A/N: Written for the Senshi/Shitennou Reverse Mini Bang 2017. Huge thanks to all the mods who set this up. Huge thanks to my betas, CharlieChaplin2, Galaxylily, and Thalia! Huge, huge thanks to mochibuni, for her beautiful artwork which was the inspiration to this fic.
Thoughts will be in italics. Present time things—or better known as scenes to normal, coherent, and intelligent beings not named Serp—will be in regular typing. This is more anime/manga than Crystal, I guess? I mixed and matched details from both, but I don't think it'll be too hard to follow where I got what. I think.
And When The Dust Falls Away
Chapter 1
The birds chirped merrily as Makoto Kino ignored the honking horns of cars that were forced to stop as she sprinted across the road. With her bookbag in one hand and a large yet delicately wrapped lunchbox in the other, she made another turn as she ran down the sidewalk at breakneck speed.
"Mako-channnnnn!"
The voice of her Princess, better known as Usagi Tsukino in this lifetime, halted her in her steps.
"Usagi-chan!" Makoto called back, and in spite of being nearly late for class, she couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her face as she readjusted her speed so that Usagi could catch up with her. "Late again, eh?"
"Luna didn't wake me up," Usagi panted as she ran alongside with Makoto.
The aforementioned cat stuck her head out of Usagi's bookbag and protested, "Yes, I did! You threw a pillow at my head and went right back to sleep."
Usagi stuck out her tongue at Luna, causing Makoto to snort.
"Minna-san!" another voice called out this time.
Even without turning their heads, Makoto and Usagi both chorused, "Minako-chan."
Sure enough, the bubbly blonde soon caught up with them, looping one arm around each of her best friends' and forcing Makoto to slow down to something between a jog and a quick walk.
"Glad I made it," Minako said, flashing each of them a mega-watt smile.
"We're not there yet, Minako-chan," Makoto said with a grimace.
"Nope, we're not there yet, but if we have to get yelled at or suffer through some other kinds of punishment that were designed to torture beautiful young maidens like ourselves until we break down and become miserable, bitter hags who would forever remain single, we will still have one another, yes?" Minako asked in her usual dramatic way.
"I think Usagi-chan's opted out of that 'miserable, bitter hags who would forever remain single' option already, hasn't she?" Makoto asked with a wink towards the girl in question.
A blush appeared on Usagi's cheeks. "Mako-chan!" she said in half-hearted protest.
"Oh, Mako-chan, why must you wound innocent souls like mine in such a terrible way?" Minako asked, "Especially so early in the morning!"
"'Innocent souls'?" Makoto scoffed playfully. "With acting like that, you should change your resume from actress to comedian."
Usagi giggled as Minako unlooped her arm from Makoto's and waved her hand. "You evil woman! I shall borrow one of Rei-chan's ofudas and banish you!"
Minako's antics caused Makoto to laugh and when she stopped, she noticed how Usagi had suddenly quieted down with a thoughtful look on her face.
"What's the matter, Usagi-chan?" Makoto asked.
"Oh! Nothing!" Usagi answered a bit too quickly with a brilliant smile on her face. "Just thinking about yesterday's test."
"Ugh, tell me about it," Minako said, slapping the back of her hand to her forehead. "The teachers really have nothing to do other than to sit around and write awful tests to fail us all. This is why seventy-five percent of teachers are single."
"That's not even a real statistic," Makoto countered just as the morning sun shot a glare of light directly into her eyes.
"Who cares? The reality is probably even more horrifying," Minako said.
But Makoto wasn't really listening as she lifted her hand to block the beam of sunlight from burning away her retinas. She wasn't sure, but for a second there, when the light initially blinded her, she thought something flash through her mind. The harder she tried to grasp onto that feeling, the further away it got from her.
What was that?
It was a strange feeling that Makoto couldn't brush away. It felt like she'd been in a vivid dream, only for her to forget it all the moment she woke up, no matter how much they'd wanted to remember it.
It felt like a memory that had been buried away by the sands of time.
"Mako-chan?" Usagi called out, noticing the faraway look in her friend's eyes.
Makoto snapped out of her stupor and looked down at her Princess.
"Are you okay?" Usagi asked.
Even Minako had stopped and was now looking at her with concern.
"No, I'm fine. It's just … I don't know. For a moment there, when the sun shone in my eyes, I thought I remembered something," Makoto tried to explain, "but I don't even know what it was."
