Hi all
First submission, also only second fanfic, so please don't be too cruel.
C&C welcome to this address, also, could anyone help me think of a good name for a prince of the Moon Kingdom?
Wanderer
*****
Present
*****
Things were not looking good for the Senshi. Their present enemy was apparently not quite as stupid as their previous ones.
The being calling itself Ragnar had obviously spent some time studying the group's strengths, weaknesses, and dynamics (as well as static loads, bending stresses, and mass moments of inertia(1)), and had arranged the situation to take this into account, tailoring a trap that neutralized each of the Pretty Soldiers of love and justice neatly, and above all, _separately_. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars were trapped in similar situations, in pools of salt water covered by grates. Sailor Venus was inside a mirrored sphere. Sailor Mercury was simply constrained within a cell: no amount of fog can get you past a locked door. As for Sailor Moon, well...
"WAAAH! Let me out of here! I hate slugs!"
As for Sailor Moon, she was slightly distracted, and completely unable to come the aid of her companions. For some reason, Tuxedo Kamen had yet to appear. They didn't even know what Ragnar's purpose in this world was.
(1) Don't worry about it.
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SENSHI, SAINTS, SIBLINGS?
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*****
Author's interlude
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Story by Immortal Wanderer. (immortal@tendodojo.com)
Thanks to Fire for prereading and suggestions
(http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire/)
At this point, I'd like to make it abundantly clear that the only thing I'm making up is the storyline, and a villain or two. _All_ the good guys already exist, even if you've never heard of Saint Seiya. Saint Seiya is done (and presumably owned) by Masami Kurumada, while Sailor Moon is owned by Nakao Takeuchi.
Timeline notes: very fluid. StS about after the Death Queen Island arc, but the Silver Saints were never sent. Saga hasn't realized that these five are the dangerous ones. Sailor Moon, well, sometime in the first series. First attacks only, but Sailor Venus has joined them. Before they get Da Big Crystal.
Now, where were we?
*****
Three weeks previous to present
*****
"Usagi, be careful tonight. I sense something strange out there. It doesn't seem to be the Negaverse, but I don't really think it's friendly." The sight of a small black cat doing a Yoda impression might strike one as funny, but this one was deadly serious. 1000-year-old advisor to a queen long dead, member of the Cath Shee race; when she spoke in earnest, it was worth your while to listen.
Unfortunately, young blonde females with unusual hairdos are obviously not always aware of this. "But... but I wanted to go to that new ice cream parlor..."
A medium-size sweatdrop appeared behind the cat's head. "Usagi, I get the impression you are not taking your responsibilities _quite_ as seriously as you might. I'm telling you there's something out there tonight. You should go and check it out."
The reincarnated daughter of the very queen Luna had served turned to her. "Luna, the last three times you've 'sensed something', it's turned out to be nothing more than a lost dimensional traveler. I'm going to meet Ami and Rei, and go to that ice cream parlor, andthat'sfinal." The last words came out in a rush, as she caught her guardian's disapproving look and hurried out the door.
Ten minutes, the three teenagers were indeed at the Path to Heaven ice cream parlor, where Rei had just started an argument with Usagi about rights of possession of Manga. It was a perfectly normal scene. Naturally, it couldn't last.
As with all the other new ice cream parlors that ever opened in Juuban, the customers suddenly collapsed as their vital energy was drained away through their stomachs. The three girls had not actually started eating yet, and so were unaffected by the demonically-infected confectionery. The owner of the store, normally a young businesswoman with brown hair in a shoulder-length pageboy cut, suddenly revealed another form. As she transformed into a tall pale-skinned youma with ice cream scoops for feet, Usagi crawled out from underneath the table where she had fallen and decided to state the obvious. "AAAAH! YOUMA!"
After recovering from their respective facefaults, Rei and Ami shouted out their transformation cries:
"MARS POWER, MAKE UP!"
"MERCURY POWER, MAKE UP!"
Seeing that she had been left behind, the putative leader of the Sailor Senshi followed them.
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
Three Senshi now faced off against the ice cream lady from the Negaverse.
"Ice cream is sacred, and for the enjoyment of all who seek communion! It is not to be corrupted to the foul ends of the Negaverse. In the name of the Moon, we will punish you!"
Deciding that the best way to combat ice was with heat, Sailor Mars decided to kick off. "MARS FIRE, IGNITE!" The spiral of flame had an obvious effect on the youma, melting a channel in its abdomen that slowly filled with thick white liquid.
The target of this attack was less than pleased. "AARGH That hurt, little girl. How about a taste of your own medicine?" This was followed up by a stream of HOT chocolate sauce emitting from the spout on the creature's right 'hand'. She dodged, but it followed up with a repeat of the same attack, then with another. It kept tracking her, not allowing her to rest or prepare her own attack. Sailor Moon was still paralyzed at the thought of attacking ice cream, so Sailor Mercury took a hand.
"MERCURY BUBBLES, BLAST!" As the fog of bubbles erupted from her hands, the Senshi of Water wondered why they had to go through such elaborate contortions to launch their attacks.
As the fog settled in, all attacks from the youma ceased. This was to be expected; after all, it could no longer see to track its targets. However, its cry was _not_ expected. "AAARGH! I'm melting!"
As the fog cleared, it revealed a puddle of melted ice cream. There was no sign of the youma, but it had obviously not escaped. Sailor Moon was more than a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to dust it. As the girls detransformed and left, a dark figure who stood, as if on solid ground, about a hundred meters above them, studied the scene. "Hmm. Interesting."
