Special Thanks: "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl for editing, good ideas and
                comments, and providing me with Sailor Moon stories to
                enjoy! Thanks Will!

                Ruthann Sharp for her comments and suggestions. She 
                pointed out all my blunders so I wouldn't look like 
                a TOTAL idiot when I posted this chapter. :)
                Thanks Ruth!

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi and all terms, names etc associated
            with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
            The Guardians and everything pertaining to the Star Kingdoms are
            MINE!


                     Sailor Moon: Guardians of the Star

                       Chapter 5: Guardians in Tokyo

Usagi awoke with a gasp and sat up abruptly. Her hand was taken
immediately in a warm comforting grasp as a feminine voice said, "I'm
here, Usagi." She turned to the chair beside the bed and saw Haeth
sitting there. "Where's Mamo-chan?" she asked worriedly. Heath released
Usagi's hand and clasped her hands together tightly. She looked down at
her clasped hands. "His knowledge was needed in the Star Chamber," Haeth
replied softly, "The spells that will allow us to fit into your world
will require every scrap of knowledge we can glean. All your friends are
there, too, and Ami-chan has been a fountain of knowledge for us!"

Usagi noticed that Haeth was very pale and trembled occasionally.  A
glance at Haeth's hands showed them clasped so tightly that her knuckles
were white. <She's terrified of something!> Usagi thought in
astonishment.  "That dream I had about us fighting Morgoth," Usagi said,
trying to guess the reason for Haeth's fear, "That wasn't a dream, was
it?" Haeth shook her head. "It wasn't a dream," she agreed, "We were not
actually fighting Morgoth, but the wound he had inflicted on your soul."
Usagi looked at her broach and saw that the Star was where she
remembered it being. She looked back at Haeth, a question in her eyes.
Haeth nodded. "Yes, the power you gained is yours for good.  Remember
it, because you'll surely need it again!"

Usagi was lost in thought. <I feel strange....no not strange, I feel the
power in myself! I've never felt like this before.> Usagi looked at her
hands and concentrated. She reached deep within herself to call up her
power. It answered her call, leaving her lightheaded as it flowed down
her arms like electricity and into her hands. They began to glow with
power.  She could feel the crescent scythes waiting for her words to
form them.

"Haeth," she said unsteadily, "I'm not sure I'm ready for this much
power!" Haeth smiled. "If you say that, you are ready," she replied,
"Your sleep has restored your strength and you are now ready to, as you
humans would say, kick some major butt!" "I don't know, Haeth," Usagi
said slowly, "Morgoth and his Soul Eater trashed us so easily last
time!" Haeth shook her head in negation. "Not so!" she answered firmly,
"He used a great deal of power that time. The Guardians have powered up
all the Senshi while you were sleeping. The gems on their tiaras now
sport the eight pointed star of the Guardians. Like you, their new
powers will show up when needed." Reassured, Usagi turned to finding out
why Haeth was afraid.

"Why are you afraid, Haeth-chan?" Usagi asked, deciding to grab the bull
by the horns, "Heck, you're petrified! What could frighten you when you
attacked that big bag of bones without a trace of fear?" Usagi reached
over to take Haeth's hands and squeezed them as she tried to offer Haeth
some comfort. Haeth gave her a shaky smile, in gratitude. "My people,
the Dragonkin, live VERY long. As a result, hatchlings are extremely rare
and very sheltered when they do appear," Haeth explained shakily, "I,
however, am the most powerful Soul Healer to appear in a generation! A
dragon generation, which is a LONG time." She looked at their clasped
hands, as if to gain courage. "I was inducted into the Guardians, once
my powers matured. BUT, by my people's reckoning, I'm still a hatchling and
have had very little experience with strangers. My first trip to Caladon
was a nightmare. With the kindness of the other Guardians and the Royal
Guard, I made friends easily and the fear quickly passed." She trembled
and Usagi tightened her grip on her hands to give her encouragement.
"Now I must go to a WORLD full of strangers," she finished in a whisper,
"And attend your home city's Juban University!"

"You're all going to be exchange students?" Usagi exclaimed with delight,
"What a great idea! Don't worry, Haeth-chan, you can stay at my place!
I'll have to ask my parents if they can put you up, but I think they
will if I explain that somebody screwed up and now you have nowhere to
stay!" Haeth was about to answer when the door burst open and Rei walked
in.

