Into The Vortex

by Mikazuki

Rated PG-13 - Adult situations, violence and language

Copyright & disclaimer:

As much as it pains me, I do not own Sailormoon nor its characters. SAILOR V, SAILOR MOON & all related material are © 1992 - 2000 NAOKO TAKEUCHI, KODANSHA LTD, TOEI ANIMATION, DiC ENTERTAINMENT, PIONEER ANIMATION & CLOVERWAY. SAILOR MOON, the SAILOR MOON characters & their respective names & likeness are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION. All rights reserved.

This story was written by Mikazuki Naishinnou and is the property of Mikazuki Naishinnou. You may not distribute this story without permission. Published A Sailormoon Romance & Aria's Ink.

Chapter One: Into The Vortex

"Sire, preparations are now complete," a tall blonde man said as he handed over some reports.

"Thank-you Jadeite," the man replies as he took the reports and began to go over them.

"Has Beryl's forces advanced any closer?"

"No, Sire. It's as if she is waiting for someone or something. Her encroachment on Earth is almost complete Sire and all that stands in her way is the Golden Kingdom."

"Unfortunately she is too strong for us to take on alone. That is why I'm going to the Moon for help. Maybe if an alliance with Queen Serenity can be forged then maybe we can stop Beryl from taking over the Earth."

"Sire, do you really think she will help? After all the Moon and Earth Kingdoms are forbidden to have contact with each other..." Kunzite stood and looked out the window as he spoke.

"If she can not help then all will be lost and not only will we all be dead but so will she. After all Beryl will turn her attention towards the Moon once we are gone." The man stood and walked to his friend. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "May Gaia protect us all."

"May Gaia protect your highness on your journey," he replied as he watched his friend and leader pick up some documents from the table. He held in his hand the treaty he hoped Queen Serenity would sign.

"Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite. I leave the kingdom in your hands. Protect it well." The man said as he smiled at his friends and left on his own for the Moon Kingdom.

The four generals of the Golden Kingdom watched as their prince, the last of the Earth's royal family slipped away in the night hoping that Queen Serenity would join them in ridding the world of the evil Beryl.

"Do you think it was wise for us let him go alone?" Zoisite asked his comrades.

"This is what is best. If we all go then the kingdom will be left unprotected. If he doesn't go then the kingdom will fall and all will be lost." Nephrite replied to his friends.

Dressed head to toe in black armor he hurried out of the castle unseen to a mortal's eyes. He had to get to the kingdom on the moon as fast as he could or all would be lost to a woman named Beryl.

She had once been a shepherd girl, or so he was told. A simple peasant whose life was dramatically changed one cold and bitter winter day. He has also heard that she was actually a courtesan and had fallen in love but the man didn't acknowledge her and in her blind fury aligned herself with an evil creature called Metallia. He never knew who the man was but pitied both Beryl and the man.

He hurried to a waiting steed that was to take him to the meeting place where Serenity's guards would be waiting to take him to the moon. He had never met or seen her guards since contact between the Earth and Moon was forbidden. He had heard stories of the women of the moon; beauty so bewitching that one look by a mortal man onto the face of a Lunarian would instantly capture the man's heart.

Queen Serenity's personal guard were not Lunarians, but were said to each possess an unworldly beauty and strength that no Earth human would ever possess and that they were women - beautiful, strong and loyal.

"There he is!" Someone or thing screamed in the darkness of the forest. The moon was full and the night sky was lit but the forest remained dark as a night without the full moon. "Get him!"

He could hear them coming for him. Sounds that were terrible, he had yet to see let alone fight any Beryl's demons but had heard they were horrible monsters. Energy bolts were thrown at him, explosions barely missed him as he raced to the location where the Queen's guards waited for him.

"Not much further!" He thought to himself as he dodged balls of energy that were thrown at him. As he neared the lake where he was to meet the guard a bolt of black lightening on the back hit him. As he fell forward the world around him went pitch black.

"I guess this means it's the end of everything I know," he thought gloomy to himself as he fell into the black vortex and succumbed to the darkness.

The buzz of an alarm clock had been going off for several minutes as the small teenage girl slept in bed dreaming of her Prince Charming.

"Why yes, I'd love to dance with you," she mumbled in her sleep as she rolled over.

