Haruka hurried down the Juuban
neighborhood streets, with Michiru at her
heels. They were headed for the Hikawa
Shrine, home to Rei, and where most of the
Sailor Senshi’s meetings took place.

Haruka tried to distance herself from
Michi, and she couldn’t help it for two
reasons. One, they were already late for
the meeting, and two, they had gotten into
a fight.

Haruka had seen Michiru fraternizing
with a boy in the school yard a few days
ago. Only today had she learned that her
Michi and that boy were meeting regularly
and going out together. Like the man with
a cheating wife, Haruka had been the last to
know. Even though she and Michiru
weren’t officially dating, it was still
disgusting in Haruka’s mind.

All of the Senshi except Chibi-Moon
had known for a few days, and had tried to
give Haruka subtle clues that Michi was
seeing someone. If you had seen their
gestures, tones of voice, even heard their
made up anecdotes, it was all very comical.

Now Haruka was trying to get away
from it all, and she hoped the meeting with
the Senshi would take her mind out of its
current state. Maybe she would hit on
Usagi-chan or Mina-chan. Maybe try to
make Michi jealous, though she knew it
was herself alone who would harbor such
feelings. If Michiru had found someone,
she would hardly care if Haruka did the
same.

Haruka slowed from her sprint down
to a trot as she approached Rei’s Shinto
Temple. She rested against one of the entry
posts, sweat from her neck dripping down
onto her clothes (she still wore her Mugen
Gakuen boy’s uniform). As she caught her
breath, she saw Michiru jogging mildly
toward the temple’s alternative entrance.

Haruka entered the temple just as
Michiru was sitting down. Michi chose a
seat next to Makoto, and Haruka sat down
next to Ami, exact opposite sides of the
room from each other. Looking back on
their actions, both Haruka and Michiru
would decide they had acted quite childish,
but at the moment that didn’t matter.

Interrupting Haruka’s pondering, Luna
spoke.

“Senshi, I can see all of you are finally
here,” the prosed cat announced from her
location directly in front of the sacred flame.
Luna looked at each attending person, from
left to right across the room.

Michiru, aqua-green hair damp with
sweat and wearing her
brown-with-green-bows-and-hems school
uniform. Michiru’s usually thoughtful blue
eyes were drawn and tired.

Makoto, brown leggings under a long
turtleneck shirt, and brown hair that
matched the leggings. Her jade eyes
cautiously eyed Michi every once in a while.

Setsuna, looking sober, her reddish
eyes glinting with firelight. Her green hair
looked frazzled, almost worn out.

Minako, however, looked perky as
usual. Her blond hair and blue eyes alone
could tell you that, and her facial expression
matched. But if you looked a little closer,
you could see that even Sailor V was
getting stiff around the edges.

Usagi was really the only one of the
group not in deep thought. Stuffing her face
with Makoto’s rice balls and odango
dumplings (for which her hairstyle is
named), she should have shamed Mamoru.
Yet it didn’t faze him, because he was out
in his own little world, thinking. His brows
furrowed, he scratched his dark hair.

The writhing of Usagi’s blond hair back
and forth as she chowed down, her blue
eyes widening at the sight of more food,
and no one was paying attention.
Ignorance was bliss, at least for the
moment, no one (Rei) was yelling at her for
pigging out.

Hotaru and Chibi-Usa sat together, the
only thing similar about the two was their
size. Hotaru was frailer though, violet eyes
and dark indigo, almost black, hair seemed
something of an anachronism. Strong
features on a weak body. And paired with
Chibi-Usa, it was even stranger.

Small Lady was wearing her favorite
pink sailor outfit, and it matched her hair
perfectly. Her red eyes were brought out in
the process, and she simply radiated. She
seemed to scream: I am to become the
future Princess Serenity, I will rule Crystal
Tokyo just like my mom, Usako!

Ami was typing on her pocket
computer, and her blue eyes looked
worried. She pushed a loose strand of
even bluer short hair behind her ear. She,
like Usagi, was in her Juuban Junior
Highschool uniform. Next to her, Haruka.

