Author's Note: Yes, it has been forever. No, I haven't forgotten you. I still don't own Sailormoon or any part of her world. Please enjoy!
The Terran palace was beautiful. Neptune wasn't callous enough to say it wasn't, though she wouldn't argue that it outranked the Moon Palace or even Triton Castle. Well, it outshone Triton Castle in opulence and scale, but her home had an elegance that the Terran palace lacked. Not unlike the palaces she had once been used to, the atmosphere was magically altered, though here, the sky was as well. She knew she had to be underground somewhere, yet the sky over the garden was beautiful and changed with the passing of time. It was that time, however, that was her current dilemma. She was stuck in this palace. Even without the necklace, which did who only knew what, she wouldn't have left. What she needed, though, was a way to contact the others, or to at least watch them. Preferably without Endymion finding out that she could.
The rose bushes were lovingly tended. As she walked among them, her fingers caressed the petals. She'd almost expected them to be fake. Plastic or silk or anything but actual rose bushes. The path led to a small reflecting pool. Without any natural atmosphere, there wasn't any wind to disrupt the glasslike surface. It was tempting to see if she could use the pool to see Uranus or her princess. Kneeling beside the pool, she touched the water, disrupting the smooth surface and eliminating the temptation at least for a few minutes.
"Am I interrupting something, Princess Neptune?"
She turned, standing quickly. When she'd heard someone approaching, she thought it would have been Kunzite, or one of the other Shitennou. She hadn't been expecting the Prince of Earth himself. "Your Highness." She bowed, unwilling to be rude to the man who seemed to be showing her as much courtesy as their positions would allow. He bowed in return before motioning to where she'd been kneeling.
"Kunzite had said you'd found the garden. You've angered him considerably."
She chuckled slightly. "Oh? I imagine I disappointed him."
He nodded. "That too. Why did you agree?"
Neptune clasped her hands together, turning toward the pool, hoping not to be seduced by the surface. "I think you would know the answer to that question." She was hoping he wouldn't press her to say the answer. It was a simple thing, really, but it came with so many complications.
"Serenity."
She nodded.
"She tends to inspire that kind of fanaticism."
Neptune flinched at the word. "Forgive me, your Highness, but I'm not sure that term is appropriate. Certainly your own subjects display a certain level of loyalty."
He nodded slowly, moving his hands behind his back. "They do, though I have not asked the same of them that the Moon royalty has asked of its subjects."
Neptune forced her eyes to remain on the glassy surface even though it shimmered and threatened to reveal secrets to her. She willed her eyes not to see, her soul not to call to the water. "Your Highness, I am sure you understand intimately the reason for my imposing on your hospitality. However, I must admit, I'm not entirely sure why the circumstance was necessary in the first place." She broke her gaze and turned to him. "I am aware that we are unwanted guests on your planet, though I am unsure as to why."
He chuckled, "So you offered yourself as hostage in order to learn why I have continued my father's ban on Moon Kingdom servants?" Neptune was impressed at his understanding and wondered briefly if it had been his insight or Kunzite's. Endymion turned toward her. "Why are you really here?"
She sighed and turned toward him. "I had hoped, your Highness, that I might mend the break between yourself and my princess. That I might at least understand the nature of it." She shivered as the air cooled considerably.
"You are unlike any I've ever met from the Moon Kingdom." It didn't escape her notice that he didn't offer the answer.
"I was not one of the princess's personal guards. My duty has been elsewhere."
"On Neptune."
Teal hair bounced as she nodded, seeing a glint in his hand and realizing he was holding her transformation pen. Had he really been that surprised by the contraption? She supposed that was to be expected. She had been quite surprised originally. "I will not insult your intelligence by denying the existence of other warriors in service to the Moon Kingdom."
"Uranus among them?" Neptune nodded the affirmative. "Kunzite told me of her prowess. A talented woman, though not one whose methods would be approved of by Serenity."
