The Story of the Kin-Iro Kingdom! Hoku's Grand Entrance

"He's doing fine," Ami assured Peiti with a smile, laying Sesshou's arm back on the covers. "I think he's just exhausted."

"See? I told you he'd be alright," Jirian said, nudging her friend a little. Peiti smiled back but it was very slight. For the hundredth time since they had reached Ami's high-rise apartment, the brunette reached up, touching the broken pendant around her neck. The other half was tucked safely in her pocket.

"I can have my mom look over him if you'd like," Ami offered kindly, seeing the other girl's lingering distraught look.

"No, no that's alright. I trust you, Ami." Usagi, the only other Senshi present at the moment, laid a hand on Peiti's shoulder, offering what comfort she could.

"Hello?" The four girls' heads turned as they heard voices in the front entrance. A moment later, Minako, Mako-chan, and Rei appeared, the four guardian animals in tow. "There you guys are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Minako cried, dashing over to them.

"Sorry, guys. I forgot to call," Usagi said rather sheepishly.

"How did you get Sesshou back? Is Nan dead?" Mako-chan asked. In one voice, Ami, Jirian, and Usagi shushed her, shooting glances to Peiti who had bowed her head. "What? What's wrong?" Jirian stood and gestured the group into a far corner. In a low whisper, she told them what had happened and who Nan had really been. When they returned, their faces were solemn and they all offered their condolences to the American, who accepted them with a nod.

"It's called 'transmigration,'" Puck spoke up, sitting on Jirian's knee. They all looked at him. "Peiti and you, Jirian, were somehow connected to this Kin-Iro kingdom that Magasasu is from." Jirian seized a nearby pillow and slammed it over her pet, face furious.

"Don't you know when to keep your mouth shut, you stupid animal?!" she ranted, hitting him with the pillow again and sending him flying.

"Jirian, it's alright," Peiti said, smiling at her friend, a more natural smile, though it was far from her usual one. "What did you guys find out? Anything?"

"Some," Artemis said. "It seems this Magasasu character was the ruler of the ill-fated Kin-Iro, or Golden, Kingdom. It actually existed about the same time as the Moon Kingdom of the past." Usagi blinked.

"Really?"

"Yes. It was actually in harmony with the Moon Kingdom for many many years."

"Then...what happened?" Jirian asked softly.

"As always, Magasasu sought ways to expand his kingdom and make it more powerful."

"He tried to take the Silver Crystal," Usagi finished in a soft voice. Artemis nodded.

"Exactly. He and his four generals, Nishi, Higashi, Nan, and Hoku, rose up against the Moon Kingdom. They were defeated and driven back to their own kingdom. But the people of the Moon were not satisfied and destroyed the entire Kin-Iro Kingdom, slaying everyone and everything in it." Everyone's mouths dropped.

"E-everyone?" Rei whispered. Again, Artemis nodded.

"Everyone. Even the ones not directly involved in the attack. Magasasu himself was brought back to the Moon Kingdom and executed."

"I can't believe Queen Serenity would allow something like that," Usagi said.

"It was done by the people, not by the Queen. She rebuked the ones responsible and punished them accordingly, but it was all done too late. By the time she found out what they had done, the Kin-Iro Kingdom was no more," Luna replied.

"But if Magasasu was executed, why is he here?" Jirian asked.

"It seems Magasasu's hatred and lust for revenge on the Moon Kingdom was so strong, his spirit was able to survive."

"Possession," Peiti said suddenly. They all gave her a strange look. "That's how he was able to live. He possesses other people and uses their bodies. I bet the body he's in now was stolen."

"Most likely," Elara said. "And, no doubt bodies were stolen for the generals as well."

"So...if Nan was Peiti's father...what does that make me?" Jirian asked in a soft voice.

"We aren't sure. It could pretty much be anyone," Puck said, slowly inching forward. She smacked him with the pillow again. "What was that for?!"

"Just because. So, you're saying that I could even be Magasasu's daughter or something like that?"

"In theory," Artemis said, "yes."

"Damnit!" The woman wrinkled her nose.

The other girls laughed a little. "Oh, it isn't too bad!" Peiti nudged her friend. "You could have been just a regular person for all we know!" Jirian shoved her.

"I doubt it! I'm much more noble than you!" The girls began to argue good-naturedly until Ami reminded them that they needed to let Sesshou rest.

(Cut)

The seven scouts sat in the Crown Fruits Parlor, sipping at their drinks and talking. "Do you really think that Magasasu could get rid of us?" asked Minako. The others nodded.

