Honoka – I can't always expect things to be pleasant. Or am I just over-imagining things? I don't know what exactly the explanation would be, but it's dark in here.
But the darkness was lit up below me when I saw I was standing on a round platform with lights.
"So this is it…" Honoka muttered, before…
"Where am I?" Kotori's voice was somehow to Honoka's right just before another round platform lit up. Kotori was standing directly on it.
"Kotori-chan?"
"Ah… Honoka! You know, I'd love to say I'm catching up to things, but… THIS IS SOOOOOO CONFUSING RIGHT ABOUT NOW!"
"Eh…" Honoka muttered it with eyes half-lidded. "Quit complaining, Kotori."
"Think she's the only one?" Nico's voice came from Honoka's other side, while seen standing on another lit round platform, and saw the black-haired teen glaring at Honoka. "I was standing here when the lights came off and…"
"You know what? What's happening right now, beats me. Okay?! For the first time in my life, I've never been so stupid and…"
"Calm down." Eli's voice came from just around before she was seen standing on a lit round platform. "Nothing's going to change if we argue. Right, Nozomi?"
"Right." Nozomi said it before she appeared the same way as the others, beside Eli. "The next thing we should expect is the reason we're all here, if you don't mind."
"Okay." Honoka replied before seeing Umi beside Nico. "There you are."
"About time too."
"Hey… we're forming up…"
"…in a circle!" Rin appeared next to Nozomi. "That means Hanayo's right beside me!" And as she predicted, Hanayo indeed appeared beside her. "Yay!"
"Eh…" Hanayo whined softly.
Maki eventually appeared between Hanayo and Umi. She seems to be looking around. "For a while, I've been analyzing stuff, guys. Listen up here." And her request for her other group mates to listen came well with eyes on her. "We all lived the same lives only for ourselves. We have children and probably grandchildren behind us, for some of you. Logic of this? I'm thinking we're given a chance to do something else."
"Something… else?" Honoka wondered about what Maki meant.
"μ's. This is one group that never broke up only until our limits as school idols brought itself to its peak back then. If we were summoned after all those years, it means something. It's not our practice moments or competitions back in our day, but it's certainly a link to why we're here."
"Ah…" Nico replied. "You think it had something to do with sticking together so hard?"
"It might just be the case."
"It's not just sticking hard like glue." Honoka muttered aloud before all eyes were on her again. "Huh? What?"
Nico smirked while crossing arms over the other. "Go on."
"Oh. Those moments we've been together have been tested. It's probably what defined how our lives could be given a real kickstart. To me, it was something to remind me that I needed to push forward to pursue my dream. And I did that with all my effort while I made other dreams reality back when I was living. I don't know what stories you have yet, but I want to know your sides too." After Honoka said what probably would have been her life story. They looked at each other at first, but then they looked back and nodded at her. "Thanks. I wanna catch up with all of you."
"Aw…" Kotori acted like she adores her friend. "You kinda remind me of a stuffed bear I saw back then!"
"DO I LOOK THAT CUTE?! AND WHEN DID THAT START?!" Honoka's pout was accompanied by a blue and white light in the middle of the circle of platforms. "Now I'm seeing… everything…"
A woman's voice echoed. "Not everything, dear Honoka. Not everything." Soon, the space between the circle of platforms lit up with a light blue glow before a red-haired woman ascended from the same space.
Honoka's eyes widened up. There's the ninth person she thought she might have finally known. It was her. She was the woman who helped her define what singing for the group meant. Honoka was looking at the same redhead who was there in New York, then at Japan. "Wait… it… It can't be. You're… It's you!"
The woman was dressed in a grand yellow dress. Unlike the others who wore white dress attires, her dress extends to her feet. As she stood up straight and looked around, she smiled like she was glad in seeing them. Eventually… she faced Honoka. "So… everyone remembered what the meaning meant, huh? Well done."
"Eh?"
"You showed them what it means to sing from then. Maybe some already knew before you did, but you sealed it in their hearts what you said before you all sung for your last concert back then. That memory wasn't removed and it stuck to everyone who heard it."
Honoka noticed the other members look in surprise towards her. "Wait… Hold on…" She glanced towards the woman. "You're the one responsible for shooting us forward for our lives? No wonder things went well for me…"
"I was only the one to deliver something you needed to know, not necessarily the one responsible for your life getting its fruit continuously. It's true with me too. I once lived a life that made a good history. Things happened, and there was a need to disband the group. But it didn't mean our spark as a group disappeared altogether. Whether we'd entertain others or just ourselves, it's the same. We had life ahead of us and we needed to focus on it. But it's not bad to maintain friendship with those from the past, likewise in my case, the former group members I was with before."
