Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Newage Zodiacs ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

She was surrounded by stars.

Hi's gaze moved over the inky blackness dotted with brilliant white dots all around her and she sighed at the feeling of incredible peace. She wasn't alone here, there were twelve other presences floating with her and she knew that they would be there for her no matter what happened. Then they were moving, they were hovering over the moon. There was a ball going on down on the surface, everyone was dancing and happy. Suddenly the light went out and there was darkness and screaming. An attack. People were dying and the group of minds knew their bodies were too far away to provide any help. They flew back anyway, but met a wall. Betrayal, someone had killed them. Blackness and pain. Suddenly a silver white light appeared and with it the return of warmth and the promise of rebirth.

Hi sat bolt up right with a gasp. She was wearing her normal nightclothes of sweatpants and a muscle shirt and her hair fell is a tangled riot down her back. But she wasn't where she should be. She was looking out at the Earth for amidst ruined pillars on the moon and she vaguely recognized that it looked like it had in the twentieth century before the ruins of the moon kingdom had been discovered and the cities had been built in their place.

Slowly she stood up, realising that she must still be dreaming and padded barefoot through the dust. As she slipped around a pillar she saw a young boy sitting on a pile of stone. He appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen but his outfit was strange. He was all in black, black leather like pants and a tight muscle shirt with a rounded neckline. He wore black boots and his black hair fell short around his ears with a part down the middle. He looked up to her and his chocolate brown eyes held an expression of infinite sadness. Then he smiled and her heart twisted at the sight.

"Hi-chan." He said, getting up off the rocks and coming over to her.

"Do I know you?" She asked, confused at the sense of recognition.

He brushed his hair back off his forehead with a laugh and she was surprised to see a diamond with a cross connecting the four points glowing with a faint silver light on his forehead. "Of course, you just don't remember me yet." He sighed, the sadness returning. "I miss you all so much. It's so lonely here, and I can't be alive again until you all remember your pasts." He seemed to be fighting with himself. "But you all seem to be so happy just living." He sighed and stared off into space. "You must awaken though. The danger is coming and if you can't stop it there won't be a future for you to be happy in. I hope you'll forgive me Onee-chan." Then the sign on his forehead turned red and turned into her birth sign, Aries. "Gather the others my sister, I'll see you soon. Now wake up."

Slowly Hi's eyes opened as she found herself in her own bed at home. "Weird dream," she mumbled seeing the clock on her desk showed only five am. An unholy hour. Today was the day of the ball and she had only fallen into an exhausted sleep an hour ago. Groaning, she rolled over and fell into a dreamless sleep.

She woke up slowly next morning and blearily opened one eye to stare at the clock before realising it was already afternoon. Ai had turned her radio on and it was blaring music at way to loud a volume to sleep through. Hi started to pull the pillow over her head when she realised it had to be a weekend since her mother hadn't woken her up before now but Ai grabbed the pillow away. "No you don't!" The younger girl exclaimed.

Hi slowly opened her other eye to glare at her way too awake friend. "It's only 12:15, I was up late, go away." She mumbled.

Ai shook her head with a laugh. "No you don't Hi-chan, you tell me you're not a morning person but it's not morning anymore!"

Hi let out a long suffering sigh and sat up, reaching for her brush before she noticed the bag on the floor and the two dresses hanging off the door. "It's today?" She asked, waking up a bit more.

Ai laughed again and nodded, taking the brush from her friend to comb out the tangles Hi had obtained while sleeping. "Yes it is and if left to your own devices you would sleep through the whole ball!"

Hi made a face and refused to answer, stumbling off to her slightly cold shower as soon as Ai finished on the tangles.

All too soon it was six o'clock. The two girls were dressed up and Hi smiled at herself as she twisted around to look at her reflection in the mirror from different angles. The dress she had settled on had seemed to draw itself to her. Both girls had always been into zodiac signs ever since they met. Hi was an Aries and her dress was made of a silk of such a dark red that it appeared black in the bodice and top of the skirt. However as the skirt went down to the floor the silk lightened into flame patterns of a red matching her hair and eyes at the hem. She wore a silver chain belt with an Aries sign hanging from the centre around her waist and a matching necklace. Her hair was faintly curled from all it's time spent it braids and fell loose down her back.

Ai looked as beautiful as always. Her dress was of the same material as Hi's except it was in a rich golden colour a bit darker than her eyes. The hem of her dress had delicate white hearts made of lace sewn along it. Her necklace and chain belt were both made of gold and had her zodiac sign, the scales of Libra on them. Her hair had been curled and the top half had been captured in a clip.

Hi frowned, remember the boy from her dream and how her zodiac sign had appeared on her forehead but she shrugged it off. She dreamt about the zodiac symbols fairly often, the only thing she couldn't understand was the clarity with which she could remember his features. She sighed. She would think about it later on, for now they had to get to the ball before they missed something.

