This story takes pace approximately 300-500 years before the destruction of the Moon Kingdom. Yes, the Princess and Queen Serenity here are the same people as then, and the same goes for any other characters which exist in SM canon (if Chibi-Usa can be 900 years old, then I don't see a problem with this)

The "Manes" were the shades of the departed which existed in the Roman mythological underworld. The word is pronounced "ma-nes", not "mains". In this story "Manes" is the name of Pluto's spy network.

BTW, regarding to Era's age, keep in mind that one Pluto year equals about 247 Earth years.

o)+ is an ASCII representation of the Pluto symbol, turned sideways (yes, it's different to the symbol Sailor Pluto has in the anime. There is more than one symbol for Pluto.)

As always, any & all C&C is needed, and MSTs are especially appreciated.

      A dim sphere of reddish light provided slight illumination of the small, circular room within Charon Castle. Two figures were in the room - one a woman with tanned skin and long black hair, dressed in a white bodysuit with a short black skirt and dark red bow, carrying with her an ornate staff that resembled a key. The adolescent girl who kneeled before her also had tanned skin and black hair, although hers was tied into a braid. She wore a black bodysuit, skirt and leggings, with no bows or other adornments, and an ornate sword made of black metal with a red gem in the hilt was laid crossways before her.

      "Era Hades," the sailor-suited woman said. "Today is your sixth birthday. For six years, you have trained as a courtier and as a spy, and learned how the strengths and weaknesses of the other planets may be used to our advantage. Today, you are invested in Manes. I trust that you will make every effort to advance the path I deem necessary."

      "I swear by Time itself, my queen, that I shall remain ever loyal to you and to the path. Even in the face of death I shall not falter, for, as time is a circle, should I die, I shall some day be reborn."

      Sailor Pluto gestured for Era to rise, and as she did so, Pluto touched her finger to her new spy's forehead. The Manes symbol - a circle above a larger semicircle and a cross - appeared, glowing purple, and then faded. Although Sailor Pluto's face remained emotionless, Era knew her well enough to tell she was happy as she spoke.

      "You have learned well, my cousin."

      Era, dressed in a black gown with red and purple trimming, tried to tolerate Mercury's humid climate as she sat on board the blue crystalline ship, looking over the Sobkou plain and the wide river had been named after it. In the distance she could make out the rocky island where the Mercury royal family's castle was located, and where the royalty from the other planets were currently journeying to.

      'Kind of appropriate where that castle is,' she thought to herself. 'Especially when you take onto account the Mercurians' main role in the system's politics. That's probably why they wanted this neutrality treaty signed... they want to make sure they never actually have to do anything other than sit around reading their precious books.'

      "You are Era Hades, the cousin of Queen Pluto?" A green-haired, androgynous young man dressed in the blue and green robes that designated the royal family of Neptune asked.

      "That is correct."

      "I see that your queen has decided that the signing of Mercury's neutrality treaty is beneath her." The man - Era recognised him now as Prince Thalassa - commented, his tone of voice reminding her that he, much like most people of the other planets, had little fondness for the Plutonians.

      "As you know, Prince Thalassa," Era said politely, "My queen is responsible for the guardianship of the time gate, and therefore is unable to leave her home planet." Not quite true, of course - if she wanted to leave the time gate to attend to another matter of import, she could - but that didn't matter. "She has requested me to sign the treaty on her behalf." Of course, the treaty was only an excuse, to be used as cover for the actual task her queen had assigned to her...

      "In that case, I shall speak to you later tonight." The Neptunian said coldly. "I now have matters which I must attend to. Farewell." Era watched Thalassa as he headed below deck.

      As evening approached and the temperature on Mercury began to fall rapidly, Era walked briskly through the castle's brightly lit halls. As she reached a large, silver-inlaid door with the symbol of Saturn embossed upon it, she stopped, touching the symbol and causing quiet chimes to sound. A young man dressed in the indigo uniform of a Saturn honor guard member and carrying a glaive opened the door, but Era's attention was focused on a short, young woman with black ponytailed hair, dressed in a dark purple military uniform with red trim.

