Storyline Name: To Rise Again
Creator(s): Sailor Saturn
Forum: Silver Millennium
Advanced or Relaxed: Relaxed
Plot Summary: The dark presence of the Earth army and their powerful queen have been growing stronger, a constant drain upon the senshi and their defenses to protect their own queen and their beloved princess. A particularly difficult battle ends in defeat for the Silver Millennium. It is only pre-emptive orders from the Queen that allow the senshi to escape with Princess Serenity before the explosions of dark energy begin to shred the castle. The fates of the civilians, of their home, of their Queen, are all a mystery.

The senshi must recooperate and come up with a new plan of attack so that they might win against Earth once and for all, and save the Silver Millenium.
Details on any necessary information:
This was originally a Casual Event that is now being turned into a proper Relaxed RP.

In this RP, at the end battle between Metallia and Queen Serenity, the senshi retreat away from the castle instead of being ultimately sealed away by the Queen and sent to the future. They have to stay in their broken world and try to figure out how to rescue their home and their Queen.

Not all senshi are necessary for the RP to start. If there are missing characters, they will have been left behind during the battle.
Restrictions: Bolded characters are the most important. Other characters can fit in easily to the plot if a player would like, but are not 100% necessary for the RP to progress.
--Canon Senshi (Minus Sailor Saturn)
--Artemis and Luna
--Queen Serenity
--Endymion
--Queen Beryl
--Shitennou
OOC Thread: Here!
Member to Character List:

• Sailor Venus -- Sailor Saturn
  
• Sailor Mars -- Prince Triton
  
• Sailor Mercury -- Sportsnutd
  
• Sailor Pluto -- Diagnosed
  
• Luna -- Sailor Mercury
  
• Sailor Jupiter -- Sailor Mercury
  
• Queen Beryl -- Sailor Mars
  
• Artemis -- Solar Knight
  
• Princess Serenity -- Brit-chan
  

The echoes of explosions, of confusion, of screams, had grown quieter the more distance the battered group put between them and the defeated castle.

Somehow, the silence wasn't much better.

Still the group moved forward. There had been no time for discussions, for finding out the best place to retreat. They had been given their orders from their Queen, and they, as soldiers, had followed them, quickly and obediently.

They were a group of fourty or so, a mish-mash of royalty, guards, senshi and servants alike. When gathered tightly together like this, they all looked like a lot of people. Ultimately, however, they were far far too few.

Just how many had been left behind?

The group had no true destination in mind as they continued forward - simply get the Princess out of the castle, out of the dark reach of the enemy. Those had been the orders given.

But a clear question rang out unvoiced - what were they to do now?

Quote :

Goal: Get inside your character's head! Show us how they're feeling, how they are coping with everything that has happened. Do they seek out others? Try to ignore everything? Maybe they just want to punch all the things in front of them? Or are they simply scared and worried?

Feel free to explore how they feel about their home being destroyed, or about having to walk away from the battle!

Sailor Venus

Venus refused to look back. Not even for a single moment. She didn't want to chance seeing the smoke billowing up into the artificial atmosphere of their world, knowing its cause and what it meant.

That they had failed.

Venus grimaced, and tightened her grip upon her sword. No, not failed, she tried to reason with herself. She glanced at Princess Serenity, drawing strength from the kind blue eyes and the familiar face she adored. No, it wasn't a complete failure.

As the leader, however, the taste of defeat left a bitter tang in her mouth and she then turned her attention towards the Prince. Anger bubbled at the sight of him, at all he represented. From his Earth-styled clothing, to his dark features.

She wanted to order him to leave. She wanted to blame him for everything. She wanted to hate him. But she saw how he looked at the Princess, and how the Princess looked at him. There was love between them.

And how could she possibly hate love?

Turning her thoughts elsewhere, Venus glanced around at her comrades and at the others who had made it out. The battle had been a difficult one, and she wondered if they were as tired as she. She could spot injuries and limps, and she noticed the way some were favoring one leg over the other.

It was vital they kept moving, putting as much distance between themselves and the enemy as possible, regardless of everything else. She wouldn't hesitate to ask it of her senshi, knowing they could handle pushing themselves past exhaustion.

But to ask civilians? To ask it of her Princess?

"Let's stop and rest," Venus said, finding her voice and making sure it rang out loud so that everyone would hear her. She pointed ahead a few meters where a small cave had been carved into the moon rock. "There. It's as good a place as any."

She felt as though she should smile, to put people at ease. That was kind of her thing, wasn't it? She attempted one, but wondered if it was as easy to see through as it had felt.

Venus turned and lead the way towards the cave. After second thought, she sheathed her sword. The time to use it had passed, and she no longer felt worthy to wield it.

