Kodoku no Fortress
Reader's Guide
By Spirit-hime
I've gotten quite a few comments about how this fic is difficult to follow. A large portion of that was intentional, and as we get closer to the end, it should become clearer, but just in case everyone is still confused, I've provided a quick summary to hopefully help clarify some things.
Prologue - The sailor senshi throw Setsuna a surprise birthday party. Setsuna arrives late and soaked from the rain.
Hour I - After the party, Setsuna dries off in her room. She recalls finding a strange key in her purse, which she seems to recognize. When the key is dropped on the floor, it begins glowing, and the space-time door appears. She picks up the key, and is suddenly sucked through the door.
Hour II - As she lays unconscious, Setsuna has some dreams of the past. In the first, she remembers meeting a person by the name of Charon for the first time, and being rather annoyed with him. In the second, she and Charon play an interesting version of chess, which ends in a tie. Charon flips a strange gold coin to determine the winner. In the third, the much older Pluto and Charon have a small duel, which ends with Pluto as the victor. The two have grown very close in their time together, and seem to be developing something of a relationship.
Hour 2:30 - Setsuna's dreams of the past continue. In her dreams, Pluto is sinking into a depression due to the many years spent in the Underworld. She confides in Charon, who kisses her. Not long after, she discovers him missing, and goes looking for him. She rescues him from the Winds of Hades, and finds that he had crossed time to get her a light purple rose. Pluto brings him back to her castle to bandage him up, and confesses that she doesn't know what she would do if she lost him.
Hour III - Setsuna wakes up in an alternate timeline in which the Dark Kingdom has taken over Earth, with Endymion at its head. Endymion commands his officer, Kunzite, to have her killed, but as soon as they are alone, Kunzite tells her that he can help her escape. Unfortunately, they run into another officer, Venus, and Kunzite is forced to bring her down to the dungeons, instead. In her cell, Setsuna encounters a man who looks exactly like Charon, but who does not seem to recognize her. The same key that Setsuna found in her purse falls out of his pocket, and there is a bright flash of light.
Hour IV - She wakes up in the gardens outside Crystal Palace of Crystal Tokyo. At first, it seems like it is the same Crystal Tokyo that she knew, but she soon finds that the personality of King Endymion is drastically different, which may be only one small indication of the larger differences in the timeline. She is rescued from his company by another man who looks like Charon. Unlike the last one, he actually goes by the name Charon, and he knows Setsuna. Something seems different about him, however, and he is soon revealed to be a shapeshifter known as Akuma Neko, and not Charon at all. The creature claims to have known Setsuna in the past, and seems to have had some connection with Charon's apparent demise. Before it can do anything to her, the key appears between them. As she grabs it, she's certain she hears a voice she knows whispering to her.
Hour V - Setsuna finds herself in a Hansel and Gretel-esque setting, complete with edible house and an insane amount of children--who are actually young forms of all of the sailor senshi. As she resigns herself to taking care of them, her memories of her life outside the gingerbread house seem to fade away. A strange little girl with blue eyes asks her to read her a bedtime story, and as she does so, Setsuna loses her memories completely. When she opens a certain picture book, she sees a cloaked man with eyes like Charon's, and suddenly remembers everything. The little girl turns out to be Akuma Neko in disguise. Setsuna causes the key to appear in her hand, and leaves the gingerbread world of her own will.
Hour VI - Setsuna is on a passenger train, and this time feels no sense of forgetfulness of the past timelines she has visited. As she is gazing out the window, a man who bears resemblance to Charon (we seem to get a lot of those) sits down and talks to her, introducing himself as Kurogawa Kado. Although he acts as though he does not know her, Setsuna plays a trick on him that forces him to admit to her what he knows about the real Charon. She follows the advice he gives her, and uses the key to move to the next timeline.
Hope that clarifies things a bit! If you're still confused, just wait a bit. Things will hopefully start to make more sense as they are revealed.
