If anyone wants to offer themselves as a prereader, please do.

Insert usual disclaimers here, characters don't belong to me but to
someone(s) else but they were soo much fun I just had to borrow them.

Chikyu no Senshi - Part Two
By Lei

 Mamoru dreamed again that night when he finally managed to fall
asleep but this dream was different.  There was no princess in this
one, no sense of urgency, just power.

 He found himself sitting in a cavern, with a sphere of light
hovering in midair, shining off the damp walls and drops of water
falling from the roof to hit the floor.  As they hit small crystal
sounds echoed through the shadows around the edge of the cavern,
rebounding back, again and again.  He listened to the resulting
symphony that washed through the centre of the room causing tiny
silver waves to form on the black water of a pool that sat directly
under the hovering light.

 He looked across the pool at the figure on the other side and
waited for...something.  He had been called here to this place by the
small white-haired lady and had come, unsure why he was here and
nervous to be in the presence of such a legendary figure.  Light
glinted off the golden tiara that sat on her forehead as she lifted
her head to look at him.  Her lips moved but he could hear nothing.
He watched her lips and there were times when he could hear what she
was saying but the words made no sense.

 The lips stopped moving and he looked up in surprise to find
his eyes captured by sharp, brown eyes, which told of a life long and
hard.  A spark of power burst from those eyes, lanced the short
distance across the black pool and came to hover in front of him.
Still unsure, his eyes left the light and saw the lady gesturing for
him to look into the pool.

 He did and was drawn into a whirlpool, falling, falling until
there was nothing except the darkness surrounding him, suffocating
him and filling him, threatening to explode and merge so all would be
black until he didn't exist and only he existed, falling...

 Then, abruptly, his descent stopped...

*     *     *     *     *

 The fire flickered and sparked within the confines of the wood it did
not burn.  A lick of fire danced upwards, curling towards the ceiling
of the room set aside for it, empty of all furniture.  A young woman
knelt in front of the wooden grate with her hands held before her,
index fingers pointing in the same direction as the flame.  A low
chant came from her throat as she called on the Sacred
Flame and Mars to give her some insight into the new player.

 Hino Rei had vaguely felt his presence at times over the past two
years but he had never revealed himself before, this masked man who
wore a tuxedo.  If he was an enemy, he was a clever and cautious one,
having avoided their attention for so long, but she didn't think he
was an enemy.  He felt familiar, almost as if she had known him in her
previous life.

 So now she knelt here to find what she could.  She suspected
Mercury was doing the same using that little computer of hers.  It
was strange of her to think a computer could discover something the
Sacred Fire could not.  It might be good for analysing information
but divination wasn't one of it's functions.

 Rei's stare went past the surface of the fire as she dropped into a
light trance.  She followed the pathways of rising air and burning
oxygen, marvelling as always, at the tiny flecks of light that
indicated the breaking and joining of molecules.  Then she looked
deeper, past the physical to the spiritual.  To the place in the flame
and inside herself where lay the mysteries of the universe.

 She sent out a question and listened carefully for an answer.

 A dancing vision of a masked figure dressed in a cape appeared
silhouetted in the fire.  Around the figure, just visible against the
warm colour of the flames was a very slight silver aura.

 Another question was sent but no more answers were given.  The fire
kept secrets from her and this was one she was not permitted to know
at this time.  Stubborn though she knew she could be, the flame had
the patience of millenia and would bide it's time until it was ready
to divulge what it would, a lesson hard-learned since she'd
first knelt here so many years ago.  The Sacred Fire could not be
forced.

 Rei left the trance and took a deep breath as she re-entered the
world outside the fire.  Turning away from it's light, she noticed
that while she had been immersed in trance-state, darkness had fallen.

 Her grandfather stood in the door watching her with a frown.

 "It's not good to spend that much time in the Fire, Rei-chan."

 "I-I know, Ojiisan, I hadn't meant to.  I'll be more careful in
future."

 The old man nodded.  "Good.  Your meal is waiting for you."

 Rei stood and almost lost her balance as the blood began to circulate
more freely throughout her limbs.  She righted herself and
followed her grandfather out of the room, respectfully sliding the
door shut behind her, leaving the flame to fight the shadows that came
with the night.

 As she stepped onto the walkway that led to the kitchen, a
smile appeared on her face.  A silver aura meant the Silver
Millenium.  She had something to work on.

