Chapter Eight: A Rude Awakening: The Planets Attacked

Author: StarlightMichi

It was a few weeks after the banquete, and all appeared to be quite normal. The lonely planet had been quiet. There had been no attacks, and very little threat to the Moon Kingdom. Queen Serenity was still cautious, as were the Senshi, but the tension in the air was gradually decreasing until it was simply a small concern--a tingling nag at the back of their minds.

Uranus and Neptune had returned to normal life with one major difference--they couldn't seem to look at each other without some uneasiness. It wasn't uncomfortable between them, just awkward. Neither knew how to react to the other anymore

After the night of the banquete, things had been different. Uranus knew Neptune felt it too, but she was pretty sure that the other woman didn't know what to do about it. Uranus didn't know what to do about it either. On one hand, she wanted to pursue this new feeling, and see what happened between her and Neptune. On the other hand... they had a job to do. A relationship would only complicate things, and potentially endanger them. Feelings--deeper than friends--were dangerous on the battle field.

Heaving a sigh, the taller woman stood and left the main room, crossing the tiled floor and out onto the balcony. It was midday, and the sun cast a light air over the kingdom of the Moon. Uranus stood, peering in to the direction of the lonely planet. She could feel the tingling nag at the back of her mind, and wished it would go away. Do something already, she thought to herself. Uranus wanted this over with.

Far across, on the opposite side of the sun, the dark, dead planet spun lazily in it's artificial orbit. Small groups of dark-clad soldiers marched around the courtyard of the dark building, preparing for something great.

Inside, a tall woman with dark hair bowed before a ebony thrown. Her eyes were down cast, staring at the floor in silent submission. Fingers tapped at the arms of the thrown, and the tall woman chanced a glance upwards. At an unspoken request, she stood and bowed once before standing at her full height.

"My lady," she began, her voice a soft, commanding tone resonant with femininity. "My soldiers are ready. We are prepared to carry out your orders. We won't fail you the way Davida did." Her face one of stern discipling, it was almost unnerving to hear the throwned woman's tinkling laugh.

"My dear, Davida did not fail me. Her defeat was necessary. All defeat serves a purpose. However, fall for her mistake again, and it will be your failure."

The other woman swallowed nervously, bowing her head. "Alright, if you deem them ready, then go. Carry out your plan and we shall see how it works. But be ready...It's only a matter of time before you, as well, will face the Senshi of the Moon Kingdom."

The planet was quiet. The ocean still, and the sky silent as it slept. Night had fallen on Kaiohsei and it's people slept comfortably in their beds. In the palance, the only sound was that of an occasional woman or man, tending to some late night task, or hurrying off to bed.

The stillness of the night was broken by a small flare in the star-studded sky. A silver orb fell to the planet, hitting the water with an unsettling silence. Not even a drop stirred as the silver orb was plunged into it's depths. It sank like a rock, straight to the bottom. When it hit, it didn't move from it's spot, didn't even rock side to side with the under current of the water. No sand stuck to it, and no fish would come near it.

It sat in silence, stillness, emitting a soft silver glow that seemed to suck the light around it in. In silence, it began to shimmer, it flared once more, then shrank away into darkness, disappearing into the endless ocean without anyone the wiser.

Neptune woke, feeling sluggish and uncomfortable. She hadn't slept well--Uranus knew this. The sea-senshi had kept her up all night. Curious, Uranus peered over to watch Neptune as she sat up.

The normally cheerful woman looked tired and stressed. Frowning, Uranus stood and got her a glass of water without even being asked. Neptune thanked her with a smile, but hardly drank any. This was cause for concern. Neptune sighed a little, and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm so tired," she complained, snuggling back into her blankets. "I just want to sleep." Uranus frowned. This was very unlike the aqua-haired woman, and it was staring to worry her.

"Should I get Serenity-sama, or a palace Healer?" she asked, frowning a little. Neptune shook her head, waving her hand at the suggestion.

"For sluggishness? Don't bother them. I just didn't sleep well last night. I'll take it easy today, and go to bed early tonight. I'll be fine tomorrow."

But Neptune wasn't fine the next morning. In face, Uranus swore up and down that she was worse than the previous day. Neptune didn't even try to sit up, but just laid in her bed, fighting to stay awake. When the sea-senshi was finally too tired and sluggish to tell her no, Uranus fetched Serenity and the Healer, very concerned.

After a thorough examination, the Healer looked towards Serenity and Uranus with a confused look. Leaving the room so that Neptune could sleep, he spoke to them about her condition.

"I can't find anything wrong." Uranus frowned, a bit upset as it was, this didn't help.

"What do you mean you can't find anything wrong?? Obviously something's not right with her! Shes--" but she was cut off by the Healer's scowl.

"I said I couldn't find anything wrong. All I see when I examine her is sever exhaustion. She appears as one would appear after strenuous activity for days. I can't explain it."

