Crystal Flaws � Part 01 Crystal Tears

There was now a time of peace and rebuilding. Mamoru and Usagi once again sat as King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Princess Small Lady Serenity had returned to Crystal Tokyo from the past bringing the Imperial Silver Crystal back with her. Her recent adventure seemed to have matured her greatly, and she was now eager to learn all she could from the Senshi and her parents.

Before the Dark Moon had attacked, Neo-Queen Serenity had charged the Outer Senshi, with the exception of Sailor Pluto who was at the timegate, with the monumental task of evaluating and readying other planets and moons in the Solar System for settlement. The Queen had realized that the only way humanity would grow peaceably would be if there were new frontiers for people to test and challenge themselves on. Many of the other planets and moons also had valuable and unique resources that would make settlement profitable to all involved.

When the Dark Moon Family had attacked the Earth they had also taken control of all space travel. This had effectively stranded each of the outer Senshi at the primitive outposts they were working on. They did remember that the Dark Moon Family was eventually defeated but it aggravated them to no end that they couldn’t do anything to help.

One of the first things the King did when he got back was search for and reestablish contact with the outer Senshi. He found Uranus on one of Jupiter’s moons, Neptune had been on the planet Venus and Saturn had been stranded on the planet Mars. All three were very happy interplanetary communication was working again and that transport would be available within the week.

The King, Queen and the inner Senshi were very busy with repairing the damage to the Earth and Crystal Tokyo’s reconstruction. They had also decided to excavate and rebuild the Moon’s palace. Their hope was that they’d find some useful remnants of information regarding the advanced technology and magic that was in use during the Silver Millennium.

Two months after their return, King Endymion was sitting at his desk looking over a project proposal the outer Senshi had sent to him. The project’s main goal was to protect the Royal Family and the Crystal Palace from ambush situations similar to the Dark Moon’s invasion.

The King agreed their proposal had merit. He now realized they had depended too much on the Silver Crystal for protection. He knew Sailor Mercury was almost done with her dimensional filter and that plus this project would make the Earth almost attack proof. Definitely liking the sound of that, King Endymion proceeded to send a secure interplanetary email to the outer Senshi. He approved their proposal and said that as soon as their planetary exploration projects were stable they could return to the Earth to start the project code named, “CTEM”.

King Endymion had just finished sending his letter when someone knocked on his office door. He answered, “Enter,” and his wife and daughter opened the door.

“Mamo-chan, are you done? It’s lunch time.” Usagi informed him.

Mamoru chuckled to himself, [No chance I’d miss a meal with my two girls around.] “I just have to log off…” he answered but was interrupted by the plaintive ringing of his phone.

Smiling apologetically to his family, the King lifted the receiver. His suddenly concerned expression as he listened prompted his wife and daughter to fully enter the room and stand by his desk.

“We’ll be there right away,” King Endymion agreed as he hung up. Looking up he answered his family’s questioning gazes, “A worker who was hand excavating a room in the Moon Palace found a hidden, deteriorated stairwell the hard way.”

The Queen gasped, “Is he…”

Endymion shook his head as he explained, “Someone heard him yell just as he was falling. That person’s quick action to activate and drop a portable biosphere backpack down the hole saved the man’s life. He’s conscious but badly injured. Any attempt to lower a rescuer to him has just knock debris on top of him. They’ve run out of ideas and asked for our help.”

Pulling out her communicator, Usagi immediately summoned her Senshi to the King’s office. In moments they were all assembled in a circle and began a Sailor Teleport.

King Endymion was startled to see Small Lady had also taken a place in the circle as Chibi Moon. He started to protest but his wife silenced him by squeezing his hand. She whispered, “Remember, she’s a Senshi now too.” Reluctantly he acquiesced.

The group arrived on the moon and was quickly ushered to the accident site. Bright lights were set up to illuminate the hole in the floor. The worker could be seen lying among the crumbled remains of the stairs on the floor below. The passage way was a vertical drop with only narrow clearance between the jagged pieces of stairs that were still tenuously attached.

King Endymion quickly evaluated the situation and knew that none of the Senshi or himself would be able to fit down the hole without causing the rest of the stairs to collapse.

The foreman hesitated to approach the King when he saw that the Senshi were looking him over with suspicion. King Endymion knew they didn’t have time for these formalities. With a glace of reproach at the well meaning but over zealous guardians, the King commanded, “Approach and report on the situation.”

Nervously, the foreman stepped forward and stated, “Your Majesty, the biosphere battery pack will be depleted within the next ten minutes.”