*****
A week previous to present
*****
Usagi was being her normal annoying self. She had insisted on accompanying Makoto on her food shopping trip, and Minako had tagged along, to make sure nothing interesting happened without her. Much as the tallest of the girls liked her friends, the two blonde ones could be trying, if not downright obnoxious, with their insistence that they help, in spite of having no skill at cooking, and hence no knowledge of what was needed. They were also insufferably cheerful, except when Usagi was depressed. All in all, not a pair she wanted along when she was boyfriend hunti... that is, food shopping.
As it turned out, nobody's plans were going to turn out as planned. As they passed by, a fruit seller took it upon herself to become possessed by the Negaverse and mutate horribly. This was undoubtedly the result of much intricate planning on the part of the Negaverse generals, and it was probably part of a long-term plan to gain ascendancy over the universe, but it still looked like random violence to the incognito Senshi.
The general populace, being arguably more intelligent than the reincarnated warriors of love and justice, scattered. Soon, the street market was deserted save for three schoolgirls and what was previously a normal merchant, whose only previous crime was turning a blind eye to the activities of her brother, who wanted to remain class president at any cost. With nobody else around, the girls felt safe enough transforming.
"JUPITER POWER, MAKE UP!"
"VENUS POWER, MAKE UP!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
The Senshi of Thunder, who was feeling rather frustrated by this point, took it upon herself to usurp her leader's prerogative. "Street markets are for the enjoyment of those who come seeking sustenance and companionship, not for foul Youma to despoil. Since I've been a bit cranky lately, I'll punish you in the name of _myself_!"
While her two companions were still staring at her, she attacked: "JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!" The bolt of lightning took the motile pile of rotten fruit by surprise, scattering and burning away most of its mass. A large hole was opened in the pile, revealing a glowing crystal at its core.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM, SMASH!" The crystal shattered under the impact of the light beam, and the surprised youma collapsed and was no more. Sailor Moon was once more left to wonder what had happened to her role in proceedings.
Far above them floated the now-familiar dark figure, cloaked in black. "Hmm. Interesting. These girls have the most ineffectual leader I've ever seen. How they managed to last as long as they have is a mystery to me."
*****
An hour previous to present
*****
All five of the Senshi, in civilian garb, had gathered at Rei's temple to discuss the attacks of the previous weeks. There had been several more youma attacks, but they had all been surprisingly weak and ineffective. The youma themselves were much less powerful than normal, and had without exception been destroyed by the attacks of the four planetary Senshi, without having to resort to Sailor Moon's circlet attack. Although the change was welcome, it worried them all, including the two Moon Cats. They figured it was part of some convoluted Negaverse plot. They were wrong.
As soon as the seven had gathered, an image appeared in the air before them, ignoring the temple's wards. It was a tall, dark figure, masked in golden stone, and cloaked in black to the extent that no-one would bet on its species, let alone its gender. The latter, at least, was cleared up when it spoke, in a mineshaft-deep tone. "Good evening, Senshi. I am Ragnar."
This was as far as it got before the temple chamber erupted with questions, mainly "Who are you?" and "How do you know who we are?", followed closely by "Why are you dressed in such a tacky cloak?"
Ragnar, whoever he was, obviously didn't appreciate derogatory comments about his fashion sense. The image started emitting speaker feedback, which quieted all its listeners quickly. "That's better. Now, I believe I have already answered your first question: I am Ragnar; that is most of what you need to know about me. As to your second question, do you mean that you were actually attempting to conceal your identities? If so, my advice to you is that transforming from one form to the other on a public street is not the way to hide them. As for my cloak, that is none of your concern."
By this point, the questions had become mainly "What do you want?" Ragnar wasn't particularly loath to answer: "What do _I_ want? Why, nothing more than to... Wait, no. I think it would be best if I told you in person. Why don't you all come to my residence?" He rattled off an address, which happened to be in Nerima. The image then faded.
The five Senshi all took the opportunity to immediately transform, and were about to leave the compound when Luna decided that they weren't kidding, they actually meant to jump in like that without checking anything. Unfortunately, nobody had noticed the small device that the image had left in its wake. As the 'Essence of Catnip' began to take effect, Luna became, um, _distracted_, and failed to express her warning before her charges made it out of earshot.
*****
Twenty minutes previous to present
*****
As they passed the mourning-wrapped Tendo Dojo en route to their goal, Sailor Mercury did actually express a desire to stop and check out the situation that they were heading into blindly. However, the others pushed her onwards, until they reached the address they had been given. It turned out to be the gate to a large estate, extremely rare in Japan, and always linked to power, political or otherwise, and extraordinary wealth. The gates opened before them as soon as they arrived, and Sailor Moon took up their invitation, quickly running in.
Panting after a half-kilometer jog up the driveway, they came to the front entrance to what appeared at first glance to be a large, luxurious mansion. At second and third glances as well. These doors opened likewise, and elicited the same reaction. As soon as all the Senshi were inside, they closed again, and the situation changed.
However large a room one might expect in a mansion, one did not expect to be unable to see the walls. Or the doors behind one, for that matter. The girls appeared to be on a wide plain, bright as day, yet under a dark, star-studded sky. An arrangement of six high-backed padded chairs appeared before them, around a large rectangular table. Five of the chairs were surmounted by the Senshi's individual symbols, and decorated in their characteristic colors. The sixth, at the head of the table, was black, appearing as no more than a silhouette against infinity. The symbol surmounting it was a disturbing construction of curves and angles, acting as a background to a stark Roman "II". The chair contained Ragnar. Ami noted that she had seen the symbol before, among a number of similar ones. But where?
The black clad figure motioned for the girls to sit in the chairs designed for them. The arrangement of the symbols placed Mercury at his right and Mars at his left. Directly opposite him was the crescent moon, flanked by the symbols of Jupiter and Venus, on the right and left respectively.
