Planetary Guardian Escapades
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, Vampire Knight or Princess Tutu
Ok so I've further planned out what I'm going to be doing in Angel of Silence which actually may be longer than 30 chapters now that ive sort of created story arcs may actually become separate books if it becomes too long.. This is going to be in the second arc of the story and this scene is set in Titan Castle on Saturn.
Five word prompt – "actually…I just miss you"
Ok so summary of this oneshot is that they are on Saturn for some reason in Titan Castle and people are visited by shades of Hotaru who either mocking, giving advice or just scenes from her past
I've been inspired by the idea that Titan Castle is a spiritual place where being haunted by the ghosts of the past is more than just a saying
"Sorry guys that took a lot out of me but we should be able to rest for a bit" Sailor Saturn said as she gently floated down to the ground in front of them where Princess Tutu caught her before she collapsed fully. The unconscious warrior was enveloped in a lavender light in a bright flash before returning to her civilian form.
"She'll be fine" Princess Tutu glared with ice blue eyes warning the others not to get too close as she cradled her best friend gently. Picking Hotaru up with surprising strength she began to walk in the direction of the castle behind them.
"Hotaru just needs a bit of rest. You can go explore the castle if you want just be careful. Let's just say here ghosts of your past takes a whole new meaning" the young girl tossed over her shoulder as the tattooed wings on her back began to glow with a silvery light and turned into angelic wings that appeared on her back. Flapping her wings she began to gain height and flew towards the highest tower of the castle.
Those that had been left behind looked up at Titan Castle the residence of the royal Saturnian family, it was an intimidating structure. The castle was shrouded in dark mist and shadows obscuring its appearance to onlookers creating a gloomy atmosphere.
"Well we might as well go get something to eat" Kaien sighed before leading the group towards the castle.
Once inside the group split up to explore agreeing to meet back in the main entrance in 3 hours.
With Raven
Princess Tutu landed gently on a black marble balcony that overlooked the remains of the Saturnian kingdom. The small flower boxes that hung over the edges of the railings were now filled with weeds and the dead remains of different plants ranging from blue lilies, lilacs and silvery moonlace (a gift from Princess Serenity during the silver millenium) to different poisonous plants and herbs such as deadly nightshade. With a slight push from her mind the glass doors swung open with a slight squeak, a sign that they hadn't been opened in a very long time. With a soft white flash she detransformed back into her civilian form and entered the room.
The walls and floors were made of the signature black marble of the castle. The bed was a dark ebony canopy bed with dark purple satin sheets and covered in many small light purple cushions. The room was incredibly dark, so Raven carefully carried Hotaru over to the bed and gently laid her down on the mattress. It was a special mattress imported from Elysium the land of dreams; it had special properties to help drive away the shadows that haunted her mind in her sleep. Raven then moved over to a small fireplace in the right corner of the room near the main door that showed signs of old frequent use. With a snap of her fingers to create a single spark the fireplace ignited with warm orange crackling flames. Waving her hand in a short complex set of gestures several streams of fire danced around the room in a flurry of flames, lighting the many candles and lanterns that were scattered around the room bathing the room in warm light.
Now with the room fully illuminated Raven looked around it once more. To the right of the room, she saw a dark vanity table on which a small jewellery box filled with gemstones with healing and protective properties was open, displaying its colourful contents. Next to the fireplace there is a dark brown bookshelf filled will ancient dusty tomes of black magic and in front of the fireplace there was a comfy navy blue armchair perfect to curl up in and discarded on top of the cushions was a small book with a bookmark in it that looks like the reader just put it down for a second and was returning soon.
Raven approached the sleeping form of Hotaru, Hotaru was frowning in her sleep, eyelids fluttering and the sheen of sweat glistened on her pale brow as she shivered. She reached out to softly touch the dark princess' forehead, Raven's eyebrows furrowed in worry at feeling the intense fever that was plaguing the purple haired girl. Waving her hand through the air and chanting she gathered the moisture in the air creating swirls of water that hardened into an icy bowl filled with crystal clear water. A ripping sound echoed through the silent room as Raven ripped the edge of her skirt without hesitation and dipped the frayed cloth in the water bowl that she had created. Raven placed the soft damp cloth on her friends' forehead.
It was a magic induced fever caused by overexertion of magical power. There was nothing to do but wait for it to break.
"Thanks Raven" a familiar voice said.
Raven instantly summoned a dagger to her hand and shifted into a fighting stance ignoring her own exhaustion as she stood protectively in front of Hotaru.
