Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Brooch ❯ Chapter 10

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Brooch
By Jason C. Ulloa


Chapter 10


Orphan's Quarters, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 8:52 P.M.


Usagi sat solemnly in Setsuna's office as she waited. After Ami rushed to bring Fumizuki-sensei there,
she had fallen into a brooding silence, breaking it only once to ask if Ami wanted to get some rest,
having been awake for way too long after the previous night's crisis. The mute girl had declined with a
quick shake of her head and Usagi had left it at that. Ami had been too tired to notice her friend's
succinct acknowledgement and sat down on Setsuna's couch with her hands folded calmly in her lap.

There had been times when Usagi wanted to suggest to Ami that she should go get some sleep, especially
when saw the girl's head bob as she stubbornly fought to keep herself from nodding off. Still, she could
understand if she was worried about Setsuna. She certainly was.

Pulling her gaze away from Ami as she was about to nod off yet again, she glanced down at the desk in
front of her, where her accursed brooch sat as if to spite her. Among the many resentful thoughts she
held toward the offending trinket, her ire was mainly focused on the fact that she was almost certain
that Setsuna was rendered unconscious due to contact with her brooch.

She knew that the damn thing always seemed to make her angry whenever she held it. What did Setsuna feel
when she held it? As far as she could tell, she didn't seem angry at all. In fact, she seemed almost...
sad. She knew that if she pushed past the anger she felt whenever she held the brooch, there were other
emotions there, sitting almost out of reach, but it was the anger that was paramount. It was the anger
that she always felt, above everything else.

She pushed herself out of the chair and walked over to the doorway. She didn't want to dwell on thoughts
of that malevolent trinket, so it was better that she not have to look at it. Still, the notion lingered
at the back of her mind as she stared down the hallway toward Setsuna's room.

Why did that same brooch that was supposed to grant her the power to destroy the Dark Kingdom and save
humanity, also have to induce such dark and hateful emotions inside her? Ever since she first held that
brooch, she had regretted promising to keep it. She hated feeling emotions like those, so she would try
to ignore them, but ever since she came into possession of that thing....

"Ami-chan...."

The mute girl jerked up, blinking from being half-asleep, and stared wearily at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to sleep, Ami-chan?" she asked again out of concern. "You've been
falling in and out of sleep for a while now."

Ami shook her head and yawned, putting one hand in front of her mouth. After yawning, she grimaced
sheepishly at the look Usagi gave her.

"You sure about that?" she asked skeptically.

She turned her gaze toward the door momentarily, then gazed back at Usagi worriedly.

"I'm just as worried about Setsuna-sensei as you are, Ami-chan, but you really should get some sleep,"
she chided gently. "You have had a very long day."

She glanced down at the ground, considering. After a few moments, she looked back up and smiled tiredly
as she held up her right hand and held her thumb and index finger apart by a few millimeters.

"I suppose that's the best I'm gonna get," Usagi said with a small, tired laugh as she turned back into
the room after giving Setsuna's room another quick glance. As she turned back toward Setsuna's desk, her
gaze fell back upon the brooch sitting idly near the end. She had almost forgotten about that thing for
a moment.

She recalled her previous train of thought and came to a decision. Her expression fell as she slowly
approached the desk and reached out for it.

"Ami-chan...," she began as her hand closed over the brooch. As usual, the feelings of anger, rage, and
the desire for vengeance stirred in the back of her mind. The lust for vengeance was stronger as of late,
more noticeable than when she had first held the bauble. Undoubtedly, this was due to certain recent
events.

"Ami-chan...," she began again as she picked up a pad and pencil, then turned back toward the mute girl
and approached her with her brooch held in the other hand, "can I ask you something?"

The blue-haired girl blinked at her curiously as her gaze moved between her and the brooch in her hands.
A small, confused frown slowly curved her lips as she tilted her head inquisitively.

Usagi sat down beside her on the couch and placed the brooch down between them. "There's something I'm
curious about, Ami-chan. Could you pick up this brooch for a moment and tell me what you feel when you
hold it?" She then handed her the pad and pencil and sat waiting.

Ami set the pad and pencil in her lap as she gave Usagi another curious look, then reached down and
picked up the brooch. The moment she picked up the brooch, feelings of anger and fear began to roil in
the back of her mind. Amongst those dark emotions, a blanket of self-hatred enfolded the entire gestalt,
almost leaving a bitter taste in her mouth from the sharp rancor she never realized she had.

"What are you feeling, Ami-chan?" Usagi asked as she worriedly observed her friend as Ami's eyes
remained transfixed upon the brooch in her hand. Her eyes seemed to spasmodically waver back and forth
from bitter glaring to widening in trepidation and dread. Inwardly, she pleaded with all the gods, kami,
spirits, whatever, that she didn't suffer the same shaking fit that Setsuna had.

Slowly, Ami seemed to get ahold of herself as she slowly placed the brooch back down on the couch and
picked up her pad and pencil. 'That was... much stronger... than the last time I held it,' she wrote in
quivering handwriting as her hand slightly trembled while writing.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and started writing again. This time, the pencil didn't shake
as she wrote.

'While I held that brooch, I could feel something stirring in the back of my mind, as if something was
reaching inside of me and pulling up things I had thought long forgotten. Emotions that I thought I had
full control over.' She paused as she closed her eyes and took another deep breath, then let it out
slowly, as is to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to write.

'There were many feelings that holding the brooch invoked,' she continued. 'However, as far as I could
tell, I could feel three main emotions - Anger, Fear, and Hatred.'

"Anger, fear, and hatred?" Usagi read out loud, surprised. Those three emotions seemed almost alien to
the usually cheery and friendly girl she knew as Mizuno Ami.

