This is the first official chapter of my fic. It was very interesting to write as it involved... ah, that would be telling. Please

read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters... so don't sue me.

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Sailor Moon Neo

Chapter One

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Bland. Aino Minako watched the sun melt into the horizon, signifying what

should have been one of the most gorgeous things she'd ever seen. However,

seeing the sun set for the first time seemed old to her, and the colors were weak

and washed out... bland.

She was sitting on a grassy hill of her high school, Juuban High, with her

closest friends... supposedly enjoying the beauty of a sunset. However, the

scene bored her to death; it looked as if it were a bad watercolor painting that a

child had done with an overly wet brush. She sighed, a noise that sounded even

more unnatural to her than the odd colors of the wishy-washy sun.

Minako glanced over a scene that she felt she had seen a thousand times

over: her friend Mizuno Ami pouring over an Advanced Chemistry book, Hino Rei

and Kino Makoto gushing over the supposedly gorgeous sunset, and Tsukino

Usagi and Chiba Mamoru in each other's arms: the perfect couple. The bleached

colors of the sunset were fading into purple, and she heard another expected gush

from Rei and Makoto.

Why did watching the sunset for the first time with her closest friends in

the whole world feel so drab and boring? With almost a knowing feeling, Minako

turned around in time to see her other friends walking up behind them. It was

Meioh Setsuna, a tall and tanned 18 year old, looking pleased to see her friends'

faces. Alongside her were Tenoh Haruka, and Kaioh Michiru, hand-in-hand:

another perfect couple.

Together, they were the Sailor Senshi... and they were finally in an eternal

peace. Just but a few days ago, their beloved princess (otherwise known as

Usagi) had dispersed Chaos once and for all, creating for them a long period of

peace ahead. However, Minako didn't feel as excited about it as she should

have... it just seemed all so repetitive to her.

Minako picked at some blades of grass as the other Senshi shared some

idle chatter around her. She felt nervous energy coursing through her veins; she

felt restless and unnerved. She knew that something big was about to happen,

but she couldn't remember what it was exactly.

The sound was like a soundtrack to an old movie--flat, dull, two-

dimensional and crackly. It even had the low reverberating tone underlying the

rest of the sounds.

It was then that the nervous feeling that Minako had came to life. Setsuna cringed

and doubled over--almost simultaneous to the complete disappearance of the

sun. She fell to her knees, breaking out in a strong sweat. Haruka, who was the

closest, dove to help her.

"Setsuna-san, are you alright?" she asked, trying to help her back up.

"Time…" Setsuna panted, clutching her stomach. "Time has been

altered...i t's all over now!"

Minako watched this with disinterest, she had seen it a thousand times

before! She knew now what came next. She stood totally still as the other

Senshi screamed--the sky exploded into a million colors, and then the world

shattered like a mirror, the pieces crumbling down. There was nothing but

blackness and emptiness... but it was all familiar to Minako.

...



Bland. Aino Minako watched the sun melt into the horizon, signifying what

should have been one of the most gorgeous things she'd ever seen. However,

seeing the sun set for the first time seemed old to her, and the colors were weak

and washed out... bland.



--Why is it happening again?--

She was sitting on a grassy hill of her high school, Juuban High, with her

closest friends... supposedly enjoying the beauty of a sunset. However, the

scene bored her to death; it looked as if it were a bad watercolor painting that a

child had done with an overly wet brush. She sighed, a noise that sounded even

more unnatural to her than the odd colors of the wishy-washy sun.

--Why am I sitting through this again?-- A new thought chain was emerging in this

old memory.

Minako glanced over a scene that she felt she had seen a thousand times

over: her friend Mizuno Ami pouring over an Advanced Chemistry book, Hino Rei

and Kino Makoto gushing over the supposedly gorgeous sunset, and Tsukino

Usagi and Chiba Mamoru in each other's arms: the perfect couple. The bleached

colors of the sunset were fading into purple, and she heard another expected gush

from Rei and Makoto.

--I am trapped... let me out!-- Minako recognized this frustrated voice and mind

as her own, but why was she thinking it? Did it have something to do with this

odd scene?

Why did watching the sunset for the first time with her closest friends in

the whole world feel so drab and boring? With almost a knowing feeling, Minako

turned around in time to see her other friends walking up behind them. It was

Meioh Setsuna, a tall and tanned 18 year old, looking pleased to see her friends'

faces. Alongside her were Tenoh Haruka, and Kaioh Michiru, hand-in-hand:

another perfect couple.

--How long have I been here?-- Minako thought, suddenly realizing that there

was more than met the eye. She tried moving, but she was constricted to when

she moved in the dream. So, it was a dream, was it? A dream, a memory,

playing over and over like a bad Saturday night rerun?

Together, they were the Sailor Senshi... and they were finally in an eternal

peace. Just but a few days ago, their beloved princess (otherwise known as

Usagi) had dispersed Chaos once and for all, creating for them a long period of

peace ahead. However, Minako didn't feel as excited about it as she should

have... it just seemed all so repetitive to her.

--This isn't right, this shouldn't be! How long have I been in this dream loop?

