[FFML] [Fanfic][AU][Sailor Moon] MMSS 4 - History Lessons and Mounting Up

[StudioPC]

And the Maddness continues.

Disclaimer: No money is being made from this and no such intent should  
be inferred.

----------------

"Just how big is this place?" Rei asked.

"Big." Serenity replied. "The intent behind the design was to provide  
an operations base in the event of the Imperium's destruction."

"Which did happen!" Minako added cheerfully and then wilted under  
Rei's frown.

"As there are only the seven of us, however, most of the station is  
under Stasis fields," Serenity continued. "There's little point."

"So where are we going?" Usagi asked. "The kitchen?"

"In a bit. I want you to see something."

They emerged from the hallway onto a walkway. The room was dimly lit,  
but there was the sense of vastness, huge and empty. Below and in the  
distance, they could see large silvery cubes that glowed with a soft  
light.

"Cool!" Minako exclaimed going to lean over the railing, only to leap  
back as something snapped at the air below and in front of her toes.

There was a groan and a clank and overhead, massive lights switched  
on. Cautiously, the girls advanced to the railing once more. Below  
them, they could see . . . monsters.

That was the only word for it. Directly below them was a red bird.  
Next to it was a green gorilla, and then a yellow cheetah. To their  
left, they could see a white lion, a black lion, and a white tiger,  
but with blue stripes, instead of black. They appeared to be machines,  
but there was something organic about their design.

"Imperial Battle Zords," Serentity said. "Biomechancial tanks powered  
by shamanistic magic. They are living machines and bonded to the  
Senshi who drives them." She sounded incredibly pleased.

The red bird, which upon closer inspection, was actually a pheonix,  
glared at them balefully and then snapped at them again, its  
expression murderous.

"I don't think that one likes us very much," Usagi said.

"The Pheonix Zord was forged from fire," Serenity replied. "It is  
proud, competative, and driven towards victory, no matter the cost."

Usagi smirked at Rei, who was staring at the bird with all her  
attention. The bird stared back, its expression softening to match her  
own. The metal of its skin rippled, subtly changing its face to  
resemble Rei's.

"The Zord is imprinting on her," Serenity told them, answering Usagi  
and Minako's unspoken question. "They are bonding." The Orb seemed to  
be looking at them. "And yes, you two will do the same."

-------------------

"It's . . . weird," Rei admitted. She was curled up in an overstuffed  
chair, hands curled around a hot mug of tea. Her eyes swam with a  
combination of wonder and confusion. "It's like, this hole in me I  
didn't know I had has been filled. I can feel it in my mind and  I  
know exactly where it is and if I wanted to call it, I could and it  
would come to me."

Usagi and Minako had both declined to bond with their zords at that  
particular time. By unspoken agreement, they were watching Rei to see  
what happened to her before they tried it.

"I would ask you not to try that right now," Serentity said. Her voice  
danced with laughter. "The station's hallways were not designed to  
accommadate Zords."

Artemis entered, looking disgusted. "Nothing," he complained, sitting  
in a chair. "Our guest knows nothing." A sigh. "And I really need to  
talk to Makoto about her sense of humor."

"Kino doesn't have a sense of humor." Rei snapped. Minako and  
surprisingly, Usagi, both nodded agreement.

"Humor is the philosophical expression of sadisim," Minako said,  
lapsing into an impression of Makoto. "Laughing is the acceptance of  
that." She paused. "Dude."

Usagi made a sound between a giggle and a snort.

"Then how did . . . never mind. I don't want to know." Artemis crossed  
one leg over the other. "I see Rei bonded with her Zord." He was  
clearly trying to change the subject. "I suppose you have questions."

"Several, actually," Rei leaned forward. "Where did this Imperium come  
from and why is there no evidence of it here on earth?"

"There is," Artemis replied with a grin, "you just have to know what  
to look for."

"We don't actually know where we came from," Serenity told them. "Most  
of our history was lost during the Crisis and the following Breakdown.  
What survived is fragments and stories."

"The few surviving pre-Crisis records suggest that this solar system  
was once part of a much larger entity. Some sort of Empire," Artemis  
said. "The best guess anyone was able to make based on what we could  
find was that it imploded in the wake of a sucession crisis. A goat  
seems to have been involved somehow."