"It's ok Ven it's just me" a see through Hotaru sat on the edge of the bed smiled.
"Hotaru?" Raven stumbled back in surprise looking from the unconscious girl to the spectral ghost in front of her, incomprehension as clear as day on her face.
"Sort of Ven. I'm just a spectre of Hotaru, a small part of her consciousness that wanders around here. I have her memories and personality but as you can see I'm pretty much just a ghost I can't actually do anything" the ghost explained "it seems that there was something that she wanted to tell you."
"What?" the ebony haired girl asked concernedly.
"Thank you so much Raven" Hotaru said in a wavering voice tears beginning to stream down her face "I know that I always promised to be by your side but thank you so much for staying by mine. I know that I'm a monster. I've killed so many and caused so much misery. But you've stayed."
"Of course I stayed Hotaru" Raven said furiously "you're my best friend…no… you're my sister!"
"Thank you" the apparition said again and began to fade.
"Thank you so much Raven."
With tears in her eyes Raven turned back to the unconscious girl lying on the bed and continued to tend to her ignoring the fading phantom.
With Kaien
Kaien decided that the best course of action would be to go to highest point of the castle to get a better view point of what to do next. Of course now he was almost regretting his decision as it appeared that these stairs would never end as he had been climbing the staircase for the past 10 minutes. It wasn't a complete waste of time though as he passed by several paintings of what looked to be important aristocrats. Looking up once more he was relieved as he finally saw the top of the staircase and managed to muster enough strength to finish the climb.
He was surprised as he recognised the last portrait of the staircase. Unlike many of the other portraits it looked to be newer and was much less eye-catching. Set in a simple wooden frame it was a beautiful young woman set outside in a forest. Her hair was loose pinned back in a half ponytail flowing down her back and a side fringe framed her face. She had ice blue eyes and a warm pink smile. The young woman was wearing a beautiful light blue dress, a black choker with three feathers, black, yellow and white and another necklace that looked to be made out of ice and her hands were toying with a sugar pink flower. It was Raven Hakuchou.
Kaien continued past the portrait to a long hallway where he came across a set of doors carved out of black tourmaline, inscribed with protective runes and set in the doors are many precious stones and Saturnian silver carvings displaying unknown historical scenes. He tried to open the doors but couldn't find any handles and they were too heavy for him to push open. Deciding to ignore the doors he continued down the hallway to find a large painting of what appeared to be the royal family judging by the ornate frame.
The Queen was standing behind a chair, her hand on the shoulder of the girl in front of her, she was a beautiful woman. Her dark purple hair was pulled back into a pony tail, but her hair was so long that it still almost touched the ground and she wore a golden crown. The lavender Saturnian symbol shone brightly on her forehead. She was wearing a soft gauzy black v-neck gown with soft gold embroidery and a gold belt.. She had a warm smile on her face. The King stood to her left, lean and muscular he wore flowing dark robes. He had a regal face and dark eyes and also smiled. A chain necklace with a Saturnian symbol hung from his neck. A younger man stood to their left, a prince. He was incredibly pale and had intense black eyes that shone with a mesmerising evil charisma and shoulder length black hair and work dark robes like his father. He also wore a necklace with a Saturnian symbol on them.
To the parents' right was a pair of almost identical twin girls. The girl on the left had purple eyes, long brown hair and twin side plaits with chain pieces at the ends and she smirked cockily. She wore a navy blue dress and a black choker with a navy blue rose around her neck. On her head she wore a silver circlet with a navy blue gemstone set in it with the Saturnian symbol appearing in the gem in a lighter blue colour. The girl on the right looked entirely identical to her twin but had white hair and pale purple eyes that had a slightly crazed look in them. She wore a white dress identical to her sisters and pale blue roses were tied around her neck. On her silver circlet there was a pale ice blue gemstone set in it with the Saturnian symbol appearing in a darker blue colour.
Finally in the middle of the picture, sitting down was a girl that looked familiar to Kaien. She was a petite girl with short shoulder length dark purple hair, violet eyes and pale skin. She wore a dark purple gown with gloves. On her head she wore a silver tiara with amethysts and on her brow the lavender Saturnian symbol could be clearly seen. Her hands were folded elegantly in her lap and had a small smile on her face.
Kaien recognised this girl. He recognised those violet eyes. He had seen those same eyes, in a wine red colour in his beloved daughter's face.
Continuing down the hallway he saw another staircase. Thankfully this one seemed to be a lot shorter as he climbed it quickly and came to what appeared to be a prayer room. In the middle of this room was a giant purple crystal that shone with unimaginable power. He took a step towards it.
