Disclaimer: Sailormoon is owned by a lot of people who aren't me.
Takeuchi Naoko-san is a wonderful person for creating the characters.
Don't sue, because we don't have any money. Other than those
appearing in the show, the new characters are copyrighted by Shan and
Firefly. Copying them will give you bad kharma!
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Bishoujo Senshi
Sailormoon Miracle
Prologue
By Firefly and Shan "Oilymion" Sundararaj
The planet Mars grew smaller on the viewscreen as the ship
whisked back to Earth, engine humming in the background. The scent
of recycled air hung oppressively. Sitting in her personal quarters,
Serenity rubbed her temples. "I had no idea they were in so much
pain."
Rei placed a hand on the Queen's shoulder. "Don't let them get
to you."
"I'm just tired," Serenity smiled wanly at her friend.
"The colonists just feel like they're too far away to be ruled
by the Crystal Tokyo government," Rei said. "It's nothing personal."
Softly, Serenity's personal interspace com chimed. "I'll get
it," Rei said as she crossed the room. "What?"
A teenaged Chibi-Usa, now going by the name Usagi, jumped at
Rei's gruffness. "Uh, can I talk to Mom?"
Serenity smiled as she crossed the room. "Here I am."
"So how did the peace talks go?" Usagi asked.
Serenity smiled, though sadly. "Not so well. They want a month
to think about it, in which time they want no Crystal Government
ships to enter Martian ports."
"I'd been hoping for better. Dad says he's sorry he couldn't
come, and that he feels much better now," Usagi replied.
"Not dying of the flu anymore, is he?" Rei asked.
"His temperatures gone down significantly," Usagi added.
"I think he just wanted to get out of the summit," Rei laughed.
Serenity sank into a nearby chair, too tired to stand. Usagi
turned a concerned eye on her mother. "Is she okay?"
"Just emotionally exhausted," Rei sighed. "The leaders of the
Martian revolt blamed her for all their problems. I think she feels
responsible for everything. The plague, the earthquake..."
"How can they blame her? She wasn't even there!" Usagi
exclaimed.
"It's not their fault," Serenity calmly admonished her
daughter's outburst.
Rei turned, a smart remark on her lips, as the room exploded
into white light. A loud noise shook the room. Rei turned and
fumbled for the emergency call button. The entire side of her face
felt burned and she was so dizzy she couldn't see straight. Vaguely,
she heard the automatic vacuum shielding go up.
Minako rushed into the room as Rei collapsed. "What happened?"
she asked.
The now blurring image of Usagi echoed Minako's sentiment.
"What the hell is going on?"
Minako glanced through the room and stopped in shock. "Oh my-"
Usagi pressed against the view screen as if that would help her
see. "Mama?!"
"Serenity! Rei!" Minako screamed as she raced to her friends'
side.
The med droids entered. They each carefully placed the two
women on stretchers. Minako picked up a piece of metal. "How could
they do this? How could they bomb Serenity-chan?"
"No!" Usagi screamed back on Earth. "Mama!"
*~~~~~*
The chief doctor of the ship exited the operating room shaking
with either rage or grief. It was hard to tell. Minako stood up as
she entered the room.
"Hino-san will be fine," she stuttered.
"And Serenity-chan?" she asked. Until she heard the words,
Serenity was still alive. Although there was no way the horribly
mangled body could have survived.
"She-" the doctor started.
Minako stopped her by grabbing her shoulders. "She's what? She
has to be alive."
The doctor swallowed. "Dead."
"Serenity?" Minako repeated.
"Serenity is dead."
*~~~~~*
Fires burned in Crystal Tokyo. The city was dead and
demolished. "There has to be others," she whispered hoarsely.
"Someone who can stop them."
Her eyes burned. The deep feeling of betrayal hurt beyond her
physical pain, the sharp feeling of loss stabbed more than any of her
wounds. Tears refused to come.
Sailorpluto appeared before her. "I have need of your
assisstance."
"You again," she whispered bitterly.
"I cannot travel in time, as well you know." Pluto clutched
her Time Key tightly. "But I have witnessed the enemy and I know the
Senshi have need of you."
She turned to glare at Pluto before continue her ascendance
up the steps toward the Crystal Palace. "They're all dead."
"Not you."
"I failed them. I failed my Queen, I failed my King, I failed
in my duties. I deserve my-" she paused before adding acidly
"-fate."
"Killing yourself isn't the answer. What your doing is
pointless and juvenile," Pluto said coldly.
"I don't care!" she shouted, breaking into a run. "I'm going
to join the others in hell!"
She ran until she reached the elevator. Stopping, she took it
to the top of the building. Hot winds rose from the continuous
fires of Crystal Tokyo as the hellish city spread out for miles,
away from the top of the Crystal Palace.
She stood at the edge of the building. The winds scorched
her face. Spreading her arms, she whispered, "I hope you're waiting
for me."
Pluto grabbed her shoulder. "I don't think any one of them
would want you to kill yourself."
*~~~~~*
"Just die! You are the one to blame for all this! I hate you!"
Clotho screamed.
"Why?" she asked mournfully, and tried to reach out to Clotho.
The girl turned away violently. "I wish you had died of the
plague."
*~~~~~*
She shook her head to clear the memories. "What does it
matter?"
Pluto pulled her away from the edge. "Is this what they would
have wanted for you?"
She opened her mouth to yell at Pluto, but noticed instead
her bruises, the cuts across her face, the way she leaned so heavily
on her Key. Pluto, realizing this, quietly added, "They've taken
the Gate of Time."
She stood in shock. Suddenly, the tears came. "I don't want
to live any more. It hurts."
She knelt on the rooftop, crying until all her emotion came out.
As her crying faded into tired hiccups, she was surprised to feel
Pluto's arm around her shoulder.
"I know," Pluto whispered. "I know."
She wiped her eyes. "I'll help you. Even if it takes an
eternity."
"Eternity is the one thing I have, Sailorcygnus."
*~~~~~*
The fog curled in from Tokyo Bay in thick tendrils. It was
perfect weather for this job, cold and lonely. Quietly, the remote
location device beeped via a small earplug in her ear.
"Candidate located," the computer stated.
She smiled as a little girl materialized out of the fog. The
young woman walked over to her. "Are you lost, little girl?"
The girl rubbed tear-filled eyes. "I can't find my Mommy."
"Candidate approved," the computer added.
She nodded sadly. "Do you need help finding her?"
"Age: Five years," robotically chirped the computer.
The girl nodded. "Can you help me?"
"I'd be happy to," she smiled.
"Blood type: O," the computer informed her.
"I looked away for just one second," the girl said. "And the
next she wasn't there."
"You must have gotten lost in the fog. She can't be that far
away."
"DNA: Approved," the computer added one last tidbit.
The young woman took the girl's hand. "Don't worry. Girls like
you don't stay lost long. What’s your name little girl?"
"Mai," she replied, gripping tightly onto the woman’s hand.
"That’s cute. Just like you." She smiled down at the girl,
but the friendliness dissipated to be replaced by a cold, predatory
grin.
Mai’s eyes widened in fear. "I can find my Mommy by myself,"
she uncertainly tried to pull her hand away.
The woman’s grip tightened. "Girls like you don’t stay lost for
long."
Like a monster from beyond, the fog swallowed the two figures,
leaving behind no trace of their passing.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/garden/Garden) (
geocities.com/tokyo/garden) (
geocities.com/tokyo)