• Starlight against darkness


    "Why…why did I agree to go to this place?" Taking up school definitely wasn't one of her greatest ideas, but it seemed like a way to 'fit in' with the people she was hanging around. This was the first time in her life she'd ever set foot in anything like a school (which of course was something out of the ordinary for a seventeen year old).
    "You chose to be here, so you could learn about how we all work in our lives," A blue haired girl sitting next to her replied. "Zyana, you just have to learn as much as you can when you can."
    Zyana sighed, "I know, Ami, I know. I don't plan on backing out of this." Zyana Bidwall, daughter of a future that will not happen-normally this would make her cease to exist, but since her grandfather (who orchestrated her birth) is the spawn of chaos itself, she isn't affected by the changes in timelines involving her. She had promised herself and her father, Zhortac Bidwall, that she would live a normal life, one not the same as her father had lived.
    The girl next to her, Ami Mizuno, was one of her friends…well one of the few people she even considered to be a friend. Even though they were sailor senshi, Zyana didn't quite like all of them, but tolerated them none the less. Only a few of them she considered friends. Ami happened to be one of them. She had a brilliance, along with a kindness that Zyana respected. Out of the group, she seemed a lot wiser then the others did.
    "Look, you survived your first day of school, so it can't be that bad right?" Ami said with a smile on her face.
    Zyana nodded, "If I survived, then I can handle it," she then giggled a little.
    Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. As per usual, Zyana only had a few quite moments before the others would rush in. Since they didn't have the same class for the day, they usually ran in, mouths flailing with what they did that day. It always drove Zyana slightly mad, but she bore it well.
    When it came, it was only two. As per usual, running in with an ecstatic look on her eyes as the two pig-tails flopped around was, Usagi Tsukino. Zyana wasn't sure if she considered her a friend or just someone she managed to put up with. It wasn't that long ago that Zyana was trying to kill her, as she was told that was what she was supposed to do. It wasn't until her father was brought back that she was convinced to stop. Zhortac didn't want his daughter going down a path he spent his life going down. Either way, the seriousness when the time was called for was something Zyana respected, but the bubbly nature any other time was what made her unsure how she felt about her.
    The other girl, however, was someone Zyana had come to respect and consider a friend. Makoto Kino was someone who was strong and gentle at the same time; a balance of two things that seemed impossible to mesh together. When any time was needed, she could be tough and strong, but when it wasn't that time, she was gentle and friendly. Sometimes, that toughness intimidated other people, but Zyana understood it. She had the same problem when she started trying to integrate herself into society.
    Usagi about squealed (which was about normal for that time), "It's the end of the day!"
    "I trust you two had a pleasant day as well," Ami said to the two as they entered their room. Ami Mizuno was the smart one of the group, and also one of the shyest. She had come to grow more and more to be less afraid of how others saw her, but always seemed like she wasn't quite there yet. There were times Zyana wondered why she didn't run off, or hide in a corner…or even piss herself; but she didn't understand a lot of things about her. Regardless, Ami was someone Zyana had confided in and trusted with things she thought she'd never trust anyone with.
    "My day is only going to be more pleasant!" Usagi replied in anticipation. As usual, she was going to head to Mamoru's apartment like every day. It was one of the many things Zyana didn't understand fully, was how he could put up with her all the time. They told her it's just because he loves her so much, but that still was just as confusing as no answer at all.
    "How's the prodigy doing?" Makoto asked, sitting down in front of Zyana's desk.
    Zyana shrugged, "I made it, can't really complain beyond that."
    Ami giggled, "She's doing fine. She just needs to work on participating more."
    Usagi suddenly got a serious look on her face, "I'll help! I can show her how to take part in class discussions, and questions."
    Ami and Makoto both about fell out of their chairs. "Um…I don't think she needs to follow in your footsteps." Makoto responded.
    There was a slight pause, and they all laughed.
    "You're probably right. I'm not exactly a school role model," Usagi said with a nervous laugh.
    Zyana finished packing up her bag, and noticed Ami already had her's done. "Wow, you're fast at that."
    Ami blushed a bit, "I've done it a lot. It's a habit; I used to just rush out of class years ago."
    "Maybe one day, you'll take it slow like us!" Usagi said with glee.
    "I don't think anyone could be as slow as you are," Makoto said and laughed. Usagi just glared at her.
    Just then, the fifth member of the group who attended that school threw open the door, and about mowed down other students running to where they were. It was Minako Aino, a blonde haired girl, who seemed to radiate beauty regardless of where she was at. Zyana always felt uncomfortable around her, probably because it seemed like she flaunted around the fact that she was good looking and had a personality that was beyond what most people expected. Minako was very outgoing, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind or do something. Sometimes, she was borderline insane.
    Minako slid to a stop at their desks, and slammed down a flyer as she started to catch her breath. "They're coming back!"
    Everyone blinked, "Um…who?" Usagi asked, staring at Minako like everyone else.
    Minako caught her breath and straightened herself. "I just got this only a few minutes ago. The Starlights are coming to visit, and perform a concert for us."
    "Wow…your sources really are good," Usagi replied, still staring at the flyer like the others.
    "Of course they are…" Minako laughed nerviously.
    "Yaten gave it to her," Ami said as she looked out the window, when the others looked as well, they saw Yaten getting into a car.
    Minako giggled, "Ok ok, so he did…"
    Confused as to what was going on, Zyana asked, "Who or what are you talking about?"
    The others turned around, and gave her a look like she was someone they had never met before.
    Zyana looked a little bit nervious, "Seriously…I don't know everything you guys went through you know."
    Being the reasonable one, Ami nodded, "She's right. We shouldn't give her a hard time for it."
    "Of course, we're just playing," Usagi replied with a smile.
    "Well…they're a group of senshi from another part of the galaxy," Ami started, "They helped us against Galaxia, and after that they went back to their home. When they were here, they started a singing group to find their princess, and we were fans of them until we learned the truth about them. We eventually became friends."
    "oh…" Zyana replied, still confused but figured it was a good enough explanation.
    Minako patted Zyana on the back, "Don't worry, you'll get to meet them when we see them. It'll be the best way to figure it all out."
    Usagi started heading towards the door, "I'll meet you guys there, I'm gonna go get Mamo-chan and get him to go." She said, and ran off.
    The others sighed, "She's always in a hurry…" Makoto commented.

