Sailor Moon Chronicles

Insanity on the Throne!

The Usurper King's Final Offensive

The great door opened before them and led to another short set of stairs. The ascension finally got them into the throne room. The most fanciful of architecture was saved for this room. The elaborate carvings on the wall were alien-esque style and chilling. The huge glowing symbol behind the throne was grand in its symmetry and vibrancy. Steps led up to the throne's platform. The banisters were smooth and ended into spirals to the floor, coiled like snakes. Ominous coloring and structure of the room made the girls recall a trip to a Convanent temple, where zealots of some ridiculously dumbfounded ideology required eradication of whatever kind of nonbeliever came across them. The Sailor Soldiers couldn't believe this at all. A second throne was built by the original already. Zant was fully dressed in all of his regal garb and truly silly helmet. The metal over the mouth was withdrawn back to give sight of his mouth and chin.

"Zant…" Midna said angrily. "Isn't this ironic? Here we are, all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link and the kidnapping of Zoey!"

"Still your tongue, whelp," murmured Zant as he lifted himself off his throne. "The people of our tribe, a tribe that mastered the arts of magic, were locked away in this world like insects in a cage."

"Who even puts insects in a cage?" commented Sailor Venus.

"Listen up, freak!" snarled Sailor Mars. "We don't care about your whining. Deal with your issues in the therapy like everyone else. Give Zoey back right now!"

"Don't interrupt me!" he bellowed. He raised his hands up high. The helmet coiled back to reveal all of his face. The girls were shocked to see that he wasn't too far from their age. "In the shadows we regressed, so much that we knew neither hatred nor even the faintest bloom of desire." His arms then twisted around his body, and his back contorted in an inhuman twist that left his head facing them upside-down. His flexibility was startling and amazing. "And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable half-existence!" His voice had broken from its cruel coolness to high-pitched, raving psychosis.

"Should I be as freaked out as I am?" Sailor Jupiter asked nervously.

He let out a freaky scream when his body sprang back to his normal standing pose. Then he stomped up and down like a child having a tantrum. When he stopped, he was panting, a sign of poor physical fitness. "I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, my impudent princess." He screamed manically and lunged at them but vanished before contact. He reappeared behind them spinning around like a fan of long sleeves on the high setting.

"What the hell is going on?" screamed Sailor Moon.

"This guy is so many types of crazy," said Sailor Uranus.

"And why, you ask?" said Zant during his spin.

"We didn't ask," said Sailor Moon.

"Because I believed I would be next to rule our people," he said, still spinning. Then his spin suddenly stopped in a pose. "THAT is why!" He screamed again while bending over backward. "But would they acknowledge me as their king? NO! And as such, I was denied the magic befitting our ruler. As I was consumed by hatred and despair, I looked to the heavens… and found a god." When Zant sprang back up, his lizard-shaped helmet was back as well as his cruel voice.
"My god had only one wish…" He teleported and reappeared in front of his throne. "To merge light and shadow… and make darkness!"

Link wasn't even moved at all by the psychotic performance. Sternly he said, "Where is Zoey?"

Zant chuckled and waved his hand to the other throne. Someone was sitting in that chair. It was a woman. She was a Twili for her skin matched the description. Her eyes were humanoid like Midnas, not like Zant's. Her hair was the same color fusion as Midna's hair. Her outfit resembled what was sexy lingerie on was black and skimpy, only covering the breasts and back while covering the waist and down with a long skirt with a slit that ran up to the belt. All of the heroes were petrified when they recognized who she was.

"Zoey!" Sailor Moon screamed. "What did you do to her?"

"She had some jitters," said Zant cooly, "so I calmed her down by transforming her into a Twili."

"You psycho skinny b****!" Link roared.

"You monster!" yelled Sailor Jupiter. "You dressed her like a street walker!"

"I have the same outfit," said Midna irritably. She faced Zant. "We will end your tyranny here and now!"

"It will be your end," retorted Zant. He rose into the air. The entire room turned black. Red symbols appeared and spread out from Zant's body. Then the room was completely altered. It was a replica of the chamber where Link and Sailor Saturn faced Diababa in the Forest Temple. Zant vanished.

"He has changed the physical properties of the room," said Sailor Mercury, looking at readings on her mini-computer.