“Do we have a charged battery pack available?” the King asked.

Nodding, the foreman added, “The battery needs to be installed and he’s too badly injured to do it.”

“Damn!” the King muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair. He realized time was about to run out for this man and he couldn’t see a way to help.

The Senshi and the Queen had turned away from the hole to listen to the conversation and Chibi Moon took the opportunity to look down to the floor below. She listened to enough of the conversation to know that the man was going to die if they didn’t do something right away.

With a determined look in her eyes Chibi Moon walked up to her father and firmly stated, “I can fit down there. Let me go.”

Her father’s horrified look was mirrored on her mother’s face, as they simultaneously blurted out, “No way!” The King added, “It’s *much* too dangerous!”

Chibi Moon scowled at her father’s answer. With a stubborn set to her chin that looked very similar to the angle of her father’s chin, Chibi Moon pointed out, “I’m the only one here who can fit and he’ll die if I don’t go. You *can’t* let him die without even trying!”

To Chibi Moon’s surprise, Sailor Mars stepped forward to support her. “Your Majesties,” Mars formally addressed them, “Chibi Moon is the only one here that can help and I don’t think her being here was by accident. She is a Senshi too. Believe in her and trust her abilities.”

After a moment of unspoken eye communication between the King and Queen, they both reluctantly agreed.

With a harness securely tied to her, Chibi Moon, holding the battery pack and a first aid kit, was slowly lowered into the hole. Her knees got scraped when she bumped into a rough projection but she stoically bore it. She refused to give her father a reason to pull her back up before the job was done.

The first thing Chibi Moon did when she touched the floor was to connect the new battery to the biosphere backpack. Now she knew she had some time. First she checked the worker for any major bleeding and only found many scrapes and small cuts. Next she removed the space blanket from the first aid kit and covered the man securely. She was pretty sure he had at least a broken leg. The only other thing she could do for the guy was to offer him a drink from the water bottle which he gratefully drank then closed his eyes.”

Chibi Moon stood and called out to her father and the others what she had done. Her father responded that she had done well and for her to be ready to be pulled back up. “Poppa!’ Chibi Moon exclaimed, “I can’t leave him alone down here like this! I want to stay until he’s rescued.”

Mamoru really didn’t like the idea of his daughter’s life depending on a portable biosphere. The reliability of the portable model under long term and multiple occupancy was less than what he was comfortable with. He was about to point this fact out to his daughter when he remembered that the workers around him depended on portable biospheres daily. If he made it known that he didn’t have enough confidence in the equipment to allow his daughter to use it, what would that say about the value of the people who worked for him there?

The King decided to take a different approach. He called down, “Chibi Moon, can you see any place there might be another stairwell or someplace we could break through?”

Arcing her flashlight’s beam out past the biosphere’s limit, Chibi Moon was surprised to see a massive room with row upon row of tall shelving and cabinets. She searched for some kind of opening similar to the one above her. Her light wasn’t powerful enough to show the limits of the room, but it did show another crumbling stairwell farther down to the left of her.

“Daddy, I see a stairwell. It’s pretty far down on my left when I face this way,” Chibi Moon informed.

Her father asked, “Can you estimate the distance?”

Chibi Moon responded, “It’s hard to tell in the dark. My flashlight beam just barely reaches it.”

Her answer did help the King. He grabbed two portable biospheres and headed toward the door. As he passed by, he gestured for Sailor Jupiter to follow him.

Neo-Queen Serenity called to her daughter, “Your father went to find the stairwell.”

Chibi Moon once again turned to inspect the intriguing room she was in. It looked like it could be a library but her small light revealed boxes and other things that she didn’t recognize on the shelves instead of books.

Small Lady had always been curious about the Silver Millennium, her grandmother Queen Serenity, and the Golden Kingdom of the Earth. Up until now, there hadn’t been much information available and she had often wished she could know more about the people from that time. The thought that about fifty steps away was a wealth of things from that time gave the Princess a very strong desire to investigate. The only thing that kept her from running over there was the slightly less than transparent shimmer that showed the outer limit of the atmosphere the portable biosphere provided. She reminded herself that giving in to that impulse would definitely kill her and that she wouldn’t be able to learn anything if she was dead.

Suddenly, Chibi Moon was shaken from her thoughts when she felt more than heard a strong impact. She quickly turned her flashlight back to the distant stairwell and saw Sailor Jupiter and the Earth’s King drop down through a sizable hole Jupiter had blasted.

