94A small, dark room in the dungeons of the moon palace...
Flaming torches, creating flickering shadows on the walls...
Twelve female figures nervously waiting for someone...
"Are you sure Lady Zodiac will come in time?" one of the fuku-clad women asked in a small voice.
"Of course she'll come," another one answered. "Be a little more patient, Libra!"
"She has been acting pretty mysterious for the past few weeks," a third one said. "You think she has some sort of important secret to tell us?"
"I don't know," the second one sighed. "But if she doesn't even tell the queen, who is her own cousin, it really must be something very serious, Capricorn!"
They all jumped when a calm voice spoke up: "Well, you're all quite curious, aren't you? But don't worry, curiosity is the first step towards knowledge."
They all calmed down when they recognized the moon queen's younger sister. "Lady Zodiac," a tall girl called out. "You really startled us. What's so important that we all have to meet in hiding?"
The noblewoman quickly hurried over to them. "I have something very important to tell you... something very disturbing..."
"What is it?" the tall girl asked curiously.
Lady Zodiac sighed. "It's not easy for me to talk about it, Sailor Taurus, but... I fear the earth kingdom will attack us very soon."
The twelve other woman gasped. "You're serious?" Libra asked. "So soon? But... what are we going to do about it?"
"The queen plans to fight until the end... and I fear they don't stand a chance," said the lady in a sad voice. "So I came to a decision... There is a way to save us all... but everyone of you has to make a big sacrifice."
"To save the kingdom, I would risk everything," said a girl with bright red hair. The others nodded.
"Well spoken, Sailor Leo... Well, for the past weeks, I studied the royal books... and I found a spell which I could use to make a barrier that will protect the moon from the forces of earth. But, it will take a big amount of power to create it... The only way to do it would be: You would have to sacrifice your Senshi powers!"
The Zodiac Senshi looked at each other. They knew what that meant: Without every Senshi, the chance of surviving the upcoming battle would be even lower. But, if the barrier would hold them back...
Sailor Capricorn stepped forward. "I'll do it." Libra nodded. "Yes, I will do it as well." In the end, everyone of them was ready to sacrifice her power to save the kingdom."
"Excellent," Lady Zodiac smiled. "Now, put every single one of your transformation amulets into this bowl..."
The twelve Senshi all dropped their magical powers and took off the amulets that gave them their abilities. Stored within them lay not the powers of certain planets, but the power that was holding together certain star constellations. They may be further away than the planets of this solar system, but their great power made their amulets as powerful as the transformation sticks of the planetary Senshi.
As the last one put her amulet into the bowl, Lady Zodiac closed it with a lid.
"Well done, my Senshi... I will now go back to my chamber and prepare everything for the spell..."
"HOLD! IN THE NAME OF SERENITY, STOP!"
The loud voice stopped the lady in her tracks. The light of the room got switched on.
In the door of the room were standing the guardians of the princess, the Senshi of the inner planets.
"Don't trust her," Sailor Mars shouted. "She's working for Queen Beryl!"
"You dare accuse our lady of conspiring with the enemy?" Sailor Leo snarled. "Say that to my face!"
"It's the truth," Mercury added. "She isn't Lady Zodiac. We just found her dead body in her chamber. She is an impostor."
"WHAT?" most of the Zodiac Senshi gasped.
"That's right," Jupiter nodded. "I bet she's really a Youma!"
The beautiful face of Lady Zodiac turned into a diabolic grimace... her noble robes turned into rags as the Youma showed its true face.
"So, you found me out?" the creature grinned. "That doesn't matter... the Zodiac Senshi already gave me their power... Without them, the moon kingdom will be defenseless... my queen will be pleased!"
"Get her!" Venus yelled. But before the others could do anything, the bowl with the amulets vanished in a bright flash.
"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" shouted Jupiter.
The attack hit the Youma and made it scream in pain. While slowly turning into dust, it sneered at the Senshi. "It's too late... the amulets are now on Earth, scattered over it's surface. You'll never find all of them in time before the forces of my queen attack... and with almost half of the Senshi stripped off their power, the moon kingdom will fall."
