I'm trying, here, really I am. As much as I want to edit and post,
there are these horrible things called "work" and "school" that have
to take priority. Sad to think I miss being a full-time student. Fewer
immediate bills.
Someone, anyone, send me C&C! Should I stop, should I continue,
am I insane? Well, leave the last one to professionals. ;)
Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, and
Pluto, as well as Luna, Artemis, and Tuxedo Kamen appear because it
wouldn't be a BSSM Fanfic without them, even though I have no legal
rights to tell them where and when they need to hop into their fukus
(or suitcoats). Any original characters noted, I would rather not see
making cameos unless someone asks. There's very little chance I'll
say no, so just ask first. ;-)
Dialogue will be spoken by the characters in American and Japanese,
though mostly in the latter language. To differentiate, I'm sticking
with a system that I plan on using for all my Fanfics.
"Spoken in Japanese."
"/Spoken in American./"
This takes place after Sailor Moon S (anime), though with a minor
change. I know Chibi Usa is around at this time, but I can't stand
the pink-haired soccer ball, so she will be staying in Crystal Tokyo.
Indefinitely.
Sailor Moon : Eclipse Saga
Chapter 2 : Revelations
Artemis sat himself at the foot of Usagi's bed, watching as Luna
and the Moon Princess settled in for a long story. The hour was
late, and he knew the odds of Usagi falling asleep during the telling
were better than even money, but he decided that it would be better to
begin to get this secret off his chest. That, coupled with the fact
that Luna would be able to tell it to the other Senshi, made him start
the brief, though complex, history of the Twilight Guardians.
"About two years before the Dark Kingdom arrived, Queen Serenity
sensed that the Silver Millennium would soon be coming to a close.
She didn't think that it was completely unavoidable, so she set about
to create a team to help protect the Inner Senshi. If this was done
publicly, people would start to question their own safety, and a panic
might ensue. To help keep the peace to a greater degree, she decided
to hold a tournament.
"The strongest warriors from throughout the Kingdoms signed up to
be named the greatest among their peers. A handful from Earth who had
heard of the tournament even signed up, hoping to make a name for
themselves."
Usagi interrupted the white cat briefly, sleepily asking a
question. "Was Endymion one of the them?"
Artemis nodded his head, noting the barely open lids of the blonde
girl. "Yes, he, along with a friend of his, entered, and your mother
noted even then that you couldn't take your eyes off of the prince,"
Usagi blushed slightly at this comment as Artemis continued. "but
I'll get to that later. Nearly a thousand men and women entered the
contest. To trim the numbers, the first week was nothing but trials
of Speed, Strength, Weapon Skill, and Mystical Power. Only the top
eight in each category were allowed to compete, though the matches
were then randomly assigned, not catered to a person's specialty.
"Endymion made it in skill with his sword prowess, while his
friend had managed to qualify in the Strength group. His name was
Malenth, and he was the bodyguard of Endymion's fraternal twin sister,
Princess Solaria."
Nearly unconscious, Usagi snapped awake, her eyes the size of tea
saucers as she stared at the white cat. "A sister?! Why didn't he
tell me about her?"
Artemis cleared his throat quietly, using a paw to cover his
mouth. "He probably doesn't remember her, I'd guess. I mean, how
much of your life from the Moon Kingdom do you actually remember?"
Usagi contemplated this a moment, before laying her head back upon
her pillow. "Okay, okay, I get your point. Gomen."
"As I was saying, Malenth was Solaria's bodyguard. He had been
granted a short leave from Endymion's father to compete, and had
proven to be quite resourceful during the qualifying competition. His
first match pitted him against a man from Jupiter who wielded a three
meter staff with ease. Malenth preferred never to wield a weapon,
especially where his job was concerned, since most times he was simply
protecting the princess from unwanted suitors. He was skilled with
several different types of swords, as well as the staff, though, in
case a situation would get out of hand. Usually, he simply used his
abilities to keep people from getting too close to the princess.
"Back to the match. Malenth took a beating for quite some time,
unable to get close enough to lay a gloved fist on his opponent.