"Last night's homework?" Minako asked with an impish smile.
"We didn't—OH, SHIT! I forgot to do my history homework last night!" Makoto exclaimed, stopping in the middle of street.
~-0-~
In the end, Makoto, along with Usagi and Minako, did not escape the wrath of their teacher for being late and forgetting their homework—apparently, Makoto wasn't the only one who'd forgotten that there was homework last night—but the feeling of uneasiness didn't go away. She thought it might be because the new student in the next classroom who reminded her of her Senpai (ok, his jawline did), but when she saw him later in the day (he was still too handsome, just like her Senpai), she knew in her gut that that wasn't what was bothering her.
As she headed towards the spot in the courtyard that had become the Inner-Senshi-minus-Mars's favorite spot to eat lunch, her mind kept drifting back to that moment when the sun had shone in her eyes. What was even more annoying was the fact that the more she tried to forget about it, the more it lingered there at the back of her head, as if she'd forgotten something important.
"Mako-chan?" a soft voice spoke up next to her.
"Oh! Hey, Ami-chan! Sorry, was lost in my thoughts for a second there. Here, have a seat," Makoto said, pulling her bookbag off the bench and gesturing towards it.
Ami gave her a pleasant smile and sat down.
"Here's yours!" Makoto said sunnily, brushing away the uneasiness in her mind and handing Ami a lunchbox she had prepared in the morning.
It turned out that the reason her lunchbox looked larger than usual was because she had four of them stacked inside. It had become something of an unspoken tradition where the girls would bring their own lunchboxes and Makoto would still prepare something for them.
"Mako-chan! I'm going to starve!"
Except for Minako, who wouldn't have her own lunchbox to begin with.
"Seriously, with the amount you eat, I don't even know how you maintain your job," Makoto said with a roll of her eyes, but still handing her a lunchbox anyway.
"Hey! I don't eat as much as—"
"Mako-channnnnn!"
A similar grin appeared on all three girls' faces as their Princess ran up to them, looking positively ravenous.
"Here's your lunch, Princess," Makoto said, giving her the lunchbox with an indulgent look on her face.
"Thank you!" Usagi said gratefully as she plopped down on the seat in between Minako and Ami.
As they ate and while Usagi and Minako complained about their newest assignment, Ami leaned closer to Makoto. "What were you thinking about before?"
"Hm?" Makoto asked, a bit distracted now that things were quieting down.
Ami smiled. "Or should I ask, what are you distracted about?"
"Oh!" A blush appeared on Makoto's face. "It's nothing really."
Ami looked at her politely, and even though she didn't say anything, Makoto caved. There was just something about Ami that brought things out of people. She always analysed things in a way that was coolly logical, and which never made you feel inferior, even if her conclusion was basically to call you stupid (which was a rare enough circumstance as it was, and it only happened when she'd been pissed off badly). For that reason, Makoto found that it was easier speaking to Ami than with the other Senshi.
"I … This morning while I was walking, well," Makoto amended when she saw Ami's amused look, "running to school, something crossed my mind, but I can't remember what it was. It just feels … like I should remember it, but I don't. Minako-chan thought it might be school-related, but I just have this feeling that that's not it."
Ami mulled over Makoto's words before asking, "Like a memory or a dream that's at the back of your mind that you can't remember?"
"Yes," Makoto answered before she stopped and stared at Ami. "Wait … you too?"
"What are the two of you talking about?" Minako suddenly asked.
Though there was still a smile on her face, Makoto almost had the feeling that she was trying to detect something from their faces.
Before Makoto could answer, Ami cut in, "We were just talking about the project that we have for next week. Have you started on it yet?"
Makoto couldn't help but stare at Ami before she realised it would make Minako suspicious, so she ducked her head down and pretended to be looking at the food in her lunchbox instead. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but marvel at how smoothly Ami had lied to Minako. She'd never labeled Ami as someone who could lie, let alone so well. In fact, she'd always thought that it was something that would make Ami uncomfortable. As for why she would even lie to Minako in the first place was an interesting question, but judging from the short interaction they'd had she guessed Ami probably knew more about this than she did and therefore had a good reason to not want Minako's intervention.
Thankfully, at the talk of schoolwork, Minako immediately switched the topic, although it did seem to Makoto that the blonde kept a closer watch on the two of them for the remainder of lunch. Ami must have noticed, too, because she refrained from speaking further about it.