"This can't be too hard," said Sailor Jupiter. "After all, it's ten against one.

Right after she said that, a troop of Soldier Heartless appeared. Zant hovered over the lake of poison water. From inside his big, floppy sleeves, rapid purple energy blasts were released. The blasts were not too difficult to dodge. Thankfully, Zant's aim was questionable. The Soldier Heartless leaped up and tried to scratch them, but they were easily batted away. Link threw the Gale Boomerang at Zant. The small tornado that trailed behind the boomerang caught Zant and spun him around. Zant dizzily bounced on water's surface until stepping on the shore for a breather. That was a mistake.

"Dead Scream!"

He screamed out like a girl when the energy hit him. Zant teleported back up into the air above the lake. He changed the room and erased the Heartless. Now they were all inside a volcano on a thick metal disc suspended above the molten rock that was only several meters down. Three Large Body Heartless fell onto the platform. Each landing caused the platform to dip.

Sailor Moon screamed when she saw the lava. "It's hot in here!"

Zant was on one end of the platform and began stomping up and down. Every time he stomped, the platform would tilt in his direction. The heroes were sliding down towards him, and the Large Bodies were tumbling down too. Luckily, they avoided getting steamrolled by the bulbous Heartless. Zant warped to safety before they could smash into him.

"This is making my stomach uncomfortable," whined Sailor Moon. "It's like a scary lottery machine." She got up.

Right when she did, Zant appeared and began stomping down. A Large Body rolled down the incline and knocked her down. She rolled until she rolled off of the platform.

"Sailor Moon!" They screamed.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

Sailor Venus caught Sailor Moon before she hit the molten surface. They all tried to reel her up, but they kept sliding down the incline.

"I have had it with this!" Sailor Mars yelled. She let go of the chain and went charging towards Zant. "Burning Mandala!"

Unable to counter after getting so into hopping up and down like a lunatic, the rings of fire bashed into him at close range. "Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" He screamed it until he teleported away. With the platform level, they succeeded in lifting up Sailor Moon.

"I really hope he changes the room again," she whined.

Zant did just that, for better or for worse. This one was definitely worse. They were all underwater on the floor of a lake or chamber. Though the physics were as normally being underwater, they could still breathe and talk as though on land. Some of the Sailor Soldiers, mostly just Sailor Moon, Jupiter, and Mars, were awkwardly flapped their arms and legs to level out.

"This is incredible," said Mercury. "His magic has even changed how the laws of physics are applied in this room."

"We're so happy you're impress," snapped Jupiter.

Suddenly, a huge replica of Zant's helmet erupted from the sand floor along with a swarm of Screwdiver Heartless.

"I can take them and blast through that ugly face!" called Sailor Jupiter out. "Supreme-"

Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon grabbed her so she wouldn't complete the attack.

"If you fire any electrical attacks, we will all get electrocuted," said Sailor Mercury.

"What were you thinking?" Sailor Moon cried.

"I guess I wasn't," she answered awkwardly. "Sorry."

"That means that my attacks are useless too," said Sailor Mars.

The mouth part of the helmet replica opened up to reveal Zant standing inside. He rapidly launched balls of energy. They ones who were good swimmers dodged easily while the ones that weren't had to flail around the destructive spheres. The Screwdivers were close.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury froze a squadron of Screwdiver Heartless.

Link wiped out his Clawshot and fired it at Zant. The claw hooked him and reeled him out of his safe house.

"Deep Submerge!" Sailor Nepune fired.

The attack was successful. Every time Zant was hit by an attack, he screamed in a higher pitch. The crazy was coming out more and more. He changed the room again and vanished. The room was now a copy of the room where Link and Zoey found the baboon with the Gale Boomerang. Zant was nowhere to be found anywhere.

"I remember this place," said Link. "Zoey and I fought a crazy baboon in a place just like this."

"This time must not seem too different then," commented Sailor Mars.

Many Powerwilds and Bouncywilds came swinging down from the vines hanging down from the ceiling. Both types of heartless were simian-themed with the Powerwilds serving as the males and the Bouncywilds as the females. They all stared at the heroes as they congregated on the totem poles. Zant materialized on the totem pole in the center. With a single wave of his arm, the Heartless attacked. The Powerwilds ran out to tear them up with their sharp claws. The Bouncywilds sniped from a distance with their slingshots.

