A PITTED ASTEROID ORBITING THE EARTH'S TALE
Chapter 8: Just Peachy Keen
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: Sailor Moon and Lord of the Rings belong to Naeko Takeuchi and J.R.R. Tolkien respectively. *sigh* do not harass me for claiming ownership on anything but the characters of my own creation. If you do then you are stupid and shall be thrown into the fiery depths of Mordor and be banished for all time.
LAST TIME ON PITTED ASTEROID:
"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."
NOTE: IT WOULD BE ADVISED TO REREAD CHAPTER 5 IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT'S ABOUT. VERY IMPORTANT FOR THIS CHAPTER.
*authoress comes out and says, "JUST READ THE @%!&$ STORY! MY GOODNESS PEOPLE!!" walks off stage, muttering about directions and blind people.*
A Pitted Asteroid Orbiting the Earth's Tale
Chapter 8: Just Peachy Keen
The lone ranger was frankly more than a bit tired, although to look upon him, one would merely see the self-trained countenance of a seasoned soldier and wanderer.
He had just come from a very trying ordeal concerning a band of marauding Orcs and a group of untrained men. Luckily, the casualties had been minimal, considering how far they were outnumbered. The mild skirmish had been a bother, but nothing hugely out of proportion. Yet the ranger couldn't help but be a tad restless over the increasing groups of seemingly random Orcs and the helplessness of the men they came across. Something was amiss, but what exactly it could be, he was unable to say.
"Good help is so very hard to find in these times," he murmured to himself as he gave his horse a friendly pat on his broad chest, tugging at the straps that held his supplies to make sure they were secure.
The sun was rising, and it was best that he be off. The ranger was eager to leave, wanting to feel the rush of the wind through his unruly brown hair, and the feel of the horse galloping across the old lands. He was a ranger by nature, always moving, and always on the prowl. Never would he tarry at one place for too long.
One would say that it appeared as if he was running from something.
But then again, he was never around long enough to make any such judgement upon.
The wanderer now sought to return to Rivendell, home of his foster father, Elrond Peredhil, or Half-Elven, in hopes of deciphering the growing mystery in his hands.
The first rays of the morning sun had just begun to hit the hills surrounding the village he had stayed in for the night, to recover from a few minor injuries. Just as he had swung himself up onto his trusty steed, a figure clad in gray upon an equally ashen steed galloped over the horizon, bathed in the pale morning glow. The ranger squinted his eyes in the direction of the figure, and then smirked at the recognition if his old friend.
It appeared that he would be momentarily delayed.
Gandalf the Grey sought his counsel.
***
Usagi tumbled into her bed, a bundle of exhausted nerves.
There had been a double team of youma tonight, in the park. Luckily, it was so late that only a few bystanders had been about, but it was still a rough fight nonetheless. Usagi had heard the telltale yells of shock as she walked by the park. You would think that the people of Juuban would be used to this by now, she had mused, but then again, you would think I would have come to expect an attack from the park like clockwork. They always do come back to the same old haunts.
Calling out her transformation as she sprinted on over, Usagi also pulled out her communicator but then thought twice and tucked it back into her sub dimensional space pocket. She could handle two youmas, and there was no need to call the whole team on a school night.
And so Usagi proceeded to battle the twin youma, both of which gave off foul odors and were covered in a mysterious magenta slime. They were fairly simple youma, so Usagi grew a bit careless. As a result, she ended up spraining her ankle, and nearly having her head cut off before she called out, "Moon Tiara, MAGIC!" and dusting the old baddies.
You're growing cocky Moon, she reflected to herself. Brushing off the youma dust, Usagi was about to revert back to her civilian form when she spied a dark figure in the distance. There wasn't much light, only a sliver of the moon poking out from the clouds, but it was enough for her to retrieve her moon wand in case of another attack.
"Who goes there?"
The figure looked up at the sound of Sailor Moon's voice. It appeared as if it were taking notes of some kind. Looking at its surroundings, it appeared a bit surprised that they were now alone. Obviously, it hadn't been paying attention and was severely concentrated on the task at hand. Nearly dropping whatever it was writing on in the process, the figure muttered a few undecipherable words and melted into the ground.
