Evening Star
For Love of the Past
Chapter 19
The attack had been unforeseen. The Sun had warned Kiaya, she could
sense its uneasiness. In the weeks preceding the
attack, it had been necessary for the Sun Stone to nearly quadruple
its output of energy and power, in order to protect the Sun
City from the massive fluctuations in the Sun's release of heat energy.
The Sun was at unease, and its surface seethed as a
result, putting the Sun City at risk. Such fluctuations had occurred
before, Kiaya could remember - but none that had lasted as
long as this. As the weeks bore on, and no change could be seen in
the Sun's current state, the dread that had taken hold of
Kiaya's heart, grew. For she knew, as infinitely powerful as the Sun
Stone seemed, it could only uphold such a massive amount
of out pouring extra energy for so long. And if the Sun's vast amount
of energy released did not subside, the destruction of the
Sun City would be imminent.
The destruction of the Sun City, however, was imminent – regardless.
* * *
Beryl had never again attempted such an aggressive attack on Earth,
as she had so many years ago; an attack which had lead
to the death's of Aurora's and Darien's parents. She learned all too
well, that such force would be pointless. And so, she fell
back on an old tactic – one, which had served her well in conquering
the Empire of Pluto. She began to slowly pollute the
populace of Earth, turning small bands of people, all over the globe,
against their Crown Monarchy: King Brayden, Queen
Katanna, and Prince Endymion. Over the passing years, these small bands
grew in number until they started to become a rather
menacing threat to the Monarchy of Earth. Word of Beryl's uprising
even began to reach the Moon Kingdom, and the whole
Solar System began to suffer unease. No one had known the name of the
mysterious force that had lead to the fall of the
Plutonian Empire, nearly 15 years past; not even the deceased Royal
Family. Beryl had not announced herself during her
attacks on Pluto – the planet died never knowing the name of its assailant.
But with word of Beryl spreading quickly, everyone
began to speculate that she had been behind it all along.
Beryl, though, was no fool. She'd heard legends told of a Shimmering
City of Gold, nestled protectively on the far side of the
Sun, governed by a beautiful Queen, who wielded the power of a magical
ruby the tellers of myths and legends called the Sun
Stone. The Tellers spoke of this crystal's infinite power; that it's
power surpassed even that of the Moon Queen's Silver
Crystal. The Tellers spoke also of this City's destruction at the hands
of an evil absolute. But no one heeded such legends of
the Sun City. However, unlike every other at that time, Beryl did not
dismiss word of the City as myth. She believed it had
existed, and existed still. She believed in the Sun Stone, that its
power exceeded that of even Queen Serenity's herself. And
Beryl knew - if she were to take possession of the Universe, the Sun
City would have to be the first destroyed.
The initial blast from the NegaVerse struck the protective shielding
surrounding the Sun City at early morn. The force was such
that the City, entire, shook. The earth quaked, buildings crumbled,
trees were torn up by their roots, the mountainsides
collapsed; lives were lost. And so began the beginning of the end.
* * *
Aurora awoke in a cold sweat, screaming, as the tidal wave of fear from
another horrific nightmare passed her by. Holding her
head in her hand while sitting in her bed, she struggled to calm her
labored breathing. Tears silently made their way down her
cheeks as her body trembled. Turning a tearful face towards the entrance
way onto her terrace, Aurora moved the covers
aside, and walked out into the night air. Along her way, she stumbled,
nearly fell, as the earth beneath the Palace shook, stirring
the Castle where it stood, and had stood, for centuries. She felt her
chest tightened as she walked out, on to her balcony, and
looked down upon the once Shinning City of the Sun.
The city, which had been laid out in front of the Palace, now lay in
ruin. And though her eyes could not see the small clusterings
of communities that lay beyond the capital city, Aurora knew, they
too, were sustaining heavy damages. Her head ached, she
felt sick. The incessant pounding of the NegaVerse's attacks upon the
force field protecting the Sun City were tearing it down
from its very foundations. The massive, destructive booms could be
heard all throughout the City, every moment of every
passing day, and every passing night. Their attacks need not penetrate
the shield. The vibrations these attacks cause,
resonating throughout the force field, is enough in itself to destroy
us, Aurora thought bitterly to herself, They're
shaking the City down to its very core.
How long had it been, Aurora was forced to wonder again, since the first
attack? Months, she knew. More tears escaped from
under her closed lids. How many people have died because of this? Aurora
couldn't stop her heart from asking. Too many.
30 million people had lived upon the Sun. Now easily, only half of
them remained. And more were dying with every passing
day. The cause: the falling of buildings, the collapsing of the Mountainsides,
and the opening of the earth beneath them, as the
continuous vibrations from the NegaVerses attacks, tore the City apart.