"The princess knew nothing of us or our duties until recently." She turned sharply at the inhaled hiss. "She is not awake. Not properly."
"Then how does she know?"
She closed her eyes, "The night Uranus ran across Kunzite. Did he ever tell you about that evening?" Blue eyes widened slightly and Neptune nodded. "It was the night you and the princess first," her voice trailed and she paused until she was certain he'd followed her line of thinking. "In Usagi-chan's sleep, the Princess awoke and confronted me." The memory of that night burned through her chest, the radiance of the princess filling the hole in her heart left by the betrayal she'd committed in offering herself.
"Serenity is not everything you think she is."
"You do not believe that yourself."
"What I think is irrelevant. Nothing good has come from our past, so it is better if she never remembers. That is the kindness I can offer her."
Neptune rounded on him then, blue eyes burning. "Your Highness, please understand this: whether she wakes or not is not of your choice. You may be High Prince of this planet but it was not our choice to be born here. So long as she is here, we shall remain as well." To her dismay, his eyes showed no intimidation.
"Then perhaps that is more the concern. Enjoy your stay, princess."
She watched him leave then, her transformation pen held easily in his hand. There was no fear that she would try to reclaim it. Her fingers traced the necklace that marked her as his captive. What was the extent of the magic on it? Would it prevent her abilities? The surface of the pool had shimmered just as mirrors always did for her, but would it have continued? Or was it simply his concern that she could telepathically contact Uranus and the others? If that was the case, how much fantasy had he been fed regarding the soldiers of the outer planets? And more importantly, from who?
##
It had been two days. She was certain the Terrans knew they had Zoicite, but no contact had been made by either side. Pluto and she had agreed that no exchange would be initiated by their side. It would show weakness, something they agreed was not an option. With the princess still unaware of her birthright, Uranus had taken full command of all operations. Venus, to her credit, hadn't argued with her, though the older soldier knew she wanted to. Perhaps it was that Neptune's fate was in the balance, but the younger woman had been giving Uranus a wide berth recently. Uranus couldn't say she blamed the girl.
She laid her head on the steering wheel momentarily. Neptune was nowhere to be found. She could feel her only enough to know she was alive, but the trace was too faint to follow. Sighing, she put the car in gear. There was little point in continually staring out at the ocean; it kept its secrets just as the soldier of the seas did and no amount of coaxing would persuade either to divulge before she was ready.
A sudden pit in her stomach had her changing course. The only thing keeping her calm was that the sensation didn't feel like Neptune. She tapped her phone to answer on speaker. Apparently she wasn't the only one feeling whatever was going on.
"Yes?" She didn't bother with any more pleasantries. While she hadn't looked at the display prior to answering, the timing was too perfect. If the phone call wasn't Moon Kingdom related, hell, she couldn't imagine it wasn't.
"Haruka-san, it's Setsuna."
"I'm already on my way. Have any of the others noticed?" Distantly she heard her tires protest as she rounded a corner. She really ought to ask Ichiro to upgrade them.
"No one's said anything, though that's not surprising. It isn't the princess."
"Then what is it? Because I'm being drawn straight there." She frowned at the hiss on the other end of the line.
"I don't know. I need to head to the Gate. Unless you need backup?"
Haruka chuckled and shook her head. "Go. I'll be fine. I could use a good fight."
"Uranus," the other woman warned.
"Good-bye, Pluto. Call me when you've got something." She reached over and hit the phone to hang up. The woman was insufferable. It wasn't as if she was going to get into a fight just for the sake of fighting. Not really. All right, she would but not when the princess's well-being was on the line. The roar of the engine soothed her nerves, helping her ease into a calm that belied the storm raging inside her.
Pulling over at the Tsukino house, Haruka remained in her civilian form only long enough to not transform in front of witnesses. She couldn't see any evidence of enemies having been there though she was certain they would try. She scanned the area quickly, wishing for Neptune's mirror or at least the other soldier's psychic abilities. She had nearly completed her searching when she realized something was off. Rustling in the trees drew her attention. Leaping up, she stopped short, nearly losing her footing as she stared into the purple eyes of Sailor Saturn. Her lungs faltered and the final moments of her previous life invaded her vision.
