There
was a blast of light that soared past Sailor Leo’s face. She shook her head in
grief, the enemy was just too strong! As hard as she tried she couldn’t lay a
finger on either of them. Some of her friends cried out in pain, others in
sorrow, and one or two did not cry out for they were dead. She was losing her
best friends in this battle! This couldn’t be happening!!
“Do
you doubt my strength now?” the leader of the enemies asked. He was obviously
enjoying himself by watching her and her friends suffer.
But
Leo couldn’t give up. No matter what. She had always been told that she was
stubborn. That was just her nature. Some said her stubbornness might kill her
some day. Maybe they were right.
She
tried to hide a laugh. “That is all you have? You think you can beat me just
because you beat my friends? Ha, don’t make me laugh! They are meaningless to
me dead,” she forced herself to say. Deep down she was very sorry she had said
it. But it had done as she wanted it to. The enemy was obviously shocked by
this.
Sailor
Leo didn’t hesitate. In her experience, a split second could be all the time
you needed to cause some serious damage. She ran up to him and did a front flip.
While keeping her hands on the ground to steady her balance, she kicked him
under the chin with both of her feet. He stumbled back and nearly fell. But he
didn’t seem as surprised as he should have been.
“So you want to fight still? You want to lose more of the people closest to you?” he persisted. He had evidently caught Leo’s bluff.
“I’ll
take you down myself!” she boasted. Because
if not, the Inners and Outers are doomed she said to herself. It was true,
if she failed than the whole solar system could be wiped out, and then they
could wipe out the whole galaxy!
“Your
fighting style is as beautiful as you,” he smiled and looked at her in an
admiring way. “But it isn’t strong enough!” he then charged at her and
barreled into her.
Sailor
Leo had been prepared for him to strike back at her, but she was still easily
overpowered. She fell hard and heard a “crack”, probably from another broken
bone in her body. Her long auburn hair was a mess in her face. She couldn’t
see and when she went to push the hair out of her face she felt her arm give
out. Great,
now I have a broken arm as well.
“Leave
Leo alone,” shouted someone, probably Sailor Taurus, Leo guessed.
Two
of the other Zodiac Senshi came to her aid and helped her up. When she was
standing they took position in front of her.
“You
guys are too strong and brave. You don't have to lose your lives defending me!” Leo said as she shoved them aside to face her opponent.
Sailor
Cancer rolled her eyes, “Now is not the time to be stubborn.”
Sailor
Capricorn nodded and shouted, “Look out!”
Another
blast of light came towards Leo. Capricorn immediately jumped in its path,
taking the hit with her life. Her last words were, “Go get ‘em Leo! Don't
give up.”
Sailor
Leo shook her head, “We’re losing too many. Isn’t there anything we can
do?”
Sailor
Libra shook her head, “If we fail than everyone is doomed. We have to keep
going. There’s nothing left to help us. We must fight with our own bare hands.”
A
shower of light blasts showered down around Leo and her fellow Senshi. One by
one the blasts hit them until only Leo stood alive.
“I’m
going to regret killing you, I know,” the leader mocked as he walked over to
her. “But I doubt it.”
He
shot a blast of light towards her from his fingertips. She tried covering her
face with her arms, knowing the futility of the effort. But she couldn’t stop
it. She refused to scream in agony as everyone else had. But it was so painful
she couldn’t endure it. She opened her eyes to see a blinding light and then
that was it.
“I
highly doubt that I will regret it,” the man laughed. He had won so easily. Too
easily. He had been looking for a challenge and he knew that the Inner
Senshi and Outer Senshi would not pose a threat. He sighed. Had he been right in
killing Sailor Leo? The only Zodiac Senshi he had feelings for?
***
“Neko,” a voice whispered gently.
A voice? How was that possible? Neko stirred slightly. Was she not dead? But she had seen it, felt the pain. Where was she now?
“Hmmm?” she murmured back as if she had been in a deep sleep and hadn’t realized that she was awake.
“You can hear me? Finally…” said the voice.
A small figure glowed before her eyes. Or at least Neko thought her eyes were open. The white light glowed so radiantly that she must have opened her eyes. Somehow she recognized the speaker, but only vaguely, as if it had been long, long ago.
“Serenity?” she asked at last.
“Almost. I am Neo-Queen Serenity of the future Crystal Tokyo. I’ve came for your assistance in the present timeline,” she replied.
Neko stopped to think. A flash of memories came to her including her mother’s tragic new of Queen Serenity’s death and the disappearance of the Inner and Outer Senshi. She remember when she was a child and met Serenity on an abandoned asteroid to receive her henshin brooch. She recalled her vigorous training with her father. She also remembered hearing that her father was presumed dead after going to the moon to defend the Silver Millennium.
