Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Z
Prelude
by
John Biles and Jeffrey Hosmer
*****
The two lovers slipped away into the darkness of the gardens
surrounding the palace.
It should have been easy for them to be missed. The Grand
Diamond Gala was a huge affair, with literally hundreds of
guests. Most of the guests wanted to attract attention. There
was the young woman clad in a shimmering gauze which changed hues
to match her emotions, for instance. (It was currently a
disdainful blue as an aging member of the armed forces tried to
pick her up. He failed to take the all-too obvious hint.) In
another part of the room, the officer's comrades loudly boasted
of their efforts, real and imagined, in the border conflicts.
Other guests were dressed in full formal attire, masks making a
token effort to hide their identities, such that one could relax
among peers. Plausible deniablity at a social function. The
maitre'd will disavow all knowledge of your actions.
Then there were the decorations. The fountains which
sparkled like silver, rainbows glittering in their spray. The
silver and gold settings that sparkled in the light from floating
globes. Ice sculptures that glistened as they melted and food
heaped high on the buffet tables. A small band played ethereal
music with instruments of silver and cerulean blue.
But, even at a party such as this, there are some who are
watched more than others, the truly important ones who stand
apart, whether they wish it or not.
As the music played on, one couple gathered all the
attention to themselves. The man was clad in a simple, almost
drab, grey uniform tunic. His long blond hair was bound in a
simple pony-tail and shimmered like gold down his back. He was,
as one admirer once said, beautiful, not handsome, with an
effeminate quality that made even some of the ladies of the court
jealous.
His partner, in an off-the-shoulders ball gown of blue and
white, created an intriguing contrast. With her short blue-black
hair and slim, if most definitely feminine, body (which the gown
made every effort to accentuate while still tantalizing with
hints of more), she could almost be called boyish. The pair
danced with grace and skill, moving in time with the music in a
grand circle, their eyes only on each other and not listening to
the appreciative murmurs from the crowd.
Another young lady, with long blonde hair and clad in a
orange, white, and blue gown of similar cut, met the lovers and
shooed them on. "Mercury and Zoi have bought you some time," she
whispered, "but you have to be back before the Queen and the
Princess arrive. Hurry now!" She made a shooing motion with her
hand, and the auburn-haired lady in the green and white gown and
the man, clad in another grey tunic and with long brown hair,
slipped away into the gardens.
The blonde lady smiled to herself, and turned back to join
hands with a flamboyant silver-haired young man. He swept aside
his white cape from his grey uniform, identical in cut to the
others, with a flourish to bow. Escorting her out to the dance
floor, they joined in the dance. The two couples moved in time
with the music and each other. The intricate steps never
faltered, even as they, to the appreciative laughter of the
crowd, made a small alteration to the exchange of partners so
that the two men danced away together in one direction, and the
two women in the other.
*****
The crystals vibrated softly in rhythm with the music that
filled the room. Two voices joined as one in an ancient song of
the Moon Kingdom, "The Journey's End". The singers sat on a
bench, their hands joined as their voices were joined, a man and
a woman. The man had short blonde hair, while her hair was black
and ran down to her waist. He was clad in grey, while she wore a
white dress with red trim. They sang for themselves alone; no
one else was present.
"My road leads me far away.
Though my heart tells me to stay,
When my duty calls, I must go
'Twixt worlds of fire and worlds of snow."
"The road I travel will be long
To set things right, to end the wrongs.
But this message will I send,
Wait for me at Journey's End."
"Do not forget the love we share
Though I must leave, my heart will stay.
Do not think I ceased to care
When my duty took me away."
"The road I travel will be long
To set things right, to end the wrongs.
But this message will I send,
Wait for me at Journey's End."
"I have only my heart to give
For my life is not my own.
It is for others that I must live
But it is for you that I come home."
"The road I travel will be long
To set things right, to end the wrongs.
But this message will I send,
Wait for me at Journey's End."