Uranus paced, tense and very unhappy with this news. Serenity politely thanked the Healer, and sent him on his way.

"She'll be fine," she said to Uranus, casting soft eyes upon the distressed soldier. "Just let her rest and I'm sure she'll be OK in a few days."

Uranus' jaw tightened. This was not the news she had wanted to hear. "We have to do something," she said, her voice tight and forced. "Something's wrong with her. Something serious!"

"What do you want us to do?" Serenity asked calmly, watching the other woman with kind eyes that were beginning to anger Uranus.

"Something! Anything! Make her better. Maybe.. maybe something's wrong on Kaiohsei..."

Serenity frowned, unnerved. The pair left, Serenity taking Uranus into her chambers where a small table of gold lay to the side. Atop the table sat a mirror, polished silver that shone back with almost a light of its own. Peering into it, Uranus was surprised that she couldn't see her own reflection, but was actually looking down into the garden. The Princess was there, and it appeared she was meeting her Prince.

Serenity said something softly, and the image clouded over. "It's an easy way to see across vast distances," she explained to Uranus.

"But... you sent us to see the planet... why didn't you just use this?"

Serenity smiled a bit mischievously. "It doesn't work that way. But.. here." She leaned towards the mirror, and blew across it gently. "Kaiohsei," she spoke, and the mirror shimmered light water. Slowly, the image of a gilded hallway shimmered into view. As they watched, a tall man in blue entered the room, muttering something under his breath.

Startled, Uranus watched as the man turned and seemed to bow to them. "My Lady," he said towards them. Serenity inclined her head. "Lord," she said in greeting. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was concerned about the affairs of your planet. Is Kaiohsei well?"

The blue clad man nodded, and confirmed that all was seemingly well with Kaiohsei. The only suspicious activity lately was that a large pod of dolphins had suddenly left their territory, and headed far to the south. No one could figure out why, but it was nothing to be worried about--dolphins could be fickle.

Serenity thanked him for his time, and turned to Uranus. "Kaiohsei is fine. Neptune will get better. Please try to calm down."

Uranus had taken Serenity's words to heart. The confirmation that Kaiohsei was OK didn't help her much, though. The soldier of the skies spent long hours next to Neptune's bed, just watching the senshi sleep.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked softly, concern deep in her gaze. Neptune just slept, and Uranus was left with silence, and long hours to think.

Another two days passed, and Neptune didn't get better. Uranus swore she got worse, but no one could really tell. It was Uranus who noticed that the sea-senshi didn't even move in her sleep any more.

Forced to the dining cavern by Pluto and Mars, Uranus sat sullenly, only poking at her food. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and she didn't say a word to either woman.

Mars frowned, peering intently at Uranus. She was thinking hard, but didn't say a word. After the small lunch, Pluto left Mars and Uranus alone together. The raven-haired senshi reached out and touched Uranus' arm gently.

"I believe you," she said quietly, her stare intent and serious. It wasn't a comforting gesture, Uranus realized. Attentive, Uranus turned towards Mars, and waited.

"Something is seriously wrong, not only with Neptune, but with Kaiohsei. I know what Serenity said, but it's not right. I feel something wrong. When I'm near your door, I feel it. When I'm near you, I feel it." This made the red senshi smile a bit, but it was quickly gone. "Something's happening on Kaiohsei. If you want to go, I can convinced Mercury, Jupiter and Venus to come. The five of us can teleport and find out." She paused. "If you want too."

Uranus' agreement was instantanious. The two soldiers worked out the details and agreed to meet in the garden that night, while the rest of the palace slept.

Kaiohsei's ocean was black in the night. It looked nothing like the bright blue vision Uranus had seen her first visit to the planet. She had met Neptune for the first time. The thought made her jaw tighten, and she clenched her hands tight.

"Ouch!" squeaked Venus, wincing. "That's too tight," she complained, her hand throbbing in Uranus' tight grip. The five senshi floated gently above the sea, just staring at it.

"What do we do now?" Jupiter asked, slight annoyance on her face. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to come--she had. But looking down at the vast ocean, she just couldn't help but cringe at the thought of searching the entire thing for something they didn't even know was there or not. Or what size, or color, or anything. It was daunting.

"Serenity-sama said that all was well on Kaoihsei, right?" Mercury asked tentativly, fearful of Uranus' wrath.

Sighing in annoyance, the blonde nodded her head. "Yes, for the last time! The man in blue said that everything was just find and dandy except for some stupid dolphins changing territory."

Mercury frowned. "You didn't tell me that before..." she started, but shut up at Uranus' glare. "I just mean... if there's something wrong here, we ought to check out anything unusual, even if it's as silly as dolphins. At least it's something."

Agreeing, the group floated along until they reached the area the dolphins had once occupied. Thanks to Mercury's forethought of getting maps of Kaiohsei's ocean, it wasn't hard to find the old territory.

