Author's Notes: For lainofthewired, who suggested it. ------ -I- The sun hung high in the afternoon sky as the crowds continued to gather out onto the grassy hillside, lured by word of mouth and the promise of a goodly entertainment. Patrons traveled throughout the audience selling foodstuffs wrapped in palm leaves and water for those who'd remembered to bring their small clay drinking jars with them. Neither the wind rustling around them, nor the birds above or the fireflies and insects going about their business could draw the people's attention away from the beige curtain drawn up by a strong rope between two large elms at the bottom of the small hill. The hillside itself was slightly curved inward, making for a natural amphitheater. They waited restlessly for the performers to step out from the curtain to perform. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and this promised to be a show all would look back upon fondly for seasons yet to come. Behind the curtain, in the fancy and colorful dress of male traveling minstrels were three young women, one of whom, holding her tambourine tightly in hand, chanced to look out from behind the curtain. Behind her, a second one was meticulously inspecting the stops on her flute as the third one, a blonde, adjusted the tuning knobs of her twelve string mandolin. She stopped, looking to the woman still glancing out at the growing crowd. "Can we find her?" she asked, her voice betraying a certain note of sadness. "Don't worry!" the troubadour holding the tambourine said impulsively, her jet black hair pulled back into a ponytail swung behind her as she turned to face the blond, "That's why we came here." "We'll definitely find her," the third said in a more conciliatory tone as she looked up from the flute to meet the blonde's eyes. "Taiki is right," Seiya said as she tightened her grip on the tambourine, "Even if we sacrifice everything... Now, let's go!" she said, holding back the edge of the curtain as she nodded with her head towards the audience in attendance out on the grass, "It's time..." A few seconds later, the crowd clapped wildly as the three minstrels stepped out from behind the curtain. ------ The small child lay asleep in her bed, snuggled up into a ball beneath her comforter. After the long day of visits, meetings and ambassadors, the girl was worn out. The day would've been unbearably boring for the poor girl if it wasn't for her new friend. The other girl was shy and a bit introverted at first, but soon enough she opened up and they spent the afternoon playing dress up with their dolls and making each other crowns of flowers out in the garden as their advisors and adjutants, taking the girls' lead, worked out friendly relations treaties between their lands. The day had been a strange mixture of fun and boredom, and both she and her new friend had decided to turn in early. And as she lay peacefully in her bed, a visitor silently crept in and jumped onto her bed. "Serenity," a small voice said. The girl reluctantly opened her eyes, looking at the little kitten crouched next to her with annoyance. "Luna," she whined, "It's not morning yet. Why'd you wake me?" "I think something's wrong with Princess Neherenia," the kitten responded. "Neherenia-chan?" Serenity asked as she now sat up, her hair combed out of their usual odangos and her little nightgown loosely covering her. Out of concern for her new friend she crawled out of bet and scampered off to the guest room, the polished floor cold beneath her tiny bare feet. As she finally reached the door, she could hear a small whimpering sound from inside the room. "Neherenia-chan?" the little princess whispers, "Neherenia, what's wrong?" she asked as she slowly entered the room. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she suddenly saw her new friend on her bed, tossing and turning as she cried in her sleep. "Neherenia-chan," Serenity said as she shook the girl's shoulder, "Wake up!" The dark-haired princess opened her eyes; a tear fell down her cheek as she sat up and looked at her fellow princess. Serenity climbed into her bed with her and hugged her close as the girl now wept upon her shoulder. "Shhh," she whispered, "It was just a bad dream. Everything's all right now, honest." As she held the little princess, an idea struck her. "Neherenia-chan, would it make you feel better if I stayed here with you tonight?" The Princess of the New Moon looked up at her and shyly smiled as she nodded her head. Serenity turned over the pillow so that the tear-stained side faced down. The two lay facing one another. "There now," Serenity whispered as she took Neherenia's hands in her own, "Now I'll be here to help Neherenia-chan face her bad dreams. And if you need me again, just give my hands a squeeze." Neherenia smiled, showing off a cute pair of dimples. "Thank you, Serenity-Chan," she whispered back, giving her friend's tiny hands a small squeeze. "Serenity, wake up!" ------ Queen Serenity opened her