Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.
Chapter 1: Reunions
She stood frozen in the doorway of a large room made of red stone brick, the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. Lying in the middle of the room she saw the bodies of her mommy and daddy, their throats ripped open and their blood pooling onto the floor of the room. Standing above the bodies of her parents was a monster that stood like a man. Its body was lean and covered in white scales. The monster stared at her with crimson reptilian eyes, and the black claws on its long fingers still dripped with her parents' blood.
As the monster stared at her, it opened its mouth to reveal rows of white fangs. It let out a horrible hissing noise, and in another second it was charging across the room towards her. She couldn't run; her legs felt as though they were rooted to the ground. She had realized running would be pointless anyway though, as the monster could easily catch her no matter how fast she ran. As the monster finally came upon her, all she could do was scream.
Rei gasped as her eyes snapped open and she bolted forward in her chair. Her heart was pounding in her chest just as hard as it had been in the nightmare. It took a few moments for Rei to realize the experience had only been a dream, and she was currently on the train to Kyoto. Once that reality had set in, Rei relaxed and set back in her chair, turning her head to gaze at the passing scenery to try and relax. Rei didn't know exactly when she had fallen asleep on the train, but she hadn't been at all surprised that she did.
Ever since Ami had shown her the picture of the Mars Face two nights ago, Rei had been having the same recurring nightmare. The nightmare was always so vivid and so terrifying that she had been unable to get a full night's sleep. The most damning thing of all though was that Rei was certain it was not a mere nightmare but a memory, a memory from her past life. It had to be because the man and woman lying dead in the nightmare she recognized as her parents were not her parents from this life.
Rei had to admit the idea of her nightmare being a memory made a lot of sense, though while she could recall much from her previous life she never remembered ever knowing either of her parents. If it truly were a memory, it would've had to be from when she was very little. The question was why was this memory surfacing now? More importantly, just what the hell was the monster she kept seeing?
It actually wasn't long before the train finally pulled into the station. Rei immediately disembarked from the train, carrying the cage containing her two crows, Phobos and Deimos, which had previously been on the seat next to her. She stood right outside the train for a few moments, looking for someone holding up a sign with her name on it to escort her to a car to take her to where her father was. That was how Takashi Hino usually did things when it came to his daughter, always sending a representative to do things because he was far too busy to come and do it himself.
"Rei Hino?" a voice suddenly spoke.
Rei turned to her right, and standing before her was a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties. She had short black hair and skin that was so pale that it was almost chalk-white. A pair of dark glasses with square frames covered her eyes, and a white cord was sticking out of her ear. The young woman was about as tall as Makoto and had on a black suit and tie. One might've mistaken the woman for a man from far away were it not for the obvious feminine curve of her bust and hips.
"I'm guessing you're the one my father sent to get me," Rei deduced. "You don't look like a chauffer though."
"That's because I'm not," the woman replied. "Grete Andersen, Asgard Security. Starting today I'll be your bodyguard."
Rei was visibly startled. "Bodyguard? Why do I need a bodyguard?"
"All will be explained in the car, Ms. Hino. Now please follow me to the gate. A colleague of mine will be waiting for us there."
Though unsettled, Rei did as she was asked and followed Grete to the gate out of the station. When they got there they encountered a young man with wavy blond hair, wearing a black suit and a pair of sunglasses identical to the set Grete had on. He even had an earpiece like the kind Grete was wearing. As soon as the two came up though, the young man removed his sunglasses and flashed them a charming smile. The moment he did though Rei's blood ran cold because she knew whom the young man was, he was Jadeite of the four Shitennou, the generals of the Dark Kingdom.
The moment Jadeite showed up, Rei's heart began pounding in her chest again. This was the last thing Rei needed on top of her current recurring nightmare.
"Everything's still secure outside, Ms. Andersen," Jadeite reported.
Grete nodded. "Good work." She then turned back to Rei. "Ms. Hino, I'd like you to meet my associate, Jun Aragaki. He will also be serving as your bodyguard."
Jun bowed to Rei. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hino. You can leave your safety in my hands."
It took Rei a moment to come back to her senses. She realized the young man standing before her couldn't be Jadeite, as he had been dead for years now. Her recurring nightmare and the stress of dealing with her father was clearly starting to get to her. Though Rei had to admit encountering someone who was a perfect doppelgänger for one of her dead enemies was pretty damn weird.
"The car's waiting for us," Jun reported to Grete.
Grete nodded. "Then we should be off. Let's go, Ms. Hino."
Grete and Jun escorted Rei over to a black limo waiting outside the station for them. Jun opened the door to allow Rei to get in first. When the dark-haired priestess got in, she saw sitting in the limo in the seat opposite from her an older man with greying hair and a mustache wearing a suit and glasses. This of course was Rei's father, Takashi Hino. Once Grete and Jun got into the limo, it started out down the road.