Mars jerked, pulling Jupiter's arm hard. "Watch it!" the green girl complained, frowning. Looking at Mars, though, she quickly shut up.

"What is it?" Venus asked, looking anxious.

"Something's down there. I don't know what, but there's no life down there. And there should be, it's thousands of feet to the bottom, there should be at least one fish..." This worried Mars, and Uranus.

"Can we go in?" Uranus asked, eyeing the ocean axiously. Mercury gawked. "Through thousands of feet, possibly miles, of water! You'd drown, or worse, you'd be crushed!" Uranus frowned, not liking that answer.

"Then what do we do about it?" she muttered in discontent. They were wasting time! Neptune might be getting worse, she might be... dieing. Swallowing her fear, and tighting her jaw, Uranus was resolved.

"We're going down there, somehow. Think of a way, or I'll jump in."

An hour later and the senshi were ready. Mercury hovered over the area that Mars was directing them at. She stood with her hands down, palm towards the water, taking deep breaths. Jupiter hovered next to her, her hands around the blue-senshi's waist for moral, and physical, support.

"We have one shot at this, really," she said again, eyeing them. "I've never done anything like this before, I don't know how long I can do this... ifI can do this."

Uranus' jaw as tight. "You can, you will, we will," she said in a monotone voice that said she'd been repeating it for some time. She floated near Venus, while Mars stood with Mercury, her eyes shut, a concentrating look on her face.

"I think I've got it..." she said, wearily as she tired to pinpoin the exact location of... whatever it was they were looking for.

"On three," she said, not looking at them. "One... Two... Three!"

In an instant, Uranus and Venus dived. Instead of crashing into the water, though, at the moment they would have reached the Ocean, it opened up before them. Mercury forced all her power downwards, forcing the water's to seperate and allow the two women to pass through.

Venus and Uranus dropped light rocks, increasing inspead. The ocean kept receding infront of them, attempting to keep up with their spead. Foam sprayed their faces.

"NOW!" Mars shouted. Venus turned and faced Jupiter, her hair flying pass her face. "Vensu, love me CHAIN!" The golden hearts flew past her arm, flying into the air to wrap securely around the senshi of lightning. Grabbing the other end, Venus reached for Uranus with her other hand, creating a link. They jerked violently as the Chain halted their fall.

Venus cried out in pain, tears coming to her eyes. Uranus was more worried about below them. They'd reached the ocean floor, and she knew she only had a few moments to find what she was looking for before Mercury would lose her strength, and tons of water would crush the pair of them.

Squinting, she saw something vastly different than the fine grained sand, shells, and rocks of the ocean floor. Reaching forwards, she wrapped her fingers around the small orb, holding it in the palm of her hand.

"Take us up!" she cried. With a jerk, the were pulled up. Water rushed up behind them, faster than it had descended. "Mercury!" Venus cried as her feet were submerged.

"I'm trying!" the water girl cried back, her body quivering with the effort of holding the ocean apart. It was too strong for the girl, and in a moment, the gap closed. Waves crashed violently together as the ocean became one once more. waves roiled, soaking the hovering senshi until the waters were calm once more.

Silence followed as the pair stared at where the opening had been. Venus' chain strained as Jupiter held it, a glowing gold chain of hearts that descended into the ocean, disappearing. Jupiter strained, still pulling the chain upwards. Mars and Mercury didn't dare speak.

A second later, and the surface was broken, Venus and Uranus gasping for breath.

Back at the palace, Uranus and Venus sat wrapped up tight in blankets, hair still wet. Jupiter sat with Mars, watching Mercury. The blue-haired woman was studying the orb intently, turning it about in her hand and looking over every inch.

"Are you sure this is it?" she asked Mars, frowning.

"Yes. As soon as Uranus took it from the ocean, the water turned normal. That is... fish began to swim there."

Nodding her head, Mercury sat the orb down. "I'll need to run some tests, but it seems to be the cause." Looking up, Mercury smiled softly at Uranus. "Neptune should be OK now. Maybe you should check on her?"

Uranus nodded, standing. She returned the blanket and walked through the halls, shiveringly slightly. The room was bright when she entered. Confused, Uranus looked around. Neptune wasn't in her bed.

"Where were you?" came the angry voice from the balcony. Turning, Neptune strode in, worry and annoyance on her face. "Where have you been? I couldn't find you anywhere... I was worried!"

Her complains were cut off as Uranus grabbed her, holding her fiercly as she burried her nose in the womans soft waves. Neptune was silent. After a moment, she wrapped her arms around Uranus and snuggled against her.

The End of Chapter Eight

A.N. Ok, I know, this has been a long time coming. Please excuse any inconsistancies. I lost all of my chapters to a virus, so I lost all the notes I had. Any ways, if there is anything you see that needs to be fixed, lemme know!