"Stop"
A miniaturised fairy version of Sailor Saturn floated in front of him with a grave expression.
"You are not allowed to go near the crystal" she said fiercely "leave NOW!"
Kaien took a step back in surprise at the tiny fairy.
"Who are you?" his eyes widened in recognition"Yuki dear? Why are you so small? Is this a side effect of using your powers?"
The floating guardian sighed and crossed her arms,
"I am Guardian Saturn; you could call me Sailor Saturn's other self. I am her Sailor Power Guardian." she answered.
"What is this place? What is this crystal Yuki?" narrowing his eyes at the vast amounts of energy that were being admitted by the stone in a purple light.
The guardian looked down at the floor avoiding the man's eyes.
"I'll tell you as much as I can…father… but please… just go back downstairs" she pleaded softly.
"Fine" he agreed and followed the floating spectre down the staircase.
"I guess to answer your first question" she began softly as she bounced through the air as a soft ball of lavender light illuminating the stairwell "that crystal is the sacred Saturnian Stone of Silence."
With Kaname
Kaname walked by himself through the hallways of the ancient palace. He had sent Seiren to check out another wing of the palace telling her that it would faster if they covered ground separately.
"Mama why can't I go outside?" a small girl asked and he saw up ahead a little girl, with short dark purple hair trying to wipe her eyes with chubby fists.
A woman appeared, a queen judging by the elegant crown she wore on her head knelt before the little girl and gave her a hug and began to stroke her hair.
"You need to say here Firefly where it's safe. Outside the palace people will only treat you with suspicion because of your destiny until you pass on the mantle of Sailor Saturn on to your own daughter" the lady said sorrowfully speaking more to herself than to her young daughter.
"But one day Firefly you will prove them wrong" the apparition looked up and seemed to lock eyes with him "one day you will prove that you are not a monster. You are not a demon. You are an angel, a guardian, a firefly that will light the way for those that are stuck in the darkness"
"Hey Taru-nee" an unknown male spoke which made Kaname turn around "how are you?"
A ghostly image of an older preteen version of the young girl that had just been crying walked through Kaname towards a boy that looked to be about 10 years old.
"I'm fine Hades" she said with a soft smile as the boy ran to give his sister a hug "how was your trip with father?"
"It was pretty boring I don't want to rule the underworld" he whined.
"Hey at least you don't have to rule over the planet little brother" she poked her younger brother's side.
"Well next time why don't you come with us nee-san? I'm sure father won't mind" he said excitedly as he batted away her hands.
"You know I'm not allowed to leave the palace Hades" she answered shaking her head softly "to most people around here it's bad enough that I'm not in constant sleep until I have to perform my duties as a sailor soldier and planetary princess. It'll be much worse if I leave even if it's just to go visit father's kingdom. Besides I like it when you tell me stories about your trips."
"Well then I'll go out more so that I can tell you more stories about what it's like outside" the little boy said determinedly "I'll tell you all about what I see on the Venusian kingdom at the ball next week."
"Ok then now hurry to your next lesson Father was looking for you" she pushed the little boy in the direction of their father.
"See you later Taru-nee" he said waving farewell before running down the hallway.
The apparition watched her little brother before fading away slowly. Kaname continued to walk down the hallway following the ghost of the little boy, Hades.
He came across a different scene. The now young teenage purple haired girl was arguing with a pair of younger identical twins as she tried to shoo them into a small room.
"You need to stay here where it's safe" she ordered them.
"But we can help. We're sailor soldiers too" the one in navy blue said.
"You can't take them on by yourself" the white haired one agreed with her sibling.
"I won't be taking them on by myself" their older sister argued "mother and father are fighting as well as all of the soldiers. We'll be fine girls but it will put us all at ease and we will be able to concentrate better if you're safe."
"You let Hades' fight with you" they protested.
"Hades is the second oldest and he is going to be father's successor to the throne of the underworld. Father was the one that allowed him to fight. If mother and I had our way he'd be right here with you" the purpled haired princess shoved her sisters into the room and shut the door with a spell.
"Hopefully that will keep them occupied for a bit" she mumbled before turning and walking away towards an unknown battle. A young blonde haired boy and a taller black haired teenager walked towards her.
"Please Oz, Gil keep my sisters safe" she pleaded with them.
"Of course your majesty" they agreed with a bow.
"And stay safe yourselves" she implored them before continuing to her next destination and the apparitions faded away.
