Amazonia prowled about her chamber, her lovely face contorted with frustration and rage. Her body tensed with action, she whirled madly when a masculine voice spoke from the doorway. "My lady, what troubles you?" The man leaned against the wall suavely and watched the middle princess with cool hazel eyes. He was tall and muscular, dressed like a prince in blacks and greys. Hair the color of forest moss framed his lean, handsome face and had been pulled into a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was Lord Mathus, servant to the Gorgons and high-ranking warrior general to their troops. As soon as Amazonia caught sight of him she lunged into battle. "Lord Mathus! Defend yourself." The man quickly blocked her attack and countered it with one of his own, pushing himself from the wall and spinning away from Amazonia's next attack. The two raged through the chamber with a series of punches and kicks until they both panted and their clothing clung to them with sweat. Amazonia rushed at Mathus once more but he caught her punch in his hand and twisted her arm behind her, bringing her into a lock against his chest. They both stood silently for a moment, their breath heavy. Mathus leaned his chin on the princess's head and murmured sweetly into her tangled blonde hair. "My princess, what troubles you?" Amazonia didn't respond, but instead twisted free of his grasp and grabbed his head with her hands. She spun to face him and brought his lips to meet hers in a fierce kiss. Still clutching his head, she bore her eyes into his. "Regina is too cautious." She snarled, dark eyes flashing. "I want to destroy. Find me something to destroy, Mathus." She demanded, grabbing his tunic and crushing him to her once more. "Find me a planet to destroy, else I shall destroy you..." Mathus smirked at her hollow threat and ran his fingers through her sweaty blonde hair. "My princess, I believe I have just the answer." Amazonia looked up at him greedily, bloodlust shining in her emerald eyes. "You are aware of that fact that Regina wishes to conquer the Upsilon Andromedae system. You should also know that the system is a central government, extending its powers to many minor planets across the sector. On the outskirts of the sector is a small, nearly deserted planet. Destroy this planet, my lady, and give Andromedae something to worry about." Amazonia licked her lips devilishly and chuckled. "I *like* it. What is this planet? I wish to leave at this moment." "Earth 314, located in the constellation Vela." Mathus frowned. "It is a long distance. I should accompany you--" Amazonia silenced him with a deadly glare. "You will stay out of my affairs unless I ask you to become involved." She hissed. "I shall return this evening, once this planet has fallen to my frustrations. I expect to see you in my bedchambers when I return." "Of course, my princess." Mathus replied solemnly, keeping the glimmer of satisfaction from his smile. Amazonia gave a nod of satisfaction before gathering her energy and transporting herself to Earth 314. Lord Mathus watched her body fade away into the air before turning on his heels and exiting the chamber. "The air whispers of foul play from lords and ladies..." a soft voice giggled from the floor. Mathus cast his gaze down and saw the youngest of the trio curled at the doorway of her sister's room. "Princess Iaia." Mathus bowed respectfully to the young woman, though there was obviously no respect in the motion. Her eyes widened and she giggled, twirling her hands around each other as her fingers intertwined as though with a life of their own. "Foul, foul, foul...it doesn't like being cornered, oh no, does it?" she set her eyes steadily on Mathus, who quickly looked elsewhere to keep from meeting that wild gaze. Her fingers continued to wrap around each other and through her matted hair. "The youngest knows, not yet the eldest, but if it were to be how would it deal? If the ladies were to know the truth of the lords, how would it deal, how would it deal..." "My lady, perhaps you should return to your quarters." Lord Mathus extended a hand to the woman, but she clawed at him until he withdrew his hand. Tiny streaks of red appeared where her nails had raked him. Iaia narrowed her eyes. Their emerald depths blazed with a serene clarity that was frightening to behold. "False affection is blood, sweet, but it dries and crusts like stale apple pie. Do you like apple pie? Amazonia will learn the truth about her lord, oh yes, oh yes. I can see the blood." Angrily, Mathus raised his hand to strike the young princess of Titan. Iaia giggled and shied away, her eyes once more wild. Mathus lowered his hand slowly. "Not from you, my young princess. She won't learn it from you." Furiously, he turned and returned to his own chambers, leaving the woman rocking in the hall and giggling. *** Dean leaned toward the girl sitting next to him and smiled charmingly. It was natural for him to be in the spotlight, being a star suited him. In his white button up shirt and green slacks, his lean frame lounging casually in his chair and his deep green jacket hung on the back of his