"Serena! Would you wake up!" A black cat pounced on the sleeping girl since the alarm had failed to do the job. "You're going to be late for school. AGAIN!" The cat extended its claws. "This is going to hurt you more then me," the cat said as it slashed the girl across the face.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!" She screamed as she fell out of bed. "You didn't have to do that, Luna! I was getting up!" She rubbed her cheek where the cat had scratched her then looked at her hand. "At least you didn't draw blood Luna or I'd have had mom de-claw you for that."

"You wouldn't!" Luna replied take aback at what Serena had said.

"Try me." She picked herself up from the floor, detangling herself from the sheets and blanket.

"What time is it?" She looked for the clock that had fallen to the floor as she fell. "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" Serena stood but quickly found herself on the floor again as she tripped over the blanket. She scrambled to her closet and pulled out her school uniform. Least she didn't have to decide what to wear to school that made getting dressed easier for her.

"Don't forget you have a meeting with the girls this afternoon after school. Don't be late Serena. The girls are getting tired of waiting for you."

"Well I'm the leader and if I'm late, I'm late. Speaking of late...," she said as she hurried to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Luna looked at the young girl who had raced out of the bedroom and down the hall. She shook her head, "Will that girl EVER learn?"

He moaned as he tried to stand up. "Beryl's minions," he thought to himself as he struggled to get up. "I must get to the Senshi. I must get to the Moon." The young man pushed himself up onto his hand and knees, pain etched into his face. He took a deep breath as he struggled to his feet. His head spun, the blackness that he had felt was more comforting then the blinding light that impaired his vision.

He staggered to his feet not noticing that he was no longer amidst trees. He stood in a dirty alleyway filled with cardboard boxes, trashcans and filth. He struggled with his vision for several moments and as he stumbled forward he slammed into a wall. As his vision cleared he noticed for the first time that he was no longer being chased. He leaned against a brick wall, the sounds of the traffic and of the people were deafening. Never had he experienced such noise not even in the largest of villages he had visited.

"Where am I?"

His sight began to clear even more he saw Tokyo for the very first time. A short distance from him he saw cars, trucks, buses and motor bikes. "Demons!" He exclaimed to himself as he pushed himself against the wall. He did not fear fighting them but there were so many surely they would kill him instantly. What good would a dead prince be to his people?

Then he saw the people; men, women and children in costumes unfamiliar to the Prince. Women in short skirts and tight shirts, some in pants and others in traditional Japanese kimonos. Men in business suits or casual wear. People of all sizes - fat, thin, tall and short - looking like regular human beings but in clothing so unfamiliar and some so revealing shocked him.

He continued to watch the demons he saw did nothing to the people who walked along the paths next to the demons. Never had he seen so many people, other then in battle, in one place. Surely these were not warriors? They weren't dressed for battle, some barely dressed to leave their house let alone to fight in a war against Beryl. "They must be slaves," he thought.

Then he noticed his own surroundings a dirty alleyway and the bum sleeping in cardboard boxes. "Poor man," the Prince said as he looked down at the sleeping man. "What has Beryl done to these people?" He looked up and took a step out of the alleyway and saw the buildings the tall skyscrapers, the glass facades, the brick buildings. Where were the huts or the palace? Where were the things of his world? Was he on his world? He stood in a daze wondering if he were dead or on another planet. Was this the Moon Kingdom? Where was the Moon Palace?

He stood there on the edge of the alleyway and looked up. He saw the blue sky of Earth and Sol, the sun burning bright in the sky. He was on Earth but where? Was this the work of Beryl? Was this her magic? He took several more steps and into the crowd. He felt them pushing into him forcing him to move along with them and so he allowed them to carry him but to where? Where was the palace?

"Nooooooo," she shrieked as she looked at her watch. "Miss H is going to KILL me if I'm late AGAIN!" She wailed as she ran as fast as she could. "No detention! No detention!"

She wailed as she ran.

Blonde hair fluttered in the wind as if they were two streamers of gold. The young girl ran as fast as she could but instead of looking up as she should have she was looking at the ground making sure she wouldn't trip over something. Then it happened, again.

"Oh! I am sooooo sorry!" She wailed as she picked herself up from the ground, scrambling to pick up her things.