Not yet having a reason to be hostile to the admittedly-suspicious character, the girls sat down warily, holding themselves ready for whatever he had in mind. Which was apparently nothing more than conversation, in spite of his obvious power. "You're probably wondering why I called you here today." After hearing their confirmations, he continued. "Well, as I've told you, my name is Ragnar. I'm... call me an interdimensional official. I've been studying your activities for the past several weeks, and there are a few points I'd like to discuss with you..."
This was as far as he got before Sailor Jupiter broke in. "Exactly why were you 'studying' us, might I ask? Do you have anything to do with these recent youma attacks?"
He responded calmly enough, but Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon picked up a sense of irritation. "Actually, my involvement in the youma attacks was limited to significantly reducing their power..."
This time, surprisingly, it was the normally demure Sailor Mercury who interrupted. "And by what right are you interfering with us without informing us of your activities?!"
That did it. "Enough! I do what I do by my right to do as I see fit! And if I wanted to conquer this little planet, it would be for the good of the Empire!"
This was enough; the five Senshi leapt to their feet. Or at least they tried to. They suddenly found that there was nothing for their feet to stand on, let alone leap off. They found themselves falling through space, then slowing and landing.
The Senshi of Fire and Thunder had time to think "Oops!" before landing in cells of water. Iron grates slammed shut over them, and they had to press their faces upwards to continue breathing, tasting salt on their tongues at every breath.
The Senshi of Light found herself cut off from the rest of the world, inside a space that reflected her image from every angle. From the distortion she could see, it seemed to be a sphere. Touching the wall, she found it to be made of a hard, glassy substance. "Ha, you think this will hold me?! VENUS CRESCENT BE- hang on a second... Maybe I don't want to do that." Visions of the deadly consequences of her aborted attack flitted briefly through her brain.
The Senshi of Water was not contained in so specialized a trap. A simple cage was sufficient to hold the least combative of the Senshi. Especially since it appeared to have no unlocked exit, and was made of uncorrodable stainless steel.
The august leader of the Senshi, whose powers Ragnar had never seen, was nevertheless effectively neutralized. Placed in an environment full of creatures repugnant to her sensibilities, she was totally unable to form thoughts of escape, being completely concerned with keeping the giant slugs out of contact with her skin. Her struggles were quite obvious through the transparent walls of her cell.
*****
Present again
*****
For all the unconventionality of their individual traps, it was obvious, to Sailor Mercury at least (She was the only one who was free to concentrate), that they were back in normal space. It appeared that the subdimension that the meeting-table had been in was for special occasions only. That was slight reassurance to her; it meant their captor wasn't omnipotent. However, they still knew nothing of his motives, besides his offhand comment about the acceptability of his invasion of the world, which did not actually confirm his intentions.
Unfortunately, her cerebration, while reassuring and useful, made no progress in getting herself or any of the others free. Sailor Venus couldn't even hear her, although she could be seen through what appeared to be a one-way medium. Sailor Moon was unable to listen, and the other two had their powers completely neutralized. Things didn't look too good.
Ragnar, who was floating in the middle of the chamber that contained all their prisons, finally decided to break the silence. Well, silence apart from Sailor Moon's screams. "Well, that should keep you all out of trouble. Now, as I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted, I am a surveyor of worlds. Well, that's what I was going to say, back when I was simply trying to convince you to stay out of my way. Since you've now forced me to kill you, I might as well tell you a slightly less, shall we say, _edited_ version of the truth. I am preparing to defend this world against an unimaginable evil. For this, I need a lot of energy. I found some remarkable sources of energy in this miserable city, and I feel like exploiting them, like those youma. From the many reports I've heard, as well as my own observations, your group seems to be the major deterrent to a full-scale Negaverse invasion of this plane. Such an invasion would not really suit my plans, as I intend to exploit those sources myself, but your interference is really not appreciated. I'm quite capable of defeating any number of youma on my own, so I don't really see that your presence is necessary anymore. I was going to be nice about it, but you _did_ attack me."
"Anyway, I've decided that I'm quite capable of defending, and ruling, this world myself until I'm no longer needed, so I'm afraid I'll have to dispose of you all. Before I do so, however, may I ask you why you have chosen her [indicating Sailor Moon] as your leader?"
No one felt particularly like answering, probably because they couldn't think of a reason. "No? You don't feel like telling me? Oh, well, I guess I'll just kill you now and get it all over with." He began to gather a ball of luminescent energy between his hands.
"PHOENIX WINGS UNFURL!"
Ragnar, self-proclaimed Surveyor of Worlds, Exploiter of Planes, Capturer of Heroes, was caught with his proverbial pants down by the waves of flame that erupted towards him. As his cloak caught on fire, he turned and hurled the ball of energy he was holding towards the figure in the corner. Said figure didn't even try to dodge. As the blast exploded in a burst of purple flame, the figure stepped forward, completely unaffected by the unnatural fire. It assumed the shape of a young man, about the same age as the Senshi, dressed in what looked like armor: white breastplate and shoulderguards with gold highlights, knee-high red armor boots and shinguards over blue pants, to match the bracers on his arms and the armored kilt. He was also wearing a white helmet and appeared to have metallic feathers streaming behind him. The fact that he had blue hair could easily be dismissed. "Good evening, everyone. I heard some screaming and let myself in."
Ragnar, who had managed to beat out the flames on his cloak, faced up to the intruder. "Who exactly are you, and by what right do you interfere with my actions?"
