drunkenpandaren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
drunkenpandaren) wrote2010-02-17 03:21 pm
drunkenpandaren) wrote2010-02-17 03:21 pm
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Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: From The Vast Beyond
While I was going about my business today, an idea for a Sailor Moon fanfiction popped into my head and quickly developed into a story. Heavily inspired by the tone of Transformers in which humanity gets directly involved in a world-shattering event, coupled by my love for everything Warcraft and fond memories of reading Jeff Hosmer and John Biles Sailor Moon Z, and finally reading Sailor Trek on F.net, I came up with this.
Presenting my first actual Sailor Moon fic in over 10 years, currently unfinished.
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: From The Vast Beyond
“Projected trajectory lands it in the Sea of Japan!”
“Twenty seconds till impact!”
“Damnit,” cursed the head scientist at NASA. “How could we have not seen this coming?”
“Impact imminent, it’s going to create a small tidal wave!”
“Authorities have been notified. Impact in five… four… three… two… one…!”
Elsewhere, a large meteor crashed into the ocean, impacting heavily and creating a shockwave that rolled across the waves. A tidal wave rose from the result and people fled from the impending doom.
“Impact… the object is sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Director?”
The director of NASA grit his teeth in thought. “Notify the Japanese government, as well as the UN.”
Elsewhere, a tall woman opened her eyes. The surroundings were dark, with small violet lights blinking everywhere. “Something’s coming…”
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: From The Vast Beyond
Written by Shaun Garin
“In the wake of the meteor impact, the authorities have evacuated much of the coast line of Japan which was struck by a tidal wave. So far, damage to the harbour of Tokyo has been severe, but the loss of life has been stemmed thanks in part to the efforts of the Sailor Senshi who have valiantly lent their aid. The Japanese government is sending a manned expedition to the bottom of the sea in order to study the meteor which has survived the impact relatively intact.”
“If life couldn’t get any stranger, now we have meteor impacts too?” remarked Tsukino Kenji, the man watching the news report from the dinner table.
“Eh, nothing’s been the same since the Senshi showed up five years ago dad,” replied Shingo as he took a bite of his toast. “Where’s the odango-atama at?”
“You know your sister; sleeping the day away as usual,” sighed Tsukino Ikuko as she wandered over to the stairs. “Usa—oh! Good morning!”
“Good morning mom,” yawned Usagi as she stumbled down the stairs like a zombie.
“You’re certainly up early for the first day of summer break,” remarked her father as Usagi staggered towards the table and reached for a cup of western coffee. He always wondered where Usagi got the need to start drinking coffee, considering her sleep habits. But since she entered Junior High, she had been staying up at all hours of the night, presumably studying with friends.
“I couldn’t sleep,” replied Usagi as her brain began to fire on all neurons after drinking down half her cup. “Something woke me up today.”
“Gee, and here we thought you’d actually be able to sleep through the earthquake,” deadpanned Shingo.
Usagi blinked. “There was an earthquake?”
No one noticed the family cat, Luna hang her head in despair at Usagi’s sleeping habits.
“You’re kidding right? Dad, turn up the television.” Replied Shingo as her father did so.
“… Reports are coming in from the harbour authorities. While the tidal wave hammered the coastline of Japan, it has begun to putter out as it heads towards Okinawa and the Philippine coast line. Authorities have been warned and a evacuation has begun.”
“Oh right, that earthquake!” laughed Usagi, earning sighs from her family. In truth she had known about it, having been out till the late hours of the night and early morning rescuing survivors. She had expected to sleep the sleep of the worn out when she got home from using the crystal to heal those who needed it the most, but oddly her body refused to let her sleep. Thus, coffee.
“Seriously Usagi, you need to stay alert. Sleeping through an earthquake and a small tsunami was probably the lamest thing you could have done. You probably could sleep through the end of the world!” Shingo earned a glare from his sister and he smirked.
“Shingo, stop antagonizing your sister,” stated Kenji as he took his own cup and sipped it.
Ignoring the little by-play, Ikuko put down a plate in front of Usagi in which she picked up a slice of buttered toast and munched on it. “For someone who couldn’t sleep, your appetite is still the same. Are you feeling alright Usagi?”
