'Neutrinos and gamma wave radiation are just other ways for the universe to announce it's presence. It already does so with light and radio; for those of you that remember, it also does it with gravity. It's just that we do not have the Rosetta Stone for these cosmic languages yet. Heck, in the case of Neutrinos, we are lacking the cave paintings!' - H S Physics
Makoto Kino knew that her life was complicated. Her parents had died over ten years ago, leaving her to carry on without them. Then she had tried to earn respect, running into those people who judged what a person was by how they looked. Finally, once she had found herself attending Crossroads Junior High, she became a member of the Sailor Scouts; reincarnations of the daughters of the rulers of an ancient, planet-spanning kingdom that combated evil to their eventual deaths.
She was also, in part, Akane Tendo. Daughter of a broken martial artist, affianced to one of the greatest fighters on Earth, she had protested the relationship; she had to come close to death itself to realize that she truly did love Ranma Saotome, regardless of his body's shape. His death had renewed her own spirit in the martial arts, giving her a reason to carry on. Until that fateful phone call, she had practiced her family's art with a vigor that would have surprised him.
Which led, invariably, to the present. She had made the wish that she had held in her heart, to be joined with Ranma. She had assumed that the wish would merely allow her to pass from this life, for the simple fact of Ranma being dead. But things involving him were never simple; Kami-Sama and Hild-Sama Themselves were willing to test her willingness to go through all sorts of tests to end up by his side.
But, she asked herself from both viewpoints, if I'm being put through this, what is it leading up to?
The girls all gathered together at the Hikawa Shrine after the battle. After all, it was fairly central to arrive and depart from, as well as an almost-ingrained habit. After finishing with their battles, they could slip into Rae's room, call up their transformation and let it heal the damages, or relax and snack for a few minutes to regain enough energy to go home.
Tonight, the habit allowed them to slip the green-clad 'Sailor Loki' in with themselves as they stealthily entered into the shrine, approached the targeted area...
"Who's your new friend, girls? Is it another 'warrior for love and justice,' maybe?"
...and have a heart attack when the elder Hino spoke from just inside the room. Even Setsuna, who was used to being the one doing the 'stealth approach greeting,' found herself clutching her chest in fright. After getting their bearings, the girls finished entering the room and began to arrange their costumed burden upon the futon to allow her to rest.
Rae stood over her elder, a bit of the spirit of the Sacred Flame shining in her eyes. "Okay, Oyaji," she growled at the seated bald man, who was calmly sipping at a teacup, "just how long have you known?"
The gentleman lowered his cup slightly to smile over it's rim. "Since the Rainbow Crystal was implanted," he answered.
Ami blinked rapidly. "Hino-san," she whispered, "that would suggest that you were a member of the..."
The old man simply allowed his smile to widen. "Why else would my name be 'Ichiro Hino'?" he chuckled. "I was the Head Priest of the Martian Shrines. When the Queen split the Shadow into it's components, she needed to use members of the Court to hold the souls. With the others, their spirits were burned out in the effort of entrapping the evil that was implanted. Due to my former strength of will and my reincarnated link to my former planet, I was able to strengthen my soul enough to survive the ordeal. Since then, my knowledge has helped me to help you girls in my own small way."
Usagi sighed, as if the weight of her former life had lessened. "So that's why I felt like I did," she muttered, a look of dawning appearing on her face. As the others stared at her, she let out a pained chuckle. "Whenever my family would take us by here, I felt as if there was a kind of magnet, pulling me toward it."
Setsuna chuckled softly, causing the other girls to twitch a little in surprise. "Princess," she stated softly amid her mirth, "the kingdom of Mars was always the soul of the Silver Empire, as the Moon was the heart. The only way it would be more power...ful..." The guardian of time paled as the shrine master began to smirk. "...how?" she squeaked.
The remaining girls quickly whipped their gazes back and forth between the two adults in the room. Setsuna, who normally wore a condescending expression, was now displaying outright shock and surprise. Her smirk was being worn by the commonly goofy-seeming elder shrine-keeper, who would rarely even attempt to be so sly.
