Mistakes of the Great Beings

1. The Saurian Child

He was scared. Terrified. The world around him was alien and strange, hostile even, at least from his point of view. He had tumbled out of the gate into this… forest, only a few minutes ago. Enough for him to quickly observe his surroundings. The forest was strange, paths of stone running through it, and along those paths tall poles stood that gave light without fire, illuminating the night. That wasn't really what scared him. The forest, while strange, still held a sense of familiarity that put him at ease.

But then he had reached out with his mind, one of his greatest weapons, to look beyond the borders of the forest. And what he had seen there was what had terrified him. One glance, it didn't last even a second, had shocked him. Beyond the woods was a strange, hostile, noisy world, full of buildings that reached the sky, weird lights and an overwhelming amount of noises.

Shaken, scared, he had crawled into some bushes, taking place between the roots of an old tree. This forest would keep him safe. It had to. He had to be strong, until the others came to look for him, came to get him and take him back home. Until then, he had to protect himself. The boy tightened his grip on his wicked, black scythe.

Hesitatingly, he placed the tip of his scythe on the ground and focussed, gathering the will and power needed for this course of action. His mind reached out to the borders of this forest, and erected an invisible barrier of life energy there, that would prevent any creature from entering. It was the best he could do. He didn't think there was anything powerful enough here to step through his shield.

Content he was safe for now, the unfortunate child laid down on the grass, then curled himself up on the ground, his tail wrapped around his shaking form. It was night, he had to sleep and rest. Tomorrow was another day, and hopefully the others would have come for him by then. He did his best to ignore all the strange and unfamiliar sounds and noises in the distance, and didn't succeed fully. Tears ran down his face, and it took him a couple of hours to finally fall into a dreamless sleep.

"Come on, Chibiusa! You can't be serious." Hotaru laughed as they were approaching their favorite place of the neighborhood – the park where they fist met.

"You bet I am! And then Chioko was all like..." Chibiusa portrayed the shocked expression of the unfortunate girl. Hotaru laughed again. The two girls walked happily, having almost forgot about Setsuna, who was taking them for a walk today. She was walking behind the gossiping girls, smiling as she watched her younger friends.

It has been almost a year since Chaos was defeated. Sailor Senshi could finally return to their normal lives. After graduating Usagi, Minako and Ami entered college, mostly thanks to the efforts of the latter. Usagi didn't want to at first ("I saved the world six times, jeez! Why should I go to college!?"), but Chibiusa managed to convince her that if she doesn't, she'll forever remain a silly annoying brat and will never become a Queen. Seeing as Usagi had nothing to do with her life anyway, and that Mamoru returned to his university abroad, she had no choice but to comply. Rei and Makoto, however, decided not to get any more education. Rei went back to working at the Hikawa Shrine, and Makoto went to a cooking school to become a good chef and open her own restaurant someday. She also took up a part-time job at a restaurant.

Michiru, the excellent violinist she was, was offered a concert tour in Europe, and she gladly took the opportunity. Haruka went with her, sometimes playing the piano to accompany Michiru, and other times taking part in various races, winning money. As for Setsuna, Hotaru and Chibiusa, they continued their normal life as usual – Hotaru and Chibiusa at school, Setsuna at the art university, where she studied to make her dream of being a fashion designer come true.

The company finally reached the park. Chibiusa and Setsuna went in right away, and Hotaru had to stay behind to tie her shoe. Having done so, she ran to catch up with her friends...

And stopped abruptly, having made only a couple of steps into the park's territory. Hotaru turned around, confused. For a moment she thought she sensed something at the park entrance... An energy surge? No, nothing like that. The feeling wasn't strong, and besides, the park entrance looked like it always did. "Must have imagined it..." Hotaru mumbled.

"Hotaru-chaaan!" Chibiusa yelled and waved her to catch up.

"Coming!" she called out, and ran towards her friends who were waiting for her further down the path.

He had sensed it. Somebody or something had crossed his barrier. No, it wasn't just one thing, he realized upon further inspection, three beings had passed through his defense. It worried him greatly. Only beings with great power could withstand his powers of Life. Curiosity mixed with fear, and he reached out with his mind to observe the intruders.

They were strange, and unlike any creature he had ever seen before. No, he quickly corrected himself, there had been one kind of beings who had resembled these life forms somewhat. Even so, looks didn't tell everything, and further mental inspection quickly revealed these creatures to be entirely different than anything he was used to. They seemed so fragile to him. No tails, sharp teeth or claws for natural defense. For a moment he wondered how they could even remain on their two feet without a tail to balance them.