      "I was hoping to see you, Lady Era." The woman said. "There are... matters we need to discuss." She turned to her guards. "Leave us."

      "It's been a long time, Grand Admiral Kali." Era replied, curtsying, as the guards departed. "I presume that you were informed of my reasons for being here."

      "Correct. Lord Ganymede has outlived his usefulness as Saturn's contact on Jupiter, so we have no objection to you obtaining evidence of his treason and using it as you wish. The evidence is in his quarters, and I trust you shall have little trouble retrieving it."

      "You could have simply given it to me," Era replied, allowing a slight smile to show on her face. "But you wanted to ensure I had been trained properly. Anyhow, I thank you. It seems that our two planets' alliance is proving to be extremely beneficial... and that, of course, is all the more reason why the other kingdoms must not know of it."

      "Both of our planets are despised by the other kingdoms, my friend." Kali said as she sat in a chair and relaxed. "You for your manipulation, and us for the dark entity which created our magic. And despite those kingdoms' hostility, your cunning, combined with our power, may well be this system's salvation."

      "You know, of course, what is stated in the Book of Forever. 'Before rebirth, there must always come death. Before salvation may be achieved, there must first come destruction.'" Era replied. Then, she curtsied again and left Kali's quarters.

//All those who have signed this treaty acknowledge and respect Mercury's desire for neutrality in any conflict which may arise between the nations of the Sol system. If any such conflict should occur, these envoys and the planets which they represent swear unto Sol that such a conflict shall not involve Mercury, its people, or its territory in any way.//

      Era signed her name on the treaty beside the symbol of the royal house of Pluto. Let them stay huddled up in their cocoon reading those books of theirs for now, she thought privately. It probably fits our agenda best if they remain uninvolved, anyway. She returned to her seat, where Prince Thalassa turned to her.

      "Well, I admit you surprised me by willingly signing that treaty." He stated quietly, so as not to be overheard. "Your planet usually goes around starting wars between planets, not ending them."

      "Pluto starts wars? I am deeply shocked that you would suggest such a thing, Prince Thalassa." Era replied, sounding dismayed. "Why would we ever want to start wars, when the other planets do so well at it on their own... or was the raid on Oberon really carried out against royal orders?" The incident Era was referring to was a very recent one, when Neptunian ships had attempted to make a surprise attack on the outermost of Uranus' moons, but the Uranians had been informed of the attack in the nick of time, and managed to fend it off. If that invasion had been successful, Era had no doubt that there would have been no claims of the attack being carried out against orders, and... well, the two planets were on the verge of full-scale war as it was.

      Taken aback by Era's reply, Thalassa blanched and turned away.

      It was, naturally, impossible to hold a diplomatic function without providing food and entertainment for the guests, and soon after the treaty had been signed, the various representatives were escorted to a lavish dining hall which had been set with various Mercurian delicacies.

      Era ate slowly, not being as interested in the food on offer as she was in observation of the various persons around her.

      Seated next to her was the youngest of Mercury's three princesses, a girl about two-thirds her age with short black hair, whom many both on her native planet and the other worlds believed would be chosen to replace the current Sailor Mercury. Naturally, during the length of the dinner, there was plenty of opportunity for conversation with the girl, and although Era knew the value which the Mercurians placed upon knowledge, she was surprised at the amount accumulated by one so young. Even so, a discussion about the finer aspects of time/space warp pockets was not one of her priorities at the present time.

      Among the other guests present, Queen Serenity and Mars' Queen Honou had decided to bring their identically-named daughters, who were about the same age as the Mercurian princess sitting next to Era, to the treaty signing to learn about diplomacy and etiquette. Watching them, the Pluto courtier could see how successful the attempt had been thus far.

      "HEY! That was my piece of lake-fowl!"

      "First come, first served! Bii-da!

