A PITTED ASTEROID ORBITING THE EARTH'S TALE
Chapter 7: Just Plain Human
A Sailor Moon/Lord of the Rings crossover… and perhaps a bit stereotypical?
SUMMARY: Serena Usagi Tsukino is tired with the plans of Fate and Destiny and rebels, paving a path of her own filled with many uncertainties. A SM/LOTR Xover
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon or Lord of the Rings. These are the products of the ingenious and diabolical Naeko Takeuchi of Sailor Moon and J.R.R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings. *sigh* All I claim my own is the plot, title and unusual characters of this story, such as the Dotulrtug, mysterious man following Usagi, person harassing Pluto, blobby shadow evil thingy, etc, etc. Please read on. The story is not here.
NOTE: TONS OF FORESHADOWING IN THIS CHAPTER! READ CAREFULLY!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
LAST TIME ON PITTED ASTEROID:
"You shall not ensnare me now, Watcher! Our battle shall not be fought at this time and on this plane. I would advise you to be ever observant through your Orb of Time for when you least expect it, all shall be taken."
The figure vanished, leaving a very furious of Guardian of Time.
"I shall watch, servant of darkness. And you shall rue the day you dared to mess with the Guardian of Time!" Three clanks of the metal staff were heard as the Gates of Time slid into place, locking themselves from all else save it's warden.
The Guardian of Time resumed her solitary watch, observing all, yet partaking in none.
*a microscopic, mudge colored daphnia quiggles its way onto stage. Members of the audience take out their 100x magnifying glasses for their viewing pleasure… or their coke bottle glasses! A tiny squeak of a voice is heard, until a microphone is lowered to the ground via ceiling rope * Welcome to the seventh installment of A Pitted Asteroid Orbiting the Earth's Tale. Note the usual disclaimers. Without further ado, I give you CHAPTER 7!!!!!!!!!! *mudge colored daphnia quiggles its way under special laboratory water (NOT TAP!!! TAP WATER IS POISONOUS!) and cotton back to the fish tank it came from. Curtains close, now boasting the slogan: pointy mudge colored wizard hats are the new pink!*
A Pitted Asteroid Orbiting the Earth's Tale
Chapter 7: Just Plain Human
Time passed since the event of the polaroids, which Usagi had promptly burned the next day. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. And Usagi remained ever watchful.
She had to be.
There was no reappearance of her mysterious stalker, nor no repeat of the threat. All continued as normally as could be expected. And if Usagi were truly aware, it would have been taken into account that the number of youma attacks had ever-so-slightly decreased. A notable change in its own right, nevertheless.
But such trivial details were hardly of any importance in Usagi's life now. Besides, who ever really does pay any attention to the petty particulars? The whole reason they are small, insignificant, and go unnoticed, is because they are meant to stay hidden. This way, they can form an evil coalition called the Unnoticed Ignored Cast-off Details Society and unionize, eventually spiraling into an ever growing snowball of badness and then come back to blow up in the protagonist's face when they least expect it. *Insert diabolical laugh here…*
Anyhoo… Leaving all wicked plans of possible gatherings of Evil Brotherhoods for Petty Details and whatnot aside, let's return to the situation at hand, shall we? Hmmm. Ahh yes, Usagi:
Usagi was more concerned with her family and all that she held dear to her person. The warning or threat, however it was meant to be taken by her mysterious stalker, had not yet been forgotten, despite the fact that much time had passed. But other than that fear, life had for the most part, continued.
Usagi automatically transformed, dusted, and detransformed. Life as Sailor Moon grew into a standard routine, part of her nightly life. Life in general, had set into an almost queer, monotonous tone.
Usagi was just grateful for the relative peace.
It was just school, Haruna, detention, Crown, homework and then Sailor Moon. No extra bad guys, no evil plot to discover. Just the standard moon dust, the regular slice and dice. Quite mechanical. It required hardly much thought on her part anyway.
Things were so run-of-the-mill, that the scouts had stopped their weekly scout meetings and training sessions. Each attack was training enough, and each time, the result was a nice, neat pile of moon dust, with little to no injuries. The movements were automatic, artificial at best. Nothing presented a challenge, other than the occasional fifth youma attack of the day.
In short, Usagi was ironically bored… and vaguely agitated.
