AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, standard disclaimer. Sailor Moon and all related characters do _not_ belong to me. They are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Toei Animation, and who knows who else depending on what language you're watching it in.... However the characters of Kaen Kou and Candace "Candi" Martin of this fanfiction are purely creations of my own insanity..... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER THE FIRE MY SAILORMOON SAILORSTARS FANFICTION BY: Immicolia The Sixth Part: "Glimpses of the Past" Kaen sat idly doodling on a scratch pad, the homework she was _supposed_ to be doing stacked in front of her. She knew that she should probably start working on it, after all she _had_ missed a bit of school from being in the hospital, but she couldn't focus her thoughts. Her mind kept going back to the dance club, the fire, the battle.... Her group _had_ to be here on Earth somewhere. But where could they be hiding themselves? She was sure that she'd recognize them if she ever saw them in human form. Sighing she tore the page, which was by now covered with a mass of geometric shapes, off the pad and turned to her homework. Making a face she picked up the first book on the stack and settled in to work. She'd find them eventually, it was only a matter of time until she found out who they were. Then they'd be a team again, and these "Elementals" would fall. She was slowly but surely working her way through a page of math problems when a knock at the door shocked her out of her concentration. Sighing she stood and grumbled as she walked over to the door and irately jerked it open. "Yea, whadaya want.... Taiki!" She blushed as she noticed who it was and giggled nervously. "Hi Kaen," he said with a small smile. "Can I come in?" "Sure!" She stepped aside and he walked in, taking in the cramped apartment. "Small place..." he said slowly, just for something to say. "Uh... yea.... Just sit wherever you can...." She halfheartedly gestured around the room. He glance around and finally sat in the chair that Kaen had vacated when she had got up to answer the door. Kaen sat on the nearby bed and looked over at him. "So what do you want?" she finally asked. "Well, I... ah...." He glanced around nervously. "I was just... you know... wondering how you were doing. And if maybe... you wanted to... catch up on your homework with me.... I mean... we both missed the same amount of school and all...." He immediately snapped his mouth shut before he made an even bigger fool out of himself. Why was he acting like this anyways? He'd had everything he was going to say planned. Yet the moment he'd walked in the room he'd turned into a stuttering idiot. What was it about her that completely stole his ability to speak in coherent sentences? "You'd help me with my school work?" Kaen asked, wide eyed. "That's so sweet of you. You don't have to. I know you're probably just doing it to be nice. After all, _you_ don't need any help. You're a genius." He smiled at her. "Kaen, you have to quit being so hard on yourself. Why do you find the fact that people like you and actually want to help you so hard to believe?" She stood and walked over to the glass door that lead out to the balcony. "I don't know," she sighed, gazing at the skyline. "I've just always been such a loner. I think I have stunted social skills...." "Kaen," he said, standing quickly. "You don't have stunted social ski... ouch!" He rubbed at his leg where he had bumped it on her drum set. "Hey! Careful of that!" Kaen snapped. "I'm not a rich idol like you, I can't afford to be hard on my instruments." "You're really serious about your music, aren't you Kaen?" She blushed slightly. "Yea..." she mumbled. "Kinda...." "Why is it you want to be an idol so badly?" he asked, joining her by the door. "What's driving you? Fame? Fortune? What?" "None of the above." She opened the sliding door and strolled out onto the balcony, finally leaning against the railing. Taiki followed her and they stood there in silence for a moment until Kaen finally broke it. "There's a whole world out there," she said wistfully. "And I'd like them to hear what I have to say." "What do you have to say?" Kaen shrugged. "Everything. Nothing. I don't know. It's all here though." She rested her hand over her heart. "It's all in there and it wants to get out. Sometimes it gets so bad I want to scream. I just want to shout everything off of the balcony here. It was a day like that when I wrote my song." "You write songs?" "Song," she corrected him. "One song. Straight from my soul." Her eyes got a far away look in them and she began singing softly. "I'm still searching... Stars please be my guide I will find you... I know you're still alive We'll be together... Together again after all this time apart..." Taiki looked down at her as the last haunting note died on the night air. "That was so... so...." "Lousy," Kaen