I missed all the standard info in the first chapter, so here we go.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters created by Takeuchi-san, only the three Guardian Knights and any other incidental characters of my creation.
This is a re-working of an earlier story idea I had, hopefully updates will be fairly frequent. With that said, onto the story.
The Hiwaka Shrine…
"And so, you take c, multiply it by the sum total of a and b, and that gives you d…"
Rei and Makoto sighed loudly. Ami was busily explaining the theories behind the latest math homework, resulting in complete and utter confusion on their part.
"Where's Usagi-chan?" Makoto wondered aloud.
Rei laughed quietly. "You know Usagi. She's always late."
Minako nudged her. "Shh. I'm trying to listen…"
"Since when do you actually pay attention at study meetings?" Rei retorted.
"Since…" The blonde thought about it for a moment. "Since I decided I was going to", she finished, returning her attention to Ami.
Rei and Makoto shared a look of puzzlement before shrugging. Suddenly, without warning, their communicators went off.
"Guys, I need help!" It was Usagi. The sound of an explosion came through behind her voice.
"Usagi-chan?" Makoto demanded. "Where are you? What's going on?"
"I was on my way to the Shrine! Two guys appeared and demanded the Ginzuishou!" came the panicked reply. "Hurry, they're really strong!"
"We're on our way!" Makoto answered. "Guys, let's go!"
The four girls transformed and hurried towards Usagi.
"Give us the Ginzuishou, Princess!"
Usagi backed up against a wall. Two tall men in armour stood before her, one holding a pair of scimitars, the other a double-bladed scythe. The one with the scimitars stepped forward, a scowl on his face.
"Do not make me ask again!" he warned her.
"I…I don't know what you're talking about!" Usagi shot back. Gotta hold out til the others get here…
"Is it possible she hasn't regained her memories?" the second man asked.
"Impossible. Jedite said she was Sailor Moon," the first said. "Sailor Moon is not even supposed to exist, therefore, it makes sense that the Senshi of the Moon would have to be the Princess. Who else would she be?"
"Hold it right there!"
The two snapped their heads around to the source of the interruption. The four Sailor Senshi glared back at them.
"The burning fires of Mars will…damn!" Mars was cut short as a blast from one of the scimitars shot by her head. The Senshi scattered as several more followed.
"Fools!" the first man spat. "Do not interfere!"
"Who the hell are they?" Sailor Jupiter swore. "The armour looks strangely familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before…"
"I recognise it too," Venus agreed. "But don't you think we should be rescuing Usagi-chan?"
"Right," Mars nodded. The raven-haired Senshi turned to their two opponents. "Mars Flame Sniper!"
The flaming arrow struck the first warrior dead centre of his chest. But to the Senshi's dismay, the flames flared briefly and then travelled up his shoulder, down his arm and into his right gauntlet. He laughed and held up his hand, watching the flames dance over his fingers.
"Your powers have no effect," he said calmly. "Now, I suggest you leave before you get hurt."
"How's that possible?" Mars thought aloud. She was forced to dodge again as he launched the flames from his gauntlet straight at her.
"I'm taking detailed scans," Mercury declared, keeping her voice much quieter. "Keep them busy for a few more minutes."
"Right," Jupiter nodded. She glanced at Venus, and the blonde Senshi moved up beside her, getting the silent message. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!"
"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"
The golden heart flew forward, surrounded by Jupiter's electrical energy, and slammed into the second warrior's chest plate. He winced noticeably. This wasn't missed by the Senshi, and they regrouped yet again.
"Did everyone see that? It seems there are limits to how much they can take in one hit," Mars observed. "If we all combine our attacks…"
"Let's do it." Jupiter agreed.
Usagi was watching from her position by the wall. She didn't want to confirm these warrior's belief that she was Sailor Moon, but she didn't want her friends to fight them alone. What to do, she thought. If I run, they'll follow…if I transform here, then they'll know for sure I'm Sailor Moon. A look of determination set itself on her face. I'll just have to take that chance. She made her decision just as another blast, this time composed of fire, lightning, and a golden heart, slammed into the first warrior, having a noticeable effect.
"Moon Eternal, Make-Up!"
In a flash of light, Eternal Sailor Moon stood in Usagi's place. Both armoured warriors turned quickly, the apparent leader not looking very happy.
"Damn it! She's transformed!" he swore.
"What should we do?" the other asked.
"Regroup," the first ordered. He turned towards the Senshi, Sailor Moon now standing with them. "We'll be back, Princess! And next time…you won't be so lucky!"
They leapt up and disappeared, leaving the Senshi standing alone on the street. A small crowd of people began to cautiously approach.
"I think we should leave," Mercury suggested. "It's getting quite crowded here."
"Agreed. Back to the Shrine," Mars declared. The Senshi leapt up and also disappeared, leaving the assembled crowd in a stunned silence.
Rei paced back and forth, deep in thought. The other four girls sat and waited for her to finish with her train of thought. Finally, she spoke.
"Okay…there are three main points we need to be clear about. Who are they, what do they want, and how do we beat them?"
"We know what they want," Usagi put in. "The Ginzuishou."
"Good…which leaves who are they, and how do we beat them…" the priestess murmured.
"Both Jupiter and I recognised the armour from somewhere," Minako explained. "But we've never fought them before, so I don't know how that can be."
"It's quite simple, really."
They all turned to see that Luna and Artemis had arrived. Artemis continued.
"You recognise their armour because you have seen them before. You remember them from your past lives in the Silver Millennium. They are the-"
"Guardian Knights," Ami interrupted. "My computer just finished breaking down the information from the scans I took during the battle. As you all know, my computer contains a lot of information from the old Moon Kingdom, so I have full reports on both of them."
"Great!" Makoto exclaimed. "Go on."
"The Guardian Knights were a group of three elite soldiers, hand-picked by Queen Serenity herself as bodyguards for the Royal Family."
"I thought we counted as Princess Serenity's bodyguards," Minako frowned.
"While that may have fallen under our duties, we had other duties as well. This was the Guardian Knight's sole responsibility."
"Oh," Minako said. "Nevermind. Continue."
"At the time just before our de…the end of the Silver Millennium, the three Guardian Knights were Nathaniel, the Guardian Knight of Justice, Darius, the Guardian Knight of Truth, and Gabriel, the Guardian Knight of Peace." Ami paused. "That's all the information I seem to have on them as people."
"What else do you have, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked.
"Their armour is specifically designed and crafted to absorb enemy attacks and transfer the energy to the wearer's gauntlets, enabling them to re-use it as a weapon themselves." Ami's eyes scanned over the information. "The scimitars and double-bladed scythe belong to the Guardian Knight's of Truth and Peace respectively, meaning…"
"Meaning that the Knight of Justice wasn't there." Makoto finished. "Does that mean that he's running the show,or does it mean something else? Like he's not with them?"
"I like the sound of the latter, Mako-chan," Usagi decided. "But we're missing a very important part of the puzzle. What happened to make them rebel against me?"
"That, we don't know." Rei agreed. "But it's something we need to find out, as well as why the Knight of Justice wasn't there."
"They emitted a very strong aura," Minako observed. "Rei-chan, could you use that to track down the third Knight?"
"I might be able to," Rei answered cautiously. "I'm not making any promises, but I can try."
"It sounds like we have a plan," Usagi said. "Let's get to it."
"You're acting very leader-like all of a sudden, Usagi," Rei snickered.
"Nearly being killed by people who were sworn to protect you can sober you up a little, Rei-chan," the blonde replied.
"No fights, please," Minako sighed. "Look, we know what we have to do, so let's do it. We must find the Guardian Knight of Justice."