"Yes, he's very powerful...and very vengeance oriented..." Peiti sighed. "I almost wish I hadn't gotten my memories back." Usagi patted her shoulder.

"It's okay. I know just the think that'll cheer you up! Video games!"

"That's your answer to everything, Usagi," Ami said placidly with a small smile.

"Just like yours in studying, ne?" Mako-chan added slyly, causing the blue-haired woman to blush.

"Video games are perfect," Peiti said with a laugh. "Nice and distracting."

"Then I challenge you to a race," Jirian declared.

"I don't think so. I know better than to race YOU." Everyone laughed.

Rei suddenly stopped, mid-laugh, her head whipping towards the very large window they sat in front of. "Something wrong?" Jirian asked.

"Something isn't right," the purple-haired girl murmured under her breath. "I feel something." Instantly, the good mood vanished and they all turned towards the window as well, straining their eyes to see something—ANYTHING. "Hoku!" Rei leapt to her feet and ran out the door, closely pursued by the others.

The woman screeched to a halt as they rounded a corner and the other six girls plowed into her, resulting in a seven-girl pile-up and for several moments, there was utter chaos as they all tried to sort themselves out.

"Get off, Mako-chan! You're heavy!" Usagi cried.

"You aren't so light yourself!" Jirian replied from under the other blonde, wriggling away from the struggling group. It took her a moment to realize that her clothes where wet through. "What the...?" She looked down at the ground and let out a small cry. It was covered in snow!

"Snow!" Peiti struggled to her feet, shaking loose from under Minako.

"You girls are much more graceful as Senshi." Everyone looked up to see Hoku floating above them, arms crossed and looking amused. They instantly stood, facing him with determined looks.

"You won't look so smug after we've kicked your butt into the next millennium, Hoku," Mako-chan declared, stepping forward, henshin pin in hand.

"I'd like to see you brats try. But you'll have to get through HER before you get to me." Hoku pointed to a pile of ice that the girls suddenly realized WASN'T just a pile of ice. It turned and snarled at them through pointed teeth, aiming a hand made of ice at them. A spray of pointed icicles flew at them and they just managed to dodge in time.

"MOON ETERNAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"MERCURY CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"MARS CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"VENUS CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"CALLISTO CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"OBERON CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!"

"You're wasting your time, Senshi!" Hoku called from his safe vantage point. "Quietly hand over the Crystal and maybe I'll let you live."

"You generals all sound alike and you're all wasting your time!" Mars cried. "MARS FLAME SNIPER!" A wall of ice sprang up around the laughing general and the fire had little effect on it.

"I told you: worry about her first." A second later, Mars was sprayed with ice and she screamed, falling back, half of her body frozen.

"Mars!" Venus turned to the youma, eyes flashing. "NOW you're in trouble! VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!" The whip lashed out, striking the flying icicles from the air.

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!" The monster let out a shriek, falling back a few paces, clawing at the whirling leaves. "Now, Sailor Moon!"

"Right! STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!" There was a flash of pink light and a high-pitched scream. When the light faded, a woman was laying on the ground, unconscious, a smoking crystal beside her hand.

"Damn you all!" Hoku roared as the snow around them disappeared, as did the ice encasing the right half of Mars. Oberon and Callisto helped her up, supporting her. "I should know by now that you aren't to be underestimated."

"You've got that right!" Callisto said, scowling. The general turned to her, a smirk on his face.

"You should know...my lord doesn't want you anymore. That means not even YOU are safe from my wrath, woman." He threw his hand outward and a freezing wind, mixed with a blinding snow struck them. "I'll freeze you all and simply take the crystal from your frozen corpses!" they heard him yell over the howling gusts.

"That's what you think!" Oberon said, struggling forward, her sword held out in front of her. "You're forgetting wind and I get along! OBERON HAILING WIND!" A second wind joined the first, pushing against it this time and giving the other Senshi some relief from the freezing temperature. Oberon was holding her sword up in front of her face, teeth gritted as she tried to push Hoku's attack back. "Callisto...I could really use a little help here!" she called.

"No problem! CALLISTO EMERALD FURY!" The combined attacks were more than enough to knock Hoku out of the air and stop his blizzard. Quickly, before he could get up from the flat of his back, Oberon ran forward, pressing the tip of her sword to the man's throat.

"Move and I cut your head off," she said in a calm voice. Hoku bared his teeth at her.

"You don't have the guts."