It wasn't quiet, just not chaotic, which presented an oddity in itself, a catch-22. In previous years, Usagi and the others barely had two weeks off before the next big bad boss came rolling into town. It had just been the way things were. Something accepted. Something given. But most of all, it meant that good prevailed over evil, the balance was kept, and all was good in the world. Things just kept coming, without a break. This was, in short, the only way Usagi knew that everything was in order.
Absolutely everything.
It wasn't that she hated the peace. She didn't mind it at all. But rather than this 'peace' it felt as if she was facing the calm before the storm, and that was very disconcerting.
A very big storm, from what she could tell.
As a precaution, Usagi had Ami-chan do a scan every week of any nega activity, and each time, the results were nothing more than the standard range of evilness.
I'm probably just being overly suspicious. I mean, had this been the case a few years ago, I wouldn't have thought of this at all. Youma attacks are youma attacks, and that is reason enough for trouble. After all, there doesn't have to be something abnormally wrong each time… right? Usagi pondered to herself.
Ever since that last run in with her stalker, Usagi had been on red alert. She constantly kept tabs on her family's whereabouts. Seeing as she couldn't be with all four of them at once with school and all, Usagi enlisted the aid of Luna and Artemis, informing them of the situation on a strictly need-to-know basis. Luna, for one, was pleasantly impressed with her charge's sudden assertiveness, and took it as a sign of her upcoming success as the NeoQueen of Crystal Tokyo. She did however, suggest that Usagi fill in the sailor senshi of what was going on, as they could also lend a hand.
To this, Usagi denied, reasoning that she didn't want them to be bothered with more worries, and potentially more senshi work than was necessary. If things got too out of hand, and it really became a sailor senshi issue, she would inform them. But for now, the matter remained entirely personal.
For now.
***
*On another plane of existence, between the fabric of space and time…*
***
"She needs to be told."
"I know."
"She knows some semblance of peace now, but that shall not last for long. Already, things are changing."
"I know."
"The dreams shall return, among other plaguing events. These things will take a toll on the young princess."
"I know."
"She will tire. She will be careless. She will make unaffordable mistakes."
"I know."
"Then what shall you do, Guardian? What will you do to guide this child, oh daughter of mine?"
Silence grasped the atmosphere of the Gates of Time. For awhile, nothing was heard. Suddenly…
"What would you have me do, Father? All that you have said, I know. All that you have not said, I know. And all that you have implied, I know. I know! I know! I know! Yet I can do nothing. I can do nothing but watch like a coward! So tell me Father, tell me Chronos, what is there that I can do," spat the Guardian of Time. Her grip on the staff tightened considerably.
Chronos spoke from behind her, "We all do what we must. We all play our parts. Even you have an important part in history, daughter. Do not reconcile yourself to utter isolation just yet. She needs to know. She needs to see. She will be judged, and she must pass, for the balance shall be at stake. This is her test, and you are her guide, her proctor."
Pluto nodded silently, her eyes gazing at her princess through the portal of Time she had concocted to watch through. Her frustration quickly dissipated, like hot breath on a cold night, at the sight of her charge. You go through so much, for the sake of others, princess. My heart cries for you, dear one.
"She must be ready."
"She is just a child, Chronos. Why must such a tasking future await such a young child? She deserves happiness for all that she has done, for all that she has saved. Not more work! It is her time to rest, at least until the Great Awakening."
"She is the One, daughter. It is her soul. Her time. The essence of who she is will now come to power, and it is something that cannot be denied. It is her birthright. Ever since the Dawn of Time have all waited for this. In this rebirth, she shall come to her full potential, her full capacity. Should she accept this calling, is up to her. If not, then it shall pass on to another, but that is another matter entirely. She is best suited, per se. She alone can save us all and break the cycle. Anyone else would simply fade away, or grow corrupt. Would you deny all those who have waited for this? Would you deny the world their salvation, for the happiness of one?"
Pluto took in a deep breath. She could not answer that question, for she did not know how, nor what the answer would be. Her heart said one thing, and her mind said another. This was beyond her, something that she had not foreseen for all her powers of foresight. The Mirror of Time had cast a shadow on the young princess's future and now all lay uncertain.
The Princess of the White Moon's future was no longer set in stone.
Times were Changing.
Threads were being Rewoven. Keys Unlocking, Doors Opening and Closing.
An unknown Force had been Awakened.
"The Savior… so the rumors of true. It is she? You are sure of it?" murmured Pluto.
"There is no other. She sings with the power. She alone bears the mark. It is she."
