(no subject)
Title: Conception
Author: Raya
Theme: Post Series / Spire
Genre: Drama
Version: Manga (post StarS / pre Crystal Tokyo, Raya's Koi no Senshi 'verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1,969
Disclaimer: Mamoru, Usagi, ChibiUsa, and Ami all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I only claim the missiles and this giant Godzilla doll. Rawr!! *smash smash smash*
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Note: ChibiUsa's age is not a mistake, and this is still set pre-Crystal Tokyo (barely) as given above. I have an idea of how to tie it back to canon. Maybe I will get the chance to develop and write it for a Post Series story. ^-^ Also, for atmosphere, be aware that ChibiUsa's hair is now black and her eyes dark cinnamon brown. Just so you can picture her right.
Conception
Continued from Dreams of Ancient Days , Another Ending Begins, and Alarum.
Super Sailor Mercury clenched the bundle in her arms fiercely to keep from grabbing her queen and shaking her. She had known that Usagi would fight her if she knew what was going on. That was why she had tried to keep the full truth from her best friend. Now, it was too late.
“Usagi-chan... Please,” she pleaded as she unwrapped the sweater and draped it across her friend's shoulders. The nightgown fell unheeded to the floor. “I have to get you all to safety. There is no time to argue about this.”
“I am not going,” Usagi said again quietly as she reached up to clutch the warm material tightly. ChibiUsa looked at them wide-eyed, waking up quickly as she felt the tension and urgency in the room. “They're nuclear missiles, aren't they, Mercury. There are nuclear missiles headed for Tokyo.”
Super Sailor Mercury closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. As she took another deep breath, summoning all of her power, she opened her eyes and lunged at her queen. The force of her tackle made Usagi stumble into her fifteen year old daughter and then Mamoru. Super Sailor Mercury flung her arms as far around them as she could and then released the power. “Sailor Teleport!” The small group vanished from the room.
One moment, the power was there like a wave behind her pushing her to her desired destination. The next, it faded away. Super Sailor Mercury opened her eyes in surprise and looked around. She fought down a burst of panic when she realized that they were at the base of Tokyo Tower, not the island that she had picked as a shelter for her royal family.
“I am not leaving,” Usagi repeated gently as she freed herself from her senshi's embrace. Super Sailor Mercury stared at her, stunned.
“Usa...”
“No, Mamoru. I will not run away. I may not be a senshi any longer, but I can still protect this city.” Usagi shivered in the autumn night and pulled the sweater more tightly around herself against the chill.
Mamoru remembered the dream he had been having just before Super Sailor Mercury's entrance into their bedroom had woken him up. The feeling of illness. The swords flying through the air. The mushroom shaped clouds behind the ominous broadswords. The eight rays of light leaping into the sky. He knew now that it had been a message about this event. He also remembered his desire to build a shield to protect his castle and people from the approaching doom. He reached up to touch his chest over his heart.
“I will protect it,” he promised her. When she looked at him, he smiled. “I will raise a shield to protect the city. You and ChibiUsa-chan go with Mercury. When all is safe, you can come back.”
“I’m not going either,” his teenaged daughter said strongly as she shifted closer to her mother. “I’m helping, too.” When her father started to protest, she glared at him. “I can help,” she said hotly. “I can. I helped Sailor Pluto-san that time…”
“Shield...” Usagi murmured her face suddenly thoughtful as she ignored their argument. Part of her dream, the scene in Queen Serenity’s bedroom, came back to her. “Of course...” She turned to look up at the giant communications tower. “That's it.” She nodded, and then lifted her face to the sky.
Super Sailor Mercury swallowed sickly. It was too late now, she knew. The missiles would arrive in just a few minutes. There was no time to argue with her three charges, and her princess would be the only one she could force to leave against her wishes. Usagi had just proved that.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the Limited Broadcast sequence into her communicator once more. It was time to bring in reinforcements.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What do you mean, she won’t leave?” Super Sailor Mars asked irritably. She peered anxiously into the sky where she could see the first of the missiles streaking across the Sea of Japan. “She has to!”
“She…”
“You can do it, Mercury,” Super Sailor Venus said, cutting off her friend. She tried to make her voice encouraging and supportive, but her frustration with the other senshi’s perceived lack of self-confidence showed through. “Just believe in yourself.”
