From: Hitomi Ichinohei Subject: [FANFIC] A Sailor Moon Adventure: Sailor Moon P: Chapter One: Who is the New Senshi? Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 21:57:38 -0600 Naru sighed as she went over her homework. School wasn't all that bad, especially since all of her friends, even Usagi managed to make it into senior high school. What was even better was the fact that she hadn't been targeted by monsters for several months now. Leaning back, she thought about her friends, and how many times they had saved her. It hadn't been too hard for her to figure out who they were, especially since Usagi kept saying Naru's name whenever Sailor Moon appeared. The fact that the others also knew her, and so much about her personal life was an indicator as well, although it was an unspoken agreement that she never officially knew. Still, she did worry at times, especially since they never went through great lengths to protect their 'secret identities', depending on magick to cloud peoples minds. She sometimes wished that she herself was a Senshi, having exciting adventures and saving the world. Of course, a lot of girls wished that these days. They were always so mysterious, so exciting, and they were heroes to most of the world. Almost all of the girls in her school wished that they were Sailor Moon, especially with the dashing and handsome Tuxedo Kamen. Of course, they also were wondering about her sex life. When Chibi-Moon had appeared, a lot of people had started to ask who she was, especially since a young child was risking her life facing off against monsters of all types. It hadn't helped matters any when she had been heard on a few occasions calling Sailor Moon mother, or Tuxedo Kamen Father. How a nine year old ended up with a sixteen year old as a mother was a large matter of speculation. Some of the adults had even asked how much of a pervert Tuxedo Kamen was, especially if he was the father. Even more, they wondered how any mother could submit her child to such dangers. Shaking her head, she got back to work. Wishful thinking was nice, but one had to have been born with the powers of a Senshi, not have them given to you in some manner as some of the girls thought. Naru wasn't quite sure how she knew this, but seemed to remember a beautiful kingdom in her dreams. In those dreams she was a friend to the Princess, and they had spent many days and evenings looking towards the earth. If only those dreams were true. Sailor Moon P A Sailor Moon Adventure: Chapter One: Who is the New Senshi? A fan fiction based on Takeuchi Naoko's Manga series, Codename: Sailor V and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Queen Selenity, Princess Selenity, Prince Endymion, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor V, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter, Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Chibi-Moon, Luna, Artemis, Diana, Osaka Naru, Tsukino Usagi, Tsukino Shingo, Chibi-Usa, Chiba Mamoru, Hino Rei, Mizuno Ami, Kino Makoto, and Aino Minako are copyright 1987, 1997 by Takeuchi Naoko. Silver, Sailor Crystal, Shirubaa Hitomi, and Shalayn are copyright 1996, 1997 by Ichinohei Hitomi Publishing rights: Japan: Kodansha By Ichinohei Hitomi The alarm rang. The figure in the bed heard this and groaned, not that it was anything new, but the older she got, the more she wanted to forget about training for just one day. If only she had been able to relax, and be more like the people attending her new school, everything would be fine, but she was cursed with knowing the past. There were so many days that she just wanted to forget all that had occurred in that kingdom from so long ago. But then again, her morning workouts were the only thing that kept her from striking out. Reaching over, she turned off the alarm and got out of bed. It had been several years, but the young woman had gotten used to there being no one in the house. There hadn't been anyone in the house except her for the past three years since her parents died. It had occurred at the same time that she had started to remember the past. A past she could not let herself be part of. *** Usagi came downstairs and started to prepare breakfast. It was a little unusual, being the first one in the house to get up, but she had been getting a little better over the years. Not that anyone really noticed. Rei still treated her like a kid, although they had gotten out of the habit of sticking tongues out at each other. She knew the young priestess never did it to be mean, but more as a way of showing love. It wasn't easy for them to show each other their true feelings, especially since so much was expected of them. Smiling to herself, Usagi quickly made a good, nutritious breakfast, made lunch for herself, Shingo, and her daughter, and started to prepare for the day. There was no way she was going to let this school year be a disaster! Humming slightly, she looked over everything she had done, and then put a small heart card and some candies that she had bought the day before in Chibi-Usa's lunch bag. It was a bit of an extravagance, especially since they couldn't allow anyone to find out who she really was, but Usagi