Part Three, Chapter Three:
The first thing I was aware of was darkness. Then, a cold stone floor beneath my feet. I blinked, and murky shapes around me emerged, though still indistinct. A harsh voice uttered a strange word, and a burning ball of blue fire appeared to my right and rose to the cavernous ceiling, flooding the gloomy room in a ghostly, pale light. I started. It was a place I knew well, I place I had been in before, but during another life, at another time. I was in Beryl's throne room - or what was left of it. The high, vaulted ceiling had caved in at places, and rubble crowded the floor, taking the place of the evil court that once congregated there. No longer grand was the throne where Beryl once sat, no longer impressive was the grotesque stature of a human skull that rose to the decaying ceiling. A grayish mist rose to my shins, and seemed to whisper eerily of the secrets of a dark time long ago. echoes of evil deeds once done in this room seemed to ricochet off the walls and hurl themselves, shrieking, at me. Instinctively I raised my hands to my ears and squeezed my eyes shut tight. I felt goosebumps raise on my arms and legs, my scalp prickled. I gave an involuntary shudder.
"Cold, my dear?" A voice behind me asked. A warm pair of arms encircled my waist and pulled me into an embrace. I jumped, startled, and the same voice chuckled in my ear. I turned around, and saw that it was Leander who held me. I pulled away, pushing his arms off me.
"What do you want with me?" I demanded him. "Why have you brought me here?" "Well, I can't go revealing all my secrets at once, now, can I?" he responded in a low, teasing voice. My features hardened in anger, and he gestured to the room around us.
"You recognize it? I thought so. Granted, it needs a little work, but -" he waved a hand, and some rubble to his left flew from a corner up to the ceiling, mending the hole seamlessly. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet." He gave me an odd, twisted smile. "Brings back memories you wish you had forgotten, doesn't it? But, conveniently for me, you threw away your Crystal earlier today, and now you cannot freeze yourself in a timeless, eternal sleep. Also, you are defenseless as you are now, unable to withstand my powers. Quite convenient, actually."
"I'm not as defenseless as you might think," I snarled, as my hand closed on a transformation stick in my pocket. I had forgotten about it, but Hermes gave it to me for emergencies. It only transformed me into Sailor Sun, though - not to my Element form, and it wasn't nearly as powerful as my Sun Crystal. Better than nothing, though.
"Sun Star Power!" I cried, and my oldest, most familiar transformation began.
When it was complete, Leander looked surprised but not unduly concerned. I summoned my Scepter, which was missing the glowing crystal in the center, and pointed it at him.
"Now, tell me why you've brought me here!" I demanded. He paused, looking thoughtful.
"Well, it can't hurt," he mused out loud. "You're not going anywhere, anyways."
The hell I'm not, I thought grimly.
"Why, I've brought you here to pick up where we left off," he said, after a very pregnant pause.
"What?!" I exclaimed. "Leander, it is OVER! it ended two million years ago when you betrayed Queen Serenity and broke my heart! How dare you even consider trying to win me back? No, don't answer! I'm leaving." I closed my eyes and knitted my brow in concentration. I thought of the park, where I had just been. I focused all my energy on the lakeshore. Concentrating harder than ever before, I felt the familiar wind blow up, and I felt my booted toes lift slightly off the ground. I felt myself begin to dissolve, and -
- a rough hand closed on my throat, trying to rip off my choker. My eyes snapped open, and as my focus on the park broke, I felt myself drift back down to the ground. There was an ominous ripping noise, and the choker came away. Once again, my sailor suit became hundreds of gently waving white and gold ribbons. I waited for them to materialize into my street clothes, but nothing happened. I felt so weak, so tired. I lifted cloudy eyes to Leander, and saw him lift a hand and say something I didn't understand.
A black swirl came from his hand, headed straight for me. I knew that I should move, that I should dodge from the black wind that would surely be deadly. But I felt so weak, so tired. I could do nothing but close my eyes and wait for impact.
The last thing I remember was the sound of my own body hitting the ground with an ominously resounding thud.