This fanfiction takes place near the end of the Silver Millennium. It does its level best to remain true to the manga, though in some parts, it delves into an alternate universe and drifts from the actual facts. It is a tale of hope and despair, love and hurt, and the need to protect those very dear to you. For information on the otaku senshi appearing in this fanfiction, feel free to visit my website.
It is suggested that viewers be familiar with at least the first five books of the manga. This is roughly the equivalent of the first season of the anime. Familiarity with all seasons up to the fourth season (with the exception of Sailor Moon R) - or the equivalent mangas - would be better.
Phantom Crystal - A Legend of the Silver Millenium
Miscellaneous Warnings - Mild Language
---- Indicates a point of view change, such as between Helios and the Maenads.
-------- Indicates a point of view and a place change, such as switching from someone on Venus to someone on the Earth.
Text Indicates mental (mind to mind) speech.
Serenity looked around. "Jiriki, where's Makoto-chan?"
"Yeah! Where is she?" Minako chimed in.
"She's training." Jiriki answered. She had been stuck - again - with minding the princesses. Not that she minded, much, but she had 'babysat' yesterday. Weren't there others who could do this?
"Training?" Minako cried. "Now? But this is our free time! Why doesn't she have free time now?"
"I should be training." Rei muttered.
Jiriki smiled. "Your parents want you to learn certain things in addition to your regular studies. Rei, as you probably know, your parents would like you to sharpen your mental abilities. Makoto's parents want her to train in the martial arts. To be especially good at them, martial arts requires that you begin learning young. That is why she doesn't have free time right now."
Serenity and Minako looked lost, as if they'd listened to only a fourth of it. Rei and Ami were nodding. "Can we go watch her train?" Serenity asked suddenly. "Cheer her on?"
"Eh? Well, I guess."
The four young princesses cheered and ran out the room immediately, deaf to Jiriki's call. "They're seven. Seven. I've got to remember that." She muttered, stamping down the urge to kick some obedience into them. She sighed as she finally caught up with them. "Will you please stay with me, next time?" Jiriki pleaded.
Ami looked somewhat abashed, but Minako simply said, "You're too slow."
They stood on a side walk that passed by an open area unclaimed by flowers or trees. Makoto and Guardian Tempest stood in the field. Tempest would say something and Makoto would move. Minako sighed after a few minutes of this.
"This is borrring." Minako informed Jiriki.
Jiriki raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose Luna could find something to occupy your time..."
Serenity and Minako shrieked as soon as Jiriki said "Luna." Ami and Rei covered their ears.
"Please, no! No no no no no no no!" Serenity clutched at Jiriki's leg hard enough to bruise.
"Gah!" Jiriki barely stopped herself from knocking the little princess away. That hurt; Spectrus had rapped a very large, painful bruise on it not even a whole day before, and Serenity had latched right onto the damaged portion. "Serenity, please, let go." Jiriki's voice sounded half strangled as she futilely tried to get Serenity to let go - or transfer her to her other leg. Serenity only screamed "No!" louder and clutched tighter.
If she ever gets over being a cry-baby, she's going to be one hell of a fighter. Jiriki couldn't help but admire the young girl's strength even as the pain dulled the rest of her senses.
Makoto had looked around at the first barrage of no's, but Tempest ordered her to keep training. The Guardian had already spotted the trouble - Serenity over-reacting to something Jiriki had said. She waved at the trainee, frowning as she saw Jiriki's face pale.
An enemy attack was the first thing to spring to Tempest's mind. She extended her senses and found nothing. She frowned - then what was Jiriki so upset about? "Makoto, keep practicing, okay?"
"Okay!" The young girl punched at the air again enthusiastically. Tempest strode over to Jiriki and the four young princesses.
"What's wrong?" She asked Jiriki, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Serenity. On. Bruise." Jiriki ground out. Serenity was oblivious, crying.
Tempest snorted, grinning. Jiriki glared at the older woman. "What? It is funny."
"Just get her off."
Tempest's grin deepened, but she knelt down to Serenity's eye level. "Hey there, little odango."
"Don't call me odango! I hate that name!" Serenity yelled at her.
Tempest blinked. "You do? You liked it last Thursday." Serenity stuck her tongue out at her.
"Well, are you going to tell me why? I thought it was a cute name."
Serenity considered this. "Okay! You see, En-"
Tempest held up a hand. "First, let go of Jiriki. You're hurting her."
"I am!" Serenity looked up at the teenager to see Jiriki looking down at her. "I'm sorry."
"It's... okay. Just, please, loosen your grip." Jiriki said slowly.
"Okay." Serenity let go and Jiriki sank to the ground with a sigh of relief. "Gee, Jiriki, I didn't know I could hurt you like that."