did want to wish her daughter well on the first day of the new term. *** Shalayn moved slowly, observing the world that was centred in the view screen before her. Millennia had passed since she had last seen it, had last been in this particular solar system. It had been the only one that had resisted her conquest, thanks in large part to one short skirted female warrior who had destroyed her ship and sent her plunging into another universe. She still harbored a deep hatred of that particular female, although it hardly helped this particular solar system. All signs of habitation had been scrubbed from the surface of all the worlds that orbited this star except for one. The only planet that could naturally sustain life without a highly advanced technology or magick. Sitting down in the command chair of her latest ship, one that had taken more than a century to build, she contemplated what sort of disaster had occurred to wipe out almost a trillion beings and erase any signs of the life sustaining technologies that Shalayn had originally been after so long ago. It was anti-climatic really. She had spent thousands of years with the thought of getting back to this universe to have her revenge on these beings, to ravage the worlds and gain all their technologies, and to have the keys to all of the knowledge that was kept in their mystical computer repositories. To have all of that disappear; to not have a chance to revenge herself on the woman who had defeated her, but in a strange way granted her virtual immortality, was painful. Still, it couldn't really be helped, and it would preserve her forces for when they would really be needed. Shalayn would have to attack the blue-green planet below her sooner or later, if only to have a place to set up a strike base from which to attack this galaxy. In the meantime she would try to salvage everything she could of the once great civilization that had inhabited these worlds, and she would start with the centre of that power. The one natural satellite that orbited the blue-green planet. Perhaps something there would tell her the fate of that civilization as well as the fate of the one person who had been responsible for her defeat. The warrior known as Sailor Moon. *** Ami smiled as she reviewed the posted test scores. All that time at the Juku had paid off, and now she was well on the way towards the medical career that she always wanted. Of course, she was also one of the few people who had opted for the science stream, most of the others going into the humanities or business. Still, the calculus test was only one of several that she would need in order to apply for the research grant that she needed. "Received another high score I see," Minako said from behind her, "Aren't you tired of being the best in the world?" Ami turned quickly and blushed at her two friends. "I'm not that smart. I still have to study for the Chemistry exam the day after tomorrow." Makoto smiled at the embarrassed young girl, "OK. I'll accept that since you haven't been smart enough to think about relaxing for a little bit. I know you like studying, but you're carrying it a little far." The black haired girl stuttered a bit, "Well, with what we know about the future, and what we will become, I've got to learn as much as possible. Our responsibilities..." "...Are too numerous to mention. You can still have fun too. Besides, no matter how long we live, you're only young once." Minako replied, a bit of worry showing in her eyes over the strain her friend was putting herself through. "Remember, I command our little group, and I am insisting that you take the night off." "Too bloody right! We'll have a dinner party at my place tonight." Ami looked over at Makoto, "But..." "No buts!" "No arguments!" "Tonight we party!" *** Practice was over for another day, and she had just enough time to record another summary of the information she had discovered. Sighing, she went upstairs and turned on her computer. Taking the microphone-headset, she placed it on her head, and went to the summary section of her interactive database. She prepared the machine for a recording and started: "For untold Millennia, the moon, the natural satellite that orbits the earth has been considered extremely romantic. In some part of the human soul, that floating, dead orb that was so near, yet so far, drew the minds of humans to peace, Serenity, and beauty. When examined by anyone, not a single person could say why this was so. "Many people had theories on why this was, whether it be racial memories, legends, or perhaps the fact that it seemed that there was another world so close by. If traced back, people realized that the legends of the moon and romance began a long time before, with the ancient Gods and before the coming of the destruction, which one culture named Ragnarok. Few people would realize that the stories were based on fact. "Somewhere around fifty thousand years ago, the first true civilizations started to show up, creating great feats of engineering and beauty. In one small area, which would later become known as Egypt, one group of people carved out a large stone which became known as the Sphinx. These