"Isn't Usagi awake YET?!" Rei started and then noticed that Usagi
was, indeed, awake. Rei also noticed the clasped hands, and that Haeth
was much calmer than the last time she saw her. "How, Usagi?" she asked,
a reluctant grin on her face, "How do you do it? When Haeth learned she
was to go to Tokyo with us, she was in an absolute panic! Not even
Haruka-chan's and Mako-chan's promise to beat the living daylights out
of anyone who even looked at her funny could calm her down! How did you
do it?"

Obeying a mischievous impulse, Usagi released Haeth's hands and turned
to Rei. "It's called being friendly, Rei," she said with a smile, "You
should try it sometime. It could do wonders, even for you!" Rei's face
darkened at Usagi's taunt. She was about to respond in kind, when she
noticed the eager look in Usagi's eyes. <Why, the little ditz!> she
thought, surprised, <She WANTS a fight! After all the worrying....!> Rei
calmed at once as she realized a way to get Usagi's goat. "Why, you're
right, Usagi," she returned, "It might work at that!" Then, with a wide
grin at Usagi's disappointment, she left the room.

Usagi turned to Haeth in confusion. "Is Rei all right?" she asked
worriedly, "Normally, I would have gotten blasted for saying what I
did!" Haeth smiled.  "In time, you will get as much fighting as you can
handle from her!" she replied, "But, just now, your close call with
death is too recent for her to feel much like arguing with you." Usagi
got out of the bed and stood up.  She glanced at the table beside the
bed, and her tiara vanished, rematerializing on her forehead. The two
girls then left the room and headed for the Star Chamber.

Everyone turned to look as the two girls entered the room. "Usako!"
Mamoru exclaimed. He strode to her quickly and taking her hands in his,
brought them to his lips to kiss them. They looked into each other's
eyes and for them, the world ceased to exist.

"AHEM!" They both turned to see Rei regarding them with a wry
expression. "I hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but we're ready to
go!" "Oh man!" Usako exclaimed with look of panic on her face, "What do
I tell my folks? We've been here for at least two days!" Syrypus
laughed. "Don't worry so much, Usagi!" he chuckled, "The gate will take
you to Rei's temple about fifteen minutes after we rescued you. The sun
hasn't even set yet. You won't be late!"

Usagi looked to the center of the Star symbol on the floor and saw that
the Gate was indeed activated. The frame looked like it was made from
hundreds of stars in a swirling spiral pattern similar to a galaxy. In
the center, was the portal, through which Usagi could see what looked
like a small glade.

"Won't Morgoth notice and interfere?" she asked. "Not a chance!" Syrypus
returned, "I spent most of the morning since sunrise building the Gate
slowly. Since there were no fluxes within the Aether, Morgoth won't have
felt a thing! This is a permanent Gate. It can be opened and closed with
verbal commands. It leads to a small glade on the shrine grounds."

Usagi glanced around and noticed some missing faces. "Hey!" she cried,
"Where are the Outer Senshi?" "Where we would be if you had awakened
earlier!" Rei answered grumpily, "They've gone through the gate to
secure the shrine grounds. Greywolf, Lynn, Kreigh and Kaylen went with
them. All that's left is for Haeth and us to go through."

"Then let's go!" Usagi said, striding to the Gate. She turned back to
the Guardians remaining behind as the others entered the Gate. Tears
came to her eyes at the thought of leaving these old friends behind. She
threw herself at them, bestowing tearful hugs and kisses at random.
"Thank you for everything!" she said gratefully, with a tearful sniff.
"Hey," Ivee replied with a smile, "You haven't seen the last of us! We
can come through the Gate any time we're needed. Good Luck!" The
remaining Guardians echoed her and Usagi smiled and waved as she passed
through the Gate.

As she exited the Gate into the glade, Lynn, who was waiting for her on
the other side of the Gate, muttered a few words and the Gate closed.
"USAGI!!" Luna exclaimed in relief as she jumped into her arms, "Oh,
Haruka explained what happened while we were waiting for you to wake up.
I wanted to go through the Gate to see you for myself but I decided to
wait." Usagi hugged Luna tightly. "I'm all right, Luna!" she said, her
voice muffled by Luna's fur, "I had Haeth to heal me!"

Luna jumped down from Usagi's arms, approached the trembling Haeth and
did the cat equivalent of a bow. "I thank you for saving our Princess,
Noble One!" she said with great respect. She frowned as she noticed
Haeth's trembling.  "What's wrong, Noble One?" she asked, concerned.
Usagi ran to Haeth and put an arm around her shoulders. Haeth calmed at
once.  "She's very young for her kind, Luna," Usagi explained, "We need
to ease her into our world gently."