“Neko, can you still hear me? Are you alright?” Neo-Queen Serenity asked with concern in her voice.
“Yes, just remembering past memories. But I’m so confused. Where am I? How am I alive? How did you find me? Ugh, my mind is such a blur,” she responded.
“You are alive because you are a Senshi. And Senshi can not die unless their heart crystals are taken. Your opponent was either not after your crystal or did not know you could be reborn.”
“Reborn?! How can I remember these things if I was reborn?”
“Because you weren’t. Your body was sealed in your crystal as it floated through space. It was like a beacon looking for someone to release you. And here you are. I saw the dim light while I was over-looking the re-building of the palace on the Moon. A few nights before I had found my mother’s secret documents within the rubble. There were many things in it that no one else know, including the Zodiac Senshi.
“I thought it sounded interesting so I read through it carefully. I learned about who you were, where your homeworlds were, and why you were such a secret. I asked Sailor Pluto what she thought and if she knew where I could meet you. Then she told me of your horrific battle and defeat. She said that your opponent was headed for our solar system and that even combined the Senshi of the present were useless for stopping them.
“So now I come to you for your aid. They need you greatly, for if the enemy is not defeated, the future I know will cease to exist,” she concluded.
“So I must go to the present? But where is everyone else?” Neko inquired.
“I do not know. They may be on Earth or the enemy may have their heart crystals. It will be your goal to find the other eleven Zodiacs in order to return home,” she smiled. “That is if you defeat the enemy first. I have great faith in you Sailor Leo.” The figure of the future Serenity began to fade.
Neko shouted after her, “Matte! I’m still confused-,” as she opened her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Serenity called back. “I’m still here. But I must concentrate my power to send you through time. Pluto is in the present now so you can not use the Time Gate.”
Neko only half-listened. She was too much in awe as she looked around. She was floating through space and it was so beautiful! She looked at her hands and saw that her body was encased in red, tinted gold, ribbons. She felt for her brooch on her chest to reassure herself of its presence.
She looked again at the stars around her. Very few seemed familiar to her despite the fact that she had always been forced to memorize star-charts. A bright celestial body caught her eye. Was that the Moon? She had never actually been there.
The space around Neko began to blur and the stars sped past her. But than she realized that she was actually moving.
“Not much further,” Serenity spoke. “Ah, here we are! Home, sweet home!”
Neko had reached the Moon’s shadow. She realized that she could move about and began to float down towards the surface. She looked out at a beautiful blue-green orb ahead that seemed to be setting like a sun. That must be Earth, she thought. As Neko’s feet touched the surface of the Moon, the ribbons around her began to fade into one another. They began to form the princess gown that Neko only wore to the most formal of occasions.
Neo-Queen Serenity began to materialize before Princess Panthera. She was of full height this time and Panthera was certain she was the real person. Once she fully appeared, ruins began to appear as well, as if she had pulled off an invisible cloth large enough to cover the whole Moon. Princess Panthera knew at once that she stood on the ruins of the Silver Millennium.
“Welcome to the 20th Century,” Serenity said and waved her hand at Earth, “or at leas that is the year on Earth.”
“This solar system is so beautiful,” commented Panthera. “It’s hard to believe the Negaverse cleaned out the lives of all but one of the planets.”
“It sure is. But we are making amends in the future. Now we are in the present, however,” she said switching to the subject at hand. “I will send you straight to Juuban, Japan from here. When you arrive, you will run into the four Inner Senshi. Their human identities are: Mizuno Ami, Sailor Mercury; Hino Rei, Sailor Mars; Kino Makoto, Sailor Jupiter; and Aino Minako, Sailor Venus. My present form is Tsukino Usagi, commonly known as Sailor Moon. You’ll know which one she is straight off,” she laughed and indicated her odangoes. “The four Outers are there too, but you will meet them later. On Earth you have a family consisting of a traveling mother and a father that lives in the United States. Their memories have been altered so don’t worry. Just try to act like you’ve always been their daughter, okay?”
“Wow, that may take a bit of an adjustment to get used to,” Panthera determined. “But I am sure it will work out fine. Domo arigatou, Serenity.”
“Good luck, may the light of the Moon be with you…always,” she smiled. Panthera gave her a weird look. “Oh, gomen. I’ve been watching too many movies lately it seems.”