Jiriki silently rejoiced as she sat. Serenity had finally let go! "You normally couldn't. You grabbed a bad bruise."
"Ouchie." Minako said nearby. Ami looked sympathetic. Rei looked disdainful.
"Now why don't you like odango anymore?" Jiriki was as curious as Tempest.
"Well, there was a party last week." Serenity scrunched her face up, recalling the event.
"Right, on Friday." Tempest said.
"And everyone was there! Even Haruka and Michiru and Setsuna came!" Minako cried excitedly.
"And Prince Endymon of Earth." Ami added.
"It's my story!" Serenity said, glaring at the others. "Anyway, everyone was there, and there was dancing, and we all had to dance with Endymon - 'cause Spectrus said so."
"To be polite." Rei pointed out.
"Yeah, and he pulled my hair and called me 'odango baka' afterwards!" Serenity wailed.
Jiriki and Tempest exchanged a look. They both knew the young prince and, from past experience, knew he was probably justified in his actions.
"We don't like him now. Because of that." Rei said firmly. The others nodded their agreement.
"And he had seemed so cute before!" Minako added.
"So he's not cute now?"
"No! He's an ugly baka! And he'll be ugly forever!" Minako exclaimed. Both Jiriki and Tempest stared at her.
"I'm the princess of Venus, the planet of love and beauty! If I say something's ugly, then it's ugly! Forever!"
Jiriki couldn't help it. She started to laugh. Minako and Serenity stared at her incredulously.
Jiriki sighed as she watched a much older Serenity dance with Prince Endymon. To judge by the look on the Princess's face, her feelings about him had evidently changed. She glanced around, finding Princess Minako, who had a wistful look on her face as she watched the two dance. Jiriki made her way to her, keeping an eye on Serenity. Tonight was one of her few nights off duty, but Spectrus had been known to quiz her on the Princess's whereabouts and actions.
"Minako." The princess jumped.
"Jiriki! You nearly gave me a heart attack." Minako said, placing a hand over her heart. Jiriki grinned.
"They look good together, don't they?" Jiriki murmured.
"They look perfect." Minako sighed.
"Do you remember, about six years ago, what you said about him?"
"Eh?" Minako frowned. "No, nothing comes to mind."
"You said he was an ugly baka, and would be so forever."
"I did?" Minako was aghast.
"Yes. You four were upset because he had pulled Serenity's hair and called her 'odango baka.'"
"Oh." The Princess was lost in thought for a moment. "You know, I do remember that! And Serenity had latched onto your bad leg because you threatened us with Luna."
"I wasn't threatening. It was just a suggestion."
The two young women looked at each other and giggled.
"I think she likes the name 'odango' again, though." Minako commented. Jiriki smiled. She was happy for the young couple, even if the match was frowned upon. If the Earth and Moon ever became friendly again, the two wouldn't have any more troubles. As it was, these balls were the only places where the two could be together without any hint of secrecy.
"Have you seen anyone that you like, Minako?" Jiriki changed the topic.
Minako blushed, to Jiriki's delight. "Alright, tell me, who is it?"
"I- I- I'm not going to tell you." Minako stammered out hurriedly.
"Oh? You think I'm going to tell the world?" Jiriki raised an eyebrow.
"No! I trust you." Minako corrected. "It's just... I don't know if he's interested." Her voice fell flat and her shoulders slumped. "I mean, they always seem interested at first, and they're always polite about it, but after a while, you can tell they're only interested in my looks and power, not me."
Jiriki stared at the girl. "Even that Alan fellow?"
"Well, he was more discreet and hid it better than most, but..." Minako trailed off. "I just wish there was someone who could look beyond the Princess and be interested in Minako for a change."
"Do their looks have any bearing on that?"
Minako opened her mouth to reply, then thought about the question. "I know that it's selfish of me, but it would be nice if he could be handsome or even gorgeous. I'll settle for good-looking, though." Jiriki stifled a giggle.
Minako frowned at her. "What? I am from Venus - the guys there are all at least good-looking."
Jiriki grinned at her. "Well, you ought to prepare yourself, then. Cause here comes a rather good-looking one, if I do say so myself. And I happen to know that he's decent, polite, and looks beyond a person's appearance," Jiriki paused for emphasis, "and available."
"Oh, you are horrid, Jiriki!" Minako laughed. "I'm not desperate."
"But it looks like he's coming to talk to you."
"Eh?" Minako's eyes widened, her hand flying to her mouth. "I'll be the judge of that! Where is he?"
Minako's eyes followed Jiriki's discrete gesture. "Oh, oh no. You cannot be serious. Kunzite!" Minako's voice squeaked.
"What? He fits all your criteria."
"But - he's from Earth! And -" Jiriki waved her hand, brushing away Minako's arguments.
"Your parents, if they approve, can sanction it. Do you want to wind up with some guy who doesn't care a whit for your mind?"
