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From the Ashes a Hero Emerges The Beginnings:CHAPTER ONE You are cordially invited to attend the coronation ball of Princess Selene, first daughter of Queen Selenity VI & King Perseus. Disgusted, Andromeda crumpled the invitation into a tiny ball and tossed it at her brother. The paper bounced off his forehead. "Hey!" he cried. "Why did you do that, Andi?" His pathetic puppy eyes caused Andi to snort and roll her eyes. His annoying whines would soon cause a headache if she remained. Everyone knew that Prince Endymion III, first and only son of Queen Selenity VI and King Perseus, had a very bad temper. Andromeda decided not to stick around, heading for her suite on the far side of the palace. Freedom Tokyo, or Crystal Tokyo as it was known in the past, became the center of all interstellar trade with Earth and the Milky Way. Queen Selenity III, Chibi-Usa as close ones called her, had encountered the first interstellar trading starship entering the Milky Way. From then on, Earth and all its occupants erupted into galactic trading guilds and travel. Prosperity ruled and the people were safe. One of Andi's ancestors shut down the Sailor Force and their legendary stories were soon forgotten. No one remembered the glory of Sailor Moon and her senshi. A tug on her pants stopped Andi in her tracks. "ANDI! Why did you do that?!" She forgot her brother was following her. Sighing she said, "Because you are a little twerp who I love very much. That's why." She ruffled his blonde hair. He was the utter reflection of her father as Selene was of her mother. Touching her purple locks, Andi wondered who she looked like. "Ok." Endymion's words interrupted Andi's thoughts. "So what are we doing today?" A giant grin bloomed across his tiny pudgy face. Andi's heart melted. Someday, he'd grow into a lady killer, but until then she had to have her fun with him. "We are going to play hide and seek. So, you go hide and I'll go look for you," she suggested. Endymion jumped up and down and raced down the corridor to his perfect hiding place. Andi chuckled; she knew exactly where he was going. If she understood him correctly, Endymion would be in the same spot he always hide in. Instead of searching for him, Andi used this time to check out the festivities in the ballroom. Selenity and Perseus would call for her attendance soon and it was much better for her to go willingly than to be dragged. Last time, the entire court laughed as Alpheratz, her royal guard, hauled her to her throne. She never had forgiven him for doing so. She explicitly told him that she would be there soon enough. But that wasn't enough for the proud Alpheratz. One day she would teach him a lesson. The glittering lights sprung back and forth across the corridor's tube above. Every room in the palace was connected by such corridors to the main throne room, otherwise known as the ballroom whenever an engagement arose. Andi never got over the sudden awe that blew her over whenever she walked the corridors. Every one had its own coloring and maps to direct anyone to the nearest medical house, entertainment facility, or personal quarters. A train appeared at the end of this corridor. Andi took it to the ballroom. It was the quickest route rather than walking the distance. The doors to the train opened and Alpheratz stood there with his arms crossed. "It is about time you showed," he scolded. His golden eyes glared at Andi until she couldn�t help but stare back at him. The royal uniform similar to Neo King Endymion�s when he was a Prince accented Alpheratz�s handsome features and built. But when he spoke again, Andi remembered why she was upset with him, "In five minutes, I would have looked for you myself and repeated our last encounter." A wide smile broke across his face; he loved to goad Andi into a fit. "Shut up. I am here for my sister. That's all." He rolled his eyes. "Sure. You know very well that you have always hated your sister." Andi dropped her head. Selene was everything she wasn't. She had poise, grace, and beauty. All court officials loved her. No one said a bad thing about her. But they were ready for any comment about Andromeda. "Why can't she be more like her sister?", "Scandalous child," and "tom-boy" were among such comments. At first, she didn't care, but as she overheard more, her feelings became hurt. She became disgusted with courtly affairs and remained away from the throne room whenever possible. Her presence was only called for during such engagements like this. Taking a moment to straighten her belt, Andi walked through the majestic archway into the throne room with Alpheratz close behind. In the center, Selenity and Perseus stood commanding servants. A worried soft voice called out, "A little higher." A group of servants stood on ladders hanging tapestries on the walls. Selenity wanted each tapestry to be symmetrical to the other and that required much patience. Beside her, Perseus spoke to his guards about greeting each planetary delegate. Andi took the moment to investigate and admire the meticulous planning of her sister's coronation. Soon, she would have to call her sister, Queen. That thought did not bode well with her. A flash of blonde hair whipped in front of her face and Andi was engulfed in an embrace from her mother. "My darling, you finally showed. I am sure your sister would be most pleased. How do you like the room?" Andi could never be angry at her mother. No matter how often she despised her mother taking Selene's side in any argument, Selenity always had a warm hug and loving smile to ease any of Andi's disputes. Selenity like her predecessors inherited Neo-Queen Selenity's looks and character. And Selene continued that tradition, so perhaps that is why the court favored her more than Andi. She shrugged. "Looks good." "Is that all you can say after all this work?" Selenity looked hurt by Andi's comment. "Oh, no," Andi stumbled for the right