Soldiers of Distortion

Her red eyes looked between everyone. It was just recently that Sailor Pluto returned from collecting Sailor Pryxis and now the newly awakened soldier was standing by her side, along with Chibi Moon and Saturn. “Are you three ready?” Setsuna asked, her gaze flickering to each of the girls in turn. Her lips pulled back into a slight frown at seeing Sailor Chibi Moon shifting uncomfortably from beside Hotaru.

“Puu, aren’t there supposed to be more sailor scouts?” The princess asked quietly. Her own red gaze studied the face of her close friend, the one who let her return to the time before Crystal Tokyo existed. To the time when Neo-Queen Serenity were just Chiba Mamoru and Tsukino Usagi – two normal everyday Earthlings who were the reincarnations of Prince Endymion and the Princess Serenity from the Silver Milennia. Much to the girl’s surprise, Pluto offered a weak smile and nodded.

“Yes, Small Lady, but there isn’t much we can do at this time. Your father is in great pain for strange memories seem to be flashing before his very eyes and remember, it took him a great deal of pain to even remember your mother back in the past.” The Guardian of Time placed a hand on her Princess’ shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” She said at seeing the princess’s crimson eyes widening in fear. “We will return before anything can happen. I will see to it personally that the three of you succeed in your mission.”

“But what if we don’t?” Asked a soft voice belonging to Princess Kotone. All eyes turned to the newly christened Sailor Scout. She bit her lip, giving herself a split second to gather her thoughts before going on. “What if we fail in our mission to find this… Princess of Earth? What’ll happen then? Will we be come home or will we be stuck in the past forever?”

That is a very good question. Pluto thought to herself, but she couldn’t let her charges worry. She shouldn’t have to worry about things like this. They shouldn’t even be going into the past, but the Inner Senshi couldn’t leave their Queen and King unprotected either. And the Outer Senshi, minus Pluto and Saturn themselves, had to stay and reinforce the safety of the Palace as a whole. She quickly masked her fears with a lot of warmth that obviously flooded the three girls, allowing them to relax a bit.

“Nothing bad will happen to you, Princess Kotone, I promise. I promise that I will protect all three of you.” Her eyes studied the profiles of the trio. They seemed relieved to hear her words, well, Saturn and Chibi Moon anyways.

“Puu.” Chibi Moon said softly, grabbing her friend’s hand. her eyes shined with a lot of admiration for the Time Witch. A lot happened when she was younger, when she was in training to be Sailor Chibi Moon, but she knew that Setsuna would be true to her word.

“Now, gather in a circle, everyone.” Pluto said a bit more forcefully. The three girls did as they were told. “Hold hands and I’ll open the Time Gate for us, but whatever you do, do not let go! No matter what! If you do, then there’s no telling where you’ll end up.”

Each girl nodded and they held hands with standing in the middle. Normally she wouldn’t be travelling through the Time Gate, but desperate times call for desperate measures and this was an emergency. With Hotaru and Chibi-Usa holding onto her arms, Sailor Pluto grabbed her staff with both hands and lifted it into the air. The red ball started to glow as she spoke.

“Chronos, Father of Time, please open the gate and allow us entry! Guide us on our journey to the past!” Her force was loud and strong, carrying through the air amidst the sudden roar of wind that whipped around the four Senshi. The Queen stood by, watching the bright glowing gate appear behind the small group. Sailor Chibi Moon looked back at her mother. All it took was that one single look that passed from Mother to Child – Mother to Daughter, and she knew the message her mother was telling her.

Be safe. Come back home soon.

Her small lips curled back into a smile and she nodded. I will, Mama. The Princess thought before she, Pluto, Saturn, and Pryxis were swallowed up in the bright light that forms the Time Gate.

Once they were gone, Neo-Queen Serenity released her breath and Sailor Uranus had to catch the Queen before she could collapse. “Serenity!” the chorus of cries from her friends and beloved Senshi greeted her ears, but nothing could wipe away the grief growing in her heart. She had just sent her daughter into the unknown. Even if Sailor Pluto, the most trusted Guardian of Time, was watching over her, there would be no telling when Serenity would be seeing her baby girl again.

He groaned within his bedchambers. It was getting worse. The memories – ones he never knew he even had – flashed in his mind. One in particular crept from the dark recesses of his soul.

They stood there at the balcony, his gloved hands resting on the stone balcony as his blue gaze looked skyward. He could see a large beautiful moon shining bright among the stars. Somewhere on that white star was his beloved Princess – his true love – Princss Serenity. “Brother?” came a soft voice like the wind rustling the grass. His black cape swished as he turned around in surprise. He saw her standing there. A young girl, roughly around Princess Serenity’s age, stood there. Long black hair hung freely about her back with only a few locks tied back into a single braid. Her dark blue eyes looked up into his own sea colored eyes. The girl wore a midnight blue dress with silver trimmings at the bottom.

He smiled at seeing her. “Princess… -“

The image was beginning to fade and the girl, her voice was becoming muffled as they spoke now. The King groaned once more, beads of sweat trailing down his face. He finally opened his eyes and took in a big gulp of air. Who was this girl? And why did she call him brother? did he really have a sister at one time?

He groaned at the questions running rampant in his mind. This was all giving him one major headache. But there was only one evidence that something was missing and that was the fourth chair sitting in the throne room – the silver chair that sat on the other side of his own throne. It bore the mark of earth and he needed to find out who this girl was and how were they connected? Who was missing from his life?