Sailor Moon jumped in surprise. What was THAT? She made her way over to the spot and eyed the ground, prodding at it with her booted foot before stepping back. How odd. Shrugging, and not knowing what to make of the bizarre event, Usagi touched her brooch, detransformed and limped her way back home, wincing from her ankle. It would just have to be something she told the scouts later. She, for one, was too fizzed out to go gallivanting across town to solve the mystery now.
Whatever it was could wait until later.
And so it was that Usagi arrived home, exhausted and limping. Luna had gone over to Minako's house, to discuss strategy with Artemis. Not that there needs to be any strategy to discuss, but I know better than to stop Luna. But honestly, if she wanted to get one on one with Artemis, she doesn't have to make up such a lame excuse every single time. What does she think I am? Daft? Chuckling to herself at the possibility of Luna and romance in the same picture, Usagi's thoughts turned to the relationship between her and Mamoru.
Wrapping her ankle in ice and cloth, Usagi leaned against the headboard of her bed. Things with Mamoru had gotten nowhere as of late. They might as well have been just friends for all that they saw each other. Usagi knew he was just busy preparing to be a doctor. And she was preoccupied with Sailor Moon and graduating from high school. But, truth be told, things had been rather off ever since Mamoru came back from medical school in America. Usagi couldn't lay the blame completely on him either. She hadn't made much of an effort on her part. Time had passed and the two rarely saw each other any more. They hadn't even gone out on a date in over five months! Usagi didn't question their love – they were after all destined to be together, soul mates. But perhaps something else was amiss?
Now there's a thought. What if… No, that's silly. Pausing, Usagi lifted up an old picture of her and Mamoru, only last year. Things had been so different then. What if we just aren't meant to be? What if something has changed and things just aren't they way it used to be?
But that's impossible, right? Usagi didn't know anything just about now, "We're soul mates. Meant for each other…" she whispered in the dark, And besides, Pluto would have said something, she reflected.
Returning the picture to its original spot, Usagi flicked off the lights and snuggled under the covers, taking care to make sure her ankle would be okay. She would talk to Pluto about her and Mamoru, as well as the youma attacks. It was time that guardian gave some answers.
Some hours later…
Usagi twisted the sheets of her bed, her skin bathed in a sheen coat of sweat. She was having the most intense dream…
Usagi was once again in the black void of nothingness, white dress and everything, something she hadn't been back to ever since a few months ago. It had been so long, that she had almost forgotten.
Just peachy keen, isn't it? She thought to herself.
"So boys, watcha got for in store for me this time around? Cos I gotta tell ya, I ain't seein' no better than the last time ya kidnapped me."
"Your attempts to mock us are useless and a waste of energy warrior. Be silent."
"Pshhh… I think not. If you have the gal to take me from my snuggly little bed and stand me here for some twisted reason you don't see fit to tell me, then I think I can act however the *hell* I want to, got it buster?" Usagi demanded, as she felt her old anger from their last encounter worm its way back into her thoughts.
Although Usagi was normally more of a pacifist, preferring to calmly talk things out then resort to violence, these beings just knew how to push her buttons. It irked her that they called her in randomly and unexpectedly and never made their purpose clear. She didn't like being anybody's toy, which was how she felt under their penetrating gaze. Wasn't it enough that she did her job as Sailor Moon? Must they add more to her misery? And most of all, couldn't they let her sleep in peace?
"Princess, I know you are confused, but please, it would be in your best interest to just comply with these beings and do as they ask. It would be better for us all."
"Pluto…?"
Things snapped into focus, loosing that dreamy haze that allowed Usagi to think herself in her mind. With a distinct pop, her surroundings seemed suddenly more defined, and Usagi distinctly felt that she was here, in this void of a place, in full body, mind and spirit.
The sudden adjustment of her surroundings threw her off, and Usagi was struck silent for a few moments before the typical whisperings enveloped her and she remembered where she was. And the fact that Pluto was here as well.
"Pluto, what are you doing here? What am I doing here? What's going on?"