Super Sailor Mercury’s eyes widened indignantly, but before she could respond, Super Sailor Jupiter added her thoughts. “Knock her out. That will make it easy.”
“She’s too powerful,” Super Sailor Mercury replied trying to keep her voice level and controlled. “I don’t think the four of us combined have enough power to make her leave.” When her teammates looked towards her hologram, startled by her statement, she nodded. “You need to protect Tokyo Tower. She thinks that she can shield us somehow.”
“She can’t…” Super Sailor Jupiter said weakly. The frightened, helpless look in her friend’s blue eyes told the senshi that her queen could and had. Without a second thought, she teleported herself back to Tokyo.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Usagi closed her eyes and summoned the power that was sleeping deep inside her heart. For just a moment, she was afraid. Queen Serenity had said that the facets were the most important part, but she had no idea how many facets were required or how to shape them. Thoughts of the dome that had surrounded the small kingdom on the moon drifted through her mind, but she knew that that would not work. Domes could be easily broken by bombs from the sky. She needed something more durable, something that would not fall if one of its sides or supports was heavily damaged.
She wished that she had enough time to consult with Super Sailor Mercury. The intelligent Senshi of Wisdom would know the best form to use. But, there was no time. She heard a deafening boom and felt a rumble under her feet as the first missile crashed into the metropolis a short distance away.
Usagi released some of the power, letting it flow out to surround and protect her family and friends. The others were here now. She could feel their bright, shining, worried presences as they surrounded her. She pushed their worry gently to the back of her mind, and let the power lift her up into the sky.
“Usagi…” Super Sailor Venus whispered as she watched her friend rise. The other woman glowed with a steady, white light bright enough to rival the full moon that floated overhead. Two more missiles crashed to the ground, and the golden senshi had to fight to stay on her feet. The silvery shield that Usagi had spread around them held and blocked the flying shrapnel.
Suddenly, Super Sailor Venus realized what her queen was going to do. Her heart stopped for a moment, but, trained by previous battles, her body moved into position of its own volition. “Everyone! Your power to the queen!” she cried as she lifted her right arm up towards her floating friend. “Venus Power!”
“Mercury Power!” Super Sailor Mercury cried, following orders instinctively.
“Mars Power!”
“Jupiter Power!”
Four beams of light shot towards Usagi and formed a pyramid with the floating blonde as its pinnacle. Looking towards the sky, Mamoru and ChibiUsa gasped as they spotted a missile heading directly for the tower beside them. Although the power from the Ginzuishou still surrounded them, they feared what the blast would do to Usagi. Mamoru summoned a handful of roses as his daughter held her hands out over the ground.
Before they could release their weapons, however, they heard a familiar voice call out a not-so-familiar attack phrase. “Uranus Space Turbulence!” A gold and blue arc of power shot towards the missile and caused it to detonate early.
Mamoru and ChibiUsa ducked instinctively, covering their ears as they cried out with pain and surprise. The four inner senshi cried out as well, but bravely held their positions and energy flows. High overhead, Usagi spread her shield out to protect the newcomers from the falling shrapnel, and then smiled when she realized that Super Sailor Saturn had already done so.
“What is going on?” the Super Sailor Saturn asked as her king and princess finally relaxed and stood back up. “We felt the summons…” Her gaze darted around expectantly, and then she frowned. Although their mouths were moving, no one was saying anything. She finally realized that the blast had rendered her temporarily deaf.
“No matter,” she said as she finally saw the streams of power flowing from the senshi to their queen. She nodded, touched Super Sailor Pluto gently on the arm, and then moved to stand between Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Venus. “Saturn Power!”
The three eldest senshi nodded as they watched the violet light stream up towards their queen, and then stepped into position: Super Sailor Uranus between Super Sailor Mercury and Super Sailor Venus, Super Sailor Neptune between Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Jupiter, and Super Sailor Pluto completing the circle between Super Sailor Jupiter and Super Sailor Mercury. As one, they called upon their planetary powers and sent the energy up to Usagi.
Usagi’s eyes opened as she felt the additional power buoy her up. Smiling slightly, she spread her arms and let the power flow out to cover the buildings and people around her.