      "Kono!! Give it baack!!"

      "No way!"

      "WAAAHHHH!!!!!"

      "SERENITY/HONOU, STOP IT!!!" The princesses' mothers simultaneously scolded. Most of the other guests bigsweated, it being fairly obvious that under their next rulers, The Mars and Moon Kingdoms were not going to be the best of friends. And yet, Era knew, there was so much that depended upon them being so.

      As the banquet was ending, strains of music began to waft in from the ballroom adjacent to it, and the gathered nobility and royalty present began to drift there. Almost the moment she had entered the room, she felt a firm hand grasp her wrist, and turned to see a man with long, curly, dark blond hair, garbed in a green robe with intricate oak-leaf designs woven on it.

      "You are Lady Era Hades, of the royal house of Pluto, are you not?" the man asked.

      "That is true. And might I have the pleasure of knowing who you are?" Era replied. 'Which I already do... but it is necessary to be formal on this occasion.'

      "I am Ganymede, one of the four lords of Jupiter." The blond man replied. His voice conveyed an air of rulership that left no doubt in the Plutonian courtier's mind that he was attempting to impress her, but Era knew that real power on Jupiter was held by the Marshal-General. Without his control, the planet would quickly descend into civil war. That was not one of her concerns for now, though. She turned to face the Jovian lord and smiled pleasantly.

      "And for what reason do you currently desire my attention, Lord Ganymede?"

      Ganymede stretched out his right arm, to touch Era's shoulder.

      "Lady Era... may I have this dance?"

      "Would it be possible for me to refuse so gracious an offer?"

      "I do not believe it would."

      Era relaxed, putting herself in a near-meditative state as Ganymede held her in his arms and the pair circled around the ballroom, joining the other participants in enjoyment of the music and atmosphere.

      "Era, this seems like a dream come true for me."

      "And me also. I have had many other dreams such as this. Perhaps you can make those come true, too."

      "I can. After these formalities are done, you may come with me to my quarters."

      So, the first part of her plan had been successful. Men were -so- predictable.

      Especially men from Jupiter.

      Especially men from Jupiter who had been drinking the finest wine in the Nine Kingdoms.

      Ganymede gestured, and the magical orb that had been providing light in the room darkened, leaving starlight as the chamber's only illumination. As Era's eyes adjusted for the sudden lack of light, she felt the Jovian lord's hands grab her shoulders and caress her, slowly untying the knot around the collar of her dress. He then untied the next knot down, then the next, and the next, until Era's dress slid off her body and onto the marble floor. Then, she slid her naked body onto the bed, and gestured for Ganymede to come to her. She felt the warmth of his body against hers... and then, a fine black powder appeared in her hand from thin air. She tossed it into Ganymede's face, and, nearly inaudiably, commanded its magic to take hold.

      "/Cupio vidi./"

      The Jovian lord's eyes went blank and his limbs became limp. Era stood up, leaving his sleeping form the only thing occupying the bed. The powder she had used would leave him asleep for several hours, hallucinating that he was doing the thing his mind was most occupied with at the time the spell was cast - having his way with her. Immediately, she summoned another object from its pocket dimension... a short stick of a garnet with a "U" shape at the top and a black pearl set between the ends, and a small crossbar at the lower end. Raising it above her head, she whispered another incantation.

      "Pluto Manes, make up."

      The shadows in the room became almost liquid, flowing over her naked body and forming her bodysuit and leggings. Then, another of the shadows flew towards her, becoming almost like some sort of black fabric that formed the short skirt she wore. Finally, she reached into the shadow, feeling it become solid and heavy, and withdrawing a dark sword from it. The sword then transformed into a small, spherical black gem on Era's left wrist.

      Era, in Manes form, searched through the papers on Ganymede's desk for the object she had been assigned to retrieve. Before too long, she managed to find the letter she was looking for, and she scanned over it. Most untrained people would have found reading difficult with the lack of light, but she possessed a certain talent for adjusting to these conditions... a talent she felt would often be useful.

