Chapter 2: "A stranger in a strange place! The Senshi's new mission!"

I return, minna-san, with a fresh installment of my Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon fic! I know s'been a long time, but I haven't given up on this just yet and neither should you!

-Ranchan

Thunder pealed through the quiet autumn day in Tokyo followed by a dazzling display of lightning. The cacophony startled many of the citizens from their daily leisurely activities and caused them to draw their gazes to the sky in fear of rain. After the first initial crack, the people waited in tense silence for the coming of an obvious storm. But with no clouds in the sky, and no more noise seeming to be forthcoming, the people resumed their lives as normal.

Had any of them bothered to seek out the source of the light and sound, they would have seen the swirling purple vortex that appeared and deposited it's cargo on the roof of a building in the Juuban district. It's duty done, the vortex once more sealed the tear of Time and Space with little more than a whisper of wind, leaving the boy it had deposited alone.

After a few moments, he sat up and rubbed a white-gloved hand against his head as he fought the feeling of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Once he was sure that he was not going to disgrace himself or his clothes, he turned his gaze to the sky. To his amazement, the sun was bright and beating down on him from a bright blue eternity that stretched endlessly into the horizon.

Things had not been this way when he left… there had been nothing but darkness and….

No. He couldn't… wouldn't think about that. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the horrible images away to the back of his mind.

He stood on shaky legs and slowly made his way to the edge of the building, brushing away his long ebon black cape in irritation as it swirled around him in the autumn breeze. He grasped the concrete edge to steady himself and peered over the side to try to come to terms with exactly where he was. The sight before him caused him to wish he hadn't as he fell back with a small cry of shock.

This was not his city! Where on sweet mother Nemesis had he been placed?!

The hustle and bustle of present-day Tokyo carried on below him along the streets of asphalt that stretched like gray snakes for miles on end. Narrowing his eyes to see the darting forms below him, he realized with a small tug of dread at his heart that he, for the life of him, recognized nothing at all! Where were the crystal pathways? The teleport dais'?

And more importantly… where was the palace? The boy whipped his head to the side at the thought, scanning the near horizon for any sign of the black and purple spires that he instinctively knew signified "home." But only building after alien building met his view; along with large billboard signs advertising merchandise he'd never even heard of.

Surely in the short time he'd been away, it hadn't been taken! He pulled himself up onto the edge and turned in a full circle, scanning the vainly for any sign of familiarity. After a few futile moments of searching, he sighed in frustration and tilted his head down, blinking his light gray eyes rapidly in an effort to keep from outright crying.

"It isn't fair!" He thought miserably to himself, reaching up with the back of his hand to wipe irritably at his eyes. It was one of the few times he honestly wished his father were there to chastise him for showing "weakness"… or his cousin, or anyone for that matter. "This is almost worse than standing around while that horrible woman and her minions wiped out everything…"

Biting his lip, he steadily brought himself under control once more as the faint honking of cars and whistling wind reached his ears once more. He couldn't just fall apart, not yet… not until he could find out what happened. After a moment, the boy turned to gaze down at the unfamiliar territory he'd found himself in. Apparently he had no choice but to venture to the city below him proper and find out where he was… and what had become of his family… his city.

Rei sighed inwardly, listening to Usagi as she whined about the course of her school day. At times, it was hard for the Princess of Mars to imagine this odango-headed screw up was a future Queen, much less an apparently a competent one at that.

"… And can you believe what she did?!" Usagi squealed as she reached over casually to grab another bun from the tray Makoto was carrying. Minako swatted her hand away as she wagged her other finger at the Moon Princess in chastisement.

"You know that these are for Rei's ojiisan! He's been sick all week and no one else wants to take care of him."

"But… but…" Usagi's crystal blue eyes teared up pitiably at the other blonde-haired girl. Surprisingly, it was Ami who interrupted Usagi's pleadings as she looked up from her English book to smile at her.

"Usagi-chan, you know those are specially made to be incredibly rich. If you eat too many…"

"Just one more!!!" the Moon Rabbit wailed. "That's all I ask!!"

"You said that ten minutes ago with the first two," reminded Makoto as she tied up the stacked trays once more to keep Usagi's hands out of them. "Wait until we get to the Shrine."

Usagi sighed in defeat and gazed longingly at the trays one more time before turning her head to look straight ahead again. Ahead of them was a large department store that had only recently had it's grand opening not one week earlier. Oh, she could only imagine the things that Mamoru would buy for her once he returned from college in America… beautiful rings… cakes miles high…

Having zoned out into her happy place once more, it took Usagi a few minutes to realize that she had been walking on alone for the last few blocks. She turned to spy her friends plastered against the tall glass windows of the store, ogling the overpriced but decadent merchandise within.

"Ami! You'd look great in that blue dress!" giggled Minako as she pressed her face against the glass. Ami blushed faintly as she herself looked into the glass in front of her, trying to imagine herself dressed in any sort of finery… but to her chagrin, she just couldn't see it. Such things really weren't for her, necessarily… that is, unless she happened to meet the right boy.

Ami smiled faintly at the thought of dressing in such a gown for a wonderful game of chess with her would-be beau, even as Makoto caught her smile and nudged Minako in the ribs. The two girls looked at each other, then began giggling amongst themselves, preparing to tease Ami relentlessly. Rei, however, had her attention focused on the images she saw beyond the glass… namely as three familiar figures strolled leisurely by, stopping at the large fountain that dominated the lobby area to admire the cherubic statues adorning it.

"Isn't that…"

"… Hotaru-chan, Haruka-san and Michiru-san!" Ami finished for her, having quickly snapped out of her reverie. Now all four of the girls were as busily eyeing the trio within the shop as they had been the window items beforehand, as it was rare to see the Outer senshi at all, much less in normal fuku on a "day out" like them.

Sidling up to her friends, Usagi glanced at the four of them, then into the window they were effectively "occupying" in an effort to see what captivated them so.

After a few moments of silence between them, Usagi finally spoke up, "Saa, Makoto-chan, isn't that that bracelet you said you wanted?"

In answer, the girls turned to the moon rabbit and shushed her in unison before pointing to the window again. Seeing the thoroughly confused look on her friend's face, Rei sighed and shook her head, taking it upon herself to fill Usagi in.

"Forget the bracelet, Usagi no baka! Haruka and Michiru are out with Hotaru and they're in there right now!"

Usagi's eyes gleamed at that. "Really?! Sugoi! We should go in and talk to them!" Clasping her hands together, Usagi turned around to do just that when a strong hand grabbed her arm and stopped her in place. Turning, the moon princess gazed up at the apprehensive face of Makoto.

"Usagi-chan… they've been out of contact for almost a year, aren't you mad at them for just disappearing?" Inquired the taller girl, glancing back towards the window in an effort to catch another glimpse of the trio. Smiling, Usagi waved her hand dismissively at the notion as she pulled her arm away.

"They've probably just been busy! We've been busy too, and there's no reason why we can't all still be friends!" Ami nodded in affirmation to Usagi's words, "There's no reason we need to hold a grudge, they're senshi the same as —"

Minako's startled yelp interrupted the discussion as she quickly turned from the window and pointed towards the door, having kept an eye on their "targets" while the others were busy. "Here they come!"

Those words were enough to freeze the girls in place, all eyes turned on the doorway as the trio finally emerged from the shop. Despite being engrossed in a conversation with her friend and partner, Haruka's keen eyes didn't miss the group of familiar girls standing just outside the shop and she allowed herself a slight smirk. How so like them, to meet again this way… despite herself, she found it cute.

"Ohayo, odango-chan." She greeted casually, turning her head to face the Inner senshi. Michiru looked past her friend and smiled warmly, reaching up to catch a few stray curls of aquamarine hair and pull them back over her ear. Hotaru paused just behind her two adoptive "parents" and smiled, bowing courteously to the other senshi. "Konban wa, Usagi-san."

Usagi turned her head to flash the group behind her a "V" for victory before turning back to the trio and grinned happily. "Konban wa!" She greeted, and was followed by similar greetings from the other Inner senshi.

"What brings you out today?" asked Michiru, glancing to Haruka knowingly. They had thought of the other girls often, but knew better than to "interfere" much in their lives. Besides, they had a child in Hotaru to care for. Between the two of them, Michiru was perfectly happy with their lives as they were… something she hadn't truly thought possible until they'd met Usagi and her friends.

Minako smiled sheepishly, immediately scratching behind her head as did the other girls. "We were… um… the same as you guys! Window-shopping!" She chuckled nervously, as she vaguely hoped that the two older senshi hadn't noticed their impromptu spying.

Hotaru silently watched the exchange between her parents and the other senshi, but frowned in slight disappointment when she saw Chibiusa was not among them. She knew even before Setsuna explained to her that her best friend could not remain in their time indefinitely, but that didn't stop Hotaru from hoping to see her again. If nothing else, it brought Hotaru some comfort to remember that it was inevitable that they would meet again… be it here, or in the 30th century.

She paused in her thoughts, suddenly almost painfully aware of a powerful aura nearby. Hotaru turned around abruptly, nearly bumping into her parents with the motion as she looked down the street towards a darkened alleyway. She could hear the chatting of the other senshi go silent as their conversation was halted in the face of this sudden intrusion. Whomever it was, they were making themselves known to them none-too-subtly…

"Show yourself!" Haruka challenged, standing beside her partner as they both assumed a defensive posture in front of their Princess. Usagi frowned, drawing back near her other friends as a lone figure stepped from the shadows into their view, the sunlight glinting off her emerald green hair and lavender business suit as she did so. It only took a few moments for the senshi to recognize one of their own.

"Setsuna-san?" questioned Usagi almost pensively. She was thrilled to see the Time Guardian, as always, but the stern look upon her face made her think twice about simply rushing over to greet her proper.

"Hai, Princess." Setsuna acknowledged, but continued quickly, "We must continue to the Shrine, and talk. I'm afraid that something has happened… and that the galaxy is once again in danger."