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Bronze Saint Phoenix. I interfere because imprisoning young girls, especially after dressing them up in such ridiculous clothing, is a bit beyond what even _I_ find acceptable."
In spite of her gratitude at being rescued from the brink of death, Sailor Mars took offense at this. "Whadda ya mean, 'ridiculous clothing'? Look who's talking!"
The young man's glance and voice were both sardonic. "My apologies. Perhaps I made a mistake in coming here?"
Ragnar, by this point, was well and truly pissed off. "I don't care who you are, or whether or not you're here by mistake. No single entity is powerful enough to defeat me! And I've taken a dislike to you."
"No single entity, huh? That's as may be, but just in case, I'm not a single entity."
"What?"
"NEBULAR CHAINS!"
>From the corner of the room _behind_ Ragnar shot a pair of purple metal chains, one terminating in a ball, the other by a hexahedral dart. Even from where she was trapped, Sailor Mars could feel the spiritual power infused in them. As they twisted unnaturally through the air and wrapped themselves round a shocked Ragnar, another young man stepped from the shadows. The chains extended from coils around his forearms. He was wearing purple armor, significantly different in design from his white-and-red counterpart. He had long green hair. "Bronze Saint Andromeda, at your service."
"How many of you little buggers are there?" shouted the now-enraged Ragnar.
Phoenix Saint was laughing as he answered. "I don't really think you deserve to know that." He moved to just in front of the chained being. "In fact, as far as I've seen, I don't really think you deserve to _live_ anymore."
The Senshi's eyes widened. Surely he didn't mean...
"PHOENIX ILLUSION FIST!"
The girls closed their eyes, but opened them again at the sound of vigorous swearing. Although he could punch at Mach 1, Phoenix Saint couldn't beat a teleport; Andromeda's chains still hung in the air, but they were empty.
After venting a bit (and turning the ears of the three Senshi who were listening pink), Phoenix finally got back to business, and he and Andromeda went around freeing the captive Senshi. Mercury was first, and they then went on to free the two trapped in water while she attempted to free Moon and Venus. She was eminently unsuccessful, since, even in Sailor form, she lacked the sheer brute strength that the Saints seemed to enjoy. After freeing Sailor Jupiter, Andromeda came up behind her. "Excuse me, maybe I can help here."
Meanwhile, Phoenix Saint was in the process of ripping apart the grate holding Sailor Mars in the water. "You might want to hold your breath and go under for a bit. This might get a little violent." He still hadn't actually looked at her, his attention mainly on the grate itself.
Given his position right next to the grate, she couldn't look at him either, so she just grumbled and complied. A few seconds later, she felt a shockwave pass through the water. She surfaced, and found herself staring into a pair of blue- black eyes that went on forever, eyes that were somehow as familiar to her as her own.
For himself, Phoenix Saint watched as the girl in the stupid little fuku submerged herself. With a single punch, he shattered one side of the grate and then proceeded to rip it off in a single smooth motion. The girl surfaced, and he saw that she was about his own age, kind of cute too. Then he was caught by her eyes. Something about her eyes was so familiar... He felt that he might have known this girl, a long time ago. He definitely recognized those eyes. Why did he suddenly get images running through his head, of a great palace, and looking out over a red plain that extended as far as the eye could see?
After a few minutes staring into each other's eyes, Sailor Mars suddenly realized that she was soaking wet, and that she was wearing a white top to boot. To exacerbate the situation, her undergarments happened to be black that day. "So, did you get a good look?" came her sarcastic comment.
Phoenix Saint didn't even hear her, still lost in her eyes. He came back to himself as the sound of her slap echoed through his helmet. "Excuse me, do I know you from somewhere? And why are you holding onto your hand like that?"
On the other side of the room, a swinging chain had finally penetrated Sailor Venus' isolation from events. As the sphere containing her shattered and she fell to the ground, she realized how far behind she was as she looked around and noticed two cute guys in armor, one of whom was staring into Sailor Mars' eyes, and a distinct lack of Ragnar in the room.
As she turned to her savior, she noticed the chains he bore. *Sugoi! I wonder if I could get something like those.* Deciding to be polite, and also to find out who he was, she addressed him. "Hi there! Thanks for getting me out of there! I am Sailor Venus, sailor-suited defender of love and justice. Who might... you...... be?" Her speech slowed down dramatically as she caught sight of his eyes. They were very nice eyes, the green of forest leaves in the spring, but there was something about them that told her she should recognize this boy.
Andromeda Saint, who was about to see to the liberation of the last girl, found himself trapped by the eyes of the girl from inside the sphere. He had seen what she looked like from outside, but it hadn't really registered on him. Now, he _knew_ that he knew this girl, just not from where. Something about dancing under a clouded sky, in a place where the very rain burned. He also got the incongruous idea that this was a girl he had loved and wanted to protect; but he knew that there had never been a girl he truly loved, except maybe June, and even that was pushing it.
His contemplation, and Phoenix Saint's confusion, were shattered by a cry that filled the room.
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
The carefully-directed lightning fried every one of the giant slugs inside Sailor Moon's capsule, freeing her mind from horror, if not her body from slime. A second later, and the leader of the Senshi was free.
Seeing that their services were no longer necessary, and also that the questions were going to start in seconds, the two Saints took the opportunity to run for it. But not before Phoenix Saint shared a long glance with Sailor Mars, and Andromeda Saint did the same with Sailor Venus, each trying to figure out where the other came from. Cries of "Wait!" were ignored.
*****
Ten seconds and two kilometers away, Shun turned to Ikki. "Brother, why were we there?"
