SailorStar9: You ladies wanted this chapter, so here goes. This is Chapter 34 of this fic; and please be a dear and review.
Disclaimers: I do not own the animes. But I do own the pairing, I hope.
Chapter 34: The Center of the Darkness: Dead Moon Circus
"Pegasus." Chibi-Moon hugged the winged-horse.
"Hey, why shouldn't we head over to the Dead Moon?" Mars inquired.
"Are you saying that we aren't strong enough to face the Dead Moon?" Jupiter demanded.
They are not an opponent that can be defeated by force. Pegasus replied. The Dead Moon are monsters created from the remnants of dreams thrown away by people who have forgotten how to dream. As long as there are dreams to be wasted, the Dead Moon will not fall to ruins.
"Tell me, what in the world are you?" Moon asked.
I am Helios, the priest of Elysian. Pegasus answered. The one who guards the dreams of the people on Earth.
"Elysian?" Mars echoed.
"Pegasus." Chibi-Moon started.
The God overlooking Elysian, our Morpheus-sama, had sealed the Dead Moon away using the power from the beautiful dreams of people. However, the power of the seal had decreased, and they awakened, the Queen of the Dead Moon, Nehellenia. Now, the evil hands of Nehellenia are about to stretch themselves into this Earth. To seal them away again, the power of the Golden Crystal must be unleashed.
"The Golden Crystal?" Moon echoed.
This horn of mine is actually the Golden Crystal which emits divine energy. Pegasus lowered his head. It is the only thing that can seal the Dead Moon away into the world of darkness. The Golden Crystal is said to hide enough power to easily destroy even the stars.
"Then, could the reason the people from the Dead Moon are looking were desperately looking for you..." Mercury trailed.
"Was because they were after that Golden Crystal." Dragon Solaris finished.
"Then, that's simple." Venus beamed. "All we have to do is use that Golden thingy and defeat the Dead Moon, right?"
"We can't!" Chibi-Moon cut in.
"Helios can't use the Golden Crystal by himself." Dragon Solaris supplied.
"He needs to find someone who can unleash its energy." Chibi-Moon added.
"Chibi-Moon, you..." Moon gasped.
"You knew?" Mars gaped.
"Pegasus has been looking for that someone for all this time." Chibi-Moon nuzzled the horse. "But he couldn't find anyone like that."
"That's something really important." Moon remarked. "Why didn't you talk to us about it?"
"In the first place, the Golden Crystal was supposed to be a secret only known by the priests of Elysian." Dragon Solaris defended.
But, I broke that rule, and told you about the Golden Crystal. Pegasus turned to Chibi-Moon. Because I had thought that you would be the one who would be able to unleash the powers of the Golden Crystal. When I was thrown into the darkness, you were the one who had shown me the light. But I have no time left.
"Pegasus!" Chibi-Moon gasped as Pegasus started to vanish.
Vines emerged out of the ground and covered all the buildings and Tuxedo Kaman collapsed.
"Tuxedo Kaman!" Moon knelt by her love's side.
Please, find the person who can unleash the powers of the Golden Crystal. Pegasus requested.
"Helios!" Dragon Solaris gasped as his cousin started to vanish.
"Pegasus!" Chibi-Moon gaped when Pegasus disappeared.
Please... was Pegasus' last plead before he vanished completely.
"Pegasus!" Chibi-Moon sank to her knees.
In her 'Dream Mirror'...
"Helios' soul is speaking out to someone again." Nehellenia remarked, seeing the glowing body of the still Helios. "Even if you're in this pathetic stage, you still manage to mock me?" she fumed, slapping her captive's cage. "Even if you are all but an empty shell, you still say you cannot fall under my rule? Damn you!"
In Mamoru's apartment...
Mamoru was laid out in bed, wincing as he struggled for breath.
"To defeat the Dead Moon, we need the Golden Crystal." Artemis stated.
"It looks like what Pegasus said is true." Mamoru admitted, Thomas having gone all doctor-mode on him.
"Mamo-chan..." Usagi muttered.
"I hear Pegasus' voice as well." Mamoru replied.
"Pegasus?" Luna echoed.
"Since Mamoru is the Earth Prince and Helios is the guardian of Elysian where the Golden Kingdom of the Earth once stood, that would make sense." Thomas nodded.
Prince Endymion. Pegasus appeared in his vision. It is just as the Dragons surmised, your body, which is guarded by the Earth, has synchronized itself with this land.
Synchronized? Mamrou echoed. "Each time those spiderwebs of the Dead Moon eat away at this land, my body..."
