To Sleep; To Dream
By Ms. Moonstar
A/N: Hello! Here is the next chapter of my story. Sorry it took so long, I had school and other things going on, and this episode was the hardest to do since a lot of it was Outers based. Many thanks to Thorn on a Rose, LadyCrystal1 and blueknight for their wonderful reviews I am glad you are enjoying this story! Many thanks to Monogururi for editing this chapter!
Summary: This is another story told on a whim. It describes the Starlights thoughts and feelings as they are drifting in and out of consciousness during the battle with Galaxia from episode 196 to 199 and will be split up by each episode. With that said SPOILERS EPISODES 196-199 of the Stars season.
Note: Italics are thoughts.
Chapter 2: Episode 197
It had taken a moment for the Starlights to comprehend, but when the name "Mamo-chan" reached her, Fighter knew instantly what had happened. So, this 'Mamo-chan' had been Odango's love and the protector of Earth? That's why Galaxia had captured his Star Seed and why she hadn't received anything from him in so long, the Raven-haired Light thought. Suddenly, her heart went out to the moon senshi, no doubt that Usagi had hidden her troubles under that ever-present smile.
"Why!" Usagi's voice rang through the vast space that was Galaxia's throne room. Her voice was trembling, but not with sorrow, than with anger. Though the Starlights could not see her face, they were sure by her sharp, demanding tone that she was beside herself with fury and frustration.
Galaxia answered smoothly, "Why? That was the same question posed to me from the man who held this Star Seed." Then with her arm extended, the crystal began to glow. In a few moments, it all made sense.
Oh God! The mind of Fighter screamed, So…Odango hadn't even known that he'd been dead this entire time! She turned to see Sailor Moon, her head lowered and her hands covering her face. The Raven-haired light tore her gaze away to glare at the evil Golden senshi who stood smirking as if she had done something marvelous. "What a stupid man!" Galaxia sneered, "In this reality, there is no such thing as love or justice. There is only the shine of Star Seeds, and the one who has the most shines will rule this galaxy! Now I am going to take those shines of yours!"
Sailor Moon stood motionless, still sobbing into her hands. This young woman could not die; Fighter would make sure of that. Despite the sorrow that she felt now, the Raven-haired light knew that the Moon senshi was the only one who could save this galaxy. In the process, she could probably bring back all who had fallen to Galaxia. The blasts raced toward Sailor Moon, and without any hesitation, Sailor Star Fighter raced toward them, trying also to win the race toward the moon princess. She threw out her arms and then, without any warning or any regard for her on well being. A blinding light showered the five of them, and for a moment they felt as though they weighed nothing at all.
When the Starlights awoke, they found themselves in a large office space, complete with desks piled with magazines and papers scattered haphazardly on each surface. The room was dark, lit only by flashes of lighting outside. When the Star senshi looked up, they could also see Sailor Moon, who was slouching against a filing cabinet still unconscious. They weren't alone however; The outer Sol senshi were in two sets of pairs on opposite sides of the space. Sailor Saturn and Pluto watched Sailor Moon's motionless form. Meanwhile Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune had been observing the destruction of a city: no doubt from a space in the drawn blinds that Uranus' finger had created, through the window.
Fighter, Maker, and Healer turned when they heard a gasp as the Moon senshi woke at last. It had only taken a moment for the blond woman fully to grasp the reality of what had happened, and she had begun to weep again. Part of the raven-haired Light longed to go over to Usagi and comfort her, but Uranus beat her to it. Releasing the blind with a plink! The wind senshi groused, "Does one really have time to weep for the fallen? Galaxia's assault on this planet continues without any signs of slowing; crying won't help any."
Fighter stood up and balled her fist. The Starlights knew the Wind senshi to be blunt, but that had to be the worst thing for her to say to the mourning senshi. Ending the war would only calm their minds, not the mind of their princess. "How could you say something like that?" She cried, "You are senshi of this planet aren't you?!"
The sandy-haired senshi grimaced. "We intended to save it ourselves," Fighter saw her eyes narrow, "but how those girls were struck down . . . " The three Starlights were taken aback by the usually impassive senshi now shaken by the deaths of the others. But as soon as it had appeared, Sailor Uranus' face turned stony again. She turned to face her partner and in a firm tone said, "Let's go."
The Raven-Haired Light stood straighter before calling out, "Wait! We'll come with you!"
"No," replied the Sea senshi calmly, "With those injuries, what could you do?" Fighter had again, been taken aback. Was the pair trying to protect them? Perhaps they wanted the Starlights to stay behind, so if they fell, the Star Senshi would be there to protect Sailor Moon. Or did she really believe that the Starlights could not fight with their injuries? The latter was probably true. "We'll take care of this." And then with a nod to her partner, she and Sailor Uranus ran out of the room.
"We've survived again," muttered Star Maker, "and yet more and more sacrifices are occurring without our avenging our princess' death..." her voice trailed off. Fighter did not even bother turning around, this self pity uncommon within the seemingly intelligent Starlight. But she had a point. More and more senshi were succumbing to death; if this kept up, no one would be left to fight, and Galaxia would have control over the galaxy. Even Sailor Moon was susceptible, she was human after all, and had little that she knew of in the way of defensive attacks. The Starlights themselves were extremely vulnerable too; their present injuries were proof of that. They had been a breath away from losing their lives; the three Star senshi could do nothing in Galaxia's thrown room but be hit with the evil senshi's attacks again and again.
"As our princess said," Healer continued her companion's train of thought, "without the Light of Hope, there's no way to defeat Galaxia on our own..."
"That's not true," Sailor Saturn replied, making Fighter gasp and frown in thought. There was another way to defeat Galaxia? Surely not, Sailor Moon's healing was limited at best, and had not worked at all on the evil senshi, so how...? But Saturn interrupted with, "Do you like Sailor Moon?"
Even this caused the blond moon senshi to stir from her melancholy and look up. An interesting question. Yes, she did like Sailor Moon; her whole caring, spirited nature. She was very much the same as Princess Kakyuu, which was why she and the other two Lights were drawn to her. But there was something more; her compassion towards her friends and complete strangers made her the sole spirit of the planet. It was this compassion that made them trust and believe again. Fighter felt the eyes of everyone in the room upon her; smiling she said very calmly, "Yes, I do."
"Good," the young senshi replied, stepping to face the raven haired Light. "Then we seem to be on similar ground. Please believe in our princess." Sailor Pluto handed Chibi Chibi to Sailor Moon and after a few indistinct words, ran with Saturn out of the room. A few flashes of lightning lit the office space momentarily, and once more, there was silence between the five senshi. That is until Chibi Chibi awoke, and stood observing this unfamiliar place.
"She should have stayed asleep, then she wouldn't have to see the grim reality," Groused the tallest Starlight. The raven-haired Light frowned; nothing would be accomplished by sitting here feeling sorry for themselves and Maker knew that. "Stop it Maker," she said acidly.
"You can't blame her," Healer said quietly, "since we cannot fight and we don't have anything else to protect..." Fighter sighed. Healer too?
She had always known the silver-haired Light to hide her feelings deep within herself, replacing it with sarcasm. Yaten would never have voiced her worries so publicly, nor would Taiki. This planet and this war had changed them all. The friendship the Starlights knew on Kinmoku barely remained intact while they had remained here.
The Star Senshi looked up when they heard light footfalls coming towards them as Chibi Chibi Moon approached. The tiny child blinked up to them, her face questioning, but still innocent. "Anything to protect?" she repeated, "protect?"
Their hearts skipped a beat. The words spoken by the dying Inner senshi only a while ago echoed in their minds. Those girls had sacrificed themselves to protect their princess and the three of them; the Starlight realized that they would have done the same for Kakyuu. The Inner senshi had placed the protection of their princess in their hands since they were no longer able to. They did indeed did have something to protect, something to honor. The raven-haired Light could see the realization even in the face of Sailor Moon.
Standing once more, Fighter looked over at her two companions "Let's go again."
The brunette nodded solemnly, "hai, they won't have died in vain."
"We'll fight until our lives come to an end, for this galaxy, and for them." Healer whispered.
With a small smile, the moon senshi also got onto her feet. "Let's go." she said calmly. Gathering their courage, and pushing the remaining apprehension into the pit of their stomachs, the five senshi sprinted from the room and into the very depths of Galaxia's lair.
Charging through the dark corridors of the building, they sensed that they were close, and yet the hallway seemed to extend forever into darkness.
Healer stopped suddenly her breath catching in her throat and she stood immobile, her heart suddenly jumping in her chest. A shudder and cold feeling overtook the empathic senshi. It was a feeling she knew all too well from this war, it was the one she felt as the shines of stars and planets disappeared, as lives ended.
The other had noticed, for they too stopped and looked back at her. Fighter had called out "What's wrong?" The silver-haired Light took a deep breath and explained. Panic overtook the Moon senshi as she and the others thought about the Outers.
A sudden white light appeared before them, taking the shape of a set of open doors. Without any thought, any hesitation, the group raced through them and found themselves in the same chamber from which they came. And there, sitting serenely was Galaxia. What surprised the three Starlights however was not the evil senshi, but who was standing on either side. No...It couldn't be...They watched as Sailor Moon rushed to the fading Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn, who were re-assuring her that they would be alright and to believe in herself. With that, the two outer senshi were gone.
Sailor Moon glanced up at Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, who were standing at Galaxia's side. The gaze of the Starlights followed the moon senshi, noticing the golden bracelets on the wrists of the Sky senshi and the Sea Senshi, who were also holding two Star Seeds, presumably the ones that had belonged to Saturn and Pluto.
" NO WAY!" Healer screeched, "You sold out!" These two seemed the most unfailing to Sailor Moon, it was almost impossible to believe that they had shifted loyalties.
"That's none of your business, now is it?" Sailor Uranus replied coolly. So they had surrendered to Galaxia. A part of the Starlights dared not believe it, could not even fathom what could have brought this to light. Yet because they did not know these two that well, perhaps it was an act. But the two turncoat senshi coldness towards the moon senshi quashed that idea.
"They are my faithful soldiers." Galaxia declared, "Now get their remaining Star Seeds!"
The two Sailor senshi released the Star Seeds in their hands and stepping forward, took fighting stances, looking as though they were lionesses hunting for food.
There was no other alternative; the Starlights would have to protect Sailor Moon at all costs, even if it meant killing these two turncoats.