"So you're saying we're all Sailor Senshi, and it's our duty to put our lives on the line and fight the evil-doers of the universe?" Morgan asked skeptically. The six students were gathered in Astraea's small yellow apartment. Astraea was in the kitchenette, gathering drinks for everyone. Morgan, Xi and Tien had squished themselves onto the squeaky couch, while Cecelia had taken to leaning against the wall. Erica and Dean occupied the two easy chairs. "Simply put, yes." Astraea nodded. "Is it so hard to believe? Look through all the papers, if you like. You can all see each other's auras. Must I do another demonstration as well?" Tien ran a hand through her black hair protectively and Astraea chuckled. "No, I don't think I would. Now that you've all gathered, believers and unbelievers alike, you shall see the truth. Here. Take each other's hands." Hesitantly, the teens joined hands as instructed. "That means you too, Scorpius." Reluctantly, Cecelia joined hands with the rest of the group. No sooner had she done so than a shudder of energy rippled through each of their bodies. Auras flared brightly, and a high-pitched humming filled the room. Hands clenched tightly as power seared through each individual's body. Astraea watched all of this calmly, until it all abruptly stopped. Manifested by the combined energy, six tiny wands had appeared in the lap of each person. Morgan picked up her wand and examined it carefully. It looked just like a pen, green in color with a sparkling orange bauble on top. Inside the gem a red star glittered. The design was simple and beautiful. Each of the pens corresponded to its owner's aura color; Cecelia having red and pink, Erica neon pink and yellow, Tien blue and white, Xi purple and gold, and Dean with grey and blue. Morgan was the first to voice the question on everyone's mind. "What just happened?" she held the pen aloft. "And what are these?" "When you all held hands, the pent up energy you've never used was released, allowing those," she motioned to the pens. "Your transformation wands, to manifest before you. If you haven't had enough proof of your role, then hold those pens above you and say 'Cosmic -blank- Power', substituting the blank for your constellation name, obviously, and you should have all the proof you need." The six exchanged confused glances, but at last Morgan sighed and stood up, pen in hand. Slowly, she raised it above her head and looked to Astraea. The Guardian nodded in encouragement. "Cosmic. Ara. Power..." Morgan said slowly. For those watching, the transformation happened almost instantaneously. But for Morgan, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The earth crumbled around her and buried her under a pyramid of stone. Morgan would have been terrified, except that for some reason she felt completely safe and unharmed by all the stone on top of her. Flashes of green and orange glowed like embers from the cracks between the stones, and slowly the rocks pulled together around Morgan's body. They tightened around her arms and disappeared, leaving white gloves that went halfway up her upper arm and was ringed with orange trimming. The rocks around her feet crumbled away to reveal calf-high green boots. The rocks that encased her body fell away to reveal a suit of leaves, which melted into her skin to create a black sports bra and a deep green pleated skirt. An orange bow hung in the middle of her chest, its ends fluttering around her hips. On the backside of her skirt was another such bow, the ends thin and wispy as they hung around her knees. On her shoulders, two large amber gems, encased with gold, clasped a short green cape to her back. Around her neck hung an orange choker, and from the choker hung a golden diamond. Morgan glanced around the room, and the shock registered on everyone's face matched her own. Eyes and mouths formed perfect triangles of 'O's. Erica was the first to regain her wits. "That was amazing! How did you do that?" she asked eagerly, blue eyes happily examining her own pink and yellow pen. "You just do the same thing." Astraea smiled. At last, belief was beginning to take hold. "Hold your pen up and say 'Cosmic Lyra Power'. Go on, all of you. Try." Erica bounced up, while Xi stood up purposefully and Tien rose shyly. Cecelia pushed herself away from the wall warily and Dean looked about him before getting to his feet as well. Each person found a small corner of the crowded area to stand before they all raised their wands about their heads. "Cosmic Lyra Power!" Erica cried, excitement filling her voice. "Cosmic Vela Power." Xi growled, jabbing her pen into the air. "Cosmic. Scorpius. Power." Cecelia droned. "Cosmic Draco Power." Dean smirked, casting his eyes at all the others as they transformed. "Cosmic Centaurus Power..." Tien