How do I get out?-- Minako felt panic beginning to rise in her throat. Throat?

She still had a body? She was slowly becoming aware of another body, one that

wasn't trapped inside this godawful dream world.

Minako picked at some blades of grass as the other Senshi shared some

idle chatter around her. She felt nervous energy coursing through her veins; she

felt restless and unnerved. She knew that something big was about to happen,

but she couldn't remember what it was exactly.

--Make it stop!-- she cried out mentally, trying to move her materializing arms.

But they were frozen, locked in place by something strong. --Artemis? Are you

there? Why aren't you in my dream too?--

The sound was like a soundtrack to an old movie--flat, dull, two-

dimensional and crackly. It even had the low reverberating tone underlying the

rest of the sounds.

--Artemis! Help me!-- she felt herself choking with fear as she realized that she

couldn't move, couldn't breathe, her heart wasn't beating... all she could see was

the thin dream in front of her eyes. She fought against the force that held her

still, but it was too tough, too strong.

It was then that the feeling that Minako had came to life. Setsuna cringed

and doubled over--almost simultaneous to the complete disappearance of the

sun. She fell to her knees, breaking out in a strong sweat. Haruka, who was the

closest, dove to help her.

++Minako, I found you++

--Artemis? Is that you? Why can't I see you? Why can't I breathe? Why am I

trapped? Help me!--

++Minako, I have searched for you for a long time. After you and the Senshi left

us all, everything fell to pieces. The Earth is dead, and so am I. Moon-cats-

turned-human only live so long. I had to use the Ancient's mahou to find

you... ++

--Artemis, get me out of here! I can't breathe, I can't see!--

++Don't you hear what I'm saying to you? Listen to me!++

--Help! I can't take it, I'll die, save me!--

"Setsuna-san, are you alright?" she asked, trying to help her back up.

"Time... " Setsuna panted, clutching her stomach. "Time has been

altered... it's all over now!"

++Calm down, Minako! Listen to my words! You must save the Earth... you are

in another time now! It has been hundereds of years since I was separated from

my body... I don't know how much worse it is down there++

--Artemis, why am I trapped, where am I trapped? Help me, let me out!-- Minako

felt her body tense up, she was trying to move, but she couldn't get free. She

tried violently to twist from side to side; she felt a scream rising in her throat, she

had to be free!

Minako watched this with disinterest, she had seen it a thousand times

before! She knew now what came next. She stood totally still as the other

Senshi screamed--the sky exploded into a million colors, and then the world

shattered like a mirror, the pieces crumbling down. There was nothing but

blackness and emptiness... but it was all familiar to Minako.

--Artemis?-- Minako was staring into the darkness now, the dream did not start

again. What had happened? Then she saw him in front of her. An old man in

raggedy clothing and simple leather sandals. He had long, ratty white hair, and

was glowing. At first she didn't recognize him, but then she looked into his deep

blue eyes... eyes that matched her own.

--ARTEMIS!-- she cried out, trying to reach for the old man, but unable to move.

He took a step closer to her, and then another, until he was walking at a steady

pace. With each step he grew considerably younger, until he was the young man

with long white hair that she used to know. She felt tears in her eyes, but was

unable to cry them.

++My dear Minako, I hope you listened well to what I told you, for I must go

now... be free, and take on this new mission next to your best of friends.++

--But, why can't you be with us?-- she inquired, wishing she could furrow her

brow, but unable to. He said nothing more, simply reached forward and touched

his fingers to her forehead. Under his fingertips, she felt her Venus symbol

glowing strong... then, he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers, and her

heart started beating; a world of bright colors swallowed her up.

...

CRACK! Minako's heart thumped into life, and she felt her frozen

body shift slightly. She struggled and strained against this unseen force, moving

it ever so slightly. CRUNCH! Her top end shifted slightly again, and she realized

that she was hearing the first real sound that she had ever heard in a long time.

The sound of glass spider-cracking was incredibly faint, but to Minako's ears it

sounded deafening. Finally, with a powerful thrust of her arm, she felt the wall

that enclosed her give way...

Minako's baby blue eyes opened for the first time in centuries; lights

and colors were so bright and fuzzy that she almost had to shut them again.

She was falling, falling into a coldness that she could never had imagined. She

was still unable to breathe, the vacuum of space around her prevented it. Her

naked body shivered, and she curled up as she fell backwards out of her crystal

tomb. She looked up at it. It was a cut orange crystal that was now breaking into

a million pieces as she fell from it; its shards were all around her, falling out from

between her fingers and loosening from her skin, flying in sparkling showers in

every direction.

She was dizzy and confused, where was she? She then felt a warmness

that enveloped her, blood finally beginning to ciruclate again, even though it had

no new oxygen as of yet. She looked wearily up behind her as she flipped over,

in time to see long, graceful white wings sprout from her back and flap out,

sending a cascade of feathers into the space around her. She felt the

ribbons of her fuku wrap around her, comforting her. It was then though that she

realized that she wearing an eternal fuku... Minako tried to call out, and coughed

up pieces of glittering orange crystal.

"Eternal Sailor Venus!" she spluttered, and then turned over in time to see

the Earth floating beneath her.