Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Zodiac: Ethereal Stars

DISCLAIMERS

All Zodiac senshi and Zodiac cats, including families and acquaintances are copyrighted 2005 - 2007 Wild Nature. All BSSM characters, story, and all other relations to the story is copyrighted 1993 - 2006 Naoko Takeuchi. This is a fanfic and thus is NOT a part of the canon storyline but BASED upon both the anime and manga versions (mainly manga).

Chapter Nine: Letting Go

Kerri was trying to work on her work, mumbling to herself as her brother watched her apprehensively.

“When are you going to, you know, take a break?” He asked hopefully.

“Huh?” She looked up.

“You’ve been reading about stars for all morning. Since when do you like science?”

“It’s not.. well, it is.. and it’s boring.. and I can’t see straight,” Kerri sighed tiredly. “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Good! Come help me wash the floor?” Steven brandished a long mop.

“But I have to go!” She said suddenly, seeing the time on the clock. “Oh nuts! I’ll be late!”

She ran down the stairs, her steps echoing as she breezed by her mother. “I’ll be home by dinner, nightfall at latest!” She called out, her hair flitting in the slow air currents.

“Uh, Mom? Is she... getting better?”

“Well, she has something to focus on so that’s what’s helping her,” Her mother said finally. “Come on, once you’ve finished the floor, you can go.”

“But mom!”

Kerri got on her bike and took to the sidewalk. “Gotta hurry, gotta hurry!”

She felt the summer air, stifling. She wanted to dip into some nice, cold water but that wasn’t happening today. She wondered what they’d all do together that was so important.

“We can discuss, I suppose,” She muttered to herself as she found the park she had been heading to nearing rapidly. It blossomed out, into a wide, rounded flower park. There was already a group gathering.

“I don’t see why we have to work with them!” Castor was whispering to Demi. He was glaring at Luna, who was resting on Usagi’s shoulders. “This is so ridiculous. I am perfectly able to train you all!”

“But you haven’t done a moment,” Demi grasped his shirt and pulled his face to her. “Stop complaining and I’ll give you a treat.”

Castor was let go as a frown pressed, though he also look mildly curious. “Treat? What treat?”

“Come on!” Pollux urged. “Just lift... lift.. use those arms.. come on!” Pollux sighed noisily before moving to grasp Galena’s hips.

“HEY!” Yale whacked the top of his head, making him see stars. “Get yer hands off!”

“He’s helping me!” Galena began before she lost her grip. “Augh!”

“See!?” Pollux glared at Yale. “I can only use this form for so long and I’m not wasting it!”

“I’m tired..” Galena admitted, still on her back as Pollux’s eyes momentarily softened.

“Not yet! We don’t give up!” He plucked her up and quickly placed her on her feet, feeling Yale’s glare. “Stop that, Yale..”

“You better behave,” She drawled.

“Ain’t you cute?” Aidan grinned at Yale. “Why don’t we train together?”

“How are we supposed to train?” Delila muttered to Tategami.

“How did you all train?”

“Night time, a private lot, Rei..” Usagi said, ticking the information off her fingers. “A lot of butt kicking. Why was I always the target again?”

“You’re the most popular,” Rei said smartly, smirking.

“Oh shut up,” Usagi glowered.

“Hello!” Kerri cried out. “Oh no!” The brake stopped too suddenly, she skidded before flying overboard with a loud yell. She landed in a bush and was seen wiggling vigorously before sticking a head out. “Sorry. I was reading and lost track of time.”

“Uh...UHnnnn...” She pulled herself to get herself out but it was a failure as the bush wasn’t letting her go. “I’m stuck! I can’t be stuck!”

“Here,” Yale smiled. “There ya go,” she plucked the offending twigs and branches as Kerri nearly tripped out.

“Phew!”

“Are we all here?” Demi did a count. “It seems like we’re all here. Great! What now?”

“I was hoping for a more disclosed area,” Setsuna said finally. “How else will this work?”

“We don’t even know what we’re doing!” Castor began, agitated. “How can we ‘train’ anyways? Battle brings experience!”

“What about fighting, movement, defense and offense?” Makoto pointed out.

“I don’t know about you but what about natural talents?” Aidan shrugged. “Let’s just help those who need it.”

“I think I’ll take you on a spar,” Haruka grinned. “See if those words mean anything.”

“Oh, bring it on,” Aidan kicked up her board. “I like a good race!”

“Come on already! Let’s figure this out. We all got together now let’s just...” Demi began.

Setsuna held up her hand as something shone brightly before the group were sucked into a misty abyss.

“Start training..” Demi finished. “Oh.. where are we?”

“In the beginning of the time stream. Specifically, at the door’s entrance,” Setsuna held up a hand. “Pluto Crystal Power, Make Up!”

Everyone followed suit. Castor and Pollux resumed their feline forms. “It’s time to do some sleuthing. However, not all of you can go.” Sailor Pluto said carefully. “While the selected are gone, the rest will train. Understand?”

“All right,” Gemini crossed her arms. “So who goes?”

