(no subject)
All the lamps are on and Tomoe Hotaru is seated at her desk, chin rested on her arms, which are folded across each other. The entire house is silent as it usually is, until Kaori or her Papa come to see her for another checkup, their shoes clacking harshly when they walk the hallway to her bedroom.
It's been two weeks, now.
...What caused her to arrive there to begin with seems just as sudden and devoid of reason as whatever caused her to arrive back here - in her original world, five months in her past. There was nothing to do, of course, but adapt back to her past condition.
But, it's been so hard. She hasn't been able to forget about her friends - the friends who became like the family she'd always wanted, if not properly a family - and really, she can't forget; she won't, no matter what her father says.
She never mentioned the demon, or her gifts, to her Papa. If he denies that she left to begin with, he wouldn't believe any of that. Besides, it doesn't seem as if there is any reason to worry. She doesn't know of any power that could awaken the demon, as it seemed to so often at Milliways, in her world; even if there was, it was bound the last she knew.
---------------------------------------------
A small girl with thick pink hair, wrapped into two pointed buns on opposite sides of her head, runs up to the much taller, dark-skinned Sailor Pluto, and into a tearful embrace.
"Pluto!! Is it really you!? Pluto!!!!"
Setsuna pulls away and looks down at her. Their outfits, as well as those of the eight other young women in attendance, are all similar in most ways. All are some version of short-skirted sailor suits, though the colors differ definitively. The four, younger set of those eight all stick closely to a fifth - their leader - dubiously watching the events unfolding before them.
"Small Lady..." Setsuna smiles, "...No, Sailor ChibiMoon. By the power of your beautiful mother, the great Neo-Queen Serenity, I was reborn here to fulfill an important mission..."
Sailor ChibiMoon looks back questioningly to her friend (and future mother), the similarly pig-tailed and blonde Sailor Moon, who is guarded still by the Inner Soldiers, and looks as confused as she is. As Pluto stands and falls back with her companions - a tall, androgynous blonde, and an elegant girl with wavy, sea-green locks - ChibiMoon asks, "An important mission?"
Wordlessly, the three walk towards and kneel before Sailor Moon.
Within a moment of their doing so, her own sailor suit has transformed to the long, white dress characteristic of what she wore regularly in her previous incarnation - the tiara on her forehead has disappeared, and the crescent-moon glyph glows steadily in its place.
The Inner Soldier Scouts gasp in shock and alarm. "Sailor Moon?!?"
"We greet you," Pluto addresses Sailor Moon. "You who will become our new queen, Princess Serenity."
The androgynous blonde bows sweepingly. "From the Outer Solar System, with the blessings of Uranus, the Planet of the Wind, I am the scout of the heavens, Sailor Uranus."
The green-haired, elegant girl, kneeling on both knees instead of one, touches her hand to her chest, in a pledging motion. "From the same Outer Solar System, with the blessings of Neptune, the Planet of the Sea, I am Sailor Neptune."
Finally, Pluto introduces herself to her friends, again, and, for the first time, her dark green hair sweeping across the backs of her calves. "And with the blessings of Pluto, the Planet of the Underworld, I am Sailor Pluto."
"We are the three soldiers of the Outer Solar System!"
Pluto clasps her staff, bowing her head with a solemn gaze. "Princess. We are willing to make amends for the many offenses we have given you. However..." she continues, " these were all done to protect you and this planet. ...Please forgive us."
Speechless, Sailor Moon stares wide-eyed as the three 'Outer Soldiers' offer their repentance. No one speaks.
Pluto, then, begins her explanation.
"From ancient times... our duty was to repel intruders from the outer stretches of the kingdom - enemies travelling to our Solar System from deepest outer space. You protected Silver Millennium from within, while we three protected it from afar.
"We, too, were promised rebirth, as you were," she says, addressing the Inner Soldiers, "and, after Silver Millennium's fall, we, too, were reborn on this planet.
"But, it seems we were too late.
"By the time we awoke to our abilities on this planet and felt the danger, they had already invaded. Quietly, they built their nest in that fortress they call a school. This time, we did not see the enemy invasion. It was our failure."