Sailor Mercury


Mercury was helping the others the best she could. She couldn't believe what was happening, all the math and algorithms and other things she could ever come up with...this wasn't one of them. Granted she was glad the princess and the prince she loved were with them. She couldn't and wouldn't leave them behind. Mercury also had her pains and bruises but she would continue to fight if need be. Thankfully there was no fighting to do right now. Then she heard Venus mention rest and a cave for them to rest in. It might be the best they could get at a time like this. As the group went there Mercury looked back at their group to make sure that the ones they had were not left behind. She was worried but tried her best not to show it.

Prince Endymion 

As the group made their way from the battle, the only thing that mattered to the Earth Prince was Princess Serenity's safety. He walked close next to her, looking over his shoulder every once in a while to be sure no one had found them. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he ever let his dear Serenity be harmed. Thankfully, he was able to warn the Moon Princess and her guardians, but the warning may as well have come late. While the Princess was safe, there was no telling of the damages to the Moon Kingdom.

Endymion knew he had to somehow be at fault, after all it was his people who attacked. What was so wrong about his love for Serenity? The people of Earth have no reason to hate or fear the Moon citizens. However the case may be, he never ordered this unnecessary attack. To see the Shittennou, his own guardians, four men he thought he could put his full trust into, attempt to harm the Senshi and the Princess sickened him. He clenched a fist thinking about their sudden betrayal. To think they would go against his word...! And Beryl, the lead of this attack, he thought her to be a sweet girl... How wrong he was on that impression. 

Snapping his attention back to the group around him, Prince Endymion could feel many eyes of pain and distrust aimed towards him. He could understand why they would have many negative feelings about him, and expected the Senshi to act resentful towards him, maybe even try to turn him away. He didn't belong in the group of Moon Citizens, the odd one out. But he would not leave, nor rest until he felt Serenity was safe.

Sailor Jupiter

Jupiter's brow furrowed and her emerald eyes were glaring with anger. How could this have happened? She chose to be at the tail end of the group, just in case of any emergencies. She stood back a bit, muttering to herself about how she should have been stronger.

"Damn it!" She punched a nearby rock, forgetting basically all of her physical energy had been drained, the rock didn't break as it usually did when she was training. She looked down in shame. "How could we have failed her..."

Regaining her composure, Jupiter returned to the back of the line, trying to keep a close eye on the Prince of the Earth. He was from the same place that terrible woman was. She didn't understand why the Princess was so drawn to him, even after voicing their disdain for her constant secret rounevouz and trips to Earth.

She looked at Venus, clearly seeing her feeling responsible as the leader. "Venus, if we rest that will only give us a disadvantage... but.." she turned and looked at the group. Not everyone had the stenght they did. "I guess we'll stop, and let everyone rest."

She made her way over to the cave entrance. She figured she'd take the first guard shift. She never took her gaze off Endymion as she made her way.

 Luna 

"Please, you must go! Protect Serenity!"

The voice replayed in her mind over and over as the rag-tag and weary group hurried along, doing their best to avoid enemy forces as they left their home and queen behind. Luna felt only the heart-wrenching agony of watching that regal form become only a distant silhouette. She could only obey her queen, no matter how much her emotions might rebel against those orders. It was her duty to carry out what was asked of her, especially if it was the correct course of action. She was an adviser and guardian—she knew this was right.

It didn't make her feel any better.

Luna put on a brave face for the others, her gaze focused ahead, doing her best to lead the way along with Sailor Venus. It was her job. Her quick wits and reflexes scanned the area, seeking to avoid any calamity. Queen Serenity had entrusted them with the most precious thing in the universe: the Princess. The only thing that mattered was keeping her safe.

She couldn't imagine ever facing the queen again if she failed in such a mission.

The dark feline eyed the area that Sailor Venus had chosen, noting that it seemed an appropriate resting place as any. The people were tired, especially those who were not accustomed to battle like the sailor soldiers. They needed to recover if they were going to have any hope of regrouping and eventually retaking the castle. Luna couldn't imagine that anyone else would have any other goal in mind. Leaving Queen Serenity alone to fight back against those terrible forces... Her heart called her back, but they had to do it carefully, without risking anything greater.

When Jupiter lashed out, Luna recognized the frustration that she, too, felt, although she kept it well-contained.

"Please, don't blame yourselves," she cautioned. Despite all of the turmoil, the cat's voice sounded as level and calm as ever—years of experience benefiting her now. "We did all that we could. The others need to regain their stamina. Perhaps we can use this time to plan our route. It's imperative that we avoid encountering the enemy; we would be hard-pressed to defend ourselves with the group in this kind of shape."

Princess Serenity

Everything had been her fault.

Princess Serenity stepped delicately besides Prince Endymion, her beloved and the reason all this had happened. They had broken the laws of gods and men. Ones she had been warned against except...those laws felt wrong. Everything was wrong. Her light fingers clung desperately to Endymion's arm as they walked. She didn't look at him, or anyone. Everything was a haze to her except her touch on Endymion. It was the only thing right in her world right now.

