Title: First Knight
Pairing: Haruka and Michiru
Rating: PG-13
Once again my apologies for the delay between updates. I got bogged down with the plot in this, and ended up rewriting much of Chapter 3. I will attempt to write faster, but let's just hope my muses cooperate and stop throwing me plot curveballs I just have to put in the story.
Important Note I've been forced to change the time frame of things, to take into account the much longer life spans my muses insist the Senshi have. So the whole Tristan and Ishtar saga occurred 10,000 years ago, not 1000 years as I've stated in earlier parts.
Haruka. Michiru. Sailor Moon. Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. For full disclaimers see Part 1
And finally some long delayed thank you's for the wonderful feedback, that people were kind enough to leave.
Shalie: Thank you for your kind offer. I might just take you up on it at some stage. This story has me tearing my hair out at times.
gale, Sadge, apl85, Caspy-chan, theSTRANGERwithin, skyking animefreak, yo- yo, Tigonookami, Dark Jinx, Neko, kmb1088, hunter007, Nyushin, Ruka : Thank you all for your kind words. You have no idea how much reviews motivate me to write!
Ask me how i'm driving: Hmm I haven't considered an Ami/Mako romance, but who knows. The only thing that worries me is that I don't know how good I would be writing their characters, since I tended not to pay much attention to the Inner Senshi while watching the S series. But we will see. I rather like them as a couple myself.
Prince of the Whipped Hentais: Your review made my day. I do hope you are writing and I look forward to seeing what you've come up with.
Riva van Dyk: I got this Chapter out under the 2 year mark! :P Go me! Thank you for reading my stories. I'm glad you enjoy them
And now on with the story.
Part 3
"Last chance to reconsider".
Haruka took one last look at the reflection in the mirror. Determined green eyes stared back at her. "Just do it Llauron".
"All right". The figure standing behind Haruka sighed softly, before gently grasping the strands of long blonde hair in front of him. A few snips later and it was done.
"Say hello to Prince Haruka", Llauron said solemnly as he gently turned his twin sister towards the mirror. "I'm sure he's going to make a great Uranus Knight"
Haruka gave a startled gasp as she took in her new reflection. Gone was the Princess of Uranus. In her place sat a handsome blonde haired boy, eyes wide with surprise. "Yes!" She leapt up and flung her arms around the frail boy standing beside her. "Llauron you're a genius! We may actually stand a chance of pulling this off".
"Well the probability of success is much higher now that your hair's shorter." Llauron gently disengaged himself from Haruka's enthusiastic embrace and stepped back, critically surveying his new 'brother'. "I must say you make a better boy that I do". He looked depreciatingly from himself, back to his sister. The differences between the two of them were startling, almost like night and day. While Haruka had the lithe strongly built frame of an athlete, Llauron was thin and frail. Even his wispy blonde hair looked a faded echo in comparison to Haruka's golden locks.
Llauron rubbed his face, still not entirely comfortable with the crazy scheme his sister had come up with. It had been an easy enough task to break into the computer system and change the details on their confirmation forms. And true to Haruka's predictions, their father hadn't even glanced at the altered confirmation forms before forwarding them on. The castle servants were the only ones to turn out too see the twins off in the morning as they boarded the spaceliner Orion, which would carry them to the Moon. The Orion was a commercial passenger ship and the twins were just another of the 1000 or so passengers on board, which granted them the anonymity they needed to pull of Haruka's transformation from girl to boy. In a few hours time they would arrive at the lunar spaceport where they would go their separate ways. Llauron would stay on at the Crystal Palace, where he would attend the prestigious Lunar University and study to be a healer, while Haruka would catch a shuttle to the planet Earth where she would start her training as a page.
"Are you really sure about this?" Llauron asked his twin again. "You don't have to go to Earth you know. We could leave the records altered so that they think we're both boys. Then you wouldn't have to do Senshi training".
Haruka looked at her brother and smiled. "Don't you get it Llaur? Going to Earth to be a Knight is what I want. Plus it would be too dangerous for me to be around all those magic wielders on the Moon, especially Queen Serenity. It would only be a matter of time before one of them sees through my disguise and then where would we be? At least on Earth, because of the Flawed Crystal, magic doesn't work properly so I will only have to worry about people's normal senses."
Llauron's shoulders slumped. He'd almost forgotten about magic. Since Uranus didn't have an active Senshi, magic use there was limited to just innate talents like increased speed and agility. But this would not be the case on the Moon. There, magic use would be part of everyday life; Jovians using their power over plants to create lush gardens; Mercurians using their ability to freeze things to make superconductors out of the most impossible materials, creating new and amazing technology; Venusians using their empathic abilities to hold large crowds in their thrall as they performed; Martians using fire to get glimpses of the true nature of things. The Senshi and their daughters would manifest the pure essence of these talents. And then there was the most powerful magic user of all, Queen Serenity. She wielded the Ginzuishou, the most powerful artefact in the Silver Alliance. It was said that when she looked at a person, she could see into their very soul. Llauron knew that Haruka was right. It would be too risky for her to stay on the Moon disguised as a boy.