“I’m fine mom, just a little worn from the lack of sleep,” replied Usagi as she got a refill of her coffee. “I need to meet up with the girls later on, and I know Rei-chan’ll chew me out for being late.”
“I suppose so,” sighed the matriarch of the family. “Just try to sleep a little better. It is the summer break after all.”
“Right.” Usagi turned her attention to her food and thus began the feeding frenzy, to which Kenji remarked, “Well at least she still eats normally.”
The U.S.S. Enterprise II was a state of the art carrier ship, one of the newest in the American fleet. The newest flagship in the history of military might, it was a joint venture between the US and the UN, specifically due to the multi-national crew that helmed the ship.
Named as the second Enterprise in the fleet, the first an old decommissioned battleship from the Second World War, the Enterprise II was nicknamed the “Picard Boat” by the ones who had served on it since it’s commissioning five months ago, referring to the fourth in the line of ships named Enterprise from the series Star Trek.
It was here that Captain Hikaru Noguchi looked over at his second in command, a tall young woman named Lt. Patricia James. “Your thoughts on this?”
“Well sir, we’re here in Japanese waters about to dig up a meteor that caused a minor tsunami. I suppose this’ll be a good start for it’s first voyage.” Replied the officer with a little smile.
“That it will,” replied the aged Japanese captain. “How are our boys sent from NASA doing?”
“They’ve gotten together with the eggheads from the UN already, and have prepared the submarine team,” replied Patricia. “Though this entire operation gives me the willies.”
“The willies?” echoed the older man. “What sort of feelings are you getting from it?”
“I can’t say sir, but I think this is a bad idea,” replied the Lieutenant. “My mother often said that things that fall from the sky should be left well alone. I don’t know if that’s a omen, but we’re getting mighty close to the Sailor Senshi’s turf. And remember their track record with things from the sky?”
“I do,” replied the Captain, having born witness to the international heroes’ exploits. The whole “Freezing of Azubu-Juuban” incident two years ago was enough to give him extreme pause when dealing with weirdness so close to the home turf. “And I agree; this is far too much of a bad idea. Every time something comes crashing down on us, it means our heads and a near-apocalypse averted.”
“Should we get on the line and notify the contacts we have in the UN about it?” inquired his second officer. “If what we’re both feeling is true then…”
“Hard to call, Patty,” replied the Captain, looking at her. “You and I have survived two major Sailor Senshi incidents while on leave in Japan. And I’ve never doubted your trust in things that “give you the willies”. While something tells me this is a bad idea, I know that the rest of the UN really doesn’t like the fact that Japan holds the only known group of Superheroes. Old farts on the counsel really don’t like the idea of that.”
“Not like it hasn’t stopped them before from trying to discover their identities,” replied Patricia with a snort. “They’re notoriously tight lipped, even in interviews and public appearances. Five years, five apocalypses averted if you discount the one-shot enemies they manage to put down. I heard that the UN wants them to go global.”
Any other reply that the Captain would have given was cut off from a chirping of the radio. “Sirs? We’re in position.”
“Make it so. We’ll see your boys when you get back up.”
“Roger. We’re disconnecting the sub now.”
Looking at Patricia, Hikaru intoned, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“You’re late!” yelled Rei Hino as Usagi came staggering up the steps. “And why are you clutching to a coffee cup?”
“Hey, whose bright idea was it to go save people from a natural disaster till 6am in the morning?” replied Usagi testily as she drank down the contents of the Starbucks coffee she had picked up on the way there. “That’s right, it was yours. And I couldn’t sleep since then so coffee, nows.”
“You shouldn’t drink so much Usagi-chan, it’ll leave you jittery later on,” remarked Ami, watching their team leader down the grande sized cup.
“So says the girl who passes out doing trig problems,” teased Minako. “And carries a cup of coffee wherever she goes since High School?”
Ami flushed and tried to hide her own tall paper cup. “Studying and saving people is tiring!”
“I hear that,” groused Makoto who was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. “I slept till the latest possible before coming here. Are the Outers coming?”
“They’re still out on the field, minus Setsuna,” replied Ami, having recalled a phone call from Uranus. “Last I checked the news; Haruka was pulling a few people from a wrecked building.”