Ami smiled wanly. 'I don't blame you for sounding surprised. However, as mystifying as it may seem, I do
experience those emotions on rare occasion, as I'm sure you do as well.'

"Heh, heh.... Point taken."

She nodded as she considered Usagi for a moment. 'Usagi-chan, would you mind if I ask why you wanted to
know what I felt when I held that brooch?'

Usagi's expression grew somber. "I wanted to know if it was just me," she said quietly as she stared
solemnly at the ground. "Ever since I was given that brooch, every time I've held it, I've felt all this
anger and rage burning inside me. When I first saw you hold my brooch, I wondered if you were feeling
the same things that I did when I held it."

She looked up to see Ami writing something on her pad. When she finished, Ami showed her the pad with a
thoughtful look on her face. 'Has anyone else held it?'

"Just Setsuna-sensei," she replied. "But she collapsed before I could ask her what she felt." Her lips
pursed in a tight, worried crease. "I've been wondering if the reason she collapsed was because she held
the brooch, but if that was true, how come I'm fine? Why just Setsuna-sensei?"

'I think I have a theory of what happens when you hold the brooch, but I can't be too certain as the
only people who have held it are you, Setsuna-sensei and myself.'

"You mean, you think you know what the brooch is doing to me?" Usagi asked, completely astonished.

Ami wrote quickly. 'Mind you, this is only a theory. I can't be certain unless I have more evidence to
support my hypothesis, so don't take this as an absolute fact, all right?'

Usagi read over the words several times. "Huh? What's a 'hypothesis', Ami-chan?"

The mute girl blinked once, then again, while giving the blonde girl a blank stare. 'I'm making an
educated guess, Usagi-chan,' she explained as she showed her the pad while sighing.

"Oh," she said, nodding understandingly. "So, what's your guess, then?"

'I think the brooch isn't forcing these emotions onto us, otherwise we'd be feeling the same emotions,'
Ami explained. 'Although we both feel anger, I don't feel your rage and you don't feel my fear or
self-hatred.'

"Self-hatred?" Usagi interrupted as soon as she saw her writing out the word. "That wasn't the word you
wrote out last time, Ami-chan," she pointed out.

Ami blinked again and flipped back a few pages. She then flipped back to look at the word she wrote down
a few moments ago. Her eyes widened when she finally realized what she had written down. She quickly
erased the word and started again. 'I guess I'm more tired than I thought,' she wrote down and
half-grimaced. 'I didn't mean to write that down. It was just a mistake, that's all.'

Usagi's expression turned doubtful. "Are you sure, Ami-chan?" she asked.

'Don't worry about it, Usagi-chan. Aren't you more concerned about the brooch?' Ami glanced over at the
brooch for added emphasis.

"Well...," she hesitated.

'Anyway, I think that instead of the brooch forcing these emotions on us, it's drawing out the emotions
from us. The emotions that the brooch invokes in us is what we are feeling deep inside, no matter how
much we want to deny or bury them.'

"I don't know...," Usagi said after staring at the words on the pad for several moments. "I just find
that hard to believe." Her expression hardened slightly as she looked up to face Ami. "This brooch is
supposed to save humanity, right?" she asked, thrusting a finger at the brooch in an accusatory manner.
"Then, why is this doing such a horrible thing? Not only to me, but to whoever holds it?"

Ami remained unmoving for a long time as she stared down at the brooch sitting between them. 'I don't
know, Usagi-chan. However, the only thing that I can say is that if it were up to me, facing my own
darkest emotions would be a small price to pay for the power to free ourselves from the Dark Kingdom.'

Usagi was about to reply to that when the sound of a door opening a short distance away caught her
attention. Almost as one, both girls leaped to their feet and gathered at the doorway to see the door to
Setsuna-sensei's room open up enough to let Fumizuki-sensei through and close the door behind her.

"How is Setsuna-sensei, Fumizuki-sensei?" Usagi inquired fretfully.

"She's just exhausted, that's all," she told the girls calmly. "Meiou-sensei probably collapsed due to a
lack of sleep combined with overexertion. She's not the only case we've had today, you know."

Both Usagi and Ami sighed in relief. "So, Setsuna-sensei is all right?" Usagi asked.

"She's awake right now, but she needs to rest, preferably for the rest of the night," she reported
evenly. "If you want to visit her to reassure yourselves that she's all right, then you may. However,
please keep your visit brief." She paused for a moment, then turned to Ami. "And one more thing. Ami-san,
your mother wanted me to tell you to get some sleep. There's no need for you to be keeping yourself awake
right now."

Ami nodded understandingly.

"Good. I'll let your mother know I've passed on her message." With that, Fumizuki-sensei left.

After Fumizuki-sensei turned the corner, Usagi quietly knocked on Setsuna's door. "Setsuna-sensei?"

"Usagi-chan?" Setsuna's voice called from inside the room. "Please, come in."

"All right, I'm coming in, then," she replied as she opened the door.

Setsuna's room was mostly dark due to the lamp by her bed being the only light on in the room, but there
was enough light to make out a few details. The room was about the same size as Ryoku's, as far as she
could tell, and was slightly more decorated. Where Ryoku had a simple, single piece cloth as a window
drape, Setsuna had laced curtains. The comforter on her bed was quilted, unlike Ryoku's simple cloth
blanket. Their couches were similar, except Setsuna had a small knitted blanket draped over hers. There
was also a large stand-up mirror in her room, which she suspected was an identical match for the one in
Ryoku's room.

However, the biggest difference was in the fact that there were a few sketches and paintings hung up on
the wall here and there. Ryoku's walls were completely bare except for where he kept his sword. Despite
the poor lighting, she could tell that the artwork wasn't hers; they all had the look of a child's
painting or sketching. She guessed that they were pieces of art from the various children who lived here
at Orphan's Quarters.

