Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Rebirth
Act 5: D Point
Sora Kazeno
Usagi takes her shoes off at the door to her home and pauses when she faintly hears Nagareboshi He playing from the family room. She peaks her head into the room to see her mother watching television as the song ends.
Ikuko sharply turns to her head to face Usagi.
Usagi gaps, taking a step back. How did her mother know she was there? She just got home!
Ikuko stands up and walks over to her daughter with a frown on her face. "Is it true Usagi that you have celebrities going to your school?"
Usagi blinks a few times by her mother's question. She had assumed she was about to be scolded for a bad test score.
"Ah, yeah…" Usagi slowly responds, neglecting the part they are in her class and one of them sits directly behind her.
"You should become friends with them and invite them over. I want to hear what it is like to be a celebrity!" Ikkuko pleads with her daughter.
Usagi laughs in response. "Well… I'm sure they are very busy!" She tries to find a way to ignore her mother's persistence.
"At least make an effort to talk to them. It would be great to know someone famous. It's not like you can just become friends with the Sailor Senshi." Ikkuko sighs.
Usagi teardrops and laughs again. "Good night Mom." Usagi quickly grabs her book bag and bolts upstairs before her mother has time to ask her any more questions. She places her bag on the floor near her bed.
She takes off her heart shaped ring from Mamoru along her brooch. She looks to the corner of the dresser to see a pink bear pin and bursts out laughing. If only her mother knew the truth. All three members of the Three Lights were in the home before but she doesn't dare try to explain it to her mother. She is also not going to try to explain to her mother she met the Three Lights before when Chibi Chibi ran away while shopping with Ikkuko and was found by Seiya when he and the others were helping the police station for a day. How would she explain Chibi Chibi to her mom? Remember the little sister you thought I had? Usagi teardrops.
The next day at school, Usagi looks around the classroom. Minako and Makoto seem nervous or unfocused. They are different today. Are they thinking about what she is going to tell them later? She slumps lower down into to her chair.
She already agreed to tell them yesterday. But it's different to tell the girls what happened versus Mamoru. The girls have been there for all of the previous battles, they know how awful they can get. Mamoru has not seen all the horrors the Inner Senshi have. She sighs a little. Maybe she can still back out of it?
No. She can't do that to the girls. She is going to keep her promise. She didn't have nightmares last night for the first time in days. Maybe things are getting better. She should have listened to everyone sooner and talked about what happened. Speaking to Mamoru relieved some of her anxiety but she's not done. It's a small comfort to know she has less to discuss with the girls. She doesn't need to mention them dying when their starseeds were taken. She would start with what happened after… when she learned Mamoru's starseed was gone.
The pain hit her, thinking about the moment. Knowing he was gone and had been gone for a while which was why he never called or wrote. She redirects her attention back to the teacher. She needs to change her thoughts to something else. She can't start crying in class. Mamo-chan is safe she tells herself in her mind over and over again.
She is able to focus on the lesson for the next five minutes. The teacher discusses material that will be on an exam next week. She sighs. The word test causes her mind to wander again. "I won't need to know any of this when I'm Queen." Usagi mumbles under her breath.
Three seconds later she teardrops thinking of the letter she received from herself in the future explaining Chibi Usa was sent back to complete training as a senshi. Everyone made fun of her due to her lack of kanji use. Neo Queen Serenity asked her to study more. Her fists clench in defeat and she tries to refocus her attention on the lesson until lunch. Something. Anything she can learn and remember.
Five more minutes pass and Urashima-sensei dismisses them for lunch.
Usagi puts her head back down on the desk. She missed all of her morning lessons somehow. She's not going to make it today. She still has the afternoon lessons and then talking to the Inner Senshi. Someone taps on the shoulder. She doesn't respond. The tapping continues.
"Oi Odango," Seiya asks as he taps her again. "Are you okay?"
Usagi slowly sits up. "Why is school so hard?" She complains.
"The struggles of being young when there is so much going on," Minako gives her the best fake smile she can. Everyone always expects her to be cheerful and she doesn't want everyone to know how worried she is waiting to hear what the Outer Senshi will find at D Point.
Taiki is not as supportive. "It's fairly easy to follow if you are paying attention."
Yaten shakes his head back and forth. "This coming from someone that was anxious to return to school."