The music quietly faded away as the two voices sang the
final line of the refrain. The man reached out to the nearby
table and picked up a large blue crystal from a pile of similar
stones, then handed it to the woman. "This is a memory crystal.
I... borrowed it from the palace." The woman smiled and laughed
faintly.
"I'm sure Prince Endymion doesn't mind. Are they rare or
something?"
"They're very new, but they should soon be common, now that
we know how to use them. I think I've attuned this one so that
only the two of us can use it. They start out empty, but you can
touch them and command them to start recording. Then they
remember everything they hear and see until you tell them to
stop. Actually, I guess this one is still recording..." He
trailed off, looking faintly embarrassed. "We didn't really need
to record my explanation on this... but we're still trying to
figure out how much they can hold and..."
The woman smiled. "Well, I have something to record then.
I love you and I always will, until the four worlds themselves
come to an end."
The man smiled and put down the crystal, then leaned over to
the woman he loved. "And I shall always love you, though heaven
and hell stand against us. Though we be separated by fire and
ice, though one of us may have to leave for ten thousand years,
our love will not falter." Before he could say more, her lips
met his and the gem recorded in silence for a very long time.
*****
Queen Serenity was busy holding a private audience in her
conference chamber. She sat in a high backed chair on one side
of a small round golden table with her daughter, Princess
Serenity, to her left, her old bodyguard and friend, the Elder
Senshi Mars, to her right, and her ally, Prince Endymion,
opposite her. A cat sat in her lap. The cat, who was a
black-furred female with yellow eyes and white crescent moon on
her forehead, was named Luna.
The Queen tried to ignore the fact that her daughter was
making googly eyes at Prince Endymion and continued her
discussion with him. "So there have been more border raids from
Atlantis?"
Endymion nodded. "I think Beryl is probing our defenses.
My father is preparing the army. It looks like war. I fear for
what may leak through the defenses with Atlantis turning its
attention to us. It may become the Dark Kingdom in truth if the
seals break..."
"Does this mean you'll be leaving us, Endy-chan?" Princess
Serenity asked. Her mother sighed quietly inside her mind.
"Don't call the prince Endy-chan," Luna said. "It violates
protocol."
"But he doesn't mind, do you, Endy-chan?" The Princess
turned to gaze on her fiancee.
He blushed slightly. "I don't mind, but it would be better
not to call me that in public. There is protocol and all
that..."
The Princess sighed. "I hate protocol. Why did I ever have
to be born a princess anyway?"
"It was your destiny. You should be proud to be the Moon
Princess! The Moon has lead the four kingdoms for almost 1000
years now, since the days of the great Magi who drove out the
Things from Beyond and established our realms. One day you will
sit on the Silver Throne and men and nations will tremble at your
command." And on that day, I am going to go hide for a very long
time, if you don't change your ways, Luna thought.
The elder Senshi Mars smiled quietly. Luna had been giving
these speeches to princesses of the moon kingdom for longer than
she could remember. How old was Luna, anyway? Venusian cats
live ridiculously long.... she and Pluto had probably played
Castles with the original Serenity. How old was Pluto, anyway?
"I know. All that responsibility... it's scary. I hope I
can be a good queen to both of our kingdoms, Endy-ch... Endymion.
The next millennium is about to begin. I hope our reign together
can mark the beginning of a Golden Millennium to follow the
Silver one." For a moment, the princess looked very much like
her mother.
The prince smiled. "I know you will do your best,
Serenity." He turned back to the Queen. "I will try to stay for
all of the gala, your majesty, but I might have to leave before
it ends. I suppose we should go now. The gala has begun and
they expect us to make our grand entrance soon."
"Indeed. Time for me to get into my full regalia. Come,
Luna, I'll need to get you into your regalia as well."
The Queen picked up Luna and vanished, quickly followed by
Mars. Once they disappeared, Endymion turned to the Princess.
"Luna has regalia? She's a cat."