Deciding that advancing to the next round was a better option to
trying to be completely fair, he ducked below a swing, placed an open
palm on the ground, and sent a wave of mystic force towards his
opponent's feet. It must have thrown the guy a solid meter into the
air, and he landed on his back with a solid thump. Malenth ran over
as the guy was getting to his feet, and punched him in the face once.
The man fell over, unconscious, and Malenth advanced.
"The contest continued for sixteen days, with two matches taking
place a day. After the first twelve days, Endymion and Malenth had
reached the semi-finals. Endymion's father and sister journeyed to
see the tournament, hoping to catch either Endymion or Malenth
competing. Malenth defeated a woman from Mars to advance to the
finals, and Endymion beat another swordsman from Mercury to advance
the next day. They were poised to compete against each other the day
after that, with the victor to fight for the title against the winner
of the other finals match.
"Though they were friends, both brought everything they had to the
match. To assure himself of a more secure way of blocking Prince
Endymion's sword attacks, Malenth had actually procured a small katana
for the fight. The battle lasted for nearly three hours, neither
opponent giving or asking any sort of quarter. Malenth had used very
little of his mystical abilities until the end of the match to bring
it to a close. He dropped the prince with a burst of blue-white
light, which robbed Endymion of oxygen for a short time until he
fainted."
Usagi, sleeping fitfully, didn't hear Artemis, but Luna remembered
some of the details the blonde girl had told her about the battle with
the creature earlier that evening. "Artemis, Usagi-chan said the man
had hit the thing they fought with blue-white light, though it punched
a hole in it."
"From what I was told, he had developed his skills on several
levels years before he entered the contest." The white cat looked a
little tired, feeling the weight of sleep upon his lids as well.
"Tell you what. I'm going back to Minako-chan's, getting some shut-
eye, and then I'll continue. Get the Inner Senshi together at
Makoto's after they finish school for the day, and you'll hear the
rest."
"All right, just make sure you're up by noon. I know how much you
like to sleep in on Saturdays."
Artemis simply stuck his tongue out at her as he leaped out the
window.
In a hospital bed elsewhere in Tokyo, Mamoru Chiba finally stopped
sneezing, and was settling into a dreamless sleep.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
"Okay, I'm guessing Luna's filled you all in on most of the
details." The white cat paced along Makoto's kitchen counter, looking
at the Senshi seated in the living room.
"Yeah, she told us about the tournament, and that Mamoru had a
sister, and about some guy named Malenth." Makoto wasn't too thrilled
with the fact that the meeting had been called at her place, but
figured that Artemis must have had his reasons for the extra privacy.
Either that, or he was in the mood for some of her cooking. Or both.
"Okay, well, the two finals matches were Prince Endymion versus
Malenth, and a woman named Alliara from Jupiter against a man named
Tor from Mercury. Endymion's father, along with his fraternal twin
sister Solaria, came up two days prior to watch the semi-finals.
Princess Solaria was rumored to have a more-than-social interest in
Malenth, who was her personal bodyguard, so the prospect of him
fighting her brother left her a little anxious on several emotional
levels.
"After Endymion lost the long fight, Malenth decided to resign
from his position with the Royal Guard once the tournament was over.
Malenth said that someone else should watch over the princess, since
he disgraced himself by knowingly engaging in combat, which might have
proven lethal, against his friend. He reasoned that if he could be
persuaded to fight against his Prince so easily, he could not be
trusted to protect Solaria in a moment of personal weakness.
"Meanwhile, the other finals match began. Alliara and Tor
stepped into the stadium, overwhelmed by the fight which had taken
place before theirs. For reasons which were never publicly explained,
Tor walked over to Alliara, and simply stood in front of her, leaving
himself completely vulnerable to attack. She placed an index finger
to his forehead, spoke a word, and he fell over asleep."
"Probably had a problem with fighting against a woman." Rei
sipped at the green tea Mako-chan had prepared for all of them,
lounging in a reclining love seat next to Ami.
