Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Fire Witch ❯ Chapter One: Best Friends ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: trp0522 
A Rei & Jadeite, and Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion Silver Millennium story. Princess Serenity and Princess Rei of Mars are best friends and there is nothing they wouldn’t do for each other, however when one is abducted the other will risk her soul to save the other
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.16.2005 | Updated On: 01.27.2006 | Pages: 11 | Words: 11.2K | Visits: 421 | Status: Work In Progress
A Rei & Jadeite, and Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion Silver Millennium story. Princess Serenity and Princess Rei of Mars are best friends and there is nothing they wouldn’t do for each other, however when one is abducted the other will risk her soul to save the other
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.16.2005 | Updated On: 01.27.2006 | Pages: 11 | Words: 11.2K | Visits: 421 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, which is own by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha and Toei Animation
Author Notes: Hi, this is a Rei/Jadeite, and Princess Serenity/Prince Endymion AU Silver Millennium story. I might throw in a few other pairings... maybe. I also am looking for a beta reader. This is my first fanfic, and I hope you like it.
The Fire Witch
By trp0522
Chapter One: Best Friends
11:30 A.M. Local Time
Tsuki-Yumi, the White City Capital of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium
30thDay of the Month of Hyperion,
978thYear of the 3rdCycle
Within the Central Lunar Agrodome, two laughing girls about ten years of age ran across the lush green grass. Although they were polar opposites they were the best of friends.
The younger of the two girls, by a couple of months, wore a pure white dress. Her silvery hair was done up into a pair of ordangos with long pigtails trailing like twin ribbons dangling in the artificial wind.
Princess Serenity of the White Moon Kingdom turned to the raven haired girl next to her and inquired. “Rei-chan? What is it?”
Without turning her head, the Fire Senshi glanced out of the corner of her eye. Frowning inwardly at the paper thin security detail consisting of only six Lunar Knights and two detachments from the 1st Regiment of the Lunar Royal Guards.
“I just wish that the others were here,” Rei answered.
Minako the Princess of Venus and leader of the Senshi was recalled to attend a diplomatic gala at the request of her mother the Queen Eos the Goddess of the Dawn. While Ami the Princess of Mercury and Makoto the Princess of Jupiter was on a humanitarian mission assisting the victims of a plague that broke out on the Jovian moon of Europa.
“Yeah me too,” Princess Serenity replied as a melancholy mood began to take root in her eyes.
Princess Serenity found herself in a fierce and passionate hug and after a moments hesitation she return it with equal gusto. The Moon Princess found herself wondering, how the Martian Princess always seems to know when she was feeling blue and exactly how to cheer her up again.
“Feeling better?” Rei asked.
“Uh-huh,” Princess Serenity replied.
“Good you should not be sad, especially on today of all days.” Rei said.
“What do you mean, Rei-chan?” Princess Serenity inquired.
“Well today is the only day in the year when you are allowed to simply be yourself and perhaps even pretend that you are just an ordinary girl instead of the prim and proper High Princess of the Silver Millennium.” Rei continued as she emphasized the words prim and proper in an imitation of Luna, Queen Selene's court advisor.
“Yet even today… I am still surrounded by guards,” Princess Serenity said in a thoughtful voice and she rubbed her forefingers together. “Say Rei-chan, I have an ideal… Lets dismissed the guards and just spend the day together.”
“NO!” Rei exploded.
“I mean no Princess, after all if you dismiss the guards I would be too nervous watching for would be assassins, I would not have any chance to have fun too.” Rei said trying to explain her outburst.
“Oh Rei-chan, you don't have to look after me. I can take care of myself; I am not completely helpless you know.” Princess Serenity boasted.
“Serenity-chan, listen to me.” Rei began her tone deadly serious. “I am your Senshi. It is the sole reason why I was reborn, is to protect you.”
“Ok Rei-chan, I guess the guards can stay.” The Moon Princess relented with a sigh, not wanting to get into the same old argument with her senshi.
“Thank you Serenity, you wouldn't regret it I promise that we will have the best of times, so much so you would not even notice the guards again.” Rei vowed.