"So, did you come to visit me, or admire the decor?" Setsuna asked wryly as she slowly sat up in her bed.

"Are you sure you should be sitting up, Setsuna-sensei?" Usagi asked worriedly as she went to the side of
her bed. "After all, Fumizuki-sensei did say you needed rest."

"I know," she replied. "I'll be fine, Usagi-chan. Besides, there's something I wanted to talk with you
about." She then glanced behind Usagi at Ami. "Ami-chan, could you do me a favor and bring that broken
staff from my office in here, please?"

"What did you want to talk with me about?" she asked, bewildered as Ami left for Setsuna's office.

"Your brooch."

"My brooch?" Usagi repeated while raising a single eyebrow.

"Yes," she replied simply, then went quiet until Ami returned with the two broken pieces of Setsuna's
staff. "Don't leave," she said as Ami was about to leave. "This concerns you, too."

Usagi and Ami exchanged perplexed glances. "What are you talking about, Setsuna-sensei?" Usagi asked,
confused.

"Let me ask you something, Usagi-chan," Setsuna said seriously as she laid the two pieces of the broken
staff together on her bed, adjusting them so that the two pieces fit together. A thin, but noticeable
crack ran jaggedly down the middle of the staff. "Does this staff seem... familiar to you?"

Usagi was about to answer negatively, when she realized that the staff did seem remotely familiar to her.
She didn't know from where, but she was almost... no, she was certain that the staff was somewhat
familiar.

"I'll take it from your lack of response that it does," Setsuna continued as she gazed intently at Usagi.
"The reason why I'm asking you this is because of your brooch.

"When I held your brooch, I could feel something from deep within my mind being drawn out. It was small
at first, but it kept building upon itself, even after I put the brooch down." She paused for a moment as
she considered the staff beside her. "The emotions I felt were oddly familiar, but I cannot for the life
of me understand why I would feel so horribly sad and lonely."

"Maybe it would be better if you didn't remember?" Usagi suggested. "I know I wouldn't want to remember
something that would make me incredibly sad and lonely."

Setsuna smiled patiently. "I know it seems strange, Usagi-chan, but I need to remember. I feel that there
was something very important that brought me here. Why else would I have this strange staff? Ryoku-san
says that it could be used effectively as a weapon, if it wasn't broken, but I can hardly imagine myself
as the fighting type," she added with a small laugh.

'Did holding the brooch help you to regain any of your lost memories, Setsuna-sensei?' Ami inquired,
showing her notepad with a curious cast to her expression.

"There is one thing that I can recall now," Setsuna mentioned. "However, I'm not sure if it's anything
that could really help me regain my memories."

"What is it?" Usagi asked, curious.

"A name."

"A name?"

"Yes, although I'm not sure of where I know the name from." She paused for a moment as she gave Usagi and
Ami a scrutinizing look. "I wonder if either of you might know?"

"Why us?" Usagi asked, gesturing toward herself and Ami.

"When I first met you, Usagi-chan, I thought you seemed slightly familiar," she explained. "It was the
same thing with Ami-chan when I first met her." Setsuna paused ruminatively. "Now that I think about it,
I've had the same sense of familiarity with five other people, as well."

"Who's that?" she asked, curious.

"Rei-chan, Minako-chan, Mamoru-san, Ryoku-san and his sister, Makoto," she replied, raising a finger as
each person was named. "With each person, I dismissed the thought since it was the first time I met them,
but for some reason, with everything that's happened lately, now the idea doesn't seem quite as
farfetched. Especially after having felt the strange power of your brooch." Another pause. "Have either
of you ever heard of the name Endymion?"

Both Usagi and Ami blinked at the name. "Endymion?" Usagi repeated, her eyebrows furrowing
introspectively at the sound of the name.

Setsuna's head tilted inquisitively as she looked from one girl to the other. "I take it you've heard of
the name before?"

Usagi and Ami exchanged glances long enough for Ami to shrug her shoulders slightly. "Same here. I'm not
really sure."

"Well, if you do, maybe you know him from where I know him. If I could remember, that is," she added
dryly. "At least, I'm pretty sure that Endymion is male. The name sounds masculine, at least."

Ami placed a hand on Usagi's shoulder as she stood up and showed Setsuna her notepad. 'We should be
leaving soon. We promised Fumizuki-sensei that we would keep our visit brief so that you can rest.
Besides, I also promised that I would get some rest as well since Mother is worrying about me.'

Setsuna smiled as she handed the notepad back to Ami. "Usagi-chan, would you please take my staff back to
my office for me?" she requested.

"Sure," she agreed as she picked up the staff. "By the way, are you sure this is metal? It feels so
light."

"I'm not really sure, myself," she admitted. "If I had my memories back, I could probably tell you, but
right now, your guess is as good as mine."

"I see," Usagi replied, letting the matter go for now. "I hope you don't mind if come to see you
tomorrow."

"I'm not sick, Usagi-chan," Setsuna laughed. "I'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

"All right," Usagi nodded as she and Ami headed out of the room. "Good night, Setsuna-sensei."

"Good night, Usagi-chan, Ami-chan," she replied as Usagi closed the door behind her.


_________________________________________________________________


Infirmary - Rei's Room, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 6, 1992. 10:26 P.M.


Rei grumbled quietly to herself as she stared up at the darkness. She hated this. There was nothing to do
in this room but sleep and stare at the ceiling, and she had already slept for most of the day. Now she
was mostly awake and bored out of her mind. Getting back to sleep would be a problem because she wasn't
tired and she wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet, so she couldn't just go and take a leisurely stroll
through the Lower Grounds.

It wasn't the first time that she wished she had a book with her.