"She's not just any cat you know. Her family has served the
royal family since the days of the first Queen Serenity. They're
Venusian cats. I just wish she and Artemis were getting along
better. Something happened and now she hates him, but she won't
talk about it. I've even heard rumors he got her pregnant..."
Endymion blinked. "I wouldn't have thought her capable
of..."
Serenity laughed. "She can be very formal, but she means
well. And she's as hu... uh, she has needs too."
Endymion laughed now. "I guess everyone makes mistakes
sometimes." As they prepared to leave, they heard singing from
the antechamber where their erstwhile bodyguards were waiting.
"That sounds like Mars and Jadeite," Serenity said.
"Yes, they're both wonderful singers. Sounds like Journey's
end." Endymion smiled. When he had decided to break up with
Mars, he hadn't been sure if giving Jadeite a little push in her
direction was such a good idea. But it was clear now that
Jadeite was better for her than he had ever been. They had both
been much younger then... Well, maybe not that much younger.
I'm only thirty, Endymion thought. I wonder if I was her first
crush... probably not. Well, that's all over now anyway.
Once he finished reminiscing, he noticed that Princess
Serenity had one ear to the door. She whispered, "Sounds like
they finished singing. Let's surprise them."
They've probably lost track of time. Well, they're no later
than we are, Endymion thought. "Okay."
The Princess quietly flung open the doorknob and yelled,
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be out at the Gala
right this minute! Looks like you can't be trusted without a
chaperon!"
Mars and Jadeite froze in place locked in a reasonably
passionate kiss. For a moment, the room was abjectly silent.
"We'll be right there, Luna," Mars said and the Princess began
to laugh. "Hey, I'm sure you've kissed be..." As Mars turned
her head she saw Luna was nowhere to be seen, but rather a
laughing Prince and Princess. Mars blushed as did Jadeite, who
then began laughing himself.
"You could knock next time, you know." Jadeite said. "I
nearly had a heart attack... and we weren't even doing anything
all that embarrassing."
Mars glared at the Princess, who laughed again and said, "I
don't even sound like Luna. But I guess I can do a good
impression. Oh, the way you two froze up as if Luna had caught
you stealing food in the kitchen again..."
"I never stole food from the kitchen! You're the one who
always got yelled at for that," Mars snapped, stealing a glance
over at Prince Endymion, who was trying unsuccessfully to regain
some vague semblance of dignity.
Endymion said, "Knock? You knew we were in there! You're
supposed to be watching for danger."
"The only danger is of someone walking in on us at an
embarrassing time. Besides with Elder Mars around, we're both
about as useful as a butter knife, much as I hate to admit it."
Jadeite stood up and picked up the recording crystal, trying to
pass it unseen to Mars.
Endymion pretended he didn't see anything and said, "Let's
be on our way. Luna is probably tapping her feet right now,
wondering where we are."
Princess Serenity said, "Well, if we could all teleport like
mother and the Elder Senshi do all the time..."
Mars finally stood up. "Well, at least Luna can't stop us
from dancing. Come, Jadeite."
He smiled. "Your wish is my command."
*****
The lovers sat together in the concealing shade of a large
tree, its large sheltering boughs and gnarled trunk bespeaking
great age. Just moving past its prime, it had seen many such a
meeting beneath its boughs, yet as its limbs moved in the breeze,
it seemed to take especial interest in these two, as if trying to
shelter them from the cares of the world.
The man broke a lingering kiss and smiled softly, his teeth
glinting in the faint light. "We need to get back, you know."
The woman groaned quietly, trying to snuggle closer. "Can't
we steal another few minutes...? The queen will still be in
chambers with the Prince. We could do it again before they..."
He chuckled now. "The stars know all," he murmured, leaning
over to kiss her again, briefly, "and they are telling me we
don't have much more time." His deep voice sounded strained as
he said it, however much he tried to hide it.
The woman sat up. "You know something, don't you?" He
looked away. "What is it? Tell me, please!"
"The stars point to a great conflict, dear one," he said.
"We will all be called to fight in it before it ends."
"But we will be together, afterwards, won't we?"