The Earth was really the best option. There, because of the presence of the Flawed Crystal, no magic worked. Every planet in the solar system had a living Crystal Soul at its heart. It was this Crystal that the Senshi got their powers from. Each Royal Family was bonded to their respective planet's Crystal Soul, with the Transformation Wands acting as a Key to unlock their Planetary Powers. The Earth Crystal however was flawed. This had occurred when the First and only Senshi of Earth was possessed by a Daimon, transforming her into Mistress 9, an alien entity. Mistress 9 transformed the Earth Crystal into a portal to the Daimonic Realm, in order to release the Daimonic Hoard and their leader Pharaoh 90 upon the Silver Alliance.
Queen Serenity, unaware of the full extent of the threat, sent the young, newly awakened senshi pair of Tristan Tenoh and Ishtar Kaioh, Uranus and Neptune respectively, to deal with the problem. The two Outer Senshi ended up in a desperate battle at the heart of the Earth itself. Although young and inexperienced, the pair fought bravely, but soon found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of daimons that were pouring through the portal.On the brink of defeat, Uranus and Neptune attempted to combine the power of their Talismans, the Sword and Mirror, in a last desperate effort to destroy the portal. Unknown to them, another Senshi was also present; the Time Guardian, Pluto, the bearer of the third and final Talisman, the Orb. When Uranus and Neptune merged their Talismans, it created a resonant feedback loop and drew out the Orb. All three Talismans combined, resulting in a colossal shockwave of power, which spread out from Earth at the speed of light. When the shockwave reached Saturn, it awakened an ancient and terrible power, transforming the planet's young seven year old Heir, Hotaru, into the Messiah of Silence. For the first time in the long history of the Silver Alliance, the full power of Sailor Saturn was invoked. Saturn unleashed her terrible attack, sacrificing herself, and bringing down the Silence, collapsing the portal to the Daimonic Realm, with her and Mistress 9 still in it. The Silver Alliance was saved, but the price of victory was terrible.
For not only was the young Princess of Saturn dead, but the Earth Crystal itself was warped by the event, whether by the nothingness of the Silence or exposure to the Daemonic Realm, nobody knew for certain. The magic it now contained was wild and no one could bond to it and stay sane. The wild magic warped people and things, creating monsters that fed on energy. Queen Serenity was forced to use the Ginzuishou to seal it away, isolating the Earth's Crystal Soul in a shield that prevented its power from escaping, but at a terrible cost for the people of Earth; the loss of magic. To ensure the Earth Crystal never bonded anyone again, Serenity placed a curse on the Royal Line of Earth, the Chiba Family, that ensured only male heirs were born. She also decreed that the Chiba's were forbidden to leave Earth.
The young teenage Senshi of Uranus, Tristan Tenoh was haunted by her decision to combine the Talismans, and blamed herself for the death of Hotaru. The Senshi of Neptune, Ishtar Kaioh wasn't in much better shape, as she was forced to watch the woman, who was both her best friend and the love of her life, tear herself apart. Worried for her two young charges, Queen Serenity took the unprecedented step of sending both young women to the safest planet in the Universe, that of her old friend Galaxia, the most powerful Senshi in existence. There, she reasoned, Tristan and Ishtar would be safe and would have all the time they needed in order to recover from their ordeal. She was right. Tristan and Ishtar used their time with Galaxia, free from the pressures of both their Senshi duties and their Families, to not only heal, but more importantly to explore their fledgling relationship, strengthening and forging it into an unbreakable bond. When the soulbound pair returned to the Silver Alliance, they were startled by the changes that had occurred in their absence.
The Queen of Saturn, Phoebe Tomoe, grief stricken with the loss of her daughter, had not been satisfied with the steps Serenity had taken on Earth. She blamed the people of Earth for the death of her child. Using the volatile mix of fear and ignorance that followed the incident, she managed to convince the other Ruling Families that any one born on Earth was now tainted by the Flawed Crystal, and therefore a possible danger to the Silver Alliance. Queen Serenity, distracted by the cleanup efforts on Earth and her own guilt for sending the young and inexperienced Uranus and Neptune into a battle they weren't ready for, was not present to diffuse the situation. Phoebe's concerted campaign resulted in a unanimous vote of the Eight Ruling Houses, to eject Earth and its Royal Family from the Silver Alliance. The Ruling Council's vote was binding and Queen Serenity was forced to remove the Earth from the Silver Alliance. Humans were now the outcasts.
