Just below the surface of the beautiful and vast sea, she swam among the currents and bubbles. This was her home, her sanctuary, where she danced and played with the myriad of fish and aquatic life that surrounded her. They all loved her, and she in turn loved each and every one of them, big and small alike, caring for them as if they were her own, for truly, they were, and she had been charged with ensuring their safety. A task she took great pride in.
She had been brought to life by the Gods themselves, born to the sea from a beautiful opalescent seashell adorned with glittering pearls and flakes of gold. Its gilded shell had opened, the sunlight shining through the surface to illuminate the sleeping creature within as her long seafoam hair gently swirled around her slumbering form. The sun's rays had touched her face, shimmered off her luminescent scales and jewel adornments. Her skin was pale and sparkled like a freshly polished opal, her eyes were the colour of the Deep Blue Sea and full of wonder and knowledge. The gills on the sides of her neck pulsed with each breath that moved through coral coloured lips, her bejeweled chest rising and falling in rhythm. Slowly the newly awoken Mermaid stirred as a soft but husky voice caressed her finned ears.
"Rise, my beautiful creation, rise!" Poseidon spoke to her lovingly, "Rise for you are needed to protect my delicate creatures. I can remain on this World no longer. Its people cannot behold my visage anymore, but you, you will by my Servant of the Ocean. You are strong and fierce, gentle and caring. You will stay in my stead and watch over the beings of the sea for me until such a time as I can return. You will bear my strength and carry the very will of the God of the Sea, himself. Stay vigilant in your duty, my precious Mermaid, for I do not know what the future holds with the turning of the tides and millennia. Now, go forth and greet your charges, they await you eagerly!"
And so she rose, a delicate beauty with the power of a God behind her. She opened her arms, warmly embracing every single creature that lay hidden beneath the surface with her, and one by one they welcomed her among them, awed by her beauty and compassion for even the smallest of them, for they were precious to her and she to them.
For centuries she guarded her Aquatic realm and its inhabitants from the pesky creatures known as humans. These centuries grew into millennia and she stood true to her task, holding the words of her Creator tight to her heart. This was her home, and those that lived within were her children to protect now. They were precious to her, even the tiniest of life forms that dwelt in the deep. She loved and cared for them all, guarding them from the terrors that threatened them.
When the land dwellers grew bold and took to her seas and hunted her fish she beat them back with great waves, drowned them in dark depths and washed away their boats and cities with fierce floods. Her temper was quick and her wrath was nothing short of devastating. The humans quickly learned to respect her domain, praising her and leaving offerings, hoping she would bless them with food and good fortune. They finally came to an understanding, and Mermaid created specific fish for the humans to harvest. They came to worship her as the Goddess of the Sea, praising her beauty and her might and her charity all in the same breath. They told stories of her to their children, of the Protector of the Sea. She heard these tales, from the fishermen who float along her Ocean, and she found herself growing fond of the land creatures as well. They too, only wished to live their lives, and there was a certain charm in their strange and primitive ways. She vowed to protect these fragile humans who lived on the edge of the lands as best she could. In turn, these humans protected her peoples. Any time one of her creatures somehow strayed, finding itself trapped and astray, the humans would gently care for it, rescuing the creature and returning it to its home. It was a harmonious life.
But it was not to last.
As the humans grew, ever evolving themselves, they began to forget their origins. They forgot about her, and as they developed, their fear of her wrath waned, while their boldness grew in leaps and bounds. Her watery depths and raging tsunamis no longer kept them at bay as they strove to become more than what they once were. Tiny villages soon became larger towns, and they discovered new methods of travel and the like. Though they all but forgot about her aside from bedtime stories, she never forgot them. She never faltered from her sacred mission to protect all she could within the reach of her realm.
The years continued to pass, and Mermaid continued to be vigilant until one day, the midday sky darkened to a deep black. A Shadow crept over the seas and the lands, threatening all who lived on the planet known as Earth. Fire and lightning rained from the skies, land and water erupting where the balls and bolts of destruction struck their deadly blows. The world was plunged into darkness and chaos. The humans were running rampant on the lands, but Mermaid only cared about her sea creatures, her beautiful kinfolk who looked to her for safety as they swam terrified in search of sanctuary. Mermaid herded them as best she could, seeking the comfort of the deep deep sea. But even the bottom of the sea was not safe from the Darkness. The ocean floor split and cracked. Lava began to spew forth, causing the water to bubble and boil around it. Nowhere seemed safe.
Crying out, Mermaid pleaded to her Father, Poseidon, prayed for him to come back, begged for a way to protect their creatures and their home. She screamed his name over and over. But it was not her God who answered.