"Okay..."
"It started when you have split up, didn't it?"
"Y-yeah. Starting from then... it just fell to our doorstep like it's a convenience." Honoka replied, before looking around the others. "It's the same with all of you, right?" They looked at each other at first, before they nodded at her.
"See?" The woman said. "It all applied with all of you. The group itself was only a stepping stone. No one should always expect groups to last, except if every group member is willing to make it a career. But all of you went your ways and made your own destiny with part of your hearts instilled from the group that made memories, not just around you but a lot of school idols that followed. You made hearts ignite and their hopes and dreams coming to reality became just a breeze. Honoka... You noticed that yourself, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
"Exactly my point. But it's not just your legacy you're leaving as school idols the reason why you're chosen. The reason you're chosen right now, is because you have teamwork when it comes to finishing things from where it starts. And that's exactly what makes up what we call: A Cosmos Sailor."
"C-Cosmos... Sailor?"
"Perhaps the room's a little too dark. It's about time I reveal to you your headquarters anyway." As the woman raised her hand, she snapped two fingers together before the lights finally lit up, only to reveal they're in a completely different place unlike their last meeting place. The place itself still have cloudy spots around, but it's not empty anymore. The room was filled only a few terminals of computers from one side. One side had an entertainment center. And as the girls predicted: Karaoke and some gaming stuff are included. Near there are some vending machines of drinks and snacks. Then one side of the place had an octagonal-shaped fighting ring for some reason. "This, I would want to make simple, is your Headquarters. Gives a little touch of what heaven feels like, huh?"
All of them were in awe of what they're seeing.
"Grand...?" Eli muttered.
"More like convenient." Nozomi muttered.
"Okay... this means something." Maki said to herself.
"Rin... check that out!" Hanayo whispered to Rin while pointing to the entertainment area.
"Oooh!" Rin took interest at what Hanayo's pointing at.
"This is... Too... much..." Umi and Nico muttered at the same time before looking at each other, realizing they both had the same idea. "You think so too?!"
Honoka slowly gasped in what she's seeing. Glancing back at the woman: "Wait... we gotta know something else. We're chosen... for what?"
"That's the next question I want you all to wonder about right now. Step off your platforms first." As the woman instructed, the girls left their platforms and slowly spread around the HQ. As they left their platforms, each platform changed color all relating to their hair, and they're named according to their first names, in Kanji characters. Soon, the woman followed them and led them just near the computer terminals before she stopped them. "Melusine!"
"Jawohl!" A mature teen girl's voice was heard before a navy-blue shining ball with wings flew in to the scene.
Kotori, who was silent the whole time was wide-eyed as she saw the little winged ball hovering and was so excited, she dashed without question to the ball and hugged it. "Come here! Aww... You're so cute?! I never knew you'd actually be a great companion to her! Who wouldn't think you're cute?!"
"Eh?! Weg von mir, Matrose! (Get off me, Sailor!) I'm not a stuffed animal!" The blue winged ball then forced her way out by out of the Japanese teen's arms and hovered in front of her. "Sheesh... you're so strong, Ms. Minami."
"How do you know my surname?"
"I know every one of your surnames. It's just not Madam Sayuri who knows who you are."
"Ehem..." The woman known as Sayuri got Melusine's attention.
"What?"
"You could have at least kept yourself silent for a little while for the introduction, Melusine. Anyway... Wing-form."
"Roger." The blue winged-ball of light flew before it briefly shined bright before it was replaced by a blue-haired girl with wings. She dove down just before she suddenly flapped once and made a gust to hover and finally land on the ground. To their view, her blue hair was shoulder-lengthened. A light purple beret was on her head. It looked like her attire of white and light purple is of boot-camp origin, especially with her sleeveless shirt. But that's not all there is to her: She's actually 5 feet tall.
And Melusine noticed they all stared at her. "What? Haven't seen or heard a five-foot girl sounding mature?" She asked them, and they knew about her mature voice. But Melusine knew they were looking at something else, then looked behind her. An almost-transparent and pattern-made fairy wings were at her back. "Ah... You were looking at these. I see that."
