Disclaimer:
I don't own Sailor Moon, never have, never will. I'm just borrowing the
characters. All hail the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi for creating this fabulous
series. *bows*
AN:
Special thanks go to Dejana for beta reading.
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For Love … or Duty
Prologue
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The Gate of Time was a
solitary, silent place.
An imposing doorway jutting
up from the midst of a vast expanse of rolling mist, the Gate provided access
to any point of time. Most people believed it was a myth; a story that had
developed through the centuries. Only a select few knew it was real.
The absence of sound and
light was complete; there was nothing to guide anyone to the Gate. A person
could wander there and never be seen again, lost forever in the mist and
darkness. The only way to ensure safe arrival was to possess a Time Key, but
since they were very seldom entrusted to anyone, visitors were rare. In fact,
no one had come here since the day Queen Selenity appointed a guardian.
Sailor Pluto, the black-clad
Senshi of Time, stood motionless at the Gate, holding her Garnet Rod, the tall
staff that allowed her to control time. She looked like a living statue—not
even a strand of her long green hair was out of place. Her crimson eyes were
focused on the mist before her, but all she saw were the threads of time. She
watched the strands unfold and weave themselves into what would become history.
Once she had been Princess
Setsuna, a woman with a family and a home. Now there was only Sailor Pluto and
the looming Gate she was sworn to protect. Her life was outside Time's steady
stream; her very existence was already fading from the minds of her people. It
was a lonely way of living, a lonely duty, but she bore the burden proudly.
Destiny continued to wind its
way under her steady scrutiny. While forbidden to interfere or do anything to
alter its course, she was allowed to keep it free of snarls and disruptions.
Her job so far had been peaceful; everything proceeded just as it should have.
Exactly five years after
being installed as the Guardian of Time, Pluto frowned as something in the time
stream caught her eye. Something had slipped past her. She shifted on her feet,
her mind immersing itself more deeply into the flow of time to find the
aberrance.
Pluto examined the
disturbance and her gloved hand tightened on her staff. She could clearly see
two paths branching off from what had once been a unified whole. On one side
was the path things should have taken—the fate she knew should have befallen
the Silver Millennium—but events were now marching down a different path,
threads binding together to form a new future, a new history.
A new
Destiny.
A new fate
for the Silver Millennium.
Before the original timeline
faded away—past, present, and future were all relative to the Guardian of the
Time Gate—she examined it trying to pinpoint exactly where things jumped track.
She'd half-expected a momentous occasion, some grand, life-changing event, but
it was such a simple thing. After all, who would have suspected an unimposing
thing like a petition to change Destiny?
Yet it had.
The petition was the
catalyst. She had only noticed the change because the timeline split clearly
afterwards. Pluto marveled at this. How had she missed the petition coming into
existence? She traced the change further back, seeing how gradual and subtly
things were altered. One by one, she saw certain events play out a little
differently than they should have. Certain people made different choices. Some
changes weren't entirely unexpected—the timeline shifted a great deal—but the
Silver Millennium was going down a route she had never foreseen.
Pluto straightened. She would
find out how this had happened. Dipping her Time Staff in a graceful arch,
Pluto opened a viewing portal and watched solemnly as a small silhouetted
figure slowly appeared in the swirling mist in its depths.
Crimson eyes widened in
surprise.
"Luna."
The word echoed out from the
Gate, the first sound to be heard here in five years, but it was quickly
swallowed up by the mist.
"I didn't expect
this."
Sailor Pluto leaned against
her staff and watched the scene unfold before her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Luna, Mauan advisor to the
Moon Queen Selenity, crouched hidden under a heavy, ornately carved wooden
armchair in the antechamber to the King of Earth's private study. She was
motionless, straining her ears to listen, even though she knew quite well no discernable
sound would come through that heavy door. Her whiskers twitched as she wrinkled
her nose. This wasn't the first time she had visited Earth and she doubted it
would be her last. However, there was something different about this particular
meeting; some grimly satisfied gleam in the King's eyes when he bade her wait
until his meeting was over that warned her things were about to change.
Queen Selenity, head of the
Silver Alliance, a coalition that strived to promote peaceful trading, travel,
and life in general between the planets in their solar system, had been
watching over the Earth ever since the Golden Kingdom
shut itself off from the rest of the universe several centuries before. She had
extended a hand of friendship to each successor to the Terran throne in turn,
only to be met with rejection. The Terrans were a proud people. They had no
need of anything outside their world and they saw no point in such an alliance.
Still, Selenity continued to discreetly persist.
Luna, her Mauan heritage
allowing her to change from a human to a cat at a moment's notice, was
appointed to the job of visiting each new successor. So far, the only person over
the years who hadn't immediately attempted to kill her or stubbornly refuse to
listen and throw her out was King Edmund. He had been curious and over the course
of his reign a tentative, cordial correspondence had developed between Earth
and the Moon, with Luna acting as the go-between.