“Really?” The Princess Serenity asked still not sounding a hundred percent convinced.
“Of course Usagi,” Rei began as she used the Senshi's pet-name for their Princess. “Have I ever broken a promise to you?”
“Well… no,” Serenity began.
“I tell you what, I even promise not to loose my temper no matter how ditzy you act or how much you pig out. Now let us have a good time.” Rei pledged as she grabbed the Princess's hand and began leading her down the trail to the picnic site.
“Thank you Rei-chan.” Princess Serenity beamed, as she began hopping up and down in excitement, and thus lived up to her nickname, and as a consequence broke away from Rei's grip.
Suddenly Serenity stopped and exclaimed in epiphany. “Hey! That means you can't tease me or call me names!”
“That's true, but only for today mind you,” Rei conceded with a grin.
“…and you can't be mean to me,” the Moon Princess continued with a mysterious smile as she skipped along ahead of the lavender eyed girl. Serenity turned and said in a sweet voice. “Oh, Rei-chan? Race you to the picnic baskets and the winner eats the losers' dessert.”
And with that the Moon Princess dashed forward as if the fires of the inferno were hot on her tail.
“ODANGO ATAMA!”
* * *
“I can't believe that you broke your promise to me,” the cerulean eyed princess remorselessly teased her hot-tempered best friend. All the while taking full advantage of the other girl's oath.
“What? I did not! I have always kept my word to you,” the raven haired girl in the red dress objected. The girls were seated close together, facing each other, their legs folded with their knees touching and their backs leaning against the trucks of a pair of cherry trees.
“Yes, you did. You got angry and called me `odango atama'.” Princess Serenity playfully bantered as she stuffed a piece of cake down her mouth, smearing the chocolate frosting all over her lips.
“I was not angry,” the Fire Senshi insisted as the artificial wind shifted.
“Sure Rei-chan,” Serenity mocking agreed as the sakura blossoms began to fall around the girls.
“I was just surprised that you would use such a cheep trick to steal my dessert,” Rei pouted as Serenity snatched the last serving of Rei's dessert. The Princess of Mars had made arrangements that both Serenity and herself receive double serving knowing full well that the Moon Princess would quickly devour her own lunch and then proceed to mooch off of Rei.
“But it worked,” Serenity smirked.
Rolling her eyes, Rei took a napkin and dipped it in water, as she did so Rei inquired. “So how was the cake?”
“De-licious,” the odango haired girl blissfully answered.
Rei lean forward to clean her princess chocolate frosting covered face, when she suddenly stopped, the napkin falling to the ground. Rei quickly reached into her hyper-dimensional pocket retrieving her henshin pen. Taking a rapid glance around Rei noted that the area appear secure and was about to wave the nearest security team command by Corporal Tenedos over when Serenity interrupted.
“Rei-chan what is it?” The Moon Princess inquired.
“There is an evil presence nearby, stay behind me and run when I tell you to,” The Fire Senshi ordered.
“What? That can't be! This is the Moon Kingdom, we should be safe here; we are safe here.” Serenity protested.
Rei ignore her princess' outburst and turned to wave Corporal Tenedos' team over, when she noticed the security team was missing…
“MARS POWER! MAKE UP!”
Rei felt an adrenaline rush of power, as the remaining sparks of her divinity combined with the power of the planet Mars culminated in the fires of her transformation. Her clothes melted off and were replaced by a red and white fuku.
Where Rei the Princess of Mars once stood there was only Sailor Mars.
A small group of humanoid warriors leap out of the foliage hurling javelins at the Princess Serenity and Sailor Mars.
Sailor Mars recognized the reptilian warriors at once and what she was up against. These particular reptilian warriors were covered in russet colored scales with the heads of asps with the arms and legs of humans; they only wore short skirts and a loin cloth and of course their natural scale armor.
Sailor Mars placed her forefingers together like a gun and shouted.
“FIRE SOUL!”
A fireball shootout of the fingertips of Sailor Mars' hands and incinerated the javelins before the weapons could harm either her princess or herself. The fireball continued on to detonate in the center of the charging reptilian warriors sending flaming body parts flying everywhere. While the reptilian warriors on the outskirts became living torches as they flailed about in agony.
