June, 2001, by Sailor GlitterGirl & Rose Aquarius

 

                                                  

                                 The Universal Galaxy Saga

                                                                          Book One:

                    The Light Never Fades

 

 

 

 

Chapter One: Strangers

Rated: PG

By: Sailor GlitterGirl and Rose Aquarius

 

 

 

 

            "So this is 20th Century Tokyo," Laxa observed

as she and her sister Versia exited the bustling air

port. Staying close and each clutching a bag, they

hurried along towards what looked like to be the

suburbs.

 

            As soon as Pluto had dismissed them, they'd used

their own powers and their own personal gateway to speed

through time and space to the future. They'd found

themselves wearing extremely odd looking clothes, each

holding a bag with more clothing and other odd things,

and sitting in an extremely unsafe and slow flying

vehicle.

 

            Going with the flow, and doing some discreet

snooping, they'd discovered that they were headed for

Tokyo, in the year 1995. They each had passports stating

that they were from some place called the 'United

States,' and that they were cousins.

 

            "It makes sense, I guess," Laxa had shrugged

when Versia had gawked. "We don't look at all like we're

sisters. We could probably just barely pass as relatives

at all, let alone cousins." Reluctantly, Versia had

agreed.

 

            They also had aliases, Laxa now being Alexandria

Whitcom, called 'Alex,' and Versia was now 'Alisia

Warden,' called 'Ali.' Both had winced at the names, but

thought that at least they sounded a bit like their own.

 

            "Yup, this is it," Versia said in answer to

Laxa's earlier statement. "Hey, Laxa, look at that!" The

ebony haired girl cried, pointing up at a tall, reddish

tower in the distance. Laxa looked up at it, squinting

against the bright sun, then looked down at a small

pamphlet in her hands, she opened it, flipping through.

 

            "That's the StarLight Tower," Laxa informed

Versia.

 

            "That's where the brainwashed General Zoicite

was defeated, and Prince Endymion was taken to the

Negaverse." Versia said sadly.

 

            Oddly, when they'd awakened, they'd had a sketchy

outline of the events that had happened when and where

imprinted in their minds. The work of Sailor Pluto, no

doubt.

 

            "It's also where the Princess remembered herself.

I think her name on Earth is Serena Tsukino, and Prince

Endymion is Darien Shields." Laxa pulled her sister

along again, sidestepping the crowds as best they could

as they made their way through downtown.

 

            "Oh, Laxa, how could we have missed so much?"

Versia cried.

 

            "I know, sister, but-" Laxa stopped. "I

sympathize, but I think we should start calling each

other by our new names, and we're no longer sisters,

too."

 

            "Oh, right," Versia blushed. "So, ALEX, where

to?" 'Alex,' smiled, and laughed lightly.

 

            "Well, ALI, first I think we should put on those

translator earrings that we acquired so long ago," She

said.

 

            "Oh! Yeah, right," 'Ali,' looked around to make

sure they weren't being watched, then waved her had in

front of her chest, weaving an intricate pattern with her

fingers, as Alex did the same. And in doing so they

opened their personal sub-space pocket. It could hold

literally anything, and everything.

 

            Inserting their hands into their separate pockets,

their hands disappeared for a moment, then reappeared,

each holding a small, black velvet box.

 

            Closing the tiny sub-space portals with a flick of

their fingers, they opened their boxes to find pairs of

what appeared to be diamond earrings, and crystal choker.

Alex's chains and metals being silver, and Ali's being

gold.

 

            The two 'cousins,' helped each other put the

jewelry on, then tapped their Light Crystals under their

shirts, activating the translation sets.

 

            "What exactly do they do?" Ali asked.

 

            "The earrings let us hear whatever someone else

is saying in our language, and the necklaces let others

hear what we're saying in their language." Alex explained.

 

            "Oh, well that ought to be useful." Ali answered,

nodding, "If they work."

 

            "Let's hope they do." Alex said wistfully, "I

don't want to have to learn Japanese."

 

            "Ditto!" The two laughed as they rounded a corner.

Laughing and looking at each other, they didn't see the

golden blonde blur racing towards them, shrieking.