They arrived at the ball and moved along the steady line of people. Most all people around the Princesses age had been invited as well as important people and dignitaries. By the time they got into the ballroom it was over half full, music were playing and people were dancing while they waited for everyone to show up at which time the royal family and Senshi would come down of the platforms to mingle.

Hi stood on tiptoe, craning her neck to look at the Senshi. "Wow," she murmured softly.

The royal family were on the middle platform, Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion were seated on their thrones. Princess Usagi stood off to the left wearing a pretty pink dress that matched her unbound hair and young Princess Usako sat in her purple dress with some of the other kids. Even though it was Usagi's eighteenth birthday, five year olds didn't want to interrupt their playtime.

With Usako was a young blond girl of about six, Sailor Venus's daughter, Hana. Blue haired 3-year-old Aki was playing with some blocks with the 2-year-old brunette, Megumi. Phobos and Demios, Sailor Mars' nine year old twins were standing as far apart as they could get from the younger children, trying to pretend they were grown up's in their matching dresses. The four Senshi themselves stood on the platform on the other side of the kids.

"Ai-chan look!" Hi gasped as she turned her attention back to Usagi. Standing next to Usagi in a beautiful aqua gown was none other than Nijima. Next to Nijima was Sailor Neptune and as Hi stared between the two she suddenly made the connection that they were sisters. Between Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus stood Milo in a velvet sky blue dress with a chain made of alternating symbols of Uranus and Neptune embroidered around the waist. Hi sighed as she remembered the two Outer Senshi had adopted a girl of three years the same year she had been born. "I think we made stronger enemies than we thought." She mumbled absently.

Ai nodded, making the connections faster than Hi had. "Kaiou Nijima, Tomoe Milo. Both born here. As well as Xinifall Climm who has the same mother as Sailor Saturn but was raised English and the younger man must be Yukino Doku, the boy Sailor Pluto has raised."

"Really?" Hi asked, letting her gaze pass briefly over Xinifall's elegant if slightly rumpled suit and tie before settling on Yukino Doku. His blond hair was still in its flyaway look however he offset it by dressing in a pair of forest green pants and a matching loose silk shirt. Hi's lips quirked up in a grin. He looked bored out of his wits.

Soon the room was full and Ai was whisked away from Hi to dance; however no one came over to Hi. Hi shrugged it off with a sigh, knowing most guys found a tall lady with red eyes and hair to be slightly disturbing. It was what she expected anyway and she was glad to be here all the same.

Moving through the crowd Hi found a vantage point and watched the patterns of people on the dance floor.

"You look almost as bored as I am." Said an amused voice beside her after a while.

Hi tore her gaze away from the entrancing patterns on the dance floor with a start and a faint blush rose to her cheeks as she recognized Yukino Doku and she remembered the last time they had met.

"Yukino-san." She mumbled faintly.

He laughed. "You found out who I was huh? Please call me Doku, and you are?"

"Miraino Hi, Hi-chan to everyone." She replied with a wry grin.

"Interesting and very apt name." He said as he offered her one of the two glasses he held. "How did you get it?"

She accepted the glass with a smile of thanks. "My eyes were red when I was born just like Ai-chan's were gold. Both our parents said they felt almost like someone had chosen our names for us."

He opened his mouth to reply to that when there was a crash of shattering glass followed swiftly by screams. They both spun around to stare down at the floor below them.

There were these things standing amidst the shattered glass of one of the windows. They were human shaped but as far as Hi could tell made of solid crystal. "Sorry to crash the party but we have to wipe out some lives." One of them said in an oddly hollow voice as they crystal beings started to walk towards the platforms where the children were still playing.

"I've got to go help." Doku said quickly. "Stay hidden or run." He ordered and quickly started down the stairs to push his way through the people frantic to get out of the room. Hi watched him go and saw the guards and many of the other palace kids and Senshi pushing their way towards the now crying children.

"Ai-chan." Hi mumbled looking for her friend in the crowd. As soon as she saw her friend she ran down the stairs and made her way to the other girl. "Lets go."

Ai started to protest then shot a look at the crystal people and nodded running out of one of the doors with Hi at her side. "Where are we?" She asked when she realised they had somehow gotten separated from the crowds and were standing in front of an open door.

"They armoury?" Hi asked curiously before stepping into the room. As soon as she saw what was in there she paled. "The Senshi's weapons." She whispered. "There has been peace for so long they stopped keeping their weapons in their dimensional pockets."

Ai made what sounded like a muffled sob. "We've got to help." She said sounding desperate.

