Author's Notes: In case anyone's wondering why I'm having the action on Earth take place in Edo instead of Tokyo like it did in the original series, there's a very simple answer to that: they're both the same place. This story takes place in the past, and prior to the Meiji era the capitol of Japan was Kyoto, and Edo was a port city most famous for being the residence of the Shogun. Emperor Meiji moved the capital to Edo during his reign and renamed the city Tokyo (Eastern Capital). Since none of that happened until the nineteenth century though (long after the Silver Millennium), it's Edo for this story. Also, this story will take place during the Jomon Period (14000 BCE to 300 BCE), long before the rise of the Shogun. ------ -II- Lord Umino Gurio was a nervous wreck. In a contest of physical skill held a year earlier, the Islands of Japan won the right to host Princess Serenity II and the Princesses of the Inner Court. Later, much to the consternation of the Emperor of Japan in Kyoto, the Moon Kingdom asked that he allow a drawing to take place to see where in Japan the second to the royal throne of the great Moon Kingdom would stay. The lot fell upon Edo, a port city known for its trade and fishing as well as its militarily strategic position. As the daimyo, the feudal lord of the commercial city, the heavy responsibility for entertaining and housing the princesses fell upon Gurio's shoulders. The near-sighted young man nervously stood outside the small castle his family left him, hoping its diminutive size wouldn't be seen as insulting to his imperial visitors. As one of his advisors informed him that the sun dial signaled the time was near, he visibly began to shake. "Gurio dear, calm down," his wife Naru said as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Everything will be alright, you'll see." She smiled reassuringly as the sun hit the green bow in her auburn hair. "I... I hope so. But what if they're not used to sleeping on mats like we are? I hear there are lands in which people sleep on cushions that stand above the ground, and eat at tall tables with chairs rather than on tables close to the floor, and..." he was cut off as a bright glowing light appeared before his wife and himself. Shortly thereafter, Princess Serenity II and her guardians, the princesses of the Inner Court, appeared. Gurio and his wife, as well as his advisors, stared in awe at the beautiful princess who, as second in line to the throne, carried with her the symbol of her royalty, the Spiral Heart Moon Rod. Her clothes were shining white, and her beautiful blue eyes had a kindly look to them. The royal crescent moon mark was plainly present on her forehead, and at her feet stood her advisors, Luna and Artemis. From behind the beautiful princess, the vested Priestess oracle of Mars stepped forward, bowed respectfully to the daimyo and his wife, both of whom reverently bowed their heads and joined their hands together as she blessed them both. Mars then stepped back to join the other princesses behind Serenity II. The young Gurio was speechless; never before had he seen such beauty, or such high nobility. A tap on his shoulder from Naru brought him back to reality. "Ah, um... Most noble Princess Serenity, I'm Umino Gurio, and my wife Naru and I..." "Is that where you live?" the princess asked, inadvertently interrupting the nervous lord. "Um, yes my princess." "Your castle is so small..." she muttered, quickly adding "I love it!" "Really?" Gurio asked, the corners of his mouth beginning to turn upward in relief. Serenity II nodded her head with a smile, "It's adorable; it's just like a little dollhouse, only it's big enough to live in. My daughter would have loved to have seen it too, I'm sure." Naru bowed, "You honor us, Serenity-sama." "Please," the princess said, "Call me Serena, everybody else does. Oh," she gasped as she came over and put her hand on the sleeve of Naru's dress, "This material is so beautiful." "Thank you... Serena," Naru said with a slight blush, "It's called 'silk.'" "Really? Well, let's go inside this cute little castle of yours and you can tell me all about it. By the way, is your husband ill?" "No, your highness," Naru answered truthfully, "He's simply nervous." "He shouldn't be," Serena said cheerfully as she smiled at Naru, "After all, I have the feeling that we're all going to be great friends, don't you?" turning back, the princess waved to Gurio, "Gurio-sama, aren't you going to give me a tour of your lovely home?" "Huh?" he asked, still taken off guard by the princess' friendly and familiar tone, "Oh, right! Of course!" he said as he ran after the princess and his wife. Looking on, Luna allowed a chuckle, "That's our Serena," she said, "Not here even five minutes and already she's best friends with the local daimyo and his wife." "I'd call her a