 

            Alex gasped for air as she suddenly realized she

was no longer on her feet, but on her back on the ground,

the wind knocked out of her.

 

            "Hey! Watch where you're going, you-" Alex waved

a hand to silence her sister as she looked up at her

attacker, who was apologizing profusely, trying to help

her up. Laughing as she got her breath back, she let the

blonde that had nearly run them over and Ali help her up.

 

            "Hey, don't worry about it," Alex laughed, eyes

watering. "I'm-" Alex stopped mid sentence as she looked

at the golden haired girl before her, who was still all

over the place, trying to make sure her victim wasn't

hurt.

 

            "Versia..." Alex whispered to her sister who was

holding up, standing behind her, momentarily forgetting to

use their new names. "Could she..."

 

            "Yes, it's her," Ali whispered back quietly. "I'd

know the Crown Moon Princess anywhere, and that is

definitely her."

 

            "Only one way to be positive," Alex murmured,

pushing away gently and standing on her own. She grabbed

the shoulders of the girl that was brushing her off, STILL

apologizing.

 

            "Forget it!" Alex laughed. "I'm fine!"

 

            "Really?" The girl looked up, and Alex stiffened.

Those eyes...the only one she knew with eyes as big and as

blue and as innocent as those was...She HAD to be her!

 

            "Yeah, I'm fine," Alex smiled. "I've been known to

be a bit of a klutz myself at times."

 

            "Understatement." A voice behind her murmured. Alex

reached back and elbowed her companion.

 

            "May I ask your name?" Alex asked politely. "We

just came in from the States and we don't know anyone."

 

            "Oh! From America? Cool! I'm Serena Tsukino, nice

to meet you!" Serena held out her hand, and Alex shook it,

slightly dazed. She felt a nudge in her mind from Ali, and

she looked at the black haired girl with annoyance. They'd

agreed not to use ANY of their telepathic powers while on

Earth. Ali simply shrugged an 'I forgot,' and looked

pointedly at Serena.

 

            "Oh, hey, you've got a smudge on you forehead,"

Alex said innocently, brushing aside some of Serena's

golden bangs. "Here, let me get it for you." Wetting her

fingers lightly, she pressed them to the center of

Serena's forehead. If she WAS the Moon Princess, then...

 

            <Ah-ha! Yes!> Alex heard Ali exclaim mentally as a

faint, hardly visible, but definitely existent gold

crescent moon flashed momentarily into existence on

Serena's forehead. Alex made a mental note to herself to

reprimand Ali for her breach in rules.

 

            "There you go," Alex stepped away, smiling.

 

            "Thank you," Serena returned the smile, beaming.

"Hey, if you guys are new, do you want to join my friends

and I for lunch? I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

 

            <Think we should?> Ali asked her sister absently,

forgetting that she was using her mind and not speaking.

 

            <Ugh! Versia, can't you remember anything?> Alex

scowled inwardly, looking at her companion. <No telepathic

communications!>

 

            <Uh, oops?>

 

            <Yeah, oops.> Alex sighed. <Well, if there was

anything that would have detected telepathic signals, it's

too late now.>

 

            <Yeah, guess, so.> Ali sounded sheepish. <Well, do

you think we should join the Princess? Most likely those

other friends are the Senshi.>

 

            <Agreed.> Alex nodded absently to Ali. <We'll go.>

 

            Out loud, she said, "Sure! We'd love to come!"

Alex smiled brightly.

 

            "Yeah, thanks for asking!" Ali joined in. All

three of them smiling, they followed the Princess from

over a thousand years ago back towards the direction

they'd just come from.

 

 

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

 

 

            "Man, where IS that Meatball Head?" Raye growled,

folding her arms as she glared at the automatic sliding

glass doors that was the entrance to Crown Parlor. "She

should have been here ages ago!"

 

            "Pipe down, Raye, she'll be here soon," Rini stood

up for her future mother. Ever since she'd discovered how

Sailor Moon had leaped from the flying vessel carrying a

doomed Nepherina just to save her, she'd been much closer

to the usually air headed blonde.

 

            Raye sat there, glowering, as Mina laughed. A dead

ringer look alike for Serena, the only thing keeping them

from being identical twins was the difference in hair

style, and her hair was a lighter gold, and her eyes a

darker blue.