/My dearest brother-in-law,

Dis/

      Era folded the letter, and hastened out of the door, slicing the guard's throat before he even noticed her. Then, she followed the corridor to the castle perimeter, feeling the crispness of the night wind as she ran down the stairs away from the Jovian quarters.

      'That was simple...' she thought to herself. 'Hopefully not too simple...'

      The minute that sentence came into her mind, she caught sight of a female figure with long, pale brown hair, and ice-blue eyes that glinted with a coldness uncharacteristic of Jupiter's inhabitants. The woman wore pale green plate armor, and as she approached Era, she drew a curved sword and pointed it at her.

      'Yes, it was too simple.'

      "I see Pluto's rats are once again taking an interest in things which do not concern them."

      "There are many things which concern us, Lady Callisto. Relatively few of which involve our home planet."

      "And there are many things it is better for you not to know. They may put you in danger." Callisto replied, hefting her sword and charging at Era. Era hastily summoned her own blade to parry Callisto's attack with, only barely managing to keep her footing as she felt the massive force of the attack. The Jovian lady continued her assault, seemingly unhindered in spite of the obvious weight of the armor she wore. In the rare moments in which Era managed to attempt an offensive strike, her blows were easily blocked. Knowing she was no match for Callisto in swordplay, Era backflipped, landing on the castle wall.

      Then, Lady Callisto's eyes began to glow with blue light, and Era sensed some unfamiliar type of energy building up within her. Callisto grasped her hands together, and a bolt of pale blue energy flew at the Plutonian spy, vaporising a fair-sized section of the castle's outer wall.

      Callisto turned away, and her ears caught the sound of a guard rushing toward her.

      "My lady, what happened?"

      "A rat got in. Don't worry, I killed her."

      "Shall I report it to our queen, my lady?"

      "Don't worry. It is of no consequence. You are dismissed."

      Era was unfamiliar with the type of energy Callisto was summoning, but she could sense that there was a great deal of it - being hit by this amount of any type of energy would likely kill her. She knew now that she couldn't defeat Callisto in a fight, and on the other side of the wall was... basically a long fall down into the river. Summoning all her power, she willed the timestream to slow down. Then, she waited as Callisto's energy blast came toward her in slow motion, at the last moment leaning over backwards and letting herself fall off the castle wall. Then, although her time-slowing spell had ended, her fall seemed to last an eternity, until her body finally hit the river's chilly surface, and she swam the short distance to the island where the castle was located.

      It took Era almost a minute to reorient herself after using her power, and when she did, her body felt somehow hollow - she knew she had only a tiny amount of power left. She would have to get back inside the castle and into Ganymede's chambers so as not to arouse suspicion. She knew Callisto well enough to know that if she had been able to penetrate the mystical field concealing her identity, she would have let her know during their confrontation, but the unfamiliar power she had displayed worried her.

      'Did it have something to do with what Dis had said about an agenda?' she asked herself.

      She intended to find out.

Well, as you probably noticed, this story deals with quite a few original characters. I know that some people don't like that, but it seemed like the only way I could really do a story with this setting and premise. Sailor Pluto and Queen Serenity will both be playing major roles in later chapters, however.

The Callisto in this story has nothing to do with the villain in "Xena: Warrior Princess", apart from her name and the fact that she isn't a nice person. Callisto is one of Jupiter's four largest moons, and... well, okay, I admit that, being a Xena fan, I was tempted into naming a character after it.

The Plutonians in this story are loosely based on the Scorpion clan from the Legend of the Five Rings RPG. I created their spy network because, although Setsuna certainly knows a lot, I don't think of her as as omniscient as some people seem to. BTW, I think Setsuna looks better with the tanned skin she had in the manga, so I'm saying she has it.

Finally, I used "Atlas of the Universe" by Kevin Krisciunas and Bill Yenne for research on the planets during this story. Of course, the actual facts were changed significantly to fit in with the SM universe.