"No." Minako said slowly.
"Then at least test him out! There aren't that many decent guys who aren't already taken." Jiriki half-glared at her.
Minako looked at the hem of her dress. "But we haven't even been properly introduced." She murmured, a blush spreading over her cheeks.
Jiriki stared at her, nonplussed. "That hasn't stopped you before!" Then her mind started working again. "Wait a minute - you like him, don't you?"
"Jiriki!" Minako hissed, grabbing her arm. "Don't you dare tell-"
"I won't, I won't!" Jiriki smiled. "So, you like him - he's available, possibly interested in you - what's holding you back?"
Minako stared at her, trying to make her body keep breathing. "I... I don't know." Jiriki stared back at her for long moment.
"Don't worry. I won't leave if you don't want me to." Minako twitched.
"Th- Thank you. I don't know why I'm so nervous." The princess snuck a glance at Kunzite, who, indeed, was slowly working his way towards them.
"Because you know, this time, you might actually find what you've been looking for." Minako whirled back around to Jiriki.
"Why do you say that?" She asked.
"Because," Jiriki held up one finger, "you have actually opposed talking to a good-looking guy." Jiriki held up another finger. "You blushed when you said you two haven't been introduced - which I will do, if it matters that much to you - and you actually suggested that I might tell someone." Jiriki brought up a third finger. "All those point to that you like him more than just a little bit, unlike all the guys before. This one's different. You know it, and you're scared."
Minako studied what Jiriki had said. "Is there ever a point when you're not scared?"
"Huh? Truthfully, I wouldn't know." Minako looked at her, shocked.
"Then how did you just, just dissect my feelings like that?"
"Umm... I'm not sure. Good intuition?"
"Yeah, thanks a lot." Minako glanced again at Kunzite and smoothed her skirts nervously. "Well, then... will you introduce us?"
Jiriki smiled.
Kodomono grouched to herself. Stupid work. Stupid Maenads. Stupid Elysion! Of all the things she could be doing, here she was sitting inside on perfectly warm day, a book on proper grammar open on the table before her. She resisted kicking the table, if only because it was good wood and would hurt her foot and one of the Maenads would certainly hear and come see why she wasn't studying. As if anyone speaks like this. She snarled at the offending book.
How long had it been since she had been allowed outside the walls of this so-called sanctuary? It had to be a month or more. At first it had been bearable; she was at least allowed to do something useful, like sweep out the halls, or care for the wall hangings so they wouldn't fade, or prepare meals for herself, or scrub dishes and old brass and silver. But no, stupid Priest Helios had gotten it into his head that she needed to be "educated" and set hours of reading before her. She had chafed at all the work, behaving at first because she did want to learn, and because she thought she might get back outside if she did as Helios and the Maenads asked.
Of course, she had been wrong and only gotten more reading and more studying. She felt as if she were about to go insane from all the words swimming in her head. She just couldn't keep them in any sensible order. Before coming here, she had read five, maybe six books. That was pretty educated for where she was from. When she had been taken in, the amount of books - and her inability to understand them - had astonished her. It was like growing up near a pond, never knowing any other body of water, and suddenly dumped beside the sea.
She sighed as she realized that the current page's words had slipped through her head like minnows through her hand. An immense headache threatened to break in on her head as she tried to grasp the pages contents... again.
She bit her lip as she failed. It just wasn't possible to read all day, every day, and be expected to remember all of it, let alone comprehend it! She rubbed her eyes as the words began to swim on the page. Definitely time to stop.
She got up and began to wander about the sanctuary. It was larger than it seemed; most of it was hidden by forest that rose up on either side of the entrance. Those woods hid the massive chambers that seemed to have risen naturally from the ground. These were the libraries, meditation rooms, suites specially designed for the royalty of other planets, and a mausoleum of Earth's royal dead. That was the one place Kodomono refused to go; it frightened her to think of so many dead bodies in one place.
She wandered for a while, trying to see if she could get herself lost in the sanctuary. Unfortunately, she had explored it too thoroughly before being confined inside its walls; the many passages held no secrets for her.
She had returned to the library she had started from when a large clatter rose from the sanctuary's entrance hall. Kodomono rushed towards it, eager for something to do besides read or wander about.
Helios was exhausted, to the point where he let Pegasus land in the entrance hall rather than on the grass. The echoing racket that occurred abused his ears, compounding his headache. "Priest Helios? Are you all right?" One of the two priestesses living in Elysion, known as Maenads, came up to take Pegasus' bridle.
"Yes." He somehow found himself standing on the ground. "Prince Endymon has run off. Again."
"At least he doesn't run off to different places each time." The priestess joked.
Helios grunted. "He could have picked a better time. Our diplomatic envoy to the Moon is ready to leave, except Endymon was supposed to go with them."