bit her lip as though afraid of what might happen next. The transformations happened quickly. Erica was encased in a blaze of pink fire that wrapped itself around her like a snake. Her uniform was mostly similar to Morgan's, save that her glove trimmings, bows, gems and choker were all a vibrant yellow color. Her boots fell in wrinkles around her calves, but the heel was much higher than Morgan's and the color was a bright pink that matched her short fluttering cape and skirt. Xi felt cold liquid metal running itself over her entire body, covering her like a second skin. Her trimmings were a deep golden color, while her skirt and cape were a purple so dark it could nearly be mistaken for black. Her boots were taller than anyone else's, coming to mid-thigh and folding over on the top to reveal a lighter shade of purple to contrast to the darker sheen on the rest of the boots. Cece found herself wrapped tightly in a crimson hurricane. As it left her body it shrunk itself into a long, gruesome staff that's metal point twisted into a venomous point. A green thread wrapped itself down the staff to where Cecelia's hand grasped it. Her outfit was similar to the others as well, with her ornamentation being a pale pink color and her skirt and cape a deep crimson. Her boots clung to her calves, laced up the front with a black tie. Dean's transformation was sadly less dramatic, as his clothing seemed to melt into a light grey general's suit. His belt was a pale red color, and the trimmings around the cuffs and lining of the jacket were pale blue. In the centre of his chest was the same golden diamond the rest of the senshi had on their chokers. A frozen waterfall cascaded down upon Tien. As it washed away, her outfit was revealed to have teal trimmings and sky blue skirt and cape. Her boots went up to her knees, and were trimmed in white. In the instant that it took for all these transformations to occur, Astraea had finished gathering drinks for everyone. The expression of pleasure in her garnet eyes radiated over the six warriors as they each stared down at themselves at and each other. "So you see your proof. You are warriors of love and justice, Sailor Senshi," she glanced at Dean "And Shittenou." "We're expected to fight in these?" Xi asked dryly, looking at her skirt in distaste. She tapped her heeled foot against the floor. "Highly impractical." "Highly uncomfortable." Tien murmured, wrapping her arms protectively around her stomach and curling into herself as tightly as she could manage. "Highly attractive." Dean said coyly, eyes skimming over the girls. Xi grunted in disgust, Erica giggled, Morgan blushed, and Cecelia rolled her eyes. Tien unwrapped herself long enough to ball her hand into a fist and punch Dean in the nose. Startled, he clutched his face and stumbled back onto an easy chair. There were looks of shock all over the room, but none looked more shocked that Tien herself. She stared at her villainous hand, then at Dean and back again. "Oh, Mr. Castor, I'm sorry!" she cried in distress. "I didn't mean...I shouldn't have been offended but...oh, dear, are you all right?" Dean continued to look at her in astonishment. Cecelia and Erica burst into laughter almost at once, an Xi's mouth cracked into a half-smile. "I guess that proves Tien at least is truly a warrior of Justice." Erica giggled, though she went over to help Dean tend to his swelling nose. "Now we just need to teach her how to break the nose instead of just bruising it." Xi added, smirking at the glare Dean shot at her. Tien's eyes widened even more in horror, and if it was possible she shrunk even further into herself. "Oh no, Miss Lan, I'd rather not learn, if it's quite all right..." "There is plenty that you all need to learn." Astraea cut in. "And the first battle is fast approaching. There is nothing that can be done to stop it, so you all must be prepared. I'll expect you to meet either here or in Tien's dorm every day after classes so that you all can train. Is this clear?" Six headed nodded in agreement, ready to follow the only person who seemed to have any idea about exactly what was going on. *** Regina sat upon her throne as usual, gazing intently at the pool where images of planets circled lazily. Her clever mind was whirling with strategies, and so intent was she on her thoughts that she started slightly when Amazonia came to stand before her. "Well?" Amazonia demanded, crossing her arms and staring at her sister. Regina looked from the pool and gazed icily at her second sibling for some time before speaking. "You deliberately disobeyed my orders to stall all attacks." She replied coldly. "Though you may be my sister, I am still Queen, and when my orders are disobeyed there must be judgement. How do you plead?" Amazonia took her dagger