Chapter 21: World of Dreams
"No no no! PallaPalla wants to go play with the Senshi too! WAAAH!!" PallaPalla struggled in Sarah's arms as she watched the other three Quartet members leave on their mission.
"It's okay. Since you're my favorite, special one, you have your own game to play. Just be patient, sweetie," Sarah cooed, "Now how about we go bake some cookies for you?" PallaPalla pouted, but then grinned.
"Sure! PallaPalla likes cookies and being special!" she giggled. Meanwhile, Nabiki Aino, was watching her favorite anime, as usual. But this time she wasn't as happy. She turned to her sister with a sigh.
"Celestia, do you think we are good Senshi if we don't have big dreams?" she asked.
"Big dreams? Well, I don't know, I usually forget 'em when I wake up," Celestia admitted cheerfully.
"Not that kind of dream. I mean like a dream to be a movie star, or a dream to fly into space. Ambitions. Or rather, pure, sweet dreams that are all about helping people. Crystal Animal Fighter Rosaline made me think about that. Because what about a dream to hurt someone? What about people who don't think about others? Can people who aren't pure-hearted be good Senshi?" Nabiki asked, "I mean like the Queen. She's so powerful because of her pure heart."
"Hey, I know who might know about that! Let's ask Rei! She's a psychic!" Celestia exclaimed. Nabiki nodded, that did sound like a good idea. She began to follow her sister out the door when a flash of red light startled them. The whole world seemed to be red, and then it was dark.
"Do I have a dream? Why do you ask?" Nabiki could hear Misty Hino's voice. Then Noriko responded.
"Because I'm worried about you. You never seem to have desires of your own," she pleaded.
"I do not see the point. I do my duty, and that is that."
"Maybe you're not fit to be a Sailor Senshi then. Because the magical girls in anime are all pure-hearted girls who are sweet and emotional. Not like you, you're like the bossy ones who are too jaded to be pure," Nabiki snapped, responding to the conversation she was hearing.
"Where is this place? It feels like I'm floating in a giant red balloon!" giggled Celestia.
"This is the world of dreams."
"Does that mean we're asleep?" asked Celestia.
"Never never be suspicious of dreams within the dreams of dreaming kids. Never never be suspicious of dreams within the dreams of dreaming kids. Never never be..." The chant died out as the red light faded, and the four girls found themselves sitting atop a cloud. The blue sky surrounded them, and a beautiful rainbow arced overhead.
"This definitely looks like a place out of anime," commented Nabiki in amazement. She then gasped as her sister suddenly glowed with a red light, and then she disappeared.
"What's wrong? This feels like a nice place, but it also feels like we're up high on clouds," Noriko said, confused.
"Celestia just disappeared. It's like someone took her away," Nabiki murmured. Another red light appeared; this time, it formed the figure of a girl in a simple red gown, her red hair pulled back in an elaborate ponytail.
"Hello, girls. I am Lady Vesta, the granter of your wishes," she said, bowing to the three remaining Senshi.
"You look like a former enemy. Did you do something to Celestia?" Misty asked her coldly, grabbing her transformation wand.
"She is merely in the world of her dreams. She is happy there, she can be an anime voice actress," Vesta said with a gentle smile. She then giggled. "You girls have sweet dreams, too, don't you?"
"Of course. My dream is to be allowed to just watch anime and have robot servants bring me stuff so no one will bother me," declared Nabiki. Misty did not respond, she was still staring coldly at Vesta, and Noriko was blushing, wondering if her dream was to be with Yayoi, Celestia, or both of them.
"Really? And what about you two? I'm sure you have someone you love, Noriko Mizuno, or maybe two people?" Noriko nodded. Vesta then turned to Misty, smirking a bit. "Do you have any dreams?"
"I do not need dreams. I only do my duties," she replied sternly. Vesta's smirk grew, and a red billiard ball appeared in her hand.
"I doubt you're telling the truth. Nice shot!" she yelled. With that, a pool cue appeared in her other hand, and she shot the ball at Misty, hitting the surprised girl in her chest. Misty's eyes became cloudy as her Dream Mirror popped out. Nabiki glared at Vesta.
"That's not fair! I may not like Misty, but I thought you weren't going to hurt us! Neptune Twinkle Power, Make Up!" she shouted.
"Jupiter Sparkle Power, Make Up!" added Noriko.
"Now now, I'm not going to destroy her dream mirror. Don't you want to know what her dream is?" Vesta cooed smugly.
"No, I don't care to know! You're invading her privacy!" Chibi Neptune snapped back. Vesta rolled her eyes and stuck her head in Misty's dream mirror anyway, despite Misty's pained groans. Finally, she pulled her head back out and held her red ball out to Chibi Jupiter and Chibi Neptune, still smirking.
"Would you like to see what I just saw? Or rather, I think Misty should just tell you her dreams," she said, and then she pointed the ball at Misty. "Dream Reveal!" With that command, Misty sat up robotically, her eyes still clouded over.
"My dream is to be like Sailor Pluto. She is my ideal, a perfectly dutiful person who is calm, properly reserved, and sternly devoted to her mission. That is why I must do my duties. It is also the best way to live for me, because I do not care for frivolity," Misty intoned, baring her soul yet almost sounding more unemotional than she normally did.
"Why did you do that?! I didn't need to hear that! How sickening. Why would someone ever want to be like someone else?! All I want to be is me and not worry about what others think I should do!" Chibi Neptune shouted, stamping her foot on the cloud petulantly.
"Poor Misty, no wonder she kept that hidden if people like you would make fun of her like that," sighed Chibi Jupiter. What disgusted her was the way Vesta was toying with them. Something was wrong with Celestia, and she was distracting them by torturing Misty.
"Goodbye now, Sailor Senshi, I'm off to see Sarah again," Vesta said with a cheery wink. She made a move to leave, but Chibi Neptune sprung into action, tackling her.
"Where's my sister?! I demand to know where she is!" she shouted. However, as she had knocked down Vesta, something fell nearby. A heart crystal.
"She's not here, now let me go before I take your heart crystal too!" Vesta snapped, accidentally revealing exactly what Chibi Neptune wanted to know. Upon hearing that, Chibi Neptune's gloved hands clutched Vesta's neck ferociously.
"I'll kill you first if you don't let me find my sister!" she roared. Chibi Jupiter heard this, but feared to attack, lest she hurt her ally instead of Vesta. Instead, she went over to where she heard Misty's voice, and helped put the poor girl's dream mirror back into her corpulent body. Misty eyes cleared, and her usual stern expression returned.
"If this is a Senshi battle, then I must participate. Earth Prism Power, Make Up!" she called, and her Senshi outfit replaced her regular clothing. Vesta noticed this and panicked, managing to shove Chibi Neptune off of her.
"Earth Crystal Blast!"
"Jupiter Thunderbolt Shocker!"
"Neptune Tsunami Waterspout!" The combination of these three attacks, especially the electricity and the burst of water, was lethal for Vesta, and she disappeared in a red flash which filled Sailor Earth and Chibi Neptune's vision. When the light faded, they were back in the Crystal Palace, and Celestia was lying nearby, her heart crystal next to her. For once caring for someone else, Chibi Neptune hurried over and replaced her sister's heart crystal.