Soft footsteps quietly approached outside her door, catching her attention. It was probably one of the
nurses making his or her rounds through the Infirmary, checking on all of the patients. Well, perhaps
they could get her something to read, or something. Anything to help alleviate her boredom.

"Hello?" she called out as soon as the footsteps started to pass her door. "Can you hear me? Who's out
there?"

"Rei?" Ryoku's voice replied as he quietly opened the door and peeked inside. "What are you doing up? I
thought you'd still be asleep by now."

"I'm bored, Ryo-kun," Rei sighed as she sat up in her bed. "There's nothing to do but stare at the
ceiling and sleep." She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and regarded him with a thoughtful
look. "What're you doing up, anyway? I thought you'd be asleep by now. You know, after everything that's
happened last night."

"I just wanted to check up on Mako-chan. Ami said that her skin color is a little less pale now, so she
should finally wake up any time now."

"She will?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly in elated surprise.

"Yeah," he nodded, smiling. "I just came by to visit her and see how she was doing. That's when I came
by your room."

Rei smiled in the faint moonlight streaming from her room's open window. "Well, are you just going to
stand there in the doorway, Ryo-kun?"

"I'll come in, then," he replied as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He reached over
to the lamp next to Rei's bed to turn it on, but stopped as she placed her hand on his.

"It's a clear night tonight," she said as she turned away slightly. She hoped she wasn't blushing; she
certainly felt like she was. "The moonlight is really beautiful tonight, don't you think?"

Ryoku regarded her for a moment before pulling his hand away from the lamp. "All right," he said as he
moved to sit down next to her. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Much better," she said as she leaned back against the wall at the head of her bed. "Especially since
Hotaru-chan healed most of my injuries. However, Mizuno-hakase told me that despite my miraculous
recovery, there's still going to be a scar," she added as she lifted the side of her gown to allow him
to see the bandage on her right side.

"I'm just glad that you're still alive, Rei," he said as he leaned back against the wall with her. "I
don't know what I'd have done if you'd died."

Rei turned toward her window and gazed up at the starry night sky. "Mizuno-hakase told me about what
you did, Ryo-kun," she said quietly as she let her left hand rest over the bandage on her right side.
"I just want to thank you for saving my life."

"Don't worry about it," he said as he stared up idly at the ceiling. "What matters is that you're alive.
That's all I care about."

"Mmm," she nodded as she edged a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He glanced
down at her from out of the corner of his eye, but didn't move away.

"It's funny," she said, break the small silence that had fallen between them.

"What is?"

"There's a part of you inside me now," she said, her cheeks reddening slightly. "It almost feels like
we're connected somehow."

"You know, usually when a girl says something like that, she means it in a different way," he mused
introspectively.

Rei blinked. "Oh? How so?"

"Think about it."

She was silent as she thought about the possible meanings to her previous statement. But, what else
could a girl mean if there was a part of another person... inside her?

"Ryo-kun, you pervert!" Rei exclaimed as she pushed herself off of him and smacked him across the
shoulder lightly.

"I was talking about when a girl becomes pregnant," he replied, slightly amused at her reaction. "What
did you think I meant?"

Rei dithered for a moment before folding her arms across her chest in a huff. "Hmph!" she snorted
vexedly as she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder again. "You're an idiot, you know that?" she
said quietly.

"How could I forget? You're always reminding me," he replied with a soft chuckle.

"That's because you ARE a big idiot," she replied as she moved closer to him and looked him straight in
the face. "You could've died back there, Ryo-kun."

"It was a battle, Rei," he replied flatly. "Death is always a possibility."

"How can you say that with such a straight, calm face?" she retorted heatedly. "This wasn't like all the
other times you fought against Youma! You really could've died out there!"

Ryoku's eyes narrowed. "Oh? How was this battle different?"

"Do you remember what I used to tell you about my ability to foresee certain things?"

He frowned as he searched his memory. "Vaguely," he replied. "You said something about getting glimpses
of possible futures or something along those lines?"

"More or less," she allowed. "For the most part, when I get a glimpse of the future, if I can understand
what the vision is showing me, then it will almost certainly happen.

"Last night, while I was helping everyone maintain the barrier, I received a vision," she said as she
grasped Ryoku's shoulder and buried her face into his chest. "I knew from my vision that if I didn't
reach you in time, you would die. However, if I managed to reach you in time, someone else would die in
your place." Tears slowly began to fall from her eyes and soak into his shirt.

"Rei...," Ryoku murmured consolingly as he stroked the back of her head.

"I knew that person would die, but I didn't care," she lamented. "All that mattered to me was that you
would still be alive. I hated myself for thinking that way." She gave a bitter, rueful laugh. "Maybe
that's why the other person who would've died turned out to be myself. I guess that's what I get for
being selfish enough to want someone else to die instead of you."

"Don't say things like that, Rei," he said, raising her head to look her in the eyes. "You know that's
not true."

"I wish I could agree with you, Ryo-kun," she sighed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well, look at it this way. You're still alive, right?" he pointed out. "If you were right, you'd be
dead right now. Maybe you just misinterpreted what you thought your vision was telling you?"

Rei was quiet for a moment as she considered his words. "I suppose... you could be right. But-"

"Are you trying to blame yourself?" he asked quietly. "If you want to blame someone, blame the Dark
Kingdom. They're the ones who are killing us. Not you."

"I know that, Ryo-kun," she said flatly.

"Then, don't beat yourself up for something that isn't your fault," he chided.

"I know that, you idiot!" she shot back. "That's not why I'm upset! I'm upset because I could've lost
you forever! I love you, dammit!" Before Ryoku could react, she grabbed his head and pulled him down to
her in a quick, passionate kiss. His senses kicked in a moment after she released him, causing him to
jerk back hard enough to fall off the bed.