Sailor Mars did not stay and watch her gruesome handy work; as soon as the fireball departed from her fingertips Mars scooped Princess Serenity up in both arms, leaped away and began running a random pattern as more javelins flew passed them from various different angles.
“Rei-chan, what are those things?” Princess Serenity asked in a somewhat frighten voice.
“They are called Sar'tekh, Serenity-chan. Long ago on my home world there were a people who worship the Dark God Set,” Sailor Mars replied.
“You mean those things were once human? What happened to them?” The Moon Princess asked.
“During Sets' travels he came across a temple built by the ancients during the time when the Titians and their children, the Elder Gods slept. Something within that temple corrupted Set, for when he emerged from the Dark Temple he foreswore his oaths and his position as Protector of Mars. He used his new found dark powers to alter his followers into the Sar'tekh and raised the banner of rebellion against his brother-god Pharaoh Osiris.” Mars answered.
“And they still worship Set even after what he did to them,” Serenity naively inquired.
“I am afraid so Princess, the Sar'tekh looked upon their changed state as a sign of Sets' favor.” The Solder of Fire answered.
Serenity screamed as a flight of javelins flew out of the flora.
Sailor Mars ducked to her left as a javelin whooshed by her head its obsidian tip slicing through a few strains of Mars' raven black hair.
Another group of sar'tekh warriors charged out of the undergrowth, their poison tipped weapons drawn and hissing a war-cry in a dialect of Sar'tekh Sailor Mars wasn't completely familiar with.
With their escape path cutoff Sailor Mars leaped toward an outcrop of boulders.
Landing behind cover, Mars placed her princess in the safest spot she could find and said. “Stay down Serenity-chan.”
“FIRE SOUL!” Sailor Mars shouted, wiping out another batch of sar'tekh warriors and forcing the remainder to take cover.
She turned on her communicator and reported in a claim voice. “This is Sailor Mars; we have a security breach in Sector Eight of the Central Agrodome. I repeat, multiple sar'tekh warriors have breach Sector Eight of the Central Agrodome.”
“This is Knight Commander Ichino, what is the status of the Princess, Sailor Mars?” the image of a graying but muscular man in his late forties appeared on the communicator.
“She is unharmed Knight Commander, but we are surrounded and cutoff.” Sailor Mars replied.
“Thanks be to Selene,” Ichino breathe a sigh of relief. “Hold on Sailor Mars, we are on our way.”
Sailor Mars never waited for the reply for at that moment she dropped the communicator and fired off another Fire Soul.
“Serenity-chan, don't cry. I am going to need you to be strong; can you do that for me?” Sailor Mars asked with a reassuring smile.
“Y-yes Rei-chan, I will try.” Princess Serenity said, wiping off her tears with the back of her sleeves of her perfect white dress.”
“That's my princess,” Sailor Mars encouraged as she handed Serenity the communicator, which she had previously retrieved. “Now I need you to give Knight Commander Ichino a description of where we are and let me know when his men are approaching and from what direction, so I don't accidentally hit our own people.”
“Ok Rei-chan,” The Moon Princess nodded grateful that she could do something more than that of the traditional lunar role of a lady of her breeding and station, that is simply waiting for a knight in shining armor to save her.
“Rei-chan,” Princess Serenity began. “I-I wished I was strong like you.”
“Serenity-chan… you are stronger than me.” Sailor Mars confessed, she then turned and gave Serenity a smile that was somehow at the same time cocky, reassuring and teasing and added. “After all, I am a Martian and have you ever known a Martian to follow a weak leader?”
After that there was no more time for conversation, Sailor Mars spent the next fifteen minutes holding off the sar'tekh onslaught. Nonetheless Mars was tiring the fireballs from her Fire Soul attacks were no longer as devastating. While, flames and chocking smoke filled the landscape around the rocky outcropping that was once filled with lush plant life. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she noticed the glimmer of reptilian scale crawling through the undergrowth to her right.
“FIRE SOUL!” Sailor Mars shouted as the fireball sail from her fingertips striking the leader and setting the surrounding foliage aflame
“Rei, behind you!” Princess Serenity screamed.