I've healed all those I can. Everyday, I use my power to save lives,
but there are just too many. I can feel my powers
giving out. This night had been the first in many, that Aurora had
de-transformed, and gone to her bed to sleep. Since the
beginning of this battle, she had been forced to remain at her Queen's
side and watch as Warrior Pluto went out, making vain
attempts to protect the people of the City. Everyday, he and his men,
the City's army, brought the wounded back. Sailor Star
would spend hours healing, mostly throughout the night, and had found
little time to sleep. What few moments of sleep she did
catch, were haunted by nightmares of death and destruction. It got
so that Aurora didn't want to sleep any more. And when
she was not healing, she was with Kiaya, casting her powers into the
Sun Stone for Kiaya to use in defense of her people,
against the onslaught of attacks that were raining down upon them.
But, as of yet, all of their efforts seemed to be in vain.
The Sun Stone is weakening, and with it, Kiaya. The Sun Stone has been
forced to increase its output of energy,
nearly four times more than normal, in order to protect the City from
invasion. And has upheld these massive
outputs of extra energy since the Sun's surface had begun fluctuating.
That was nearly, what? Eight months ago?
Kiaya fears the Sun Stone will soon have no other choice than to revert
back to its normal expenditure of energy,
or risk destruction. If that happens, this nameless enemy will be given
the window of opportunity it needs to enter
our city, and destroy it.
These truths swirled around in Aurora's head, as she thought them through,
her stomach twisted into knots. The powers I cast
into the Sun Stone, now, go more towards upholding the force field
than fighting. She gripped the railing of her
balcony, as another tremor shook the Palace, and the City itself. Looking
up, she saw the Sun attempting to break through the
darkness in the East. Morning. Time to begin this fight again. Looking
to her star in the sky, Aurora watched as it flashed,
for but a moment, a beautiful, deep, ruby red. Aurora felt the strength
of the stars well up inside of her, as, turning her face to
the sky, she called out, "Imperial Star Power!!" The power washed over
her, through her, giving her strength, and
transforming her into the Solitary Sailor of the Stars.
Leaving her room, making her way to the Throne room, Sailor Star thought
of Warrior Pluto. The Queen had at first fought the
idea of Malachite raising an army, for the defense of the Sun City,
so many years ago. But Malachite had persisted, if he were
to be Guardian and protect the Sun City, he would need means by which
he could do so. He wanted to see the people
properly protected, and he knew, he alone, could not completely, and
properly protect the all of the people of the Sun in times
of need. He would need others to be his eyes and hears for him, to
act in his stead, while he continued on with the fight.
Eventually, Kiaya had relented, and so, Malachite began his recruiting.
He had also begun his training of her, Aurora remembered, around that
time. He had had his hands full. Many young, strong,
and capable men wanted to join the Sun's army, to be of service to
their Queen, and protect their families in times of need. But,
when Malachite went about training these men himself, using most of
the same tactics he used when training Aurora, it soon
became obvious which of the men were born to fight. Their training
had taken nearly as long as hers. In fact, her training had
run parallel to the training of the soldiers, within the same two years.
And when their training was complete, there was left 500,
highly skilled, young warriors to stand in defense of the Sun City.
And it was with these young men that Warrior Pluto, everyday, risked
life and limb to bring back the wounded, and protect
those that had lost everything, and been left nothing. Aurora found
her heart praying to the Sun Stone and the Gods of Pluto,
once again, to protect him, and his men - that they may have a safe
return.
The Palace shuddered again as Sailor Star finished her descent by way
of the stairs, and turned down the corridor leading to
the Throne Room, and the many rooms which lay beyond; filled beyond
capacity with people lost, without homes, and the
wounded. Sailor Star's heart felt heavy with the knowledge of what
she was about to face. Hundreds of thousands of people,
men, women, and children, all of whom held her in such reverence and
awe; all of whom looked to her to heal them. But Sailor
Star knew, there would be those she would have to turn away. The power
to heal never drained her strengths on a whole, but
with every day that she cast more of her powers into the Sun Stone,
her strength waned – and with it, her power's stamina. The
intensity of her powers was lessening. In whole, Sailor Star was weakening.
And as she weakened, the number of people she
had the strength to heal diminished.
With the constant thundering of the enemy's attack booming in her ears,
Sailor Star opened one of the double doors leading to
the Throne Room, and began her day of fighting. Standing amongst the
throngs of people was none other than her Majesty,
Queen Kiaya, and her City's Guardian and Army General, Warrior Pluto.
Sailor Star breathed a silent sigh of relief at seeing
him well and uninjured, than quicken her stride in order to become
a part of their on going discussion. Sailor Star then suddenly
stopped short, when she caught sight of the expressions of her Queen,
and her Love. By the Gods, were Sailor Star's first
thoughts, in taking this one night's rest, what have I done?! Warrior
Pluto sensed her presence then, and turned to face
her, turning eyes of blue steel to eyes of silver. In that moment,
Aurora knew, the battle had been lost. The noise of the
thousands of people surrounding her in the Throne Room and beyond,
faded into the background. She heard nothing more than
the pounding of her heart in her ears, and the shattering of her soul.
For nearly eight months, nearly eight months, they had fought. Warrior
Pluto on the battle field, and Sailor Star at her Queen's
side. That was what Malachite had trained her for. What she had had
the most difficulty in understanding at the first of her
training was why, if they had each other to fall back on in battle,
was such training for her necessary? But Malachite had
pounded reality into her, literally, making her see that their duties
would forever separate them during a time of war. Never
would they fight together. His duties would keep him on the battlefield,
hers, at their Queen's side. Aurora would have to know
how to defend her Queen and the Sun Stone alone, without anyone to
fall back on – for there would be no one there to
protect Kiaya or the Sun Stone, save her. And for eight months, Aurora
stayed in the Palace, healed the wounded, helped and
protected her Queen, cast her powers to the Sun Stone to fight – and
watched as Warrior Pluto went out into the City, the
battlefield, to protect the people, and to bring the wounded back.
No true fighting had ever been done on the side of the Sun. Kiaya could
manage no more than a few weak attacks, which only
went to enrage their enemies more. The Sun Stone, at the point of the
NegaVerse's attack, could do little more than protect the
City. And that had been a fragile protection, one which both Kiaya
and Sailor Star had been forced to ensure the longevity of,
by casting into the Stone, their own natural powers. For nearly eight
months, Aurora and Malachite had not existed – only
Sailor Star and Warrior Pluto. But now, Sailor Star knew, by the truth
burning in Warrior Pluto's eyes, all their efforts had been
in vain. This nameless enemy would win.
"Star…" Pluto began, walking over to her, with Kiaya following behind.
Star closed her eyes at that, the first tear she had let
either of them see since the war began making its way down her cheek.
Pluto knew she had already figured out the truth, and
didn't bother to insult her by breaking the news to her gently. He
told her point blank, "The entire city has been destroyed
Aurora." He spoke softly to her, knowing the pain his words caused
to both Sailor Star, and the Queen she lived to protect.
"There is nothing left; nothing but ruins. Fires have broken out, and
are destroying what remained of the forests. Entire
mountains have collapsed completely obliterating what remained of the
communities which bordered them, and the surrounding
areas. Tidal waves caused by the incessant quakes have wiped out the
coastal villages. And any small lumbering communities
which had survived up until now have gone up in flames with the rest
of the forest," Pluto paused there, attempting to judge the
effects his words were having on Aurora. Failing, due to Sailor Star's
well built masks, Pluto finished simply. Placing his hand
under her chin, and turning her head up to look into her eyes, he spoke
finally, "Star, there is nothing left." Star continued to
look into his eyes after that, hoping against hope there may be more
he had left to say, something that would leave her with
some hope – but he said nothing more. Kiaya continued. "What remains
of my people live within these palace walls. Between
Warrior Pluto and I, most of the night has been spent taking stock
of the survivors. How many there are, and what conditions
they are in. Thankfully, the vast majority escaped without fatal injuries;
there are, however, only 500 thousand which have
survived." Kiaya voice caught at this, and it took her a moment to
regain her composure. She would not let her people see her
cry. They needed her strength now, and they would have it!
Star's mind reeled at Kiaya's revelation. The very room spun, and she
was forced to physically widen her stance to keep from
falling. By the Gods…only five hundred thousand…. out of millions….my
Gods… "It is over then? We have been
defeated?" Sailor Star managed. "As long as we live, Star, we are never
defeated. There is always hope," Pluto spoke, feigning
confidence. Kiaya couldn't suppress the soft, bitter laughter that
escaped her ruby red lips. "Oh yes, there is always hope," she
bit out, her tone ever sarcastic. Her two Guardians looked to her,
immensely surprised at her lack of faith. To which she
responded only by saying, "Come, we must talk privately." Looking around
her, Sailor Star finally came to realize that they
stood in a vast crowd of people. Some of which were rather close. Therefore,
seeing the wise reason in Kiaya's demand, both
Guardians followed their Queen to the Throne of the Sun Palace itself.
There, in the floor, as a large, golden 'Mark of the Sun', the same
shaped sun which graced the Queen's forehead. It had been
built into the floor directly in front of Kiaya's Throne, and once
there, Kiaya stepped delicately into the Sun Mark's center.
Energy was released in the form of wind, ruffling the shirts of her
Ceremonial Gown, as she looked to the ceiling above. Sensing
her Guardians beside her, she took control of the power of the Sun
Mark, letting it wash through her and the two standing
behind her; and then, she concentrated.
Those looking on did so in awe, as the images of their Queen and Guardians
were lost in a sea of shimmering, golden light.
When the light faded, nothing remained.