Usagi turned to Chibi-Usa. "Do you mind staying at Mako-chan's a little
longer?" she asked, "I think Haeth should stay with me." "Of course not,
Usagi!" Chibi-Usa replied with a grin, "I could handle eating her
cooking a while longer!" Usagi grinned in return.

After a moments consultation, the Senshi transformed back to their
normal selves as the five Guardians assumed their disguises. Greywolf
and Lynn looked pretty much the same except their features were human.
Kaylen and Kreigh were unchanged except their clothes were no longer out
of place in Tokyo. Haeth's silver hair had changed to white, a rare but
still acceptable human color. Her silver eyes changed only slightly, to
silvery gray.

"OK everyone!" Usagi said hurriedly, "Most of us have to head home. Rei
can put up Kreigh and Kaylen at the shrine. Mako-chan can take Greywolf
and Lynn along with Chibi-Usa and I'm taking Haeth. We'll meet here
tomorrow after school to plan what we can do next." At that, the Outer
Senshi took their leave. "I have to go to work soon," Mamoru said, "So
I'd better go too." He gave Usagi a lingering kiss which had her seeing
stars, and left hurriedly. "I'd better go too," Ami explained, "I've got
a lot of computer hacking to do if I'm to be ready for our friends to
attend the University on Monday!" She left at a run. "Oh shoot," Minako
exclaimed as she started to run, "If I'm not home by 5:30, I'll be grounded
for life!" With a smile and a wave, she was gone.

"Rei, can I use your phone to call home?" Usagi asked. At Rei's nod,
Usagi ran to the shrine. Rei watched her enter the building and smiled.
She turned to the others. "Well," she said, "that takes care of....."
She suddenly stopped and seemed to listen intently. "What's up, Rei?"
Makoto asked uneasily. "Transform everyone!" Rei said urgently,
"Something VERY evil comes! And it's not the Soul Eater or Morgoth!"
Mako looked at Rei sharply.  "JUPITER STAR POWER!" "MARS STAR POWER!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!" The three Senshi transformed as the five Guardians
shed their disguises. "I wish we had Ami-chan with her computer here!"
Jupiter said uneasily as she looked around through the fading light, "I
can't see anything coming!"

Suddenly, the ground erupted upwards in a great shower of earth and dark
power sending the three Senshi and their Guardian friends flying in all
directions. Two shadowy figures rose from the violated ground. They
stood approximately seven feet tall with large horns on their heads and
huge bat wings sprouting from their backs. Difficult to see in the
fading light, they were shadowy and indistinct. Greywolf groaned as he
looked up, fighting the pain in his head. <SHADOW DEMONS!> he thought in
horror, <We're in BIG trouble!> Staggering to his feet, he blasted one
of the Demons with his light powers. The demon created a shield of black
light and Greywolf's light blast shattered against it. The demon
attacked immediately with a black light blast which Greywolf bounced off
his light shield. In moments, the two of them were locked in mortal
combat, powers evenly matched, completely ignoring the second demon.

The second demon glanced at its companion and saw that it was keeping
the Guardian busy. It noticed two small figures running towards the
shrine. It ignored them; animals were not what it was after. It turned
to examine the stunned figures on the ground. They were beginning to
stir and one was trying to rise. The demon's eyes glowed red as it
recognized an ancient enemy.  It stalked toward Haeth. Before she could
get to her feet, it seized her by the throat. She let out a weak cry as
it slammed her against a tree.  "Dragonkin, DIE!" it snarled, raising
its other taloned hand to deliver the killing blow.

In the shrine, Usagi was just putting the phone down when Luna and
Artemis ran in. "Usagi, transform!" Luna gasped, "The others are in
trouble!" Usagi looked at the panting cats sharply and thrust a hand
into the air.  "MOON CRISIS POWER!" In a flash, Sailor Moon stood before
them. She ran outside with Luna and Artemis hot on her heels.


After coming to, Jupiter shook her head groggily. She looked towards the
sound of combat and saw Greywolf fighting a shadowy creature. He was
holding his own. She was moving to help when a weak cry caused her to
spin around and gasp at the sight of Haeth caught in a Shadow Demon's
talons. <My thunder powers are likely too weak to use on that thing!>
she thought helplessly.  She ground her teeth in impotent fury as the
creature raised a taloned hand to kill Haeth.