Mars turned only to be struck in the shoulder by a well thrown javelin. The projectile was flung with a strength that it would have passed through the Fire Senshi and pinned her to the ground. Lucky, a Senshi's fuku is more than an impractical decorative uniform, its magical clothe is softer and more flexible then silk but at the same time offer more protection than plate armor. The fuku deflected most of the damage nevertheless the javelin hit home and imbedded itself into Sailor Mars' flesh... Spinning Mars around and tossing her roughly into the ground.
Like a dark specter of doom, the Sar'tekh warrior came forth from the smoke filled field and with a single motion grabbed the shaft of the javelin. Mars meanwhile, struggled to move as she fought the paralyzing effect of the poison.
Throwing his weight forward the Sar'tekh sent the weapon tearing deeper into the Solder of Fire's body until it wedged itself into bone.
Sailor Mars gritted her teeth in silent agony, as the Sar'tekh sadistically twisted the javelin. Using the projectile weapon, the Sar'tekh lifted the raven haired senshi into the air and watched her dangle like a speared fish.
“You have truly become pathetic Sssun Goddesss. You never ssshould have become sssenssshi… you ssseam to have become nothing more than a pale ssshadow of your old ssself. You ssshall die by my hand Sssun Goddesss and I ssshall offer your princesss to my Demon Goddesss.” The Sar'tekh taunted, before slamming Mars against a boulder.
The Sar'tekh warrior then made a mistake, repeating the same maneuver twice. Sailor Mars anticipated the veteran Sar'tekh warrior's next series of moves and broke the shaft using an open-knife hand strike.
Sailor Mars felled face first onto the rocky uneven ground. She was bleeding from a cut above her left eye, her ankle seemed twisted at an odd angle and Mars found it difficult to breathe. The Fire Senshi would venture to guess that she either cracked or broken a couple of ribs.
The Sar'tekh warrior stood over the lavender eyed senshi ready to skewer the girl in the back with the splinter point of the broken javelin, when suddenly a rock hit him in the temple.
The Sar'tekh stumbled, a couple of steps back before shaking his head clear. Turning the Sar'tekh found himself confronting a rather angry Moon Princess.
“Leave my Rei-chan alone!” Serenity demanded, as she began to pelt the Sar'tekh warrior with a barrage of marble sized pebbles.
Unfortunately Princess Serenity's remaining attacks were attacks weren't effective as the first one, for the vast majority of the pebbles bounded harmless off the Sar'tekh's natural tough scale armor.
The Sar'tekh confidently advanced on the Princess.
Serenity's true self, Usagi the bubby and ditzy normal girl who was only allowed to live one day out of an entire year, faded away and in her place wearing a determined and regal mask of pose and elegance stood a princess.
“Hold vile Sar'tekh, I am Princess Serenity of the White Moon Kingdom and High Princess of the Silver Millennium. I shall not allow you or others of your foul kind to further taint my beloved homeland any longer.” The Moon Princess, declared in an authoritative tone.
Surprisingly the Sar'tekh did stop, either compelled by some latent power that the daughter of the Moon Goddess Selene possessed or perhaps by curiosity at the Princess's sudden change of demeanor.
Princess Serenity raised her chin and looked down disdainfully at the Sar'tekh and continued. “…And how dare you destroy the Peace of the Silver Millennium, ruined the day of two girls enjoying a picnic and MOST IMPORTANTLY how dare you HURT MY SAILOR MARS!”
The Sar'tekh remained in a dazed Moon Struck like state in silence.
“…Drop your weapons and yield immediately or in the Name of the Moon, I shall punish you!” Serenity finished.
Finally breaking free of his trance-like-state the Sar'tekh raised his broken javelin, chuckled venomously and said. “Well ssspoken Princesss Ssserenity. But tell me how will you punisssh me? Your attacksss are ineffectual, your royal guardsss are ssslain or otherwissse occupied and your sssenssshi hasss fallen.”
The Moon Princess gave a mysterious smile at a spot behind the Sar'tekh's shoulder; with a confident nod of her head she took a full step back as she said. “That might be… nonetheless I did not underestimate Mars' determination to protect me.”