*     *     *     *     *

 Seiya pulled the microphone closer to his mouth and signalled
to the sound man behind the window.  On an unseen, unheard cue, the
three musicians in the recording studio began the song in tandem.  It
had always been that way for them, the link that came from blood
allowing them to move in harmony when they wished to.

 As Seiya began to sing he felt the chords of energy from his brothers
gather in the music and sent out his own.  He shaped the chords with
word and song to be recorded and so their message would
eventually reach it's intended recipient.

  "I've always been looking for your sweet smell,
  to convey my voice. (I love you)
  Where are you now? (Moonlight Princess)
  Our Princess
  Answer me right away (Answer for me)
  Anwer me gently (Answer for me)"

 The energy the three brothers spun held the production crew
spell-bound, their hearts captured by the unheard message that was not
meant for them, but somehow they could hear the longing behind the
words.  Seiya almost smiled.  Letting these humans be here during the
recording, the spinning of their magic, was dangerous, it could lead
to their unmasking.  Though the chords were subtle they were strong
enough to attract attention and would be felt if any of these humans
had the slightest sensitivity to magic.

 And even worse would be if one of their enemies was somewhere in the
vicinity.

 The strain of the magical weaving began to make itself known as Seiya
continued to sing the song written for a Princess.  The energy kept
coming, flowing in streaks of silver and rust from his brothers.  He
tied another knot, twisting a chord into a plea for help, a plea for
revelation as the lyrics' meaning veered off from that of the
underlying message.

  "Search for your love, crystal of the universe
  Search for your love, don't cry for me
  Search for your love, as a matter of fact
  I love to hold you tightly."

 Seiya was sweating now with the effort of keeping the energy
controlled without breaking off the song.  Fortunately it was nearing
the end.  Seiya spun a final question.

  "Where are you now? (Moonlight Princess)
  Our Princess
  Answer me right away (Answer for me)
  Anwer me gently (Answer for me)"

  "Answer me right away (Answer for me)
  Anwer me gently (Answer for me)"

 The music drifted to silence and Seiya slowly let go of the chords of
magic, letting them settle into stillness.

 "Well done.  That was great.  A couple more takes tomorrow for touch
ups and we'll be ready to go.  Your album's going to be a hit!"

 Seiya glanced towards the sound booth and sent a tired smile and
thumbs up towards their producer.  As Yaten came up beside him
followed by Taiki, Seiya removed his headphones and laid them gently
over the microphone that hung from the ceiling.  A hand was laid on
his shoulder as Taiki gave what support he could to his exhausted
sibling before heading for the studio's door.

 Taking a taxi back to their apartment the trio was silent, each
dwelling on the same hope that none of them were willing to voice for
fear that it would disappear.  Looking for a Princess they had never
met before on a planet with a population of over 5 billion would not
be easy.  And convincing her to help three strangers from a distant
solar system wouldn't be too easy either.

 *     *     *     *     *

 Mamoru walked aimlessly down the sidewalk his mind half on the
concrete beneath his shoes and the other half on the Princess, as it
always was now.  It was as if knowing that the time was running out it
would not let a second be wasted in pursuit of her.  Everywhere he
went he looked for that glimpse of gold that could be her, and every
time he spun someone around to check if it was, his heart sank a
little further.  Sometimes he wondered if she really existed.

 Then he would remember the almost memory-like clarity of the dreams
and his meeting with the Outer Senshi.  She was real, she just
couldn't be found.

 He sighed and looked up to see where his demented musings had brought
him.  He stared up the road that he was sure led to nowhere and turned
to head back when he came face-to-face with a set of stairs that led
up to a Shinto shrine.

 Ah, the Hikawa Shrine.  He pondered for a moment then shrugged and
took the first step upwards.  It wasn't as if he had anything better
to do and maybe the kami would look upon his request for help
favourably.

 He knelt before the shrine, pulled the red and white rope that led to
the prayer bell and clasped his hands in front of him, ignoring the
dreamy sigh from the girl who was kneeling next to him.  He let his
mind wander for a few moments until he heard the girl ring the bell
and get up from beside him to move away from the shrine.

 "Hey, you wanna work at my shrine?"

 Mamoru opened an eye and turned till he could see what was happening
out of the corner of one eye.

 The notorious shrine priest appeared in front of the girl who gave a
small shriek and lifted her hand to her breast, letting out a slow
breath.  She shook her head wildly and began inching her way past the
tiny man who regretfully let her go.

 Mamoru turned back to his shrine and sent a whispered prayer out to
whoever was listening.

 "Please, let me find my princess before it's too late."

