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Æ Chapter 1¨ ®Setsuna stood by the Gates of Time as she always does, a silent sentinel, gazing into the ever-shifting gray mists that surround her. With no sun, no moon, she eternally stood in a world of twilight. Plain, dull, and dim, like a colorless sunset, the only true spectacle of the empty landscape were the stars. They sparkled, far pinpricks of light in the distance, glowing in the semi-darkness like a cloak of diamonds. Only in times of great need is she ever able to leave her post, and very rarely has that ever happened. So she stands guard, looking towards the stars, remembering a time long ago when she was able to live among them.
Back in the days of the Silver Millennium when the universe was at peace, she did live in the palace as the other princesses did, as part or Princess Serena’s court. Setsuna sighed as she thought of this time, thought of her childhood, her mother, and the duality she was forced to live in since the attack from the Negaverse. At one time, her family, the nobility of Pluto, guarded the gates from a distance. Traveling through the gates used to be a safe way to get from palace to palace without loosing valuable years in the process.
But then the Negaforce, a dark entity worshiped by her demented followers as Queen Metalia, entered the realm of the Moon Kingdom. The Gates of Time and Space were no longer secure. The Negaforce had a uncontrolable hunger for energy, and in order to feed it, she sent Queen Beryl and her underlings out to conquer new worlds in the name of the Negaverse.
"Oh Orb of Destiny," Setsuna lifted the staff above her head, its heart-shaped tip pointing towards the planet Pluto. "Staff of Time and Space, hear my wish and obey." The garnet colored sphere started glowing brightly as the top of the staff began to spin. The gray landscape now held a rosy tint.
"Let me relive my memories!" Setsuna commanded. "Recall Conjure Power Rain!" Her voice echoed through the vast emptiness. As she closed her eyes, sparks of crimson luminescence showered down from the top of her staff. Slowly the world started to dissolve around her.
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* •Setsuna opened her eyes. In a gown of lavender silk, she waited for her parents on one of the numerous balconies of the Moon Palace. Using a gloved hand to brush back her bangs, she gazed up towards the expansive night sky, fireworks exploding above her. Behind her the nightly ball seemed to be going along as it always did. While ladies and lords circled the floor, the Moon Princess moved from dance partner to dance partner. Moon Princess Serena never stood alone. When she wasn’t moving from man to man, for she had unwittingly captured the hearts of most of the men present, her court of planet princesses surrounded her. It was just another night at the palace, like thousands that have happened in the past. Though it was completely common place, Setsuna still marveled at the decadence and carefree spirit that engulfed her. Whenever she visited the Moon Palace, she felt as if she had entered a different realm, one where the outside universe didn’t exist, nor the problems it contained.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that Setsuna didn’t even notice her parents until her mother placed a jeweled hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned swiftly around to face them. She was a rainbow cloud as she spun; her hair, curled and pinned, by emeralds with ringlets dripping down her back, was an aquamarine cascade that landed to frame her face; her skirts, thin and light, flowed from her waist to fan out around her in a wave of lilac glimmer. Setsuna smiled as she stared at her parents beaming faces. Her father was so handsome in his elegant tuxedo, the Staff of Time gleaming in his hand. Her mother, with emerald hair and red-brown eyes like her own, stood regally, the floating garnet Orb of Power incorporated into her fanciful hairstyle of braids and curls. Despite all their splendor, something shadowed their usually cheerful expressions. Something wasn’t right.
Setsuna’s smile faltered. "What’s wrong?" she asked, concerned over her parents somber expressions. "How did your meeting go with Queen Serenity?"
"Not as well as we had expected," her father replied mournfully. "She isn’t going to send any extra support to protect the gates."
"What!" Setsuna was outraged. Her fingers dug into her palms. "Did you tell her about the Time Genie? Did you tell her about all of the darkness we detected on the outskirts of the realm?"
"Of course daughter," her mother, Yuri, the current Sailor Pluto, answered sadly. "And she felt that the Outer Senshi could take care of it as we always do." Yuri sighed. "She’s probably right. These dark forces shouldn’t be too much for Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and I to keep at bay."
"However," her father interjected. "We have been asked to meet with the Earth Kingdom to discuss strategy."
Setsuna’s face brightened at the mention of Earth; never before has she had the chance to visit there. "When do we leave?"
"We’re sorry darling," her father replied gently. "It is too dangerous to send you through the gates. If anything were to happen to your mother and I, there…we can’t risk losing you."
"So what am I supposed to do?" Setsuna demanded. "I can’t sit idle while my family and my kingdom are at risk."
"Ah but daughter," Yuri murmured, her eyes glossy from unshed tears. "That is what you must do." She took her husband’s hand. "You will stay with the royal court until this problem is resolved." She explained as her husband, Pluto’s prince, lifted the staff above their heads. "It is the safest place for you to be. Farewell my daughter." The orb in her hair began to glow and they slowly started to fade. Setsuna stayed on the balcony, fingering the cosmic time key she wore around her neck on a gold chain, until all traces of her parents were gone. When the last glimmer of the time staff finally vanished, she entered the ballroom to join Serena’s court.
Setsuna tried her hardest to obey her parent’s request. She lasted about a day before she finally gave into her temptation, used her key, and traveled to Earth after them. Dressed in simple clothes, she planned to travel there, spy on the dark forces, and report back to her parents and Queen Serenity. She believed that her parents would be so proud of her that they may forget to be mad. These were the days before she was even a Sailor Scout, and she lacked the wisdom centuries of guarding the Gates of Time will give her. She was still a teenager, beautiful, strong, determined, and most importantly, foolish.
She was very lucky to make it through the vortex. As Setsuna traveled to the door leading out to Earth Realm, she could feel a strong negative force around her, worse than before when she discovered the Time Genie. She also saw four men enter the gate before her, one with brown hair, two with blonde hair, and the other with a flowing shock of white hair. They were dressed in simple gray uniforms that she had never seen before. Now she really had information to impart to her parents upon meeting them at the castle. She now had a reason for the direct disobeying of her parents wishes.
Or so Setsuna thought as she ran through the streets of Earth’s Imperial City. As she made her way to the castle, she was thankful that she decided to wear simple clothes during her excurision, because every few minutes she was tripping over someone. Most of the kingdom had moved into the main city for protection and the streets were overflowing. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of how she was going to tell her parents what she had seen without them screaming at her, that she didn’t even notice when she rammed into a handsome young stranger.