from its sheath on her hip and absently ran her fingers along its edge. "How would you have me plead, dear sister?" she replied levelly, examining her blade. "Recall that you are only queen because Mother bore you first, and that should anything happen to you," she flipped her dagger into the air and looked pointedly at Regina. "I would be next in line. Think carefully about judging me. Remember that had I not attacked that tiny planet, you wouldn't have all of your lovely Shadows right now. You'd still be looking for vessels." The anger was evident in Regina's face, but her voice remained steady. "You speak truth. But this does not excuse your actions..." the appearance of Mathus shattered the tension that had quickly grown between the two siblings. The dark haired lord bowed regally to each of the sisters, knowing that both sets of intense green eyes bore into him. He purposefully did not look directly at either of them. "Your Majesty, Princess, I am pleased to report the Shadows progress in devouring the vessels." "Speak." Regina commanded, her features softening as she gazed at the handsome man. Again Mathus bowed. "Of the 200 vessels brought back from the planet, 50 of them have been devoured completely, with another 50 nearly complete. The rest are still awaiting cleansing before..." Mathus stopped speaking and his eyebrows furrowed, a confused look upon his face. The sisters exchanged glances. "Continue." Regina prompted. "Before..." Mathus shook his head as thought shaking loose some distant memory. His eyes cleared momentarily and he gazed at the two women with unfocused eyes. "Neo Queen Serenity?" he asked Regina, no hint of recognition in his voice. Furiously, Amazonia tore her dagger from its sheath and rushed him, clubbing him unconscious with the hilt. He fell to the floor in an untidy heap. The middle princess whirled on her sister, her green eyes burning with hatred. "What business has he with Neo Queen Serenity?" she snarled. "Why didn't he know us? Your horrid mind-spell has worn thin, I'm afraid. Now what will we do?" "Patience, dear one." Regina held up a calming hand. "I shall reinforce the taint on his mind. He will be ours again." She rose from her throne and went to kneel by his side. There was a giggle from behind the throne, and the two sisters turned to see their third triplet curled in the corner. "I don't understand..." Iaia giggled softly. "The stars whisper of betrayal, but where? Tell me, if you like. Little stars...oh little stars?" Iaia gazed at the ceiling, as though trying to find the stars in the caverns high roofs. Regina stood from her tender position beside Mathus and went to Iaia, cupping her face in her hand gently. "What do the stars tell you?" she prodded quietly. Amazonia rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust. "She's making it up. When was the last time one of her silly prophecies came true?" she asked. Regina silenced her with a deadly glare. Amazonia shrugged it off. "Why do you let her get away with such things?" "Everything is spinning. I'm very dizzy, all that spinning, spinning, spinning..." Iaia twittered. "Worlds will crumble and fall. Truth! The weakest link is the strongest brick...the stars whisper to me, sweetly. They explode, and burn my eyes. Burn!" she shrieked suddenly, clawing at her eyes desperately. Her hysterical screams mingled with her own laughter as she convulsed on the floor. Regina held her tightly, stoking her matted hair in a soothing manner and whispering childish nonsense into her ears. When Iaia had been soothed into a child-like obedience, Regina gave Amazonia another pointed look. "All right, so maybe this one is different." Amazonia conceded angrily. "Iaia is right. We must check out the center of the system and plan our attacks carefully. We must weaken the government enough to take over completely and easily." Regina rose and helped Iaia get shakily to her feet. "Prepare for a trip to Earth 723. We must examine the Council, and find the weakness. Take Iaia with you." She handed the twittering woman to Amazonia. Amazonia recoiled in loathing. "Why don't you take her?" she demanded. "You deal with her better anyway." "Don't argue!" Regina snapped, kneeling once more by Lord Mathus and gently wrapped him in her dark energy and lifted him into her arms. "I will start the erasing process and reprogram him. I will join you when I am finished." Furiously, Amazonia grabbed Iaia's hand and stalked from the room, dragging the youngest triplet giggling behind her. Regina watched them go before tenderly stroking Mathus' cheek. "Dear Mathus. Come, my sweet, we'll get you all fixed up again." She crooned, taking him to her laboratory to begin the braincleansing once more. *** Erica and Cecelia sat by each other on the shuttle, watching