A Mithral Dragon in Modern Britain
Prologue: Return of a Friend
The woman looked up from her solitary post on top of the tower as her visitor drew near. "Well, Pluto, what brings you so far into my home?" she asked as she turned to her old friend, speaking in a language long dead save for these two and a few others.
"So formal, Sharanna? What have I done to deserve such from you?" Pluto asked, her voice tinged with a curious warmth and amusement.
Decidedly odd, Sharanna thought to herself as she considered her answer. Aloud, she replied to Pluto's question. "When you have come to visit me before, Pluto, you never did so in either uniform or the human guise you wear to deal with the Senshi."
Pluto nodded, conceding the point. "It is good that you are still so observant, old friend," she stated as she shifted her appearance to that of her native features. The elf that now stood before Sharanna still possessed the flowing, dark green hair and lavender eyes that the Senshi had learned differentiated her from others. "I suspect that you will have need of it," Pluto continued. "Events are transpiring that will soon require your attention."
Sharanna sighed. "You have your duty to attend to Pluto. The Senshi must guard Tokyo, and, to an extent, the world. But I have no place in this time. I have no role to play, now that the occult foes I faced down during what some called the Great Patriotic War are burning in the hells they have earned. I can merely watch and learn what I can of this place," she said mournfully.
Pluto frowned. "I think that there is more you can do than that. I looked through the library before I came up here. If you were simply moping about as you seem to indicate, you would not possess the books you do. Jane's Fighting Ships, Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, a dozen Oxford Companions? Are these the books of one so resigned to her fate?" Pluto asked scathingly, hoping to draw her friend out of the morass of self-pity Sharanna had lately taken up the habit of falling into.
Sharanna glared at her guest. "By what right do you trespass in my Eyrie?" she demanded of the elf.
"By the right of your friendship," Pluto declared. "I am tired of watching you wallow in your grief. Such things have their place, but you are allowing it to consume your life."
"It is my life," the other responded, turning away.
"And yet, you still seek to find a place, despite the stated choice to become a hermit?" Pluto taunted.
"I will do as I please," Sharanna responded, pointedly looking out over the rolling hills of Scotland and into the dark waters of Loch Ness. "And as I see fit," she added.
"I recognize your right to do so. You must of course grieve for the loss of the Silver Millennium, as I did long ago. But you also must move on with your life, and you know this to be true," Pluto replied.
"Yes, so I do," Sharanna agreed after a weighty sigh. "And yes, I have been learning more of this new time. The technologies and sciences of the humans fascinate me, I must admit. They are so inventive, and yet so childlike at times." She shook her head. "Their 'computers' are a particular amusement to me, and an intriguing challenge."
"Such is not the only challenge this time offers," Pluto hinted.
"And…?" Sharanna asked.
"The Return," Pluto stated simply. Sharanna's head whipped around as she gasped in shock.
"Then the old prophesies are true?" she asked, her voice tinged with excitement.
Pluto nodded. "They are. And you are the dragon who will play the part of Emissary."
Sharanna shook her head. "I'm no diplomat. Such a task is better left to Mercury or Neptune."
"They are not dragons, nor do they possess the knowledge of the past required. You can learn more of the future than they of the past in a short time, as already well proven." Pluto kept watching her friend.
Sharanna sighed and looked back over the waters. The moonlight sparkled on the dark waves as the dragon was lost deep in thought. "I will do it, Pluto," she said finally. Pluto smiled behind her friend's back. "But how will I know what to do?" she asked. Getting no answer, she turned. Pluto was gone.
The phone rang, interrupting Ami and Michiru as they talked about the college the former would soon be attending as the roommate of the latter. Ami picked it up off the hook. "Mizuno Residence," she said by way of greeting.
"Ami? It's Haruka. You and Michiru might want to turn the TV on," a deep voice on the other side of the line answered. Ami motioned for Michiru to turn the TV on, then to CNN, and both their jaws dropped at the lead picture. Haruka heard the gasps from the other end of the line. "Yeah, I know. My thoughts exactly," she added. "I think is something the Senshi should deal with," Haruka continued. "I'll get Hotaru and try to find Setsuna if you'll get the others and we'll meet you at Makoto's apartment, okay?" Ami mumbled something into the receiver and Haruka hung up. So did Ami as she continued to watch the pictures from Loch Ness, Scotland. She recovered and started calling the Inner Senshi as fast as she could. They all agreed to meet at Makoto's, and the two Senshi literally ran to their friend's.
On the screen, a shimmering, silver-scaled dragon, over 73 feet in length from nose to the tip of her tail, lay on the bank beside the Loch, conversing with a smaller, indigo-scaled dragon still under the waves in a relaxed manner. A great deal of mist was around them, but not enough to conceal their great forms. The largest of the pair turned to look at the news crews surrounding her, and flicked a wing in annoyance before turning back to her conversation.