"Maybe you should think about that, the next time you fight the Dark Kingdom," she said as she tossed
her head, causing her hair to flail about her head. "Maybe then you won't be so eager to risk your life."

Ryoku held a hand up to his lips where Rei had kissed him. He couldn't believe she had just told him
that she.... "Rei.... You...?"

"What? You want me to say it again?" she asked, staring away from him with her arms folded. "No way. It's
too embarrassing."

"You don't say?" he deadpanned.

Rei replied by turning around and sticking her tongue out at him as he stood up and sat down on the bed
again. "What about you?" she finally asked after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Me?" he asked with an uneasy grimace and sighed. "You know, I've almost been expecting this to come up
sooner or later."

"Expecting what?"

He shook his head sadly as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "You, Ami and Minako." He hung his
head as he saw Rei's surprised expression out of the corner of his eye.

"You knew all along."

"I'm not blind, you know," he replied, staring remorsefully at the floor. "At first, I just wanted us to
be friends. I didn't want to have to worry about hurting any of your feelings by choosing one of you over
the other two. I have other things to worry about without adding personal problems into it. But now...."

"But now?" Rei prompted.

"I think I've dug myself in too deep," he said as he stood up. "It's getting late, Rei. I need to get
some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

"We WILL talk more tomorrow, Ryoku," she replied in a tone that brooked no argument.

Ryoku looked back toward her from the doorway, his expression dead serious. "Yes, we will," he agreed
solemnly and left, quietly closing the door behind him.


_________________________________________________________________


Main Gates, Former Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 12:41 A.M.


Jadeite stepped out into the courtyard of the former Imperial Palace and looked to the group of Mages
waiting for him, each with a small group of Scouts chittering nervously to each other as they sat in
their respective groups with their handlers. A passing glance told him that quite a few Scouts hadn't
returned from their scouting missions, meaning that they were either still conducting reconnaissance of
the situation at the Hikawa Jinja, or that they had been destroyed by the same energies that kept the
denizens of the Dark Kingdom from entering Shishu-held areas.

The true nature of the barriers still eluded him, much to his annoyance. Based on varying reports
received from his Scouts and from his slaves while held under compulsion - just to make sure they didn't
give him false information - the humans still had no understanding of magic. The closest things they had
to magical power was the life energies they referred to as either 'spiritual power' or 'ki', depending
upon who you asked.

The life energy known as 'spiritual power' seemed to be faith-based, much like Nephrite's faith in the
power of the stars. Their belief in the greater powers of higher beings seemed to allow them to tap into
the powers of those beings that they served. At least, that was the conclusion that he had come to after
listening to several former priests, monks, and other such people who had been taken captive when their
homes were conquered. The existence of these so-called 'higher beings' seemed to almost parallel their
belief in the powers of their queens, Beryl and Metallia, except that the queens didn't provide them with
their power. Furthermore, the powers that they believed in were tangible; he had personally seen both
Queen Beryl and Queen Metallia. He hadn't an inkling as to the various beings whom the humans claimed to
serve, but he could not deny the palpable existence of the many barriers that existed throughout the
world, effectively keeping their forces out of Shishu grounds unless they could overpower them. And that
took a lot of energy to accomplish. The very idea that there were powers that were at least on par with
Queen Beryl's and Queen Metallia's never did sit well with him. It was fortunate that those powers only
seemed to manifest as those accursed barriers, as facing those powers in battle was something that he
would prefer to avoid at all costs.

The life energy known as 'ki', on the other hand, was less prevalent than its counterpart. Unlike
'spiritual power', 'ki' was physically-based and was found more commonly amongst the ranks of Shishu,
though a few normal people knew of it and practiced it. 'Ki' was a method of using one's life energy to
physically augment one's strength, speed, skill, or even one's endurance. That ability would've served
well in the creation of the various Youma races, except that negative energy didn't work the same way
that human life energy did. Various experiments in using human life energy to augment Youma physical
qualities fell flat as the conversion of the positively-charged life energy to the negative energy that
Youma thrived on caused the energy to lose a good deal of its potency, which was why they needed so much
human life energy in the first place. He had yet to discover a method to simulate a human's generation
and use of 'ki', as most of a Youma's energy came from external sources.

Regardless of the sources of these powers, they were not magic, though their 'spiritual power' came
close. Magical powers came from drawing upon mana and using the power in accordance with the type of
power that you have drawn from. For example, he drew his powers from the dark mana of the Home Dimension,
which was why his magic was dark in nature. If the humans could figure out how to draw the mana from
their planet, then perhaps they could figure out how to use magic, but he doubted they had the
understanding of mana flows to do so.

Still, that didn't help to explain why his invasion army had been destroyed or why magical energies had
been detected at the battle site.

"Report," he ordered as he came to a stop before the lead Mage.

"Master, we have not been able to gather enough information to learn the source of the magical energies
that were detected on the battlefield," the Mage reported nervously.

Jadeite scowled. "Explain."

"Most of our Scouts have only been able to penetrate the barrier as far as the battlefield," the Mage
explained. "The Scouts that did get farther were eventually destroyed by the barrier's power. However,
we did manage to discover the nature of the enemy's magical power."

His scowl lessened in severity. "That could be just as useful. What is it?"

"The magical energies we've detected are Lunar in nature," the Mage reported.

"Lunar?" he exclaimed as his head jerked back slightly in surprise. "How could that happen?" he mused
as he turned away from the Mages and looked up in the direction of the moon almost directly overhead.

"That can't be possible," he muttered to himself as he glared in the direction of the Hikawa Jinja. "We
destroyed the Moon Kingdom millennia ago. Serenity is dead. There is no way that any trace of her kingdom
could've survived, especially this long."

