SMSTSS 13: The Lady of Shadows! – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, ST, Castlevania and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre, five-part story.
Special Note: This story is based upon the lore of "Castlevania: Lords of Shadows" reboot, and, in no way, will there be much spoilers.
Part 1: "The Beginning"
It said that the arch-types in stories are the same, and that the only the names and settings are different.
Take the Moon Princess, for example.
In the beginning, there was Princess Serenity, heir to the Moon Kingdom, the center-piece of the fabled "Silver Millennium". She was in love with two men: Prince Eldarion of Gondor, and Prince Endymion of Atlantis. In fact, Eldarion and Endymion were cousins by way of their mother Lady Arwen of Rivendall, scion of Lord, who sought solace with Endymion's father after the death of her beloved Eragorn, king of Gondor at Minas Tirith. Eventually, Serenity chose Endymion as her love, allowing Eldarion to find his own destiny, betrothed to Princess Nuala, a woodland elf, before dying at the hands of the forces of the Dark Kingdom. Eldarion would be reborn as the Easterling Ranma Saotome, where he would get another chance at being with his first love…
And the rest, as they say, is history.
These days, the Moon Princess, now known as Usagi Tsukino (aka "Sailor Cosmos") and her beloved Ranma (aka "Ronin") performed their super-hero antics in a variety, including preventing yet another invasion from the so-called "Dark Dimension".
"Really, Umar, is this necessary?" Ranma said, as he looked at his bonds, made from the energies of the Cytorrak. Cytorrak was either a greater demon lord, or a dark god, who lent his power to the world of magic. He was certainly a Chaos Lord.
"Now, now, Sorcerer Supreme," said the beautiful Umar (dark-haired, beautiful sorceress type with a bent towards unlawful Chaos), as she continued to make her concoction. "Once I have made my love potion, you will be mine to do as I please…forever."
"What's with you and sex anyway?"
"It is because you refuse to pleasure me, that is why, my love…"
The Dark Dimension, not to be confused with the Negaverse, was a place where most of the Chaos Lords who are actively mischievous dwell in. In fact, it was because of the Guardians of the Universe that the Chaos Lords and their servitors were exiled to, when the Guardians, with the help of the Lords of Order, the Chosun of Jurai, and other entities of the Light, brought stability to the Universe. This didn't mean that there were no Chaos Lords that roamed the Universe, since Chaos Lords were still being born due to the nature of the Universe, but that the oldest and most egregious of the bunch were contained. Before Ranma became "Doctor Ranma", Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, his predecessor, Doctor Strange regularly dealt with the denizens of the Dark Dimension, such as the dreaded Dormammu, one of the more powerful Chaos Lords. Unfortunately, he had a sister named Umar, whose powers were just as great as her power. Luckily, save in the case of Ranma, at the moment, her focus was mainly on perversion, with her focus on "breaking" the so-called "Wild Stallion"…
"Next time I have to stop an invasion of from the Dark Dimension, I let Doctor Strange, Doctor Fate…or Brother Voodoo take point," Ranma said with a smirk.
"And miss all this?" Umar said, as she showed off her sexy garb. "How could you not be turned on by this body?"
"One, I have my own female body to amuse me."
"And you have a cute one that I want to take advantage of, by the way."
"And, two, my wife Usagi takes care of my needs."
"Well, not any more, love."
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, as he raised an eyebrow.
"Even as we speak, Sailor Cosmos is in the company of Yumir the Unyeilding," Umar said evily.
"Wait, isn't he a hentai demon lord that is known for consuming magical girls through molestation?"
"That's right! Even as we speak, your precious Moon Princess is being molested by Yumir. And by the time he is done, Sailor Cosmos will be a mindless idiot, as her body is used up."
Pause.
"So, what do you think?"
"What I think is that Yumir will be lucky to survive after dealing with Usagi," Ranma said with a smirk.
"WHAT do you mean?" Umar said with concern.
"I'm saying that as perverted as you are, my dear Umar, there is nothing that tops the creator of Inujutsu. She has tamed an Old One or two back in her prime with her practiced arts."
"What? Your wife is NOT more perverted than me!"
"I beg to differ," Sailor Cosmos said, as she held a tiny, squid-like creature in her hand, while soaked in "goo".
"No!" Umar said.
"Yes," Ranma said with a smile.
"Next time, don't send the scrubs," Sailor Cosmos said, as she tossed what was left of Yumir at Umar's feet.
"How could she have defeated him?" Umar said in a shocked manner. "How could you have satisfied him?"
"With lots of practice," Sailor Cosmos said. She then turns towards Ranma.
"I apologize if your honor has been injured in anyway, husband," Sailor Cosmos said.
"Usagi, when we married, we made a deal when dealing with extra-marital affairs," Ranma said. "I get to have my other wives and girlfriends, and you get to do…whatever."
"Aw," Sailor Cosmos said with a smile. "That is SO sweet-"
"ENOUGH!" Umar said, as she exhibited her dark aura. "I shall not prevent something as true love to be displayed in my domain."
Pause.
"It kind of ruins my reputation as a dark mistress to be ruined."
"Well, guess whose face is going to get 'ruined' next?" Sailor Cosmos said, as she prepared her attack.
"Usagi, wait-!" Ranma yelled, too late.
Suddenly, Sailor Moon is caught in a trap, thanks to the energies of Cytorrak.