"Let's work on the project after school," Ami suggested to Makoto before they went back to their classrooms.
Realizing that Ami meant to speak with her about the strange incident after school, Makoto nodded. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Minako chatting with Usagi, but she still got the strange feeling that it was all an act and Minako was still secretly observing them.
Once she was back in the classroom, Makoto could hardly sit still. She kept fidgeting in her seat until the concern in her teacher's eyes turned into annoyance. Granted, she had never really liked school in the first place, but now, it felt longer than usual.
Finally, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Makoto had no idea what Ami had told Minako and Usagi, but by the time she reached the front door of school, they were nowhere to be seen.
Even though they were alone, neither of them spoke immediately, choosing to walk together in a comfortable silence.
They stopped not too far from Game Center Crown, and before Makoto can enter the shop, Ami grabbed onto her arm, nodding towards a park not too far away. Though she had questions, Makoto followed her friend, trusting the latter to know what she was doing.
Ami waited until they'd sat themselves on one of the park benches before she said anything. "How much of our past lives do you remember?"
Makoto was momentarily surprised by the question, but it didn't take her all that long to recover. She shook her head and answered, "Not too much really. Why?" Suddenly, it clicked in her brain. "You think what I experienced in the morning has something to do with our past lives?"
Ami nodded before lowering her eyes in thought. "I … I think there are parts of our memories that are still locked away."
Makoto frowned. "Why would you think that?"
"Because Minako-chan wouldn't talk about it," Ami answered.
Makoto stared. "What? You think … wait, I'm completely confused right now. First of all, you think Minako-chan's hiding something from us? And second of all, when did you even speak to her about this?"
Ami nodded. "I'm certain that Minako-chan is hiding something from us." She paused for a second. "I don't know if it was because I was awoken as a Sailor Senshi before you, but I … what you described during lunchtime is something that I've been experiencing for weeks. I tried to ask Minako-chan about it, but she would always test if I knew what it was actually about before changing the subject. She did it so subtly that I didn't catch on to it until a few days ago."
"That's why you lied to her?" Makoto asked.
"I …" Ami frowned as if she couldn't remember, and then a furious blush appeared on her face. "Yes, I lied."
Makoto couldn't hold back an initial snort at her reaction, but it was just as quickly replaced by a frown. "Why would she hide something like this from us? What's so scary that she doesn't want us to know? I thought … I mean, we've been through so much already, so why would she lie to us?"
"I think … I don't really think she's trying to hide it from us." Ami paused, presumably to choose the right words. "I think she's doing it to protect us."
"Protect us? From what?" Makoto asked.
"I don't know," Ami admitted, disgruntled. "I've tried to go through the database at the command center to look for information, but it requires permission from a higher authority."
"Higher authority?" Makoto scoffed. "Why would they lock up something like that? And who's the higher authority anyw-"
And then she remembered. As the leader of the Sailor Senshi (or at least, the Inner Senshi), Minako was the higher authority.
She swallowed heavily, not liking all this secrecy between friends. "But why … so you're saying, you think that Minako-chan's doing all of this to protect us? Do you think Rei-chan knows about this? Maybe we can ask her?"
"I don't think there's very much Minako-chan can hide from Rei-chan," Ami replied with a smile. The smile then faded. "But if Rei-chan knows about it, she's choosing to ignore it."
"So we're the only two who don't know," Makoto concluded. "Is there another way to find out?"
Ami nodded with a glint in her eye which only made its appearance when she came up with something particularly clever. "We can't get the information from the computers, but there's one source that they can't lock completely."
~-0-~
"So let me get this straight, you're saying that this program is going to go into my mind and force my past life memories to come out?" Makoto asked, looking around with uncertainty in her eyes.
She'd been in the control room under Game Center Crown many times, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd had so many cords attaching her to the system in there.
A calm smile appeared on Ami's face as she entered a few commands into the computer. "Don't worry, Mako-chan. It won't be intrusive. You won't feel any pain, you won't lose anything, and you won't gain anything—other than your past memories, that is."
Receiving reassurance from Ami made Makoto feel slightly better, but not all that much. Not because she didn't trust Ami. She obviously did, or else she wouldn't have allowed her to hook her up to the computer like this. It was her past memories which made her uneasy. There had to be a reason why Minako would monitor them so closely whenever she discovered that new memories about their past had resurfaced, and Minako wouldn't be the leader of the Senshi if she didn't have what it took to be a good, if not an excellent, leader.
