Outside, the world was falling apart. Though the Starlights and the royals would not have known it, they were the only survivors left. All others had either surrendered or were destroyed by Galaxia while she conquered the land. As the Star Seeds of Kinmoku were taken by foce, the planet became dimmer, losing its magic.
Seiya was leaning against a window, looking worriedly outside. She and the other Starlights had noticed the approaching darkness. Even the palace itself has lost its glimmer; it was now a cold, quiet, and haunting reminder of what used to be. The crystal walls seemed to be nothing more than faded paint. It seemed as if the palace had aged many years over the course of just a few days.
She also noticed there was one less bright star in the sky. It was another painful reminder of how they had lost Sailor Star Believer just a few days before. Perhaps that was why the world was so dark, she figured. There was no hope left.
Yaten interrupted her thoughts. "How long must we wait before we go?" she asked angrily, pacing across their room. Her patience was wearing thin, and she seemed rather eager to exact revenge on the senshi who ruined their world.
Seiya sighed. "Soon. Very soon."
"I feel like we are cowards, hiding out here while she's out there," remarked Yaten crossly.
"We will go as soon as the princess is ready," stated Taiki.
"I do not like just waiting! What is her hesitation?"
Seiya went over to Yaten and put a hand on her shoulder. "We will go soon, I promise. I'm sure Kakyuu is hesitant for many reasons. We could all die…and she probably could not bear to watch another one of us become like Kazuki." Her voice choked on her former comrade's name, but she continued to speak. "Another reason is probably Orion. They have gotten rather close over the past few days, and these may be the last moments they have together."
"That bastard. How dare he stick around after killing—"
"He did it because it was necessary. We tried our best to save her, Yaten. I gave him the okay to do it, so if you are going to blame anyone, blame me."
There was a silence in the room. "But aren't you jealous?"
Seiya crossed her arms defiantly. "I do not know what you are talking about."
Yaten smirked. "You know very well what I mean."
The two women stared at each other intensely. Taiki, noticing the building tension in the room, went over to her friends and started to separate them. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything. Remember, the real enemy is out there," she reminded them, pointing to the window.
Seiya and Yaten relaxed their postures, but held their gaze. "Well, I hope we leave soon, at any rate," said Yaten. She spun around on her heel and headed out of the room.
"Princess?" Orion called out, knocking on Kakyuu's bedroom door.
"Come in," answered a quiet voice. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. Kakyuu herself was sitting upon a windowsill, gazing upon the ruins of her home city. She turned to him, with eyes reddened from crying.
"I wanted to apologize for ending your Starlight's life."
Kakyuu looked away again. "You do not have to. I understand. It was difficult to accept at first, but it was…as Seiya said…necessary."
Orion's eyes widened with surprised, but he nodded. He walked across the room and sat across from the princess on the same windowsill. "The Starlights are getting restless," he pointed out.
"Yes, I know," replied the princess. She wiped away a stray tear from her face. "I know they want revenge for what has happened…but all I want is peace. I wish we could just run away from this fate—but that would do no justice for dear Kazuki."
"You are a very brave soul," spoke Orion.
"No, you are braver. You can at least fight."
Orion smiled a little. "But Princess, I am scared as well. I just happen to hide it. I never thought that something like this could happen while I was away from my home. For all I know, this Galaxia could come to my home and destroy it as well."
"I did not think of that," said Kakyuu quietly.
"It is alright. I did not expect you to." Orion took her hands into his. "Surely you see that at some point, we will have to face her. But know that I will face this battle with you—and so will your Starlights. They and I would never betray you, dear Princess."
"Do you think I am ready?"
"Well, no one ever knows they are ready—until the moment comes. I have every faith in you. You will succeed in whatever choices you make."
Kakyuu's eyes watered again. "Thank you. You do not know how much this means to me."
Orion shrugged slightly. "I think I have some idea." He leaned forward. Kakyuu met him and they kissed. "Perhaps, when this is all over, you can come visit where I live," Orion offered.
"I think I would like that." They kissed again, one last time.
The five people left on Kinmoku began their march to the highest point on the planet, a tall mountain a few miles north of the palace. It was more narrow than wide, and so tall that the clouds around it only marked half of the height. The group had decided to go there for their final battle because, as Seiya had pointed out, there would be no better place to make their stand. At the summit of the mountain were the tombs of the greatest rulers of the planet, and while walking to a tomb was not a comforting idea, there was a myth that during times of trouble, the dead would lend their power to those who requested it. And so, desperate for a miracle, the Starlights and the royals headed towards the majestic mountain.