"Perhaps the thought of seeing Princess Serenity made him leave early."
"He could have waited a few more hours. He did take the Shitennou with him this time, but still! He needs to learn to be more responsible," Helios spat out. Usually he was more understanding of his prince, but it had not been a good day. "Our King is beside himself. 'How could you let him slip by you?'" Helios quoted, imitating the Earth King's voice. "'How dare you fail your duties, yet again!' As if my job description included babysitting a spoiled prince!"
Helios stomped into the sanctuary, not caring who saw. A priest could be allowed to throw a fit once every few hundred years.
The priestess watched Helios go off, amused. The head priest of Elysion was rarely in bad humor and even then, he never raised his voice, bit off anyone's head, or threw things. Though in a funk, Helios never let his moods ruin anyone else's fun. She began to take Pegasus to the stables when she saw Kodomono staring at her.
"Finished your grammar?" She asked. She was always wary of the child Helios had taken under his protection; she was difficult to predict and flew off the handle at the slightest thing lately.
"I tried." Kodomono replied. "Can I stable Pegasus for a change?"
"May I." The priestess corrected.
"All right, may I stable Pegasus?" Kodomono rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
The priestess hesitated for a moment. She knew Kodomono was tired of being cooped up, per Helios's orders when she had blackened Prince Endymon's eye. The thought of that fight nearly made her smile; the boy had somewhat deserved it, though Kodomono had gone a little far, she thought. As had Helios in confining her for over a month.
"Yes, as long as you come right back. No dilly dallying." The priestess warned.
Kodomono whooped with glee and ran to take the reins.
"And make sure you groom him completely!" The priestess called after her, smiling. Perhaps she ought to talk to Helios about revoking Kodomono's confinement, after he had had time to regain a better attitude.
Kodomono stroked Pegasus's snout softly; he blew air at her, happy at all the attention she paid him. Kodomono hardly noticed, thinking of how nice it was to be outside again. She closed her eyes, taking in the smell of the stable. She had been around horses all her life; it was good to be with them again. The smells comforted her, unknotting the anxiety and stress that had built up the past month.
"Excuse me." Kodomono jumped at the woman's voice; she had not noticed anyone come near. She looked up to see a lady from Earth's court of nobles in the stable's entrance.
"Excuse me, but I was hoping you could direct me to the sanctuary. I seem to have gotten lost." The lady said.
"Of course, my lady..." Kodomono trailed off, not recognizing the woman.
"I am Lady Beryl." She supplied.
"Yes. Right this way, Lady Beryl." Kodomono squeezed past her, forgetting months of lessons in etiquette and manners. Beryl sniffed, holding a handkerchief to her nose to ward off the smell of horses.
A Maenad met them at the sanctuary entrance. "Lady Beryl, what a pleasant surprise! Priest Helios will be with you in a minute." The priestess nodded at Kodomono, leading Beryl into a waiting chamber. Kodomono rushed off to find Helios.
She slowed as she came near his chambers. "Priest Helios?" She called.
"What is it?"
"Lady Beryl is here."
Helios came out suddenly. "What did you say?"
"Lady Beryl is -"
"Never mind." Helios frowned. What was the leader of the opposition doing here?
Kodomono watched Helios warily, not sure why he was frowning. Did he smell the horses on her? He can't punish me for that. I had permission to go outside.
"Come." Helios commanded, striding quickly to the front of the sanctuary. Kodomono had to run to keep up. "Did she say why she was here?"
"No. She appeared at the stables and said she was lost. I led her here." She winced as she realized she'd told him she was outside the sanctuary walls, expecting a reprimand. When none came, she stared at him, puzzled.
Helios felt her stare. "At the moment, taking care of Lady Beryl is more important than you explaining why you were outside. Have you been told anything about her?"
"No."
"She leads the opposition - the conservatives - at Earth's court. They oppose making amends with the Moon; their philosophy is that the Moon is planning to take away all of Earth's power should we ally ourselves with them."
Kodomono snorted. "That's a load of crap."
Helios smiled thinly. "Leave it to you to put it so frankly."
The two priestesses sat in the room with Beryl, engaging her in polite, harmless chatter. Beryl sipped the hastily made tea, though neither of the girls showed any sign of being rushed. She smiled to herself as she put the cup down and stood.
"Lady Beryl?" One of the Maenads stood with her.
"I'm afraid I can't wait any longer," Beryl said, her eyes locked on the door.
"I'm sure Priest Helios will be here in just a few moments, my lady."
"I can't wait a few minutes." Beryl lifted her walking staff, caressing the black orb at its top. "If you'll excuse me..." She swept out of the room.
The Maenads quickly followed her into the sanctuary's entrance hall. "Lady Beryl, please..."
END Part One