 

            "Yeah, come on Raye, give her some credit. She HAS

been a lot better lately," Amy added.

 

            "Why, thank you, Aims. I always said you were my

only friend," A cheerful voice came from behind Amy. Amy

and Raye turned to see Serena with two other ethereally

beautiful girls.

 

            "Bout time, Meatball head," Raye growled. "What

took you so long?"

 

            "For your 411, Raye, I met these two girls," she

motioned to the two newcomers. "They're from the States,

and don't know anyone, so I thought I'd bring 'em along if

you guys don't mind."

 

            "Of course not!" Mina exclaimed, leaping up and

snatching up the hand of the one on Serena's right, a

tall, impossibly slender girl with knee length white -yes,

white- blonde hair, and silver gray eyes.

 

            "Nice to meet you! I'm Mina Aino!" Mina exclaimed,

then released the girl's hand and snatched up the hand of

the other girl, who had knee length jet black hair,

blacker than Raye's or Darien's. Her eyes seemed to be a

shimmering gold, but upon closer inspection proved to be

a dark hazel.

 

            Smiling, and laughing slightly, Amy gently pulled

Mina away. "And I am Amy Mizuno, and this is Raye Hino,"

she said, motioning first to herself and then to the raven

haired girl with purple eyes that was sitting down, eyeing

them warily.

 

            "Hello," was all she said.

 

            "Say, where's Lita?" Serena asked.

 

            "Right here, girl." Serena, Ali, and Alex turned

to see a tall -taller than Alex, even- girl. While

smiling, there was still something about her that warned

you not to mess with her. Muscles evident under her shirt,

her long silky chocolate colored locks in a high ponytail.

 

            "Hiya, there, peoples," She said cheerily as

Serena gave her a hug. "Who are these guys?" Lita asked,

looking at the two girls who looked like they MIGHT be

related.

 

            "This is Ali and Alex," Serena said. "Alex, Ali,

this is Lita, the last of our inner gang." she turned to

the rest of the girls. "Speaking of which, when is Amara

and the girls gonna get here?"

 

            "Right here, muffin head," A deep, slightly

masculine voice said from behind. Alex whirled to come

face to face with Uranus and Neptune.

 

            "Amara! Michelle!" Serena launched herself at the

pair before noticing a smaller figure behind them.

 

            "Ho...Hota...Hotaru...?" Serena breathed before

gathering up the small little girl in a big bear hug.

 

            "HOTARU!!!!" Rini screeched before darting to her

friend and choking her almost as much as her mother was.

 

            The whole group -including the new girls- was

laughing now, including Darien, who'd just walked up.

 

            "Hey, muffin!" Serena launched herself at her her

boyfriend. Laughing, the former Prince Endymion caught his

love and swung her around, kissing her lightly before

setting her back down to snuggle deeper into his embrace.

 

            Looking at each other out of the corner of their

eyes, the two sisters among all this grinned, their

silent, mysterious merriment and expressions of secrets

going unnoticed to all but one.

 

            *There's something about those two.* Raye thought,

narrowing her eyes. *Something familiar, something that

reeks of power.* She glanced at Serena, who was happily

greeting all her friends.

 

            *I hope you haven't brought us another enemy,

Meatball Head. Sometimes I think you're too trusting for

your own good.*

 

           

            Ali looked at her sister out of the corner of her

eye, her own eyes sparkling as she smiled.

 

            <These guys are DEFINITELY the Senshi,> Ali said

using thought speak, her voice without a doubt.

 

            <Oh, yeah. No doubt about that. The three that

just arrived are without a question the outers, Uranus,

Neptune, and Saturn. Though something must have happened

to make Saturn that small.>

 

            <Yeah, it did.> Ali answered. <Remember Pharoah 90?>

 

            <Oh, yeah. Now I remember. Well, the blue haired

girl must be Mercury, and the bouncy blonde has got to

be->

 

            <Venus, definitely,> Ali finished, her lips

flinching into a small smile at her companion. They both

remembered Princess Venus quite well. Though, like

everyone else save the Moon Queen and Puu, no one even

knew that THEY existed, let alone met them.

 

            <Uh-huh, and the dark haired one can't be anyone

other than Mars.> Alex winced mentally. <I'd know that

temper anywhere.>

 

            <Yes, plus she positively reeks of Mars powers, or

something similar.> Ali acknowledged.

 

            <That tall brunette->

 

            <Jupiter, of course. And that man that the

Princess threw herself at is the Prince. Or at least he'd

better be.>

 

            <Yeah, it's him, don't worry; I'd know those eyes

anywhere,> Alex's own eyes were sparkling. <Looks like

Pluto landed us in just the right place and time.>

 

            <Yup, defin -Oh, well, speak of the devil,> Ali

muttered mentally, her inner voice darkening slightly. Looking

up to where her sister was looking, she saw something that

simultaneously made her heart wrench and narrow her eyes

to flashing silver slits.

 

            "Puu!" Rini cried, obviously in bliss that she

had her best friend and favorite mentor with her. Keeping

a grip on a smiling and laughing seven year old Hotaru, she

dashed to Setsuna, dressed in a dark green business suit.

Smiling, the woman knelt and hugged both girls close.

Looking past the two heads of pink and black, her eyes

met the sisters' squarely.

 

            <Here to keep an eye on us, do you think?> Ali

whispered mentally to Alex.

 

            <Perhaps.> Alex mused. <But remember she said what

this enemy would be like? The Senshi are going to need all

the help they can get, and Pluto IS one of the strongest.>

 

            <Good point.> Ali acknowledged. They were brought

out of their closing conversation by Serena pushing them into

two seats. Darien and Amara had pulled another table over,

making a table long enough to accommodate them all.

 

            "Man, it's been so long!" Lita crowed, resting her

chin in her hands, her elbows propped up on the table.

 

            "Yes, it has been quite a while," Michelle agreed,

brushing aside a strand of wavy, shimmering aqua marine

hair and tucking it behind her ear.

 

            "So, what state are you from?" Mercury -now called

Amy, obviously- asked the two new girls.

 

            "Cana-"

 

            <Sssh!> Ali hushed Alex just in time. <We have to

agree!>

 

            <I thought our passport said we were from some

place called Canada?> Alex replied.

 

            <Canada is a separate country than the U.S.! Same

continent, different country.>

 

            <Oh. Well, what about Florida? I hear it's pretty

down there.>

 

            <Florida? Pretty?> Ali rolled her eyes. <Get your

geography straight, sis; that’s were Alinja used to be in the

Silver Millennium.>

 

            <Uck! That horrid place?> Alex made a mental face.

 

<But let’s stick with Florida, alright?>

 

<Okiday.>

 

<Alright, Florida. Remember it.> Ali glared

mentally.

 

            <Yeah, yeah.> Alex waved it off.

 

            "We're from Florida…The States." Alex said quickly,

ignoring the slightly odd looks they were receiving for their

longer-than-usual silence.

 

            "But we lived in Canada for a while before that."

Ali explaining Alex's change of words. Understanding

donned on their faces, and they all turned to order when

'Liz,' -apparently someone the Inners knew welll- came by

and asked if they were ready.

 

            Looking at each other with relieved and

exasperated looks in their eyes, the sisters didn't

notice when Setsuna discreetly sat beside Alex, Rini in

her lap.

 

 

 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

 

 

 

            "Is everything ready?" A high, feminine voice

asked from above, hidden in the shadows of the tall dome

roof of the ancient, crumbling and condemned mansion,

deep in the woods.

 

            "Yes, my mistress, everything is set, awaiting

only your command, my sovereign," A slithery, slimy

sounding voice floated in the darkness, up the sensitive,

bat-like ears of the owner of the first voice and her

companion. "Your servants only await your word."

 

            "Then the word is given!" A new voice proclaimed,

a deep voice, one with commanding authority.

 

            "As you wish, my lord and lady," With that, the

owner of the slippery voice scuttled from the large room,

leaving behind the looming shadows, away from the

suffocating evil and the putrid smell of blood and death.

 

            "Soon..." The male voice hissed. "Yes, the time

is soon..."

 

 

 

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