“Cancer, Pollux..”

“She can’t go without me!” Gemini began.

“She will have to,” Pluto said gently. “Aries and Pisces will also go.”

“Why them?” Leo asked quietly.

“Cancer is your leader, Pollux is their support. Pisces because she does know what Cancer wants even without saying a word and Aries because she’s a good defense.”

“And the rest of us are, like, bad?” Dalila asked with a frown.

“You need to learn to use your attacks in moderation. Unless you’re near a water source, you could kill yourself in a single step. Capricorn is a good morale and can act as a decoy target. Leo, you need to work together better, and Gemini, you need to learn to let things go.”

Gemini was, indeed, holding Cancer’s hand, talking adamantly to her sister. “What?”

“Let go..” Pluto suggested.

“Ok..” She stared at Pollux. “Remember, you have to watch out for her. If anything goes wrong, I’m completely blaming you..”

“Wonderful. That makes me feel so needed,” Pollux glared.

“Don’t worry, Polly. I’ll protect you,” Cancer beamed.

Sailor Pluto neared the door. “But you didn’t tell us where we’re going,” Pisces said weakly.

“To the beginning..” She answered cryptically. “Remember to use the key when you’ve learned what you needed to...”

The four disappeared into the billowing mist, walking away from them. “But why can’t we all go?”

“Sometimes to be whole, we must be separate. This will be a turning point for you,” Sailor Pluto said quietly. “Trust in your allies. You’ve done it before, you still can.”

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Cancer led the way, though Pisces held onto the now older girl. “So where do we head?” She asked finally, tugging at Cancer.

Cancer was distracted by studying her physique. ‘I can’t believe this is how I’ll look when I’m older!’

“Cancer?” Aries interrupted next to the girl. Cancer flushed.

“I’m sorry but this just feels so weird, you know?” Cancer pulled at her collar.

“You look like a Princess,” Pollux said from the ground.

“Kiss up,” Aries grinned as Pollux glared at the ground as he trotted next the three.

“This door,” Cancer pointed to a door looming in front of them.

“Where’d that come from?” Pisces questioned.

“Let’s just go in!” Pollux demanded. He sat by the door and waited. “If you are all waiting for me to open it, that’s not happening. I’m conserving my energy, thanks for the concern.”

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Aries snorted. “And he’s acting all prissy.”

“I am a cat, what do you expect?” He retorted as the Time door creaked open and the small group entered.

The small landscape was cold and gray, covered in rocks that jutted out of the earth like daggers. But as they traversed further, the rocks cleared to show a sweeping landscape of sand, familiar to Cancer.

“This is my.. home world,” she breathed. “Why did we come here?”

“Our headquarters,” Pisces said instantly. She was stared at for a moment. “I blurted something out?” She asked finally.

“I know what’s going on with you!” Cancer flipped around. “See, we all had dreams of our past selves, that beings locked deep within our planet’s hearts. We come out in various ways. For me, I age. For you, you know things before realizing it because your other self tells you.”

Aries was thoughtful. “So our past selves are trying to help us?”

“To undo the mess that they did!” Pisces added before looking blank. “I did it again?”

“But why did we do this? What made us turn to darkness? Why were we punished?” Cancer knelt down, feeling the sand shift in her fingers. “What is here that makes us come back?”

“Those shards..” Aries spoke carefully.

“The shards..” She turned toward Aries. “You mean, you’ve seen yours?”

“It is always out of reach. It is a piece of a puzzle we must all figure out. But when one of us is missing..”

“Then we must find that piece for Libra,” Cancer’s eyes were downcast. “She will not be lost anymore. We will save her, no matter what.”

“What about Taurus?” Pollux pointed out. “Thing is, that Ophiuchus has two of the shards so we can’t really get them.”

“But they never had it to begin with!” Cancer protested. “We had to earn it!”

“You mean you did,” Pollux coughed.

“We ALL do!” Cancer retorted, stomping her foot in a childish fashion. Aries smiled gently.

“I think that is a good point. He may have had Libra under control but she was still not complete. Nor was Taurus. Their shards are still in their worlds.”

“Can we get them?” Pisces asked finally. “If they have to be earned, it’s going to be really hard.”

“And we still don’t know why we’re here!” Cancer flopped onto the ground in defeat. “I don’t understand. I should know better but..”

“You’re still a child,” Aries knelt down. “You may have been the oldest and the leader but you aren’t anymore. Not the same as you were then. Just like the rest of us are different. But we came here because your instinct led us. Keep leading us and we will find the reason of why we came to your home world.”

They walked along the edge of the water, the sand continuing seemingly forever. Cancer finally stopped, looking over the endless calm of the water. “I remember.. I would watch the sea and sky meld together. The blue flushing out together until it was all the same. I would relax and feel at peace. A peace that was shattered..” Her eyes welled up. “I want to believe, I want to know that we will be able to defeat the darkness this time. We were scattered away from each other and it broke my heart. We were meant to be together..”

They stood in silence, as if waiting for her to continue. “Meant to be together..”