The moment was broken as the unconscious newcomer moaned quietly. Hotaru trotted over to her and placed a hand on the costumed girl's arm. "Are you alright?" she asked in a soft voice. "Are you well enough to detransform?"
Without opening her eyes, the mysterious new fighter shifted her head in a quick nod, then crossed her arms to place her bracers gently against the opposite side's shoulder armor. As she did so, her uniform morphed into her street clothes: the Juuban High School uniform, being worn by a girl who was well known to at least five of the girls in the room.
"NARU?!!!?"
The redhead grinned in wry humor. "Hai," she chortled as she let her eyes open, spearing her oldest friend with a slightly angry look. "Bugs," she grumbled, using the English word before returning to Japanese, "why couldn't you tell me?"
Usagi looked morose. "Luna ordered me not to," she responded, then added a single word, this one in English as well. "Daffy."
Two people in the room got it. The eldest Hino and the girl who lived in England. Their laughter was ignored by the others as they tuned into the conversation.
The newest youma-fighter sat up slightly and grimaced. "Come on, Usagi," she growled in annoyance, "how could your cat order you to avoid me?"
The ponytailed blond matched her expression. "What is her name? What is my name? What is my secret?" she snapped back.
Naru processed that. "Magic, right," she sighed. "Next thing you'll tell me is that Meiou-sensei is one of you, as well." She blinked once, as she realized that the jade-maned woman was giving her a 'royal wave' from the table where she was sitting. "Sheesh," she sighed. "Figures. My patron is the sly Trickster, so why wouldn't it be like this?"
Haruka leaned forward. "What'cha mean, Naru?" she probed.
The freckled girl rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Alright," she decided. She tucked her legs underneath herself. "It was like this..."
FLASHBACK...
Naru checked her uniform in the mirror, tugging slightly at skirt. "This is stupid," she muttered to herself. "When I realized that Usagi and her new 'friends' were the Sailor Senshi, I thought that maybe I could join them. 'Warriors of love and justice,' they call themselves."
Well, it isn't quite that bad. The world needs balance. Not all of what is coming is 'evil,' so they're going to need some new viewpoints.
The redhead began to panic. The mental 'voice' she had just heard was male, humorous and had a slight Scandinavian accent. "AAAAUGH!" she screetched. "Another youma!"
The invisible, inaudible speaker chuckled. Not at all, Naru Kentarudottir, he continued. I am a kami, allowed by the Powers Above and Below to extend an offer to my chosen Champion.
She calmed slightly. Then she glared at her reflection. Instead of the mirror showing herself, the image was wearing a pantsuit of green silk, over which was placed gold shinguards, shoulder armor and bracers. The front of the silk top was marked with a pattern of nine squares, set in a square grid. All except the center were stitched in dull silver thread, the remaining one just an outline done in bright gold. The reflection smirked and placed her right fist upon her hip jauntily. The lips moved in sync to the speaker. This is Sailor Loki, the defender of True Chaos. Neither Good nor Evil, nor Anarchy or Order. She is the pivot Balance Scout, the first of a new group of fighters that are being formed.
Naru blinked noisily. "Balance Scout?" she puzzled. "This isn't a joke?"
Her reflection waved her left hand in a negating gesture. Not at all, the speaker assured her. In fact, some of what is going to be coming is considered 'Good' and would cause no reaction from the 'Sailor Scouts,' as you call them, until it is too late. That is where the new team will come in.
Outside the mirror, the fuku-clad girl collapsed to her knees. She looked up at the reflection with a puzzled expression. "How can 'good' be bad?" she squeaked through a tight throat. "Isn't that a paradox?"
Her image pouted. What about the Christan people who 'saved' the old Norse from their 'heathen' ways? he countered. Despite their 'goodness,' they managed to do great harm. Some of what is approaching will be just as dangerous. Will you be a victim, again, or are you willing to fight?
