"Moonlight Chat"
The aftermath of the battle with Sailor Dark Heart's shadow and monster had left the Crystal Palace grounds devastated. The Sailor Senshi were proud that their daughters and they had been able to prevent Sailor Dark Heart's plan and rescue Colin. Yet it had been a close victory. As they began to clean up the mess they reflected on what had happened since their adversary had appeared. Each victory had been narrow at best. Sailor Dark Heart was undeniably a formidable opponent and in everyway their equal.
Neo Queen Serenity watched with a troubled look as her friends worked together to restore the Palace's grounds to their previous splendor. Her radiant blue eyes fell upon her daughter and her friends. They were cleaning up a nearby playground. She watched silently as Linda and Almira jumped over a swing set and rehooked the swings to the silver structure. Anita and Rachel were dusting off the merry-go-round. Melanie and Mika were cleaning a duck pond. At the same time as the rest of the girls were busy painting and collecting garbage. Even their pets were busy helping in anyway that they could. Chibiusa was leading them as she helped repotted a number of gorgeous flowers.
"You need some help, Chibiusa?" asked Rosemary politely, as she and the other children who had been attack came over.
The Sailor Senshi weren't the only ones doing cleanup. Several citizens from the thriving community of Crystal Tokyo had joined in the effort. It made the enthralling sovereign incredibly elated to see a community work so well together, to care so much for others and their world.
"Hello, Rosemary! Nice to see you today! Oh hi, Snow Rose and Colin! Thank you for all coming! Yeah, everyone here would welcome any help that they could get. Ms. Haku is over there with some of our classmates painting murals. Rosemary you can help me plant flowers. Snow Rose? You and Colin can be of assistance in restoring the outdoor theater. We like to have a musical later after all this is clean up. It's great to see you all so happy."
"It's nice to surrounded by family and friends. I thought I never feel love again when Sailor Dark Heart attacked me. I felt nothing when I was around the things I loved the most. All I felt was emptiness inside. I never want to feel like that again," Rosemary concurred, as she put some gloves on her hands.
"Me too. My passion for figure skating was gone as well. It was like I was disconnected with myself. It was the strangest feeling I've ever had."
"Can you remember anything else? Something that might give us a clue or an insight into what Sailor Dark Heart is after. I mean I've a vague idea but I need more facts to make sense of it."
"No, Small Lady, we cannot tell you more. It's almost like waking from a dream. It is extremely vague, but some lingering sense of what happened does remain. I remember feeling like the love was sucked right out of me. That I felt nothing, but hate. That's all I can remember, besides waking up in your arms I mean," Colin admitted sadly.
Chibiusa looked a bit crushed by her friends' statements, but quickly recovered. "Well the important thing is that everyone is safe and happy. Now come on! We got a lot of work ahead of us!"
The hard work and manual labor kept everyone busy for the whole weekend. By the end of it everyone was either sunburned or had blisters. But it was worth it all because Crystal Palace was once again a breath-stealing spectacle. It was something out of a dream. Right now everyone was relaxing in the spa to unwind after all the hard work. On the other hand, each and every one of them was still brooding over what had occurred. They needed to figure out what Sailor Dark Heart was after and what her plans were. They felt they had a little more insight of what she was after now, after speaking with each of the victims and recalling what she had said before them.
"So my fellow Senshi, what do you think? We've four stories of people being attack. What do they have in common?" Chibiusa asked, as she settled down into the hot tub.
"Well, Small Lady they were all very young." Diana spoke up as she and her siblings strolled into the spa. Unlike most cats these kittens didn't have an aversion to water. They slipped right in and relaxed in a shallow pool of steaming soothing water and began to eat catnip.
"Well of course they were young, Diana! We've one young woman and three children. But what do they have in common other then their age?" rebuffed Comet as she slurped down a piece of shrimp.
"Well, let's be methodical about this, girls. What we've learned from your friends, Small Lady? What did the tell you?" inquired Asteroid curiously to the young princess. The pink haired youth thought about it a moment. Then began slowly what she suspected. "Well each of them said it felt like the love was sucked right out of them. And each of them had a great passion of some kind."
"Yes, that's true, Chibiusa. Each of our victims did have one great love. Ms. Haku has a great love for children and art. Rosemary had a great love for fairy tales and flowers. Snow Rose had her passion for figure skating, and Colin is extraordinarily passionate about pleasing his parents and trying to be a good friend," Anita summarized smartly.
"Wait a moment! I just remembered something," exclaimed Rachel as she accidentally spilled some water out of the tub. The pets had to scamper out of the way. They gave the raven hair youth a look of disapproval. She smiled weakly and said, "I'm so sorry for splashing you my friends. I didn't mean too."
"Apology accepted, Rachel. Now continue on with your observation?" said Ares as he began to preen his feathers.
"Well I remember seeing faint glittering pink light ebb out of each and every one of the victims. Do you think that something important?"