"Something like that. Actually, rumors at the time were that he
figured he wouldn't be much use against a worker of mysticism, so he
handed the match over to someone who stood a better chance of
winning."
"Makes sense, if you think about it." Ami had passed on the tea,
reviewing notes from her Astronomy class while jotting down others on
what Artemis was saying.
"True, and it worked well as a cover story for the real reason."
Artemis felt a tickle behind his right ear, and began to scratch as
Rei made another comment.
"So, what was the real reason he threw the match? When I said
about him having a problem fighting a woman, you said 'Something like
that.' What did you mean?"
"Just a sec." Releasing a sigh of satisfaction, Artemis regained
his composure. "Everyone found out shortly before the end of the Moon
Kingdom, but a rather select few of us knew that they became lovers
shortly after a meeting held after the first round of the qualifying
competition."
Makoto was pouring a second cup of tea for Usagi when she chimed
in. "What, he figured if he fought her, she'd dump him after the
match?"
"Nothing of the sort. For all his strength, Tor was a kitten when
it came to people he liked. He couldn't find it in his heart to
possibly hurt Alliara. That, and he knew he didn't stand a chance in
Hell against Malenth if the two of them tried to go full out. In the
Strength placement, Tor had ranked first. Malenth had ranked fourth."
"I thought Malenth qualified in Magical Power." Usagi recalled
most of what had been said the previous night, since she had missed
Luna's recap because of detention.
"No, he actually qualified in Strength. Endymion was the only one
who had a clue Malenth had mystical skills before the first match. In
the Magical Power and Weapon Skills trials, Malenth took intentional
dives. He figured, why show all your cards?"
"Sounds like he went to win." Minako was thinking back to her
Sailor V days, when she kept some of her Senshi skills a secret, in
case situations escalated to a point where she could still have a
trump card.
"Pretty much. Okay, the sooner I tell this, the sooner we can
look for these mystery people you saw last night. The next day,
people from all the Kingdoms came to watch the final match. From what
my sources told me, there were nearly half a million gems in bets
going on the fights."
"Gems?" Minako wore an expression of mild confusion as she looked
to her mentor.
"In those days, all currency among the Kingdoms was simplified to
various precious stones and gems." Luna felt a little more useful
being able to contribute some information about the current
discussion. "In current values, the betting total would be somewhere
around... oh, I'd say... ten trillion yen, give or take five hundred
billion."
The Senshi collectively big-sweated, except for Makoto. She
simply stared at Luna, narrowing her gaze. "You mean to tell me, that
while we were on the Moon, we could have probably found a few gems
just lying around, and been set for life?!"
Artemis chimed in before things got too out of hand. "I doubt it.
When the Resurrection Wave was unleashed, all traces of the Moon
Kingdom were erased from existence. You'd be lucky to find a tiny
piece of marble from the palace now.
"Getting back to what I was saying... the championship bout drew a
huge crowd. No one knew what to expect, or how long the fight would
last. Sadly to say, those expecting a long battle were very
disappointed. Malenth and Alliara entered from opposite sides, took
five steps in, and bowed to Queen Serenity. Alliara turned back to
Malenth, preparing to unleash her first spell. She never even had
time to react as a wave of solid light slammed her through the door
she had come in and into unconsciousness. Most of the crowd was too
in shock to cheer, much less boo at the brevity."
"Geez, sounds like a Mike Tyson fight." Makoto was back in the
kitchen, whipping up another pot of green tea for her friends. "What
happened after all that, Artemis? And what does any of this have to
do with the Twilight Guardians you mentioned to Usagi and Luna?"
"I'm getting to it. As Luna mentioned to you, Queen Serenity saw
the end of the Moon Kingdom coming, and had decided to gather a group
to protect the Inner Senshi. She had decided that the finalists,
along with one or two of the semi-finalists who didn't advance, would
be asked to take up this task."
"Um, you mean Endymion was working for Queen Serenity?" Ami
Mizuno held her hand out, this time accepting the tea she was being
offered. She took a sip as Artemis started to answer her question.