eyes to find herself sitting in her favorite rocking chair up on a third-story terrace of the palace next to her wife, who was at the moment smirking at her. "What?" she asked with a yawn. "You were dozing off again." "I was resting my eyes," Serenity said, "I don't, 'doze off.'" Neherenia chuckled. "Now you're sounding like your daughter," she teased. "So, what were you thinking about as you were 'resting your eyes?'" Serenity closed her eyes and smiled wistfully, "Childhood," she answered, opening her eyes again to smile at her wife. "Just feeling a bit nostalgic, I guess." "I see," Neherenia said, "Well, if you're done dreaming of the past, here in the present the last of our stragglers have arrived. Confirmation arrived from the observatory not fifteen minutes ago and... Ah," she said, pointing to what looked like a red shooting star hurtling towards the protective dome surrounding the Moon Kingdom, "Here she is now." Down at a small receiving area outside the dome, a group of palace guards and dignitaries stood watching as the red streak sped ever closer before slowing down suddenly and, in a brilliant flash of crimson light, landed. Once the spots caused by the burst stopped flickering in front of the onlookers' eyes, all present bowed respectfully at the waist before the woman now standing before them. She wore the traditional red hooded priestly vestments of her sacred office, tied about the waist with a crimson sash. As the sacred priestess stepped forward, she raised her hand up and, in a sweeping motion with her henshin wand in her hand she blessed the guards, servants and ambassadors alike as they joined their hands together. A slender woman in a shining yellow gown stepped out from the crowd. The blonde likewise joined her hands together as the priestess now blessed her as well. "Your Holiness," she said as she then walked over to her, "You're a bit tardy." "Lady Venus," the raven-haired oracle said as she pulled her hood back, "My apologies to you and our fellow royals, but it couldn't be helped. I was detained by the sacred flames within Phobos-Deimos Castle." "Indeed," Princess Venus asked as they both began to head for the entrance to the city, "And what does Her Holiness see within the fires?" "I'm not sure," Princess Mars admitted, "All is to go well with today's celebration, and then after things seem to get blurry, as if obscured by clouds or looked at through a fishbowl. About the only thing I can positively make out is that the second to the throne, Serenity II, will play a major role in whatever is about to occur." "Serena?" Venus asked, using the Moon Princess' common nickname. The Princess-oracle of Mars nodded her head, "As you are the leader of the Inner Court, I felt it to be my duty to share this with you as soon as possible." Venus looked at her friend and fellow princess with concern; just as the four princesses of the Outer Court were given the duty of protecting the solar system from outside invasion, the Inner Court were sworn to protect Princess Serenity II. They were more than simply the rulers of their home worlds; they were bodyguards, and as the leader of the Inner Court Venus didn't like was she was being told one bit. If something was going to happen to the next in line to the throne, she wanted to know what. "Thank you," she said finally, "I'll inform Ladies Mercury and Jupiter, and the four of us will have to remain on alert. After all, better safe than to keep the doctor away." Princess Mars smirked. Entering the palace grounds, she waved her henshin wand over herself, and her robes disappeared in a bright red flash of light as a scarlet gown materialized around her. With the arrival of Mars, all the members of the royal court were now assembled. It was the first time they'd all been together in the same place at the same time since the war against Queen Beryl and Metaria, and while Mars and Venus strode through the gates to the cheering of the assembled subjects and guests, elsewhere within the palace itself a woman stood warily before a mirror in her guest room, trying one last time to get her less than manageable hair to stay down. She wore a polished bronze breastplate over her chest and abdomen, and a skirt of chain mail hung down to her calves. The ochre-colored leather bindings of her leggings wound up to just below her knees, and at her side, safely housed within its scabbard next to the leather strap from which she hung her henshin wand, was her battle-tested Space Sword. Allowing a disgruntled grumble to escape her throat, she licked her fingers in the hopes of using her own spittle to keep the last few cow licks down. She stopped when the familiar scent of rose water and lilacs reached her nostrils, smiling as a pair of slender arms reached around to embrace her from behind. "Uranus," a tender voice asked, "Why aren't you dressed yet? You're still wearing your Uranian armor?" The warrior turned around, reaching up to stroke her fellow princess' face. "Neptune," she said in a husky voice as she took in the smaller princess in her sea-green gown, "I can't remember ever seeing you more lovely, and..." "Oh no you don't," Neptune interrupted with a smirk, "Don't try to change the subject." "Well... My hair..." "Is only a stalling tactic and we both know it." With that, the princess from the warrior planet near the outskirts of the solar system frowned. "Do I... Do I really have to wear it?" Neptune crossed her arms. "Pluto has already assured us that she sees nothing happening during the duration of the celebration ceremony, and the palace has plenty of guards already. They simply wish you to dress more like a princess than a man-at-arms for a bit. It's only for a short duration, and it'll make Queens Serenity and Neherenia so happy. Besides," she added with a smirk, "You're the one who told me the Uranian parable of the mother who killed her own cowardly son for receiving a wound in the back during battle. Now stop trying to run and avoid this and face it straight on like a princess of Uranus should." Uranus nodded reluctantly and, with a sigh of resignation, took up her henshin wand. In a blaze of light she stood before her lover and fellow princess in a dark blue spaghetti-strapped evening gown which reached down to the floor. Neptune smiled warmly as she came closer, "You look quite striking in a gown, you know," she said as she wrapped her arms around her. "Indeed?" Uranus asked as she leaned closer to her fellow princess. They would've kissed then and there, if it wasn't for the sound of jingling coming up from the hallway outside the room. The two lovers had just enough time to separate before Lady Pluto entered the room, her black gown hugging every curve of her statuesque frame. She wore a black choker and a pair of shimmering black gloves that ended just above her elbows. Around her waste, her chain of keys hung heavily from her hips, and she held her time-staff resting against her shoulder. "It is time," she said in her usual soft voice, adding with a raised eyebrow "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" "No, of course not," Haruka said, "Thank you." The Guardian of the Gates of Time nodded her head before turning to leave. "Does she have to be so mysterious?" Neptune whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "She's Pluto," Uranus said with a shrug, "It's her job to be mysterious. You go on ahead; I just have something to check on before joining up with you." "Very well, but don't keep us waiting too long." Lady Uranus watched her lover leave. Assured that she was alone in the room, she pulled up the hem of her gown, smiling smugly as she saw that her laced leggings were still comfortably in place where nobody would be able to see them. She let her dress once more droop down to the polished floor and followed after Neptune. As she wandered through the hallway, surrounded by frescoes and marble columns, Uranus saw one of the other guestroom doors open. The woman she saw emerge from the room was something of a walking contradiction; from her moon surrounding her giant and gaseous home world, where the severity of gravity and necessities of evolution caused its inhabitants to grow taller than elsewhere in the solar system, she was considered somewhat diminutive, almost a runt. Yet here, within the palace, she stood taller than anyone in the Inner Court, as well as both Princesses Neptune and Saturn of the Outer Court. As she adjusted her dark-green gown, she noticed Uranus walking up to her and smiled. "Lady Uranus," Princess Jupiter said as she bowed her head, "You look good in a dress." Uranus rolled her eyes as she mumbled something under her breath. Princess Jupiter either took no notice of her fellow royal's reaction or simply chose not to pursue the matter. After all, Lady Uranus was an Outer, and it was an Outer's job to be aloof and mysterious. She was happy to know that she wasn't the only straggler though, and as she walked alongside Uranus she almost thought she caught the blonde sneaking a peek at her cleavage. The two of them reached the end of the long hallway together, where a palace servant opened the door to the two princesses, both of whom were taken off guard by the deafening noise that greeted them as they stepped through the portal out onto a fourth-story terrace. The others were all present already, and as Uranus stepped over towards Neptune and Jupiter walked over to stand next to Princess Mercury, dressed in a light blue dress that trailed behind her, the dome lit up with fireworks as the planetary banners were run up nine flagpoles beneath the terrace. All assembled from both the New and White Moon Kingdoms shouted and clapped as loudly as they were capable, the sound reverberating and trembling through the Princesses as they smiled, waved and tossed flowers and colored streamers out to the multitude. As the celebrations officially began within the dome in the Mare Serenitatis region of the moon, hundreds