Special Thanks: "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl for editing, good ideas and
                comments, and providing me with Sailor Moon stories to
                enjoy! Thanks Will!

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi and all terms, names etc associated
            with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha.
            The Guardians and everything pertaining to the Star Kingdoms are
            MINE!


                    Sailor Moon: Guardians of the Star
                   Chapter Two: Rise of the Shining Star

Syrypus turns to his companions, grinning tightly, "OK, who wants to go
first?" Kaylen moved up. "Since I must cast the Shield, I suppose the
first to cross should be me!" He cautiously stepped across the threshold
and found himself, for the first time, in a park area, on an alien
world. He glanced around, marked the placement of the bespelled Senshi,
and set about casting the Shield. He pointed his hand at the far side of
the park and moved it in an arc, over his head and down until he was
pointing in the opposite direction. The glowing shield followed his
pointing finger and soon encased the entire area. Kaylen turned to the
Gate and nodded, but kept his main concentration on holding the shield.

Kreigh and Ivee stepped through the gate next, followed by Greywolf and
Lynn. Ivee studied the Senshi carefully. "This will be difficult!" she
said, looking at Greywolf, "We may not have enough strength to teleport
them all!" "Do what you can," he replied, "We'll carry the last ones
through, if we have to!" Ivee nodded and moved to Pluto, who was the
closest. She looked for Kreigh and found her moving to the next in line,
Sailor Mars.

Ivee turned back to the task at hand. She concentrated and her hands
began to glow. She placed her glowing hands on each side of Pluto's head
and imaged in her mind, the far wall of the Star Chamber, opposite the
Gate. She felt a rush of power leaving her body and heard the pop of
displaced air as Pluto was teleported away. There was another pop and
Ivee looked up to see Mars disappear. Kreigh looked up to give Ivee a
strained smile and continued to the next. <I hope our power holds out,>
Ivee thought worriedly as she moved to her next Senshi, Mercury.

"LOOK!" Kaylen cried, pointing up. Everyone looked up to see a cloud of
intense blackness forming outside Kaylen's shield. "THE SOUL EATER!"
Greywolf exclaimed, "Damn it! We're out of time!" He glanced at Ivee.
Both Kreigh and Ivee were leaning against each other. They were sweat
streaked and trembling.

There was one Senshi left to teleport -- Venus. Ivee shook her head
wearily. "Sorry Greywolf!" she said sadly, "I'm tapped out.  Neither of
us has enough power left to teleport a fly!" "Then drag her through the
Gate!" Greywolf urgently replied, "Hurry! It's almost upon us!" The two
girls placed their arms around Venus and began to drag her towards the
portal as fast as their wearied bodies could.

The Soul Eater, now fully formed, snarled and cast its black lightning
at Kaylen's shield. Kaylen grunted in pain as the bolts struck, but the
shield held.  They could see that it was, however, being forced lower
with each impact. "Hurry!" Kaylen gasped, "I can't hold it much longer!"

Lynn's star began to glow as she turned to her lifemate. "Beloved," she
said, "I will form my Soul Gem out of the Aether. Cast your light bolts
at it and I'll magnify their power!" "It's worth a try, dear," he
replied dubiously. Lynn smiled at his doubt even as her Soul Gem was
forming above her.  "The Soul Eater is Darkness and the antithesis of
Life!" she explained hurriedly, "Our powers united are Light and Life.
We may not kill it, but we should wound it enough to drive it off!
Hurry, Wolf!!"

Greywolf glanced at the others. Kreigh and Ivee were almost to the Gate,
while Kaylen was on his knees, arms over his head, struggling to hold
the shield. With a snarl, Greywolf turned and cast twin bolts of light
at the Soul Gem. The Gem glowed brightly when the bolts struck and it
absorbed them, magnified them, and emitted a single blast of pure white
light. The powerful blast passed through the shield without harming it
and struck the Soul Eater. It shrieked in agony as the bolt hit and bits
of the darkness that made up its substance began to bleed off and
dissipate.  Morgoth screamed curses at the Guardians as his creature
unraveled.  There was a blinding flash and the Soul Eater was gone. With
a gasp, Kaylen dropped his shield. Greywolf and Lynn staggered to him,
and supporting each other, they passed through the Gate as Ivee and
Kreigh had already done. When they came through, Syrypus collapsed the
Gate behind them.