"I'm going to go look for Ami-chan," Makoto states before quickly leaving the classroom. She knows Ami is keeping tabs on Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto on her minicomputer when she can. Lunch would be the best time to check for any developments.
"We're still meeting after school today, right?" Minako distracts Usagi, hoping Makoto will have a few minutes to speak to Ami and get an update on their progress.
Usagi nods her head in agreement.
"Is something going on after school?" Seiya asks while eyeing the two girls suspiciously. He was hoping to try to talk to Usagi more about the enemy after school as Taiki suggested yesterday.
Usagi pauses. "I'm going to follow your advice and tell them what happened last year." She debates for a moment how much she wants to share in the classroom. A quick glance around reveals a lot of students already left. "I had a long talk with Mamo-chan last night. It was difficult but I told him everything." Her voice lowers more. "I have less to tell the girls so I'm hoping the second time will be easier."
"I'm glad you're ready to talk about it," Seiya comments, glad to hear she followed through with her plan from yesterday.
Yaten snickers. "You're one to talk. You'd didn't handle it well either."
Taiki barely looks up from his notebook. "Though in Seiya's defense, he wasn't only dealing with that battle, there was also leaving Earth."
There is a long pause where no one speaks for a few moments.
Usagi's eyes widen. She looks at Taiki then to Seiya. Back to Taiki. "Huh?" Usagi is completed baffled on what Taiki meant.
Seiya tries to clear his throat and looks away.
"I'm so glad you spoke to Mamoru-san yesterday," Minako suddenly says trying to change the topic. She can't believe Usagi still hasn't gotten it. Or is she just pretending? Nah. No way, Minako immediately dismissed the thought. Usagi has never been the brightest.
Usagi turns to Minako, her tone serious. "Why didn't you tell me what happened yesterday in Juuban? I could have helped you against the youmas." She feels a little hurt her friends did not include her in something so important.
Minako waves her hand in the air, trying to dismiss Usagi's concern. "We had it covered. We were better prepared this time to defeat them."
Usagi raises an eyebrow. "I could have helped against the enemy," she crosses her arms against her chest.
Yaten doesn't understand how Usagi could have helped without a weapon. "How, if you don't have your tiare?"
Usagi's mouth drops open a little in surprise. "I…" She tries to think of something she could have done. Her shoulders slump, Yaten is correct. She can't help them right now. She really is a burden to them.
"Yaten!" Seiya scolds the white haired Three Lights member after the seeing the effect his comment had on Usagi.
"But you know it is true," Taiki finally closes his notebook.
Makoto and Ami enter the classroom ready for lunch, still looking anxious about something.
Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune, Sailor Pluto, and Sailor Saturn pause at the third crystal monument they found. They knew what each one represented as they pass it.
Sailor Pluto had explained what she could of the battle she observed while she guarded the Doors of Time. "So much death resides her."
Sailor Uranus looks up at the crystal structure, she has to examine it for anything. "It's better she's not here to see this." She shuts her eyes. "She shouldn't have to relive this."
"Our Princess has been through a lot before we met her in this lifetime," Sailor Neptune comments as she looks at Sailor Pluto. "Had we awakened sooner…"
Sailor Saturn grips her glaive tightly. "I wish we could have helped her last time." She raises her eyes upward to the faint outline of the crescent moon. "Or even at the Silver Millennium."
"We cannot do anything to change it," Sailor Pluto tries to make them understand. "None of you had awakened yet, it was not your time. I could not leave the Time Streams." She explains the laws of time as simply as she can. "For us to be anywhere else would have altered our future and the consequences for that would be far worse. We continue to follow the path, knowing the path we are on will lead us to a peaceful future serving the King and Queen." Sailor Pluto will worry about the potential alternative path once Queen Beryl is defeated. Perhaps facing Queen Beryl is the new path and once she is gone, everything will be as it should.
"One battle at time," Sailor Neptune lowers her gaze to the mirror in her hands. Since they arrived here, all she seen is dark energy covering the surface. The area has dark energy but its presence is faint. Could it be from the current enemy or remains from the previous battle? Both are possible. Without a definite sign, it is impossible to know. This land has remained untouched in the past few years.
Sailor Uranus jumped up on the crystal structure to examine it closer, as she had with the previous two. Her gloved fingers trace in an outline of a crescent mark from an attack. Venus. She was the one that died here.