“Geez, don’t they sleep?” replied Usagi. “I hope they don’t have Hotaru-chan out there overworking herself again. And where’s Setsuna anyhow?”
“Said something about the Time Gates and poofed,” replied Minako who looked way too awake to be running on 4 hours sleep. “You know her; one disaster and she’s got to check the CT possibilities again.”
“Mrgle,” replied Usagi, having put her head down on the table.
Rei sighed as she sat down. “I got a vision.”
All of the Inners groaned at that, even Usagi whose head was still planted on the table. Rei’s visions usually spelt trouble, and even with Galaxia defeated, it always meant something crazy was on the horizon.
Groans notwithstanding, Rei pressed forward. “It was pretty disjointed. A hammer and a sword, a giant forge. And a terrible inexplicable fear.”
“A hammer and a sword,” mused Makoto. “The sword could mean Haruka’s Space Sword but the hammer is out of place. None of us have one.”
“No, I don’t think it was referring to that,” replied Rei. “The sword looked like nothing I had seen before, some kind of giant key crossed with a vibrant red metal color.” The girls looked at her oddly. “What?”
“A giant key?” echoed Usagi, raising her head. “Rei, are you sure you weren’t dreaming about Kingdom Hearts?”
“No, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t,” grumbled Rei, folding her arms. “For one thing, I didn’t fall asleep at the Sacred Fire. And another thing, I haven’t picked up the new game yet.”
“Videogames aside, what else did you see? Any details on the hammer?” inquired Ami, typing at her small palmtop.
“It looked very non-descript; a blacksmith hammer. And it was hammering the sword-key thing out.”
“Keyblade.” Offered Usagi.
“Shut it Usagi, we’re not going to be eaten by Heartless!” snapped Rei.
“And the forge?” asked Makoto.
“It was a plain old forge, but there was something magical in the way it pounded the material into shape.” Replied Rei, brow furrowing in thought. “If only I had a moment longer to see it.”
“And the fear?” asked Minako.
“It’s what woke me up from my vision,” replied Rei. “It was a powerful overwhelming fear that I was shaking for about ten minutes when I came out of my trance.”
“So we’ve got a mystery on our hands. While I highly doubt we’re going to get eaten by fictional beings from beyond darkness,” said Minako, earning a smirk from Usagi and a eye-roll from Rei, “We’re looking at a new threat perhaps?”
“That or the Near-Apocalypse. How many have we dealt with already?” said Makoto.
“Too many,” replied Ami blithely.
“Yeah. Hey were did Luna and Artemis go anyhow?” inquired Makoto.
“Luna got a call early this morning from our contact in the UN,” replied Usagi. “And I assume Artemis got the same?” The other blonde nodded. “She’s probably on the phone back home right now.”
“You have got to stop giving out your number, Usagi,” said Rei. “Secret identity, remember?”
Usagi smirked. “It’s not like the person who’s in the UN isn’t part of our inner circle, right?”
Setsuna wanted a coffee. Double-double with a hint of hazelnut. Instead she had to deal with ferrying information as the UN Representative as Setsuna Meiou, a woman randomly appointed by the Sailor Senshi as their envoy.
Closing her cell phone after chatting with Luna and Artemis, she swept into the large room where men and women were having a loud heated discussion, no doubt about the meteor that struck off the coast of Japan. That alone gave her pause, considering that she hadn’t seen it but only got a vague warning from the Time Gates.
“Busy day at the office?” said a tall young man who passed Setsuna a coffee which half the contents were downed. “That bad huh?”
“Greg, you know as well as I do that I don’t have an office,” replied Setsuna, looking up to the sandy-haired young man. Assigned as her aid by the politicians, Greg Danvers was always there with what Setsuna needed.
He was also the only other person privy to her secret, that she wasn’t just some ordinary woman but the Senshi of Time herself, a fact that she had bluntly informed him during their first encounter.
“Yeah I know,” replied Greg as he sat down next to the stately woman. “Seriously Setsuna, how do you stand it?”
“The politicians or the Senshi? If I had to say both, I’d have to say that it’s a timeless resistance to weird.” Replied the woman with a smirk on her face.