They were quiet the entire walk to the landform. As they started their ascent up the trails of the mountain, Sailor Star Healer spoke up. "How do we even know that Galaxia would come here? Surely she would not even know of the myths that surround this mountain."
"Well, it is the highest point on the planet. If she is as much of a conqueror as she appears to be, she would want to come here, and relish the pride of her so-called victory," Sailor Star Fighter answered.
"Hmm."
They were quiet again for some time. Plants became scarcer as they climbed higher and higher into the atmosphere, until they finally reached their destination. The top of the mountain was somewhat flat, with rocks surrounding the edge. A few tall plants jutted off the edge, but otherwise, it was clear and cold.
"Where is she?" Healer muttered as she paced around the top.
"Not here, obviously," spoke Maker. "Perhaps she has already moved on to another planet."
"No, not quite. Her presence has not left us completely," stated Kakyuu.
It was quiet for a minute as the five of them wandered around the top aimlessly. Finally, out of exasperation and impatience, Fighter called out angrily from the edge, "Galaxia, you coward! Come here and fight if you want to truly be a conqueror of worlds!"
The others stared at her, speechless. They looked around to see if the golden senshi would answer the call. In the center of their group, she suddenly appeared. The Starlights and royal jumped back in surprise, standing just on the edge, surrounding the evil senshi. "Why am I not surprised," drawled Galaxia, "you are still alive. I should have known, seeing as how the very last light of this planet is not gone. It is no matter—I shall have those Star Seeds anyhow."
Orion unsheathed his sword, a glowing golden light emitting from its blade. The others posed in battle stance. "A challenge you are not," continued Galaxia, "but I shall battle you anyway. You obviously have the most powerful Star Seeds, much more valuable than the majority of the ones I have found."
"Let's do this then." Healer jumped forward and called out her attack. "Star Healer Tornado!" A cyclone of strong wind erupted from her Star Yell and blasted Galaxia. Dust and rock gathered around the evil senshi, making seeing her impossible—until a few moments later when she broke free of the spell and blasted the debris back at the Starlights.
"Nice try. That almost tickled," taunted Galaxia with a cackle.
Maker gritted her teeth and called out, "Star Maker Strike!" A strike of lightning erupted from her and headed towards Galaxia, who waved it off as if it were an annoying bug.
Princess Kakyuu felt helpless. There her Starlights were, and their attacks were doing very little damage to the over-confident senshi. It was time for things to change—for her to stand forward. She looked at Orion, who gave her an encouraging smile, and began to transform. "Kinmoku Star Power, Make-up!" A vivid stream of ruby and orange colors surrounded her, until her sailor fuku appeared instead of her long skirt. She readied herself. "You will not win this time, Galaxia! By the power of the Ruby Crystal, I shall punish you! Kinmoku Fusion Tempest!" A powerful storm erupted from the princess's hands and rushed towards Sailor Galaxia.
Unprepared and off-guard, Galaxia was blown back and fell on a corner of rocks. She grumbled in pain. "You bitch! You shall pay for that!" She raised her hands to attack the princess, but after a second thought, she aimed her vengeance at Orion. A golden blast struck the prince, and he screamed in agony as the flash of her attack surrounded him. The others watched helplessly as the great prince was raised high in the air, then dropped onto the ground. He did not get up, nor did he appear to be breathing. Then his Star Seed sprouted from his forehead, and the others knew he was done for.
"No," gasped Sailor Kakyuu. "Not him…" She rushed to his side, but was blasted back by Galaxia.
"I am afraid helping him is out of the question," said Galaxia coldly as she collected the Seed. "Such a beautiful light…he would have been a good match for you, Princess."
"How could you?" yelled Kakyuu as she struggled to get up, watching as Orion's body faded.
Galaxia said, "Do not think that you can stop me, or fix what has happened to him. Fate is fate." She grasped the Seed tightly, and when she opened her palm, it was gone. "On second thought, this is all rather boring. I have all the Star Seeds I need to blast you all into oblivion. Surely you do not hope to defeat me. My only weakness is that Light of Hope, which surely has faded into the corners of this galaxy." She laughed. "You can always surrender, you know."
"Light of Hope?" whispered Fighter. "Was that Believer?"
"I don't know," answered Maker quietly.
Kakyuu declared aloud, "We will not surrender! For our friends and for our home, we shall fight!" She began to prepare another attack on the evil senshi, but this time Galaxia was prepared for her, and with a simple wave of her hand, knocked Kakyuu back to the edge of the mountain.
"Go, Princess, run! We shall take care of this witch!" Fighter called out.
Healer ran over to the princess. "Go, Kakyuu. Escape and there will still be hope."
"I can't leave you," Kakyuu said. "I won't abandon you!"
"Even if you did run," Sailor Galaxia interrupted sharply, "I would still find you and capture your Star Seed. Nothing is short of my grasp!"
"We won't let her get you," Healer said to the princess-senshi. "Now go!"
"I can't…" cried Kakyuu. Memories flashed through her mind: her parents, smiling gently; the five of them, Starlights and her, together in the palace; falling in love with Orion; then the destruction of her home. It was almost too much for her to bear.
"Don't you trust us?" Seiya asked her.
"Of course I do. I would do anything for you," Kakyuu said.
"And we would do anything for you. So trust us when we say that you need to escape."
"But I would never leave you."
"Well, one day you might have to. And when that day comes, you must be ready."
"That's so depressing, Seiya…."
The memory of her past conversations with Seiya reminded how much her Starlights cared about her and would not let her get hurt. "Okay, you win, girls," muttered the Princess. She dashed down the mountain, leaving the Starlights alone with Galaxia. She did not make it far, however, as her leg had been injured, and she collapsed against a tree. This was all wrong; it was never supposed to happen like this. She felt like a fool for running like this—what if Galaxia found her anyways? She shook her head. Her Starlights had never failed her before.
Trying to catch her breath, she examined her leg. It was gashed in the shin, probably from the rocks she had landed on earlier. She tore off a piece of her fuku and wrapped it around the wound and pressed to stop the bleeding. It was going to be difficult traveling through space with an injury.
Kakyuu heard a rustle behind her. Turning around, she spotted a small girl with red hair, similar to hers. It was tied in two heart-shaped buns on either side of her head. She did not appear to be more than four years old. Comforted by the sight of the small child, but confused as to her appearance, Kakyuu called out to her. "Hello. What are you doing here?"
The child turned her head to the side. "Chibi?"
Kakyuu smiled in spite of herself. The child had apparently not learned to speak yet. So young…and so alone. She wondered how the girl ended up on the mountain. She studied the girl more and now noticed that she wore a sailor fuku. It was white with a blue collar and a blue skirt, with a red bow and a heart in the center of the bow. She wore cute little white boots, which themselves had red hearts on their tops. Her golden tiara, white gloves, red choker also had little red hearts in the center. She also had innocent blue eyes and a disarming smile. "What sort of senshi are you?" Kakyuu inquired.
"Chibi Chibi!" the girl answered enthusiastically.
"Sailor Chibi Chibi?" Kakyuu giggled. The force of the laughter shook her leg, and she grimaced in pain. Perhaps she had damaged it more than she thought. She looked at the girl again. "Whoever you are…you probably should not be here. There is danger on the mountain."
"Chibi," the girl replied.
"You should go. But you have nowhere to go to, do you?" Kakyuu's eyes softened.
"Chibi chibi." The girl wandered over and pressed her gloved hand on the princess's wound.
Kakyuu had felt weak, but upon the simple gesture of the touch, she felt immensely better. "A warm light," she murmured, staring at the girl, who now seemed to have a light aura about her.
"Chibi?" asked the little girl. She was pointing to the sky, where a shooting star streamed across.
Kakyuu was not sure what the girl meant at first. The star reminded her of Believer. Part of her wanted to follow the star, far away from this desolate place.
"Chibi," the small senshi said again, smiling. She tugged on Kakyuu's arm and pointed again.
Suddenly Kakyuu understood. "You want to leave." She stood up and looked at the sky, and then turned to where the Starlights were fighting Galaxia. She could hear the distant battle cries of her comrades. She faced the little senshi next to her, gathered her in her arms, and found the strength to start the journey away from her home.
Again, apologies for the delay. I honestly have had the entire story written on sticky notes for some weeks now. I just finally have gotten a little time to share the rest of it with you all.
Also, for those of you who write: I find that music helps inspire me. On this chapter, it was really important to have the right theme….for me, anyway.