‘Circle the tower,’ she heard Super Sailor Mercury tell the others telepathically. ‘We can use it to focus the power even more.’
‘Like the Prayer Tower on Moon,’ Usagi thought as she nodded and floated towards the top of the spire. She came to rest at the very top of the enormous structure, and then lifted her right arm over her head. Her scepter faded into view, and she closed her fingers around it gently as she waited for her senshi to get into position once more.
‘Hurry, everyone,’ she thought anxiously towards them as another missile came into view. ‘We have to hurry!’
She closed her eyes and raised her scepter towards the moon. ‘Protect my city,’ she prayed. ‘Protect my family, my friends, my people…’ As the power bubbled up and out of her, her sundress lengthened and became pure white. The sweater vanished from her shoulders, but she did not notice as she lifted her scepter higher. ‘Protect this star.’
Mamoru stared in amazement at the glowing sphere of light that was now the pinnacle of a rainbow colored cone of power. “Serenity…” He took a deep breath, and then quickly ran towards the center of the senshi circle. Once there, he stopped, straightened, and summoned the power of the Golden Crystal. It flowed warm and rich through him, forming a column straight up towards his distant wife.
Forgotten at the edge of the cone of power, ChibiUsa stared in awe as the light grew even brighter. It was solid now like a clear crystal. “Silver crystal,” she whispered as she watched it spread quickly over the metropolis around her. The thundering roar of destruction was replaced by the chiming song of rapid crystal growth. She felt it, somehow, growing to the north to protect Minato-ku. It grew for tens of kilometers in the other directions as well, reaching out to protect Tokyo Bay and the Infinity complex to the west, and Shibuya-ku to the east and south. But, it spread furthest along its northern point, rushing to protect the friends and family that the senshi and their queen held dear.
As the remaining missiles crashed harmlessly into the shining crystal shield, ChibiUsa slowly turned her gaze towards the great tower. From base to spire, it looked as if it were covered in a layer of ice or liquid diamond. The shimmering crystal sang to her, called her, drew her. And slowly, she reached out to touch it.
Continued in Purified
Author: Raya
Theme: Post Series / Spire
Genre: Drama
Version: Manga (post StarS / pre Crystal Tokyo, Raya's Koi no Senshi 'verse)
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1,969
Disclaimer: Mamoru, Usagi, ChibiUsa, and Ami all belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I only claim the missiles and this giant Godzilla doll. Rawr!! *smash smash smash*
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Note: ChibiUsa's age is not a mistake, and this is still set pre-Crystal Tokyo (barely) as given above. I have an idea of how to tie it back to canon. Maybe I will get the chance to develop and write it for a Post Series story. ^-^ Also, for atmosphere, be aware that ChibiUsa's hair is now black and her eyes dark cinnamon brown. Just so you can picture her right.
Conception
Continued from Dreams of Ancient Days , Another Ending Begins, and Alarum.
Super Sailor Mercury clenched the bundle in her arms fiercely to keep from grabbing her queen and shaking her. She had known that Usagi would fight her if she knew what was going on. That was why she had tried to keep the full truth from her best friend. Now, it was too late.
“Usagi-chan... Please,” she pleaded as she unwrapped the sweater and draped it across her friend's shoulders. The nightgown fell unheeded to the floor. “I have to get you all to safety. There is no time to argue about this.”
“I am not going,” Usagi said again quietly as she reached up to clutch the warm material tightly. ChibiUsa looked at them wide-eyed, waking up quickly as she felt the tension and urgency in the room. “They're nuclear missiles, aren't they, Mercury. There are nuclear missiles headed for Tokyo.”
Super Sailor Mercury closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. As she took another deep breath, summoning all of her power, she opened her eyes and lunged at her queen. The force of her tackle made Usagi stumble into her fifteen year old daughter and then Mamoru. Super Sailor Mercury flung her arms as far around them as she could and then released the power. “Sailor Teleport!” The small group vanished from the room.
One moment, the power was there like a wave behind her pushing her to her desired destination. The next, it faded away. Super Sailor Mercury opened her eyes in surprise and looked around. She fought down a burst of panic when she realized that they were at the base of Tokyo Tower, not the island that she had picked as a shelter for her royal family.
