Author's Note: Apparently the last chapter was a little confusing, so I added some dividers to neaten things up and reloaded it. This was a tough chapter for me, I didn't want to give up too much information, so please review.
Thank-you Juni Juni and Rimneral Ayasugi! I take your words to heart.
Deirdre opened her eyes and looked around. Where was she? Wasn't this…her house? A very bewildered Deirdre wandered from room to room, seeing her home as it had been in her childhood. Back when she lived with her mother in the suburbs of Crystal Tokyo had been a long time ago. Her father had never been a part of her life, and her mother had died when she turned thirteen. She'd struck out on her own instead of searching for relatives, and had completely forgotten about her childhood home.
In the last room she found a familiar silhouette sitting in front of the window reading a book. Suddenly it was as if the past ten years hadn't happened, and Deirdre ran forward to give her mother a hug. "What're you reading? Is it any good?" she asked.
Her mother patted her arms and Deirdre knelt by her side. Her mother had been so beautiful, silver hair and lively pink eyes without a line on her face. The woman smiled sadly, as was her way, and set the book aside. "If you're here, then something has gone dreadfully wrong. You shouldn't come to this realm for some time yet, and even then it should be to your own home with your own loved one."
Deirdre frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm home."
The lady sighed and shook her head. "You have to go back and continue our line. It is your duty as the heir to the ginzuishou, the crystal which is energy in its purest form and source of much of the Serenities' power." Then she tapped her chin. "Of course, we haven't called ourselves that for generations. I suppose the age of the Serenity Queens is gone and you'll be the beginning of a new line."
The adult Deirdre began to weigh in on this and she started to understand. "That's why the time gate didn't like me using it, because I'm not supposed to." Her mother nodded. Deirdre got to her feet. "I am the Moon Princess!?! I don't look anything like her!"
"You excite so easily, one thing Pluto does not do. While you may be reincarnation of the Senshi of Time, you certainly do not descend from her or carry her powers. However, as the queen of all the Senshi, you do have some dominion over each of their powers." She picked up her book again and said, "Back with you! Let me continue my reading while I wait for your father." Deirdre opened her mouth to ask who her father was, but found herself falling from her old home and landing in a body wracked with pain. Heal yourself! Her mother's voice demanded.
Deirdre closed her eyes to the pain and let her thoughts linger on the warmth resting next to her heart.
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Sailor Uranus gasped. "Sh—her eyes!" she said. The others came closer as Deirdre started to glow. The glow centered itself on her chest and spread throughout her body. Uranus crawled back as Deirdre lifted up from the ground and turned into a pillar of golden light. When the light cleared, Deirdre stood in the grass wearing an elegant, white gown with a golden scepter in her hands. Her hair was arranged in the odango style Ursa had always tried to get her hair to stay in. She opened her eyes and looked around.
"I'm back…" she said in a breathy voice. Then she shuddered and began to fall. Armand was closest and caught her. Her gown and scepter vanished, leaving her in her birthday suit. Cyrus quickly divested himself of his shirt and wrapped her in it before holding out his arms to take her. Armand and Cyrus just looked at each other for a minute, then Armand handed Deirdre over.
"We'd better get out of here," John said. Everyone heartily agreed and headed for Deirdre's apartment by some silent agreement. When they arrived, Ursa used her key to open the door and the crowd went into the living room while Cyrus put Deirdre in bed. When he joined his comrades, they all looked at him, waiting for him to say something. Deirdre had been the unofficial leader of the group, and now Cyrus found himself in that position as a result of being the head of the Twilight team.
"Obviously some things have changed since you were all reborn," he said from the doorway, his sharp eyes looking at the Senshi.
Esta held out her hands and the time staff appeared. "We all thought we would be the same people we were before, but because we didn't die without having children our powers were passed down." She spoke calmly and evenly, gazing into the red garnet on her weapon.
Flora tapped her lower lip. "If that's so, then we're just going to have to wait to find out what powers we have. I certainly am not aware of any of the Senshi being my great to the nth power grandmother."