Serenity was grateful when Venus suggested they rest. They had not been prepared and in the chaos of escaping the palace from the Earth Kingdom's attack, she had no proper shoes for this sort of travel. Her clear glass slippers had been abandoned a ways back and her feet ached from stepping on the uneven rocky ground. She was sure there were cuts and her body was fatigued, but that pain and ache was nothing compared to those that had suffered and died for her sake.

For her sake.

So much death. Her heart nearly stopped at the thought. And her mother? Was she...? Once again, she forced back tears. She had cried too much already. If her mother was, Serenity refused to think the word, she would soon be needing to take her place. Become a leader, a Queen, like her mother. Something she was woefully unprepared for, not matter the hours of lessons and training from Luna and the others. She couldn't continue to cry about every little thing.

They made their way to the cave Venus had pointed out, and Jupiter, in her anger and astounding might, managed to punch nearly every rock as she made her way. The crack of her fist against the stone made Serenity jump each time. It sounded too much like the noises from the battle at the castle and for a brief moment all she could see before her were flames. Her already pale face paled even more and suddenly, she stopped, quietly gasping in fear, fingers trembling as she held tight onto Endymion's arm.

Luna's kind encouraging words did little to help, and Serenity tuned out the rest about planning and the enemy. Quickly, she buried her face into Endymion's chest, hiding the tears that spilled from her eyes. The vision of flames and destruction lingering even with her eyes closed.

What would they do? What could she do?

 Sailor Neptune 

The girl ran her hand through her slightly curly, light emerald hair. This would be alright, as it was one defeat. How much of an impact would one defeat have? The impact would be quite small. Well, at least that was what Michiru thought. "I know that will we be okay." This was just an incredibly minor setback, which they could be able to overcome.

She thought for a few seconds. How big was the impact, truly? How important could the battle really have been? Would this mean the end? No, don't think of such things, she reminded herself.

Michiru walked towards Sailor Uranus and slowly leaned on her shoulder. Softly whispering "Just a simple defeat, nothing more." But deep in Michiru's heart, a pain, a very strong pain, struck her. They did not win this.

Sailor Mercury


Once the group had or still were filing into the cave, Mercury looked around noticing she had a huge task ahead of her since she was the doctor/healer of the Senshi. One by one, Mercury went to each person and spoke to them kindly about what hurt etc... and fixed people up the best she could. She took her time on each person not wanting to give one more attention then others even though she knew that some were worse off. As time slowly or at least it felt that way to her went on, she finally got to her Princess and her Prince, "Your Majesty's...what can I help with at this time?"

Artemis

Each heart had been wrenched in two by the destruction wrought by the battle and it was difficult to put one foot in front of the other. Placing one foot in front of the other and focusing on survival allowed themselves to momentarily avoid the pain of not knowing the fate of those they left behind. But, now the group would have a moment of rest and minds could wander.

Artemis' steps were in time with those of his companion, until those steps stopped in front of their resting place. Sailor Mercury began to tend to the wounded and Luna mollified Sailor Jupiter's anger by recommending the next course of action be defensive and dedicated to strategy. Artemis shook his head, "We will have time to plan what to do next. But, we've been doing all we can for days and must allow ourselves to rest. Take an hour to rest and eat, and then we'll come together to talk about what we should do next."

And, in order to dissuade those who would argue against him, he said, "We have some food available. Take some for yourself, and then reach out to one other person. Feed them, speak to them, and heal each other's wounds. We'll discuss strategy soon."

The natural action would be to come together as a group to form the next action they would take. But the battle had consumed them for a long time. If they neglected the time needed to take care of themselves, then they would surely perish. They could all spare an hour to tend to the hungry and the wounded and the needy, including themselves.

Sailor Pluto


The tall and slender Guardian of Time tried to ignore the periodic stares from the curious Lunarian soldiers and palace dwellers as they settled into the large cave. They had never seen her before or even known of her existence up until yesterday.


Nor should they now, she thought to herself, masking an inner scowl. Queen Serenity had posted her at the Gate of Space-Time as soon as she was old enough to wield her Guardian powers with control. It was long before the Princess was born - a mission she always felt must be permanent. But here she was, hobbling along the barren Moonrock instead.


Her powers were great but she was unused to large-scale combat and someone had taken her by surprise when she had edged too far out of formation. She tried not to dwell on the pain, conjuring to her mind Queen Serenity's calm and all-knowing expression when she would come to visit her before the war broke out. It gave her strength now as it did then. Her Queen had given her orders and that was that. She brushed her fingers over one of the silver keys that hung by a chain on her waist. It could lead her back to the Door at a moment's notice.


