Sailor Moon Unity
Episode 1
Part 1
"The Rainbow Descends: Usagi's Stunning Discovery!"
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"Urgh, this is so hard!"
Stretching out on the bed, Luna yawned tiredly. Wiping away a sleepy tear, she spied the fretful Warrior for Love and Justice, struggling over some homework at her desk dressed in pink pyjamas. This wasn't anything new whatsoever.
With a sigh, she asked her charge, "You still can't get that Maths assignment done?"
"No!" The blonde girl cried out, upset. She was in tears, and told her, "I've been struggling for the last hour! I gotta get this all in by Friday, and Ami-Chan can't help me because she's doing her exams right now and-!"
It was clear the stress was too painful to talk about. Luna, seeing this, then uttered, "I knew it!" Then, looking at her with serious eyes, coughing to make her tone right, she told her charge, "You need to do your best now, Usagi-Chan; these exams are going to affect your life now going forward!"
"I know that!" Usagi cried, then doodling on her a spare paper, making a crude despairing circle; she said with tears, "I just wish Mamo-Chan was here! I wish he didn't have to go to America again and...!"
Hearing her sniffling, Luna was quiet. Wondering if she was going to put her all into it or-!
"That's it! I've decided!"
She watched the bold heroine grow some sudden vigour. Staring at her, Luna then asked curiously, "What?"
Shutting her book and slamming her pen back in her pen case, Usagi declared, "I'm going to bed! I can't do this when I'm so tired and stressed; I'll pull an all-nighter on Thursday if I have to and-!" With that, she left to get ready, heading to the bathroom.
"So much for my advice," Luna sighed. However, looking out the window and seeing the moon's soft golden glow. She couldn't help but remark, looking at it, "The light of the moon is really lovely tonight..." Then she hopped off the bed so she wouldn't be caught in the chaotic pulling of sheets Usagi would surely do when she got back to get into bed...
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"Zzz...Zzz...Zzz.."
Hopping back on the bed, Luna looked down at Usagi gently and with a smile on her face, she told her. Putting a paw to her shoulder she told her, "Give it your best, Usagi-Chan! I want you to have the best future!"
Usagi simply only turned over, getting more comfortable in her bed.
Luna continued to smile, then moved down to the comfiest spot at the end of the bed. She curled herself up, to get her much needed rest as well. Then after a little while...
"Zzz...Zzz...Zzz.."
She too fell into the gentle throws of sleep, however unbeknownst to the Guardian feline, her precious charge. Holding a cushion in her arms, uttered tiredly and sadly in her sleep, "Ai, Ai..."
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VOOM!
Appearing within the light of the Moon was a tall, glistening ship. It was transparent and shone eerily down, making a shadow that darkened the streets of Tokyo below like a dark cloud.
"Do you think it's time?"
A shadowed male individual asked, with a cane in his hand. Floating with his powers, he turned to his comrade, who wore a long, feathered and more lavish attire.
His arms were folded as he replied, "Yes, we should act now."
For as he surveyed the glittering lights of Tokyo, full of warmth and light. The lavish man continued, "We've had a year to settle within this world's society, and I believe we've learned enough about its citizens." Then, looking at his comrade, he said, "Now we will see who wants to break away from their Shackles of Fate."
The cane-holding man smiled, then, with a bow using his free hand, he replied, "Very well, my dear Captain! I will inform the rest of our crew!"
"See that you do!" With that, he turned and said, "I will manoeuvre our precious Hippocampus again to a better location so we are not discovered."
"Very good! Take care!" The caned man answered.
"You too."
Then, with that, the two individuals parted as the caned man floated back down to the streets of Tokyo, and the lavish Captain returned to their ship. To hide from anyone who would interfere in their mission...
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"Ah!"
Gasping, a tiny figure opened their eyes. Moving their shivering form up, they looked around and uttered, "Why am I...?"
Stopping, it was then they saw themselves within the middle of a circle of broken shards of clear crystal littered about the floor around them. Her reflection within the bigger fragments revealed her pale glowing figure with short pink hair with blonde-ended highlights. A crescent moon was displayed within her locks above her forehead, lined with pearls, making an elegant hairband.