Reader's Guide
By Spirit-hime
I've gotten quite a few comments about how this fic is difficult to follow. A large portion of that was intentional, and as we get closer to the end, it should become clearer, but just in case everyone is still confused, I've provided a quick summary to hopefully help clarify some things.
Prologue - The sailor senshi throw Setsuna a surprise birthday party. Setsuna arrives late and soaked from the rain.
Hour I - After the party, Setsuna dries off in her room. She recalls finding a strange key in her purse, which she seems to recognize. When the key is dropped on the floor, it begins glowing, and the space-time door appears. She picks up the key, and is suddenly sucked through the door.
Hour II - As she lays unconscious, Setsuna has some dreams of the past. In the first, she remembers meeting a person by the name of Charon for the first time, and being rather annoyed with him. In the second, she and Charon play an interesting version of chess, which ends in a tie. Charon flips a strange gold coin to determine the winner. In the third, the much older Pluto and Charon have a small duel, which ends with Pluto as the victor. The two have grown very close in their time together, and seem to be developing something of a relationship.
Hour 2:30 - Setsuna's dreams of the past continue. In her dreams, Pluto is sinking into a depression due to the many years spent in the Underworld. She confides in Charon, who kisses her. Not long after, she discovers him missing, and goes looking for him. She rescues him from the Winds of Hades, and finds that he had crossed time to get her a light purple rose. Pluto brings him back to her castle to bandage him up, and confesses that she doesn't know what she would do if she lost him.
Hour III - Setsuna wakes up in an alternate timeline in which the Dark Kingdom has taken over Earth, with Endymion at its head. Endymion commands his officer, Kunzite, to have her killed, but as soon as they are alone, Kunzite tells her that he can help her escape. Unfortunately, they run into another officer, Venus, and Kunzite is forced to bring her down to the dungeons, instead. In her cell, Setsuna encounters a man who looks exactly like Charon, but who does not seem to recognize her. The same key that Setsuna found in her purse falls out of his pocket, and there is a bright flash of light.
Hour IV - She wakes up in the gardens outside Crystal Palace of Crystal Tokyo. At first, it seems like it is the same Crystal Tokyo that she knew, but she soon finds that the personality of King Endymion is drastically different, which may be only one small indication of the larger differences in the timeline. She is rescued from his company by another man who looks like Charon. Unlike the last one, he actually goes by the name Charon, and he knows Setsuna. Something seems different about him, however, and he is soon revealed to be a shapeshifter known as Akuma Neko, and not Charon at all. The creature claims to have known Setsuna in the past, and seems to have had some connection with Charon's apparent demise. Before it can do anything to her, the key appears between them. As she grabs it, she's certain she hears a voice she knows whispering to her.
Hour V - Setsuna finds herself in a Hansel and Gretel-esque setting, complete with edible house and an insane amount of children--who are actually young forms of all of the sailor senshi. As she resigns herself to taking care of them, her memories of her life outside the gingerbread house seem to fade away. A strange little girl with blue eyes asks her to read her a bedtime story, and as she does so, Setsuna loses her memories completely. When she opens a certain picture book, she sees a cloaked man with eyes like Charon's, and suddenly remembers everything. The little girl turns out to be Akuma Neko in disguise. Setsuna causes the key to appear in her hand, and leaves the gingerbread world of her own will.
Hour VI - Setsuna is on a passenger train, and this time feels no sense of forgetfulness of the past timelines she has visited. As she is gazing out the window, a man who bears resemblance to Charon (we seem to get a lot of those) sits down and talks to her, introducing himself as Kurogawa Kado. Although he acts as though he does not know her, Setsuna plays a trick on him that forces him to admit to her what he knows about the real Charon. She follows the advice he gives her, and uses the key to move to the next timeline.
Hope that clarifies things a bit! If you're still confused, just wait a bit. Things will hopefully start to make more sense as they are revealed.