Serenity took up the tale. "What we do know is that whatever happened  
to this Empire, this system fell into an age of strife and civil war.  
Record keeping was spotty, but we have evidence of a string of  
alliances that fell apart almost as soon as one member or another died."

"Queen Serentity's grandfather was a minor warlord," Artemis got up to  
make some tea. "Fed up with all the warfare, he claimed a sector and  
stated that everything inside its boundries belonged to him. Then, he  
simply expanded. By the time the major warlords realized they should  
take him seriously, it was too late to stop him. He was too powerful.  
Once he had the system, he set about forging something that could hold  
together in a crisis, not become a tyranny, and could handle  
expansion, no matter how big it got or if there was another sucession  
crisis."

"Grandfather died before the Imperium was really established,"  
Serenity told them, "leaving my father to finish the job." She sounded  
wistful. "Father was a better general then politican, I'm afraid. He  
was competant enough, but sublties escaped him. However, he did manage  
to cram the Imperium down enough throats that by the time I took the  
throne, we more or less had peace."

"Queen Serenity's rein was known as the Silver Millenium," Artemis  
said proudly. "We had safety, security, and thrived in a rennisance of  
science and art."

"Artemis, please." Serenity sounded embarassed. "I did nothing more  
then my duty."

Rei nodded. "Now tell me about Beryl."

Artemis sighed. "Beryl is . . . was Serenity's oldest sister. They  
were both excellent mages, and Beryl had their father's tatical  
skills, but she  . . . was ill-suited in other areas. She lacked  
empathy, compassion, and mercy. She believed in the so-called 'divine  
right to rule' almost fanatically." he scowled. "She also advocated  
the use of Dark Magics and the military might of the throne."

"It was for those reasons that I was named Heir Primus," Serenity  
said. "After Father died, I named her Govenor of Earth."

"I would want her somewhere far away, personally," Usagi said. "Pluto,  
maybe. Someplace with absolutely nothing there."

Artemis' expression twitched, but only Minako saw, and it didn't  
really register.

"I had suspicions about Father's death and there were politics to  
consider, unfortunutly. The Senate was unwilling to throw Beryl out of  
the line of sucession entirely and I felt that if I exiled her, it  
would only lead to more trouble. Besides, she was still my sister and  
family . . . means a great deal to me. Earth was prestigious enough to  
prevent wagging tounges, close enough that I could discreetly keep an  
eye on her, and would hopefully keep her busy enough so that she  
wouldn't cause any trouble."

"Beryl was very good at multitasking, as it turned out," Artemis'  
voice was filled with wry humor. "On the eve of the Imperium's second  
millenium, Beryl attacked the Moon and demon armies descended upon the  
other worlds. Everything we'd built, gone. Thirty billion people  
brutally murdered. All in the space of mere hours."

"Beryl came for me, personally," Serenity said. "She cut down my  
daughter and her court and their bodygaurds as easily as you would  
swat a fly before nearly killing me."

"Beryl was weak enough from fighting Serenity, and arrogant enough  
that I managed to lock her and her generals in a prision through  
trickery." Artemis sat back down with his tea. "I put the Queen into a  
time warp to buy time until I had a way to save her life. This was the  
only unviolated Imperium structure nearby, so we came here." He spread  
his hands "I spent ten years or so setting up a warning net in case  
Beryl escaped and then put myself into coldsleep. And here we are."

Rei nodded, lips pursed in a thin line.

"Hey, can we go get lunch?" Usagi asked. "I'm starving."

"You're always starving!" Rei retorted.

"Just a snack. Today is shrine day, remember?"

"Of course I remember . . . oh man! It is shrine day!"

Artemis looked at them and then at Minako. "Shrine day?"

-----------------------------

"Freak!"

Ami ignored the shouted insult. She was used to it. Smarty-pants,  
bitch, freak, arrogant, worthless, she'd heard them all and they'd  
long since ceased to affect her. Save for the cold pit in her stomach.

"I'm talking to you, freak!" A hand grabbed her arm and shoved her  
against the wall.

Even at a school which prized intelligence above all else, there were  
still bullies. Ami couldn't help being smart, and it wasn't like she  
was trying to outsmart her peers, but math and science were just  
so . . . simple.

"Where you off to, freak?"