Greg snorted. Setsuna’s dry wit was what drew him to her, or was it vice versa? He remembered being assigned this position out of the blue one day. He never really asked Setsuna why he had been given the position, only that she smirked in that damnable “I know something you don’t know” way and he left it at that. Most of the UN believed she was some kind of publicist, and reluctantly gave her the title of the “Moon Kingdom Ambassador”. It was almost hilarious how they completely overlooked the fact that no ordinary woman could have gotten the credentials or pull to get a long-dead nation into the UN, or the fact that Setsuna had no address save for a small three story home in Azubu-Juuban. Or the fact that she didn’t use a car for anything.
“What’s on the agenda today?” inquired Setsuna, and Greg rolled his eyes at the statement like he always did. She knew, she was just making him feel important.
“The usual. Unrest in Kandahar Province, a few reports here and there and of course the big damn meteor that hit the Pacific off the coast of Japan; all in various order.” Replied Greg with a shrug. “Did you find anything out?”
“Something’s coming,” replied Setsuna.
“And?” prompted Greg.
“That’s it.” Shrugged Setsuna.
“That’s it. That’s it? Setsuna, you’re the guardian of time.” Replied Greg incredulously.
“Damnit Greg, I’m a Senshi, not a Magic 8-Ball,” quipped Setsuna. “Butterflies, y’know?”
“Right…” Greg sighed. “I hate butterflies.”
Sitting down, he added, “So O’Harbringer of Butterflies, what do you think we’re dealing with?”
“It’s going to be obviously based in Azubu-Juuban, deal with the Senshi and probably make my life a whole lot difficult,” said Setsuna. “And no, I didn’t see any Transformers.”
“Drat. There goes my dream.”
“Butterflies?” echoed Usagi as Luna and Artemis had arrived, bearing the news. “I hate butterflies.”
Butterflies was the code-word that Setsuna used to describe a situation that appeared to be more than it seemed, but was too chaotic to track. Endless possibilities could happen in a situation akin to shaking a Magic 8-Ball in the dark and trying to get an answer from it.
“Looks like for once, you got more information out of the Sacred Fire than Setsuna with the Time Gates,” mused Makoto. “Still, a Hammer, Sword—“
“Keyblade,” put in Usagi, only to get tackled angrily by Rei.
“Sword, giant forge and a terror.” Finished Makoto having ignored the pair that fought like cats.
“I’ll hit the library,” said Ami as she gathered her things. “Sometimes even the Mercury Computer doesn’t have the information I need. And Juuban is stocked with old mythology books.”
“I’ll come with her too.” Added Minako, drawing curious looks from the others. She grinned and added, “there’s a really cute guy at the front desk that works Sundays!”
Sighing with heads hung, Luna added, “Usagi-chan, Rei, stop fighting and go on patrol. Artemis and I will go in the opposite direction. Makoto, are you okay with going by yourself?”
“I’m always ready,” replied the brunette with a slight grin.
“Alright. We’ll meet back here in three hours then,” replied Usagi, having topped Rei in their wrestling match. Said black haired girl was fuming from her prone position.
“Holding steady at 15,000 feet,” reported the driver of the small three-person submarine. “Releasing the airlock.”
Two forms dressed in heavy duty diving suits plunged into the icy water as they floated to the bottom of the ocean. Landing with soft thumps that were inaudible, the first whistled. “Would you look at that.”
The meteor sat at the bottom of the ocean, a pockmarked hunk of metal and twisted and melted ore.
“I’m going to say this now: I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said his companion.
“Cheer up Davis, what’s the worst that could happen?” inquired the first diver with a smirk.
“Cut the chatter Bines, you need to focus on the meteor. Take some samples and look it over.” Stated the man driving the sub.
“You take things way too seriously Charlie,” replied Bines, stepping towards the meteor which looked safe for the time being. Fish even this deep were keeping a clear path from it, and the second man Davis looked around.
Removing a small pick axe, Bines lifted it and struck the side. Fragments came loose easily and soon, had collected enough of the material that composed it. “That should do,” said Bines, handing the bag to Davis. “Reel us in.”
“Right, reeling in tethers.” Starting up the machine the pair were drawn in as they surfaced. “Welcome back. What’d you find down there?”