"Of course! My comrades and I will never fail in our
duties. The Prince knew that when he named us his Guardians.
While we stand by him, no harm shall befall him... or you. I
swear that."
"I knew we should have gotten married already."
"The Prince and Princess wanted to have us all share in the
festivities of their wedding, to make it the grandest event our
worlds have ever known. Would you deny them that?"
"I told the Princess we should all just elope. She even
considered it, I think."
"The Princess?"
The woman stood and looked up at the night sky, staring at
the orb that hung low in the sky, as if seeking her answers
there. "The Princess is human, too. I once heard her wish that
she could be an ordinary girl, maybe even just one of the serving
girls in the palace."
"She is heir to a great line. The Kingdom needs her. And
you. Just like my kingdom needs my Prince and the Guardians."
She laid a hand alongside his cheek, stroking the strong
lines of his jaw. "Whether we want it or not?"
"The stars show us our destinies. We may not understand
them, but there is little we can do to change them." She
shivered in the night air at that, looking earnestly into his
eyes.
"You... you will come back to me, won't you?"
"Why are you so worried this time? You know no one can
stand before us."
"I just... when you mentioned destiny, I felt as though
something was just set into motion. Something terrible...."
"Here, let me show you something." He moved around behind
her. Taking her hand in his, he lifted it to point to a place in
the sky. "There, do you see that constellation? That's
Sagittarius, the Archer. If, in the time before we see each
other again, you feel worried, just look at him. His arrows will
lead me to you again. No matter what."
He kissed her cheek, and she turned in his arms, meeting his
kiss for several long minutes. When they broke, she began to
straighten his collar, which had been knocked askew. "I want to
give you something, my brave knight, before you go off into
battle. Something to remember me by."
"You have already given me something very precious."
"This is even more so. I want to give you my name."
"But I know..."
"No, that's the name I was given when I was found to be...
what I am. It was the name I was given when I began my training.
But it's not the name my mother and father gave me when I was
born. I want to give you that, and I want you to think of me
like that."
"Of course."
"My true name... is Juno."
"It's beautiful.... Juno."
The kiss that followed was interrupted by a fanfare from the
palace. The man cursed, a soldier's curse. "The Queen is
arriving. We must go."
"Go on. We shouldn't be seen returning together."
The man hurried off. The woman paused to lean against the
gnarled old tree. "Thank you, old friend," she whispers to it, a
faint glow appearing around her hands. The tree seemed to
straighten, throw off the weight of the years, becoming more like
a tree in its prime. New growth sprouted from its branches, and
the smell of blossoms of some sort filled the air. Then the lady
turned back towards the palace. "Be careful, my Nephrite."
*****
The clarion call of the trumpets rang out twice more, as
tradition dictated. Then, Queen Serenity and her entourage
entered the ballroom.
In the 75th year of her reign, Queen Serenity seemed no
older than a woman in her early thirties. She might have
appeared younger than that were it not for the heavy weights of
responsibility and duty that pulled at her. Even the long life
granted by the Silver Crystal could do little against that. The
path of a Queen is not an easy one, but Queen Serenity managed to
walk it with dignity and grace.
Beside her came the Royal Consort, a thin, unprepossessing,
black-haired man in his forties who wore eyeglasses and seemed
almost a bundle of nervous energy next to his Queen and wife.
However, she merely had to lay her hand on his arm and he would
calm. The story of how he, once a minor nobleman on Earth, had
won the heart of the Queen of the most powerful of the Four
Kingdoms had already been immortalized (and blown out of
proportion) in ballads. Despite still being uncomfortable with
his station in life after so many years, the Consort loved his
wife and their daughter, and no one would question that.
Behind the Royal Couple came two of the Elder Senshi, Mars
and Venus, acting as bodyguards for the night. They wore simple
gowns of red and orange, showing their typical disdain for the
frippery worn by others. They were the Senshi, the protectors of
the Royal House. They did not need to dress extravagantly.