Her uniform virtually plastered to her
torso, Haruka sat, sweating, next to Ami.
She hoped they would transform soon so
she could get out of these moist clothes.

Lastly, Rei tending the Sacred fire.
Artemis was next to her, and behind Luna.
Rei wore the dressing of the Shinto Shrine,
a white robe/kimono over skirt like red
pants. And of course, sandals slightly
raised off the ground with wooden treads.

As Luna looked at all the Senshi, a
strange realization took place. Everyone of
them, excluding Usagi, looked frazzled,
overworked, worried. It was true that
danger was upon them, and they knew it.
They needed what she was about to
present to them.

Luna continued with her speech that
started with her announcing the attendance
of the Senshi.

“All of you are here, and quite drained.
We have a new danger to face, an enemy
force we know nothing about,” she looked
at Ami, “Ami, what have you deduced from
your analyzations?”

“Well,” Ami started, “This new enemy
is from some other world. There is one
leader, and several henchmen. There are
various youma, but aside from that I know
nothing. I don’t know where they hide,
where exactly they are from, what they
want or plan to do. I don’t know their
powers, but we must assume they are very
strong. And I believe they may have come
to the present (from the future) because
they have failed there. They may try to
destroy us to keep us from thwarting them
in Crystal Tokyo. Like I said, I don’t know
very much,” Ami took a deep breath and
looked around the room. The expressions
were of idiotic envy.

“You sure said a mouthful,” Usagi
commented.

“Looks like you ate much more than a
mouthful, Usagi, you know all that food will
turn you into a cow,” Chibi-Usa blurted.

“Small Lady!” Mamoru scolded, though
he was half laughing. “Don’t talk to your
mother like that!”

“She’s only my mom in the future,
Mamo-chan, but by then, hopefully, she’ll
be less of a klutz, ditz, and pig.”

At this, Mamoru looked half shocked,
half amused at Small Lady’s assumption,
and Usagi started sobbing.

“Mamo-chan! I knew you loved her
more than me, but you don’t have to be
cruel! Mamo-chan, your laughter at my
humiliation hurts me...” Usagi’s voice
cracked, and Mamoru rushed to her side to
comfort her.

“Now, now Senshi! We must get back
into order,” Luna continued, “We have a bit
of knowledge on the enemy, and also a
very helpful secret tool.”

This got everyone’s attention.

“Secret tool?” Minako and Haruka
asked at the same time. Usagi stopped
whining and Mamoru looked up from
consoling her. Ami closed her pocket
computer, and Hotaru and Chibi-Usa
quieted down. Rei looked away from
tending the fire, and Makoto and Michiru
eyed Luna. Everyone wanted to know of
the ‘Secret Tool’. The only one who didn’t
look quizzical was Setsuna. She already
knew what the secret tool was.

“Yes, one of our most valuable assets.
The Senshi Super Nova, or Sailor Nova as
she was called in the Silver Millennium,”
Luna looked at the group. Murmurs of the
wonder of another Senshi went around.
Luna decided to go on. “We can bring her
back from where she now resides, the
Time Gate,” the cat paused, “Now I will tell
you her tale and how we will attempt to
bring her to the present.”

(Luna weaving the story):

“More than a thousand years ago, in
the Silver Millennium, the Moon Kingdom
was at peace. All of you know that story,
so I will elaborate as little as possible. Well,
weeks before any of us knew of the attack
from the Dark Kingdom, something strange
yet amazing happened.

“Princess Serenity’s court was
assembled, all of the Senshi, Serenity, and
Prince Endymion from Earth (along with
Artemis and myself chaperoning at the
request of the Queen)
were talking. It was a lazy warm day, and
we were just relaxing in the main garden of
the palace.

“A bright light, like an explosion from
space shone down on the moon for a
moment. I’m not sure who saw it first, but
Pluto and Saturn were the first to react,
raising their garnet staffs in protection of the
Princess. Endymion, shielding his eyes,
stepped in front of the two Senshi, and
drew his sword. I called to Artemis, telling
him to run into the palace and alert the
Queen of the happenings. But before we
could do that, she appeared.