master diplomat," Artemis observed, "Except it isn't diplomacy with her, it's simply the way she is." The two cats followed their princess, and the four members of the Inner court followed after them. Finally, Lord Gurio's servants brought up the rear, the last one making sure to close the door to the castle behind him. ------ Pluto stood silently before the Eternity Main System, the advanced supercomputer housed within the palace of the Moon Kingdom. She closed her eyes and allowed her shoulders to slump as she leaned her head against her time staff. Hundreds of years from now, on a small island nation on Earth, a poet and playwright would make the observation that all the world's a stage, and all it's men and women merely players. Lady Pluto already knew that though, just as she knew of the grand performance about to take place. It was her responsibility, and her curse, to be the Guardian of the Time Gate. It wasn't so much that she was just acting out a prewritten script that upset Pluto at times like these, but rather the burden of knowing what was coming, of having the script itself memorized by heart and lacking the ability to alter or stop the performance. Act one was already playing out; Serena and the Inner Court were on Earth, Endymion and Usagi were gone, and she and the others left on the Moon were blissfully enjoying the week of celebrations. It was the knowledge of what lay ahead in the next few acts of the drama about to play out that made her stomach sink. As she continued to stand before the supercomputer, lost in her thoughts, she was joined by Luna and Artemis' daughter Diana. The small grey kitten looked at the Princess with concern. "Pluto-sama, is everything alright?" she asked, "You look sad." "I can't talk about it," the statuesque princess muttered, her dark green bangs casting a shadow over her closed eyes. "Why not? Sometimes it helps to share your troubles with another, like Princess Usagi does with me. If it's because you're afraid of my telling others your secrets..." "No," she responded, barely paying any attention whatsoever to what she was saying, "It's because it hasn't happened yet." Diana tilted her head at the response, "What? Pluto-sama, I don't understand. What hasn't happened yet?" "The warning," she whispered. "Warning? What warning?" "The warning that hasn't happened yet. The one the Eternity Main Frame will send out." The kitten began to grow concerned. "Pluto-sama, if there's to be a warning, then we'd best tell everybody right away!" she declared. Princess Pluto finally opened her eyes and, seeing the tiny grey kitten at her feet, smiled. "Tell them?" she asked as she bent down to look closer at young Usagi's advisor, "Tell them what?" "Of the danger facing the kingdom." Pluto raised an eyebrow, "What danger?" Diana looked up at Pluto in disbelief. "What danger? The Eternity Main System..." "The Eternity Main System hasn't warned us of any danger," she said with a bemused expression, "You can see for yourself that everything's normal. What are you going on about?" "But it will. You just said..." "As I recall," Pluto interrupted, "All I said was that I couldn't talk about what was bothering me because it hadn't happened yet." "But... But if you know what it is that is going to happen..." "How can I know if it has yet to happen?" The thoroughly confused kitten looked up at Lady Pluto for a few seconds before shaking her head and walking away. As the Keeper of the Gates of Time watched the befuddled feline wander off, she allowed a melancholy sigh to escape. She turned to leave, heading for the garden. She would shortly run into Saturn, and soon after that the two would innocently wander into the greenhouse together and catch Uranus and Neptune in an intimate embrace. There would be teasing followed by laughter, after which all four would head back inside the palace for tea. Princess Pluto turned off the light, shut the door behind her, and headed for the garden. ------ The two women and the cat walked side by side down the stone path to the bottom of the hill, Naru smiling and nodding away as Princess Serenity continued to talk away about how beautiful and green everything was here. She didn't act anything like Naru would've expected, there was no air of stuffiness or self-importance about her. Rather, she was remarkably down to earth, sincere, and friendly. "Sereni... Sorry, Serena-sama," Naru corrected herself, "Are you sure your guardians don't mind staying behind while we're out here?" "Of course not," the princess responded, "If they're needed, I can call upon them. Besides," she said with a wink, "I've been known to defend myself in a fight when necessary." "True," Luna spoke up, "But I still wish you'd at least brought Lady Venus with you." Princess Serenity was about to respond, when Naru turned happily to her and pointed