Prince Endymion, in his stark black garb, and Princess
Serenity, in a simple silver gown, came next, followed by their
protectors for the evening, Jadeite and the younger Senshi Mars.
Like for Queen Serenity and her consort, songs were being written
about the love the Prince and Princess had found.
And strolling in front of them all, as if the entire affair
was for her benefit, was Luna, the Queen's Advisor, wearing a
beautiful diamond-studded collar. Her haughty demeanor was
nearly perfect, marred only by a faint pause when she spotted a
white cat with a crescent moon mark like her own sneaking in from
the gardens. Then, with a sniff, she resumed her grand entrance.
Queen Serenity walked up onto a small raised platform near
the band, and began speaking to the already-silent crowd with the
simplicity and earnestness that had long since earned her the
love of her people.
"Lords and Ladies, I thank you all for coming to attend this
gala, a gala which marks more than just the anniversary of my
taking the throne, or the passing of another year of peace and
prosperity."
A murmur ran through the crowd at this.
"As many of you know, my daughter has come of age and has
proven herself to be an able heir to the throne. As a Queen and
as a mother I could not help but be proud of her." Behind her,
the Queen could almost feel the heat from her daughter's cheeks.
She hid a smile. "And so, I have a special gift, one I know she
would have asked for, sooner or later. If they both agree to it,
I grant her permission to marry Prince Endymion of the Crystal
Kingdom."
A round of thunderous applause broke out, led by the Senshi
and other nobles. It seemed to grow even louder as the couple in
question turned bright red in embarrassment.
"And now, let the Gala officially begin!" Queen Serenity,
once the laughter and applause died down, and the music began
again. Taking her husband's hand, the Queen walked over with him
to Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion.
"Surprised, darling?" the Queen asked.
"M-Mother!" the Princess stammered. "How could you spring
that on me and Endy-ch--Prince Endymion?"
Her father smiled. "If we had waited for you to ask, you
might never had married this young man."
Prince Endymion looked distinctly uncomfortable at that. "I
promise to take good care of your daughter, sir, your highness."
he said to each of them. "Once I ask my parents..."
"We already told them of our decision, and your father sent
a message for you," the Consort said. "I believe it was, 'If
that damn fool isn't smart enough to see a good thing when it
comes to him, he doesn't deserve to be a Prince!'" He smiled.
"I think was can take that as his blessing."
Prince Endymion smiled at the gruff words of his father
coming from such a mild man as the consort. "Well, I think I
shall take my father's advice. May I have this dance, Princess?"
he asked, turning to the younger Serenity. Amidst many chuckles,
the two young people made their way to the dance floor.
*****
The dance swirled onward. Couples joined and danced and
loved and parted and re-formed as the music changed. A young man
in a page's uniform sat and quietly watched the couples swirl
across the floor. His name was Turquoise, and he was one of Lady
Patience's pages. Really, he was as old as her, but his family
had traditionally served as pages to the ladies of the court for
centuries. He sat now and watched the dance, in case she might
need him.
Lady Patience danced across the floor with Lord Forge of
Mars, a visiting noble. She knew that he had his eye on her. A
match with one of the ladies in waiting of Princess Serenity
would bring him great honor... and somewhere to live once his
father died and his older brother, the heir to their lands,
kicked him out. He was a good dancer, and not bad as Martian
nobles went, but he wasn't what she was looking for. Of course,
if he knew who Lady Patience really was, he would have been twice
as eager for the match. But no one knew her secret except for
the Queen, a few trusted servants, and her closest friend,
Princess Serenity. Even her pageboy did not suspect. She
sighed. He was one of the few people she could ever talk to who
saw her as a human being instead of as a title or a marriage
prospect. Instead, she was besieged by self-worshipping land
seekers like Forge. The one man she was most attracted to was
already in love with someone else. She saw Nephrite through the
crowd, dancing with Senshi Jupiter. How could I compete with a
friend? Especially one as lovely as her. I wish my family
hadn't died and our kingdom been destroyed. Then maybe I
wouldn't have to live out my life pretending to be someone
else... Will I ever really know love?