However, she truly couldn't fathom what could be worse than what they'd already known. Seriously, the kingdom that you belong to being destroyed, watching your princess commit suicide after her love of many lifetimes (who was even counting anymore?) was killed, watching your Queen being forced to release the power of the Silver Crystal—she couldn't think of a lower level of hell for them to go through.
"Ready?" Ami asked.
"Not really," Makoto said with a weak grin.
Ami gave her another reassuring smile. "We can wait a bit more if you want."
Makoto mulled over her options and shook her head to the best of her abilities with a bunch of nodes being attached to her head. "I don't think I can ever be truly ready. Let's get this over and done with before Luna, Artemis, or one of the others catch us, yeah?"
Ami gave her a nod before turning back to the computer and typing in a few more commands. Makoto watched the back of Ami's blue-haired head and slowly but surely, she felt rather than heard a soft hum going through her mind. Second later, her eyelids drooped down and a sense of fatigue washed over her. Before she could ask Ami if this was normal, everything went dark.
~-0-~
The final glimpse of the sun disappeared over the horizon, marking the beginning of her shift to look after their ever curious Princess.
"Good evening, Ma'am," a voice rang up the second she could no longer see the sun.
Jupiter turned around and saw a sandy-blond young man standing behind her. The reverence in his eyes was more apparent than she really cared for, so she chose to ignore it, giving a polite yet distant smile.
"Good evening. I'm sorry, but I need to go back to relieve Sailor Mars of her shift," Jupiter said as she headed back to the palace.
"Ma'am, if I may ask you a question," the sandy-blond called out.
She halted in her steps but didn't immediately turn around. A mixture of hilarity and exasperation stirred in her heart and blossomed into a soft sigh from her lips. She composed her features into the same courteous indifference she reserved for all admirers before facing him.
"Go ahead."
The sandy-blond—she hoped she wasn't expected to remember his name because she really couldn't—suddenly blushed and took a step forward towards her.
Jupiter raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to stumble backwards to the spot he was before.
"Are you going to speak or are you still looking for the right words? If it's the second option, I'm actually expected to be at Princess Serenity's room right now."
Patience was never one of her attributes.
The blush on his face deepened and he stuttered, "Ma'am … I was just … just wondering if you'll … you'll be at the ball. The ball being prepared for the Terrans."
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Jupiter answered, "Of course."
If she said anything more than that, she was afraid that it would be a lot less professional and gain too many points in rudeness.
As one of the personal guards of Princess Serenity, she would be expected to be at the ball. To ask if she would be at the ball tomorrow night was similar to asking if Terrans were intelligent.
"Can I … will I … Um … I guess I'll … I'll see you there then," the sandy blond said, chickening out at the last moment.
Jupiter could stop herself from laughing at him, but couldn't prevent the corners of her lips from quivering. "Sure."
Without saying anything else, she turned around and walked towards Princess Serenity's room.
~-0-~
She was a princess.
Of course, she was also the personal guard of Princess Serenity, daughter of Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, but she was a princess. The princess of one of the most valiant and warrior-like race in the solar system. Her parents cherished her like no other and her brothers (and she had many) treated her like the most precious treasure in the world.
One didn't have to wonder why—she was the only daughter of the Jovian monarchs. The day she was born, her people rejoiced and vowed to serve her with their bodies, souls, and hearts.
Much to their delight, she was also one of the strongest warriors to have been born to the Jovian family. At the age of three, she danced in the middle of one of the strongest storms to hit Jupiter in the last two thousand years. Her guards watched in horror and wonder while she turned and laughed as electricity touched and played with her, showing much more control over the dangerous power than any member of the Jovian royal family for the last seven generations.
From that moment on, she was bestowed the name of the planet, an honor that hadn't been given since five centuries ago, and admiration became something that she had to deal with on a daily basis. Men from the farthest corners of Jupiter came to pay their respects and ask for her hand. It came to the point where it became all so stale and boring.
Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long before she was brought to the moon and became one of the personal guards of the Moon Princess. Though the admiration from men didn't stop, at least she had the other Senshi to bear the burden with her.
"What are you thinking about, Jupiter?" Venus asked as she lazily peeled a grape before popping it into her mouth.
Jupiter grimaced. "I think Iolaus tried but failed to work up the courage to ask me to the ball next week."