at a small stone bridge ahead of them, "We're here." As the three reached the middle of the bridge, they looked over its side to see gold, white, and multi-colored koi fish swimming about in the shallow waters. "Oh, Naru-chan," Serenity gasped, "They're beautiful." Naru found herself blushing a bit at being referred to by -chan, usually only used between close friends, rather than the honorifics -san or –sama that protocol would've called for. As Usagi continued to watch the large fish swim around, the auburn-haired lady of the castle looked questioningly over to the imperial advisor. Luna simply smiled back. "It's okay," the cat reassured, "She likes you." Naru relaxed a bit at hearing that, and pulled out two small leather sacks filled with bits of food to feed the fish with. She passed one to Serenity, and watched as the princess squealed with joy at the way the fish swam around trying to catch the food. Her laughter was infectious, and soon she found herself giggling along with the princess. Soon however, the fish food ran out. "Don't worry," Naru said, "Wait here and I'll go get us some more from the castle." "Alright," Serenity responded with a smile, adding, "Hurry back though." As Naru left, Princess Serenity's smile faded a bit. "Serena?" Luna asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing," she answered a bit wistfully, "Just missing Endymion and Usagi, I guess." Luna leapt onto the stone railing of the bridge, "I understand, I miss my little Diana too. Your mom and Neherenia-mama probably are missing you too right now." Serena nodded her head, "Comes with the territory of being a mother, I guess." She was lost in her thoughts, staring off at the koi swimming below her. As she continued to watch absently, a shadow passed across the water and someone stepped up next to her. The princess quickly smiled once again, "You're back with more food already?" she asked happily as she turned to face her new friend, "Good, we can..." her voice died off as she realized it wasn't Naru at all, but a young man with jet-black hair pulled back into a long ponytail and wearing the distinctive garb of a traveling bard. "Oh! Hello." "Hello yourself," the brash young man said with a smile. Looking over her white dress and her golden hair pulled up into odangos, he guessed her to be a foreigner. "So, have you traveled far to hear us?" Princess Serenity looked perplexed, "I don't understand, who are you?" The bard was taken aback, "Y... You mean you don't know of me, or my fellow performers? We're staying here in this province for a while to perform, haven't you heard anything of it?" taking her blank expression for a "no," he frowned, "I guess we're not as popular as I thought," he muttered. Suddenly, Serenity smirked at the youth. "Oh, now I understand," she said, "This must be a new way of approaching girls. Young man, I'm a wife and mother, to say nothing of the fact I'm several years your senior, and..." she was cut off by the young man's laughter. "You're funny," he said as he turned to leave. Walking off the bridge, he called over his shoulder, "See you later, dumpling." Princess Serenity began to seethe, "Did you hear that?" she snapped at Luna, "What impertinence! Nobody outside of Endymion has ever had the nerve to call me 'dumpling.'" As Luna tried her best to sooth Serenity's wounded pride, back at the castle the four Princesses of the Inner Court were keeping themselves occupied. Princess Venus came into the castle kitchen wearing her white fuku top with white shoulder armor, an orange bow on her chest and red stripes running along the sides of her top. Her bottom was a small blue dress with red trim and black shoes with ankle straps, and around her waste she wore her chain of hearts. She found Princess Jupiter wearing a beautiful green silk kimono provided her by Lord Gurio and Lady Naru, sipping tea from an earthen cup. The Senshi Princess of Thunder and Courage raised an eyebrow at seeing her fellow princess in battle attire, "Are you planning on a fight?" Jupiter asked. Venus smirked, "I'm the head of the Inner Court," she answered, "I'm duty-bound to always be on-guard." "Of course," Jupiter answered as she took another sip of her tea. "Would you like some?" she offered, "It would be no trouble to fix you a bit." "Tea sounds nice," Venus answered. Princess Jupiter took some tea leaves and placed them at the bottom of a cup for her fellow royal. "By the way," she said as she poured hot water into the cup, "I understand you were there to receive Mars when she arrived yesterday. How was Her Holiness?" "Distant." Jupiter looked up at that to see a sad look in Venus' normally cheerful blue eyes, "Venus, I..." "Please," Venus interrupted, "Spare me. She has her duty, I have mine. Let's just leave it at that." Jupiter looked at her friend silently