The music ended and partners switched. Suddenly, Lady
Patience found herself without a partner. She sighed and headed
over to Turquoise, who smiled and said, "I... you... No one
wanted to dance with you?"
She sat down beside him. "I think Forge is beginning to
catch on that I find him a bore."
"He is a bore. You deserve much better than a gold-digger
like him." Turquoise's nervous voice steadied. "With your
beauty, you should be able to have any man you want."
She smiled faintly, turning her head, sending her wavy
auburn hair cascading about. "They all just want me for what I
am, not who I am.The only man I know who doesn't... is in love
with someone else." She sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was..."
"I... uh... I'm sure there is someone who loves you. Maybe
they're just too shy. Or they know you love someone else. A
fair number of people know you like Nephrite..." Turquoise
nervously ran his fingers through his short light brown hair.
"I should give up on him. I know he has eyes for no one but
Jupiter. Who could blame him? She's so beautiful and strong,
with power and kindness. I'm just a lowly lady in waiting. A
practical old maid at my age. I'm such a fool." She turned and
looked out into the crowd, just in time to see Jupiter and
Nephrite kiss.
The music changed again. Turquoise stood. "Would you...
ah... like to dance?"
"That's very kind of you, Turquoise, but I don't mind
waiting..."
"I'd really like to dance with you." He slowly held out his
hand. She looked across the floor at Forge who was dancing with
Lady Faith, another of the Princess' ladies in waiting.
Turning to Turquoise, she said, "Let's dance. I guess we're
both still too young to sit by the side and watch." They sailed
out into the crowd and joined the promenade.
*****
As the night progressed, the time came for one of the most
famous dances of the Moon Kingdom, the Great Cross. Two lines of
dancers formed across the ballroom from west to east, while two
more lines intersected those, running north to south. As the
music played, the lines began to rotate and the cross began
turning round and round clockwise until it reached it's original
point. Then the women led and the wheel turned counterclockwise
to its starting point again. As the Cross turned, the dancers
also moved down their lines, creating an intricate and beautiful
pattern. The dance was difficult to master. A single mistake on
the part of one couple could send the entire dance into
confusion. But the dancers were skilled and made the entire
performance seem flawless.
Almost everyone joined this dance, except for the servants
and a few foreigners who lacked partners or knowledge of the
dance. And one man, who stood quietly on a balcony watching. He
was not here to dance, but for other purposes entirely. Judging
the pattern, he saw the stars had told true. She was below,
dancing with the rest. This would require precise timing. Mars
would probably sense what he was doing almost as soon as he had
begun. A direct strike would be thwarted. But an accident...
that would confuse them just long enough.
The dance continued on as he kept his eyes on that one
special dancer, soon to die. She came beneath the grand
chandelier. He concentrated and the flames from its candles
flared, searing the metal chain holding it up. It sagged... but
the chain did not quite break. To be more precise, it did not
break fast enough. The chandelier began to fall, but by that
point, the dancers had rotated a quarter step.
Mars and Elder Mars looked up at the same time. They knew
someone had drawn on their element, fire, for some purpose. As
the chandelier began to fall directly towards Princess Serenity
and Prince Endymion, they drew upon that element again. Senshi
Mars yelled out the rote she had been taught as an aid for
concentration, while the Elder Mars merely concentrated. Fire
rushed in two great bolts over the crowd. As their flames struck
the chandelier, Venus and the Elder Venus now took action,
commanding the metal in the chandelier to break up into little
bits, bits which soon charred to ash, ash which blew away in the
winds summoned by Queen Serenity.
The man swore quietly. I must have read my concordance
incorrectly somehow, he thought. Well, time to make myself
scarce. I wouldn't last five seconds against more than one of
the Elder Senshi. Maybe not even against the younger ones. He
threw a small gem to the ground and a pillar of flame sprung up.
He stepped into it and vanished.
