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REAWAKENING
Book One of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon CosmicStars
by Nashie (aka ShadowSamurai)
December 1999 - April 2000
Revised - Summer/Fall 2002
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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and her friends belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The author takes no credit for any of the original storyline. However, all the new characters belong to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't take any without requesting permission.
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~~~Episode 206: Reigning quiet? MagicStar makes an appearance!~~~
Mako noticed that the four outer soldiers had become sullenly silent. She tapped Ami on the soldier and gently tugged her sleeve. "Are they okay?"
Ami followed Mako's gaze. She saw the outer girls sitting, looking blank as if they were in deep thought. She shrugged and went over to Hotaru.
"Hotaru-chan?" she whispered, careful not to frighten the girl. Hotaru looked up at Ami. She didn't say anything, but her eyes said it all. Ami backed away slightly.
Usagi realized the sudden quiet in the room. She looked at Chibiusa. Her face was pale and her eyes huge.
"That vision was so real..." Chibiusa whispered, then she cried out. "That can't happen! Who were those four lying on the ground!?" Minako shrugged, but she heard Michiru murmur something. It was quiet, so all eyes went to the violinist.
"What?" Usagi asked. Her blue eyes were curious. "You say something, Michiru-san?" Michiru knew that the attention was focused on her, but she didn't give it any thought. She looked at her three allies. Should she say anything about it? Haruka nodded her head, but Setsuna shook hers. Michiru looked to Hotaru for the final decision. Hotaru shook her head.
"I didn't say anything," Michiru sighed. She lowered her head. "Nothing at all." Luna and Artemis looked at each other. Neither of them believed that for a minute. Luna walked up to the outer girls.
"Michiru-san, Setsuna-san, Haruka-san, Hotaru-chan," she said calmly. Her red eyes were serious, though. "If you do know something, tell us. We need to find out what this dream means." The outers looked at each other and Setsuna got up. She stared at the fire for a minute and then walked to the exit.
"Pu?" Chibiusa asked, running to her beloved friend. She grabbed the edge of her skirt. "Do you know something that can help?" Setsuna looked at the little girl, wanting to tell her that she knew what the dream was about. She turned her head away and looked outside.
"I..." Setsuna began. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. The others were watching her. Setsuna sighed.
"I don't know anything about it, Small Lady," Setsuna finally replied, her voice chilly. Chibiusa pulled away, shocked. Setsuna walked from the room and left. Chibiusa watched her and felt three more figures walk past her. Haruka, Michiru, and even Hotaru walked away. Chibiusa stared after them.
"Why?" she whispered and ran back inside to Usagi. She wrapped herself around her future mother's leg and cried. She sobbed loudly. What had she done? Pu, why did she walk out like that? And Hotaru, too? What about Haruka and Michiru? So many questions and she didn't know why. Usagi stroked the distraught girl's hair. She kneeled down and gathered Chibiusa into her arms. The girl was crying so hard that she began to hiccup. Her body shook with every one.
Usagi held her close. The girl may be a brat, but her best friend had just hurt her feelings. And Setsuna, of all people! Setsuna was never so curt like that. The others didn't get off easy either. They knew something, but didn't seem want to say anything about it.
The outers were acting very strange. Very strange indeed.
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The group broke apart a little after the outers had left. Chibiusa was still upset, sniffling every so often. She clung to Usagi's black skirt. She had stopped crying and wanted to speak to Setsuna. But it was Setsuna who had hurt her.
"Chibiusa-chan!" Usagi piped up, trying to sound cheerful. "How about some ice cream?" Chibiusa shook her head and choked back a sob. Ice cream wouldn't do.
Usagi began to worry. She'd have to go to desperate measure. "Oh well, I guess the chocolate mint flavor will just have to wait." Chibiusa's ears perked up. Chocolate mint?
"Well, um, I'm not hungry or anything," Chibiusa said slowly. "But since, you wanted some chocolate mint flavor ice cream, I'll have some too." Usagi fell over and jerked. She knew it. Ice cream could break any spell over Chibiusa.
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Rei watched the two odango-atamas walk home. She held a broom in her hand. She didn't know what had gotten into the outer soldiers, but she was going to have a talk with them and see what had got them so upset.
She turned back to the house when she saw two familiar crows fly toward her. She held out her arm.
"Phobos, Deimos," she whispered. "What's wrong with them? You think the vision upset them that much?" The vision repeated itself in her head. It was the same desolate city that had been seen earlier. The asteroids hit and the three other soldiers appeared. But then, something happened and Rei plunged deeper into the vision, partly against her own will.
Rei was walking around the dead city, staying out of eyesight of the trio of soldiers. The clouds never parted, but the light of the moon was peering down on four bodies lying on the ground. Rei approached them, but their faces lay in the shadows.
"Rei-chan...Sailor Mars..." a soft, airy, and distorted voice called to her. It seemed to be everywhere, surrounding her like an illusion.
"What?" Rei asked. She looked around the vision with her own will. It seemed so real now. She could actually feel the darkness and the bitter coldness of the dead city that was Tokyo. "Who's there?"
"Help...us...Sailor Mars..."
"Who's there?!" Rei looked for the source of the sound and it brought her back to the bodies lying on the ground. "Who are you?"
Rei stared desperately at the figures and walked to them. Their faces were still in the shadows and they lay crumpled as though they had been attacked repeatedly.
"Who are you four?" Rei asked, her voice choked. But slowly it dawned on her, and she was very afraid.
"You...and the others...must protect..."
Rei brought her hand to her mouth and saw the cloud in the middle of the city begin to make its way toward them. One of the figures raised her hand shakily toward Rei. Only then did she realize she had transformed into Sailor Mars. The figure was using all of her effort to try and reach Rei.
