Disclaimer: Rally doesn't own Sailor Moon or any of its characters. Naoko Takeuchi, TOEI, Kodansha & Pioneer do. Rally also doesn't own Sailor Ra\Reina Makobi. Reina is a creation of Ladybug Oblivion (used with permission). Rally also (also) doesn't own Kia Toshi. He's a product of Bubby (also used with permission). Rally does own (finally) Tomo, Nightshade, Hemlock, Belladonna, Tia Cleonia, Osaka and the whole concept of MISQ.
Note: Based loosely on a game that my sisters and brother played through. Hence all the do-not-belong-to-Rally OCs.
The Study of the Moon Kingdom. Tomo slid the useless pile of lists to the side, homing in on the handwritten pamphlet. He blew the dust from the top page and squinted at the fine letters below the main title. "Written by Lotus"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"It has been reported that in the last two thousand millenia, the single most powerful family of leaders is contained in a nine planet solar system of minimal technological advancement. This family's original name and origin is unknown, but there are several theories as to the who these queens of the moon really are.
"I say 'queens' not just as a random title, ex. using 'king' or 'chief' to refer to a leader. I say 'queens' because there has never been a male to hold the position, even jointly, with any one of the past Queens of the Moon. This fact alone can lead to debate about matriarchal societies and the opression of males, however, males are not discouraged from positions of office in the heirarchy. Men have, in fact, been second in power to the queen. This position is usually held by the queen's husband or eldest son. But as the current case proves, many times the second in command is left empty, the queen relying entirely on her council to provide her with the support and advice she needs to continue to run such a vast kingdom.
"So, I ask, 'Why?' Why would the kingdom leave such an important position open to greedy hands? Why, if a male can be trusted to run the kingdom in the queen's stead can he not become the ruler?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomo leaned back, rubbing his eyes vigorously.
"Anything intresting?" a light voice cooed from behind him. It was Hemlock. She streached then plopped down in the chair next to Tomo. "You've been in here for hours. What are you looking for?"
"A new perspective."
"Say again? A new perspective on what?" She snatched the old pamphlet from the table, caught the title and pen line, then dropped it as if it had burned her fingers. "Where did you find that?" Her voice had lost its softness.
Tomo waved at the mess of a library. "In here." He examined her face closely. It would have been a hard cased poker face if Tomo couldn't sense the fear and sadness coming off of her in waves. "Why? Who is Lotus, anyway?"
"Was."
"Excuse me?"
"Was. Lotus was my mother." Hemlock sighed.
You just echoed my feelings from when my mother died. I wished it had been my father, not her.
"How did she die?" He immediately regretted asking. The poker face completely dissolved, leaving a helpless thirteen year old to the wolves.
Tears covered Hemlock's eyes, but she refused to let them spill. "Don't ask." Then she calmly rose and left the room.
"I'm sorry," but it was too late. "What a right fine mess I've gotten into."
He turned back to his work, but the pamphlet was gone. The only useful piece of material in the whole God Forsaken library that could give him the perspective he needed and now it was gone. "Aires' Balls!" he swore.
"Didn't you give Him up, months ago? Kinda gives the curse less impact." This time the voice was expected.
"I told you before, Osaka. Just because I can't believe in the God of War, doesn't mean I have to relenquish my favorite curse."
"That's true, I guess! What was the problem in the first place?"
Tomo rose, preferring to allow his arms room to flail about while he spoke. "I just can't get a handle on it!"
"On what?"
"Seeing the Qu- I mean seeing Serenity as an evil being. Selfish? Yes. Stuck up? Yes. Stubborn? Yes. Powerful? Hell, yes! But evil? Evil, I have trouble with."
"Evil is all in the eye of the beholder, Tomo. The side you're on is always the good side. Do what you know is right and if everything doesn't work out, well, this is war. You won't be alive to worry about it."
"You're right, but right now I can't do that because right now I want nothing more than to go back to the Moon and rescue Nightshade." He found his chair again.
"Why can't you?"
"Because effectually, I'm a prisioner. I'm a Martian for godssake, an animal no less. The only reason I'm not a slave at the moment is because of this." He held up the amber necklace Nightshade had gifted him with that first night. "Do you think that after being here for two months, they're just going to let me waltz on back to the Moon?"
"Are you regretting it? Leaving I mean."
"Only the part where I walked away from the other half of my self. Only the part where I let the woman I love fall victim to that zoo. Only the part-"
"Alright! Alright, I got it. You're regretting it. Geez!"
"It's not the leaving I regret. If Nightshade were here with me, I wouldn't have looked back. I wouldn't have given a second thought to that place. If she were here-"
"You sure like to rattle on, don't you? Listen, she's okay. You know they wouldn't harm her."
"That's not what I'm afraid of."
"Then what?"
"I'm afraid the next time I see her, she'll be like everyone else in that palace, like I used to be. I'm afraid the Queen will get to her."
"Oh."