Soldier Moon - Prologue
Prologue
Once upon a time, in a land far away is how these stories usually go, right? Stories filled with passion, love, and adventure- a beautiful maiden waiting for her prince who will come and leave with the setting of the sun. He will fight a fierce dragon that keeps her captive inside of a crumbling, yet majestic castle in time where nature and magic were one. My mama would read me these stories when I was younger, each night as she tucked me into bed, and I would dream of my prince and my happy ending.
Of course, that was some years ago, and castles do not exist in my world. I've been told that at one point they had, thousands of years ago when man still believed his sword would save him. Now man's greatest weapon is his gun, and for those fortunate enough, their mind.
My name is Usagi, code name "Moon." I live in Neo Tokyo, a technologically advanced city constructed out of the ruins of the last great earthquake a hundred years ago. It is the leading city in the Eastern Hemisphere and home to the Golden Kingdom devision of SEED (Special Expertise and Elimination Deploy), a military program funded by the United Nations as the front line against intergalactic threats and paranormal activity. Each major sector of the world has an SEED division, and for Asia it is the Golden Kingdom.
Golden Kingdom agents are called Sailor Units and split into classes in accordance to experience and expertise. I'm a Class 1, newly recruited a few months ago after an accidental demonstration of my abilities inside the Juuban district shopping area. I may have set off a light bomb of blinding proportions (what I now call a "twilight flash," to my mentor's disgruntled amusement) and somehow healed the Sailor Units that came to save me.
That's the main qualification for becoming a SEED agent, a special ability. My healing powers and ability to create light recruited me into the Golden Kingdom the very next day. I'd like to say that having a special ability also allows me to be mentally quick and physically strong like a Sailor Unit should since I'm charged with saving the Earth and all. Unfortunately, I'm a bit clumsy and never did well in school, unlike the other units I work with. I think if it weren't for my unique ability, I wouldn't be on the squad at all.
"Mars" is our leader (we go by our code names when on duty, which is most of the time). She's normally cool and collect, though has quite the nasty temper. She can manipulate fire and has what people would normally call EMS. Her sensory skills are still weak, though, but she's trying to compliment them with strategic courses. On the other hand, there aren't any courses able to keep up with "Mercury's" amazing mental speed. While her specialty is knowledge and comprehension, she can create ice, though the amount is rather limited, much to her own dismay. I'm sure she's in the labs right now researching how to expand upon her icing capacities. Rounding out our squad is "Jupiter," our defense specialist in training. Her muscle memory allows her to learn physical activities with ease and it helps that she seems to be one with nature- peaceful and violent, in a nurturing sort of way. For example, while Mars would scream at me for tripping, Jupiter would probably decimate the crack that caused me to trip with a bolt of lightening.
We're normally advised by Luna, the disgruntled mentor I mentioned before, and, what I think of her as, a nanny. She keeps track of our schedules and our whereabouts in general while providing us with guidance, if you could call it that. It's kind of annoying, but I'd probably never make it to class on time without her. And then there's "V," our squad commander. She was one of the first to be recruited by the Golden Kingdom despite her young age at the time. I've heard stories of her abilities, but I've never witnessed her use them, though I know it has something to do with metal manipulation and enhanced charisma. Her mentor is "Jadeite," one of the four generals, who is actually training her to command us on her own.
V is still advised by her own nanny, Artemis, who has been with her since she first joined SEED. Though you could say at this point that he's more like her partner and leaves all the mothering to Luna (honestly, I think Luna made an executive decision to appoint herself).
Aside from V is the Class 2 squad, a group of older girls with more advanced abilities than ours. I rarely see them as Class 1 spends most of our time on patrol in the city and in training. They're commanded by another general, "Nephrite." We're supposed to spar with them at the end of the month, hopefully I won't bring my squad down. There's only three of them, so I'd like to think that having more of us will put the battle in our favor, but Mars has often commented that I count as negative two.
Anyway, they consist of "Uranus," "Neptune," and "Pluto." Uranus is a weapons expert that's quick and light on her feet, at least I think she's a she (sometimes I can't tell). She's often seen with Neptune, the titled Goddess of Waters. Unlike the rest of us, Neptune has nearly complete control of her elemental ability, and her ability is definitely stronger than anyone in the Golden Kingdom, even though it is her only one while the rest of us have at least two. Since Uranus is apt with wind manipulation, the two are often referred to as the Typhoon Duo. Pluto's abilities are rather interesting, I guess you could say she can see the future, though not always. What I mean is that she's pretty good at sensing where her opponent is going to be next, barely ever miscalculating their next strike. Sometimes she goes into a complete cationic state and has visions; apparently she saw me and that's why the Sailor Units were there when my abilities went off.