Sailor Neptune finally looks away from her mirror, a frown across her lips. "Nothing has changed since we have been here." She looks over at Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn. "I had hoped being here would provide some answers."
Sailor Pluto walks over to Sailor Neptune, surprised at how unresponsive the talisman is. "It's odd." She looks at their surroundings. "It's like everything is frozen since that battle." Echoing the thoughts Sailor Neptune had. "Frozen… just like the Silver Millennium. Both places are so remote… no one can travel to or is capable reaching."
"I was sure we would find Queen Beryl here. A clue. Something. Anything to help us put an end to this," Sailor Neptune shudders. "I can still feel the other girl's presence here; even though they were reborn by the Princess. It is as if a part of their former selves still linger in this place."
"I was afraid we would find more than just their presence here," Sailor Pluto's eyes look into the distance.
Sailor Neptune's eyes widen at what Sailor Pluto implied but she keeps those thoughts to herself.
Sailor Uranus jumps back down to join her fellow senshi in the snow. "I can see two more of these crystal monuments ahead."
"The last one is probably the most important," Sailor Saturn looks at the monument farthest away.
"Wait…" Sailor Neptune cautions them. Something wasn't adding up. "It doesn't make sense if all of them died… why aren't there six crystal structures?"
"Princes Endymion did not die here; it was inside Queen Beryl's throne room. Sailor Moon had to fight him because he was under Queen Beryl's control." Sailor Pluto clarifies. She looks around at a mountain in the distance. "I have not seen anything that would suggest an entrance in the surrounding area."
Sailor Neptune gasps. "She had to fight him?" She looks over at her partner. She would hate to have to fight Uranus seriously. "Our Princess is stronger than I thought."
"Then we keep moving forward to the next one and keep our eyes open. We need to end this to help her. She can't go through something like that again." Sailor Uranus walks off, taking a moment. She reflects on the battles she had faced and they now pale in comparison to everything the Princess she is sworn to protect has faced in the past three years since becoming a Sailor Senshi.
Yaten sighs as the final bell of the day rings. Minako has been extremely fidgety since lunch and it has been driving him nuts. Her foot kept tapping on the floor. She kicked his desk. She kicked his chair. She kicked his foot. He turns to face her, "What is wrong with you?" Minako doesn't respond. His anger boiling over, "I don't know how many times you kicked me because you couldn't sit still. You can't be that nervous to hear what she has to tell you about a battle."
Taiki overheard the conversation and answers for Minako. He doesn't want Yaten to make a scene and involve Usagi at this time. "There's more going on. I spoke with Mizuno-kun during lunch. The other senshi are on a recon mission. They ae waiting to hear back on the outcome and haven't told Tsukino-san any of this yet."
Yaten turns around to glare at Taiki. He doesn't like being left out of something so important, especially when it was something pertaining to their mission. "How did you learn all that?" He can't believe it was that simple for Taiki to gather information they have been struggling with obtaining for days.
"Taking to people," Taiki explains. He stands up and places his notebook and textbooks in his school bag.
Yaten's right eye twitches. Everyone is pissing him off. Is the information learned going to be kept a secret from them too? The senshi shouldn't be making their mission harder, especially when they are trying to help and protect to them. Maybe they have a death wish.
"Maybe you can come with us?" Minako offers after seeing the angry look on Yaten's face. "It might make it easier for Usagi-chan later when Haruka-san and the others show up. Based on what they find, we can make a new plan to end this threat." She pleads with Yaten, "We have to stop this before Usagi-chan gets hurt." She keeps her voice low hoping Usagi doesn't hear them while she talks to Seiya.
Usagi collects her remaining belongings as she stands up. Once she is done, she walks over to Minako, Makoto, Taiki, and Yaten.
Minako cringes. Did Usagi hear them? She looks over at Makoto worried the discussion was overheard.
Usagi looks at the four of them back forth. They are really quiet.
"Ah… Usagi-chan," Minako suddenly blurts out, "Is it alright if the Three Lights come with us to the shrine too?" She doesn't give Usagi a chance to respond as she continues, "It might make things easier."