"That was the last time I ever spoke to them, saw them even" the princess spoke up from behind him causing him to turn around.
"Alice and Alyss were always the most stubborn girls" she said shaking her head softly looking past him where the apparitions had faded "they convinced Oz and Gil to go join the battle. They didn't make it."
"Hello Kaname" her lips turned up softly "it's nice to see you again. Did you have fun watching my memories?"
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"You don't recognise your beloved little sister?" she giggled in a mocking tone.
"I guess you could call me a spiritual manifestation of Hotaru's memories as Princess Hotaru Rhea Saturnia."
With Yori
Yori eventually found herself outside once more in a barren garden. She entered what looked to be the remains of a long since dead hedge maze and wondered through it. It was eerily quiet as she looked around at the skeletal remains of plants; their bony fingers reaching out towards here gave her an easy feeling. Only the crunch of dried leaves beneath her feet and the faint whisper of the wind kept her company in this desolate place as she continued walking.
It took about half an hour for her to reach the centre of the maze. A giant obsidian coloured mountain of stone rose from the ground in front of her with silver coloured etchings covering it bizarre patterns. It towered over her reaching towards the dark coloured sky trying to touch the stars above. Curiosity got the better of the young girl as she cautiously approached the structure. She gasped as she drew near and the carvings upon closer inspection were revealed to be names. Names in hundreds of languages, an infinite number of titles carved in stone and filled with silver glowed in the dim light.
She raised a hand, about to touch the stone which began to glow with a ghostly light as she drew even closer when someone spoke up from behind her.
"Pretty depressing place huh?"
A short translucent girl was in front of her. She had short dark purple hair, violet eyes and pale skin. She wore a black turtleneck sweater, grey skirt and black stockings. She sat on a simple white marble bench swinging her legs with a carefree attitude as she smiled at Yori.
"Hey Yori-chan" she waved at the shocked girl cheerfully as she hopped off the bench.
"Who are you?" she asked the ghost shakily.
"I'm Hotaru Tomoe" she chirped mischievously "guess I look a bit different from what you're used to huh?"
"A bit?" Yori deadpanned knowing that only Hotaru could act like this in this type of situation,
"This is what I looked like in my second life" she twirled playfully "Hotaru Tomoe, adopted daughter of Michiru Kaiouh a famous violinist, Haruka Tenouh a famous race car driver and Setsuna Meiouh the famous scientist/designer."
Hotaru soon stood next to her taller friend facing the stone.
"This is the famous Saturnian memorial stone," she explained craning her head to look at the million designs that covered the stone "the names of every person that has ever lived is carved here. The silver names represent those that have died and the carved names are those that are still alive."
Looking even closer Yori was able to identify the much smaller carvings that had yet to be filled in with silver.
"You're right."
"Huh?" Hotaru asked confusedly turning her head to face her friend.
"This is a pretty depressing place," Yori explained as she continued to look at the millions of names "but why is there such a thing and why here of all places?"
"Saturn is known as the planet of silence, death and rebirth," Hotaru told Yori "our powers and rituals have come to be known nowadays as black magic. We're very respectful of the dead. The royal family especially it was one of their most sacred duties to watch over the kingdom of the dead."
"People in the silver millennium used to come from all over the galaxy o visit this stone for many different reasons. Some would come to pay their respects to those that they knew had passed on. Others in fear looking for the names of those that they had lost to see if they were still alive," Hotaru's violet eyes met Yori's "so Yori-chan is there anyone that you would like to find on this stone?"
"No," Yori vehemently denied "I'm fine."
"This is a very spiritual place Yori-chan steeped in ancient magic. There is a reason that you found you're way to the memorial stone. So why don't you ask it your question?"
"I told you there is no one I'm looking for."
"It's okay Yori, it's just a stone. There is no harm in asking. If they're alive then that's something to celebrate isn't it? And if they're dead then at least you have closure" Hotaru prodded her friend.
Looking at Hotaru's open expression, the spirit so different from the Hotaru Tomoe that she had grown close to in the recent months but at the same time exactly the same..
"What are you?" she asked dejectedly her shoulders slumping in defeat.
"I'm your friend Yori-chan" Hotaru's ghostly hand reached for the brunette's although the spirit was not corporeal Yori was almost able to fool herself into thinking that the purple haired spirit's touch emitted a comforting warmth.
"Who is that you've come looking for?"
"Is it true that she's really dead?"
"You'll have to ask the stone for yourself that Yori-chan."
With Zero
Zero unlike the others found himself on a small stone balcony overlooking the barren garden. He looked over the fields of dead plants towards the rapidly shrinking horizon.