Sailor Jupiter hurried past Chibi Moon and knelt to inspect the injured man. King Endymion quickly moved toward his daughter.

“Follow the hall about 500 feet and get a stretcher down here immediately,” the King ordered through the hole in the ceiling above him. Grabbing his daughter’s arm, Mamoru quickly pulled her close against his side. He then turned and practically dragged Chibi Moon with him to the larger opening.

Chibi Moon waved her flashlight in the direction of the shelving as she went past it. To her dismay she wasn’t able to identify anything there before her father had rushed her away.

King Endymion, holding Chibi Moon close, easily leapt to the upper floor and back into the stationary biosphere’s range. He turned off the portable biosphere with a relieved sigh then looked down with the intent of praising his daughter. The words died on his lips when he saw her furious expression. “What?” he exclaimed defensively.

Chibi Moon angrily answered, “I wanted to see what was down there, Daddy!”

Confused, her father asked, “What was where?”

“You didn’t even look!” his daughter accused him. “There was *stuff* on shelves down there, *lots* of stuff! I wanted to look at it but you dragged me away before I could!”

Chibi Moon turned to pick up the portable biosphere her father had put down and he knew she intended to go back down there. “Chibi Moon, you will not go back. It’s dangerous!” he firmly stated.

One look into her father’s eyes let Chibi Moon know he meant it. Her face crumpled with tears of frustration and disappointment as she turned and ran back to where she hoped her mother was.

The young girl didn’t look very Senshi like as she burst into the room and threw herself into her surprised mother’s arms. Sobs racked the child warrior’s body and the other Senshi all gathered around the Queen and her distraught child.

“Chibi Moon, what’s wrong? What happened?!” Neo-Queen Serenity worriedly exclaimed.

Standing in the doorway, the King answered his wife’s questions. “I wouldn’t let her stay below and explore.”

The Queen looked up at her husband and soberly responded, “Oh.” Crouching down, Neo-Queen Serenity whispered to the distraught young girl for a moment.

Chibi Moon stiffened as if shocked by her mother’s brief words.

The Queen then stood and Chibi Moon raised her gloved hand to scrub away the tears on her cheeks. With a catch in her voice, Chibi Moon looked up at her mother and stated, “You’re right. I’m sorry, Mother. I did forget.” She then turned toward her father and quietly apologized for her behavior.

The King quickly moved to hug his daughter and state, “Apology accepted.” Handing her a rose, he added, “As soon as I’m certain it’s safe I’ll bring you back here to look around.”

Chibi Moon thanked her father then moved to take her place in the small troop of Senshi.

After they had returned to the Crystal Palace, Mamoru privately asked his wife, “What did you say to Small Lady that made her shape up so quickly?”

Usagi responded, “I asked her to please remember the uniform she wore.”

Mamoru nodded at his wife’s wise words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mamoru did keep his word to his daughter. Two days later the stationary biosphere had been expanded to include the new lower level. The area had also been scanned for any possibly hostile elements.

The King, Artemis and the Princess joined the first exploration expedition. Artemis lashed his tail with visible excitement as he surveyed the tall shelves in the main room.

“This is the archive! I guess it wasn’t destroyed because of the door wards. They must have continued to work until Queen Serenity had sent everyone and the Silver Crystal away.”

King Endymion, who in the past hadn’t known the archive existed, asked, “What kind of information was stored here?”

Artemis answered, “This main room housed the technical and scientific archives. There were also separate rooms back there,” he pointed to the far wall, “that housed historical, political and social information.”

Small Lady, who had been listening to the conversation, asked, “Does that mean it’s information about the people of the Silver Millennium?”

Nodding in response to the Princess’ question, Artemis was impressed she had followed what he said.

The Princess turned to her father and with barely restrained excitement exclaimed, “Oh Daddy, can I please be in charge of researching the information in the other rooms? I promise I’ll do a good job!”

Both the King and Artemis smiled at the Princess’ enthusiasm. They were more interested in the technical and scientific information. The other rooms wouldn’t be a priority to them for quite a while.

The King considered his daughter’s words then responded, “As long as you continue to do well with your royal duties and studies, I don’t see why you can’t.” His daughter’s eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together in joy. He added, “Of course, your mother will have to agree too.”

Small Lady nodded happily. She was pretty sure her mother would agree to anything her father had approved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One afternoon about a year after the archives discovery, Usagi and Mamoru were eating lunch together. Once again Small Lady had requested her meal be brought to the archives. Usagi was starting to worry about Small Lady. Her daughter’s obsession with the Moon archives showed no sign of ending anytime soon. Looking up at her husband, Usagi asked, “Mamo-chan, I know things have been busy around here, but have you noticed how Small Lady spends every spare second she has at the Moon archives?”

Mamoru thought a moment then replied, “Yes, I guess she does. I don’t see anything wrong with that though. It’s like a hobby to her. There aren’t many other children for her to play with, so I’m kind of glad she has found something to keep herself occupied.”

Usagi sighed, “I guess you’re right. It’s hard to know what’s best for her. I know that sometime she will go back to the past to meet Hotaru, but how do we know when it’s the right time to send her? Do, or did we just decide to send her, or did something happen to prompt us to send her? She never said anything other than she was to make friends, as far as I can remember.”

Looking up with a mischievous, teasing smile, Mamoru asked, “Why are you wondering this? Are you tired of our daughter and want to send her away again?”

Usagi sputtered indignantly. “Of course it’s not that! I love Small Lady and would never want her to go away!”

Mamoru laughed at her seriousness. “Usako, I’m only teasing you.” He reassured her. “I know you love Small Lady.”

Usagi’s anger melted under his smile. With a sigh she said, “Mamo-chan, you’re impossible!” The couple got up from the table and Mamoru put his arm around Usagi as they walked from the room.

Usagi asked, “Mamo-chan, Don’t you ever worry we might not be making the right decisions and we’ll mess things up for the future?”

As he tightened his arm to hug her, Mamoru answered, “No, the way I figure it is, the decisions we make must be the right ones for the future, because we have proof of the future in our memories from the past.” Thinking about the sentence he had just said, he laughed and asked, “Did that make any sense?”

Usagi answered with a laugh, “No, but it made me feel better anyway.”

“Good,” Mamoru replied, “I’ll remember what I said for future reference.”

Wincing, Usagi shook her head and chided, “Don’t try to make puns Mamo-chan. It isn’t pretty!”

They both laughed, secure in their love, as they walked on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the archives, Small Lady discovered yet another box of papers. This one was filled with what looked like news events. Pulling a lamp closer, she started to read. As she continued, she grew more and more interested. It seemed to be a file of news clippings and pictures about the Prince of Earth. There was also a letter addressed to the Royal family of Mars that stated the information enclosed was the results of an investigation they had requested.

Small Lady recognized her father in the pictures, but not the men with him. The articles identified the men as the Princes of the Earth’s Continents. They seemed very close to her father.

There were also pictures of women with the Princes. Many of the pictures were of a woman with red hair. The articles identified her as Princess Beryl of the Northern Continents.

Small Lady also found a picture of the Royal Family of the Consolidated Earth. Staring at the picture with puzzlement, she thought, [I recognize Poppa in this picture. Is the couple with him his parents? They must be, the paper says they’re a family.] Small Lady exclaimed, “They’re my grandparents!” She held the picture closer to the light as she examined the faces. “Poppa looks like his mother, but he has his father’s eyes,” she noted.

Small Lady started to stand as she excitedly said, “I have to show this to Momma and Poppa!” She hesitated with a sad look on her face then sat back down. [Momma and Poppa have been so busy,] she thought, [All they talk about is the royal schedule and the reconstruction progress. When I talk to them about things from the Archive they try to look interested, but I know they aren’t really. Momma’s eyes start to glaze over and I can tell she’s not really listening. Poppa tries harder, but when I take a breath, he says, ‘That’s nice Small Lady I’m glad you’re having such a good time.’ Momma then takes that as her cue to start talking about their stuff again.] Small Lady pouted with annoyance as she thought, [They are more interested in rebuilding the present kingdom than in the information I have gathered!] Suddenly a new thought brightened her face, [Maybe this is what will catch their attention!]

With new resolve Small Lady stood up, put the file back in the box then asked a member of the staff to help her carry it to the King and Queen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The royal court was in the middle of an update session on the reconstruction progress. Many people were hurrying in and out of the room. Other people were whispering with their business partners as they waited impatiently for their chance to consult with the King and Queen or the royal advisors.

Mostly it looked and sounded like total chaos to Small Lady. She wondered how her parents could stand all the disorder and commotion. [When I’m Queen,] Small Lady thought with stars in her eyes, [I won’t do things this way! People will take turns. They will have appointment times and not be late or early. They definitely will not come running in a panic with every little thing and interrupt other people! I especially won’t allow people to interrupt my family time. When court is done for the day, it will be completely done. I won’t let emergencies take me away from MY family!] Small Lady blushed as she thought to herself, [If I have a family! It’s weird to think about. Who would I even marry?] She blushed even more as she tried to imagine herself as a wife with a husband and children.

With a sigh Small Lady shook herself from her thoughts and went forward to presented herself to her parents. An intermission was called for the court, but the Senshi, now the Royal Court Advisors, were still sitting around the King and Queen. Small Lady was mildly annoyed that they weren’t alone. She shrugged her shoulders as she thought, [When are my parents ever alone? Never!]

King Endymion smiled at his daughter and asked, “What’s up, Small Lady?”

Small Lady took a deep breath then said; “I found a box with something that might interest you.”

“Is it interesting enough to interrupt court?” interjected Rei.

Small Lady made a face at Rei. “I think it is, so just be patient,” she retorted. Rei sat back and sighed. The other Senshi and Small Lady’s parents laughed.

“Rei, take a chill pill,” Makoto said. “Someday the reconstruction will be done and then there’ll be nothing left for us to do!” she joked. Everyone laughed again.

Small Lady cleared her throat. King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity motioned for her to bring the box. “What is the treasure you have for us?” Neo-Queen Serenity asked.

Small Lady showed the picture of her grandparents to her parents. Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Neo-Queen Serenity said with awe in her voice, “Many things have been found about the Moon Kingdom of the past, but this is the first time something has been found about the Earth Kingdom!”

King Endymion stared at the faded clipping. With tears in his eyes he quietly said, “Thank you Small Lady, this is very special!” Her parents hugged her and the Senshi congratulated her on the great find.

“Wow,” Small Lady thought as she gratefully enjoyed her parent’s full attention, “I’m so glad I decided to show them what I found. They really like it!”

Later, if Small Lady had been asked to, she wouldn’t have been able to explain what had happened next.

One of the Senshi had reached into the box and asked what other interesting things Small Lady had. With an eerie silence, the group passed around the other pictures, articles and the letter.

Small Lady could see that people were upset, but she didn’t know why. Her mother had left the room in tears and Ami had watched her go with shocked and saddened eyes.

Makoto had also watched the Queen leave. Suddenly her face showed fury and a low growl escaped her throat as she closed her eyes and harshly gripped the arm of her chair. The upholstery had quickly succumbed to Mako’s assault and the ripping sound reverberated through the silent group. Opening her eyes, Makoto looked at the shredded foam and material in her hand then threw it on the floor in disgust. Makoto stood up and pointedly avoided looking at the King as she silently strode past him and left the room.

Rei had watched the other Senshi’s reactions then turned a baleful eye to Mamoru.

Watching Rei silently glare, Small lady wondered why the Senshi of Mars looked like she wanted to either throttle the life out of her father or else fry him to a blackened crisp.

Her father was visibly shaken and Small Lady was confused and a little frightened by everyone’s reactions. With wide eyes and a worried voice she asked her father, “What’s wrong, Poppa?”

King Endymion took a deep breath then said, “Small Lady, we need to keep this stuff. It’s very personal.”

Small Lady looked even more confused as she asked, “Why? What’s so important?” Quickly thinking about what she had seen and read in the box, she said, “The file is about people you were friends with in the past, Poppa. What’s so upsetting about that?”

Mamoru raked his fingers through his hair as he sighed. He looked pained and at a loss for words.

Minako could feel all the sadness and heartache radiating from her friends and it rubbed her heart raw. Quickly wiping at her eyes, she tried to pull herself together before things got any worse than they already were. Minako stood and walked up to Small Lady. She asked, “Are there other boxes like this or is this the only one?”

“I didn’t notice more, but I hadn’t looked either,” Small Lady answered truthfully.

King Endymion stood and agitatedly ran his fingers through his hair. He stated, “I’m afraid you can’t work in the archive for a while, Small Lady.”

Small Lady gasped with shock. “Why, Poppa? The archive is my project!” she implored.

“I’m sorry but it has to be this way for now,” her father answered lamely.

Small Lady choked on tears of anger and hurt as she yelled, “I wish I hadn’t brought this to you! I hate you!” Pushing Minako out of the way, she ran crying to her room.

I\'d like to thank my terrific beta reader, Sophia Prester, for helping with the revision of this book. Her help was very valuable and is much appreciated. ^_^

Thank you for reading my story. If you liked it, or if you have any (kind and gently worded) suggestions/comments about my story, please let me know. You can email me at ndeblock@att.net .

Bye, Luna Hope

Disclaimer>Sailor Moon and all her friends don\'t belong to me. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi. I just borrowed them for a little bit of fun. ^_^