Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Never Alone: a reimagining of Episode 111 ❯ Part Three: Sacred Guardian Awakening ( Chapter 3 )

DISCLAIMER: Obviously, I don't own Sailor Moon or any of her companions. Also, as with "Not Without You," this is intended to use the names and situations from the North American dub, not the original Japanese. Thus, I have used the NA names, not the original names. So please don't get on my case for the use of the NA dub names - that was done deliberately.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have taken some serious creative license because... because I felt like it! Sailor Antares is a character I've been trying to write for a very long time, and this was her debut in fiction. If I ever get back into this anime, I may actually finish the story I'd planned originally with Sailor Antares, but as it stands now, that's not likely to happen.

  NEVER ALONE:
A reimagining of episode 111 (North American dub)
by Joanne Calypso Blessing (sirbartonslady)
first published May 2002 PART THREE: SACRED GUARDIAN AWAKENING

Sailor Pluto knew the moment the Kaze and Mizu had settled completely once again within their host bodies, for the Kouri surged with joyous powers. They were complete.

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune materialized, held upright by their Guardians as the powers of the Purity Force drove the crystals from the talismans and returned the crystals to their rightful places in the hearts of the Senshi.

Slowly Michelle Kaioh, Sailor Neptune, and Amara Tennoh, Sailor Uranus, roused, bewildered.

"The talismans--" Uranus gaped at the talismans suspended before them.

"I guess there's no victim after all, then," Neptune said softly.

"Welcome back, my sisters," Pluto said regally.

"It's you! " Uranus exclaimed. "The Senshi from the visions!"

Pluto nodded. "I am the Reformation Warrior, the Champion of Time. I am Sailor Pluto. I am the Kouri. You are the Warrior of the Earthquake, the Champion of Wind, Sailor Uranus. You are the Kaze. And you are the Warrior of the Oceans, the Champion of the Sea. You are Sailor Neptune. You are the Mizu. We are the Senshi of the Outer Solar System."

Uranus and Neptune spared a look at each other, and for the first time, the bond of intense love between them was unmistakable. Then both reached up and gripped the talisman in front of each.

The powers of the Purity Force reached out from each in wild arcs until at last the tendrils caught each other and formed a pyramid. Then the Purity Force manifested in--

--the Purity Chalice--

Light years away, inside the silent shrine of Cor Scorpii, the Heart of the Scorpion, the Flame of Eternity spasmed suddenly, as if a sudden wind had glanced across it.

Eternal Guardian Antares, guardian of the shrine, opened her eyes from her timeless inertia. She looked up to the black obsidian orb atop the titanium Staff of the Lifeforce.

*What disturbance?*

The Purity Force. The Chalice.

*Being summoned? A millennium already? Ah, where does the Time go?*

Through the Gates of Time.

*I know that, silly! Stop being clever!* Antares stretched her limbs. Sitting motionless, adrift in visions abound for a millennium, tended to make ancient bones stiff.

Perhaps one shouldn't be inactive for such long stretches of time?

*Oh stop it.* Antares favored a glare at the Staff, *I know full well the consequences of inertia. A little stretching and these limbs will be as good as new.*

Naturally.

Antares heaved herself to her feet, glancing around her throne to orient herself: to her left, the Staff of the Lifeforce, struck into the marble floor to keep it upright, near enough at hand to be touched if necessary; to her right, the stone hearth containing the Flame of Eternity; over the hearth, the Mirror of Clarity; before her, the tiny Fountain of Vitality...

One might want to take a sip from the fountain to restore one's youthful vitality before making such an arduous journey.

*I'd planned to. I must look like a perfect horror.*

...or perhaps a mummified corpse...

"All right, that is quite enough!" Her voice broke free of the voice box, but sounded like a badly scratched record. A finely tuned instrument such as the voice often went to dust after long periods of disuse.

One might want to capture a glimpse in the mirror? If one has the stomach for it?

Antares bit back another retort. Arguing with the spirit within the Staff did no good. It seemed to like to argue.

Stopping before the hematite Mirror of Clarity, Antares sighed with dismay. A rotting corpse, indeed! Not a bad description. Nothing but skin and bones! And not much to be said for the papyrus-thin sheath of flesh, at that!

Stooping, she immersed her hands in the sparkling waters of the fountain. The life-giving tisane made short work of restoring her hands to their original vitality. Then, scooping up the water with her hands cupped together, she splashed her face and hair, taking little drinks here and there in between splashes. She felt her skin grow taut as it filled out and tightened, returning to the color of health. Her body was renewed with energy. Dipping her fingers into the nearby shallow bowl, she took a quick swallow of ambrosia and nectar to sustain her.

Then she walked over to the mirror. Her hair had grown whiter still. She was uncertain Transformation would return it to its original blackness this time.

One shouldn't speculate.

*Point taken.* Antares reached for the Staff, and as her fingers closed around its sturdy titanium body, she felt the surge of power. From beneath her feet the flames came roaring up around her. Her floor-length mantle of hair was jetted straight up by the force of the blast. Fingers of energy combed through the tresses, painting them with color as her body was enribboned and her powers were awakened again.

Lifting the Staff from its foundation, hefting its familiar weight, Antares smiled, pleased at her reflection. Her hair was as black as the depths of Chaos, save for the one white streak from her left temple which she had always had as a Senshi, but was only noticeable when she was fully transformed into Sailor Antares.

"Sailor Antares is back."

Look out, Milky Way.

"Very funny, stick-in-the-mud."

Sticks and stones...