people were not content to be where they were, and roamed across the world, searching for knowledge. Most of the world was in a war-like state, where people fought to live day to day, most of the beings known as Homo Sapiens being vegetarians on a nomadic diet. "As the more intelligent group intermixed with the others, knowledge was spread, and eventually a group of them set sail on small boats no bigger than canoes. These beings eventually came upon a large land to the west of them and they colonized it. Thus came the land that would later be called Atlantis. "Atlantis was the most peaceful of the Kingdoms that were on Earth, a place of learning and knowledge where true wealth was measured in what one could do to help others instead of what one possessed. Eventually, they achieved space flight capabilities, and with the technologies and magicks that they had learned, colonized the solar system. "A series of bright individuals, magicians-engineers realized that their Earth Based computers, and all of the knowledge that was collected, could be destroyed by any number of natural disasters that could occur on a live shell planet. They were the first to move to the moon, to create the first of the great crystal computers. Actually light-based computers with molecular memory circuits powered by a combination of solar energy and magick. Duplicates were being built on all the colonies and on earth itself, although the Engineers decided that a secondary computer would be needed on Earth. The project consumed almost two centuries of work, during which time, the Moon Kingdom was built. "With their sciences and magicks working for them, the various Kingdoms which made up the Solar System, decided that it was time to consolidate power and rule. To do so, they created a crystal made of a combination of rare ores and including the magickal mineral Silver. This Silver Crystal was to contain the combined magicks of all of the civilizations, and would be entrusted to the ruler of the moon. "As this was being done, the mutations started to happen. Stray solar radiation, cosmic particles, and magicks were not only causing the people who lived off of Earth's surface to live longer, but to gather new characteristics. Their marriages with the people still on Earth caused powers and abilities to develop far beyond the simple magicks that were known before. The kingdoms realized that a group of protectors would have to be created, and so, with the help of great magicks, the first twelve Sailor Senshi were born, the name being a remembrance of that first group of travelers who had decided to cross an ocean. "For many generations, the Senshi protected the solar system from threats both within and without. Gradually, it was noticed that the Senshi were being born according to family lines, and that they were being reborn time and time again. To some, that was a danger, to others, it was the perfect system. Those who believed the system perfect won out. "If only the Kingdoms could have known what the assumption that the reborn soldiers remembered everything about their past lives would lead to. "Still, events went on until about eleven thousand years ago when the Dark Kingdom began its conquests, and the battles that occurred between beings who had a lot of power. "At that time, Queen Selenity, the latest in a long line of rulers was grooming her daughter, also named Selenity to take over her throne. The young Princess was wise, and brave, kind and caring. She more than anyone else wished for peace and tranquillity, but grew up in a time of battle as the forces of the Dark Kingdom grew. "Still, the love of her life, Prince Endymion of Earth, had become her protector, and their love story still resounds today, although the Greek legends got it wrong. Selenity didn't have time to marry her love, much less have fifty children. "In the final battle, ten of the eleven known Senshi fought to the death, with brilliant strategies being handled by Venus before she died in the attack by the dark entity. "It is debatable, but this might have turned out differently if Sailor Moon had not been away on a mission just outside the solar system." That was it. The entry was completed, and she could start looking into some more of the histories of the Kingdoms, and the memories she had of them. Closing her eyes for a second, the girl reflected on what she remembered, recalling more than most reincarnates would. Opening her eyes, she Looked over at the small wand sitting by the computer and grimaced. It had appeared just after her parents died, and she knew it's significance, but didn't dare, didn't WANT to use it. All she could be was a historian for there was no room for failure in a warrior. *** It had been several hours, but Shalayn had managed to find the ruins of the central computer in one of the bigger craters. Somewhat surprisingly, the ruins indicated that several millennia had passed since the planetoid had been occupied. From the condition of the ruins of what seemed to be a palace, and from the radioactive dating, it had occurred fairly close to the time when she had been unceremoniously hurled from this dimensional reality. What HAD