“I am not leaving,” Usagi repeated gently as she freed herself from her senshi's embrace. Super Sailor Mercury stared at her, stunned.
“Usa...”
“No, Mamoru. I will not run away. I may not be a senshi any longer, but I can still protect this city.” Usagi shivered in the autumn night and pulled the sweater more tightly around herself against the chill.
Mamoru remembered the dream he had been having just before Super Sailor Mercury's entrance into their bedroom had woken him up. The feeling of illness. The swords flying through the air. The mushroom shaped clouds behind the ominous broadswords. The eight rays of light leaping into the sky. He knew now that it had been a message about this event. He also remembered his desire to build a shield to protect his castle and people from the approaching doom. He reached up to touch his chest over his heart.
“I will protect it,” he promised her. When she looked at him, he smiled. “I will raise a shield to protect the city. You and ChibiUsa-chan go with Mercury. When all is safe, you can come back.”
“I’m not going either,” his teenaged daughter said strongly as she shifted closer to her mother. “I’m helping, too.” When her father started to protest, she glared at him. “I can help,” she said hotly. “I can. I helped Sailor Pluto-san that time…”
“Shield...” Usagi murmured her face suddenly thoughtful as she ignored their argument. Part of her dream, the scene in Queen Serenity’s bedroom, came back to her. “Of course...” She turned to look up at the giant communications tower. “That's it.” She nodded, and then lifted her face to the sky.
Super Sailor Mercury swallowed sickly. It was too late now, she knew. The missiles would arrive in just a few minutes. There was no time to argue with her three charges, and her princess would be the only one she could force to leave against her wishes. Usagi had just proved that.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed the Limited Broadcast sequence into her communicator once more. It was time to bring in reinforcements.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What do you mean, she won’t leave?” Super Sailor Mars asked irritably. She peered anxiously into the sky where she could see the first of the missiles streaking across the Sea of Japan. “She has to!”
“She…”
“You can do it, Mercury,” Super Sailor Venus said, cutting off her friend. She tried to make her voice encouraging and supportive, but her frustration with the other senshi’s perceived lack of self-confidence showed through. “Just believe in yourself.”
Super Sailor Mercury’s eyes widened indignantly, but before she could respond, Super Sailor Jupiter added her thoughts. “Knock her out. That will make it easy.”
“She’s too powerful,” Super Sailor Mercury replied trying to keep her voice level and controlled. “I don’t think the four of us combined have enough power to make her leave.” When her teammates looked towards her hologram, startled by her statement, she nodded. “You need to protect Tokyo Tower. She thinks that she can shield us somehow.”
“She can’t…” Super Sailor Jupiter said weakly. The frightened, helpless look in her friend’s blue eyes told the senshi that her queen could and had. Without a second thought, she teleported herself back to Tokyo.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Usagi closed her eyes and summoned the power that was sleeping deep inside her heart. For just a moment, she was afraid. Queen Serenity had said that the facets were the most important part, but she had no idea how many facets were required or how to shape them. Thoughts of the dome that had surrounded the small kingdom on the moon drifted through her mind, but she knew that that would not work. Domes could be easily broken by bombs from the sky. She needed something more durable, something that would not fall if one of its sides or supports was heavily damaged.
She wished that she had enough time to consult with Super Sailor Mercury. The intelligent Senshi of Wisdom would know the best form to use. But, there was no time. She heard a deafening boom and felt a rumble under her feet as the first missile crashed into the metropolis a short distance away.
Usagi released some of the power, letting it flow out to surround and protect her family and friends. The others were here now. She could feel their bright, shining, worried presences as they surrounded her. She pushed their worry gently to the back of her mind, and let the power lift her up into the sky.
“Usagi…” Super Sailor Venus whispered as she watched her friend rise. The other woman glowed with a steady, white light bright enough to rival the full moon that floated overhead. Two more missiles crashed to the ground, and the golden senshi had to fight to stay on her feet. The silvery shield that Usagi had spread around them held and blocked the flying shrapnel.
Suddenly, Super Sailor Venus realized what her queen was going to do. Her heart stopped for a moment, but, trained by previous battles, her body moved into position of its own volition. “Everyone! Your power to the queen!” she cried as she lifted her right arm up towards her floating friend. “Venus Power!”