Rei walked to the figure and kneeled next to her. The sailor soldier was hurt badly and her breathing was in ragged gasps. Although she was close, Rei could not make out her face.
"Who are you?"
"You...and the others...must protect...the Princess..."
Rei stared at the girl. Her hand dropped and she stopped speaking. Rei grasped the girl's hand and automatically knew what had happened. She stared at the sailor soldier and the features started to make out. The aqua green colored hair, the dark green colored skirt.
"Sailor Neptune!"
She stared at the other three bodies in a shocked state.
"Saturn! Pluto! Uranus! No!" Rei screamed and the vision wavered. She was standing back on the porch, drenched in sweat. The outer soldiers had gotten upset because they knew…
"Oh, god," Rei whispered, her knees shaking. She wiped her black hair away from her face. "That can't be...the outer soldiers...is this our future...!?"
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Ami and Minako walked down a not so crowded area of the Juuban District. The sun had hidden itself behind some clouds that had just recently appeared. A cool breeze had swept up, making the day a little pleasant.
They walked in silence, until Minako shouted out, "I cannot believe this!" Ami stared at her friend.
"Believe what?" she inquired. Minako balled her right hand into a fist and grabbed Ami's collar to keep her balance.
"That the outer soldiers were so cold!" she exclaimed. Then she went into a dazzling like expression that only Minako could make. "There has to be an explanation!" Ami sighed and pried Minako off of her.
"Yes, a probable one I suppose," she said. "But until we can base our opinions on the facts, then we really don't know what got them so upset."
Minako nodded in agreement and the two continued walking. It was a quiet, thoughtful walk. All the same, they kept hoping that they'd run into any of the outer girls, to talk to them. But Tokyo was a big city and their chances of running into them were slim.
As the two girls walked past a dark alley, they noticed something glowing in the darkness. They peered in, the light catching their attention.
Suddenly, like pink snakes, two ropes of hair snatched each of the girls around the neck and pulled them into a dark alley. Ami screeched while trying to fill her lungs with air.
A mechanical laugh was heard. "Ah, the fresh energy of two school girls. I needed a booster."
Minako screamed as she felt herself getting weaker with every passing second. All she saw was that the glowing light belonged to a set of eyes. Both girls stared in horror as the girl's pupils disappeared and she transformed.
From the light, a sailor soldier appeared. Her sailor suit was pitch black and it was all lined in pink. Her bows were pink and her brooch was black. Her long magenta hair was pulled into a ponytail by a black bow. A black moon glowed on her forehead. She grinned evilly.
"Let me introduce myself," she said in a pale. cool voice. She pressed her fingers against her chest. "I am the soldier of the magic on the moon, Sailor MagicStar."
"A sailor soldier!?" Ami gasped. Her energy was being pulled desperately now. How could that be? An evil sailor soldier? From the moon? She gasped as the questions spun desperately in her mind. She was so weak, her energy being zapped from her clearly.
"Hold it!"
Minako spun around to the alley entrance. MagicStar sighed impatiently. Such nuisances today. She irritably turned to the entrance and asked in an irritated voice. "Who's there?"
"How dare you hurt these innocent school girls by taking away their energy!" the taller figure said. The chibi one next to her nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! How dare you!"
"Ai to seigi no, sailor fuku bi shoujo senshi, Sailor Moon…"
"Sailor Chibi Moon!"
"Tsukini kamatte, oshioto yo!" The two finished in unison. MagicStar sighed in annoyance. She saw the vibrating brooches on the two moon soldiers. She'd keep that in mind for later. She released her two victims and floated high in the air.
"We will meet again Sailor Moon," MagicStar said in her ever so pale voice. "Ja ne!" The girl disappeared in a flash of pink lights emitted from her black brooch. Sailor Chibi Moon jumped into the air.
"Yeah! We won!" she said as she rushed over to Minako and Ami. "You guys all right?"
"Yeah," Ami said weakly. She smiled as she sat up. "Thank you Sailor Moon."
"What about me?"
"And you too Sailor Chibi Moon," Minako said with a laugh.
None of the girls noticed two figures standing in the shadows watching. Just like a year before, they remained hidden in the shadows. And they were very worried.
"Sailor Moon, did you see her?" one of the pair thought aloud. Her voice sounded hurt and frustrated. "Are you wondering now, princess?"
"Shhh," the other whispered, grasping her partner's hand. "The princess didn't see, thank god. But those two girls did. And they're wondering."
The taller one balled her hand into a fist. The princess could not find out about that soldier. There was too much at risk.
"They'll tell her," she said, turning her back. "And they're going to want to know. They will ask questions." The one wearing the dark green sailor suit rested her head on her partner's shoulder.
"We won't answer then," she said. She smiled as they walked out of the dark alley. Buildings loomed on the other side, blocking out the street and traffic.
"Yeah," the blonde said, looking up at the sun and automatically knowing that twilight was near. "It'll be a secret." She wrapped her arm around her partner's waist. Her partner smiled and rested her head on the girl's shoulder.
"A secret, Haruka?" she asked. She grinned mischievously. "We can keep those well." Uranus blushed, her cheeks a rosy color.
"Hmmm," she said and Neptune laughed to herself. She closed her eyes and wished that she could be the sea. The sea, the ocean, she could always hear it. And then she wouldn't have to face whatever was coming. Because when it got here, there'd be no turning back.
"It" was fatal.
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Author's Note: I couldn't resist adding the "fresh energy" part – it kind of makes fun of the dub for adding such cheesy lines to an otherwise great storyline.
No comments from me. Ja ne.