Hi nodded agreement as she felt the same pulling and the same need to help. "We'll bring them the weapons." She said as she reached for Sailor Mars' Flame Bow. However at that moment something strange happened. She felt an odd tugging at her neck and gasped as her necklace suddenly broke, the small Aries symbol floating out and attaching itself to the a wooden cabinet behind the bow. There was an audible click and then the small door swung open.

Hi stared at the long slim box resting in the cabinet. It looked like a box that a necklace or watch would come in but was longer. Suddenly an odd feeling came over her as she remembered her dream with startling clarity. <I>"You must awaken though. The danger is coming and if you can't stop it there won't be a future for you to be happy in. I hope you'll forgive me Onee-chan Gather the others my sister, I'll see you soon." </I> That was what the boy had said, and suddenly Miraino Hi knew why she had had that dream.

With a smile she reached for the box. "I understand now."

"Hi-chan?" Came Ai's confused voice from behind her. "What's that?"

"It's our destiny Ai-chan." Hi replied calmly as she opened the box.

Inside the box lay a row of pins, one for each of the zodiac signs. Without hesitating Hi reached for the sign of Aries and picked it up.

As soon as the small pin left the box it erupted into flames. Hi heard Ai's startled scream but the warm heat surrounded her and she didn't try to reassure her friend. The flames twisted around her body, filling her with a power she had never known, and the knowledge that now she could help protect them.

When the flames cleared, Hi was holding a tall glaive, taller then her own body. She was dressed in a red leather outfit, much like the one the boy had worn in her dream. Hers however, was shorts instead of pants and her shirt had a v-neck instead of the rounded one he had sported. She wore a choker or a darker red with an Aries sign on it as well as the matching belt with symbol. Her gloves were white to her wrists that ended in dark red bands and her ankle boots had the same colouring. Her hair was back in its normal braid and the symbol for Aries glowed faintly on her forehead.

Sailor Aries smiled and turned to look at Ai. The brown haired girl was as pale as a ghost but as her eyes focused on the box in Aries' hand she slowly smiled. "I think I know." She murmured and reached out one hand.

As soon as Ai's hand touched the Libra pin beams of gold light spilled from it. Aries turned her eyes away and waited for the light to clear. Ai was wearing a twin outfit as Aries, but hers was gold trimmed with light blue and her symbols were of Libra. She carried a tall staff that was crowned with a set of scales.

"Lets go." Libra said, her eyes clouding with worry. "We've been too long."

Aries nodded and closed the box slipping it into a dimensional pocket for safekeeping. Then the two Soldiers ran from the room back towards the throne room.

When they were got then, both paled slightly. The room was empty of all the people that had been dancing before, all that was left was the crystal people and a few people that were lying around hurt and bleeding. Aries forced herself to study the scene with an unemotional eye. The children were huddled screaming and crying around the thrones. Some crystal people were holding the King and Queen back and most of the Senshi were unconscious. Sailor Saturn was holding a silence wall around the children guarded by Xinifall, Nijima, Milo and Doku.

In a quick move the four were knocked aside and slammed into walls and powerful blasts were shot into the silence wall until both it and Sailor Saturn collapsed.

"Leave them alone!" Sailor Moon cried, pushing the younger children behind her.

"Ah but we want to kill you as well Child of the Moon." The crystal person who appeared to be the leader smiled evilly.

"Iie! Usagi get out of there!" Neo-Queen Serenity yelled.

Sailor Moon shook her head and started to summon an attack when the twins pushed past her. Phobos and Demios held up small scrolls and started chanting while the crystal people laughed. "These two will be first." They murmured as they started towards the black haired girls.

"I wouldn't touch them if I were you." Sailor Aries said coldly as she slowly walked across the room.

Distracted for a minute, the crystals turned to face her and Libra while Sailor Moon pushed Phobos and Demios behind her again. "And you think you can stop us? Who are you anyway?" One of them smirked.

Aries smirked. "Children of new age mythology, I am Sailor Aries! Full of the flaming wrath of war!" She told them, spinning her glaive and stopping it when it was horizontal across her body.

"I am Sailor Libra and I will weigh your souls for good or evil!" Libra seconded, holding up her staff.

"The guardians." Many of the crystal people whispered, stepping away from the two girls. "They are already awake."

"You will not hurt any of the Senshi the future will need." Aries proclaimed and touched one finger to the symbol on her forehead. "Revenge Flames Strike!" She yelled and pointed to one of the lesser crystal people. The flames leapt from her outstretched finger and slammed into the crystal person who shattered on impact.

"You will not stop us!" The leader snarled, then all of them disappeared.

Aries shrugged and looked to the children clustered behind Sailor Moon. "Don't worry we will guard you. It's our destiny."

"Who are you?" Neo-Queen Serenity asked as she struggled to keep from running to her daughter.

Aries and Libra looked at each other and smiled. "We're guardians." They said together, and turned and walked from the room.