Riyna's Tale
Part One: Bonds
The Star of the Moon walked slowly down the corridor that led to her flat. Of all her comrades, she was the one who had to make do with the scruffiest living quarters. She didn't mind, of course; she never complained about anything, and besides, she had made the three connecting rooms she owned quite like home.
She wore a Senshi uniform. Mostly a dull black, with touches of silver and light grey on the trimmed parts, mostly on the two bows that emphasised her curves, the traditional sailor collar and the stripe at the bottom of the startling white skirt. She couldn't wait to retreat into the sanctity of her room and tap brooch that was centred in the middle of the silver bow over her breasts, allowing her to change into some decent clothing. Not for the first time she wondered why her ancient ancestors thought this load of frilly crap was good for combat. She wasn't even the first of her team to think that either – Saturn Star, with her naturally sneaky, ninja-like nature, hated the uniform with a passion, but she still wore it daily. As did they all.
Finally, after struggling with her key for some time, her door opened, and she stepped into her personal haven. The harsh light was softened by fabric drapes, and the stale corridor air was changed sweet by use of oil burners.
The young woman with the odd, naturally silver-and white hair stood in front of her full-length mirror and studied her reflection, as she did every day. The deep black of most of it gave her a forbidding, monochrome look.
Looking towards an old book that was just visible under her pillow – the main space of her flat was her bedroom and living room combined – she gave the circular white brooch on her chest a small tap, and just caught sight of her bare flesh as the sailor outfit dissolved into ribbons and was somehow sucked into the fist-sized object, leaving her in her pyjamas.
She gave a sigh, and a coherent thought passed through her mind for the first time in an hour.
"I bet our ancestors didn't have to race out of bed to transform…"
The Star of the Moon, for her real name had been forbidden to all but herself upon her inauguration, might have once been called Sailor Moon, but those days were long over. Of all her fifteen Senshi comrades, now named Stars, she was the only one who looked back fondly to those times several centuries ago. She also possessed the only remaining book whose pages would be especially valued, as they were all images. Images of great kingdoms long ago, and of legendary people.
Their uniforms, too, was what she valued so much. As she sat on her creaky bed, turning the pages, she marvelled at the sheer elegance and beauty of these predominantly white uniforms, bearing beautiful colours and their proud owners with wondrous powers in the palms of their hands. She stopped at one photo, one of her favourites, and looked at it with a look of wistful longing in her eyes.
The caption read, Eternal Sailor Moon.
The wings. The gracefulness of the woman's pose. The lovely smile on her face. And also the fact that she had faced off against, and defeated, the greatest threat their world had ever known, and brought peace to the world hereafter.
She sighed.
&&&
Perhaps a little explanation would be useful at this point. The time was now 3250 AD, three whole centuries to the year from the time of the aptly-named Crystal Tokyo. Ever since then, since the Senshi had been brought back aeons before that, the gene had continued for generations, each producing new bearers of power to form a team and 'protect the world'. And they had, quite well, until the last but one team had made Earth's name almost feared, as any force coming to it would surely be defeated. Ever since then there had been peace. The last team hadn't even found any use for their senshi powers at all. Their own parents.
This was the first time the team was complete; that is, a female representative from each of the planets. As well as the original nine ranks, Sedna, Quaoar, Varuna, Ixion, the Sun and even Earth had joined them. The sixteenth, the leader of them all, and the Princess of the Earth was now named Galaxy, and she was the direct descendant of the beautiful woman in the book.
However…
Because of the lack of truly planet-threatening forces, the current senshi team was instead playing a part in ruling the large area of the Earth that Crystal Tokyo had grown into. Life had never been better, but only the wise could see that this growing utopia was now a dystopia, ruled by tyrannical women in sailor suits.
And she was one of them. She had no way of escaping her fate.
Her real name was Riyna. She was also descended from the woman, but not directly. Her family – or what was left of it, if anything – used to be noble and related to the royal family, but they had never played on their secret of being in line to the throne once. Eight generations later, they were scattered and amongst the unlucky masses, the only one of them elevated to any sort of position being herself. Not that she enjoyed it any. At a mere seventeen years old, she was the youngest of the sixteen and her only power was to heal. While they were all comrades-in-arms, they weren't friends. At least, not with her; but it was more likely they would stab any of the other in the back to be elevated in favour with the princess. Riyna was sure they wouldn't hesitate to stab her, either, being officially the Princess' deputy, given their relation.
&&&
Some time later, just as Riyna was beginning to think of food, she heard a polite knock on her door.
Slipping her picture book deep underneath her bedcovers, she opened the door to a smiling black face, wreathed with dark green-and-black hair. She wore a senshi uniform almost identical to Riyna's own, albeit in dark green and black and with slightly different trimmings on her shoulders and back. Peering out into the corridor quickly, the woman hadn't come alone.
"Hello guys, what's the occasion?" she ventured to the group.
The first one – for she was the Star of Pluto – merely widened her smile. The Star of Mars, behind her, was the one to reply, pushing past Pluto and into the flat.
"Do we need a reason to come and see our baby of the group?"
"You do usually…" Riyna wondered what their motive was. 'Usually' mostly came as simply annoying, or them drunk and trying to get her laid, as she was known to be the only virgin of the group.
The third, the lilac/black-clad, ribboned-haired Ixion went straight for her bookcase. "Well we've come to see you now. Just for a change.
Yes, the visits were rare, but sometimes enjoyable…
"Is something happening tonight? A screening or something?"