Seconds later, Elder Mars appeared next to where the man had
been standing. She swore quietly. He had escaped.
Down below, the dance had broken up into a chaos of fleeing
couples. The Princess shook quietly in the arms of Prince
Endymion. "Don't worry," he said. "You're safe now. It must
have been an accident."
Mars strode up. "That was no accident. Someone made that
chandelier fall. Someone with fire powers. We have an assassin
at work."
"But... why would anyone want to kill me?" Princess
Serenity pulled herself together. "I'm only the heir to the
throne... For that matter, why didn't they strike straight at
me?"
"That much power would have alerted Elder Mars and I. It
would never have reached you. This on the other hand... was more
subtle. Still, we'll have to be careful. At least no one was
hurt."
Soon, the dance started again, but a little more subdued
this time. Lady Patience sat this one out. I could feel the
power... I was right under that when it started to fall... If it
had gone all the way, I might be dead. She shivered. Turquoise
squeezed her hand hesitantly and smiled. "Don't worry, my lady.
We're all safe with the Senshi here."
"I certainly hope so..."
Soon, all returned to a state of calm. The music played
once more and the dances soon returned to their normal splendor.
The Queen herself took to the floor, dancing the five-spoked
wheel with her husband, her daughter, Prince Endymion, and their
respective bodyguards. Across the floor they twirled in a
graceful web of interlaced couples.
As they approached the climax of the dance, the music
abruptly stopped. Everyone turned and looked to the musicians.
In their midst stood the stern, dark haired figure known to
everyone as Senshi Pluto. Unlike the other senshi, there was
neither Elder nor Younger, only the one Pluto. No one knew how
old she was, but she had outlived all of the previous Elder
Senshi and seemed quite ready to outlive the younger ones as
well. She held a rod in her hand, tipped with an orb. She spoke
with a clear, matter of fact voice, as if her announcement was no
more than day-to-day gossip.
"I come bearing bad news. The army of the Crystal Kingdom
has been routed at Mu and the Armies of Atlantis march on Crystal
City. The long feared war has come at last. Prince Endymion,
your father needs you and your Guardians to return to the Crystal
Kingdom before it is too late. Say your goodbyes, for it will be
long indeed before some of us see each other again."
Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity turned to each other
and stared for a moment. "I'll miss you, Endy-chan," Serenity
whispered to her fiancee.
"And I'll miss you too, my dear Serenity." He leaned down
and kissed her. For a moment they melted into each other's arms,
then it was time to play their public role once more.
Murmurs ran through the crowd. It had been a long time
since any of the Four Kingdoms had seriously warred with one
another. Coming so soon after the destruction of the Star
Kingdom, this was a bad omen indeed.
In the crowd of nobles, Senshi Jupiter turned to Nephrite.
"This is the conflict you foresaw..."
He nodded. "I think so. But do not fear. I shall return
to you, though I know not the day or the time as of yet."
"I'll miss you. It... It'll all be okay, won't it? I
mean... surely we'll all be together like this again one day...."
Jupiter shivered slightly. She wanted to believe, but she could
feel a faint tinge of fear that wouldn't go away.
Nephrite smiled and took Jupiter's hand. "Of course it
will. I'll come back to you. We all will. There's a beautiful
future in store for us. I can see it in the stars and the stars
never lie."
*****
Queen Serenity held the Silver Crystal in her hands.
Nephrite's last words echoed through her mind, a memory taken
from the fallen. The kingdom lay in ruins around her. All were
dead or fled, save only herself, Luna, and Artemis. If the stars
never lied, than they had been wrong indeed. The Crystal Kingdom
was destroyed, the Moon Kingdom lay in ruins, and the Dark
Kingdom was gone, banished into another world, beyond the Great
Shield. Only the Mars Kingdom and the outworld colonies
remained. They alone would not be able to stand against the
Things from Beyond. The Silver Millennium was fallen. Only one
task remained.