Ikki was not quick to answer, but he did. "I'm not sure. I did hear screams, probably that ditzy blonde with the stupid hairstyle, but even before that, I sensed something drawing me there. Almost like someone I knew was in danger. After we freed them, I felt sure I knew the black-haired one. I just can't remember where!"
"I know what you mean. I got this weird impression when I looked at the one inside the marble. Kind of like I knew her and love her; but I'm sure I've never seen anyone like that before in my life. Something about her drew me really strongly too."
"Hmmm. Ah well, best to forget about it. We have other, higher duties. Besides, we'll probably never see them again."
*****
When the Senshi detransformed and returned to Rei's temple, the Moon Cats had finally recovered from the Essence of Catnip bomb. They promptly took it upon themselves to chastise the Senshi roundly for jumping into a situation without even due consideration, let alone planning and information gathering.
After they finished their tirade, Ami decided to see if they knew anything of the mysterious armored Saints who had saved them. She gave a brief, factual description of the evening's events, starting from their departure from the temple. This earned them even more scolding, as the extent of their carelessness came to light.
In the middle of the denouncement, Luna suddenly stopped in mid-word, as a wash of memories, heretofore locked away, cascaded over her and Artemis like a tsunami. She turned to the white cat. "Do you think it might be...?"
"What, you think they might have come forward too?"
"I think so. Ooh, this changes everything!"
By this point, all of the Senshi were getting extremely worried, as the cats' conversation seemed to concern an enemy, still active from the Silver Millennium. Usagi finally broke. "Luna, what are you guys talking about? Is it some horrible group that we have to fight because they're evil? We're always getting bad news." She did not notice the reactions of Rei and Minako, who jumped and blanched.
The cat just looked back with as close as a cat can get to a smile. "No, Usagi, on the contrary, this is very _good_ news. Sit down, and we'll tell you about it. Trust me, you'll want to be sitting down."
The girls all sat, anxious to hear what Luna might have to say. "Back in the days of the Silver Millennium, all of the planets were colonized. As you know, each of the ruling families of the five inner planets, excluding earth, had a daughter, as did the royal family of the Moon. Those daughters were sent forward in time after Metallia's attack, and became yourselves. What you don't know is that each of those families also had a _son_, and that these were apparently also sent forward."
The room erupted. "What!" "We have brothers!" "Where did they get their armor?" "Where are the others?"
The cat continued, unperturbed. "Just as the princesses held the position of the Sailor Senshi, protectors and healers, the princes held positions as their guardians. They were called the Planetary Knights. They were not skilled at magic, but they were unparalleled in the fields of physical, mental, and spiritual combat. All of them can move at speeds that normal people find unbelievable, and are strong beyond measure. In addition to their mastery of conventional martial arts, they usually had a paranormal specialty, inspired by the constellation they draw power from, and linked to their armor. By the way you described them, Ami, I would say you met up with the Knight of Fire and the Knight of Light. They were the princes of the ruling families of Mars and Venus respectively. The Knight of Fire usually adopted the constellation of the Phoenix, while the present Knight of Light has apparently claimed the entire Andromeda Galaxy for his own. His power must be _immense_, drawing off all those stars!"
Minako looked at a stunned Rei, then addressed the cats. "So, what you're saying is that those two cute guys are actually our _brothers_? And _off limits_?"
After recovering from their collective facefaults, everyone examined the two and noted that they looked very shocky. Usagi, always the caring one when it came to Rei, piped up. "What? You thought he was cute, Rei? I thought I'd never see the day you fell for someone. And he's your brother, too!"
Rei was snapped out of her introspection, and was about to retaliate verbally when a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "No, it was like I knew this guy from somewhere, a long time ago. But brother or not, he's still a pervert for staring at me like that!"
"I don't know about _that_, he seemed to be concentrating on your face, but I know what you mean about the other. When I looked into his eyes, I felt I'd known him forever, and that he would protect me from anything."
"Yes, as I recall, all the siblings were fairly close. I don't know where that might go now that you are no longer related by blood, but if two of them are around, the others likely are as well. It would be greatly beneficial if you could find them and recruit them to your cause. Unfortunately, since they seem to have already developed their powers to a startling degree, it's likely they have their own cause. They might even be following someone else, and no longer consider themselves under the authority of Serenity."
*****
In Seiya's apartment, Ikki and Shun recounted their tale. However, their group had no history of suddenly recalled memories, and no-one had any idea who the girls in the strange clothing might have come from, nor any clue about the feelings that the particular two had inspired in Ikki and Shun. The group resolved to keep an eye out, but they had other fish to fry. They had no pressing tasks at the moment, having just returned from Death Queen Island, but there was a feeling in the air, of something new starting, and they hadn't heard much from Saori recently.
Shiryu, ever the calm one, suggested that they might take to running minor patrols in the area, in armor. When asked why, he responded that either they might see these girls, or that the girls in question might see them. Besides, there was little else to do at that particular point in time. He figured that both groups were fairly distinctive in appearance, so there was little chance of missing each other
Little did he know that Minako had pretty much settled on the same plan. It was thus inevitable that individuals of the two groups would meet. As it turned out, it was the very two who made the suggestions who met, that very night.
Shiryu had naturally been the first volunteer; after all, it had been his idea to give up portions of sleep. Minako had just been drafted as punishment for coming up with such a stupid plan. So it was that the Dragon Saint and Sailor Venus were patrolling the roofs of Tokyo, springing from one block to the next, when each caught sight of the other out of the corner of their eye. They immediately changed course, and met on the clock-tower of Furinkan High School.