Then, looking on, she saw her ears were log and ended with wing-like marks and her hands, which touched her startled visage, had small tiny wings on either side of her wrists. Moving her legs, she saw her feet had the same wings on either side of her ankles.
Amazed, she saw she was in a dress with a white top ending in three colourful layered skirts of yellow, red, and blue with a crescent moon symbol in the centre tied with a pink ribbon, making a belt.
She gazed at the fractured reflections surrounding her and saw her amazed purple eyes. She quickly started to stroke her arms, covered from her elbows down in long white sleeves ending with gold and red-ringed bracelets, feeling a dreadful chill in the air.
Shivering, she stood in her yellow flat shoes and asked, "What am I? Am I-!" Feeling sudden pain in her head, she held herself and-!
"The sentence is final!"
"NO! NO! No, you can't!"
"I'm sorry..."
It all quickly came back to her! Who she was, what she was and how she'd-!
Quickly panicked as she remembered what happened so long ago, she asked, "Are we still at war now! What's happened to everyone!?" She had to know. Her tiny wings by her feet and hands glowed brightly, and immediately using her powers, she took off and flew out of the chamber she'd been sealed in with a pair of long yellow, red and blue ribbon strips trailing behind her. Then, ascending fast up the long staircase, she saw with unease a hole in the ceiling above! Fearing the worst, she flew straight through it and saw-!
"Oh, no!"
Gasping, her hands came fast to her horrified face, covering her mouth. She saw the once beautiful pillars and the wonderful grounds that were the gardens of the Moon Kingdom that she had been so proud to serve. It was all in ruins, no life, no colour... just nothing. Only the cold, the isolation and knowing now that-!
Falling to the floor, her hands covering her eyes. The pink-haired tiny girl sobbed, seeing the devastation that had occurred to the Kingdom she loved so dearly. It was all gone; she had nothing left! No kingdom, no friends... and her most precious person, her-!
GLOW!
Feeling something warm, the girl looked up. There, she saw it from the blue jewel planet they were all meant to protect. A light was glowing, a bright pink and loving light. She recognised it somehow! Her eyes still wet with tears, and with a look of wonder, she asked, "Is it possible? Could it really be you!?" She had to know! So, with no hesitation, she took off from the sad remains of the Moon Kingdom and flew forward to reach that warm pink light, with the hope that, just maybe, she might have found a miracle!
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"Urgh..."
"Didn't have fun in Maths again, did you, Usagi-Chan?" Mako asked with a laugh.
Weeping, Usagi uttered sadly, "No!" Then, looking up to the sky, she added despairingly, "I hate this is our last year!"
Walking home now, the Sailor Guardians had finished their school day and were on their way into the city to enjoy a well-earned afternoon of relaxation.
Laughing, Minako agreed, saying, "Yeah, I know! The last stretch is always the toughest to deal with!"
"True," Rei agreed, then stroking a strand of hair back, she continued, "Then we're gonna need to think about what we need to do next?"
Stroking her tears away, Usagi then repeated, "Do next?"
"You mean for the future, am I right?" Ami asked, taking her eyes away from her notebook.
Nodding, Rei replied, "Yeah, I've been trying to think about what I'll do once I graduate."
"Yeah, that's a tricky thing!" Mako agreed, and then she admitted, "I've been trying to find somewhere I can practise working on my bakery skills; it's one of the easiest things I can think of to get started preparing!" However, she added with a finger to her lips, "Though, we gotta keep it a secret if I find one!"
Everyone then mimicked across their lips, showing they were more than willing to keep their lips sealed.
"Well, I'm gonna be auditioning as much as I can! The beginning of my stardom will start this year!" Minako decreed with stars in her eyes.
"Good luck to you!" Ami smiled, then she admitted, "I'm not doing anything nearly as glamorous; with all the exams I'm going to be taking, I'm not going to have any room for anything else in my spare time, sadly."