It was time to send the souls of the fallen to Earth. It
would remain habitable, even if its once mighty civilizations had
fallen. Perhaps, one day, the people of Earth might be able to
restore some of the fallen glory of the Four Kingdoms. Crystal
City might live again. The greatest age that humanity had ever
known was over... but perhaps one day, a new star, a new age
would dawn.
And one day, the Dark Kingdom would return. The world would
need defenders. Queen Serenity focused her will. She was the
last of her line, but the old blood ran true. The Silver Crystal
began to glow and her power rushed forth across the world....
*****
Thousands of years later, a woman sat in a room, slowly
filling out spaces on a horoscope. She stared, making sure the
conjunction she observed had truly come to pass. Pulling out an
ancient worn tome, she consulted notes scribbled almost
illegibly. The conjunction had come again. The Princess was
reborn. The masters must know at once that the one for whom they
had so long waited had returned. She must be prepared for the
harvest to come...
The Beginning...
Authors' Notes:
Jeff:
OK, now some of you might be wondering, a la Commander
Riker, what the hell is going on here. Well, blame it all on
John, he started it. To be exact, he wrote his "Symphony of the
Planets" stories about the Sailor Senshi (or Scouts if, like me,
you know more about the series from the dub). I will admit
freely here that I have fallen from grace and was seduced by
Sailor Moon after the series appeared in the USA. (It must be
the short skirts.) In any event, we began discussing the
timeline and history of the story, and soon a whole series (which
we call "Sailor Moon Z") came into being.
Right off the bat, let me explain that this is not part of
the standard Sailor Moon continuity, either anime or manga,
because we have taken some elements from both. We're ignoring
Sailor Moon SS, mainly because we have no reliable information on
it. The events of Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R happened pretty
much as they appeared. The main reason we're setting this
outside the continuity, however, is because we'd rather not let
the facts get in the way of a good story. :) Call it creative
license So, consider this an Elseworlds, an alternative Sailor
Moon future. If we make a mistake, by all means tell us about
it, but that doesn't mean we'll change how our story goes.
What can you expect from this story? New villains, old
villains, familiar faces and some of our own creation. A look at
the history of the Silver Millennium. And quite a few surprises.
Oh, and girls in short skirts defeating monsters, of course. :)
Well, now to let my colleague have his say, before the
flaming wombats come for me....
John: [relocks up the flaming wombats] Maybe later...Oh, the mike is on.
Yeah, you can blame this story on me, like all my 1000000 other
projects. Yes, this is how my family's tendency to overcommit itself
manifests in me :) But I shall see this project through to the bitter
end...well, unless I graduate first :)
This story was inspired by a random comment someone made on some
electronic forum where they asked, "What ever happened to the Star
Crystal, anyway?" and also wondered why it kept finding Molly instead of
what it was supposed to do...Of course, I don't call her Molly :) But it
did plant the germ of an idea in my head.
You will be seeing the Outer Senshi in this story, but the focus is
on the Inner Senshi, because we know them better. Also, they took longer
to return my phone calls...:)
I hope you enjoy the stories to come! They start with Naru's
birthday, the birthday of her 16th year...
Naru: [pops up behind John.] And you're all invited to come to it in
episode 1! We're gonna have a big party and cake and then go to the
fortune-telling fair. Hopefully, it'll go better than the last time I
went to a fortune-telling fair with Usagi...
Usagi: They cut that episode from the North American Release, you know.
Naru: What? ALL MY SUFFERING FOR NOTHING!?
Usagi: Calm down, Naru-chan...
Umino: Don't worry. I'll protect you this time, Naru-chan.
Rei: [rolls her eyes] Well, that's reassuring. Not.
Naru: Well, be there, or you'll regret it for a really long time!
John: There you have it! Enjoy!
*************************************************************************
John Walter Biles : MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~ranma/falcon.html
http://www.dhp.com/~wraven/john/index.html
"Love is the image you place around your significant other, and how close
it is to being true love depends on how closely he or she fits into
the mold."--Orlando de La Cruz