And then, the Youma's face exploded in a shower of dust.
And the next day, the forces of Queen Beryl attacked... The Zodiac Senshi were armed with regular weapons, but without their powers, they were the first to fall. The planetary Senshi did their best, but to no avail.
And thus, Queen Serenity made a painful decision... to send their souls to the future, where they will be reborn...
Rei screamed as she woke up from her nightmare. Panting heavily, the Shinto priestess looked around her room.
She calmed down. Man, what a dream...
"Could it really be?" she whispered. "The Zodiac Senshi..."
"The Zodiac Senshi, huh?" Minako asked while munching on a cherry. They were sitting in the cafe and were talking about Rei's dream while eating some ice cream.
"Yes, I remember them," Luna said. "And it happened just as in Rei's dream: One of the more powerful Youma was able to sneak into the palace, by impersonating one of the guards it killed previously. No one didn't expect Queen Beryl to use such a sneaky tactic, so Lady Zodiac was totally caught off-guard."
"So, who was this Lady Zodiac, anyway?" Makoto wanted to know.
"She was the younger sister of Queen Serenity," Artemis said. "And the aunt of the princess. She had her own group of Senshi to protect her, as she didn't inherit the powers of the moon like her sister."
"Say, what are 'Zodiacs'?" Usagi asked while slurping down her sundae. "Some planets from somewhere else?"
Ami shook her head. "No, Usagi. The Zodiacs stand for several star constellations in space. In ancient times, scholars came up with mystical figures that looked similar to the constellations, and that's how they got their name. In the past, many people believed that their destinies were lying within the stars... and that their future could be somehow be predicted by watching them."
"I think those Zodiac Senshi must have been pretty gullible," Minako said while shaking her head. "Just giving away your transformation items like this? No wonder it was as easy as tart for Queen Beryl to defeat the moon kingdom."
"It's 'Easy as pie', Minako," Artemis corrected her. She shrugged. "Whatever..."
"But I wonder..." Rei murmured. "If those Senshi have died in that battle as well... have they also been reincarnated into this age?"
"I know nothing about that, I'm sorry," Luna said. "But even if that's true, we don't have their amulets. They still must be scattered all over earth, and who knows what happened to them over the time? They could be in the possession of ANYONE!"
Ranma Saotome was once again sitting on the roof and brooding. He needed some time away from his fiancees sometimes...
He took out the little locket that hung around his neck. Every time he felt a little down, he grasped it with his hand, and somehow it made him feel better.
He liked its looks. It was a small, golden shape that looked like it was a slice of a golden ring that someone separated into different parts. It had a little ring on its top, where he had slipped through a leather band to carry it around his neck. Perhaps there was once a chain or something similar, but if that was the case, it got lost a long time ago. On the surface of the little pendant, a nice picture could be seen: A stream of water that was flowing out of some kind of jar.
He found it when he and his father were in Jusenkyo. His hands had grasped it when he fell into the spring of drowned girl. He didn't even realize it until the shock of being turned into a girl had worn off. He decided to keep it as some sort of souvenir.
What he didn't know was the fact that the amulet chose its finding place by itself. The magic and the water of Jusenkyo attracted it.
For all of the Zodiac amulets were attracted to those kinds of objects that were pictured on their surfaces.
And so the amulet of Aquarius found its way to the waters of Jusenkyo, and into the possession of Ranma Saotome...
This night Ranma had some strange dream... about a girl wearing a strange fuku, inside a big palace. There were many other girls as well who were dressed similarly. But the strange thing was... Ranma was living through the whole dream as if he himself was the girl.
He wondered if that had to do with his Jusenkyo curse... Perhaps it was the girl that had drown in that spring so many years ago?
He was still thinking about that dream when he walked back to the Tendo Dojo, and therefore almost didn't notice the water that fell down from above.
He looked up, saw something falling down, freaked out and made a shooing motion with his hands, although he didn't expect the water would listen to him.
Surprisingly, it did. After he waved his hands, the splash of water made a curve and splashed down next to him, on the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman that had been watering her plants said. "I didn't see you there. Did you get wet?"
Ranma, who had expected to be turned into his female form again, blinked. He really wasn't wet. He got lucky? How did that happen?
"I found something interesting within the Mercury Computer," Ami told her friends.
It was the next day. After doing some research, they met again at the Hikawa shrine.
"I found some data regarding the Zodiac Senshi," Ami said. "According to their powers, they are not as powerful in battle as we are, but they can also use their powers to a small degree when not transformed. Also, I was able to download a special tracking program into my Mercury Visor. If some of the amulets are nearby, I should be able to find them."
"Great job, Ami," Rei cheered. "And, did you find something?"
"Yes, but only one signal: I think one of the Zodiac amulets must be in the vicinity of Nerima."
"That close?" Usagi shouted with glee. "Lucky! I'm so glad! New Senshi must mean new friends and helpers, right?"
"Don't be too sure of that," Makoto said. "Remember Galaxia and her Senshi? They weren't exactly our friends. And when we met Neptune and Uranus for the first time, they didn't really plan to help us..."
"But they changed," Usagi insisted. "There's something good in everyone, and we must find a way to help them discover their abilities."
"Wow, that was pretty wise, coming from you," Rei mocked.
Usagi sniffled. "Rei's being mean to me again..."
Ranma walked through the door. "I'm back," he called.
Kasumi looked out of the kitchen. "Welcome back, Ranma-kun. Dinner isn't quite finished yet, so why don't you sit down for a while?"
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that... it has been a strange day..."
"Oh, did something happen?" Akane asked as she came down the stairs.
"Yeah, some water was falling on me... nothing unusual there... but before it hit me, it somehow moved to the side, and hit the ground. Strange, huh?"
Akane shrugged. "Must have been your imagination, I think."
Nabiki suddenly stuck her head in. "There you are, Ranma! Could you lend me a hand? I just received this package from South America, but it's pretty heavy. Could you carry it to my room?"
"Why did you receive a package from South America?" Akane wondered.
"My business transactions are of no concern to you, dear sister. I have people all over the world that like to do business with me. Let's just say I purchased some quality wares for a very good price. Ranma, if you would..."
Ranma looked at the heavy box and shrugged. "Sure, have nothing better to do..."
He carried the package up the stairs and into Nabiki's room. "There you are," he said.
"Thank you," Nabiki said. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to control the quality of my purchase."
After Ranma went down again, she took a big knife and cut open the cardboard box. "Well, my business partner assured me top quality... and with my supreme bargaining skills, I should be able to sell these wares for a much bigger price on the Japanese market."
She opened the box... and jumped back when suddenly, something dark and crawly appeared.
"GYAAAAAH," she screamed in shock.
The scorpion that was in the box looked at her and nodded. "Thank you for releasing me. I was afraid I would starve in there."
Nabiki shuddered. She knew how poisonous scorpions were, but... she never heard of a talking scorpion before. Had it already stung her and she was hallucinating from the poison?
The scorpion looked at her closer. "Ah, so you must be Sailor Scorpio. Yes, it must have been destiny that brought this package to your home... Oh, excuse me: I am one the Zodiac Senshi's advisors, call me Sting!"
"Sailor...? Zodiac...? Sting...? What are you talking about?" muttered Nabiki.
The scorpion sighed. "Oh, right... you must regain your memories of the Silver Millennium first. Well, it's not so bad, trust me."
Nabiki stood up. Okay, maybe that scorpion wasn't a hallucination... "Okay, stop! Tell me: Who are you, how can you talk and what is this talk about a 'Sailor Scorpio'? The last time I heard, the Sailor Senshi were named after the solar system's planets."
"Yes, but not the Zodiac Senshi," explained Sting. "I came here all the way from where the Scorpio amulet was hidden, so you would come and get it. I really had a hard time doing all these business transactions with you, you know? I mean, using a computer's keyboard is not easy for a scorpion."
"You want to tell me that all I bought was a tiny little SCORPION? Oh, come on... And what did you do with my money I transferred to that bank account?"
"Oh, I donated it to a children's home. It's for a good deed, after all."