"If only I could unleash the powers of the Golden Crystal..." Chibi-Usa belated.
"Small Lady..." Diana muttered.
"It's alright." Enyo consoled. "Even if we don't have the Golden Crystal..."
"If we combine all our powers, we have nothing to be afraid of." Kore agreed, the chibi Senshi clustering around Chibi-Usa.
"We won't let the Dead Moon Circus have their way any longer." Aurora added.
"Guys!" Chibi-Usa beamed.
"Let's go." Psych nodded. "Let's go defeat Queen Nehellenia!"
"Yeah!" Chibi-Usa nodded and the group trooped out, leaving Usagi and Mamoru alone.
"Usagi." Rei poke her head in.
"Come on." Yuichiro pulled Rei of as Ami shut the door.
"Mamo-chan..." Usagi teared.
"I'm sorry." Mamoru reached out to wipe away her tears. "At such an important time, I'm making you face all the dangers.
"No, your pain is my pain." Usagi shook her head.
"Usako..." Mamoru sat up.
"Don't worry." Usagi assured. "I'll make sure to cure you. I will make sure to protect this planet." and the two shared a kiss. "I'll be going now." she pulled away.
"You've gotten strong, Usako." Mamoru noted. "And so has Chibi-Usa."
"Mamoru-sama!" Diana exclaimed as Mamoru winced, the cars rushing in.
"Mamoru!" Luna and Artemis pounced by the bed. "Hang in there." the white tomcat encouraged.
"We don't have much time." Thomas stated, the rest of the Dragons entering the room.
"We have to prepare the ritual circle." Hitoshi nodded in agreement.
"Mamoru, can you stand?" Kouki asked the Earth Prince.
"I can try." Mamoru nodded and got up.
The four Dragons then armored up and took their places around a magical ritual circle with Mamoru in the middle. Slamming their blades into the circular outline, the Dragons cast the transfer spell, allowing them to share Mamoru's burden equally among the five of them.
Outside the apartment...
"What is this?" Chibi-Usa gasped as the released Lemures paraded on the streets.
"Welcome, welcome to the Dead Moon Circus." the Lemures greeted.
"What's going on here?" Usagi exclaimed.
"Dreams seen at night are fleeting but the nightmares here are always open." the Lemures droned. "Take one look at its extremes. Once you look, you won't stop laughing. You'll laugh so hard, you might turn into a mule. And we won't care."
"Wait, what are those things?" Rei demanded.
"Stop it!" Chibi-Usa hollered, silencing the Lemures and the Lemures parted like the Red Sea.
"Oh, I guess it was worth a try." Psych sweatdropped.
"Look guys!" Ami pointed, the road was not clear towards the Dead Moon Circus tent.
"A straight path to the circus." Rei remarked. "No need for sly little tricks."
"They want us to charge with a full frontal assault, huh?" Makoto mused.
"Exactly!" the Amazoness Quartet chorused.
"You're..." Chibi-Usa gasped.
Commercial Break
Voice-off Announcer: Prepare for the biggest epic crossover ever made. In a world ruled by magic and sorcery, a war is about to be fought...
The scene shows a familiar village, as a woman wearing a magician robe walks in. She has green hair and red eyes, and is carrying a long staff shaped as a key.
VOA: ... And the destiny of the planet will fall in the hands of a peasant girl.
The scene shifts to the green-haired woman talking to a Halfling that looks disturbingly like Usagi. The woman shows her a golden tiara with strange symbols drawn around it.
VOA: But the girl won't be alone in her journey. Several other heroes will join her along the way, and help her defeat evil.
Now the scene shifts again, this time it's the battle inside Moria's Mines. We can now see several other characters along with Usagi and the green-haired woman. Two halflings that look just like Ami and Minako, a dwarf that looks disturbingly like Mako, sword-wielding, armor-clad versions of Naru and Rei, and finally, Mamoru wearing an elven archer suit.
VOA: Their journey, however, won't be easy at all.
Several scenes from the 'movie' are shown: 'Legolas' firing a hundred arrows at a group of enemies and missing them all, the green haired woman (who, by the way, looks just like Setsuna, if you hadn't figured it out yet) standing on a rocky bridge, facing a massive Balrog that looks a lot like Jadeite... A Gollum that looks disturbingly like Zoicite following the heroes around, and finally, Beryl in a Sauron outfit giving Usagi the 'evil eye' glare. Finally, we see Usagi tossing 'The One Tiara' at a troll and vaporizing it.
