Okay... This began as something of a philosophical exercise and
developed into something along the lines of Elsa Bibat's "Dances"
sequence. That is, I intend to write stories (both long and short) in
this continuity from before the SM to after the CM. To summarize, this
continuity is a SM universe where both Christianity and Shinto are
more or less true. But don't let that bother you.

This hasn't really gotten much in the way of prereading, apart from
MageOhki looking at it and demanding more, so I'd appreciate comments,
especially on areas where it doesn't flow too well.
---------------------------------------------------


July 1941. Kakuryou Shrine, Utsunomiya, Japan.

			       -------

				Blaze

			       -------

The path was narrow and trees grew closely on both sides. At times,
they reached to nearly touch each other overhead. Setsuna slowly
climbed the stairs, her black hair swirling in the evening breeze. She
wasn't altogether sure that she liked the color. Her usual green,
though, would be very unusual at this place and time and, for once,
Setsuna desired to be unnoticably normal.

As she approached the massive wooden gate, a thing so overgrown with
foliage that it had almost melded with the surrounding forest, a yell
shattered the silence.  Startled, Setsuna looked up in time to see a
girl falling from the top of a nearby tree. With a lunge, Setsuna
managed to catch the child.  "What were you doing up there, little
girl?" she asked as she set the girl down.

Smiling cutely, the child -- she couldn't have been older than eight or
nine years -- bowed. "I was climbing the tree, Obasan! Thank you for
catching me. Are you coming to visit the shrine?"

"Well, I suppose I am. Do you live here?" Information, any
information, would eventually be important, Setsuna knew, and it
rankled her that her foresight was limited for the time being.

"Hai! I'm Mizuno Hisa. My grandpa is the priest here, but I'm just
staying for the summer." Hisa jumped up a few stairs. "Are you coming
or not?"

Setsuna smiled indulgently and resumed climbing the stairs. Hisa
skipped along beside her. "Do you like to climb trees?" Hisa's
inquisitive face peered up at Setsuna.

The shock of memory almost unsettled her. *"I'm sorry, Pluto," the
queen had said. "We did what we had to do. There must always be a
Pluto."* Setsuna forced down the ancient pain that the girl had
unwittingly invoked and reinforced her gentle smile. "I haven't
climbed a tree in a long time, Hisa-chan."

Hisa responded with an innocent "Why not?" Setsuna nearly stumbled as
the memories of her earliest days welled up again. *"Who is my mother,
Jupiter? Why does everyone else have one?"* Unnoticing, Hisa continued
to talk. "I think everyone should climb trees, Obasan."

When Setsuna did not immediately respond, Hisa tried a different
tactic. "Obasan, what's your name? I can't just keep calling you
'Obasan', after all."

"I am Meiou Setsuna, child." Setsuna kept walking.

"Will you be staying a while, Meiou-basan?"

"Perhaps."

"Wai!" The precocious child skipped ahead up to the shrine itself. 

			       -------

			       Phoenix

		 A Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fanfic

			By Jonathan Rosebaugh

			 Prologue: Terracide

 BSSM is the property of Takeuchi Naoko. No infringement is intended.

			       -------

Setsuna wondered why this shrine had been built on such a high
hill. She could hardly be described as out of shape, but climbing so
many stairs was tiring, regardless of her physical condition.

Nevertheless, every stairway has a top, and Setsuna had just reached
this one. Emerging from the shadowed path into the sunny shrine
grounds, she felt her own spirits lift. She was on a Mission, after
all. One of the last of her Missions, in fact, for in forty years, her
fellow Senshi would finally be born.

Still smiling, she walked toward the shrine. An elderly man was
standing outside it, as if he was waiting for her. The fact that Hisa
was standing by his side, waiting anxiously, confirmed that
supposition.

"Hello, Meiou-basan!" The girl's voice lent music to the evening air
and Setsuna found herself smiling.

The old man smiled in return and stepped forward. "And how did you two
meet?"

"Meiou-basan caught me when I fell from a tree, Ojisan." Hisa looked
worried for a moment, perhaps concerned for the future of her pastime.

"I see. Well, then, I thank you for saving my granddaughter,
Meiou-san. Hisa tells me you might wish to visit our shrine for a
while?"

"That is true, Mizuno-san. I would like to stay here for a day or
so. Will that be possible?"

"Of course!" The priest beckoned her towards the house.

			       -------

The wooden building rested proudly near the edge of the hilltop. As a
more ancient building, constructed before the growing population
forced ever-increasing density in urban areas, its spacious rooms
could easily accommodate not only the priest and his granddaughter,
but also Setsuna -- and the priest's guest.