Laughing, Rei said, "That sounds just like you, Ami-Chan!"
"Yeah!" Usagi smiled, then with a hand to her chin, she couldn't help but wonder, "What should I get up to then?"
"What do you mean?"
Surprised, Usagi saw Rei speaking again, and then she heard her friend say with a grin, "Your future is already set! You'll be the Queen of Neo Tokyo soon, won't you? You don't need to do anything!"
Hearing this, Usagi was startled. Inside, she felt a sting; however, shaking her head, she replied with a hand scratching the back of her head, "Uh, yeah! Yeah, you're right! I guess not!"
Rei then smiled and began talking about something else with the others. As she did this, Usagi quietly thought, 'Neo Tokyo...' When was that supposed to happen? Would it be soon, and if so, was there nothing for her to do anymore? Was there no point to her even-!
GLITTER!
Noticing a glitter of light in the sky, she looked up; she couldn't contain herself and cried out happily, "Oh, look! A rainbow!"
Puzzled, Mako asked, "Huh, a rainbow?"
Then the others all looked up, and there, indeed, descending from the sky above was a beautiful full-coloured rainbow that made the blue sky dazzling above.
"Oh, wow!" Minako cried out in amazement.
"It really is pretty!" Rei smiled.
Ami, though happy, couldn't help but say, "Indeed, but there's been no rain. How could a rainbow form with no effects of-!"
"Maybe we just got lucky! You don't wanna ruin the moment with too much science, y'know!" Minako spoke up, not wanting to hear a too-detailed explanation since they'd finally escaped the confines of school.
Nodding, Usagi was about to say something when-!
GLOW!
She saw a glowing golden light within the colourful beams of the rainbow! As she saw it-!
BA BUMP!
She felt something move in her heart! A hand came to her chest, "Could it be?" For somehow, she felt it. She knew that light from somewhere, seeing where the rainbow beams ended in the park in the distance. She felt something inside; she had to go there!
Running forward, she barged through everyone and quickly heard them cry in alarm, "Usgai-Chan!?"
"Hey! Where's the fire? What-!?" Then, as Rei turned suddenly at Usagi's sudden rush, she, unfortunately-!
"OW!"
She tripped and landed straight on the pavement, a red bruise appearing under her chin.
"I need to get there!" She called back to them, and with that, she continued to hurry ahead to reach the end of the rainbow as the others all chased after her, with Rei burning with irritation at the fall she'd just received!
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"Haa! Haa! Haa!"
Gasping, trying to catch her breath. Usagi admitted, "I think... that's me done! For Gym... today!"
Then, taking a little bit to recover, she looked about herself. She saw she was in the deepest depths of the park, amongst a circle of luscious green trees. As she did, she looked about and then. She miraculously saw that she was at the end of the rainbow, so what she saw must be there in that space with her.
She walked forward and looked amongst the trees to see if she could see that shine again. She wondered, "Just what was that I saw? It felt so familiar when I noticed it. But why? I'm sure I've never seen it before, but-!"
GLOW!
It was then she noticed again it was behind a tree! A tiny glowing shape with a golden light around it. Seeing it delightfully, she cried out, "I found you!" Then she walked straight towards it, but before she could make it too far-!
"Usgai-Chan!"
Hearing this angry yell, the blonde-haired girl turned and saw to her dread. Rei staring at her, really mad, with a big bruised red chin and told her, "What do you think you're doing!?"
"OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!"
Rei was pulling on one of her long yellow tails, and as she was, she told her, "You had us absolutely panicked! What did you think you were doing, making me crash into the floor before!?"
Grimacing badly, Usagi was flinching, and then she replied, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay!"
"Oh, so this is where we find you!"
It was then that the other Guardians finally arrived, and finally, Rei released her hold on Usagi. As she did, Ami then asked her, "Usagi-Chan, why did you charge off like that? You had us worried!"
Easing the ache in her head, Usagi answered honestly, "I saw something!"
"Saw something?" Mako repeated, puzzled.
