Chapter 1 "Excuse me," A woman walked up to the palace guard's booth, "I know they must still be very busy getting things back together, after the fights and all, but I need to have an audience with the King and Queen as soon as possible," she said as rain fell loudly on her umbrella. The guard studied her. From what he could tell through the fog, rain and dark of morning, she was tall, with short black hair, and wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a light purple vest over it and a very pale blue, tight, knee length skirt; she was rather attractive. She seemed friendly enough, but security couldn't let just anyone in as they usually did. The palace was at a very vulnerable point right now, and had strengthened security to make sure no one would take advantage of that. Besides, the white mask she wore to cover her eyes was very suspicious. "What do you wish to see them about?" he asked. "I'm a new senshi. I want to join the other guardians," she stated. "Really?" the guard said less than enthusiastically. He was not too thrilled with this answer. Usually senshi stayed transformed all the time; this woman was obviously not in senshi form, and why would she wait until AFTER the war to come? "I'm sorry. I can't let you in. You must understand how we need to be very careful right now, especially on a day like this." "Oh, I was afraid of that," she looked down and reached into her vest pocket, "but I assure you, I am only here to help, she pulled out her transformation pen and showed it to him. He looked at it carefully, "Well, this proves that you ARE a senshi, but we've seen evil senshi before." The woman leaned over on the wooden windowsill, making sure to push her chest out and her shirt down a little. A stray piece of hair fell over her face, and she cut a sly smile; looking the very picture of a Cheshire cat. Hey, she hadn't earned the nickname "Seductress Senshi" for nothing. "Do I look like someone who would lie to you?" she said innocently. The guard's eyes widened, "Uhhh...." Thunder boomed loudly nearby, causing both of them to jump. The stranger regained her composure and giggled. The guard thought about her again; she certainly didn't have an evil air about her. Actually, she was quite nice, but he still had to be careful, especially after that little stunt. "What is your name?" "Danielle," she brightened up, "but my friends call me Danni." "Well, Danielle, I will inform the Queen that she has a visitor, and ask if she wishes to see you. Where can you be reached?" "I, uh, don't exactly have a place yet," she reached a hand behind her head, "I've just returned to town. Why don't I just come back a little later?" The guard nodded, "All right, I'll inform the queen that she has a vistor and ask if she wishes to see you. Check back here around two." "Thanks very much. I'll see you then." <> <> <> <> <> "Wait here Danielle," the guard ordered, "I'll call you in when she's ready." Neo-Queen Serenity was in the conference room speaking with Sailor Mercury. "Your Majesty?" the guard came. "Yes?" The queen smiled sweetly. "Danielle is here to see you. The one who claims she is a new senshi." "Hmm, yes. Luna said she felt some strange vibes a little while ago. I'm eager to meet her. Show her in." The guard got Danielle and left, she came in and bowed. Something immediately triggered inside the Queen. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but she wasn't sure if she liked it. Especially since this woman was a few years older than she, closer to Endymion's age than hers. Serenity eyed the stranger, "You say you are a new senshi; Danielle, is it?" "Yes," It felt odd to address her this way, "Your Majesty." "So if you're a senshi, what are your powers?" Sailor Mercury asked. "Actually, mine are a little unusual; you see, I use songs to summon them." "What do you mean?" Serenity was confused. "Sailor Mercury, you know may not know much about this, but have you ever heard of general senshi?" Danielle asked. She stopped to think a minute. "Yes, yes I believe so. No one knows how one comes to exist, and it's very rare," she replied as if reciting from a textbook, "Their powers, as the name states, are more general, and they have no 'Sailor' name, only their own. You would have ______ the Senshi of _____. For example, instead of just fire, or just wind attacks; the more general would be: person's name the Senshi of Elements. They would control wind, fire, water and earth. Are you one, Danielle?" "Yes, I am perhaps the most general senshi of all: Danielle, the Senshi of Song." "So your songs are your weapons," Queen Serenity deduced. "But how could they effect people?" Mercury wondered. "Whatever I sing, happens," Danielle said proudly. Their faces showed absolute confusion again. "For example," she explained, "the guard at the gate, with good reason, wasn't going to let me in, but if I was transformed I could have quietly done a little convincing by singing a song that said something about trust, and he would have changed his mind." "But if that's true, then-" Mercury started. Danielle nodded and smiled, "Anything can be put into words, and any words can be put to a song," she raised her eyebrows, "That would make my powers almost-" "Unlimited," Serenity interrupted. Mercury seemed thrilled. She had never met a general senshi, and would certainly jump at the chance to expand her knowledge on the subject. Serenity knew Danielle would be a good and powerful ally, but with almost unlimited powers, this senshi might be stronger than herself, and she wasn't too comfortable with this. "What is the mask for?" the queen asked suspiciously. "Well.....uh.....you see, I-I" Danielle foundered, she had never been shy about ANYTHING before, usually she was not afraid to seem strange in front of other people, but she couldn't let anyone know about this just yet. "Yes?" Serenity said impatiently. ".....If people...see....what I look like, then they.... It's a personal thing," she pleaded, "Please your majesty, my identity must remain a secret for now." Serenity narrowed her eyes, "All right. Be here tomorrow at the same time. You can demonstrate your power, and we'll initiate you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." "Thank you, your majesty." Danielle let out a breath of relief as the Neo-Queen left the room. Mercury walked over to Danielle and immediately started the investigation, "I find it curious that you don't stay in senshi form. Does it drain you? It seems to perk us up." "No, it doesn't drain me, and believe me, I don't need any extra perkiness," she giggled. "Besides, I almost need to stay de-transformed. I mean, I don't want to be in senshi form, and sing something to myself out of habit, and then have the roof fall in on someone, because I'm not concentrating." "Oh, I see your point," Mercury laughed. As she escorted Danielle to the door, Mercury apologized for the slight rudeness of Queen Serenity, "You mustn't mind the queen, Danielle. She's still upset about the recent loss of her father." Danielle smiled, "Yes, the Hunt- uh, Michael. Well, I can understand that." "How do you know of him? We kept all information secret from the public," Ami raised an eybrow suspiciously. "Oh.... well, I've heard about him from rumors around town," she answered convincingly. "Hmm. So, do you have any living family?" "Yes, my son, Motoki, and-" she stopped herself, "No, never mind," she pushed the mask higher up on her nose. The name "Motoki" brought back memories of the blonde-haired man that worked at the arcade decades ago. Mercury smiled, "And your husband?" she asked. "I left him a long time ago. We never actually got divorced, because I didn't really want to leave, but there were just some......things.... I couldn't deal with. He........," she shook her head, "Could we change the subject?" "Oh, I'm sorry," Mercury could see that this was obviously not something Danielle wanted to talk about. "Well, I have a daughter, Sailor Charon." Danielle smiled and said something that sounded like, "The thought of Ami being a mother; then again, I guess it isn't any stranger than me being one." The two finished their conversation and Danni returned to her hotel for the remainder of the day. <> <> <> <> <> On to chapter 2..... Be forewarned, it's a long one!