Chapter 1 - Released

"I don't believe it," Princess Patricia Neves de Lusitania, Infanta of Winter Throne, said, throwing down the society page of the Nova Lisboa Tribuno down in front of her good friend, Adair Summers. "You do realize what an embarassment my sister is bringing upon out families?"

Adair looked over the article, twirling a strand of reddish blonde hair around a perfectly manicured finger. "Oh, that. I actually went to that concert the other night. They're quite good, you know."

"Look at what she's wearing!" Patricia shrieked, poiting out her sister's halter top and leather pants, hardly a princess's ensemble. "In public! In front of all those... commoners! It's all that Oliveira girl's doing, that mongrel slut!"

Adair suppressed a smirked at Patricia's rather pointed remark on Anastacia's heritage: Portuguese father, French, Russian, and English mother. Anastacia might have been a mongrel, but there was no doubt in the mind of Agent Adair Summers, Prismatic Secret Service undercover bodyguard, that Infanta Patricia was a bitch, pure blood or no.

****

"My lady, you have a visitor," a devastatingly gorgeous page of the Palacio de Inverno said, entering the room where Lady Shiratori Daniella was sparring with Queen Sofia's de Lusitania's captain of the guard, Fola Agidun.

"Can't it wait, Atunis?" Fola snapped, barely blocking Daniella as the girl came at her with her sais. "I really can't be distracted right now."

"I was speaking to the Lady Daniella," the man replied.

"Let them in, please," Daniella said softly, sidestepping one of Fola's parries.

Moments later, a statuesque blonde brushed past the page. Despite her rather inconspicuous clothing, you couldn't help but look at her, so powerful was her presence. "Why am I not surprised?" Princess Shiratori Kanemi de Kinsei said. "I thought you loved me more than outdoing those Tenousei and Mokusei braggarts."

"Princess Sarah and Sugiyama-san have nothing to do with it. Anyone can use a sword with the most rudimentary training," Daniella replied. "No offense to you, Lady Fola. You trained under Silveira-san, I can tell."

"He is a true master. You've obviously followed the teachings of Zeva Nicodemus. I didn't think anyone could hold off a sword with those filmsy things for very long." Fola said.

"She was the only reason I'd ever want to visit that barren rock. But I am glad the Warder wanted it colonized," Daniella said, locking her sais around the blade of Fola's sword and forcing her opponent to drop her sword, or risk twisting her arm rather nastily.

"Good, now that you've done playing with your pretty toys, we can talk," Kanemi said as Fola and Daniella exchanged bows.

"I always enjoy talking to you, beloved sister," Daniella said. "What brings you all the way from Kinsei?"

"Daniel-san is sick again," Kanemi said. "Mother asked that you come home."

Daniella nodded. "I was planning to after I finished studying here. I had planned on going to Star and speaking with Lord and Lady Summers about training with the Secret Service's assassins, but Daniel-san is much more important." That was putting it lightly. Daniella loved her adoptive family as if it were own, but Daniel was in a different class entirely. Without him, she would have died of exposure, or become one of many simple pioneers of the planet Nemesis. But Daniel had found her, and made her special, giving her into the hands of a family that could offer her everything. He was her saviour from igonomy.

"Aww, you mean you haven't had a chance to see that Summers guy? He's pretty cute, and you two were awefully cozy during his exchange back in high school."

"Contrary to popular belief, sister dear, you can be friends with a man with none of those complications you enjoy so much," Daniella said dryly.

Kanemi threw an arm around Daniella's soldier. "Daniella, what would I do without you?"

"Die of being so insufferably full of yourself, K-chan," Daniella replied, a ghost of a smile lighting her face as Kanemi burst into laughter.

****

"Sarah Haruka Hades, stop right where you are," Himeko said as she caught her grand-niece trying to sneak into the room of Miranda Castle where Himeko had locked up the girl's henshin brooch and the Space Sword. "Queen's orders or no, you are not going anywhere unless you take another senshi with you."

"But I have orders from the Warder, Aunt Hime!" Sarah said, scowling. She hated when her great aunt omitted her title, it usually meant that she was in hot water.

"And your mother and father said you were to wait until someone came to give you backup. Kanemi should be back from the Prismatic Millennium, you can take her."

"Aunt Hime, we have a visitor," Hana, Sarah's twin sister said, escorting another girl into the room.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Princess Kaiou Megami de Kaiousei said softly.

"Not at all," Sarah said, seeing the opportunity to outsmart Himeko. "Actually, you're in the nick of time. The Warder's sent me on a mission to check out a disturbance just outside Pluto's orbit, I'd be delighted if you came along."

"It would be my pleasure," Megami said, flushing.

"Well, Aunt Hime?" Sarah said, smiling up at the woman blocking the door.

Himeko sighed. "Very well. Don't do anything your mother would have your hide for. No silly heroics."

"Don't make Sarah make a promise she can't keep, Aunt Hime," Hana said as Sarah grabbed her things.

****

"She makes me sick," Sugiyama Midori fumed as Kaiou Miyuki took a seat with what few people she called friends at lunch. Intellectual snobs, the lot of them, Midori thought. "She should be proud to descend from one of the noble lines of senshi, guardians of the system. Instead, she calls them anachronisms! Impractical! And she gets a perfect score on her paper for it, too! She is a disgrace for one destined to become a senshi!"

"Easy, Midori," Fukami Izumi said, flipping through her Justice Star and the Silver Sniper manga. "Let's not let everyone know what she is and we are. That's why we don't take up our full titles until we're 18, remember?"

"It's a bit obvious when the Kaiou Megami that used to go to Shin Mugen Gakuen is now Princess Kaiou Megami de Kaiousei, daughter of King Shirou de Kaiousei and Queen Aya de Suisei. Everyone knows that they had two daughters, one still underage."

"Well, no one knows that we're going to be senshi. Let's keep it that way, hmmm?" Izumi said. She, unlike her ambitious friend, was in no hurry to become a senshi. Her mother was a recluse, and her Aunt Chie, the last senshi of Kasei, had wasted away from grief. No, Izumi was in no hurry.

****

"Silence!" Sailorquintessence hissed, turing her attention from the ancient black throne before her to the two figures behind her. "Fire, Air, I don't think the mistress wants to be welcomed back into the world with your petty bickering!"

"Forgive me, my lady. I was simply trying to enlighten my colleague," Sailorair said with a courtly bow.

"You're an idot, Air! We obviously serve the Devil himself through our lady Chaos, not God as you think!" Sailorfire snapped.

"We are simply a part of his great plan," Air said with a shrug.

"Philosophical nonsense," Quintessence said, rolling her eyes. As she did so, they fell upon a crack in the great throne. "There we are. Stellar Fusion!" she said, and orb of dark purple shadows, speckled randomly here and there with tiny dots and whirls of lavender light, engulfed the throne before imploding on itself, reducing it to rubble. A dark figure rose up from the abyss below, and the three of them fell to their knees.

"It's about time," Sailorchaos said.

****

"My lady," Sailormermaid said, catching Sailorcosmos by the arm as the ancient senshi stumbled from her white throne. "What's the matter?"

"Nereid, summon the others," Cosmos said, her voice trembling.