"Umm..." Honoka muttered, and it turned into a question for Melusine. "Those are wings... right?"
"Fairy wings, actually."
"Okay. So... You're a..."
"Cosmic Fairy. That's the term."
"And..."
"You don't know much since it wasn't explained to you yet." Melusine glanced towards Sayuri, who then nodded at her. Melusine turned back to the girls. "You're all here, as she might have said before, to be Cosmos Sailors."
"Cosmos Sailors?" The other girls except Honoka muttered it out.
"Yes, yes. It was said before by Lady Sayuri, and again by me. But what are they anyway? Where did they come from? I'm going to be simple on the explanation: They come from everywhere. They're known to be the peacekeepers of the linked universes, known as multi-verses. And you're one of the groups concerned in keeping that peace. We may be out and around in secret, but we're also visible only on certain cases while we do our job.
"But then you're supposed to ask next: We're peacekeepers from what, exactly? First off... All of the multi-verses in existence were created by the gods. And the gods have an enemy... which we call: Shadows. And all of the shadows are based from one entity." She snapped two fingers before a holographic image came out in front of the girls. "He's otherwise known as Umbra Dominus, or..."
"...the Shadow Lord." Sayuri said, then continued. "To be specific, he incites the evils made in the multi-verses the gods have made. You name it: Steering others away from dreams that if it would come true would also meant he gets new adversaries, which he's trying to prevent. That's in his micro-spirit form. But his other forms could also be related to wars of one race against another, whether it's aliens from a planet to a race, or an alien of a country to a race. He's the definition of everything known as the wrongs of everyone else.
"Why he's come into existence, is a mystery until now. But we do know this: If everything in the worlds of every universe created were to be torn apart by the darkness and evil of the Shadow Lord, the rest of the universes may just fall easily. It's actually been occurring for so long that we had to keep finding guardians to protect the creations our gods made. And it starts in our multi-verse group, where he focuses more on breaking dreams apart. Here in our multi-verse, we're assigned to prevent dreams from ever breaking into the worst forms of evil the Shadow Lord wants to incite to others. He might be out of our reach right now, but we can stop the worst of his evil at our own neighbourhood."
"Umm..." Kotori muttered and asked. "What's a multi-verse?"
"I'll answer that." Melusine volunteered and continued. "A multi-verse is known to be a group of universes linked together, as one group. Our multi-verse consists of 20 universes, all with galaxies and planets in each of them, and everything else in between. So you see... space is bigger than you think." She winked and the others gasped at this.
Sayuri sighed, before continuing what was left to discuss. "I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? To start, I'm Lady Sayuri, main advisor and goddess of the Multi-verse Ambrogio, the multi-verse you're all in right now." And after making her introductions, the girls were in deep thought. "I know it's something big, and you all have a lot to think about. For now, Melusine will be continuing to discuss other things you need to know. I have other things to take care of. Multi-verses always have continuous issues going on, so I have to be there. Melusine, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Understood, Lady Sayuri."
"Thank you." Sayuri then glanced at Honoka. "I need to speak to you, Honoka." And with Sayuri's request, Honoka immediately walked towards the goddess and they walked away from the group to talk privately. They stopped at a corner just before she smiled towards Honoka. "Honoka, do you now know why you're here?"
"Y-Yes..."
"You seem unsure."
"I know. It's just... You're giving us a big task."
"Nothing's impossible with a Cosmos Sailor, Honoka. You lived your life, and it's time to move on from that. This is another life that's given to you, and your purpose has been defined. You defined your own life when you were living, and it's time that a higher purpose was given to you. Every one of your hearts has passed as you lived. And it's exactly the reason why you're here with your other group members. All of you were already destined to be here."
"Oh... Okay."
"I know you don't want to completely wrap yourself in what's complicated, so I'll make this simple for you, Honoka. You start off with being a Cosmos Sailor by trying to remember a little about what your life was, and apply it just as any other human does. From there, you'll be able to see the Shadow Lord's seeds of evil there. The rest... you will be handling yourself and your group."
"Eh? M-my group?"
"Yes, Honoka. I specifically asked you, to be the leader of the group."
"Ehhh?! B-b-but I don't know if I'm ready to completely make hard calls!"
"If anyone can do it, it's you. You can ask advice from your teammates as well, but it's always you who has the final call, Honoka. It already reflected on you when you reached your seventies. I'm sure you remember that."