chair, passing girls commented on how he was the image of "cool". His blonde hair hung perfectly around his ears and eyes, bringing accent to his crystal blue eyes and white teeth. "Castor, I'm having a party tonight on the beach. Why don't you come?" She breathed, her excitement evident in her dancing eyes. Castor smiled. He knew what kind of party she meant...lots of girls, trying to impress him. He shrugged casually and flashed a smile, causing her to blush and giggle. "I'll see if I can make it." The girl blushed even more and Dean looked around the lunchroom. He soon caught sight of Erica, surrounded by her typical group of admiring males. She smiled at him and waved, and Dean noticed a few crestfallen faces in her crowd. He sighed. No one seemed to understand that he and Erica were just good friends, not a couple. It made friendly flirting a lot more difficult. "Is this seat taken?" Erica questioned, gazing down at Dean. With a coy smile, he motioned for her to sit beside him. A dozen pairs of hands reached out to pull a chair over for Erica. She smiled cutely at her followers before daintily sitting herself beside Dean. She put her tray on the table beside Dean's, as cast him a look of distaste. His lunch consisted of fries, soda, cookies and a bag of chips. "I'm ashamed of you, Castor. So completely unhealthy!" Erica cried in distress, taking a bite of her apple. Her tray sported water, milk, salad and a dinner roll. "I don't see what's wrong with it." Dean replied with a charming smile and a shrug. Erica cast him a sly look before gazing about her with wide eyes, innocently taking in the crowd of admirers that stood around herself and Dean. "My, it certainly has gotten crowded around here, hasn't it?" she twittered, smiling blandly at the sea of faces. "It is the price we pay." Dean joked, putting his arm around her shoulders. She laughed. "I'm disheartened that you find our plight so amusing. I makes spending time with my dearest so difficult." He teased. "Does it? Well, I'm no easy catch, you know." Erica teased back lightly, taking another delicate bite of her apple before rising. "Perhaps I will let you ponder our difficulties by yourself." She rose to move to another table. Dean let out a hearty laugh as she left, noting the angry glances some of his female admirers were giving Erica. "She's such a nasty little tease." The girl across the table pouted, jealousy tainting her voice. "And you wouldn't say the same about yourself or Dean?" A new voice questioned. The girl looked up at Cecelia and blushed in embarrassment. "Cece! Castor is not a tease, he's a gentleman..." she argued, stumbling over her words slightly as Cecelia rolled her eyes and sat down beside Dean. Standing behind her and trying to look small was a new girl, wearing the slightly different attire of a first year student. "A gentleman? I've never heard him called that before." Cece teased, taking a fry from Dean's tray. "Ouch, Cece. You're harsh." Castor placed his hand over his heart in mock pain. The girl standing behind Cecelia smiled in amusement. Dean caught sight of her. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Cecelia swallowed her fry and waved Tien around to stand beside her. "This is Tien Sao, a transfer student that just arrived today. I'm showing her around. Tien, meet Dean Castor. Careful, he's vicious." Dean looked at the girl and smiled his most charming smile and took her small tan hand in his own. With her dark, silky hair, obsidian eyes and deep brown skin, she was obviously different than any of the girls in the school. Short and full figured, Dean found himself unexplainably attracted to this silent beauty. "Charmed, I'm sure." He gave her a winning smile. "And disregard anything Cece might say. I'm just normal guy, I don't bite unless on request." Tien pulled her hand from his grasp and looked at the floor. "I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Castor." Tien replied quietly, her voice as always polite. "May I have more fries?" Cecelia asked, reaching for the food. Dean waved her hand towards it in a gesture of compliance. "Tien? Want some fries?" The girl contemplated the offer a moment, eyeing the fries hungrily. She wrapped her arms around her waist. "Perhaps not." Dean remarked, noting her actions. "You'll want to watch that soft figure of yours, Tien. With a little effort, you could look like a goddess." Cecelia stopped eating long enough to look at him in shock. Tien bit her lip and hugged herself tighter, staring intently at the ground. "I can't believe you just said that, Castor!" Cecelia burst out, throwing her fry at him. "That's so cruel." Tien might have been strange and discomforting to be around, Cecelia conceded, but she would not tolerate Dean making such remarks. "I only meant..." he began to protest, as though just realizing what he had implied. "No, it's quite understandable, Mr. Castor." Tien interrupted softly, a hint of reproach in her gentle voice. "Miss Cecelia, I'm sorry to intrude, but would it be all right if we continued our tour now? I can go without lunch today." Cecelia nodded and rose, casting a look of 'see