Though this one might not be related to her, and she didn't get the same sense of recognition, his looks were still quite sufficient to strike her temporarily dumb (It's hard to speak when you're drooling). The Dragon Saint took the opportunity to speak. "I take it that you're a member of that group of young ladies that some friends of mine rescued earlier tonight? I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"
Sailor Venus finally came to her senses. "Yeah, we were wondering who they were. Are you a friend of the Andromeda Saint?"
"Yes, and his brother, the Phoenix Saint. There are two more of us as well. This may sound strange, but those two reported having extremely odd reactions to two of your number. They felt they knew you of old. Do you know anything of this? What can I call you, by the way?"
"Hmm? Oh! I'm Pretty Soldier Sailor Venus, defender of love and justice!"
Dragon Saint had to chuckle at this. "Hm. And I am the Dragon Saint, sacred knight of Athena, also a defender of justice. I believe you've already met two of our number."
Venus giggled at his humorous, oh-so-formal response. "Yes, I have, and some friends of mine might have some light to shed on their strange memories of us. You might like to know that Sailor Mars and I were similarly affected. I don't suppose you'd follow me to meet them?"
"I don't see why not. The only reason I was patrolling was to see if I could spot any members of your group. What do you call yourselves, anyway?"
"The Sailor Senshi."
*****
Ten minutes later
*****
Back at the Temple that Venus had left less than an hour before, Dragon got a vague impression of several girls before his attention was captured by a pair of cats with crescent moons on their foreheads. The sight of them seemed to spark something in him, a memory. An image came to him, of dancing in a great hall with a tall girl dressed in green. A huge sphere hanging in space, banded with colors. A black sky with a dozen moons... He was drawn out of his reverie by Sailor Venus' voice.
"Because of the history we share, which we'll explain in a bit, we'd like to show you something. We'd rather you kept it to yourselves and your trustworthy companions. Besides, it'll make it easier to talk."
The girls -there turned out to be five- all disappeared into swirls of light. When they emerged, the strange sailor suits that Ikki and Shun had commented on were gone, replaced with far more normal clothing, and five ordinary girls looked at him. One in particular, a tall brunette, drew his eyes, and not simply because of her beauty. Before he lost himself in her eyes, he wondered if this was what had happened to Ikki and Shun.
Meanwhile, the four Senshi who hadn't been on patrol were understandably shocked when their friend waltzed in soon after leaving, with a boy wearing armor in tow. This one seemed more dignified than the other two, wearing armor of green, with a helmet in the shape of a dragon's head (Including, to Usagi's amusement, whiskers), and massive shoulder guards in the form of the beast's claws. He had gorgeous long black hair, and bore a shield on his left forearm.
Something about him fascinated Sailor Jupiter, so when Venus gave the signal to detransform, she didn't hesitate, resuming her civilian guise and staring unabashedly at him. Then his eyes met hers, and she was gone.
A flood of images cascaded over the two, of other times, other places. Of dancing together in the halls of their palace on Jupiter. Of him fighting for her honor in the annual tournaments. Of him defending her to the death during Metallia's attack. Of him falling under the overwhelming assault, just before Queen Serenity cast her spell.
The others knew none of this, only that their friend Makoto had locked gazes with the stranger, and had the oddest expression on her face. Then she breathed "Brother...", and the spell was broken.
"Brother...". The whisper slid across his senses, and felt _right_, but his mind rejected what his heart told him was true. "I'm sorry, miss, but I think you're mistaken. I have no parents, and as far as I know, no siblings save my brothers-in-arms."
His surprises for the night were not yet over. One of the strange cats behind him spoke up. "She was not speaking of _this_ life, Knight of Thunder. She was speaking of the one you lived with her a millennium ago, in the closing years of the Moon Kingdom."
The Dragon Saint, by this point, had moved beyond the stage where he was reacting to surprise. Besides, he was the calmest, most rational of the Saints anyway. He just sat down as the cat continued to explain things, noting as he did so that the other girls were slightly shocked at the turn of events themselves.
"To put it very briefly, there was a time about a thousand years ago, when all the planets were colonized, and came under the rule of the Moon Kingdom, based on Earth's moon. They had advanced technology, and extensive knowledge of the magical arts as well. Each of the planets had their own royal family, and each had their princess. The girls you see in the room now are the present-day reincarnations of those princesses, who were also protectors of their people."
"Anyway, one day, the Queen of the Moon, Queen Serenity, was holding a ball with all the princesses in attendance, and even Endymion, the prince of Earth. They were attacked. A new enemy had arisen, who hated all that the Moon Kingdom stood for, and would stop at nothing to destroy it. Her name was Metallia. She was blindingly successful at first; her attacks depopulated the outer planets, and the inner ones away from the court. The moon was the last place to fall, since it had the greatest protections. As the final attacks were launched, and the palace itself began to fall, Queen Serenity cast a final spell, sacrificing her own life to power it. That spell sealed Metallia away in what became the Negaverse, and also sent the spirits of certain members of her court far into the future, to be reincarnated when the need arose, and things started breaking free of the Negaverse."
"These girls, who were the princesses of the planets, were among them, then and now the Sailor Senshi. The prince of Earth was among them, and has become Tuxedo Kamen, support and succor for the Senshi. Now, seeing you, and hearing the stories that I have heard, I believe that the princesses' brothers, then called the Planetary Knights, were also among that number."
"The Planetary Knights were brothers to the princesses, but also their protectors. Each of them had an alignment similar to his sister's, but drew their power, not from the planet itself, but from entire constellations. This led to them having more potential power, but it was far more difficult to access, requiring years of training. They were a force to be reckoned with. The Knights associated with the five inner planets were the Knight of Thunder, the Knight of Fire, the Knight of Air, the Knight of Light, and the Knight of Water."