"What are your orders, Master?" the lead Mage inquired as it bowed. The Mages behind it bowed as well.

Jadeite turned back toward his Youma and considered them for a moment. "I need to learn the identity of
the source of the Lunar magical energies. Send a battalion of sentries and a company of Hunters to the
Hikawa Jinja.

"Also I want four Mages to accompany them, however, one of the Mages will not participate in the battle.
Instead, that Mage will bring a unit of Scouts and observe the battle while watching for any signs of
Lunar magical energy. Once the source is identified, send a retreat command and return. The objective is
to learn the nature of our new enemy, not to conquer. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Master," the Mages chorused obsequiously as they bowed.

"Good," he said as he turned to leave. "Gather your forces and depart at dawn. It will be easier to
identify your enemies if you can see them."

"Yes, Master."

"Very well. Dismissed," he replied as he headed back into the palace. He was looking forward to returning
to bed, as well as to his warm-bodied companion that was quietly waiting for him. The report could wait
until later.


_________________________________________________________________


Silver Mist, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 6:01 A.M.


Minako woke up earlier than usual, which surprised her to no end. She had expected to sleep until at
least ten o'clock, especially because of all the Senshi training she did last night, but she didn't feel
tired in the slightest.

She got out of bed, showered and brushed her teeth, then dressed quickly and jogged down the stairs to
the common area. As she looked around, she saw that her parents still hadn't gotten up yet, along with a
good deal of the rest of the occupants of the Silver Mist living quarters. Only the kitchen staff was up
and about, preparing breakfast for everyone.

"Good morning, Minako-chan," one of the kitchen staff members greeted as she waved from the kitchen.
"You're sure up early. Are they having you come in early at the Garden?"

"No, Gotoh-san, I just woke up early today," she replied, smiling cheerily.

Gotoh Hiromi was in charge of the morning kitchen staff. She was a tall woman with a more muscular frame
than most women her age. In fact, she was stronger than some of the boys half her age. Despite this, she
was a gentle woman with graceful movements. Most of the kitchen staff respected her because of her
pleasant nature and the way she could be firm without being forceful. That, and she was by far the best
cook in the entire kitchen staff, morning, evening, or night shift.

"That's a change," she replied with a laugh. "Usually one of us has to wake you up just to get to work on
time."

"Not today," Minako replied with a quick shake of her head. "Besides, Midou-san said that we don't have
to come in until eleven today. I'll probably have to work late to make up for the lost time, though," she
added with a rueful sigh.

"Well, enjoy your time off when you can. That's what I always say." She turned back to her pot and
stirred it for a moment before turning back to Minako. "Are you going out?" she asked, noticing her state
of dress.

"Yeah. I just dropped by to see if breakfast was ready before I head out."

"Well, everything's not ready yet," she replied. "If you want to wait an hour or so, it should be ready
by then."

"But I had something I wanted to do right now," Minako sighed disappointedly. "I guess I could just come
back later...."

Hiromi clicked her tongue as she placed her hands on her hips. "I hope you're not trying to put a guilt
trip on me, young lady."

"Oh, of course not!" she replied, shaking her head vigorously as she waved her hands. "I was just hoping
that I could get something to eat before I left. I'll come back later if everything isn't ready yet."

"Hold on, Minako-chan," Hiromi interrupted before Minako could turn around and leave. "Even though
breakfast isn't completely ready yet, I think I can find something for you. We can't have a young lady
like yourself going out without having something to eat. Now, go sit down and I'll have something brought
to you."

"Yes, Gotoh-san," Minako agreed as she went to sit down at one of the long tables in the dining area.

There were a few vases placed equidistant from each other and the ends of the tables, each with a small
cluster of pleasant-looking flowers. It was Autumn, so the flowers were slowly turning brown. Soon, there
wouldn't be any flowers in the vases until Spring. They had a few artificial flowers, but they didn't
smell as nice as the real ones.

Before long, someone came by with a medium-sized bowl, a tall cup, and a glass pitcher full of milk.
"Nice to see you up early for a change, Mina," the short-haired young girl said with a teasing smirk as
she placed the bowl and cup in front of her. "At least now I don't have to kick you out of bed today."

"Good morning to you, too, Hikaru-chan," Minako grinned at seeing her best friend. "And I'm not that bad,
you know."

"I know," Hikaru said as she placed the glass pitcher down and sat down next to her friend. "But
sometimes you sleep so heavily that I might as well kick you out of bed."

Sorano Hikaru had been her friend since before her family had been enslaved by the Dark Kingdom when
she was nine years old. When Ryoku saved her from that slave cell over a year ago, she had been surprised
to find her best friend working in the same living quarters that her family was assigned to. Hikaru had
a hard time of recognizing her due to her usual long hair being almost completely cut off, but she
eventually remembered the face of her old friend. At least, now her hair was finally longer than Hikaru's.

"How're things, Hikaru-chan?" Minako asked as she looked in the bowl. It was dry cereal. She quietly
sighed to herself. Well, at least it was something to eat. It was a good thing that there was a bowl of
sugar sitting amongst the condiments that sat in small groups along the table. She grabbed the pitcher of
milk and poured it into the bowl of cereal and the cup, then reached for the bowl of sugar.

"Oh, they're all right," she replied as she handed Minako a pair of spoons, one for her cereal and one
for the sugar bowl. "They're keeping me pretty busy in the kitchen staff. Gotoh-san says that I have a
little bit of talent for cooking, so she's going to start teaching me how to cook so I can help out more."

"So, have you found a boyfriend, yet?" Minako inquired as she dumped a heaping spoonful of sugar on her
cereal and started stirring with her other spoon.

"No, not yet," she shrugged. "I've been a little too busy to look for one. How about your boyfriend,
Mina?" she countered. "Have you told him you love him, yet?"