 He remained in position for a little longer to convince whoever was
watching of his sincerity then levered himself to his feet.  As he
turned, someone screamed.  A shot could be heard and Mamoru turned to
find one of the shrine's worshippers falling unconscious to the
ground, a sparkling heart crystal arcing through the air to fall to
the ground.  He saw the dark-haired shrine maiden run off and he
sighed.  A redhead carrying a gun headed across the courtyard towards
the crystal.  Mamoru felt a twinge of conscience and sighed again,
shifting into his tuxedo with a thought.

 "The pure hearts of those who believe in a higher power shouldn't go
to something that doesn't!  I am Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Mars and in
the name of the planet Mars, I will punish you!"

 Tuxedo Mask shook his head.  Those delaying tactics were getting old,
the senshi were lucky anyone or anything actually stood still for them
anymore.  A rose materialised in his hand and he fired it across the
space between himself and the woman who he had heard referred to as
Eudial by the Senshi.

 The rose struck her hand and the gun fell from it as she swung around
with a cry of pain.  She saw Mars and powered up her attack.

 "WITCHY EUDIAL FIRE BUSTER!"

 Mars dodged to the side allowing the blast of energy to fly past her
as she called up her own powers in answer.

 "BURNING MANDALA!"

 The three other Inner Senshi arrived as Eudial blocked the attack.
They went immediately into magical girl poses and were about to begin
spouting speeches when a daimon appeared.

 "Get them!"  Eudial shouted pointing at the fuku-clad senshi before
she headed back towards the crystal.

 Unfortunately for her the Outer Senshi had managed to get there first
after having appeared out of nowhere.  They grabbed the crystal and
left, heading into the trees that bordered the courtyard a Eudial
flushed in anger heading after them.

 A battle had begun between the Senshi and the daimon and it was one
that the Senshi would win so Tuxedo Mask decided to follow the
crystal.  He ran past the staggering daimon and leapt into the trees,
bounding from branch to branch as he struggled to keep Eudial in view.

 She came to a small clearing and stopped to watch Sailor's Uranus and
Neptune as they stood looking down at the crystal in disgust.

 "It's not one of the Talismans."

 "No."  The two looked at each other and Neptune nodded in answer to a
query in her partner's eyes.

 Eudial headed back towards the shrine, not bothering to try and
confirm the Senshi's statement.  She knew as well as anyone involved
in this that the Outer Senshi were willing to do anything to get their
hands on the Talismans, so if they said that wasn't one of them you
could be sure it wasn't.

 Neptune held the crystal more carefully as they followed Eudial back
through the trees, though they didn't seem to notice her.

 Interesting, they were going to return the heart crystal.  They
obviously weren't as cold-hearted as they seemed.

 Tuxedo Mask shrugged out of his Tuxedo and jumped to the ground to
begin the trip back to home for lunch.  Or maybe he'd stop in at the
Crown Fruit Parlour to visit Motoki.  He ran his hand through his hair
and sighed.  Decisions.

*     *     *     *     *

 Makoto wandered around the park, bored.  She had been planning to
attend the Three Lights autograph signing in the park, which was why
she was there, but had changed her mind when she caught a glimpse of
the crowd.  The idol group would only be there for a short while so
there was no way everyone would get an autograph.

 Besides she already had each of their autographs since they went to
Juuban High School, the same as her.

 She went to the railing bordering the pond, leant against it with her
face turned up to the sky, and wondered what she would do now.  She
was tempted to call Ami, but she was probably studying, as usual, and
Makoto really didn't know her well enough to intrude on that.  And the
only other person she could call and ask to hang out would be
Shinozaki but he lived too far away.

 Looking across at the crowds again she let her eyes roam at will,
occasionally picking out a cute guy, most of whom were standing well
to the back of the group, and debated briefly on whether to introduce
herself.  She shrugged off the thought and went back to her
contemplation of the sky.  She just didn't feel like keeping up the
pretense today, and since no one was there to notice she didn't have
to.

 Swiping a stem of grass from one of the overgrown clumps the gardener
had somehow missed, she stuck it in her mouth, chewing absently on the
end.  It would be great if a daimon attacked just now.  At least then
she'd have something to do.

 Unfortunately, attacks occured every few days, *never* twice in one
day.  Still, she could dream.

 And sometimes, just sometimes, dreams even came true.

 A scream issued from the crowd around the Three Lights as a daimon
grabbed one of the cuter guys she had noticed previously.  Eudial,
standing nearby shot the guy and a heart crystal popped out of his
chest.  The witch looked at it and shook her head, tossing it onto the
ground beside her victim as she aimed her gun at the next victim her
daimon had managed to grab.