"This is all very interesting, I'm sure. However, I'm also sure that you don't go around telling this to everyone you meet. Why me?" The Dragon Saint was starting to get a bit freaked out by this point, and had a sick feeling he already knew the answer.
"You know the answer to that already, Knight of Thunder. You hold one of those spirits yourself, as witnessed by your reaction to the girl who was once your sister."
"Allowing for the moment that all this is true, how do you know which one I am? Admittedly, the description does fit some of my fighting techniques, but you couldn't have known that."
"You know the answer to that one as well. The person into whose eyes you were staring is Sailor Jupiter, Senshi of Thunder, who was princess of Jupiter."
As he tried to assimilate this, the girl who was supposedly his sister stepped forward. "Look, I know this is probably a bit much for you to take in right now, so why don't we start with the basics? I may be Sailor Jupiter sometimes, but my name as a normal girl is Makoto Kino. I'm afraid I don't have any parents either, so I live here in Juuban on my own. Why don't you tell us your name?"
"Um, okay." With a strangely familiar swirl of light, the boy's armor dismantled itself and flew off, reforming itself into the shape of a dragon, before a strange square box enclosed it. "When I do not wear the armor of the constellation of the dragon, my name is Shiryu. I claim no last name, but I appreciate the trust you have shown in me, and bequeath you the same." He stood there before them in a Chinese-style shirt and pants, with his black hair streaming free to mid-thigh.
A quick round of introductions followed, which each of the girls giving him both their names and their identities as Senshi. Nobody noticed how free they were being with information that they normally hid automatically. Everyone was wondering where they went from there. Shiryu decided to explain things from his point of view.
"As you may have guessed, the group I belong to consists of five boys like myself. You have already met two of them, Ikki and his brother Shun, the Phoenix and Andromeda Saints. We are all Bronze Saints. The denomination 'Bronze' is simply an indication of our nominal power relative to the other Saints of the Zodiac. There are potentially 88 Saints, one for each recognized constellation. Twelve of those are the Gold Saints, representing the twelve astrological signs. The majority of the rest are Bronze Saints, but if a particular Saint gains enough power, they may be acknowledged as a Silver Saint. There are also some constellations whose Saints are automatically Silver. We are the sacred defenders of the goddess Athena, ancient Greek goddess of war, and of wisdom. I don't know how that fits into your framework, but that's who we are. There are four Saints I associate closely with, as we have gone through much together. From their stories of their reactions to meeting two of your number, I gather they are in the same situation as myself. To find three out of five in a group of five stretches coincidence beyond breaking, so I'd be willing to bet my armor that my two other friends, Hyoga and Seiya, are the remaining two brothers."
"By the way, who was the person that Shun and Ikki rescued you from?"
Ami was the one to answer. "We don't actually know. He just sent us a message and said he knew who we really were, and invited us over to his place to discuss some plans of his. When we showed up, he took us to another dimension, then dropped us back into the real world, into the traps your friends saw. He said something about invading this world being "for the good of the empire". He also said that he was quite capable of defending the world from youma on his own."
Shiryu had no idea what youma were, so he simply asked. He was promptly provided with an answer, in the form of a roar from outside. The entire group ran out of the Temple, to see a large beast resembling a bear with four arms attempting to penetrate the wards. It was failing, but Rei could sense the Temple's defenses weakening under its assault. "MARS POWER, MAKE UP!" rang the cry, but absolutely nothing happened.
As the Senshi stared in shock, the beast stopped roaring. "Surprised, little girl? I'm not your everyday, run-of-the-mill youma; I was sent by Ragnar himself. I am still experimental, but it seems that the experiment was a success: I managed to prevent your transformation."
The girls blanched in horror: without their Senshi uniforms, they would be helpless against any youma, whether sent by Ragnar or the Negaverse. Shiryu stepped forward. "Excuse me, may I take it from your statements that you intend these young ladies harm?"
"No, I meant to invite them to a tea party! Of course I mean them harm! I was sent by Ragnar in an attempt to wipe them out!"
"I see. Well, I'm afraid I cannot allow that until this issue about one of them being my long-lost sister has been cleared up. I'm awfully sorry."
"How exactly do you intend to stop me, once I get through these wards?" The infernal creature actually seemed interested. It was rather shocked when the unassuming youth in front of it suddenly became an armored warrior straight out of legend. The youma's last thought was *Oops! I wasn't told about _this_!*
"SKY DRAGON TEAR!"
*****
Back at Seiya's apartment, Shun, Ikki and Hyoga were all still awake. They sensed something strange, immense shock and surprise, through their Cosmos link with Shiryu. Seiya, who was taking a nap, was jolted out of his slumber. Due to the stronger link between him and Shiryu, he felt more of the textures of the shock: recognition, elation and hope, followed by uncertainty, then by anger, although the focus had changed. All the Saints decided to take a quick trip when they felt him launch a furious attack; he might need help.
The quartet armored up and leaped out the window onto a convenient rooftop. Knowing that there were few things that Shiryu would use his attacks on -besides opposing Saints- they didn't dawdle. They were, however, puzzled by the lack of subsequent attacks: their usual enemies would not be taken down by a single assault, yet they had felt no indication that their friend was unable to launch further attacks. This left very few options, and this is why they hurried. It should perhaps be noted that 'hurrying', for a Bronze Saint, means moving at a significant fraction of Mach 1. They arrived at the Temple in a matter of minutes.
The Senshi had decided to test, by judicious experimentation, whether the death of this particular youma had freed them to transform.
"MARS POWER, MAKE UP!"
"MERCURY POWER, MAKE UP!"
"JUPITER POWER, MAKE UP!"