happened to cause all of this destruction, one that would have had to drain the scientific and mystical might of an entire civilization? No matter, the beings that remained on the planet below were primitive, in comparison to the vast civilization that had flourished in this system so many millennia ago. Their computers, their science were so far behind as to be nearly non-existent. When the time came to conquer this galaxy, they would make a perfect servitor race; Intelligent enough to be useful, but uninformed and uninvolved enough not to be trouble. The system was a perfect jump off point being strategically positioned in one of the galactic arms. Unfortunately, she had no idea how much information the galaxy had on her, or on what was happening in the galaxy now. Shalayn also had no idea about what could have caused an entire civilization to disappear with hardly a trace. Did it have something to do with her being thrown out of the universe, or was it some other being or set of beings that had to be taken care of first. If these questions weren't answered, then her own campaign to take over first this galaxy and later the universe was doomed to eventual failure. She needed access to those computers, the only ones at the time that provided information gathered from around the cosmos. Unfortunately, even though she had found an intact access terminal in the remains of what had once been the Palace, there was no sign of the actual computer itself. It had been well hidden somewhere in the crust of the planetoid, and without an actual location, Shalayn could end up destroying her prize if she tried to dig it out. Even worse, someone had activated the security protocols on the system before whatever disaster happened, leaving the computer completely inaccessible unless a bio-key was used. The system was still active, and still running, gathering and sorting information. From what information she did manage to recover from the terminal, only two particular bio-signatures would work. One which matched the royal family of the moon, and who were obviously dead, and the other matching those of the Guardian of Knowledge, whoever that was. In either case, she had to find that bio-patern. It was fortunate that there was a trace to the bio-patern in the terminal matrix, a trace that Shalayn would use to find the being that she needed. Information was the key to everything. *** *Well, one thing that can be said about this class, and that's the Sensei's certainly worth looking at.* Makoto thought as she listened to him telling everyone how to use the computer. *I wonder if he's married yet?* Of course, Makoto had spent some time finding out that the Sensei was only twenty three years of age, and actually teaching here part time while he got his degree in education. His being about seven years older did not bother her as much as it would have others, especially since he was cute. In fact, he was the only reason that she was taking this class, not caring much for the machines and the uses everyone had described. Grinning a bit, she looked over at the other girls, noting that most of them had dreamy expressions on her face. It wasn't very surprising, especially given how most of the boys in the school acted and reacted. The immaturity that they showed was certainly a detriment towards trying to have a relationship, and most of the girls in the school naturally gravitated towards the handsome teacher. She did note two exceptions to this however; Ami, who could make a computer do back flips if she wanted to, and the ever taciturn Shirubaa Hitomi, who could pass for a computer if she wanted to. Shaking her head, she wondered what made that girl tick. Hitomi was somewhat like Ami, in that she excelled in many areas that required intellect, and did well in gym, but the girl absolutely refused to have much to do with anyone in the school. Hitomi came, did her work, went to the Juku, and was always with a briefcase and sets of printouts. At lunch, she usually opened up her portable which she kept in another case and typed the entire lunch away, hardly remembering to eat or drink, as if those activities would take away from what seemed to be the most important concern in her life. *Sooner or later, that girl is going to burn herself out.* the brown haired girl thought as she pretended to understand what the Sensei was talking about, *She pushes herself as hard as Ami does, and I _know_ if we don't force her to relax a bit every now and then, she would have ended up in hospital.