Upon coming out of the washroom, we ran into two other Sailor Soldiers.
"Uranus! Neptune!" I said.
"Sailor Moon!" Sailor Neptune said. She seemed almost relieved to see me.
"Are you all right, My Kitten?" Sailor Uranus asked me. I nodded, convincingly, and prevented a soon to be wobble.
"We heard screams!" Jupiter said.
"Yes. So did we," Neptune confirmed. "I think it came from this way."
We followed Uranus and Neptune down three flights of stairs, until we reached the basement of the theater. That's where we heard the screams again.
"This way!" Uranus shouted.
"We have to hurry!" Venus said as we followed Uranus down a hallway. When we came to a door that said 'Private', we heard the screams again, but this time, they sounded weak. I guarantee that whoever we're up against is behind that door.
"I'm getting weird vibes," Mars whispered. "It's like a double dose of evil...but it's somehow familiar!"
"Well," Jupiter said, "here we go!" She and Venus kicked open the doors to reveal a big empty room. We looked at each other and shrugged. Mars, Venus, and Jupiter stepped in first. Nothing happened. When they got to about the center of the room, they waved us in.
Mercury and I were just about to follow when Uranus and Neptune stopped us.
"What is it?" I asked quietly.
"Isn't it a bit odd..." Uranus began.
"That all Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are doing..." Neptune continued.
"Are waving at us," Mercury concluded. She immediately turned her earring and her visor appeared across her eyes. She pulled out her handheld computer and began typing away.
"Whoa!" Mercury said finally.
"What's wrong?" I asked, then leaned back. My knees were about to give again, but Uranus pushed up against me, as to not draw attention to the fact that I can barely stand. Thank you Uranus...
"The Venus, Jupiter, and Mars that we see are merely a computerized illusion," Mercury explained, mostly to Neptune, who was the only one that was actually listening. Uranus was still supporting me, while giving me worried 'are you sure you're all right' looks. I nodded.
"The appearance of this whole room," Mercury continued, "is nothing but an illusion!"
"So what's really there?" Neptune asked.
"Umm... I can't tell," Mercury sighed as she put away her computer and returned her earring. "It's like some kind of warped time zone. I can't get any straight readings."
"What do we do?" I asked worriedly. "Where are Mars, Venus, and Jupiter?"
"I don't know," Mercury responded.
I looked at Uranus and Neptune. Surely they would have some kind of plan.
"Well," Neptune sighed, looking at Uranus. "Is this our only option?"
"I think it is," Uranus confirmed. She took a deep breath then said, "Neptune, Mercury, and I will go in there and see what's up. Sailor Moon, I want you to stay here."
"What? I-" I began.
"We can't risk-" Uranus said.
I attempted to stand on my own. "See? I'm fine! I want to help!" Uranus looked me over for a few moments, then finally agreed. Just as she was about to turn around, my knees began to shake, and I felt terribly weak. I collapsed...right into Uranus' arms.
"You are not well!" Uranus said. "My Kitten, I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to join us in what could be a fight."
"But we're a team," I said, still leaning some weight on Uranus. "We stick together!" I looked from Mercury to Neptune.
"Uranus," Neptune said, "it might be better if we all stick together..."
"Our job as Sailor Soldiers-" Uranus started, but Neptune cut her off.
"Is to protect our Princess, I know. But wouldn't it be better if we are actually here for her?"
Uranus took a moment, then nodded. She waited until I balanced myself, then the three of them surrounded me, and we entered the room.
The door we just came through disappeared and turned into a wall. No way out... The fake Venus, Mars, and Jupiter disappeared in an instant, and the room turned into some dark, twisted place. As we entered the room, even I felt the negative vibes it was giving off. A shiver ran down my spine.
"No!" Mars yelled.
"Get yourselves out now!! Run!" Jupiter and Venus screamed.
We followed the voices and saw the real Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, along with the Starlights, hanging from the ceiling by cords!
"Uranus!" Mars yelled. "It's a trap! You have to get her out of here!"
Suddenly, three cords came flying down and wrapped around Mercury, Neptune, and Uranus.
"No!" I shouted, jumping to try and catch someone's hand.
"Sailor Moon! Run!" Neptune yelled as the cord pulled her up with the others.
"I can't leave you!" I cried, still chasing after them, even though they are way above my head. "I'll get you down!"
"Sailor Moon! Look out!" Uranus cried. A cord was coming down for me! I stopped running. I couldn't move. I fell to my knees. It was getting closer...
"Stop!" A familiar voice said.
The cord immediately stopped and retreated. I was left to wonder what just happened.
"Well, well, well," the voice boomed. "Sailor Moon. I'm surprised to see that you're still around." It was a woman's voice, but whose?
"Who's there?" I demanded with as much force as I could manage. A creepy fog began to fill the room, making it hard to see where the voice was coming from... I shivered.
"Don't say that you don't remember me!" There was a break in the fog, and it thinned out. There stood the woman with red hair and green eyes, but she looked older now. I finally was able to place her. "You couldn't have forgotten your one true rival..."
"Queen Beryl!" I said. She laughed.
"That's not possible!" Mars said. "We finished you off two years ago!"
"How can you be back?" I asked quietly, more to myself, actually, than out loud.
"I have come back for revenge!" Beryl stated as she turned to the side, looking up at her captives. "Last time, your little friends helped you out..." I slowly rose to my feet. She laughed and looked back at me, "But this time, you're on your own!"
"Mars fire-" Sailor Mars yelled as she aimed as best she could. At the same time, Venus tried to.
"Venus crescent V-" she said.
"Ignite!"
"Smash!"
Fire shot out of Mars' finger, while an orange beam came from Venus'. Both attacks were heading towards Beryl. She simply laughed and held up her hand. Mars' fire and Venus' beam bounced off of Beryl's hand and switched directions. Both attacks were now headed right towards Mars and Venus! They screamed in pain as their own attacks hit them.
"No!" I shouted. "Venus! Mars!" I watched in horror as they hung, battered and bruised. The other Sailor Soldiers, including the Starlights, were left wide-eyed and opened-mouthed in horror.
"You'll pay Beryl!" I cried, attempting to maintain my balance and move towards her. I dropped to the floor... I felt very faint and everything was moving in and out of my blurry vision.
"Sailor Moon!" Mercury shouted, drawing the Soldiers' attention back to me.
"Sailor Moon, you're in no condition to fight!" Uranus said. "You can't!"
I only had to look up at her. She knew there was no way I would retreat to save myself and leave them here. She began to struggle to break loose.
"What's wrong?" Sailor Star Fighter asked. "Why can't Sailor Moon fight?"
"She's ill," Jupiter replied. "She hasn't been feeling well all day..."
"This is all my fault..." Venus whispered.
"What?" Sailor Star Healer asked quietly.
"Earlier, she looked really pale...and I made her stay with us..." Venus whispered, a bit breathy.
"It is not your fault!" Uranus snapped, finally realizing that breaking loose was next to impossible. All the Soldiers' gaze settled on her. "I am the one to blame."
"No you're not!" Mars quickly exclaimed.
"I am," Uranus said in a small voice. "I shouldn't have allowed her to come with us..." She then added, "Our job is to protect her."
"We are all at fault then, "Neptune whispered as she secretly took Uranus' hand in hers. "The only thing we can do now," she paused, "is believe."