“A bubble drifted down from the
heavens and alighted on the grass in front
of Endymion. The figure inside was
shadowed, and we couldn’t make her out
until Princess Serenity vanquished the
bubble with ‘Moon Princess Halation’,
usually used for purifying. The figure, who
was suspended inside the bubble,
collapsed on the ground when the bubble
disappeared.

“It was clear the figure was a girl,
dressed as a Senshi. Her skirt was dark
blue, navy, so was the top sailor part above
her brooch. Her main suit was white like all
the Senshi’s and her bows were a warm
gray. On her brooch was a star shaped
locket (not like the locket Sailor Moon got
from Tuxedo Kamen in the present though).
The locket was not golden, but white-gray.
It seemed to glow, and as this new Senshi
lay on the grass, struggling to breathe, the
locket opened itself and out floated a small
spherical crystal.

“Princess Serenity put her hands out to
the crystal, and it floated into them. In her
hands it continued glowing for a moment,
then let out a shock of bright light. Princess
Serenity stumbled back, as if injured by the
thing. Endymion rushed to her side, ready
to abolish the crystal if it were, in fact, evil.
Serenity waved him away, showing that
she was unscathed. She blinked a few
times, and bent over the crumpled body on
the ground. She replaced the crystal in the
locket, and stepped back.

“‘Everyone,’ she said, ‘The crystal
spoke to me through telepathic energies.
This girl is the Sailor Senshi Super Nova.
She has come to us from her home star, a
powerhouse of energy from this galaxy,
though very far away. Unlike us, as we are
planet Senshi, Nova is a star Senshi. She is
very like us, but has special features. She is
a fierce warrior, perhaps better than any of
us here. Even Endymion.’ With that,
Princess Serenity fell to the ground,
exhausted. Endymion comforted her and
Artemis rushed to get the Queen.

“As Queen Serenity revived Sailor
Nova with the ginzuishou, she confirmed
the tale the Princess had told. Queen
Serenity even remembered when she was
a child, before the Dark Kingdom, that she
was told Sailor Nova was the most powerful
of all Senshi. ‘But she had been in
suspended animation on her home-star,’ the
Queen went on, ‘I guess she has stayed like
that until now, though I do not know why
she has awoken.’ Artemis considered, then
replied we must have some danger coming
upon us.

“‘Nonsense,’ the Queen and Prince
Endymion said together. ‘We are at peace
with everyone!’ Princess Serenity declared,
as she got up from the ground.

“The more I think about it over the
years, the more I wonder why we didn’t
win that battle against Metallia and the Dark
Kingdom. I always answer my question,
though. Sailor Nova was too weak to really
be fighting, though she did anyway. If
Metallia had struck only a few days later,
perhaps the Silver Millennium would have
spanned another thousand years.

“When we lost the battle, Queen
Serenity sealed the Senshi, and the Seven
Shadows of the Dark Kingdom, into the
Silver Crystal and hurtled it down to Earth.
The only two who weren’t sealed were
Pluto and Nova. Pluto had the job of
guarding the Gate of Time and Space. And
Sailor Nova was placed in suspended
animation once again, this time in one of
the secluded areas of the Time Gate. Pluto
advised that, because she thought possibly
in another time, the Senshi might require
her assistance. I do not know why Pluto
didn’t have her reincarnated, all of the other
Senshi were.”

“Luna,” Setsuna interrupted the tale, “I
didn’t have her reincarnated because she
was safe with me. If she had been
reincarnated, any enemy from the past or
future could simply do away with her before
she found out she was a Senshi. But if she
was in the Time Gate, no one would harm
her.”

“So why did you leave the Time Gate,
Setsuna?” Usagi asked, this time talking
without food in her mouth.

“I am not sure. I was willed to you
Senshi a while back. You need all the help
you can get. Plus, I have a minion of Father
Time watching over my Time Gate. All we
have to do now is bring Sailor Nova to the
present.”

On to Part 2