of thousands of miles outside the solar system on an oblong hunk of rock roughly three kilometers long, a gathering of an entirely different kind was taking place. "I feel it!" an ominous voice said, her eyes narrowing as she instinctually clenched her fists, "The energy of ever-shining stars; true Star Seeds! On the small white satellite of that blue shining planet, there are still lots of sleeping Star Seeds. Find them!" the voice ordered, "Go and get the Star Seeds... in order to dominate all the galaxies!" With that, five bright streaks of light took off, headed for the small moon orbiting the third planet around the medium-sized yellow star. It would take them at least a day to travel the distance, during which they were to avoid any of the outlying planets of the solar system. This was to be a sneak-attack, and the last thing the being wanted was for any of their home worlds to warn them and split them up. Besides, if the Senshi of this system were stupid enough to make things easier for her by all gathering together in one place at one time for her, all the better. ------ Several hours had gone by, during which all who attended had a good time (even Uranus). As the first-day of festivities finally began to wind down, Endymion stepped out of the palace and strolled over to a waterfall, allowing a yawn to escape him as he looked up at the Earth through the dome. "I see I'm not the only one tired out by today's merriment." Endymion turned around and smiled. "Princess Mercury, I didn't see you there." The young lady walked out of the shadows, "My Lord," she asked, "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Prince Endymion sighed. Tomorrow the Earth would be throwing its own version of Victory Day, celebrating their release from slavery under Queen Beryl and the union of the Earth and Moon Kingdoms between himself and his wife Serenity II. For some the celebration was a source of tension; by celebrating a "release from slavery," the Earth in fact was trying to distance itself from any implications of complicity or support in Queen Beryl's campaign, a stance seen as fraudulent and cowardly by many within the court. To complicate things further, there were small and radical groups of separatists scattered throughout planet Earth who disapproved of the holiday and argued against Earth even being a member of the court. The main source of discontent for many of the radicals was the incredibly long lifespan of those within the court, which they saw as unnatural and were jealous of. "Yes," he finally said, adding "My wife will travel with you and the rest of the Princesses of the Inner Court, as well as Serenity's two councilors Luna and Artemis, tomorrow morning to a small island nation in the Pacific which won the right to host the celebration in a contest held last year. My daughter and I will head to Eurasia and, from there, to the other land masses to appease the other peoples of the Earth. The Queens will of course stay here with their people and the Outers throughout the week-long holiday, at the end of which we will all return here to say our goodbyes." Mercury looked away from the Prince to gaze with him at the blue planet. "Do you ever think of them?" she asked, "The Guardians?" "The Shittenou? Occasionally. I wish I could've done more to foresee their treason, perhapse have intervened before things went too far. But in the end Kunzite and the others were fully aware of what they were doing when they sold their souls to the Dark Kingdom, and..." "Ah, Prince Endymion, here you are." Endymion and Mercury turned around to see Queen Neherenia walking over with Lady Saturn, the Mistress of Death was wearing a dark-purple gown and holding her Silence Glaive over her shoulder. Princess Mercury curtseyed to the Queen before taking her leave. The Queen of the New Moon watched her leave, and then turned back to the prince. "Endymion, Lady Saturn has shared something of interest that I think you should hear." "Indeed?" the prince asked. Lady Saturn nodded, "Lord, roughly six months ago there was a disturbance in the outer asteroid region of the solar system. A group of space debris was knocked out of it's normal orbit by a comet that passed near enough to exert a gravitational force on some of the asteroids and meteors outside of Pluto's orbit. Lady Pluto herself was guarding the Gates of Time, so Ladies Neptune, Uranus and I handled it. It was only a minor disturbance, only..." "Only she thinks she saw something out there," Neherenia interrupted. "Saw something?" Endymion asked. "Three somethings, actually," Saturn explained, "While I was redirecting a planetoid, I thought I saw three rays of light streaking past out of the corner of my eye. I was unable to check on it until I'd finished with the space rock, and by then they were gone. I'd assumed that either Uranus or Neptune would've taken care of whatever it was, but when I asked later Lady Uranus said she never saw the beams of light, while Neptune