Finally, as far as direct leadership goes, the head commander for the Golden Kingdom is "Endymion" and his second in command is "Kunzite." Endymion is actually fairly young, younger than Kunzite, but ascended through the ranks quickly and quite efficiently. Kunzite is one of the most decorated agents in the Golden Kingdom, it's speculated that he actually passed on the position of head commander due to his enjoyment of field work. Probably also because he doesn't enjoy paperwork.
Though, after seeing Endymion wear his new prescription glasses yesterday, I don't believe he enjoys paperwork, either.
Actually, Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, the other general "Zoisite," and Endymion were on the original squad back when the Golden Kingdom was first established. When not directly training units, the generals are usually found teaching classes and flirting, Zoisite being the worst of them, if he's even on base to begin with. He seems rather restless with military life and spends most of his time in the high end districts. Endymion assures that General Zoi is creating and maintaining connections, though I think he's inspired more by Zoisite smoozing free items rather than using the military piggy bank to fund Zoi's fashion addiction.
In all, life has progressed on like normal, though I'm sure mama would call this anything but. But I'm okay with that, not being a normal girl. I still eat and sleep and attend classes, and hang out at Crown Center during my time off. Sure, I endure a lot of physical training and the periodical threat to mankind. Sometimes it's a little lonely being Agent Moon, despite the fame. The public adores us and adoration is nice and all, but what happens when we fail? Not that we have, and failure isn't exactly acceptable in my line of work, but it's bound to happen at some point.
But don't worry, mama, you're little girl is doing fine down here. I may be a little clumsy and not too bright, but I'll do the best that I can; and you always said that was all you ever wanted, right?
---
AN: So here it is! My AU retelling of the Sailor Moon series originally meant for the SM Big Bang on LJ. I always thought it would be fun to see the series if it were intended for an older audience, so I infused it with more science fiction and supernatural elements than the standard modern fantasy aspect. It's going to be 1st person POV of Usagi with a lot of throw backs to the series proper (for example, did you catch that SEED is a reference to starseeds?). The characterizations are going to be loose, but definitely reminiscent of the originals. I hope you enjoy!
Once upon a time, in a land far away is how these stories usually go, right? Stories filled with passion, love, and adventure- a beautiful maiden waiting for her prince who will come and leave with the setting of the sun. He will fight a fierce dragon that keeps her captive inside of a crumbling, yet majestic castle in time where nature and magic were one. My mama would read me these stories when I was younger, each night as she tucked me into bed, and I would dream of my prince and my happy ending.
Of course, that was some years ago, and castles do not exist in my world. I've been told that at one point they had, thousands of years ago when man still believed his sword would save him. Now man's greatest weapon is his gun, and for those fortunate enough, their mind.
My name is Usagi, code name "Moon." I live in Neo Tokyo, a technologically advanced city constructed out of the ruins of the last great earthquake a hundred years ago. It is the leading city in the Eastern Hemisphere and home to the Golden Kingdom devision of SEED (Special Expertise and Elimination Deploy), a military program funded by the United Nations as the front line against intergalactic threats and paranormal activity. Each major sector of the world has an SEED division, and for Asia it is the Golden Kingdom.
Golden Kingdom agents are called Sailor Units and split into classes in accordance to experience and expertise. I'm a Class 1, newly recruited a few months ago after an accidental demonstration of my abilities inside the Juuban district shopping area. I may have set off a light bomb of blinding proportions (what I now call a "twilight flash," to my mentor's disgruntled amusement) and somehow healed the Sailor Units that came to save me.
That's the main qualification for becoming a SEED agent, a special ability. My healing powers and ability to create light recruited me into the Golden Kingdom the very next day. I'd like to say that having a special ability also allows me to be mentally quick and physically strong like a Sailor Unit should since I'm charged with saving the Earth and all. Unfortunately, I'm a bit clumsy and never did well in school, unlike the other units I work with. I think if it weren't for my unique ability, I wouldn't be on the squad at all.