"Hello Rei," Takashi spoke. "You're looking well. I hope I didn't frighten you by having these guards come pick you up."
"Not at all," Rei responded, though she wasn't being entirely truthful. Having two armed guards suddenly come to pick her up at the station certainly was disconcerting, especially since one of the guards was a dead ringer for a former enemy. "What's all this about, father?"
"It's only a precaution, I assure you. However it was a precaution I felt necessary to take. Recently I've been getting threats for throwing my political support behind a group called the Cydonia Foundation. I don't suppose you've heard of them."
"No," Rei answered, though a chill had gone down her spine when she heard the name of the group Takashi was talking about. Cydonia was the name of the region on Mars where the stone face Ami had shown her was located. "What exactly does this foundation do?"
"The Cydonia Foundation is an international organization devoted to the goal of one day colonizing Mars, though they are supporting a number of other scientific endeavors as well. Unfortunately there are a number of radical groups who believe the Foundation has been conducting certain unethical experiments, animal testing and that sort of thing. There's even the wild rumor saying the Foundation has been responsible for a number of people disappearing over the years, but of course it's all rubbish; nothing's ever been proven. Even so, some of the more extreme radicals – made up of people who's families have supposedly been hurt by the Foundation – have made death threats against anyone who'd dare throw political or financial support behind the Foundation. The authorities have advised me to take the threats I've received for my support seriously, thus I had no choice but to obtain the services of Ms. Andersen's company, which came highly recommended."
"You honor me, sir," Grete responded.
"I'm a bit surprised though, father," Rei spoke. "Throwing support behind a group hoping to colonize other planets seems unusual for you."
Takashi smirked. "The current chairman of the Cydonia Foundation gave me one hell of a sales pitch. I now believe the colonization of other planets is the best course for humanity's future survival, and I want this country to be at the forefront of that endeavor."
"Still, I'd think that throwing support behind this foundation would cost you some allies."
"Very true. Over the years space exploration has become something of a joke; not something many want to throw support behind when there are so many other problems in the country and the world at large. Even so, I firmly believe that this is the right path to take." Takashi then took a moment to clear his throat. "In any case Rei, I should tell you now that we won't be staying here in Kyoto for very much longer. As we speak, this car is taking us to a helicopter that will eventually take us to a small private island not far from Japan, where the headquarters of the Foundation is located."
Rei was outraged upon hearing this, but did her best to keep her anger in check. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"I felt certain you'd be less likely to come if you knew. It'll only be for a few days Rei, I assure you. Besides, the chairman is just dying to see you."
At last the real reason why Takashi had summoned Rei to Kyoto had become clear to her. If Takashi had simply wanted to give her protection, he simply would've sent Grete and Jun to Hikawa Shrine and have one of them deliver a message about why the protection was needed. But in the end this trip was just an attempt to set Rei up with this chairman of the Cydonia Foundation who Takashi had somehow become good friends with. It was a textbook move from her father, one that Rei had been expecting from the very beginning. A part of Rei had hoped things would be different this time around, that Takashi had asked her to come simply because he wanted to see his daughter, but it now seemed clear things were never going to change between them.
Eventually the limo arrived at a small airport where a fairly large private helicopter was waiting for the four. Once Takashi, Rei, and Rei's two new bodyguards got aboard, the chopper took off and in a few moments was flying out over the ocean. In another few minutes Rei could see the island they were flying towards off in the distance. The island was covered mostly in forest, but as they got closer Rei could see a large silver building atop the island's highest point. The building almost looked like a flying saucer, the kind that might've been used in those stupid movies where Martians tried invading Earth.
The chopper soon landed on a large helipad in front of the silver building. As Rei and the others disembarked, they found a young woman waiting for them at the helipad's edge. She had blue eyes and long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. The woman was dressed in some sort of black military uniform complete with gloves, a cap, and a very visible bulletproof vest. Rei had to think that the Foundation took the threats against it very seriously if they had that level of security manning their headquarters.
The woman walked up to Takashi as he and the others approached. "Minister Hino? I'm Virginia Sampson, a member of headquarters security. The chairman sent me to come get you. He also wanted to have a private word with you before meeting your daughter."
"Of course," Takashi replied before turning back to Rei and the others. "Rei, I'd like you to stay out here for a few moments. This meeting shouldn't take long."
Virginia then escorted Takashi towards the saucer-shaped building while Rei hung back with Grete and Jun.
"I think I'll go and check the perimeter to make sure this place is secure," Grete decided. "Aragaki, you stay here with Ms. Hino."
Grete walked off before Rei could protest, leaving her with Jadeite's lookalike. Rei found that she felt incredibly vulnerable despite having a bodyguard.