Her fingers tightened into a fist against her breast. “Together.. we are whole.” Light billowed from her clenched fingers, the small shard gleaming. She turned toward them, her eyes wet. “We were sought after because together we possessed a power not unlike the Ginzuishou. We were a whole, those who existed before the arrival of the race of the Silver Millennium. We came from Earth, blessed by the globe to protect it. We were the once true protectors and with it, a star was born, a single one that we all could hold onto.”

“I’m drawn to my home world, I channel it in my powers, dream of it. It’s telling me to not forget to keep hope and light. That we can save ourselves as long as we do so.”

The shard glittered and the world distorted, becoming a dead star. A voice rippled across the air. “You think of such idealistic thoughts, of a dreamer’s fancy...”

From the ground, floated a white shell of a woman, hair flowing around her face, all features whitened out. She was nothing more than a ghost, a wisp that barely existed. “My dearest Cancer, I had lost that hope within. I was swallowed in my pain and suffering and I became lost. A light shone upon me and then I felt myself tear. A piece of me, still attached to my world fell away from the star within my heart.”

“I am you and you are me but we are no longer the same,” the pain was evident in the voice. “We call you back because we know we are incomplete. But even if you and I were one, we are still incomplete. We were born and blessed by the stars of the Zodiac together, bounded by the same fate.”

Finger misted over Cancer’s face. She started, realizing she had reverted back to being a child. “I won’t hold onto you anymore.” The ghost was saddened. “You no longer need me.”

“Where will you go?” Cancer whispered.

“Home,” fingers grasped the shard. “Where I can finally rest.”

“We will save you...” Cancer began.

“But my dearest..” She had begun to drift away and turned in slow motion. Her features cleared as her past self, the same face she had seen in the mirror for her young life only older, looking back. Her fuku was entirely different than her new incarnation but Cancer wasn’t interested in that at first. “You already saved me. You hold the last piece of Cancer in your fingers.”

And the shard changed into a cool gray, multi-pointed star as it entered her brooch. A welling of power surged through the girl. “Head to Aries, Cancer. They can all be saved. Even those who seem lost..”

And the world distorted again, the Time Door once more looming in front of them. They had been placed in front of the portal hallway. Aries was the first one to move. “Guess it’s my turn.”

And they all followed her. The world was a land of mountains, where smoke drifted constantly from the tips. The grass was dark and narrow, keeping close the blacken earth.

“This is your home world? It looks like Greenland!” Pisces beamed.

“Greenland is made of ice,” Pollux pointed out.

“Oh... well, I saw something on television that looked like this!” Pisces stated. “But on that note, why do they call it Greenland?”

Aries was ruffling the grass, her eyes refusing to look up.

“You’re afraid of the mountains?” Pisces asked gently.

“Fire... isn’t really my thing. I never liked it. I could never stand to watch it.” Aries stood up. “Everyone has memories, right? I mean, we all remember what it was like to be discarded?”

“And then the feeling of losing everything, watching your world melt from the flames that were uncontrollable? That memory has always been the strongest. I can’t stand flames, I’m so afraid I’ll be burned alive again..”

They wandered, all of them following Aries as she looked around. “This world was once warm and full of life. It was so hard to settle down here, finding a suitable place because fire existed in all corners. We were never truly safe. But the challenge of it was what made me stay. To make a home of a world that no one else was willing to love. I held it close and it turned on me.”

“It didn’t turn on you!” Cancer protested. “It saved you!”

“Then why don’t I remember that? Why do I remember searing pain, the screams of others around me?”

“Because loss is so much more stronger,” a soft voice responded. Another wisp appeared, a blacken figure with white scars etched over the ghostly figure. “Memories of the nothingness, of the crying out for help and hearing nothing but your own screams. Trying to reach out to the other worlds knowing that with banishment comes ignorance. Left alone to die, it was only too late for the light to strike.”

“Being shattered in half wasn’t so bad,” the figure’s shoulders dropped. “But I lost my faith in the rest of the races, of life. What is the point of believing if no one will hear you or listen to you?”

“But you are not like that,” the figure slowly straightened. Blacken eyes blinked slowly. “You open your arms with hope and trust in the future. You reach out..” Fingers drifted upward, the blackness cracking. “And you are heard. I was once forgotten and I lost everything. But hope can never be extinguished, can it Aries?”

“No,” Aries’ fingers melded into the wisp’s own fingers. “I believe in our world, in our future. No matter what happens, we stand strong together because we are together, no matter what..”

Light started from the held fingers, the charred black skinning of as Aries’ past self looked back, the same face she knew was there on her own looking at her with fire in her eyes, who also was clad in a different fuku as her incarnation yet it was similar to Sailor Cancer‘s past self. A shard shifted in between the two selves’ hands, becoming a red multi-pointed star before being swallowed up by Aries’ brooch.

“We were saved because we were loved..” Her past self offered a watery smile. “We were not forgotten.” She began to drift apart. “We are the stars of the Zodiac...”

And once more the world distorted, back to the time corridor in front of yet another door.