One of the Inner Soldiers speaks up, "The Death Busters... Where are they from?"
"Death Busters?" Neptune turns to the girl, who is a few years younger than she. "Is that what they call themselves?" She pauses, and replies, "They came from another dimension to invade this planet."
Another of the Inner Soldiers speaks, a shrewd girl with short blue hair, "She said the Tao System," she says, mentioning the fight with Tellu. "Is that where they're from?"
From the top of her key-staff - a staff as tall as she - Pluto levitates a heart-shaped orb. It glows, ambient, dark red. With it, she taps into her powers to see beyond space and time, those being her domain and her charge.
"Yes, from that far dimension. They were attracted to the power -- a mysterious power, hidden in the growing aura that encloses the Infinity Delta -- and they arrived, drawn by that power, in an unlikely cross-dimensional trip.
"There is, you see, a warp in the time-space fabric there, though I know not whether it was formed by a mere flip of chance or intentionally. As a result, there are constant fluctuations in the stability of that area. I'm sure you've noticed, Sailor Mercury." The blue-haired girl nods curtly. "...That," Pluto finishes, "was where they entered... And if we don't remove the warp soon, they will continue to invade this planet."
"And if we don't defeat HER," Uranus scowls, suddenly, "this planet will be destroyed anyway."
Still clothed in royal garb, Sailor Moon inquires, "Her?"
Uranus turns to face her princess, and sternly responds, "The Greatest Enemy we have to face."
---------------------------------------------
Hotaru lifts her head from the desk slowly. She grasps and ungrasps a blue ballpoint pin as she gazes into the desk's wood, thoughtfully. "I know..." she speaks aloud suddenly. "I... am certain. ...That someday, I will see them again."
Just as I knew I would be able to see ChibiUsa again someday, and now I am back.
They'll know me. They'll remember me. If I return this lifetime or the next.
She ungrasps the pen again, and it clicks under her palm when she places it on her desk.
It's time to stop hiding in my room.
She pushes her chair back, and stands. It's been a long time... five and a half months too long, in her estimation, and if she's back, that does mean, at least, that she will have the chance to be with her - to be with ChibiUsa. She leaves her room to wash up a little, then put on a fresh set of clothes.
[cont.]
It's been two weeks, now.
...What caused her to arrive there to begin with seems just as sudden and devoid of reason as whatever caused her to arrive back here - in her original world, five months in her past. There was nothing to do, of course, but adapt back to her past condition.
But, it's been so hard. She hasn't been able to forget about her friends - the friends who became like the family she'd always wanted, if not properly a family - and really, she can't forget; she won't, no matter what her father says.
She never mentioned the demon, or her gifts, to her Papa. If he denies that she left to begin with, he wouldn't believe any of that. Besides, it doesn't seem as if there is any reason to worry. She doesn't know of any power that could awaken the demon, as it seemed to so often at Milliways, in her world; even if there was, it was bound the last she knew.
---------------------------------------------
A small girl with thick pink hair, wrapped into two pointed buns on opposite sides of her head, runs up to the much taller, dark-skinned Sailor Pluto, and into a tearful embrace.
"Pluto!! Is it really you!? Pluto!!!!"
Setsuna pulls away and looks down at her. Their outfits, as well as those of the eight other young women in attendance, are all similar in most ways. All are some version of short-skirted sailor suits, though the colors differ definitively. The four, younger set of those eight all stick closely to a fifth - their leader - dubiously watching the events unfolding before them.
"Small Lady..." Setsuna smiles, "...No, Sailor ChibiMoon. By the power of your beautiful mother, the great Neo-Queen Serenity, I was reborn here to fulfill an important mission..."
Sailor ChibiMoon looks back questioningly to her friend (and future mother), the similarly pig-tailed and blonde Sailor Moon, who is guarded still by the Inner Soldiers, and looks as confused as she is. As Pluto stands and falls back with her companions - a tall, androgynous blonde, and an elegant girl with wavy, sea-green locks - ChibiMoon asks, "An important mission?"
Wordlessly, the three walk towards and kneel before Sailor Moon.