* It was the one thing that was bad about the Japanese system of achievement, especially since it involved so many individuals who had to uphold the honour of their families and houses. Makoto was also caught up in the attitude of achieve above all else, but she wouldn't go as far as to kill herself because she failed one course. So many young people, so many lives with high potential, were gone because they couldn't put up with having one thing go wrong. She would make sure that in the centuries to come the young people understood the need to balance achievement with relaxation. Unfortunately, that certainly wasn't the case with Hitomi as the black haired girl started debating a point with the Sensei causing everyone but Ami to start falling asleep. *** Naru stifled the urge to yawn as her friend started to talk about computers. Again. When it came to the machines, Hitomi could be as obsessed as Umino. She leaned back a bit, closed her eyes, and remembered the dream from the night before... The garden was as beautiful as it could have been, just tended, and with new buds that would grow into glorious flowers of all types reaching for the sky. Crys and her friend, Princess Selenity had come out here again, ostensibly to see all of the various plants, and make plans for one of the dancing parties that was to be held soon. In reality, it was so the Princess could do the one thing she did best since meeting a certain Prince of Earth. The Princess sighed as she looked towards the blue planet that took up most of the sky, her thoughts obviously on the man that she loved once again. Her friend always had this looked of longing and anticipation whenever she observed that particular world. Most people who didn't know the Princess as she did would have assumed that Selenity longed to live where all of the Kingdoms that inhabited the system originated. "You're thinking about him again Selenity." The Princess turned to her, "Of course I am Crys. I can't help it, and I also can't help worrying about him considering the war that's going on. I don't want him taken away from me as my father and sister were." She bit her lip, knowing how hard it was for the Princess. Although her father had died of natural causes, the disappearance of Selenity's elder sister had caused an uproar about the whole kingdom. The one most affected had been the Princess herself as she had been the last one to see her. "There was nothing you could have done. I know she loves you, wherever she is, and I also know that she does not want you to be sad. You're the future ruler of this kingdom, something that she wanted for you." Selenity's shoulder's sagged a bit as her head bent down from looking at the Earth. "I know, but she didn't have to take off like that. She was supposed to take the throne, not me. I'm not that good at it, and I'm really not sure I want that power." Crys put her hand on her friends shoulder, pondering telling the Princess the truth about her long lost sister. No. Parts of the past had to stay dead, not only for the good of the kingdom, and for the future of all humanity, but for Selenity's sake as well. "Princess Selenity," she began, causing the young woman to turn her face up in startlement as the Princess was hardly ever referred to in that manner by her. "I knew your sister very well, and I know the reason she left had nothing, I repeat, NOTHING to do with you. Diana knew herself better than you can imagine, and better than anyone around her could even guess at and she knew in her heart that it would be a disaster if she ever took the throne. In and of herself, she wasn't a danger. As long as she had no real power." Crys sighed, "Diana had a problem with killing and torture. She liked it, and like to inflict pain as well. The more pain the better. For a future ruler of the kingdom, and the future possessor of the Ginzuishou, that was a danger she couldn't risk. The lives of too many people depend on that crystal only being used for the protection of all life. If somebody uses it for the purposes she was afraid she would if she had the power, then it is possible entire planets could die. The amount of magickal power in the crystal sustains all of our civilizations and is what gives all of the new Senshi their powers." A voice chuckled from a corner, "That's so true. She is right however, your sister knew what would happen if she ever got her hands on that much power and deemed it safer if she disappeared. I know you miss her, but trust me. It was the right decision." Selenity turned to the corner, shuddering a bit at the person there. Of all of the Senshi she was the one who most scared the Princess although everyone had kept the details of her exploits from her. "Moon, I know that you're critical of everyone, but I'm sure my sister could have overcome her fears and problems. I know she could have. Why didn't anyone search for her." Moon shook her head, coming slowly into the light, "A lot of people did, your Highness, including myself. Your sister does not want to be found, at least not until she can rid herself of the demons that possess her. More than anyone, I know what those demons are like. I take it no one has ever told you of some of my missions?" Crys looked up suddenly, shaking her head. Telling some of the tales surrounding the most mysterious and unknown of the warriors was something that would definitely upset the Princess. "I don't think that would be wise." Moons eyes were hard as stone as she looked at the two of them. "Your choice Princess, but I suggest you know what sort of person I am before you take the throne. You might not want me to continue in this role after that." Selenity looked at the two of them, and then nodded to Moon, "Go ahead Sailor Moon. I think it's time I know some of the truth." Moon sat down, looking straight into the eyes of