Minako almost choked on a spoonful of cereal. "N-no," she gasped in between coughs. "Not yet. Look what
you made me do, Hikaru-chan! I almost died!"

Hikaru tried not to roll her eyes. "Maybe you should worry about your own love life before worrying about
mine. You don't want to lose Ryoku-san to Rei-san or Ami-san, do you?"

"Of course not...," she murmured as she stared down at the bowl in front of her.

"Mina, I know you love him," Hikaru said as she stood up and reached for the glass pitcher. "But it's as
you've told me, 'Sometimes you've got to be the one to make the first move. Otherwise, he'll never notice
you.'"

"But Ryoku-sama already notices me," Minako replied flatly. "I want him to love me."

"I suppose the same thing applies, then," she told her as she turned to leave. "I need to get back to
work. If you want to talk some more, I'll be around, Mina."

"Thanks, Hikaru-chan," she replied as she turned back to her cereal.

"Always, Mina. And good luck." With that, she headed back to the kitchen.

Minako quickly finished her breakfast and brought the dishes to the scullery. On her way out, she waved
her thanks to Hiromi and jogged out of the living quarters. It was barely dawn, so the sky was a dull
orangish red with the sun not even peeking over the horizon yet. It was a clear day, but since it was so
early, it was a still cold outside. She had on a yellow-orange jacket and brown trousers, so she wasn't
too cold.

She quickly jogged through the Lower Grounds, heading out toward the Outer Grounds. The practice session
she had undergone yesterday was still fresh in her mind, so she wanted to practice by herself for a
couple of hours before returning to work. After all, if she was going to fight Youma, she needed to know
how to use her powers effectively. Their lives could depend on how well she could use her power. She
wanted to be ready, just in case.

As she passed by the Orphan's Quarters, she saw Hotaru leaving the living quarters almost as if she was
sneaking out. "Why're you up so early, Hotaru-chan?" Minako asked as she came to a stop nearby.

Hotaru almost jumped at the sound of her voice, but calmed as soon as she noticed who it was.
"Minako-chan! You startled me!" she breathed in relief.

"Are you sneaking out, Hotaru-chan?" Minako asked slyly.

"I didn't want to wake anyone, so I left without telling anyone," she told her as she closed the door and
went to join her. "It's okay, though. Ryo-niichan knows where I'm going."

"And where are you going?" Minako asked.

Hotaru said nothing as she reached into one of her pockets and brought out her transformation wand. "I
want to practice," she said seriously.

"You, too, huh?" she said as she gave the young girl a lopsided smile. "Well, I guess we might as well
practice together, then. You don't mind, right?"

The young girl shook her head. "Let's go, Minako-chan!" she said as she headed toward the Outer Grounds.

"Well, she's sure energetic today," she remarked to herself as she went after the young girl. "Hey! Wait
for me!"


_________________________________________________________________


Near Lower/Outer Grounds Border, Hikawa Jinja, Tokyo, Japan.
August 7, 1992. 6:22 A.M.


"Venus love-me chain!"

Sailor Venus flung her hand toward a cluster of building rubble lying in a small pile near the side of
an old abandoned road. The chain of energy lashed out at the pile like a whip cracking and destroyed the
small pile. Additional experimentation combined with pieces of memories from her past as Veis, Princess
of Venus, revealed to her that her Love-Me Chain could, indeed, function as a whip, allowing her to grab
and bind things in her chain. It was a very useful trait, although she still thought the attack had a
silly name.

"Hey, Hotaru-chan, did you ever learn anything else besides your Silence Glaive Surprise attack?" she
asked of the younger Senshi.

"I remember having another power besides that one and my defensive power, Silence Wall, but I can't
remember what it is," she replied. "When I asked Luna about it, she told me not to worry about it.
Artemis said that my Silence Glaive Surprise and Silence Wall is more than enough for me to be effective
at fighting Youma. Ryo-niichan said that he'd teach me how to use this glaive as a weapon," she added as
she held up her Silence Glaive. "I just wish I knew what it was that I was forgetting, so that I could be
of even more help to everybody."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Hotaru-chan," she replied. "If they say that you're doing more than enough,
then perhaps you're doing just fine. Just worry about doing what you can and that should be enough."

Sailor Saturn nodded. "I guess you're right, Minako-chan," she agreed as she turned toward the rusted
wreckage of an old overturned car and pointed her glaive at it after raising it into the air. "Silence
glaive surprise!" she shouted, causing a large shockwave to run along the ground and smash into the car,
completely destroying it.

"I don't see what you're complaining about though," Venus mentioned as she stared at the remains of the
destroyed vehicle. "It looks like you're powerful enough not to need any other attacks.

"Anyway, let me see your Silence Wall," she requested. "I wanna test it out, if you don't mind."

"Okay, Minako-chan," Saturn agreed as she spun her glaive in an intricate pattern which Venus assumed was
the rune for the attack. When she was done, she pointed her glaive into the air straight overhead.
"Silence wall!"

A dome of violet energy surrounded Saturn as she held her glaive overhead. "All right, Minako-chan.
Whenever you're ready."

"Right," she nodded and proceeded to draw the rune for her first attack. "Crescent Beam!" she yelled,
firing her attack straight at Saturn. The beam struck the dome and dissipated into nothing. "All right,
then!" she said as she drew her second rune. "Venus love-me chain!" The chain of energy whipped out from
her extended hand and struck the dome, but was deflected effortlessly. "Again!" she shouted as she flung
another chain at the dome, then another, and another. However, each chain was easily deflected away from
its target.

"I don't think I can hold it much longer," Saturn said as her arm started to waver.

"All right, Hotaru-chan," Venus called out. "Go ahead and drop it."