for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head and passing her cup of tea to her. As they both drank in silence, in another room of Lord Gurio's small castle Mercury played a game of checkers with Mars. The Princess of Wisdom was dressed in a semi-formal ice-blue gown that was not quite as fancy as the one she'd worn in the Moon Palace the day before. As she waited for her opponent to make her move, Artemis strode in. "Lady Mercury, Your Holiness, have either of you seen Venus?" "I think I saw her headed for the kitchen," Mars answered. Once Artemis left, Mercury leaned forward over the game board, "Your Holiness, have you had the chance to work things out with Venus yet?" Mars ignored the question as she moved her red piece. Mercury moved hers, and Mars took her piece. "Your Holiness," Mercury said softly, "She still loves you." Mars let out a heavy sigh, "I know," she admitted, "But we all know it can never be." "I know," Mercury said sympathetically, "Your holy vows. Your Holiness, just what would happen if you renounced them?" "Well, first I'd have to renounce my holy position, then I would be stripped of the royal Martian crown and would become a commoner. I'd quite possibly be banished from my home world as well..." "Venus would accept Your Holiness into her home planet," Mercury pointed out hopefully. Mars looked up at Mercury, "I am the Princess of Mars," she said, "I am also the High Priestess and Oracle of the Solar System. I can't simply ask to renounce all that because I find the demands of celibacy and perpetual virginity to be difficult. Fate has demanded this of me, and no one, not even I, can defy the fates. Now please, let's change the subject." Mercury lowered her eyes, "I'm sorry Your Holiness." Mars sat back in her chair, "It's alright," she said. "Anyways, how are you and Lady Jupiter doing?" Mercury looked surprised, "How did Your Holiness know..." "I'm an oracle, remember?" Mars said. Mercury blushed as she looked down at the game board, "Well, we were going to wait until the end of the week to announce our intentions." "Indeed?" Mars asked, "So who asked who?" "She asked me last spring. We were hoping Your Holiness would perform the ceremony." "Of course, it would be an honor," she answered. After a few more minutes of playing, she looked outside a nearby window, "Where's Serena? She should've been back by now." Mercury looked outside as well, "Don't worry," she said reassuringly, "I'm sure everything's fine. If she needed us, she would've sent for us." "You're probably right," Mars said thoughtfully, "Besides, I sensed no sort of danger when we arrived. I'm sure she's fine, just like you said." ------ Naru hurried along the path as fast as her feet could take her. It had taken awhile to get back to the castle, grab more fish food, and rush back. As she ran along with the food, a petite white figure with large mouse-like ears jumped out from behind a bush, causing the auburn-haired wife of the daimyo to let out a surprised screech of fright. "Luna," Princess Serenity said as she heard the cry, "What was that?" "We should call the others," the black cat advised. "No time," the princess said, clutching her Moon Rod in her hand as she ran towards the noise, "Whoever it is sounds close." "Serena, wait!" Luna cried as she ran after her. The princess ran faster as she heard a much louder, painful scream, taking off from the ground as translucent wings formed from her back. Coming over a small hill, she saw a nasty looking small woman dressed in a white outfit, with large mouse ears sticking out of the top of her head. In front of her knelt Lady Naru, a flower opening out of her forehead with a silver crystal floating above its petals. As the crystal turned black, the strange woman pouted. "Aw... And I thought for sure that an aristocrat like her would've had a Star Seed," she said disappointedly. "Stop right there!" Princess Serenity shouted, "What are you doing to Lady Naru?" The mouse-like woman turned to look at her, "Oh goodness! You're a Senshi, too?" she asked. Serenity was caught off guard, "Another Senshi?" The princess narrowed her eyes as she stepped forward, "Who are you?" The stranger smiled smugly, "I'm Senshi Iron Mouse." Looking back over at Naru, her smile widened, "I'm finished with today's business. Would you like to play with the phage?" Before Princess Serenity had time to react, Naru became encircled in strands of dark energy. Her form changed, her eyes turning a shade of blood-red as fish scales formed all over her body. Her now webbed fingers ended in claws, and a pair of gill slits appeared just behind her jaw line." "Senshi fishmonger!" the phage cried out. "N... Naru?" Serenity gasped. "Everyone who looses the brightness of their Star Seed becomes a phage," Iron Mouse chuckled as a diminutive pup tent appeared behind