"It has to be energy!" exclaimed Melanie loudly as she stood up sloshing more water from the hot tube. She then realized her towel was coming undone and abruptly sat back down. With an embarrass smile she went on. "Remember our mothers' initial foes? The Dark Kingdom Queen Beryl wanted Jadeite and Nephrite to collect energy to awaken Queen Metalia. Sailor Dark Heart is obviously collecting energy for some reason."
"Yes, she must be collecting energy that much we can agree on. However she seems to be only after a specific type of energy, Melanie." Linda pointed out as she plucked a cherry out of a nearby bowl.
The girls nodded and Chibiusa said what they were all thinking. "Love Energy. She seems to be after individuals with strong love energy. But why is the mystery."
"Well, Chibiusa she did say something about Unloved Ones. And after all she is Sailor Dark Heart. She obviously wants to conquer over pure heats and change them into dark ones. She did say she was also trying to raise an army." Hiroka pointed out to her friend.
"She's like a twisted cupid! After all Cupid had two different kinds of arrows at his disposals. Golden ones for love and lead ones for hate. Everyone who had one of those arrow pierce their hearts agreed it felt like all the love energy within them was drain." Almira stated. She had a grim expression on her face. One that Mika and Tracy both shared.
This was disturbing news indeed. They now had some idea what Sailor Dark Heart was after, on the other hand, they still had no clue as to what she plan to do with the energy she obtained, nor who she was working with or where to find her. So it was a bitter sweet moment. The Chibi Senshi weren't the only ones disturbed by the news.
Neo Queen Serenity was deeply troubled by what was happening in her sovereignty. Not even her beloved husband King Endymion could sooth her worry. She was in dire need to talk to someone about what was happening. However the one person who could help wasn't around anymore. For the one she wish to speak with was her biological mother, Queen Serenity. But that was impossible for she had passed away two millenniums ago. Or was it?
Neo Queen Serenity possessed a secret. One she had never shared with anyone, not her friends, husband or daughter. This secret was kept behind two golden doors in the center of the Crystal Palace. Every full moon at midnight she would make the candlelit journey to this chamber. This was the only time that the doors would open. When the silver lunar rays hit the golden crescent shape mark on the top of the doors. As luck would have it that the full moon was that very night. Only this time she wasn't going unaccompanied.
Chibiusa was tossing and turning in her sleep. She kept seeing Sailor Dark Heart pointing one of her arrows at a shadow. But before she could see whose that shadow was shown she was abruptly woken up by her mother.
"Small Lady, please wake up."
"Mommy?" she said groggily as she tried to wake up. She gazed out her window and notice that the golden full moon was nearly in the midnight alignment. Why was her mother waking her up in the middle of the night she wondered?
"Make haste my child. We must be going if we are to make it in time. So hurry up now." "Mommy? What is going…" yawning, "…on?"
"You'll see in a moment. Come now get up, Small Lady." Chibiusa yawned once more and slipped her tiny feet into her furry slippers and followed her mother to the center of the palace. She was in awe by all this. She had never been allowed in this chamber before. She watched in amazement as the light from the full moon opened the golden doors and the slowly opened. The pair walked slowly into the chamber and the doors shut behind them. For a few moments Chibiusa was scared by the pitch blackness. Then all of a sudden a warm glow emerged from the darkness. Looking around she now could see more of this mysterious room.
The walls of the chamber had murals dictating the past, present and future of the Moon Kingdom. To the left was the Silver Millennium. To the front of them was 20th century Tokyo and to the right was Crystal Tokyo. In the center of the rooms on a pink and gold pedestal was a strange arrangement of crystals. A soft spotlight made from the moon directly above them shine down on them.
"What is this chamber, Mommy?"
"This chamber, Small Lady, is the Chamber of Era. In this room time is neither here nor there. Every part of time is center here, and it is here where the walls of space and time are burned down, and the shadows of the past can be seen in the light of the future," explained the Queen as she approached the pedestal slowly. Chibiusa just stayed rooted to the spot. She watched as her mother as she now was just a foot away from the mysterious crystals. Her mother took a deep breath and began to recite an incantation.
"Across the mists of space and time, where shadows of the past divine, dwell within the hidden light, where souls of purity reside, we call forth the guide of the keeper of the souls. May love light the way for the chosen soul of those who are gone but still with us as we go on. I call for thee to come to me for a nightly chat then at dawn fair light I will return you to your pleasant and eternal rest. Now I call forth the one I wish to speak with for this hollow moonlight evening. Queen Serenity come forth from your peaceful slumber and talk with your daughter for a few hours!"
A tiny light descended from the sky and slowly made its way to the crystal. Once it touched it the crystals came alive with a musical hum and an image became visible. Chibiusa jaw dropped by what she saw. Incenter of the crystal was her grandmother. Queen Serenity! She looked just as she had when she died except she had wings.
"Hello, Serenity. Small Lady. It's been awhile since we last spoke. What seems to be troubling you two?" asked the beautiful queen of the moon.
"Grandmother?! How is this possible!? How can you be speaking with us? You've been dead for two millenniums!"
