There seem to be no reviews to respond to this time around…
Princess Stephanie of Mars smacked the side of her tutor screen as hard as she could, trying to clear the thin film of static over her math lesson. The dark-haired preteen wasn't exactly fond of math, but the sooner she finished the lesson, the sooner she could get back to her garden, and the static was slowing her down.
"Come on, damn you!" She growled, smacking the side of the screen again, causing the static to worsen for a moment before her advanced trigonometry formulas were replaced by a haggard, soot-streaked woman's face.
"Mayday!" The woman announced tiredly, but with great urgency behind her words. "Mayday! Earth is under attack! I repeat, Earth is-" The line was abruptly cut, returning the screen to lessons Stephanie couldn't possibly concentrate on now.
Instead, she scrambled to her feet; her loose red pants caught on her stool for a moment before she managed to yank them free and ran off in search of her mother.
Niku had been a servant in Heklia's entourage for as long as she could remember. She had always done exactly what she was told, never complained, and stayed out of Heklia's way. That was how she survived to the – relative – old age of 31. And now she had a chance to become more than a servant. Much more.
Heklia's plan had been ingenious, to a point. The false personalities she'd implanted on Niku and her fellow servant were those of citizens of Crystal Tokyo. The two were supposed to infiltrate the secure base Helios had established just inside the palace grounds, gain the king's confidence somehow, and then dispose of him. How they accomplished that end was entirely up to them.
The false personalities were supposed to be absolute; Niku wasn't supposed to be able to think as her true self. But Niku was much more resourceful than she seemed, and she'd managed to retain some control over herself through the mental operation and her arrival in the outskirts of Crystal Tokyo.
This was her time to shine.
"Well, this is just great." Sentra commented sarcastically, staring at the mound of rubble blocking the hall in front of her. "This is the only way there, too, I just know it!"
"Calm down, dear." Serenity said soothingly, stroking Sentra's hair with one hand. "We'll find a way. We always do."
Diana, who had followed the two faithfully through the subbasement without complaint, rested one paw on Sentra's calf, mewing encouragingly.
"Oh, Diana!" Sentra exclaimed, dropping to her knees and scooping the kitten up. "What would I do without you?"
"It's all right, Princess." Diana said quietly. "If you'd like, I could try to reach the other side for you. I can fit in the cracks."
"But-"
"I really can, Princess." Diana protested, wiggling out of Sentra's grasp and scampering over to the pile of debris. After only a moment of hesitation, jumped up to a small opening and wormed her way through.
"I made contact with Mars!" One of the communications experts announced, waving her thin hand over her head. "I reached the princess; she's responsible enough to take it straight to her mother!"
"Good work." Helios told the woman, smiling gratefully. "Why don't you go get some rest? Let someone else take over this station."
"Yes, sir," She said wearily, standing and stumbling off in the direction of the bunks as another volunteer took her place.
Helios wandered over to the narrow windows that faced the city, staring moodily at the piles of ash and debris that had once been proud buildings.
Movement in the distance caught his eye; it looked for a moment like more of the shadow demons, but then dissolved into to human figures scrambling over the wreckage towards the palace.
Without thinking, Helios vaulted the deep sill, kicking the widow open and landing in a crouch outside. If they kept on their current course, they'd run right into those shadow demons.
Quickly, but mindful of the many dangers in his path, he made his way to the two, reaching them just before they stumbled onto the boundary between relative safety and almost certain death.
"Hey!" He whispered, managing to grab the one in the lead by the wrist. "Wait!"
The girl bit back a yelp, staring at his hand, but thankfully didn't scream.
"Please, ladies, come with me." Helios said quietly. "I'm afraid the enemy lies in that direction, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
"Mom!" Stephanie yelled, hitting the doors of her mother's dressing room at a dead run.
The queen of Mars shrieked and dropped the bottle of perfume in her hands. It crashed to the imitation hardwood floor and shattered, soaking the front of her skirt.
"Stephanie!" Queen Rei wailed, staring in horror at the stain on her favorite dress. "Your father gave me that perfume! It was the only bottle I had left! There won't be another shipment for months!"