the younger girl, "First Princess, I am not like the other Senshi. My background is unknown and unknowable, especially given the sort of person I am." She made sure that Selenity was paying attention and opened her eyes and thus her soul to the Princess. "I am a killer Selenity. A cold blooded and sadistic one at that. In the missions against the Dark Kingdom that I've been on, I have never shown mercy, never shown compassion, and have never shown a single bit of goodness. My passion, my REASON for being is killing, and I do it very, very well. I hope you never have to do that, I know that your heart isn't into killing a single being, but sometimes that becomes necessary. For myself, I am barely in control when I'm not on a mission, or here on the moon. The only one who has been able to keep me in any sort of check is Crys." Moon closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, "I can't help myself Princess. I kill because I love to kill, I want to kill. If it wasn't for this war, I would probably have been destroyed because of my propensities towards violence. I also know that this is what caused your sister to depart." Selenity's eyes widened, "You mean that Diana disappeared because of you? Because she was afraid of you?" Crys decided to break in. "No. Moon wasn't around then, but your sister was scared of herself. You see, she had the same trouble Moon has, and that was why she left." Moon nodded, "I know what your sister felt, because in a way I am your sister. I know how much I battle everyday to keep myself in check, and I also know that unless I fight for our society, I would be the greatest threat to it. Your sister will not be found unless she can dispel those same demons." Selenity looked back up at the earth. "I understand. If..if the two of you don't mind, I'm going back in, and pray that my sister will find peace." Crys watched as Selenity left the garden, her heart torn between wanting to follow her, and allowing her some time to herself. She knew how much pain this was causing her, and was actually angry at her being so badly hurt. The Senshi were not supposed to do this as they were meant to protect, and Moon stepped over the line. After the Princess left, she turned towards Moon, anger evident on her face. "Was that really necessary?" Moon turned to her, tears silently streaming down her face. "Very necessary Crys. I didn't want to hurt her, but it is better that she heard at least this much of the truth than learn everything. If she knew the entire truth, it would destroy her." Crys reached up and stroked the tears from her friends face. "I'm sorry, I forgot how much this hurts you as well. You're right though. She would have found out part of it sooner or later and if she found out everything, and the truth about... Diana, then she would have done something disastrous, such as chasing after her." Moon nodded, "I promise that I will come and protect you if I can Crys, but promise me one thing. That you will take care of her when I am not around. I fear what may happen if she ever learned who Diana became." Crys hugged Moon tightly, "I will." Naru was startled out of her daydream by an the teacher's voice, "Osaka-san, I trust that we aren't that boring." Embarrassed, she looked up, her face flaming, "Umm...No Sensei, I just didn't sleep too well last night." *** Somewhere, there had to be a descendant of the keeper of the computers, someone who had the correct bio-signature in order for her to activate the system. Shalayn had already deduced that this person would also be well protected. Even if they could no longer get to the moon very well, as evidenced by the flimsy spacecraft, then making sure that the being who could bypass the computer core lockout would have defenders that were competent. Given that, she had started to go over the planets electromagnetic transmissions, finding the resonance patterns that would enable her to view and listen. Shalayn snorted to herself, going over a number of the media reports on what happened on the planet, using the ships translation utilities and linguistics banks. If she was correct then somewhere there would be reports on the protectors, and in that way she could narrow down the search considerably. The device to detect the bio-signature was only able to be used within a small area, and she wouldn't have thousands of her people traveling over the planet in search of one person, at least if she didn't have to. A report then came on one of the screens as the scanning computer went over the protocols she had input. On the screen were some blurry pictures, and as she listened to the translation, she realized that she had found where the bio-key had to be hidden. There was no longer a moon kingdom, and these people did not know about them, but with the Senshi there, it meant that something or someone was being well protected. That person had to be the living key to the Crystal Computer of the moon. With this information, she could send out a search party, as well as a small group of attackers whose sole job, unknown to them, would be to provide a distraction once the Key was found. She ordered her spacecraft to go to an almost geo- synchronous orbit as the teams prepared, and started her intelligence section to begin taking pictures of the appropriate land masses and cities in question. *** Usagi groaned to herself as she looked over the amazing number of assignments that she had already received. It was only the first day of the new term, and she had already been assigned projects from every class, *Why! Why does this have to happen to me!