Within a moment of their doing so, her own sailor suit has transformed to the long, white dress characteristic of what she wore regularly in her previous incarnation - the tiara on her forehead has disappeared, and the crescent-moon glyph glows steadily in its place.
The Inner Soldier Scouts gasp in shock and alarm. "Sailor Moon?!?"
"We greet you," Pluto addresses Sailor Moon. "You who will become our new queen, Princess Serenity."
The androgynous blonde bows sweepingly. "From the Outer Solar System, with the blessings of Uranus, the Planet of the Wind, I am the scout of the heavens, Sailor Uranus."
The green-haired, elegant girl, kneeling on both knees instead of one, touches her hand to her chest, in a pledging motion. "From the same Outer Solar System, with the blessings of Neptune, the Planet of the Sea, I am Sailor Neptune."
Finally, Pluto introduces herself to her friends, again, and, for the first time, her dark green hair sweeping across the backs of her calves. "And with the blessings of Pluto, the Planet of the Underworld, I am Sailor Pluto."
"We are the three soldiers of the Outer Solar System!"
Pluto clasps her staff, bowing her head with a solemn gaze. "Princess. We are willing to make amends for the many offenses we have given you. However..." she continues, " these were all done to protect you and this planet. ...Please forgive us."
Speechless, Sailor Moon stares wide-eyed as the three 'Outer Soldiers' offer their repentance. No one speaks.
Pluto, then, begins her explanation.
"From ancient times... our duty was to repel intruders from the outer stretches of the kingdom - enemies travelling to our Solar System from deepest outer space. You protected Silver Millennium from within, while we three protected it from afar.
"We, too, were promised rebirth, as you were," she says, addressing the Inner Soldiers, "and, after Silver Millennium's fall, we, too, were reborn on this planet.
"But, it seems we were too late.
"By the time we awoke to our abilities on this planet and felt the danger, they had already invaded. Quietly, they built their nest in that fortress they call a school. This time, we did not see the enemy invasion. It was our failure."
One of the Inner Soldiers speaks up, "The Death Busters... Where are they from?"
"Death Busters?" Neptune turns to the girl, who is a few years younger than she. "Is that what they call themselves?" She pauses, and replies, "They came from another dimension to invade this planet."
Another of the Inner Soldiers speaks, a shrewd girl with short blue hair, "She said the Tao System," she says, mentioning the fight with Tellu. "Is that where they're from?"
From the top of her key-staff - a staff as tall as she - Pluto levitates a heart-shaped orb. It glows, ambient, dark red. With it, she taps into her powers to see beyond space and time, those being her domain and her charge.
"Yes, from that far dimension. They were attracted to the power -- a mysterious power, hidden in the growing aura that encloses the Infinity Delta -- and they arrived, drawn by that power, in an unlikely cross-dimensional trip.
"There is, you see, a warp in the time-space fabric there, though I know not whether it was formed by a mere flip of chance or intentionally. As a result, there are constant fluctuations in the stability of that area. I'm sure you've noticed, Sailor Mercury." The blue-haired girl nods curtly. "...That," Pluto finishes, "was where they entered... And if we don't remove the warp soon, they will continue to invade this planet."
"And if we don't defeat HER," Uranus scowls, suddenly, "this planet will be destroyed anyway."
Still clothed in royal garb, Sailor Moon inquires, "Her?"
Uranus turns to face her princess, and sternly responds, "The Greatest Enemy we have to face."
---------------------------------------------
Hotaru lifts her head from the desk slowly. She grasps and ungrasps a blue ballpoint pin as she gazes into the desk's wood, thoughtfully. "I know..." she speaks aloud suddenly. "I... am certain. ...That someday, I will see them again."
Just as I knew I would be able to see ChibiUsa again someday, and now I am back.
They'll know me. They'll remember me. If I return this lifetime or the next.
She ungrasps the pen again, and it clicks under her palm when she places it on her desk.
It's time to stop hiding in my room.
She pushes her chair back, and stands. It's been a long time... five and a half months too long, in her estimation, and if she's back, that does mean, at least, that she will have the chance to be with her - to be with ChibiUsa. She leaves her room to wash up a little, then put on a fresh set of clothes.
[cont.]