Maybe she's taken shelter in the basaltic tunnels…, she mused, looking wearily into the cave they had reached. There were hundreds of those shelters across the lunar surface and some even lead into underground tunnels - formed long ago by lava flows. A network of them was also located under the Mare Serenitatis where the castle was situated. Though, it's possible that the enemy might know of them.


Artemis’ voice brought her out of her musings. Pluto was grateful for his words and direction and for those of the others. She had never mingled with the Lunarians, but she would do her best.


The person closest to her was a palace guard that was trying with difficulty to remove some of his armor, due to a broken hand. She helped him get the breastplate over his head wordlessly. He smiled timidly at her, clearly relieved. She smiled back and offered to fetch food for him from the bags that a few of the others had started to lay out on the cave floor. He shook his head, saying he wasn't hungry. His smile faded. Sailor Pluto glanced over at the Guardian of Mercury, who was expertly treating others various wounds. She turned back to the palace guard.

"You'll still need her help, but I can at least take away some of the pain for you," she said. The man nodded. Pluto placed her hands lightly over his broken one and closed her eyes, bringing a warm energy forth as she focused on her memory of Charon Castle and the prayer room there. When she opened her eyes, the guard thanked her and found his timid smile once again.


Satisfied that she had done her part, she turned her attention to the pair of Guardians that were similarly called here from far-off posts. They were standing at the entrance of the cave with serious expressions as they began to talk together. Pluto winced as she moved her legs again to go towards them.

Prince Endymion

As he walked beside Serenity, Endymion wished she were not clinging to his arm which was closest to her. He would have wrapped his arm around her in support, both emotionally, she certainly needed someone to show they were there for her right now, as well as physically, they were nice, however her shoes were not enough support for this long travel. Feeling her fingers tighten around his arm and begin to tremble, he turned his attention towards her and not to the cave around them.


The Prince opened his mouth to speak, to reassure the Princess in anyway he could when she pressed her face into his chest. He froze for a moment before gently resting his arms around her. "Serenity..." He started to speak, softly, but he noticed how his voice shook. His hands, now around Serenity in an embrace, were trembling as well. Endymion could find no words to offer her. What was there to say? No apology would ever make up for what he allowed to have happened. Nothing would ever be enough, he knew that in his heart. Instead, he carefully tightened his embrace around his beloved. Actions could speak louder than words, so they say...


Hearing someone try to speak to him and Serenity, Endymion glanced over to see Mercury. What could she help with...? There was no way the Moon Princess was in a place to respond to this question. What could Mercury help with? Was he injured? At this point, he couldn't feel the pain, Serenity was more important. Was she injured at all? He hoped not. "Serenity, is she injured? Take care of her first, then the rest of the people. I am fine..."

Princess Serenity

Endymion's embraced helped with her trembling. In that moment she felt immense gratitude. For him still being there and alive, fighting on their side. Her friends and the new Guardians she had only heard about in stories. They had come to help as well. Serenity was able to take control of her tears again. Not all was lost. There was still some hope.

Endymion had been trembling too. She wasn't the only one suffering. Their hearts were in tune with each other she knew his pain was as deep as hers. As well as the guilt and shame. She had to be there for him, her friends and the remaining Moon people.

Serenity wiped her eyes and attempted a small smile when Mercury asked for their well being. She was glad to see the kind hearted Guardian. Always selfless and willing to help.

"I...I'm fine," she waved off Endymion's and Mercury's concern, "Are the others ok? I'm sorry to be such a burden. Please check on the rest of the people."

Serenity sighed. Now that they stopped walking, the fatigue and pain in her body come forth ten fold. She gathered her white dress, now dirtied along the bottom from their journey.

"I will just rest here while we wait for everyone," she gave Mercury a thankful half smile and settled down as best she could on the cavern floor. She reached up and grabbed Endymion's hand, looking at him expectantly. He needed to rest as well. She also hoped they could just have a moment together, just to gather their thoughts and recuperate.

Sailor Mercury


Mercury listened to the Prince and turned to her Princess just as she was speaking to her. "Are the others ok? I'm sorry to be such a burden. Please check on the rest of the people." Mercury heard her say and responded, "No Princess you're not a burden..we are all here together and we will help you with whatever is needed. Each person has something your highness but I am still working and will work until we are all better." Mercury nodded to her Princess and went back over to check on the others like she asked. She walked outside to Jupiter and asked, "How are you holding up Jupiter? can I help with anything?"

Sailor Jupiter

Sailor Jupiter scanned her surroundings. Her fellow companions were doing their best to make sure their citizens were happy. Sighing, she decided to let her guard down a little. "Venus wouln't suggest to stop unless she knew it was safe..." She thought, fiddling with the rose on her left ear.