“Rocks. Meteors. No facehuggers.” Replied Davis as he removed his helmet.
“Let’s get this sample back to the surface then, see if the tech boys on the Enterprise can figure out what it’s made of,” said Charlie as he initiated the long sequence to get back to the surface.
Presenting my first actual Sailor Moon fic in over 10 years, currently unfinished.
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: From The Vast Beyond
“Projected trajectory lands it in the Sea of Japan!”
“Twenty seconds till impact!”
“Damnit,” cursed the head scientist at NASA. “How could we have not seen this coming?”
“Impact imminent, it’s going to create a small tidal wave!”
“Authorities have been notified. Impact in five… four… three… two… one…!”
Elsewhere, a large meteor crashed into the ocean, impacting heavily and creating a shockwave that rolled across the waves. A tidal wave rose from the result and people fled from the impending doom.
“Impact… the object is sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Director?”
The director of NASA grit his teeth in thought. “Notify the Japanese government, as well as the UN.”
Elsewhere, a tall woman opened her eyes. The surroundings were dark, with small violet lights blinking everywhere. “Something’s coming…”
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: From The Vast Beyond
Written by Shaun Garin
“In the wake of the meteor impact, the authorities have evacuated much of the coast line of Japan which was struck by a tidal wave. So far, damage to the harbour of Tokyo has been severe, but the loss of life has been stemmed thanks in part to the efforts of the Sailor Senshi who have valiantly lent their aid. The Japanese government is sending a manned expedition to the bottom of the sea in order to study the meteor which has survived the impact relatively intact.”
“If life couldn’t get any stranger, now we have meteor impacts too?” remarked Tsukino Kenji, the man watching the news report from the dinner table.
“Eh, nothing’s been the same since the Senshi showed up five years ago dad,” replied Shingo as he took a bite of his toast. “Where’s the odango-atama at?”
“You know your sister; sleeping the day away as usual,” sighed Tsukino Ikuko as she wandered over to the stairs. “Usa—oh! Good morning!”
“Good morning mom,” yawned Usagi as she stumbled down the stairs like a zombie.
“You’re certainly up early for the first day of summer break,” remarked her father as Usagi staggered towards the table and reached for a cup of western coffee. He always wondered where Usagi got the need to start drinking coffee, considering her sleep habits. But since she entered Junior High, she had been staying up at all hours of the night, presumably studying with friends.
“I couldn’t sleep,” replied Usagi as her brain began to fire on all neurons after drinking down half her cup. “Something woke me up today.”
“Gee, and here we thought you’d actually be able to sleep through the earthquake,” deadpanned Shingo.
Usagi blinked. “There was an earthquake?”
No one noticed the family cat, Luna hang her head in despair at Usagi’s sleeping habits.
“You’re kidding right? Dad, turn up the television.” Replied Shingo as her father did so.
“… Reports are coming in from the harbour authorities. While the tidal wave hammered the coastline of Japan, it has begun to putter out as it heads towards Okinawa and the Philippine coast line. Authorities have been warned and a evacuation has begun.”
“Oh right, that earthquake!” laughed Usagi, earning sighs from her family. In truth she had known about it, having been out till the late hours of the night and early morning rescuing survivors. She had expected to sleep the sleep of the worn out when she got home from using the crystal to heal those who needed it the most, but oddly her body refused to let her sleep. Thus, coffee.
“Seriously Usagi, you need to stay alert. Sleeping through an earthquake and a small tsunami was probably the lamest thing you could have done. You probably could sleep through the end of the world!” Shingo earned a glare from his sister and he smirked.
“Shingo, stop antagonizing your sister,” stated Kenji as he took his own cup and sipped it.
Ignoring the little by-play, Ikuko put down a plate in front of Usagi in which she picked up a slice of buttered toast and munched on it. “For someone who couldn’t sleep, your appetite is still the same. Are you feeling alright Usagi?”
“I’m fine mom, just a little worn from the lack of sleep,” replied Usagi as she got a refill of her coffee. “I need to meet up with the girls later on, and I know Rei-chan’ll chew me out for being late.”
“I suppose so,” sighed the matriarch of the family. “Just try to sleep a little better. It is the summer break after all.”