"Mars" is our leader (we go by our code names when on duty, which is most of the time). She's normally cool and collect, though has quite the nasty temper. She can manipulate fire and has what people would normally call EMS. Her sensory skills are still weak, though, but she's trying to compliment them with strategic courses. On the other hand, there aren't any courses able to keep up with "Mercury's" amazing mental speed. While her specialty is knowledge and comprehension, she can create ice, though the amount is rather limited, much to her own dismay. I'm sure she's in the labs right now researching how to expand upon her icing capacities. Rounding out our squad is "Jupiter," our defense specialist in training. Her muscle memory allows her to learn physical activities with ease and it helps that she seems to be one with nature- peaceful and violent, in a nurturing sort of way. For example, while Mars would scream at me for tripping, Jupiter would probably decimate the crack that caused me to trip with a bolt of lightening.
We're normally advised by Luna, the disgruntled mentor I mentioned before, and, what I think of her as, a nanny. She keeps track of our schedules and our whereabouts in general while providing us with guidance, if you could call it that. It's kind of annoying, but I'd probably never make it to class on time without her. And then there's "V," our squad commander. She was one of the first to be recruited by the Golden Kingdom despite her young age at the time. I've heard stories of her abilities, but I've never witnessed her use them, though I know it has something to do with metal manipulation and enhanced charisma. Her mentor is "Jadeite," one of the four generals, who is actually training her to command us on her own.
V is still advised by her own nanny, Artemis, who has been with her since she first joined SEED. Though you could say at this point that he's more like her partner and leaves all the mothering to Luna (honestly, I think Luna made an executive decision to appoint herself).
Aside from V is the Class 2 squad, a group of older girls with more advanced abilities than ours. I rarely see them as Class 1 spends most of our time on patrol in the city and in training. They're commanded by another general, "Nephrite." We're supposed to spar with them at the end of the month, hopefully I won't bring my squad down. There's only three of them, so I'd like to think that having more of us will put the battle in our favor, but Mars has often commented that I count as negative two.
Anyway, they consist of "Uranus," "Neptune," and "Pluto." Uranus is a weapons expert that's quick and light on her feet, at least I think she's a she (sometimes I can't tell). She's often seen with Neptune, the titled Goddess of Waters. Unlike the rest of us, Neptune has nearly complete control of her elemental ability, and her ability is definitely stronger than anyone in the Golden Kingdom, even though it is her only one while the rest of us have at least two. Since Uranus is apt with wind manipulation, the two are often referred to as the Typhoon Duo. Pluto's abilities are rather interesting, I guess you could say she can see the future, though not always. What I mean is that she's pretty good at sensing where her opponent is going to be next, barely ever miscalculating their next strike. Sometimes she goes into a complete cationic state and has visions; apparently she saw me and that's why the Sailor Units were there when my abilities went off.
Finally, as far as direct leadership goes, the head commander for the Golden Kingdom is "Endymion" and his second in command is "Kunzite." Endymion is actually fairly young, younger than Kunzite, but ascended through the ranks quickly and quite efficiently. Kunzite is one of the most decorated agents in the Golden Kingdom, it's speculated that he actually passed on the position of head commander due to his enjoyment of field work. Probably also because he doesn't enjoy paperwork.
Though, after seeing Endymion wear his new prescription glasses yesterday, I don't believe he enjoys paperwork, either.
Actually, Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, the other general "Zoisite," and Endymion were on the original squad back when the Golden Kingdom was first established. When not directly training units, the generals are usually found teaching classes and flirting, Zoisite being the worst of them, if he's even on base to begin with. He seems rather restless with military life and spends most of his time in the high end districts. Endymion assures that General Zoi is creating and maintaining connections, though I think he's inspired more by Zoisite smoozing free items rather than using the military piggy bank to fund Zoi's fashion addiction.
In all, life has progressed on like normal, though I'm sure mama would call this anything but. But I'm okay with that, not being a normal girl. I still eat and sleep and attend classes, and hang out at Crown Center during my time off. Sure, I endure a lot of physical training and the periodical threat to mankind. Sometimes it's a little lonely being Agent Moon, despite the fame. The public adores us and adoration is nice and all, but what happens when we fail? Not that we have, and failure isn't exactly acceptable in my line of work, but it's bound to happen at some point.
But don't worry, mama, you're little girl is doing fine down here. I may be a little clumsy and not too bright, but I'll do the best that I can; and you always said that was all you ever wanted, right?
---
AN: So here it is! My AU retelling of the Sailor Moon series originally meant for the SM Big Bang on LJ. I always thought it would be fun to see the series if it were intended for an older audience, so I infused it with more science fiction and supernatural elements than the standard modern fantasy aspect. It's going to be 1st person POV of Usagi with a lot of throw backs to the series proper (for example, did you catch that SEED is a reference to starseeds?). The characterizations are going to be loose, but definitely reminiscent of the originals. I hope you enjoy!