Nodding, Usagi explained, "Yeah, I saw something glowing in the rainbow, and I chased it here, and right now it's behind that-!"
However, as she stopped to point it out, what she'd found. The strange glowing light from before had vanished! It wasn't where she had seen it before. "Huh? It's disappeared."
Seeing the baffled look on her face, Mako told her, "Usagi, don't tell me you were trying to find that old pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
Blinking, Usagi repeated, "A gold pot?"
"Yeah, the one where you find a kitten at the rainbow's end!" Minako smiled happily.
Everyone looked at her, baffled, and then Usagi repeated, "A Kitten?"
Ami laughed, saying, "I think the term is a fairy, a Leprechaun."
"Oh?" Minako uttered, then she said with an embarrassed smile, "Well, they both have 'kon' in them!"
"Yeah, but it's still not the right thing," Mako answered.
Listening to all this, Usagi asked, "A fairy, a Leprechaun?" Something about that reminded her of something. But what though, she couldn't-!
"Well, anyway!"
"Agh!"
Grabbing her by her shoulder, Rei told her, "You didn't find any gold here, so let's get a move on! Didn't you want to head to the arcade today? That's the only place you might even earn some imaginary gold!"
"Rei-Chan, let go of me!" Usagi complained mad.
Mako rolled her eyes and said, "Same old, same old!" Then, turning to the others, she told them, "Let's go, guys!"
With a nod from each of them, both girls were on their way with her to join up!
…
Peeking out from behind another tree. The tiny figure, seeing the girls leave and seeing the blond girl, in particular, her heart inside raced. Staring at them as they went and seeing her laugh with the other girls, she asked, "Could it really be you...?"
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"Wow!"
The girls finally arrived back onto the city streets, and now a new sight dazzled before their eyes; for walking down the road towards the 'Crown Game Center,' they came across a new venue due to open in another couple of days.
'Fatare,' A Treehouse-looking type of cafe with a wooden ladder-like staircase and dazzling fairy lights decorated all over it, making it warm somehow and growing outside, was a tall tree adorned with more lights. Making it entirely enchanting for all to see!
"I wonder how they got this all set up!" Mako ask, impressed.
"I know, especially with a tree like this outside!" Ami agreed, then she couldn't help but add, "They've really gone all out to make this place so homely and warm."
"Yeah, talk about having money!" Rei said, clearly looking envious at how minted the owner must be.
"We should go in when it finally opens!" Minako said happily.
Usagi nodded eagerly in agreement, and then, smiling still with everyone, they were on their way to the arcade!
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"AAAWWW!"
To their disappointment, the arcade is closed, with a sign saying they're closed for renovations!
"That's not fair!" Usagi complained with tears in her eyes.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped!" Rei shrugged with a sigh.
"I didn't realise it was going to be this soon!" Mako complained.
"Oh, you heard from Furuhata-san?" Ami asked, curious.
Mako, nodding, explained, "Yeah, he said the Arcade was going to close soon so they could re-do the place." However, looking at it sadly, she said, "I just hope it helps. Otherwise, they're gonna have to close this place down."
As this dismal feeling entered the air, Minako quickly said, "Oh, c'mon, guys! We'll just come back here another day!" Then she added positively, "Besides, I know another place we can go to! I think they have an interesting event today; let's go there!"
"An interesting event?" Usagi asked, curious.
"Yeah, so let's go!" Minako announced, and then she led the way for them so they might see the place their friend had discovered.
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"WHAT IF I SHOULD DIE!"
Hearing this shouting, the girls felt unnerved as they passed through a street that Minako said would be a good shortcut to their destination.
However, looking around, the street was darkened; even though the sun still shone, it gave them the creeps.
Shivering, Usagi asked, "Minako, where have you taken us!?"
"Hey! Don't be scared, Usagi-chan. We're not gonna be here that long! We'll be at the place real fast!" Minako told her, trying to be reassuring.
"You say that, but-!"
"ANOTHER PLACE I FIND TO ESCAPE THE PAIN INSIDE!"
