A/N: These early chapters are really rough. There's some stuff that's problematic, cheesy, or just generally makes me want to cringe. Please bear with me. A rewrite is in order someday, but I want to finish first!
Chapter 2: The Stirring of Destiny
A cool breeze, carrying the faint scent of wisteria blossoms, rustled the leaves in the garden. Along the far wall, a lithe shadow was making its way through the carefully pruned hedges, avoiding the watchful eye of the lone guard posted at the balcony above. The figure made his way toward a tall tree that grew just below the balcony. There he paused and pulled out one of the tiny silver darts that hung at his belt.
The guard jumped, sensing movement. His flashlight roved across the garden, searching.
"Who's there?"
But it was too late. With a slight flick of the wrist the intruder flung the dart, which buried itself in the guard's neck. Moments later he dropped to the ground in a deep sleep.
The man scaled the tree with remarkable ease and leapt onto the balcony. He glanced behind him nervously, then took a small grappling hook from his belt and slung it up onto the third story windowsill. With a deep breath, he began scaling the smooth crystal wall. His foot slipped once, and he stifled a cry of surprise. But he regained his footing and continued upward.
Finally, he reached the narrow window ledge. The room inside was brightly lit and apparently empty, save for the purple and gold velvet banners that lined the walls. But the man didn't move immediately. One gloved hand reached under his cloak and withdrew a small pouch of powder, which he scattered into the room. Suddenly the chamber lit up with red—a laser net. The man nodded grimly, his suspicions confirmed. As he tried to calculate a safe path through the maze, his mouth twitched in annoyance.
"What's taking you so long, Hypnos?" he muttered.
At that moment, the wind picked up again, blowing aside his violet cloak and revealing the gold and white outfit beneath. Unfortunately, for him, that attracted a little unwanted attention.
"Hey you!" a girl's voice shouted from below. "What are you doing up there?" The man stiffened. He took a moment to make sure his white silk mask was firmly tied over his eyes before turning slowly to face his accuser.
A tall girl with wild scarlet hair met his gaze. She stood boldly, hands on her hips, and sized him up with fierce crimson eyes. Without looking away, she carefully set down the suitcase she'd been carrying and stepped forward. He saw that she had a leather whip in her hands and was winding and unwinding it ever so carefully. He pulled his cloak around him and edged back against the wall. "I'm an inspector. I was examining the building for structural flaws." Damn, we should've come up with a better story...
The girl frowned. "Seems unlikely."
With sudden violence she cracked the whip just below his feet, and he staggered back. He reached for the wall to steady himself, one hand holding the mask securely over his face.
He missed the wall. With a muffled shout, he tumbled backwards through the open window. Within moments alarms were ringing out all around the palace. He muttered curses as he scrambled to his feet and took a fighting stance. The girl grabbed the rope he'd left dangling and scaled the wall with ease. The man tried to back away, but another crack of the whip pulled his feet out from under him. He groaned, feeling welts rising on his ankles. A fiery red glow surrounded the girl, and he sensed the unmistakable surge of energy that could only mean one thing.
A sailor senshi?
Her mouth curved slightly in a dark smile as a red orb appeared in her hand. She held it up, and a brilliant flash of red blinded the man. Beneath the roar of magical flames, he heard her shout, "Vesta Star Power! Make Up!"
Hotaru winced as Mercury applied a medicated bandage to her wound.
"This cut is deep. You'll need to be careful so it won't get infected," Mercury admonished.
"Yes," Hotaru said softly. She did her best not to move as Mercury worked. "It's too bad I can't heal myself. This could be a lot faster."
"Even the best medical treatment takes time," the young doctor replied crisply. "As I've no such useful magic, there's only so much I can do to speed your body's natural healing process."
"Oh... I didn't mean it like that," Hotaru said after an awkward silence. Mercury was normally one of the more level-headed members of their team, so her sudden sensitivity at the absent-minded comment came as a shock.
"I know," Mercury murmured. She mentally kicked herself for her outburst.
After all these years, the remnants of her old inferiority complex were resurfacing-Mizuno Ami, the weak girl who only knew how to study, a girl whose lifelong goal was to be a doctor, who had finally achieved that goal only to have it swept out from under her by the arrival of a new era. She had long since come to terms with her destiny, but still the ghost of Dr. Mizuno lingered, a relic of an aborted dream. Like a first love, it held a place in her heart that was untouchable, a secret vault that contained all her nostalgia and abandoned ideals. And it was a chink in her armor.
Jupiter patted her shoulder. "Thanks, Doctor."
Exuding her usual optimism, Serenity nodded in agreement.
Mercury's cheeks flushed. "Oh, it was nothing," she said with a soft smile. Her friends understood. They always did.
Moments later, another alarm sounded. The senshi sprang into action, manning their control stations and sealing the doors.
"The laser net in the Golden Crystal chamber was triggered!" Mercury reported, typing furiously.
Without another word, Usagi was on her feet and off down the hall, Diana at her heels.
"Usagi!" Serenity called. "Wait!" She moved to follow her, but the door slammed shut in her face. By the time she got it open again, Usagi was out of sight. The queen sighed. "Honestly, that girl..."
"I'll keep an eye on her," Endymion spoke up. "Please stay here, Serenity."
Serenity hesitated, but nodded. "Be careful." She watched anxiously as her husband disappeared down the dark hall.
"I'm sorry, Usagi-chan..." Hotaru whispered. "I wanted to be the one to protect you."
Serenity heard her, and reached out to squeeze her hand gently. "Let's have faith." Hotaru nodded and squeezed back, glad to have found a kindred spirit.
Luna sighed as she sat down next to Serenity. "If by 'have faith' you mean 'sit here and worry ourselves sick over something we both know full well she can handle,' then yes."
That much coaxed a smile from the queen.
The cloaked intruder tightened his fists as Sailor Vesta appeared in a burst of fire. The senshi snapped her whip again, but now the weapon was cloaked in flames.
"It's late, the airline lost half my luggage, I've been wandering around for half an hour trying to find the front door to this place, and I'd honestly just like to be in bed right now, but instead I have to deal with you," she said, approaching him with slow, deliberate steps. "You're gonna regret that."
The man took a step back as the fiery senshi advanced. It's no good! I wont' have time to prepare a spell like this...
With an angry shout, Vesta attacked. The man could only brace himself as the burning whip hurtled toward him.
At the last second, someone leapt through the window and tackled Vesta to the ground. The magical fire vanished as she lost her grip on her weapon, and it slid across the room, out of reach. The newcomer smirked and held her pinned against the floor.
"Hypnos!" the the man in the violet cloak sighed, looking immensely relieved.
"Sorry I'm late," the other said sheepishly.
"Your errand was more important," the first said softly. "Thank you."
Hypnos turned back to Vesta. "You're outnumbered. Give up and we'll let you go."
"Ha!" Vesta laughed. "It'll take more than two of you to beat-aah!" she cried out as Hypnos shoved his knee into her back.
The taller one frowned down at her with stern golden eyes. "Don't make us kill you. You know you don't have a chance."
"Diamond Storm!" another voice shouted. Hypnos cried out in surprise and pain as a flurry of sparks exploded around him, knocking him away from Vesta. A senshi in green leapt in through the window. "Then let's even the score, shall we?" she said, glaring at them as she helped Vesta to her feet.
"Juno!" Vesta exclaimed, recognizing her companion.
Juno glanced sideways at her with a wry grin. "Getting in trouble as usual, Vesta?"
"Fair enough," the tall man said simply. For a split second, Juno thought his voice sounded familiar. He calmly raised his hand and began chanting. His body was surrounded by an eerie golden glow.
"Aether..." his partner began, looking worried.
A beam of pure white light shot from Aether's palm, striking Vesta in the chest. She screamed in pain as the force of the blast knocked her through the wall. Her unconscious form plummeted to the ground far below.
"Vesta!" Juno screamed. She ran to the window, and was relieved to see that a clump of bushes had broken Vesta's fall. She didn't even see the second blast coming. It struck her in the back, and she was sent tumbling out the window to land by Vesta's side.
Hypnos ventured cautiously over to the window. He peered down and saw both senshi knocked out cold. Shaking his head, he turned back to face his partner.
"Such a weak attack shouldn't kill them," Aether said simply.
"You're reckless."
"I have my reasons. You know that."
Hypnos started to say something, then changed his mind. "Anyway, grab the crystal and let's get out of here."
Aether had already moved to the door on the far wall and was entering a code into the small control panel on the wall. The machine made a disgruntled buzzing noise, and Aether frowned.
"Looks like it's changed already," Hypnos observed.
"Well, that's to be expected." Aether produced a small electronic device from his pocket and held it against the control panel. A few small lights flashed, and several anxious seconds passed before a quiet beep sounded. The door slid open, revealing a room with a pedestal much like the one in the Ginzuishou chamber. On top sat a similar crystal flower, but this one glowed with a warm golden light.
"Ready?" Aether asked.
"Always," his partner replied with a slight smile.
In one smooth motion Aether snatched the crystal from its resting place, and the two whirled and bolted out the door. Of course, this triggered a whole new set of alarms. Hypnos and Aether were momentarily blinded by the glaring red lights as they prepared to leap from the window.
"Freeze!"
The two stopped short as a clear, strong voice rang out above the dull roar of the alarms. They turned slowly to see a pink-haired girl in a sailor suit challenging them. At that moment the clouds parted, and a shaft of pure moonlight poured in through the window, surrounding her with an unearthly radiance.
Hypnos inhaled sharply. "You're..."
"The soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon!" She frowned at them. "I won't allow suspicious people to enter this sacred palace!"
Aether, meanwhile, said nothing, only stared at her with wide eyes. Pale gold met warm red-brown, and for some reason her breath caught in her throat. In that brief moment, surrounded by moonlight, all the chaotic sounds and lights around them dropped away, and time itself seemed to stop. For some reason Sailor Moon felt like shuddering, but she couldn't move.
Then a cloud drifted over the moon, and the light fled from the room. Hypnos chuckled. "I'm afraid we aren't asking your permission."
He flicked his wrist, and a tiny vial of purple liquid appeared between his fingers. Before Sailor Moon could react, he flung it to the ground, where it exploded and filled the room with a thick, choking black smoke.
Hypnos shook his partner. "Aether," he said, quietly but firmly. The touch seemed to bring Aether to his senses, and the two leapt from the window. By the time the smoke cleared, they were gone.
Sailor Juno slowly opened her eyes to find herself draped over a once-beautiful topiary of a unicorn. She disentangled her hair from what had been the steed's hindquarters and carefully slid to the ground.
"Ugh," she groaned as she clutched her aching head. Her disgust only increased as the memory of her humiliating defeat returned.
"Well, that sucked," Vesta said sourly.
The taller senshi frowned quietly, still trying to sort everything out. "I don't understand. They didn't finish us off..."
Vesta swore under her breath, pounding the ground with her fist. "This is not good. I let him get away after he saw me transform!"
Juno shook her head. "You transformed in front of him? What were you thinking?"
"That I'd beat him up, drag him to the queen, and then she'd make some heartfelt speech and he would repent of his evil ways?"
"What? This isn't some anime!"
"Look, I don't have time for the post-game analysis right now-"
She was cut off by a sudden ominous whirring. A computerized voice echoed across the palace grounds. "Alert. The Crystal Palace is entering a complete lock-down. Shields will activate in 30 seconds. For your own safety, please vacate the premises. Alert..."
Juno stiffened. Vesta jumped to her feet and grabbed her companion's arm. "Let's go!"
The two broke into a run. All around them, small white force-field generators began to sprout up from the ground, covering the palace lawn in a perfect grid. They looked like bizarre alien flowers, each topped with a smooth plastic bulb that was ringed with blinking red lights. When the countdown ended, those bulbs would emit a searing web of pure energy, stretching out over a quarter-mile radius from the walls. Anything or anyone unfortunate enough to be caught inside would, simply put, cease to exist. There was a reason no one ever tried to break into the Crystal Palace.
"Shields will activate in 15 seconds. For your own safety..."
"Hurry up, Vesta!" Juno urged, quickening her pace. Vesta nodded grimly; though she'd never admit it, she was having a hard time keeping up.
"10 Seconds..."
Juno was dragging Vesta now. It hurt her arm, but she was too panicked and breathless to protest.
"3... 2... 1..."
A ragged cry burst from Juno's throat as she made one last desperate dash. She lunged forward, Vesta in tow, and the two stumbled out of the shield boundary just as the countdown ended. A fraction of a second later, a brilliant white dome of energy shot up around the palace with the soft whispering sound of a blade cutting through the air. After a moment the two sat up, trembling. One of the ribbons on Vesta's skirt had been caught in the shield and severed cleanly. She gulped, knowing it could just as easily have been her head.
"We're alive," Juno gasped.
"Yeah. That was close," said Vesta as she dusted herself off. Then she remembered something, and stomped her foot angrily. "Darn it! My luggage is in there!"
"You're welcome," her companion muttered. Juno looked back at the shimmering wall surrounding the palace and sighed. "Great. We need to get back to Serenity."
"Well then, let's go!" Vesta set off with determined strides, headed for the front gate of the palace. "I'm sure they'll let us in when they see that we're senshi."
Juno was about to follow when a sound in the distance made her pause. "Vesta!" she whispered. "Listen!" The two strained their ears and could just barely pick up a muffled scream coming from somewhere a few blocks away.
"What do we do?" Vesta asked.
Juno had already made her decision. "Come on! We have to help!" With that she turned and sprinted down the street.
As King Endymion hauled himself up the final flight of stairs leading to the Golden Crystal chamber, he was secretly glad his wife and their friends weren't here to see the sorry state he was in. Many years had passed since he traded in his old tuxedo for the lavender robes of royalty. These days his time was occupied with stately affairs rather than daring nocturnal rescue missions, and his physique had suffered as a result. With every step, his aching legs chastised him.
You need to lay off the chocolate, his conscience nagged.
At least Serenity still thinks I'm hot, his stubborn side retorted.
By the time he reached the top, he was thoroughly winded.
He arrived to find the chamber in a shambles. The air was filled with dust and smoke, and tainted with an acrid chemical odor. Burn marks scarred the floor, and two of the windows were shattered. The pins-and-needles sensation of lingering magical energy assaulted his psychic senses, making him shiver. Strong auras had clashed here recently, at least four or five of them.
The door to the vault that protected the crystal stood wide open. He didn't need to look inside to know that it was missing; he could feel it. Whoever had stolen it was gone. As was a large piece of the wall. And his daughter.
Frantic, he reached out with his mind, searching for her. All he got was white noise. He shut his eyes, knelt to touch his palms to the ground, and forced himself to tune out the strange smells, the flashing alarm lights, the crackle and hiss of the shield generators as they activated, and his own turbulent emotions. Gradually, they dropped away, and the hidden world revealed itself, an ever-flowing network of living energy. He stretched out his consciousness through the wind and the soil.
There, at last, he found her unique glow. She felt like sugar-pink tulle, mother-of-pearl, the sound of bells, the spring wind, the feeling of watching an Earthrise from the Moon, and a hundred other things that had no words. That light was dear to him as her mother's, familiar as his own. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. He settled into deeper meditation, trying to pinpoint her exact location.
A small voice interrupted and saved him the trouble. "She's trying to find the thieves. Here, I've got her on the GPS."
Diana padded over and sat beside him. She tapped the bell around her neck, and it opened to reveal a tiny laser projector, which beamed a map of Sailor Moon's current position onto the floor.
The gray feline bowed her head. "I've failed, Your Majesty."
He said nothing, but reached out and gave her a comforting pat on the head. With a weary moan, he slouched back against the door frame.
I'm getting too old for this.
The two senshi rounded a corner to find a petite, auburn-haired girl lying motionless on the ground at the end of the alley. Bending over her was a tall woman whose silk robes were the colors of an evening sky. From her slender white hands dangled what looked like a shimmering thread. She seemed to have anticipated their arrival, for she immediately rose and turned to face them.
"Evening," she greeted them nonchalantly. She brushed a strand of deep pink hair out of her face and smiled at them.
Juno wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "What did you do to that girl?" she demanded.
The woman's expression soured. "Is that any way to address a lady? All I did was borrow this girl's "Thread of Life." Her voice was lilting, mocking. "Yes, this," she added, noting the direction of Vesta's gaze. She held up the glittering strands, twisting them between her long scarlet fingernails. "Poor girl. Hers are weak and not very long. But they'll do..." Her smile grew sinister as she looked them up and down. Vesta and Juno unconsciously took a step back.
A roaring sound filled the alley as the woman gathered her power. "Poor, unfortunate sailor senshi!" she cackled. "I, Petalite, will weave you a most magnificent nightmare! Moira Spirit Weave!" The thread in her hands sprang to life and leapt at Juno and Vesta. They didn't even have time to dodge as it wound around them, and in moments they were helplessly trapped. Petalite snapped her fingers, and the senshi cried out in pain as their bonds tightened. In a blinding flash of light they were gone, leaving only an odd, faintly glowing symbol etched in the ground. Petalite nodded with satisfaction at her work. With another snap and another bright flash, she was spirited away.