* Usagi thought to herself as she moped along the hallway, *They could at least have let me have a couple of days to get used to being in the classes.* That's when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning around, she looked into Minako's eyes, and was somewhat annoyed to see her enjoying herself. "What is it Minako?" Minako noticed Usagi's tone of voice. The same one she used every time she had homework assignments that she didn't want to get to. "Oh, nothing much. It's just that Ami's overworking herself again, and I was wondering if you wanted to get together with the rest of us at Makoto's place tonight. We're going to have a small party and get her to relax a little bit." Usagi smiled at that. A party would be the perfect thing to relax her after being given all of these projects, and besides, Makoto was also the best cook she knew. There was no way she would miss one of her meals. "Of course I'll come. But only on one condition." Minako looked at her odango topped friend. Usagi wanting to go to a party was normal. Usagi wanting to eat her way through tonnes of food was expected. Usagi making a condition for her to attend a party was unheard of. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, she said, "What is it?" Usagi grinned mischievously and whispered into her friends ear. As her athletic friend heard the request, shock and some surprise went across her face. Getting back up, she said aloud, "Well? How about it?" "You can't be serious Usagi. They'll never fall for it." Minako said in a surprised voice. The future queen of Crystal Tokyo grinned, "Oh, I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how many of them can figure it out." Minako started to giggle as the idea Usagi came up with started to sound good and make it's way through her mind. "OK. But we'll need Chibi-Usa's help, and we also have to get rid of Artemis and Luna for a while." Giggling with amusement the two friends went off to their next class. *** The warrior smiled to himself as he held up the detector. After the landing craft had discharged their passengers, the strike team had been sent towards the area where the least number of sighting of the Senshi had occurred. He himself, acting under Shalayn's orders, had gone towards the area of this city that had the most numerous sightings. After about an hour, he had managed to trace the bio-signature to the structure in front of him. It was pure luck really, he had been walking towards the area and had only pulled out the detector when it lit up with a confirmed contact. He contacted the strike team and told them to start their attack. *** A short while later, five watches started to beep, as though their alarms had been set for this time. Each of the girls wearing those watches found private places in which they could lift up the cover. When they heard the report from the white haired cat, each then found an area to transform and left the school they were at. Whatever these beings were, they would regret attacking their city. Except for one person, all the Senshi were glad of one thing. It got them out of some afternoon classes. *** Shalayn smiled to herself. The Senshi had been directed away from the real target by her underlings, foolish little nobodies who had wanted to rise within the legions that she commanded. Laughably, they had assumed that this was like the other attacks they had faced, wanting energy of some kind from the humans that inhabited this world. These warriors, while being about as powerful as their ancestors, were a painful last gasp of a great civilization. How they had managed to protect the planet without strategy or planing was amazing in and of itself. At last, she would be able to find the person who was the living key that would allow her to access the vast computer library on the moon. She sent the signal to the agent that was watching over the intended target. Now that all of those idiotic girls were out of the way, it would be no problem to acquire her. To think, that they had entrusted everything to the guardianship of individuals with particular genetic/energy peculiarities. Hadn't they realized how vulnerable these people were without protection? *** Naru was smiling slightly at Hitomi as they walked on the way home. It had taken a lot of work to get the usually taciturn girl to even crack a smile. "So what do you think of that Sensei who in charge of the computer lab?" Hitomi's lips turned up a tiny bit, "Not bad. He seems to know his stuff about UNIX, but I think he concentrates too much on Microsoft stuff. There isn't as much call for it in this country as he seems to believe." Rolling her eyes, the brown haired girl replied, "I meant about how he looks, not what he knows. Sometimes you sound just like