He refused to believe these things had been able to penetrate his barrier. There had to be more to them for that. His mind probed even deeper, and he knew that he risked being detected this way, but his frustration and fear had won it from his caution now. He wanted to know how they had passed through his shield, what powers they had and how great these were. As he looked deep in their soul, he found what he was looking for: the core, the source of their power. It was very different from any powers he was used to. They did not truly seem to be part of them like his powers were a part of him. Almost as if they couldn't use them, at least not in their current state.

Perhaps that was good, he thought, for what he saw certainly was worrisome. These creatures held power of a very raw kind, elemental yet at the same time not quite elemental. Otherworldly might be the best way of describing it. They weren't ordinary powers, that was for sure, and aside from himself, he had never encountered another being with this level of power. He had always thought he had been unique in the amount of power he had, but apparently not so in this dimension. He grabbed his Scythe nervously. Caution was needed. Perhaps they wouldn't notice him and leave again. Silently, he moved a bit, so he could see them with his eyes now, and not just with his mind. And then he waited, tensed and nervous.

The three girls had been walking in the park for quite a while now. Chibiusa kept talking about various things to Hotaru, who didn't seem to be paying much attention. Setsuna was busy thinking of a new dress design, which she would later include in her yearly project. Finally, Hotaru stopped, unable to ignore the feeling she had from the moment she entered the park.

"Something's not right." she said, looking at Setsuna.

"Is it?" the older girl asked.

"Yes. It's way too quiet here."

"I thought you liked the quiet, Hotaru-chan." Chibiusa said, confused.

"It's not that..." she sighed.

"I agree that something is off." Setsuna said. "We haven't met any other people during our walk."

And then it dawned on Chibiusa. Yes, how could she not notice it before? No little kids at the playground, no couples kissing on the many benches, no ice cream men... Even birds were few.

"And... What should we do?" she asked, worried.

"I don't know... I don't sense any evil in this place." Setsuna said.

"I did feel something when we entered the park, but I thought it was nothing." Hotaru bit her lower lip. "It wasn't evil, though..."

Suddenly, Setsuna noticed movement in the nearby bushes. She looked in that direction, waiting for what would happen next. A few minutes of total silence passed, and nothing happened. But the woman knew she had seen something move, and by the looks on their faces, so had Chibiusa and Hotaru.

"Show yourself!" Setsuna commanded, in the sternest and coldest tone she could muster. Still nothing happened at first, but then the bushes rustled as something came their way.

He flinched as he saw the female glance his way. She knew he was there, she had seen the movement in the bushes when he had tried to back away unnoticed. He tried to keep still, hoping she'd let it be, but it was not to be, for she called out to him to reveal himself. The child clenched his jaws and the grip of his weapon tightened. His thoughts were racing as he debated what to do. Eventually, he settled on obeying the command. That way, he could still make the first move should it be needed.

Hesitatingly, he stepped forward, scythe ready in his clawed hand, tail sweeping from left to right out of agitation. Then he emerged from the woods, coming face to face with those who had gone through his barrier, who had intruded upon his fragile feeling of safety. He studied them carefully, his golden eyes observing the creatures before him one by one. They had expressions of shock and surprise on their faces, though the tallest did her best to hide it. Had they never seen a Saurian before? It was possible, he realized, as this world was not his own.

Silence reigned as he waited for any of them to make a move or speak.

Setsuna considered herself a woman who didn't speak often because she chose to be that way, it was her nature. That she was rendered speechless by something was unusual indeed, yet what emerged from the bushes did just that. When she had called out, she had expected a youma or something akin to it, or at the very least an attack, or completely the opposite, a plea to not hurt whoever appeared.

The creature before her and her companions did neither, seeming content to just stand tensely, wicked looking scythe ready and raised, and stared nervously at the three girls. In all of her long life, Setsuna could not remember a creature like this. Not just in terms of appearance, but power as well. She could feel it, though she wasn't sure why, the great power housed in the being before her.

The creature was bipedal and reptile-like, as tall as Chibiusa, with a long, sleek tail keeping it balanced. Regardless, its back was almost upright, at an angle of eighty or seventy degrees or so. Each of its feet ended in three long, clawed toes pointing forward, with a fourth smaller one pointing the opposite way and not touching the ground. Birdlike feet, almost. The hands that held the scythe had five fingers that ended in sharp black claws. Tail, limbs and neck were covered in horned golden scales, while the rest of its skin was white and streamlined, like a dolphin's. Over its body it wore a gold colored tunic that reached almost to its knees.

It was the head that was the most puzzling and alien in appearance. It was like one crossed a human skull and a lizard's one. The proportions were mostly human, the creature even had a nose and shoulder-length white hair. At the same time, it had no cheeks, allowing it to open its jaws far wider than any human could. Sharp carnivorous teeth were lined neatly in the jawbones, leaving no doubt about the being's diet. Its ears were strangely frilled, like the sails some reptiles had even now, and the eyes were gold in color, with narrow, snake-like pupils.

Chibiusa stared at the creature with her jaw dropped, then backed away a bit. What was this thing? She wasn't as experienced as other Senshi when it came to fighting demons, so now she was a bit at loss of what to do. Especially since this one didn't seem to be directly threatening or attacking her...

Hotaru backed away, too, but kept her gaze on the creature. It was strange, alien, frightening even, and yet... She could feel the same energy as back there at the park entrance. Which wasn't evil, and felt somehow... familiar.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Setsuna finally asked.

The creature frowned and didn't immediately answer. Perhaps it couldn't understand them, or not speak at all? Setsuna's concerns were unnecessary, as the being spoke, its voice as strange as the creature looked. It was harsh, yet hissing at the same time. If a snake were to suddenly learn to speak, its voice would sound like this creature's, Setsuna decided.

"What do you want from me?" it asked with a young, male voice. Clearly, the creature was still but a child. "How did you break through my barrier?"

"What barrier?" Chibiusa demanded, confused. She hadn't seen, noticed or felt any sort of barrier.

Hotaru, however, realized that she hadn't been imagining things when she had entered the park. "So it was a barrier..."

"Yes. Nobody could pass through it, I was safe here," the reptilian child continued. "Yet you three passed through it with no problem. How?"

"We just... did?" Chibiusa said, still confused. The being wasn't as frightening anymore, partly thanks to his voice. It was also clear that he wasn't going to attack them anytime soon.

"Why would you need a barrier?" Hotaru asked.

"Not to mention that you still haven't told us who or what you are, and why are you here," Setsuna added sternly.

"I am Ignika," the creature replied, with a certain pride in his voice. "Child of Life, highest creation of the Great Beings, son of Angonce." The look in his eyes saddened. "And currently a refugee in this dimension…" Ignika's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head. To the three girls, he seemed to be on the verge of crying. "I did not come here by choice. I… We… were being chased, and I got separated from my family… Then, I… a friend pushed me through a dimensional gate so I could escape… But because my pursuers were right behind me, it was a random gate, and I tumbled into this forest last night…" He glanced around worriedly, tears still threatening to break free. "I looked around a bit… But this world is scary, so I erected a barrier to prevent anyone from coming into this forest… To protect myself…"

The Senshi were silent for a while. All hostility and cautiousness they felt vanished as they heard those words. Now they could truly see that, despite his frightening appearance, Ignika was but a child. A lost and scared child...

"Who possesses enough power to make a barrier around the whole park, AND wields a dangerous weapon." Setsuna reminded herself.

"I am Setsuna Meiou, also known as Sailor Pluto, Warrior of Time, Guardian of the Time Gates. I am one of the protectors of this dimension." she said, in no less dignified manner than Ignika. "These are Hotaru Tomoe and Chibiusa Tsukino, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Chibimoon."

Ignika looked confused, but gave a respectful bow nevertheless. Setsuna could see that the other two girls were also confused by the words he said before, but she wanted the introductions to be over first. Also, since Ignika was obviously chased by an enemy, she needed to find out if they can come after him, and explanations can wait.

"Can your enemies open dimensional portals as well?" she asked.

"As far as I know, the Great Beings only gave the power of Dimensional Gates to two Saurians, one of which has died of age recently, the other was the one who sent me here," Ignika replied. He understood why she asked. If she was a guardian of this world as she said she was, naturally she would want to know if her world was in danger first.

"Good," Setsuna said with a nod. "Maybe we could sit down over there," she made a gesture to the nearest bench. "It will be easier talking that way."

Ignika looked hesitant. "I don't think… I could sit down there comfortably…" When the three girls frowned and looked slightly confused, he wagged his tail. Chibiusa giggled, then carefully approached the Saurian. Ignika focused his gaze on her, watching the pink-haired girl's every move. He knew they harbored no ill intention, his probing of their minds and hearts had told him that much. Still, they were alien creatures to him, so he was cautious. Before he knew it, the girl had grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

Her skin was strange to him, soft, but not as smooth as his own skin that wasn't scaled. Also, he noticed she had small hairs covering her arms. Strange to him. True, certain life forms on his home world were furred as well, but none of them were bipedal, intelligent beings. This world was so strange and alien, so frightening… But these powerful beings seemed kind enough. Perhaps, maybe, they could help him, at least until his family came for him. Because they were going to come for him, weren't they?

Next chapter: Ignika's tale!

Thanks to Tioko for co-writing, beta'ing and generally giving support.