"Meiou-san, this is Bridgette von Donitz. Bridgette, Meiou
Setsuna. Meiou-san will be staying here for a few days," the elderly
priest explained to the blonde woman. Turning back to Setsuna, he
continued, "Bridgette is visiting us from Germany. She is completing
her study in comparative religion by working at our shrine this
summer. She's been very helpful." His smile exposed perfect white
teeth; an obvious sign of wealth for someone his age.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Meiou-san," Bridgette said as she managed a
fair approximation of the proper bow. The blonde's eyes narrowed
slightly, studying Setsuna. Her gaze poured over the Senshi like
treacle, which, to be honest, Setsuna would have preferred. Bridgette
was the type of woman which all men love and all women hate. She made
little effort to disguise it.

"Likewise." Setsuna's eyes flashed. There was a mutual understanding
between them: Setsuna knew what Bridgette was up to, Bridgette knew
that Setsuna knew, and Setsuna knew that Bridgette knew that she
knew. It was marvellously convoluted, but it reduced down to the
simple fact that neither woman would let the other get away with
anything if she could help it.

Mizuno smiled. "Well! I'm sure you'll get along just fine." He made
some noises about dinner and disappeared off to the kitchen.

Bridgette turned to Hisa, who shuffled closer to Setsuna. "How was
your day today?" Her hands, clasped in front of her as she leaned
forward, reminded Setsuna of a praying mantis.

Hisa's demeanor was markably different now. "It was just fine,
Obasan," she replied in a stiff tone as she stared at the ground.

"I heard you fell and almost hurt yourself again. Perhaps you shouldn't
be climbing trees?" When Hisa didn't respond, Bridgette turned to
Setsuna. "Are all Japanese children this sullen? Hisa-chan worries me
when she's like this."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll grow out of it soon." Setsuna didn't have much
trouble keeping herself from explaining that that would be because
Bridgette would be gone.

"I'm sure. Well, nevermind. Come with me, Hisa-chan. I need you to
explain something to me again." The blonde held up a notebook and
walked off, watching over her shoulder for the girl to follow her.

"Go ask Ojisan," Hisa said, sticking out her tongue. "I can't tell
what he sees in you, gaijin." Then, forcefully, as though to convince
both Bridgette and herself of what she meant, she said, "You should
leave here. Soon." Turning, she dashed out of the room and into the
woods. Setsuna raised her eyebrows and followed.

			       -------

Hisa was dangling from a tree with her legs curled over a branch when
Setsuna caught up. "Well, Meiou-basan, what do you think?"

"I think you're overdoing it, Hisa-chan."

"Oh? It's not like she notices." Hisa swung back and forth, waving her
arms. "Come one, come all, to see the amazing plastic woman, with fake
plastic smiles! She can barely even speak Japanese, so how will she
notice?"

"The amazing plastic woman is not as stupid as you think," Setsuna
replied dryly.

"What do you mean?"

"Bridgette von Donitz is the daughter of a very highly ranking officer
in the German Navy. She's no stranger to intrigue and I suspect that
she understands more Japanese than she lets on."

Hisa stopped swinging. "Why is she here? Really, I mean."

"To be honest, I'm not completely sure. She's performing some duty for
her country, I believe. It is certain, however, that she is, well, not
on our side."

"What is our side, Meiou-basan?"

This girl was really beginning to impress her. "The right side. The
side that wants people to live and be happy."

Hisa swung down and landed nimbly on her feet. "You don't really
know," she assessed, looking up at Setsuna. "You're just doing your
job too, aren't you?"

Years of experience allowed Setsuna to hide the rare mix of anger and
slight embarrassment that Hisa had provoked. She was, after all, doing
her job, preparing the way for her princess.

Hisa ran back towards the house a little ways, then turned
around. "That's okay. You're on the right side, Meiou-basan. I can
tell."

"And what side is that?"

"The side that's right, of course! Can't you tell?" Giggling, the girl
ran inside.

'I will not lose my temper. I will not lose my temper. I will not let
this child provoke me.' Setsuna silently counted to a hundred in
several different languages, before returning for dinner.

			       -------

				 Pyre

			       -------

The night was silent near the shrine, save only crickets and a few
owls. Setsuna lay restlessly, waiting for time to pass so she could
investigate unhindered. It was ironic, really, that she, the Senshi of
Time, had such a problem with patience at times like these.

Of course, from one perspective, she shouldn't be here at
all. Serenity had forbidden her to leave the Gates unguarded. But
there was nobody at present who could use them, much less override her
locks. Furthermore this Mission, like the others, had one end goal in
mind: to make the most desirable future for her princess not only
likely, but inevitable.