"After what you did to my best friend, I have the guts to do a lot more." She pressed the sharp point in deeper, drawing a tiny bead of blood.

"Don't. We might be able to get information from him," Mercury said as the six other Senshi surrounded the general.

"You aren't getting anything from me," Hoku snarled back. His gaze turned to Oberon and, for a long moment, the two just stared at one another. Oberon's mouth dropped open a little and her eyes widened slightly in an expression none of them had ever seen before. And, what was more surprising, Hoku's expression nearly matched her own.

"Oberon?" Mars said, giving the woman a strange look. She didn't even register that she'd heard her. She just continued to stare at Hoku with that strange expression, her grip on the sword loosening slightly.

As soon as Hoku saw this, he kicked it out of her hand and leapt into the air with a smug look. "Don't think this is over, Senshi. I have other plans for you." A wet snow slapped them in the face and when it cleared, Hoku was gone.

"What was that all about?" Venus asked, wiping the moisture off of her face with a disgusted look. Oberon shook her head a little, touching her temple.

"I'm not sure. When I looked at him...I remembered something. But it's gone now." She shook her head again and went to pick up her sword.

"Bastard," Jupiter muttered, staring at the spot he had been. "Got away clean."

"Not completely." Mercury rose from the place where she had been kneeling to check on the formerly-possessed woman.

"What do you mean?" Sailor Moon asked. Mercury smiled a little and held something up in her hand.

"He forgot this."

It was the smoky crystal.

(Cut)

"You fool! You forgot one of the crystals!" Hoku shook his head.

"No, my lord, I did not forget it. I intended to leave it there."

"To what purpose?"

"Which ever senshi it is around the most, it will eventually infect. A nice little present for them." Magasasu smiled.

"Yes, very nice, good work, Hoku. And remember, do not hesitate to kill any of the senshi. Even Sailor Calisto."

"Hai, my lord."

(Cut)

Sesshou's eyes slowly opened, his head groggy. What had happened? He noticed someone was sitting beside the bed, holding his hand. Peiti had her head tilted back and her eyes closed as she dozed. He smiled a little. Peiti was here; everything had to be alright.

Then he frowned. Nan had attacked Peiti and him and Peiti had transformed into Sailor Callisto. Why was he here now? Peiti suddenly shifted and yawned, opening her eyes.

"Sesshou! You're awake!" She gave him a big smile which he returned.

"How long have I been out?" Her smile faded.

"Well, Magasasu had you for a few days and it's been three days since you've been back."

"What about Nan?" Her free hand touched the broken pendant she wore around her neck.

"Dead," she said softly. He sat up.

"Peiti...what's wrong?" She shook her head.

"I—" Before she could finish, Ami entered.

"Oh, Sesshou, you're awake!" She smiled, then glanced between the two. "Sorry if I interrupted anything."

"You didn't. Could you explain what happened to him? I need to go home." Peiti stood up and walked to the door. "I'm glad you're okay, Sesshou." Then she was gone.

"Ami-chan, what is going on?" The blue-haired girl sighed.

"Well, I suppose I should start with what happened when you two were taken..."

(Cut)

"It's pretty...in a weird sort of way," Jirian said, holding the crystal up to the light and examining the smoke swirling around inside. "So what do you guys think is inside?"

"We'll have to run some tests," Luna said from her place on Jirian's bed. Puck and Elara curled up beside her nodded in agreement.

"All of the generals and infected people have had one of these crystals inside of them. They must be what Magasasu uses to control his victims," the American said, handing the crystal back to her pet.

"Very possible. But, like I said, we'll have to run the tests just to be sure."

"Have fun." The animals trotted off, the crystal held safely in Elara's mouth. Jirian watched them go before turning to her window and staring out it, a thoughtful expression on her face. She couldn't stop thinking about the battle with Hoku. What had caused her to react in such a way when she had come face-to-face with him? She had this nagging thought in the back of her mind that he was familiar but every time she tried to grab it, it slipped further out of her reach.

Hoku, meanwhile, was watching Jirian through the leafy branches of the nearby tree, a slight smile on his face.

"So, she and that other American are going to have the crystal, eh? Perfect. I'll have them get rid of the other senshi before getting rid of them myself." He'd have to keep an eye on them but to do that, he'd have to don that human disguise he hated so much. "No way to avoid it," he muttered, staring at the American, his brow furrowed a little. Why was she so familiar to him?

With a growl, he shook his head hard. He couldn't afford to fail. He was his lord's last general and the most powerful. He'd have to show that he could accomplish his missions.

No matter what.