finished for him flatly. "Touching," he corrected her. "It sounded so lonely...." "Like me," she said simply. "You don't have to be lonely." He gazed into her pale blue eyes, unable to look away. "Maybe you're searching in the wrong spot. Maybe the stars have guided you to the right place and you haven't realized it yet...." "So you _do_ have a romantic soul in there somewhere," she whispered, resting her hand against his chest. "You hide it so well under that clinical side of you that you show to everyone. But deep down, somewhere in there, there's a little tiny romantic fighting tooth and nail to get out. All it takes is the right person to give him a hand...." "And I think I've found her," he whispered back. He gently cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her head up. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes slid closed in expectation as he slowly leaned forward, their lips a hair's breadth apart when the mood was abruptly broken. "Attention!" a voice boomed out, causing Kaen to squeak in surprise and cling to Taiki's shirt. They both looked out over the city and gasped as they spotted an image of a shadowy hooded figure hanging over the skyline. "I have a message," it continued. "A message for the group of senshi known as the Sailor Starlights." Both Kaen and Taiki tensed, wondering what this thing could want. "I have your princess," the image stated simply. "She is firmly within my grasp and will not be long for this world if you do not do as I demand. Be on the roof of Juuban high school at midnight tomorrow. All four of you must be there, and you four alone. Any involvement of the senshi of this planet and Kakyuu will die. And remember, it must be all four Star Senshi...." The voice trailed off as the image faded and Kaen shivered. "That was creepy," she said, trying to hide her real fears from Taiki. Had her team heard that? Were they really even here to hear that? "Very...." He let go of her and after a final brief look over the city, turned to face her. "Kaen, I'm sorry, but I just realized that I have to do something. I'd better go." "Okay..." Kaen replied vaguely. "I'll see you tomorrow then?" "Sure. Bye Kaen...." He turned and started out of the apartment, wondering if the others had seen that. And more importantly, had Nova seen it? **** **** **** **** "Did you guys see that!" Taiki asked breathlessly as he dashed into the apartment. Yaten glanced at him, a bored look on his face. "No I didn't," he said sarcastically. "I missed the great big thirty foot head hovering over the city. What did it want again?" Taiki glared at him then turned to face Seiya. "So what are we going to do?" he asked simply. Seiya shrugged. "What can we do? We're just going to have to show up, and hope that Nova does too. And make sure that Usagi and the other Earth Senshi don't decide to help us." "They wouldn't help us anyways," Yaten put in bitterly. "Even though we _did_ help save their lousy planet, they'd still never help us." "They don't have to help us Yaten," Taiki said simply. "We never ask for their help, and we never need it either." "Still, a little consideration would be nice." Seiya rolled his eyes. "I'm still going to talk to Usagi about this anyways, just to make sure this planet's senshi stay out of this. After all, the Outer Senshi might just take it upon themselves to protect this planet from invaders...." "And that _definitely_ wouldn't be good for us," Taiki finished for him. **** **** **** **** "Hey Kaen how ya doin?" Kaen jumped and whipped around at the voice right behind her, sighing in relief as she saw who it was. "Oh.... Hi Candi," she mumbled, still feeling the tension in every nerve ending. "Kaen, what's wrong?" Candi asked worriedly, seeing the other girl's tension. "You're strung so tight it looks like you're going to snap into fifteen zillion pieces." "I... I'm fine," she stuttered. "You just caught me off guard, that's all...." Candi eyed her carefully, knowing that she wasn't telling the truth but seeing no way to get her to tell what was bothering her. Sighing she decided to go on with what she was going to ask her anyways. "Whatever.... So you never did tell me, how was the date?" Kaen shot her a glare and Candi quickly continued. "I mean besides the fact that you almost died in a fire and everything, how was it up to that point?" "It... it was okay.... I guess...." "You guess!?!?! Kaen!" "What!?" "Well... I would have expected you to be a little more honest, with yourself at least.... Yaten told me how Taiki went over to your place last night...." "I'm gonna kill that runt!" Kaen started fuming and Candi eyed her critically. "Why? What's the big secret? You already made it common knowledge that you two went out...." "That was so Usagi would leave me alone!" "Still, what's the big secret? Why would you care if anyone knew that Taiki was over at your place last night?" "Because!" She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Because... well... just because." "You don't know, do you?" "I know! I just don't know how to explain it... that's all...." She looked down at the ground. "Would you like me to tell you why you don't know?" Candi asked simply. "How would you know why I don't know?" "Because, I can tell by the look on your face. You really like him, but you're afraid to admit it because if you did then you'd have to make yourself vulnerable... and you hate doing that!" Kaen fumed slightly. "Oh... what do you know!?" "A lot more than I let on," Candi retorted smugly. **** **** **** **** "So Usagi, did you see that thing last night," Seiya asked softly, making sure that there was no chance of them being overheard. "Yea," Usagi replied with a small nod. "It was weird. So what are you guys going to do?" Seiya gave a small shrug. "Exactly what it asked of us I guess. Go to the roof of the school tonight and hope that Nova shows up too. And really hope that it's not a trap...." "Do you want any help?" Seiya immediately shook his head. "That's why I needed to talk to you about this. We want to make sure that _none_ of this planet's senshi show up tonight. Kakyuu's life is in danger, we can't risk her." "I understand Seiya. I really wish I could help you... but since I can't I guess I'm just going to have to wish you luck...." She gently lay her hand on his, and once again Seiya found himself wishing that Mamoru would just drop dead of something and leave Usagi to him.... But that was really just an awful thought since what he really wanted was for Usagi to be happy. And if Mamoru made her happy... well... he was just going to have to put up with it. "Thanks Usagi. I get the feeling we're going to need all the luck we can get...." **** **** **** **** Kaen glanced at her watch, then back up at the bulky shadow of the high school building. "Five to twelve," she mumbled under her breath. "Well Kaen, it's now or never...." She slipped her hand into her pocket and slowly pulled out her broach, watching what little light there was around glint off its silver surface before holding it out in front of her. "NOVA STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" She felt the headset form over her left ear and, as she always found herself doing, reached up to touch it in a vague sort of amazement. The shear power from transforming never ceased to amaze her. No matter how used to it she was, even if it was old hat in a way, some things had their own mysterious quality that would never turn dull. The complete loss of all sensation beyond what was happening to her body was one of those things. It was almost over now, she could feel the straps closing. Two crossed over her waist, one around each forearm, the choker at her neck, and finally the tiara across her forehead. She let out a small gasp as it finished and the world came back into focus. She was different now, she was herself... her old self. Without any of the hesitation that Kaen would probably feel, Sailor Supernova leaped with all her might into a nearby tree, and from there to the roof of the school, melting into the shadows as soon as she landed. She didn't want to be seen, not until she knew that all the players were there.... It didn't take long. She watched silently from her hiding place as the other three Starlights arrived, arguing among themselves. "She's not here!" Healer snapped. "I knew it! She's not our Nova, our Nova would be here early!" "Our Nova also wouldn't be standing out in the open," Maker explained calmly. "We don't know if she's here or not...." "Nova!" Fighter called out. "Come on! Enough's enough. We're going to give you the benefit of the doubt...." "No we're not," Healer cut in irately. "Yes we are," Fighter snapped back. "Please... if you're here, trust us. We _are_ who we say we are. And I'd like to believe that you're who you say you are too...." Nova watched them, wondering what to do. She wanted to believe them so badly. But... could they really be trusted. Wouldn't the enemy try something _just_ like this? She sighed. Really, what choice did she have? "I'm right here," she said flatly, stepping out of the shadows behind them. The trio whipped around and Starhealer immediately glared at her. "How do we know that you're really Nova?" she asked coldly. "Your interim leader just said that you were giving me the benefit of the doubt, so I'm just giving you the same consideration. How do I know you guys are really my team?" Nova eyed the three of them carefully, watching their reactions to her statement and felt an inward rush of pride when she saw none. If they _were_ her team they had learned quite well from her example. She never showed what she was thinking either. Finally Fighter got fed up. "For crying out loud! We all know why we're here! Kakyuu's in danger of some sort. That's the only thing that could draw us back together. Isn't that proof enough!?" Nova looked at her cautiously. "The