Usagi really didn't like these lyrics. She was crying, and Ami, beside her, smiling softly, patted her head, trying to be reassuring.
Mako revealed a small smile upon seeing this. However, she said, "Well, even if we're not gonna be here long, we should still be careful; I've heard in this neighbourhood there have been some unsavoury kinda guys around!"
"Unsavoury?" Rei asked.
Mako was about to explain when-!
"Hi, ho there!"
Stopping them in their tracks, before them stood a young, long, red-haired, freckled girl with a black head scarf over her luscious locks that was decorated with roses. She was a couple of years younger than them.
She was dressed in a black Gothic Lolita dress with long white shirt sleeves that ended with red frills. She had a red ruffle around her neck that descended into a frilly cravat, held in place by a broach that looked like a green diamond-made hourglass shape.
Rich dark pink roses adorned her cravat, and a big green ribbon belt tied around her middle that reached down behind her and completed her image was a pair of long black-laced red leather boots.
She smiled at them with her eyes closed, holding a flyer.
Seeing it, Mako took it and read it aloud. She recited, "Underworld?"
"It's our band!" Then, opening her eyes, revealing her rich amber eyes. She smirked and pointed to a set of dark shadowed stairs that led down below, "We've set up a venue here! We encourage everyone to come and listen to us and the other bands that play; it can open up a whole new world for you!"
Feeling uneasy, Usagi asked, "New world?"
"I CAN SEE, I CAN SEE, I'M GOING BLIND
I'M BLIND!"
Whatever they were singing about, she knew it wasn't a world she was interested in!
Clearly, the others felt the same, as Rei quickly answered for them, "Well, thanks, but no thanks! Maybe another day!"
"Sure!" The girls smiled, and with that, everyone hurried on their way as-!
"RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
They knew they were not ready for this world of music and hurried onto the venue they hoped would be more comfortable than whatever was down that staircase!
…
"What a shame!" The red-haired girl uttered, disappointed. Then she added, stretching her arms, "They could have been fun to play with!" Then-!
"RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!"
Feeling the broach at her neck ring, she said, "Well, I guess it's time to start my other job!" Then, grinning, seeing where the girls were going, she said, "Maybe I should tag along too, see what prey I can find!"
She made the flyers vanish from her hands through a dark portal. As she proceeded to fulfil her assigned role...
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"Mmm!" Drinking down her sweet milkshake through her red and white stripy straw, Usagi was fully relaxed and said, "Now this is what I call a good drink!"
"Yeah, same!" Minako agreed as she drank her strawberry lemonade.
The Guardians had now made it to the venue that Minako had suggested. It was a golden yellow cafe, with wooden chairs and tables set everywhere and a rich green painted ceiling over them.
It hid a relaxed, bright atmosphere and was a relief compared to the gloomy place they'd found themselves in minutes ago.
Smiling and looking about the place, Mako was impressed and said, "This place is really nice, Minako-chan; how did you find out about it?"
"Oh! I heard this place had auditions or something like that going on!" However, sadly, with a sigh, she revealed, "Though not the kind of rehearsals I could really go for."
Puzzled, Ami asked her, "What do you mean by that?"
"A Poppy Blooms, by Hokusai Katsushika"
Surprised to hear this announcement, the girls then listened to the poem's words spoken by the male speaker who stood on a stage in the centre of the room.
"I write, erase, rewrite
Erase again, and then
A poppy blooms."
Hearing this little piece of poetry, everyone was quiet. Then, they listened to the speaker at the microphone and began to speak again. Using eloquent painted verses, he read from some sheets at hand they'd never heard of.
They did and finished after a little bit of time. Minako explained, "Yeah, you see, this is what they do here. They let people come up and recite poetry from the classics, and you can even recite your own words if they like the wording enough."
"Oh! That's really nice!" Ami smiled, adding, "I never get to hear too many Haiku poems too often; it's refreshing."
"Yeah, so you can see why this place is popular!" Minako smiled, though with a sigh, she said, "Though sadly, they don't do any singing competitions here, so I can't really get on the stage here."