"Indirectly, yes. Queen Serenity could see the mutual attraction
between the Earth prince and her daughter, so it was done more as a
favor to her than as a command. Malenth was asked to lead this group,
though he would not be protecting any of the Senshi himself at first.
Alliara agreed to the proposal, and kept an eye on Sailor Mercury.
Tor said he would be honored, and watched over Sailor Jupiter. The
swordsman Endymion had beaten, named Najel, was appointed to Sailor
Mars. The lightning-fast woman Malenth had fought for his finals
advancement was Unar, who seemed to be a natural to aid Sailor Venus."
"Whoa, hold on a sec." Rei was a bit flustered hearing all of
this, though even she wasn't sure why. "You're telling me that we had
people ghosting us during the last year of the Moon Kingdom, and we
never knew about it?"
"Pretty much. Except for Endymion, who was an unofficial member
of the Twilight Guardians, all were reported dead at various points
over the next three months. Rumors of foul play by one or more
contestants from the Tournament eliminated before the semi-finals
circulated throughout the Kingdoms, even in more 'sophisticated'
circles. To guard against the truth that they were all still alive,
they were given black clothing that absorbed the light from nearly any
source that would reveal their position. This allowed them to blend
in almost seamlessly with the shadows they worked from."
"Light absorbing clothes... like the ones that guy was wearing
last night?" Usagi was placing the pieces together, slowly, though
another piece of the puzzle from the events of the previous night had
still not been picked up.
"If he was wearing those, he might have been caught in the
Resurrection Wave that was unleashed by Queen Serenity." Ami was
making some adjustments to the power identification programs on her
palm computer, while listening to the conversation at hand. "But from
what Rei and Makoto told me, that still fails to explain the woman
with him."
Artemis sighed, wondering if he felt his tongue getting a cramp
from all this talking. "Would you let me finish, please? No more
interruptions until I say I'm done, okay? Then you can ask me all the
questions you want." The silent nodding of heads from all assembled
quieted the white cat's nerves enough for him to continue.
"They were all given new names as well, to reflect the new
positions they held. They took names from members of the Greek
pantheon, usually in reference to the person they guarded. Najel was
Ares, the God of War, to symbolize his merciless and nearly unmatched
sword skill. Unar called herself Zephyr, after the legendary God of
the West Wind. Alliara became Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Tor took
the name Herakles to represent his unsurpassed strength. Malenth, as
their leader, was simply The Nameless at the beginning. He had no one
to guard over, but Queen Serenity had already set another plan into
motion to change that situation.
"After Prince Endymion's second 'unofficial' visit, she gave him a
package to deliver to his sister, Solaria. The package, I was told,
contained a missive from the Queen, detailing her fears that both the
Inner and Outer Senshi would fall in a great war that was approaching.
In order to prevent this tragedy from occurring, Queen Serenity had
developed a plan. She had hoped to add another to their roster, as a
combat medic of sorts, able to heal, possibly even revive the dead,
without need of the Ginzuishou.
"One week after the letter was delivered, Princess Solaria was
found dead. The cause of death had been ruled poison, and the funeral
was held less than two days after her body had been found by her
brother. On the Moon, The Nameless was in somber retreat, grief
stricken by the loss of one who had been under his protection. He
blamed himself for not staying by her side, to guard her from the
assassin. Preparing to journey to Earth and find her killer, he
stormed out of his room and knocked down a young woman. When he met
her eyes and saw it was Solaria, he lifted her into the air, swinging
her around, laughing and crying with joy. Well, that's what I was
told, anyway. Rumor has it that he barely broke a smile, and that he
never displayed any emotions while working for Endymion's father.
"While the other Twilight Guardians were out protecting their
respective charges, The Nameless was training Solaria in the use of
her new powers and skills. The princess had always been athletic,
though she had never pushed herself to the level the strenuous
workouts Malenth put her through required. He knew as well as she did
that being a Senshi meant being able to avoid attacks as easily and as
fluidly as they should be delivered."