“Right.” Usagi turned her attention to her food and thus began the feeding frenzy, to which Kenji remarked, “Well at least she still eats normally.”
The U.S.S. Enterprise II was a state of the art carrier ship, one of the newest in the American fleet. The newest flagship in the history of military might, it was a joint venture between the US and the UN, specifically due to the multi-national crew that helmed the ship.
Named as the second Enterprise in the fleet, the first an old decommissioned battleship from the Second World War, the Enterprise II was nicknamed the “Picard Boat” by the ones who had served on it since it’s commissioning five months ago, referring to the fourth in the line of ships named Enterprise from the series Star Trek.
It was here that Captain Hikaru Noguchi looked over at his second in command, a tall young woman named Lt. Patricia James. “Your thoughts on this?”
“Well sir, we’re here in Japanese waters about to dig up a meteor that caused a minor tsunami. I suppose this’ll be a good start for it’s first voyage.” Replied the officer with a little smile.
“That it will,” replied the aged Japanese captain. “How are our boys sent from NASA doing?”
“They’ve gotten together with the eggheads from the UN already, and have prepared the submarine team,” replied Patricia. “Though this entire operation gives me the willies.”
“The willies?” echoed the older man. “What sort of feelings are you getting from it?”
“I can’t say sir, but I think this is a bad idea,” replied the Lieutenant. “My mother often said that things that fall from the sky should be left well alone. I don’t know if that’s a omen, but we’re getting mighty close to the Sailor Senshi’s turf. And remember their track record with things from the sky?”
“I do,” replied the Captain, having born witness to the international heroes’ exploits. The whole “Freezing of Azubu-Juuban” incident two years ago was enough to give him extreme pause when dealing with weirdness so close to the home turf. “And I agree; this is far too much of a bad idea. Every time something comes crashing down on us, it means our heads and a near-apocalypse averted.”
“Should we get on the line and notify the contacts we have in the UN about it?” inquired his second officer. “If what we’re both feeling is true then…”
“Hard to call, Patty,” replied the Captain, looking at her. “You and I have survived two major Sailor Senshi incidents while on leave in Japan. And I’ve never doubted your trust in things that “give you the willies”. While something tells me this is a bad idea, I know that the rest of the UN really doesn’t like the fact that Japan holds the only known group of Superheroes. Old farts on the counsel really don’t like the idea of that.”
“Not like it hasn’t stopped them before from trying to discover their identities,” replied Patricia with a snort. “They’re notoriously tight lipped, even in interviews and public appearances. Five years, five apocalypses averted if you discount the one-shot enemies they manage to put down. I heard that the UN wants them to go global.”
Any other reply that the Captain would have given was cut off from a chirping of the radio. “Sirs? We’re in position.”
“Make it so. We’ll see your boys when you get back up.”
“Roger. We’re disconnecting the sub now.”
Looking at Patricia, Hikaru intoned, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“You’re late!” yelled Rei Hino as Usagi came staggering up the steps. “And why are you clutching to a coffee cup?”
“Hey, whose bright idea was it to go save people from a natural disaster till 6am in the morning?” replied Usagi testily as she drank down the contents of the Starbucks coffee she had picked up on the way there. “That’s right, it was yours. And I couldn’t sleep since then so coffee, nows.”
“You shouldn’t drink so much Usagi-chan, it’ll leave you jittery later on,” remarked Ami, watching their team leader down the grande sized cup.
“So says the girl who passes out doing trig problems,” teased Minako. “And carries a cup of coffee wherever she goes since High School?”
Ami flushed and tried to hide her own tall paper cup. “Studying and saving people is tiring!”
“I hear that,” groused Makoto who was still rubbing sleep from her eyes. “I slept till the latest possible before coming here. Are the Outers coming?”
“They’re still out on the field, minus Setsuna,” replied Ami, having recalled a phone call from Uranus. “Last I checked the news; Haruka was pulling a few people from a wrecked building.”
“Geez, don’t they sleep?” replied Usagi. “I hope they don’t have Hotaru-chan out there overworking herself again. And where’s Setsuna anyhow?”
“Said something about the Time Gates and poofed,” replied Minako who looked way too awake to be running on 4 hours sleep. “You know her; one disaster and she’s got to check the CT possibilities again.”