Ami!" An eyebrow raised in a sarcastic manner. "I'm not interested. If there's anything that I've learned over the years, it's that having more than acquaintances is dangerous to a person's health. If everyone else wants to get to know him, fine. Me, I'll stick to computers. At least _they_ are understandable." Shaking her head, Naru wondered what made Hitomi so insular. It wasn't like other people who had suffered a loss of some kind, or had been hurt in some way. It was more as if she felt she had to do so to prevent getting involved. A strange way to act in a country where other's welfare came before your own. "OK. So computers are easier to understand than people, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to make friends." Hitomi winced at that. Despite everything she had done, everything she had promised herself, Hitomi knew she had broken her own cardinal rule. She had become friends with Naru, despite her better judgment. No way was she ever going to admit that however, she had problems enough! "I'll think about it. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow." Watching as the girl with the long black ponytail walked off, Naru wondered why she had even tried to befriend her. It had been a strange feeling at the beginning of last term. She had walked into the school and had literally run into Hitomi, who had been running through the halls with a full briefcase and a large stack of print-outs in her arms. Naru didn't pretend to understand all of the technical jargon that Hitomi sprouted, she just put up with it since she had decided to try and end this girls self-exile from the rest of humanity. Turning back towards her mother's shop, she smiled to herself and breathed in the fresh air. Unfortunately, Shalayn's agent took that moment to try and attack her, missing as she stopped for a second. He turned to look at her, his completely yellow eyes causing him to look insectish despite the human face and form. "Remain where you are human. You're coming with me." Naru didn't pause as she turned, ran, and screamed, thinking to herself, *Not again! Please! Don't let it be starting again!* *** A few streets away, in a tunnel, a figure heard the scream, and winced. She knew the Sailor Senshi were on the other side of the city, trying to handle the crisis that had turned up earlier. If anything, it was supposed to be their problem, not hers. Starting to turn away, she heard another scream, grimaced and reached into a pocket for an object. Raising the object up, she looked at it, seemingly in anger. She then muttered a word too low to be heard and there was a bright flash of silverish light. When it had disappeared, so had the figure. *** The being tried to strike at Naru again, in order to disable the running girl. Fortunately for Naru, the constant attacks by monsters had improved her running ability a lot. Add to that, she had been taking track and field seriously for a while now. Together, they made for an extremely fast young woman. There was no way she was going to stop to let a monster suck up her energy or kill her. Suddenly, a figure appeared and struck swiftly, the sword biting deep into the creature. The figure, dressed in clothing similar to what the Senshi wore, stood there glowering. She seemed to relish the fact that she was slowly twisting the blade through the being in a very sadistic manner. Her face was full of anger, and her mouth slipped into a snarl, "I don't care where you're from, or what you are, but when you attack a friend of mine, you die." Shalayn's underling was writhing in pain as, quite sickeningly, the young woman slowly cut through the creature in a manner designed to be extremely painful. Unfortunately, there was not much he could do. Gasping in pain, he asked, "Who are you?" "I am the being that will be the death of you." was the only reply the creature got as the sword was pulled out and spun around to remove his head. After that was over, she turned towards Naru, her silver trimmed blue skirt seeming to swirl, "You're all right now, Naru. I wasn't around before, but this time, I won't see you hurt." Naru was a little stunned at hearing that. So far as she knew, this girl was not part of the Sailor Senshi, the only ones that she knew had the power to defeat these monsters that kept showing up. Still, when the warrior had said that she was a friend, Naru had realized that the girl was familiar to her. Not from knowing her in her day to day life, but from her dreams. The girl had been in her dreams about the kingdom on the moon! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Jeanne Hedge for the invaluable help of editing this thing. Takeuchi Naoko for the incredible interviews she did over the years which allowed me to piece this together. The other members of the fan fiction 'Brat Pack' Bert Van Vliet, AKA SkyKnight Darren Steffler, AKA Twister White Wolf Edward Anthony Becerra AKA Legion Thomas Rolland Jefferys AKA Wyrm and Jeanne Hedge As well as all the members of the Fan Fiction Mailing List *** Hitomi Ichinohei Hitomi Hitomi@terminal.autobahn.mb.ca http://204.112.189.3/~hitomi "The beginings of wisdom is the ability to always ask questions."