"Forget your stinking perfume, Mom!" Stephanie retorted, matching her mother glare for violet glare. "We've got bigger problems!"
Before she could say another word, the princess was bowled over and almost trampled by two palace guards and King Jedite.
"Honey, what's wrong?" The king asked, running over to his wife and checking her over for injuries. "Why did you scream?"
"I'm fine." Rei said calmly. "Our daughter surprised me, is all. I'm afraid I accidentally broke the perfume bottle you gave me for our anniversary."
"Well, that's okay." Jedite said. "I'll buy you another." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead before turning to his daughter. "Now, I'd like to know why you aren't in your lessons, young lady."
"That's what I was trying to tell Mom!" Stephanie protested, stamping one foot. "My tutor screen picked up a mayday from Earth!"
Sentra waited impatiently at the foot of the mountain of rubble for Diana to come back. Whether the cat found anything or not was irrelevant; Sentra was just worried about the fuzzball.
"Diana is much older than she looks." Serenity remarked quietly, kneeling on the floor of the hallway. "She's older than I am, which is pretty damned old for a cat."
"I figured." Sentra said, smiling. "I wonder how Dad's doing."
"I'm sure he's fine, dear. My Helios can take care of himself."
"Yeah,"
Both fell silent, and the only sound was the slow, steady drip of water somewhere behind them. Then a slight scratching reached them, and a dirty, rumpled Diana poked her head into view, a large reddish crystal held firmly in her mouth.
"Marcus, get down from there." Queen Minako said calmly without turning around. Her ten-year-old son pouted but obeyed, sliding down the thick pillar he'd been climbing.
"Ma, play with me." He demanded, widening his crystal blue eyes and striving to look pitiful.
"I'm busy, Marcus." Minako said gently, setting her pen down for a moment. "Why don't you go see if your father's back yet?"
"But I wanna play with you!" Marcus yelled, plopping down on the floor and glaring up at his mother.
"If you so much as think of throwing a temper tantrum in my office, I will spank you myself and confine you to your room."
"But-"
"No buts, Marcus. I'm very-"
Minako's comm. crackled loudly, interrupting her and making both royals wince.
"Mayday!" A voice yelled on the other end of the line. "Mayday! Venus, this is Earth, and we are under attack! Requesting immediate assis-" The voice died as abruptly as it had come to life, leaving the two in stunned silence.
"Diana, you idiot!" Sentra yelled, picking the gray cat up and hugging her. "Never make me worry like that again, am I understood?"
Diana's reply was too garbled to understand by her burden, carried the only sensible way a cat carries anything.
"Oh. Sorry." Sentra said sheepishly, taking the crystal and holding it up to the light. "Moon Crimson Power." She whispered with an odd sort of half smile.
The crystal twinkled, as if laughing, then flared brightly, engulfing the princess in brilliant red light.
"M-mom?" Marcus asked. "Mom, something's happening…"
"Marcus, what-" Minako started, turning to her young son, then stopped, staring at him. He was floating a foot or so off the ground and glowing bright yellow.
"Marcus!"
"Stephanie, if Chibi-U - Serenity were in trouble, she would have called me, not your tutor screen." Rei explained with forced patience.
"But Mom-"
"Quiet." Rei ordered, massaging her left temple. "If you must come barreling out of nowhere at me and scare me out of my wits, at least come up with a better excuse. And-"
"Honey?" Jedite interrupted quietly. "Look at our daughter for a second, will you?"
"Why?" Rei demanded, looking up even as she spoke. "She's…"
"Glowing." Jedite confirmed. "Stephanie, dear, are you feeling okay?"
"Yes." Stephanie answered, her eyes riveted to one glowing hand. "Anyone want to explain this?"
"I…" the queen started. "Stephanie, say it."
"Say what?"
"You know what to say already; now say it!"
"M-Mars Ruby Power!"
"Jupiter Emerald Power!"
"Venus Opal Power!"
Mercury Sapphire Power!"
Yay! New Senshi! We've got an all-new team of Inners, and we might get Outers, too, depending on how the story unfolds!
…… Is anyone reading this? I'm not updating again until I get some reviews!
Rawr!