out the window as they neared Earth 723 for their fieldtrip about government. Erica couldn't sit still. "I wonder what it will be like!" she giggled, eyes wide with excitement. "There will be lots and lots of people, all sitting in a huge room so large you can't see from one side to the other. People will be talking, and talking and talking. It will take days for them to decide on anything, It's a lot of important people discussing important things that make no sense to anyone else." Cecelia grinned at Erica's shocked expression. "I pay attention in class, remember? It's not so hard to understand, the way I put it, is it?" "No," Erica grinned. "If only the teachers could say it so easily. They make everything confusing with their big terms for ordinary stuff. Look, we're here!" Erica pressed her face to the glass as the shuttle slowly descended to Earth 723. The entire planet seemed to be made of buildings. Buildings soared high into the sky and spread out across every inch of land available. It was a wonder to gaze at, and all eyes on the shuttle were wide with awe as they landed. At last, the professor's voice broke through the wonder and the students filed off the shuttle. "Everyone stay close together. The city is dangerous and crowded, and it is easy to get lost. We will be visiting the main building, and if time permits we might be allowed to watch part of the Council meeting. Now, follow me." The professor instructed. Silently, the students obeyed. The professor lectured as they walked around the buildings. Time inched by slowly, and Erica quickly lost interest and began humming absently to herself and looking around in interest. As the group passed through the busy streets, something sparkled at the edge of Erica's vision. Curious, she broke away from the group to go investigate. Just as she rounded out of sight, Cecelia noticed her disappearance. "Where's she going? Damn...the trip was just getting interesting too..." Cecelia muttered quietly before slipping away after her friend. Erica could feel something in the air that didn't feel at all right. Just ahead of her, she saw three women materialize out of the air. She stopped in her tracks. The women looked identical save for the length and style of their hair and the clothing they wore. They were all unbelievably beautiful, but it was the kind of beauty that chilled Erica's blood and froze her in place. As she was gazing in shock and terror, a passing guard caught site of the intruders. "Hey, you're not allowed back here! This is a restricted area." He informed them. The middle woman gave a beastly growl and the man fell to the floor, dead, his lifeblood pooling around him in thick rivers. As Erica watched in horror, the one with the shortest hair turned to her and pointed, giggling. The other women turned their gaze to Erica as well. Something about their uniform gazes made Erica's skin crawl. She turned on her heels and fled around the corner. Her mind raced. What she had just witnessed was far from normal. There was only one thing that felt right for her to do. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out her yellow and pink pen. "Cosmic! Lyra! Power!" she cried. She felt the warm heat of fire as the pink flame snaked up and around her body. She relished the warmth as it wrapped around her and burst apart, leaving in its place her uniform. Cecelia rushed around the corner just in time to witness her friend finishing her transformation. "Erica! What are you doing?" she cried, rushing down the hall toward her friend. But Erica didn't hear her, and had raced back around the corner to confront the three women coming down the hall towards her. "Stop right there!" she cried, pointed dramatically at the triplets. Slowly, they turned to face her. "I don't know who you are, but you're not welcome here." "Who are you, little girl, to speak to us such?" The longhaired woman spoke regally. Erica faltered a moment. "Me? I'm...well, I'm...um..." she relaxed her posture as she thought a moment. "Well, I'm Sailor Lyra, warrior of Love and Justice! That's right, you heard me. And you're going to pay for killing that innocent man, and for appearing out of thin air and, well, being creepy, I guess." Cecelia poked her head around the corner in dismay. She couldn't believe how rash her friend was being. She crossed her fingers and prayed that the women would leave Erica alone, and let the whole thing breeze by. Unfortunately, no such thing happened. "*Sailor* Lyra?" the one who had killed the man sneered. Erica shifted uneasily. "That's right. You know you I am, now who are you?" she demanded. "I am Queen Regina, first sister of the Gorgon Trio." The woman with the long hair replied. "Princess Amazonia of the Trio, second sister." She flipped her dagger in the air and smirked. The third sister laughed childishly and Amazonia sneered. "And that is Iaia, our third sister." Sailor Lyra hadn't truly expected to learn any information from them, and was startled into polite manners. "Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you, your highnesses..." she stopped at herself. "Wait. This isn't going right, is it?" "No. You should be dead by now, and you're still blabbering." Amazonia sneered. "But don't worry, that will be remedied very shortly." She flicked her dagger at Sailor Lyra and turned. The blade spiraled perfectly through the air, honing in on its target with amazing accuracy. Sailor Lyra watched it in horror. Then, an ancient instinct she didn't know she possessed made her leap out of the way just in time. Instead of impaling itself in her chest as it had intended to do, the blade only dug deep into her thigh. Sailor Lyra fell from her leap with a grunt of pain. "That...wasn't...nice..." she chastised, pulling herself up and dislodging the dagger with a choked shriek. As soon as the blade was free, it flew as though with a mind of it's own back to its owner. "What a pleasant little game!" Iaia exclaimed happily, clapping her hands wildly. "Shall we play some more? Yes, let's. The kitty likes to play..." the insane woman set her eyes on Sailor Lyra and grinned widely. To Lyra's horror, she felt herself being lifted from the ground by some mysterious force. Moments later, she found herself smashed into the wall. Iaia glanced to the other side of the room, and Sailor Lyra went flying full force into the hard plaster. She was helpless to pull herself from the attack, for Iaia's warped mind had probed deeply into her own mind. Sailor Lyra felt the wild insanity that drove the woman into the waiting arms of pain. Iaia had almost complete control over Lyra's movements, and in her insanity had mastered the art of telekinesis. Almost as quickly as the onslaught had begun, Iaia lost her visual contact with her victim as she gazed adoringly at her eldest sibling. Sailor Lyra dropped from her height to the ground in a bruised and slightly bloody heap. As she struggled to raise herself and think of what to do next, Iaia hugged Regina tightly. "Kitty likes to play..." she repeated pitifully. "Kitty wants a playground." Regina gave a half smile to her sister. "Kitty shall have a playground." She said soothingly. In her hands appeared her black magic ball. She threw it toward the wall and the ball exploded, crossing dark energy everywhere around the hall, trapping Sailor Lyra in it's web. Iaia clapped her hands in delight and once more Sailor Lyra found herself moving through the dark web by Iaia's mind powers. She writhed in pain each time one of the dark tendrils of Regina's "playground" brushed past her skin. Brownish boils rose to the surface of her skin wherever she touched the tainted web, as though the material had burned at her flesh and melted it. Amazonia watched all of this with an amused smirk, absently tossing her dagger from one hand to another. "This bores me. Let's spice things up some more, shall we?" So saying, she send her dagger on a loop, banking it off the walls so that each time it hit one wall it would bounce away again, always passing directly by Sailor Lyra's prone form and tearing at her body. Sailor Lyra screamed in pain while the sisters watched and continued their torture in amusement. Cecelia watched in horror at her friend's torment, Erica's loud cries ringing in her ears. Much as she hated to give in to what she felt was a silly legend, Cecelia knew in her heart what needed to be done. She raised her own transformation wand above her head and cried out. "Cosmic Scorpius Power!" She was swept up in the great tornado of red. It swirled around her, whisking away her school uniform and replacing it with her senshi one. At last, the crimson wind swirled into her hard and materialized as her staff. She raced out from her hiding spot behind the wall to see Sailor Lyra speeding directly towards Amazonia's dagger. She raced towards the trio, brandishing her staff. She was noticed just as she wedged the tip of the deadly point under Iaia's chin. "Stop right now!" she screamed, keeping her threatening position. Iaia lost contact with Sailor Lyra and the girl fell with a sickening thud to the floor, while Amazonia's dagger sped full force into the wall. "I am Sailor Scorpius, and I won't let you harm my friends like that. I'm afraid I will have to teach you a lesson." "Pitiful." Regina mocked. Iaia locked her gaze on the senshi, and Sailor Scorpius found herself thrown into the wall beside her teammate. Groggily, she crawled over the Sailor Lyra's side and lifted her into a sitting position. "Lyra! Are you okay?" worry filled her voice. Sailor Lyra opened her