A gentle female voice called to her, pulling her to the surface where a beam of white light greeted her, its warmth was both calming and invigorating. She felt her terror melt away in the presence of the silvery woman who stood there, her long pale dress just barely caressing the water beneath her. The woman's white hair, tied up in twin tails, seemed to float around her as if she too were in the water. In one hand she held a long silver staff that glittered with the light that she emanated. Atop sat a sleek crescent moon set with a large crystal. She was beautiful, and yet she wore an expression of great sadness that broke Mermaid's heart. She suddenly wanted to give everything she had to help this floating angel before her, make her smile again.
"I am Selene, Queen of the Moon Kingdom." The white woman spoke, reaching a hand out to Mermaid, "Our worlds are in great peril. I have searched far and wide for the strongest souls who wish to save their people. I have come to you in the hope that we can help each other. I do not have much power left, but I have enough to grant you the strength and power to help save this world. You and select others would be Sailor Guardians, charged with protecting Earth's creatures. I cannot remain here much longer, but you would have the power you need to save this planet. An Evil has befallen the worlds and war has broken out. The Earth needs its Mythical Guardians if it is to survive."
Mermaid frowned. She did not understand half of what the white clad woman said. War? Sailor Guardians? Save the planet? And there were to be others like her? Did that mean more mermaids? She had never seen another, but the oceans were vast, perhaps there were more. What would these others be like? Would they too, have powers like Selene promised her? Would they also have once been born as she had been? And what did she mean that she could not remain any longer? Mermaid reasoned she must have to return to her Moon Kingdom, but the way Selene had said it made Mermaid fear the worst. That she would not survive this Darkness. And it made Mermaid want to cry. She had only just met the Moon Queen, but already thoughts of a life without her created a deep pain in her soul.
Selene gave a soft laugh at Mermaid's pout and smiled warmly, as if reading her thoughts, "Fear not, sweet sea child, I will always be in your heart, you need never fear so long as you hold that thought close and use your gifts to push away the Darkness."
"I will help in any way I can, Moon Queen," Mermaid reached up, "Please, tell me what I must do! I wish to save this world, and yours if I can!" Her heart pounded in her chest. She had to do something. She wanted so desperately to protect her people from whatever it was that was threatening them. Her webbed fingers sought the Moon Queen's and as they touched, Selene smiled again, raising her staff to the sky. A heat began at Mermaid's fingertips, spreading quickly down her arm and through the rest of her body. She felt herself enveloped in a bright light and she gasped. The pounding of her heart resonated in her ears, beating with each pulse of power that surged through her. Slowly, she rose out of the water, arching her back until the tips of her tail were no longer submerged and her long hair pooled on the sea's surface beneath her. There was a rush from the center of her being that caused her to tremble. She leaned forward now, curling her tail under her body. She felt herself changing, felt a strange sensation in her tail as it glowed brightly, and, to her shock, split itself into two and formed legs! Her mind reeled as she straightened up, feet touching the surface, standing tall and staring in wonder at the White Queen before her.
Mermaid was now clad differently as well. A collar of some sort lay over her shoulders, fastened in place on her chest by a shimmering brooch, which in turn sat nestled on a bow. A short skirt covered her lower portion, flowing around her with the breeze. It wasn't just her body that felt different. She felt a new power and life force within her. Something that not only amplified the powers she had before, but there were others, new powers she knew she could tap into and wield in her desire to save Earth.
Her shock faded quickly when she saw Selene's look of pride and Mermaid squared her shoulders. She now knew what she had to do. She was far more than she once was. She was a soldier now, and she wanted to make the Moon Queen proud in her choice. She would fight with everything she had, old and new, in order to stop the Darkness.
As Selene began to fade, she laid a hand over Mermaid's heart. "My dear, sweet soldier. It will no be easy, but you are not alone. There are others like you that I have granted the same new life to. They will fight by your side. I know you will do everything you can, and I have faith that you will succeed. The Moon Kingdom's time has come, but fear not. It will flourish one day again. Until then, you must do all you can to protect Earth. It is vital that this planet survives. I believe in you, stay strong, sweet child!"
"I swear to you, my Queen, I will protect this planet until my dying breath," Mermaid whispered, tears in her eyes. She watched the beautiful woman disappear completely, only a silvery light glittering on the ocean surface indicated where she once was. As the light faded completely, her eyes hardened and she turned her gaze to the dark sky. The wind whipped her hair and fuku, and she clenched her fists. She needed to find the others like her, and together they would stop this evil.
She was no longer just a mere mermaid, tasked with taking care of the Pacific Ocean. The entire planet needed her protection now.
Now, she was Sailor Mermaid, Mythic Guardian of Earth, blessed with the powers of both a Sea God and a Moon Goddess.
And so, she set out to find the other Mythic Warriors and stop the Darkness.