For the past few years, it
seemed King Edmund had been attempting to broach the subject of opening Earth
up to the rest of the universe to his advisors with little success. From what
little Luna knew, he had mentioned this only in passing to Selenity, but the Queen had been astute
enough to read between the lines. The King was seriously considering the idea.
Luna didn't know what could
have prompted such a gradual change of heart. Earth had insisted they were
self-sustaining for so long everyone believed them, including themselves. She
stared at the door fixedly, wishing she could hear what was being said behind
its wooden surface.
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King
Edmund sat motionless behind his desk, watching his advisors argue amongst
themselves. He had proposed a plan to petition the High Council of the Silver
Alliance for admittance and it had thrown his advisors into disarray.
"Your
Majesty," one of them said for the tenth time, "We don't know for
sure there even is life on other planets. This plan to join the so-called
"Silver Alliance" is pure balderdash, if you'll permit me to be so
bold." The man's toes tapped impatiently on the tapestry-covered floor.
"We don't need them," he continued, "We're perfectly
self-sustaining."
"Sidon,"
one of his peers, a balding man with a full silver beard, interjected mildly,
"I believe you are missing the point. Just because you have never met a
being from another planet does not mean they don’t exist. As has been stated a
thousand times over the past year, we have record of this Silver Alliance.
Earth belonged to it several hundred years ago."
"And
we left," the other man sneered in return.
"Your Majesty,"
another, older man, interrupted before an argument could erupt, "To be
quite honest, we still fail to see how this plan could possibly benefit
Earth."
"Your Majesty,"
another man broke in. The King looked at him with veiled relief. Markus was one
of his more reasonable, imaginative counselors, who had hitherto been rather
silent. "May I explain?"
The King nodded his consent
and Markus immediately began to speak. "My King and fellow counselors, we
do know that there is life on other planets—at least there was up until a few
centuries ago, which can be verified by the Master of the Records. The Silver
Alliance does in fact exist and at one point we belonged to it, though the
details of our leaving have unfortunately been lost." He looked
apologetically at his King.
"From a purely
intellectual standpoint, this alliance would allow us to expand our
horizons." He made a grand, sweeping gesture with his arm. "They may
have ideas, trinkets, gadgets, and ways of doing things that would vastly
improve our own lives. We may have things and ideas they don't have." He
glanced around the room. "For this reason alone, I believe this could be a
very profitable alliance."
Quickly, before anyone could
object, he continued, "On a practical note, we are in dire need of outside
help. The darkness has grown stronger over the past few years and none of our
attempts to ward off these terrible creatures has had any affect whatsoever.
Queen Selenity may be able to help us." He held his hands out in a quiet,
supplicating manner. "This truly is our last resort."
The King sat motionless, his
eyes flicking from advisor to advisor. Several of them looked positively
forbidding, a few more looked uncertain, and the rest were nodding in
agreement. He glanced at Markus and then at his chief advisor, Zaman. His eyes
narrowed shrewdly. "We have discussed this topic a great deal over the
past year. What counsel would you give us now?"
The men muttered quietly
between themselves for a few moments before Zaman stepped forward and bowed.
"Your Majesty, though we still remain unaware of the methods you use to
meet with this representative of the Alliance,
we agree that the current situation is dire enough to warrant immediate action.
To this end," he cast a glance at his comrades, "We suggest a message
be sent to the Moon to request a meeting for the discussion of our possible
inclusion in this Alliance."
The King nodded gravely.
"I concur." He reached for a rolled-up piece of parchment lying to
one side of his desk and handed it to Zaman.
Keeping any quizzical
expressions to himself, the old man unrolled it and began to read. Moments
later, he handed it to the man next to him and eyed his King uneasily.
"Sire, you've already drawn up this petition?"
The King fixed him with an
imperious stare. "We have. We felt it was necessary."
Gradually, the piece of
parchment passed through each of the advisor's hands. When it finally returned
to him, the King leaned back in his chair and regarded his counselors somberly.
"We have been discussing this matter for a long time. The monarchy has
come to the conclusion that it is in Earth's best interests for us to request
admittance to the Silver Alliance. What say you?"
There was perfect silence for
a few seconds. Then, one by one, the counselors nodded their consent, all
except for Sidon.
He stood stiffly. "Your
Majesty, should we indeed request admittance to this Silver Alliance, it is my
humble opinion that no definite decision on our part should be made until we
can be quite sure of whether or not they are honorable."
The King dipped his head in
acknowledgment. "Well said. This petition is only a request. We will of
course withdraw from any proceedings should we find ourselves at a
disadvantage." He glanced around the room again.
When no one spoke, he reached
for a pen, dipped it into a pot of black ink, and scrawled his signature across
the bottom of the parchment. He rolled it up and affixed the royal seal.
"It is done."