"Fool!" Umar said. "Here in the Dark Dimension, your power is WEAK. And in MY inner sanctorum, it's weaker still."
"I can't…move!" Sailor Cosmos struggled.
"As much as it pains me, I will let you live…in EXILE! HOHOHOOHOHOHO!"
With that, Umar opens a portal.
"And IF you managed to make it back, you'll be too old to be pleasing to Ranma. GOOD-BYE!"
"Usagi!" Ranma yelled, as he sees Sailor Cosmos being thrown into the portal.
"Ranma-!" Sailor Cosmos said, as she was tossed into the portal.
"Umar, why did you do that?" Ranma said angrily.
"If I killed your 'bunny', it lessens my chances at you accepting your fate, love," Umar said with a smirk, before resuming her work. "Now, where was I…?"
Meanwhile, in the void, Sailor Cosmos tosses and turns, as she struggled to get her bearings straight.
"I got to get a hold of the situation," Sailor Cosmos said. "I have to flip Umar's script-!"
Using her remaining energies, the Moon Princess altered her trajectory, and landed as close to her home and era as possible, using the fall of the Silver Millennium as a marker…
1047 CE: Southern Europe.
The knight Gabriel Belmont, handsome member of the Brotherhood of Light, steps forth from the monastery that overlooked the Black Sea, as he begins his quest.
"Today, I repay my debt to society, so that I may one day rejoin my Maria," Gabriel said. "In a month's time, I shall begin my holy quest for redemption…"
Unfortunately, Fate had something else in mind.
"Yahhhhhhhh!" Sailo Cosmos said, as she fell out of the portal, and knocks Gabriel off the balcony of the monastery.
"Oof!" Gabriel said, as he falls over the balcony
"Owie," Sailor Cosmos said, as she reverted back to normal, thanks to using most of her power in the attempt to find her way home.
"What is going on here?" said an older man with a white beard and pony-tail, as he and his fellow brothers stepped out onto the balcony. "And where is Brother Gabriel?"
"Um, I don't know?" Usagi said. "I think I landed on something…"
The man who would be known as Brother Zobek looks at the strange girl, and then at the balcony, before rushing over to the balcony. He looked down over the side.
"Oh, dear," Zobek said in disbelief.
A month later, thanks to Zobek's urging, Usagi takes on the late Brother Gabriel's quest, with the hope of finding a way back home. Unfortunately, the quest was impeded by the last vestiges of the Myth Age…
"Ah!" Sailor Moon said, as she barely leaped out of the way, as Lycans attacked her. She had stopped at a village plagued by Lycans and their warthog monsters, hoping to find the Guardian of the Sacred Lake. Unfortunately, there was the Lycan problem…
"You're supposed to be a hero!" said a villager. "DO something!"
"Okay, okay!" Sailor Moon said, as she turns to utilize her "Crescent Moon Whip" to grab one of the Lycans, before smashing him into his buddies. She then twirls her whip around.
"Moon Reversal Normality!" Sailor Moon said, as she negated the effects of the full moon.
"Arrrgh!" yelled the Lycans, as they were reversed back to normal.
"Take THAT, monster mash!" Sailor Moon said.
Just then, a white horse with glowing tattoos all over its body arrives.
"Moon Princess, I'm here to take you to see the Guardian of the Lake!" said the sacred steed.
"Cool!" Sailor Moon yelled, as she climbs unto the back of the horse. "Where are we going?"
"We will enter the lands where the Old Gods still hold sway," the steed said. "Now, hang on!"
With that, Sailor Moon rides onto her destiny, not realizing that she was being watched by Zobek…
Throughout her excursion, Sailor Moon first traveled through the Phantom Bogs where she had to deal with Orcs and swamp creatures. She actually recognized some of the old ruins from the time of Middle Earth, which she missed very much. Along the way, she would come to a holy site that was dedicated to a sainted knight, many of whom knew of the old ways.
Sailor Moon bows her head and said her silent prayer.
"I apologize for disturbing you, but I need your blessing," Sailor Moon said, as she places her Crescent Moon Whip unto the altar piece. By doing that, the energies from the shrine reconfigured the weapon to do more than just destroy enemies. In this particular case, Sailor Moon can now use it as a grappler.
"Humph," Sailor Moon said, as she looked at her weapon. She then turns towards the stone crypt beneath her feet, touched it with her hand, lays a flower on it, and then leaves for her next stop. She would have many opportunities to upgrade her weapon, if she survives the waiting swamp monster that stood outside the shrine…
Upon reaching Lake Oblivion, Sailor Moon encounters a Colossus. It was a giant mechanical construct designed the ancient Artificer Daedalus.
"Who would put a Colossus in the middle of a lake?" Sailor Moon yelled, as she avoids getting squashed while trying to forget the bitter cold.
"If you wish to succeed in your quest, you will have to do better than that," Zobek said, as leaps to Sailor Moon side.
"Master Zobek?" Sailor Moon said.
"I am here for you, Moon Princess," Zobek said. "I will help you in your quest. If nothing else, I owe that much to Brother Gabriel.
"Yeah," Usagi said sadly.
"Now, pay attention, if you wish to survive your quest," Zobek said, as he charges forward to deal with the enemy.
And so, it went.
Along the way, the Moon Princess gets stronger from each encounter. And, in the process, she learns the truth behind Gabriel Belmont's quest, and how she, in the end, would become the Lady of Shadows…
Tbc.