"Sorry to interrupt, Artemis, but maybe now you girls will
understand why I ask you to train as hard as you do, and harder
whenever possible." Luna had decided to pitch in while the girls'
attention was surprisingly focused on the story at hand. Rei, Makoto
and Minako nodded in agreement, while a slight grunt could be heard
from Ami as she continued to work something on her computer.
"After a year, Malenth and Solaria were called before Queen
Serenity to discuss the progress they were making. During the course
of that meeting, it was decided that Solaria would need combat
experience for the dark days that loomed in the near future. Queen
Serenity also decided that another renaming was needed for both of
them. Solaria would be known as Sailor Sol, since she was an
unofficial representative of Earth, as well as being a Senshi for the
benefit of all the other Kingdoms as well.
"Malenth, as Guardian for the Senshi of Love and Life, would need
a name fitting his position as well. Serenity had said that he should
be called Phoenix, after the legendary bird of Resurrection. He
thought that he was unworthy of the name, and decided to drop the last
two letters. Queen Serenity accepted the compromise, and was about to
call the Senshi together to meet their new allies when the Dark
Kingdom began their attack. Phoen contacted the other Guardians to
see how bad the fighting was. Ares reported in, saying that the
Senshi and other defenders of the Moon Kingdom were severely
outnumbered, and that they would fall much sooner without direct
intervention from the Twilight Guardians.
"I was in the Throne Room for that meeting, and the look on
Phoen's face as he gave the order to use maximum force in order to
ensure the safety of the Senshi was one of total anguish. From the
reports of that battle, the Guardians took out nearly two-thirds of
the Dark Kingdom's ground troops before the four of them fell. Ares
carved through troops, his sword doing an imitation of the Grim
Reaper's scythe, until he intercepted an energy bolt from Jaedite
intended for Mars. Zephyr moved with such celerity that her dagger
carved through flesh like a hot knife through warm butter. She was
struck down when Malachite tried to put his sword into Venus' back.
Herakles and Athena fought back to back, a large number of troops
realizing the threat these black-clad warriors represented. After
more than two hours of ceaseless fighting, the two Guardians turned to
each other, almost completely exhausted. As the regiment of soldiers
fell upon them, they engaged in one last passionate kiss, before
exploding in a wave of mystical energy that took out everything within
a one kilometer radius."
The girls were numb with shock, noting that a thousand years ago,
four people gave up nearly every aspect of their lives to guard them,
and when the time arose, gave up their corporeal lives in the hope
that the Senshi would endure.
"My... my God, they... they did that? For us?" Rei was the only
one able to find her voice, the others still reeling from the news.
"Why?"
"Because the Senshi were a representation of hope for the people
throughout the Kingdoms. You all were something that the Guardians
could not be... public heroes. They could never get the glory or the
recognition, but they were there to ensure you survived to receive
it."
Usagi realized that there was still more to tell, and made her
voice be known. "So, what happened with Phoen and Sailor Sol?"
"And what happened to us?" Makoto knew what the eventual answer
would be, but curiosity into whether she had died fighting or not
consumed her at the moment.
"After the Lovers' Flare, as it came to be known, the Senshi and
remaining defenders regrouped at the Moon Palace. They had only an
hour to prepare before Queen Beryl and her remaining forces arrived.
In that time, Phoen took position 500 yards ahead of the front lines.
A message was relayed to the Senshi to await a signal from someone in
front of them to begin their attack, though the type of signal was not
specified, nor was the identity of the scout.
"As the Dark Kingdom's forces came within sight of the Moon
Palace, they were assaulted by a rolling wave of solid light, coming
from a man in a pair of white shorts. Phoen had to remove his
clothing in order to use his full power, since the clothes would have
absorbed it to some degree. The Senshi, taking this to be the signal,
ordered their troops to charge. For a few brief moments, it looked as
though the Moon Kingdom would prevail.
"Then Queen Beryl unleashed her attack."
Luna, looking somewhat unsteady standing for the last few minutes
of Artemis' recollection, finally fainted. Usagi picked up the
unconscious cat and cradled the feline in her lap, to comfort both her
mentor and herself.