Usagi clutches her book bag tighter. "Sure…" she hesitantly responds. More people there might make it feel uncomfortable for her but maybe they can help discuss the events too. "We can catch up more afterwards. We haven't heard a lot about Kinmoku." Whenever she asked Seiya about Kinmoku she basically heard they were rebuilding it but doesn't know much about their home planet. Is it really different from Earth? Did something happen and they don't want to talk about it?
Usagi, Makoto, Minako, and Ami chat amongst themselves as they walk to the shrine. Usagi is the quietest of the four, mostly listening to the other girls.
Yaten, Taiki, and Seiya walk a short distance behind them. Taiki uses this opportunity to fill Seiya in on the recon mission the Outer Senshi are completing.
Seiya frowns looking at the blonde haired odangoed girl in from of him. "I know why they are not telling her but I think she should know what is going on."
"It's her senshi. Let them handle it and we'll help how we can so we can go home," Yaten grumbles. "There is still so much work left to complete."
"That we missed due to senshi missions. We've have limited responsibilities with rebuilding…" Seiya keeps his voice low. He stops. "Odango's been so sad and knowing what is going on would probably make it worse."
"They do have their best interest at heart," Taiki comments, watching Makoto and Minako laugh at something.
"And we won't leave here until we know the danger has passed," Seiya adds. He knows how much of a hurry Taiki and Yaten are to return back. He is a little less anxious then they are. Will this mission be the final time they are on Earth? "It is what our Princess asked of us."
"As long as you don't lose sight of that," Taiki eagerly reminds him.
Seiya is annoyed. They have repeated to him for more than a year at this point, his place is on Kinmoku and not Earth. He knows this; it just doesn't make things easy. "You don't have to keep telling me this." He struggles with keeping his voice down. "I know that!"
Yaten shakes his head. "You seem to lose focus whenever it involves that girl."
"Things are… different this time," Seiya lowers his voice. He doesn't have to elaborate. He is quiet the rest of the way to the shrine.
Rei looks at the Three Lights, surprised to see them at the shrine with the other girls. She doesn't comment on their sudden appearance other than, "I'm going to make some more tea."
"I'll help you," Ami quickly offers, following Rei into another room. Ami waits until they are far away enough from the others before she explains why the Three Lights are here. "I told them about Haruka-san and the others going to D Point. I'm hoping they return soon so we can figure out what to do next." She lowers her voice. "It's better if everyone is involved this time. We are strongest when we work together."
Rei nods her head in agreement. "I just hope Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will feel the same way given how they acted last time. Is Usagi planning on talking about the battle?"
"Yes. Minako-chan thought it might be a little easier for Usagi-chan to have the Three Lights here since they were with her. If it becomes too difficult they could finish explaining." Ami pulls out a few more tea cups. "I'm glad Usagi-chan is finally able to talk about it."
"Yes. Mamoru-san called yesterday after Usagi left. He said it was really hard for her and he will join us here as soon as he is done at work." Rei pours steaming tea in the cups. "He's worried about Usagi."
"We all are." Ami comments as she places the full cup on a tray. "I'm glad Haruka-san stated they would come to the shrine as soon as they are done." She places the remaining hot cups onto a tray. "Though, I was hoping they would have already been here by the time we arrived. I was only able to track them at the beginning on my computer. It seems like there is some kind of disturbance at D Point making it difficult to pinpoint their location."
"I still think we should have went with them. Or went there as soon as we heard Queen Beryl returned." Rei grabs three boxes of cookies and then remembers Usagi is present and grabs a fourth box.
"We were in too much of a shock with everything going on." Ami picks up the first tray of tea. "But if we went, how would we keep that from Usagi-chan when she realizes none of us are around?"
Rei smiles. "Easy. I'm sure Mamoru-san could distract her for a day."
Ami grins slightly. "We should head back."
Without another word exchanged between the two, they quickly return to the large gathering room. Rei is glad she prepared the room after school and with the addition of the Three Lights, the extra space was needed. The two girls give everyone tea and the cookies are opened.
The group makes small talk for a few minutes. Everyone is waiting for when Usagi is ready. They don't want to push her.
Luna and Artemis sneak into the room and stay in the corner. They want to hear what Usagi will tell the other girls. Luna is starry eyed for a moment seeing Yaten, much to Artemis' dismay.