She hadn't noticed the three women now in her room had seemingly idly positioned themselves in front of the doors and the window. Ixion had picked up a metal ruler she had found on Riyna's bookshelf.
The young woman turned, trying to pique a response, but her breath caught in her chest as she was alerted to the fourth. The oldest of the sixteen, the vindictive, short-haired, exhibitionist Sedna, dressed in dark crimson and black.
"You bitch."
Her eyes wide in sudden fear, her back straight, Riyna slowly turned back to the door. The other three's faces had vanished.
"You traitorous little FUCK!" Sedna voiced, her voice loud and imposing, advancing on the teenager.
"Sedna – what?"
The tall woman seized her pyjama collar, pulling her by her neck up straight, her toes scrabbling for the floor.
"Don't play dumb with us, Moon. We know what you are hiding," said Mars.
"Hiding?"
Secretly, Riyna's mind was screaming at her.
"Oh God – they know!"
"Allow us to spell it out for you, Moon," spoke Pluto calmly. "You have been fraternising with our enemies, and you have been hoarding illegal items."
"They know! HOW!"
Pluto's accusation was, unfortunately, totally correct. Riyna had been giving talks to diplomats from the few remaining independent kingdoms, disguised as business trips. But, while the four senshi's tone made it sound as if she was plotting rebellions…she had been talking peace.
As for the 'illegal items'…
Ixion's methodical search reached the bed, and inevitably she pulled out the old picture book. "Well, lookie here! Baby has been daydreaming of the distant past. How like her."
She had opened the book, flicking through the pictures and reaching the one Riyna had bookmarked. Sniffing in spiteful amusement, she tore the picture named Eternal Sailor Moon out at the spine, and threw the book on the floor, its covers already out of shape.
"Mars," Sedna prompted.
"With pleasure." With just a careless gesture of one black-gloved hand, Mars turned the heat of her hand into blazing fire and incinerated the book. And some of the carpet too.
Riyna cried out as she saw her only treasure turn to charcoal. She started struggling against Sedna's iron grip.
"Oh no, you're not weaselling outta this one, squirt," Sedna hissed. "We have the warrant from Galaxy. We're sick of you and your uselessness, and your adulterous faith. She wants you dead."
"D – d…?" she could only splutter.
"Full-scale public execution. Your greatest moment."
Her mind panicked, suddenly full of horror, but she had one trick left that she didn't even consider until she had done it. Her pyjama jacket was loose, and with a clever movement of her arms upwards, she slipped down. Feeling the cold on her arms, and for a strange reason uncomfortably aware that she wore only a vest to cover her modesty, she stood in the middle of four very angry, and very powerful, women.
Pluto called her weapon from out of its dimension – the Time Staff, with its key-like decorations, had been strengthened and the over-fancy top part removed until the staff was like a bar of titanium. Mars called fire to her very limbs, not caring what she vaporised. Sedna stood back; as a senior senshi she didn't need to become involved in this. She nodded to Ixion.
The two parrying senshi could not land a hit on the frightened Riyna, who was desperately ducking and weaving out of their ferocious attacks' way. She was unaware that one was still unaccounted for.
Ixion's power encompassed the control of metal. As the two distracted the teenager, she ripped a bit off the ruler she still held and flicked it hard to Riyna's face, glancing off her forehead and effectively making her lose her balance.
On her knees, with blood pouring from her temple, she gazed to her right as the two paused. Pluto's staff butt landed squarely in front of her.
Sedna, uncrossing her arms, pulled the shaking girl to her feet again, and Ixion used the remainder of the ruler as a restraint; with Mars forcing Riyna's arms together in front of her, she wrapped the metal around her wrists tightly, fastening the metal at the ends.
"Time to go," she said, shooting a snide lopsided grin to their captive.
Pluto used her staff to push her forwards, stumbling as she went. Until, that is, she fell down again.
"Oh God, why can't you die with some pride!" cursed Sedna, seizing Riyna's hair, tied up as it was in her twin bunches.
Then she lifted her arms and delivered a hefty whack to Sedna's thigh. Her instincts taking over her aghast mind once again, Riyna scrambled for the door, but with a blinkered view of freedom: she failed to notice the other two senshi converging on her.
Mars' fire-covered fist slammed itself into her stomach, putting an end to her dash. At the same time Pluto's staff came down on the back of her knees. Coughing blood and gasping for air, Riyna pivoted sideways on her hips, still not truly knowing what she was doing, one hand gently brushing the tiny red node now set into the top of the staff, and crying out for salvation, no matter in what form it came.
And, miraculously…it came.
The node shone red, then white, bathing the chained young woman.
The next second, Mars and Pluto found they were holding on to empty air.
"What?" screamed Ixion.
"Sedna…"
The tall woman placed her hands on her hips. Moon was gone – somehow – and she was already determining how to retrieve her.
"Pluto," she said finally. "Scan the time trails. Find where she was sent. Ixion, report to Galaxy. Mars, you're with me. Search this flat. But if that girl thinks she can escape by running through time, then she has another thought coming."
Well, I hope this is a pleasant change to some other fanfics I used to read...I haven't been a proper Sailor Moon fan for years, but this popped into my head just as I was ploughing through my English essay, and since it's Wednesday night I decided to work on it. I might remove the SM stuff from it and turn it into a proper story, like all my other useless fics have, but for now, enjoy.
Is the idea too confusing? Please tell me if it is. And if you like/hate it.
Aliso