VOA: Lady of the Tiaras. Coming sooner than you'd want it to. (Evil laughter ensues as the camera goes black.)
End Commercial Break
"Welcome to the Dead Moon Circus!" VesVes declared.
"We'll be greeting you, Senshi." PallaPalla added.
"If that's the case, we won't have to hesitate about this." Enyo smirked.
"Moon Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Mars Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Jupiter Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Mercury Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Venus Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Solar Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Enyo Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Kore Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Psych Eternal Dream Weaver, Make Up!"
"Villains who tarnish our town of Jubaan City with a jungle of spiderwebs." Chibi-Moon retorted.
"On top of that, I can't forgive you for giving my Mamo-chan so much pain." Moon snapped.
"We, the Senshi Team of love and justice..." Venus and Psych chorused.
"In the name of the moon..." the two Moon Senshi posed. "Will punish you!"
"We'll have arena seats waiting for you." CereCere remarked.
"But, that's if you can actually arrive at the tent." JunJun added and the Quartet retreated.
"Oh, wait a minute!" Moon shouted, only to be faced with a sea of Lemures.
"Mars Flame Sniper!" Mars released her fire arrow.
"Dream Pyre!" Enyo used her attack to power up her mother's arrow.
"Let's go!" Mars told the group, the two Martian Senshi having blasted the way through.
Venus then used Psych's attack to power up her 'Love and Beauty Shock' attack, the golden heart attacking the Lemures.
Aurora and Eos had held the Lemures in place with their 'Gravity Cage' tech, allowing Mercury to freeze the trapped Lemure with her 'Aqua Rhapsody'.
In the Dead Moon Circus tent...
"Oh my, they look kinda tough." PallaPalla noted as the Senshi dashed in.
"It's just that the Lemures are too weak." CereCere shrugged.
"At this rate, not only will they get to the arena, but all the way backstage." JunJun pointed out.
"Who was the one who suggested we lure the Senshi into the circus?" VesVes asked.
"JunJun. VesVes, PallaPalla. CereCere." the Quartet pointed to each other.
"Amazoness Quartet." Nehellenia greeted the girls.
"This voice..." JunJun beamed.
"It's Nehellenia-sama." CereCere added.
"Are you going to give us something again?" VesVes inquired.
"I want even stronger magic." PallaPalla mused.
"Something that would defeat the Senshi in one attack." CereCere remarked.
"Don't be hasty." Nehellenia chided. "Just for you, my dears, I will give you extra special powers today."
"Really?" JunJun beamed.
"Nothing less to be expected from Nehellenia-sama." CereCere gushed. "A marvelous difference from the cheap old hag, Zirconia."
"Hand me the Amazon Stones that I gave you." Nehellenia requested. Taking the Amazon Stones into her 'Dream Mirror', she then infused the Stones with dark power. "Now, all of you." she instructed, having returned to Stone to the Quartet and giving them under her control. "Use the powers I gave you and destroy all of those from the White Moon."
"Somewhere in here is Queen Nehellenia, right?" Venus asked, the group having stopped in their tracks when the platform raised underneath them.
"We have everything we could want here, don't we?" Jupiter reminded.
"Um, Chibi-Moon, there is something I want to ask you." Mercury stated.
"I don't think this girl would know something that you don't understand, Mercury." Moon remarked.
"You know...!" Chibi-Moon glared.
"It's not that." Mercury chided. "I remembered something watching Chibi-Moon and Pegasus. Back when I was a child, I think I saw a dream about a white horse with wings."
"Mercury, you too?" the three Planetary Senshi blinked.
"Come to think of it, I think I do too." Moon replied. A dream about a white Pegasus...
"Memories of a past life?" Mars echoed.
"No, that was a dream." Makoto corrected.
"Dream?" Venus repeated.
"Dreams that everyone had when they were children." Moon finished.
"But, my Pegasus is no dream." Chibi-Moon insisted. "I worried about Pegasus and laughed with him. It was fun. I was happy that I got to be friends with him. And, above everything else, I wanted to be of help to Pegasus."
"Chibi-Moon..." Aurora blinked.
"You really are in love with Pegasus, aren't you?" Kore teased.
"Girl's all grown up now." Eos mock-sniffled.
"I had forgotten what it's like to feel that way." Venus admitted.
"I had told myself that Pegasus was just a fairy tale." Mercury remarked.
"And I had kept it deep in the back of my heart, in exchange of my dreams." Jupiter added.
"As long as you cherish your current feelings, don't you think Pegasus'll always be with you?" Moon assured.