said she only saw one beam. When I questioned her further though, it came to light that the beam she saw took place about one Earth hour before I saw my three." Endymion looked from Lady Saturn to Queen Neherenia, "I think I'm failing to see the significance here," he admitted. "Prince," Neherenia said in a hushed tone, "The beams were headed for Earth." Prince Endymion furrowed his brow, "Earth? But as far as I can tell there's been no sort of outside menace to reach Earth within the last six months, certainly no strange beams of light..." "Are you sure?" Saturn asked, a note of concern in her voice, "After all, tomorrow your daughter, your wife and yourself..." "Yes, I assure you; no suspicious extraterrestrial activity has taken place upon the Earth within the last six months. My wife will have the Inner Court, and my daughter will have me to guard her. I assure you, I'd be the first to cancel tomorrow's appointments if I perceived any danger." "In that case," Neherenia said, "Let us keep this matter to ourselves for now. Be on your guard though, after all it's my granddaughter you'll be traveling with." "Of course, Neherenia-Sama," Endymion said with a bow. Once Neherenia and Saturn left him alone again, he stared out at his home planet for a few minutes more before turning to go back into the palace to join the other royals. ------ The next morning, two combatants stared intensely at one another, neither one willing to give nor ask quarter from the other. Finally, after several tense moments of back and forth action, one of them makes their move. It is a fatal error, one which her opponent quickly seizes upon. "Thanks for the three of clubs," Usagi says cheerfully, snatching the card up into her eager hands, "Gin!" "What, again?" Serenity II asked in disbelief, "That's three times in a row." "Now, now," Queen Serenity chided as she came over and put a consoling hand on her daughter's shoulder, "It's only a game, remember?" "I know," she conceded, "I just wish I won once in a while." "Serena," Venus said as she entered the room, "It is time." A few minutes later, the Inner Court (along with Imperial Advisors Luna and Artemis) waited outside the dome as Serenity II hugged her mother and stepmother goodbye. She then quickly went to her daughter who was in Endymion's arms and kissed them both warmly. "It'll only be for a week," her husband assured her, "We won't be able to really talk until we come back, but we won't stop thinking about you." "Or I you," the princess assured them. The three shared a quick group hug before Serena joined her guardians, and as the five princesses joined hands a small whirlwind seemed to gather about them. In a flash of light they were gone. Endymion then turned to Queens Serenity and Neherenia. "We'll be back before you know it," he assured. "Take care of yourself," Serenity said with a smile. Neherenia nodded her head next to her, her demeanor a bit graver. "Any sign of trouble, you get Serena and come back," she said, "Promise." Endymion nodded his head as he held Usagi close to him. In a flash of dark blue light, he shot up from the surface of the moon on his way to Earth. He and his daughter were two-thirds of the way to the prince's home world, when Usagi looked up and thought she saw several streaks, looking almost like shooting stars, flying towards both Earth and the Moon. Suddenly, one of the shooting stars changed direction, it's golden tail dragging far behind it. "Papa," Princess Usagi asked nervously as the streak headed straight for them, "What's that?" King Endymion had just enough time to turn his head to look before a blinding flash of golden-yellow light engulfed him and his daughter. ------ The three women traveled to the next town via the well-worn dirt path, tall grass shooting up all around them and the gray cloud cover above them threatening rain as the blonde steering the wagon suddenly let out a pained gasp and dropped the horses' reigns from her hands. "Yaten!" Seiya asked in alarm as she rushed to her side, "Yaten, what's wrong?" Yaten looked at her fellow performer and traveler with a haunted expression. "Two more lights of stars have just disappeared," she whispered. Seiya exchanged a worried look with Taiki before looking back at Yaten. "Did they do it?" she asked. Yaten looked straight into her eyes as she nodded her head. "In such a situation, I wish she would've been here..." Taiki admitted. "Or..." Seiya muttered, "She might be very close to us..." Yaten sat herself back up and took back the reigns to the carriage . "We have to hurry," she said determinedly Seiya nodded, "We don't have much time left." The carriage once more took the three bards up the path as they passed a crude wooden road sign announcing that they were entering their next stop, the Azabu Juban district. -To Be Continued- End Notes: Thanks go to Shanejayell for the suggestion of having the Three Lights as a trio of bards.
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