Seeing the Princess trust that...outsider really made her blood boil. How could she trust him so easily. She was interrupted by a sharp pain in her midsection. She had taken a blow in the battle, but shook it off. She hadn't told anyone about her pain, it would only worry them, after all, she was supposed to be the most psychically strong.

Hearing Sailor Mercury's voice made Jupiter regain her composure. "I'm doing alright, Mercury." Jupiter sighed. "I'm just keeping an eye on hi..." She was speechless when she saw that alien hugging their princess. "I'm going over there!" She clenched her fists. "We have got to get him out of here, he's going to destroy our kingdom!" She looked at her companion "Are you coming?"

Sailor Mercury
Mercury was happy at least that Jupiter was trying to stay strong but that didn't mean she wasn't hurt. Thought before Mercury could ask, Jupiter said,



I'm going over there!" She clenched her fists. "We have got to get him out of here, he's going to destroy our kingdom!" She looked at her companion "Are you coming?"


Mercury stopped for a moment knowing Jupiter's way of thinking towards the Prince..and tried to stand in front of her fellow guardian and friend. "Wait Jupiter..this is not the best time to be picking fights...yes he is partly responsible for the attack but think of you going to cause trouble..what would that do to our Princess? It would cause her grief and pain...two things she needs less of right now..Please stay here"

 Luna 

As everyone began to tend to themselves and each other, Luna remained near the Princess. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had been entrusted with by the Queen: this young girl meant so much to so many of them. Luna herself couldn't imagine what it would be like to no longer hear that cheerful voice or see that bright smile. Even when a certain blonde young lady was flagrantly avoiding her lessons or running off to a place she was absolutely forbidden from visiting, she occupied such a place in the feline's heart that she couldn't manage any discipline that was too extreme. Even now, with everything that was going on, Luna wished she could spare sweet Serenity from this hardship.

When Princess Serenity sat down, Luna mingled nearby, her eyes wide and observant. So frequently she would have gracefully leaped onto the Princess's lap or shoulder without a second thought, but now she held back. Those blue eyes were looking at someone else; someone who's company she clearly longed for more than that of her friends. Still, if she thought it would have helped at all, she would have nestled close and provided the gentle comfort of her cat form to someone with so much on her mind.

Sailor Pluto


Before Sailor Pluto could reach the spot where the Guardians of Neptune and Uranus were standing, she heard Sailor Jupiter starting to raise her voice in anger, though couldn't make out the words. Without stopping, she looked across to the other side of the large cave’s entrance, seeing Sailor Mercury attempting to calm the taller girl. Jupiter was staring daggers at someone sitting inside. Following her gaze, Sailor Pluto’s eyes came to rest on the Earth Prince.


Having now reached her targets, Pluto nodded in solemn greeting at the two. “Already…” she said in a low voice, glancing pointedly at the Guardian of Storms. “Do you think we'll have to step in?”

Uranus was been so angry, she could spit.

How could there have been a war from the one planet that the moon kingdom so graciously protected?

Leaving her talisman behind, she immediately took off for the moon. While there was a bit of hesitance in her heart-after all, if she left her post at her castle, who would look out for outside invaders?-those doubts were quickly shattered once she arrived on the war-scarred terrain of the moon kingdom. Her heart was twisted with anguish, rage, and panged with shame. Had she left her post at her castle and fought, would they have emerged victorious? Regardless, the princess took priority now. She would make sure she was at the princesses side at all times, her power at her fingertips-ready to blast anyone unseen threat away.

Because of this, she had remained silent-heart full of unquenchable rage-as she stood at her post, awaiting the guardians and the princess' arrival.

Sailor Mars




Throughout the whole escape, Sailor Mars had remained quiet. The stench and the noise from the carnage were overwhelming enough.




But she could also feel them. She could feel the poor souls of the ones left behind pleading for help, the warped minds of the dark warriors reveling in the destruction they had caused, the despair of the defeated ones one instant before the end.




"It feels like mockery" she thought "being able to so clearly perceive each and every innocent life being extingished as a result of my failure to foresee this disaster"




It was embarrassing of a warrior, but she felt deeply relieved as the distance between her group and the fallen castle increased. She could not allow herself to be hindered by her emotions in this moment. They had enough with one defeat, commiting mistakes in this situation was not an option. So she breathed in deeply, tuned out the storm brewing in her head, and focused on her duty.




As the group made progress, she noticed Venus glancing at Princess Serenity and the Earth prince, something akin to distress briefly disturbing her leader´s flawless face. She didn´t said anything nor made any kind of gesture, but Mars decided to keep a close eye on those two from then on. Her friend already had enough responsablity with being in charge of the whole group. Without saying anything, she moved closer to the Princess, ready to act at the slightest sign of danger.




Shortly after, Venus stopped and announced a break in the march, pointing towards a nearby cave. Mars followed her lead silently, only stopping to hear Luna´s advice. he appreciated the guardian´s words. It was almost what she had been trying to convince herself of since they left the palace, but it was really nice to hear it from someone else. She was also right about the strategical value of a stop: they certainly could not keep going in their current condition, physical and otherwise.




Paying attention back at her charge, she almost lost it when she saw her in the embrace of the Earth prince, but then she noticed her shoulders shaking with sobs and the wet stains in the boy´s clothes and her expression softened. After all, the Princess was still a young girl who had lost her mother and sought comfort from the person closest to her. Mars could not help but wonder how thing may have turned out had she be less rough and more approachable with her.




When Mercury asked her about her injuries, she repeatedly refused her fellow´s attempts to treat her. There were people in far worse condition than her, and did not have the benefit of being a Sailor Senshi. Thankfully, her friend quickly understood it was a lost cause and turned her attention to the crying Princess.




Mars´ heart almost stopped when she heard the words that came out of her liege´s mouth. On the one hand, she was a bit proud that the girl put the others before herself. With the recent defeat, the tiny speck of hope that despite their failure they had been able to plant the seeds for a caring leader was gladly welcomed. On the other hand, she felt rage at the Dark Kingdom for destroying the Princess´ life and forcing her to make that kind of decisions at such a young age. She stared at the ground to keep anyone from seeing the telltale shine of her eyes. Everybody had enough with their own pain to be worrying about the others´s




When she looked up again, it seemed that Princess Serenity had dropped her bravado and was now lying on the cave´s floor, the Earth prince close by her side. While she was musing about the possiblility of doing so herself, she heard a commotion near the entrance of the cave. Looking uop, she could see Jupiter looking towards the prince, her fists clenched and her expression furious. Mercury was by her side, desperately trying to dissuade her of... whatever she intended to do.




Mars glanced at the Princess, knowing she should step in to get to know what was happening and assist Mercury (or Jupiter) if necessary; but feeling uncomfortable about leaving her unsupervised. However, when she looked around she realized the other Senshi were already on their posts, while Luna had sit next to the Princess, watching her attentively. Knowing she was in good hands, she walked towards the two Inner Senshi.




"Princess Serenity is resting now" she said upon meeting them "Is there any problem?"

Prince Enydmion


Hearing Serenity brush off his concern as well as Mercury made Endymion even more concerned however, it relaxed him to hear her voice. To hear her speak, after all that happened, almost without hesitation after such a long walk of silence... He let out a soft sigh of relief letting his arms gently rest at his sides. A burden? She could never be a burden... Why would Serenity say that? He opened his mouth to speak, being interrupted by Mercury, saying what he was about to say to the Princess.

The Earth Prince looked over towards the mouth of the cave, where Sailor Jupiter was positioned. He understood her hateful expression was directed at him. When Mercury stood in front of Jupiter, it wasn't hard to tell she was trying to stop the taller from taking some sort of action. Endymion didn't want to fight any of the Senshi, not only would he surely lose, but how would that affect Serenity? To see him pitted up against one of her Guardians... She didn't need that right now, no one did.

The soft touch of Serenity's hand brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down to her, locking his blue eyes with hers. Endymion took one last quick glance towards the Senshi before accepting Serenity's grasp, holding her hand as he sat beside her as carefully as he could. Now that he had a moment to rest, he felt a wave of exhaustion come over him. Letting out a shaky sigh, the Prince turned to his dear Princess. "Serenity... I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to see you hurt." He spoke softly, though no words could ever mend what had already happened. He knew that much.

Princess Serenity

When Endymion spoke to her, finally sitting by her side, Serenity had to force down a lump forming in her throat from his words. She shook her head, disagreeing with him. He had no fault in this.

"Endymion...I broke the laws to come down to Earth. I love the Earth and I love you, but the blame is all on my shoulders. This is the punishment for breaking the laws...even if they feel wrong to me."

She looked away, trying her best not to let tears fall yet again. Her gaze drifted about the cave, taking in all that was going on around her. She nervously fiddled with her fingers as the anxiety and guilt churned within her. She should have just ended...

Her dark thought trailed off as Serenity felt another presence near her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small figure with black fur and the flash of a gold crescent moon. The ever faithful mentor and guardian, Luna, had come to be by her side. Having both her and Endymion by her side, along with her friends all near helped to calm her anxiety slightly. She was so grateful for all of them to be here with her, despite the tragedy surrounding them. Despite it all being her fault. What was Luna thinking right now? Was she disappointed in her? Did she...hate her?

She turned towards the cat, patting the ground next to her, motioning Luna to come closer. She did her best to ignore whatever was going on not too far from her. She knew everyone, including her friends, would have mixed emotions about the Prince of Earth being here and the thought of them fighting over it added to her troubles.