Ami blinked and adjusted her glasses. Of course. Mizuhara, Saotome,  
and Hizuhara, the three biggest students at the Academy and their  
ringleader, Mai.

As it did when she was nervous, Ami's stutter got even worse. "I-I-I-I-"

"What's wrong, freak? Scared?" Mai's smile was nasty and Ami realized  
that Mai was holding a Bokken. With a lurch, Ami felt her stomach drop  
to her feet and her heart jump into her throat. The teachers wouldn't  
come to help her. No one would. Even they hated her. She'd heard them  
complaining that they had no idea what to do with her, and why was she  
there anyway? She was going to die.

"Hey, freak," Hizuhara loomed over her.  "Nice watch. Hand it over and  
maybe I won't beat you."

Her watch? The communicator! If she lost that, Artemis and Serenity  
would kick her out of the Senshi!

"Dudes, harsh." Everybody looked. Makoto was leaning against the wall,  
arms crossed. "That's her watch."

"Who the hell are you?" Mai demanded.

"Friend O' Ami," Makoto replied.

"A friend? Freaks don't have friends!"

"Guess Ami aint a freak, then."

Mai blinked at that and then looked Makoto up and down. "Oh, I get it,  
one freak trying to stick up for another."

"Yup!" Makoto agreed, "being tall makes me a freak." She let her  
bookbag fall to the ground and strolled forward. "Ami doesn't need me  
standing up for her, man. She's got a vicious temper."

"Temper? Her?" Mai scoffed. "Please."

"Nah, man, she does. Scares the hell out of me. I'm really clumsy and  
wouldn't last five seconds." She paused by Saotome and suddenly, her  
foot was planted against the side of his knee. "I'm not careful, I not  
only hurt myself, I hurt other people." She grabbed Sotome by the  
wrist, pulled his arm back, then planted her other hand just above his  
elbow and shoved downwards while kicking his injured leg out from  
under him. "See?" She planted her foot on his elbow and bent down.  
"Dude. I'm so sorry. Totally my bad. Here, you need a hand up?"

"No!" No, I'm fine!" Saotome's voice had gone up at least three  
octaves out of sheer terror.

"Cool." Makoto straightened again, pushing down on his elbow with her  
foot as she did. "It really harshes my consciense when people get hurt  
around me, you know?" Mizuhara charged forward, reaching for Makoto,  
but she only sidestepped, caught one outstretched arm between her arm  
and head, and threw him to the ground. "Sorry, man." She pulled him to  
his feet, whipped him around and sent him flying into the wall, face  
first. "'scuse me, really." Mizuhara slumped to the ground and stayed  
there.

"Who the hell are you?" Mai demanded.

"Aw, man, you mean I forgot to introduce myself? Jeez. Where is my  
head today?" Makoto actually made a formal bow. "Makoto Kino, pleased  
to meet you."

Hizuhara turned pale. "Makoto Kino? The youngest triple black belt in  
Japan?"

"That's what they tell me. I don't worry about labels, you know?"  
Hizuhara actually turned and fled, leaving Mai alone. Makoto grinned.  
"Don't know how it happened, myself. Big, clumsy, freak like me  
getting a black belt. Weird, you know?" She reached out and yanked the  
bokken from Mai's hand. "So yeah, I'd steer clear of Ami if I were  
you, dude. She'd beat you up, and then I'd have to come visit you and  
hospitals give me a major case of the downs." Makato slammed the  
bokken against the wall, breaking it in half. "Oops!" She let the  
halves fall to the ground. "Sorry about that."

Mai stood there, mouth agape and Ami suddenly realized that Mai wasn't  
that scary at all. Ami was actually taller then her. It was only Mai's  
agressiveness and her gang that made her look so big and scary. Mai's  
eyes narrowed. "Fine then, freak," she sneered at Ami. "Go off with  
your pet dyke. She won't be around all the time you know." She turned  
on her heel and stalked off.

"Dude, so much hate in that chick," Makoto observed. She looked over  
at Saotome and Mizuhara, who were slowly sitting up. "Man, if I was  
you guys, I'd steer clear of her from now on. She's trouble and I'd  
hate to see you get into trouble, y'know?"

"We know! We know!" they chourused. "We appreciate your concern for  
our well being!"

"Awesome. C'mon, Ami, let's go or we'll miss the bus." Makoto  
retrieved her bag and led Ami away.