"VENUS POWER, MAKE UP!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
They were relieved to find no further blocks to the assumption of their fighting forms, but were still understandably shocked to see four young men in armor drop out of the sky and confront them. Two of the Saints, Pegasus and Cygnus, were quite ready to take on the girls in the short skirts, regardless of what their friends had told them, but they were brought short by the cry of "Wait!" from the Dragon Saint.
Pegasus was less than amused. "Whadda ya mean, wait? Aren't these the ones that attacked you?"
"Not exactly. I think you might be interested in hearing what these young ladies have to say."
Shiryu was being completely ignored. Pegasus had just spotted a girl with the stupidest hairdo he'd ever seen, but still one that looked strangely familiar. However, before he could look further into the matter, multiple roars resounded through the night. Unfortunately for the new breed of youma, their power allowed them to prevent the Senshi from transforming. It did not extend to neutralizing them magically _after_ they had transformed. The largish group, consisting of about two dozen of the new breed, was therefore forced to fight.
Phoenix, Dragon and Andromeda entered the fray readily enough; Dragon knew the truth, and the Phoenix and Andromeda Saints were definitely interested in finding out more. Since the death of the girls they had met, in a demon attack no less, would have prevented them from doing so, they moved to prevent it from occurring.
Not that the Senshi were standing idle by. Pegasus and Cygnus looked on, bewildered, as these girls in stupid outfits launched what looked to be almost magical attacks, nearly worthy of Saints, against the strange, inhuman beings that had attacked.
Unfortunately (Though for _whom_ is indeterminate), several youma spotted them, noted their inactivity, and mistakenly classified them as noncombatants: hostage material.
"PEGASUS METEOR PUNCH!"
Seiya's attack, designed for use on opponents with protective armor at least the equal of his own, completely dismembered three of the creatures attacking him, much to his own surprise. He had expected them to be tougher.
"DIAMOND DUST!"
Cygnus was likewise finding that these demons, fearsome as they might look, were nothing compared to his battles with the Black Saints or even those in the Galaxian Wars. The two icicles in front of him attested to the truth of his feelings.
The Senshi weren't doing too badly, working closely together to take down eight of their attackers with combinations of lightning, disorienting fog, light beams, exorcising Frisbees, and spirals of flame. The Saints fought separately, as was their wont, completely shredding their opposition without too much trouble. The prevalent emotion among them, rather than fear or anger, was bewilderment at where these creatures might have come from. Pegasus and Cygnus were still wondering what this was all about.
When the last of the first wave of youma fell, a chilling wind blew through the courtyard in front of the Temple. Everyone could sense that this was not yet over. Their fears were borne out as Ragnar himself appeared in front of them. "So, Senshi, I see you have recruited allies. Ones more powerful than yourselves by far. I wonder, with what coin did you pay them, hmmm?"
"JUPITER THUNDER, CRASH!"
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM, SMASH!"
"MARS FIRE, IGNITE!"
Enraged by the double insult, and disgusted by the implication that they'd do _that_ for _anyone_, let alone their brothers, Venus, Jupiter and Mars launched simultaneous magical attacks, while Mercury accessed her computer and initiated a search for the most painful methods of death by torture in human history. Sailor Moon completely missed the reference.
The lightning bolt was grounded by the rod of metal that appeared beside the dark-garbed figure. The beam of light was deflected by the mirror in his hand. The track of flame spiraled around his asbestos shield and set his cloak on fire. "AGAIN!? What is this obsession you people have with burning my cloak!?" came the exclamation as he tried to beat out the blaze. The Saints weren't sure what was going on here, as only Ikki and Shun knew what he was referring to, and they didn't know the whole story either. However, they did get the distinct impression that this was a bad guy. They just weren't sure how bad.
Their question was answered as the figure succeeded in extinguishing the flames and spoke again. "All right, that's it! Nobody, and I mean _nobody_, does that to my cloak and lives!"
"I did."
Ragnar turned to the Phoenix Saint. "What! You again! Why are you helping these little girls in short skirts? Or is that _why_ you're helping them?" It should be impossible for someone wearing a mask, especially a mask made from rock, to leer, but he managed anyway.
Ikki, representative of the fiery Phoenix, was not known for his cool temper, or lack of a sense of innuendo. "Why, you- ! PHOENIX WINGS UNFURL!"
This time, however, the curtains of flame missed their target, as Ragnar seemingly teleported two meters to his right. "Ah, ah, ah! That trick will not work twice on me anymore than it would on one of you, knight of Athena(2)!"
Ikki, as a reasonably experienced Saint, was used to his attacks missing in the second battle with a particular opponent. "So, you know who I am. And you _still_ persist in opposing us?"
While the Senshi, who were still watching all this, attempted to recover from the sheer arrogance of such a statement, Ragnar answered, laughing at some joke only he saw. "Yes, I know something of the Saints, since you so rudely attacked me earlier. My sources of information are quite good. I know all about your little goddess. You are all mere Bronze Saints. You do not even _approach_ me in power. I know about the source of your powers. And I _do_ know all about your status as reincarnated brothers to the Senshi, my previous comments aside. Neither really concerns me."
"WHAT?" came from the throats of the four Saints who hadn't known. Pegasus and Cygnus were just plain suspicious, but Phoenix and Andromeda were shocked. This would explain their strange reactions to those girls, but reincarnation of _people_ wasn't possible, was it?
(2)One of the tenets of the Saints is that the same attack (or defense) will not work on the same Saint twice. In theory, anyway. In practice, the number of times a particular attack will work depends on the relative power of the combatants. However, even a Gold Saint's attack on a Bronze will not work forever (assuming the Bronze survives the first ones).
End of part one.
*****
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