The Sar'tekh realized his mistake, he had forgotten what every warrior-apprentice on Mars, both Sar'tekh and Human knew… `Never leave a living enemy behind.' Yet somehow this girl, this Princess Serenity lured him into doing just that, what moon madness. The Sar'tekh heard the first of a two word enchantment that would spell his doom.
“Fire…” Sailor Mars weakly began.
The Sar'tekh turned and threw his javelin using only the sound of Sailor Mars' voice to guild him.
“…SOUL!” Mars shouted with all of her remaining strength. Instead of her usual fireball a fan of flame shoot out of the spread open fingertips of her hands. The shockwave from jet of flame at first reduced the broken javelin into tiny splinters and then into ashes. Before setting the Sar'tekh's torso ablaze, like a candle.
The lifeless body of the veteran Sar'tekh warrior fell, everything above his waist a char husk
Sailor Mars legs wobble and as she began to fall, her fuku braking into strains of red and white ribbons, utterly drained the Solder of Fire detransformed back into the Princess of Mars clothed in her red dress.
“Rei!” Princess Serenity cried as she cradled the wounded girl in her arms.
“Princess…” Rei began, but was interrupted as the image of Knight Commander Ichino reappearing on the communicator.
“Princess, please instruct Sailor Mars not to fire towards the East. We shall engage the enemy on there.” Knight Commander Ichino requested.
“Understood Knight Commander, but please hurry Sailor Mars has been wounded.” Princess Serenity said.
“We will be there promptly.” Ichino, paladin of Selene promised.
“Princess,” Rei began again. “When Ichino attacks, he will create an opening in the Sar'tekh lines. But that opening will not last long; Ichino, his knights and the remains of the Royal Guard detachments are too few in numbers. When I give the word, run towards the safety of Ichino's position.”
Cerulean blue eyes meet lavender.
“I am not going to let you sacrifice yourself, Rei.” Princess Serenity softly said.
“I do not intend to Serenity-chan, if I did then who is going to keep you out of trouble?” Rei quipped with a cocky grin.
The Odango haired Princess threw her arms around the lavender eyed Martian into a tight hug, before helping the wounded girl up. Together the girls made their way to the edge of the rocky outcropping.
From the safety of cover Rei and Serenity could see the Sar'tekh war-party slowly crossing the scorched ground using whatever cover was available from smoking char tree trunks to patches of choking grayish-black smoke to screen their press forward. The Sar'tekh painfully learned that a frontal assault on a Senshi amounted to suicide.
Suddenly a flight of bolts fired from the Royal Guards, flew in from the East and tore into the left flank of the Sar'tekh lines. A second volley of light crossbow fire from the Royal Guards halted the Sar'tekh advance. Then the Lunar Knights fire a third volley. The Lunar Knights were each armed with a handheld magical focus called a moonstone, which evoked the power of Selene. Each of the moonstones flashed twice releasing a lethal moonbeam, which shone death into the ranks of the Sar'tekh, causing even the fanatical asp-warriors to break and run.
“To the Princess!” Ichino ordered, as the Lunar Forces charged into and began cutting down the fleeing Sar'tekh warriors.
“Now Serenity-chan, run as fast as you can.” Rei urged.
“Not without you, Rei-chan.” Serenity protested, holding tightly onto Rei's arm.
“I will just slow you down Princess; I promise to stay right behind you.” Rei said.
“No. We will go together and that is an order Senshi,” Serenity calmly commanded in her authoritative Princess voice.
Together the girls ran towards the relative protection of the Lunar lines.
At the center of the Sar'tekh lines, stood a massively built asp-man about seven feet tall with shining copper scales, marked by strange shadowy tattoos and ten silver rune-pen piercings on the sides and rear of his reptilian head and dangling from each rune-pen was a cord made of human flesh that held `a living eyeball' which eerily glanced around of their own accord. On the Sar'tekh's left hand was a round purplish-black mace with two curved shaped prongs extending from one side of the mace, like the fangs of a serpent.
To Rei's psychic senses the mace emanated a strong aura of darkness.