"Th-than-thank y-ou," Ami said when they'd reached the bus stop.

"Makoto shrugged. "Dude, it's shrine day. Does a girl some good and  
girl, you need good."

Ami blinked. "Shrine day?"

---------------------------------

Rei's grandfather on her father's side ran a Shinto shrine out on  
Cherry Hill. Once a week, Rei and Usagi made the journey to help out  
around the shrine. Their Grandfather was beginning to feel his age and  
his apprentice, a wandering musican, was only barely more competant as  
a handyman then as a priest.

So, Usagi and Rei came down to help out, and Minako and Makoto usually  
tagged along. Rei was even training as a shrine maiden.

"Rei totally digs the rituals and stuff," Makoto told Ami as they  
climbed the stairs to the shrine itself. "Usagi's only here 'cause  
it's Grandpa, y'know? And Minako goes where Rei goes."

"Wh-What about you?" Ami asked.

"There's this awesome garden near the temple. Totally restores balance  
to your mellow." She produced an MP3 player from her bag. "Major  
groove time." She wandered off, whistling.

Ami stood there in the courtyard, wondering what she should do now.  
Doctor Hinako Mizuno M.D. PhD viewed religion as an outdated social  
crutch that was only present because of misguided nostalgia. Shrines  
were to be respected for their historical value, but were otherwise  
worthless.

"I'm told this shrine is almost a thousand years old." Said Artemis'  
voice from her left shoulder and Ami jumped. "Sorry." Artemis had  
abandoned his robes and now wore a suit with no tie and a long black  
coat in place of the jacket. A circular wide-brimmed hat sat on his  
head and he wore rounded sunglasses low on his nose. He'd tied his  
hair back and looked perfectly relaxed.

"R-r-r-really?" Ami asked.

"Mmm-hmm. The tree it's dedicated to is supposed to be even older.  
Come to think of it, I think I was born around here somewhere." He  
turned. "In fact . . . yes," he pointed at a rocky hill in the  
distance. "That's the Bul'dani watchtower, so that makes this hill  
Magiester Hus'sunann's old guest house, which puts my house over  
there." He paused. "When did they put a river in?"

"T-the hill is a g-guest h-house?" Ami asked.

"Oh yes. It was a cutural quirk of the Imperium. If you terraform a  
planet so it can support life, like we did with Mars, you can build on  
the surface. But if the planet is already capable of supporting life,  
you need to build underground, to merge your cities with the planet as  
much as possible." Artemis adjusted his sunglasses. "I think we were  
all just closet enviromentalists, to be honest." He began walking and  
Ami automatically fell into step beside him. "Beryl's attack either  
obliterated the few exterior structures or they covered themselves  
with shields to hide." He waved at the rocky hill he'd called a  
watchtower. "See how that one rounded formation on the hillside looks  
a bit too regular?" Ami nodded. "And if you look really close, it  
almost seems how there's a horizonal crack at the midway mark and a  
vertical line from the top that intersects, but doesn't cross it?"

"S-s-sort of. I-I th-think."

"That's the defensive and concealment spells at work. That watchtower  
actually predates Serenity's grandfather by a few eons. It was a  
tourist attraction when I was a child. Still kept in working order, of  
course. Too many people remembered the times before King-Emperor  
Malanikai founded the Imperium and wanted to be prepared." He sat down  
on a bench. "I'm glad Makoto brought you here, Ami, I want to talk to  
you. It's about what happened at the mall today." Her emotions must  
have showed on her face because was quick to continue. "No, no. I'm  
not throwing you off the team. I just want to make you an offer."

Ami sat down next to him. "Of-offer?"

Artemis nodded. "You control water, Ami. Of all the Senshi, you have  
the widest effect when you use your powers. Water is everywhere, as  
you well know. In the air, in the ground," he paused. "In people."

Ami stared at him in horror. "I-I-I-I-I-"

"I know you wouldn't. Not intentionally. But when you lose your  
temper, you are capable of violence on a potentially cataclysmic  
scale. Your powers are still new and you were limited to the mall's  
water supply and you still wrecked it. Imagine what you could do with  
a lake, or the sea. What if you got really mad at someone?"

Ami's face paled and even her hair seemed to be a few shades lighter.