what you've done now?' at Castor before leading Tien out o the cafeteria. Dean watched them go, absently picking as his fries, his thoughts still focused on the new girl. He hadn't meant to offend, he was just teasing. He sighed. Some people couldn't take a joke. Still, there was something about the way Tien had looked at him that made him feel... "Castor, what's wrong? Don't be mad at Cece, she just doesn't understand." A girl beside him pleaded, placing her hand on his knee. Dean looked at the girl's pretty green eyes and trim body and smiled again. Taking her hand in his own, he placed it on his chest in an over-dramatic fashion. "Nothing's wrong. I was just so stricken by your beauty that I was rendered speechless for a moment." She giggled at his cliqued flirting and they went back to enjoying their lunch. *** Queen Regina sat upon her cold seat of stone and oversaw the throne room with a haughty expression. The decision to overthrow the Upsilon Andromedae system and all of its sub-components had been decreed only a few days prior, and already she was busy conjuring up Shadows to serve their purpose. Her minions were loyal and powerful, but dull and without personality. They needed bodies to inhabit before they became anything more than mindless droids. Regina prided herself on her artistic tastes, and personalities were as artistic as she could get. She would be happiest when she and her sisters had conquered their first few planets and had more of a kingdom to rule. It had been a rare pleasure when the sisters discovered Lord Mathus nearly frozen on the surface of Titan. No one questioned where he had arrived from or why he was on their moon. With her dark magic she managed to keep him alive and taint his mind to serve the three. He became the first addition to the Gorgon's kingdom, and Regina fawned on him like a personal pet, as an inventor might fawn upon their greatest creation. Regina's thoughts dwelt on the handsome man often. She felt his presence beside her throne and turned. "Lord Mathus, what brings you here?" she demanded, though by far she didn't mind him joining her side. "My Queen, I'm afraid to report that Princess Amazonia has run off." Mathus said gravely, locking his intense hazel eyes on the queen's. He noted with satisfaction the flash of anger in the queen's eyes. "I tried to stop her, but she said she could not wait to taste the battle, and went to conquer a planet in the system." Regina's eyes flashed with anger and her fists clenched hard enough that her nails began to draw blood. The commanding posture of a queen quickly turned rigid and Regina spoke through clenched teeth. "Thank you, Mathus, for reporting. I will handle the situation from here." Lord Mathus knelt before his queen and took her delicate hand in his own. With seductive grace, he kissed its palm. "Of course, my lady. Anything to please you." *** Cecelia sighed as she led Tien across the campus towards the dorm rooms. The girl had wished to see her new home and Cecelia wasn't in the mood to deny her. After their incident with Castor, Cecelia found herself ashamed to have let this strange young woman be exposed to the not-so-elite part of TQ. Tien had remained silent the entire time after leaving the cafeteria, and stared demurely at the ground as Cecelia walked before her. "Look, I'm really sorry about Castor. He's just a hot-headed prick, when you get right down to it." Cece apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time. Tien remained silent, but from a sideways glance back at the girl Cecelia could see a partial smile. They walked along the beachside of the campus towards the back doors of the girl's dormitory. As they approached the doors, Cecelia took out a small plastic card key similar to those used in hotel rooms. She handed it to Tien and pulled out an identical one of her own to demonstrate with. "After 10 p.m., the doors are locked so you'll need your key. Don't lose that, put it in your wallet or someplace safe. The system works just like it would at a hotel, run the card through the identification machine and the doors will open." Tien nodded and took the key from Cecelia, tucking it away in her uniform. Cecelia pulled open the doors and led the girl silently up the stairs to her room, occasionally checking against Tien's information sheet to make sure she had the address correct. "Here's your dorm. I'm not sure who your roomie is, but it says you're sharing with...well, it doesn't say, actually. Huh. It should." Cecelia frowned, glancing again at the sheet of paper in her hand. With a shrug, she stood back to give Tien the honors of opening her new home. Tien ran the key through the lock and the door swung open. To the girls' surprise, a figure sat demurely on the bed reading a magazine. Tien's black eyes widened in shock. "Hello Tien. I told you I'd be keeping in touch." "Miss Astraea!" Tien exclaimed, both embarrassed and glad to see the woman. "What are you doing here?" Astraea grinned and swung her legs off the bed, setting the magazine beside her. "I'm your new roomie...kinda. I wanted you out of any possible danger, so I signed up as