"I don't believe this..." Nabiki mumbled. "And how can you be sure that I am your 'Sailor Scorpio'? After all, there are many other girls living in Nerima that could be her."
"I recognize your energy signature," the scorpion said, waving his tail around. "In fact..." he closed his eyes. "I can feel that there are at least four other Zodiac Senshi around that have to learn about their destinies."
Ranma lay on the couch, dozing off. Akane walked past him. "I'll be right back, I just have to get something from the market for Kasumi."
"Okay," Ranma mumbled with closed eyes. "But don't mistake the salt for the sugar again."
Akane frowned. "Ranma no baka," she grumbled before leaving.
Ranma relaxed, until a shadow was cast upon his body.
"Boy, how can you just lie there and do nothing? Don't you have anything better to do? Use your free time to practice. Didn't I teach you to devote yourself to the arts?"
'Oh boy,' Ranma thought with a sigh. 'Pops is ranting again. I wish he would turn into a panda so he would shut up.'
And he imagined how the koi pond's water would splash his father, just so it would be quiet.
"Ranma, are you listening? You have to..." SPLASH!
The panda looked back at the koi pond in confusion. He held up a sign: 'Now how did that happen?'
"MEEEOOOOOW!"
Luna screeched in panic as she fled from the mob of cat bullies. She was only quietly prowling through Nerima, to see if she could find the Zodiac amulet, but then this big pack of cats had to attack her... AGAIN! What did she do to deserve this...?
When Akane passed around the corner, she just saw a black cat being chased by a large mob of angry cats. She got angry. "Hey!" She shouted. "All against one? That's not fair! Stop it, right now!"
Surprisingly, the cats obeyed.
Akane blinked, but then glared at the cats. "Good! Now, I want you to turn around and walk back where you came from, got it?"
The cat bullies nodded, turned around and left.
Akane blinked again. "Wow," she said. "I must have really intimidated them..."
She picked up the confused cat and held her. "Don't worry, kitty! The bad cats are gone. Oooh, you have some nasty wounds there. I'll better take you home, so Kasumi can take a look at you."
Luna just stared at the girl's forehead.
'Sailor Leo?' she wondered.
While walking home, Akane was passing Ucchan's.
Ukyo came out when she saw her sometimes-rival, sometimes-friend. "Akane? What's up?"
Akane showed her the injured Luna. "Here, this little kitty was all beaten up by a pack of other cats. I'm taking her home so Kasumi can take a look at her wounds."
"Oh, poor thing," Ukyo said. She took a look herself. "Dang, a wound at her right foreleg AND her right hind leg? That must have been some fight..."
'Poor cat,' Ukyo thought. 'I wish I could help her somehow...'
"Ouch," Ukyo shouted. Akane looked up. "What's wrong?" Then she saw the nasty cut on Ukyo's arm. "Oh, you're injured as well? Perhaps Kasumi should take a look at you, too."
Ukyo looked at her arm. "Yeah, perhaps..."
'That's strange', she thought. 'I can't remember cutting me there.'
Luna looked at her own wounds. Her hind leg was still cut, but the wound on her foreleg had vanished.
She looked at the seconds girl's forehead. 'Sailor Libra?'
When they came home, Akane shooed Ranma out of the room, so he wouldn't panic when he saw Luna. Then she called for Kasumi. When she came out of the kitchen, Akane showed her the cat. "Kasumi, you know how to treat wounds, right? Here, this little cat got beaten up and received some cuts. Oh, and Ukyo has a cut as well, on her arm."
"Oh, Ukyo, you must be more careful. Oh, poor kitty! Let Kasumi take a look at you..."
'What a nice girl,' Luna thought as Kasumi took care of her wound.
When a giant panda entered the room, Luna began to panic.
'Whaaah! A wild animal! Run!' her brain was telling her.
"Now, calm down there, kitty! Uncle Saotome won't hurt you, okay? So hold still so I can take a good look at you."
An aura of calm and peace surrounded the girl, and Luna felt herself relax. What a nice feeling...
She looked up as the girl bent down to look at her wound. 'Sailor Virgo...?'