 The crowd began to panic, people beginning to run in all directions,
generally away from the fighting.  Those few who stayed in an attempt
to be heroic found themselves facing a trio of daimons that sprang up
amongst the milling crowds, causing more chaos.  More often than not,
the heroic became victims themselves.

 Makoto shook off the stupor caused by the change of tactics and
looked around to see if she was observed before holding her
transformation pen aloft.

 "JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!"

 A flash of green light and Sailor Jupiter was running towards the
churning crowd, her communicator held to her mouth as she called the
other Senshi.

 She ran into the streams of people and forced herself through the
mass, running against the current, stopping every few seconds to get
her bearings.

 Suddenly she burst through the invisible line that marked the end of
the crowds and found herself in the perfect position to get a clear
shot at Eudial.  Crossing her arms in front of her chest she began to
call upon the powers Jupiter had granted beginning to flow through her
body.  Static electricity raised the fine hairs on her arms and sent
her ponytail into disarray.

 "SPARKLING..."

 The electricity poured down her arms and gathered in her palms.

 "WIDE..."

 She drew her hands to the side.

 "PRESSURE!"

 She sent her hands forward and the ball of electricity went flying
towards Eudial.

 "STAR SERIOUS LASER!"

 A second attack swept through the park towards Eudial who looked
around, an expression of horror growing on her face as she saw both
energy attacks converge.  Taking a quick step backwards, she
disappeared in a sparkle of light, leaving the two bolts of energy to
combine from two different directions and continue on to gouge a path
of destruction through the trees unlucky enough to be in it's way.

 Sailor Jupiter ignored the proof that pointed to a new player in this
game she played and sprinted to where the victims lay unconscious,
their heart crystals tossed carelessly next to them.

 She picked one up and was momentarily diverted when the sunlight
struck the crystal, bringing out the amazing amethyst colour in it's
depths.  Shaking off the hypnotic effects, she placed it on the chest
of it's owner and watched as it dissolved back into his chest.

 "What's going on?"  A voice spoke behind her and she looked up to see
a trio of scantily-clad women in leather watching her in puzzlement.

 The one with silver hair and cat-like green eyes nodded and sent
another few questions her way.  "Yeah, who was that and what was she
doing?  And for that matter, who are you?"

 Jupiter moved on to the next victim as she began talking, wanting to
restore the heart crystals as fast as possible.

 "That was the witch Eudial, she's trying to get people's heart
crystals.  And I am Sailor Jupiter and I'm one of those trying to stop
her..."

 "And I am Sailor Mars, another of those trying to stop her.  Who are
you?"  The red-clad senshi asked, her arms crossed over her breast,
having arrived in time to hear the conversation.  At her side stood
Sailor's Venus and Mercury, each of them watching the trio
suspiciously.

 "I am Sailor StarFighter, this is Sailor StarHealer and this is
Sailor StarMaker."  The black-haired StarLight pushed a stray curl of
hair behind her ear and shrugged.  "We are the Sailor StarLights."

 "Sailor StarLights?  Okay then, *what* are you doing here?"

 "That is our business."  StarMaker snapped before stepping forward to
whisper to StarFighter.

 She nodded and the three turned and left, leaping away and
disappearing into one of the stands of trees that was intact.  The
Sailor Senshi stared after them.  Another enemy?  Or possible allies?
They would have to wait and see.

*     *     *     *     *

 Stopping within the confines of the trees, the Sailor StarLights
faced each other.

 "Well?"

 "I don't know.  Sailor Senshi I can believe, but what's with this
heart crystal thing?"  StarHealer asked.

 "Heart Crystals.  I...think I've heard of them."  StarMaker stood in
contemplative silence and tried to recall what she had heard until an
impatient StarHealer whacked her on the shoulder.

 "Well, come on.  What?"

 "Weeelll, if I remember rightly, if a heart crystal is pure enough,
if it is empty enough of things like hate and envy and all those
negative emotions, then there is room for other things to be stored in
them.  Most of those things were items of power and they were stored
within the heart crystals.  To keep them safe from the Hands of Evil,
I suppose."

 Her two companions mulled this over for a few moments.

 "So that probably means that...that Eudial that Sailor Jupiter was
telling us about is evil?  And that she's looking for one of these
items of power?"

 "Most likely."

