"Let the woman be girt with a sword before me!" "In her is all power given." Excerpt from The Law is for All by Aleister Crowley. ---- ---The Silver Millennium--- "How?" Yasuo, head ambassador from Neptune asked, "How did this happen?" Minerva looked in shock at the smoldering remains of the emissarial ship. Going down to the wreck with Yasuo and two of the other ambassadors, they came upon two of the princess' guards lying in pools of their own blood, seemingly dismembered by wild animals. "Great Shield!" Minerva exclaimed. A bright flash of light later, a large round bronze-colored shield appeared on her left arm as she carried her royal henshin wand in her right hand. "Ambassador, stay here." she said to Yasuo before entering the still burning ship. ------ The satellites, set up around planet Minerva and its small moon, were for the detection of possible threats posed by asteroids and comets. As Sako rechecked the raw data coming in from the early warning system, chancellor Maiya entered the control room. "What is it Sako?" Maiya hissed, "Don't you know how busy I am?" Sako was taken aback a bit; Maiya was well known for getting along well with subordinates and being very giving with her time. Choosing to ignore her chancellor's tone, Sako gave her report. "Several very large masses have appeared out of nowhere and are baring straight for us, Ma'am." she said, turning from her chancellor to point at the computer screen. Maiya looked at the monitor as she walked up behind Sako and put her left hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I see." she whispered, "Have you had a chance to inform anyone else yet?" "No Ma'am, you're the first one I contacted." Maiya smiled at that. Reaching around from behind, she grasped the young woman's throat with her right hand. Digging in with her nails, she tore out the younger woman's esophagus, spraying the monitor and computers with Sako's blood. She then grabbed her by the back of the head and crashed her skull through the monitor face first. Flicking the blood from her hand, the chancellor closed her eyes. "Quit your whining." she growled, "You wanted your Princess to stay, I'm making sure she does." She then opened her eyes and smiled as she left the room. The fleet had left hyperspace. It would now begin. ------ Minerva looked around at the damage as she held her shield in front of her, a glowing yellow orb of light extending from the shield's edges to surround her body. As she walked among the charred and disfigured remains of her guards and the emissaries, she realized that this was no accident. Whatever had attacked the guards had also done this. Somewhere on planet Minerva there was a traitor. She began to turn around when she felt the ground shudder underneath her. As she began to rush out of the ship, a second shockwave was felt. ‘An earthquake.' she thought as she was seized with concern for her subjects. As she finally exited the craft, she learned the horrifying truth. War ships. War ships stretched across the sky, launching terrible weapons down on her beloved planet. She could hear the explosions, and her people screaming to her for help. Her people were under attack. Why hadn't she been warned? ---South Orange Grove, Texas--- ---October 13, 1946--- Jack Parsons had been stripped of his leadership role in the American branch of the O.T.O. He had lost power and prestige within the occult community who now considered him a dangerous maverick. None of his old friends from the Ordo Templi Orientalis would have anything to do with him, lest they be ostracized themselves. A weaker man would've been crushed by such setbacks. Parsons, however, no longer cared. Today was to be his triumph, his last laugh at Crowley and all those who'd tried to bring him down. As the avatar screamed in pain, Parson's looked to the skies and thanked the fates. She was in labor. Babylon was about to be born into the world of men. It was most unusual for a father to request to be present at the birth of his child. Of course, being a rocket scientist for the U.S. Military had its perks, and the money needed to bribe an entire maternity ward was one of them. He looked on as the head began to crown. This was it; the beginning of the new Eon of Horace Crowley was always going on about. Unlike Crowley however, Parson's hadn't simply waited for the new eon to arrive; he'd forced it to come now! The shoulders now emerged as tears of joy began to run down the magus' cheeks. With a final scream, and an agonizing push, the child was born. Babylon was born! Parsons pushed the nurses out of the way. He had to see the goddess, the female messiah of the new age, he... But wait; what's this? Something went wrong. This wasn't a goddess of light and freedom. What in the hell was this? ---Tokyo, the Present--- Haruka sat on the couch in Usagi's living room with her arm wrapped protectively around Michiru's shoulder. Those who only knew the public face of Tenoh Haruka, the formula-one racecar driver with the roguish good looks, would've been surprised by the private woman; a warrior, wife and parent who was willing to sacrifice anything for those she cared for. Yesterday, she'd been forced to look on helplessly as Michiru was assaulted by something psychically. Later, she and the Outers learned that Rei had likewise been attacked. Both times, it had been when they felt a menace first and tried to reach out to discover its source. The events of yesterday had frightened the sandy-blonde more than she was comfortably willing to admit. She looked over to see Hotaru sitting on Michiru's other side, and