“Mercury Power!” Super Sailor Mercury cried, following orders instinctively.
“Mars Power!”
“Jupiter Power!”
Four beams of light shot towards Usagi and formed a pyramid with the floating blonde as its pinnacle. Looking towards the sky, Mamoru and ChibiUsa gasped as they spotted a missile heading directly for the tower beside them. Although the power from the Ginzuishou still surrounded them, they feared what the blast would do to Usagi. Mamoru summoned a handful of roses as his daughter held her hands out over the ground.
Before they could release their weapons, however, they heard a familiar voice call out a not-so-familiar attack phrase. “Uranus Space Turbulence!” A gold and blue arc of power shot towards the missile and caused it to detonate early.
Mamoru and ChibiUsa ducked instinctively, covering their ears as they cried out with pain and surprise. The four inner senshi cried out as well, but bravely held their positions and energy flows. High overhead, Usagi spread her shield out to protect the newcomers from the falling shrapnel, and then smiled when she realized that Super Sailor Saturn had already done so.
“What is going on?” the Super Sailor Saturn asked as her king and princess finally relaxed and stood back up. “We felt the summons…” Her gaze darted around expectantly, and then she frowned. Although their mouths were moving, no one was saying anything. She finally realized that the blast had rendered her temporarily deaf.
“No matter,” she said as she finally saw the streams of power flowing from the senshi to their queen. She nodded, touched Super Sailor Pluto gently on the arm, and then moved to stand between Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Venus. “Saturn Power!”
The three eldest senshi nodded as they watched the violet light stream up towards their queen, and then stepped into position: Super Sailor Uranus between Super Sailor Mercury and Super Sailor Venus, Super Sailor Neptune between Super Sailor Mars and Super Sailor Jupiter, and Super Sailor Pluto completing the circle between Super Sailor Jupiter and Super Sailor Mercury. As one, they called upon their planetary powers and sent the energy up to Usagi.
Usagi’s eyes opened as she felt the additional power buoy her up. Smiling slightly, she spread her arms and let the power flow out to cover the buildings and people around her.
‘Circle the tower,’ she heard Super Sailor Mercury tell the others telepathically. ‘We can use it to focus the power even more.’
‘Like the Prayer Tower on Moon,’ Usagi thought as she nodded and floated towards the top of the spire. She came to rest at the very top of the enormous structure, and then lifted her right arm over her head. Her scepter faded into view, and she closed her fingers around it gently as she waited for her senshi to get into position once more.
‘Hurry, everyone,’ she thought anxiously towards them as another missile came into view. ‘We have to hurry!’
She closed her eyes and raised her scepter towards the moon. ‘Protect my city,’ she prayed. ‘Protect my family, my friends, my people…’ As the power bubbled up and out of her, her sundress lengthened and became pure white. The sweater vanished from her shoulders, but she did not notice as she lifted her scepter higher. ‘Protect this star.’
Mamoru stared in amazement at the glowing sphere of light that was now the pinnacle of a rainbow colored cone of power. “Serenity…” He took a deep breath, and then quickly ran towards the center of the senshi circle. Once there, he stopped, straightened, and summoned the power of the Golden Crystal. It flowed warm and rich through him, forming a column straight up towards his distant wife.
Forgotten at the edge of the cone of power, ChibiUsa stared in awe as the light grew even brighter. It was solid now like a clear crystal. “Silver crystal,” she whispered as she watched it spread quickly over the metropolis around her. The thundering roar of destruction was replaced by the chiming song of rapid crystal growth. She felt it, somehow, growing to the north to protect Minato-ku. It grew for tens of kilometers in the other directions as well, reaching out to protect Tokyo Bay and the Infinity complex to the west, and Shibuya-ku to the east and south. But, it spread furthest along its northern point, rushing to protect the friends and family that the senshi and their queen held dear.
As the remaining missiles crashed harmlessly into the shining crystal shield, ChibiUsa slowly turned her gaze towards the great tower. From base to spire, it looked as if it were covered in a layer of ice or liquid diamond. The shimmering crystal sang to her, called her, drew her. And slowly, she reached out to touch it.
Continued in Purified