"What are you doing here by yourself lazy bum?" a familiar voice teased as a see-through girl came to stand next to him. She leaned her arms against the railing looking at the view in wonder. The shorter girl had a petite slender build and big brown eyes fringed with red. Her chestnut brown hair had red/dark brown hues and reached down to the back of her waist and she wore the trademark black uniform of the Day Class with the white armband carrying the mark of a red rose signifying her position as a member of the disciplinary Committee and the Artemis scythe was strapped to her leg.
"What are you doing here?" he avoided looking at the girl stubbornly staring out at the desolate grounds before them.
"I don't know" she admitted "I don't know why I'm here. But you should know you're the reason I'm here in the first place."
"What are you talking about?"
"Raven told you didn't she? While I was unconscious? Here the ghosts of your past take on a whole new meaning" Yuki explained.
"So you're a ghost."
"Sort of I'm more of a spiritual manifestation of Hotaru's memories. We can be found all around this castle it's a pretty magical place. Lots of black magic seeped into the very stone that this castle is made. I wouldn't be surprised if the others saw other manifestations of my memories."
"A ghost."
"Well if that's what you want to label me as fine I'm a ghost" she turned and using her arms she propped herself up on the railing.
"So what's got you so confused Z?"
"Nothing."
"No lying to me Z" she wagged her finger mockingly scolding him "I'm pretty much a hallucination you might as well tell me the truth."
However Zero refused to give her any satisfaction by responding to her taunts.
"You know the last time I saw the sun rise with you when I was known as Yuki was about a year ago wasn't it?"
Not fazed by the young man's apparent disinterest in her words she continued on.
"Remember that promise we made on that rooftop? I promised that I would keep on running so that you could live."
"…And I promised that I would kill you so that you could be free of this awful curse. So you came back so that I could fulfil my promise but break yours."
"No not exactly Z. It's a bit more complicated than that. I always planned on keeping my promise. That I would keep on running so that you could live. But the fates had something different planned I guess. They do love to make my life miserable; they've got quite a sick sense of humour in my opinion. But when mother told me about this mission I jumped at the chance to come back. I thought I had no regrets when I left. But I did have one regret. You. I missed you Z."
Finally turning his head to acknowledge the spectre he spoke once more "Who are you?"
The spectre flickered and turned into the same Yuki Cross that he had loved so much when they were younger.
"I'm Yuki Cross, the same girl that wiped the blood off you when you came to my doorstep on the snowy night. I'm Yuki Cross the clumsy, naïve girl that always took you for granted but loved you all the same. The same girl that would scold you for being lazy. The same girl that cried when she saw you in pain. The girl that was clumsy and would trip at the worst possible moments. Who got tongue-tied around Kaname but didn't hesitate to laugh with you. I'm Yuki Cross the girl that loved you so much that I offered you my blood when you were thirsty. My company when you were lonely."
Once again she flickered to her original appearance.
"I'm Yuki Kuran the pureblood princess of the Kuran family who gave you a bloodstained promise that I would run so that you could live. I'm the pureblood vampire that had the audacity to kiss you and give you my blood so that I could share my feelings for you."
She flickered again her hair turned purple, her eyes turned into dark amethysts and her posture changed as she regally held herself with more confidence.
"And I'm Hotaru Tomoe. The same Hotaru Tomoe that would pour water on you to wake you up if you were late to class. The one that started calling you Z. The girl that would dance in the rain when she thought no one was watching her, when doing group projects would drag you to the rooftop of the dormitory to stare at the sunset and sketch. The girl that loves to stargaze, to tell lame jokes and sprout obscure facts about history. The girl that would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the kitchen for a midnight snack. I'm Hotaru Tomoe the girl that would punch people when they tease me about my height. Who dragged you to go ice-skating and laughed when you fell on your butt. I'm the girl that decided to stop running from my past and went back to that godforsaken academy to face you again. I'm the girl that loves you will all of my heart and soul."
She began to fade entirely "Officially I went back to Cross Academy because I was ordered to. I told myself it was just another mission. But the truth is… actually… I just missed you Zero."
Wow almost five thousand words that was a lot more than I expected for this one but yeah lots of fun. As for what they're going at Titan Castle that's not going to be addressed for a very long time but its still fun to write about. Remember not all of these shorts are going to be connected or even in the actual story they're just fun little ideas for me to write about when I'm bored. Please review guys and check out my new tumblr angelofsilencesaturnia I'm going to start posting short things about my stories very soon.
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