ACK! I had written half of chapter 15 and then the computer at work decided it didn't like what I had saved onto the floppy & decided to throw it all away. Now I have to start all over on chapter 15 again. *sigh* Hopefully I can remember what I wrote. Well, at least I only lost half of the chapter. Christmas is such a hectic time for everyone. I'm still not done with my shopping & my house is a disaster. Thank goodness dinner is elsewhere this year. I would like to wish everyone out there a safe and happy holiday season no matter what you believe in. Be safe and spread the love of Sailor Moon!
Ok, mushiness aside, now on with the story! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 15: Prince Endymion's Turn.
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"Now what?" asked Sailor Venus. "What do we need to do to save Usagi?"
Symphony took a moment to compose her thoughts. "It won't be easy and it's dangerous. Someone must enter Usagi's nightmare."
Before she could continue Endymion interrupted, "I'll do it."
Symphony looked at him and continued, "You may not survive."
"Prince Endymion. We can't let you do this. We need you here," stated Mars.
"Gomen. Usagi's life is in danger and it is my duty to rescue her. This time it is my turn to save her, rather than the other way around. You must understand how I feel." He looked at Mars. "You must know the guilt I have carried for having Usagi rescue me so many times and putting her life in danger. This time I am not the one in trouble, but I wish I were."
Mars stood there in shock. "I didn't know you carried such a burden. But you are not to blame. You don't need to be the one to die to save Usagi." Mars was nearly shouting at Endymion when Makoto put a hand on her shoulder.
"He needs to do this Mars. Usagi is his love, his only family. He'll be all right and so will Usagi. We'll see to that," comforted Jupiter with a wink.
Mars nodded and let the rest of her objection go.
Endymion turned to Symphony. "What do I need to do?"
"You are going to have to go to sleep. I will lead you into Usagi's dreams. It will be very dangerous. You will have to convince Usagi to come back on her own. You can't force her, for she would just turn deeper in her dreams, thus trapping both of you forever," said Symphony.
"Once I get in how do I get back out?"
"That is the tricky part. I can only guide you the gates of her dreams. I cannot go beyond or risk being trapped with you. Usagi is the only one who can lead you to safety. That is why you must convince her to come back willingly. But be warned. The Silence is very tricky. It uses her dreams against her. She will not know a dream from reality," said Symphony.
"How can I convince her that I am real?" asked Endymion.
"I don't know. But you must try. You will be able to use the dream state to your advantage though. In dreams anything is possible."
Mercury interrupted them. "There is something you're not telling him isn't there?"
Breathing deeply, Symphony nodded. "Yes. You can be injured in these dreams. What injuries you sustain will appear on your body. If you die in there you die out here."
Everyone was quiet.
"I can't let you do this! It's way to dangerous!" shouted Uranus.
Neptune grabbed Uranus' arm. "You would do the same for me."
Turning to Neptune she said, "Hai. But what will we do if we lose both of them?"
"You will continue on in our place," stated Endymion. "But I will do my best not to let that come to pass."
"Right," nodded Venus. "Let's get to it then! The faster we can rescue Usagi the faster we can beat this Silence."
"Right!" everyone echoed.
"What do you want us to do?" asked Venus.
Symphony answered immediately. "All the senshi need to form a circle around us. That includes all the Starlights. While we are down we are vulnerable to an attack. You need to form a protective barrier of sorts. It also makes a great distraction to what we will be trying to do. Once I lead the Prince to where he must enter I will return to consciousness and guard them from within the circle and minister to any injuries that may occur." She looked at Endymion. "Remember what I said. In dreams anything is possible." She returned her gaze to the rest of the group. "Are we ready to begin?"
"Hai!"
"Ok let's rock this thing! Form the barrier!" shouted Symphony.
"Mercury Crystal Power!"
"Mars Crystal Power!"
"Jupiter Crystal Power!"
"Venus Crystal Power!"
"Uranus Planet Power!"
"Neptune Planet Power!"
"Saturn Planet Power!"
"Pluto Planet Power!"
"Fighter Star Power!"
"Maker Star Power!"
"Healer Star Power!"
"Melody Star Power!"
"Harmony Star Power!"
One by one the Senshi's powers were joined as their hands were. Together all of them would help to ensure the success of Endymion. Inner Senshi, Outer Senshi and Starlights were all working together.
As Uranus' powered up and joined the circle she thought back to when she was against the original Starlights. 'You wanted us to work together then, but neither of us were ready for that. Now you have your wish Princess.'
Before closing her eyes and giving in her full power, Fighter looked at each Senshi. Her eyes rested on Uranus. 'She has been against us from the very beginning. I am glad that she has finally come to realize that we can all be friends and work together. I know she still harbors some resentment against me for trying to take her away from Mamoru, but now I have Shiori. Perhaps we can finally come to an understanding.' She then turned her eyes to the center of the circle where Endymion, Usagi and Symphony were and whispered, "Be careful my Star."
Symphony heard Fighter and turned around. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments then she nodded and turned back to Endymion. "Are you ready?"
Endymion nodded and lay down next to Usagi and grabbed her hand to hold. Symphony put a hand on each of their foreheads and quietly whispered to Endymion, "Now go to sleep with my aid and follow me to the gate of Usagi's dreams."
Endymion awoke into a gray, barren place. For a moment he could not remember where he was, then it hit him. "Usagi."
"Prince Endymion."
Startled, he turned and saw Symphony. She was almost blinding in the gray. Her all white fuku was a beacon in the desolate place he was currently in. "Where do we go from here?"
"Follow me. It is not far, but we need to be on our guard. We can still be attacked here." She turned and began to walk.
"I didn't think that the place of dreams would be so gloomy," stated Endymion as he kept pace with her.
"Normally the space between reality and the an individuals dreams is peaceful and serene. It allows one to enter sleep easily to wake easily. Nightmares disrupt the tranquility. Usually an individual can easily restore the calm by simply reminding herself that it was just a dream and it wasn't real. It kind of acts as a buffer zone. When you have good dreams you only remember bits and pieces because it gradually lets you awaken. With nightmares, the buffer is gone and you can wake screaming or simply…"
"Not wake up at all," Endymion finished for her.
"Yes. With out that buffer, and with repetitive nightmares, one tends to walk away from reality and becomes lost," she finished. "Ah there it is, the gate to Usagi's dreams."
Before Symphony could finish what she was saying an attack came out of nowhere.
*CRASH*
"What was that?" asked Endymion.
"They've found us! You've got to make it into the gate! I will hold them off long enough to give you a head start," yelled Symphony. "Get going!"
"Right!"
As Endymion ran towards the gate he could hear Symphony yelling out. 'Is that the best you've got! Ha you couldn't hurt a fly with that!'
It was then that she was struck. He turned just in time to see her smash into the ground. "SYMPHONY!" he yelled.
"Get out of here! I'll be all right. You have your own mission!" "Ahhh." She was hit again. "Oh no you don't!" she yelled as she stood up and brought her rainbow wings in front of her. "Star symphony Prestissimo!"
Blinding light was everywhere. Endymion had to shield his eyes, but he kept running towards the gate. Just as the light was beginning to fade he made it through the gate. "I'm in!" he yelled. When he turned to look back out the gate he could see nothing except the gray blankness. 'I hope you're all right Symphony.' With that he turned and began his search for Usagi.
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Well, that's all for this chapter. I hope you liked it. I know, I know I just left you hanging. But I thought that was a good place to stop for now. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I would really appreciate your reviews.
Well, I'm off to work on the next chapter!