa and the other Senshi ran forward without hesitating, the guys close behind. Deirdre turned back and headed for the monster with determination. Maybe one of them would remember how to use the power she'd caught a glimpse of at the embassy. She couldn't remember doing it, but Cyrus had insisted she turned the monster to dust and she believed him.
They formed a circle around the grey creature and it spun around, desperate for an escape. Then it found a spot where the only occupant was rather weak-looking and a few feet from those on either side of her. Deirdre was just coming up to stand beside Ursa as the thing came running their way like a charging bull. Without a second thought, Deirdre shoved Ursa out of the way.
The creature's arm went right through Deirdre's abdomen. The time staff flew from her hands and stuck itself into the ground at Esta's feet, the red orb on top glowing. Everyone stared as the creature threw Deirdre to the ground and gave a howl of triumph. There was no way her quick healing talent would help her now. She lay on the ground like a broken doll, her red eyes clouded. Nobody moved.
"D—Deirdre!!!!!" Ursa screamed. She was bathed in light and sprung at the monster wielding Uranus' space sword. The creature tried to block, but she cut right through its arm and across its chest. In an instant the monster was ash blowing in the wind. Ursa, Sailor Uranus, turned to her fallen friend and knelt beside her with tears falling down her cheeks. "Deirdre…"