Knowledge poured into Jupiter's mind. She remembered what Lynn had told
them when the Guardians had powered up their gems.  "Need is what will
release your new powers. When you NEED them, the knowledge will come to
you!" Jupiter smiled and prepared to launch her attack. "JUPITER!" She
raised a hand over her head. "THUNDER!" Her hand began to glow as an
eight foot, narrow luminous form floated above her.  "JAVELIN!" The form
solidified into an incandescent lightning bolt and dropped obediently
into her waiting hand. "IMPALE!!" She hurled the bolt at the demon
threatening Haeth with all her might. As it struck, the demon gave an
agonized shriek and imploded into dust. Haeth slid to the ground.

The sound of Haeth's cry and the second demon's defeat, distracted
Greywolf enough for the first demon to break through Greywolf's shields
and knock him into a tree. As Mars looked up, she saw Greywolf strike
the tree, slide down its trunk and lie on the ground, unmoving. She
watched in horror as the demon prepared to finish him.

"Hey, you with the weird complexion!" called a voice from behind Mars.
Both the demon and Mars turned to look. Sailor Moon stood there, Luna
and Artemis at her feet, regarding the demon with outrage. "Sailor Moon,
get out of here!" Mars yelled impatiently, "Your powers are no match for
this thing! Get the others!" Sailor Moon looked at Mars, stuck her
tongue out and crossed her eyes. Mars groaned and dropped her head to
her arms. <Why me?> she thought, <What have I done to deserve her?!>
Sailor Moon turned back to the demon. "I am Sailor Moon!" she said,
going through her motions, "I'll teach you to hurt my friends! In the
name of the Moon, I WILL punish you!"

The demon grinned and approached her.  "MOON CRESCENT SCYTHES SLASH!!"
The crescent blades formed in her hands and with a twist of her wrists,
she released them. As they streaked towards the demon from opposite
directions, it released its dark light blasts. Its smug look vanished
when the twin blades sliced through the blasts effortlessly. The last
expression on its face before the blades struck and imploded it into
dust was one of almost comical surprise. "Hai! Moon dusted!" she laughed
as she raised her fist.

Mars' jaw dropped almost to the ground and her eyes opened very wide as
she stared at Sailor Moon in shock. Sailor Moon knelt next to Mars and
almost burst out laughing at the expression on her face. Sailor Moon put
a finger under Rei's chin and closed her mouth with a chuckle. "Did you
think you would be the only ones to get new powers?" she asked with a
grin. Luna gave her charge a _we'll talk later_ look.

"Rei, check out the others," she ordered, still chuckling, "I'm going to
check on Haeth." Mars nodded dazedly and moved to check on Lynn, who was
just beginning to stir. Sailor Moon rushed over to Haeth and helped
Jupiter get her to her feet. "Are you okay, Haeth?" Sailor Moon asked
worriedly. "I'm fine!" Haeth replied weakly, "It takes more than being
slammed against a tree to finish one of the Dragonkin! But, I'll hurt in
the morning, I think." She turned to Jupiter and smiled. "Thank you,
Mako-chan, for toasting that Shadow Demon," she said gratefully, "My
powers have no effect on the unliving unless I'm in my natural form."
Jupiter smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

By this time, the others were back on their feet, though still a little
shaky. The three Senshi powered down and the Guardians restored their
disguises. Usagi turned to Lynn. "How did Morgoth know we were here?"
Lynn looked thoughtful. "I don't think he did. I think those two Shadow
Demons were in the area to watch for our return. The battle site IS only
a short way east of here, after all." "Rei, can you sense anything
else?" Usagi said, turning to look at her. Rei shook her head. "The
coast is clear.  Nothing else evil is nearby."

"Then we'd better go," Usagi said, "Mom wants me home NOW!" "Not
surprising," Rei muttered, "You usually DO need a keeper!" Usagi ignored
her. If she responded, they'd be arguing for hours. It was not worth
getting in trouble with her mother. She had to go NOW. She turned to
Haeth. "She's getting the guest room ready for you, Haeth. Be prepared
for some serious mothering! I told her how shy and frightened you were
at being in a strange country." Haeth grinned and put on a mock martyred
expression. "I think I can bear it," she sighed dramatically. Usagi
looked back as they left and saw that Rei was furious. She hated being
ignored even more than she hated being baited. Usagi smiled to herself.
<About time I got the best of her, for a change!>

Usagi and Haeth were walking down the street after parting with the
others.  Usagi was helping Haeth with her luggage, which Haeth had made
appear after they had left. "Where did you keep this stuff?" Usagi asked
her, referring to the three suitcases they were carrying, "And how did
you know what to get in the way of clothes?" "That knowledge came from
the spells Lynn and I cast," Haeth smiled, "Haven't you noticed that I'm
speaking Japanese?" Usagi looked at her in confusion. "And a lovely
accent you have too, but you spoke Japanese in Alare." "No I didn't,"
Haeth said, shaking her head, "The Palace has a translation spell on it
to assist diplomacy with the other Star Kingdoms. The other Guardians
knew your language from your last visit, but I didn't. I learned it with
a spell, the same spell that taught us your culture so we could fit in."