“Riiight…”
Panthera began to travel closer to the Earth. She descended through the atmosphere and saw far off mountains, oceans, and some flat lands bustling with cities. “Send the Inner Senshi my regards,” Serenity had said. She floated over Juuban and than fell down towards an abandoned alleyway unnoticed.
She took a deep breathe. The air smelled of spring and lots of humans were bustling about. She walked towards the street that she was suppose to stumble across the Inner Senshi on.
But instead of running into them, someone ran into her. He was a tall, handsome man with bright green eyes. His hair was crimson read and fell on his face with the wind.
“Watch where you’re going, Cinderella,” he barked. “You’re a long ways away from the ball.”
What a jerk, Panthera thought. But he’s such a hottie!
Are you listening to me?!” he asked impatiently.
“Just walk around,” she said politely and walked off.
“Women,” she heard him mutter as he stomped of in the opposite direction.
A group of five girls, four with the same high school uniforms on, walked towards Panthera. They were laughing about something and the one with odangoes walked right into Princess Panthera.
“Eh…gomen, gomen,” she repeated. She looked at the princess’s gown. He eyes grew really big at the spectacle. “Wow, how kawaii! Where’d you get it? I want one too!” She began to encircle Panthera to examine the dress further.
“You must be Tsukino Usagi,” Princess Panthera remarked. Rei, the one wearing a different uniform, began to look hard into Panthera’s eyes as if she was gong to jump out and bite one of the five girls.
“Who are you, and how do you know her name?” she demanded.
“I am Princess Panthera, but my civilian name is Shuhano Neko. I’ve been sent her by Neo-Queen Serenity.”
“Serenity?” Minako and Makoto said together and than looked at each other with the word Jinx! on their tongues.
“The mark on your forehead is the astrological sign for a Leo,” Ami remarked.
“Really? It looks like a-” Usagi began.
Rei covered her mouth, “Never mind her. Let’s go to Hikawa Shrine to discuss this.”
At Rei’s shrine, Panthera had changed her clothes and the Leo mark on her forehead began to fade. Even though Rei was much shorter, the red tank top and jean shorts fitted ell. Neko was not accustomed to wearing shorts, but it felt good when the sun’s rays hit her legs.
“Wow, the red looks good on you,” Rei-chan remarked.
“Arigatou, it is one of my favorite colors,” Neko replied.
“Mine too!” Rei exclaimed. “Hey do you want to read some of my mangas?”
“No fair!” Usagi pouted. “Can I read your mangas?”
“Did I ask you?” Rei retorted.
“But we don’t even know her yet. You know you can trust me!!” Usagi said stubbornly.
“What’s that suppose to mean?” Rei and Neko yelled back.”
“Er…gomen, gomen!” Usagi surrendered.
“Not to sound ignorant, but what exactly is a manga? Is it a book about political science or something?” Neko inquired.
“You’re joking, right?” Makoto asked.
“A manga is like…um, let me think,” Minako began. “It’s kind of like an illustrated story. They’re usually funny and new volumes come out every month.”
“Okay, so what do you recommend Rei-chan?” Neko asked.
“Oh come on, Rei-chan. She doesn’t even know what a manga is,” Usagi protested.
Rei ignored her and tossed a manga with a Neko-like girl on the cover. “This one is very funny.”
“Domo.”
“Aren’t we here to discuss something important, minna-san?” Ami asked finally.
Neko was flipping through the manga and laughing hysterically. “What’s that Ami-san? Oh, oh I remember now.”
Neko launched into a long story about who she was, where she came from, how she came to Earth, and why. She told them about the new enemy headed towards them. She went into detail about the other Zodiac Senshi as well.
The sun was almost setting when she was done. “I guess I better get home now, not that I’m entirely sure of where that is. Ja ne!”
“Bye-bye!” Minako said in English.
“Ja ne,” the rest said and waved.
Somehow Neko did know where home on Earth was. However, she felt as if she was missing something. Or rather someone who had always been beside her.
Was Raion, her guardian, not on Earth? She couldn’t remember one time that the Burmese cat had failed to tag along.
When Neko reached her Earth home, a rather large apartment for two, she heard a familiar meow. As she approached the doorknob a Burmese cat with a golden Leo mark on his forehead jumped out of the bushes.
“Princess!” he exclaimed; his smile was larger than Neko ever remembered it being.
“Oh Raion!” she responded, picking him up gently and nuzzled him.
“Neko is that you?” an adult, female, voice came from the other side of the door. “Don’t stay out and catch a cold!”
Raion snorted. “Well, that may be the kindest phrase she’s ever said. Welcome home. Or at least welcome to your Earth mother’s hell-hole.” He jerked his head towards the door.