“Mrgle,” replied Usagi, having put her head down on the table.
Rei sighed as she sat down. “I got a vision.”
All of the Inners groaned at that, even Usagi whose head was still planted on the table. Rei’s visions usually spelt trouble, and even with Galaxia defeated, it always meant something crazy was on the horizon.
Groans notwithstanding, Rei pressed forward. “It was pretty disjointed. A hammer and a sword, a giant forge. And a terrible inexplicable fear.”
“A hammer and a sword,” mused Makoto. “The sword could mean Haruka’s Space Sword but the hammer is out of place. None of us have one.”
“No, I don’t think it was referring to that,” replied Rei. “The sword looked like nothing I had seen before, some kind of giant key crossed with a vibrant red metal color.” The girls looked at her oddly. “What?”
“A giant key?” echoed Usagi, raising her head. “Rei, are you sure you weren’t dreaming about Kingdom Hearts?”
“No, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t,” grumbled Rei, folding her arms. “For one thing, I didn’t fall asleep at the Sacred Fire. And another thing, I haven’t picked up the new game yet.”
“Videogames aside, what else did you see? Any details on the hammer?” inquired Ami, typing at her small palmtop.
“It looked very non-descript; a blacksmith hammer. And it was hammering the sword-key thing out.”
“Keyblade.” Offered Usagi.
“Shut it Usagi, we’re not going to be eaten by Heartless!” snapped Rei.
“And the forge?” asked Makoto.
“It was a plain old forge, but there was something magical in the way it pounded the material into shape.” Replied Rei, brow furrowing in thought. “If only I had a moment longer to see it.”
“And the fear?” asked Minako.
“It’s what woke me up from my vision,” replied Rei. “It was a powerful overwhelming fear that I was shaking for about ten minutes when I came out of my trance.”
“So we’ve got a mystery on our hands. While I highly doubt we’re going to get eaten by fictional beings from beyond darkness,” said Minako, earning a smirk from Usagi and a eye-roll from Rei, “We’re looking at a new threat perhaps?”
“That or the Near-Apocalypse. How many have we dealt with already?” said Makoto.
“Too many,” replied Ami blithely.
“Yeah. Hey were did Luna and Artemis go anyhow?” inquired Makoto.
“Luna got a call early this morning from our contact in the UN,” replied Usagi. “And I assume Artemis got the same?” The other blonde nodded. “She’s probably on the phone back home right now.”
“You have got to stop giving out your number, Usagi,” said Rei. “Secret identity, remember?”
Usagi smirked. “It’s not like the person who’s in the UN isn’t part of our inner circle, right?”
Setsuna wanted a coffee. Double-double with a hint of hazelnut. Instead she had to deal with ferrying information as the UN Representative as Setsuna Meiou, a woman randomly appointed by the Sailor Senshi as their envoy.
Closing her cell phone after chatting with Luna and Artemis, she swept into the large room where men and women were having a loud heated discussion, no doubt about the meteor that struck off the coast of Japan. That alone gave her pause, considering that she hadn’t seen it but only got a vague warning from the Time Gates.
“Busy day at the office?” said a tall young man who passed Setsuna a coffee which half the contents were downed. “That bad huh?”
“Greg, you know as well as I do that I don’t have an office,” replied Setsuna, looking up to the sandy-haired young man. Assigned as her aid by the politicians, Greg Danvers was always there with what Setsuna needed.
He was also the only other person privy to her secret, that she wasn’t just some ordinary woman but the Senshi of Time herself, a fact that she had bluntly informed him during their first encounter.
“Yeah I know,” replied Greg as he sat down next to the stately woman. “Seriously Setsuna, how do you stand it?”
“The politicians or the Senshi? If I had to say both, I’d have to say that it’s a timeless resistance to weird.” Replied the woman with a smirk on her face.
