Just a little something...

(Insert usual disclaimer here)

***

Return to Serenity
By
Joshua Trujillo

Once upon a long time ago,
Sad upon the throne of a star,
Wondering how it came to this,
How it always seemed to go this far.

A cold circle of omission,
A full pot of half lies,
A rotten corpse to be feasted on
By a swarm of politic flies.

Their arrogance suggested fear,
That what lay beyond they knew,
Their avatars came together,
But to defend them, they were few.

"Enough they are to keep us safe,"
An especially arrogant one said,
"To keep the ever-encroaching blackness at bay,
No more, no less are needed."

This calmed the fears of the court itself,
Shirking responsibility to those who had it,
Like the brave and beautiful queen,
Upon whose head, the crown did sit.

Another warrior, in the background did lurk,
That knew of the horrors to come,
Yet she remained silent of all,
Knowing she could speak once it was done.

The next two were lovers,
And kept council with the first,
And though they were loyal to a fault,
Their motives and morals were the worst.

The fourth was oddly silent,
On all the issues thus,
Never wanting a fight with destiny,
Being such a childish fuss.

The next in line the grandest,
And yet most humble still,
Ever the protector of the queen,
And also most loyal to her will.

The fiery friend was next,
Never wavering in her love,
And though she was completely trusted,
Their friendship at times was rough.

A flashy show of leg and hair,
Rocked the palace next,
Though showing up the queen herself,
Led to emotions vexed.

In closest to the sun,
The quiet beauty last,
An honor guard in every way,
All the tests were passed.

Of the queen herself,
What else could be said,
In the end defeated,
By the one she'd left for dead.

Courtisans and royalty,
Lined the halls of her court,
From the Senshi protector of Jupiter,
To the lowly Lord of Oort.

But amongst her generals,
All guardians true and fair,
Was a lady among them,
With ambition as black as her hair.

Quietly she served her queen,
Her loyalty never questioned, still
It ruined her ambitions to swallow
That bitter, biting pill.

But it was she that led,
Into the heart of darkness there,
The Queen's finest warriors, Generals too,
To destroy the evil without time to spare.

The Senshi were left,
To guard against further attack,
Watching their loves and husbands leave,
Not knowing if they'd ever be back.

Beryl led her Generals there,
Not knowing what they'd find,
Her heart was protected against the evil
Which clawed away at her mind.

It invaded her body,
And poisoned her soul,
Her mind was gone,
But her heart, protected, remained whole.

The evil knew it's course,
It held against her heart within,
The tomb that Beryl built there,
Her ambition the final sin,

The heart that dwelt within,
Snapped under the pressure there,
Hidden blackness creeping in,
But death was then denied his share.

Beryl screamed for she knew,
Torn images from her mind,
Raped and seared and scarred,
Blackness and evil then left behind.

And all was quiet,
The silence before the storm,
Evil opened it's young eyes,
The last evil had now been born.

The Senshi waited for the return,
Of those they held so dear,
They couldn't know those that returned,
Would have been the ones to fear.

From above he first attack came,
Swift and mighty was the blow,
The Senshi knew better than to cower,
For the first was only for show.

Then the Generals returned,
Their battered forms a ruse,
Used to get them behind the Senshi,
The kindness a blind spot to use.

Senshi Mercury the first to fall,
Her planet ravaged from afar,
Melted under the lack of protection,
Burned in the heart of her own star.

Unable to warn the others,
Mercury's soul lived on yet,
Her last act of defiance to
Kill the General, but then death set.

Senshi Venus was smothered,
In an everlasting storm of passion,
Her planet burned and hidden,
The end of her love, his mission.

The soul of Venus thusly freed,
Flew to join Mercury within the staff
The queen held at her side,
The last sound heard was Beryl's mocking laugh.

Neptune and Uranus now enjoined the queen,
Be wary of the closest friend,
But their own devices held closer still,
A more wicked means to an end.

A quiet betrayal from those two,
Took down the grandest guard,
Jupiter fought to the very end,
But was finally taken down hard.

Joining the two before,
In the place of lasting sleep,
The three souls joined each other,
For the living all three did weep.

Having found out the betrayal,
The traitorous Outers were put to death,
As the darkness were knocking,
The other Outers said it was for the best.

Pluto and Saturn joined the court now,
With the Queen and firey Mars,
"We will fight the darkness,
And we will damn well take back what's ours!"

The fighting lasted for ages,
Taking it's toll on the land,
Barren and blackened by the ravaging war,
Pluto finally took the Queen in hand.

Able to destroy the fiendish Generals,
They were able to do,
But the price paid in the form of Mars,
And Mars slept in the staff too.

Endymion and his guard held off the last,
The attackers almost through,
While Pluto consulted the Queen,
On what she must do.

A single tear fell from her perfect cheek,
Alighting on the Silver Crystal,
Awakening those imprisoned within,
They spoke to their Queen, one and all.

"We will always be here for you,
Whether in this life or in the next one,
We will protect and guide and love you,
Until the time that time is done."

And the Queen knew her duty plain,
She must stop the evil in it's tracks,
She must take the Silver Crystal,
To gather the evil and send it back.

Pluto took herself out of the timestream,
As the Queen let the power free,
Saturn slept, her power abated,
In the staff with the other Senshi.

All was silent as the power flowed out,
The Queen's own soul now in the staff,
The souls within escaped the Moon Kingdom,
And flew to the another time at last.

Which brings us to today,
Beryl threatens to break her chains,
And the universe needs the Senshi,
To save it from the evil once again.

So, Usagi, I have told you this,
And all of you together must have unity,
To fight for everyone you love,
And for you, a return to serenity.

***

Joshua "Gargoyle" Trujillo
"Stone Cold Protector of the Righteous"
"Owner of The Anime Bar & Grille - Mm, mm good!"

Come visit The Anime Bar & Grille!
Now with two locations!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/1509
and
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/1275