eyes and gave a half smile, winking. "Never been better! This is certainly not what I expected when I became a senshi..." her eyes grew hazy for a moment. "I wouldn't have expected you to come to my aid." Scorpius held her close. "Don't be ridiculous! You're my friend, I always help you." "Yes, but you kept saying how silly this whole senshi thing is..." Erica coughed and smiled weakly. "But now that there are two of us, we can really beat them good, can't we?" "Enough of this pathetic sentimental crap." Amazonia snapped. "We didn't come here to battle with weak senshi, we came to conquer. Let's just get this over with. The sooner you two die, the easier it will be." Regina seemed to be in agreement, for a dark tendril of magic snaked out towards the two girls, solidifying into a sharp point. Sailor Scorpius gathered Lyra in her arms and dodged out of the way as fast as she could, but the tendril scraped across her back, cutting deeply into her skin and boiling it with dark poison. She shrieked in pain and terror, clawing at the inaccessible wound. Sailor Lyra leaned heavily against the wall and dragged herself into a standing position. "This game of cat and mouse is quickly growing tiresome." The queen drawled, preparing another dark weapon to attack the girls. Sailor Lyra clenched her fists and crossed them in front of her, closing her eyes and concentrating. She stood with one leg crossing slightly in front of the other, and she slowly raised her crossed arms above her head. As she did this, faint streaks of gold and pink flame trickled from between her clenched fingers. When her arms were raised high above her head, she opened her eyes and fire leapt down her entire arm. "EMBERDUST FLARE!" she shrieked. She threw her arms open, and the fire that had formed on her arms whirled together at the center of her chest before bursting out towards the three villains. As the fire approached its destination, it grew larger until it completely encased the three women. "Burn! Burn! Burn!" Iaia shrieked giddily as the fire blazed around them. There was a unified scream that arose from the ball of flame, and as the embers died away the three women had slumped to the floor, very weakened. Amazonia was the first to pull herself to her feet. "That was not wise, little girl." Amazonia snarled, drawing up to her full height. Before Sailor Lyra could do anything more, the violent woman and rushed upon her into hand-to-hand combat. Sailor Lyra, too weak and exhausted to return the fight, fell unconscious under the first blow. Amazonia kicked her aside in disgust. She turned to Sailor Scorpius, still twitching under the pain of the deep poisonous wound across her back. "Shall you finish the battle your friend began?" "Is she alive?" Sailor Scorpius demanded, casting a terrified glance at her fallen friend. Amazonia shrugged in apathy. "Doubtful." She smirked. She grabbed a fistful of Scorpius' lavender hair and yanked the senshi's head back. "If you like, I will send you to her." Two sets of green eyes pierced into one another, but the anger and hatred in Sailor Scorpius' eyes was by far fiercer. She grabbed her staff and screamed, driving it towards her captor. Amazonia's eyes went wide and she stepped away, but the twisted blade still dug deep into her side. "I hate you!" Scorpius shrieked, anger searing through her body. "You monsters!" Amazonia fell back and stumbled towards her sisters, who had begun to stand themselves. Sailor Scorpius held her staff out vertically in front of her, clasping it tightly with both hands. Her legs were at a wide stance as she closed her eyes and began twirling the staff around like a baton. The weapon spun faster and faster until it was nothing more than a blur of silver. The air pressure around the senshi had built to an extreme level, blowing her skirt and hair wildly about her. She turned to face the triplets. "SONIC HURRICANE!" she screamed. A condensed blast of air spiraled from the spinning staff, making the walls cave where it passed. The aim was true, and it threw the triplets into the air and towards the wall. Before impact, they had vanished. Sailor Scorpius fell to her knees, exhausted by the effort. A voice rang in the air. "This battle is far from over, Sailor Senshi. We shall meet again, make no mistake." And then, the villains were truly gone. Sailor Scorpius fell forward, and took out her transformation wand long enough to revert to her civilian attire. Painstakingly, she crawled towards Sailor Lyra, who was still unconscious on the floor. "Erica?" She whispered, reaching for her friend. The girl's transformation wand fell into her hand, and Lyra's outfit melted back into her student uniform. "Erica, are you all right..." Cecelia didn't hear any response, for she too had fallen unconscious.