The only redeeming factor for Earth was the presence of the Ordeal Chamber, in Bara City, the Capital of Earth. Its powers were said to be beyond magic, beyond even Time itself. For millennia, the male heirs of the Silver Alliance entered its doors and came out as either Knights of the realm, or gibbering insane wrecks, who had to be committed for their own safety. The removal of Earth from the Silver Alliance had no effect on the location of the Ordeal Chamber. Queen Serenity was the only one who had the power to move it, and she was not inclined to do so. The Ruling Families were therefore forced to send their sons to Earth, resulting in the development of an uneasy truce. While no Human was allowed to leave Earth, members of the Silver Alliance were free to come and go as they pleased. The Chiba Family still held on to some semblance of power, as visiting Silver Alliance Members were forced to acknowledge their right of Sovereignty on Earth.
Ten thousand years later, not much had changed, except for a slightly more relaxed attitude to Humans. People were no longer quiet so quick to believe that every Human was a daimon in disguise. Instead the attitude was more of pity. For the Flawed Earth Crystal and its unfortunate people. Llauron though, was glad for the lack of magic on Earth. It would allow his sister to escape detection. But he still couldn't help worrying about things. Specifically the Ordeal Chamber and what it might do to Haruka because she was a girl.
A gentle hand squeezed his shoulder "You're worried about the Ordeal aren't you?"
Llauron nodded wordlessly.
"You know I won't be able to enter the Chamber till my eighteenth birthday. I still have three years of being a page, then another four of being a squire to get through first. That's seven whole years to think about it." A mischievous grin crossed Haruka's face. "And right now I have other things on my mind. Or rather stomach." She held up a menu and raised her eyebrows in challenge.
Llauron rolled his eyes at his twin's rather obvious attempt to change the subject, but went along with it anyway. He met her gaze, an equally sly smirk spreading across his features.
"Room service!" They both yelled in unison and dived for the com.
Several hours and several dessert helpings later, the dry computer voice informed the twins that they were in Lunar orbit and would be touching down on the surface in five minutes. They quickly gathered their belongings and made themselves presentable. There was a soft thud as the ship landed, and the computer politely suggested that they proceed to the nearest airlock for disembarkation at their convenience.
"Well we're here", Haruka took a deep breath and twitched her shoulders, trying to get the backpack she was carrying to sit more comfortably. They had agreed that splitting up before they left ship was their best option. The fewer people that saw them together on the Moon, the better.
Llauron reached out and straightened her collar. "Try to stay out of trouble. If we get caught, there will be Hell to pay."
"We're not going to get caught dear brother". Haruka clasped his shoulders in a warm hug. "You need to stop worrying so much about everything. This is your dream remember. Loosen up. Try and have some fun. Well as much fun as you can have, with a bunch of boring old books."
"Well at least one of us has to do the worrying. I'm just making up for your total lack of common sense", Llauron's answering hug took the sting out of his words. He released his twin and stepped back, a more serious expression on his face. "Haruka make sure you watch you back", he said earnestly. "There are plenty of tests coming up".
"Don't worry Llaur, I can handle whatever they throw at me", Haruka pronounced arrogantly, her trademark cocky smile plastered on her face.
Llauron rolled his eyes at her but couldn't help smiling back. He knew that they were brave words, almost foolhardy, but something about his sister's confident arrogance made him feel better. "So we really going to do this then". He nodded towards the room door.
Haruka's smile lost its playful arrogance for a brief moment. "Yes we are", she said quietly but firmly. Two pairs of identical green eyes met for the final time. Both twins knew that the next time they saw each other things would be very different. "Take care brother".
"You too, 'brother'", Llauron replied.
Haruka froze for a second at hearing the unfamiliar form of address. Then she squared her shoulders and marched determinedly to the room door, which swished open in front of her. There was a steady stream of people hurrying along the corridor outside, eager to get to the airlock and the outside world. With a final jaunty wave she stepped forward and was immediately swept away into the throng of people. After a brief moment of hesitation to make one final prayer to whatever Gods were listening, Llauron followed her into the unknown.
TBC
Okay I have to admit being rather nervous about this chapter. Mainly because I had a great deal of history that needed to be explained, and I don't think if I've fitted it seamlessly into the story. It feels more like I've force fed the facts to you my unfortunate captive audience. I'm not entirely happy with it and will probably end up tinkering with stuff, but for now I will just put it up as it is. The next part, which is about three quarters done, actually has Haruka and Michiru meeting...well 'hopefully' anyway. Let's hope I don't have too change things. -; Thank you for reading and as always, feedback will be much appreciated.