"Black energy surged from her hands, rapidly draining the life
energy from the front ranks of Moon Kingdom soldiers. The Senshi
retreated to the second lines, as Phoen stood his ground, seemingly
unaffected by Beryl's attack. However, that was not the case.
"The Dark Kingdom soldiers were in a mild state of shock, seeing
this man still standing after such an assault. As he started to lilt
to the side, the Moon Kingdom defenders saw that there was no skin,
muscle, or other tissue to speak of remaining on the front part of his
body. Phoen collapsed into the dirt, dead."
Rei and Minako fought for control over their stomachs, as the
visual image threatened to overpower them. After a few seconds, to
make sure no one would be making a mad dash to the bathroom, Artemis
continued. He decided that not describing the state of the bodies of
the first line might be a good idea.
"Beryl's troops advanced, engaging the next wave of defenders.
The battle was tooth and nail, each side losing equal numbers. This
meant that in the long run, the Moon Kingdom would be overwhelmed,
since the Dark Kingdom still had more troops in reserve. Sailor Sol
could be seen healing the other Senshi almost constantly, in order to
try and turn the tide. Jaedite, seeing this, sought her out to remove
her from the field of combat. Although Malenth's training had been
helpful, he eventually got the better of her, driving his sword
through her heart. As her dying scream rang out, a rumbling was felt
by all. What happened next, no one was expecting, not even Queen
Serenity."
Artemis paused to catch his breath, noting his tongue was getting
a little dry. He wandered over to Ami's teacup, which was still
mostly full.
"I find one hair in there the next time I take a sip, I'm asking
Minako to shave you bald, Artemis." Ami had said all this, never
looking up from the work she was doing to her computer. Artemis
carefully extended his tongue, making certain not to dip his chin into
the liquid. Satisfying his thirst, he picked up where he had left
off.
"As I said, there was a rumbling felt, and following that, the
cries of several dozen of Beryl's forces. A phoenix had risen from
within their ranks, dancing white-blue flames composing its skin.
Both sides were paralyzed with fear, until it descended to where
Jaedite was standing, shredding him to charred remains with its
talons."
Usagi barely uttered a single word. "Phoen."
"Yes. It seemed as though he lived up to his name on a level none
had expected. Beryl ordered her generals to focus their attacks on
him, while she engaged the Senshi herself. She began to pick you off,
one by one, until none of you were left standing. Unfortunately for
her, the phoenix had decided that her generals deserved the same
treatment. They decided to face off against one another. Queen
Serenity saw this as an opportunity to save those who had already
fallen."
"How? Everyone was already dead." Makoto had her feat propped
up, relaxing in a recliner behind Ami.
"Although she didn't care for the idea, she drew the life-force of
the phoenix into the Ginzuishou, and then unleashed the Resurrection
Wave, the result of which brought the confrontation full circle when
you faced off against the Dark Kingdom and defeated Beryl."
"Okay, I think I understand now." Minako was up, pacing behind
the couch where Usagi and Rei were sitting. "But, that doesn't
account for Sailor Sol. Why wasn't she born here, in Japan?"
"I don't know. Maybe the connection to Phoen, in addition to the
fact that she was fairly new to the Senshi, altered her place of
birth. Regardless, if she and Phoen are here now, it is up to us to
make them feel welcome. From what you told me of this new threat, we
may need their help."
"Okay, okay." Rei put down her now empty teacup and stretched her
limbs, having stiffened up from her time on the couch. "So we'll go
out and find them. Any ideas as to what we should say? They
disappeared rather quickly last time."
"Got me." Artemis walked over to Usagi, looking at the still
unconscious form of Luna. "Whatever you do, though, I would suggest
caution. Just because they helped you once, doesn't mean they would
be inclined to do so again."
Makoto brought her feet down, returning the recliner to an upright
position. "Understood. What do you say, ladies? Should we go find
ourselves some new friends?"
The resounding "Yes" was enough to signal Artemis that a new
chapter in the lives of the Senshi was about to begin.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
Kindly direct all C&C to DruidicKnight@Juno.com. Send mail bombs
somewhere where they'll do the most good: Support@Microsoft.com. ;)