The only difference between this Mission and the preceding ones was
that she had the distinct impression that her future self was now
lying to her. Of course, her future self was, by definition, somewhat
different from herself, but she could not think of any reason why an
actual falsehood would be preferable to merely withholding some
dangerous truth.

Her time sense would normally have given her some clue of what was
going on, of course, but in this situation, all she knew was that
something important would happen tonight, and happen here. So she
waited patiently. Setsuna had a lot of practice at that.

There! The sound of footsteps, gently moving past the door to her
small guest room. And now back again, pausing in front of the
door. The person waited there for several minutes, then crept off
again. Setsuna held her prone position for a few more minutes before
climbing to her feet and following.

Using a few of the techniques she'd learned over the years, Setsuna
stealthily tailed the person down the stairs, through several rooms,
and into the kitchen. She watched as the female figure held up a vial
in the moonlight coming in the window. Apparently satisfied, the
person poked around quietly until she discovered the morning rice, set
by the fire to keep warm overnight. She pulled this out and placed it
on a counter.

Setsuna had seen enough. "Hungry already?" she remarked as she turned
on the electric lights.

Bridgette whirled around, anger in her eyes. "You are going to be a
big inconvenience for me." She pulled a handgun out of some pocket and
aimed at Setsuna's head. "But not for very long."

As Bridgette was still speaking, Setsuna started to move. There was no
time for her to try to use any of her powers, so she settled for
catching Bridgette's gun hand in a tight grip. The handgun's safety
was off, she noted. "I share your sentiment. I don't suppose we could
come to some sort of agreement?"  She added a twist to Bridgette's
wrist for emphasis.

"Not likely." Under normal circumstances, Bridgette would never have
been able to surprise Setsuna. These weren't normal circumstances.
The German whirled out Setsuna's grip, sending both of them flying in
opposite directions. The gun clattered to the floor, in between them.

Setsuna pushed herself to her feet and lunged for it, reaching it a
second before Bridgette did. There was no time for any second thought,
no time for mercy. She lined up the sight on Bridgette's head and
pulled the trigger.

			       -------

				Ashes

			       -------

The unmuffled report of a high-powered handgun is, many gun
enthusiasts will observe, loud enough to wake up anyone sleeping
nearby. Setsuna had just finished rolling Bridgette's body to the side
and had picked up the vial when the priest and his granddaughter
rushed in. Hisa took in the scene and bent over in shock.

"What happened?" Mizuno asked. He didn't wait for a response. Of
course, given the bloodied corpse lying there. "You killed her!" His
eyes flashed to Setsuna. "Give me that." He strode over and pulled the
vial from her hand. "Atropine in the rice, hmm? You probably already took the
antidote," he accused. "Why? It's not as if we have anything valuable
here, just ancient scrolls from the early days of Japan. And everyone
you could sell them to would know where you got them."

"No. It was your other 'guest' who tired of your company. I came here
to try to prevent all this." Setsuna had that sinking feeling that she
wouldn't be believed.

"Get out!" For an old man, Mizuno was surprisingly strong. She didn't
resist as he pulled her to the door and shoved her outside. "You won't
get far. I can have the police here in an hour." He closed and locked
the door.

As she stood there, her time sense opened back up and she saw the
magnitude of her error. She slowly walked away from the shrine, she
whispering, in the high tongue of her Queen's court, "Forgive me for
what happened on your grounds, Lady. Forgive me, Holy One." And then,
dreading the future that would come, "Forgive me for what I've done,
My Queen."


----------

Author's notes:

   "Oh, grim Belisarius! Can you not see that God is a dancer, and
   creation his dance of joy?"

This story is dedicated to Eric Flint, who will probably never read
it. I have loosely borrowed a few elements from his Belisarius
series. But, more importantly, I like to think I have borrowed
something of its soul as well. It is a remarkable series. You can read
the first book (An Oblique Approach) for free at the Baen Free
Library: http://www.baen.com/library/ . If you read through the end of
chapter two, you will be hooked.

Furthermore, this story would not have been what it is today without
the faithful assistance of such friends as Andrew Norris, Ed Becerra,
Nick Leifker, Kenneth Lam, Andrew Wilson, and others. Thank you.



-- 
Jonathan Rosebaugh - Read my fics! http://chibi.anifics.com/
------------------------------------------------------------
Life found itself alive
And somehow knew its opposite was death.
We are ever being born, or dying
And the thrill of choosing is ours.
Only once, must we be born without our own consent.
Only once, must we die without our own permission.
- Calvin Miller, The Divine Symphony


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