"That takes a lot out of me," Saturn gasped as she let the head of her glaive drop to the ground and she
started breathing heavily. "I think I need to practice that more."

"It's really effective," Venus remarked. "It could be really useful if we ever get into trouble. I just
hope that we don't have to use it too soon."

A small flash of dark green light caught the two Senshi's attention. "What was that, Minako-chan?" Saturn
asked as she stared in the direction from which the flash of light came.

"I don't know," she replied. "Could it have been a reflection of something? Maybe the sunlight shining on
some colored glass. The sun is rising, you know."

"I guess so," Saturn replied just as the light flashed again, accompanied by a second flash, then a
third. A small ripple could be seen running along the morning sky. "Did you see that, Minako-chan?"

"I saw it," she agreed, growing apprehensive. "I just hope it's not what I think it is. Wait here,
Hotaru-chan, I'm going to go check it out."

"I wanna go with you, Minako-chan!" she insisted anxiously. "What if it's another Youma invasion? You'll
need my help!"

"If it is another invasion, someone has to go warn everyone else," Venus told her. "It'll be better if
you go get help while I try to keep them occupied until you return with help. Neither one of us can hold
back an army by ourselves."

"I understand," she agreed reluctantly.

"Just be ready, Hotaru-chan," she told her. "I know I'm going to need your help if this is a Youma
invasion. I just hope that Usagi-chan's still asleep so we can try to get Serenity's help.

"Anyway, I'll be right back. I just hope we're worrying over nothing." With that, she leaped up to the
ruined rooftops of the dilapidated buildings to try and get a better look. From this height, she could
see that the flashes of light they had noticed where starting to come more frequently, causing numerous
ripples to spread across the barrier.

Worried, she rushed forward to get a better look. On her way across the rooftops, she spotted a single
individual wearing a Shishu uniform running along the ground below her, heading in the same direction.
"Hey, down there!" she called out, getting the man's attention. "You got something that lets you see long
distances on you?"

"Who...?" the man exclaimed as he came to a stop and looked up to see who was addressing him. "Sailor
Moon?"

"Not exactly," she replied as she leaped down from the rooftop. "My name's Sailor Venus."

"Sailor Venus?" the man repeated, confused.

"Listen, I don't think we have much time," she told him. "You noticed the flashing light from that
direction, right? Do you have one of those devices that let you see long distances?"

"You mean my binoculars?" he asked as he opened a pouch at his belt and brought them out.

"Yeah, those!" she said, nodding. "Can I borrow those for a moment?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," he replied as he handed her the binoculars.

"Thanks. I'll be right back," she said as she leaped back up to the rooftop and raised the binoculars to
her eyes and looked out toward the barrier.

It was just as she feared. She could see a trio of Mages flinging energy bolts at the barrier, one after
another. Behind them, a large sized army of sentries and Hunters lay waiting to rush in. From what she
heard of the battle last night, this army was significantly smaller, but it was still large enough to be
a problem, considering that neither Shishu nor the defenders from last night had rested for very long.

"What do you see up there?" the Shishu Blade called out from the ground.

"Trouble," she replied as she leaped down to the ground and returned the binoculars. "There's three Youma
Mages out there with a large army of Youma sentries and Hunters."

"Damn!" the Blade growled as he put his binoculars away. "We haven't even had time to recover yet! I need
to warn the others!"

"Please hurry," she told him as he brought out his flare gun. "I need to go warn the other Senshi."

"The other who?" he asked as he loaded the gun.

"The other Sailor Senshi, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Moon," she told him as she turned to leave.

"There's more people like Sailor Moon?" the Blade asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Venus nodded and winked confidently. "There's only three of us right now, but we hope to find the
rest of our fellow Sailor Senshi soon." With that, she leaped back up to the rooftops and started running
back the way she came as a flare rocketed up into the sky and exploded.

"Hotaru-chan, we've got trouble," she said as she dropped down near the waiting Senshi. "It's another
invasion. I'm guessing that Jadeite thinks we're too weak to fight off another attack, so he's sending a
smaller army."

"Is that what that flare was for?" Saturn asked, her expression worried.

"Yeah," she nodded grimly. "Listen. I want you to go back to the Orphan's Quarters and get Usagi-chan.
Hopefully, she'll still be asleep and Serenity will be awake, but if not, then you've got to make sure
that you let Ryoku-sama know that we'll be out here. We don't want Setsuna-sensei and my parents worrying
about us, right?"

"I understand," Saturn nodded and started running back toward the Lower Grounds.

"I just hope that Serenity is awake," Venus said to herself as she started running back toward the Outer
Grounds. "We're going to need Sailor Moon."


=================================================================


Author's Note: So, the first battle of the new Sailor Senshi will be coming soon. Not only that, but
things are slowly coming to a boil for Ryoku, Rei, Minako and Ami. And what about Setsuna's sudden
recollection of the name Endymion? Does this mean that perhaps Tux-boy might start to remember things as
well? So, how will Shishu be able to pull off another desperate defense so soon after the last one? And
will Sailor Moon even be able to participate in this battle if Usagi is awake and Serenity isn't? Perhaps
things won't be so bad with twice as many Senshi as the previous battle, but these Senshi aren't
experienced in using their powers or fighting in a massive battle. We'll just have to see hope they cope
in the upcoming chapter. Next chapter will have Sailor Venus and Sailor Saturn joining the battle against
the Dark Kingdom's invasion.

Revision Note: I've changed Hikaru's family name from Torashima to Sorano, which is her official family
name from Codename wa: Sailor V. I just wish I could've found this out sooner....


Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko
Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended.

Questions? Comments? Anything?
Email: jasonulloa (at) hotmail (dot) com

Copyright© 2004, 2007 Jason C. Ulloa
All Rights Reserved.