Moonlight War

Chapter 14

Awakening of the Eternal

"Welcome to the fold, Sailor Saturn." Hutchinson said, smirking. "Now, a little test of your power. Attack, shadow spirits!"

Immediately, as though brought to life by an unseen force, human-shaped shadows erupted from the orb, their mouths open in a silent scream. These were the ghosts I had heard. I raised my Silence Glaive, letting the power flow through me. And then, I swung. The wave of Silent energy that erupted from my blade sliced through the shadows, destroying them before they even had a chance to strike. Their death scream pierced my soul, and I knew that this battle would haunt me until my Sailor Crystal was destroyed.

I had just slaughtered several spirits trapped in Hutchinson's darkness.

"Well, now, your new form is strong, just like the legends. But it's unnecessary for you to join us, I can extract your power now." he said, before charging at me angrily.

I flew forward, using my newly-formed wings, and both of us collided with enough force to cause an explosion. I spun in, slashing my glaive at Hutchinson, who blocked – bare-handed – the slash, following with a powerful kick that sent me crashing to the ground. My glaive slipped out of my hand and clanged on the ground. Quickly, I jumped back and assumed a fighting stance. Then, I focused on combining my magic with my life force.

"Silence Blast!" I yelled, firing a purple ball of energy at the monster. This move I'd learned a while ago, but I had been too weak to risk it. But, now, the only thing that mattered to me was killing Hutchinson.

He dodged quickly. The blast struck the ceiling. Chaos. Rocks rained down upon us. Smoke everywhere. "Not bad, Hotaru. But it's not over yet! Shadow Buster!"

The blast rushed at me. At the last second, I held out my hand, summoning my glaive and yelled "Silent Wall!"

The blast exploded against my shield, surrounding me in smoke. Cracks appeared in the ground around me. Hutchinson flew in through the smoke and I went on the defensive, using my speed to evade the punches he threw at me. A few grazed me, however, and I winced slightly from them.

I quickly jumped, using my wings to get behind my opponent, and kicked backwards, sending him down to the ground. My feet touched the ground and I spun, sending a wave of Silence energy along the ground.

"Not... bad..." Hutchinson gasped, coughing up some blood which he wiped with his hand. "But it's over."

He aimed a punch at my face; this one connected hard, sending me flying into a wall. Pain in my nose, and a hot liquid on my face, told me that my nose was broken. I rose shakily; it seemed like the power of the transformation was only temporary – that, or I was so weak that I couldn't even take a punch, something that I doubted.

Neptune ran over to me, but I shook my head. This was my fight; the other Senshi wouldn't be able to help me. I glanced over the battlefield, and saw that my battle, while intense, wasn't the only one on the field. Harry was locked in a skirmish with Voldemort, hurling and dodging curses randomly. Ron and Hermione were trapped behind a piece of the ceiling by a pair of Death Eaters who had arrived to help Voldemort. The other Senshi were fighting some of the Dark Orb's ghosts.

"Now, that's not your limit, is it, Saturn? Surely the Senshi of Destruction could do better than this." Hutchinson said, laughing as he did so.

"Truly." I responded, flaring into a flying tackle that sent us both crashing into the other wall. "You're finished, Hutchinson!"

"Maybe... But it's over, Hotaru!" he said, laughing.

"What do you mean?"

"Yukari will revive – the fighting has made sure of it!"

And, before I could stop him, he rushed into the Dark Orb. As soon as his body impacted the surface, it began to expand. I flew over to the other Senshi. "Harry, Ron, Hermione—over here!" I shouted. "Silent Wall!"

I activated my shield just as the Orb struck the perimeter. Bits of debris flew all over the place, and a resounding blast that rattled my bones echoed through the hall.

"What's going on?" Harry yelled over the din, but I ignored him, focusing all my energy on trying to contain the force I knew now to be Yukari. But Voldemort, seemingly unaffected by the energy, marched toward me, his face ripping apart.

And then I understood. Voldemort and Yukari were one and the same. The dark energy I had felt was the Dark Lord, growing in power.

His face shifted into a more evil mask than ever—a terrible, red-skinned serpent's face. His eyes glared at me, prompting an involuntary shudder to spread through my body. Harry stood petrified at the sight—in fact, everyone did.

"Do you see, Hotaru Tomoe? Do you see, Harry Potter? I am the Dark Lord Voldemort. I am the Dark Lord, Yukari!" he said silkily, his voice, if possible, colder than ever.

I looked over at Harry, who seemed to tremble in—was it fear? Or was it hatred?

"Tell me, Voldemort. Why did you kill my parents?" he asked.

"Because, Harry Potter, because I could." Voldemort responded.

"That's not good enough! Expeliarmus!"

"Protego!"

The two spells hit and exploded, showering the area with sparks.

"It's over, Harry." Voldemort said, smiling slightly.

"It's never over until you're gone, Voldemort!" Harry yelled and rushed the monster Voldemort, who flared up a red shield that sent the boy flying backwards.

"Harry!" I yelled, aiming my glaive at Voldemort.

"Brave, but foolish." Voldemort said, smiling slightly. "And what do you think you'll do with that, Tomoe?"

I glared at the monster before dashing forward, using the Wings of Saturn to propel me to a speed that a mortal would have great difficulty countering—but Voldemort sent me flying back as well.

But then someone appeared in front of us, an old man wearing a long, flowing robe. He held a staff in one hand, and he was aiming it at the Dark Lord. It flashed once and Voldemort gasped in pain. This was Okairi—Dumbledore.

Voldemort vanished, as did the dark reality. All that remained was a demolished dungeon.

Dumbledore collapsed on one knee, gasping for breath. All of us—the Senshi and the three students—rushed forward to help him.

"Not... enough... strength..." he gasped out, his eyes closing. I frantically placed my hand on him, focusing—letting my power flow into him. But it was no use.

Albus Dumbledore had died.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, as well as the depressing ending. But there will still be two or three more chapters, plus two additional stories—a prequel and a sequel.