“I think we are in trouble Rei-chan.” Princess Serenity gulped; together they watched the mace carrying Sar'tekh rally the fleeing enemy, before the Moon Princess asked. “Is he their king?”
“No, I think a shaman of some type, but unlike any that I have heard of before. The glyphs of the tattoos are all wrong, they do not show signs of favor from Set nor do they pledge themselves as the reformed `Serpents of the Light' who supposedly foresworn Set and took an Oath of Allegiance to my late mother the Pharaoh-Queen Benu and her... consort the Jovian-born Warlord Aries.” Rei answered, as she nudged Serenity behind a group of Royal Guardsmen who formed into a defensive shieldwall formation.
“Lady Rei, take the Princess to the back of the lines. Royal Guardsmen, here they come! Protect the Princess at all cost and send these snakeheaded sons of bitchs back to Tartarus!” Lieutenant Magaribuchi ordered.
The Sar'tekh counteracted, their thrown javelins succeeded only in bouncing harmlessly off the guardsmen's interlocking shields. However, the guardsmen victory was short lived as the Sar'tekh crashed into the Lunar line with a vengeance.
Serenity took a glance backwards, and her heart went out to those she was leaving behind in the brutal, desperate melee taking place where no quarter was asked or given. She saw a sergeant; his shield knocked away, parried an attacked from a Sar'tekh fang-blade with a sword in one hand and with the other hand stabbed his Sar'tekh advisory in the groin with his dagger.
In other place, the Moon Princess watched one of Ichino's Knights struggling against a muscular Sar'tekh warrior; they seemed evenly matched until the Sar'tekh spat poison into the young knight's face, sending the screaming young man convulsing on the floor. Mercifully the young knight's screaming soon ended.
In the center, she saw Lieutenant Magaribuchi fall, dragged down by an onrush of five Sar'tekh warriors. To her far left, on a ridge stood a small group of guardsmen fighting as one, their shields locked in a wedge-like-formation and their swords thrusting through any opening finding the flesh of anyone foolish enough to challenge them, around them a small pile of reptilian bodies lay.
"Rei, we can not just leave them there! We have to go back and help them," Serenity began. Instead of answering the raven haired girl took one weak stumbling step forward, followed by another. "Rei-chan?" Serenity worriedly inquired.
“U-Usagi-chan…" Rei began, her teeth chattering together. "I-I am sorry I d-don't think I...” Rei softy said, collapsing into Serenity's arms. Her lips blue from blood lost and her body succumbing to the paralyzing poison.
“Reiii!” Serenity screamed. 'No! This is all my fault,' She thought, 'I should have remembered to bandaged Rei wounds!' Cradling Rei's head in her lap she cried in soul wrenching despair. “Rei come back, I don't know what I do without you, come back. Don't die on me!”
Serenity's tears flowed down her checks and landed on Rei's wounds, slowly the poisoned tip of the javelin that was still imbedded in Rei's shoulder began to fade, and her wounds began to heal.
“Serenity-chan?” Rei asked as her eyes fluttered open.
“Reiii!” Serenity happily sobbed and was about to throw her arms around the Fire Senshi once again, when a mailed hand touched her shoulder.
“Your Highness, we do not have much time left. The Sar'tekh has broken through Lieutenant Magaribuchi's defensive perimeter. We must evacuate you and the Lady Rei to the moonbridge in sector six, until we can organize a proper response to this intrusion.” Knight-Commander Ichino said.
“I understand, Knight-Commander but tell me how did they manage to infiltrate so deeply into the Kingdom and with so many of their warriors without us detecting them?” The High Princess of the Silver Millennium inquired.
“I do not know Your Highness but I assure you before this day is out I intend to find out. Second Lieutenant Chryseis…” Ichino turned to address the remaining officer from the Royal Guards who was attached to the Princess's security detail. “…I entrust the safety of the Princess and Lady Rei into the capable hands of your combat team and yourself, you have my full confidence.”
“Thank you, Sir! The Royal Guard will not fail!” A young female Lieutenant with auburn hair and sea blue eyes, crisply saluted before moving to help Rei stand.