frowned when she thought of the fifteen year old having to watch her Michiru-mama go through that. "You can't be serious." Rei's voice brought the racer back to the present. "I can't simply ignore something like this. Whatever this menace is..." "Nearly took out both you and Michi-chan." Makoto interrupted. "If we hadn't been there to help you combat it, what do you think would've happened?" "But, to simply ignore a threat?" Michiru asked, "To intentionally not try to investigate..." "Michi, please." Ami said, "Whatever it is will show itself soon enough." Minako nodded, "The first time the two of you tried to investigate, Rei fell into a mini-coma and your mirror went black. And this last time... Michi-chan, we don't want to lose you or Rei." Haruka frowned. What Michiru and Rei were being asked to do, intentionally ignore a threat until it showed itself, went against everything the two Senshi stood for. And yet... And yet she still could remember holding her wife's shaking body as the shorter woman coughed up blood. "Ruka?" Michiru asked as she looked into Haruka's handsome green eyes, "Ruka, what do you think?" The Senshi of the Winds didn't know what to say. They were asking Michi and Rei to cave into a bully who was attacking them from a distance, but at the same time what if next time the two women were alone? She'd once been willing to sacrifice anything, including not only her own life but even Michiru's as well, in order to save the earth from evil. Things were no longer so simple. She was now a wife and a parent. With a sigh, she turned away from her wife's deep blue eyes to look at Usagi. "Odango, I... I can no longer give an objective opinion." she admitted in front of everyone, "As the future ruler of Crystal Tokyo, I bow to your decision." Usagi was taken aback. She looked at her fellow Senshi in the room, and swallowed hard. "For now," she said finally, "We do nothing. At least for the moment. Whatever's out there will lower its guard eventually. And when it does..." A small beeping sound interrupted her. Everyone looked over to Setsuna who was pulling her cell phone out of her purse. She turned her back to the group as she answered it. ------ Saito Kihomi arrived home an hour ago. After yet another series of exhaustive tests, the doctors again admitted defeat at what could be causing the young woman's problems. She didn't dare tell them about the voices. The last thing she needed as a teacher was for word to possibly get around that she was nuts. After the first attack she'd been frightened. Now, she was frustrated and angry. What was most annoying was the fact that there was no precedent for what was happening to her. She'd never had anything like this occur to her before. And the timing was awful. She was in her first year as a teacher and had just met an attractive woman... Setsuna! With a start, she realized she hadn't called Hotaru's adoptive mother yet. Temporarily forgetting her health scare, she pulled out the slip of paper she'd given her and stared at the number. Taking a few deep breaths she worked up the courage and dialed the number. ------ "Hello?" Setsuna said into the phone. "What? Kihomi who? Oh, Kihomi!" she said with a start, "Yes, I'm fine, yourself? Tonight? Hold on." she said placing her hand over the phone. She turned around to see everyone in the room staring at her inquiringly. Hotaru spoke up first. "Is it Saito-sensei?" the young Senshi of Death asked. "Yes it is." she admitted as she felt herself blush under everyone's looks. Turning to Michiru, her face fell a bit. "Michi-chan, if you need me to cancel my... my date tonight, I..." Michiru shook her head adamantly. "No way. I'll be fine. Hotaru and Ruka will be here, and the others will only be a phone call away. Go, and have a wonderful time." Setsuna smiled warmly at her friend, then lifted her hand off the phone, "Yes, tonight's still on. Where? I know the perfect place. It's a traditional Japanese restaurant near the movie theater in Kioicho. Yes, that's the one. Don't worry about that; I asked you out to dinner, therefore the meals on me. And I have more than enough to cover the expenses. You're welcome. I'll see you tonight then at the restaurant. Goodbye." After the phone call, she folded up her cell phone and put it back in her purse. She then turned to the faces of her friends and smiled sheepishly. "Well..." Setsuna began awkwardly, "I suppose you're all wondering about my phone call." Minako spoke up first. "Details." the Senshi of Love demanded, "Now." ------ "What do you mean 'delayed'?" Beniko asked Professor Miyagawa. The scientist looked from the shapely blond to her silent red-haired partner, and sighed. "Look, you made the ritual end early, causing me to shut down the machine too soon. The sudden stop burned out some of the coils. It'll be at least ten o'clock by the time I've got the repairs done and can have it up and running again." Marika buried her head in her hand in frustration, allowing a grunt of annoyance to escape. Beniko put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, feeling a slight tinge at the way her partner's leather jacket moved beneath her fingers. "Very well, Professor." the blond finally said, "Fix it. We need it up and running by tonight. We only have three nights left." she said as she and Marika left the warehouse. The professor watched them leave, and then began work on his machine. ---That Evening--- Kihomi stood nervously outside the restaurant, hoping she had everything together. She'd been to the beauty salon earlier and had her brown hair up in a French braid. She