Jun cleared his throat. "Um, I couldn't help but notice that you seem uncomfortable around me."
"Oh, uh…it's nothing really," Rei responded. "It's just…you look exactly like this guy I used to know. Someone who gave me some real trouble a few years ago."
Jun sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I'm just gonna come clean here. It's me Sailor Mars, Jadeite. I'm back."
Rei's blood froze when she heard Jun's confession. She took a much closer look at him and realized that her first reaction to his appearance had been right from the start. Jun looked too much like the dark general she had fought years ago to be some mere lookalike.
Without a moment of hesitation, Rei put her hand to her chest. "Mars Crystal Power…MAKE-UP!"
In a flash Rei was enveloped in a pillar of red flames that shot up towards the sky. The flames quickly subsided to reveal the raven-haired priestess in her alternate form of Sailor Mars. Mars raised her left arm towards Jun, and suddenly a bow and arrow made of crimson flames burst to life in her hand. Pulling the arrow back with her right hand, she aimed it right for Jun's head.
"Aw shit!" Jun cursed.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" Mars called out as she fired the arrow.
Jun rolled out of the way before the flaming arrow could strike him. The arrow kept on going and hit an empty spot on the helipad, exploding like a missile. Sailor Mars meanwhile was preparing to fire another arrow.
Jun got back to his feet and raised his hands in surrender. "Look, I get why you're trying to kill me, but I'm not here for the reason you think."
Mars paid no attention to Jun's words and instead fired another arrow towards his head. Again, Jun rolled out of the way of the attack, causing the arrow to impact a nearby shrub and explode. Once again, Mars was preparing to fire another arrow.
"Dammit! Will you just listen to me for a second?" Jun shouted.
Mars ignored him yet again and fired another arrow, but this time before the arrow could hit Jun became surrounded by a twister of ice and snow. In seconds the twister broke apart to reveal Jun wearing an ice-blue cape with a dark-red underside that hung from his back, and he had on a black uniform shirt underneath a piece of ice-blue armor over his chest. Blue gloves covered his hands, and he had on long black pants with knee-high armored boots made of the same metal as the armor covering his chest. Hanging from the wide golden belt around his waist was a large sword with an ornate ice-blue handle and black sheath. Though his uniform was much different from the one he wore as a general he had as a general of the Dark Kingdom, the transformation left no doubt in Mars's mind that the man before her was Jadeite.
As soon as Mars fired another flaming arrow, Jadeite drew his sword and plunged it into the ground. "Absolute Ice Fort!"
Before the flaming arrow could strike, four thick walls of ice came up from the ground around Jadeite from all sides. The arrow impacted the front wall and exploded. In seconds all four of the ice walls melted, but Jadeite was left totally unharmed.
Jadeite walked over the small flames that still surrounded him on the ground towards Mars. "Will you just cut it out? I'm not here as your enemy!"
"Then how come you transformed?" Mars asked as she aimed another arrow at his head.
"Because you're trying to kill me you crazy bitch!"
The moment Mars let loose another arrow Jadeite thrust his sword forward. "Sub Zero Lance!"
A cone of ice fired from the blade of Jadeite's sword towards the oncoming flame arrow. The two projectiles collided with one another and exploded on impact. Just as Sailor Mars got ready to launch another attack, Jadeite cried out in pain and fell to his knees. Mars could suddenly see that the blonde warrior's body was giving off sparks of silver electricity. She also noticed that there was a thin bracelet on his right wrist, which at that moment was glowing white. After a moment the sparks crackling from Jadeite's body faded and the bracelet had stopped glowing, becoming what seemed like an ordinary piece of silver metal.
"Explain yourself, Jadeite!" a voice shouted. Mars looked and saw Grete standing at the edge of the battlefield with her hands on her hips.
Jadeite coughed as he finally got back to his feet. "She started it! The moment I told her who I was she tried to take my damn head off with one of her arrows!"
Grete let out a heavy sigh, trying to maintain her composure. "Did I not give you the order to keep your identity a secret for as long as possible?"
"Oh come on! She had pretty much already figured me out! Did you honestly think she wouldn't find it suspicious that a guy with my face had suddenly come back into her life? There was no way she was ever gonna buy some B.S. story about me just being an ordinary guy who just happened to look like a guy who once tried to kill her!"
Before Grete could offer a rebuttal, Mars aimed the arrow she had already prepared right at her head. "Who the hell are you really!"
Realizing the volatile situation she was now in, Grete calmly raised her hands. "Please calm yourself Sailor Mars. I am not your enemy."
"The company you keep says otherwise!" Mars retorted, motioning her head towards Jadeite.
"Jadeite is not your enemy either. I did bring him back from the dead, but it was to help protect this world, not destroy it. As you may recall from your past life, Jadeite was originally one of Prince Endymion's protectors. In other words, you and her were on the same side before the one known as Queen Beryl corrupted him. He is once again the man he was before that corruption."