"Scatter!" Tuxedo Mask commanded.

The Powerwilds broke into groups and chased them around. Link set his sights on Zant but also had to deal with the beltings from the Bouncywilds. Zant showered him with energy blasts, but Link evaded them. He tackled the pillar Zant stood on so forcefully that the shaking knocked Zant off. He landed awkwardly on his helmet, which stabbed into the ground. Just then, Sailor Jupiter rounded a pillar and had a perfect shot.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" She flung the orb of electricity, aiming for his bottom, which was up in the air and begging for a wallop.

Zant's screams made the totem poles quiver. He lost patients with trying to free his design-flawed helmet the natural way and just teleported away. When the scenery change, Sailor Moon slipped and fell on her face. The floor was made of ice.

"What is this?" Sailor Moon screamed as she humorously tried to get back up and stand still. "Is this an ice rink?"

Zant appeared in the center of the chamber and began to grow to giant proportions.

"Oh my god!" shrieked Sailor Uranus. "He is huge."

"It's probably still small," Midna said, coming up just to state the comment.

Zant hovered up to the high ceiling. "You better watch out because I am coming down!"

They all slipped and slid in different directions to make survive a better bet. Zant landed and began stomping his feet on the ice, hoping he would hear a squish. Sailor Moon had the worst time. She was horrible at ice skating. She slid from one end of the rink to another with her arms and legs flailing. "I still can't ice skate!" Her trip was over when she slammed face first into a wall and then fell onto her back. "That hurt…"

Zant set her as his target. He lifted up his foot. "Die, Sailor Moon!"

Link acted quickly and brought out his Ball and Chain. He sent than metal ball right into Zant's other foot. Zant yelled and brought down his lifted foot, not on Sailor Moon, and took his injured foot into his hands. As he bounced around in pain, he shrunk until he was smaller than normal.

"Why did he get smaller?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Who cares?" stated Sailor Mars. "Someone, blast him!"

"World Shaking!" Sailor Uranus's energy blast hit.

Zant returned to normal size after the blast hit. He teleported to the center of the room and altered it yet again. This time they were all outside the gates to Hyrule Castle Town. An energy barrier separated Link, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask from the others.

"Sailor Moon!" the other soldiers called.

"Everyone!" Sailor Moon called back to them.

"Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and the hero chosen by the goddesses," Zant screamed, "your deaths will come first!" He summoned a cleaver-like sword to each hand. His swordsmanship ability was ridiculously pathetic. His movements were choppy and distorted. However, his vivaciousness and tenacity made up for the lack of skill.

He just chased his prey and with repeated chopping attacks. Sailor Moon screamed and ran in circles while Tuxedo Mask and Link fought him. Tuxedo Mask used his extendable cane as his weapon. Like Link, Tuxedo Mask was actually skilled in swordsmanship. The two did well to over power the pure force and no strategy that was Zant's battle plan. Zant grew tired and then preformed a high-speed spinning attack. He was like a tornado, just a spinning force of destruction that had no real path.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury was scanning for a weakness with her Mercury Goggles and mini supercomputer. Sailor Neptune did the same with her Deep Aqua Mirror.

"I'm seeing something strange," said Sailor Neptune. "Zant… his mind is in conflict. There are two entities battling for control."

"That just proves that he is crazy," said Sailor Venus.

"It isn't that," said Sailor Mercury. "An outside force is controlling him. It was possibly controlling him the entire time."

Sailor Moon stumbled and was in Zant's path. Tuxedo Mask threw a rose into the tornado and stuck the helm. Zant froze just then. He was dizzy and moaning.

"Sailor Moon, attack him!" Link ordered.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon flung her tiara into his chest.

Zant screamed and screamed as the energy disk cut him. He batted it off of his chest with is sword and glared at Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask stepped between them and blocked Zant's slash with his cane. Zant's strength was over powering him.

"Serena, run!" Tuxedo Mask called.

"I won't leave you!" she shouted. She put up her Cutie Moon Rod and swung it to hit Zant. "I won't let this monster hurt you!" She nailed his helmet with such power that it shattered.