"Princess, as hard as it is for me to deny the answers to your questions, I'm afraid I must, for now is not the time to answer them. Please, for now, I beg that you follow the elders and listen to what they have to say, and what must be done. Times have changed, little one, as I am sure you have noticed. But I do promise you, that everything *will* be explained. Perhaps not now, but you will know when the time is right."
Usagi silently nodded, not really knowing what to say, but trusting in the older woman's advice.
Then, as suddenly as she was whisked here, she fell back into the dreamy quality of the void. The whispers resumed, and it was as if she had never left.
"If I may be so polite as to ask, if nothing else, could you please inform me why I am here?" she tentatively questioned, not able to resist herself. The answer she got, however, was another matter entirely.
"You demand nothing. You obey. You are a soldier, a warrior among the masses. Be seated!" a voice commanded, and Usagi found herself frozen to a chair that appeared from nowhere, vines wrapping around her arms and legs and effectively trapping her limbs in place, rendering her immobile.
"Why am I here?" she persisted, almost timidly. Whispers ensued, seemingly amused at the persistence of the young child for such a trivial question. Silence followed.
"To be judged."
"For what? I have committed no crime."
"That remains to be seen."
"Ah," Usagi got the feeling that they would make their judgement of her regardless of what she had to say, and it would not change no matter what she did. It would all yield the same outcome, and it was not in her power to change such a matter.
"Under normal circumstances, the subject being tested is not to know any of this. But you are different. And times are changing."
That's what Pluto said, Usagi briefly thought, before replying, "Thank you. I appreciate your kindness in informing me of my predicament."
A low chuckle reverberated throughout the room. That was about the maximum amount of emotion they had ever shown.
"Do not thank us, child. You would come to curse our name should you know what is expected of you. But that is beyond our power to disclose. Know you this: Times are changing, nothing is as it was. The future is uncertain and all things hang in a balance."
"But what does this have to do with me?"
Usagi had the brief image of a bright light and heard a fading voice that whispered, "Can you keep it?"
*~*~*~*
Gasping wide awake, Usagi found herself lying in a field of flowers, a small brook twittering merrily, naught but a few feet away from her.
Ok, where am I NOW? She said to herself.
"Serenity, dear heart…"
"Endymion? Is that you, my prince?" Usagi called out, finding herself still in her white dress. The figure that spoke stood against the shadow of the tree, all but his face revealed in the soft light. His face was encased in shadow.
Endymion wore his princely garb, his usual royal blue cape and magnificent sword. He opened his mouth to speak, yet a voice not of his own came forth. The message of which caused a prickly trickle of fear and something else, to trail icily down her spine.
"Everything as it was before.
Back to the beginning.
Back to before."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So ends another chapter! Hope to get tons of reviews for this one as I worked REALLY hard on it. Now for personal comments:
ElveNDestiNy: Thank you! That's a really sweet complement and I feel honored to have convinced you that crossovers aren't all that bad. Keep reviewing!
Callisto Star: Dude! You and I are so on the same wavelength here! I'm glad you are feeling the spiral, so far, you're the only one who has (or said they have). Interesting thoughts on the stalker, but I won't tell you if you are right or wrong. Hope this chapter answers some more questions! And review! (I love your reviews).
CosmosAngel1: Thanks! *blush* I'm not that great, really, but thanks anyway, it means a lot to have others appreciate my writing style. Hope you enjoyed this installment! Review!
Guju-Girl: What's funny? Lol, I don't remember. Review!
devine-desire: *I've* got someone totally hooked! Wow. That really is a dream come true. THANKS!!! When I read your review, well, I couldn't believe it! It means so much to know that someone is so attached to the story, especially since I get attached to others so much, and really admire their writing and hope to one day approach their status. THANKS! And review!
AnimeGirl: Thanks for reviewing! Welcome on board and I look forward to hearing from you. Keep reviewing!
To all my reviewers: THANKS! You're feedback means so much! It's lovely to know that people are reading and appreciating. It gives this story meaning and worth. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and REVIEW!
Ja ne minna-chan!
moonbunny77