Greg snorted. Setsuna’s dry wit was what drew him to her, or was it vice versa? He remembered being assigned this position out of the blue one day. He never really asked Setsuna why he had been given the position, only that she smirked in that damnable “I know something you don’t know” way and he left it at that. Most of the UN believed she was some kind of publicist, and reluctantly gave her the title of the “Moon Kingdom Ambassador”. It was almost hilarious how they completely overlooked the fact that no ordinary woman could have gotten the credentials or pull to get a long-dead nation into the UN, or the fact that Setsuna had no address save for a small three story home in Azubu-Juuban. Or the fact that she didn’t use a car for anything.
“What’s on the agenda today?” inquired Setsuna, and Greg rolled his eyes at the statement like he always did. She knew, she was just making him feel important.
“The usual. Unrest in Kandahar Province, a few reports here and there and of course the big damn meteor that hit the Pacific off the coast of Japan; all in various order.” Replied Greg with a shrug. “Did you find anything out?”
“Something’s coming,” replied Setsuna.
“And?” prompted Greg.
“That’s it.” Shrugged Setsuna.
“That’s it. That’s it? Setsuna, you’re the guardian of time.” Replied Greg incredulously.
“Damnit Greg, I’m a Senshi, not a Magic 8-Ball,” quipped Setsuna. “Butterflies, y’know?”
“Right…” Greg sighed. “I hate butterflies.”
Sitting down, he added, “So O’Harbringer of Butterflies, what do you think we’re dealing with?”
“It’s going to be obviously based in Azubu-Juuban, deal with the Senshi and probably make my life a whole lot difficult,” said Setsuna. “And no, I didn’t see any Transformers.”
“Drat. There goes my dream.”
“Butterflies?” echoed Usagi as Luna and Artemis had arrived, bearing the news. “I hate butterflies.”
Butterflies was the code-word that Setsuna used to describe a situation that appeared to be more than it seemed, but was too chaotic to track. Endless possibilities could happen in a situation akin to shaking a Magic 8-Ball in the dark and trying to get an answer from it.
“Looks like for once, you got more information out of the Sacred Fire than Setsuna with the Time Gates,” mused Makoto. “Still, a Hammer, Sword—“
“Keyblade,” put in Usagi, only to get tackled angrily by Rei.
“Sword, giant forge and a terror.” Finished Makoto having ignored the pair that fought like cats.
“I’ll hit the library,” said Ami as she gathered her things. “Sometimes even the Mercury Computer doesn’t have the information I need. And Juuban is stocked with old mythology books.”
“I’ll come with her too.” Added Minako, drawing curious looks from the others. She grinned and added, “there’s a really cute guy at the front desk that works Sundays!”
Sighing with heads hung, Luna added, “Usagi-chan, Rei, stop fighting and go on patrol. Artemis and I will go in the opposite direction. Makoto, are you okay with going by yourself?”
“I’m always ready,” replied the brunette with a slight grin.
“Alright. We’ll meet back here in three hours then,” replied Usagi, having topped Rei in their wrestling match. Said black haired girl was fuming from her prone position.
“Holding steady at 15,000 feet,” reported the driver of the small three-person submarine. “Releasing the airlock.”
Two forms dressed in heavy duty diving suits plunged into the icy water as they floated to the bottom of the ocean. Landing with soft thumps that were inaudible, the first whistled. “Would you look at that.”
The meteor sat at the bottom of the ocean, a pockmarked hunk of metal and twisted and melted ore.
“I’m going to say this now: I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said his companion.
“Cheer up Davis, what’s the worst that could happen?” inquired the first diver with a smirk.
“Cut the chatter Bines, you need to focus on the meteor. Take some samples and look it over.” Stated the man driving the sub.
“You take things way too seriously Charlie,” replied Bines, stepping towards the meteor which looked safe for the time being. Fish even this deep were keeping a clear path from it, and the second man Davis looked around.
Removing a small pick axe, Bines lifted it and struck the side. Fragments came loose easily and soon, had collected enough of the material that composed it. “That should do,” said Bines, handing the bag to Davis. “Reel us in.”
“Right, reeling in tethers.” Starting up the machine the pair were drawn in as they surfaced. “Welcome back. What’d you find down there?”
“Rocks. Meteors. No facehuggers.” Replied Davis as he removed his helmet.
“Let’s get this sample back to the surface then, see if the tech boys on the Enterprise can figure out what it’s made of,” said Charlie as he initiated the long sequence to get back to the surface.