your roomie so that no negative energies would be exposed in here." She looked over Cecelia critically, and the third-year shrunk away from that unnerving stare that Tien had mastered only earlier that day. "Well, come in you two, shut the door. I see you brought Sailor Scorpius with you." "Her name is Miss Cecelia LeGruin, Miss Astraea." Tien offered helpfully. "Oh no, you're that one Tien was telling me about with all that weird sailor senshi stuff." Cecelia groaned, rolling her eyes in disgust. "Sailor Senshi and Shittenou? That's just freaky." Astraea raised her eyebrows haughtily at the newly dubbed Scorpius. "Is it truly so hard to comprehend and believe? Never mind that. You *must* accept, if not believe. Let me demonstrate." From her pocket, Astraea produced a decorative lighter and grabbed a fistful of Tien's luxurious silky black hair. The girl backed away hastily, but Astraea held her grip firm and tried to light the lighter. "Miss Astraea! What are you doing?" Tien pleaded, her eyes round with anticipation. "That's dangerous! You'll hurt her, put that out." Cecelia demanded. She watched in horror as Astraea brushed past her words and held the flame under the chunk of hair. It quickly lit and Tien watched it burn in terror. Astraea frowned for a moment, as though waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, Tien's eyes grew wide and a spark of blue wrapped around her hair, extinguishing the flame and wrapping her hair in an icy frost where the fire had been moments ago. In the heat of the room, the ice melted quickly, showing the hair to be damp but unsinged. "You see?" Astraea said smugly. Tien shook, and slowly sank down on to the lower bunk. Cecelia blinked owlishly and leaned against the doorframe. "What was that?" "The power of Centaurus. Tien's ability to call upon the power of ice to help her." Astraea replied, sitting beside Tien and grinning foolishly. "Sorry about that kiddo, but I wanted to make a point. No harm done." Tien shook her head hesitantly, still tasting the aftershock of her power and the fire. "There was no better way to convince both of you the absolute realness of the situation. At least for the moment." She looked up at Cecelia, her dark eyes boring in to the student and forcing her to take a seat as well. Only when Cecelia had sat down and Astraea was convinced of her attention did she continue. "I've already gone over the basics of the situation, which Tien will explain to you later. She will also teach you how to see the others like yourself, as it is imperative that we assemble the entire group before the first battle." "Miss Astraea, I've found two others..." Tien said, turning to the woman. "I'm unsure as to how to convince them..." Cecelia pulled out a cigarette and went to the window. She lit it and took a long drag as her mind slowly processed this information. "Who are they?" Astraea demanded. "They go here?" "Yes," Tien nodded. "One is a new student, Xi Lan. The other is a young man named Dean Castor." As Cecelia heard this, her eyes grew wide and the cigarette nearly fell from its perch between her lips. This was unbelievable...and yet, something deep within her said it all made perfect sense. Astraea simply shook her head. "Names mean nothing to me, chica. Tell me what colors they glowed. " Tien squinted her eyes, causing her glasses to slide slightly down her nose. She pushed them back up. "Xi was a dark purple, and Dean was a greyish color." She responded. Astraea nodded. "Vela and Draco. Good. Don't worry about gathering them, I'll take care of that. Just keep me informed." "That's crazy." Cecelia interjected. "The Sailor Senshi were supposed to be protectors of the galaxy. And they were women. Dean couldn't possibly be one! For one, he likes girls too much to secretly be one himself, and for another the only thing he's been known to protect is his reputation." She smoked her cigarette again and shook her head firmly. Calmly, Astraea stood and approached her. "One, he is one of the Shittenou, not directly a senshi." She countered. "Two, e will learn to protect what he loves and believes in, as shall you and the rest of the section. Three," she said, taking the cigarette and crushing it between her fingers. "Smoking is a bad habit and should not be condoned." She smiled pleasantly at Cecelia, who narrowed her eyes and pulled a pack from Astraea's back pocket. She held them up accusingly, her eyebrow raised. Astraea took the pack. "Those are for appearances only." "Of course." ~Oh dear, this certainly is off to a bad start...