"Allow me, m'lady," the man replied. His voice filled with warmth and kindness.

"Oh, I sooooo late! I am so sorry. I should have paid attention to where I was going!" She said not looking at the man in front of her.

"May I be of some trouble, m'lady but I fear that I maybe lost," he asked as he handed her satchel.

"I'd love to help but I'm..." She looked up at the man, her jaw dropped. "Not funny, Darien! Geeze, you jerk I'm going to be even more late because of you!" She said as she began to run off.

'Darien' grabbed her by her wrist. "M'lady, my name is not Darien and if you would help me then maybe you will allow me to escort you to your destination. I can explain to whom it is you are late that you were helping me."

"Darien, quit playing games," she scolded him. "Look if you can get me out of trouble with Miss H fine but stop horsing around!"

"Horsing around? I do not understand that term. What do you mean?" He asked, his face clearly showing his confusion.

"Did you hit your head somewhere?" She said as she grabbed Darien's head and pulled him down inspecting his head. "My gosh Darien where did you get this bump? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" "Great, just great, mom is going to KILL me for this," she thought to herself.

"I am fine m'lady..."

"Stop calling me 'm'lady!' Darien you know my name, it's SERENA! S-E-R-E-N-A! I don't know which is worse, you calling me m'lady or calling me Meatball Head."

"Meatball Head?" Endymion said even more puzzled. "Now why on Earth would I want to call you a 'meatball head?'"

"Whatever, just call me Serena, ok. I don't have time for this!" She said as she waved a fist into the air.

"Um, yes," He said as he thought he'd humor the girl in front of him. "Serena. Such a lovely name for such a lovely lady."

"Ok," she said slowly. "That's it. I'm taking you home. Obviously that bump on the head knocked you silly. Well least you're not calling me Meatball Head," she said as she began to drag him down the street towards his apartment complex. "I'm so dead when I get to school!"

"Um, Darien," she started to ask as she held his hand, dragging him down Tokyo's busy streets.

"Serena, my name isn't Darien. It's Endymion."

"Ok, Darien, what ever you say Darien."

"Where are you taking me?"

She stopped and turned to look at him. "You're kidding right? Hmm, maybe I should take you to the hospital instead. Don't you know me? Or is this some kind of sick joke you're playing on me?"

"Now why on Earth would I be joking? My name is Prince Endymion of the Golden Kingdom. Serena, you must help me get to Queen Serenity. It's vital that I see her at once or the world will be destroyed!"

All of the color from Serena's face drained. "M...m...moon Kingdom? Queen... Serenity!" Her eyes went wide as she looked at him. "Come on, let's get to your apartment. You'll need to explain things to me there."

"Come on get in!" She said as she tugged on his arm. "It's perfectly safe. Geeze, you're acting as if you have never ridden in an elevator before!"

Endymion looked at the room in front of him. "Elevator?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, elevator. Get in now!"

Reluctantly Endymion complied.

"There see nothing to be afraid of. Geeze 'Endymion' you sure hit your head hard." She pressed the button to the seventh floor. Several seconds later the elevator lurched to a stop and the doors dinged open. Serena stepped out dragging Endymion behind her. "Come on, we're here. Maybe a shower and some sleep is what you need. You do have your keys with you right?"

Endymion shook his head. "Serena, I do not live here. I have been trying to tell you I am not 'Darien' nor am I from this place."

"Right. Well let's hope that you're like normal folks and stick a spare key some where around your door," she said as she felt around the door's casing. "Ah ha!" She pulled the spare key down and stuck it into the lock. "You're just another normal human after all Mr. Chiba."

Suddenly the door swung open startling Serena who jumped back. "Meatball Head! What are you doing?" Darien yelled in surprise.

"DARIEN? WHAT? But you're... and he's... but you... And I... him... you... ugh..."

She looked at Darien then at Endymion and back at Darien before passing out in a heap at Darien's feet.

To be continued...

Hi folks. Thanks for taking the time to read Into The Vortex (formerly known as Tomorrow Is Now). Please read and review. It's only the simple knowledge that people are reading and either liking or disliking the story do we authors enjoy. If you have any suggestions please feel free to make them in a review.

This is the 4th revision of Into The Vortex. Previous versions have been removed from FFN.