    There was a rather large crowd outside the stadium where the concert was to take place. Apparently, the affects the Starlights had with their group wasn't totally forgotten in the last year. Zyana never did understand the fascination with popularity, but she figured it was just some way people lived through others who were better off then they were, or something to that effect.
    Even though the crowd was large, and seemingly impassable, Minako managed to get everyone past, though Zyana couldn't figure out how. It's like Minako had some insane ability to do things that seemed impossible when it came to what she wanted.
    Minako tapped on the door, and it slowly opened, as the bouncer looked out at her smiling face.
    "We're here to see the Starlights," Minako said cheerfully, "we're friends of them."
    "Of course you are…" the bouncer replied, clearly not believing her.
    Minako's smile went away as she glared at the eyes looking at her from behind the door, "You can ask them yourself if you don't believe me." She said, more serious then she was just ten seconds ago.
    The bouncer just stared back at her, in what seemed like an endless staring contest. It seemed like hours, when finally the bouncer's eyes moved from the door, and it opened; in his place was Yaten.
    "Sorry about that little issue, we weren't expecting you guys to come so soon," He said, ushering them inside.
    As soon as they were all in, he closed the door and lead them to their dressing room, where Seyia and Taiki were already at, preparing for their upcoming show.
    Zyana wasn't paying much attention as they all started talking, obviously excited to see one another. Of course she had no idea who these three where, or what they were doing other then making a spectacle of themselves. She wasn't sure if she liked them for that reason, but she wasn't going to judge based off of the fact she hates most people who put themselves in a spotlight.
    She never realized she was spacing out in her thoughts, when Seyia was looking directly at her. "Who's your new friend?" he asked.
    "That's Zyana, we met her sometime after you three left," Ami replied. "She was cold at first, but we eventually became friends" She said, not wanting to be too specific about Zyana's history with them, since they knew how Seyia felt towards Usagi.
    Seyia was staring at her now, almost as if he was seeing something more then he was told. Zyana was also staring at him, something about him was off. She wasn't sure if she should like him or hate his guts.
    He then smiled, apparently dismissing whatever had crossed his mind, "Pleasure to meet you Zyana."
    Putting on a smile she was sure would seem sincere, Zyana replied, "As is meeting the three of you." She hoped it seem real enough, she still didn't like Seyia for some reason.
    Minako shook her head, "Cold is an understatement," she said, as Ami and Makoto glared at her. "You wouldn't believe what happened at first, I mean she…"
    They almost jumped on her to shut her up, but thankfully they didn't have to. Before Minako finished what she was saying, the door swung open and Usagi burst into the room, followed by Mamoru.
    "HI!" she squealed as she came in. "It's nice to see you again!"
    Seyia was going to ask what Minako was talking about, but decided not to since he was happy to see Usagi again. "Odango! How have you been?"
    "I've been great! We've even been talking about having me move in with Mamo-chan!" Usagi exclaimed gleefully.
    Mamoru laughed nervously, "That's still a long ways off."
    Zyana never could understand why Usagi constantly brought up that, among other things involving her and Mamoru. They already knew that they'd be together, have a kid, and rule a kingdom of peace. Why did she always act like it's news, or like it's something we never knew about? She sighed, and just ignored it. Some things she'll probably just never understand.
    Seyia grinned, "looks like he's taking care of you. He better or I'll have to handle it." He said, and laughed. The others all did as well…except Zyana who was oblivious to this obvious inside joke.
    "Anyway, what brings you three back here?" Mamoru asked, changing the subject.
    This time Taiki spoke, "We felt like visiting, we did miss you guys. We had a lot of fun here, even though we didn't admit it before."
    "That and we wrote a new song, about you guys," Yaten chimed in. "Who better to hear it then you?"
    Minako slide towards Yaten, "About us you say?" She asked, looking at him with huge eyes of adornment.
    Yaten laughed nervously. Zyana shook her head, they were all crazy.

    The concert went extremely well. The stadium was packed full of screaming people, and of course the senshi got front row. Zyana didn't really pay attention to the song itself, but she was incredibly annoyed with the screaming people behind them. She spent most of the time wishing they'd all shut up. She did; however, enjoy the song beyond just hearing it. It had a message to it that was beyond the words. It suppressed her that these Starlights were singing more then just some song about people they knew. It was about people they cared about, who showed them there's a positive outlook to all things in life. Zyana knew what that felt like, she learned the same thing. The biggest thing that concerned her was that, each time she looked towards Seyia; that thought in her head lingered. Something about him she didn't like, and didn't know why. But, she ignored it and enjoyed the night.

    After the concert was over, they all hung around with the starlights for a little longer. Zyana had decided to let them all enjoy themselves, and left. She sat outside the stadium, just looking towards the night sky, thinking about all the things she had done since she stopped following a similar path then her father.
    "I want you to live differently then I have. Don't go down the same path I did, you can make your own." Her father had said, the night he died against his rival. At first she didn't understand, but after some time she did. Her father had spent his life trying to kill his rival, and that path had lead him to ruin many times. It even made him not believe she was his daughter for a long time. She had spent the last year trying to find her own path, and make her father proud of her.
    She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear Seyia come up and sit next to her. "Why aren't you with the others?" he asked.
    Zyana continued to look towards the sky and answered, "I just don't enjoy all the fan drooling they do."
    Seyia laughed, "I see. So you're mostly anti-social?"
    "Not all the time, just when they get all googoo eyed and go nuts." Zyana grinned, "I also hate being around Usagi when she's going on one of her bragging raids about Mamoru."
    "I can understand that." He replied.
    Zyana then looked towards him, "You looked at her differently then the others, why is that?"
    He sighed, "It's…complicated."
    Zyana started at him, the moon light reflected off her glasses, making it seem like she was peering into his soul. "Nothing is as complicated as we'd think."
    Seyia looked at her, and was caught off guard. Most people usually leave it at that. This girl was obviously someone who'd been through complicated before and understood it. He shrugged, "When we were here the first time…I started falling for her. I even believed that Mamoru was ignoring her, and making her life miserable. I had no idea what happened. "
    "I guess that's understandable." She replied.
    Seyia couldn't believe he just told her that so easily. It had taken him a long time to even admit it to himself back then. "I take it you understand?"
    She shook her head, "Not in the slightest. I'm sure it's understandable, but I don't have any idea about it."
    Seyia raised an eyebrow, now he was interested. "Why wouldn't you understand that? It seems like all of her other friends do."
    "I'm not quite like them…I had a different life." She answered. "It's taken me a long time to even accept that I am not what I thought I used to be."
    If Seyia had said nothing at that, they probably would've been fine and nothing would've happened that would cause any problems. Unfortunately, fate is a cruel thing sometimes and that's not what happened hear.
    "What kind of life did you have before?" He asked.
    Zyana looked back at him, her expression emotionless, "You won't like the answer to that."
    "Try me."
    "I spent almost a year believing the lies my grandfather told me, and ignoring what my father had told me before he died." She said, and looked down at the ground. "I was told my purpose was to kill one person, to show that I was like my father and part of the heritage that is part of what my grandfather is."
    "That…must have been tough."
    She shook her head, "You don't understand. The person I was told I had to kill was the person who had the opposite powers of the ones I possessed. That person was Sailor Moon."
    Seyia about jumped up, "WHAT!?"
    Zyana looked back at him, and suddenly that lingering in the back of her mind came back. "That's right, I tried to kill her. Multiple times, and came close twice."
    She could see the rage in his eyes now, it was similar to the same rage he saw in Mamoru's eyes those two times but this was different.
    "If I was still here, you wouldn't of gotten close," He said, ignoring the fact that things had changed.
    Zyana knew what was going to happen now, and she almost wanted it. It's been awhile since she had a fight, and it seemed like something that would never change that made her like her father. "You wouldn't have done anymore then anyone else who tried to stop it did."
    Seyia clenched his fists; whatever things where like now, she was pissing him off. "How would you know what I could do?"
    "I can see it in you; you wouldn't have made a difference either."
    Zyana knew that was it. She would now have to prove her boast, and he was going to prove his point as well.
    Seyia reached into his pocket, "Why don't we find out what kind of difference I would've made."
    Zyana grinned, "Gladly." She wasn't going to back down, regardless of how she was now.
    Seyia took out his transformation broach, "FIGHTER STAR POWER! MAKE UP!"
    "HELL DARK STAR CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE UP!" Zyana began her own transformation.
    In a flash of light, Seyia had changed into the female sailor senshi of the starts, Sailor Star Fighter.
    Flame surrounded and spread around Zyana, changing her into her own uniform, demon wings added to her back as the fire subsided. She was now Demonic Sailor Flarestar. Her dark cutlass appeared in her hand in a streak of fire that shot from her palm.

    "Do you think you guys will write another song, maybe about each of us?" Minako asked, as she clung to Yaten, making him nervious.
    "You mean you want them to write one about you," Makoto added, making Minako giggle.
    Yaten shook his head, "We won't be able to this time. We have to leave soon."
    They all gasped. "Can't you stay longer?" Ami asked.
    "We have our own obligations to do as well, we just felt like paying you all a quick visit," Taiki threw in. "Don't worry, we'll visit again."
    Mamoru had already gone home, leaving Usagi with the others as she laughed. "It's ok. We haven't taught you how to work the way we do."
    "You mean, slacking off and waiting until the last second?" Makoto replied.
    Usagi laughed more, "I don't ALWAYS wait until the last second…"
    The others laughed as well. Yaten shrugged, "maybe we can stay a little longer. What do you think Taiki?"
    "There's no harm in extending our visit, but we still have to be back sometime soon," was his answer.
    Minako jumped up in excitement, "YAY! Now we can do all sorts of things!"
    "Why do I have the feeling, Minako has preplanned all this?" Rei said, glaring over at Minako.
    Minako returned the glare, "You read me too well…"
    They all laughed again, then Usagi looked around the room. "What about Seyia…where is he at anyway?"
    "He said he had to use the restroom," Yaten answered.
    Taiki added, "But that was nearly ten minutes ago."
    Rei then chimed in, "Where's Zyana?"
    Before anyone could say anything, they heard something outside smash.

    Star Fighter shook her head after slamming through the bench they were sitting at only a few minutes ago. When she opened her eyes, Flarestar's sword was heading for her head.
    The sword clanked off the cement, as Star Fighter rolled over and jumped back to her feet. Flarestar recovered from her strike faster then she thought, and used her wings to launch herself towards Star Fighter.
    Pain lanced through her arm, as Star Fighter tried to avoid the strike, but the sword had slashed a wound across her left arm, just above the elbow. Star Fighter didn't let it slow her down, and sent her right knee slaming into Flarestar's side, sending her sprawling across the ground.
    Flarestar used her momentum to jump back to her feet. She looked down at her self and saw a few parts of her leg were bleeding from being torn on the cement. Parts of her boots and gloves were torn, and she clenched her teeth flaring at Star Fighter.
    They didn't say anything to each other as they started fighting, and it seemed like they weren't say anything. All their words were being said through their attacks to each other. Words didn't seem to express how they felt at this moment.
    Star Fighter ran towards Flarestar as fast as she could, even seeing Flarestar ready herself for an attack. Star Fighter threw her right fist upward, towards Flarestar's solar plexus and was blocked by Flarestar's left hand. Her right hand took her dark cutlass and went to slash at Star Fighter's arm.
    Ducking quickly only to have the cutlass end up nicking the back of her neck, Star Fighter put her hands on the ground quick, and swung her leg, hitting Flarestar on the side of her knees and sending her falling sideways to the ground.
    Flarestar; however, saw this coming and used her wings to keep her from hitting the ground. She then propelled herself into the air, and went behind Star Fighter, and swung her sword down hard.
    Star Fighter spun around, and grabbed Flarestar's arm as she brought it down. She held it there, feeling the pressure of the arm trying to get the sword to connect. It seemed a battle of wills, until Star Fighter twisted the arm and kicked at the wrist hard. Flarestar's sword was sent out of her hand, and skid across the ground.
    The impact sent Flarestar back a bit, as Star Fighter got to her feet. Before she could react, Flarestar flung herself at Star Fighter and grabbed her by the throat, then sent her knee into Star Fighter's gut, taking all the air out of her.
    When Flarestar tried to connect her knee again, Star Fighter stopped it with both her hands, and pushed the knee down, before Flarestar could try again, Star Fighter flug up and headbutted Flarestar on her forehead.
    Flarestar stumbled back, as Star Fighter tried to attack again, but Flarestar recovered quicker then she thought, and next thing Star Fighter knew, Flarestar's fist slammed into the side of her face, and sent her falling to the ground hard.
    The effort of that attack sent Flarestar falling backward, and slamming into the ground herself. Both of them felt blood where they hit each other, as well as where they fell. The pain was starting to take its toll on them both, and they slowly willed themselves to stand.

    That is when the others showed up, all of them with shock and surprise on their faces. None of them could fathom why two of their own friends where now beating the hell out of each other.
    "What's going on?" Taiki asked, staring in shock at the damage both had taken.
    Usagi was shocked most of all, "Why are you two fighting? What's wrong with you two?"
    "Zyana…I thought you were going to stop this," Rei said, fear filling her voice.
    Flarestar and Star Fighter ignored them, and jumped back, still facing each other. It then became obvious what was going on, they were going to hit each other as hard as possible.
    Usagi screamed out at both of them, "STOP! STOP THIS! DON'T DO THIS PLEASE!"
    Star Fighter raiser her finger into the air, gathering energy into the point of it, "STAR…SERIOUS…LASER!"
    Flames wrapped around Flarestar, and pointed at Star Fighter, "INFERNO FLARE!"
    The others couldn't believe what they were seeing. Star Fighter's laser was hurtling towards Flarestar, as Flarestar's hellfire was flying towards Star Fighter. There was nothing they could do, but watch as both attacks hit their targets hard. Flarestar was sent flying backwards by the laser and slammed into a tree, falling to the ground landing on her front. Fire burned Star Fighter as it surrounded her, making her fall to her knees, and then to the ground before subsiding. She was burned all over, and Flarestar was bruised and battered.
    There was a long pause, as the others looked at both injured combatants. They didn't know what to think or what was happening. Neither of them wanted this to happen, and all of them wanted to run over and help.
    Usagi was crying, "Why…why did you two do this?"
    Before anyone else said anything, there was a quiet laughter. It seemed distant at first then got louder. They were all confused, until they saw it was coming from the two in front of them.
    Star Fighter and Flarestar both slowly sat up, laughing. It was like what just happened was some kind of joke, with a punch line that was beyond understanding. Everyone was confused as to why they were laughing now, but the feeling of danger wasn't there anymore. Star Fighter and Flarestar both looked at each other, still laughing and smiling.

    "Are you two stupid?" Rei yelled, as she helped bandage up Zyana after they got them inside. "What the hell was going on?"
    Seyia shook his head, and then regretted it, he was hurting all over. "I don't think we even remember why."
    "I sure as hell don't," Zyana replied, and laughed, then stopped when she felt pain sting through her chest.
    There was a sigh, it was Yaten. "So you two beat yourselves to hell, and don't remember why?"
    "Sounds like something Seyia would do," Taiki replied, with a grin.
    Ami stood up after finishing bandaging Zyana's legs. "It doesn't matter what happened, all that matters is they're both ok and it won't happen again."
    Usagi was glaring at both of them, "It won't…WILL IT!" there was a demand in her voice.
    Zyana and Seyia both looked at each other then laughed, "It won't." they said in unison.
    Usagi blinked, utterly confused. "Well…ok but…why did you guys laugh?"
    Everyone looked at both of them, and they shrugged. "We're not sure ourselves really," Seyia replied.
    "Either way, I don't think anyone would understand," Zyana added. For the first time in her life, she felt at ease and happy. Not because of what happened between her and Seyia, but that someone understands how she is. The thought that was there before was gone, and now she considered Seyia a close friend.

    End.