 "I doesn't matter," StarFighter spoke and looked up at the other two.
"It doesn't matter what she's looking for.  We have *one* job to do
and we can't get side-tracked fighting battles that *this* planet's
Senshi should be fighting.  We're here to find the Princess and until
we do, nothing else matters."

 StarMaker and StarHealer nodded their heads slowly in agreement
before they all turned to walk out of the park, their resolve restored
to it's rightful place once more.

*     *     *     *     *

 A rustling came from behind one of the bushes close to where the
StarLights had been talking and StarFighter turned her head briefly to
investigate before taking a few quick steps to catch up to the other
two and moving out of the range of sight.

 Sailor Uranus let out a breath and stood, berating herself for having
moved before it was time.  She turned her head and looked at her
partner who was rising to stand beside her, her gaze still fastened on
the spot where the leather-clad trio had disappeared.

 "So, the StarLights have finally met the Inners."

 "And won't interfere."

 "They're looking for the Princess."

 Neptune turned her troubled, blue eyes upwards.  "Yes, but is it
*our* Princess or another?"

 "I suppose we'll find out when the Princess is found.  I expect,
however, that it is our Princess.  Everyone else seems to be looking
for her, so why not the StarLights as well?"

 The two Outer Senshi let their transformations dissolve and began to
stroll through the park, heading in the general direction of the
gates.

 "I'll tell you one thing though, Michiru-chan.  They were right about
Eudial looking for one of those items of power.  She, like us, still
hasn't found any of the Talisman's."

*     *     *     *     *

 Eudial stepped into the Tomoe Mansion's basement laboratory and made
her way to where the Professor would be working on his daimons.  She
walked confidently, trying to ignore the snicker that came from the
side as Mimete watched her head past.  The blonde witch was next in
line for Eudial's position and was looking forward to the death that
would clear the way for her.  Eudial, however, was determined not to
die and she had a plan that should tell them exactly who had the three
Talismans.

 She stepped into the Professor's line of sight and stopped, frowning
as she noticed he was not alone.

 A tall woman dressed in a stylised, metallic Senshi uniform stood in
front of him a smirk gracing her beautiful face.  Professor Tomoe was
nodding.

 Eudial stalked up.

 "Who are you?"  She stopped beside the Professor and glared at the
woman.

 A languid hand made a dismissing motion and the sienna eyes flashed
in amusement.  "I am called Sailor Galaxia.  And you, Eudial, shall be
working for me from now on and it shall be Chaos not Silence that we,
all of us, strive for."

 Galaxia's lips rose in a sweet smile as she captured Eudial's eyes.
The redhaired witch gasped and tried to break the eye-contact, but
Galaxia did not release her until *she* was ready, and when Eudial
finally looked away, she found Galaxia surrounded by a group of
Senshi, none of whom wore what she considered to be the typical
uniform.  She took a step backwards and looked again towards Galaxia,
understanding appearing in her eyes; she wasn't stupid.

 Galaxia's smile remained in place as she held out her hands,
indicating that Eudial should place hers within them.  The witch
stepped forward and shivered as her skin came into contact with the
other woman.  She gasped as two golden bracelets appeared about her
wrists, both engraved with a red-gold star.  Power moved through her
in quantities she had only dreamt of, yet she could sense that it was
only lent to her, Galaxia channeling it to her through the bracelets
that were proof of her change in loyalty.

 She nodded to Galaxia who released her wrists, allowing her to step
backwards.  A flash in the Senshi's palms caught her eye and she
looked down to see a small dark red, hexagonal crystal sitting in her
palms.  She looked up.

 "Your star seed.  Without it you cannot live, unless you wear my
bracelets."

 Anger, quickly smothered poured through Eudial's veins and she
clenched her hands, fighting not to lunge for what was hers.  She knew
Sailor Galaxia could kill her if she so chose and would, were she not
to agree to this exchange.  She bowed her head in acquiesence and
relaxed.

 At the very least, she hoped Mimete would put up a fight resulting in
her being obliterated.  Inwardly she smiled at the thought,
complaisance restored.

 "Good.  You are wise not to fight it.  How many of your colleagues
will prove as wise, I wonder?"

 The Golden Senshi's smile became a smirk as she motioned her
subordinates to move through the mansion and collect all of it's
occupants so they could come and greet their new mistress.

*     *     *     *     *

Song: Nagareboshi He(Shooting Star)from the SM Stars Best Collection.
Lyrics found at Lyric Moon.
The lyrics are ordered a little differently for convenience.

C&C welcome, questions answered
<elisas@geocities.com>

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