"Luna...I..." She couldn't find the words. How could she just apologize to her? She had so many questions on what to do and if her mother had a plan in place, but she found herself unable to speak any further to Luna. She gave her a pained, troubled expression.

What do they do? Maybe there was a secret way to get back to the castle. Try to see if her mother was still alive or if anything...get a hold of the silver crystal and the Moon Stick. If her mother had passed on...it was now her time to inherit the crystal. If she could get the crystal, she could make things right again.

"I'm sorry..."

For now she just had to process and deal with these emotions. She felt so weak and frail, wanting to just give up every step of the way, but Endymion's warmth and strength helped her. It was what kept her alive.

 Luna 

The lithe feline form approached at the initial motion of those delicate fingertips, the reaction almost automatic. In some ways, she was the small dark shadow of the princess... Even though her charge knew how to cleverly slip past her sometimes, years of watching the round-cheeked infant mature to a young woman left Luna expertly attuned to Princess Serenity's actions and moods. Her footsteps lightly padded against the ground as she closed the already-limited distance between the two.

The pained expression on the girl's face squeezed her aching heart even closer. She fought back tears from the corners of her own wide eyes, increasing her pace to only slightly restrain herself from throwing herself onto the Princess's waiting lap. If only there was something she could do to assuage the doubts and fears that troubled someone so beloved by all present.

"Oh, Serenity!" she whispered, pressing her black furred forehead against the girl and trying not to let her own emotions overwhelm her.

"Please, you have nothing to apologize for. Your mother is strong, and so are you. We're here with you—and we'll all do our very best, together."

No matter how hard it is... if this makes you happy, I'll do anything I can to protect your smile.

Sailor Mercury


Mercury was in the process of stopping Jupiter from causing more problems when Mars walked over asking if there was a problem. Mercury told Mars, "Well I am trying to stop Jupiter here from walking over and punching or worse Prince Endymion. How are you currently holding up Mars? do you need help as well for injuries?" Mercury planned on helping Jupiter calm down then go back and double check on the others who weren't Senshi, royalty or Cats...which reminded her to check on Luna and Artemis. mercury made her way to where Artemis was since Luna was with the Princess.

Sailor Jupiter

"Are you both really okay with this?" She said through closed teeth. "He's one of them..." She looked up, realizing that in her haste she didn't see how her princess was feeling. 

"Mars... Mercury... are you sure we can let them be together... what if something happens..."  Her eyes were filled with sadness "I guess I'm just blaming him for myself not being strong enough." 

Serenity was definitely happier whenever Endymion was around, she couldn't deny that. Maybe she should give him a chance, after all what good would causing more problems do. "I'm sorry." 

Regaining her composure she figured she should go rondevous with Venus, as Mercury was already planning on seeing the cats. 

Jupiter approached the golden senshi, "Venus." Her expression turned to one of concern. "What do we do from here? What if we can't help everyone?" She knew the gravity of the situation was worse than it looked. "There's no way I can carry all the people that can't walk anymore, we don't have enough rations for everyone for an extended period of time." She sighed "I don't want any more casualties, but I guess we have no choice." 

Jupiter hated thinking that way, but in all honesty at this point it was the only way to think or else they'd all die.

 Sailor Mars  
"I am alright, Mercury" Mars answered "you should probably save your energy for those who need the most help"
She turned to address Jupiter's concerns, but it seemed like her teammate had suddenly let all of her bottled tension and insecurities out, expressing her thoughts out loud. For a moment Mars feared that she was going to have a break down right there, where everybody could see her. However, it seemed like voicing her mind had helped her sort out her feelings, and shortly after she had regained her composure.
"Well, it's not what I was going to suggest" she told Mercury as she watched the green-clad senshi talk with Venus ", but if it leaves her mind at ease, then let it be. It's certainly better than letting her rampage"

Sailor Venus

Venus stayed away from most of the others, her mind rumbling with thoughts that she tried to ignore. Deciding to keep a look out for any unwelcome followers, her eyes had found the smoke among the horizon, and now she stared at it.

Glared at it.

Taking in a deep breath, Venus let it out slowly, trying to calm her frayed nerves. The deep breath reminded her of the bruised ribs she had sustained during the battle, and she winced at the sudden sharpness of pain. Oh right. That.

She couldn't stop the small smile that graced her lips at her own stupidity. She should have had her own injuries seen to by Mercury. What good would she be as a leader if she was too injured to do her duty?

But there were so many other people who were dealing with their own wounds. She could take the pain much more easily than the civilians after all.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. From the familiar tempo and weight to them, Venus could already guess who it would be.

The concern etched upon Jupiter's face pulled even more at the guilt already nestled in her chest.

Everything Jupiter was saying made sense, and were things that she, herself, had wondered and worried about as well. But at the same time, she just didn't know what else to do. Now that the Princess was outside of the battlefield, what else were they to do?

Venus looked at her comrade, her friend, with an expression she hoped inspired some sort of confidence. "We'll figure it out," she said. "We're senshi, remember?" She forced a smile, and nudged Jupiter, an echo of the old playfulness that was perhaps out of place in this severe situation. But it felt good to draw back on old habits.

In the next instant, Venus let the playful tone drop, and her voice was sombre and serious again. "I'm not sure, though," she admitted. She kept her voice quiet, barely above a whisper. These were words only meant for her fellow senshi. "I have half a mind to leave the injured here, and go back to the castle. The princess is as safe here as she'll be anywhere else." She paused, hesitating. "Right now, doesn't the Queen need us more?"

Even as she said the words, she grew angry with herself. To leave these people here, injured and defenseless, all to quell her own sense of guilt... it wasn't terribly heroic, was it?

Silver Millennium, Castle

Back at the Castle things started to calm down, giving Beryl the opportunity to inspect the Kingdom she could finally call 'her own'. For so long she had been looking up jealously into the sky, onto the paradise called Moon way above her head. While the Earth suffered through countless plagues, wars, and other hardships, this Moon Kingdom was always thriving, claiming to watch over Earth, protecting it. But Beryl knew exactly what they were really doing: Playing God day after day, controlling Earth and hindering its progress so their Kingdom could expand even more.
But with all of these lies of the beautiful Moon Kingdom everyone on Earth was told since childhood, nobody seemed to see what was really happening. Everyone lived their lives, never even questioning what the people looking down on them were really doing. Even Beryl herself tolerated everything for far too long, afraid that with all this brainwashing going on, nobody would ever believe her.

But this changed, when she noticed the Moon Kingdom's latest schemes. One day she spotted her beloved Prince Endymion with Princess Serenity, engaging in a romantic relationship with each other. Beryl instantly knew what was going on. Pulling the strings from behind wasn't good enough anymore. No, now these despicable moon people wanted to have direct control over the Earth, and her Prince she grew to love so much didn't even notice. The woman knew she had to do something. She couldn't be afraid anymore - She MUSN'T be afraid anymore, for the sake of her beautiful Planet.

So she went onto the streets, telling everyone the turth about the Moon Kingdom, and - much to her surprise- people actually believed her. While some laughed at Beryl and called her insane, many could see through all this fog, making out what really lay ahead of them. Her truth spread like wildfire across the kingdom, until even the Royal Guards stood behind her. And now there she was, standing in the Moon Kingdom, victorious. The only thing that bothered her was that Endymion even went so far as to betray his own Kingdom to protect the Moon. But it wasn't his fault. He has spent too much time with Princess Serenity, being completely blinded by her.

Walking through the gardens of the Castle, the new Queen had to admit that not everything she was told about was a lie. The Moon Kingdom really was the most beautiful place she has ever seen, even with all the destruction that was caused to it by her men. Left and right of her, beautiful flowers bloomed in all colors of the rainbow and trees, unlike anything she has ever gazed upon before.

Beryl slowly made her way through this sea of flowers, breathing in some of the freshest air her lungs have ever tasted, making her way back to the Throne Room. Inside the Generals, once Endymion's most trusted men, as well as some servants were waiting for her. She sat down in the Throne at the other end of the room, just now noticing how uncomfortable it was. How was Queen Serenity able to sit in it for all this time?

"Any updates?", she asked of the Generals, wanting to know if their Guards have captured the fled Princess Serenity, as well as her so-called 'Sailor Guardians' and Prince Endymion.
She just couldn't understand how Endymion could betray his Planet like that, following Princess Serenity like a sheep. Even though she tried to think not about him, the Prince still found his way into her mind.

Sailor Pluto

Before Uranus and Neptune had time to respond to Pluto's question, Sailor Jupiter's rage had fizzled out and the brunette girl had gone to speak with Sailor Venus.

Pluto sighed. Queen Serenity had seen fit to keep Prince Endymion protected under the Sailor Guardians with the Princess. For Pluto, that was enough. She had seen her share of coups and upheavals in other worlds and other times sending kings and princes on the run, trying to escape out of desperation through her domain. Some were deserving of their fate but not all. She believed in her Queen’s judgement as to which kind Endymion was, and what she had witnessed of him thus far suggested Serenity was right.


But she knew she was about as far removed from the Princess’s well-being as one could be. Her loyalty to the beautiful girl was not absent, but it was born from her strong love and admiration for the Queen and all that she had created in the Silver Millennium, not from the Princess's character. The girl was almost as much an unknown to her as the Earth Prince was. She wondered vaguely how much contact the two Guardians in front of her had with the royal family in the past.


Of course, now they would be getting to know the girl quite well.