There was hushed silence for
a few minutes. After a lengthy pause, Zaman ventured to ask, "Your
Majesty, once again I must ask how this missive will be delivered to the Moon."
A hint of a smile played
around the corners of the King's mouth. "We will ensure it reaches the
messenger." He then dismissed his counselors, leaving them to ponder his
cryptic words. They filed out of the room one by one and after they had left,
the King called softly, "Come in, Luna."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When the King called her
name, Luna slipped into the study and eased the door shut with her front paws. The
King had adjusted to the fact she was a talking cat remarkably well and she had
never seen fit to show him her human form. She looked up, taking in her
surroundings before moving closer. The early evening sun streamed through the
room in golden shafts; illuminating dust mites, which danced and twinkled languidly
in the air. The King sat staring down thoughtfully at a piece of parchment.
Luna crossed the
tapestry-covered floor and gracefully leaped up onto his desk. She perched
before him, her black tail curled regally around her
feet, and inclined her head. "Your Majesty."
The King picked up the
parchment and tapped it on the desk. Luna saw that it was already folded and
sealed. A good sign. Her whiskers twitched.
He met her gaze. "We
have news for you, Luna," he rumbled. "But we haven't time for long
explanations at the moment, so we will be blunt. Earth once belonged to your
Silver Alliance and we are contemplating renewing that ancient tie."
Luna was perfectly still, her
golden eyes unblinking, keeping the rising elation in her chest firmly tamped
down. "My Queen will be pleased to hear this, Your Majesty." She
dipped her head again and waited for him to elaborate, but the King seemed to
be finished.
He held out the parchment to
her, his face unusually grave. "Until we meet
again."
Luna bowed, her legs bending
in an action that would have seemed comical had they been in any other
situation, and took the missive gingerly into her mouth. Her mind was already
flashing to how she was going to sneak this out of the castle.
A firm knock sounded on the
door and the King looked over in that direction, frowning at the interruption.
Luna, who was supposed to appear and disappear discreetly, saw her chance and
took it. She couldn't risk being apprehended by some dim-witted servant or
guard and have the parchment taken from her. The royal seal was too visible.
Her eyes narrowed with
determination. The Golden
Kingdom had, for some
reason, decided they wanted to join the Silver Alliance and they had crafted a
petition to let the galaxy know they were interested. The very least she could
do was make sure the Alliance
actually saw it.
In one graceful movement, she
took a flying leap off of the desk over to the window, which the King had left
slightly open, despite the early spring chill in the air. She slipped through
and crouched on the edge of the windowsill. She was out of sight here and had a
moment to consider viable courses of action.
As she had discovered the
last time she used this particular method of leaving the King's study, her only
possible option was a beautiful oak tree growing a good twenty feet below. Luna
made a face. She hated having to jump down there—it was by far her least
favorite method of exiting the castle—but it would have to do.
She hurled herself out in the
general direction of the leafy branches below and her mouth tightened on the
petition, holding back the wild caterwaul threatening to rise as she dropped
with sickening speed. She tumbled into the branches and bounced from one to
another until she landed on the ground in a dizzy heap.
Luna
shook herself and crossed her eyes slightly in an attempt to check on the
parchment still firmly grasped in her teeth. She nodded to herself. It seemed
only slightly worse for wear. The Queen would be pleased.
The
black cat acquired a better grip on it and darted off along the palace wall. Since
Selenity never attempted to retrieve her until nightfall, it would be best if
she disappeared until it was time to go home. She vanished into the gardens and
trotted around until she found a suitable tall tree to settle into for a nice
nap.
High
up in his study, the King turned back to his desk to find both Luna and the
parchment gone. He shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. He still wasn't
quite sure how she managed that.
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The images in the view portal
swirled away into nothing. Pluto continued to lean on her staff, a speculative
look on her face. She glanced at the deviations in the time stream and found
that Luna had indeed delivered the petition to Queen Serenity, who had in turn
presented it to the High Council. The end result was that the grimly pleased Terran
King found an ambassadorial invitation to the Moon on his desk two days later.
Pluto considered restoring
the timeline to its original existence, but as she probed the extent of the
differences between the two times, she saw the problem was more complicated
than it first appeared. Everything was so closely entwined that removing the
changes would be a massive, well-nigh impossible undertaking. Perhaps it would
be best to take a different approach.
After careful scrutiny, the
Senshi of Time made the decision to leave things as they were. There would
still be great sorrow, she could sense that much, but there would also be great
happiness. More happiness, in fact, than she could see in the other timeline.
However the Silver
Millennium's destiny had changed, it had been none of her doing and she had
found no signs of outside interference. A rare smile flitted across her face.
Of course she would change nothing. Clearly, this was fate.
Wasn't she forbidden to
meddle?
All
relative.
Pluto stood straighter at her
post and watched the new Destiny of the Silver Millennium unfold with avid
interest.
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