Usagi looked worried. "But Haeth-chan, you're exchange students. Were
you able to learn anything about where you're supposed to be from?"
Haeth nodded.  "Oh yes! Ami-chan was a great help there, with all the
reading she's done.  I'm a Scottish student, Haeth McTavish. They felt
it would be best since my Japanese already has a slightly Scottish
accent to it. The others will be from Canada." As they turned onto the
front walk of the Tsukino house, Haeth paled slightly and gripped her
suitcases tightly.

The front door opened and Mr. Tsukino walked out. "Welcome to our home,
Haeth-chan," he said smiling widely, "Let me take those cases from you."
He took Haeth's cases as they walked through the door. Usagi's mother
descended on Haeth, putting an arm around the frightened girl's
shoulder.  "Come, Haeth-chan," she urged calmly, "into the kitchen and
we'll get you something to eat and drink. While you are here, you will
be as a daughter to us. We want you to feel welcome here." Haeth smiled
shyly at her. "Thank you Mrs. Tsukino," she said softly. Usagi watched
her mother leading Haeth into the kitchen and grinned at her father.

"I hope Mom doesn't forget us!" Usagi said, smacking her lips in
anticipation, "I'm starved!" "That's a normal condition for you, Usagi!"
her father chuckled, "Mom is making sure Haeth eats first. She won't get
anything to eat if we turn you loose on the food first!" "Daaaaad!" she
cried. He leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "You know I'm just
teasing, Usagi," he said with a fond smile.

Usagi and her father moved to take Haeth's cases to the guest room. "We
took you at your word, Usagi, and greeted her informally," he said
curiously, "Do you think it worked?" "Of course it did, Dad!" she
replied, grinning, "Formality would have scared her to death! Making her
as one of the family has calmed her a bit. She'll get used to us!"

After putting Haeth's cases in the guest room, they headed back
downstairs.  Her father sat in his chair and picking up his paper,
continued reading.  Usagi headed for the kitchen to see how Haeth was
getting on. She peeked around the door. Haeth was sitting at the kitchen
table. Usagi's mother was teaching her to use chopsticks and they were
laughing at Haeth's attempts to mimic her. Usagi smiled happily and
returned to the living room.

Her father looked up at the sound of feminine laughter from the kitchen.
"Sounds like she's getting on well," he commented, noticing Usagi's
smile.  "She sure is, Dad!" Usagi answered happily, "Mom's mothering her
and that's just what she needed! Where's Shingo?" He nodded toward the
stairs. "He's in his room, playing video games. We thought it better not
to introduce him to Haeth, just yet." "Wouldn't inflict be a better
word, Dad?" she returned sourly. "Probably," her father grinned at her,
"He's at an age where he CAN be a bit of a pain. Be patient, Usagi.
He'll grow out of it."

Usagi sat on the couch and smiled at another burst of laughter from the
kitchen. <Everything was going well,> she thought, <Now, if Morgoth can
leave us alone for a few days, we'll be ready for him!>

After dinner, Usagi leaned back and patted her middle. "Ah, I'm
stuffed!" she said in contentment. "You should be!" Shingo shot back,
"You ate most of it by yourself!" Haeth turned from where she had been
curiously watching TV. "Be glad your mom already fed me, young Shingo,"
she said with amusement, "Had I been at the table, I might have eaten
more than Usagi!" "Great, another one!" Shingo retorted, shaking his
head in disgust.

"I'm going to bed," Usagi said, glaring at her sibling. "Good idea,
Usagi-chan," Haeth seconded her, "It's been a tiring day so I think I'll
go too." She stopped by Shingo and patted him on the head, to his
disgust.  She followed Usagi to the stairs and turned to look at Shingo.
"I just want you to know that you are exactly as Usagi described you,"
she said with a smile before turning to follow Usagi up the stairs. Mr.
Tsukino's newspaper shook as a muffled sound came from behind it at
Haeth's smiling comment.  A sound that sounded very much like suppressed
laughter. Shingo looked from his father back to the stairs and wondered
if he'd just been insulted.

End of Chapter 5

NEXT: Chapter 6: Dragon Flight
Arcade madness, Mars' new power, dragon flight, Be there!