"Yeah." the girls nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, guys." Chibi-Moon smiled.
"This is..." Moon gasped, the platform having stopped before the stage and the Amazoness Quartet announced their arrival.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." VesVes grinned.
"The biggest stars of the Dead Moon Circus..." CereCere added.
"The Amazoness Quartet, on stage!" the Quartet chorused.
"Here goes!" JunJun let loose a barrage of ball, baseball style. "Come on!" she chided, Jupiter having dropped a ball and causing it to explode on the ground. "If you don't catch them properly, they'll explode."
"Are you alright?" Kore knelt beside her injured mother.
"Get a hold of yourself." Mercury urged.
"Here!" CereCere released a flurry of flower petals at the Senshi.
"This stinks!" Chibi-Moon whined.
"I can't take this!" Moon complained.
"Rolling Ball!" PallaPalla's enlarged ball forced Mars and Enyo to flee.
"It's chasing me!" Mars wailed.
"They move nothing like how they've moved in the past." Aurora noted.
"What's going on?" Kore wondered.
"Oh, this is nothing." Jupiter get to her feet.
"Sticky Ball!" VesVes tossed her sticky liquid at the two Moon Senshi.
"Look out!" Aurora, Eos and Kore managed to push Moon and Chibi-Moon out of the way.
"What is this?" Eos squealed, having been caught in the glue-like substance.
"Guys!" Chibi-Moon gasped.
"Don't come near us." Enyo warned. "As soon as you touch this, you won't be able to get it off."
"That was too simple." VesVes shrugged.
"Should we get rid of these brats first?" JunJun looked at the chibi Senshi.
"Do it, do it." CereCere and PallaPalla cheered.
"Stop it!" Chibi-Moon cried and the Crystal Carillon manifested.
"The Crystal Carillon..." Chibi-Moon gasped.
In her 'Dream Mirror'...
"Helios' body is resonating." Nehellenia saw the glowing form of Helios. "So, Pegasus' hideout is approaching. Who holds the Golden Mirror? This girl, is it?" her mirror reflecting Chibi-Moon.
Outside...
"Are you asking me to call for you, Pegasus?" Chibi-Moon wondered.
"Chibi-Moon!" Moon encouraged.
"Twinkle Yell!" Chibi-Moon summoned Pegasus, his power freeing the chibi Senshi and forcing the Quartet to retreat.
"Moon Gorgeous Mediation!"
"Illusion Rhapsody!"
"Dream Sniper!"
"Waking Oak Evolution!"
"Love Dream Beauty Shock!"
The flurry of attacks flew towards the frightened Amazoness when Zirconia blocked the attacks for them.
"Who in the world is this?" Mars wondered.
"I am Zirconia, the ringmaster of the Dead Moon." Zirconia replied. "I know that the Pegasus which stands there is just an illusion." she looked over at Pegasus. "That Pegasus can only live inside beautiful dreams in the human world. Then, all I need to do is capture, the owner of the dream and all." and hit Zircon towards Chibi-Moon, golf-style.
"Chibi-Moon!" the chibi Senshi exclaimed, when the Golden Mirror was extracted and Pegasus entered the 'Dream Mirror'.
"I've found it!" Zirconia grinned. "I've finally found it! The person who Pegasus has been residing in!"
"That's the Golden Mirror?" VesVes beamed.
"Amazing." JunJun gushed.
"You can't..." Aurora and Eos stood before Chibi-Moon as Enyo, Kore and Psych returned the Golden Mirror back into Chibi-Moon.
"Take this." Zirconia slammed her staff on the ground and trapped the six chibi Senshi into a mirror.
"Chibi-Moon!"
"Aurora, Eos!"
"Enyo!"
"Kore!"
"Psych!" the girls clamored around the mirror, calling for their daughters.
In Mamoru's apartment...
"What's wrong, guys?" Luna asked as the five males winced.
Chibi-Usa? Mamoru thought.
Aurora, Eos. Dragon Solaris prayed.
Enyo. Dragon Mars thought.
Kore. Dragon Jupiter mused.
Psych. Dragon Venus gasped for breath.
In the Dead Moon Circus tent...
"Impossible!" Moon gasped. "Chibi-Moon? Chibi-Moon!"
"Rejoice, Nehellenia-sama." Zirconia stated. "As you commanded, I have found the owner of the Golden Mirror. "Now Pegasus, the Golden Crystal is ours." and she laughed evilly.
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review. In the next chapter, after being captured by Queen Nehellenia, Chibi-Moon and the chibi Senshi confront the evil queen.