Chronicle of Epoch


                                                       Chapter One - Window

In a secluded area of the largest park in Tokyo, a figure stands. Although the sun is shining brightly this fine spring day, the individual's silhouette is the only thing that can be seen. That and a long, unusual object that is grasped in it's gloved hand. The figure turns into the sunlight and the face of a young man of about twenty-four is illuminated in the sunlight. His face is handsome yet hardened to a point where his face seems to always be serious, as if he hasn't smiled in years. His long hair is dark purple from the bright sun and partially covers the sides of his face as it drops down to just below his chin. The from behind it flows down to the middle of his back and is tied in a point with a small, dark red ribbon. His blue eyes have a usual ring of green right around his pupils and they move slowly side to side, peering around at the surroundings. His clothes are very formal, yet seem very loose promoting much movement. His dark blue shirt buttons up in two places up the sides of his chest and the long, black sleeves meet a pair of leather gloves upon his hands. His pants are a darker gray and meet his black boots in the middle of his calf. In the man's hand, the object reflects the sunlight on the surrounding trees. It is a long staff, with a handle in the middle, at the bottom and many designs and sections as it reaches a terrible blade at the top. The blade bulges out and curves down around the sides of the staff at the top and then point outwards about ten inches down. The blade resembles the symbol of omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet. At the very top of the staff and in the middle of the blade, is a large, purple orb that sits there, shimmering of tremendous power. The man finally moves as he steps forward and starts to walk into the main section of the park, bustling with people enjoying a warm day outside. His footsteps are followed by the dull thud of the staff being set into the ground as he steps into a clearing. Some of the laughing couples and families see this stranger and his unusual object and wonder why anybody would want to dress so heavily on such a nice day. They decide to mind their own business and continue their joyful activities. The man looks around and then looks at the orb on top of his staff.
"Earth" a low, but almost comforting voice creeps out of his mouth. The man then slowly turns his head up and finds the first quarter moon barely up over the horizon. He stands there motionlessly and gazes at it. "How long has it been, my love?" the surprising statement floats out through his hair. He looks back down at the people and starts walking again. As he reaches the people, a brave couple approach him.
"Hello, you don't look like you are from around here." the cheerful woman says. The darkly dressed man just looks at her and shakes his head very lightly.
"Well, welcome to Tokyo then. First, can I suggest you go buy a pair of shorts and maybe a T-shirt? People only dress like that during the winter around here." the man with the woman says with a laugh and wraps his arm around her. The both smile widely and look at the strange man.  "Say, you don't say much, do you?" the woman says. The strange man stares at them for a moment and makes them uncomfortable. "Ummm, what is that thing? It looks expensive." the woman says and points at his staff.
The guy who is with her goes a little red, "I'm sorry, my wife is obsessed with how much things cost. She is a terror at the shopping mall." he says and laughs. After no reaction from the stranger, he clears his throat awkwardly, "Anyway, what is that thing? It looks like a weapon, are you a martial arts student or something?" he says. The stranger looks at his blade and then back at them. He lifts the end out of the ground and the orb starts to glow brightly.
"Wow, it is beautiful." the woman says as they look at the orb in awe. The stranger suddenly raises the staff into the air and a bright flash floods the whole park.

The teacup falls to the ground with a crash. Setsuna's shaking hand raises up to her mouth as she stares out of a window with a look of dread on her face. Haruka and Michiru look at her with concern.
"Setsuna, what is it?" Haruka asks. Setsuna doesn't even respond, she just keeps looking outside.
"Setsuna?" Michiru asks and touches her shoulder. Setsuna breaks out of her trance and look at them both with an unusual look.
She sits there silently for a moment and then speaks, "Something is wrong. The fabric of time is unusually unstable around here right now. There is an evil presence I feel." she says and stands up suddenly.
"Wait! Setsuna!" Haruka says and stands up. She holds her arm, "What do you mean? What evil presence?" she asks. Setsuna looks away outside again with growing concern. Suddenly, a beeping comes from Michiru's purse and she removes a communicator.
An image of Ami appears on it, "Michiru, is Setsuna with you?" she asks. Michiru nods and looks at Setsuna, "All right, we need you all to come to the park. My computer says that something is going on there that has to do with the time lanes. We will all meet you there." Ami's image says and flickers off.
Michiru puts the communicator back and stands up, "Setsuna, did you hear that?" she asks softly. Setsuna just nods and starts to leave the coffee shop with Haruka and Michiru close behind.

The figure walks through the park slowly, looking around. All of the people are frozen, as if time has stopped for them all. Some people are just getting ready to eat, others are playing sports and still others are just enjoying the park when they were frozen in time. The figure stops and looks out over the city, setting his staff lightly into the ground. He looks into the orb once again as it glows and a swirling vortex of time appears in front of him. The tip of his staff slides into it first as he steps through and with a slight flash, the vortex closes just as all of the Inners in human form come running up. They all stop and look around in utter horror at the sight, except for Usagi, who is busy catching her breath.
"Ugh, I hate running! I want to buy a car or something." she says and finally leans up, seeing all of the people frozen in time. "Whoa! What happened?" she yells. The girls just look around and wonder the same thing as Super Sailor Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all come running up to them and see the situation.
"What is going on? What happened?!" Uranus asks.
"We don't know, we just got here and everything was frozen like this." Makoto says.
"Pluto, what has happened? It looks like something is wrong with time." Ami says. There is no answer and all of them look at Sailor Pluto. She has a very odd look on her face and doesn't seem to be even listening to them.
"Sailor Pluto?" Usagi says and steps towards her. Sailor Pluto looks at them all, almost with tears in her eyes.
"A man did this. A man with power over time, just as I do." she says. They all gasp and Minako blurts out a question.
"Do you know who he is? Have you met him before?" she asks.
Sailor Pluto looks away from them and nods, "Yes, he and I used to guard the time lanes together." she says.
"What happened?" Minako asks.
"He left, he didn't say why. He just disappeared one day and I haven't seen him since." she says.
"What is he doing here? Why is he doing this?" Rei asks and points out over the park.
"I don't know." Sailor Pluto responds. They all see the amount of pain this is bringing up but Usagi asks the one question none of them would even dare.
"Did you two ever become, close?" she asks and places her hands over her chest. Sailor Pluto just keeps looking away from them, not answering. Usagi steps forward and is about to ask again when police sirens are heard. The group look around and Sailor Pluto starts walking into the park.
Sailor Neptune sees her and yells after her, "Setsuna! Where are you going?" Sailor Pluto walks a ways into the park and stops. She raises her Garnet orb staff into the air and a flash of light, much like the stranger's, floods the park. All of the people suddenly start moving again and act as if nothing happened.
The couple that was talking to the man look around confused, "Where did he go?" the woman asks. The girls all look around with smiles and then where Pluto was, but she is gone.
"Where did Setsuna go?" Sailor Uranus asks. The police come pulling up and the girls see them.
"You two should get out of here." Artimus says. Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus nod and with incredible leaps, disappear into the park. The police look around and curse for being called on a false alarm.
"People frozen in the park, I don't even know why they sent us here." one officer says and the police leave. The girls are left watching the people having fun in the park once again and wondering about the cause of the time-freeze. There thought go to Setsuna and this man she is speaking of....and what happened between the two of them.

        End