"I do. That time... I was managing my own music company. There are times that bad stuff happens over the good ones, but we're able to counter that after a while."
"See? And it's because you never wanted to give up your own legacy. You never stopped believing, and it's one quality of a leader we're looking for."
"I see. Thanks."
"At any time you want to speak to me... privately..." Sayuri then browsed a pocket before she took out a folding phone with wing-decors on top. "Use this, only for emergencies if you feel you wanted to discuss something important, and something topping the other issues your group has relating to missions or their anticipation in events that aren't expected."
"Something... like my personal issues?"
"That's acceptable too, Honoka." Sayuri handed over the phone. Then... Melusine walked over to them. "Ah, Melusine. Is everything doing well?"
"Yes, Madam." And Melusine looked at the phone Honoka held. "A Leader phone, huh? You can use that to call Lady Sayuri anytime, so don't hesitate to ask questions too! Anyway... I'm about to show the Extensions you guys will use. Cosmos Sailors promote and protects the definition of peace around the multi-verse! So... you guys need something to pack a punch against any of Shadow Lord's minions. Wanna come with?"
Honoka looked at Sayuri at first, before turning to Melusine. "Hai!"
"Good to know." Melusine then glanced at Sayuri. "I'll see you around, Lady Sayuri."
Sayuri smirked at Melusine. "You might just get a headache if they'll be having problems with you."
"Ehh? Don't make it look like I can't handle it at all."
"Not at all, Melusine. Take care. And you too, Honoka." Sayuri then walked back before a spark from her chest suddenly enlarged, and she disappeared along with it.
Melusine glanced at Honoka. "So, Sailor-Lead, wanna see our Extensions?"
"Sailor-Lead?"
"That's your alias as a Cosmos Sailor here."
"Well, I'd like to!"
"Don't mind the alias?"
"It's okay with me. Although... the others should know about that."
"Oh, they'll know. Now come on." Melusine then led Honoka to the rest of the group...
Chiaka's Chamber of Multi-verses...
Sayuri appeared with the same yellow spark as she arrived at where she wants to be. Finding an Elder God won't be hard when you're being summoned by one, and Sayuri certainly took this as something important.
The dark-haired girl in a robe was standing looking at her big crystal ball, thinking very hard as she viewed the multi-verses in the crystal ball.
"Lady Chiaka?" Sayuri called out to the dark-haired girl recognized as Chiaka.
And Chiaka smiled seeing the goddess. "Seeing you is quite a relief, Lady Sayuri." She eventually saw Sayuri walk beside her before facing the big crystal ball. She pointed a finger on it. "See that spot?"
Sayuri frowned at the sight of it... seeing the dark blip on where Multi-verse Ambrogio is. "Yes... I do."
Chiaka sighed at this, giving up at her first attempt. "I was supposed to shout, but I can't. I don't know, but it might have been my fault to begin with."
"It's not."
"Thanks, but it's still my responsibility since this omniverse is shared once with Lord Adomas's. Sheesh... He would have told me there was something like this."
"But... I know he left his duty at a bad time."
"I know. His long penance." Chiaka sighed at this, now looking at Sayuri. "Listen... of all the times that you have to explain to our new Cosmos Sailors, it had to be this time. So... you didn't tell them yet?" And Sayuri shook her head in response. "That's good. If they find out they're the only ones in existence right now, they'll freak out beyond imagination, Sayuri. Don't tell them unless it's the right time."
"Understood, Lady Chiaka."
"I have to ask: You don't really see the Shadow Lord's presence as my fault?"
"Don't look at it that way, Chiaka. I told you: What I think is, it's not your fault. All we can do now, is what we must do. Is that good enough an explanation?" Sayuri's words may not have changed Chiaka's thinking about the grave situation, but smiled nonetheless.
"It's not completely there yet, but still, Thank you. If Adomas were here..." Chiaka sighed when she looked back at the crystal ball. "I may need his help right now."
"Maybe the reason why he's not here is a message already. He knows you can do this on your own."
"And I trust you, Lady Sayuri. Keep Multi-Verse Ambrogio safe and sound. I'll make sure the others know about the Shadow Lord."
"Whatever you wish, Lady Chiaka... It'll be done." Sayuri replied, before they were silent, monitoring the status of Chiaka's created omniverse, fused with the former Elder God Adomas's. The appearance of the Shadow Lord in existence, was only the beginning...
"The First of Many – Chapter 1"
END