As soon as Greywolf and Lynn passed through the Gate, they collapsed to
their knees. The whooshing sound behind them told them that Syrypus had
closed the Gate. Greywolf looked around. Ivee and Kreigh were on their
knees, being attended to by Nonja. Kaylen was on the floor, out cold,
with Soloman in attendance.

"Ivee?" Greywolf said inquiringly. She looked up. She had dark circles
under her eyes and was trembling with weariness. Kreigh was pretty much
in the same shape. "I'm intact, Greywolf", Ivee replied weakly, "But
neither Kreigh nor myself can so much as light a candle until we get
some sleep." He nodded and glanced at Soloman.  "How is he?" he asked,
nodding at Kaylen. "He's all right." Soloman answered without looking up
from his patient, "Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure."

Greywolf felt a rushing surge of relief. They did it! And they managed
to spit in Morgoth's eye as well! "There's something you all should
know," Lynn stated, "The Soul Eater is not dead. Morgoth teleported it
away when he realized that our blast had seriously wounded it. Not only
that, but since Morgoth was controlling the thing at the time, the bolt
indirectly wounded him as well! It will take him time to recover from
the defeat we dealt him." Greywolf looked pleased at that.  "So, we
needed time to decide what to do next and now we have it."

Greywolf turned to look at the statues lining the wall. "Well," he said,
"I know Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Rei. Lynn, do you know the names of the
other five from your mindlink with Usagi?" Lynn got to her feet and
walked to the first of the Outer Senshi. "Yes I do. This is Setsuna or
Sailor Pluto. And this is Michiru or Sailor Neptune.  Over here is
Haruka or Sailor Uranus. And then here is Hotaru known as Sailor
Saturn," she answered as she walked down the line, stopping at the last
and smallest of the Senshi. "And this is Chibi-Usa or Sailor Chibi-Moon!
The others are known as the Outer Senshi, Guardians of their Silver
Millennium. But this one is Usagi's daughter who has come from their
future to be trained as a Senshi!" "In that case, we better make sure
they have a future!" Greywolf stated, looking grim.

"Another thing," he continued, "Where is Prince Endymion? You know from
the last visit that he is never far from the Princess when there's
danger about, so where is he?" "Hmmmm," Lynn mused, looking thoughtful,
"I got the impression from Usagi's mind that he was around. She didn't
see him though, she only sensed him. But her senses are very sharp where
he's concerned, so it's possible that he was able to make it through
Morgoth's gate before it closed." Greywolf turned to Ashe and ordered,
"Get the Border Legion Patrols out looking for him. Morgoth's Gates are
a hellish way to travel, so he will be wearied and disoriented. Since
Usagi came out near Caladon, it's likely Mamoru is nearby as well." Ashe
nodded curtly and left to implement the search.

Needing to sense the nature of the spell binding the Senshi, Lynn
approached Sailor Mercury and gently placed a hand on her forehead.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated. The star on her forehead began to
glow brightly. She gasped and turned pale almost immediately.  Greywolf
leapt forward and grasped her shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked
urgently. She turned her face to him, a face that was pale with shock,
her eyes filled with horror and revulsion. "The spell that turned them
to stone also bound their souls to the statues," she answered with a
violent shudder. "Only with the statues intact, can they be freed.
Shattered, their souls would be bound to the rubble forever! Their minds
are also trapped in the moment, which means, to them, each second lasts
an eternity!"

Kreigh snarled and pounded her fist on the floor as she cursed softly.
Ivee, although pale, was already thinking of ways to free them. The
other Guardians were also in various stages of anger over this. "We MUST
free them!" Greywolf stated grimly.

Lynn looked anguished, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I don't know if
we can!" she cried with a sob, "It will take a great deal of power! We
may need Usagi and the Ginzuishou and you KNOW we can't! In her present
state, it would kill her to use it!" "Not so!" Ivee stated, rising
determinedly to her feet, "Only if she uses the Ginzuishou's power is
she endangered. If we were to let the Ginzuishou use our power and then
cast that at your Soul Gem, it may free them WITHOUT using the
Ginzuishou's own power!"

Lynn wiped her tears and nodded. "You're right," she sighed wearily,
"And I'm not thinking clearly or I would have thought of that." Ivee
walked over and placed an arm around her shoulders. "That's because you,
of all of us, know what Morgoth is capable of!" she said, smiling wryly,
"The horror our friends are trapped in is more immediate to you because
you suffered similarly during your captivity two years past." Lynn
shuddered and agreed. "However, we can't free them now," she continued,
"We're all exhausted and depleted. We also need Usagi and she won't wake
until tomorrow."

Anguish sparked in Lynn's eyes while Kreigh's were full of fury. The
others were in varying states between, but all knew that Ivee was right.
They had NO choice. They needed rest before beginning what was going to
be a very difficult magic counter-spell.

Greywolf sat alone at the great table in the Star Chamber. Outside, it
was dark, night being well advanced. He had given orders that the
candles in the room were to be kept lit all night since he didn't want
to leave the Senshi in a darkened room. The other Guardians were all in
their beds, recouping their strength for tomorrow's effort.  All except
Lynn that is. She was sitting with Usagi, watching over her while she
slept restlessly, despite a snoot full of prime sleeping potion.

Greywolf looked up as the doors opened. "He's in there waiting for you,
My Lord Prince," he heard the guard at the door say. A weary looking man
in armor entered the chamber, the doors closing behind him. "Mamoru!"
Greywolf exclaimed, jumping up. He clasped Mamoru's forearms in the
Shaelite border fashion and led him to a chair. Despite the fact that he
sat down, Greywolf could see that Mamoru was very agitated. "My Usako is
out there somewhere!" Mamoru whispered hoarsely, pointing out beyond the
city walls, "She's out there and hurt! Can you help me find her?"
Greywolf smiled.  Mamoru obviously loved his Usako as much as he loved
his Aisllynnia.

It would be a pleasure to tell him that all was well. "Look behind you,"
Greywolf said in reply, still smiling. Mamoru turned to look and gasped
at the sight of the statues along the wall. "How did..." he started,
then paused. "Is Usako here?" he questioned, eyes full of hope. Greywolf
nodded and smiled again. "Come with me." He got up and walked to the
door with Mamoru right behind. Within moments, they had come to a
guarded door in the guest area of the Palace.

Greywolf opened the door and entered, Mamoru following. Lynn rose from
the chair she had been sitting in. "Mamoru!" she cried happily, "Oh I'm
so glad they found you before she woke up!" Remembering his manners, he
moved forward and gave Lynn an affectionate hug and kiss, but they could
see that his mind was on Usagi.

"How is she?" he asked without taking his eyes from the pale girl lying
in the bed. Greywolf looked grave. "Her injuries are healed," he replied
grimly, "But she has an injury to her soul that will require specialized
healing!" Mamoru froze on hearing this. "Rei was right," he whispered,
pale faced.  Lynn hastened to reassure him. "Yes she was, but Haeth will
arrive tomorrow to heal her and until she does, the Ginzuishou is
keeping her alive." Mamoru felt relief overwhelm him.

"I'm going to sleep in that chair tonight," he told them, "I want to be
there when she wakes up." Greywolf and his lifemate smiled in
understanding and left the room, closing the door behind them. Mamoru
slowly approached the bed and fell to one knee beside it. He leaned over
and kissed her lightly on the lips. She sighed in her sleep and smiled.
"I'm here now Usako," he whispered lovingly, "And I'll look after you!"
He moved the chair next to the bed and sat while holding her hand. Every
once in awhile, he raised her hand to his lips to kiss it, as if to
remind himself that he had found her and that she was safe.


Lynn and Greywolf were walking down the hall. Instead to turning towards
their quarters, Greywolf was surprised when she grabbed his hand and led
him back towards the Star Chamber. "Freeing the Senshi will take ALL the
power at our command as well as Usagi's help with the Ginzuishou," she
explained, smiling at his surprise. "However, I have an idea that may
work and I need to try it. We will free one of them, we two should have
enough power for that. If it works, we have our counter-spell!"

As they entered the chamber, Greywolf turned to her. "Which one do we
free?" he asked, "It should be someone who can help us free the others."
She smiled.  "I already know who we'll free. Sailor Mercury, of course!"
He returned her smile and nodded. "Of course! With her intelligence and
her VR visor and computer to analyze things, she WOULD be of great
help."

Lynn concentrated and her star began to glow brightly. Raising her
hands, she formed a globe of bright light and with a gesture, she sent
it moving towards Sailor Mercury. It moved until it was floating about a
foot over her head and then came to a stop. Lynn closed her eyes and
clenched her fists as the globe of light solidified into a large clear
crystal about the size of a basketball. By this time, her star was
glowing so brightly that it was blinding. During this time, Greywolf had
been gathering all his power for one massive blast. When Lynn called,
"NOW!" he was ready. He raised hands, which were glowing with power, and
cast twin bolts of light at the Soul Gem. As they struck, Lynn struggled
to transmute the light blasts into the form needed to restore Mercury.
She began to tremble from the strain when the Soul Gem pulsated. Bright
power exploded from the Gem and enveloped Sailor Mercury. Slowly, very
slowly, the gray tones began to shift to flesh tones and the bright
colors of her Sailor fuku began to emerge.

When the transformation was complete, the Soul Gem vanished. When it
did, Mercury and the two Guardians who freed her fell to their knees. It
was a moment before Lynn could get the strength to look up at Ami. Ami
was on her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around her midriff as she
tried to contain her terrified sobbing. Lynn remembered full well what
it was like to be caught in one of Morgoth's spells. She managed to
stagger to Ami and carefully sat next to her. She pulled the sobbing
Mercury into her arms and held her tightly as she cried.

"Shhhh. It's alright!" she crooned soothingly, "You're free now and
tomorrow we'll free everyone. Shhhh." Greywolf crawled over and ran his
hand comfortingly over her blue locks and stopped at her shoulder,
gripping it tightly. Ami continued to sob against Lynn's shoulder.

Greywolf began to look concerned as Ami's wild sobbing showed no sign of
abating. "Will she be all right?" he asked worriedly, "I've never seen
her cry like that before! Not even during the last fight against the
Dark One!" Aisllynnia smiled wryly. "They may be warriors and they may
have defeated their enemies, the Dark Kingdom, by now. But after all is
said and done, they're still children!" she explained, "Getting caught
in one of Morgoth's spells is one of the most terrifying things you can
imagine. Remember how long I cried after you freed me, two years ago?
She'll be alright after she's cried herself out."

Greywolf nodded as he remembered. Aisllynnia was in pretty much the same
shape as Ami was now.  Greywolf sat down next to them to wait, while
Lynn continued to soothe Ami as she wept. Slowly, the wild sobs began to
diminish until only her shuddering breath showed she had cried at all.
She continued to hold Lynn tightly, as if afraid to let go, like a child
afraid of the dark.  Gradually, her hold loosened and her breath became
more even. <She's recovering,> he thought with relief. To see the
intelligent normally unflappable Ami in such a distressed state had
worried him deeply.

Ami slowly pulled away from Lynn. She was looking down, not meeting
Lynn's concerned gaze and her cheeks bore a hectic flush. <She's
embarrassed!> Greywolf thought in surprised amusement, <She's been
through HELL and she's actually embarrassed that she lost it!> Lynn took
Ami's chin and raised it, looking into her tear drenched eyes.  "There
is no need for embarrassment, child!" she said with a smile, "You were
there when the Guardians freed ME two years back! Remember my reaction?
It was no different from yours." Ami nodded and gave the two Guardians a
weak smile.

"USAGI!!" Ami gasped, remembering, "What happened to Usagi?!" Lynn
placed a finger over her lips to still her frantic questions. "Usagi and
Mamoru are in a guest chamber in the area of the Palace reserved for
visiting dignitaries," she explained, "Her wounds are healed, all except
one that only Haeth can heal and she'll arrive tomorrow."  "The wound
Rei saw her getting!" Ami whispered, horrified, "But, Rei sensed that
the wound was fatal!" Lynn nodded. "It is, but the Ginzuishou has enough
power to keep her alive for several days and Haeth will arrive tomorrow,
so she is in no immediate danger. If you can avoid it, don't tell the
other Senshi after we free them. I don't know about Soul Healing, but I
do know that friends are usually very helpful. Haeth will need all of
you, most likely."

Ami nodded in agreement. "Can I sleep here with my friends?" she asked
hesitatingly, "I don't want to leave them." Lynn nodded as Greywolf
ordered the Guards to bring a cot and blankets. When they arrived, Lynn
made it up and held the covers while Greywolf picked Ami up and gently
laid her on the cot. She fell asleep even before Lynn finished covering
her up. Lynn smiled at her and leaning down, kissed her forehead.  "Good
night, little one," she whispered, "Tomorrow we will need you!" Hand in
hand, they exited the chamber to seek their own bed, while the guards
closed the doors behind them.

End of Chapter Two


Next: Chapter Three: Awakening of the Senshi

Freeing the Senshi, Usagi's collapse, Jupiter's protectiveness! Be
there!