wore a dark evening coat over her light blue blouse and white slacks. A pair of tan pumps completed her ensemble. She looked at her watch and breathed a sigh of relief. No attacks. Whatever it was must have gone away. "Kihomi?" The young teacher turned to see Setsuna wearing a light gray coat over a short green evening gown, her long legs ending in black high-heeled pumps. Both women stared admiringly at each other for a few seconds before Setsuna broke the silence. "So... Are you ready for dinner?" she asked. Kihomi smiled warmly. "Of course." she said. Reaching the door first, she held the door open for Setsuna before following her in. ------ "So," Michiru said as she watched the television next to Haruka, "How do you think they're doing?" "Depends." Haruka answered. Hotaru, sitting in another chair, looked over at her. "Depends on what Haruka-papa?" "On how much of a lady your teacher is, and how much self defense your Setsuna-mama remembers. Oof!" she let out as Michiru elbowed her. ------ "A fashion designer?" Kihomi asked. Setsuna blushed, "I want to be one, but it's a hard industry to get into. I'll probably try to apprentice to someone who already has a name, then hopefully get my own designs made." "Well, I can certainly see that you have fashion sense. You look stunning tonight." Setsuna's eyes widened at that. She'd received compliments from her friends of course; but hearing the woman sitting across from her say it felt different somehow. She looked away from her date and looked down toward her unopened menu. "What's wrong?" Kihomi asked. Setsuna swallowed hard and looked back up at her. "I'm... I'm a bit scared." she admitted. The teacher tilted her head a bit. "Scared? Of me?" Setsuna nodded. "I've never dated a girl before." she said, which was a half truth; she'd never dated anyone before. "I don't know what to say or how to act, or..." her voice trailed off as her date reached across the table to rest her hand on top of hers. Kihomi could still remember her first time going out with a woman. They'd both been drunk, the sex was horrible, and she woke up the next day with a hangover and feeling dirty. She was determined that the woman sitting across from her wouldn't look back on tonight's date the same way she looked back on that one. "Okay Setsuna; first of all, relax. I'm not going to jump you or try anything. Right now we're just two women who find one another attractive and who are sharing a meal together. I find you to be a fascinating, warm, and intelligent woman whom I'd like to get to know better. If you feel nervous about going any further than that, then we don't have to go any further yet." Setsuna looked into Kihomi's eyes and smiled; her date was letting her set the pace. "Thank you." she said, "I... I'd like to get to know you better too." Kihomi felt herself melt under Setsuna's smile. "Wonderful. Well, shall we look at our menus?" A half an hour later the waitress delivered two plates of sashimi as Setsuna continued to giggle at one of Kihomi's anecdotes. The teacher and she found that they both shared a love for history (of course, as Sailor Pluto, Setsuna had seen most of it first hand from the timegate) as well as a similar taste in literature. Michiru and Haruka had given Setsuna permission to tell her that the racecar driver was a woman and they were a gay couple, and she had talked a bit about her family life. Kihomi had responded with stories of her childhood and the crazy antics she and her friends used to get into. It was a story about a kid at her school who had called her a rezu (dyke), and how she'd retaliated by sneaking into his shop class after school with a jar of Gorilla Glue to stick a table he'd spent three weeks making to the ceiling that had the Time Senshi laughing. As her date finally stopped laughing, Kihomi broke her chopsticks apart and took a bite. "You know," she said after swallowing, "You have a very cute laugh." Setsuna looked at her date a bit surprised. Cute? It was not usually a word associated with the Senshi of Time. "Thanks." she said, blushing a bit. Kihomi noted the sudden pink tinge to Setsuna's cheeks and smiled. It had taken a while to draw the young woman out, but now that she had she found Setsuna to be a wonderful table companion. "So, do you have any humorous stories about your friends?" Kihomi asked conspiratorially, "I mean, I've been telling you about some of my adventures from my misspent youth, surely you've got some humorous stories you could tell." Setsuna thought about it. She'd never been known as one with a quick joke or wry story. But then she thought about a certain blond who would one day rule Crystal Tokyo, and a wide smile lit up her face. ------ Rei frowned. It was happening again. She was a Sailor Senshi, a defender of the earth. How could she just ignore what she knew was a threat to all of them. "You're feeling it again, aren't you?" Makoto asked. The young woman was staying at the temple with the priestess to keep an eye on her. Rei nodded. "It's bad, whatever it is. I hate this, Mako-chan. I feel so helpless." Makoto put an understanding hand on her shoulder. "I know." she said sympathetically, "I know." ------ "But I can't just sit here!" Michiru protested. She was about to argue further when Haruka stroked her hair and gave her a sad look. "Michi-chan, please." she said in a tone Michiru had only rarely heard from her wife, "You're... You're everything to me. I can't watch you suffer like that again, unable to help you, unable to take away the pain. It'll only be for a little while, just until we have a handle of what