"Small Lady as I explained here the rules of time, death, and life are broken. Here they have no hold on the mortal plan. But this can only be done at midnight of the full moon. When the barrier of the mortal world and the spirit world are at their weakest. We only have to the moon wanes to have a discussion with my mother. So I suggest we get down to the point of this meeting."
"Yes, Mommy."
"So, daughter what seems to be troubling you?" "Mother, we have been facing a new adversary. Her name is Sailor Dark Heart. From what we've been able to gather about her we have come to this conclusion. She is after ones with powerful love energy. She is also trying to remove love from people. We don't know who or what her plan is. That is why we are in desperate need of your help."
"Yes, Grandmother." Chibiusa cut in. The two sovereigns gazed at the small child in bewilderment. Chibiusa began to spill her heart and soul out to her family. All that had been consuming her frail heart and mind for so long was expelled as she rushed into her confession. "This has been a most difficult challenge. My sailor team and I have been fighting her for a little over a month. She is incredibly strong and a deadly opponent. She has almost beaten us and we've just squeaked by with our victory."
"Sailor Dark Heart?" Queen Serenity repeated with a worried look etched onto her beautiful face. She looked away for a moment. Clearly she was troubled by this bit of news. She then turned to face her family once more before asking. "Is she the one you're facing when I gave you the Moon Love Strobe?"
"Yes. I've used it well. I've been using it to liberate individuals who've had their love energy snatch from their bodies. Do you know who this is? Any ideas at all?" Chibiusa asked desperately to her grandmother.
Queen Serenity hung her head sadly and looked away from her granddaughter. It was like she was afraid to say something. Her beautiful daughter noticed this and gently pressed her.
"Mother, this is very important. If you have information that could aid us in our struggle please I beg of you. Tell us what you know!"
"Oh, my darling daughter. My beloved granddaughter. I feared this day would never come. But alas it has. I've been dreading this day for so long. I only hope that history wouldn't repeat itself. Nevertheless it has," she said sorrowfully. Her blue eyes held tears and pain inside them smothering their normal shine.
"Mother," Neo Queen Serenity pressed gently, "please tell us what you know."
Queen Serenity let out a sigh and explained. "Long ago, when you were just a small child a nebula appeared at the edge of our solar system. We of the Silver Millennium felt an ominous energy radiating from it. So we sent a team to investigate it. For six months the team kept in regular response. Then suddenly they vanish without a trace and the nebula retreated away from our peaceful civilization. Twenty years went by and over that period of time scores of inhabitants began to disappear. They just disappear without a trace. All that they had in common was that they had felt unloved. One day you, Serenity, saw an abduction of one of my servant girls, Eva. She was abduct by the one you call Sailor Dark Heart. Almost immediately after that an invasion was launched on us. It was led by a dark queen and her daughter, Sailor Dark Heart. They had with them an army of unloved ones. I used the Silver Crystal to cleanse the Unloved Ones of the spell they were under. But the queen and her daughter remained unaffected. I never found out who they were. But I do know this. The queen looked very much like a little girl who disappeared with the group sent to investigate the nebula. Her name was Devi, daughter of Lord and Lady Demetrius. I've a very ominous feeling that she was in fact that small child. But she was now an Unloved One. Before they retreated I saw a great beast. I sense it was he who was the real root of the evil that tried to overthrow us."
"So you're saying that Sailor Dark Heart and this Queen Devi are in fact the ones threatening us now?" asked Neo Queen Serenity nervously. She glanced down at her daughter who shared her concern and fear. Both didn't want this to be true. And yet in the pit of their stomachs they knew what the answer would be.
"Yes. I believe so. You and your court were reborn on Earth. But how Queen Devi and her daughter survived this long I've no clue."
"Do you know what their aim is, Grandmother?"
"I can only speculate, Small Lady. But I believe that they are seeking those with strong love energy in order to rebuild the power they lost that day. Maybe too free their dark god. Then they can gather the Unloved Ones again and try to rule your world. Again this is only what I suspected. But I would warn you to be cautious. Queen Devi isn't one to give up and her daughter is a dedicated princess and fighter."
"Do you have any idea how to find them?"
"No. I can't help you anymore. You must stop them though. You see there is one more thing I do know. They seek to find the Light of Love."
"The Light of Love? What's that?" asked Chibiusa curiously.
"The Light of Love is the human incarnation of love itself. It fuels all love in the world. If that light was ever extinguished then all love would fade from the universes. You must protect the Light of Love and stop Queen Devi and Sailor Dark Heart."
"We swear to protect this world and the Light of Love! Don't worry, Grandmother. We'll stop them!" vowed Chibiusa. "
I must go now. The sun is raising and I must return to my rest. I'll see you next full moon. Hopefully we'll have better news by then. I love you, Serenity and Small Lady. See you again really soon," as she began to fade with the morning light.
"See you later too, Mother."
"Good-bye, Grandmother."
The dawn brought the sunrise and now both mother and daughter had a better idea of whom and what they were dealing with. They would share this with the others really soon but for now both just looked solemnly at the golden amber sky fire hoping it brought with it hope to save their world from this unspeakable evil.