Usagi finishes her cookie and takes a deep breath. "I guess I should explain what happened after… Galaxia took your starseeds." Usagi said. This part was going to be one of the hardest parts she would have to tell them. "Galaxia showed us all of the starseeds she had collected from everyone throughout the galaxies." Usagi pauses. She can already feel some tears starting to form at the thought of what she would say next. "That is when I saw a golden starseed and immediately knew it was Mamo-chan's."
Mamoru rubs his forehead. The filming is taking longer than he anticipated. He had hoped to be at the shrine within an hour from then the girls finished school. That was three hours ago. Usako is probably done telling everyone about the battle.
He checks his watch again, hoping the filming will wrap up for the day soon. It is a last minute reshoot for a scene and they called him since they really needed the help and he of course has bills to pay.
His thoughts drift back to last night and everything Usako endured without him. No wonder she seemed different after the battle. She was forced to mature; she had to find a way to keep going when everyone was gone. What else has she endured on her own?
Why she didn't tell anyone she hadn't heard from him? He doesn't understand. How could she keep something like that bottled up? His questions remain unanswered.
"Chiba-kun, we are ready for the final set up!"
Mamoru is brought back to the present and completing his work.
Rei, Ami, Minako, and Makoto are quiet as they stare at Usagi while she relives each painful part of the battle against Galaxia. They had asked her several times if she was okay and needed a break. Seiya had offered to explain some of the battle as well if became too much for her. Usagi declined and stated she has to this herself, she has to become stronger.
The Three Lights do not state anything verbally but discussing this battle clearly makes them feel uncomfortable too. Everyone lost so much.
Usagi pauses when she reaches the part of Galaxia trying to take her starseed right before the Light of Hope awakened. "This part is kind of blurry." She looks down at the floor.
"Do you need a break Usagi?" Rei asks after seeing Usagi's expression.
"No. I'm almost done. "It's…just I'm not quite sure what happened at this point. Galaxia took my starseed and Chibi Chibi somehow returned it. Then I'm dressed as Princess Serenity accepting a new power from Chibi Chibi but it didn't look like Chibi Chibi or sound like her. It was a silhouette of someone in a fuku with a cape, wings, and a staff."
"That's weird. We never meet a senshi like that before." Ami comments, trying to picture what Usagi had seen.
"I think imagined it or Chibi Chibi took on a different form when her powers as the Light of Hope awakened. That power I received became a long silver sword." Usagi tried to piece everything together.
"A… sword?" Minako repeats. She remembers a legend about a sword from the Silver Millennium. Could the two somehow be related? "But you never fought with a sword before. Only Sailor Uranus… and Mamoru-san have fought with a sword."
"Why a sword?" Makoto asks trying to find a meaning in the symbolism.
Usagi shrugs and continues. "When Galaxia originally sealed Chaos, she used a sword. I guess I was supposed to use a sword to try to seal Chaos too or destroy it. But I didn't want to fight back. I didn't want to repeat the cycle. Chaos is too powerful for it to be contained in one person. Eventually I had to defend myself, and then the sword broke. I knew I had to do something but Galaxia wasn't the real enemy, it was Chaos."
Usagi quickly summarizes the rest of the battle and rushes through it. She just wants to be done explaining everything. Usagi's hands are clenched tightly by the time she finishes telling them everything. She looks up at her friends with determination. "I don't want the same thing to happen to any of you when we fight Queen Beryl… it won't be a repeat of last time…" She suppresses a sob as her shoulders move upward for a slight second. "She's taken enough from us already."
"I'm glad to hear you're ready to fight."
Everyone turns to the sound of the voice.
Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru are in the doorway of the room. They had returned from D Point.
"You're back!" Minako eagerly greets them, wanting to hear what the group uncovered.
"Yes, we just arrived back from D Point, and we found something that belongs to you Princess." Setsuna adds with a slight smile on her face.
What did the Outer Senshi find at D Point? That will be answered in the next act! Usagi finally told everyone about her battle against Galaxia. Why was this so hard and such a big deal? Usagi experienced a trauma she was not ready to deal with. All the senshi in some way have been traumatized by what has happened to them. I feel like an aspect of this needed to be explored.
Find out what the Outers have for their Princess on June 30th (release of Part 2 of Cosmos Movie) in Act 6: I'm Lucky I'm Still Here.