we're up against. Please." she added in a pleading tone. Michiru looked at her wife in silence. The blond usually kept everything so bottled up, only showing a cool exterior, that to find out the extent seeing her suffering had hurt Haruka surprised her a bit. "O... Okay." she finally conceded, "For now." Haruka smiled sadly as she embraced the Senshi of the Seas. Elsewhere in Tokyo, chanting could be heard over the low hum of a large machine in a warehouse. ------ The two women laughed jovially as they walked out into the parking lot. "So then what happened?" Kihomi asked, listening to her date's story. "Well... Well then Usagi, whose job it was to give Haruka the ring to put on Michiru's finger, she... she..." Setsuna began to laugh uncontrollably as she thought back to the event she was recounting. "She put the ring on her own finger so she wouldn't forget or lose it. So the time comes, Ruka turns to Usagi to get Michi's ring, and... and... and Usagi couldn't get it off her finger!" she said before both she and Kihomi began laughing uncontrollably. As they laughed, Kihomi put her hand on Setsuna's shoulder, leaning a bit toward her as she did so. Setsuna put her arm around the other woman, pulling her in a bit closer as they continued to laugh. Kihomi turned to Setsuna as she slowly stopped laughing. The Senshi of Time slowly calmed down as she likewise turned to her date. Smiling, the teacher reached over to cup Setsuna's cheek in her hand. The fashion designer could feel her heart beat faster as the woman leaned forward to kiss her, gently pressing her lips to Setsuna's. Setsuna closed her eyes as Kihomi brought her other hand up as well, cradling the Senshi's face in her hands. As Setsuna lost herself in the moment her date breathed in her perfume, noting with satisfaction that she had worn the same scent as when she met her with her family the day before. At last separating their lips, Kihomi kept her hands on the slightly shorter woman's face as she stroked her cheeks with her thumbs. "So," she said in a low tone, "How did that feel?" Setsuna felt warm all over. The kiss had been sweet and tender, just as Kihomi herself had been all throughout the date. She looked at her date, at her mesmerizing grey eyes and kind face, and smiled fondly as she brought her own arms around the teacher. "Nice." she said, finally breaking the awkward silence. "It... It felt nice." Kihomi returned the smile. "I'm glad." she answered, quickly adding, "We don't have to go any further tonight if you don't want to. I..." Kihomi was cut off as Setsuna herself initiated a second kiss. Caught a bit off guard, she soon joined in. As she felt Setsuna's arms tighten a bit around her, she decided to take a chance and open her mouth just a crack. After a few seconds, her date followed suit and likewise opened her mouth a bit. Cautiously, Kihomi slid the tip of her tongue into Setsuna's mouth. Almost immediately she felt Setsuna tense up. Kihomi began to fear she may have jumped the gun, until she felt her date's tongue tentatively touching her own. She slowly slid her tongue in a bit further as she put her right hand behind the Senshi's head. Setsuna let out a soft moan as Kihomi began to encircle her tongue with her own. She'd been alone so long, without someone to share her heart with, and always putting duty first. She thought of Michiru's words now, that no one was meant to be alone, as she continued to embrace her date. She now knew what it was like to feel another holding her, touching her, caring for her. She hoped tonight never had to end. Unfortunately, that's when she felt it. It went surging through her being, bringing her back down to earth. She reluctantly pushed herself away from the embrace. Kihomi felt her pull back, pushing away from her. She looked into her date's violet eyes seeking an explanation. "I... I'm sorry." Setsuna said sadly, "I have to go." Kihomi could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "What did I do wrong?" she asked, hurt and confused. "Did I push you too fast, or..." "No." Setsuna said as she felt the second surge ten seconds after the first, "You didn't do anything wrong. I can't explain, but please believe me, I..." a third jolt ran through her, and she turned and ran to find a place to transform. Kihomi watched her run off before turning back toward her car. Reaching the small vehicle, she took out her keys to unlock the door and got in. Sitting in the driver's seat, she leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and let out a groan. "Shit." she muttered, "What just happened?" Before she could wallow any further in self-pity, her head began throbbing in pain again. She began to whimper as she realized what was going to come next "Join us." "Hasten the Manifestation." "Join us." She closed her eyes tightly as she wept, the pain and the voices coming together to create a symphony of pain. Opening her eyes, she looked in the rearview mirror. There, standing behind the car, was a nude man slowly cutting himself with a knife. "Join us." he mouthed. Clutching the sides of her head, she turned to look out the rear window. No one was there. Turning back to the front windshield she saw a different nude man holding a large sword, with a woman on either side of him cutting themselves with small blades. He raised the sword and pointed it at her. "You dare not refuse!" he shouted just before he and the women disappeared. Allowing a final cry of pain to escape, Kihomi slipped off into unconsciousness.
Back to Sailor Moon: Minerva Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction