Sailormoon Neo: #12 - Aurora Garekushi e no Tabi, Opaque Prism no Mamorite Toujou - The Journey to the Aurora Galaxy, the Protector of the Opaque Prism Appears - By: Janelle Jimenez (miaka@bishounen.org) Official Webpage: http://www.sailormoon-millennia.net/ [http://bishounen.org/smmillennia/] NOTE: If you haven't read Sailormoon Zodiac by now, I would very much suggest that you do. Starting from this point onward, there will be alot of things mentioned here that were mentioned in SMZ, and it's basically assumed that you know what I'm talking about. Granted, it isn't required that you have read SMZ, but those who did read it will understand the rest of the series, and this episode, a bit better. Note 2: 'Ganbatte' means Good luck. I didn't want to put a translation note at the end of where I said it, it ruins the mood. ********************* "Morino Ryuu is dating Kasumi?!" Himeko asked incredulously. She was jealous and maybe even a bit hurt--*SHE* couldn't get Morino Ryuu, but Umino Kasumi could? Megami nodded slowly, "This is so unfair to Seishi. She loves Ryuu, and he loves her too, everyone knows it." she replied, "Karei says Ryuu and Kasumi's relationship is what has broken up the Sailor Team." she added, lowering her voice. Himeko's eyes darkened. She didn't like Kasumi. She didn't like her as a a friend or even as a fellow teammate. Moreover, she was angered at the fact that Kasumi was the most powerful of the Neo Inner Senshi. "Ne..Megami, why don't you defend your sister sometimes?" Yoake asked quietly. She didn't have a sister, but she felt that if she did, she wouldn't treat her so badly. "I..I do..but, this is different." Megami answered somewhat defensively. Karei flipped her black hair over her shoulder and gazed at Yoake momentarily. Tokino Yoake and Sorano Himeko. She had known Yoake for more or less her whole life. Himeko was someone she had seen around school, but never met. Frankly, Karei didn't have the faintest idea why she was even a Sailor Senshi. Himeko had no blood connections to the other Senshi, even though that didn't matter. It just seemed...odd. "You don't understand, Yoake. Kasumi is the most spiteful, cold girl you'll ever meet in your life. The way Megami treats her sister is more than Kasumi even deserves." Karei answered, quick to defend her best friend. Himeko and Yoake may have gone to the same school as Karei and Megami, but they were in a different 'social class.' Being on the Sailor Team is what brought them all together. Himeko sighed slightly and looked down on the courtyard below. It was their lunch hour, but they didn't want to go outdoors. She could see some students wandering around outside. Standing underneath a large cherry tree, she noticed a dark haired figure. Shino Seishi. She had learned that that girl..that dark troubled girl was Neo Sailorsaturn, a Senshi who's powers were so far unmatched by anyone elses. That frightened Himeko. "Umm..Hime-chan, are you ready to sing for the school talent show?" Yoake asked cheerfully, changing the subject. Himeko snapped out of her daze and smiled, "I'm totally excited!" she exclaimed. Her smile faded and she went back to brooding. "You know.." she said, reverting her eyes on Shino Seishi. "I wanted to have Morino Ryuu...I was going to do anything to steal him from that girl down there." she whispered. Karei raised her eyebrows and glanced warily at Megami. Himeko took notice of this and shook her head slowly. She glanced down sadly at the girl, who looked incredibly alone. She felt very sorry for her. "No, now that I really think about it. That girl..Seishi..she and Ryuu need each other, more than anyone else needs either of them. I have a feeling that nothing will keep them from being together one day..nothing." * * * * "Aiko-chan?" Minako called, a few moments later she saw her daughter enter the room. Aiko adjusted her glasses and stood in the doorway of Minako's room. "Hai, Okaa-sama? (Yes, Mother?)" Aiko asked. Minako sat up in her bed and looked at her daughter with sharp blue eyes. "I heard from Neo-Queen Serenity about you.." she began. Aiko's eyebrows arched, she stepped forward and sat down carefully in a chair. Her eyes glanced uneasily to her mother's long tangled blonde hair. There was a glass of water, tissues, and several bottles of sleeping pills sitting on her bedstand. "What did you hear?" Aiko questioned. "I heard that you refuse to be part of the Sailor Team. That you won't take your place as Sailorvenus. Instead you stand for 'Victory' and masquerade around as Sailor V...why?" Minako demanded. This was one of the few times in Aiko's sixteen years that she had ever heard her mother raise her voice. One of the first times Minako was acting more like a mother, than a depressed child. "Hai, this is true, Okaa-sama." Aiko replied. Minako's eyes filled with anger and her face distorted into a look of frustration, "Aiko! You are a part of a TEAM. You are NOT a single Soldier. They need you to be as strong as possible. Until you take your rightful place as Venus, the Team will be weak." Minako exclaimed. Aiko looked down. She felt a bit guilty, but she didn't want to be part of a team. She could only get all the glory she wanted, the respect, the attention if she fought alone and for no one but herself. "Okaa-sama..I.." Aiko began, "The Neo Sailor Team is weak. It's true a few of you are much stronger than we old Senshi were, but as a whole you're very much weaker. The Team is also extremely unbalanced. You have some members whose powers are frightfully vast and some with less than average strength. Now you've all managed to alienate the strongest member of the Team." Minako cut in. She may have been depressed for years, she may have neglected everything and cared for almost nothing. But one thing was for sure, she was a Sailor Senshi till the end. She hadn't lost her sense of Sailor Pride or the pride for her daughter. "You..you realize that it's the fault of the weakness of the Neo Sailor Team that Haruka and Michiru are dead, don't you?" Minako asked. Aiko's mouth fell agape, was her mother SERIOUSLY blaming her own daughter for two deaths? By now, Minako had gotten off her bed and was facing her daughter. "OKAA-SAMA! How could you say that? It's not my fault they died! It's their fault! When I'm Sailor V, I'm the girl I've always wanted to be. Perfect, like you were. I get respect, I get admiration, not when I'm Hateshinai Aiko. No one likes Aiko, but everyone loves Sailor V!" Aiko shouted. Minako's eyes darkened and she reached out and slapped Aiko on the face. She snatched her hand away hastily, but she didn't look regretful. She turned away from Aiko quickly and stared out her window. She seemed to be controlling her temper. After a few moments, Minako turned her head and glanced at her daughter's blue eyes, "Aiko, the only person you can be is yourself. You aren't doing anything but living a lie. You need to learn to love yourself, because if you don't, no one else will." * * * * Neo-Queen Serenity glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and then shifted her eyes to her husband, "She's late." she said bluntly. King Endymion smiled slightly and leaned back into his chair, "You aren't exactly the most punctual person either, Usako." Right before Serenity could say another word, the door burst open and a pink haired, red eyed girl jumped in breathlessly, "Sorry, Mommy, Daddy...I was looking for Diana and I just got too caught up in the time." she apologized. "Usa-chan, right now it's extremely imperative that you listen to what your father and I have to say. You told us that you must trek to the Aurora Galaxy to obtain the Opaque Prism. We need to talk to you about a few things before you depart." Neo-Queen Serenity answered sternly. Usa put on a serious face and sat down in the chair facing her parents. Endymion stood up and walked in front of a detailed mural of the Known Universe. He pointed to a small cluster of stars near their own Galaxy, "This is the Aurora Galaxy, as you can see, it's not really a Galaxy. It's also rather close to us. However, the only way you can feasibly get there is by using the Sailor Teleport." King Endymion began, "We're nervous about you using it, because if you do not have enough power, it can backfire or not work at all." Serenity finished. Endymion nodded at his wife. "Mommy, what is the Opaque Prism anyway?" Usa asked. Serenity looked off to the side for a moment, "Well, it's a treasure that was first appeared in the Golden Millennium. It's powers are equal to the Silver Crystal. There is another treasure, the Iridescent Jewel, but that appears to have been destroyed." she recalled. Usa nodded intently, she was trying to soak up as much information as she could. "There is a Legend of a Guardian of the Opaque Prism. They say that she is a Snake-haired Senshi with immense celestial powers. You must be VERY careful, Usa-chan. I have no doubt in my mind that you and the Sailor Team will defeat her, but there is still danger that you may be hurt or someone may be killed in trying." King Endymion explained. Usa nodded again, "Anything is worth it to save the lives of everyone on Earth." she replied. Neo-Queen Serenity forced a smile, "Spoken like a true Sailor Senshi. Gather the Neo Sailor Team, you teleport to the Aurora Galaxy tomorrow morning." * * * * "Is everyone here?" asked Neo Sailormoon as she glanced at the Neo Sailor Senshi standing around her. Jupiter Kamen and Neo Sailormercury were talking to each other. Neo Sailormars and the Neo Outer Senshi were standing in a small circle discussing. Neo Moon sighed, she really disliked how cliquey the Neo Sailor Team was. "Everyone is here, except for Neo Sailor V and Neo Sailorsaturn." Neo Sailormars said, throwing a glance over her shoulder. "Neo Saturn isn't ever coming back. Just get over it." Neo Mercury replied coldly. Jupiter Kamen's eyes darkened, but he remained silent. "Yea, and who's fault is that?" muttered another voice. Neo Sailor V walked towards the Team, staring coldly at Neo Mercury. "STOP IT!" Neo Sailormoon shouted, her face was full of frustration. She shifted her eyes from Sailor V to Sailormercury. "Stop acting like such damned children and act your ages. What's done is done and we're going to have to just live with the current circumstances." she snapped. Neo Sailormars looked slightly taken aback, she had never seen the Princess so angered. She smiled gently and put her hand on Moon's shoulder, "Everything will be alright, ne?" she said reassuringly. Mars turned to the rest of the Senshi, "Okay, everyone, let's get in a circle and get ready to teleport to the Aurora Galaxy." she suggested. "Do we have enough power to teleport?" Neo Sailor V asked, standing as far away from Neo Mercury as she could. She grabbed onto Neo Mars and Neo Neptune's hands. "Well, that's the dangerous thing. My mother will give us enough energy to teleport there and we can try and use the Opaque Prism's energy, but if any of us gets seriously injured....we may get trapped there until we heal." Neo Sailormoon replied. Neo Uranus raised her eyebrows slightly at this revelation. "What this means is: don't get hit. That may be hard for some of you." Neo Sailormercury said coldly. Neo Uranus shot Neo Mercury an icy look. Everyone else ignored her comments and joined hands. "Alright, everyone concentrate all your energy." said Neo-Queen Serenity, stepping forward from the shadows. The Senshi all closed their eyes, soon multicolored auras began to shine upwards. Neo-Queen Serenity also closed her eyes and pointed her Sceptre at the circle, "Sailor...TELEPORT!" she shouted. Instantly, the ground began to shake and an unknown force pulled up on the circle and the area surrounding them--then they were gone. Neo-Queen Serenity looked at the sky, blue eyes full of worry, "Ganbatte..." * * * * "Where are we?" Neo Sailorpluto asked in a low whisper. The world looked like Earth...in different colors. The sky was black, but a sun and stars and a moon were all visible. They were standing on a beach of red sand where violet water quietly lapped onto the banks. They were at the base of a green hill. At the top, they could see a tall beautiful castle made of blue crystal. It looked very similar to the Palace in Crystal Tokyo. "What is this world?" Neo Pluto asked again. "I'd imagine this is the Aurora Galaxy." Neo Sailormercury muttered. Neo Sailor V shot her a dirty look, "Yes, Mommy told me the name of this planet was 'Star'." Neo Moon said looking around the strange planet. "Well, where's this Snake-Haired Senshi we have to beat?" Neo Uranus asked. "Probably guarding the Opaque Prism. Something tells me that it's in there." Neo Sailormars said, pointing a finger at the blue crystal palace. "Really, Sherlock?" Neo Mercury asked sarcastically. Neo V shot her another dirty look, but everyone else ignored her comment and began the trek towards the crystal palace. The scenerary changed dramatically from beach to forest, then as they neared the Palace, to rocky terrain. After what seemed to be an hour or so of walking, they were finally at the gates of the palace. From this height, they could see miles around them. There was violet water everywhere...the palace was most likely on an island. "I feel a strange aura here...but...it's not evil. It's a very very pure aura. Very familiar.." Neo Sailormars mumbled, she had a troubled look on her face. "Well..do we just walk in?" Neo Sailormercury asked. "I..I guess so..." Neo Sailormoon answered. "Everyone, be prepared for anything." she added. Carefully, she stretched her arm towards the great white door. The moment her fingers touched the metal, the door shined with light and turned black. Neo Moon jumped back, the rest of the Sailor Team in fighting stance. The door shimmered and then disappeared, leaving a gaping hole into darkness. Two blue lights flashed in the darkness. Eyes. "Get back.." Jupiter Kamen whispered, holding his sword tightly. "Who dares enter the realm of the Opaque Prism?" a booming voice asked. From the shadows stepped forward the figure of a girl dressed in a Sailorfuku. From her head were two coiling snakes with flashing green eyes. In her hands appeared to be a long staff. "The aura is stronger now...It's familiar..it's like the aura of.. it's..like.." Neo Sailormars whispered, her eyes looked confused. "Who..who are you?" Neo Sailormoon asked fearfully. The figure stepped forward, it was still impossible to see anything except her face. She had a familiar, beautiful face and blue eyes. On her forehead was a golden star, "For Love and Justice, I am the Beautiful Sailor Soldier of the Star! I shall smite those who dare disturb the Opaque Prism, and my friends, I never lose." the Senshi said holding up her Staff. Neo Sailormars suddenly blanched and grasped Neo Sailormoon's arm, "Oh my god.." she whispered, "Usa-chan...This aura...it's Neo-Queen Serenity's..It's...your mother's."