words, "I mean, it is a lot better than the last one I attended. I think Selene would be spellbound." Good, she hoped that would please her mother. It must have worked, she thought, as Selenity beamed and hugged her before returning to work. Alpheratz snicked behind Andi, "Looks good. Is that all you can say after your parents have slaved for weeks?" She spun around and faced Alpheratz in the eye. "I didn't ask to be here. I didn't ask to be a princess." Her voice rose and wavered, "Since I never say the right things, why don't I just leave?" Before tears spilled, Andromeda raced out the door. The entire room stared at Alpheratz with complete shock. Andromeda had never felt that way before. Everyone thought she loved her family and position. Dumbfounded, Alpheratz went looking for her. ******* What had come over her? Sure, sometimes she felt neglected, but she never voiced it. And she most certainly wouldn't tell anyone in public. Why did Alpheratz have to pick on her especially when her sister's coronation was a sensitive issue? Andromeda wiped her eyes with her sleeve and went looking for her brother. Endymion brought smiles and laughter and she left him hiding too long. She walked to the Crystal Portal near the throne room. Crystal Portals were invented by Doctor Ami Mizuno and Setsuna Meiou during Neo-Queen Selenity's reign for extreme emergencies in which quicker transport was needed to other parts of the palace such as the hospital, docking bay, and throne room. The inventor's names were only discovered through Andi's readings of Mizuno's log. Secretly, Andi had been using it to find vacated areas of the palace. Last week, she had found Doctor Mizuno's laboratory deep within the palace's core. This time she used it to teleport to the gardens. Endymion would be found near the rose bushes. The crystalline pink room glowed with rainbow florescent lights similar to the Aurora Borialis in the North. A computer deck stood before the portal's sphere. There Andi inputted the coordinates to the gardens. The deck flickered making bleeps and squeals. A red light on the bottom corner of the deck lit, indicating the portal was ready. Andi pushed it and watched the portal brighten into a white spherical glittering waterfalll. "What do you think you are doing?" Alpheratz questioned. "You know this is off limits, Andi." This was not the time for him to show. Quickly, Andi erased the tracking system and raced into the portal's light and dematerialized. Alpheratz slammed his fists on the deck. She always ran from him when he was suppose to protect and guide her. Now where would she go at this hour? He searched his brain and realized that Endymion wasn't around. Andromeda would be with him. Since the portal's energy supply was running low, he had to take the palace's train to the gardens. ******* Endymion giggled. His sister was being unusually nice since this morning. Something must have angered her. "Sis, is everything ok? I mean, you're being way too nice." When did the kid become so smart? Andi sighed, "Let's say I had a dispute tween me and Alpheratz and this coronation thing. Selene's special day is getting on my nerves. Everyone is talking about her and ignoring the both of us. I cannot stand it!" Behind a rose bush, Alpheratz decided to lay low. He had been hiding for sometime listening to Endy and Andi. He never knew how far Andi's spite went. The strong fragrance from the roses warmed Endy's senses. He enjoyed this part of the garden best. Andi once told him that the garden use to belong to their ancestors and was taken care of by Neo King Endymion, his namesake. Sometimes, he felt closer to those ancient energies from the King here. But he never voiced that feeling to his sister. He knew she would make some comment about it. "So, what do we do now, sis?" So far they had played tag, rumpled in the fields, and tended the gardens. Andromeda thought about the library. No one would be there since all servants were at the coronation. The library would be the perfect place to hide out. Just as she was going to take her brother's hand, an explosion knocked her off balance, sending her to the garden's floor. Ash and grey soot covered the bushes and flowers and their bodies. "ANDI! ANDI! Where are you?" Endy's cries woke her. Large branches landed on top of Andi, she rolled over to threw them off. "I'm over here, bro." She cough. The smog burned her eyes and throat. The entire garden was destroyed. Whatever or whoever did this was still around. Shadows moved about at the far end of the gardens. Endy raced to his sister's side with tears running down his face. "What's going on?" "It's the Koyakin, Endymion." Andi and Endy stared up at Alpheratz's eyes. Anger reflected in his dark golden eyes. Andi got up and brushed the dirt off. "Is everyone ok?" She looked at the two and noticed no scratches or wounds on them. Immediately she calmed down. "Princess, we must leave quickly. The Koyakin take no prisoners. We've gone through this before." Nodding, Andromeda took her brother's hand and followed Alpheratz to the nearest Crystal Portal. According to the escape plan, the entire royal family was to use the Crystal Portal to rendezvous at the assigned coordinates. No one knew the name of the place since that information was classified. The Crystal Portal automatically chose the emergency location. The creator intended it to be used this way. Alpheratz punched the emergency code into the crystal deck. "Hurry now. There can not be a moment to waste." The portal's platform glowed as it woke from its sleep. Endymion's eyes grew in awe. He had never taken a portal before. Outside the doors, explosions continued. A loud bang echoed across the room. Someone was trying to get inside. Andromeda silently thanked Alpheratz for locking the Crystal Portal's doors. The three jumped into the portal as the Koyakin broke into the room. ******* Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion The Revival:CHAPTER TWO� �