Zant jumped away from them screaming. "D*** you, Sailor Moon! D*** you all!" He was weeping heavily. "I'll kill all of you!" His mind was ripping to shreds. It was so pathetic to watch. It was difficult. The sobbing, it was so sorrowful. "I won't lose her to you!" He charged at Link in a stumbling, chopping charge.

Link just stood there in his path. When Zant was close enough, the Master Sword pierced the center of his chest. He was stuck in the last frame of his movements, paralyzed with his swords raised. Though every part of him was frozen, his tears still fell. His fingers seized gripping the swords, causing them to fall and shatter along with the manipulate room. They were back in the throne room. Zant and Link stood on the platform before the thrones. Link withdrew is sword in swift motion, leaving the wound without any addition. His body slumped down onto the floor.

The Twili features on Zoey fading away; she was returning to normal. She rubbed her eyes with her hands. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out a man standing in front of her. She winced to look at him but still couldn't. It was like he was imaginary.

"Are you all right?" he said.

He became clear to her. Her eyes glistened with lovely tears of jubilation.

"Link!" Zoey sprang out of the throne and wrapped her arms around him and felt the beating of his heart. "I knew you would come and save me."

"Zoey…" he said. He was so happy at that moment. She was so warm even though she had been in this cold place alone. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Thank you…" she said, crying. "Thank you…"

"That is so nice," said Sailor Neptune.

"I know," Sailor Moon said. Her eyes grew wide. "Zant is getting back up!"
Link and Zoey ended their embrace and saw Zant, sitting up, crying and bleeding. Midna appeared. She looked at her body and was horrorstricken. She was still an imp. She was furious and floated to him.

"Look at the King of Twilight now," she mocked, "sitting in a pool of his own blood and tears. Tell me why I'm still like this!"

Zant slowly lifted his head to look at her. He could only speak in a whisper. "I'm sorry…"

Midna was dumbfounded. "What did you just say?"

"I'm so sorry…" he was so weak physically and mentally. But his true self was finally in control. "That spell on you…was cast with the power of my god. Only his defeat can lift it." The pieces of the Fused Shadow that he had taken from her materialized around her.

"You're giving the Fused Shadows back to me? Why are you doing this?"

Zant smiled genuinely. "…because I love you…"

Midna gasped.

"When I was passed up for the throne, I was depressed and angry… At that moment of sadness, he came to me and promised that my pain would go away. It was a pact with the devil. He used me, placed his power in me so that he could grow and become whole again. I was just a puppet… He has been reborn, and I am forever his servant. He will take control of me soon again. Even if you kill me, he will just resurrect me over and over again. I am cursed, Midna. Everything is my fault. I betrayed the woman I love in one moment of weakness. Please stop Ganondorf…"

"But what about you?" Midna asked urgently, touched by her dying lover's words.

"Don't worry about me... I deserve to die for what I have done to you. If I die from this wound, if Ganondorf resurrects me, I will kill myself over and over again until it finally ends…until I end…"

"Don't say that Midna!" screamed. She buried herself in his chest and cried. "I never stopped loving you! I was crushed by what you did, and I wanted to hate you for what you did. Something stopped me though. It stopped me from hating you. I don't want to loose you again."

Zoey came down to Zant's side. "We will help you, Zant."

He stared at her. "After everything I put you though? Why would you do that?"

"You are truly sorry for what you have done," said Sailor Moon, coming to his other side. "You don't have to die. That would make Midna even sadder. We can save you."

"But why?" Zant asked. "Why would you be nice to me?"

"Because the real you isn't a bad guy," said Zoey. "We're the Sailor Soldiers. Saving people is what we do."

"How can you save me?" Zank asked desperately. "If you don't kill me soon, I'll be back under Ganondorf's control."

"Sailor Moon," called Sailor Pluto. "Use the Moon Stick to heal him. The power over him is weak enough to be completely dispelled."

"I got it," Sailor Moon said. She stood up and backed away. The Moon Stick materialized in her hand. "Please, Moon Stick…" She brought the Moon Stick before her face. It began to sound a lovely chime. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

A beautiful, golden mist and celestial spheres of light were sprayed from the wand.

"Refresh!" Zant shouted as the power purified him. He was free. The spell over him was broken.

"Are you back to normal?" Midna asked softly.

Zant smiled. "Yes… Yes…"

The two of them embraced, for their love was finally reignited and shining through the shadows.