"Well, there's always another stage!" Rei smiled, then she patted Minako on the back as she got back to drinking her own order.
Having listened to the poetry, Usagi hadn't really understood many of the words that had been spoken, but even she couldn't deny it was pleasant for her to listen to. However, unfortunately, before she could voice her opinions about them. She felt something unpleasant build up inside; feeling uncomfortable, squirming in her seat, she said, "Uh, sorry, guys!"
Puzzled, her friends looked over to her. As they did, they heard her say, "I gotta excuse myself a second; I'll see you all in a minute!"
Seeing her go, everyone was quiet before they realised, "Toilet." Then they returned back to the conversation.
…
Sighing, relieved as she exited the ladies' toilets, Usagi smiled as she went to go back to the others when-!
"Give it up, loser!"
"Urgh!"
Shocked, Usagi peered around the corner and to her shock. She saw a couple of girls in green-skirted and white-shirted uniforms who had shoved a spectacled, sandy-coloured, short-haired girl onto the floor, wearing the same uniform with a darker green jumper on, with written papers littered everywhere.
Seeing her there, Usagi heard one of the girls say, "You think you deserve to go on the stage! Don't make me laugh!"
The hurt girl shivered then as she sat up. The other cohort spoke up, saying, "Yeah! You suck! You brought the whole drama club down with yer stink! You've humiliated all of us and made us lose our place at the school festival! Whoever would wanna hear your dumb poetry!" Then-!
CRUNCH!
The speaker crushed the sheets under their foot! Ruining the work of the hurt girl as she stared on horrified.
Horrified, Usagi had had enough, "HEY!"
"URGH!"
Immediately as she came, the attackers ran away, leaving the devastation behind!
Angry, Usagi then complained, "What was that all about!?" However, looking at the girl, who she saw wore spectacles. As she looked up to her surprised, she turned her hurt gaze away.
Seeing her do this, Usagi got down to her level and asked, "Are you okay?"
The girl didn't answer. Instead, she kept her gaze averted. As she did, Usagi struggled to think of what to do. Then she decided the best thing was to tidy up at least, so she gathered the papers around her and said, "You shouldn't take what they say seriously; I'm sure it'll all blow all over."
"It won't..."
Shocked, Usagi looked up to the girl and heard her say, "I wrote the play that our group was to act for the end-of-year performances, and we were rejected... I failed everyone, and I'm not allowed back in the club now."
Saddened hearing this, Usagi apologised, saying, "I'm so sorry!" She didn't know what to do, then looking at one of the sheets in her hand, she read the name there and recited, "Wamea Otaka?"
"My name." The girl replied dismally.
"Oh, well, I think it's an interesting name!" Usagi said, trying to be reassuring. However, the girl, Wamea, didn't reply.
Trying something else, Usagi began to read some of the lines of the poem that were there. As she did, with widened eyes, she began to say, "This is-!"
"Garbage, I know!" Suddenly, the girl she'd tried to help got up, and with tears in her eyes, she replied, "I don't have any talent! I'm worthless!"
"No! Don't say that I-!"
But it was too late. Wamea ran away and fled from Usagi. Leaving her with the papers that had been trampled on. All she could do was stare at them and look after the girl worriedly, wondering if there was anything better she could have done then?
…
Wamea fled from the cafe. In tears, she darted through the crowds, wanting to be alone and escape from the world that rejected her so badly.
However, a certain red-haired girl was watching her from the shadows. As she did, she smirked and said, "Hmm, I think I've found my first-ever target!" Then, touching her broach, her eyes lit up with green light! As they did, she realised, "A dark chain, perfect!"
For there, trailing along the road, amongst the lines of dazzling gold, was a single dark, terrible heavy line of iron chains. Seeing it, she knew this was real; it was time to set things in motion! Using a dark portal, she went to trail after the heartbroken girl...
(Song Lyrics Used: 'Blind' by Korn)
(Haiku Poem Used: 'A Poppy Blooms' by Hokusai Katsushika)
Art found at: Deviantart Lrme87