"The Terrans came for the princess. They are ready for war." Uranus hadn't expected a warm greeting, though the mature determination that pervaded the young woman's voice was a surprise. Gone was the charismatic and nearly boisterous teenager she'd taken to the racing track just a week or so ago. In her place was a soldier even Uranus feared to face. As she stared at the glaive the young girl wielded, the words sunk into her soul.
The princess had been threatened. The Terrans had been here and Uranus hadn't been. Guilt gripped her and pushed aside all fears of Saturn's primary purpose. The soldier had awoken in response to a threat the others had been too preoccupied to sense.
Uranus nodded. "Then we will go to war." Her heart spent the length of one skipped beat to pray for her estranged lover before resuming its duty. "Are you going to end it all?" Her voice cracked as the words left her mouth.
The younger soldier shook her head. "Not if it can be prevented."
Uranus nodded then stiffened slightly. "Then let's plan for war, Hime-chan." The endearment seemed unnatural in these forms and if she had been honest, she'd said it more to help settle the fear that had been haunting her since she'd realized Saturn's identity. The rules had to change, she reminded herself. The rules had to change.
The other soldier's eyes widened briefly before she nodded. "How many of us are there?"
Uranus tensed at the question, still, she refused to let the extent of her desperation show. Anything she and Neptune felt for each other was second place to their duty to the princess. She was still oath bound, they both were. "Enough now that we have you," she smiled lopsidedly. "We've got Pluto as well as Venus and Mercury."
"Neptune?"
Uranus shook her head curtly. "Undercover. We can't depend on her."
"Mars, Jupiter?"
"Presumed resigned."
Pride swelled up in Uranus as Saturn's face hardened. Hotaru might be the youngest of the soldiers, but Saturn was an Outer. She understood sacrifice and duty. At least the princess had three soldiers. Four if they included Venus and Mercury. It wasn't that she didn't respect them, but there was no way she'd ever consider them her equal.
As they stood there, Uranus watched the princess's mundane bedroom. No movement tonight, a fact for which she harbored mixed feelings. They were going to have to wake the princess. It was the only option. No matter what she said to Saturn, they were already stretched too thin, and without the remaining Guardian Senshi, Neptune's loss was even more devastating. She wasn't surprised when Pluto coughed behind her, interrupting her thoughts.
"They've broken the ceasefire," Uranus said, glancing once more toward the dark bedroom before turning fully to focus on her team.
"They didn't expect her to be guarded." Uranus looked down at the young face that held far too much knowledge. "But they now know I'm here, and they will be back."
"Any word from Neptune?"
Blond hair fell in her face briefly as she shook her head. "Nothing. Anything on Mars or Jupiter?" Uranus didn't like the way Pluto's fingers gripped the Time Key tighter.
"Mars is probably lost, and Jupiter possibly as well. Mamoru-san has pulled away from me, but I was able to see Hino-san for a time. She didn't seem to notice anything about me, but she had said Mamoru-san was doing well. If he hasn't withdrawn from her, then it's safe to say she's in his camp. However firmly, I can't say. As for Jupiter, she seems to have pulled away from Ami-chan, but I can't prove anything else."
Saturn's glaive glinted in the moonlight as she tensed. Uranus sighed, "And Mercury's feelings for Zoicite are a problem."
"Uranus, do you think Neptune would," Pluto stopped mid sentence at Uranus's glare.
"She wouldn't, and if she did, she'd know I'd have to do my duty." The specific details of killing her partner with her sword were left unspoken as Uranus tried to still the rage at the accusation. No, if Neptune had considered it, they'd have done it as a pair. It would have been to be together.
Pluto looked suitably uncomfortable but appeased. "Then I suggest we discuss our next move." Three pairs of eyes turned toward the window.