her. Quickly entering the tent, she called out "Have fun!" as both she and the tent disappeared. "Wait!" Princess Serenity exclaimed. "You don't look so healthy, princess," the phage said, "Maybe you should add some fish oil to your diet." Serena looked questioningly back over to the thing that was once Naru. She had just enough time to duck out of the way as the phage shot a mucous-like, oily translucent substance at her. It landed on a patch of grass, which instantly turned brown and withered. "Luna, look out!" Serenity shrieked as she grabbed her advisor and leapt out of the way of another of the phage's disgusting attacks. "Serena, you have to fight her!" Luna yelled, the royal advisor starting to panic. "I can't!" Serenity cried, "She used to be Lady Naru!" The princess heart was beating rapidly now as she quickly tried to figure out her options. As she was gearing up to avoid yet another new attack, both she and the phage suddenly heard the sound of fingers snapping. Turning her head, Princess Serenity saw three figures dressed in skintight black outfits standing on a large rock near the woods. "Penetrating the darkness at night..." "The air of freedom breaks through..." "We are the three sacred shooting stars..." "Senshi Star Fighter!" "Senshi Star Maker!" "Senshi Star Healer!" "Senshi Starlights... Are here!" Serenity looked at the three newcomers in disbelief. "More Senshi?" "Ah, more unhealthy specimens," the phage said as she readied to attack the three newcomers. Before she could though, the Senshi who called herself Star Fighter stepped forward. "Star serious laser!" she yelled out as a focused light blast shot forth from her hand, striking the phage and causing it to cry out in pain. The thing collapsed as smoke rose from its body. Star Fighter looked gravely down at her adversary, "I'm sorry," she said as she prepared to deliver a death blow, "This is the only way I know to bring you comfort now." "No!" Princess Serenity cried, placing herself between the phage and the Starlights, "Don't kill Naru!" Star Fighter looked surprised. "You," she whispered, recognizing the woman she'd seen earlier on the bridge. Noting that her leader seemed at a loss, Star Healer spoke up. "It's too late now. The 'Naru' you knew is already dead." "Once humans become a phage, we can't save them." Star Maker added. "Right... Except that person..." Starfighter muttered. She quickly focused her attention back on the phage behind the princess. "Now go away," she ordered. "No," Serenity said defiantly. "Go away!" "No!" the princess yelled, the yellow crescent moon on her forehead shining brightly upon the three Senshi. She didn't know what she could do, or how, but she knew she couldn't simply allow her new friend to die, not like this. In the moment of concern and fear for Naru, the Spiral Heart Moon Rod she'd been clutching glowed a bright pink and changed shape in her hands. She faced the phage, the creature was still kneeling on the ground immobilized by Star Fighter's attack. "Kami-sama," she whispered, "Give me the words." Twirling the newly transformed wand in her hands, she aimed it at the thing and blurted out the first words that came to mind. "Starlight honeymoon therapy kiss!" There was a flash of pink light, followed by a strong wind and what looked like thousands of white feathers flowing around the phage. The creature stretched out her arms and shrieked, "Beautiful!" In an instant, the creature turned to Naru again, the flower once more appearing out of her forehead as the black crystal was restored to its original silver color. The crystal floated back down into the flower, which then closed its petals up and was absorbed back into Naru's forehead. The young wife of the daimyo fell to the ground unconscious. Serenity quickly ran to her, holding her new friend tightly in her arms as she looked over her shoulder. The Senshi Starlights were gone. "Serena," Luna asked, "Is she alright?" "I think so," the princess answered. "Go back and tell Jupiter that Naru fainted. Ask her to come back here and help me get Naru-chan back to the castle. Don't tell her or the others any more than that though." "What? But Serena..." "Until we know more what's going on, I'm not sure it wise to discuss too much about this. Now hurry," she said, cradling Lady Naru's head in her lap as the cat ran off. ------ Several hours later, long after Jupiter and Princess Serenity managed to get Naru back home and in bed, the last of the castle's servant blew out the last lantern, casting all in darkness as all slept soundly. Outside the castle, three men quickly snuck onto the grounds. They wore the rough common clothes of the peasantry, and on their foreheads they wore upside down inverted crescent moons made of soot and charcoal. One carried what looked like a scarecrow while another carried a large