“Rei, be nice. Chryseis was just trying to help.” Serenity scolded the Martian Princess, who scared the 2nd Lieutenant away with a scowl.
“You know who I am your Highness?” Chryseis asked awe stricken.
“Oh, yes. I spoke at your graduation ceremony last month; you and your parents, who by the way are nice people from a small fishing village along the eastern coast of the Sea of Serenity.” The Moon Princess said with a heart warming smile.
“Yes, and not to mention the fact, that Ichino just happened to say your name just a few seconds ago,” Rei sarcastically remarked. As she placed her henshin pen back into her hyper-dimensional pocket, after failing to transform into Sailor Mars. Hooking her arm into Serenity's, Rei turned to a royal guardsman in Chryseis combat team and said. “You! What your name?”
“Lee, Sir!” The Guardsmen replied
“Ok then Private Lee, you are on point. Let move out! We are squandering time bought by the lives of our fellow soldiers!” Rei said usurping Chryseis' command.
Rei pushed the Royal Guards fast and hard, and they rapidly covered the distance from sector eight to six.
“We made it,” Chryseis said as she whipped the sweat from her forehead.
“Don't start filling your dance card for the Mask Ball, Second Lieutenant. The Princess is not safe until she is back in the Palace.” Rei gave an intimating glare at the young officer.
“Is she always this… intense?” Chryseis asked of her Princess.
“Rei-chan? Well…yes, certainly about my well-being.” Princess Serenity began, before breaking into an inward smile as if she was reminiscing about something. “But do not let her get to you, she really is a pussycat. You just have to know how to handle her.”
Chryseis gave her Moon Princess a disbelieving look, as if anyone could call the feisty Goddess of the Celestial Fire, currently inhabiting the body of a raven-haired ten year old girl a pussycat.
Rei suddenly stopped and scanned the landscape with her perceptive lavender eyes…
“What is it Rei-chan?”
“We have company, Princess.” Rei said as she split her red dress up to her upper thigh, reviewing a strapped on scabbard with a long Martian hunting-knife. Turning to the 2nd Lieutenant, she ordered. “Lieutenant Chryseis, have three of your best marksmen ready to fire on my mark, and have the rest of your men assume a moonshell formation, Serenity-chan you are with me.”
“Where? I do not see anything,” Chryseis asked examining the tree line.
Rei non-chalantly walked behind the 2nd lieutenant and said, “Not on the tree line. Look up, on the treetops at ten, twelve, two o'clock. Look like the Sar'tekh left some warriors behind to deal with any survivors.”
“Yes… I see them,” Chryseis answered.
“Good… wait… the Shaman, he is here too.” Rei said.
“Are you sure Rei-chan?” Serenity asked.
“Yes, he must have broken through or bypassed Ichino,” Rei answered.
The Royal Guard interlocked their large man-sized shields forming a rudimentary metallic `moonshell' protecting them from projectile fire from overhead, front, right and left flanks, with the Princess safely in the center of the defenses, at the same time the three marksmen Chryseis picked fired their light crossbows sending three reptilian bodies tumbling out of the trees.
The Sar'tekh came charging out of the woods, yelling and hurling their javelins. The poison tipped projectiles flew accurately, but were unable to find their targets and bounced harmlessly off the lunar moonshell.
“Counter charge! We have to break through to the Moonbridge!” Rei ordered.
Sar'tekh ferocity and poison meet Lunar discipline and steel. The Sar'tekh's fang-blades were unable to find an opening in lunar moonshell; however the same could not be said of the Royal Guard as they struck down their adversaries.
“They're breaking,” Chryseis reported.
“Quickly now to the Moonbridge,” Rei commanded.
Unfortunately, at that moment the Shaman stepped passed the fleeing masses of his comrades. The reptilian dark priest raised his right hand, chanted and then pointed as a mass of greenish-black mist poured forth out of his fingertip and flowed into the tightly mass of charging royal guardsmen.
While the lunar moonshell formation proved extremely effective against the Sar'tekh warriors it alas was extremely vulnerable to the dark magics of the Shaman.
Rei threw herself on her princess, as the poisonous cloud passed overhead; behind her she could hear the cries of the dieing guardsmen. Looking up Rei made eye contact with Chryseis, who lay sprawled on her back. In the 2nd Lieutenant's fear stricken iris, Rei saw a reflection of the Shaman approaching. With a moan of terror Chryseis began crawling away on her elbows, leaving behind her crossbow at her feet.
“Ugh. Rei, get off me.” Princess Serenity protested as she pushed her Senshi away, as she did so. The Martian girl reached forward, grabbed and fired Chryseis's abandon crossbow at the Shaman.
The bolt sail out of the crossbow and flew on a true path toward the Shaman's heart when at the last instant, the Shaman flicked his wrist and sent the bolt implanting itself into the ground near his feet with one strike with his mace.
Rei leaped to her feet and drew her long hunting knife and said, “Usagi-chan, I meet you at the Moonbridge, go now!”
Serenity took one hesitant step away from her Senshi, but refused to leave.
“A Wyrm Huntersss' blade, I did not realized that the Lunar Princesss had retained the ssservicesss of one of your kind, Honored Hunter.” The Shaman began, “Few have the courage to hunt the Sssand Dragonsss and fewer ssstill hunt by the old waysss. A ssshame you are quite young or I might have tesssted your ssskillsss… Pity.” The Shaman raised his finger, invoked a spell and released a purplish-black bolt of ichor at Serenity.
Rei stepped in front of her Princess intent on buying Serenity's life with her own, yet it proved unnecessary for the Shaman's dark magic was intercepted by a white glow originating from the crescent-moon coat of arms of Sir Ichino's shield.
“My faith is my shield,” prayed the battered Lunar Knight.
“Ah, a warrior-priessst of the Moon Goddesss, a worthy opponent indeed, I am M'thosss night-ssshaman of the Demon Goddesss.” The Sar'tekh said as he twirled his mace in anticipation of battle.
“Sir Ichino, Paladin of Selene.” Replied the Knight-Commander, as he brought his sword and shield into a guard position.
Rei grabbed Serenity's arm and was about to make a dash to the Moonbridge, when M'thos swung his mace and a wave of purplish-black light dashed forth leaching the life-force from Ichino, Rei and Serenity. Ichino and Rei fell back in pain, while the Moon Princess cried out too but as she did so a burst of white moon-light emanated from the moon-crest on her forehead and neglected the wave of dark energy.
M'thos lunged forward and struck Sir Ichino before he could recover, caving in his skull. Rei attacked the Shaman's unarmed right side and thrust her Wyrm Hunters blade into the Sar'tekh's ribs puncturing a lung, M'thos howled in pain and backhanded the Martian girl sending her flying into a tree.
The former sun goddess felt a wetness in the back of her head, as she slide down the trunk of the tree. Faintly she could hear Serenity calling her name… struggling she forced her eyes open. To her horror, she watched the Shaman order two of his underling to drag the struggling Moon Princess away.
“Serenity…” Rei whispered as the darkness took her.
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Author Notes:
odango atama = dumpling head
The fact that Rei was a Wyrm Hunter, and was referred to by the Martian title of Honor Hunter is my tip of the hat to Chris Davies who visions of a Silver Millennium Mars from his stories: Panorama Interlude Three: All Coming Back To Me and Panorama Interlude Four: The Dance, have permanently engraved itself into the fires of my imagination.
In this story, all the Senshi have already lived a previous life as goddess, however they had to sacrifice their existence as divine beings to end the GodsWar between the Titians and the Elder Gods and help create the Silver Millennium.
Serenity thought is still an unawaken goddess, and is the daughter of the Moon Goddess Selene.
Minako in her past life was Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Serenity's cousin and Daughter of Eos the Goddess of the Dawn, sister to Selene and Helios.
Rei in her past life was Re the Sun Goddess (the Goddess of the Celestial Fire) from the Egyptian Pantheon. True in Egyptian Mythology, Re is a God not a Goddess, I will explained later, perhaps in chapter 3 or 4 how this misinterpretation took place due to the actions of Aries.
Sorry for the long combat scene it sort of wrote itself. Chapter Two: Project: A M.E., A Mercurial Experiment… was originally part of Chapter One, but I had to cut it