Artemis nodded grimly. "Exactly. You need to be able to harness your  
anger. That's what I want to talk to you about." He looked at the  
great tree. "Beryl will be beaten someday. After that, the Imperium  
will need to be rebuilt. In the old days, every Senshi was also a High  
Mage. Serenity thinks, and I agree, that of all the girls, you have  
the potential to be a phenomenal High Mage and someone will have to  
lead the Academy when I'm gone."

"M-m-me?"

"Yes. Especially since part of being a High Mage is the control and  
channeling of emotions, which you could benefit from." Artemis laid  
his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not asking for an answer now. Just  
think it over." Ami nodded and Artemis stood. "Just come to the  
command center when you've decided." He flickered and vanished.

Ami sat there and thought until the sun began to set.

-----------------------------

That Night . . .

As the sound of the teleport echoed in the silence of the command  
center, Serenity activated her interface to see who it was. She wasn't  
completly surprised.

"Hello, Rei," Serenity said gently.

"Hi," Rei looked edgy and seemed to be filled with restless energy.  
She was wearing her nightgown and a thin silk robe.

"Can't sleep, can you?"

Rei shook her head. "I want to be out. To do . . . something. I  
feel . . . called."

"It's the Zord," Serenity told her. "It has a partner now and it wants  
to fly."

"Can I?"

"Normally, Artemis should be here to guide you," Serenity smiled. "But  
I think I can manage," she added with wry humor.  "Do you remember how  
to get to the hanger?"

Rei nodded and practically bolted out of the room. It wasn't until she  
had reached the hanger, morphed, and leapt into the Zord's cockpit  
that she realized what she'd done. And yet, the shock faded as she  
felt the pilot's chair adjust to her body and a sense of rightness, of  
belonging, filled her.

"Don't enjoy that bond too much. The Zords have been known to asorb  
pilots who get too asorbed in the bond," Serenity told her and Rei  
blinked, wondering if Serenity was teasing her or not. The compartment  
was big enough for exactly one person. A recling chair with a crystal  
orb on each arm and that was it. No other visible controls. "Place  
your hands on the orbs and relax into the bond," Serenity instructed.

Rei did so. "Wow." The cockpit arround her vanished, to be replaced by  
a view of the hanger bay and then she became the Zord.

It was the only way to describe it. She could feel her body, yes, but  
she was the Zord. She was the Zord and the Zord was her and the sky  
was calling. She made a noise in her throat and Serenity laughed.

"Walk out of the bay and turn to your left, I'll get the hanger doors  
opened. You can have a few hours and then you'll need to return. If  
you're seen, it could comprimise operations. Stay out to sea and at  
high altitude.

"Sure," Rei replied as she walked out of the berth. She was so close  
to being able to spread her wings again.

There was a creak and a grown and the left wall began to part down the  
middle as the doors opened. No, doors was an understatement. There  
were several doors, each several centimeters thick. Then she saw the  
sky and all other thoughts vanished.

Wings spread and she was aloft, joyous laughter bubbling in her throat  
as she soared high above the earth. She wheeled, she turned and she  
rolled. She was free. No family. No school. No demands and  
responsibility. Just the call of the sky and the wind. She reveled in  
it, luxuriated in it.

"REI!"

She jumped in her chair as Serenity's voice blasted out of the com.  
"What? An attack?"

"No, no. But it's time to come in. It's only an hour until dawn."

"What?" Reflexivly, she looked at her wrist, realized she wasn't  
wearing her watch and looked to the east instead. This high up, she  
could see the faint light of the sun over the curvature of the earth.  
"How long was I up there?"

"Six hours. I warned you that the Zords tend to asorb their pilots if  
they sink too far into their bond."

"You're speaking metaphorically, right?"

"Well," Serenity's voice turned thoughtful. "We never did find the  
last Yellow Senshi . . ." Then Serenity laughed. "Oh, the look on your  
face! Yes, mostly metaphor, but there is always the chance of a pilot  
bonding so completly with their Zord that their conciousness actually  
leaves their body and moves to the Zord permanently."

Rei nodded and then fixed that fact firmly in her mind. Now that she  
knew the danger, she would never fall prey to it. "I understand."

"Good. Now come home. The Zord knows the way."

Rei haded back towards Japan. She would be tired beyond belief today,  
but it was worth it.