"And we don't know if we had a past life!" Dom said, referring to team Twilight. "Then there's the whole business of missing a guardian/champion. How are we supposed to know who to protect? With the exception of Darin, obviously." Darin and Ursa blushed, their hands squeezing each other in support.
"I think it's sort of a relief to not have to be queen," Ursa said quietly. She looked around at everyone. "If anyone should rule, it's Deirdre. She has all the experience of the original Sailor Pluto in her, and there's just something about her that makes it seem right." Then she brought a hand up to her hair and everyone noticed the odangos were gone and her hair was in plain pigtails. "Besides, I didn't inherit my past life's finesse with a hairbrush."
Her sister laughed aloud and the others smiled or chuckled. Cyrus heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Deirdre slowly walking towards him. "You should be asleep, still," he warned. She gave him a shaky smile.
"Nah, too much to explain," she said slowly. Everyone heard and room was made on the couch for her to sit down. Cyrus helped her sit instead of fall onto the worn cushions and she thanked him.
When she opened her mouth to speak, Travis said, "We already know the powers didn't go to who we expected. So why don't you skip that and just tell us what else you know."
Deirdre's mouth snapped shut and stayed that way for a minute until she took a deep breath and said, "While I was healing myself with the ginzuishou, I learned a lot from it. Apparently, our souls are bound to it in a much stronger way than we thought. Despite long lives which begin with the fight for peace, we will be forced to return again and again until the end of the universe or the ginzuishou is destroyed completely." She paused. "I don't know any specifics about who has what power, but I do know that the champions are a more recent addition to our fellowship."
Darin cleared his throat. "Is this their first life then? Because we're pretty sure I've been around before."
Deirdre shook her head. "Team Twilight lived a couple centuries ago during the Dark Times. They all died defending a peace they had fought many wars for." Her red eyes met Armand's ice blue ones. "You were all pilots of the Gundams."
Those who knew more about the Dark Times other than that they had been a time of war, recognized the word 'Gundam.' The Gundams were the symbol of how harsh and misguided the human race had become after Crystal Tokyo had lost its influence over the people. "The Dark Times, no wonder we were reborn as your protectors," John said from his corner of the room. He was the most bookish of the drivers. "Forgotten magic, a race to arms, and the evolution of the ultimate killing machines known as the Gundam Pilots." He spoke as if to himself, but everyone knew he was doing this for their sake. He looked at his hands. "As hard as it is to believe that I was a soldier in a past life, I wouldn't put it in the impossible range."
Dom scratched his head. "Speak for yourself, how could I—or Aaron—kill anybody?"
Minako held up a hand. "We aren't exactly the same people we were before because our lives here have been different. You guys aren't assassins, you're racecar drivers!" She threw an arm over a furiously blushing Aaron's shoulders and said, "The only thing you'll be killing now is demons."
Travis sat back and crossed his arms. "Joy."
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Deirdre scowled and tossed the bill she'd been reading across her desk. Since she'd awakened to her new existence as the heir to Crystal Tokyo all the Senshi had discovered their calling and started training with their powers. The champions and Deirdre were the only ones who lived independent of their guardians, and right now she was facing a major problem. She would have to go without power and heat next month or not eat. As the warm, fall weather hastily turned frigid, this became a major problem.
She looked around and sighed. Her job at the museum wasn't paying enough, and hiring herself out as a research assistant always took more time than the money was worth. What was she going to do? The account her mother had set up before her death was still closed to her because she wasn't married yet. (It was some condition or other her mother had included in her will, who was quite the romantic.) What new job could she try to get that would let her train to save the world and keep her current job at the museum?
For now, the bills had to get paid. Deirdre picked up her power bill and went to her computer. A few keystrokes later her account was nearly empty and she went to the classifieds to find something flexible.
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In a dark corner of a crumbling realm, a puff of cloud swirled as if caught in a fierce wind. 'Must get out, must get out, must find…something. Yes, I need something…' It thought as it circled around. In the growing chaos a circle of light started to flicker. As the flickering settled into an almost constant glow, our gaseous friend could see a bright world beyond. 'Maybe it's there…' Just as the dark chaos of its home started to collapse, our soon-to-be-villain entered the world of the Senshi.