She mused over this. The last time she had gotten directly involved, she had turned a Negaverse general from his ways. What could she do if she had the abilities? "Alright," she agreed. "What do I do?"
Her reflection spun around, stopping with her left hand extended and holding a pen-like wand. It was made of gold and silver, capped with a globe of amber crystal. Inside the golden globe, there was a silver rune that seemed to float in the center. She instinctively knew that the glyph signified 'Loki.' The mirror-image flipped the rod toward her. Reacting instinctively, she cupped her hands and the pen dropped into them. Raise that and speak the words, 'Loki suit up.'
She smirked. Following the directions given, she extended her arm and spoke the words. She felt her body fill with power, and watched as smoke and fire flared around her, burning neither herself nor her surroundings. From below, a amorphous snake of green light coiled around her, not yet tight against her silhouette of rainbow light. As it came into contact with her, it flashed and morphed into a jade green silk pantsuit. Then a giant wolf of smoky light dove down from above, leaving the armor pieces as it passed over her form. Finally, in a clockwise spiral, the grid of squares formed in splashes of light and shadow. With a final wash of shadow, her body returned from a light-filled shell, to flesh and bone, as her feet touched the floor.
How does it feel? Loki asked, as her mirror-self gave her a inquisitive look.
"Wow," she sighed in awe, as she looked over her new clothing. Suddenly, she heard/felt/sensed a twisting sensation. She turned to face the source. "Sailor Loki is on the case," she huffed, then jumped for the window.
You'll know what to do when you need to, Naru, Loki assured her as she departed. Trust in the feelings you get.
END FLASHBACK...
'THE' Office:
Hild smirked at Kami-sama. "You have a secondary plan, don't you?" She squinted at the wildly grinning god. "What am I saying? Of course you do," she huffed.
He just increased the wattage of his smile and chuckled.
Hikawa Shrine, Labor timeline:
Usagi smiled her patented 'That's all right then' smile. "It's good to know that we've got more help," she began.
She went no further before her henshin locket rang like a bell. In a flash of sparkles, the device desolved to reveal the Silver Crystal. From within it shone a beam of soft light to strike the table. Where the light hit the wood, the miniature form of Queen Serenity faded into being. The fallen monarch had a look of resignation on her face.
My child, the light-construct stated, I am glad to see that the Balance is being reformed. And with the Balance, I must admit my greatest folly.
"What is that?" the reincarnated heir to the Moon Kingdom plead.
I seperated the Evil and Anarchy from my soul, the ghost admitted. In my haste to protect all, I created my greatest foe. Metallia was a part of me, as was the Black Crystal. Instead of the Utopia that I envisioned, I created War and Death. Sparkling tears gathered in the corners of the miniature woman's eyes. Find the Black Crystal, my daughter; with both Light and Dark, the future will be secure. With those words, the light winked out, taking the doll-sized image with it. The Crystal chimed once again and a new locket formed around it. The design was simple – a Tao symbol of black and white crystal, the Silver Crystal seated firmly in the Yang quadrant. The space for the Black Crystal was empty, but the dark sector seemed to have a negative shimmer inside it, almost an anti-fire to the shine that glittered in the lighter side.
Setsuna nodded her head. "Follow her words, Princess," the time guardian cautioned. "No soul is complete without a balance."
The others just nodded, seeing the truth of it.
TO BE CONTINUED....
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This section took a bit longer than the others, I'll admit. Real Life took a bit of a bite out of me, so I wasn't able to devote quite as much to my favorite relaxation as I would wish to. I finally was able to finish this one; short as it is, it just couldn't be stretched without making it too wordy.
So now the question on most everyone's mind is "W.T.F?" Dark Crystal, Balance Senshi and the remainder of the First Labor? What about Akane's Reality? This is all taking just five hours, give or take, so what is happening there? Will the others in her life have problems with what's happening with her? Could they help her?
Read and find out!!