enemy would do the same thing." "Would the enemy be so mistrusting?" "I've wondered the same thing myself." Nova shook her head. "There must be some way that we can prove this to each other...." "Maybe there is," Maker began slowly. "Would the enemy know the true facts behind our separation? What happened to drive us apart like this." Nova tensed slightly. "I'd rather not think about it..." she whispered, looking down. "Do you even know?" Healer taunted her. "Yes! We were trying to find Kakyuu...." "Well, duh!" Healer cut in irritably. "Healer!" Fighter shot a glare in the direction of the shorter team member then turned her attention back to Nova. "We were near Earth when we got cornered," she said simply, half prompting Nova to go on, half trying to prove that she really was who she said she was. "Right, we were cornered by Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon. I told you guys to go on without me and that I'd hold her off...." "And we did go on. Although we really didn't want to leave you behind...." "But I insisted," Nova cut in, realizing that there was no possible way the enemy could know this much. "So we reached Earth and disguised ourselves as humans. Eventually we found Kakyuu here and were planing on trying to defeat Galaxia ourselves. It didn't work... While she was protecting us Kakyuu died...." "_WHAT!?!?_" Nova fell into an attack position. "I knew it!!! I knew you guys weren't legitimate! I hope you three have made your peace with this world.... STAR MYSTERIUM...." "Nova! Let me finish!" Nova stopped her attack and Fighter breathed a small sigh of relief before continuing. "Kakyuu died, and we felt that we had nothing to loose. We went after Galaxia again. And this time the senshi of this planet died trying to protect us...." She trailed off sadly and shook her head. "I don't know why.... I don't know if I'll ever understand why.... But it all turned out fine in the end. Sailor Moon freed Galaxia from the Chaos... everyone came back, even Kakyuu, and we went home. But then Kakyuu started asking about you, and she felt that you were still alive so she went to find you. Eventually we went after her...." "You let her go by herself!?" Nova gaped at them. "Are you guys nuts!? How could you do something so stupid? You should have gone with her!" "I... I'm sorry Nova." Fighter looked at the ground. "This is all my fault. I was supposed to lead when you were gone, I've just done a bad job of it the whole time...." She looked back up. "But what about you? How did you end up here?" Nova tilted her head back, looking at the sky. "Somehow I defeated Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon. I don't know how... sometimes I still think it was shear luck... sometimes I think she wanted to die.... Whatever it was, I destroyed her and made my way to Earth after you. But I was so weakened from the battle, and so confused that I was lucky that I even found this planet. As it was I didn't end up in the right country.... Just recently I ended up here and now...." She turned to face them again. "We've finally found one another again only to not trust one another. Do you guys believe me? Do you think that I'm the real Sailor Supernova?" "I find it hard not to anymore," Fighter replied softly. "How about you? Do you believe us? Do you believe that we're your team?" "Our team," Nova breathed. "The Sailor Starlights. Each member a representative of...." She shot a glance in their direction. "The Five Kingdoms of Kinmoku Sei," Fighter finished for her simply. "And our fifth member?" she asked, still eyeing them warily. "Lost. For a long time now. It's been just the four of us for years...." Fighter gave her a small smile. "Are you through yet Nova?" "Damn," she breathed. "You guys are either really good, or you really are who you say you are." She finally smiled back. "And I'm starting to lean towards believing you...." She took a tentative step forward. "Group hug?" They all looked at her funny and she rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding!" "Now that's the Nova we've come to know and love," Maker said with a small nod. "More like know and tolerate," Healer mumbled under her breath, and Nova immediately gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Yea, I missed you too runt! Now...." She rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Where's our villan du jour so we can get Kakyuu back and go home?" "I'm right here," a voice from somewhere nearby hissed, causing the four Starlights to turn and slowly a hooded figure detached itself from the shadows. "And I must say that was quite a touching reunion. It's a shame that it won't last much longer...." END THE SIXTH PART..... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Immicolia... immicolia@hotmail.com Immicolia's Fanfiction Nebula http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/8671 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------