Venus rolled her eyes as Mars and Mercury both sighed.
Mercury asked, exasperated, "Don't they have anything else better to do than to harass us?"
"I know, right? It's so boring when they come so easily," Venus pouted as she laid down on her back on the couch.
Mercury narrowed her eyes at their leader. "That's not what I meant."
"Different reasons, same annoyance," Venus said. She flipped herself around and propped her chin up with her hands. "Do you think those Terrans will be any different?"
Mars groaned, and Mercury rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? You're out of your mind," Mars said.
"What? I mean, sure, they're a bit dumb, but maybe they'll be so dumb that they won't treat us like the goddesses that we are," Venus said.
"I don't need or want a man to treat me like shit either," Jupiter deadpanned.
"Let's hope they're not that stupid then," Venus said with a wink.
"You're incorrigible," Mercury muttered.
"That's because I'm an outward romantic," Venus said. She paused before adding, "Not a closet romantic like someone we know."
Mercury raised an eyebrow at her without answering.
"Oh, come on, Mercury. There has to be at least one tiny romantic bone in you, isn't there?"
Mercury continued to stare.
"One tiny romantic cell?" Venus tried.
"I'm surprised you know the word 'cell' to be honest," Mercury replied dryly.
"Hey!"
"Leave her alone," Jupiter said with a roll of her eyes.
"You three are no fun," Venus pouted. "We're goddesses. We should be having fun, bringing handsome lads to our chambers, and having our wicked ways with them."
"Feel free to take all of them," Mars said with disgust on her face. "As if they'd bring anything to our lives but trouble."
A sly smile appeared on Venus's face. "Is it because you're actually in love with me, Mars dearest? I assure you that no man could ever replace you in my heart."
"I'm not a masochist," Mars deadpanned.
Venus's mouth dropped open, but before she could say anything, Jupiter cut in and asked, "So what about this ball, huh? You would think that a regular banquet between Queen Serenity and the Terran prince would've been enough."
"He would be bringing all four of his personal guards with him," Mercury answered. "According to our data, they are also kings in their own rights. If we only had a banquet, it would seem as if we're viewing them as being less than those who are part of the Alliance."
"You mean they're not?" Venus asked, batting her eyelashes innocently, causing Jupiter to snort.
"The Queen will not be pleased if we alert these … presumably civilized Terrans that we're informed of their true nature. She's much more interested in gaining their trust so that we can help them become a respectable, peaceful society, rather than a bunch of warmongering brutes," Mercury answered, a glimmer of amusement flashing through her eyes.
"Let's hope that they don't plan to climb into the Queen's bed first then," Mars said wryly.
"Mars!" Venus chided.
"Can't blame her, Venus," Jupiter said with a casual shrug. "Gotta love how they think we, the gods and goddesses, are similar to them when it comes down to affairs and lust."
"The Terrans are rather infamous for their affinity towards polygamy. You hardly hear them holding on to monogamous relationships," Mercury said thoughtfully. "It wouldn't surprise me if they would actually consider using the prince to … um … coax the Queen into having a more personal relationship with him."
"Seduce, Mercury. The word is seduce," Venus said, causing Mercury's cheeks to turn pink.
"The Queen can take care of herself," Mars said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm much more worried about the Princess."
"Why?" Jupiter asked, curious.
"She's … acting rather strange these days," Mars said with a frown.
"How so? Why wasn't I alerted about this?" Venus asked.
"I wanted to observe her for a while longer before letting you know. I thought it might have been my imagination, but while she always liked balls for the sake of dressing up and for what she called 'the feeling of romance in the air', I'd never seen her so happy," Mars answered. "It's almost as if she can't wait until the day of the ball arrives."
"You're afraid that her curiosity would extend so far that she'll try to find out more about the Terrans while they're here?" Venus asked.
"It's no secret that she always looks at the Earth longingly. I wouldn't put it past her to make contact with those savages," Mars said.
"Now, now, Mars. It's fine while we're in trusted company, but when the Terrans do arrive, you might want to watch out what you call them. The walls do, after all, have eyes," Venus said wryly.
Jupiter coughed. "I do believe it's 'ears'."
Venus rolled her eyes upwards and waved her hand. "Whatever it is, as personal guards to the Princess, I'd rather her life as a princess and, in the future, as a queen to be safe and peaceful. Therefore, let's try our best to show our kindness, humbleness, and generosity to those Terrans, yes?"
~-0-~