rolled-up sheet of white cloth. As the third member of the group acted as lookout, his two companions quickly climbed up into a large tree behind the castle. ------ Princess Jupiter woke up the next morning early, hoping to surprise her hosts and fellow royals by fixing them a large breakfast. She was a Senshi, a warrior, only when she had to be. Back at her home on Io and when she visited the royal court on the Moon, she loved nothing better than to be in a kitchen, making delicious meals for herself and her friends, especially for her Mercury. Once, long ago, she'd loved Nephrite, and had her heart broken when he betrayed her and her Queen. It was Mercury who helped to heal her broken heart, and it was Mercury who showed her she could love again. She remembered that there was a pile of firewood behind the castle, and walked around the building to grab some to heat the stove with. That's when she saw it. It was a large cloth banner hanging up from the branches of a tree, on the top of which were written the names of Queen Beryl and the four Shittenou. Under the names, in bold calligraphy, it read "Remember our martyrs, down with the moon whore!" Next to the banner was a figure made of tree bark, rope and straw to look like Princess Serenity, hung in effigy from an outlying branch. Princess Jupiter was aghast; who could've possibly written something so vile about Serena, or wish harm to such a sweet princess, wife and mother? Hearing a horrified gasp behind her, she turned to see Lady Naru exiting the back of the castle, a mortified expression on her face as she looked from the banner to the princess. "M... My lady," she stammered out, "I'm terribly sorry, I don't know how this could've happened." Jupiter walked over to the daimyo's wife, "Naru-san, why? Why would anyone do this?" "They are probably separatists, my lady," she answered, adding, "I'm so sorry. This has brought dishonor upon my household..." "Not if no one else ever sees it," Jupiter answered as she turned away from Naru and focused her attention on the banner again. "My guardian Jupiter," she said as she crossed her arms before her chest and extended her index and pinky fingers, "Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightning!" With that, storm clouds appeared in the sky seemingly out of nowhere as a small rod extended from her princess' tiara. "Supreme Thunder!" she cried out as lighting shot down from the sky, struck the rod, and passed through the princess and out of her extended arms. In a flash it struck both the banner and the effigy, burning them to ashes and leaving dark scorch marks behind on the tree itself. "Say nothing of any of this to the others," Jupiter said as she turned back around to face Naru, "The dishonor was not yours anyways, but whoever it was that hung that up there." Naru stared wide eyed at the tall princess before her. True, she knew the stories passed down about how powerful the Moon Kingdom was, but to physically see a woman stand not ten feet away from you call down lightning and then send it out under her control was more than a little bit frightening. "Yes, my lady," she whispered, "I'll tell no one." Jupiter watched as the now fearful Naru hurried back into her husband's castle. She then picked up several pieces of firewood from the pile and headed back inside herself. Later, everyone made it a point to compliment the princess on the fine breakfast she fixed for them all. Everyone except Naru, who remained strangely quiet throughout breakfast and most of the rest of the morning. -To Be Continued- ------ End Notes: This series may have more of a manga or PGSM feel to it than the anime version, and that's largely due to the manga having much more information about the Silver Millennium than the anime, and the fact that I liked some of the characterizations of the live action version better than the anime. Also, this is an alternate reality, and I find that by basing my characterizations more on both the manga and the live action PGSM versions of Sailor moon I'm able to get an effect where the characters feel familiar but just a tad bit off. Venus, for example, is based almost solely on her PGSM incarnation, with the only carryover from her anime version being her occasional slip-up of a saying (and yes, her Senshi uniform is that of Sailor V, with the chain of hearts belt coming from PGSM). Mars is a combination of her PGSM version, the Oracle of Delphi, and the Pope, whereas Pluto is solely her manga version, down to her belt of keys they left out of the anime. I'm glad everyone's enjoying the series, and I hope to have the next update up soon And don't worry, the Outers as well as Queens Serenity and Neherenia will have much more of a role next time.
Back to Starfall Index - Back to Sailor Moon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction