Chapter One
[Disclaimer: I do not own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon or any of its characters, as they are property of Naoko Takeuchi. The Zodiac Senshi and their nemeses, however, are of my creation within the world of the series and I will kick you very, very hard in places you do not want to be kicked if you attempt to steal any of them.
Important Notice: To avoid concern later on, yes, I have read the Sailormoon Millenia trilogy by Janelle/"MiakaShi". No, I do not intend to steal or copy her work in any way. In fact, I had the idea of the Zodiac Senshi for quite some time before I had found her work, which, in my opinion, is a truly wonderful piece of literature. However, I do intend to use my own perceptions of the Zodiac Senshi, though there may be some similarities that can't really be avoided [Unfortunately, one such being Sagittarius having a bow and arrow. I mean, what else could I give her? The body of a centaur? No lightning either, because that's Jupiter's, because even if this is an Alternate Universe fan fiction, that would just be lame. However, I have taken certain approaches with other Senshi that will be revealed later on as the story progresses. In short, I'm not a copycat or trying to live up to the Millenia trilogy, and I encourage you all to just enjoy reading Aces High in its fledgling glory, m'dears. -Juliet
----------------------------
"I'm home!" An alto girl's voice rang, coming as if from the dream of a time long past to the pixie. If Shani had not been so deeply rooted within her reality, she would not have realized that said voice called out from beyond the door of the room where the 's containment was situated. Oh, no! She realized that her containment, considering her size, was more than likely rather conspicuous to humans, and this was horrible timing, seeing as she had just awakened from sort of strange forced sleep. Her translucent wings fluttered behind her as she floated within the main containment, almost pacing. Maybe if I can pose while she's looking, I can look like an ornament. Shani thought before standing in a pose on the ball of her right foot, her left leg bent at the knee as if she were leaping from the ground, with her hands clasped in front of her while she looked up towards the ceiling with a forced dreamlike expression.
The flame-haired girl hummed a lilting waltz tune as she opened the door and set down her bookbag on the desk which Shani's containment lay on, before proceeding to free her burnt sienna hair from the deep crimson ribbon which confined it to a ponytail as her hair fell to the small of her back, a crease of sorts visible in her hair from the ribbon holding it steady, but was eclipsed by the natural waviness of the girl's hair, which only furthered the image of flames in Shani's mind. Her face was strong, with a pronounced jawline and cheekbones, eyes just wider than they were tall, a strange sort of glimmering assertion of identity residing within those hazel orbs. After changing from the Juuban-Cho High School uniform into a comfortable tee shirt and baggy pajama bottoms, she sat down to work on her homework for the night. The new "ornament" on her desk caught her eye as she reached out to hold it gingerly in her hands and bring it closer to examine it. "That's odd." She said softly, "I don't recall seeing this before."
And then the pixie sneezed.
Her elegant stance broken, Shani's eyes went wide with the realization that she had uncovered her own ruse, and attempted to put on the cutest face possible. "Hi! I am Shani Akiva, guardian of the Zodiac Senshi and faithful attendant to Lady Anaurel de Nayeli. And you are?" Hazel eyes fell on emerald as the girl stared at the pixie for what seemed to be an eternity. "I'm Yuuki Katakeru, and not believing this. I must be having a migraine or something..." Eyebrow raised, Yuuki looked through her desk for presumably pain relief medication. Shani faltered as she tried to think of some way to get this girl to accept that she was standing right here. "Hey, wait a minute. You saw me?" The girl looked back up at Shani. "What about it?" The pixie put her arms out to her sides and closed her eyes as a soft white light began to glow in front of her containment chamber. Yuuki straightened in her chair in awe as the light floated towards her.
Shani reopened her eyes and clapped her hands together as the light split into two parts, the larger of the two absorbing itself into the girl's body, just below her collarbone. "What are you-" Shani snapped open her eyes to make direct contact with Yuuki's hazel for the second time. "I'm not finished." She said calmly, as the smaller portion of the light fashioned itself into the shape of a wand not too much taller than the pixie, a simple cherry-red rod covered at the bottom by a small silver flame, and topped with a silver-lined crimson star, the piece affixing the star to the wand also forged in silver. A silver circle placed in the middle of the star, a plateau of sorts where the star seemed to rise up, bore an engraving in the same crimson of the star: The symbol of Aries. The symbol glowed on the wand, as it also appeared on Yuuki's forehead. Shani then put her arms in a more relaxed position, her hands positioned so that her fingertips touched and her hands pointed outwards, level with her upper abdomen. "My dear, the stars chose you. It is merely chance that we have met. How does your power suit you, Lady Aries?" Yuuki closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, the symbol of Aries still flaring on her forehead. She found herself surrounded by a neverending room of white, as if self-lit. The floor was smooth, and cool to the touch of her feet as she stepped forward.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Yuuki turned to see a woman, dressed simply in what looked to be a white linen cloth dress, reminiscent of the togas worn in ancient Rome, but much reaching past her knees and supported by both shoulders. In her right hand was a staff, the main body pale blue until it split into four different tendrils which wrapped around each other to form a sort of beautiful mesh and met at one point, a floating star sapphire crystal shimmering from within the casing. The woman's hair was silver, a titanium river flowing down to her knees, and shimmering as if diamonds had been woven in between strands of her hair. Her bare feet were adorned with but one anklet bearing a far smaller star sapphire on her left ankle, whereas her right bore the shimmering rainbow mark of Aquarius. "Who...are you?" Yuuki queried, her voice not as strong as its usual tone of conviction. "You must be Lady Aries." The woman bowed to Yuuki as the newly christened Lady Aries stared in wonder. "Where am I?" Yuuki asked the other, still mystified as to her surroundings. The woman gave a gentle, understanding smile. "Your core." Her voice was clear, like a bell, and sincere to the heart. Yuuki raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "My...core?" The woman nodded. "The very center of your being, Lady Aries. All Senshi unlock theirs as soon as they are awakened to their powers, and they evolve as the Senshi does." She stretched out her left arm in a flourish as if to put the empty core on exhibit. "Okay..." Yuuki took a deep breath out as the Core suddenly disappeared and her eyes opened to the wand floating in front of her.
"Well?" Shani looked at her with her beaming, round face. "Go on, take it." She urged on Yuuki, who complied. The wand felt warm to the touch, and bore a strange ethereal glow around the sign of Aries at Yuuki's touch. The girl suddenly felt as if an electric jolt had passed through her body, as she could feel words coming to her mouth, words that she had never been able to comprehend until now:
"Aries Celestial Power, Make-Up!"
All of a sudden, Yuuki felt herself being encircled by flames, though they caressed her skin instead of scorching it, and as they left her skin, they left a white bodysuit with sleeves ending at two shoulder protectors and a third cherry-tinted translucent layer, a deep crimson sailor-style collar, a pleated skirt of the same color that went to an inch above her knees with another of a lighter shade below it to go to her knees, and a light cherry bow affixed to the end of the collar by a silver star engraved with the sign of Aries in the crimson of the wand and collar. A bow on the back of her suit in the same color as the one on the had the ribbon extend to her calves, and the flames around her legs melted away to reveal crimson sandals with ribbons lacing up her legs to just below her knees in the style of the Romans. The same flames then returned to adorn her hands with gloves extending to her elbows with three protectors smaller than those on her shoulders, but in cherry red. A red ribbon choker with the sign of Aries forged in silver hanging as a charm from it appeared on her neck, and a silver tiara appeared on her forehead with a circular ruby which shone for just a moment before she turned to pose with her left hand on her hip and the other positioned below the left side with her hand flat, thumb tucked in, and palm facing outwards.
The moment soon came to pass as Yuuki, now Sailor Aries, examined her outfit, the sheer amounts of red in the outfit quite to her liking, the gloves on her hands feeling natural to her touch, not like gloves you could buy from the store that either wouldn't fit correctly or just felt...fake. These felt as if she weren't wearing gloves at all and were specifically fitted to her skin, the elbow protectors still allowing for flexible movement with her arms, something she found to be very comforting. The ribbons on her sandals were tight enough to stay on, she found, and wouldn't just suddenly untie themselves or fall off of her legs. The skirt's length was also something not too revealing, and the bodysuit did offer excellent support and acted like a sort of a built-in sports bra, something that was clearly going to be needed, if she really did have power and was more than likely going to use this in some sort of physical action.
Shani let out a delighted squeal. "Lady Aries, you look magnificent!" She cried, having released herself from the containment chamber while Yuuki had been inside her core, now flitting around Yuuki with her translucent rose-pink wings while talking excitedly enough that Yuuki found her incomprehensible at a few points. "...Oh, yes, and I forgot one thing." Shani clapped her hands together as a silver pendant with an oval ruby charm engraved with the symbol of Aries manifested itself in front of Yuuki. "You can use this to contact me or see the location of wayward Akuma."
"Akuma? As in devils?" Yuuki raised an eyebrow. Transforming out of pajamas into this heavily modified version of her school uniform with the use of magical flames was one thing -- but hunting down demons was not exactly what she had in mind with her powers. "Elaborate, please?"
Shani moved to a sitting position in the air. "Well, it's quite simple. Akuma are a sort of demon that survive on the souls of the dead. However, for some reason or another, they have been appearing in your world, the world of the living, as it seems. And once they set their sights on where they want to attack, they will start to take the souls of the living for themselves."
"And you're saying that I'm supposed to go and beat the tar out of this thing."
"Precisely. You never were a dull-"
"Let's go, already!" Yuuki burst out of her room and down the stairs as her mother yelled, "Yuuki, where are you going?" She kept running with a yell over her shoulder of, "Chomei's!" before turning at the curb. The ruby necklace had transformed into a palm-sized circular radar which displayed the outlines of buildings in the city, with a small crimson dot labeled in Japanese as "akuma" in a green common to technology. After a few blocks, Yuuki found herself nearing her destination, and when she stopped as the radar's rapid chirps became one long beep, she found herself making one of the weirdest faces that she had ever made in her life.
The sign read "Tenshi Toy Store".
"A toy store?" The newly awakened Senshi looked over at her guardian pixie with a somewhat embarassed and dumbfounded expression crossing her features.
"Hey, I didn't get to choose." Shani shrugged, before floating over to the doorknob and undoing the lock, the door swinging open for Yuuki.
"I'm this deep in already, there's no use going back." Yuuki sighed and shook out the tense feeling in her arms before walking through the door, fully apprehensive of her surroundings.
----------------------------
To the armor-clad man, darkness was beautiful to begin with. So free, so endless...and it came so close to the one thing he knew in his heart was more beautiful than anything that could ever be created. His muted golden eyes shone through the dim lighting and ebony bangs that swept across his face. The armor which kept him so safe was made up of a breastplate embossed with the design of two dragons entwined across it, the shoulder pauldins designed similarly, with one dragon on each. The epaulets that held his cape in place were constructed of a strange black metal with silvery veins, and set into them were two large topaz gems. The aforementioned cape seemed to billow out behind him like storm clouds taking their place, as if they were frightened to disobey him in any way. Of course, with his intricately working mind and the numerous technologies he had created, he knew he could make this darkness better. Far more powerful. Enough to take her back... He thought with a scowl, his hand moving to hold something on a silver chain of a necklace around his neck that hung just below his collarbone, the gauntlets armoring his arms and hands barely making any sound as the action took place.
"You're still being all sappy over her?" A high-pitched and snivelling voice sounded from behind the man as he let go of the object and turned to face its creator. The one standing there was a woman, sardonyx-eyed, maroon-haired, and scantily clad in but a deep crimson leather-esque pair of hot pants and a black halter top that showed off her midriff, and her so-called "washboard" abdominal muscles. Her legs and feet were adorned in black stiletto-heeled thigh-high boots made of the same material as her hot pants "Give up already. You think a conniving, deceptive, lofty little bitch like her could really make you happy?" She sneered, stepping closer to the man so that there were just centimeters of space between them, their mouths almost dangerously close to making contact. "Whereas I...am so much stronger...so much smarter...so much more...beautiful..."
The man suddenly pushed her away, leaving over a meter's worth of distance between them. "Do not dare slander her name in such a way." He spoke in a baritone voice, a smooth and suave demeanor that, in situations other than this, would be considered chocolate for the ears. His anger had infiltrated his tone, however, so that it gave the undercurrent meaning of "shut up" without having to say it along with everything else. "She is-"
"Everything to you, the only reason you're living, yeah, I've heard it all, just cut the crap." The woman rolled her eyes for a moment, before she found herself being held by her neck up against the corridor's cold stone wall. The man's eyes flashed dangerously, his gaze ripping straight through her as gold locked on sardonyx. "Do...not...speak of her in such a manner. I will decapitate you myself and display your head as a trophy, while leaving your soul to the Akuma. Is that clear?" The woman let out a choking sound in an attempt to breathe and give an affirmative as he roughly threw her to the ground before storming off, leaving her to gasp for air and hold her neck in pain. "Bastard." She muttered, before collecting herself off of the floor. You will forget that damned little harlot, and you will come to me, my sweet...
-End Chapter 1-
----------------------------
Please leave constructive criticism as well as comments for me to build on! Suggestions for the next chapter are also appreciated and very much encouraged. :)