"I'm very sorry for everything I did to you and your friends when I worked for the Dark Kingdom," Jadeite told Mars. "I know I probably don't deserve another chance, but right now all I want is to complete this mission I've been assigned to so I can go back to protecting Endymion like I was meant to."
Eventually Mars finally lowered her bow and arrow, causing them to vanish with a burst of flames. "Give me one good reason why I should trust either of you."
"I'm afraid I cannot," Grete told her as she lowered her hands. "There's much about my mission that I'm not at liberty to say. I can tell you though that Jadeite and I are here to stop an enemy which will burn this planet to ash if let loose. We're also here to provide you with protection, because right now you truly are in great danger. Not from the extremist groups your father talked to you about earlier, but from someone far worse."
"You really expect me to trust my protection to that man?" Mars asked as she pointed a thumb at Jadeite.
"If it puts you at ease, know that Jadeite is wearing a bracelet that can restrain him if he steps out of line. You saw a demonstration of me using it earlier. The bracelet will not be removed until his mission with me has been completed. If necessary, I can also use the bracelet to kill him and return him to the fossilized star seed he was when I found him."
"…Can you do that now?"
"Hey!" Jadeite protested.
Though Grete tried to maintain her calm expression, her left eye began to twitch under her sunglasses. "No. I need Jadeite's assistance for this mission. Look Sailor Mars, if we were enemies, we would've destroyed you already. I'm sorry I have no way to prove we are your allies, but for now you are just going to have to trust us.
After a moment, Sailor Mars finally transformed back to her civilian identity with a burst of flames. "Okay. I'll trust you…for now. But one false move and I will take you both out without hesitation."
Jadeite let out a sigh of relief and transformed back into Jun with a swirl of snow. "This is gonna be a really long mission."
At long last Takashi came back with Virginia. "There you are, Rei. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. The chairman is now anxious to see you."
Rei couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. She went over and got the cage containing her two crows and followed her father and Virigina into the compound with Jun and Grete. Once inside the saucer-shaped building they traveled down a corridor with metal walls so polished they were like mirrors. Every now and then the passed by a solid grey door with a name of some sort painted near the top in white letters. The first door they had passed on entry for example was the door to the hydroponics lab, which Rei couldn't help but think would be an interesting place for Makoto to visit.
They ended up passing by men and women in white lab coats as they crossed each intersection of the corridor. Down one corner, Rei spotted a set of red elevator doors, which indicated that there was more to the building lying underground.
"The living quarters are on the top floor opposite from the side we're now on," Virginia informed them. "Guest accommodations for you have already been arranged, and as we speak men are bringing your bags to your rooms." She looked back towards Rei at the birdcage she was carrying. "Someone would've gladly taken those…pets of yours."
"Phobos and Deimos stay with me," Rei told her.
Virginia turned her eyes forward again. "You will be given card keys to your rooms once your meeting with the chairman is over. These keys will also allow you to access other parts of the facility open for guests. When you receive your keys, please keep them on your person at all times."
"Are we going to get a tour of this place?" Jun asked. Grete shot him a glare that caused him to flinch. "Uh, I asked cause, you know…I thought it might be good to get a look at the layout of this place for security reasons."
"I can assure you that our security here is top-notch, Mr. Aragaki."
"While we're all sure of that, the young man makes a good point," Takashi interjected. "I wouldn't mind a tour of this place myself."
Virginia sighed. "I'll see what I can arrange later with the chairman. Please know though there are some parts of the facility that are totally off limits to visitors. Our people here are working on some highly classified projects."
At last the group came to a large pair of black doors that curved out towards them. Virginia punched a code into a small panel next to the doors, causing them to slide open. Beyond the doors was a large circular office with brown walls. In the middle of the room was a large black and silver desk with a rounded top. There was a set of three large monitors mounted on the back wall. Standing behind the desk with his back to the group was a man with blonde hair wearing a white suit.
"Chairman, the rest of your visitors have arrived," Virginia announced.
"Thank you, Officer Sampson," the man behind the desk responded. When he spoke, Rei found his voice to be very familiar. "That will be all."
Virginia left the office and the black doors slid shut behind her. At last the man standing behind the desk turned around, revealing his handsome face and a set of stylish glasses.
Rei recognized the man in an instant. "Kaidou? Is that really you?"
"Hello Rei," Kaidou responded. "It's so good to see you again after all these years."
Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed the first installment of this story. In regards to Jadeite's abilities in this story, I decided to make them ice-based like they were in Sailor Moon Crystal because well...I like the pairing of Fire and Ice.
I should be back next week with the next installment of the story. Until then, please review and let me know what you think.