~ Tien thought miserably. She stood to shut the dorm door, which she realized had been foolishly left open throughout the entire conversation. She supposed it wasn't such an awful thing, since most people were out and about the campus, but as a team the group would have to be far much careful with where and how conversations were held. As she shut the door, a familiar figure walked down the hall, a trail of purple aura in her wake. Cecelia and Astraea were still having their "glare-off" so Tien slipped from the room unnoticed. *** Xi entered her dorm room silently and shut the door, finding a seat upon the firm bed. She stared blankly at the wall for lack of anything better to do. She had been placed in a single upon request, and she still hadn't gotten around to unpacking her large trunk that sat at the end of the bed. Most other students had gathered in the cafeteria for lunch, but Xi had decided at once that she wasn't hungry if it meant being around such a loud and large group of people. Morgan had returned home for a lunch with her father, and wouldn't be returning to school until the next day as she had managed to take an independent course study outside of TQ. The bed she sat on was void of everything save the cover sheet. The walls lacked the usual decorations of most other dorm rooms and remained a staring white. The desk was clean and unused; the entire room was fresh and clean and completely empty. The close walls echoed the slightest sound forever, as there was nothing to absorb the sound waves. Xi couldn't decide if she would leave it in this depressing state or if she would fill it with all the sad memories of her past. It was a subject still under much debate in her mind. She rolled back on her bed and used her unpacked bag from her flight to pillow her head. She felt a small lump pressing against the fabric of the bag. Curious, she reached in and pulled out a small bundle. It was the present from Tira. She had forgotten to open it on the shuttle. Gingerly she pulled away at the paper to reveal a small hand-sewn doll that looked very similar to Tira. The small cloth girl was dressed as a gypsy with colorful silk scarves wrapping around the plush body. The most beautiful thing about this present, however, was the small girl's eyes. They were small green stones that had been polished and painted so that they shone with a lifelike beauty. While the rest of the doll was most certainly a doll, the eyes remained human. Xi found it haunting and beautiful, and exactly like something Tira would enjoy making. There was a large pin attached to the doll's back, and Xi immediately took out her bookbag and attached the small treasure to it. With a rare smile on her lips, the teen gazed down at the small present. It made her feel less isolated something only Tira, and lately Morgan, could inspire within the cold girl's heart. There was a knock on the door. No one should have been calling on her. Confused, she went to the door and unlocked it. Upon opening it, she saw the girl that had been with her in the administrations office earlier that morning. Tien smiled hesitantly as the two looked at each other. "Well? What do you want?" Xi demanded. Tien immediately set her gaze to the floor. "Hello Miss Xi." She mumbled, unsure of what to say. When she had followed Xi down the hall to her dorm it had seemed like a good idea, but now she had no clue what she was doing. "If you don't have anything to say, leave me alone." Xi began to shut the door. In a startling moment of aggression, Tien blocked it's closing with her arm. Xi gazed at her coldly with her grey eyes and Tien felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I'm sorry..." she murmured, opening the door again. "But I needed to talk to you. You see, you glow purple...oh dear. This will be trouble to explain...um..." Tien fumbled with her words, not sure of what to say. Already she knew enough about Xi just by watching her that if she didn't say something meaningful soon, Xi was likely to produce a gun and shoot her. Just at that moment, Astraea poked her head out the door. "Tien, where did you...oh, I see." Astraea gazed down the hall over her yellow glasses. In a moment, she stood beside Tien and stepped into Xi's small room. "Hey, get your ass out of here." Xi ordered harshly. Astraea grinned mockingly down at her. "You seem to have a bit of an attitude. I've already dealt with one today, I can deal with another. Don't pick a fight here, Vela. I've got age and size on you in abundance." Xi looked at the woman uncertainly, her anger momentarily displaced by confusion. She didn't doubt the woman's words, for Astraea far surpassed her in bulk and was at least in her early twenties compared to Xi's fresh 18. Not to mention the way she dressed, with her piercings and jewelry and non-conservative, anti-dress code style, made Xi feel almost like kindred, in the way of cliques at least. To her own surprise, she stood down. "Glad to cooperate! My name's Astraea, come down and join us in the other room. There are important matters I need to discuss with the three of you..." Without a word, Xi swept past her into the hall. She didn't know why she went, or what thoughts were going through her mind at the moment. Still, she went. Astraea turned and Tien followed her back into the room, where Cecelia awaited them all for a discussion on the fate of the galaxy. Quite a heavy matter to digest over lunch. "It is easiest to start at the beginning. You are all familiar with the legend of the Sailor Senshi..." Astraea began as the three students took their seats. Astraea put her hand on the door and slowly closed it as she continued, cutting off the rest of the conversation from any prying ears.