The Guardian of Time paused to think for a minute, and then continued, "But why her?" Pluto questioned softly, her heart weeping for the destiny-burdened girl as she glanced once more into at the dozing lass.
"Because. She is. She is it. She is all that has come to be, all that is to be, and all that will ever be."
"Then why worry? If the child is truly the 'One,' why worry if she will accept it? She will do what is right in the end. She always does."
Chronos let out a sad smile.
"Because she is human, daughter. And like all humans, she loves."
***
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ahh, another chapter done with. Usagi gets closer and closer to Middle Earth. I hope you guys are beginning to see this hint of a spiral. If not, then that's cool, I've only just barely alluded to it. Anyway, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! There weren't so many but that's ok, it wasn't one my most greatest chapters. This one, however, is something I would like a lot of response on. Yes, I know its short, but I felt to add anything more would take away from it, and destroy the mood that has been created, ya know? Oh, and for better effectiveness, I would go back and read the conversation between Pluto and Chronos out loud, using deep, reflective, wise-ish, kinda british voices for them. Kinda like Galadriel's voice at the beginning of the Fellowship… something all consuming… which btw, was sooo awesome. And about pairing, I've pretty much decided who Usa's gonna be with and don't ask b/c I'm not telling you NO MATTER WHAT! Don't tempt/bug me! But be warned: it isn't what it seems like. Just keep this in mind as Usage goes through middle earth. Keep an open mind, most importantly. Appearances can be deceiving! That is all.
Now to my loyal and helpful reviewers:
Callisto Star: A pleasure as always to hear from you. This chapter is still a bit shorter than average, but I hope it makes up for it in content. So you think they guy is Sauron, hmm? Interesting. I won't tell you if you are right or wrong, but still, I like that you have been thinking about it. Any other ideas? Oh, and I SOO look forward to a sequel to Niirer. Also, yes, the story should seem to feel like it is in pieces right now. Don't worry, all the unsolved things will begin to fall in place once she gets to Middle Earth. Hopefully there was a hint and some sort of follow up for some stuff in this chapter. Note the SERIOUS foreshadowing! And yes, the Dotulrtug is another NEW lackey for this mysterious WHITE figure. (don't blurt out the answer if you know it!) actually, the name is the name of a species… like Orcs, and then there's that Orc named Lurtz, who kills Boromir. Anyhoo same kinda rap for these species too, get it? Oh, erm, keep working at the title.. try to keep it separate from the story.. it's a play on words more than anything… apparently I'm not as clever as I thought I was =). Thanks for your lovely review, I look forward to ANOTHER one. *HINT!!!!!*
Devine-desire: Thanks again for your loyal review. Glad to see you're still sticking with me! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Review!
ElvenSailorGirl: Thanks for catching the spelling error! Glad to know some people are reading carefully out there… and ya, I totally see where you are coming from, but this is kinda how Usagi is in my version… I guess if you could call it that. She is a veteran at *war* so to speak and doesn't like it when people try to mess with her head, ergo the mucho pissed off Usagi, among other things. Understandable, ne? But honestly, I was more thinking of how *I* would react in that situation, other than Usagi, and it just happened to fit with the way I wanted her to appear. So kudos to you! and let's move on, no? Anyway, thanks for your lengthy review! Mucho appreciated. Glad to see some constructive criticism out there. I look forward to another one!
PrincessSerenaXavier: Hmm.. interesting suggestion indeed, although I think I've read one too many fics with Usa, or some other innocent girl ending up at Elrond's. But I'll think about it, and if it works with what I have in mind, then that's all good. Review!
*Daphnia returns, takes one look at the ominous crowd and lets out a small 'eep!' and runs back!*
I think you get the message. Review please, it's only courteous, polite, human and decent, among other, quite sociable qualities. Then again, if you are a rude, antisocial, insufferable, idiotic, mouse colored, flatulent HOG of an ALIEN from some warped and twisted universe that has NO morals whatsoever, feel free to skip the review button's pleas to review for this chapter and its desperate author and continue on your regular way. NO SMOOCHIES FOR YOU!
And may you pleasantly rot in hell.
=)
And for those of you who do have a brain greater than the size of a pea, and a heart warmer than the fires of Mt. Doom, Blessed be for your kind hearts and thoughtfulness to review. You are so COOL! (HINT, HINT)!!
Arigatou minna!
Sayonara!